random thoughts

so i've decided that i just don't like capitalization when i'm typing. it just takes way too long to mess with that crap. i would get rid of all punctuation if i could but i feel that would confuse people too much. so you're welcome for keeping some formal elements to these posts. also, i don't like having to think of catchy titles, so that will probably go down the drain too #sorrynotsorry {just said that, yup.}

today i was ubber bored at work so i decided to expand my bloggy knowledge and there is wayyyy more to it than i realized! so i have now joined bloglovin! fancy, yes i know. there's also a cute little button you can press on the right side to follow me! not everyone at once now.... no? okay, fine whatever. i won't cry about it later or anything...

one thing that i found out about blogging that i am actually really looking forward to getting involved in is the community. connecting with other "bloggers" {i don't like being called that}. it feels a little bit like online dating to me so that's weird, but it's whatever. if these girls are anything like how they write, then we will get along just fine. 

oh, so story time! yesterday at work, the coffee maker went all crappo on us, so that was fun. and for some reason, since i'm the intern, everyone turns to me with death rays coming from their eyes demanding i fix it {okay, i'm being a little dramatic but still}. well i certainly did not know how to fix that thing-a-ma-bob soooo that was cool. someone called the repair man {who knew they had those for coffee makers} and after 2 scary hours in the office with no coffee, it was fixed. BUT then our internet went out. and we do all our work over the internet so people played a lot of 2048 and we were all sharing our high scores. i won. mainly cause i have nothing better to do at work but play, but i was not about to tell them that. i am a hard working intern... i promise. but that was my interesting/scary day at work for ya.

another cool thing happened last night too! found out i'm my daddy's favorite, no shock here. SEE! proof:

sorry daddy, i told everyone! hehe but what do you expect?!? i would be my mom's favorite too if it weren't for those dang grandkids.... one day i'll be on top again, mark my words. now i'm sure lots of you {mainly my siblings} are trying to justify that you aren't the favorite by saying some rubbish like "it's not a competition" but let's face it, i'm a swiger. everything is a competition to us. and i win. 

also, it's super rainy this week and matt and i are suppose to be going to carowinds on saturday and if this rain ruins it, i will be pissed {to say it nicely}. 

well, i think i've done enough rambling for today and i'm sure all of you are super entertained by my random thoughts. no? whatever, it's cool.  

10 Signs That I Come From A Big Family

I grew up in a big family. HA massive... and it's growing by the minute. Most people I tell that I have 17 people in my immediate family (this is including in-laws and children) don't believe me. No, we don't have our own TV show. No, we don't all have names that start with J (we do have two Meredith's though). And no, we don't wear long jean skirts.... that's a strong no. We are normal. HA okay maybe not normal, but we are at least not totally wacko. 

Anyways, apparently today is National Sibling Day and well, as I have told you before, I have the best. And while I would not change my family for anything, it has some side effects. Apparently, I have some interesting characteristics that point to the fact that I come from a big family, so I thought I would share some with you!

10 signs that I come from a big family:

1. I love kids. All kids. All ages. And this isn't the type where they are fun to hold or play with but when they poop or scream you hand them back over. Nope, it doesn't bother me. I have absolutely no problem changing a poopy diaper. I like trying to soothe a baby. HECK, I don't even care when my nephews wake me up at 6:30am on a Saturday. I just love those little ones so much.

2. Hand-me-down clothes don't bother me. Sure, I went through a period of middle school and part of high school that I thought it was just so uncool! But, those were my clothes growing up. I have two older sisters and I had whatever they got. Now, I get excited if someone gives me hand-me-downs. UM free clothes people!!! I'll take what I want and give whatever I don't want to someone else.

3. Chaos doesn't bother me. Actually, I work better when it's crazy. When there are a million people running around doing a million different things. Yup, it just works better for me. That's how it was in my house growing up and that's just what I'm used to. 

4. Silence makes me go insane. I have learned this thanks to my new job. HOLY... just no. I need noise. This office is silent. Like so quiet I can hear the person on the other side of the building typing... Sometimes I just have to put my head phones on and blast music cause I just can't take it. This is also why I don't study well in the library. I have to talk to someone while I study and apparently that is frowned upon in the library. Mehh.. 

5. Everyone, somehow, knows my family. Or at least knows of my family. I thought this was just true when I was in Greenville. HA nope. It applies to Clemson and Charlotte so far as well. It's ridiculous, honestly. Somehow, most everyone has some crazy connection to my family and would just love to tell me how. Maybe it's a small world, or maybe my family is just huge. 

6. I can sleep through ANYTHING. I'm not talking about the TV or talking. I'm talking about earthquakes (in case you were wondering, yes, I have) and screaming and dogs barking and banging. I just don't wake up. If I didn't have this trait, I'm not sure that I would have gotten any sleep growing up. There was always something going on, whether it was brothers screaming or my dad banging the hammer at ungodly hours of the morning. 

7. I talk loud. I don't mean to, it's just how I talk. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have to talk loud around my house just to get a word it. If I was quiet, everyone else would just talk over me. So, I talk loud so that I'm heard.

8. I will eat just about anything. I'm not a picky eater. I will eat whatever is on my plate, even if I don't like it. That's because if I didn't like whatever my mom cooked for dinner growing up, I had two options. Either, I fixed myself dinner, OR I just didn't eat. And let's be real, I am entirely too lazy to fix myself dinner. So I ate whatever and complained about it.... but I still ate it. 

9. I have more respect for my parents than most teenagers have for theirs. I don't come from a wealthy family, but my parents NEVER failed to provided what we needed and more. They dealt with six crazy kids, which I knew could not have been easy. I don't know how they have done what they have, but it's impressive.

10. Family is everything to me. I know that my family is in it for the long run. We rely on each other. We love each other unconditional. They aren't people that just happen to be related to me, they are everything to me. 

Well, there ya have it. I'm not like normal people, I'm weird. But if you didn't know that by now, you must not know me at all. There have been a few times that I had wished I was an only child, but I promise you, it takes a special kind of person to be from a family this big....

** you can interpret "special" how ever you may like**

Not Now Isn't So Bad

If you know me at all, you know that I hate waiting. Especially for something that I really, really want. Just ask anyone who has gotten me a birthday present and told me they got it before they would give it to me.....**cough cough SARAH cough cough** I can't handle it. I just can't. It's cruel and unusual torture to me. I hate waiting for the next step in life. I hate waiting for my next meal for that matter... I hate waiting for the summer. I hate waiting to get a new car. I hate waiting for friendships to be rebuilt. I. Hate. Waiting.

With that being said, God has a funny (kinda... not really comical to me...) way of making me learn to wait. When I was young, I was taught that God gave us one of three answers; "yes," "no," or "not now." The "yes" is the easy one, you get what you want. The "no" is harder, cause God knows you what's best for you, but you still don't get what you want. The "not now" is awful to me. It's not yes and it's not no. I would rather just be told "no" right away. Well lately it seems that the only answer I have been getting is the "not now." As you could imagine, that's hard for me.

My life is in some kind of transition phase. I'm technically still in college, but currently I'm working in the real world. But it's only temporary... It's hard for me to explain to other people and honestly hard for me to truly understand myself. Regardless of what this stage of my life is considered, it's a waiting period. I'm waiting to go back to school. I'm waiting for my career to start. I'm waiting for life to be normal (I don't even know what that means anymore). What God is slowly, and I mean SLOWLY, teaching me, is to enjoy it. He's showing me that waiting doesn't have to be awful. I can enjoy where I am right now. And I have a lot to enjoy to be honest!

I love where I'm living! Charlotte is a great city, but who I'm living with truly makes it the best. I love being able to live with my sister and her family. I enjoy getting to spend all that time with my nephews. Not even mentioning all the home cooked meals and rent-free. 

I have this crazy opportunity that most college kids couldn't even dream of! I'm getting a paid to learn more about my field. I get school credit. This internship is such a resume booster for me. PLUS I get to wear jeans and a t shirt to work all the time!

I don't have to worry about school work at the moment. (Besides a journal entry ever week that I honestly just make up as I go... shhh don't tell my teachers) I don't have any tests. No homework. I don't have to worry about getting good grades. As long as I don't get fired and I turn in my journal, I get an A. AND that means I will technically get all A's for the semester and a 4.0. Which will get me on the President's List. SO I have another resume booster there.

I am refreshing friendships... I chose my words wisely here because it's an unique situation. It's not that we were ever not friends. Or that we ever hated each other. We all had some moments (some longer than others) of anger, frustration, and even betrayal. And some major blowouts. BUT we are refreshing. We are making honest efforts to make our relationships what they used to be. It's not going to be exactly how it used to be right away, and we don't know if it ever will... but for now, we are refreshing. 

My life is good. No matter how many times I am convinced that it's not, it is. I have an amazing family who would support me in my dumbest moments. I have friends that are willing to work with me, even when I seem impossible. I have a boyfriend who loves me unconditionally, but isn't afraid to tell me when I'm being a drama queen. I have a job that is teaching me more than I ever thought it would. I love my major more than most college students. (I'm a little biased that it's the best major out there) And I am learning to trust God when He tells me "not now."

P.S. If you ever hear me say that my life sucks, feel free to hit me. 

Perfectly Peaceful Weekend

This weekend was simply wonderful. It was one of those weekends where you were not expecting much, but man it was amazing.

Friday at work felt like I was counting the seconds until 5pm rolled around. Finally get home and Matt shows up only 30 minutes later! We had subs with the kids, Christina, and Dan and just hung out till the kids were sent to bed. Then it was game on. The four of us sat at the kitchen table playing board games and card games and my favorite game (Spoons) until around midnight and until we were all officially EXHAUSTED! 

Saturday morning, I was woken to the sound of Batman cartoons and my cute little nephews sipping on their morning chocolate milk. My sister and I got up and went for our "run." This meant we walked around the neighborhood for a little over two miles, talking about everything haha. We came back and made coffee and cinnamon rolls... yummy!! I, then, recruited the help of my nephews to wake Matt up so we could go on our adventures for the day! After a quick shower, we loaded up the car and headed to lunch. We went to Zoe's Kitchen, where Dan had gotten coupons for free entrees and it was soooo good! Christina found a cute little children's museum in Rock Hill that the kids loved playing in for a few hours. We also tried to go to this "park" in this Indian reservation.... it didn't quite look like what it did online haha. So, instead we went on a little trail hike in a near by state park and found a playground there. Look how cute my boys are!

When we got back to the house we were all ready for a little nap! Matt and I headed to Taco Mac's for a dinner of wings and went to TCBY for some frozen yogurt after. We came back to the house to watch Duke beat up on UNC and it was a sweet victory to end the night ;). 

Sunday was by far my favorite! We were all a little thrown off by daylight savings but managed to get to church on time some how! After church, we had a delicious lunch of homemade lasagna and headed to hang out outside. We sat around with coffee in hand in mid-60s weather and it was perfect. Dan set up his Eno hammock which made for a great afternoon nap and the kids had a blast playing in the mud. Around 4pm, Matt headed back to Clemson and we got ready for a life group cookout. Before we headed out, the boys had a blast jumping in some leaves in the front yard. And check out this air that Luke got!

How can you not love this cutie pies?!? We headed over to a friend's house where the kids played in their HUGE backyard and the "adults" sat around just talking. It was so peaceful and easy-going! Not to mention, it stayed light outside until almost 8pm! One great thing about daylight savings!

This weekend was nothing special, but it was perfect to me. I got to spend time with the ones I love with no schedule constricting us. I was beautiful outside and so relaxing! PLUS, the first sign of spring! 

Monday morning hit me like a ton of bricks when I slept through my alarm and woke up an hour after I was suppose to! Oops!! But with Monday almost under behind me, this week looks to be fairly easy. Tonight I'm head to Clemson for a few days on a "business" trip with a coworker. (That makes me feel old.) Here's hoping the week will fly by so I can have another amazing weekend!

Why I'm Joyful

So since my last post was kinda dark and depressing, I figured I'd brighten this blog up a bit. This post will be all about what makes me joyful. and that's quite a lot!

I'll start with my family because if you know me, you know they are THE most important people in my life. And they are pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

First, there are my parents! My mom, who is my twin, has always been the listening ear that I need. My dad, who I get my humor and sarcasm from, has always been my teacher and my rescuer (mainly with my car haha). Needless to say, they have taught me to love hard and stand strong. 

High School Graduation 2012

Then there are my siblings! My best friends! I'm the youngest of six kids and I can honestly say I love each and every one of them, most of the time. ;)

Forever Ago ?

Next, my in-laws. The wonderful people my siblings fell in love with! The people who I have come to love as my own siblings!

The other Meredith (Scott's wife) and I

Brooke (Nick's wife) and I

Dan (Christina's husband) and I

AJ (Caroline's husband) who I don't have a pic with

And then there are my favorite little nephews and niece! The little ones in my life that make me so excited to have kids one days!

Luke (4), Bryce (1), and Mark (2)

Coan (almost 8 months)

Lucy (1)

I would be willing to debate that not another family could bring so much joy to another person than my family has brought to me. I love them with all my heart. Here's more pictures of my whole family, cause I just love 'em.

Missing AJ

Missing AJ, Dan, and Eric

Missing AJ

The Whole Clan! WOO

Then there is my boyfriend, who I've been with for over a year. He has loved me every second and has always been patience with me. He has taught me so many things and I wouldn't trade one second of our time together! 

Valentine's Day 2014

Next is my best friend. I met Sarah when I was a freshman in college and we lived together our Sophomore year. She has helped me become who I am today and I miss her dearly while she's in London or Dallas.

Fall 2014

Obviously, there are more people and things who bring me joy, but these are the ones that I wanted to share with you! 

A Bittersweet Goodbye

I don't care who you are, Goodbyes are never easy.

It's taken me a while to pull my thoughts and emotions together to write this down. 

Yesterday, my family received some heartbreaking news that my sister and her husband's foster girls, who have been with us since this summer, were going back to their grandma in just over a week. Wow, even typing it still makes me tear up. 

When I first heard the news yesterday, my immediate reaction was to go on defense. How in the world is the grandma getting the girls back? She had them taken away for a reason! She works two jobs and the youngest baby girl can't be in day care! How is she gonna handle that?!? They would have much better lives with our family! Then, I got sad. It's so soon. Only a week left with my baby girls?!? We won't get to celebrate their birthdays like we planned! Why would they do this with such little notice? We're losing two family members. But most of all, my heart ached for my sister and brother in law. 

Christina and Dan loved those girls so much and have changed their daily lives for them. They knew this day was coming, but not so soon. They have done so much for these girls and have truly affected their lives for the better. This coming up week will be hard. Full of preparations for the move and long, tearful goodbyes. I ask that throughout the week if you would just pray for all those involved to be at peace with this change and for Christina and Dan would have strength through this process. 

Even though I still have a week with them, I want to give the girls a proper goodbye. For the sake of their family's privacy, I'm gonna call them A and N.

Dear A,
You came into our lives and our hearts first. Hearing the news of your soon arrival was so exciting for the family. We were so ready to shower you with love and gifts. We were so excited to meet you. 
You were so tiny, coming home from the hospital at only four pounds, WAY smaller than this family is used to. We used to say you were so small you looked like a porcelain doll. But man how you have grown. 
You are SO beautiful. Those big brown eyes could make anyone melt! And what a great baby you are! You hardly cry and are so easy to manage. 
Probably my favorite time with you is after all the other kids go to bed, you know our attention is all towards you and man do you love it. Giggles and squeals of joy fill up the house and make everyone fall deeper in love with you. 
I am going to miss you so much A. I pray that you grow up knowing how much you were loved while you were with us, even though you will have no memory of it. But more importantly, I pray you grow up knowing how much you are loved by God. You are His sweet baby girl and he has a plan for you. I pray you grow up to be as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. And I pray that I will see you again, whether or not it's on this earth. 
Love,
ALWAYS your aunt,
Aunt Mer Mer

Dear N,
Never did I think I could love a little girl so much after only knowing her for a few short months. You captured my heart the moment I met you and never let it go. 
It's taking me a while to write your letter, simply because I have so much I want to say.
You are absolutely gorgeous. Your eyes are the biggest I've ever seen and they are oh so sweet. That smile of yours with your cute little gap between your front two teeth are simply adorable. Your silly giggle whenever we tickle you or chase you around the house could make anyone smile. 
It's been such a joy watching you grow and change so much even with your short time here. Being able to watch you learn to walk, and run for that matter, and learn new words almost every day are memories I wouldn't trade for the world! 
I'm going to miss everything about you pretty girl. I'm even going to miss those early morning I wake up with you and we just cuddle. I'm going to miss you waddling up to the door whenever I walk into the house, immediately lifting up your arms asking to be picked up. I'm going to miss those silly dance moves of yours. I'm going to miss watching you grow.
I will always cherish the time I got to spend with you and your sister. I know everything is in God's hands now, but I will always continue to pray for your heart. I pray you will grow up knowing the Lord and how much He loves you. I pray God will use you and your life in a wonderful way. I pray you will shout His good name at the top of your lungs. And I pray you will always know how much you mean to us. 
Love,
ALWAYS your aunt,
Aunt Mer Mer

God has a great plan. Even though it might not of been our plan, God works in amazing ways. This week is going to be very hard, but our lives will move on. It may not ever be the same again without the girls, but life moves on. 

Thank you so much to all who have prayed for and supported Christina, Dan and their family. I know it is very much appreciated. Please keep them in your prayers this week and for weeks to come. 

TGIF?

TGIF... "Thank God It's Friday." A phrase that we have heard for so long now, even though I don't know many people that still use it actually weekly. Heck, it's even a restaurant! But even though I am thank that it is Friday and I get to have a relaxing weekend with family and friends, I am much more thankful for some other things going on right now! 

First off, I am SO thankful for warm clothes and a warm place to lay my head at night because it has been bitterly cold lately! And I am also thankful for Spring just around the corner. 

I am thankful for my sister, Christina, and her husband, Dan, for EVERYTHING that they do for me. Just last night they brought me a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts!! That's true love haha. Then proceeded to try and help me fix my brakes on my car and when it didn't work, let me borrow Dan's car and promised to help me take it to a mechanic on Saturday. They also feed me dinner every night and pack me a lunch every day! I have not had to go grocery shopping at all since I've been here!  Dan insists that Christina and I have a girls' night once a week so that we can have sister time, which has brought Christina and I closer together and for that, I am forever grateful. They are amazing examples to me! They are fantastic parents, not only to their boys, but also to their sweet foster girls! They have shown me what a great Christian relationship looks like and lead by example daily. 

I am thankful for my dad who I can call at any hour of the day if my car is acting up and he is right there with advice to help. He has dropped what he was doing many times for me and drove to Clemson just to help me out. He doesn't even get mad when I call him about stupid things, like when I couldn't get my key out of my ignition only to find out my car wasn't in park! Don't worry, I laughed at myself for this one too! 

I am thankful for my mom who has taught me to stand up for what I believe no matter what. She made a decision to stand firm in her faith last year that ended up costing her her job. God did not fail her, He provided her with an amazing new job, at an amazing new school! Though it put her through a few very hard months, she stayed strong and was an amazing example of how God works through every situation. I am truly proud to call her my mother! 

I am thankful for being able to be so close to my family. Not even in distance (most of us at least), but also in relationships. I can truly say that all my siblings and their spouses are not only family, but also friends. I am thankful that I would never hesitate to call any one of them to ask for advice, help, or simply talk. Though we fight, it seems like we're fighting to the death sometimes, I know we always love each other and want the best for each other. 

I am thankful for a boyfriend who deals with all my crap. No, really! Matt is so patient with me, even with the silliest of situations! Not only does he listen when I rant about stupid things, he makes me feel better! We have the best time together! We can sit on the couch for hours watching movies or go on adventures, either way we are just happy to be next to each other. I'm thankful for being with someone that makes my life easier, not the other way around! 

I am thankful for the family that is letting me stay with them while I am in Charlotte. They have opened up their home to me, rent free, which is a HUGE blessing on a college student. Not to mention, they are incredibly sweet and an amazing Christian family! 

I am thankful for a best friend that I can talk to no matter how far away she is. Most of you know that my best friend, Sarah, is currently studying abroad in London. We still talk every single day and she still knows about almost everything going on in my life! Thank goodness for technology! When she isn't in London, she's still about 1000 miles away in Dallas. Being able to talk to her, no matter the distance, has definitely kept me sane, at least for the most part. ;)

I am thankful for this amazing opportunity to get work experience in my field! A paid internship to a Sophomore that I am also receiving school credit for?!? It doesn't get much better than this. Not to mention, everyone is so sweet and helpful!

I am thankful for an amazing, forgiving Savior. A God that knows my sins and still loves me just the same. Even though I am consistently screwing up, He never leaves me or forsakes me. 

I am thankful for being able to live in His beautiful creation. Though there is so much evil in this world, there is not one day that goes by that I don't look outside and am truly amazing of how wondrous His masterpiece is. 

There is so much to be thankful for! Don't let a day go by that you don't remember the blessings that have been given to you by Him. 

Lucky Me

Let me start off by saying that my family is big, no, HUGE! There's my mom and dad (2), my siblings and I (6), their husbands and wives (4) and their kids (7). So that brings us to a grand total of, yes, 19. I truly believe that a big family like this isn't for everyone. There's always something going on, people are always screaming, someone's more than likely upset about something and it's normally so loud that you can't even hear yourself think! My boyfriend once told me that it was not relaxing spending the holidays at my house because he consistently felt like he needed a nap. HAHA I just must be used to it by now. 

Even though my family can be crazy and overwhelming at times, I wouldn't trade it for anything! And throughout this crazy mess, I, somehow, lucked out to be the luckiest rank in the family! Let me explain:

I was the youngest growing up. The baby of all six kids! When I was growing up I was so lucky that I got to spend all my time with my older siblings, which I absolutely loved. I'm not going speak for them because I'm sure having their quite sassy little sister following them around like an echo was a blast!!! I had the chance to learn things a younger age. I was always playing sports and games with my brothers and my sisters were teaching me the words to the latest new song. Not to mention, I learned all the dirty words earlier too.... just kidding Mom :) My siblings were always there for me, whether it was beating me up themselves, or protect me. My brother will also argue that I received things at a younger age (like a cell phone) and to that I won't argue. ;) Everyone likes to call me the spoiled one.

Being the baby of the family ended up truly being the best for me. My oldest sister is 11 years older than me. So growing up, she was a lot like another mom to me. When my mom was overwhelmed with all of our different schedules and routines, Christina was there to change my diaper, play with me, driving me around, or simply for advice. When I got older, I was able to meet my sister in a whole new light. She was actually my sister and my friend!! We were able to hang out, laugh and actually get to know the real people that we had lived with for so long. 

I also have a brother that is very close in age to me. Eric is 18 months older than me, almost exactly. Growing up with him, I had a best friend at all times. I like to tell people the funny story of why my parents had me. They thought they were done having kids after the fourth one (Nick was too much for them to handle ;) ) but the ever so lovely surprise of Eric ended up being quite a joy. After giving birth, my dad asked my mom who Eric was going to play with... so here I am, as Eric's playmate. And it ended up quite like that. We were inseparable as kids, we did everything together. We even shared a room for a while. I like to blame him for why I was such a tom-boy growing up and I am sure he will gladly take responsibility. I was lucky enough not only to have a great brother, but a best friend. 

So here's where a lot of people think, "So you had great OLDER siblings, but you missed out on having babies around the house while you were growing up." And this is exactly where they are wrong. I was an aunt by the time I hit high school. I would even argue that being an aunt was better than being an older sibling. I got everything they did, except for the bad parts. I got to hold, feed and play with these little bundles of joy and we never argued. I truly had the best of both worlds (not to quote Hannah Montana). I'm able to be a friend and even an example for my little ones (scary I know). I get to watch these little ones go from cute little babies to grow up to be (hopefully) amazing men and women. And on the little more selfish side, I didn't have to deal sleepless nights and lovely potty training (not yet at least). And I get to teach them things that their parents might hate me for ;) but don't worry, I'm sure the favor will be returned when I have kids. 

As for my "in-laws," I think I hit the jackpot on this one. Most people would be upset that they might be the last in their family to get married, but I view it very differently. Plus, my sister is 11 years older than me and got married when I was in middle school, I didn't stand a chance at getting married first. But seriously, I got to watch my siblings fall in love with their other half, I got to watch them say their vows, and start a family. What I believe to be the best part though is that I get to be picky now. My sister's biggest thing she has told me after she got married, was to never settle. I have watched time and time again what amazing spouses my in laws are and I get to be picky, now that I know what it truly looks like, when I find who I'm going to marry.  

This is not to say that my siblings don't have amazing lives, because I'm sure they will argue that theirs is better. In my opinion, I would no longer say I'm lucky, I would say I am extremely blessed.

P.S. I promise Swiger's aren't this competitive! ;)