Like A Little Trip Down Memory Lane...

I think one of the best parts of moving on in life, is revisiting your favorite places of the past. It's what shaped you, helped bring you into a new chapter in life...and not to mention the fun you have laughing at the way you used to look, and the things we used to wear :-)

Not that I would ever be embarrassed by my former bizarre fashion trends. Not me.

When I first stepped on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University in the fall of 2000, I was 17 years old- and completely overwhelmed. With wide eyes, I drank in everything that I was experiencing those first few days of moving into the dorms and settling in for what would be a life-changing next 4 years. The first time I stepped foot into Golden Gymnasium was for my Freshman orientation....it was also the first time I met a tall blue-eyed man named John Anderson.

Oh if I only knew how my life would change over the course of those years! But not knowing is the best part :-) To me, the unknown is just how God surprises us and continues to sloooowly reveal His master plan.

And here we are today.

8 years after our first date.

6 years after we said "I Do."

2 children later.

Boy does the gym look different in our eyes now!

I spent countless hours in this gym. Of course, John has me beat because he practically spent his entire college years in this gym. Will we one day be visiting some university campus to watch our kids play sports? Maybe- or maybe not. But I can't wait to see what will happen!

And just because I'm a sucker for nostalgia, I had to get a picture of the kids in the same location where I posed for a picture during my first day moving on campus as a freshman. Bella is no stranger to PLNU, the first time she stepped on campus, she was just 1 year old- and we were moving Emily into the freshman dorms! Bella has been there many times...she is practically an honorary student by now.But my trip down memory lane this past weekend isn't over yet! When my family made the move to northern California during my eighth grade year, I was devastated. But I soon met a girl in my class named Melissa. Melissa and I became friends that year, and went on to Ursuline High School together, where our friendship grew and deepened. We weathered through the all-girls Catholic school (and the hideous uniforms that come with it), and each other's personal life ups and downs. I've known her for 14 years, and she is still the same sweet friend that I remember meeting when I was 13.

We were both in San Diego this weekend, so we met up for dinner...and boy did we do it right! We shut the restaurant down! After 4 hours of non-stop talking, our poor waiter had to come tell us that his shift was over and he was going home....hint hint. But even after we paid the bill, we just kept chatting. Eventually, we noticed that the busboys were cleaning the glasses and staring at us...and there was not another soul in the restaurant. So we took that as a sign, and finally said our good-byes.

Here is my beautiful friend :-) Loved our time together Meliss! Hope we can close down another restaurant soon.

Ah, memories!