my 2013

This past year instead of trying to stick to a new year’s resolution, I saw someone post on facebook about choosing a word and seeing how that one word can change your life. I chose the word Strength for the year 2013. It is so incredible to see how this word has worked in my life for the past year. It has been one of the best years but also one of the most difficult years I have ever experienced.  In 2013, I experienced a roller coaster of emotions that only Strength from God could help me through.

I completed 2 semesters of nursing school (ONLY ONE MORE TO GO!). This has been one of the most wonderful, yet draining things I have ever done. I have worked with patients that have made me want to pull my hair out, some who changed my life, and some whom I will never forget. I pray each day when I go into clinical that I learn something new and can help better a person during my time with them whether it be physically or emotionally.

 

 

I also saw Devin graduate from ECU. Since I have been at ECU, Devin has also been there. He has been my comforter and a constant friend to me. Since he graduated and moved back home, I had to learn to live without him being there every day. We have already done the long distance relationship thing when he first went off to college after high school so having to do it again has been challenging. I know God is strengthening us and bettering ourselves during our time apart.

 

One of the things that knocked me and a lot of our friends to our knees… I lost one of the most important men in my life on May 15^th, 2013. Mr. Donald. This is a curve ball that we were thrown this year. Losing him was not in our year plan at all. This just goes to show it’s not our plan. It’s God’s plan. His plan is so much more than what we can envision. Though we do not know why he was taken from us so suddenly, we just know to have constant faith in God and know that He is our healer and will provide us all strength to get through this difficult time.

As you all may know….I got engaged to my best friend on June 8^th, 2013! It was the most wonderful and perfect day thus far in my life! He truly made me feel like a princess. We have done a lot of wedding planning over the past couple of months, but I honestly can’t wait until October 4, 2014 so I can call that handsome man my husband!

 

I pulled my first summer working at Sunset Slush of Holden Beach! This is the store Devin, Drew, Mrs. Susie, and Mr. Donald had opened a couple of years back! The atmosphere of the store is so welcoming and happy. Tourist turn into family friends after they return year after year. I had worked in a local restaurant for the past couple of years, but with the stress and grieving our family was going through, I could not emotionally handle the restaurant industry. It was so hard to leave a work family I had been with since I was 16 years old, but I felt my time there was up. Being surrounded by the Sellers family while working was very comforting. Sunday nights were family nights. Devin, Drew, Meghan, Mrs. Susie, and I all worked together. We did a lot of laughing, dancing, crying, fussing…but that’s what families do. We stuck together this summer through the good days and the bad days.  

 

Now this is something I am so excited about…My sister is engaged and I had the priviledge of seeing Drew propose to her! What a special moment that was! She found her soul mate and they are going to tie the knot!

On December 28^th, 2013…I saw my two dearest friends get married! Maggie and Sam Hickman are now MARRIED! Devin and I got to be the witness on the marriage licenses hahah! What a blessing it has been to watch the two of them fall in love and become one. They have such a pure marriage and I cant wait to see what God has in store for them.

These are just some of the events of my year 2013. God provided me with the strength to face each challenge. I have learned to trust in him and use him as my strength rather than relying on myself to do it all. I pray that you all will read this and be encouraged to choose a word that will help push and challenge you through this next year!

MY FIRST WEDDING SHOWER!

This past Saturday, my best friend Maggie had her last wedding shower which was her Christmas shower brunch! Maggie and Sam will be getting married in less than 3 weeks and I know that is an excited couple! I have enjoyed watching her and Sam grow and form into such a beautiful, Christ loving relationship with one another.
 

Devin and I also were given our first wedding shower this Saturday!

 

Christmas season passes through our engagement time, so this was a perfect theme for our first shower! My Aunt Lisa and Aunt Sami were gracious enough to put together this shower for us. At the shower, we had aunts, cousins, grandmas, friends, some of my bridesmaids, and my 2 main men Devin and Little David all there to celebrate.

 
 

Christmas time has ALWAYS been a favorite time of year for Devin and I. It is a time where there is no stress from school, time to enjoy family and friends, and a chance for us to create traditions with each other. We were given some of the most beautiful gifts at the shower. Lots of ornaments, stockings, decoration, etc. Now we just get to organize it, pack it up, and have it ready for next year to put up in our FIRST HOME TOGETHER!

(My "Sweets tree" from my fabulous Bridesmaids)

(Cowboy stockings)

This is an ornament that has a photo of Devin's dad in it. I cherish this so much for many different reasons. This picture was taken on our last Sellers family vacation to the mountains. This in my opinion was the best vacation we had ever taken together. We sat around, did much of nothing, and just enjoyed the time we were allowed to spend together. We all miss our dear Papa Bear more than words can describe. Every year we hang this ornament, I'm sure we will reminisce on this trip and remember the wonder father that he was.  

Sellers tree!

Ok, ok...I have big news…

Drew, my sister’s boyfriend (now fiancé), told me in October that he wanted to propose to my sister! This added so much joy to my heart! When my sister loves someone, she gives them her entire heart. She has had her heart broken a couple of times which always crushed me too. To see her hurt, makes me hurt. I believe that my sister deserves the best and I wasn’t going to let her settle for anything less than that. Anyhoo, I met Drew in March of 2011. I instantly knew there was something different about the way he looked at my sister. It was like he had the entire world at his fingertips every time he was near her. He shows patience (with us Enzor girls…you have to have that), love, and kindness to her.

My sister has been nothing but good to me during my engagement! She has helped keep me on my to-do list, collecting some of my stuff she knows I’d probably loose on my own, and I know she’ll keep me sane when wedding time is in full blast. Now I get to do the same for her! I have gotten the chance to learn from her, so now I get to return the favor! I am beyond excited to part planning, dress shopping for her, going to bridal conventions together, and creating yet another pinterest board! I am so blessed to know that my sister has found the one for her. I wish y’all a happy engagement and let the planning begin!

i want a crucifixion type love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E9doP6EtHk

take 3 minutes and watch this video..

 

 

Tonight I got to witness one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a while.

Before Devin moved back home from Greenville after graduating, he and I attended a life group together through our church. It was honestly the best thing we ever did as a couple. We had never really gotten into studying the bible together until we started attending the small group. This was the beginning of a new relationship for us. We would have conversations that had great depth and meaning to them. We learned so much about how to have a Christ centered relationship through a sermon series our preacher did and us just studying and working through the material together.

After Devin graduated, he moved back to our hometown. There are many wonderful churches in our community but not too much to do as a young adult. Since the life group back in Greenville made such an impact on our life, Devin decided he wanted to try and start a small group back home. He started the Bible study off in Romans. They take a chapter each week and work through it verse by verse. Because I am finishing up my last year in school at East Carolina, I haven’t been able to attend the past couple of groups. Thanksgiving break is this week so I am home for the holidays and I got to attend one of the Bible studies tonight! I was very excited to be able to attend because Devin would always call me after the past couple of ones they had and would just go on and on about how great they were going! Devin has always claimed he was a terrible public speaker but he has proven himself wrong. He led the group so well! He read out loud part of the chapter and if any of y’all know Devin, he does not volunteer to read. To hear him read scripture makes my heart swell. Looking back on the life we use to live and to look at it now…I am just so humbled by the grace God has given us. I see him working on our hearts constantly. I am so blessed to be marrying a man who strives to serve God in everything he does. Devin’s faith is inspiring and I am so excited to be marrying a man who loves Jesus as much as I do.

If you are interested in attending the bible study, I highly suggest you go! Don’t let a busy life keep you from having fellowship and worship time with fellow believers. I promise you’ll get a lot out of it.

to my other half, kandi fox!

 

Kandice Fox…where do I begin. When I decided to attend East Carolina University, I had to make the choice of whether or not to live in a dorm or in an apartment. Everyone said that it was the best experience to live on campus your freshman year, so that is what I did. I decided to do the random roommate selection. I was nervous, but so excited to see who I was going to be paired with!

Right before my family and I were about to go on my senior trip to Busch Gardens, I got the email with my roommate and dorm information. It said I was going to be living in 117 Garrett Hall with Kandice Fox. I immediately looked her up on face book and her name popped up as “Kandi Fox.” All summer when I would talk about my future roommate, I would call her Kandi. She and I discussed what colors we were going to be using and shared some vague information with each other but didn’t really get to know each other on a personal level.

 

August rolls around and it’s time for MOVE IN DAY! Kandice arrived first, so when we walked in the room, we all introduced ourselves. As we began haul everything in the room, my mom kept saying, “Now Kandi..” and would start a conversation like that. I overheard her sister call her by “Kandice” so I kept trying to secretly tell my mom to call her Kandice not Kandi...but she did not get the hint.  (This has been an ongoing joke since then.)

 

It did not take long for Kandice and I to gain a close relationship. Not only did we share a tiny room, we also shared the same major in school. All of our classes were the same so we got to spend a lot of time together. One of the first nights we were in Greenville, we decided to go downtown. All the girls in Garrett Dorm started to get ready and we are about to leave and I see Kandice is still wearing basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. I asked her why she wasn’t going, and she told me she was and that she was ready to go. Well, let’s just say I did an intervention with her and dolled her up a bit. When we got downtown, I learn that Kandice is only 17. This is a slight problem because you have to be 18 to get into the clubs. As we walked nervously up to the doorman, she just pulls out her student onecard to use as her ID. We were all terrified he was going to tell her no for not being of age, but no. He told her no because she was showing “too much skin.” She had put on a belly shirt instead of her tshirt and those types of shirts are not allowed in the clubs.  Guess you could say I intervened too much.

 

Anywho, as the year went on, Kandice and I became best friends. Everything that we did that year, we did together. We learned early on that we were kind of the same person. We both love everyone we encounter with all of our heart, which in turn means that our feelings are easily hurt. We both like to hold in our emotions until we just can’t take it anymore. We have this weird connection where we can tell if something is on the others mind or if we just want to cry. Put on a sad movie and we’ll both be in tears, but put on a scary movie and we’ll both scream at the screen like it’s a live person. We are both kind of shy at first, but give us time to warm up to you and you’ll see our true side. We both love to dance and think we’re really gangster, but let’s get real…we’re both “typical white girls” in that department. 

 

I feel like God put Kandice and I together our freshman year for a reason. We have helped each other grow in many different ways throughout our college career. I am so truly grateful that God placed Kandice in my life. She is such a woman of God and I continue to watch her grow in her faith every day. She is the toughest girl I know and such a wonderful role model to me. She has always called me her big sister, but I look up to her so much. It is so hard to believe that we are in our senior year of college. I feel like just yesterday we were sneaking her into the clubs because she wasn’t old enough to get in, and today she turns 21!

 I am so humbled and honored to have gained such a friendship while in school. Kandice is one of my bridesmaids and I am so excited that she will be standing up there with me on my special day. Kandice and Devin have always shared a “brother-sister” kind of relationship which means so much to me. I couldn’t imagine how my life would be right now if it wasn’t for her.

 

Kandice, you have truly made a mark in my life and will forever hold such a special place in my heart. I cherish our friendship more than you’ll ever know. I love you sis.

 

-light skin

Wonderful weekend for the Sellers crew!

What a weekend! To start off, Saturday morning was the morning of the Oyster Festival 5k Road Race. Let me begin by giving you a little bit of background information about this race! This particular race is very special to me because last year, this was the first 5k Devin and I had ever done!

We instantly fell in love with the experience and have done several runs since then. Devin’s mom and dad came and watched us last year when we did the run. Mr. Donald of course had the camera ready for action when we crossed the finish line. He was so excited that Devin and I had found a hobby that we enjoyed doing together. Earlier this year, Mr. Donald set a goal for himself and that was to run in the oyster festival race with Devin and I this upcoming year! He started attending gold’s gym and was going every day to prepare him for the race. I was so excited that he was on the 5k band wagon with Devin and I. I loved spending time with Mr. Donald because he was like a father to me, so for him to want to do this with Devin and I filled my heart with such joy! Life was going great. Devin had just graduated from ECU, Mr. Donald was down 25 pounds, and then tragedy stuck our family May 15^th …5 months ago today. God had a different plan than what we had in mind. Mr. Donald was taken from us here on earth and went to be with his father in Heaven. No words can describe the heart ache that we all have. My selfishness wants him here with us on earth, but he gained the ultimate prize. He has already won the race. He gets to spend eternity in Heaven.

Though we missed him so very much this weekend, we continued to show our love for him by making these T-shirts. Of course we had to make them "hunter's orange."

My sister realized how important this race was to Devin and I so she decided she wanted to be a part of it! She started training a couple of months ago to run in the race with us. At first she was trying to run by timing herself..2 minutes run..1 minute walk…and she would gradually work herself up from there. I got her to try a different technique. I told her to listen to some music that she liked and aim to finish a song…then a song and a half...then 2 songs…etc. I think she enjoyed running a little bit more like this! Rather than making running a job, you have to make it fun and enjoyable. Running for me is very therapeutic. It relaxes me and gives me time to clear my mind. I pray, I worship, I dance in my head(especially when I listen to my Pitbull radio station on Pandora), I imagine, and I think  while running.

My sister finished her first 5k this past Saturday! I cannot express how proud of her I am. She pushed herself and achieved her goal. Emily’s boyfriend Drew, her best friend Casey, and Coach Hardy also completed the 5k! I know papabear would have been a proud soul of all of us.

After the race, we went and got breakfast at a local restaurant in Ocean Isle Beach. It is called Castaway. If you haven’t had it, I suggest you go try it. They serve omelets like the size of your head!

Not only was Saturday special because of the race…but it was the first day of HUNTING SEASON! Woohoo! After we ate breakfast, Devin, his mom, and I decided to go down to bass pro because Devin insisted that I needed this specific hunting jacket they were selling.

Notice the “S” on the front? He’s ready for me to rock that initial

After we left bass pro, Mrs. Susie and I talked Devin into taking us to Kirkland’s. As soon as we walked in, I was immediately drawn to this certain item which is now going to be the CENTERPIECES for our wedding reception!!! Earlier that day, I was telling Mrs. Susie I just could not find my “inspiration picture” for my wedding décor. This one item sent me straight into wedding mode! I have a vision of my wedding décor now! Yay! After purchasing 25+ of these items, we were loading up my car and the song “I can only imagine” came on. This was Mr. Donald’s favorite song to sing. Well…. I do believe this was a “God thing.” Maybe it was God letting us know that we are going to be alright. Maybe it was God telling us that Mr. Donald is rejoicing with us up in heaven. I still can’t imagine my wedding day without him being there because I know he would have been a happy soul, but I know he will have the best seat in the house and that seat will be in the presence of the Lord.

To complete our day, Devin and I went out to the woods to try and catch us a deer. As most of you know, I am a very girly girl. I don’t do bugs. Devin informed me that I couldn’t wear my perfume or lotion because the deer can smell it, but I sure did have on my lipstick!

After a long and exhausting week of nursing school, this weekend brought me back to reality of how wonderful life truly is. I am so undeserving, but my God is so gracious. I am so blessed to have the support and love in my life that I do have. Life is so short, so take advantage of the times you have with one another. Embrace and cherish every second you have with your loved ones.  

To my bestfriend....

 

Happy birthday mommy!

So a little bit about my mom…she is seriously my best friend. This may seem weird to some people, but I share such a close and special bond with her. She is my guidance counselor, inspiration, and role model. She is the one person who has never given up on me. I definitely call her my biggest fan. She never left my side through the good times and the bad.  We do not have the typical mother daughter relationship. Growing up I was always a mama’s girl and it is safe to say… I still am. I look like her, act like her, sound like her, laugh like her, think like her.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX-04oKskFs

“People always say, I have a laugh like my mother does.
Guess that makes sense, She taught me how to smile when things get rough

I've got her spirit, She's always got my back
When I look at her I think, I want to be just like that

When I love I give it all I've got, like my mother does
When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray Like my mother does”

 

These are a few of the lyrics to the song above. This song pretty much sums up my relationship with my mom. She taught me how to laugh when things do get tough. I have experienced firsthand that life is going to throw you curve balls when you least expect it. I know everyone has heard the saying “God’s not going to give you anything you can’t handle.” FALSE. He’s going to present challenges to you that are going to knock you off your feet. Tough times are the perfect opportunity to show your faith and love in Jesus because you will get through those difficult times WITH HIM as your guidance. God will bless you with the people you need in your life to get through these difficult times, and for me, that has been my mom. Throughout life, my mom and I have had to experience some very difficult times but through the power of prayer and strength we give to each other, we’ve made it.

 

 

Growing up and being the youngest child, I was the last to leave home. It was just me and my mom. When I think back on those last couple of years of high school and being the only child living at home, I think about the hours me and mom spent together. Majority of the time we would find ourselves sitting on the kitchen counter talking. We talked about everything. Nothing was off limits.

I was and still am to this day such a “home-body.” I probably will never move too far away from her. Family means the world to me and I cherish every moment I get to spend with them. When I come home for the weekends from school, all I want to do is spend time with my family and catch up with my mom. We still talk on the phone every day while I’m off at school. This may be abnormal to some, but it is just how we are. Anything exciting that happens during my day, she is one of the first people I want to call and tell! 

 

Throughout wedding planning so far, my mom has been an absolute blessing! She made sure we had majority of the planning done this summer so I did not have to plan a lot during my final year of nursing school. Without her help, I would probably have nothing done so far! Shopping for my wedding dress with her was so memorable. I knew I could tell which dress was the one by the look in her eyes. One way I can tell I am her child is that we have both had wedding dress nightmares already. I dreamed Brennan was playing “dress up” in my dress with her friends and my mom had a nightmare that Brennan’s pet gerbil chewed a hole through the bag and ate my dress...I mean come on, who has dreams like this?

To wrap this up, I just want to say that everything I do comes from my mom. The way she taught me to view life…to know that when things are going wrong, God has a plan…a better plan than I could ever imagine. She taught me how to be independent. How to know that nothing can stop me from achieving my dreams. She taught me how to love. When I love, I give it my all…just like you have done for me.

Having a mother like you has been such a blessing. Thank you for being YOU.

Hope you have a wonderful birthday!