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!