summer of adventures: let's turn here!

about a week ago my friend casey and i decided to go driving tennessee back-roads. she had a decent grip on the area where we began, but it was only a matter of turns until we found ourselves on only gravel roads. we passed more dairy farms than i knew existed in tennessee. which is a perfect segue into this photo:



this, is a view that greeted us early on in the trip. and within seconds of seeing it, the suv was pulled over, the cameras whipped out and pictures were taken amidst a thick atmosphere of laughter. good times.

we continued to drive, turn, and take pictures of road signs we passed as a means of getting home. i think "opposum hollow road" and "slaughter road" shared the title for best sign of the day.

we also prayed for "a field of wildflowers to take pictures in... with multiple-colored flowers... and easy access... although we [didn't] have a problem trespassing"-- and sure enough, we got one. with butterflies.



all in all, a perfect day, full of wonder and joy, with a sweet friend. spending time in what is quickly becoming one of my very favorite states... (it only took 10 years of living here, right?)

keeping up with the journey i'm on.

for a few months now, i had been toying with the idea of changing my "blog name". something about closed eyes, open heart just didn't resonate with me anymore. truthfully the phrase holds very little meaning to me now, and more than likely i chose it because it sounded pretty years ago as i was writing something...

i started this blog a little more than three years ago, at the end of my freshman year of high school. i had no particular plans for how it would grow, nor did i really care. writing was the medium in which i felt most comfortable expressing myself. there were maybe four people who read my posts, and i had never heard of terms like ""technorati", "blogroll", "rss", "stat ho" or "ht"--and neither had any of my friends.

but now i'm entering into my freshman year of college and blogging (twitter, flickr, social-media-you-name-it) have become second nature. i've splashed around in the blogosphere a bit and staked my claim in a handful of amazing communities. i've learned, laughed, browsed and spent far too much time watching random youtube videos. my readership hasn't grown much, but i think there is beauty in the small things ; )

and along with this (perhaps false) sense of blogging maturity, i have more of a blueprint for this blog. simply, it is to document the journey i am on. the epic and the epic failures. with words, pictures, paintings, (sparingly) youtube videos and anything else that seems fit. the experiences, joys, life lessons that come from striving to live out the "great command" and hopefully, the adventure that comes from being the hands, feet, smile of christ. on earth as it is in heaven; as above, so below.

so whether you're new to this little corner or have been here since post one-- welcome, thanks for coming, may you be blessed.


-- just a little picture from my favorite class thus far in life: film as literature. taken during our end of the year awards ceremony, the chessers. my dear friend kennie and i presented for the "best scene" category which ended up being the "tiny dancer sing-a-long" from almost famous : )