a night out with my favorite boys...

This past Sunday was AMAZING!!! Remember a few blog posts back when I told you that Chase had bought me tickets for the Brad Paisley concert? Well the time had come to cash those suckers in. I have to confess something before I go any farther. I am in love with country music. It is what I grew up on and what I will always listen to until the day I die. Yes I do listen to all other types of music (even rap thanks to my camp staff this summer) and I enjoy other types a lot; however nothing makes me more happy than a good ride in the car with some country blaring on the radio. Anyways back to Sunday. Below are just a few pictures that I captured while we were at the concert. I sang the entire time and had the best time I have had in a long time. I just live concerts. I am surprised that I still had a voice the next morning.





The line we had to wait in. It was incredibly long but well worth the wait. We got there at 4. The pre show started at 430 on a cute little side stage, then the main concert with Jarrod, Blake, and Brad started at 7. It was a long night but oh so much fun.

 Chase and I chilling in our seats in between Blake and Brad. He is so great for putting up with me at concerts. I get a little excited and like to sing loudly and take tons of photos. We had pretty awesome seats, and along with my great zoom I could capture up close and personal pictures of the singers.

 Another view of where our seats were thanks to Chase. Notice the tarped platform to the left in the picture. I had no clue why it was sitting there until about 30 minutes into Brad's performance. During one of his songs he began to walk out into the crowd and ended up standing on that platform. I about died right there in my seat. Of course I took many pictures.

 Out of all the pictures I took I believe that this one is my favorite. I only had to zoom like two clicks to get this up close shot, which makes it even more real. Ah I still cant get over how cool this concert was. Thank you Chase Smith for such an amazing anniversary gift. He is way too good to me.

Well that was my weekend. i am still recovering from the lack of sleep, but it was well worth it. I am now looking forward to the release of next years concert dates of my favorite artists. Maybe this can become an anniversary tradition? I would be perfectly fine with that!!!

I hope all of y'all are doing well. I know that I am very busy these days and I am sure you are as well. Know that I pray for all of you who follow my blog, and I hope that you will do the same for me. I am currently in the process of getting opportunities lined up for next semester and the summer. Nothing is set ins tone yet about what I will be doing, but I ask that you continue to pray that whatever happens is a result of what God wants to happen in my life. He is so good and I love him more and more each day. Look out in the next few days for a post about what I am up too in my Bible Study this year. It is pretty great and I want to share it with everybody. Love y'all and I hope and pray that your journey is blessed.

there is a difference...

This semester I am taking a class called World Prospects: Population, Food, and Hunger. It is a class about third world countries and how their populations are expanding, yet their food is not, and what we (America) can do about it.I took it originally because I needed an easy general education course. However after I walked out of the first class I knew God had something in store for me through this class and that it was going to challenge not only my mind, but also my heart. The class is taught by this little old man who has traveled the world many times over and has thousands of stories and souvenirs to share. Not a class goes by when we do not get the chance to meet another family from Africa, or touch a native plant from the Philippines.

Our assignments in this class other than our tests are all what our teacher calls "out of class experiences". We have had to write family value papers, find our ecological footprints, and analyze the millennium development goals. I have learned so much and it has only been 5 weeks. The two big out of class projects though are to do 15 hours of community service, and write a grant proposal for a service project that will help a developing country. I have not yet decided what to write my grant proposal on, but I have a few ideas. The real reason I am writing today is to talk about the community service.

I had a really hard time deciding and finding where to do my community service hours. There are so many possibilities through NC State to be involved in and I was slightly overwhelmed. Then one day in class we learned something that sealed my decision. My teacher spent one whole lecture explaining the difference between aid and development. Aid is something short term (like disaster relief) while development is more long term (like teaching skills). One problem in developing countries is that developed nations are only providing aid and not development, so the developing countries are not getting better.

It was then that I decided to do my community service at the food bank in Raleigh. Yes the food bank provides short term aid in the form of food. Yet they also provide long term aid in the form of programs and government intervention. When people come in to get the food they are directed to programs that can teach them life skills and get them back on their feet and walking in the right direction. Every time I go in and give a few hours of my time I leave with a deep feeling of contentment knowing that I am helping provide development to many people around Raleigh. Just to be able to spread the kind of love God gives to everybody all the time every day just makes my heart happy.

Yes this post was kind of boring and not super exciting, but it was something that has been on my heart and my mind for the past couple weeks and I felt like I needed to share it with everybody. There really is a difference in the kind of service you can do for people. It is like that old saying, "You can give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, or you can teach a man to fish and he can eat for a lifetime." How many fisherman will you create in your lifetime?

I love you all and thank you for listening to my heart. I pray that all is going well and of course that your journey is oh so blessed!!!!

a very special day...

Guess who turned 21 this past Tuesday?!?!?!?! No, not me...Chase!!

I just wanted to wish Chase a happy belated blog post birthday. I have been busy the past couple days with school and birthday stuff that I was not able to get around to the blogging world. His birthday was fun though. Since we were not able to go home for the big occasion we celebrated here in Raleigh Sara and Chase style.

We began the afternoon at the DMV office where chase renewed his license and got his "under 21's" off. He is officially official now :) Then we went to Dick's Sporting goods because mom had send him some moolah to spend there. He ended up getting this awesome north face sweatshirt (Ill have to take a picture later and show it off). We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (cause that is how we roll) and then went back to campus to take some pictures and open gifts. I got him a cool neoprene laptop cover. He liked it and thank goodness it fit his laptop because I had no idea what size it was. The greatest surprise though were the cupcakes. I made Chase carry around this cooler all afternoon but he was not allowed to open it. When it was finally time he was so excited to sink his teeth into the yumminess. I also thoroughly enjoyed them as well.

Anyways that was his birthday and I am so happy for him. I cant believe we are growing up. It is all happening WAY TOO FAST!!! Slow down a little bit life would ya? Thanks that would be much appreciated.

That is all for today. I have a couple more blog ideas in mind that are very important and I want to share with you but will have to wait for a later time. So keep a lookout for them in the very near future. Praying that all is well with your souls and of course that your journey is blessed!!!!

waterpark fun...

This past weekend my sister invited my mom, dad, chase, and I to come with her and the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC. I had been once before and knew just how much fun it was so I jumped at the chance to go again. From the time we arrived late Friday night, to the time we left Sunday morning we played hard nonstop. I absolutely love my niece and nephew and getting to spend that rare quality bonding time with them is something I always look forward to. I unfortunately did not get to take any pictures of the trip. The water park itself is wet from one end to the other so I was NOT going to take my camera in there. But if you have never been to Great Wolf Lodge you really need to consider going. Most of the water park is geared to smaller children and pre-teens, however there are about 4 water slides that are especially for older kids and adults. We tried them all and believe me when I say one or two of them really had my heart pumping.

I also wanted to update everybody on my Bible reading. That is the entire reason for starting this blog and I have not given an update in a while. Since the beginning of school about 3 weeks ago I have finished the books of Luke, 1st Chronicles, Amos, and Ecclesiastes. It has been kind of slow going while I'm getting settled into the new school schedule, but now I am back in the swing of things and loving my time with the Lord every morning.

Other than that not much is going on in the life of Sara. School is school and homework is homework. Labor day weekend is coming up and a good dose of relaxation will be on the way. Who knows what kind of adventures I will get myself into!! I hope that everybody is doing well and I always pray that your journey is blessed!!

a whole lot of living and a little bit of love...

Sunday August 21st marked a special day in the lives of Chase and I. We were excited to celebrate our three year anniversary together! Although we have known each other since sophomore year of high school, I am blessed to have been able to have the opportunity these past three years to grow and nourish our relationship together as a couple. A lot of people say high school relationships don't last. However if you have God firmly rooted in that relationship, the tables are turned and anything is possible :) I am so glad to have Chase in my life. For our anniversary we celebrated Chase and Sara style...simple yet full of surprises. The pictures below will give you more insight...

We went to a soccer game after church (I meant to get a picture of us looking cute but I totally forgot) and it was so terribly hot. I got sun burnt pretty bad. But it was still a whole lot of fun being with friends.

Then we went back to Chase's room to cool off and rest before our adventures that night. I indulged in some Little League World Series...

...while Chase worked on a little bit of homework that needed to be done.

After a quick change and some much needed "pampering" from being all hot and sweaty we headed out to dinner. Before we ate we traded gifts. We only really do gifts on our anniversary, birthday, and Christmas (although Chase likes to break the rules sometimes and surprise me...but hey I'm not complaining!!!) so I was really looking forward to this. I had been thinking a long time about what to get him. But first it was my turn. Chase got me tickets to the Brad Paisley concert in September. I have been a little down recently because I have not had the chance to go to a concert in a long time, so this was the perfect gift.

I got Chase a SPROUT watch. If you have never heard of them you should really check them out. They are made out of all recycled materials and they come in all sorts of different colors. Chase had been wanting a watch for a while but couldn't make up his mind, so I took charge and picked one out for him. Needless to say he loves it and it looks really good on him.

We then went out to eat at our favorite place in the world...RUBY TUESDAYS!!! The food is so good and relatively cheap which is perfect for two hungry college students.

After a little shopping for Chase to get some new athletic gear we made a trip to the frozen yogurt shop. Can you say Yummy? I could eat this stuff all day long.

We finally finished up the night with a movie together. We chose Captain America. Yeah I know its not an "anniversary type" movie, but Chase and I had watched a few chick flicks together recently so it was time to change it up and little and watch something with some action. It was very good I must say.

I loved our day together and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. Chase is such a great Godly man and I am honored to have him in my life. God sure knew what he was doing when he sat us down next to each other in class that day in high school. Sorry if you are sick from my sappy post, but I just had to share. That's what blogs are for right? Stay tuned in the next couple of days for what went on this past weekend. The adventure and fun never stops in the Bumgarner household!! Until then I pray that everybody is doing well and that your journey is blessed.

i am alive, well, and back on track...

I am ALIVE...
Yes I do realize that it has been 15 days, and little over 2 weeks since I have last posted. And yes if you truly know me you would know that bugs me. However, these past two weeks have been so jammed packed full of "stuff", I have had little time to do anything extra with my time. I finished up the summer with a trip to Alabama with some of my passport friends and others to a retreat to wind down the summer. It was simply amazing and loved every minute. I also learned that I can drive absurd long amounts of time on the interstate without getting tired. It is something i thought would never happen since whenever I am a passenger in a car ride longer than 30 minutes I am out for hours on end. Two days after the retreat I moved into my apartment in Raleigh where I will be residing for the next two years while I finish up school, and four days after that I began classes. I love it here in good old Raleightown and I am so glad to be out of the dorm. Here are a few pictures of the place...




the dining room space

the kitchen (my favorite spot in the apartment :) )

bathroom

crazy colorful bedroom which I love

...side note : those wall hanging were handmade by my mom and I. I saw some like it on Pinterest and fell in love. They were super simple. Get canvas and put painters tape down to make a design then paint over it. So simple and so cute. I love them.

I am WELL...

I am well in the sense that I am content with life and have succeeded in integrating back into the real world. I still think about camp from time to time, and I really cannot wait until this summer rolls around, but right now I am in school mode and that is a good thing. I am proud to know that I can shift from one life mode to another without any big problems. Yay school and yay camp...just not at the same time.

I am BACK ON TRACK...

How am I back on track you might ask? I am finally getting into a normal schedule and routine again. That is one of the big things I love about school and camp both...schedules!!!! I love to know when and what I am supposed to be doing. It makes me feel...I don't know...important, or in charge. Anyways, the past couple of weeks have had no real routine to them. Wake up whenever, do whatever, make it up as you go. I am not that kind of person and I am so happy to be back to a time when I have a schedule of classes and work in front of me. It makes my OCD a happy camper!!!!

That is all for now. I have a special post coming out in the next couple of days that is really near and dear to my heart...so be on the lookout. I hope everybody is doing well that your journey is being blessed daily. Love yall so very much!!!!

a simple friday...

Yesterday was a special day in our family. My niece turned 6!!!!! Bryson and Bailey are two wonderful kids and I am so happy to be able to help them grow and learn. To celebrate we ate pizza (cheese of course!!!) and ate chocolate cake. Presents were also in the line up. She received many gifts but her favorite had to be her easy bake oven. Who knew something so simple could keep a child entertained for hours on end. It was so cute to watch her do her thing.

After all the festivities ended at her "party" we cleaned up and headed back home. However we came home with two more passengers than we left with. That's right, we got to take the munchkins with us. They were so excited, but truthfully I think I was the person who was most excited. I love these kids and they always make me laugh. Mom and Dad had to work so it was just me and the kids for a fun filled day. Thank goodness the weather was not scorching hot like it has been the past couple of days. After some cartoons we decided to venture outside and take some pictures with my new camera. This one below ended up being my favorite. Just look at those smiles, I love them so much.

We have a creek at our house that is not too deep, but perfect to walk around and explore in. When I was younger I would spend hours in there just looking around and playing. Now I get the opportunity to watch the kiddos do the same thing.

After lunch we had a special treat. We had been cooped up around the house all morning and we were itching to get out. So off we went to the main street ice cream parlor "Good Ole Days". This place is cheap but oh so good.

Finally, we rounded out our afternoon with a good long stay at the park. Between the giant slide, swings, another creek, and the play set everybody was greatly entertained. It was so relaxing and i laughed so much at all the stuff they came up with to entertain themselves. My personal favorite was "who can make the biggest splash in the creek" contest. Good thing I have leather seats since I drove home 2 sweaty and muddy children.

We are now all back home cleaning up and resting. I believe a dinner outing is in our near future and then a nice movie on the couch cuddled up with my two favorites. I love how some of the most simplest of days can turn out to be the most fun. I would not trade this day for anything in the world. Did I mention how much I love these kids already?!?!?!?!?! Anyways...hope everybody is enjoying their happy Friday and I wish you all a great weekend. Love you all and I hope and pray that your journey is blessed :)