Even though the summer weather won’t end here for another month or longer, school starts tomorrow, ushering the end of the summer. It seems like the summer just started. We just moved into our house and I just planted those flowers in my windowbox.

But time must have passed, because those tiny little flowers that I planted at the beginning of the summer, the first week we were in our apartment, now reach out and up and over the box. They’ve gotten so big!

I’m excited for school tomorrow, but I’m dreading the stressful workload that I know will be in my near future. The summer has been a nice time to forget about all that. But I’m hoping that I’m more prepared to handle it better this year. I feel so much better about starting this school year than I have been for the last two. This summer and this apartment have been good for me. I’m really, really happy in our little apartment here. I feel so much more settled in and at home–something I never felt in my little dorm rooms, even if they were all cute and cozy. I knew that they were only temporary, where as this apartment is ours for a while. Although we’ve only been here a couple months, it already feels like home and it has been nice to be able to put pride into its appearance and make it a home together.

I’m in a really happy place in life. I’m very proud of that. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might know that last year was a rough year for me. Figuring things out, working though tough classes, career paths, lots of school related stress and a general feeling of instability. I’m happy that this summer has been a much needed break from that and our apartment has provided me with the stability that I’d been looking for. I think that stability will be a good foundation for a much less stressful school year this year. I feel so much more ready and prepared for it at least.

This is Drew’s last year of college. It seems so strange that we started dating halfway through high school and now we are almost done with college! How time flies! It is my junior year and my last year as an unmarried woman! This time next year, I will be starting my last year of college and I will be married! How crazy!

I just thank God for all the wonderful opportunities that he has opened in my life and how they continue to flourish. I’m so thankful for the peace and happiness that I feel at this point in my life and pray that I can maintain that feeling throughout even the most stressful times of this school year. Hopefully I can continue to remember to enjoy life in the moment and not wish it away because of the stress that comes along with it. Here’s to an abundantly blessed beginning to a wonderful school year. 🙂