Those Winter Sundays

How many of you thought of your own dad and the small, quiet things they did in love?

Those Winter Sundays
by Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

Not Weak

Filmy days

I got another roll of film developed.

A couple weekends ago I went down to the beach with my parents.

And Jordan!

Man, I miss all of my brothers so much.

Saturday we went to the Blue Angels' air show at Pensacola (as you can see with the previous post).

And then today, Asa and Nathan came to Birmingham to longboard!

Of course I'll take a study break and do something better than studying.

I was extra excited about this roll of film, and well.. here are some of them. 

So enjoy!

 This is my brother Jordan.

Yes, he's awesome.

Fat Albert, C-130, Blue Angels

Jordan at the beach.

Cool shorts, bro.

What better thing to do than journal and read Peter Pan?

Jamie and I went to Pepper Place Market one morning.

It couldn't have been a more perfect day!

I longboard.

(......well.....not really..very slowly..but I try)

Nathan doin some cool tricks

Okay this picture is one of my favorites because I didn't expect Asa to be in focus, I didn't expect the lighting to be so cool. 

Well..not much can be said about this.

(note the longboard right next to me)

More sweet moves from Nathan!

Railroad Park is a happy place!

It was an unusual but enjoyable day.

I love my camera.

Have a beautiful day!

Blue Angels

If you ever get the chance to see a Blue Angels airshow, I highly suggest you do all that you can to go!

I've grown up seeing their shows and every time they never cease to impress.

Airplanes are just amazing.

So here's a few pictures I took on my mom's iphone (Maybe i'll have my own one day)

They can get as close as 18 inches from each other. 

This was the opener of the Blue Angels' show, Fat Albert, a C-130.

This has been such a fun weekend already!

Oh, and this is my brother Jordan.

I've missed him a lot.

Yeah, that's right he's awesome.

Beach Bound

Gooooing to the beach, and I'm so so very happy!!
This means I get to hang out with my parents AND my brother!!!

So happy!

Captured

It's no secret that I love film.

But lately, they haven't been turning out as well.

So this last roll of film I tried to get back to the mindset of taking my time and being patient and waiting for just the right moment.

And so here are just a few...

Mary-John & The Lake

JD & River peekin in the chicken coop

I wish I could live here

Look at that face

Happy Fall :)

Another Month

It has been a month since I've been home.
Man, did I miss it.
And what is the craziest of all is how much little August and River have grown!!!
River has seriously become a kid, rather than a toddler.
And August has just grown up so much too.
He just turned 1 this past week and I can't believe my little buddy is that old already.

I'll say it.. It makes me feel old.
I just hate that I have to go a whole month between seeing them...
It's just not okay. Especially when I was there for the entire first 2 years of River's life.
So to have to miss all of the new little happy things he discovers.

But anyways, I suppose that's part of life, and just as long as they remember and know me as the best and favorite aunt in the world, I'm okay with that.

So blessed!



P.s. there's just nothing like sitting down the piano here and feeling that music

A Little Song

Just a few songs/artists I always love to listen to...

Josh Garrels is just incredibly talented.

I want to walk down the aisle to his song "Processional"

Seabird. I just like them too.

And this song is precious.

Whoa now, don't even get me started on these classics.

Dean Martin, doesn't he just seem to overflow with charm??

Any of these fine people are wonderful to listen to

(especially while doing chores at home!)

Anyways... Enjoy your days.

Lots of studying going on around here!

Impromptu Shoots

{photo cred to Maggie Blevins}

This weekend Whitney, Maggie, and Mary-John both came up!!

I missed them.

Friday night Whitney, several other girls and myself all went out to eat at Jim 'n' Nicks, then followed that with a trip to Urban Standard. 

Ah, it was so good, so fun!!

(and whitney was right, their latte is good! especially with vanilla)

And then Saturday I went up to the lake with Mary-John and Maggie!

Maggie did a fall photo shoot with Mary-John, 

Let me just say, oh my goodness.

Maggie is insanely talented, plus her model was just gorgeous. 

So later that day, Maggie had her backdrop set up, and Mary-John and I grabbed a couple of hats and Maggie started taking pictures like the one above...

...and this one...

There were so many ridiculous photos.

What a fun weekend! 

And now I have to crack down and get some serious studying on.

Have a wonderful week!

Spider Death

I hope all of the spiders that sneak into our house hear about the event that just occured.
I'll tell you how it went down. Chelsea turns on shower. Chelsea gets in shower. Chelsea sees that she is sharing shower with one of the biggest spiders she's ever seen. Chelsea, fearful of her life, turns off shower, reclothes, and calls her roommates in to see the giant beast. Old tennis shoe is fetched for the act about to happen. AND THEN I SMUSHED IT SMITHEREENS. It was legitimately a little bit frightening.

I may have gone a little overboard with the speed and strength with which I assassinated the spider, but I just wanted to send a message to the spider world that they are just not welcome in our home. especially in the shower. with me.


And now it's almost Fall Break!!

Meh

It's one of those days. I just want to drop out of school and go travel (or just nap)


But I have to remember this will all be worth it.
It will all be worth it.


I can do it!

Blanket Forts of Sorts

Yesterday was my roommates birthday.

So naturally, me and the other roommates wanted to make her day special.

What could we do??

Build a blanket fort, of course!!

And so I set out to find the inspiration I'd found a couple months back through these photos.

This amazing fort was built by my very own Mary-John and Maggie.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Yes, That's a porch swing supporting the middle section, and there was even a skylight!

It was pretty brilliant, and I wish I could have seen it in person, but I only saw through skype. 

These next few are just pictures I'd found through google.

Someday I will build this with my person and we will have a sleepover.

It's so dreamy!

This one just seems like the epitome of the perfect fort chaos!!

I love it!

 The string lights really do make a big difference.

And So this is our fort!!

We went through quite a bit to get to the final product.

(There was an incident with a nail and hitting my finger with a hammer and the entire fort falling..oops)

So there it is! From three different views.

It's just fun to have this in a home.

And now we'll have to make a few adjustments so that people can easily walk through from the foyer to the bathroom/kitchen/bedroom areas.

But to say the least, we have a wonderland in our living room and it made for a very happy birthday!

Have a beautiful day!

San Francisco

San Francisco from Chelsea Pritchett on Vimeo.



A little peek at the trip we took about a year and a half ago.

Finally finished editing!!

A blessing..

God gave me a major blessing today.
Several, actually.
I'm always so thankful for the amazing family and friends I have been given. It's absolutely incredible, and sometimes very humbling.
I had an eye opening moment today, and I took that as a blessing of clarity.
And then and now I just have an overwhelming sense of peace about some things that have been on my mind. And a peace about the patience I will have to exhibit for a while.
It is so amazing to have that feeling of peace and contentment.
It's just been a wonderful day.

I hope yours has been too!



P.S. San Francisco video coming soon!

Do it.

You know you wanna leave a little comment.... look back at the last post. maybe it scares you. all the more reason to do it. ;)

Scared

Do the things that scare you.

About a month ago I decided to do this.

I'm not the first one to jump up and accept a challenge or take lead of a situation.

I am not the first one to go sky diving or take risks.

But there will come a time when I'm going to have to do this.

So I adopted this idea to take more risks (reasonably), to do things that scare me, 

to (as cheesy as it is, i know) LIVE!

One of my roommates has this thing where she has to do spontaneous things in order to feel like she hasn't wasted these precious days we have.

So if I can take a little bit of her philosophy, mixed with my own ideas, 

I can take on this challenge to do scary things.

It makes life more interesting too.

I am a teaching assistant.

It scares me.

That's what keeps me doing it.

What scares you?

Dancing in the Kitchen

I could waltz to the Avett Brothers music right now.

I need a boy to dance with me in the kitchen!

Anyone?

Thanks. :)

"When love and duty are one, then grace is within you."

--The Painted Veil

Just a little climbin'

I went to up to the rock climbing wall at the rec yesterday and I was reminded of how much I actually love to climb!! I didn't do any top roping, just bouldering. But oh my goodness, it was just wonderfully refreshing! And today I have such a perfect soreness it just feels so great!
I encourage you to try climbing if it's something you've never done--GO! DO!

Have a beautiful day!

Finally!!!

So this is the new addition to our home!!

Yes. This piano is green.

ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL???

Finally.

I don't think you comprehend how excited I am!

Oh and if you didn't notice, that's my new hair. 

I cut 13 inches off.

Missing

Oh how I miss those ivory keys!!


But that will all be solved tomorrow!!

Club Eleven

I am living with 4 other girls, and it has turned out to be so wonderful!!!

I truly love them all and it's basically like I'm in a constant small group. 

I'd love to post more, but i HAVE to study physiology. WOO. 

So I'll leave you with this picture!!

Those days

Yesterday was one of those days where I was very distracted by my thoughts. I would have much rather gone outside in the wonderful weather and to journal and think. But instead I was stuck within the walls of Volker Hall. I just have many things I need to figure out and think through. I just never give myself the time to do so. I'm saddened by some thoughts, tortured by others, and joyed by some. But I just can't help but to be overwhelmed by the goodness of God and all the blessings he's given not just to me, but with everyone close to me. How can someone dwell with those sad thoughts when there is just so much to be thankful for?? I think it's healthy to feel pain, and it somehow brings us closer to God and forces us to rely fully on him. When it becomes bad is when we let it consume us. It just all becomes the building blocks of who we are (wow Chelsea... that was cheesy).


Someone said this recently, and I just thought it was a beautiful way to look at it.

"it still hurts even if you dont want someone.

like theres a hole and it takes a little time to fill it'

so it feels strange for a bit,

so you wait. and then one day you realize you're use to it....and then a little while later you realize it's filled in

and sometimes it leaves a scar and sometimes it doesnt"

...

What is it to really, deeply feel?

Neighborhood by the sea

These were drawn with India Ink.

It's probably my favorite to work with.

Anyway, I know the bottom is basically a copy of the top...

But they are just so fun to draw!

The houses seem to me to be almost from a dream. 

Imagine a little sail boat riding along those waves up to its home.

Enjoy these little drawings.

You know what

Maybe I'll just design wedding dresses.

That would just be really amazing.

Should I do it?

Okay awesome.

The Painted Veil

One of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen.

Part of what makes it so beautiful and wonderful is how real it is.

It's a real love story, not the cookie cutter Hollywood love story.

But truly one of the best movies. 

Watch it.

Be amazed.

Amazed

It is truly one of the most encouraging things to see God's hand working so evidently in your life.
The past few months I've seen things in my life play out exactly how they needed to be.
Things such as the house, relationships, and school-- everything has just played out incredibly.
That's not to say everything has been easy, because it definitely has not.
I feel like I have grown in so many ways the past 6 months.
And now I feel like I will just continue to grow and learn from anything and everything that has happened. Things don't always work out the way we want them to, and sometimes something ends so sadly. But we can't sit and focus on everything that went wrong, every bad part of what happened. Instead we have to look ahead and only look back to learn and grow from our experience. And ultimately, the way we choose to take on these challenges reflects our Savior. So don't we want to take it on with the best attitude possible? And ultimately glorify Him through our actions.
I am overwhelmed with His goodness, always.


Hopefully there will be more posts to follow! I have lots to speak about!

Enjoy today.

I have always admired the gift of writing. I've grown up around so many amazing writers. Even just in the little things they write, just the way they string together each word to create something beautiful.
I've never considered myself to be a writer, but I like to pretend that someday I will write a book about my life. It's a fun thought, don't you think?
I've always been a big advocate of journaling.
Even though I don't call myself a writer, I like to write things down. Especially when an emotion is very heavy in my thoughts. Just writing it down makes it easier.
Right now for example, I want to journal... but I'm much to comfortable sitting on the couch snuggled up with the softest blanket in the world, to go find my journal in my room.
But hey, maybe some day I'll write a book.

Sometimes one just needs to lie on their bedroom floor, stair at the ceiling, and simply, 

think.

So I'd say today was a very good and productive day!!

I woke early, got dressed and ready for the day.

I ran a few errands, and then it was back to the house for clean up.

I folded clothes, cleaned, straightened up the house, 

then off to the grocery store for dinner!

I don't know what came over me, but I liked it.

It was just this massive urge to cook and bake and bake some more. 

Unfortunately, time doesn't always permit a ton of baking in so few hours.

But for dinner I made chicken parmesan, pasta, and green beans.

Then I decided to make banana bread.

I mixed several different recipes and it now sits in the oven.. so hopefully it turns out!

(it smells good!)

While doing all of this I was so content and happy.

And then I could just imagine all of this PLUS a husband and children running around.

I was so happy in the moments today, but in the future it would make me ten times happier to have all the people around and sometimes the chaos that comes along with that.

I just love it.

I can be very okay with that.

Part of the cooking process...yeah buddy!!

(it's always weird when photobooth reverses your pictures)

I hope you did something today that made you happy.