I have the cutest niece EVER

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?  Oh my gosh, I just love her!

One of Those Days

Have you ever just had one of those days, that you knew from the time you got out of bed was going to be interesting?  By interesting I mean, you're out of it?  I have felt that way this whole day.  Literally from the time my alarm clock began to beep, I just knew.  Maybe it's because my life has been so crazy busy since the beginning of July, that it's telling me my time for rest has come.  I felt so tired waking up this morning and I even went to bed relatively early and didn't have to wake up so early.  My "out-of-it-ness" really showed itself tonight when I was washing clothes.  I didn't realize I didn't put soap in with the wash until they were almost finished DRYING.  What in the world?  I think I might be losing it.

This weekend is going to be a busy one, so I am not sure when I will rest.  Next week for me is just a 3 day week, so I am looking forward to that.  I am even going to do something new next week... I'm going to have a night for me.  I'm going to spend some time journaling, listening to music, reading... basically just relaxing, doing things I enjoy.  It's been a long time since that has happened, so I am really excited about that night!

Back in the Country past the city limit signs...

I'm in New Jersey for the weekend and I'm in the country.  I am here "babysitting" my cousins.  I put that in quotes because, they're actually old enough to do things for themselves, I am just here to make sure the house doesn't burn down, food gets cooked, football practice is attended, etc...

I was a little nervous about this trip, but it is going to be a great weekend.  The plane ride was uneventful, thank God!  After my flight to CT last month, I'm noticing my comfort level while flying has decreased quite some bit.  That is very unusual for me.  I used to really enjoy flying, since I have been flying since I was a little kid.  But after that one adrenaline rushing flight, my heart beats rapidly with the thought of an upcoming flight.  So on Thursday, I had several people praying I wouldn't have a panic attack.  I was relaxing at my house, watching tv, when the thoughts of my previous plane ride came into my head.  My heart started beating quickly and my palms began to sweat.  I began to pray really hard because I don't want to be that person who can't fly.  Check in when well, I made it through security, and then I sat at the gate for what seemed like FOREVER.  Finally, I boarded the plane, found my seat and started praying.  My earphones were in place, and I was jamming out to some worship music.  And I survived my flight!  I must admit, my palms were sweaty, especially towards the end when we encountered some turbulence.  It didn't help that the two men in front of me seemed deathly afraid of flying, and with any jostle of the plane their faces scrunched and their hands were placed over their face.  I am already starting to pray for my flight on Tuesday!

Ok, so anyway... I'm in the country.

I really love New England!  The small towns, quaint streets, old houses.  It really makes my heart happy to be in a place like this.  I am about 35 miles outside of NYC, but you would have no clue.  This town doesn't have any fast food chains because they don't allow drive-thru places.  BUT they do have a starbucks.  I have yet to visit, but I have only been here since yesterday!  Right now I am sitting with the doors open, and the crickets are filling the quiet.  This place reminds me of home.  It's warm during the day and cool at night.  The air conditioner doesn't need to be on and you can sleep with your windows open.  I even slept with the blinds open last night and it was so dark in the room I couldn't believe it.  Now I really LOVE the city and would live right downtown if I had enough money, but there is just something about being in the country on a summer night that makes my heart smile.  I feel a closer to God out here.  It's not quite as busy.  Nature can't help but scream right in my face, and I can't help but thank God for everything.  

I have noticed lately that I keep getting more and more busy.  It's my fault because I am the one who keeps added things to my plate.  I wonder how much I am missing the Lord say because I am always on the go, needed to be somewhere, do something for someone, clean this, wash that.  It seems that the list goes on and on.  I am really working on making time for myself.  Time to reflect on life so that it doesn't pass me by.  I don't want to be so busy that I miss out on now!

pictures pictures pictures

I just thought I would post pictures from what I have been up to.  You can read below what I have been doing, but if you don't want to do that then you can look at pictures!  I've done a wedding, 3 family portraits, traveled to CT and went to the beach. My niece Noelle is the red headed baby!  She is precious.

this could be long

I've been rather busy this past month.  My life has seemed like a whirlwind.  I have been wanting to write a blog for a while, but really haven't had the time nor the energy to sit down and write out what I've been doing.  

This year the 4th was very fun.  I got to hang out with a really good friend of mine for the whole day.  He even came and made it through a whole day with my dad and step-mom and stepsister's family and friends.  We played football, cooked out, watched fireworks, but really just enjoyed hanging out with each other.  The day consisted of me driving to Asheville to pick him up and driving back to drop him off late that night.  We even got together the day I was coming back to Charlotte and ate Mellow Mushroom.  I love that place and hate that there are none in Charlotte anymore.  I'm over that though since I have a friend I can drag there when I go home.

I was in Charlotte for 3 days then flew to CT for a family reunion.  Now I am normally not a nervous flyer, but for some reason this day my nerves were a little on edge.  I am sitting on the airplane about to take off when they say they need 3 people from the front to move to the back.  I guess they needed to balance out the plane since it was just for take off purposes.  The plane is older, and quite noisy.  I really prefer quiet planes.  So we are going down the runway, make it in the air, dip really far to the right, then dip really far to the left and then finally we even out.  At this point my heart is in my throat and I am freaking just a little.  My thoughts are going out of control.  People are looking at each other with puzzled faces, so I know that I am not the only one who noticed the rather scary take off.  I noticed myself getting nervous about the landing.  And the landing was TERRIBLE.  Again, people were looking at each other wondering what was going on.  That was not a very pleasant flying experience!!  The flight home was more enjoyable, and I was able to sleep, so that made everything better.

While in CT I went to NYC with my cousin, went swimming a whole bunch, acted like a kid every day, played a lot with my little cousins, took pictures and had a blast.  I really love my family.  Jonathan and Deana came and brought Noelle.  It was very fun spending time with her and letting her get to know me a little.  It's hard when I don't see her often and expect her to be ok when I hold her and she's not.  I was persistent, and it worked.  She became fond of me rather quickly.  She liked the Phelan's too.  Good thing since she is one!  She is going to fit right in with the family!  My aunt Mary Rita and Uncle Jim (my dad's brother) had the family reunion at their house.  I had so much fun.  My cousin Stacey and I were acting like crazy people in the pool.  We were doing side dives, side flips, back flips, back dives, well pretty much anything that required you to jump, turn your body in a strange way and enter into the pool.  Then best of all my cousin Shannon and I almost beat the boys at cornhole.  We lost by one point.  There was a crowd, and they were all pulling for us.  These two guys had won all day.  And then the most unlikely people almost beat them.  It was great.  Too bad we couldn't pull it off in the end. New York was amazing.  I really love that city.  There is something new to see every time you go.  This time my cousin Pam and I went to Greenwich Village, South St. Seaport, and did a water taxi.  I got lectured by a store owner about how celebrities are people and they don't like other people trying to find them or where they live, I saved my cousin from getting run over by a taxi (several times), ate at a famous pizza place (John's Pizzeria), watched some basketball near Washington Square Park, listened to a street band, walked at TON, went to NYU, saw the Statue of Liberty, went to times square, had a starbucks :-), met a couple people from Canada and talked politics, and walked a TON... it was fun though.

The next weekend I photographed a wedding in a tropical storm and did a 2 family portraits in a tropical storm too.  Needless to say, we were all really wet.  I did get some great shots though!

And then this week I've been at the Isle of Palms all week vacationing and babysitting.  It has been a fun and eventful trip.  There are 3 families here and one family has been to either Urgent Care or the ER 3 times.  INSANE.  I swam a lot in the ocean, played beach games, swam in the pool, put on a ton of sunscreen and still got sun poisoning, played with some pretty amazing kids, had great conversations with the adults, and I am really glad I was able to come.  We turned the closet in the master bedroom into my room so I didn't have to sleep on an air mattress out in the open.  It was actually very nice in there, but I am looking forward to sleeping in my bed!  I've missed that!

My life is slowing down for a while and I am looking forward to that.

What A Weekend

This weekend my friend Quinn got married.  She was a beautiful bride and looked so happy.  It was very fun to be there to celebrate with her!  Julie, Kelsie, Graham, and I drove up to Boone Saturday morning.  Once we got there we played a game that I can't spell. I think it's bochi ball or something like that.  I have to say, it was a pretty fun game, that I was actually kind of good at.  We then got ready and drove up to the mountain.  As we drive up, we're like... were is the wedding at? We saw a reception tent, but not a ceremonial area.  Then we see a tractor and a very steep windy dirt road.  We get on the trailer and proceed up the mountain for what seems like FOREVER, and all we think is... "only Quinn". There were some points that we were worried about sliding off, the road was so steep.  We finally make it to the top and the view is AMAZING.  The mountains and everything, it was just great.  I was very happy to be there with my friends celebrating another friend's wedding.  The ceremony was very sweet and filled with tears.  Then the reception came.  They had a BBQ. Mac-n-cheese, baked beans, a big pig (feet and all still attached), sweet tea, beer and wine.  The DJ was great and the music selection was great.  Julie and Graham danced every dance I think and really enjoyed themselves. Andrew loosened up towards the end of the night, while Kelsie and I were more reserved and took on the people watching role.  There was this one girl, bless her heart, who tried to do the worm in a dress and ended up showing everyone her brown panties.... note to self, don't attempt the worm in a dress in front of a rather large crowd!  Anyway, toward the end of the evening I began feeling really sick.  I kept telling Kelsie that I didn't feel well.  I couldn't really pin point the feeling, i just knew it wasn't a good one.  We got to see Quinn and Parke off, and then we left.  We got back to the house and I went straight to bed, while everyone else built a fire and roasted marshmallows and had fun.  Well I have to say that was the longest nights of my life.  I haven't been that sick in such a long time.  It was TERRIBLE.  So we then drive back to Charlotte, Kelsie is driving, and about 10 minutes outside of Boone, my right front tire blows.  I'm thinking, what in the world.  I have had this car for 2 months, and when I had my jetta, the same tire went flat.  What are the odds?  Graham and a really sweet passerby changed the tire.  All the while, I am telling myself to keep it together and not get sick.  I survived the tire change, and fell in and out of sleep the rest of the ride home.  I get home and sleep for the next 18 hours or so.  I feel much better today, thank God.  Quinn was such a beautiful bride and Im glad I was able to make it through the wedding! 

I just wanted to tell you that I am working on a website right now. I just purchased a domain, and will have the website up and running soon!

www.phelanphotography.net

I cannot believe it's june already.  I feel like this year has flown by, and I am about to enter into a new chapter of my life.  I am not sure how long it will last, but I am sure it will be fun and adventurous and will require me to have more faith and trust in the Lord than I can possibly comprehend at this moment.  This will be an exciting time in my life and I am looking forward to really learning to listen to what the Lord is saying and speaking to my heart.