the adventures begin.

three weeks ago, i was able to cross off the very first item on the folded piece of paper that has been tucked inside my wallet since 2007: 'go skydiving'. 


wait, seriously? you betcha. here's the scoop: 


on saturday, april 21st, at 5:45 in the morning, a caravan composed of me and seven of my most daring friends started our trek to adventure skydiving in waverly, tennessee. 

liz and i before the jump

however, the weather wasn't ready for us. apparently you have to have clear skies to jump out of them... so we wait. and we wait. and we waited some more. it was obvious the dreary awfulness wasn't going anywhere. after eight hours of waiting around, i asked the kind receptionist if there was anyway they could squeeze us in the following day because our group is literally from all over the country. well, that girl was awesome because she gave us an appointment for 7:45, sunday, april 22nd. bam. 


on sunday, we jumped. my trusty tandem instructor, robbie, and i got really close really fast. if you ever go skydiving, you'll understand what i mean. i was the first of my group to jump out at 14,000 feet above ground. in case math is not your forte, that's two and a half miles into into the sky. while my plane was up there, it was five degrees. just five measly degrees. and i was wearing chacos (like a boss). robbie and i had fun traveling through clouds, talking about the mechanics of being an official cool person that i now am, and he even let me operate the parachute. there really is no way to describe it, so i'll just tell you to go. go. i promise you won't regret it. after all eight of us had done the deed, we put down a deposit to go again. 

robby, bess, liz, myself, paul, alina, natalie, and patrick.
the best of the best, basically.

in other news, i moved back home sunday for the summer (woo!). getting back in the swing of full-time chickfila and a house full of babies isn't the worst transition in the world, i'll admit. things i've done through this easy first week that i recommend to everyone: 

-read tina fey's book bossypants.

-rent extremely loud and incredibly close and we bought a zoo from redbox.

-watch a&e's new series "duck dynasty". 

i also tried to make captain america cupcakes for a cute little boy.

tuesday afternoon starts the bus ride to philadelphia and new york. that's right, bus ride. i'm going with two beautiful ladies and will be meeting up with plenty of handsome gentlemen on the way. 

also, if you could be so kind to keep my friends (bess, shelley, brittany, alina, laura jane, brittany, and belmont nursing students) in your prayers; they are all on mission trips and study abroad trips and could use some safety from the man upstairs as they travel.                                                        i can only hope your summer is as fun as mine will be. stay classy, planet earth and thanks for reading.

peace, love, and cupcakes. 

morgan the nana.

da babies have moved from the nest.

first of all, let me clarify the title: i am not, have not, and will not be experiencing motherhood anytime soon. no. just, no. okay? now let's continue. 

i'll start at the beginning. 

in the spring of 2011, i applied to be an r.a. in my dorm here at belmont. i wanted the job more than i wanted to eat, sleep, or breathe (well... you get the picture). so i applied, went through three interviews, and...

i didn't get it. and honestly, i was upset. no one told me why i didn't get it; i only knew i wasn't good enough. 

however, if God wants you to do something, He finds a way for you to do it. 

last fall, as i was comfortably living in my dorm with two of my best friends below doing the job i ever so coveted, i was called by the resident director of my building. she was looking for another r.a. to start on january 1, 2012. obviously, i hopped on that like a cowboy in a bull-riding competition. 

my bestest friend, liz,
(and jo the banjo)
who got me through the
semester in one piece 

now, i've never had very many close girl friends. i mean, i have, but... not really. i feel like every girl in my hometown says the same thing: "i hate girls." "girls are so stupid." "girls are mean." "i'd rather be friends with guys because blah blah blah." maybe that's true of the female population, but that's not my problem. i just don't know how to talk to a lot of girls. mostly, i say, "i like your shirt," and then that's it. being in nursing school, i'm constantly surrounded by women, but i don't have very many friends in my classes because i'm just so awkward. 

the wright staff. easily the most beautiful group of girls
you've ever laid eyes on, yes?

and now i'm in a position in which i live with thirty girls and i have to assist them with all sorts of emotional, academic, relationship, and spiritual issues. why did i want this job again? thankfully, i had my beautiful best friend, liz, right down the hall, and the other r.a. staff quickly became some of my favorite people, so i always had help whenever i needed it. 

and my residents (from my floor section and the few that i adopted). geez, where do i begin? they are the best group of ladies you can imagine. i was certainly blessed to have such a wonderful group of ladies. each of them are so unique and a pleasure to be around. fellas, if any of you are looking for a future wife, i have plenty of options for you: crafters, runners, journalers, singer/songwriters, painters, mathematicians, long boarders, actresses, you name it. i cannot express into words how much they have impacted my life. an r.a. is supposed to take care of his/her residents, but in my case it was the other way around. they always seemed to notice when i was a little out of it, when i was a smidge sad, or when i just needed space throughout this roller coaster of a semester. i'm not sure if i am allowed to call my residents my friends, but since a majority of them have already checked out i'm just going to say it: MY RESIDENTS ARE MY FRIENDS!!! i'm ever so thankful for the birthday dinners, craft nights, dance parties, random mini bible studies, midnight OC marathons (and getting in trouble every night after i left because we sang Phantom Planet's "California" too loudly), lounging in my fort with me, and letters ya'll secretly slid under my door. if any of ya'll are reading this, i love each and every one of you with my whole heart, and you'll always be my first litter of lovelies. thank you for such a great semester, and have a fantastic summer (and don't die). 

double birthday dinner at outback steakhouse

painting night

now that the sappy post is over, stay tuned for the next one. its all about my greatest adventure yet: skydiving. and also about recent crafted stuff and my move home, which is in five days (woot woot!). until then, 

peace. love. and apple sauce.

morgan the nana