Sunshine Part 2

My plan was to keep up with the Sunshine Series every week. It’s not a good sign if I’ve gotten behind already! Oh well, here’s a list of all the ways I’ve seen sunshine since the last time I posted:

• One night I went over to my cousins house and the three of us laid on top of the roof — star gazing, drinking hot chocolate, chatting and laughing a lot. It was such a great night. We even saw six shooting stars. Even though it was night, I saw more sunshine during this moment than I have all month — definitely an unforgettable memory.
• I had a date night with my mom one evening. We went to a new restaurant, which wasn’t a huge hit. But they did have really good fried pickles. Then we went to a play that was hilarious. It was a lot of fun. Plus, I just love visiting with my mom and getting to chat and catch up on the ride there.
• One day, I received a special package from my friend in Australia. It was really special, and I was so excited!
• Fall is here! Fall is my favorite season, with spring as a close second. I am really loving getting to wear scarves again — so many bright, beautiful colors!

• One night, some friends from church and I went swing dancing. I hadn’t been swing dancing in almost two years! It was a blast! I love getting to dance with really good leads who know how to spin, twirl, and dip me until I’m breathless. I’m really hoping to go back as much as possible.
• After conducting an hour-long interview for a freelance job, I went to IHOP to begin working on the piece and get some delicious breakfast food. I usually don’t like eating at restaurants by myself, but this time it was really enjoyable. I got half of my article done, and the pancakes were tasty!
• After wanting one for about a year, I finally bought myself an earring holder. I got my ears pierced only a couple years ago, but now I have a ton of earrings. They were taking up so much space. Now I have a great way to display them and take up less space. I even color-coded it, so it’s easy to find what I want. Every time I look at it, I just feel happy.

• Since fall is here, all my favorite TV shows are starting back up. There are also some new shows beginning that I think are going to become my favorites.
• I received a thank you card from someone after writing a story in the newspaper about something they asked me to cover. The card was purple with a big butterfly on it. I love the color purple. I love butterflies. I love cards. I love when people are nice and appreciate my work. In fact, I wanted to send this lady a thank you card for sending me a thank you card ha!

• One night, I went over to my cousins’ for some barn volleyball. My uncle turned the upstairs of his large barn into a basketball/volleyball court. The other half of the upstairs is a hay loft. I just love living in the country. Anyways, there’s a group of people who always come over and play volleyball in the barn. It’s fun and can get pretty intense at times. I’m really surprised there haven’t been more injuries than there have been. That night, we had a campfire after volleyball. We all sat around, eating smores and drinking hot chocolate. I love just sitting around and chatting, telling stories and memories and laughing. That’s definitely some sunshine in my book.
• This past weekend two of my friends from college came to visit. We went out to eat, watched a movie and stayed up late chatting. It was so nice to have visitors and reminisce about college days. Then we convinced our old roommate to stay another night. She watched the Colts game with me, we all went shopping and then she got to visit our church. She really loved it. I didn’t get a picture with my other friend who visited, but here’s a photo of the roommates reunited.

• After church, we all went to Steak N Shake. I love that restaurant. I got to try the new smores milkshake. Man, I love their milkshakes.
• Also, the friend who visited and spent an extra night is a braiding goddess. She is always willing to braid my hair, and I just love it. This time she did a waterfall braid in my hair for church, inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest. The next day she gave me a fishtail braid for work before she left.

• Bible study this week was great. I am so grateful I am able to attend and be a part of that group. I always leave feeling full of sunshine. I love the people, the discussions, the openness and the conversations. I hope I can keep learning more and more about the people in the group and develop closer friendships with them all.
• After I left Bible study, there was some crazy lightning going on during my drive home. I love watching lightning brighten up the sky. During the first episode of lightning I saw, I literally said out loud, “Oh, hey God!”

That’s how I’ve seen sunshine in the past weeks. How have you seen sunshine recently?