Time is such a fickle thing. When we are kids we feel time is dragging by, sitting on the curb outside trying to come up with new games to occupy ourselves in the summer heat. I remember sitting in my room in Absam (Austria) and gazing out my window at the side of the mountain. The Nordkette is a steep mountain range with mostly rocky peaks but there was one little spot that my window framed which was grassy with one singular tree toward the top of the steep slope. I remember staring out at that tree dreaming what it would be like to cling on to the grass and climb up toward that tree. How could a tree grow on such an incline? Has there ever been anyone fortunate enough to sit under that tree's shade?

Fast forward to today and I am sitting in my house in the White Mountains of Arizona.  Quite a lot has happened since my last blog post - I have graduated nursing school, passed my NCLEX, moved to Arizona from Virginia, married the woman I love, and am working at a hospital as a med/surg RN. It is now that questions of what I truly value have become more important to me, and the more I think about this, the more I realize the things I value are things that are irreplaceable, timeless, and full of memory and emotion. We only have one lifetime here on earth and every day that goes by is a day that we can never re-live. Isn't that both the most beautiful and most daunting part of life? The people I surround myself with, craft memories with, and experience joys as well as hardships with, have become that much more important to me as a result of my reflections.

That is the beautiful thing about building a family with someone you love - all of the memories and experiences crafted will never be in vain, because they will shape a unique family identity, unlike any other, ever before. I am so grateful to have the assurance of not just this lifetime here on earth, but an endless lifetime with the Creator that makes all of these things possible in the first place. A God that builds, a God that cares, a God that sacrificed himself for love. We all need a reason to live, and God has given that to me and my new family for the brief time we get to experience life on this earth. 

At the end of the day, what was meaningful and what makes time well spent? It is the only currency that you cannot earn more of, and the only currency where the less you have of it the more value it gains. 

For the sake of this blog and documenting my time over the years in photos, here is a summary of meaningful events in my life in the past couple years (most recent to just before my last post): 

Summer 2020:

Winter '19/20:

      

Summer 2019:

   

  

Fall 2018:

  

Summer 2018:

      

 

Spring 2018:

  

    

Fall 2017:

 

Summer 2017:

  

Spring 2017:

Short update to my college life so far. 1st of off, I'm loving college. Liberty University is the bomb, and the community I'm in here is incredible. 2nd, I've had the chance to go hiking on two separate trips, once with a bunch of MK friends and once with my dad. There's just something about being in nature that is so good and refreshing for the soul. 

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir

The first hike was with my friends up to Sharp Top, a mountain with an amazing view from its peak. The second hike was with my dad to Mt. Pleasant, which is one of the most beautiful areas I have been to so far in Virginia. Seeing God's creation up close and personal has made me so thankful for life and where He has currently put me. Also, the fact that it is autumn and all of the trees' leaves are beginning to change colors makes everything that much more magical.

Here are some of my favorite photos from both hikes: 

 The peak on the left is Sharp Top.

This is one of my greatest friends, Sam. We go way back.

 One of my favorite shots from the hike up Sharp Top. This is my friend Rich.

This is the group of friends that I went up Sharp Top with. We got up that morning to see the sunrise. I have never seen a more beautiful sunrise in my life!

 Those COLORS!

 I think this shot of Rich is super cool.

Friends, good times, smiles and laughter - this is community. 

 My dad! This was part of the other hike I went on, just the two of us (father and son), up to Mt. Pleasant.

 For some reason I just like taking photos of my boots after a long hike. On the left is a photo at the peak of Sharp Top and on the right is one at the peak of Mt. Pleasant.

 Such a truly amazing view!

Father and son right here. 

 On the left we've got my gorgeous Olympus film camera that was gifted to me by a great friend, and on the right - that's pretty self explanatory (can you find the moon?).

Nothing greater than sleeping in an ENO! Unless it gets super freezing. However, my dad brought a tent for us to sleep in so it all worked out well.