WE'RE ENGAGED!

Well, I'm beyond thrilled to say that Martin and I are getting married! 

The past 24 hours have been an absolutely roller coaster and I can't even begin to describe how grateful we are to our family and friends for all of the love and support they've shown through all of the excitement. 

I still haven't had time to sit down and process it all, and I feel like I'm writing a post about someone else's life right now. {cue the tears}

I couldn't be happier to be marrying my best friend. 

Be back soon with all the juicy details. 

mart's day of birth.

As some of you may know, I like this boy. Can't you tell? 

And we go way back. 

 And since this is birthday number seven that we're celebrating together, I though I would share with you some things that we've learned over the years. 

We've learned to help each other when one of us can't string a suction-cup bow and arrow.

Or when one of us gets too hot. 

 We've learned that we're pretty funny. One of us at least, your choice as to who that is. {cough cough}

 We've learned to never pretend like we like each other in public...

 ...ever.

We've learned how to dress up for every occasion...

...especially when it involves tie-dye... 

...or just anything outrageous. 

 We've learned how to slip-n-slide. And that it's a bad idea in February. 

 We've learned about wildlife...

...lots of wildlife. 

We've also learned that we have awesome friends. 

Happy birthday Mart. I'm thankful to keep learning awesome life lessons with you. As ridiculous as they may continue to be. Congrats on being 23... oh, wait. 

And if anyone is feeling funny this morning, give him a shout-out. 

@martintrib

the overflow

Yes, you're in the right place {I hope.. that would be disappointing}. Ahh, I'm so excited. So here it is. The Overflow: of my thoughts, His blessings and everyday graces. I've been pondering this one for a long time, and just couldn't come up with anything that really "fit." And then I'm driving up the mountain to Mentone, thinking about how happy I am and telling a friend that I was overflowing with excitement. Duh, Kelsie. There you go. 


So--we now have The Overflow. And I feel like it fits me pretty perfectly. That's what this blog has been to me for the past {almost} two years. Luke 6:45 tells us that From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Fitting, or fitting? So no, I'm not giving you the leftovers--I'm giving you what's coming from my heart. When I have something on my mind, I come here to "overflow" it to all of you. When I get big news or have a funny story, I come here. When I'm worried or anxious, I usually come here and read YOUR posts. And it's been the best therapy that money could buy. 


I'm excited. I had kind of lost sight of what I was doing lately--here and in life. As alone as I feel sometimes in my one bedroom apartment with so many of my friends not in Starkville anymore, I've never felt as aware of Him as I have the past few months. And it has taught me that He is going to provide. I've learned so much about listening to Him and letting Him love me, and then I drive to Mentone and that's what our friend Carlyle talked about all weekend. It just makes me smile. So here is too waking up and being present to what's going on around me. Here's to a new beginning. 


And  a new name just deserves a fresh start, right? It's still in the works, but we're getting there. So--here it is. And if you caught me in the middle of editing last night, bless your sweet heart. 

retreat to the mountain

Ohh I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas. I'm headed to Camp DeSoto this weekend to reunite with these pretty ladies and enjoy a weekend of fellowship and worship. I knew I loved this staff when we finished staff training in June and the kids poured in the gates. Watching them embrace their cabins full of girls that they didn't know, and embrace a staff  of girls that they barely knew was incredible. If someone was struggling, there were always five people there to pick her up--and that's just awesome peeps. 

And then we looked up and it was July, and Closing Day was getting closer. We all knew the day was coming that we had to pack up and go home. And by this point I was crazy in love (yeah, a Beyonce reference--sue me). Knowing you've only got a few more days in the most supportive, encouraging, caring, awesome community ever is a terrible feeling. Lots of tears. Lots of hugs. Lots of "I miss you already" texts before you've even gotten to the bottom of the mountain. 

All that to say that this weekend, I get to go back. Lots of hugs. Probably some tears. Lots of stories to share. Lots of singing. Lots of worshipping. Lots of eating. Late night laughs. I just can't wait. I love these people. And love this place. And love what it stands for. And love what it means to me now. 

And I might have woken up crying Tuesday night because I had a dream that they told me that Staff Retreat was cancelled, but it was really wasn't and they just didn't want me to come. So... yeah, that about sums it up.