Sunday Success Story!

Friends and fam, Sunday was my final day in the CCU Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program!!  Am I being extra to take this celebratory pic after submitting my last discussion post response?  Sure.  Do I regret it?  Not even a little bit! lol

Pub W lunch with Michelle and Amy one year ago today!  In visible and invisible ways -- physically, mentally, and spiritually -- I have come a long way over the past year, and I'm very grateful!!

Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Garner (I still call CHA teachers by their teacher name, but her first name is Laura) had us over for cookies and hot chocolate and to see her house... Mom and T-man both came over and helped her decorate, and it all looked fantastic! ❤

Homemade hot chocolate (Kyndal was a big fan!!) with marshmallows and whipped cream... yes, please!  There was also delicious apple cider with cinnamon sticks on the stove, so her kitchen smelled fantastic (to everyone but Chettles). lol

An array of cookies + apple cider syrup she made for each of us - so nice!  We had a good talk, and she mentioned a course on learning disabilities and a couple other resources that I want to look into moving forward!

Mom and I in front of Mrs. Garner's tree... love the black and white ribbon mixed into all the red!

Pretty much our motto. lol  Subtle is not our strong suit. ;-)

Rach by her fantastic Scripture sign!  It has so many great details you can see close up!!

We were there from around 2:30 to 3:45, then I helped Mom with Google Photos stuff, then came home and Kristin and her fam stopped by to see me!  Yay for a 2024 Christmas tree pic with the Whitakers!!

Love this note and the card being signed by all the boys!! ❤ Without thinking, I read Kristin and Frankie's signatures as "Kristin Foster" and was very confused for a minute. lol

They also brought lovely flowers and some of my fav candies, which I was happy to eat on my last night before Marathon-training season!  So grateful for Kristin's friendship and support through this 2.5 year school journey and all the ups and downs of the potential motherhood journey!  I've included my final discussion post response in the collage below - I was happy about ending it all with that verse, and I wanted to save it somewhere!

In between seeing the Whitakers and submitting my final post, I met Triston for dinner at Tucker's, where the cookie butter shakes are in season!  We had a great talk about future goals and plans and "Purpose" being his word for 2025.  We discussed him and Carter putting up the permanent Christmas lights for Rach - they did a very impressive job!  And we talked about the value of getting out of our comfort zones and trying new things - I'm proud of him and excited to help as he moves into college application season and stepping toward his dreams!

I had a great session with Emily last night where we talked about how my story is unfolding and God opening unexpected doors as we pray and cultivate good relationships.  God is at work, and I'm grateful for the connections He's placed in my life and the way I see Him weaving things together lately.  Thankful for the people who love, value, inspire, encourage, motivate, challenge, and help me to never feel alone as I work to learn and grow and do my best to stay on the path God has marked out for me!!

Speaking of, it made me so happy to see this pic of 2014 Chet Lee this morning.  I love being surrounded by loyal Christian friends who live with purpose and drive and heart.  It matters!

I feel like being extra one more time, so in closing...

For reals.  Congratulations, Class of 2024...

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It definitely was, but "the hard is what makes it great!"
Okay, friends and fam - thanks for supporting me through this journey and for indulging my celebratory pics and posts lately.  I love you and believe in you, and I believe in your ability to face and conquer hard things and live the life God created you to live!!

❤ ❤ ❤