peach state update.

Hard to believe it's already almost AUGUST!!! My time here in Georgia is beginning to wind down and I can hardly believe that I have been here since the end of May. It has been a busy two weeks of family visits, but has been so wonderful.

Two weeks ago, my dad & Kathi made a visit to ATL for the weekend! I showed them my apartment, work, and a few great restaurants I've found. They were even impressed with my driving in the BIG city (that's big for me!). On Saturday, we had lunch at Yeah! Burger, a trendy burger place, and went to my first Braves game. Baseball is definitely one of my favorite sport (one of the few I understand all the rules) and I really enjoyed Turner Field. On Sunday morning they went to church with me in Buckhead and it was definitely a culture shock! For you Aggies, Buckhead Church is very similar to our "Breakaway," but BC is a little louder and lots more video, etc. They were great sports and ended up enjoying the sermon. We spent the afternoon at the Georgia Aquarium and saw Inception (crazy, good movie). It was an enjoyable weekend and I am very glad that they spent some time in the Peach State. As my dad said, "Who knows where we will be visiting next year?!"

One thing I realized that Sunday was that I will really miss going to church in Buckhead when I am back in Texas. It has become one of my favorite parts of living in Atlanta and Sunday mornings have often become the time I feel most at "home" here. One of the greatest reminders of being away from home has been that the Lord is constant in His love for us and that it far extends my personal comfort zone. Through the ups and downs of this summer, He has remained faithful and reminded me daily that He is right beside me with every step. One of the great women I work with shared with me that she was reading, "The Me I Want to Be" by John Orberg in her bible study. I picked it up last week at Barnes & Noble and haven't been able to put it down. I highly recommend it. It is an engaging, devotional-style book about becoming the best version of the person God created us to be. Not the best version of someone we "think" we should become. As I start to think about my senior year of college (WHAT?!) and the big decisions ahead, it has been a refreshing reminder that God is in control. Completely. He already knows the person He wants me to become and I just have to trust in His perfect plan, seek after Him, and the "details" will work themselves out.

Well that's all for today, but I will update you on my trip to South Carolina soon! But here is my favorite picture from the weekend...

Hope you have a peachy day :)

Until next time...mal

wedding weekend in the lone star state.

Happy Friday, everyone! Whoop for the weekend!

I am very excited that the next two weeks include spending time with my wonderful family. Tomorrow dad and Kathi are visiting in Atlanta and next weekend I will be in North Carolina with mom, Larry, and the whole fam! I can't wait! While I have enjoyed my weekends of solitude I am not sad to see them go :)

Last weekend was such a great celebration of one of my favorite couples. I had the privilege of being in one best friend's wedding and watched Miss Molly Simpson become Mrs. Nason!  What an absolute joy! She was a BEAUTIFUL bride and probably the calmest one in history (no joke, she should teach a class!) Despite a "hurricane-like" downpour at the outside rehearsal dinner, both Molly and Zach remained in great spirits and smiles were all around (see picture below). We enjoyed great Tex-Mex at Joe T's and heard sweet toasts. The bridesmaids stayed at a precious bed and breakfast in Fort Worth and enjoyed our last night with our single Molly!

trying to keep the bride dry on the way to the rehearsal.

The wedding was gorgeous and truly reflected both Molly and Zach's personalities. The flowers and Tracy Luther cakes were great! (Banana Nut is my new favorite TLC, shocking I know!!!) I really enjoyed getting to know all of the bridesmaids throughout the wedding process and it was neat to see Molly's different relationships with each of us. Saturday flew by and before I knew it I was headed back to Georgia on Sunday afternoon. While my trip was fast and furious, it was still just great to be back!

I can't believe today finishes my 7th week here at POLI and I am over halfway through with my internship. I am now fully involved in evaluating the college programs and developing the internship program. Sometimes I get frustrated with the details and am always wanting to make huge progress everyday, but the Lord is reminding me to be patient and I am learning to take my time and watch the pieces fit together. I am excited to see what the next 5 weeks will hold and plan to soak up as much knowledge and experience as I can!

Here are couple pictures from the weekend:

bridal room before the wedding.

EB, Siobhan, & Mr. and Mrs. Nason

Lots of love! Until next time, mal

New York, New York!

It's July!!! I can hardly believe it! I'm sorry that I haven't been very good at blogging lately, but work has been crazyyy! I don't even know where to start on the last three weeks, so I will jump to the last 6 days in NEW YORK...

The National Conference on Volunteering and Service that was co-convened by Points of Light Institute and The Corporation for National and Community Service was held in New York City. For a little background, the first part of my internship with POLI has been to serve on the "Core Conference" team, the details/planning group behind the conference. I had no idea what I was in for, but the blessings from serving on this team have been countless. What an incredible group of people. I am so very thankful and honored that I had the privilege to serve alongside each of them. While they are all very different and unique, each of them made an effort to welcome me and truly include as a part of the team. It was a crazy four weeks full of many long hours, but it was all worth it.

So back to NYC...We arrived last Friday (I can't believe it's been a week ago) at the Hilton and went right to work! It was so exciting to see all of the signage and beginning of the build outs for the conference. I got right into the city and went on my adventure looking for some missing supplies; it was kinda nuts walking downtown NYC searching for a Staples of all things. But over the course of the weekend, the Staples employees and I got on a first name basis :) Saturday and Sunday I was on support staff for a pre-conference training event for volunteer managers from across the country. While I enjoyed the event, the best part was definitely the company. I had the best time working with both Lori Jean & Tricia! On Saturday night, I had a break from real world and got to see a great friend. Frank was in NYC for the weekend and it was very nice to see a familiar face and catch up life on things other than work. We walked through Times Square, Ground Zero, and across the Brooklyn Bridge, I even rode my first subway. It definitely made miss Texas and all of my family and friends back home.

My biggest role for the conference was to plan and execute the two VIP receptions at Radio City Music Hall that were held before our opening events. I was in RCMH from 9 AM until 11 PM...INSANE, but I am definitely not complaining. The caterers did a phenomenal job and flowers were beautiful. I was very nervous planning an entire event from Atlanta, but it went better than expected. My role during the parties was to act as buffer between our security, RCMH staff, and our guests. It was joy to greet all of our guests and I really enjoyed meeting so many leaders in the volunteer sector. Monday’s opening event “Here’s to YOU!” was wonderful! Guest speakers included our CEO Michelle Nunn, Patrick Corvington (CEO of the CNCS), Mayor Bloomberg, Al Roker, Laysha Ward (CEO of Target) and many more. PS22 school choir performed “I’ll stand by you” and  “Empire state of mind.” It was awesome!!!! You should definitely check them out on Youtube. Monday’s evening award show was equally as exciting with Broadway performances from West Side Story, In the Heights, and Million Dollar Quartet. Over 15 individuals/companies were recognized for their dedication to service. Monday was truly a breathtaking start to the conference!

Tuesday, I was a staff lead on an Immersion Learning experience in Queens, New York. An “immersion learning” is an off-site workshop opportunity for conference guests to experience service in NYC firsthand. My job was to make sure 85 people got on an off the subway and made it Queens, since my first time on the subway was only 2 days before it was quite the experience! But we all made it and learned a lot from the organization in Queens. Make the Road New York is apart of the Center for Neighborhood Leadership. An organization dedicated to activating leaders within their communities to make a difference for their futures. It was a predominately Hispanic community and I really enjoyed getting to interact with the residents. Many of them were at the center to simply learn the basics of English to ensure a better future for their families. On Tuesday, I went to the biggest party I have ever been to! The Target Party for Good was held at Pier 36, overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. It was beyond beautiful! The party’s purpose was to make 150,000 meals (yes, you read that right) for the families of New York and to celebrate volunteer service. It was incredible!!!! Two new flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream were released: Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder and lots of celebs made appearances. It was such a fun night!

Wednesday was the last day of the conference and it ended with the announcement of next year’s location…THE BIG EASY! New Orleans, baby!!! We passed out thousands of masks and beads and people were already excited for next year! The six days flew by! While I didn’t have much time to enjoy the city sights, I had a great time and learned so much. I am back in Atlanta now for another 2 months, but will be in TEXAS next weekend!!!!! I can’t wait to see my family and friends and to celebrate one of my best friend’s weddings! Molly (almost) Nason…one week countdown!!!!

I didn’t get take many pictures, but here are a few from Saturday…

LOTS OF LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Until next time, mal