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I was born.
Although I was too young to remember this event, my mom tells the story beautifully. I was the first child and the first grandchild for my family and everyone waited in anticipation for my arrival. My parents chose not to find out what they were having, so I was a surprise. When I was born, my mom yelled "it's a girl" and my dad said "just look at her." These memories are recorded in a baby book. Even though I don't remember this specific event, it is the start of my story and stories to come. -
Meeting my baby sister, Hannah.
At only two and a half years old, my parents introduced me to my best friend, my little sister. Hannah was another surprise, and even if my dad secretly wanted a boy, I was overjoyed to have a little sister. We were immediately inseparable. Hannah was and is my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. She challenges me to better myself and be the person that she believes I am. I'm so grateful for this chapter in my story. -
Watching mom catch a starfish
When I was six years old, my family and I went on a vacation to Panama City Beach. One day, we took a boat ride out to Shell Island to hunt for shells. With our nets in hand, we explore the ocean floor. Suddenly, my mom yelled out, "Girls, come look!" My sister and I ran over in excited and to our surprise, she had a live starfish in her net. It was slimy and sparkly. I'll never forget that moment because it was full of joy and family. -
Snow on Christmas
When I was six years old, we had snow on Christmas. I can't remember if it actually snowed that day, but I do remember making a Christmas snowman with my little sister. Hannah and I loved playing in the snow and we always competed on who could roll the biggest snow ball for the snowman. My mom helped us, of course. -
Disney World with my best friends
The summer after I turned seven, my family and I went on a week long vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. My parents best friends, who had two children the same ages as my sister and me, went with us. We had so much fun exploring the parks. My dad and I even did a full sprint at the opening of the park to get in line for Space Mountain. Vacations were always fun with my family, but this one is especially important to me as it was one of the last before my parents divorced. -
Girl Scout Camp
A huge part of my childhood was spent participating in Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. We did a lot of fun activities with our troop, but my favorite by far was Girl Scout Camp! We travelled to a campground in Indiana for two nights and stayed in a tent. We also had to cook our own meals in the mess hall and eat from our own camping dishes. I loved the ruggedness of the experience as this was something outside of my comfort zone. I also appreciated the friendships I made. -
Gatlinburg Family Vacation
My parents divorced when I was ten and a lot about our vacations began to change. When I look back at this chapter of my life, I have a lot of sad memories, but I am blessed to also have some amazing ones. One of those amazing memories was a vacation to Gatlinburg when I was ten. I went with my mom, sister, aunt, uncle, and grandpa. We stayed in a cabin and I remember reading books by the fire and hanging out in the jacuzzi tub. -
The Last Minute Trip
In the summer of 2004, my mom, sister, Nana, and I planned to take a vacation to San Francisco. One week before we left, the weather channel predicted a category 5 earthquake on the west coast. We debated what to do, and ultimately, we switched our plane tickets from San Francisco to New Hampshire. We landed in the Northeast with no hotel, no plans, just opportunity. We ended up renting a car and travelling to eight different states! This photo was taken off the coast of Maryland. -
Another sibling to love- Seth
When I was fifteen, my baby brother Seth was born. I was in a stage of life where I seemed to pay more attention to myself and my friends than I did my family, but Seth changed that. I fell in love with my baby brother the minute I saw him. -
Sweet Sixteen
On my sixteenth birthday, my parents surprised me with my first car! Up until that date, I thought I would be driving my dad's explorer. Little did I know, that was never the plan and they had a Ford Focus purchased and waiting for me. I arrived at my grandma and grandpa's house for birthday dinner and the car was parked in the backyard with balloons on top. It was such an exciting moment in my young adult life. -
A summer at GSP
When I was a junior in high school, I was accepted into the Governor's Scholars Program at Murray State University. I spent five weeks living on campus and experiencing the full college experience. I was terrified to leave my family and my friends for the summer, but I made the best out of my experience and fully embraced my independence. Looking back, this event was transformative in my life. I grew up a lot while I was at GSP. -
The top of Pikes Peak
On the fourth of July, 2016, my family and I took a train ride to the top of Pikes Peak. I had never been to Colorado before and this was an experience that I will never forget. It literally took my breath away. We were up so high and the air was so thin and clear. We actually started in tank tops when we got on the train and needed to put on sweatshirts at the top. My sister now lives in Colorado because she loved this trip so much. -
Getting my first Masters
I graduated from the University of Louisville with a Masters of Arts in Teaching in December 2016. I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher and earning this degree allowed me to start a career that I love! Picking up my degree was a very special day and my mom went with me. I chose not to walk at this graduation because I had just attended my graduation for my Bachelors degree in May of 2015. -
The start of my teaching career at Butler
When I received my student teaching placement at Butler Traditional, I was not thrilled. Butler was my rival school when I was in high school, so I had only heard bad things. What I found when I started was that my preconceived ideas about Butler were far from the truth. I met a staff that quickly became like family. I was blessed beyond belief to be offered a teaching position right down the hall from where I student taught. -
Running a half marathon
In May 2017, I took on the daunting task of running my first (and only) half marathon. Two of my colleagues completed training with me and we ran together almost daily to get in shape. The actual day of the marathon was rainy and cold. Our start time got delayed by over an hour. It was an adventure to say the least, but I finished without stopping. It took me two hours to complete and is definitely a significant memory for me. -
Marrying my high school sweetheart
My husband and I got married on March 23, 2019. It was a beautiful day for a wedding and although there were some minor catastrophes, everything was perfect. We were surrounded by our friends and families and it was an amazing night. I'm thankful every day to have my husband as my partner for life. -
Honeymooning in Italy
One of my favorite stories to tell is that of my honeymoon in Italy. My husband and I always dreamt of travelling abroad, but we never thought we would actually make a trip. We saved up and were able to take the trip of a lifetime in March of 2019, right after our wedding. We visited Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terre while we were there. Ten days of Italian culture and food were not enough. I cannot wait to go back one day. -
My last Christmas with Pop
My Pop (my dad's father) was the most amazing man I've ever known. He was basically my second father throughout my childhood. When we lost my grandma in 2018, my Pop's health declined rapidly. We spent the holiday with him in 2019 and never knew it would be our last. Unfortunately, he passed away in April 2020. Pop had and continues to have a huge impact on who I am and who I strive to become. I hope I am making him proud. -
The birth of my son
This is an interesting story. Kasen Dale was born three weeks early on June 15, 2020 at 11:59pm. He was one minute away from having a different birthday. Kasen's birth was a pretty traumatic event for me, but I look back at it now with nothing but gratefulness and joy. Kasen added a dimension to who I am that I never knew before. He made me a mom and significantly changed who I am as a person. This event is my favorite part of my story. -
Kasen turns one!
For my son's first birthday, we decided to have a Harry Potter birthday. I have always been a huge Harry Potter fan and decided to go all out with a photoshoot, Harry Potter foods, and tons of decorations. We invited our family and friends over and a great time was had by all. I'll always remember the joy on my son's face as he unwrapped his presents and tore into his birthday cake. It was a beautiful day.