Cheese Please

It's new years eve. I'm sitting on the couch all by myself. My first thoughts were, "Man...I must be a loser." and some other things that weren't very glorifying to the Lord. Then I was thinking of ways that I could turn it around to do so. So, here's the cheesey reflecting on the past year blog post:


This year has been filled with high and lows. Reflecting back, I have almost forgotten what a big year it has been. It started out with the biggest high I could ever ask for as a student at the University of Alabama... a National Championship. Thanks to my amazing dad; he, my sister, and I got to be at the game in Pasadena. That is a memory that I will never forget.
Going back to school after the game had been won was so much fun. The entire campus was completely on fire.


The next big thing that happened this year was spring break. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Camp Rockmont with the amazing youth group at Calvary. I, yes Emily Sanderson, climbed a mountain AND slept at the top. That part was neither fun or comfortable. All night my head was on a sharp rock and I was rolling down the mountain the whole time. However, seeing the world from that very high point was an incredible blessing. Whoever can look at that same view that we did and say that there is not a God, needs to be checked. Seriously.


I spent the rest of the semester living with my best friends, doing life with the youth at Calvary, and having fun with Alpha Chi. 
My big sister graduated college. WIERD. Whenever something has happened to her in life, I usually get a kick in the face because my turn is next. 
This summer was one of the most fun summers that I can remember. It began with a girls trip to Charleston with my mom. Then, the rest of my time was spent in "Tuscaloosa." The quotes are there because there were a bunch of trips that we went on as a youth ministry. This summer I had the great opportunity to get to know my best friend Carlin's fiance, Jordan, so much better than I could have ever asked for. Usually when you meet someone and they are already dating the other person, you only get to know their significant other from them. Jordan did us a huge favor and helped us out as a staff for the youth ministry. Now when I say my friends Carlin and Jordan I MEAN my friends... not my friend Carlin and her fiance Jordan. With the youth group we went to Arlington, the beach, and to Super Summer. It was constantly busy, but so much fun. 

As the summer ended, rush began. We were so completely blessed with an AMAZING pledge class. Then the semester started and football season began. School was rough this semester. The Lord has definitely taught me all about perseverance. That is a lesson that I think I have mastered...until the next season of life. Then, He teaches me a new way to hold more closely to Him and His throne of grace. For that I will be forever grateful. This semester I have also learned to take care of myself, get out of my comfort zone, get to know new people, and just have fun.

As I look back I see how much has happened. I also see that a year is much shorter than it used to be. I am excited to see where the Lord and I will be on our journey this time next year. 

ZAP!

The new addition to my blog is the picture underneath the header. Though it is about a year old, it is quite possibly my absolute favorite picture from all of college. So, I thought it deserved a worthy place. It's my favorite because it has some of my favorite girls in the world in it. The picture is also from formal my sophomore year, and it was a lot of fun! This blog is dedicated to these sweet girls: Becca, Margaret, and Katie.
Becca:
My first memory of Becca is from our pledge retreat. She was one of my roommates for the weekend. All that I really remember is the fact that there was a terrible storm in Baton Rouge (her home) and she was on the phone begging her "friend" to evacuate. This "friend" is now her amazing boyfriend Drew (who is also in the picture). For a little while there I kind of thought she was freaking out a little bit too much... ha! love you Becs!
Becca is one of the sweetest women I know. Deep down, she has a tender heart and really cares for the ones she loves. Becca loves the Lord more than life itself. She is the friend that knows just about everything about me. She is a great listener and very understanding. Becca is my friend that always calls to see how I am doing, even if we haven't seen each other in a couple of days. For this, I am really thankful!
Margaret:
Marge and I grew up about fifteen minutes from each other. Our paths could have passed about a million times when we were younger. We have so many family/friend connections, it's not even funny. However, the Lord chose to keep our paths from crossing until we were in college. I don't exactly remember my first interaction with Margaret.
Marge is ALWAYS good for a laugh. No matter how bad I feel, I will be guaranteed a laugh while spending time with Margaret. I am constantly having to "call 911" because she is so terribly "ill," "hurt, or "dying." Marge's joy in the Lord is so incredibly contagious.
Katie:
Katie also grew up a few minutes away from me. We have so many mutual friends it is not even funny.  I remember gravitating toward her at the beginning of our pledgeship because I knew she loved the Lord. I also knew that if she was anything like the friends we had in common, then we would definitely get along.
Katie is really fun. She is level headed. She can look at a situation and see both sides and pick the best outcome. Katie is compassionate. She's task oriented and very smart. I am thankful for her friendship. This past semester, Katie has been my friend that has kept my lazy butt involved in Alpha Chi.

I am so very thankful for ALL of my great friendships with girls. Since college, God has truly blessed me with SO many great friendships. I am truly grateful for this season of life. Without these friends, I do not know what I would do.
(Disclaimer... if you are not in this post, your time will come... I promise!)

5...Almost 6!!

Okay, so I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing. I can't promise that I will be very good at keeping it up, but I will try. I don't want to bore you with things that aren't necessarily blog worthy. To be honest that's why there has only been one post so far. The first part of my Christmas break was pretty boring to say the least. As soon as I finished my last final I went over to Audrey's house and borrowed all four Twilight books. I know... I know... Twilight. No, I don't want to be a vampire or a werewolf... and Stephanie Myers is no Shakespeare, but I will admit that it is good. Give it a chance. I may or may not have read the first three within a week... It's that good.

The purpose of this blog post was not to tell you that I've been reading Twilight. It is to say that my big sister, Sara, is ENGAGED! Here's how it all went down:

We had a fam trip to Nashville all set up. We were all pretty excited to spend some much needed time together. Being the house of three emotional girls that we are, we were having some kind of argument on the way up there. My mom was frustrated and turned around told us to get along, and said something to the effect of "This could be our last family trip with just the 5 of us." She was the only one who knew exactly how true those words were (she was in on the whole engagement thing). It took us about 6 hours from our front door step until we were checked into the hotel. (Nashville is only 3 hours away from our house FYI). So, we missed our chance to see the Grand Ole Opry. We did end up  getting the opportunity to see the Rockettes on Saturday.
The next morning we woke up early and went to go see Ice and Snow.

While standing in line for those beautiful coats Dad leaned down and he told me the plan for the engagement. We kept Jill in the dark about the whole thing, because even she admitted that there is no way that the secret would be kept if she knew. I was to help distract Sara while Drew and his family were getting set into place. Later that afternoon, I did my job and kept her from seeing him. While walking toward him she and I were talking... ok Sara was talking. I was too preoccupied with figuring out where he was exactly! Then, all of a sudden she stopped mid-sentence and said, "That girl looks like Melissa." (Drew's sister).... and the rest was history......

We are so honored to have Drew as a part of our family! I could not think of anyone more perfect for my Sissy. He loves the Lord. He is laid back. He's funny. Thanks Drew for putting up with the craziness that is the Sanderson family! We love you!! I can't wait until you're my brother-in-law!

Here Goes Nothing

Ok, so I have been considering blogging for a while now. Let's be honest, the real reason I never did is because the whole idea brings me back to the old livejournal days. My livejournal was depressing, and shouted my immaturity and adolescent mind to the world. I am a Human Development major with a concentration in Adolescence, so this shouldn't scare me right? Wrong! However, I have been blog stalking for a while now. Yes, I even stalk people's blogs that I don't really know.. I'm not afraid to admit it. It's finals week, and yes I'm procrastinating when I should be studying for my last final. So, because of my old livejournal days.. I promise, my intention of this blog is to totally glorify the Lord and not be so "emo." Now if that doesn't bring you back to the old livejournal days, I don't know what will!