Photo Dump // Life Update

Hello to everyone who might still read this blog! I have not forgotten about this little corner of the internet, and while I miss having all the time I once did to jump on here and post, I would not change a thing about the season of life God currently has me in. I have been learning so much! The fall semester of my freshman year went super well, and I am now in my second semester with spring break looming just around the corner (one week off at the beginning of March - woohoo!) My classes have been challenging yet rewarding, and I am giving them my all! Plus working Tuesday and Saturday afternoons and Thursday evenings 😅 When I am not doing school or working, I am reading, trying to get back into jogging regularly, adding driving hours to my permit, or writing (with God's grace and help, I am determined to shape my latest idea into a novel - currently I am 20,000+ words in). So, yep, life has been busy, but good. 

2023 started off a little rough for my family. We spent the last week or so of December attempting to keep an intense stomach bug from spreading in the family after one of my siblings came down with it. Many of our plans for the holidays were cancelled, but God stayed faithful and He brought us through it - also (VERY thankful for this), my sibling recovered well and no one else ended up catching the bug. Then January rolled in, bringing with it another illness and a couple emergency room visits. Yet through it all, God was working, and He sustained and strengthened us. So grateful 💗

And so now, without any further ado, some photos from the past few months:

DECEMBER:

for Christmas, my supervisors at work treated me to my first Starbucks coffee 😊

making peppermint chex mix!

Mom and me <3

trip to the antique store with my mom and sisters!

found some gently used Christian fiction books at said antique store selling for a little over $1 apiece *heart eyes*

JANUARY:

good start to the spring semester :)

did the March for Life for the first time!

FEBRUARY:

bookstore visit!

I do not think I will ever outgrow my love for fake food xD 

writing!

my amazing blogger friend, Lilly, whom I have known/followed for the past four+ years, was published in an anthology! I downloaded Seize the Love onto my Kindle/phone the other day and look forward to diving into all the stories. (that cover is gorgeous, by the way, and went perfectly with my Valentine's Day nail polish :D)

Valentine's Day tea party with my sisters (in our pajamas) :D

currently reading ^_^

Did you enjoy this life update/photo dump? What are you currently reading? How has your 2023 been thus far?

ALSO: if you would like to see more from me, feel free to check out my brand-new Instagram page, where I try to get on occasionally with fun photos, devotions, and brief snippets from my life. 😄

Until next time!

Not just surviving,

Ellen S.