1 year anniversary

1 year of marriage. Wow. It feels like yesterday when I was putting on my white lace dress. But when I think about all that has happened this year, I am overwhelmed. So much growth, change, and learning has taken place in such a short amount of time. What I feel today is gratitude for the blessings I have been given this year. I have never been happier. I am taking this time to reflect on our beautiful and perfect wedding day.

Thank you Jordan Shepherd for loving me fiercely, leading our marriage with strength, and always putting Christ at the center. You are more than I could have ever asked for.

(and thank you for taking me to Cirque Du Soleil and the fanciest hotel, Conrad Hilton. You sure do know how to make a girl feel special.)

Happy anniversary, I can't believe I get to spend every year with you for the rest of my life!

Graduated

WE ARE COLLEGE GRADUATES!!!

We took our finals, hosted a party, slept until noon, shook President Smith's hand, and had some quality time with family. It was a full week.

I have to say, I did get a little emotional during the commencement ceremony. As I watched my fellow  grads walk across the stage, I couldn't help but think about all of the memories we have made together in the passed four years. IWU has been the source of a lot of stress, but mostly a lot of joy and growth. During my time here, I have done missions in Greece, became a barista, started this little blog, got elected as Vice President of PRSSA, got engaged, lived in Ireland, spent a weekend in Paris, interned with The Boys and Girls Club, got married, and all the while forming deep and lasting friendships with some really amazing people. Now it's time to say thank you, and farewell.

And hey, we're done. We did it. We have bachelors degrees. What??!!!

graduating seniors party on Race Street!!!! 

celebrating our first day of post-grad life with breakfast at a new local diner

walking to the senior picnic at President Smith's house

Friday night baccalaureate ceremony

our lovely caps & tassels (plus Jordan's Cum Laude Honors cord!)

my boys.

about to enter the chapel!

Public Relations degree....

...Marketing degree

President Smith. Love that guy.

all the pretty grads

yayyyy!!!!

:) 

Dowell fam

Shepherd brothers & sisters

Shepherd fam

party at the Shepherd house with yummy food, coffee, Toby the dog, and gifts

Shepherd bro/sis Ben & Jerry's pajama party

A few of my gifts - leather name embossed Bible & a new road bike to take with me to Colorado!

To our parents,

You have made this experience possible. Thank you for all that you do for us. We can't express enough how much we appreciate your support and love and sacrifice. It is because of you that we are here living out our dreams. We love you!!!

- Alli and Jordan

Near The End

At 12:00pm today,  I walked out of my very last class session at Indiana Wesleyan University.

My college To-Do list is quickly getting smaller, and the feeling of freedom and accomplishment has started to settle in. I am relieved to say that I've completed my general class assignments, research papers, campaign final proposal, senior project portfolio, and the dreaded senior project presentation. Whew! 

After finals are over on Wednesday next week, I will be officially done with everything undergrad. I can't believe this time has actually come (it still doesn't feel real). Now I am preparing to soak up every last moment with the people I have made memories with over these four amazing years. 


This is a time to reflect, celebrate, and be thankful. Here comes the emotion roller coaster. 

I think the right word to use here is bittersweet. yes, very bittersweet. 

{Merry Christmas!}

 The week has full. It started with the annual family tradition of Christmas caroling around the Marion neighborhoods - with all 45 members of Jordan's extended family. I have to admit...before I met Jordan I never knew that people still went Christmas caroling. But now it seems completely normal to me. I absolutely love it. 

Besides caroling, we have spent most of our time eating, relaxing with family, singing in the church choir together, and playing with baby Oliver. This morning was a typical Christmas with jammies and gifting. We finally got done opening presents at 3:00pm with a giant breakfast to follow. Now we are committed to watching Parks and Recreation and playing board games all night. It has been such a blessing to have all 10 of us Shepherds together for an entire weekend. We have too much fun together. 

And tomorrow we head to the mitten for another round of celebrating! Hello snow and Dowell family madness :) 

  

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

- John 1:1-6

{Happy Thanksgiving}

Today I look to this verse:

 "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."1 Thessalonians 5:18 

It am thanking the Lord for guiding my steps. He has brought me to this place where I can easily see Him working and moving, showing me how to love and give freely everyday. I have an amazing husband, loyal and supportive friends, the best family in the world, and a warm home. It's my last year of undergrad and there is a whole new adventure awaiting me. God is good.  

I am thankful to be where I am right now, sharing a meal with my family and taking time to rest and reflect on life's blessings. It is a perfect day to celebrate with turkey, green bean casserole, and apple pie. 

  

What are you thankful for on this Thanksgiving day? 

{Lumberjack}

I thought this was sort of funny. 

I am married to a big bearded lumberjack. 

I can't complain though. My husband did all of our laundry today as I was absorbed in blog mode for five hours straight. He also provided lovely musical entertainment via guitar while I brushed my teeth this morning. I am thankful to be married to a man who consistently offers simple gestures of love and kindness, and  encourages the much needed "girl time" when I'm craving to bake treats and watch cheesy movies. 

J-man, I really do love you and your costume. Such a trooper for getting all dressed up and showing your Halloween spirit. 

If you didn't see my costume, you should. Check it out here. 

reflection.

I leave Ireland in 4 days. It still hasn't hit me yet.

In order to process and fully transition from Ireland to America, this week is dedicated to our last assignment - the integrative 10 pager about our experiences here, and also packing all that we have learned about Ireland into this one assignment (which is a lot!). Along with the paper, we are taking some time to reflect on this semester as a group. We had our first debriefing session today, which included sharing our favorite stories and memories, and then time on our own doing a journaling exercise. By the end, we each had narrowed down our top 3 events/themes/things learned while being here.

My Top 3:

1. Finding solitude and rest, allowing myself to be quiet and alone: I have found my introverted side. I have recognized that being with people constantly is not healthy. I have learned to love my time in stillness with God.

2. Growing through conversations and intimate one-on-one time with specific people here: Jordan, Emily McCardle (Squirrel), Kyle and Kelsey, Laura, and Jen Lewis. These people have taught me so much.

3. Truly appreciating home. Being here has given me a whole new perspective on the U.S. I hope that I will never again take for granted the blessings I have. I am so so excited to be back in my familiar place with the people that I love and have missed everyday of this semester.


I have felt the ache of being away from the people I am closest to, especially the ones I am used to seeing all the time. Now I realize just how important they are to me. I have become so emotional and sentimental lately, because I can see that my life would not be the same without them.

My parents have raised me, loved me, supported me, and poured into my life in every way. My sister is my other half - she understands me best. My soon to be in-laws have welcomed me into their home and have treated me like their own daughter for the past two years. My friends at IWU (Hannah, Tim, Beth, Kate) are the people that keep me sane, grounded, and joyful, each one bringing their own unique and beautiful impact into my life.


Nothing can replace these people.

Missing Home

Lately, I have been too easily irritated. Being in Ireland is great, don't get me wrong. But there are those moments, those days, when I crave to be home. I miss the people in my life who know me deeply, and I really can't wait to get back to the familiarity of the States. I have learned so much about myself already, and now I am being challenged to keep growing rather than give up.

One thing I know for sure is that I will no longer hate on the USA as much as I used to.