My Best Friend... My Grandmother.

Today is the Birthday of one of the most important people in my life , it is the Birthday of the person who has influenced my life in the greatest way possibly . Today is my Grandmothers Birthday , such a special day for a special lady.

Let me give you a quick rundown on how awesome she actually is .
My nana ( Nana Lil) is :

• a mother to 12 
• a grandmother to 25
• a  great grandmother to 5

plus she is an aunt, a sister , and a friend to many more.

I can remember asking my nana when I was younger what jobs she used to have , and after listing off many many different professions she settled on Child minding - the job she began 58 years ago with the birth of her first son, my father - and a job she continues to do to this day . In those 58 years my nana has put through her hands I would bet 100's of children, of all ages and all walks of life . It was clearly what she was made to do . Each child that went through that house was loved like another grandchild, cared for like her own, we were all treated the same and all loved oh so much ... and everyone of those children... many of them to this day still call her Nana Lil  .
   Selfishly though I always felt fantastic pride in knowing that she really was my grandmother and when the day was over and the children were gone home , she remained my nana . The nana I could call up if I was feeling sad, or could run down to if I needed tea or some TLC and could just get hugs from always .

Nana Lil has been my only grandmother since I was 5 years old and has been my only grandparent for the past 6 years , so all in all my nana has been both a grandmother and grandfather to me for a very long time , but there is no one more perfect for the job . I could not have been more blessed with such an incredible grandmother.

She is my best friend, the person I literally tell everything to, the person that always has a smile for me when I come in the door of her perfect little house with pictures of all the grandchildren scattered in every available space , the grandmother that has no favourites but at some stage I'm sure we have all though we were her favourite because she always makes us feel so special . The woman who helped raise me, thought me right from wrong , helped me with my homework and kissed away the pains . The person I can not imagine my life without .

Nana has this amazing ability to remember all of the 42 Birthdays we have collectively as a family , plus her own siblings and many more I am sure .... so on her Birthday I wanted to write something to give a little glimpse into how much this special lady means to me - because my nana is not just important on her Birthday she is important everyday and although I doubt she will ever read or even see this I wanted to do something special for her .

Happy Birthday Nana , I love you more then words can say ♥ 

 

Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪ 

(p.s. fun fact, the Elizabeth in my name is after her, so I have a little piece of her with me always) x

The Little Things

Have you ever heard the expression  little things can go a long way ? Well I am a firm believe in this saying . I am a big fan of the little things in life , the perks of being alive in this world is experiencing little moments that make you feel very glad that you are apart of it. My first week back to college has come and gone ( more on this later) and I seem to be noticing and experiencing these splendid little moments of goodness more often , or maybe I am appreciating the little things more because I am away from home... either way I have decided to compile somewhat of a list of the little things that make my heart smile.
(in no particular order )

The exciting buzz around college , meeting your college buddies , having tea/coffee/hot chocolate in our old perches and picking up the conversation where we left off 4 months ago . 

Living with 2 people who never fail to make me feel at home  away from home . 

Leaving my favorite perfume at home so that when I go home at the weekend it is the smell of weekends and home life ... ( but remembering to spray a little bit of my teddy so if I need it that comfort is here too)

Hot water bottles. 

Sugary tea in a big mug 

Holding my 1 month old nephew for an hour and just staring at him because of how perfect he is .

Having a 1 month old nephew.

Talking to him about everything and anything and for the first time EVER in my arms watch and hear him giggle ...for the first time ever...

rubbing his left cheek and seeing the little smirk that will act as his weapon to get out of tricky situations in his future. 

Seeing that very same smirk in my 4 year old niece and knowing it works on me. 

Talking to Lilly about her very busy week at preschool and  how great a big sister she is . 

Watching her be a great big sister. 

Tickling her and listening to her beautiful laugh . 

Laughing when she tries to tickle me back . 

Getting a big smile from an old man in a church just because he is happy to be there . 

Smiling back because I can , and because I am happy to be there too .

Seeing a tour guide hold up a "thank you" sign when a driver leaves the tour bus go on a very busy bridge in Galway ( this is a sort of you had to be there moment,but trust me it was very sweet)

Saturday evening tea with my grandmother... one of my favorite things in the entire world

Hearing her call me darling 

Lovely random text messages. 

Having one of those awesome AHA and WOW moments when you read something in your bible... or another book . 

Yankee Candles

8 track ( an awesome little music website/app that I am currently obsessed with)

tumblr and Pinterest 

The Cathedral in Galway. 


There are I'm positive many other things that make my heart smile , there really are too many to mention but these are the more obvious ones that have dawned on me lately . I heard somewhere this week that I should enjoy the little things in life because one day I will look back and realize they were the big things... do I believe this ... absolutely .

I hope that everyday you can find something that makes your heart smile but please remember to do things to make other peoples hearts smile too.

Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪

New Year , New Room !

So another college year has come around again , which means a new apartment with my lovely friends . Getting to decorate my new room whatever way I wanted was very exciting , and with help from my friends I finally got it just the way I imagined :) 

This is a little inside into my college life !!

Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪