This Weather.

I'm absolutely in love with this weather. Yes, I know, with this weather comes this ridiculous yellow stuff called pollen, but this weather is well worth it! I love the feeling of the sun on my skin, the cool breeze blowing, the smell of the flowers blooming. Also, the smell of rain. I love the smell of rain. As I'm typing this, I've got the window open and the breeze is carrying the smell of rain right to me. It's perfect.

Today after work I met the hubs and we went and dropped off some firewood for our church's youth retreat at a campground. I got to explore while he labored unloading the firewood. It was an absolutely lovely day!

It was a perfect start to our weekend. Tomorrow is date day!

Dreaming

The hubs and I have spent the past few days dreaming dreams that are very unlikely to ever come true. 

But it is fun to dream and I encourage dreaming. 

I believe it is good for the soul.

These past few days we have been dreaming about our unfinished basement. 

It has to combine a family room, laundry room, and craft room.

We have such grand plans for it, however money (as always) is holding us back. 

But like I said, it doesn't hurt to dream.

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Weekend in Review -- Instagram Edition

This weekend was a relaxing one. 

The weather was beautiful on Sunday so we spent the day outside. 

It was nice just to sit outside and relax.

The hubs played baseball with our furry child.

It was so much fun to watch. 

I admit I laughed when he hit over the fence.

Then hubs decided to cut down a tree in the back yard.

Our furry son wanted to play and not cut down the tree.

It was quite comedic.

While the hubs did all the work I sat and read.

Sherlock Holmes kept me company.

The day ended at Cracker Barrel. 

Yay for their fried apples being gluten free!

Sick.

Exhausted. 

Just want to lay around. 

Coughing. Can't talk. Tight chest. 

Sick.

I don't like this. I just want to rest. But alas. I can sleep when I'm dead. There's work to be done. Cooking. Cleaning. Going to school. More working. It's fun. Can't you tell? At least it's not the flu *knockonwood* as there are many people coming down with it at school. Students and teachers alike. But I refuse to get it. There. Done. It won't happen. Oh. And bad news, it's a strain not protected by the vaccine. Oh well. That's why I don't get it. But that's another story.

So sick. Spending time on the couch. Thank goodness for Netflix and Downton Abbey. I am loving this series. It has sucked me in completely. Of course Lady Maggie Smith is absolutely amazing and makes this show absolutely wonderful. The whole story is just divine. I love being transported back into another day and age. I find myself longing for the more simplistic times. I miss writing letters. I mean, I was never good at it anyway, but I find myself longing to write and then hopefully receive mail. There's just something special about mail.

So I sit here, dreaming of another time, trying to gain strength to cook dinner. I can do this. And in three and a half weeks it will be spring break. Hallelujah. I'm counting down the days. 

For all you fellow Downton Abbey check out this post I found while searching online. Who knew there was this whole Downton Abbey fan world out there!

Nesting

Most people catch the nesting bug once they find out they're pregnant. I am not most people. I have been nesting since we moved into our home a little over a year ago. Is there something wrong with me? I've been laughed at and looked at when I tell people what I've been doing to our "nursery." 

This room has been has been designated as the nursery since the day we bought the house. I picked out the paint color based on the fact that it would eventually serve as the room for our little babies. I knew what it would be and I saw that it would be pointless to paint it otherwise when I knew that eventually I wanted a yellow room. Yes. A yellow room. I love yellow. I know that many people are told to stray away from yellow, but I love this color and it's what I wanted. So there. But I digress. As I begin to put this room together, with the mindset that eventually this will be my nursery. Until it would serve for that purpose it will be my craft room. My bright and fun craft room. But I didn't want to put much on the walls. At least, I didn't want to put up things for me. Well, not my age appropriate. I wanted to put up nursery things. So tough cookies. That's what I did. This room still acts as my craft room. And you know what, adding little childish touches here and there have helped add more creativity in my life. I now want to be in here and work and craft and create! I'm loving it. And this room is coming together piece by piece and touches are being added here and there to make this room just a little more baby friendly. And personally, I love it and I don't care what anybody else says.

Let me reiterate. No I'm not pregnant. Are we working toward getting pregnant within the next year? Yes. But not right now. I guess I'm just a born nester. In my mind it just clarifies what I'm meant to be when I grow up. I'm meant to be a mom. Just a mom. And I can't wait for God to let that dream come true!

Remember these bad amazing boys?

These are the curtains for the nursery. Yes. The nursery. And I'm proud of them.

Too much. In many ways.

March may kill me. It's not even here yet, and it's slowly chipping away at my sanity. I have a major event going on every week (sometimes two major events) this month. I might slowly pull all of my hair out. On top of that I don't know what I'm doing on a day to day basis. Today I sat down maybe a total of 20 minutes, not including lunch. It was the same story yesterday. It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday. But I know at the end of the month there is freedom spring break. It's better than nothing. Plus there's this gift certificate I got for Christmas for a 30 minute massage that I'm just itching to use. 

To top things off, first period in two and a half months has now come back with a vengeance. I know. TMI. But here's the back story... 

I'm officially off the pill. Yes. You read that right. I'm off the pill. This is a cause for celebration if you ask me. The past few months, since October probably, my body has been rebelling against me and this pill I've been putting in it. My hormones have been going haywire and my schedule has been off for the past three months while still on the pill. I've skipped the past two months. SCARY! I took pregnancy test after pregnancy test and they all came out negative. What had I done?! I began to get scared that I had put too much hormone into my body. That this thing that I thought was okay to take has ruined me. I was freaking out. So I took myself off the pill went to the doctor and we decided for me to stop taking the pill. 

Well, for this past month I've been off and it has been a month of miracles. I'm back on schedule. I feel normal. I'm human again (Only human again, When the world once more makes sense) Okay. Enough Beauty and the Beast. I couldn't help myself though. I pray that things continually get better though. And let me just say, I've never been as happy as I am now to have cramps wake me up in the middle of the night.

Okay. Now that this is in typing. I'm scared to hit "publish." Is what I said too much? Too inappropriate? I'm still trying to feel my way around this whole blogging sphere. But here I go. Putting myself out there. Jumping out into the unknown. It's written now. There's no reason to erase it all. Who knows. My saying this may help someone out there. 

It's late. Dinner needs to be cooked. The house needs to be cleaned. Here I go again.

Seriously.

It's 73 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Really? It's winter. And tomorrow. It's supposed to be back in the 30s. No wonder I'm so sick. It's beautiful one day. Cold and rainy the next. 

Today was a long day. I need the beach. That seems to be the theme of life lately. I need the beach.

In other news...

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In one month from today, my life will change. FOR THE BETTER! Hello Hunger Games! I cannot wait! I've got my outfit all picked out, tickets almost bought (just trying to nail down a location), and I'm ready. I'm so ready. 

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Longing...

It's February. 

Winter. 

Wet. 

Cold. 

Dreary.

Well. Some days. Other days it feels like spring. The sun is shining. The windows are open in my house allowing for a nice cool breeze. The sun feels warm on the skin. I love days like this. Luckily, most of our winter here in Georgia has been filled with warmer days. But these warmer days make me long for spring. Real spring. Not this fake one we're having where one day it's in the upper 60s/low 70s and the next day it's in the 30s. I'm not really digging this. Plus, it's not good for my allergies. 

I long for the beach. I long for life in Costa Rica. I miss those shores. I miss the fact that I was 5 minutes from the beach. I miss the "hora tica" lifestyle. The breeze. The sand. The open air homes. I miss it. Everything about it. I would love to be able to get back there one day. To see the school I taught at. The family who took me in and I called my own for those two months.

I took this photo in Costa Rica at our beach house in Matapalo.

But since it doesn't seem likely that I will be able to get to Costa Rica anytime soon, any beach will really do. I just want some sand, salt water, a cool ocean breeze, a good book, and my husband. Time to relax and renew. 

I don't know when the next time I'll get to see the beach will be, but at the moment there is a longing deep in my soul that is crying out. It's that feeling deep down that says "go to the beach, where everything is ok."

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Life's Insanity

This has been the longest week. Things have been crazy both at work and at home. But I'm excited about where life is taking us and where God is leading us. 

Last night I rocked the red high heels. And can I tell you how good it felt?! There's just something about them that makes me stand taller and hold my head a little higher. 

I mean who wouldn't feel good in these amazing shoes! If I ever need a self-esteem boost I can put these puppies on and feel like a million bucks, and they definitely helped out last night. It's the little things that count. 

The hubs and I have always been of the mindset that I will stay home when we start our family. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way. I am one who wants to raise my kids. I want to be home for them. 

For every milestone. 

Every smile. 

Every sickness. 

Everything. 

This being said, because I won't be "working," the hubs would be the sole support of the family. Something that he wants to do. But I know the toll it takes on him. I can see it when he comes home. The stress weighs him down. But he wouldn't have it any other way. He wants me to stay home just as much as I want to stay home. So how can I help him? How can I make it to where he's not working so many hours in a day so that I don't see him until the weekend. I want him to be home just like I want to be home. I've been praying for God to give me an opportunity to help take the stress off of him. And last night that opportunity came. I'm not quite ready to dive into all the details, but let's just say, with this opportunity 

I'll be able to stay home with my babies! 

I came home with a smile on my face and my heart filled with joy. God has provided! I'm so excited about this opportunity! I hope to share the news with you sooner than later, but for now, know things are looking up for us. God always provides! And when He decides for our family to start growing, He will be there guiding our footsteps in every way.

 (And hopefully those red high heels will help me look good along the way.)

Love is in the air...

Well, there wasn't too much hoopla yesterday. The hubs has small group with church on Tuesday nights and works after that, so our evening was condensed into about 30 minutes.

I cooked him his favorite meal and it was ready by the time he got home from his first job. And so was his present. I gave him a book filled with 12 date nights - 1 for each month. I found this link on Pinterest and, as I was having a hard time coming up with ideas, this sounded like the perfect thing to do for Valentine's Day. I made it my own though, and mixed up some "stayin' in" date nights and some "goin' out" date nights. Doing this was a stretch for me, as I don't like to be the one to come up with the dates. That's supposed to be his job. Right? Well. I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I'm excited to see what all ends up going on and how he enjoys them! 

I placed all our "date cards" in a photo album, and part of the plan is to capture these date nights on camera and replace the date cards with the pictures. This way we'll have the memories for years to come. And who knows, if all goes well, maybe we'll make this a yearly thing! Anyway, our first "date" is at the end of the month, so I'll let you know how it goes!

He got me the traditional my two favorites: red roses and Reese's Cups. My husband knows me so well. However, I'm about to hide these Reese's before I get too fat off of them.

So, while the hubs had small group I got to work in my new organized craft room. It was a lovely evening full of sewing, Cinderella, and the all important and amazing Doctor Who. All-in-all it was a wonderful night and I'm completely happy with the way things turned out!

Weekend in Review

Well. Tomorrow is Monday (Or today depending on where you're reading this from). The weekend has been uneventful but full of accomplishments - on my end that is. 

Yesterday, we hung out and ate lunch at a good friend's house and learned about a possible new business opportunity (more to come on that later). We had amazing potato soup and artichoke dip and just hung out and explored ideas. Now it's time for us to trust God to lead us down the right path.

Then it was off on a Walmart trip for dog food and other odds and ends. When we got home I set to work on the craft room/future nursery. It had been our crap junk room since the day we've moved in and I was sick of it. So out went the boxes and in went the amazing things. Now the room is open and airy and I feel like I can get back to crafting in there! I'm so excited about it. (Before and after pictures to come)

Today was church and I got to love on some babies. This is not helping my baby fever and the hubs is not happy about that ;) Oh well. When the LORD gives us children I'll be ready and excited (the sooner the better though ;) )

Then we went to lunch at the hubs's grandmother's house. We had yummy borscht (it was clearly the perfect cold weekend for soup) and got to enjoy some time sitting there and listening to her story. She was rescued during WWII and brought to the United States. It's just amazing to listen to her tell what she went through and how God provided for her throughout her time in the camps. 

So all in all, the weekend was a good one. Not too busy, but things did get accomplished. Now it's on to Monday and a new week. 

Cold weekends mean there's a fire in the fireplace, something my dog absolutely loves. 

Yes, he is laying on the hearth. Strange, I know.

Date Talks

Last Saturday the hubs and I had our garage sale date. Here is a recap of all that we got.

For all of you who go garage sale-ing, you know that you spend quite some time in the car. Now the hubs and I aren't really into listening to the radio. We prefer the quietness, because sometimes there's something in the quietness. Also, without the radio it allows us time to talk and catch up with each other. During the week, he works two jobs so I hardly get to see him. When the weekend arrives, it's time for us to play catch up, and listening to the radio prevents that opportunity.

Like most other car rides, the radio is off and we're talking. We talk about our needs and wants as a couple and our needs and wants as an individual. What I need from our relationship is different than what the hubs needs from the relationship. We're not struggling at all in our relationship, just sometimes it's the little things that frustrate us. Sometimes we get so much into routine and all about us and what makes us happy that we forget the important things. It's also hard to communicate when we hardly see each other. And communicating is difficult when we each have a different love language. (Have you ever read that book? I highly recommend it for everyone. Married or not.) My love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation. The hubs is acts of kindness and physical touch. 

Okay. So we've got the whole physical touch thing down, but the other two are difficult for the both of us. The hubs prefers having something done for him. That's how he feels loved. I prefer words of encouragement from the people I love. That's how I feel loved. Very different forms of showing love. And it's my job as a wife to work on speaking to my husbands love language, just as it's his job to speak to mine. If I'm honest with myself, the past few weeks I've been kind of slacking in the whole loving my husband through his love language. Life has come and swept me up in all of its chaos, and I had lost sight of the important things. In our conversation this past Saturday, love languages came up and I had to face the fact that I had not been doing the best job for my husband. 

This past week, I have tried my best to speak to my husband through his love language. It's not been easy. Acts of kindness are not my strong suit. But I'm trying. And I'm praying that God will help me speak to my husband in a way that he alone understands. 

So here it is. All out in the open. I love being a wife and I love my husband. It's not always easy being a wife, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have the best husband in the world and I'm so excited about the journey we are on together and I'm anxious to see where God takes us. 

To find out what your love language is click here

I seriously recommend this book. It's life changing.

A lot has happened...

these past few days. Firstly, I got my GACE scores back. And drum roll please,

I PASSED!!!!!

I was shocked. I did not expect to pass this test. For one, I thought it was too easy, and I never pass "too easy" tests. I tend to over think them, which makes for a failing test grade. I guess this time being sick paid off. Which brings me to the second reason I think I failed. I was so sick that day, and it was a rough morning. But God clearly knew what He was doing and miracle of miracles I passed. *Still in shock*

The past week has been nothing but crazy at work. But I like crazy. It makes the week go by faster. However, through all the crazy-ness that has ensued this past week, I have discovered just how blessed I am. I love my job and my co-workers rock. I am so blessed by where I work and who I work with. God is so good in letting me work there. I just hope and pray that I'm using my job for His purpose and I shine with His glory.

In other news, I'm researching Disney vacation for the hubs and me. Our last "hurrah" before we start a family. So this has me beyond excited. I am a self-proclaimed Disney freak. I love everything Disney. Tuesday nights are my Disney movie nights while the hubs has small group. This week was Beauty and the Beast. I love watching and singing along and I'm pretty sure the guys in the living room hear every word I sing.  Oh well :)

What makes this trip even better is the hubs has yet to experience the wonderful world that is Disney (well, he went once when he was 2 but that doesn't count). Plans are running around like crazy in my mind and I'm just praying that somehow things will fall into place and we'll be able to go.

I know I promised a post on how the actual date went - not just the lovely goodies we got - and it's coming. There's a lot to talk about and so I'm still working through how I want to word what I learned.

So any other Disney-fanatics out there who have advice for this traveler?

It's been a while

Things have been...blah lately. I blame it on this weather. It's been a dreary January. Unseasonably warm (today's high is in the upper 60s/70s) but still quite blah. I don't know what it is about this blah weather. All it does is make me want to take a nap. Of course I can't tell that it's blah outside during the day when I'm stuck in my closet of an office, so the blah doesn't hit until the drive home. Then the exhaustion catches up to me. Doubts start creeping into my mind. And all I want to do is either a) take a bath or b) take a nap. Not such a good thing for my house. I have convinced myself to do a few things around the house, but it usually takes a lot of convincing.

Then I saw this verse posted by a friend this morning and it hit me hard in the gut. It was the perfect word to wake up to this morning.

And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. 

1 Corinthians 7:17 the Message

It stands as an encouragement. No matter what, I'm where He wants me to be and I should be happy and seeking Him in this place. It's hard when things get so blah, but that's when I should be seeking Him the most. There's something out there that He wants me to see, but I have to seek after Him to find it. So in the blah-ness of this month and the wintry months following, I will seek after Him in all things and through seeking after Him I will find joy and peace and purpose.

Baby Fever

To become a family. It's something I've always dreamed of. 

To be a mother. It's something I've always wanted to be.

I can only imagine what it would be like to hold a newborn child. To see hubs holding his son/daughter. I can only dream of that and boy, I cannot wait for that to be reality. There is just something deep within me that just longs to be a mother. That maternal instinct. I can feel it bubbling up inside of me, and at times I could cry because I just want to be a mother so badly. And Pinterest isn't helping me one bit. 

But I know there's a time and a season for that, and right now is not that time. I'm having to rely on the knowledge that God knows better than me. His plans are perfect. I have to have faith He knows what He's doing and I have to have wisdom to follow that plan. He knows what is best for me, even if I don't agree at the moment, and I want to honor Him and follow His plan. It's not easy. By no means is it easy. I fight it every step of the way. But I know I need to start waking up every morning proclaiming, "not my will, but Yours."

So here's to a new day and a new beginning. One that will bring heartache and joy. But that's what life brings. It's a guarantee. And that's okay. Without heartache there wouldn't be joy. That's the truth of the matter. 

So to end this little rant I'm going to indulge you with the cutest baby things I could find. This isn't helping my baby fever, oh well.

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Date Night

It's really hard for hubs and I to do a date night. With his hours he typically doesn't get home until 7:30[pm] some nights and other nights it's after 10[pm] before I see him. By that time I'm done ready for bed. One reason is I'm part old person, the other is of my schedule. I have to leave the house around 6:30[am] in order to get to my job on time. By 10[pm] it's getting late and I'm needing to get myself into bed. So it's hard for us to do a date night because our schedules so rarely match up. Also, we're doing our best to pay off school bills and the truck right now. Translation: we don't have the means to spend the money to go out. This presents us with yet another problem.

One of my "To dos"{seen here}is to date my husband, so naturally that means going on a date night. As I was browsing on Pinterest (yes, I am addicted), I came upon this blog entry by Love Actually. Now I am an avid reader and I love all things books, so when I saw {this}date night idea I started salivating. I love bookstores. I have always said that my heaven would be a giant bookstore (all the books would be free of course), but I just love them. So here's a new idea for a fun and creative date night. I'll have to see if we can find time in our busy schedule to make something like this happen. Perhaps early one Saturday morning...

I mean, doesn't that look like so much fun!

{I find as I type this I'm completely spoiled by my phone's autocorrect (most of the time). Sometimes my fingers decide in which order they want to hit (or not hit) the keys and I'm so used to the phone just correcting it for me. Do you ever notice the way you get used to things being set up and fixed for you?}

Wifely Wednesdays

The hubs and I have been married for two years now, and we are still learning about each other. Last year, we took the plunge and bought our first house (after living with my parents for awhile until we found a place). So we've spent the past year making this house a home.

Now we have very different tastes. Hubs enjoys all things neutral, and I enjoy all things color (lots of it). He, of course, was a gentleman and let me pick out a lot of the colors. We only debated a little bit, but in the end we learned to compromise. I think we're both very happy with what we chosen in the end. Now that we've lived here in the house for a year, I'm ready for another change and some more paint. Hubs has something to say about that though, "It's not gonna happen." If I had my way, I'd change things around about once a month, that's just my nature. I like to keep things moving and different and spontaneous. Unfortunately, hubs likes to keep things simple and the same. Polar opposites. It helps that we don't have the money for me to change things around all the time, otherwise hubs would come home daily to changes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the way my house looks and the paint scheme we've already chosen, I just see things places *coughpinterestcough* and I want to change some things up. But I do love my house and I'm enjoying making it a home alongside with the one I love.

Making this house a home continually opens new things for hubs and I to discover about each other and ourselves. One question always reigns in my head, am I being a helper or an obstacle? My husband is an amazing man and encouragement and I've loved seeing him grow at home and in life. And I've been looking and discovering what my role is as a working wife with a home. I've always been a working wife, but we haven't had a home of our own before. Hubs is working so hard providing for me, keeping us above water, and making it possible to grow our family (eventually). So I now have to focus on, am I being his helper or his obstacle when it comes to things.

So here is to our continuing journey of discovering living life with each other and creating our dream home.

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I'm trying to figure out how to upload this pictures and post them in an organized matter, but I'm having no luck with it! Any tips?

By The Fire

My favorite thing about our house is the fireplace. This season we have taken full advantage of having one. It's become my dog's favorite thing too. He enjoys laying in front of it at all times, especially when we have to stoke it and add more. He's even tried to lie on the hearth instead of in front of it.

Today he succeed...

Contemplating getting up there.

He seems rather pleased with himself.

He didn't last long up there, but it was fun while it lasted.

Do your pets do anything silly like this?

Day by Day

My job is a kind of ho-hum job. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but some days are just kind of blah and boring days with nothing much to do. Well, I came into today thinking that today was most likely going to be one of those blah and boring days. I guess God was just trying to prove me wrong.


First, I see a beautiful sunrise on the way to work. I mean really, it was b e a utiful.

Then I get to school and find out my friend is pregnant (I'm so excited for her!).

Next is the best surprise for the day. I'm running errands around the building like a typical morning and I hear a "m e o w" coming from a cluster of teachers and a parent. Turns out the parent was going to take it to the Humane Society because they weren't able to keep it anymore. One of the teachers she was talking with does pet adoption and fostering, so she said that she would take the cat and foster it until she could find a permanent home for it. I happen to walk by as all of this is going on and overhear the conversation. Unfortunately the teacher couldn't keep the cat with her all day because she had students, so, naturally, I offer my small office to keep the c a t in. Thus turning my "blah and boring day" into a not so "blah and boring day."

Seasons

"everything    has    a     season"

At least that was what I was told. I, however, am impatient and want things now. I don't want to wait for the "season" that it should fall under. As a person filled with many passions, I tend to follow the passions whether or not it is the right time for them.

The hubby and I have been happily married for two years now. In the two years we have two lovely babies (our puppies Hank and Liberty) and a house. We've been through two moves, and for the first time in two years we've been able to open up all of our wedding gifts. In those two years we've learned and loved. We've fought, argued, gotten mad, made up, loved, held hands and taken adventures. It's amazing to see how far we've come from our one bedroom 500sqft rental house and now to a house of our very own. We've grown to know each other more and more, and also we've grown to love each other more and more. 

There have been some rough patches, but through it all we've fallen more in love and closer together. Looking back now I can see how things fell into place. Everything had its season, its perfect season. It didn't matter if I had another idea in mind, everything laid out exactly how it was supposed to. And it turned out wonderfully and I couldn't be more grateful for the life I have. 

So now I realize that even though I have a different plan in my mind, it might not yet be the season for the plan to unfold. Rather, there might be a better season out there waiting for me. No matter what it will be I know it'll be an adventure and I look forward to it. Rather than sitting here wishing to change the season and make it what I want, I open my waiting arms for whatever the seasons bring me. I look forward to the adventures that will come my way and I can't wait to record them and share them here.

So here is to the season that life brings me. Here is to the adventures that will come my way.

a.w.