my one word

Back at the beginning of the year, I shared that I was going to be choosing one word to live by throughout 2016. I had a word in mind at that time but I wasn't completely sure it was the right word. So before I share anymore here, I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't even going to write this post at all. But then today during my IF:Equip devotional, I read this:

"It’s easy to put up a front and try to keep up appearances. To pretend to be put together when you’re really falling apart. To try and please other people rather than God. Something deep in us wants to be “fine” all the time, to act like we have it all together. But when we allow our walls to come down and we get real and honest about our lives, we see that Jesus is ready to carry the burdens we bear and others are ready to help carry them, too."

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

I feel like God put that in front of me to read today on purpose. He wants me to open up, be authentic, and share my heart with you {whoever might be reading this}.

My one word for this year is LOVE. Such a simple word but I truly believe it is the most important word of all. It holds so much in those four little letters. During January and the beginning of this month, that word has been on my mind and has come up in so many of my interactions with others. The moment that stands out the most is when Julianna told me that she was telling other kids in her class about Jesus. I asked her what she shared and she said, "I told them that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and that He loves us." At five years old, she is bold. She is brave. I am so thankful that she knows just how much our Savior loves us.

This past weekend, I had the honor of spending time with some wonderful women from my community. We gathered together for the IF: Gathering. The vision for IF is to gather, equip, and unleash women to live out God’s calling on their lives. Getting together with other women and having to open up on a deeper level terrifies me! But it's necessary. We have to open up to one another. We just can't do this alone and we don't have to. The word love weaved itself throughout all of the messages I heard. At the end, we had to choose something that we were going to fall into this year and write it on a domino. I chose love.

So how is this one word going to change my day to day? I am going to more intentionally show love. This can be done by simply acts of kindness because they are so powerful. But it's gotta be a little harder than that or it isn't going to push me to live my life any differently. I plan to work harder at loving people in my life that are hard for me to love. I want to show my husband and children more grace. I just want to live like Jesus. 

Life is so messy sometimes but I hope to be able to share more of the real me here and on my Instagram account because there's more to me than just clothes. I have a heart for the Lord and I want to share the good news with others.

What's your one word?

fashion + family: wifey

On Saturday, Josh and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. I'm so happy to be married to my best friend. 

We took the girls to Bicentennial Park to the stage where we got married. The four of us stood in that spot and I captured this photo of all of our feet in that spot. Such a special moment. Our lives have changed so much since we stood there, just the two of us, six years ago. The change has been for the better and I love him so much more now than I ever could have imagined. 

Julianna captured this photo of Josh and I standing on the stage. Our little Olivia came running through just in time. This picture is kind of perfect. I love it.

And our anniversary wouldn't be complete without wearing my new wifey tee. I ordered the decal from here and then ironed it onto a Wal-Mart tee. I love how it turned out!

// tee {similar} // decal // necklace //

// sandals // skirt {similar} //

family: Valentine's 2014

I love Valentine's Day. Really, I love all holidays. I love reasons to celebrate. In reality, everyday is "love day" but it's fun to go all out on Valentine's Day. I love the pink, red, and purple. The pretty flowers. And the heart shaped everything. Oh and the sweets. Valentine's Day is just fun. My sweetheart showered myself and our girls with lots of love and treats.

My flowers.

Our heart day goodies from Josh.

My adorable necklace. He stalked my Pinterest and saw that I had pinned this necklace to my Wish List. Smart man of mine.

But the real gifts on Valentine's Day are the people you love. These sweet girls have my heart. 

We celebrated in the best way possible: a family dinner date to Sir Pizza. We enjoyed a delicious meal together and then went for frozen yogurt afterwards. Such a wonderful day!

I hope your Valentine's Day was full of love, hugs, and kisses, too!

family: less & more

I typically don't make new year's resolutions. Mostly because I will forget about them by March.

The past 2 years, I did my one word. In 2012, it was courage and courage was exactly what I needed then. Last year, my one word was encourage. And I hope I succeeded in encouraging others! I was blessed in September with taking over leadership responsibilities for my mom group at church, North Ridge Moms. I have been encouraged by the other women in this group so much! It's been such a blessing in my life!

So this year, I couldn't think of just one word. I thought of an idea to live by. Less or more. What do I need less of in my life and what do I need more of? What is truly important? This took a bit of thinking and reflection but I think I have it narrowed down to what I want to focus on but I may add on as the year goes along.

Family

Less... saying "no"

More... exciting, new adventures and more quality time together 

Finances

Less... spending money on unneeded items (this is why I'm participating in the 2014 Closet Remix Challenge)

More... paying off bills and giving back to Jesus

 

Health

Less... junk food and fast food trips

More... water and daily excercise

Love

Less... distractions when we have time together 

More... dates- at least one per month (babysitters?!)

Living more. Loving more. In 2014.

What are your goals/resolutions/words for 2014? 

Olivia- 4 months

Olivia Grace is 4 months old! The past 4 months have been amazing. Our sweet little Olivia is growing fast. She goes to the peditrician tomorrow for her checkup but I would guess she's between 14 and 15 pounds... she has lots of cute, little rolls and a pudgy tummy. She doesn't miss a meal! She has be exclusively breastfeeding for 4 months now.

She loves to be tickled and talked to- she has the best laugh! She can roll over but she rarely does it. She prefers to just play with her toes or squeal really loudly! Olivia is sleeping better at night now. Usually only waking up once before 6am and sleeping mostly in her crib.

We love our Olivia so much! She has been such an amazing addition to our family! It's hard to remember what life was like before she joined us.

Olivia- 9 weeks old

Olivia was 9 weeks old on Wednesday! She's 2 months old! I can't believe it. I think time is going by faster with her. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was 40 weeks pregnant. She's smiling and "talking" to us more and more now. She enjoys sitting up on the boppy pillow so that she can see what's going on. She follows me around the room with her eyes and enjoys watching her big sister be silly. The love that Julianna has for Olivia is the most precious thing ever. I hope they always love each other deeply. Julianna showers Olivia with kisses and wants to know where she is at all times. So sweet! I love my girls!

love

I saw this church sign today and it totally inspired me:

What a great motto to live by!

happy 3rd anniversary!

Today is our third wedding anniversary. It's kind of hard to believe that 3 years have passed. Time flies when you're having fun! We actually got pregnant around 1st wedding anniversary, had a 3 month old on our 2nd wedding anniversary, and here we are now at 3 years, trying for our next baby. We've been busy!

During the past 3 years, we have bought a home together, job changes, 2nd (and 3rd) dog, we had a beautiful baby girl, and we found our church home. So many wonderful things have happened to us. So many challenging things as well. I am beyond thankful that God gave me Josh to share this journey with. He's truly my rock, my best friend, my sweetheart, and my little girl's amazing father. 

Here's to many more years together. Through the ups and downs, you have my love and support. You always will. Happy Anniversary! 

And now a few wedding pictures for memory lane purposes... 

happy 15 months, Julianna Hope!

Yesterday, we celebrated Julianna turning 15 months. She was 5 months old when she started daycare and her last day for this "school" year, she turned 15 months. Time is flying by and from what I'm told it will continue to fly even faster.

I took her to daycare a little later than normal. She wanted to sleep in. Then I ran errands and cleaned the house. My house hasn't been this clean in months! Then I picked her up early. When I got there it was in the middle of nap time. All of the other babies were sleeping... except for Julianna! She was sitting in the dark beside one of her teachers playing with a cell phone. She slept for 45 minutes and then was ready to play. Go figure... she had to do it up big for her last day! That's my girl! :)

After daycare, she went to the doctor. She weighs 21 pounds and 8 ounces. I can't remember how tall she is but her weight, height, and head circumference are all within the 25th percentile. So she's very proportional... just still on the petite side. The doctor had no worries that she wasn't walking all on her own yet. She said she definitely has the motor skills to do it independently and she will walk alone when she's ready. We are just encouraging her by carrying her less and letting her walk holding on our hand more.

And then came those dreaded shots. Aunt Shandi gave them to her this time and Julianna wasn't happy before or after the experience!

After the doctor, my plan was to go Father's Day shopping. But that didn't work out. She was way to grumpy to go out in public. We made a quick trip to the post office, ate a snack in the car, and then headed straight home. After an hour nap, she was as good as new! She even tried hommus and loved it... just wish I could get her to eat all of her yummy fruits and veggies.

Happy 15 months, Julianna! You make mommy and daddy so happy! We love you more than you could ever imagine! :)

faith-hope-and-love tattoo!

The inspiration:

The foot before:



The foot after:



coming soon to a foot near you...

I'm getting my tattoo in inspiration of Julianna on Saturday. The concept is "Faith, Hope, and Love"... my faith has grown since Julianna was born, she is my hope (and her middle name), and I love everything about my precious little girl! The elements below will be combined into a cute design for my right foot. The font will most likely be a little more cursive-ish that this font.