For this first time in what feels like forever, I am sipping on a vanilla latte, gazing out the window watching cars go by as I settle into the comforting feel and buzz of the chatter at my favorite local coffee shop.  Whether writing a paper in college or working on a message for college ministry, planting myself at a little coffee shop to get things done amidst the light chatter and sounds of the espresso machine has always been the perfect environment to encourage the words to pour out from my fingers.   So when I had a little time in between appointments and my computer in the backseat I knew that this was just what I needed to spend some time looking back on 2014 before the next year is here.   

Growing up in the late 80s/early 90s, when I thought of the year 2020, I pictured an environment very much like the Jetsons.  I figured that we would be driving around flying cars, have robot dogs and live in homes that looked like spaceships.  Although things are not quite as I hoped as a kid, zooming around in flying cars, I am so thankful for where the Lord has lead me thus far. (and I mean shoot, we have 5 years till 2020- you never know what technology will look like by then!)

Looking back on 2014, here are some of the highlights and lessons that I’ve learned:

- In January, we added Finn to our family!! I learned lots about trusting the Lord as he had many health issues as a kitten, and realized just how much having children someday will require every fiber in my being to rely on the Lord. 

- It was a rough winter!!! But that made me super thankful for two things: sunshine and a fireplace!! I cannot tell you enough how much I love making a fire in the fireplace- it is sooo nostalgic of childhoods spent by the fire or trips to Colorado warming up our toes after a long day skiing.  I am soo thankful that we were able to get an insert in our previously unusable fireplace to make it a toasty asset for warming our house!  You can count on me to be making a fire anytime you come over to visit- it might even be borderline warm outside and this girl will still find a reason to get the fireplace going. 

- In March, my sister turned 30!  It was so cool to be a part of this monumental year in her life and to see the way that she embraced the sometimes intimidating big 3-0!  Celebrating with a scavenger hunt was one of the many fun things we did to honor her special year! 

- I definitely learned that friendships are HARD.  Struggling with the ebbs and flows of long-time friendships and others that have dropped off the map, I discovered that my desire for community and deep relationships is as strong as the hulk.  I’ve learned to rely on the Lord to fill the void left by friendships lost, and I am still learning how to adjust to changes.  This has been a huge part of my 2014 and I am eager to see how God grows me and teaches me in this in the next year. 

- Surprising my mom by taking her on a trip for her 60^th birthday was a ginormous highlight of the year.  Thinking she was just going on a trip to an unknown destination with my dad, it was so fun to show up at the airport and reveal to her that we were not just there to send her off but to join for a fun-filled vacay to Maine.  This was a first time with my husband on a family trip- so this was a blessing and a learning curve as well. 

- This past summer, I finally took the jump into all things Young Living. Having used essential oils for several years, I finally took the dive to sign up, learn more about it, and share with others the immense benefits and blessings that can be found through essential oils (and I’ve already reaped some of the financial benefits too!).  They have changed my life, and I can’t wait to put more effort into this endeavor of sharing Young Living in 2015.  P.s. want to know more, please let me know!!

- In November, my husband and I took an anniversary trip to Seattle – this was definitely high on the list of highlights.  Continuing what we hope will be a tradition of taking a getaway around the time of our anniversary, Chris and I explored and relaxed in the delicious food-filled, beautiful although sometimes rainy location of Seattle.  We also marked this 3^rd year as a special one by having anniversary photos taken by our wedding photographers who live in Seattle  (like the one above- can’t wait to share more).    Spending time with Marissa and Meghan, two phenomenal and oh-so-talented photographers who share our love for the Lord, was like donuts for breakfast- a joyful and filling time.  They showed us places of the city we hadn't seen, snapped pics, and chatted and laughed over wine and cheese.  (It's pretty cool how the Lord connects believers together through his Holy Spirit- I LOVE when this instant bond seems visible.)

This is just a tiny taste of my year and the highlights and lessons I have learned.  Don’t get me wrong, there were difficulties and sad moments laced into the good... but overall, I am so thankful because I feel so so blessed.  The Lord has been so good to me and my family and He deserves so much praise and thanksgiving for every way that He cares for us. 

I am looking forward to 2015 and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store.

May your end of the year be so full of joy and love and bubbly!  Praying that you are able to look back with thanks and look forward with hope to what the Lord has planned for you in the next year. 

xoxo

---- Image by: Marissa Maharaj ----

It has been far too long since I have sat down to write, but let me tell you - the last couple months have been crazy.  I assure you I am not hiding (like my crazy cat in our Christmas tree = trouble hah), and my lack of posts is not due to a lack of things to say - but has been a result of a busy schedule, and a somewhat intentional break to again be present in life.

But since I've been a little M.I.A. and before it all of a sudden becomes 2015 (bah!!!!?!?!), I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been up to since last time.

From August through November my schedule was irregularly crazy busy as I took a temporary position working for my dad as his administrative assistant while his regular gal was on maternity leave.  It was a huge blessing, and it's always cool to see my dad in action (I've filled in for his assistant before) but man did it take awhile to adjust to the schedule.  Having been "in between things" (ahh, the phrase that comes so quickly to my tongue and that I've come to love and hate, when people ask "what are you doing?") for so many years now, I've come accustomed to the life of being on my own schedule.  Adjusting to a full time position for 3 months was simply that, an adjustment.  So naturally after getting used to it and gelling with the way of life as a full-time employee, it was then time for my dad's assistant to come back to work and for me to re-adjust to figuring out what life outside of work looks like.

The timing of my position ending couldn't have been more perfect though, as later that week, my husband and I jetted off to Seattle for a long weekend getaway in honor of our 3rd (!!!) anniversary.  It was fantastic.  Having just spent a couple really busy months and my husband being in a busy season at work, we had been passing each other through the night.  Being able to get away from the norm and explore a new city was exactly the medicine that we needed to nourish our relationship.

We ate our hearts out, explored the city, took some anniversary photos (can't wait to see how they turned out!), had a really great time hanging out with our wedding photographers who are two incredibly sweet, lovely ladies who live in Seattle, and really just flew by the seat of our pants.  It was so amazing to see Chris unplugged and really enjoying just being.  We decided that this type of vacation is a must-do for us when things are getting a little crazy.  Not to mention, we fell in love with Seattle.

Besides our vacay, the past month has been full of lil house projects, my weekly bible study and volleyball matches, and beginning to prepare my home and heart for the holidays.  Although it's always difficult to wrestle with the questions that often flood my head, "What am I doing with my life?  What steps should I take to pursue my dreams?  Where are you leading me Lord?" - I have been intentional about not letting stress or worry get the best of me, and instead being thankful for the time God has given me to be fully supported by my husband and trusting that I'll take the necessary steps as the Lord guides me.

As for the rest of December, my goal is to be invested in the life God has given me and to really soak up the precious moments that surround the celebration of our Savior's birth.  I'm anxious to see what God has for me the rest of this month, and for the next year that is rapidly approaching.

Praying that your December is full of love, joy and the peace of Christ this holiday season.

xoxo

What's the first thing that comes into your mind when you think about being a follower?  Do you think of that term positively or negatively?  If someone said they wanted to follow you, would you be honored or annoyed? Outside of the Christian mindset of being a follower of Jesus, in my mind, I've given "being a follower" a negative connotation.  Maybe I'm channeling too far back, thinking about being a follower in the middle school days which was more likely referred to as being a copy cat...but I can vividly remember being annoyed when so-and-so would do something exactly like I did it, or literally follow me around on the playground when she didn't really ask me if she could do that.  One of my friends even went so far as to get super mad at me because she thought I cut my hair to be just like her!  For whatever reason, that idea has left a bad taste in my mouth about being a follower.  Like I want to say, "Why don't you just do things your own way?  If you're a follower that must mean that you aren't cool enough to be unique and do things your own way."

But really, isn't being a follower more like saying- "hey I think you are cool! So much so, that I want to be like you!" When someone follows you on Instagram or Twitter, are you annoyed or going to call them a copy cat?  No, you'll probably think it's affirming- that they like what they see.  And same for this space.  If someone started following me on bloglovin, I wouldn't be annoyed, I would be thrilled!  It would be an encouragement that someone likes what I have to say, right?

What got me thinking about all of this, was a discussion I had with my new bible study group where we were talking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  A part of our study was reading an article called Following Christ, by a man named Joseph Stowell.  In his article he talks about his relationship with his wife as compared to that of being a follower.  He talks about how he loves his wife so much that he continually wants to get to know her, he wants to care for her as best as he can, he wants to be where she is, and he is so compelled by her that he has been with her for 32 years now (as of 1996 when the article was written).  He says, "It is the pleasure and power of that relationship that affects not only my conduct toward her, but also the way I live all of my life."  That's one of the things that got me thinking, because doesn't that make following sound really awesome?

Instead of it being a negative connotation it's more like- I like you, I think you're really great.  And because of that, I want to get to know you so well, to understand how you live so that I too might live like you.  The way Stowell writes this, really put it into perspective for me.  He said, "the New Testament word for 'following'..."involves identifying so intimately with the one being followed that we incorporate our lives with his."  Based on this perspective of following, I most definitely want my relationship with my husband to reflect this idea; for our relationship to be so strong and so intimate that it affects how we live our lives.  And even more importantly, I want this to be so true of my relationship with Christ.

I think this is an area that I have been a little flat on lately.  I love Jesus and I know and value the fact that through Him I can have a relationship with God, but it's like I have put that relationship on the back burner.  He's still very much a part of my life and my thoughts, but I have not been intentional about pursuing the relationship, learning more about Him, and making it stronger.  And yet I still ask myself questions like, "why do I feel so far from Him, and why am I making stupid choices when I know that I want to live like He is living?"  Well, I mean, duh!  If I'm not as close to Him, how am I going to more easily walk in his ways?  (Same with my husband- how am I going to know how he needs to be cared for if we never talked to each other or something!)

Thinking about my relationship with Christ in this light, is the motivation I have needed to kick it back into gear.  Stowell encouraged this thinking by saying, "When I am far away form Him, replicating His character and conduct will seem like too tough a chore.  When, however, He is the central relationship in my life, radical reformation becomes the intriguing adventure of life."  I don't want to be so far away from Him that living like Him seems impossible.  I want to be up close and personal, getting to know Him more and more so that the essence of who He is just pours out of me.

Although this summer is crazy and sometimes it seems like there's not enough time in the day to be intentional about relationships, my hope and prayer is that this will be the encouragement I needed.  That the desire to be closer will truly motivate me and push me forward.

Good grief... can anyone tell me where June went?!  I sincerely apologize for my absence on lovemin - life has been crazy!!!  Things should definitely think about slowing down this summer.  Despite the craziness, June has been an awesome month.

Here's where I came out on my goals:

• read "Where'd you go, Bernadette?" - having a hard time getting into this one, we'll see
• host a Young Living class!!! - TUESDAY this is happening :)
• get some quality water skiing action in up north, as much as possible 
• change up my hairstyle  I'm a blonde again!
• go on a date with my man - this NEEDS to happen. We have been basically passing in the night
• soak up my favorite TV show - So You Think You Can Dance - love love love this show
• make the front yard pretty- aka pull out most of the greens (there's too many) - I'm crossing out half because I definitely made progress, but I'm still working on this.

Not everything I wanted to do got done, but one amazing thing happened... we took my mom on a surprise trip for her 60th birthday and it was so great.  I'll tell you more of the story later (and share some pics of the beauty in Maine- check out a few on my Instagram) but it went off without a hitch.  Every day she kept saying, "this is so surreal" and "another beautiful day in paradise." So I am thinking that it was a success.

As for July.... I feel like I am just trying to keep my head on straight.  As much as I love summer, it is just so busy.  Every single weekend from now until September is booked.  They are all great things, but yikes- it's nice to have a little freedom in the schedule here and there.  Oh well, I am going to do my best to soak up all the goodness and take free moments to create spontaneous fun.  Here's what's on the docket for my goals.

• go on a date with Chris- for real this time
• soak up warm summer days – go to the beach or sit out on a patio
• find peace amidst the crazy – take a day for me to breathe
• read a novel
• get dressed up and go out- dinner, dancing, wine, or something
• think more about blog stuff – what do I want to make of this space?

That's all I've got for now!  Looking forward to re-energizing and gearing up for another crazy but awesome month.  Praying that yours may be equally amazing.

Want to share your goals? 

Join me as I link up with Hayley over at The Tiny Twig.

I don't think I have ever been so excited to see June!  Probably because with this June has come WARM WEATHER!  Woohooo!!!! It has been so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and see a little color on my skin, and to just enjoy being outside without freezing my toes off. I am sooo thankful!!!

With the arrival of June, it's time to see how I did on my May to-do list:
 •            celebrate my birthday!! Watch out 28, I'm coming for ya! 
My birthday was lovely.  I didn't do anything crazy, as I didn't feel like hosting a hoopla.  But quality time with the fam and some friends was perfecto.  There was in fact a Piñata though, so that was pretty amazing.
 •            host a lovely Mother's Day brunch at our house (in-laws and all) 
Mother's day brunch was a success!! It was fun having both families over for the first time together at our new house and being able to celebrate our moms and enjoy some tasty brunch, mimosas, and some quality hang time in the yard.
 •            put my DSLR to good use more often - maybe plan a fun lil shoot?   
This is on my list for summer for sure.
 •            start a new personal Bible study ***   
I started a new Bible study!!! It's pretty great.  It's over on www.shereadstruth.com and it's so user friendly and quick and easy to use, and the writers are pretty great and encouraging.  I'm a little behind and catching up on the study of Nehemiah, but I'm loving it.  Definitely check it out.
 •            finish the last book of the Divergent series 
Yup. It is finished.  I am not sure how I feel about it.  Anyone else finish?  So curious what other people think.  It was a great series though.

Boom.  Done and done... almost.  Just need to give my camera a lil more lovin'.

And now for June - -
I have high hopes for June and this upcoming summer.  It is definitely going to be a busy month (hello weddings, bridal showers, travels up north, etc), but it is going to be a great one, I can feel it.  Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish:

 •            read "Where'd you go, Bernadette?"
 •            host a Young Living class!!! *** 
[I've been using YL oils for 4+ years and they have made a significant impact in my life.  I am excited to finally be sharing my passion for essential oils and encouraging others to see how God can use them in their lives! In fact, I don't know why I have yet to share about them on here?? Stay tuned for that. ;)]
 •            get some quality water skiing action in up north, as much as possible 
 •            change up my hairstyle 
I've been rocking the ombre for awhile now, and thinking it might be time for a change.  FYI changing up my hairstyle is one of my most favorite things (and most analyzed- right Audra?)
 •            go on a date with my man 
 •            soak up my favorite TV show - So You Think You Can Dance
 •            make the front yard pretty- aka pull out most of the greens (there's too many) 


I feel like I could keep this list coming, just cause I have all sorts of things I'd like to do in June.  But I better save some for the rest of the summer ;)  Hope your summer is off to an amazing start.
xoxo

Want to share your goals? 

Join me as I link up with Hayley over at The Tiny Twig.

A couple months ago, I linked up with Hayley Morgan over at Tiny Twig, who challenged us to join her in making goals for the month of November.  I decided to call mine a "to-do list" instead of goals because it makes me feel like my list is more attainable and less optional.  This gave me a greater push to stick to it, and work towards getting them done.

I cannot believe that November came and went so quickly, and here I am at the beginning of February, and I have yet to share how my November to-do list went! (yikes!) So here's a quick update:

•               get a lil Christmas shopping done [buy at least 3 gifts]
•               CELEBRATE 2 YEARS WITH MY HUBBY
•               read A Million Little Things
•               go to Body Pump once a week
•               hang some pictures on the walls
•               write November goals post
•               go to Puerto Rico!!!

I am proud that other than reading A Million Little Things, (which I won as a giveaway from the lovely Heidi) I pretty much dominated my to-do list.  Going to Puerto Rico, and celebrating 2 years with my hubby by having a little staycation in Milwaukee were definitely two highlights of the month.  But I was also pretty excited about getting some pictures hung on the wall finally (check out my Instagram to see a pic of the gallery wall I put together).

Last time I made a to-do list, I made a point to not just include things that I wanted to get done, but to celebrate special moments and choose to make joyful activities a part of my monthly goals.  This is something that I'd like to continue in the month of February (and every other, for that matter).  With that said, here's what I've got lined up for this month:

•               find an area rug for the living room

•               rid Finn of his itchy mites (I hope I hope)

•               do something FUN!!!!!

•               celebrate my hubby - plan a date

•               read The Fault in Our Stars

•               work out weekly (at least once a week in addition to volleyball)

•               get into a daily rhythm of reading the Bible

I am really looking forward to the encouragement and accountability that linking up with Hayley and all the other ladies brings.  Can't wait to cross these items off my list and make this February a memorable one.

xoxo

………….

Kitten update: Last week I shared about my sweet kitten, Finn- and how he's dealing with quite a bit of health issues.  I am happy to say that at the moment he's doing well. Still dealing with the mites, making many trips to the vet to get his lime sulfur baths- and finished his cold medicine.  But so far, no fatal disease- praise the Lord.  Besides the itches, he acts like any other kitty running around like crazy and chasing his toys.  He is such a trooper.  I am really looking forward to the day we are done with all this and hopefully he will just be a happy and healthy kitten.