Learning and Growing: One. Day. At. A. Time.

Well it's been another month since my last post and here I am. Finally sitting down to do some reflection on the blog.

I miss this space.



I'm also overwhelmed by it.

I've always longed to make my blog something more. This sounds so dorky to admit, but I want to be a "real blogger" (aka: post "pinterest-worthy" tutorials, offer free printables, design prints that I sell in a successful Etsy shop, inspire my loyal following on a daily basis...you get the picture).

The thing is that I can barely manage my life as it is.

Working as a teacher (sure I get lots of breaks, but I make up for it during the school year by working many extra hours) and being a wife/mom (+ daugher/sister/friend/etc) is hard to balance.

I have these creative ideas, but rarely do I have (or make) the time to bring them to life.

Plus I've been grieving pretty hardcore this fall. Many ugly-cry sessions have gone down (mostly on Josh's t-shirts). In the midst of the pain, there has been a lot of joy as well...but in general it's been a hard season!

And then...I started reading this book that completely wrecked me.

Let's be honest...it's still wrecking me.

It's called Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker (click here to check out her website) and it's the kind of book that turns everything you thought you knew on its head and forces you to completely reexamine your life. I'm still processing all of it, but I am hopeful that after reading this book I will not remain the same.

I wish I could try to summarize how this book has changed my heart, but I'm just not quite ready. It's all still settling in my soul. Once I can put it together in an articulate way, my goal is to post more here.

I will say that through the process of reading this book, and studying it with a group of women from my church, I have realized how incredibly rich I am (duh!). And with that realization, I am pretty certain that Jesus wants me to live a life that is the opposite of the American Dream.

So I'm kind of stuck in a weird place where I'm certain that I want to welcome this change. I want my life and how I live it to mean more than just bettering myself and my circumstances. I can't sit back and ignore the needs of the people in my community any longer. But I still don't know exactly what this looks like. So I'm wrestling with a few different ideas and I am excited to see where God leads me. More on this later...

...in the meantime my goal is to get around to posting some photo updates from this fall. We have made fun memories, laughed, and enjoyed God's grace in addition to all the grieving. I figure now is as good a time as any to catch you all up on some TONS of the good that's been happening around here.

Monday Coffee Date :: Comparison

How are you?

For me, the answer is usually that I'm good or that things are going fine. Sometimes that's completely true. But most of the time it's more complicated than that.

I am doing well and also desiring to be better. Life is a wonderful blessing, but it's also a challenge. Lately I've been struggling with comparison a LOT. Comparing myself to others as a wife, mother, friend, you name it. As if that weren't bad enough, I've been finding that I'm not only comparing myself to others, but I'm also comparing myself to what I wish I were like, or how I think I should be.

I'd love to say that I've figured it out and am on the other side of this struggle, but I'm not. I'm right in the middle of it and I'm just having to work it out slowly but surely. Being off Facebook has been really nice, kind of refreshing. But my thoughts go straight to comparison too often, with or without social media. It leaves me feeling inadequate, confused, dissatisfied...I'll keep you posted on what God teaches me through this.

Do you struggle with this? Is there an area of your life that you're struggling with or learning a lot about right now?

I'd love to know...because my goal thus week to be intentional about prayer and I'd love to be able to lift you up in prayer specifically! :)

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On a less serious note, here are a few pics from my weekend! We celebrated our friend Bryan's birthday at a yummy new restaurant in Seattle.

Josh and I enjoyed the movie "Safety Not Guaranteed". We know the guy on the far left. He was just an "extra" but was on the screen for a couple of minutes! Such a small world!

Harry enjoyed a little greek yogurt yesterday with some granola. It was very serious business...obviously! ;)

Thanks for enjoying some coffee with me this morning! Hope you can make it to our weekly date next week.

Monday Coffee Date (late)

Hey friend, sorry I'm late. I meant to meet for coffee this morning, but it's turned into a post lunch, during naps kind of "coffee date"! I had visions of a wonderful post for this morning, because HEY I'm on Spring Break this week...so instead of things going according to plan I'm running late and my house is a mess. I guess that's what "vacations" are for - letting go of my plans and being okay with a messy life.

What's your drink of choice for today? I already downed my coffee first thing (I needed it, more on that later) so I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea.

Today my friend Hilary's son is over.  She watches him every day while I'm at work, so today I'm helping her family out while she's gone for a much needed long weekend away and her husband is at work.  Unfortunately Harry is sick. Yes he's sick during my spring break (which has happened during ever. single. school. vacation. ALL. year!). Okay my whine is (almost) over. But seriously, there isn't much worse in my book than a sick baby/toddler. Poor kid threw up Friday night, had a fever Saturday and Sunday and is now fighting a runny nose/cough. Poor guy cannot catch a break.

Yes, I know...the upside is that I'm not at work so the long nights of soothing a sick toddler aren't as bad because I can take it easy the next day. On the other hand, all of my plans have to slow down and I just hate seeing him sick. Plus, now that I've  grown accustomed to getting full night of sleep, getting up every couple of hours with Harry wipes me out. Just one (of the many) reason(s) why I'm not ready to get pregnant/have another baby. The sleep deprivation is killer!

At least I managed to lay him down long enough this morning to take a shower.

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[Pardon that brief, several hour interruption, due to Harrison's snot/cough/tears which resulted in a quick nap. He's happily playing now while Landon continues to snooze. How do mom's with more than one kid do it?! Karla...if you read my blog, props to you girl!]

So where were we? I think I was complaining a little. So let's change subjects. Did you notice that cute print sitting on top of my journal and Bible? Such a good reminder that today is a gift, no matter how it turns out! I thought it might encourage you too!

It was the "thank you" that came with a purchase from Katy of Katygirl Designs (Etsy Shop) and Scottyboy & Katygirl (blog). I have this print hanging in my craft room. LOVE!  She's inspiring to me on many levels, as a Christian, wife, mom, designer & blogger. You should seriously check her out. She designed our adorable Christmas card this year, and Harry's first birthday invitation.

Speaking of inspiring, you should check out the "Week of Pleated Projects" that Emily of Jones Design Company is putting on. I think I may just try to make every project (depending on how hard the other ones are). If that's the one productive thing I do all week I will be thrilled!

What's inspiring you these days? Any project you're dying to try out? I may be doing a little painting this week too. If you live close by and have a project you want to work on please come join me. You'll have to deal with my cute (and hopefully healthy) 1-year-old ;)

Well thanks for being a patient friend today. I should know by now to let go of any preconceived notions I have about how my day will go when it's spent at home as a mom. Can you relate? Even without kids, life can be unpredictable to say the least.

Hope to see you back this week for a free printable and photos of the projects I attempt to get done!

Thanks for chatting. I can't wait to grab coffee with you next Monday. I'll try to be on time ;)

Monday Coffee Date

I love meeting a friend for coffee. Unfortunately these days, it doesn't happen as much as I'd like it to. So that's why I've decided to start posting on Monday mornings.  Let's just pretend that we're sitting down at a quaint little coffee shop, or maybe just in our pajamas on the couch. Either way, I like a vanilla latte, or anything hazelnut.

Please leave me a note in the comments - I'm going to try and be better about responding to comments too, so maybe it will actually feel like we've met for coffee this morning after all.

Here goes :) I'm so excited to be having coffee with you. Happy Monday!

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Some Mondays I am on top of things, but not today. I'm tired because this weekend was completely packed. Josh and I headed to the golf course yesterday for brunch with my family. It was the perfect weather for an Easter egg hunt and though Harry still isn't walking (hopefully he will start by his 15 month check up) he managed to find the "golden egg". My brother actually spotted it, but it was right next to where Harry was standing so it counted. He won a stuffed duck for finding the special egg. He had no clue what was going on, but we got a kick out of it.

The rest of the weekend was filled with family time, sunshine, and my favorite part of Easter - celebrating at church. I know that what Christ did on the cross impacts my life all year long, but Easter is such a joyous celebration, and a good reminder to reflect on what it really means that Jesus is risen! I am SO THANKFUL for what He has done and loved celebrating with my church family yesterday!

What did you do to celebrate Easter this weekend? If you live in the Pacific Northwest, I'm sure you enjoyed the amazing sunshine we had. I wish it was supposed to stick around for a little while longer.

Other than that, I'm honestly just counting down the days this week because it's SPRING BREAK starting when I get off of work this Friday. Four more "wake-ups" as I like to say. I hate wishing parts of my life away, but I really need a break from work and some extra time to enjoy being a wife and mom. Next week won't be anything fancy, but for me those are the best kind of "vacations".

What do you like to do when you get a little time off from your normal routine? When the weather is nice, what's your "go-to" way to relax and enjoy?

Well, I suppose I should probably get the car loaded up and ready to go. It's off to another busy week. Looking forward to posting a couple of "printables" I've been working on this weekend. I'm still a beginner, but I'm enjoying being creative on my computer.

Thanks for grabbing coffee with me this morning! Hope you'll come back next week!!!