Cuteness

I just had to share this cute video of my family.  My darling Piper is so adorable I just want to squeeze her.  She is totally a daddy's girl.  Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!!

I Have Dreams

I have dreams.  The kind of dreams that seem unattainable at times.  That make my mind wonder during the day and steal my focus at night.  I have dreams to see the world.  To explore God's wonderful creation and breathe in the beauty of cultures unknown to me now.  I want to stretch outside of myself and push the limits of my comfort zone.  I want to breathe in new air, take a leap of faith, gather inspiration, and soak in the sights.  

I want to explore the architecture of Barcelona.

I want to sleep on the water in Bora Bora

I want to feel the mist on my face in Argentina

I want to ride a donkey up the hills of Santorini.

 

I want to worship at Hillsong Church in Australia

Yes, I have dreams both big and small.  And one day all of these dreams will come to fruition.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy birthday to my beautiful mom!  She is an amazing woman and such an inspiration.  Happy birthday Mom, hope you have a wonderful day!!

Our Wedding Video

In case you were bored or curious or just obsessed with weddings, I was finally able to upload our wedding video highlights!!  Enjoy!!

Project 31 Day 13: Perfecting Imperfection

 Day 13.  Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.

I'm not perfect.  I'm the first to admit it.  There are many things I would like to change about myself.  Some are necessary and some are my own critical eye.  Regardless of where the desire to change comes from change is necessary.  I want to continuously seek growth opportunities in my life.  

One of the main areas I want to improve upon is my patience, which ties hand-in-hand with my need to have a plan and have control.  I admittedly am a Type-A personality.  I like having a plan.  I like knowing what is coming next.  I need to be able to have control over the situation.  Being out of control, flying by the seat of my pants, is somewhat anxiety provoking for me.  This is where my patience issues come into play.  I was blessed with the gift of patience.  I get impatient, especially when there is not a plan, when there is a lack of decision making.  Now, this does not mean that I need every moment planned out with no spontaneity.  I like being prepared for what is coming next.  

The only problem is, I am not God.  I do not have it all figured out, but He does.  He is the mastermind behind my life.  When I get impatient I need to wait for the Lord.  When I get anxious about not having a plan, I need to press into my faith.  Last week, Pastor Craig Groeschel was our guest speaker at church and he gave an interesting illustration.  Jesus is the lamp unto our feet, but the lamp lights our feet not the entire journey ahead of us.  Jesus gives me exactly what I need to get through the present moment.  I don't need to question what lies ahead because Jesus' lamp moves with my feet.  I want to become more faithful and less impatient.  I want my plan to become smaller and His to become greater.  I am not in control nor should I be.   

Weekend Projects

We have finally set out to begin our home improvement projects.  We have a long list of things we want to get done in order to make our house feel like a home.  This weekend we made an agreement to cross some things off our list.  It feels great to have accomplished some things.  And by we, I mainly mean Brandon.  I am so blessed to have a husband who can handle projects around the house.  I can always rely on him to get it done.  Thanks boo! With that being said...here is what we got done around our house.  

We took down the ugly florescent light in our kitchen.  Thanks to Ikea for a $25 coupon we were able to buy some nice track lighting to up instead.  Brandon pulled down the old light and found a square hole in the ceiling and a couple other small holes.  It's nothing a little spackle and paint won't fix.  I think it looks so much better now.  What a difference a new fixture can make.  

Our Sunday project, after the Panthers game of course was to hang our new mirror and pair of sconces we bought a couple of weeks ago.  We got a stellar deal for the mirror and sconces from Kirkland's Home.  I love the detailing around the frame.  This was another easy fix and it makes a big difference. 

I love checking things off of my to-do list, especially when it involves home improvement!  In other news, I have to throw in some cute pictures of the furbabies. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Stand in Line

All these victims
Stand in line for
The crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by
All the while
Your invitation
Wake on up from your slumber
Come on open up your eyes 

                        -NEEDTOBREATHE

Needless to say The Reckoning has been dominating my car rides lately.  Let me just say, the car is my jammin' out place.  It's where I pretend I'm on stage and sing my lungs out.  Music really speaks to me and whenever I hear a new song or new album I really try to listen to the lyrics and try to get the meaning out of the words.  Well I was listening to Slumber today on NeedtoBreathe's new album today and I've heard it several times already, but when I was really listening today the lyrics above got me thinking.  

We are all these victims.  We stand in line to accept only the crumbs that fall from the table.  We are only looking for enough to get by, but is this what Christ wants for us.  I think not.  We can get so blinded by our need to survive and forget how much more God wants for our lives.  We continuously settle for the bare minimum in life and forget that the greatest invitation is waiting on us each day.  We don't have to settle for the crumbs because Christ has an entire feast waiting on us, we just need to wake up and open up our eyes.  

It's amazing how a few lines of a song can really speak to a much greater picture.  It triggers things that you may forget in the daily drum of life.  This is something I want to work on.  I want to continuously seek out God's will for my life and to never settle for a ho-hum world.  I want to wake up to the excellence I know is waiting on me. 

Wolfpack Weekend 2011

Why hello there!  I know it has been a while, but I have had writers block lately and my life hasn't been that exciting to share, but anyways here I am.  Did you miss me?  :)   This weekend Brandon and I headed up to Raleigh for our annual Wolfpack trip.  Usually we make a weekend out of it and spend the night, but we had to be back on Sunday to volunteer at church so we made it a day trip this year.  We headed up with my parents to watch the Pack play Georgia Tech.  This year was special because Brittany, my sister-in-law, is now a student at NCSU, so we got to see her too.  Every year it is tradition to go to at least one football game, no matter how awful we are, which is the case this season.  What can I say, we are hardcore fans.  

We got up early Saturday morning and set out.  We got our traditional tailgate food...Bojangles of course!  Yum!  I feel sorry for you people who don't have Bojangles in your town.  We ate our chicken and drank our sweet tea, and it was ah-mazing.  After eating we broke out our new tailgating game, ladder ball.  I was actually pretty decent, better than cornhole.  We headed into the game and needless to say, we did not win.  Regardless of the game outcome, I had a great time with my family!  I can't wait until Wolfpack Weekend 2012.