going back

this past year has been full of changes. i got married. my best friend moved to a different part of the country. i became an aunt. friends are having babies or getting married or moving or all three. it's been a lot to swallow. and yet in the midst of all these changes i felt like i was just stuck. getting tossed around in the waves.

and so i decided i needed a goal to move towards. i needed to make a new path and stop making excuses.

so i'm going back to school!

for quite some time i have been wrestling with the decision to start graduate school. i won't lie to you and tell you this decision has been easy. but i'm determined. because i'm tired of living like getting by is good enough.

i'm quite nervous about balancing a full time career and a full time graduate program and family and everything else life demands.

but i'm also excited. i'm ready to get on with life. to see how God holds me together when it feels like i'm falling apart. to work hard and feel that sense of accomplishment. to learn. to grow. to change.

and since every good blog post needs a photo. a picture of james the kitty.

settle down, it'll all be clear

there is a lot going on behind the scenes of this poor little neglected blog.

and i want to tell you all about everything we have going on.

but the time isn't right.

so for now i'll just say this:

pray for us. as we embark on new adventures. as we add more to our already full plates. as we try to maintain balance and put the right things first. 

lately

normally i make new years resolutions that i never fully intend to keep. but this year i didn't. instead i'm just trying to live life more intentionally.

life has been really sweet lately. there are still hard days. but we've been working out more. talking about stuff that really matters more. reading the bible more.

we're putting some of our hopes and dreams on the back burner to put following God on the front burner. and trusting that God's promise is true...if we delight ourselves in him he'll give us the desires of our hearts.

and that's just enough.

ps. ignore my toes which are in desperate need of a pedicure.

nineteen twenty

today my grandfather is 93 years old!

he's my oldest living relative. he's the only family i know to live through the great depression. he's a veteran. he's the one who gave me my love of music. he's a dedicated follower of Jesus. and he's my grandpa.

g and i were lucky enough to be able to travel to visit him over thanksgiving this past fall. i cherish these photos because i know that time to take them gets shorter and shorter. but today i'm celebrating his long and wonderful life and feeling so blessed to have his love.

happy birthday, grandpop s. i love you!

bun in the oven

i was lucky enough to take some christmas maternity shots of scott and natasha. and i thought i'd share just a few of my favorites with you.

fresh start

hopefully this coming year will bring a more focused blog, with more pictures, and more of the real honest life that G and i live.

no resolutions. just intentional living. and telling our story in the way i want to remember it.