Twenty Fifteen Part 3

March was not quite as busy as February, but it was still a little crazy.

I had a coffee date with my dear friend L.B. that ended up turning into a wine night later that evening. We had such good conversations over coffee, and wine and cheese. It was a great day.

The next day, Josh and I went to a fundraiser at a local winery for some of the people at our church that are going on a missions trip with Happy Feet this summer. It was a fun night of chatting with some of the people from our church.

The next day, we went out to dinner with some friends to a restaurant we had never been to before. It was pretty yummy! After that, we headed to Dutch Bros and I got to try it for the first time. It was delicious!

I had a craft night the next week with some friends. I didn't finish my project but it was a pretty ambitious one for me. A yarn wrapped wreath with handmade felt flowers. I was only able to finish the flowers but I'm hoping to have a picture of the finished wreath soon!

The next day, I had a sale to sell off my Scentsy stock. I decided back in January that I was ready to be done selling it, so I decided to have a sale to get rid of the product I had on hand. Thankfully, I've been able to sell more than half of it!
Later that afternoon, we attended a memorial service for a friend's daughter. It was a very sad time, but I was glad we were able to be there to support our friends.
After that, we went to see Cinderella with some friends! It was such a good movie. I highly recommend it. We then went out to dinner with our friends and had a fun night hanging out.

The next day, we attended a vision meeting at our church. Our new pastor and our church staff came up with a new vision for our church, so they wanted to start sharing some of the plans with the congregation. Josh and I are both excited for the new changes.
After that, we met up with some friends for sushi. And then we watched the Walking Dead together.

We spent St. Patrick's Day with some friends and family. We had the traditional corned beef and cabbage and lots of other yummy food and drinks!

My boy and I sporting our green

Later that week, I got to celebrate with my friend L.B. as she turned 30! A group of 18 women shared dinner with her at a yummy restaurant. It was such a fun night and I'm so glad she was able to have that celebration!

The birthday girl and I

We were missing a couple of ladies by the time this picture was taken

The next day, I went to see Insurgent with a couple of friends. While it was a good movie, there was a lot they changed from the book. I think if you haven't read the books, you'll definitely enjoy the movie. If you have, you might have some issues with it.

The next week, my friend S.W. and I got together and watched the PLL finale together! I may or may not have binge watched most of the episodes of the show the two weeks prior to the finale, to try and figure out what they were going to reveal to us.

Later that week, I spent some time with my friend L.B. We always have the best conversations and I'm so thankful to have her in my life.

The next night, I went out dancing with some friends. I hadn't been dancing since Vegas, so this night wore me out. We danced for almost three hours straight with no breaks. It was a lot of fun, but I was so exhausted by the time we left.

The next night, we had some friends over for dinner and games. I always enjoy spending time with people over a meal. And laughing a lot. Both are very good for my heart.

Other highlights from this month:
My BCBs and I finished the book Blink and Caution, which was crazy, but really good. We also read The 5th Wave, which was also really good. Think the Walking Dead, but with aliens. I can't wait to read the second book, and the third one comes out in May (EDIT: It comes out in May...of next year! So very sad...)!
My husband and I are trying to stick with healthier eating habits. I was much better about it a year ago, but it was his decision to try harder this time, so I'm joining him on this journey.
My myofascial appointments are going so well! My body is finally really starting to "release" and "unwind" and while it's the weirdest feeling to feel my muscles and limbs move on their own, it's also super exciting to know that my body is starting to go back to normal.

I've decided to start sharing a little more personal stuff on these monthly updates as well.

Things God has been teaching/reminding me this month:
How important prayer really is. Not only did our pastor talk about it this month, but I've been given a lot of opportunities to pray for people and for different situations. And while I know that just because I pray for something, it doesn't mean that situation is going to go the way I want it to...but I know that my prayers are heard and they are answered...just maybe not always in the way(s) I expect or like. After writing last month about how much of a struggle prayer is for me, God sure has given me a lot of situations to be praying through more.

The importance of knowing someone before judging them. I think it's really easy to assume things about someone when you hear them talk or you see them do something, but you don't really have a relationship with them to know if your assumptions are true or not. I know I can't judge someone's heart anyway, but if I don't know who they are, if I don't take the time to have a conversation with them to see where they are coming from, I might be missing out on getting to know someone really great. It's one of the reasons I hate social media. It's great for sharing our lives with people, but because we don't usually share all the hard and not so pretty things publicly, it's easy for people to assume things about us that may not be true.

How incredibly damaging gossip can be. I know we all know how wrong it is to gossip, but that doesn't stop us from gossiping anyway (or maybe that's just me?). I don't mean to or plan to gossip, but it still happens sometimes. And some situations happened this month where I heard some gossip being shared that really angered me so much. I think we forget how our casual conversations or even things we think are harmless to share with someone, can sometimes get back to the person we are talking about and really hurt their feelings. It's just better to talk to the source. Period. Talk to the person you have a problem with or have a question about something. Just like the whole judging thing. It's better to talk directly to someone than to talk about them behind their back, no matter how hard that conversation might be. It's Biblical to go directly to the person first:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you gained your brother.

-Matthew 18:15 

(ESV - it goes on to say what to do if he/she doesn't listen to you, and at that point you can involve others, but you're not supposed to before that)

So with that, March was a good month full of love and family and friends.

Twenty Fifteen Part 2

Here's a little recap of February:

We watched the SuperBowl over at Josh's brother's house. While none of us really cared much about the game, we were all rooting against Seattle. I love the food and the commercials. It's pretty much the only reason I watch the SuperBowl.

I got to hang out with one of my dear friends A.G. It's always so good to catch up with her.

Later that week, we headed to Vegas!

(If you missed it, you can read about our trip here)

The next week, I had a birthday lunch with my massage therapist. We try to go out to lunch every year between our two birthdays to celebrate. We went to a local restaurant that has really yummy food and had such a good time.

We spent Valentine's Day with my sister and her hubby, and her brother-in-law (who happens to be one of Josh's best friends) and sister-in-law. We had a yummy BBQ outside with the fire pit and played a fun game. It was a really good night.

The next afternoon, we went to the Dinner Theater at our church. Josh and I used to be really involved with it, when we were in/helping the youth group. This one was really fun, as their theme was Disney-related.

She told me how much she loved me after we took this picture

That next weekend, I spent a wonderful evening with my wine ladies. We did a wine pairing night and had such good conversations. The next day, we went to a wine sale and were able to get a lot of great wines for such a good price. We went out to eat after that and just had a great day together.

The next morning, we headed to our happy place!

(If you missed it, you can read about our trip here)

The day after we got back, we had a fun game night with some friends. It was such a great evening.

February also included me singing for worship once, a couple of other fun nights with friends, and my BCBs and I started a new book. I've been continuing with the myofascial release appointments and they've been going so well. Oh, and it's Girl Scout cookie season, so that's been fun, too!

February was another busy month, but it was a good one!

Married Life (7 Years Edition)

We got to spend our anniversary in our happy place this year!

Traditional picture!

(And for those that aren't aware, Married Life is the title of the song in Up that plays in the beginning of the movie, when they show the montage between Carl and Ellie of their married life. It's also a song that plays on Main Street in Disneyland and we get quite excited when we hear it while we are there)

It rained for half of the first day we were there, as well as for about an hour of the second day...but the rest of the trip had great weather! It was the first trip in awhile to Disneyland where we weren't sweating all day long!

Disneyland in the rain is still fun!

We got to do a couple of things we'd never done before. One was to try out the Alfresco Tasting Terrace in California Adventure, where you can order some wine and sit out on a patio overlooking Cars Land. Even though we did order some wine and a cheese box and we sat out on a patio, we found out after we got home that we went to the wrong place! The Alfresco Tasting Terrace is located upstairs of the area that we went, so we weren't able to order off the full menu. It was still fun though, and we had a very relaxing time enjoying what we did get.

He got a red blend and I got a cabernet. Both were delicious!

The second thing was so much fun...and that was getting to ride in the Lilly Belle! For those that don't know, the Lilly Belle is a train car (a caboose) that Walt wanted to have for his wife. He also wanted it to be a place that he could relax with dignitaries and maybe even have a cocktail. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he was working on a lot of other projects, the Lilly Belle had to take a backseat and did not come to fruition until 10 years after Walt passed away. Some of the furniture on the Lilly Belle, including the chair Josh was sitting in, were purchased from the Queen Mary. It's a beautifully decorated car and we were so excited to be able to get a reservation to ride in it. It only runs when the weather is good, as it does not have AC and can get very hot in the summer. They also don't usually run it when it's raining. We have been trying for the past couple of years to go on it and this was the first trip that the weather was nice enough to be able to do so. I'm so glad we had such an awesome conductor with us to tell us some great stories about the Lilly Belle, Walt, and the parks themselves. The ride went by too fast, but I'm thankful we were able to experience it...and have the pictures to prove it!

 Sitting on the car purchased from the Queen Mary

Walt and Lillian

We had such a good time enjoying our favorite rides. A few of the rides had been updated since our last trip (The Storybook Land Canal Boats now have a Frozen scene and Alice in Wonderland added some really cool animation throughout the ride), so we were excited to see the changes. We also were able to see an extended preview of Cinderella that is coming out in a few weeks, which was really fun!

The park was getting ready to close and we were the only ones on our Pirates boat! Such a fun way to experience the ride! 

And because we were there on our actual anniversary, we got to enjoy our dinner at the Blue Bayou on the day we got married 7 years ago! It was such a wonderful way to celebrate our love and the commitment we made to God and to each other, on that very day. I also tried my first Mint Julep (non-alcoholic, being Disneyland and all) and it was delicious!

Waterside seating at the Blue Bayou! 

Overall, it was such a good trip. The lines were short and we were able to do so much. We were also able to get a lot of sleep and just enjoy our time there. I was reminded when we got home of how nice it is to be able to go just the two of us, because we have our favorite things we like to do together, that other people might not enjoy as much. We have our traditions of where we like to take pictures and where we enjoy eating, and I'm so thankful it's a place we both mutually love.

He thought we should do Bullwinkle ears  

In line for Toy Story Midway Mania

I'm so thankful we were able to enjoy our happy place again to celebrate our 7 years of marriage!

Seven Year (Not So Much) Itch!

The title for this post cracks me up, as I've been teasing Josh for the last few months about feeling that seven year itch!

The day we got engaged. December 24th, 2006

I honestly cannot believe we've been married for seven years! March 1st marks ten years of being together...and that is even crazier to me. Time has flown by in so many ways...and yet it feels like we've been in each other's lives forever. Time is such a funny thing...

February 23rd, 2008

Marriage can be so crazy. I definitely feel like we have matured and learned a lot in the past seven years...but then new things come up and we learn more. It's constantly changing and yet so much of it remains the same. Love grows and morphs into something unexpected...and it can be so incredible and surprising all at the same time.

In front of Mama's Fish House in Maui, 2008

I'm thankful God has brought us through many tough situations together. We have experienced a lot of loss, but I'm so grateful that we have been able to be there for each other through it all. It's impossible to imagine doing life the past seven years without Josh by my side.

Disneyland Anniversary Trip 2010

And while we have definitely had some dreams not come true, God has taught us both so much about being content in our marriage, and being content with each other. We may not have kids, but we have each other, and that has been such a huge blessing. And we have so many little ones in our lives to love on and spend time with. Things make not look the way we expected, but life is still good.

Baseball game summer 2014

Happy anniversary to my love! I'm so thankful for these seven years of being your wife!!

Vegas Birthday Trip 2015

On My Mind

I haven't done a very good job of sharing my heart in this space lately.

I think for privacy reasons and for feeling like there are a lot of pieces of my story I can't share, (because part of it involves other people's stories) I've been very nervous to share anything.

So while there are things I can't talk about, there are some things I feel I need to say.

My family suffered a great loss over a year ago. It's something that still hurts and still brings a lot of sad thoughts and feelings. It's something I don't think we will ever fully "get over" and I don't think we are supposed to.

That term "get over" really bothers me. I think we assume that once "enough" time has passed, people should just be able to move on from their hurt feelings. But life isn't that simple. Loss isn't that simple. Hurt and pain are not that simple. The memories don't just disappear. Your love for someone doesn't just go away overnight. The pain may lessen and the memories may not pop up as often, but that doesn't mean we've gotten over it.

A lot of the people I love the most in this world have been and are currently dealing with very painful situations. Separation from loved ones (not by choice), cancer, betrayal, physical ailments, etc. The kinds of things that make one question God's love for His children. While I don't always understand why these situations are happening and while I don't always understand God's ultimate plan for our lives, I can say that I've seen Him evident in every single situation. I can say that I've seen Him mold and change and grow people to look more like Him through these hard times. I can say that I have seen beauty come up from these ashes.

Prayer is one of the things I struggle with the most. It's not that I don't pray, but I'm not very consistent with it. And when I do pray, it's often for someone else or for one of these situations mentioned above. I have a harder time praying for myself, because it sometimes seems selfish when I compare my thoughts and needs to those around me. But I know deep down inside that it's not about whose need is greater, because we all need God. My need for Him is just as great as yours, even if our situations are much different.

And I think that's what He's teaching me the most right now. That my need for Him is not determined by how hard my life is or how ok I might think I am. It's determined by my daily, hourly need of a Savior, of someone to love me and lead me in the direction He wants me to go. I can't and shouldn't try to do life on my own. I need His help and His wisdom and guidance every single second of my life.

My BCBs and I recently finished reading The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. While I had read it before in high school and remembered a few things about the story, there was so much that struck me this second time around. The faith and trust that both Corrie and her sister showed was incredible. The way that God used them before, during, and after their time in the concentration camp is so inspiring to me. To be that open and that in tune with God is something I definitely long for. Reading those pages again made me realize just how little my actions reflect my need for a Savior on a daily basis.

So while I may feel like my current situation in life is not as hard as the situations in the lives around me, my need for God is not any less. In the good times and bad, I need my Savior.