Twenty Fifteen Part 4

We started April off with our trip to see Josh's brother's family for Easter (you can read about it here).

After we got home, we had dinner with K.W. and S.W. and their adorable baby. The boys went to Bible study and us girls hung out with the little one. We had a nice night catching up.

Later that week, we celebrated my sister's birthday. She and I went to get pedicures (my first one in almost two years!) and then we went out to dinner with family. We went back to their house after and had some yummy berry pie. It was a fun day celebrating her.

The next night, I had a wine night with L.B. in celebration of her birthday. Since we did one for my birthday, we decided to do one for hers too! It was a great night of yummy food and great conversation.

The next morning, some of my friends and I headed out for the women's retreat (you can read about it here)!

After we got back from the retreat, my friend K.M. and I started a women's Bible study. We are doing the study Gideon by Priscilla Shirer and it has been really good so far.

Later that week, I spent the day with my friend K.B. We had such a great time catching up and sharing with each other about the things God's been doing in our lives.

I started the weekend off with a relaxing massage and a wine night with my wine ladies. We enjoyed a nice evening outside around a fire pit with delicious appetizers and desserts.

The next day, we had some friends over in the evening for a game night. After being gone the two weekends before, it was so nice to be able to be at home and have people over again.

The next morning I sang for worship at church. It was also really nice to be in church again, after being gone the two Sundays before.

Later that week, Josh took me on a date night. It was so nice to go out just the two of us for a yummy dinner.

I started the weekend off by spending the evening with my friend K.M. We got frozen yogurt and watched Grey's Anatomy together (no spoilers here, but ugh!!).

The next day, we went wine tasting with K.M. and her hubby. It was really fun to take them to some of the places we've been to before, as well as to try out some new spots.

The next day, we went to a BBQ with some friends. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon with some of our friends from church.

Later that week, we went on a fun double date with our friends K.W. and S.W. It was much needed and we had such a good time.

Other things that happened this month:
I chatted with my BCBs and we read The Infinite Sea (the second book to The 5th Wave) and Dorothy Must Die. I really enjoyed The Infinite Sea but I didn't really enjoy Dorothy Must Die all that much.
My myofascial appointments have continued to be great! My body is still "unwinding" and it's been really exciting to see and feel the changes.
I also finished my wreath! I'm so happy with how it turned out, even if it took a total of 5 hours to make!

Things God has been teaching/reminding me of this month:
How important it is that I let God have control of my life. I have a hard time letting Him have control over every aspect in my life. Some things, sure. Other things, I think I can handle on my own. But I know I need to let Him have control of everything. I've been reminded of this in many different ways this month, including through the Bible study we've been doing.

April's a wrap!

Retreat 2015

I went on my church's women's retreat this month.

One of our friends wasn't able to join us this weekend, so we took lots of pictures with her plate

This was my second church-sponsored women's retreat, but it was my fifth retreat. Our old Bible study used to put on our own men's and women's retreats each year, and they were so incredible. So full of Jesus and learning and worship and drawing closer to each other.

Our group after a beautiful walk

While I shouldn't compare the two at all, because they are vastly different, it was a little rough at times. But thankfully, the women I went with wanted to make this weekend about Jesus and about living life together, and those two things happened.

At lunch. So delicious!

We started off our weekend by eating at a yummy Greek restaurant on our way. I tried lamb for the first time in Vegas and I loved it. This place had gyro bites with lamb beef and it was delicious! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

 Before dinner on Friday night

A little bestie love

The rest of the weekend involved sessions (our speaker was amazing!), game time (which some of us didn't participate in), a yoga stretch class (which was super relaxing), a talent show, small groups, and a lot of free time (which we used to do some quiet time and to talk about Jesus).

 At our session Friday night

After our yoga class

My small group

I also had some wonderful talks with my girlfriends about life and Jesus. We went on a couple of lovely walks and were able to admire God's creation. We prayed for one another and cried together and just encouraged each other. I know that this weekend would not have been the same without those beautiful women and the truths that they spoke.

My beautiful friend L.B. and I. We were teaching her how to play blackjack

Before our session on Saturday night

I came home exhausted from lack of sleep, a little sore from the beds and the yoga, but my heart was full of love for my Savior and for these amazing women in my life.

We found a beautiful outdoor cathedral on our walk Sunday morning. This is the picture I took there 

Before our final session Sunday morning. I love these women so much!

Photo cred: some of my beautiful friends, as well as the women's retreat photographers. I barely took any pics!

Easter Weekend

When Josh's oldest brother and his family came out in January for Josh's great grandma's memorial service, we decided to try to take a trip out to see them over Easter, because Josh had a four day weekend.

I was really nervous at the time about going, because of my back and neck issues. I don't do well when I have to sit for a long period of time while traveling, so I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it. Thankfully, with the treatments I've been getting, we were able to decide about a month ago that we could make it work.

Josh's older brother and his family were able to join us as well, so we traveled with them, which was really nice.

At the start of our travels!

We arrived there Friday afternoon and had dinner at their house. It was so fun to see our nieces and nephew interacting together. Our two youngest nieces are only two months apart and love each other so much. I really enjoyed watching their relationship blossom.

The next day, we went with them to a little old western town that has wild burros that roam the streets. The kids had a good time feeding them.

BFF cousins

Sisters-in-law

We got to explore their city a little bit that afternoon and evening. We had a yummy dinner at a local brewery and got shaved ice down by the water.

The next morning, we went to church with them for Easter. It was so cute to see the girls in their matching outfits. And of course our nephew was super adorable in his little outfit as well.

The girls did an Easter egg hunt that afternoon and we had a yummy BBQ with them before we left to head home.

It was a short visit but we had such a good time with everyone. I'm really glad we were able to make it work to go see them.

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!