04.16

April was a really fun month, full of fun times with family and friends.

Here are some highlights:

We started off the month with a fun trip with friends to the beach! It was such a good little weekend getaway. We did a little wine tasting, visited an aquarium, did a lot of walking, and hung out on the beach. The weather was perfect and we had such a great time with our friends.

We had a couple of fun celebrations for my sister's birthday. We went wine tasting in a place none of us had been before and it was so much fun! It happened to be raining all day but we made the most of it. It was such a good time, She, my mom and I also spent a fun day shopping followed by dinner and dessert with the boys. I'm so glad we were able to do so much to celebrate her.

I had my five year anniversary at my job! It's crazy to think how fast time has flown and that I've had this job that long. My boss and his wife took Josh and I out to a nice dinner to celebrate. It was a really fun night!

Josh and I also had a fun date day, just the two of us. We went to a candy making factory (which kind of turned out to be a bust since they no longer offer guided tours and they don't make candy on the weekends) and then I took him to this cool indoor market I'd been to a few years ago with my wine ladies. We had a yummy lunch and then headed to a winery to do a little wine tasting. It was a really fun day and I'm glad we were able to go and be a little spontaneous together.

I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix. I had never seen it before and have a few friends that really loved it, so I decided to give it a try. Some of it was super cheesy and one episode had me thoroughly freaked out, but overall I really enjoyed it and all of its late 90s/early 2000s goodness.

We also babysat my sister's dog for a few days while she was out of town. Josh and I already really loved their dog before this, but I think he really fell more in love with her while she was with us. We were both sad to see her go when it was time for her to go home.

Overall it was a very busy and fun month, but I'm excited for life to slow down a little bit this next month!

Never Say Never

Being an adult can be hard.

Obviously.

One thing I've learned in my 31 short years on this earth is that you really shouldn't say never about everything. Or even make fun of things you don't understand or like. Because I have eaten my words many times over these 31 years. A couple of case-in-points for you:

1. I swore to never have a Twitter account. It's true. In fact, I posted a status about it on Facebook about 6-7 years ago (I know this because it popped up on my "On This Day" not that long ago). I didn't understand why anyone would want to post nothing but status updates when you could already do that on Facebook. Oh, how naive I was...

2. I used to be the girl that posted every single thing she did throughout the day on Facebook. I make fun of those people now, but really, I used to be one of them. That good ol' "On This Day" feature has reminded me of that fact many times. I used to post things like "is doing laundry" (remember when a status was your name or your name is?) or "is tired" or "is bored". Yep, things I'm sure all of my friends were dying to know about me. I guess I shouldn't make fun of the people that still do it, since I used to be one of them.

3. I didn't understand why people used the phrase "self care" and vowed never to use it. And yet, if I look at my life, I really am a huge proponent of "self care". In fact, I took some time this evening to do just that. I found a spa station on Pandora to do some of my stretches to and it made them so much more relaxing. I read my Bible. I poured myself a glass of wine. I spent some time relaxing on the couch. I need "self care". I need alone time. Both of which are not only good for my soul and mental health, but good for my physical health as well.

I think we as humans are far too quick to think that we will never be "that person" or we would never use "that phrase" or feel "that way". But until we are in those places in life, we can't say that. I didn't understand loss until I had been through it. I didn't understand how hard marriage really was until I got married. I didn't understand why people respond in anger in their pain until I was in pain and responded in anger.

I think we need to stop saying never in certain situations. I think we need to stop being quick to judge people in hard situations. I think we need to remember that life isn't always going to go the way we anticipate and remember that it surprises us often. And I think we need to have a lot more grace for ourselves and for those around us.

03.16

March was a very busy month for us! Here are a few highlights:

We went to a Mutemath concert with a couple of friends. It was such a great show! Josh and I had seen Mutemath twice before but it had been quite a few years. They have so much energy and it's obvious they have a lot of fun when they perform.

I saw Wicked with K.M. and S.W. It was so good! I had seen it about 6 years ago with a few friends and loved it. It was just as wonderful the second time! We also found a great soul food place to go to for dinner before the show and got some macarons!

We also went wine tasting twice! The first time we went with a group of friends and went to a few different places that we'd never been to before. The second time, Josh and I went by ourselves to a new place on our way to spend some time with his family.

Easter weekend was a busy but good one. We went to the Good Friday service at church (which was really good) and then had a few friends over for dinner and games. On Saturday, we spent the day with Josh's family at the campsite that one of his brothers and his parents were camping at. On Sunday, we went to church in the morning and then spent the afternoon with my family. It was a really wonderful weekend full of time with family and friends, and spent doing a lot of reflecting on what Jesus did for us on the cross.

I read The Last Girl with my BCBs. It was a very interesting read and I'm curious to see what happens next in the story.

My friend E.O. had her baby girl! She is such a beauty and I can't wait to cuddle with her someday!

I had a lot of release from my myofascial appointments this month. It's crazy to see the physical changes as well as to feel them. I notice all sorts of little changes here and there now. And it's always encouraging when my therapist tells me how much better things are looking in between appointments.

March was busy and fun, but it's hard to believe three months of 2016 have already happened!

On Church and Women

I've been thinking a lot lately about my life.

I love it in so many ways. Josh and I have some amazing friends, we have a lot of fun together, and we both have great jobs. He's doing such an awesome job with the jr. highers at our church and I'm so proud of him. I was doing a couple of Bible studies, but both of those have ended for the time being. So right now, I'm not really doing anything at church besides Sunday mornings.

I've been struggling this past year with finding my place there. Not in our church itself, but in where to serve. I debated and prayed over a few different opportunities that came up, but none of them worked out. I know I need to be doing something to serve in the church, but I just don't really know what that looks like yet.

I know it's been a struggle since the Sunday night service at our church ended. The community we built there was incredible and it was really hard to see it go. I also think often about the women's Bible study my friend A.G. started with my sister over 8 years ago that was so instrumental in the lives of so many women. I long for those days to still be happening, because they were such an important part of my life.

But I often wonder if we as humans live too much in the past.

Do I long for those days because something like that needs to happen again? Or is it because it was comfortable and familiar and I have fond memories of it?

Where do we draw the line between what we've known and the new changes that happen around us all the time?

I have continuously felt a tug on my heart these past few years to be involved somehow with something to do with women. I've listened a few times and been involved with various Bible studies or small retreats. I've done some mentoring and I've reached out to some women. But I still feel that tug, even after everything I've already done. I know there's something more I'm supposed to do, but I still don't know exactly what that looks like yet.

But I do know this: I don't need to try to replicate what I've experienced in the past. Those memories are very precious to me and hold a special place in my heart. A part of me will probably always long to have those days back, because they were a very influential part of my life. But it's time to live in the now and to see what things God wants to do in the people in my life now.

So with that, I'm praying. I'm praying for clarity and direction on what this looks like for me. I know there are many different ways this could play out, but I'm excited to see how it all comes together.

02.16

It's time to share some highlights from February!

The first and biggest highlight was our trip to Disneyland for our anniversary! You can read all about that trip here.

We also went to Disney on Ice with our niece and her parents! This was the first year that Josh and I were able to go together. We saw the Frozen show. While I definitely feel like Frozen has been a bit overdone, I think it was the perfect story to tell on the ice! It was my favorite Disney on Ice thus far.

I got to spend some time with my friend E.H. She and her husband D.H. moved out of the state a few years back so he could get his pastoral degree. I was so happy to see her and to catch up on life a little bit. They are expecting their first baby in June and her mom threw her a baby shower while they were here! I'm so glad I was able to be there and to spend that time with her. Josh and I miss them a lot!

I finished reading For the Love with a few girlfriends. It was a really great read with some really thought-provoking subjects. It sparked a lot of great conversations and would be a great read for a book club. It also had some really funny parts as well.

We bought some blackout curtains for our kitchen and dining room. Since I am very susceptible to migraines, I often had to wear sunglasses in the house because the sunlight streaming in from those windows was so bright. Now, I don't have to wear them inside at all!

I started coloring in my adult coloring book that my friend S.W. got me for my birthday. It's been so fun and so relaxing! I've always enjoyed coloring but I felt weird about buying myself a coloring book and crayons, so I'm glad it's now a thing for adults to color!

Can you tell what the theme of the book is?

February was a very busy month for us. Onto March and all it will bring!