Changes

I think I want to get back to writing because I have something to share.

I have enjoyed having a spot to look back on with my monthly wrap-ups, but I also feel like that's all this blog has been the last few years.

I used to share more of my heart and my thoughts and I miss that.



I feel like a lot of change has been happening within me and all around me these past few months. Good and bad changes. And everything in between.

I decided to stop selling LuLaRoe. For a number of reasons, but mostly because I just feel overwhelmed by it physically and emotionally. I feel like it's time for a change. Plus, it's been really hard working three jobs since November. And I'm really enjoying Color Street. So I'm closing up my LuLaRoe shop very soon.

My sister and brother-in-law are in the process of becoming resource family approved with the intent to adopt! I am so excited for them and this next step in their journey! And I'm excited to be an aunt again!

There have been a lot of changes at church too. I feel like things have been changing there for the past 5 years. Sometimes it feels like we are in a constant state of flux.

But in spite of all the changes, we keep moving forward in life, keep moving toward what we think we should be doing.



Josh and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in February! It's so hard to believe we've been together that long, but at the same time it seems like it's been much longer. I'm starting to forget specific dates and things from early on in our relationship that I used to remember so well. Not that I've forgotten them completely, but because so much time has passed, they aren't in the forefront of my mind anymore. It makes me a little sad, but I know that's how the passage of time works.



I might share some of my monthly wrap-ups. I might not. I've even contemplated starting a new blog to share my thoughts and leave this one as is. But I'm not sure yet. I just know it feels good to be behind a keyboard typing again.

Cherished

It's been a long time since I've sat down to write out a blog post. I had every intention of doing one in January and then time got away from me. And now we are nearing the end of March.

I'm writing this on a plane on my way home from Colorado. Of course this won't be published until quite awhile after I get home. But my heart hurts and it's time to write some words down about why.

My beautiful CO bestie, that I cherish so very much, lost her amazing sister this past week. She fought a long almost 7 year battle with cancer. She did it. She fought hard and she no longer has to fight anymore.

I remember the very first time I met her. It was just days before she found out she had cancer. She was so full of joy, even though she had no idea why her body was doing such strange things. We went on to develop a sweet friendship. I got to spend time with her on almost every one of my trips to Colorado. We bonded over our mutual love of Gilmore Girls and Harry Potter. She surprised my husband and I two Christmases ago with scarfs she crocheted in our Hogwarts house colors. She would also write me the sweetest texts and comments on my Instagram. I feel like I barely knew her but knew her so well at the same time. She instantly made me feel so loved and cherished.

Her heart for other people, for the hurting and broken, for those everyone else would ignore, was so precious. There will never be another person on this earth just like Mary. She was a special gift. A gift I'm glad to have known, even for the short time that I had with her.

I got to say goodbye to her this weekend and celebrate her life. It was such a hard day, but it was also so very beautiful. We cried a lot, we laughed, we talked about how amazing she was and we danced. She truly would have loved every minute of that day. I'm not sure that I've ever been to a funeral that "perfect" before. It was Mary through and through.

I will miss her random texts. I will miss her kind words. I will miss her voice and how truly happy she was to see me whenever I was there for a visit. I will miss so much but I will always cherish and treasure every single interaction I ever had with her.

Wrap Up

It's already almost time to wrap up 2017. Such a crazy thought!

I like to take the time at the end of each year to reflect on the goals I set in the beginning of the year and to see how they went.

I feel like I'm still working on most of my goals! Balance and letting go of fears have been the two major themes of my life the past three years. I think both are just going to be a long process for me. I also wanted to exercise more than just once a week at Pilates, and I did that...for about two weeks! It's been hard to get back into a regular rhythm of exercise, even though I have daily reminders on my phone to do so! Having three jobs now is making it much harder to add extra things to my schedule.

I also wanted to connect more with people one on one. I'm still working on this as well. I've been spending some time the past two weeks trying to reevaluate my schedule and trying to include more time not working, as I don't really have a day "off" anymore. So I've been trying to come up with ways to be more intentional with taking time off and using that time to spend with others.

My other goal for this year was to continue to strive to look more like Jesus. Obviously this is always going to be an ongoing goal. I've been trying to spend more time in the Word and really focusing on who Jesus was on earth and on what He did while He was here.

I'll share more about my goals for 2018 in a later post. Now it's time for a little wrap up of this year.

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January was a month of celebrating birthdays! We celebrated our friends's son's birthday, my friend's birthday and my birthday!

February was full of celebrating our 9th anniversary, and I got to meet the founder of LuLaRoe!

March was full of events with amazing women! I celebrated one of my best friend's birthdays, attended our church's women's retreat and got to spend a lot of time with another of my best friends and her kiddos!

April was full of babies! One of my best friends had her third baby and one of my other best friends found out she was having a girl!

May was full of celebrations! We attended a fun birthday party, went to Disneyland (and spent time there with a friend and with Josh's dad) and attended our niece's preschool graduation!

June was hectic, but we found a few moments for fun!

July was fun and busy! We celebrated the 4th of July with family and friends, went to Disneyland and the d23 convention and I went to LuLaRoe's annual convention!

August was full of more celebrations! I helped throw a baby shower for one of my best friends and went wine tasting to celebrate the birthday of another friend!

September was full of so much goodness! We celebrated our niece's birthday, I went to CO to spend time with one of my best friends and her family and we got to meet my best friend's new baby!

October was full of lots of fun! I went to the Museum of Ice Cream, we went to our friend's Halloween party and went to a local corn maze!

November was crazy! We went wine tasting, Josh had a conference for work and we had our annual Friendsgiving, plus Thanksgiving festivities!

December has been fun and busy! We've had lots of Christmas fun, I celebrated a friend's birthday and we saw Star Wars! There's a lot more fun to be had in these few days of the year!

I'll be back later with the rest of my thoughts. 2017 is almost over!

Oh Ten. And Oh Eleven. Two Oh One Seven

No more apologizing. It's just late!

October and November were both busy months!

October was full of lots of crazy stuff! I did a lot of events with LuLaRoe. Josh went on a youth staff retreat.

I got to go to the Museum of Ice Cream! I found out about it on Instagram earlier in the year from someone I follow. It's one of those super hard places to get tickets for, but somehow I managed to get some! It was a super fun day and I loved every square inch of that place!

We also went to our friend S.W.'s annual Halloween party. It's always such a fun time! We had such a hard time deciding on our costumes this year but I think they turned out pretty amazing!

 

And we went to a corn maze with some friends. It's one of our favorite things to do in the fall and I'm so glad we were able to.

(It was SUPER windy that night!) 

Josh's dad had to have surgery in October (and thankfully everything went well and he's doing great!), so Josh was out of town a few days because of that. Josh's grandma also passed away, which was very sad. We both loved her a lot and miss her very much.

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November kind of came as a whirlwind after the crazyness of October.

Our friend S.W. took some amazing pictures of us at the beginning of November! We got to go to one of my favorite spots in California that I hadn't been to in years. It was a really fun afternoon!

(PC: Scot Woodman Photography)

I participated in a women's tea event at our church again. It's always fun to see how everyone decorates their tables! And the food is incredible! My friend L.B. and I have gone together the last two years and we had so much fun together!

We went wine tasting and had a great time! It's one of my favorite things to do with Josh, or with friends, because it's so relaxing and fun!

Josh had a conference for work, so he was gone for a few days for that. After he got back, we celebrated Thanksgiving early with my family! We had a really nice day! My mom made lasagna and it was delicious! I like doing non-traditional meals sometimes for the holidays.

We also had our annual Friendsgiving dinner with some friends. It's one of the things I look forward to so much every year.

I also signed up to be a Color Street Stylist! I know, I know, I'm a little crazy...but it's been super fun! I had a launch party and I participated in a couple of events for that in November!

And now it's already the middle of December and 2017 is almost over. I have so many more thoughts I want to share, but never enough time to do so! I hope to be back here soon!