Our little chap just hit the four-month-old mark, so I figured that maybe now was the time to display (ahem*finish*) his Narnian nursery. Most of the room has been complete since before his birth. We had a homebirth, and I knew that order-in-the-nursery would help with allowing my mind to relax. But there were still a few odds and ends that needed to be hammered into the walls.



Now I am no home-decorating blogger, which you would believe at a greater level if you witnessed the creaky floors and cracked walls of our little 100-year-old cottage, and with a husband in grad school, the funds are continually directed to another place--INSANE PENN STATE TUITION PRICES. Suffice it to say, I considered forgoing the nursery completely. In the end, we decided that it was possible to make a very nice baby room with many things gifted-and-thrifted and a few things purchased. You will recognize many pieces from the amazing baby shower that my family hosted in September.

Sources:
Narnia Map / Amazon
Frame / Thrifted & Painted
Stuffed Aslan / Gifted from a Little Cousin
Dresser / Already Owned by Me, Painted, with New Knobs from Walmart
Changing Table Pad / Kid 2 Kid Consignment Store
Rocker Recliner / Craigslist
Baby Quilts / Gifted from Talented Friends & Family
Palace-esque Miror / Thrifted
All Framed Wall Decorations / Thrifted, Painted, and otherwise Creatively Crafted by My Sis
Bedside Table / Already Owned, Re-painted
Narnia Book Set / The One Really Cool Possession that My Husband Brought to Marriage
Wall Decal / Amazon
Curtains & Fixtures & Wall Clock / Walmart .. Frugal people aren't ashamed by this. In fact, did you know that most millionaires shop at Walmart? Yup. As much as I like the 'niceness' of the calm Target experience, ambiance doesn't help my checking account balance.





See my fabulous nursing corner. The rocker recliner was a great investment (though not much of an investment, because we bought it from someone on craigslist.com). I have a little convenient nursing basket tucked beside the rocker recliner.  There are a few necessities in there, like a water bottle, Kindle, nursing pads and burp rags. So I can nurse and stay there instead of wishing for water for the entirety of a nursing session. Nursing mama is ALWAYS thirsty!



I am slightly ashamed to say that I begged for this little treasure chest when it appeared at the baby shower. My powers of persuasion must be better than I thought, because my sis gave it to me.. or she's just nice. ;)

Some of these nursery decorations don't scream "Narnia," but are simple reminders of pivotal moments in the stories. The treasure chest reminds me of the Pevensie children rediscovering their special gifts in the treasure chamber at Cair Paravel. And that candle? Its scent is Balsam & Cedar. Or as I prefer to call, "Narnian Forest!"



This mirror was originally supposed to have the frame repainted, but I found that I loved the fake-gilded edges. It is just fancy enough to belong in a Narnian palace.



If I could have a favorite piece, it would be the book pages framed. Narnia is words, timeless stories, fantasies in print. I love the mishmash of the parchment pages... and even more, the "Dear Little Friend" quote on the bottom right corner.










We are currently reading Prince Caspian. I am loving the British words like "beastly" and "splendid" and the motivation to go on a march outside... and enjoy the warmth of a fire and newly roasted bear meat. Well, perhaps I will forgo that experience. *Also, love the Narnian bookmark from a fellow Narnia-lover!



Trains are Narnian, too! This wooden block train was a Christmas gift, as was the cute little felt finger puppets inside the toy crate.






What is a nursery tour without a bored-looking Devereaux? You might have noticed the lack of crib in this nursery. The crib is over in our bedroom, as we do co-sleeping/room-sharing. We do have this single bed in the nursery so it can also function as a guest room as needed. Or if mommy is so exhausted that she can't quite walk over to her room to nap. ;)





This photo was staged.



We chose a Narnian theme, because we love the stories, we love the writings of C.S. Lewis and we love the eternal truths told in fairy tales. Because children will grow and learn of Aslan and wonderful lands of their imagination, and then they will understand the beauties of God's heaven and earth.



I hope you enjoyed our little nursery tour! What was your favorite part? What would you add to a nursery?

7:00 am - My eyes pop open reluctantly when I hear the baby stirring. It was a late night last night, as we returned from Superbowl Sunday evening + a snowy Monday at my parents' house on the mountain. I like to wake up gradually (i.e. not speaking for a little while), so nursing the baby first thing helps me out. After a few minutes of waking up, I read my Bible while the baby nurses.
7:35 am - My husband is a sweetheart and brings me a cup of delicious coffee every morning before he leaves for work or graduate school at Penn State. Coffee is my love language. Sometimes I read a little of this book, too. Simple Puritan prayers help my morning perspective.
7:51 am - The phone rings and it's my sister. We chat about baby fevers, the Bible and local politics.... and blogging, all while I'm tying on the running shoes.
8:37 am - On the treadmill (My most wonderful belated Christmas gift!). I am attempting the beginning of a couch-to-5K stint-- i.e. I'm attempting to become a runner. I was thrilled to discover a couch-to-5K app that makes everything easier... except running. There's no shortcuts to make running easier.
8:57 am - Devereaux wakes up.. yes, in the middle of a workout... and nursing break begins.
9:21 am - I return to treadmill to finish last 10 minutes of workout. We're running late this morning, but honestly, I only recently started hammering out a daily schedule with baby, so everything is in flux. The only thing really typical about our days is that they tend to be atypical. That being said, it's important to me to at least get some chores done each day. Gotta be a responsible stay-at-home wife and mama. ;)
9:35 am - Breakfast! Time for cereal and vitamins.
9:50 am - Baby morning prep time! Change diaper, dress the baby and wonder at the stupidity of baby clothes. WHY CAN'T EVERYTHING JUST ZIP UP?
10:00 am - SHOWER. I feel like I never appreciated the wonders of hot showers until having a baby. It's like a mini-vacation. Hot water is amazing. Speaking of the baby, Devereaux just hangs out in the bouncy seat... that doesn't bounce, because mommy forgot to put batteries in it when she assembled it, and now it just seems pointless to unassemble and reassemble for the sake of a little bouncing.
10:16 am - Dress, makeup and wipe spit-up off Devereaux's chin. I have honed the makeup routine to five minutes. Technically, it is three minutes without interruptions. I can always find three minutes somewhere, and putting on a little makeup to brighten my face makes me feel more prepared to conquer the day... and more attractive to my husband. Don't get me wrong, my husband adores my face with or without makeup, but he appreciates when I put forth the effort to be pretty for him. :) I do make a slight concession for my cleaning day and that's putting my hair in braids. Keeps it out of my eyes, even though I look a bit like Pocahontas. :P (also ignore the streaky mirror)


10:30 am - I'll give 10 minutes to a quick wipe-down of the bathroom, in lieu of a real cleaning. Tuesdays (the day I'm recording this day-in-the-life) are my bathroom-cleaning day, but we're taking shortcuts today.
10:39 am - It's floor playtime with Devereaux. I refill my water bottle again. I am now more educated about the consequences of getting dehydrated while nursing (let's just say digestion isn't fun), and so I am focusing on drinking alot of water. It seems like all I do is refill that water bottle and guzzle it again. Maybe it will also help my dry & chapped lips that appeared at the birth of my child and haven't disappeared since... Hmmm.

10:49 am - Devereaux is done and hungry.
11:15 am - We're doing the eat-a-little, sleep-a-little routine, but I don't mind at all... More time for kissing sweet baby cheeks and cuddles.

12:30 pm - Lunch! Scrambled eggs, blueberry oat muffin & apple. I unload & load dishwasher (easier than doing it with the bebe in the carrier), switch loads of laundry, wipe down kitchen counters and sweep floor... everything is "quick-clean" mode today to recover from missing our Monday cleaning routine, catching up on laundry and unpacking the suitcase. It's amazing how just one night away can make so much extra work!
1:00 pm - It's technically naptime but I spend a few minutes catching up on food & exercise logging on the "Lose It" app. I've found that just the act of tracking calories and writing down what I am eating serves as a deterrent from eating ALL the chocolate in the house... though sometimes I fail. I love dark chocolate. REALLY REALLY LOVE IT. A little bit is good. ALOT is better... Just kidding.

1:19 pm - Nap time. The baby has been sleeping for 30 minutes, but now it's time for mama to join in.
1:30 pm - Baby is hungry. Nurse again. I'm nursing "on demand," instead of on a schedule, which I like because the baby stays pretty happy. It's a demanding schedule always being on-call for baby, but worth it to me when I look at the benefits of breastfeeding. I think he is hitting a little growth spurt this week, as he has been eating and eating and eating. Come to think of it, so have I. Hmmmm.
1:50 pm - Nap. For real this time.
2:14 pm - I dozed, but no sleep is really happening while the laundry is tormenting my brain so why not fold and put away more clothes.
2:30 pm - Devereaux is awake, so I organize my vanity table while Devereaux slaps at the link-a-doos. Clutter is my nemesis.
2:55 pm - Devereaux wants to sit on my lap and eat his fists.
3:04 pm - Nurse the baby while reading a library e-book.
3:40 pm - Change laundry loads and then make some energy bars for the week. I discovered this recipe for energy balls while pregnant and loved them. Now I change the recipe as I want, such as putting them in my new food-processor this time and patting them out to cut into bars instead of balls. I taste-test. YUMMMMM.

4:10 pm - More folding clothes. This is usually the time when I try to get some hobby stuff done, like organizing family photos or digital scrapbooking or playing music, but my laundry is a hungry monster today that gobbled up all the time.
4:30pm - Brandon gets home for the day! YAY! Kisses for mommy and baby. I spend the next half hour finishing up the laundry and then it's hanging out downstairs in the living room. Brandon studies until 6:30, so we'll get our talking done then, but it's still nice to be in the same room together.
5:01 pm - I'm nursing again, but I don't mind at all. Reading is one of my favorite things to do, so unless the baby is super-restless while nursing, I can multi-task and turn the "pages" on my Kindle with one hand. It's a skill that has revolutionized my life.
5:35 pm - Playing on the floor with Devereaux, while he tries to eat a monkey.
6:16 pm - Usually I would be making supper about this time, but since there's only two supper-eaters in our family, we routinely eat the same dinner two nights in a row. It keeps the leftovers at bay, saves a bit of grocery money and simplifies our life. Though I am the variety-in-food lover in the family, I can handle two nights in a row, especially if it's a great meal. I loooooved this Sausage & Spinach Lasagna and might have been willing to eat it for a WEEK.
6:43 pm - We finally sit down to eat and I get halfway through my piece of lasagna and then someone else decides he is hungry. Ah well, I like warm food more than hot food anyway. :D
7:03 pm - I clean up from supper and pack Brandon's lunch while he makes faces and funny conversations with Devereaux.
7:10 pm - We're all in the living room sitting on the floor, because that's where it is easiest to play with Devereaux. He is SUPER-talkative tonight, and my face feels like it is going to break from smiling and laughing at him. And because I'm a 21st century parent, I take little videos on my iPhone of Brandon making beatboxing noises and Devereaux smiling like crazy.
7:43 pm - Storytime! I read books. Quickly and with a few changes, because honestly, our child is 2 1/2 months old. His appreciation of books is limited to sometimes looking at the pictures, hearing a few words and the cool books that also make animal sounds.
7:57 pm - Diaper change and changing Devereaux into pajamas. He smiles more.
8:04 pm - Time for bedtime nursing. Theoretically, I should be done in 45 minutes or so, with Devereaux sleeping peacefully and mommy + daddy hanging out downstairs with the baby monitor calming my new mama anxiety. But like I said, baby growth spurt equals one marathon nursing session and finally few minutes of whispering (so we don't wake the baby) before falling asleep around ten. Ya know what they say about early to bed and early to rise? We subscribe to that philosophy completely. It makes everyone happier. :)

When life is made of little and big challenges, sometimes ya just gotta rejoice in the little victories. Some of these victories are to-do list victories, or frugal living victories (this is what happy-homemakers do to keep their hard-working husbands happy--- keep the budget low!), or baby prep victories, or just Life-Is-Good victories. Enjoy!

~ A friend sent me a coupon code for another FREE Shutterfly 8x8 photobook! Now our New Orleans babymoon / third anniversary trip book is complete and on its way to my happy hands… for just the cost of shipping!

~ One dollar Amish butternut squash + a slow-cooker soup recipe waiting to be made. Nothing says wonderful autumn like squash!

~ A newly painted baby nursery / guest room. Transformed from an aqua-bluish (old roommate’s room!) color to a more neutral tan color called “Imperial Sands.” (Note: I love reading the descriptive terms on paint colors!). The nursery is painted and nothing else done, but I’m holding onto that paint victory! :)

~ Portraits done for a wiggly-squiggly three-month-old nephew and his smiles are worth their weight in gold. *sigh* Babies are so great. (note: retired from professional photography, but I make exceptions for blood relatives. Mostly because they don’t laugh too much when I fall over because I’m 7 1/2 months pregnant and my balance right now is waaay crazy!).

~ Two pairs of maternity skinny jeans (oxymoron, anyone?) in the mail to me for a grand total of $2.48. This is amazing, because I actually cried over the weekend because my ankles were cold. Maybe pregnancy hormones… buuuut it’s fall and I have capris and skirts, but no jeans that fit this pregnant body. So today, I ordered jeans… using a gift card, a coupon code + a standard free shipping offer. Now we just get to see if I ordered the correct size. #firstworldpregnancyproblems

~ Childbirth class homework this week includes practicing “labor comfort measures.” Brandon gets to give me a massage every day! Yay! I LOVE THIS HOMEWORK!

~ I organized the silverware drawer, because I’m slowing making my way through organizing the whole kitchen. Now I smile whenever I open the silverware drawer. Yes, I am happy because of the little things.

~ Also organized the baking supplies, spices and cookbooks cabinets in my kitchen... which is approximately 1/3 of my cupboard space... In the process, I climbed up on a chair (is that a bad thing?) and threw away nearly three trash bags of old cooking magazines, garage sale cookbooks and food that was waaaaaaaay past its expiration date. #dontmesswiththedeclutteringpregnantwoman

And that’s the end for now.
What are your little victories?  #Rejoicewiththemthatrejoice

August has been quite an interesting month for us. We spent the majority of it on the road, travelling from Arkansas to Wisconsin to Arkansas to Texas to Louisiana to Arkansas to Virginia to West Virginia to Texas. We have seen extended family and friends and done a bit of a work/pleasure travelling besides. It’s not a stretch to say that I am SO OVER restaurant food. It doesn’t even sound appealing to me anymore (though that might be also related to the fact that the baby is taking over most of my belly and so I get full a lot faster and most food doesn’t seem appealing… until an hour later, when I’m hungry again).

We finally arrived at our Pennsylvania home late-late-late one evening last week. The little old lady neighbors welcomed us with waves and neighborhood news. We stumbled into our little home absolutely exhausted and noted the evidences of partying-spiders throughout. Falling into our own bed was wonderful…. until I was too excited about being home to sleep! Eventually sleep came and in the morning, the real work began.

Four full days of intense cleaning. I scrubbed and washed and dusted and vacuumed and mopped every single room in our house. Who knew that inactivity could yield such dirt? My inner angry thoughts included; This disproves evolution! and also, next time I’m doing the British thing and draping everything in old sheets!

There were lots of notable discoveries in my cleaning extravaganza.
1. That funny little red-and-black snake that hurried away while I was hanging towels on the clothesline (yay for my clothesline!).

2. The obnoxious wasp nest outside our back door. The presence of said wasps was discovered Friday, but not truly experienced until Saturday when one wasp decided to take up residence inside my shirt. And sting me. #andsobeganamostpainfulfewdaysofmylife

3. House guests (of the human variety) are the best motivation in cleaning. We had folks coming in the first weekend after we were home and so I couldn’t NOT clean. What probably would have taken me weeks to do had to be done in a few days. It was the perfect scenario because Brandon had a few days of part-time work before classes began (this week) and so he helped as much as possible --- moving furniture, carrying the vacuum cleaner upstairs and downstairs, throwing away clutter, giving me hugs when I cried (from tiredness + pregnancy) and “making dinner” for me on the last night of the cleaning extravaganza. He makes dinner by buying me pizza…. and it was awesome! :D

4. I guess food is good motivation (or reward) for me these days. Like this amazing homemade chocolate coconut frappucino. Ingredients include: milk, coconut oil, cocoa, sugar, vanilla, dark chocolate and ice. Blend and drink immediately – especially when you’re hot and sweaty and tired from cleaning. It tastes like heaven in a glass!



I guess to sum up: I am very, very, VERY glad to be home. I’m also very glad to be truly at-home, being a homemaker, for the first time in my life. Our time in Arkansas felt a bit like an extended vacation to me. I did cleaning and reading and walking and some computer work, but always felt a little out of place. Now I’m having revelations of homemaker-life every single day. Like when I realize that I need to make a call about some utility bill and I can take care of it right then instead of doing it on my lunch break and getting a voicemail and having to play phone tag a million times. Or when I open a cupboard and see disorganized pans and realize that I can reorganize them soon, instead of waiting for an evening that will never come because I’m too busy working at my job to really put time into taking care of the extra home tasks that pile up.

Life is different now… really different… and I love it.


Note: Caspian-the-kitty is really glad to be home, too… though he’s not sure what is happening with my lap these days. ;)

Who wants to go on an apartment tour? Raise your hands! :D

We were pretty excited when we walked into our new little apartment after hours on the road nearly two weeks ago. It was found through the great Internet machine and booked via phone, so there’s always a bit of a nagging suspicion that we were gonna be gypped. We eschewed more expensive apartment complexes because a) they were more expensive and every extra dollar in our lives goes to the great Pennsylvania State University, yo, b) the only real differences were that those more expensive places had swimming pools and an overwhelming majority of college student rentals. While Brandon is a college student, you can understand why we prefer not to be surrounded by the ‘party-hearty’ crowd… also, college students & swimming pools seem like a bad combination. I may (slightly) regret the lack of an accessible swimming pool when we get into the depths of Arkansas summer heat, but hey, I’ll just buy a little wading pool at Walmart and put it on our deck. At least my feet will be cool. And if I learned anything from my teenage summer job as a greenhouse water girl, it is that when your feet are cool, your whole body stays cool. The wading pool is a great idea! Yeah!… (I suggested this to Brandon and he shook his head & laughed).


See our cozy little living room. The couch is semi-comfortable. Sometimes I give up sitting on it and go sit on the floor instead, because the carpet is niiiiice. Or because I’m a savage who was raised in the wilderness and is actually more comfortable on the ground (maybe I’ve read too many pioneer stories?).

I couldn’t fit the piano in our car so I brought the acoustic guitar. Playing it again is downright lovely. I found a guitar tuning app on my iphone so my #1 objection of the guitar not being in tune isn’t valid anymore. Guitars had a more solitary sound than pianos, so I’m really appreciating the difference. And the guitar is inspiring my too-long-dormant songwriting. Funny side note: Ya never realize how important a blank notebook is until you travel hundreds of miles away from home and have nothing to write on. Really! I had to go to Walmart to buy a notebook!

Like my little travel suitcase decoration? It was a going-away gift from our church and I think it’s so cute! Also, I had to bring it along because it contained emergency food rations… no worries, the rations were consumed and now it is empty. I ate all the marshmallows, Brandon ate all the cookie butter and we both ate the Nutella... and decided that the healthy choice is to NOT BUY ANY MORE. :D



True confessions: This is the only area of the apartment that I actually cleaned in preparation for taking a photo. It quickly because our dumping area for anything and everything random. I had to go through all our electronics, papers and free internship gifts (there was even sunscreen & a beach ball! I’ll put that in my imaginary wading pool)… And we have no lack of laptops. You can see three here. Mine, Brandon’s college laptop and then his (Pennsylvania) work laptop; he’s still working twenty hours a week in the evenings/Saturdays to keep up with his PA job. Then he has his internship laptop that goes back and forth to work during the day with him! *shaking my head at technology*


First view after one walks into the apartment. You can see our balcony. We have a lovely view of… a roof to a gas station. :D



Living room! Dining room!


Ohhhh kitchen! I like the kitchen. I brought essential things along like my cast iron skillet, recipe books (that’s a free cookbook I got from the last church we visited!), coffee grinder and blender. All the important stuff. See the random water glass hanging out on the counter? I leave them everywhere as part of my secret plan to drink enough water. I have to go and collect glasses before loading the dishwasher.
The color palette of this apartment is very warm and neutral. I’m diggin’ it. I brought a collection of favorite books from home. Don’t leave home without Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott and The Chronicles of Narnia (TCON to all fellow enthusiasts).

Other parts of the apartment that just thrill my soul: CLOSETS! There are three! Ohmygoodness, I really love closets. One minor deficiency of our cute little cottage back home is that it was built over 150 years ago, before people had so many clothes. Closets just didn’t really exist. But here, we have a walk-in closet in the bedroom, plus a hallway closet, plus a utility closet. It’s blissful.

And I’d show you the awesome bathroom, but that’s just weird. I love that there is so much space on the bathroom vanity and I can spread out the stuff!

So that’s it! Our cute little apartment. I am thrilled with our little home-sweet-home in Arkansas and I’m sure it will serve us well for the next three months!

The news is out! It’s true. We are expecting a baby come November. It’s super-awesome and super-exciting and all those ridiculous adjectives. And now for the answers to the questions!

How do you feel?  I feel great. There were a couple weeks of feeling icky early on, but I’m pretty sure that my problem was that I wasn’t eating enough calories. Laugh if you will, but prior to pregnancy, I was still trying to lose a few pounds and get in better shape. So I had a little adjusting to do as far as the calorie intake. Also, I’m becoming even more vigilant on the eating/snacking at regular intervals throughout the day and that keeps me pretty happy.

Any weird pregnancy quirks? Well, strangely enough, I currently hate the smell of coffee. I know! It’s crazy! And almost any other strong smell just really bugs me.

I love your baby announcement. Did you get the idea from Pinterest? Haha. NO. I was sitting in bed one morning thinking about how to announce our pregnancy, and that popped into my head and I LOVED IT. Told it to Brandon and he loved it. Then I went to six different stores to find tiny espresso cups that I liked, and finally ended up finding them on clearance at Walmart for $5. Yeaaaah. I have been wanting those little espresso cups for yeeears, so it was the perfect excuse. So I essentially created my own meme by setting up the photo, editing it and adding text. Oh yes, and the background material? It was leftover table runner material from our wedding day. So cute, right? 

Are you going to find out the gender? Yes. I waffled on this for a short time, but honestly, I don’t like color yellow very much and that’s what gender-neutral clothes/nurseries/etc. tend to be. So we’re gonna find out the gender so I can plaster everything in pink or blue (slight overkill maybe/ maybe not).

What do you want? Boy or girl? We want a healthy baby. No gender preference whatsoever. Fo’ real.

Are you gonna tell the baby names? Nope. We’re secretive like that because a) naming our babies only includes two opinions: mine and Brandon’s. And we like to be without everyone else’s opinion until they can’t do anything about it (*insertevillaughhere*), b) our name list is long and want to have the option to change our minds if we want prior to birth, and c) if we’re not waiting to reveal the gender, we want to wait on the name… because surprises are nice sometimes!

Can I touch your belly? NO. Just no. Respect the personal bubble.

Onward to other interesting things….
So that’s the most wonderful-and-delightful news in our world. We are barreling full-speed-ahead towards the end of the semester and into our summer adventure in Arkansas (WOOHOOO!). These are days are full of times of transition. I’m just days away from the end of my full-time-working-outside-the-home career. I’m making jokes about “retirement” and “career changes,” but in all seriousness, this transition has been a long time coming. In one of our first conversations as friends, I remember Brandon asking me about what I wanted to be in life. My honest answer (and no, I wasn’t fishing for a husband---though honesty worked well for me!) was that I wanted to be a wife and mother. I’ve worked full-time since I was 17 years old, graduating from high school early and starting full-time work even before I graduated. I did Bible college on the side, worship and youth ministry on the side and a photography business on the side. I bought a house and went on missions trips and all while keeping my full-time job in accounting. It’s been good, but it has always been temporary. I knew God was eventually gonna take me to home. Not heaven-home. But that the home would be my focus, my ministry, my calling.

Things are getting real around here, and I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself. Though I am also so tired that I can hardly be excited (it’s a difficult paradox). Packing up necessary items for a summer spent in temporary housing and in a far-off place is mind-boggling. I’m contemplating questions like, “can I pack my cast-iron skillet? What about a teapot?”  I am a chronic over-packer and trying to get our life (even only for the summer) in a Toyota Corolla is making my brain hurt. Not like I’ve actually packed anything yet… it’s the thinking/planning/writing out the list part that’s most difficult.

I am a little nostalgic about going away from here, but not sad in the least. Since the door opened to this opportunity, we have both felt a sense of perfect peace. I am thrilled to be living out one of the things that has been on my heart since the beginning of our marriage --- the concept of “I will go where you go.” (Yes, I know that’s a verse from Ruth and it’s not about marriage and I wasn’t using it like that). I’m using it more of a “leave and cleave” concept. Marriage is a lot about leaving. Departing from the familiar, the family, the comfortable, the childhood things… and cleaving to your husband. It’s about leaving one team and making your own team. God designed the covenant of marriage to bring two lives together into one, not meld it into your current existence. Sometimes this means going away. Sometimes it doesn’t. In our case, we’ve spent a wonderful first two and a half years of marriage here, close to my family, entrenched in a life that is familiar to me--- places, people, things… it was all apart of my life before Brandon. In going away---even just for 3 1/2 months---it feels like the newlywed season again, learning to live life with only each other and the Lord to hang onto.
And that’s pretty awesome.

I am surrounded by a crowd of ridiculously creative people. One friend spends hours making the most amazing felt children’s toys. One friend sends me text messages of her latest Christmas table decoration for our church Christmas party. One friend turned her passion for a Scripture verse in photographic art wall pieces. Then there’s my sister who crafts flower clips for my hair (I'm wearing a bright pink one now) and my mom who dreams up sewing projects and then makes them happen. And the list quite literally could go on and on. I just can’t help it – my friends and family amaze me with their creative gifts.

Photography has been my passion for a few years now, and after this past wedding season, I’m settling into winter hibernation and seriously pondering new ways to express creativity. New seasons demand new inspiration. I’m bouncing around ideas from going back to my original love of landscape photography to dabbling in oil painting to dollar store watercolor on kids construction paper to projects that include glitter, ribbon and hammering nails into empty walls. I'm asking questions like "Why be creative?" "What does it mean to use creativity for the glory of God?" "What should I be doing right now?"

Have you ever noticed the joy that children posses while creating art? Their art doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to make everyone else happy and it certainly doesn’t have a clean process, but the end product is the joy in their faces as they create and the smiles on others’ faces when they give their art away.

Can you imagine the joy that God had while creating the heavens and the earth? It was new and wonderful and BIG and glorious. He created it all and looked back and said that this—this heavens and earth—these humans—these animals—these skies and seas—all that ran and flew and walked and skipped and lived and breathed—all this was GOOD.

And that’s the desire of my heart. To create beauty by using the creativity that God has given me (though altogether different in practice than everyone else, but that’s what makes us all so interestingly unique!) to make something… and then look back, knowing that it is good. I'm not sure yet what being artistic will look like for me, but it will be good.

Photos of little nieces doing watercolor art at my table. And yes, that’s Uncle Brandon painting, too. He’s pretty fun like that.

Maybe it's the time-change or maybe it's going to sleep earlier each night. Maybe it's the end of wedding season, and finally getting caught up on household chores. Maybe it's resolving to enjoy every single thing I do, and to be kind when people are not, and to not sweat the small stuff. Maybe it's the increasing awareness of God's presence in my life, and the simple reminders from the Spirit to let the love of God constrain me. Maybe it's just a change in my attitude-a decision to turn my focus away from how much I have to do towards how thankful I am for breath in my lungs and chores to accomplish and family to serve and being saved by Christ. Or maybe it's a combination of all these things.

I feel like I'm coming out of the fog. Out of the fifty-mile-per-hour pace of life and into living peacefully, slowly, reverently. This past weekend was like heaven on earth. And you know what I did? A whole-lotta laundry. I am very, very, VERY thankful for time to do laundry. It's sounds weirder than a three-dollar bill. I'm okay with that.
It was a pure, happy, continual labor at home and I loved it.
I cleaned the bathroom at 8:00 am on Saturday morning.
I trekked up and down the stairs about 40 times, with laundry baskets and without.
I ironed a mountain of clothing.
I read a cookbook. Yup, almost a whole cookbook.
I conquered the dishes begging to be scrubbed.
I hugged my husband as he did the usual 12-hour study Saturday.
I cooked. Slowly. I had promised my husband a dessert this weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of baking this delectable apple tarte tatin from Eat Drink Live. If you're not as classy as the cookbook I got the recipe from, and have no idea what that is (like me), it's a French upside-down tart. Caramelized apples topped with pastry crust, then baked in the cast iron skillet. Basically, AWESOME. Brandon agrees quite enthusiastically.



So yeah, I have a slight blogging obsession with themes and being chronological. When what I'm writing doesn't fit into the theme--or more practically, the title, sometimes I don't blog. It's sad. I am trying to overcome it, because I love the idea of sharing more of our life on this little space in the Internet, even life that is random and messy and not-quite-chronological. I have summer road trips and autumn photos and adventures and so many things to share. Hold on to your hats, folks, I'm blogging again.
I'm sharing what's on my heart.

{insert passionate spiritual speech here}
I'm gonna talk about buzzwords. I really hate 'em.
Buzzwords. They are everywhere in the Christian world, and consequently, everywhere on the Internet and everywhere in real life.
People looooove to talk about their buzzwords.
Revival! Repentance! Holiness! Healing! Faith! The Gospel! Freedom! Spirit! Evangelism! Discipleship! GRACE (times a million these days)!
Go to a million different Christian "camps" and you'll get a million different buzzwords. They're usually valid Scriptural terms, genuine Christian doctrine and authentic needs in the Church.

HOWEVER.

Ya know what bugs me? Like really-really-REALLY bugs me?
The only buzzword that people don't talk about that much--- Jesus.

It's probably a human thing --- to be fascinated with trends and fads and whatever catches our interest for a month or two. Or whatever we need the most. Or whatever seems the most intriguing at the time. But the truth is -- that current buzzword is not the end-all, catch-all. It is NOT everywhere in Scripture. It is not the answer to everything. Random buzzword is probably not the foundation of our belief system and it is most certainly not the most important thing ever.

I've been there. I might still be there, but the Lord is working on me.
You know what I'm seeing when I open up the Bible lately? The Person of Christ.
You know who I'm enthralled with today? Jesus.

There's something to be said for coming out of the fog of Christian trends and settling down at the feet of Jesus to learn the most important thing -- Him.




Our Sunday evening at-home-date. Slow-cooker butternut squash soup, biscuits and sparkling pomegranate juice. Super romantic because I scrounged around to find those candlesticks. Let's not talk about the fact that I have no candlestick holders so they are in parfait glasses. Candlelight makes even the simplest meal romantic. And instrumental Christmas music, too. :D

I enjoyed my work. And it was good (enough).