impossible

Sometimes you just need a reminder that God is in the business of the IMPOSSIBLE. My sweet friend sent me that reminder this weekend and I'm holding on to that. Sometimes when I pray I keep my prayers in a safe little box of things that I know can happen but sometimes you need to pray outside that box (much like coloring outside the lines).

 Life is daunting, things happen, and while I know God has a plan for my life it sometimes doesn't match the plan I have. I am going to continue to stay in prayer for the things I want to happen, the possible and impossible because after all that's what God's all about.

a heart overfilled with love

I've been talking to my friend Tera lately about her upcoming wedding (47 days!!!!) and it's got me a little sentimental. I've also just been feeling overwhelmingly thankful for this man of mine lately. I love him so much more than I can even begin to describe or show him. With a little less than three months to go before our 3rd wedding anniversary (where did the time go?) I'm sharing part of our ceremony below. I've highlighted parts that really stick out to me this far into our marriage. This was written by our amazing Chaplain, Doug Carver, especially for us since our big ceremony was more than a year into our marriage. I'm so thankful for such a personalized ceremony and for his beautiful words.

"Dave and Lauren, today you stand before Almighty God and these witnesses seeking the Lord’s blessing on Your marriage, submitting to His authority over your lives, and vowing to establish a Christian home.  A Christian home is one where you love each other as Christ loved you. To love like Jesus means to give of yourself completely, unconditionally, holding back nothing, laying down your very life for the needs of your spouse… to empty yourself of all selfishness and the “me first” mentality in order to satisfy the desires of your life companion…to care for the welfare and happiness of your spouse as your very own…to look in the same direction together…to celebrate your differences and consolidate your efforts as a team…to place yourself in the role of giver…being willing to go the second mile…to turn the other cheek…to give sacrificially of your time, energy, and effort to please your spouse

 One of the best expressions of this kind of love that we are to exhibit in marriage is found in 1 Corinthians 13 where the Apostle Paul says, “If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, love doesn't have a swelled head, love doesn't force itself on others, Love isn't always "me first, love doesn't fly off the handle. Love doesn't keep score of the sins of others, love doesn't revel when others grovel, love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, love puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies.” "

Lots to live up to and strive for each and ever day in our marriage but I think we do a good job and I can't imagine sharing this journey with anyone else.

To go or not to go: High School Reunion

yea that's a castle in the background (where my senior prom was held....no big deal)

This summer marks my 10 year high school reunion. Since I graduated from a DoDDs (Department of Defense school) overseas we are having this get together in DC. DC, as it ends up, is where a lot of my classmates (including me and some of my best friends) made our home in the states.

I don't have particularly bad memories like I do of college, but I also don't have a million warm and fuzzy memories that I want to relive. With Facebook, Instagram, and all modern technology I pretty much feel like I'm keeping up with classmates without having to stay friends. Is that horrible? Well, it's true. I also have a tendency to hold on to grudges (oooh so Kristan you  made out with my boyfriend my Junior year of high school-yup not letting it go) and I'm afraid that if we go I'll just be cold and competitive.

On the other hand these are people that shared a part of my childhood. They struggled with going to college in the states from Germany and being perceived as different. They understand deployments, military slang, and the issues we faced as Military brats that only WE get. It might be nice to go and catch up and see how people are now and what they're up to. It'd be nice to see who people ended up marrying and if they've started a family. It'd be fun to hear from the people that stayed in Europe and took a different route with their lives.

Whether I go or not, I stay in contact with those from high school that matter to me. My best friend Megan and I met in this high school and I'm so grateful for that. It's ten years later and we're still best friends and such a big part of each others lives, so really we win.

Not that it's a competition. :-)

Would you or did you go to your high school reunion?

happy

via

It's Tuesday, which is only one day away from Monday, so it still sucks. So to brighten the day I'm going to share the top 5 things that are making me happy this week.

 

1. GOOD NEWS. I love being surprised by good news. I'm so thankful to have heard some this week in regards to a dear loved one of mine.

2.MY HUSBAND. He makes me so incredibly happy even when I'm down in the dumps. He's funny and kind and the most giving person I've ever met. He's patient and sweet and I'm so thankful he's all mine. I'm glad only I know him the way I do. It's special and I wouldn't want to share that with anyone else.

3.CALENDAR DATES. I love when I have something scheduled on my calendar that I can look forward to. I currently have 17 days until I go on my friends Bachelorette cruise! And then I have other things on there for the next few months.

 

4.SUNSHINE. Whether it's coupled with some rain here or there, I don't mind. I am loving the sunshine this past weekend and this week. I love that it's 80 degrees in March. My friends in DC have snow and I couldn't be more sure that this move was the 100% right decision for me and Dave to make. People thought we were crazy, and maybe we were, but the sunshine does us some good!

 

5.NOW. It's so hard to just be in the now-the present moment-but it's the thing that can make us truly the happiest I believe. When you're focused on today and what you're blessed with it makes it easier to be content and happy. I'm trying to do that more lately. I'm so thankful for this rainy Tuesday, for the phone call I just had with my mom as she took Finley out, and for the daily lunch conversation I have with Dave. You're not promised a tomorrow so why wish this day away?

 

 

What is currently making YOU happy?

relax in the sun

The sun was out in full force this weekend. To say I loved it would be an understatement. Saturday we took a trip to Apollo Beach are to the Manatee viewing center to see if we could view any. They come to this area because the power plant (yea super healthy) warms the water for them. They usually stick around while it's "winter" in Florida until the waters start warming up. Unfortunately we only saw one manatee. I think we got spoiled this summer when we saw two of them at our favorite beach and followed them along the shoreline and got to see them play and kiss each other. We'll be on the lookout again soon when we go back to hitting up the beaches on the weekend.

 

We finally bought a hammock stand and put our hammock Dave got me for our 2nd wedding anniversary up in the backyard. I slathered myself with sunscreen and was out there for an hour before it got too hot.

Dave and I ended Saturday night with a little cuddle time in the hammock before the sun went down. It was much cooler towards evening and it was just nice to be outside together.

28

Today I turn 28-the age I always pretended to be when I played "grown up" when I was little. There was just something about this age that screamed cool to me. Mature enough to know things but young enough to still have fun. How did I know at age 7 that that's exactly what 28 is. By no means do I think I have it all together, I'm still working on a lot of things but I do feel like ME. I know who I am, have very little doubts about the person I've become, and love my life. I'm so much more content at this age with everything in life than years prior.

 

I know this year is going to be amazing and I'm so blessed to have Dave as my partner in life and so many wonderful friends and family that walk with me in this journey of life.

 

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.

— UNKNOWN

spring break-a waste of space.

oh hey friends, it's been a while. Last week I was on spring break and had all these great ideas of what I was going to do with my time off. I didn't do a single thing-not one. Finley and I spent the week hanging out on the couch and watching Hulu.

So here are some of my new favorite shows:

You kind of love/hate the main cop-but are mostly rooting for him. Can't tell if he's a good guy or dirty cop, or maybe a little of both playing either side. Sophia Bush is in the cast and as a fan from way back in her One Tree Hill days I'm excited to see her as a badass that's not always dressed up or fawning over guys.

My sister and I  have been long time fans of SVU (probably because it's been on the air for a zillion years) but I caught up on the most recent season (15!) this past week. Stabler is gone, and although we all know my love crush on him (insert pic) I'm happy with how the show is progressing and where Benson's character is going.

Although Dave thinks it's a stupid show I like it. It's bad guys turned good guys using their bad guy skills to help out. The plots may be silly and unconvincing but I like to be entertained when watching tv, and I am.

I tried...

I tried getting in to Dr. Who and.....I just can't. I know a lot of people like it but to me this whole time travel to save things was bizarre and not fun. Plus the first episode mannequins come to life-FREAKY!

obsessed-my sister's wedding

{The stunning bride-my sister}

Nothing like some beautiful images to start a Monday off. I'm not sure if it's typical for people to do a recap of their siblings wedding, but it's my blog so I can do what I want. Plus it was a special day and these photos are beyond GORGEOUS that I can't not share them. I've picked my favorites to share with you all today. I hope you enjoy!



Stay tuned for more pictures later on in the week of the fun reception.

All amazing images are by L.A Birdie.


3.7.14

Dear Dave, First off, I love you so incredibly much. Have a fun weekend with your family and I can't wait until you come home. Dear friends, thank you for being so great and for all your prayers this week for me and my family. Dear Momma, you're awesome. Thanks for being there for the couch delivery guys and for letting Finley out almost every day. You're the best and Dave and I are so appreciative for all you do for us. Dear Spaz and Nate, I can't believe FaceTime works to talk to you guys! So cool. It was good to see your faces. I miss you. Dear friends, you'll want to tune in next week as we have more pictures of my sister's beautiful wedding!


Dear college kids, you're not the only ones enjoying spring break next week! YES, I'll  be enjoying it too as I get the week off (paid) from work. The perks of working at a community college! Dear Avacado's, you're my current obsession. I love that you're on sale at Publix lately. Dear Carole, thanks for the sweet Paperless Post card. It really brightened my day and I love knowing you're reading the blog! Dear house, you feel officially done now that we have our man cave couch. I can't wait for Dave to get back home so we can snuggle up on it and watch movies or Hulu on the big tv! It'll double as our second guest bedroom for now if more than one visitor comes to town.

Enjoy your weekend!

sitting in the driveway

This happens now because I am listening to a book on CD. The first one was when my mom and I drove up to VA Beach for my sisters wedding. We started listening to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and it was intriguing.

There were hour spans when my mom and I didn't talk to each other and I found myself wanting to stay in the car to listen even when we reached our destination. I finally finished it on my drive home from work a couple of weeks ago and sat in the car with my jaw hanging open. If you don't plan on reading it, that's ok-the movie starring Ben Affleck (perfect choice as the lead character) comes out sometime this year.
 

{Afleck}

Book on CD is an easy way to entertain yourself in the car and I promise once you'll try it you'll be hooked. I'm already on a new audio book The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Although, I'm done with the first set of cd's and I can't seem to find the second set. I'm really hoping they are misplaced somewhere in my car so I can finish this story.

E-cards

If you know me at all you know I LOVE cards. I make them, I randomly send them, I love getting them, and they're an amazing surprise to get in your mailbox. Well, lately with everything I have going on, I have been a bad snail mail card sender! BUT I've found an awesome alternative that I really like.

They have free cards or invitations as well as ones you can purchase to send to loved ones. You can schedule sending cards, get RSVP's for invitations, customize them and really brighten someone's day.

For Valentine's day I had so much fun with Paperless Post's help. I scheduled Valentine's cards to be sent to Dave at 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am and so on until the end of the day. I'm sure it was annoying for him, but it was fun for me to come up with different ways to tell him I loved him.

{I love Dave more than bacon....that's a lot}

I've also used Paperless Post to send out an invite for my sister's bridal shower as well as my friends Bachelorette cruise. They have a really easy system to keep track of RSVP's, send out reminders to people to RSVP, and message people with more information.

I'm trying to get back to how I used to be with sending out snail mail but in the meantime I really like the fact that Paperless Post is easy and customizable. Some online E-card websites have limited free cards but I'm really happy with their selection and if I want to the pricing for others are reasonable.

Hope you'll go check them out and make someone's day.

Our garbage can isn't in the middle of the room anymore.

Weird title I know. But I'm seriously stoked that our garbage can is in a normal spot and not the focal point of the kitchen eating space. It was helpful however for 4 months that Dave and I didn't walk into our hanging light fixture, but geeze was it an eyesore. The downstairs is finally all put together (ok not really we have one completely empty room). I'm excited for the new kitchen table and hope that Dave and I will sit down more with each other rather than side by side at the bar or on the couch. I don't know how we STILL manage to eat in front of the tv sometimes when we have multiple tables to eat at. 

 

Our upstairs couch gets delivered Wednesday so the man floor will be mostly done. I think we need a poker table up there or something for Dave and his buddies. And then we can start saving for the bar we eventually want to have put in. And then maybe we can paint....oooh there I go getting carried away again.