brain dump

We’ve been going on summer night walks. Do you ever want to walk forever? Someday I hope Andy gets home before 7 pm, so dinner doesn’t go til 8, and if that ever happens, I know in the summer nights we will walk and run and bike, and I hope it’s for forever.

I always thought when I was like, 25, I would have life figured out. No more freaky decisions, sure of everything, no longer scared of people, easy peasy. Why did that not happen?

Andy took two summer classes this j-term. It’s been all summer, but for two weeks, man that was pure torture. I thought we were going to die. Why does everything bad happen on the already worst weeks and then no one has time to make dinner and I don’t even know the last time I cleaned and I want to get rid of a million things.

Speaking of, do you ever just want to throw everything away? Lately all I want to do is get rid of everything. I want to downsize (even more) (except have a huge kitchen of course) and just be f r e e. Seriously, it’s going to happen. I know. Also, I want to go to the beach.

We’ve been married for over 4 years and 2 months. I still just have the best husband. He is so supportive of me and what I love and he works so hard. Also, he puts up with my moods, like when I go around throwing everything away and getting out the calculator thinking we can afford to go to the beach tomorrow.

I’ve been really sentimental about old photos lately and my new goal is to have photo books (I’ll have room for them because I’m throwing everything else away, ha!). So that is our new presents for each other, having more moments together, but also hopefully getting them into books to remember forever.

The last few nights we’ve been playing Skip Bo every night. I actually prefer it to Nertz, but I hate admitting that. I keep wondering when there will be a night where we just stop playing or we’re too tired, but I think we are addicted.

I miss a lot of people but I am so happy we have time to travel soon.

August is such a weird month when your husband is in school. I really want it to keep being summer (actually, I really want to re-do this summer. why does school make everything go so fast yet painfully slow?) but I also love flannel and the beginning of new seasons. Only about one more week until school starts. I think I could throw myself on the floor flailing and crying. I think most of the time I remember it worse than it actually is. This entire next year Andy learns Hebrew. I hope to learn the art of being happy, even with late nights and Hebrew learning.

 

 

maternity |Kong & Omi

So blessed to know these friends and can’t wait to meet their baby! xo

blooming garden family

Dustin and Susan are our small group leaders {family} and they take our group in often for {the most amazing foodie} food and prayer. Their kids are pretty cool as well and it’s such a blessing to watch and see their family every few weeks. I hope these pictures show a tiny glimpse of their life in this season. They are working on fixing up their beautiful house and every time we come over they are in the midst of a new project. They also have a way with food like I have never seen! And once we received a homemade beeswax candle from them made from the beeswax of their own bees. They truly tend and keep their garden! Thank you for caring for us and letting me capture your family at this moment in time!

bake+play

I am so glad I have gotten to know Amelia and her family a little bit the past two years. She is an amazing woman I have come to look up to and I am thankful I got to spend time capturing her family as they just hung out. Her kids were too cool…they acted like I had just been with them forever and like someone taking pics of them every 30 seconds was no big deal. We got to talk about VBS, listen to songs, and just play! I’m in love with these pics, hope you love them too! xo

 

 

Hippie Homemade 2 in 1 Deodorant and Dry Shampoo

Two years ago we made a lot of changes in our lives: we moved about 700 miles and at the same time decided to completely change our diet and what we put in and on our bodies. So, for a long time I have been searching for the perfect deodorant. I’ve tried about everything: several from the natural food store and etsy, coconut oil, and also just nothing. I hated all of them. And I kind of gave up. Around the time of giving up, I was going through a hair crisis and started making my own dry shampoo. Again, I hated the recipe but decided to change it up to only one ingredient (cornstarch) and added in cocoa powder so my hair wasn’t white. I loved it and also loved the way it smelled. A few days passed and suddenly I realized…why am I not trying this for my deodorant?! I have not gone back since! I wanted to wait a few months before writing about it to make sure this was real so here I am…if you’ve had the same problem as me or just want to save a lot of money…I introduce my favorite deodorant and dry shampoo!

Ingredients: cornstarch and cocoa! I was using a leftover glass spice jar but I’ve changed to using a tea tin. All I do is fill it with cornstarch and then mix in cocoa powder until it becomes about the shade of my hair. Then I just use a makeup brush to apply. Crazy cheap, lasts forever, and less plastic waste going in the trash! Plus, you smell faintly of chocolate. Bonus! xo

(p.s. if this does not work right away for you like it did me I would not give up too quickly! I have heard when switching things like deodorant or diet it changes the way our body releases toxins and the way we smell. I went through that transition for a long time before trying this so I am not sure all of the factors why it works for me, but I hope it works for you too!)

summer

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. {F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby}

Baby Cohen

Cohen and his mom and dad are part of our small group family, so getting to photograph him was really special. His mom, Christina has become a sweet friend. She also makes the best pretzels and always makes you feel right at home. :) Cohen, you are a very loved little guy. Enjoy!

greatness

We had such a wonderful time that we couldn’t bear to go back to our regular lives, and so we decided we just wouldn’t. And then all the greatness began. {Unknown}

my turning key

 

4 years

3 apartments

2 cities

1 thousand adventures

{still bookstore boy and library girl}

p.s. last year’s anniversary

SWI Review–Running the Race with Patient Endurance

Running the Race with Patient Endurance–not Perpetual Busyness taught by Mary Mohler was not something I took because I am necessarily always busy, but I find my life going from different extremes during different weeks. One week there is something every night on the calendar and I don’t talk to my husband much until the weekend. One week there is much more room to breathe, but I feel guilty that maybe I am lazy. Mrs. Mohler helped give me more insight on how to patiently endure and think about what I should be doing and what I should not be doing.

Two things especially stood out to me from the class. The first was, “If you don’t have time to pray and read Scriptures, then you are busier than the Lord ever intended you to be.” I do have time to pray and read the Scriptures, but I thought that to be a helpful and true gauge for now and the future in thinking about my time and priorities. She gave us a quote from Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung, “The answer (to having consistent devotions) is not simple willpower of I must spend more time with Jesus. That won’t last. We have to believe that hearing from God is our good portion. We have to believe that the most significant opportunity before us each day is to sit at the feet of Jesus. We won’t have to rearrange our priorities unless we really believe this is the best one.” That is what really hit me. I love to read books and I can usually find at least an hour to read each day, but I often do not see drawing near to God as my “good portion.” Do more, read more, pray more…those do not last. But a change of theology, of belief, of priority, that can last.

Something Mrs. Mohler made me realize I want to start doing with my husband (to help our marriage, ministry, and just life!) is talking regularly about our goals and have a running to do list. Mrs. Mohler said a good way to discern how you should be busy is to “say no to optional demands that don’t move you toward your goals.” I plan to start sitting down with my husband and monthly talking about weekly, monthly, and yearly goals we have to be better know how to use our time. In the same vein, another thing I want to regularly think about when making the best of my time is the question, what is it that people need from me? Do they need my “heart, love, attention? Or clean dishes and food?” Of course things need cleaned and people must eat, but I do not want to neglect the soul and heart for the sake of a perfect meal and running to do list.

Another helpful thing I learned in thinking about time and busyness is contentment and thankfulness for what the Lord has given me. I often do not seize opportunities because I assume they will be there tomorrow or the next week. I want to make wise decisions in what I do and be thankful for the time, energy, and physical ability I have today.