what kind of couple will you be?

Lately, I have been spending some extra time making sure I have my priorities in order. I started noticing that I became, naturally, drawn to baby everything. And it's great to love your babies, but God has used many other lovelies in my life to encourage me as I sought to find balance again. By God's grace I am finally feeling settled. There is nothing better than being intentional with your time, realizing that the only reason you woke up this morning is because GOD gave you another day. At least for now, I have learned to set aside specific times for Brenton and for Madeline, for friends and family, and for my own hobbies, interests, exercise, etc...  I am certain there are ups and downs from here on out, but right now, I can only see ups and for that, I am thankful.

A conversation Brenton and I have been having a lot lately is as follows, "What kind of couple will we be?" I share this with you, because it has been really neat for our marriage to dream up all kinds of things we want for our future. We've talked about dream jobs, possibly going into the missions field for a short time, having more kids, vacations, hobbies that we can't afford now but hopefully some day, short term and long term goals, etc.. Some things serious, some things lighthearted. We've also talked about coming up with a family mission statement. Something we as a family are working towards or striving to be. And when we decide on what that will be, I will find some sort of Pinterest craft to make it into and it will be hung/painted/written somewhere in our home.

So couples, this one's for you. Take your best friend, go out for coffee/tea/hot chocolate or whatever, and talk about what kind of couple you will be!

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family dates.

People often ask if we even remember what we used to do before we had Madeline. To be honest, I often have to think about it at first (she is 8 months old already!! What the heck!?). But before long I remember going out for half off apps at Applebees after 10pm, hanging out with our college friends, late night shopping trips, discing, bike rides, staying up late to watch every single episode of The Office, going on our cruise and to Disney World etc... Even though we weren't married for very long before baby C decided to come along for the ride, we have so many great memories as newlyweds.
So today, I'm here to say that it doesn't have to end just because a new member joins the family! Brenton and I both love people and more often than not, would rather be out doing something, so we have learned how to enjoy life WITH a baby, car seat, diaper bag, pack n play, etc... Haha - It sounds way worse than it is. The worst part, for me, is the planning ahead part. But it CAN be done! I call these family dates. Just yesterday for example, after getting all packed up, we went out for frozen yogurt at Cherry Berry and stopped at Kohls (where I found myself  drowning in a bazillion racks labeled 80%. off..... not a good place to be....)
 **I am quite positive that things will change as our family grows, but for now, we love our family dates. :)

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book review: the new eve.

I'm going to expose a little of my nerdy side today. In other words, I'm going to ramble and share a light overview of this fantastic book that I recently/finally finished!

Robert Lewis (yes a man!) writes a fantastic book about how God calls women to live in a culture that has changed so much over the past century. He begins by talking about how we have freedom to do just about anything we want now - we can be stay at home moms, stay single or get married, move up in our careers, etc... but we have to be wise about what we choose based on God's calling for each of our lives.
The path we choose in life depends on our worldview which is the "packaged past". He says "your worldview colors everything around you, including the way you experience life and perceive the reality around you." It also influences your plans and goals. We carry the lifestyle we grew up in, even though it might not be right or the best, but it's what we're most comfortable with. In this book, he challenges women to think beyond what's comfortable in order to start thinking about what lines up with God's plan for us.

The concept the of New Eve is that women can 5 make bold moves (that may not line up with what society suggests) in order to live out God's calling...  

1. Live from the inside out - which means be careful about how we allow the world to influence us

2. Adopt a biblical definition of womanhood - "A real woman embraces God's core callings, chooses wisely, lives courageously, and expects God's greater reward"

3. Embrace a big-picture perspective on life

4. Live with the end in mind - keep an eternal perspective

5. Use wisdom with a man

 The book goes into detail on each of these "bold moves" and includes lots of supporting Scripture. 

I was very impressed! Check it out!

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birthday.

Another year older... We had a blasty celebrating Brenton's 26th birthday on Tuesday! Although, I figured birthdays are a great excuse to make a cake, so I spent way too much time looking for the perfect cake to make for the birthday boy. I finally settled on an idea and when I told him about it, he said: "I really just want a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, like from a box." A box? Really? That must be code for something I don't want to hear about my baking abilities....
That said, practice makes perfect... so who wants a cake?!?!

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simply blessed.

I cringe when I think about all the times in my life when I thought I didn't have enough. 

I hate it when Satan distracts me from growing closer to God by allowing me to be consumed with my own life. Truth is, when I take the time to think about it, and when I'm walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, I can see clearly that I am so unbelievably well taken care of... and ugh.... so embarrassed for ever thinking otherwise!

I have a loving husband, a beautiful baby girl, and a (very) comfortable place to make myself at home. We have the privilege of living in Wisconsin, surrounded by a large circle of family, friends, and Green Bay Packers. We have a big, welcoming church family where we can openly study the Bible. We each have jobs and regular income and can pay our bills every month + a little extra money for scrapbook paper, colored pants, and that terrible weakness I have for anything edible made with pumpkin and chocolate chips.

But most importantly, I know I will be in Heaven one day because I've decided to give my life over to the God of the universe who gave me life in the first place.

It doesn't get any richer than that.

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