So… 13 things I’d pick up on a whim at Target or Wally World:

1. This adorable purple jersey dress.

2. A cute make-up bag.

3. These cool bobby pins.

4.  Fun colored head wraps.

5. Some mini clips for when I straighten my hair.

…and I’ll have to finish later. Time to use some of those groceries to make dinner for my wonderful husband.

1.  My meeting tomorrow about selling some of my cards!

2. The next episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

3. Picking out my first Christmas Tree with my husband.

4. Our 6-Monthaversary trip to San Antonio!

5. Saving enough money to get Adam an amazing Christmas gift.

6. Having babies someday.

7. Lunch on Sunday at Joe T. Garcia’s…my favorite.

8. Seeing Amy Grant at Bass Hall in a few weeks.

9. A day off (mostly) tomorrow.

10. Getting our new bedroom suit sometime in the future…

11. Hanging adorable Christmas stockings on our adorable mantle.

12. Cooler weather.

13. Fires in our fireplace…roasted mallows…hot cocoa…

1. Easter
2. Christmas Day
3. Christmas Eve
4. The first day it feels like Spring
5. The first day it feels like Fall
6. Thanksgiving Day
7. Our Wedding Anniversary
8. Adam’s Birthday
9. My Birthday
10. Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, when the fun Christmas shopping begins in full force!)
11. Any Saturday that Adam and I get to lay around the house and relax…together.
12. Family & Friends’ birthday celebration days
13. The first day it’s warm enough to lay out by the pool

Take a look at a few of the things I’ve listed for sale in my Etsy shop.

I’m so proud of it! I tried to post a few things here, but I couldn’t get it to work.

HIGH/LOW:

High: Creating something fun and new for my shop!

Low: Slicing my finger open with my rotary cutter this morning. Owwww.

High: Not having to get stitches.

Low: Tomorrow is my busiest day of the week…but also my “Friday”, because I work from home Fridays. Yippy!

High: I think I had a successful dinner party with my in-laws tonight. I think. Even though I did forget to put DRINKS out. Crazy me.

Low: Allergies. Never really had them much, but this year, man!

I found this photo quiz, and thought it was an interesting idea, so…here goes!

1. Who am I?

2. Who knows me best?

3.  How old am I?

4.  The most important thing in my life is:

5. I always carry:

6. Something I always do:

7. I’m at my happiest when:

8. On a Monday morning, you can find me:

9. My favorite mode of transport:

10.  My eyes are:

11.  My favorite material possession:

12.  To relax, I like to:

13.  The town I live in is:

14. My worst habit:

15. My guilty pleasure:

16. When I look at someone, the first thing I see is:

17. I think _______________ is beautiful:

18.  One thing I can live without: 

19. One thing people don’t know about me:

20.  My life is:

13 of My Favorite Pictures of the Dogs

We’re pretty much in head-over-heels love with our dogs, Scout (a party-colored Cocker Spaniel)

and Jack (an Irish Terrier Mix). They’re terribly disobedient at times, but when they look

up at us with those puppy dog eyes, wake us up with sloppy kisses, or snuggle up next to us

in the middle of the night, we just can’t help but love ‘em!

 1.

2. 

3. 

(Jack as a sweet little puppy!)

4. 

5. 

(Jack is so entertaining. He was sleeping with his rear in the bedroom

and his upper-half in the dining room floor.)

6. 

Scout loves to look out the sliding doors, even when I

try to close the curtains and keep him from it.

7. 

 8. 

9. 

10. 

(This was taken on my phone, so it’s tiny.)

11. 

12. 

13. 

 I wish it would. It would suit my mood well. I’m not sure what mood that is, exactly, but rain would suit it well. It’s 10:07 a.m. on the last day of our Labor-Day weekend (otherwise known as Labor Day itself), and somehow it feels like I awoke in the middle of the night, and it should be around 5 a.m. about now. I don’t know if that makes any sense or not, but it’s how I feel.

I’m feeling the changes again. The changes that took place a little over 4 months ago. Don’t get me wrong, I could NOT be happier to be married to my amazingly wonderful, Godly husband. I could not want to live anywhere but in our beautiful house. The thought of sleeping in a bed by myself is now foreign and distant. But somehow, I’m still feeling the changes.

At this point, I think it’s more the changes in life’s outlying areas than in my immediate surroundings. I’m used to my quaint little wifely routine here at home. Waking up, spending time with my Jesus, praying for my new husband, cleaning and straightening the house, these things are all sweet and familiar. I love working with Memaw, teaching sweet girls to sew. Those things have become common constants at this point. The ‘outlying areas’, as best as I can figure, are my friendships outside of that. It’s almost like being in the junior high of life. You know when you’re in that ‘junior high’ age, and you aren’t sure if you’re still supposed to enjoy playing kiddie games with those younger than you, or if you’re supposed to step it up and pretend to be the adult you know you’re not. 

I’m in life’s junior high.

My best, dearest, most precious friends in the world are all in different phases. Some in school, some in the working world, some even juggling both. Some are in serious relationships with men that may, in fact, be God’s best for them. None, however, are where I am. I suppose, ultimately, that leaves me a little lonely. (Note: At least 2/3 of these dear, precious friends would punch me in the face for calling myself lonely when I have an amazing husband to live with.) I believe, though, that they would each understand that this so-called loneliness isn’t the despairing, all alone in the world type. It is my understanding that each of us have a void in our lives that can only be filled by our sweet Jesus. I believe that the same is true for other relationships. We are complete in Christ, but in that, He has called us into fellowship and discipleship with other believers! What I think I’m experiencing at this point are people-shaped holes. In NO way do I want to replace any of my dear friends. I just miss being so connected to them, among others.

However…

I have to remember: I am a new person. I have a new name. I’m not who I was before. I am a wife, a help-mate. I am Adam’s. How, with all of this wonderful newness, could I possibly be expected to remain the same? The changes in me cannot help but effect every other tangible and intangible aspect of my life. 

I’m so deeply thankful for this season of my life, and I cannot wait to see, as I depend on Jesus, how He sees fit to fill me up with His purposes for me.

HIGH: Adam is currently outside working on putting some floorboards in the attic so we can get some of these crazy boxes out of the house! Yay!

LOW: I have this weird ‘feeling’. Something big is on the horizon.

HIGH: See above. 

 Have you ever had one of those songs? You know, those songs. The ones that have such deep meaning, or such a great groove, or maybe even both if you’re exceptionally lucky, that you can’t help but smile and close your eyes when you hear the first few notes. I have a few of them. I love music, and I love that it provides a soundtrack for my life that I can go back and listen to years later and recall a specific time and place where I first heard the song, or a time when it first became meaningful to me.

13 Songs that Make Me Close My Eyes 

1. Slide – GooGoo Dolls – “…what you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful.”

2. Isn’t This A Lovely Day – Stacey Kent -  “I can see where you and I could be cozy and warm.”

3. More Than You’ll Ever Know – Watermark – “You have blessed my life more than you’ll ever know.” 

4. Because of You – Kelly Clarkson -  “I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me.”

5. Calm The Waters – Watermark – “The Spirit has breathed this life in me, and I’ve never caught wind of anything quite so amazing…” 

6. Adonai – Avalon – “You are maker of each moment, and father of my heart.” 

7. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – John Mayer – “How dare you say it’s nothing to me? Baby, you’re the only light I ever saw.” 

8. At The Stars – Better Than Ezra – “Blame us ’cause we are who we are, hate us ’cause you’ll never get that far.” 

9. Table For Two – Caedmon’s Call – “Cause you know the plans you have for me, and you can’t plan the ends and not plan the means.” 

10. A Page Is Turned – Bebo Norman – “The God of second chance picked them up and let them dance through a world that is not kind…” 

11. How Could I Ask For More - Cindy Morgan - “Thank you, Lord. How could I ask for more?” 

12. Feels Like Home – Chantal Kreviazuk – “I hope this feeling lasts the rest of my life…” 

13. Father’s Eyes – Amy Grant – “I may not be every mother’s dream for her little girl…” 

13 Great Sites I’ve Bookmarked

1. Real Simple Cleaning To-Do List – I LOVE these. I’m addicted.
2. Real Simple Essential Everyday Forms and Checklists – Again, I’m addicted.
3. Freckled Pink – Ok, ok… A shameless plug for my little business, but I do like the website, so it counts!
4. Sharpcast – my photo hosting site. I love it. Plus, they have cute graphic art on their site!
5. Bible Gateway – This site is such a great study tool! I can read dozens of versions of the same verse, along with footnotes and all kinds of other info.
6. Craftster – A crazy website full of fun and kooky ideas for every craft imaginable.
7. The ABC Full Episode Player – Most of the shows I love are on ABC, and I can watch them full-screen (even fuller screen when Adam hooks up the computer to our amazing TV) here anytime I want!
8. Blockbuster – We have the online rental plan thingy, so I constantly update the queue and rate movies.
9. SXC -This site has hundreds of thousands of free stock photos. I find almost all of my desktop backgrounds here.
10. The Paper Elephant – Another shameless plug. This time, for a friend’s up and coming business. She makes adorable stationery and cards!
11. Desiring God – Dr. John Piper’s website. I learn a lot here.
12. Amy Butler’s Website – Quite possibly THE cutest fabric I’ve EVER seen. EVER. Not to mention adorable patterns, too.
13. G-Mail – My email client. I love g-mail!