a new week

do you ever just need a new week?
a new start, a clean slate?

i have emerged out of the pile of blessing that is heartsy.
our life now has some resemblance of "normal"
and I'm not making rosettes into the wee hours of the morning.

and I am taking hold of this new week.
not that it will be perfect, or that I will accomplish all that I want.
i probably won't make all the meals I have planned, probably won't be as productive as I set out to be.
but I'm grabbing this new week and the grace that comes with it.

living in abundance of grace, not abundance of things.
this week I am choosing to live in peace.
Peace not in the removal of crisis, and removal of things,
but peace in Christ in the middle of all my things.

If you are overwhelmed, burned, burnt out, or just needing a new week, there are new mercies. every day.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning"

Lamentations 3:22-23

Let's take this new week and claim it as ours. 

a quiet spot

this post has been bouncing around in my head the past few days.
not sure what to share, how much to share.

these days life is a blur. well, it always seems like a blur.
but now, it's more blurry than normal.

i'm struggling to write the gifts
to find time to delve in with the Lord
to find time to just be with my husband.
to find quiet and peace.

i'm in this mindless rut.
of just living,
and there is no reason for it.

so instead of wallowing, i'm getting myself out.
by writing the gifts, and seeing the good.
one small gift at a time.

have you ever gotten yourself in a rut?
how did you get out?

wednesday lovlies

Hi friends!
we have made it halfway through the week!
and to clear up some confusion from yesterday, I did not get my camera from heartsy, but bought it with what I earned from heartsy. 

This week I am loving all things fall!  The weather might be finally turning cooler in Houston (since we are almost to November...)

what are you loving this Wednesday?

arriving today

this little guy is arriving today.

thank you heartsy.

and all you who bought items.

in need of grace

i have always been a go-getter.
i have set my eyes on something, and then gone and gotten it.
i had awesome parents who taught me that I can do anything.

i have a hard time accepting grace.
i want to just do better, be better, do more.

the Lord has been teaching me how little I am. I am weak and small, and need grace. Not just from Him, but from everyone. From friends, from coworkers, from my husband. My pride gets in the way and tells me "Okay, you can accept grace from God, but from _____; no way. You can do it without them."

and that's ugly and wrong. and my pride is comparing my strength to the grace of someone else.

little doesn't mean worthless, or lack of self esteem, but it means that I know who made me, and I know the power He has.

I am not God; I am not as strong as Him, and I need him and His grace daily.  I can't do my bajillion etsy orders in my strength, I can't do school on my strength, and I can't make it through a day on my strength.

so I'm relying on Him. and His grace and His strength.  I have this print in my office right now, and read it 1.3 million times a day. when my flesh wants to do it on my own strength, I am teaching my mind that I am to live in need of grace.

you can buy this print here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NaptimeDiaries

wednesday blessings

happy wednesday friends.
this week is so packed for me, it feels like it should be friday.
speaking of friday, I am taking the day off to fill heartsy orders.
if you are waiting on one, please know that I am doing absolutely everything I can to get them out in a week. 

and if you got yourself a heartsy voucher, thank you.
I am utterly amazed and blessed at all of you.
all of you who have kind words
all of you who have purchased a voucher
all of you who have purchased an item at any point
and all of you who have helped in getting the word out.

i'm blessed, and grateful to all of you.

today in Houston it is 60 degrees.

in the daytime

which means it's fall

it will last for about 1.5 weeks

and then we will have winter.

so this week's lovelies are all inspired by my winter-ishmood

and the "freezing" temps of 60

(I'm a Texan, I know)

and for the record, I DO believe in celebrating one holiday at a time, (not skipping fall/Thanksgiving for Christmas), but I couldn't resist today. so there.

now just to find some pine cones.

 i'm thinking an outdoorsy, blankety picture for Christmas cards.

white lights are the way to my heart.

I love matching wrapping. and fun with ribbon? count me in.



heartsy

good Monday morning, friends
today is a big day
a day I have been excited to share with you for the last few weeks
today is Heartsy day!

today ONLY you can go to heartsy (a deal based coupon service for etsy)
and get a $21 dollar credit to my store for only $10.

that's over half off!
and it can cover your shipping as well.

I  am so honored to be featured on heartsy and hope you all enjoy taking advantage of this deal.

here's to sweetening up Mondays just a bit

little things #3

our week this week has been full of many highs and lows.  lots of lows.  we are attending the funeral for Sam's boss tomorrow.  It is still eerie and haunting. but, in the midst of this crazy week, we have had countless blessings.


....Friday off!  Samuel and I both took today off as a "mental health" day/ we need a break from all the craziness for some time together.  We are probably still sleeping as you read this. and it rocks.

....Soup.  It's now chilly in Texas.   Well, it's like 80 degrees. so it's chilly.  While we are home all day today I plan on making this soup from my friend Jessi.  I am pumped about all the ginger, carrot, pumpkin-y goodness.

...such encouragement and support from you guys. one of my favorite things about  blogging is real women encouraging and loving on one another. I definitely felt the love and support this week.

...the thrifty seeker deal that went on all this week was a blessing. I am glad so many of you took advantage of it!  if you missed out, we've got some big news coming up on Monday that you won't want to miss.  think BIG.

....reading. I'm in the middle of The Help, and loving it so much.  i picture lots of reading this weekend.

This is what our weekend plans look like:

lots of reading

lots of cuddling and kissing.

(and no, we are not old; but I love this picture because I want to be doing this when we're 70)

lots of slowing down

resting

refreshing

correction

Friends,

it seems I have made a mistake.

Yesterday I told you that for $10 you can get a rosette necklace from Thrify Seeker.

What I didn't know was that Thrifty Seeker is offering a $5 credit to all new customers.

so if you have never used their site before, just for signing up you can get a $5 credit. for free.

SO, that makes our $7.99 rosette necklace now only $2.99.

$2.99

do you need another reason to go get one?

anniversary plans

our anniversary is just around the corner.
well, it's in december.
but with every weekend from now until new years booked, we have to start thinking about it.
and the fact that hotels are booked now.  we should probably get on that.

so I spend a good portion of my day dreaming of what we should do/where we should go.
groupon getaways can be really addicting. 

maybe a cruise? I've never been on one and have always wanted to! We are only an hour from Galveston and it would be great forced relaxation!

maybe we go back to Austin where we met and went to school? I would love to go to the restaurant where we ate before getting engaged.

and then there's groupon getaways to great places like Cabo and Mexico.

Not happening, but oh so fun to look.

so:

where did you go for an anniversary that you loved?

any suggestions? (we are open to all of these + more!)

have you seen the deal on Thrifty Seeker? 
you can get a triple rosette necklace for a great deal.
in whatever colors you want.
For a total of $15 $10 (including shipping, you get one!) 
it makes a perfect Christmas present at a steal of a price.

so brief

yesterday was a tragic day for us.
Sam's boss passed away at work .

Sam found him passed out in the parking lot outside
and the office did all they could

but by the time the ambulence got to the hospital,
he had entered Heaven.


so kiss the ones you love
and tell them you love them one more time.

join us in praying for Stephen Seay and his family.

his granddaugher entered the world Sunday night, and he departed Monday afternoon.

refreshing rain

yesterday in Houston it rained all day.
soaking, refreshing, cleansing rain.
it brought with it a chill in the air
and a sign that changes are coming.

we spent Friday night in the ER.
around 8:15, I got some severe pain in my lower abdomen
after a few phone calls, we thought it was an appendix/kidney stones/ovarian cyst
at 2am we knew it was an ovarian cyst that ruptured.

and Sunday came
and the rain is cleaning
and refreshing, and renewing.

all this week I have a deal over on Thrify Seeker
you can get a triple rosette necklace for a great deal
in any color you want
already have one? get another.
or
get one for that friend, sister, or mother for Christmas.

little things #2

we made it!
It's Friday.

there's been one little thing that has made this week so much better.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte.
can I get an amen?

I mean, I know starbucks sells them.
but they're just so expensive.

SO, I scoured the internet, found some way to intense recipes,
some not as good as I hoped for recpies,
and this is the mish mash of a recipe that I came up with.

I LOVE it. and want one every day.

Enjoy it this weekend friends, you won't regret it.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

1. Brew a REALLY strong cup of coffee. (I used 4 tablespoons grounds per cup).

2. Put your coffee in a sauce pan. Yep, a sauce pan.  Then, add 1-1 1/2 cups milk.  I used 2%, because that's what we drink.

3. Add a "glop" of pumpkin.  I used libby's.  I save the extra in an airtight container in the fridge for more lattes later.

4. I add in a dash of pumpkin pie spice and some cinammon.

5. Heat on medium heat until just a little steam is coming off the top. Not boiling. But, you do want to get it warm.  (If you just add the milk and pumpkin like I did the first time, it's gross.)

6. Pour into a cup and add some whipped cream on top if you like.

Enjoy!

PS. Sorry for the lack of pictures.  Everytime I made it I'm too impatent to get to the goods to mess around with a camera.

it's worth making it, I promise.

and it only takes like 3 minutes. 

theology

i'm not much for theology.
not to say i don't like to study what I believe.
I do, I just don't think at the end of the day

when there are children dying of arsenic in their water
when mothers don't know to wash their hands after going to the bathroom
when women lose their babies growing inside of them
when jobs are lost
when tummies are hungry
when little babies have no parents
when cancer is everywhere

theology doesn't do much.

i'm for the Jesus who loved

by healing
by feeding
by listening
by weeping, and rejoicing
by washing feet
by being present

I want to love like that Jesus.




side note: for all of you who just freaked and think I don't ever study my Bible.  calm down, don't wet your pants. I do, and I love learning more and more about the God we serve through the study of theology.  This post comes mostly from an irritation that we can be so caught up in theology we miss the real stuff.

finding balance

i have trouble sleeping.
it's not that i'm not tired. trust me, i'm tired.
just that my mind buzzes constantly.

of custom orders, homeworks, things to study, jobs to apply for
of dishes in the sink.  kitchens that need cleaning. husbands that need more attention.
of runs that need to be run, weight that needs to be lost.

when I first started blogging, I was so intimidated by the "big blogs"
they seemed to have it all together.
happy kids, a clean house, great writing, adorable blog. HOW did they do it?
i used to finish reading blogs and feel inadequate. i didn't measure up.
as I have gotten to know a few of those ladies
there is one thing I have learned:
they probably don't have it all together.

and that's good.

there is so much we don't know about each other.
and so much we assume.
there is so much I haven't shared. 

I know my struggles are nothing compared to a lot of you guys.
I know that our job search for Sam is such a small thing on the level of problems we could have.
(he still HAS a job, which in itself is a huge blessing).

to me, this blog is a place of real. not of pretty-mashed up pictures that make all of our lives seem perfect, but of real women trying to live the life they're called to, and praising God along the way.
i have a desire for this to be a community of women loving on each other, ministering to each other. 

so I'll praise Him at 11:30, and 1:30, and when I wake up way too early at 6:30.

weekend

 

{writing in the wet concete}

{natural science museum}

{handsome husband}

{gems}

{gametime}

how was yours?

the winner of last's week giveaway is number 59: Crista Moriah
I'm emailing you this morning.