Seven & Thirty

April is my favorite month of the year. I can't imagine a more perfect time to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday than when the world is turning green again and bursting with color. 

This year Andrew and I celebrated our seventh anniversary and that number seems so small to me. Could it only be seven? I can't really remember life without him and don't want to. He's the most beautiful constant thing... always laying down his life for me and making me feel like the most incredible woman in the world. I'm not, but I am humbled to think I'm married to the most incredible husband (who is currently ripping up linoleum on his day off because that's what kind of a servant he is). 

Mom came in to watch Wilson last weekend and sent Andrew and I off to celebrate in Point Clear/Fairhope, Alabama. It felt like our honeymoon all over again... except this time we were early risers and went to yard sales and played horse shoes and watched fish jump and read the newspaper over breakfast and oh my goodness, I really am 30! 

It was everything we needed. 

I only got one picture (selfie, classy) of us and it was blurry and terrible but who can think about capturing the weekend with pictures when you are having the best of best times?

Happy seventh, Andrew! Let's keep doing this marriage thing... it's fun. 

Yesterday I celebrated 30 years of life and unlike seven THIS number seems too big. I don't feel 30... but then again, what is 30 supposed to feel like?

It seems fitting to celebrate Easter in the midst of my birthday, because the gospel is really what gives me such contentment with where I am in life. I lack nothing. The veil is torn and it is finished... the Servant King has washed my feet and my heart. Everything else is just an overflow of goodness and grace.

I told Andrew that for my 30th I wanted all of our friends over for a grill out in our backyard. He got frustrated at me several times because I was doing too much hosting for my own party, but giving me the chance to host is a gift. It's my favorite thing and the older I get the more I'm learning how to use things that give me joy to bless others. 

I told Wilson all I wanted from him was a good picture of us.

After about ten tries and a little bribing, he finally obliged.

We had a backyard full of our favorite people and my favorite littles, and I was thinking that life really couldn't get better.

Can you see how W is learning how to brand his toys?

 Have I said too many times how much I love our friends here? In this season of life I feel like I'm desperate for other moms with genuine honesty, sharpening encouragement, and the desire to live in real community. These friends are all that and more. There's never been a time when I've had a problem and thought, "Who can I call?" because I have a wealth of grace at my fingertips. I'm going to lock them all up in our attic and never let any of them leave me... but really.

And all of their littles, too.

At some point my party turned into a Frozen dance party and I was thrilled to be so trendy. Who of the cool girls, hasn't had a Frozen party this year... I would have hated to have been left out.

A night I will store up and treasure in my heart. Here's to the next decade! I'm hopeful for the hard and the beautiful, because I know that they are both necessary to get me ready for heaven and to experience it fully now.

28 things

With all the craziness of the holiday season, somehow the new year always passes by without me making any concrete resolutions. The day after my birthday I decided to make up for all my lost resolutions and come up with 28 things I want to do before I turn 28. Some of them are things I have been procrastinating on (like going to the chiropractor, which really scares me), some are just lifestyle changes (like using more fresh produce) and some are just plain fun (like going to a concert). I thought I would include them on here because I'd like to use this as accountability to update when I accomplish something!

1. Go to a concert
2. Make crab cakes
3. Learn to use our camera
4. Take Wilson to the zoo
5. Go to the chiropractor
6. Put music on ipod-- and use it
7. Travel to a new state
8. Print off pictures and update frames in house
9. Go on a girls' weekend
10. Start a flower garden
11. Memorize Philippians
12. Sew an outfit for Wilson
13. Pray scripture over Wilson each day
14. Call friends just to talk
15. Get reading glasses
16. Figure out products that are good to wear hair curly
17. Get a silhouette of Wilson
18. Take a class in something
19. Write more real letters/notes
20. Send birthday/holiday cards
21. Read through the Bible
22. Get gmail set up and update contacts
23. Have family budget meetings
24. Buy art
25. Read classic books
26. Always carry a book in my purse
27. Buy and use more fresh produce
28. Find and perfect an art... maybe set up an Etsy account?

I guess I kind of cheated on this, but I added number 17 after I found out that there was a silhouette artist in town Tuesday. To be fair, this has been on my mental list of to-dos for awhile now so I didn't add it just to check it off, though that's not below me. Anyway, here's number 17... check!

Isn't it beautiful? I think I will cherish it forever. Sorry future wife (Elliott), I'm keeping this one! Although, Elliott did get one too and Rebecca joked that they could put them side by side when they got married.

Two important days

Thursday marked four years of marriage to this incredible man:
I love him very much for many reasons, but the most important one is that I promised that I would. I'm thankful that he made a promise, too... because there are many days that I wouldn't want to be stuck with me! We had a great dinner out together talking about the craziness of the last four years. What an adventure. Our favorite thing to talk about (of course) was all the different places we have been since we've been married... we may be slightly obsessed with traveling, but everyone has to have their hobbies. Thankfully, our job requires a lot of it! I'm so thankful for an incredible traveling partner... and even more thankful that I get to travel (Beware: oncoming cheesiness) through life with him (I warned you!). Praise God that He knows exactly what (and who) we need.

Speaking of how incredible my hubby is, he planned a very sweet birthday party for me for my 27th on Sunday! We were headed out of town on Friday when he said a sudden "Shoot!" I replied with "What?" To which he responded with "I forgot to order your cake." He then told me not to worry because he was going to bake one. To which I replied with a bitten tongue.

Sunday morning at 5:30 he began... and came out with this!!A triple layered chocolate raspberry (my favorite combination) cake! It was so, so good. I am requesting it every year. What a good man, Charlie Brown!

I also got to spend some time with dear friends and fam who came over to share the cake...(And more that I didn't get to snag a picture of!)

But of course my favorite guest was this little guy.

I'm sure he will tell you all about it in his eight month (what??) post, but he is ON THE MOVE. This kid is scooting/crawling all over the place and in the last couple weeks has started to pull up to his knees on anything within reach.

I love birthdays, but it was kind of weird to me this year how I truly forgot several times that day that it was my birthday... not just from "mommy brain," but because taking care of Little Man is so much more fulfilling than being doted on. It's so sweet to see the truth come to life that losing your life really is finding it. God, you are so good to me!

PS: Can anyone tell me why my pictures are showing up so blurry on here? The resolution is fine before I add them on here! It's so annoying.