I've been patiently waiting for quite some time to share this post with all of you…

that picture above was the first picture Peter and I had taken of us. ever.

that was before I knew how funny this man was

before I was a redhead

before he was my boyfriend

before both the break ups… and before we got back together

before all of our many sushi dates

before we realized how different we are

and before we realized that makes us even better

before we got comfortable

before we understood what love was

before we changed our focus on Him and not on us

before we became a we at all

the past 4 years have been so important to make us who we are.

who we are separately. and who we are as one.

it helped us realize that God's timing is the best timing. 

I am more thankful for this man every single day…

Thankful that he is the other half to my favorite “we”.

…and so thankful that I am going to marry this man.

It’s official!! OH MY! He’s going to be my HUSBAND. 

It’s been a long time coming but I wouldn’t change a single thing.

I love you so much, future husband of mine, so so much!!!

more exciting news to come! xo

i can't wait.

I’ve always wanted to go to an awesome music festival and this weekend is going to be ahhhhhmazing because my little ears are going to be listening to some awesome bands at Austin City Limits…..

Forence + The Machine, The Black Keys

Civil Twilight, Band of Skulls

The Roots, Gotye, Jack White

and hopefully on Sunday we can squeeze in The Civil Wars….

It’s possible my heart might be even happier than my ears because I get to enjoy this awesome weekend with the lovely boyfriend. He’s been teasing me with this weekend trip for quite some time now and everything has worked out perfectly so I’m a happy lady….so blessed and so happy!!

Can’t believe I have two weekends in a row with my better half. First a mountain wedding weekend and now a Texas music weekend, oh my…. this will also be my first visit to the big state of Texas so I’m thrilled! 

Of course I will return with a lot of stories and photos to share, maybe even a video!

The rest of this week will include a lot of cleaning, 

packing and trying to calm myself down with some hot yoga before I fly out on Thursday. 

As usual, prayers for a safe flight are appreciated!

questions.... 

Have any of you been to ACL? Any recommendations for Austin, TX???

my best friends wedding.

I mentioned on Friday that my weekend would be full of a few things… fall weather, champagne, tears, boyfriend time, tears, pictures and did I mention tears…?

Jocie’s wedding weekend was so wonderful.

While we stood in the middle of the woods at an open air mountain chapel it was evident that God was with us. The entire weekend had His touch on everything. His sounds, His warm sun and His cool breeze, His changing leaves that painted the views and the love that was shared during the intimate ceremony. Because of all this my heart was full of happiness which of course made me eyes full of tears.

After the long weekend full of fun I was physically and emotionally drained so today has felt like a longer Monday than normal. With the very cold weather that has suddenly arrived I think a class of Hot Yoga was exactly what I needed. I feel refreshed and lighter after an hour of simply breathing and being me. Sometimes a long Monday is just what you need after a wonderfully hectic weekend and I know this weekend will be the same way……. more on that later though. I can’t wait to share!! :)

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend full of love and maybe some happy tears too…

Thanks-living // September

This is my first link up with Top of the Page and her wonderful Thanks-living posts so I’m pretty excited about it. I usually do a monthly wrap up with some pictures and a few little things I want to look back and remember one day so I thought why not jump on her train and add a little thankfulness to the mix. I like to think that a thankful heart is also a happy heart and I prefer to be happy so her we go….

The month of September (my favorite month) has been a very exciting one! Lots of changes and growth during the past 30 days and I am beyond thankful for that. Within the changes the Lord has shown His love by providing in so many ways. I’m starting to realize that stress doesn't produce the best results because faith in His timing and knowing that He is in control makes all the difference in any outcome, big or small.

I’m thankful for my mother and having the chance to celebrate another Birthday with her… I know I am blessed to have her in my life and I never want to take that for granted.

Even though my blog has been full of love for Jocie thanks to her super close wedding day approaching I still can’t stop sharing my love for her. I am so thankful for my friend. Our friendship is one of the most important parts of my life and I can’t wait to celebrate all weekend long with her!

It’s true what Winnie the Pooh says…

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

I am lucky and thankful for my wonderful boyfriend but I will also be very thankful when I won’t have to say goodbye so often. Thank goodness this job is almost over and he will be finished!

However, I do know the past 7 months doesn't even begin to compare to all the women in the world that say goodbye to the men they love while they go fight for our country, I can’t imagine how that would feel and you inspire me.

But, for me and my relationship, I’m not a big fan of Texas anymore. Or Shiner Bock Beer. 

Lastly, I am thankful for Top of the Page, one of the most inspiring blogs I've ever read. This lady has changed my point of view on so many little and big pieces of life. I have saved many posts she has written so I can look back on them when I become a wife and mother. The way she looks at everything and seeks to find Christ motivates me to do the same. The blogging world needs more leaders like Leslie and I’m so excited about my first link up with her page!

Goodbye September… 

I miss you already, but I know that October will be perfect in its own wonderful way.

first weekend of fall.

Last week was one of those weeks…..

one of those weeks that draaaag

where you don’t have much planned

and you can spend almost every night enjoying hot yoga

(yes, I only skipped Thursday night – high fives for me)

but the week mainly dragged because I knew who I was going to see all weekend…

after two weeks of not seeing my sweet man and the depressing amount of FaceTime allowed with his lack of wi-fi I was thrilled to see that smile and sink into the warmth of his hug on Friday night.

I may have held on a little longer than normal. I have a smile on my face right now just writing about it.

The weather was PERFECT all weekend so we enjoyed many long walks downtown. 

Trust me, if my calves could talk they would tell you about it! 

Sunshine, crunching leaves, holding hands and the Jets winning their game.... 

all the wonderful things a weekend should include.