Fall is here

I love the colors of fall. The deep oranges, greens, browns, mustard yellow. My house has many of these colors year around in the decorations and even more when fall comes. Last year I began a project that was put on hold for a long time and I was finally able to complete. After being inspired by Southern Sotelo's recent blog post about her fall wreath I decided to finish mine! Read her blog post here. 

My husband and I were married in October of last year and we decided to save money by decorating our wedding with all fake flowers. After the wedding I was left with hundreds of beautifully colored flowers and I could only put so many around our one bedroom home. So they were left in a box in our storage (I did get the please of using them once to help decorate a friends wedding in April which was a lot of fun). When it came time to decorate our home for fall, I wanted to use them to make a wreath. I had some troubles figuring out how to make it without using a base and found it impossible. By the time I figured it out and found a base fall was over and my excitement for the project was no longer on the top of my list. 

But I am excited to say it is done and I love it I might even keep it up more than just in the fall since it matches our home so well! I use a wreath base, a glue stick and countless flowers and less than 2 hours of time. It was easy and fun to make and I am already making a second for a friend. I know wreaths are usually set on the outside of the door but it is so fun on the inside we are going to keep in here!

Happy fall everyone!

After a year adventure...

My year adventure is coming to a close and I cannot help but feel bitter sweet about it. I decided to take a nanny job October 2012 for a 5 month old little girl named Claire. I have cared for her this past year and have seen her grow so much. I've seen her go from rolling over, to crawling, to walking and now running. I've spent hours teaching sign and words for her to say, and excitedly watched her learn and use them to communicate. I've dressed her,  bathed her, fed her, swam with her, played with her, read with her, danced with her, napped with her, walked with her and watched her grow into a crazy and sweet little toddler. I've spent more hours with than with anyone else in this past year and though it hasn't been all happy easy moments, I couldn't be more blessed to call her my little best friend.

She of course a full of personality! She expresses everything through her face expressions. She is kind and sympathetic when you are hurt, she always speaks her mind, she wants to be close to others (holding hands or being held is best), she wants to learn and be just like you, and she wants to do it on her own because she knows she can. She is shy when she feels like and forward making new friends most of the time. She is intelligent and defiant because of her strong will. A few of her faborite things are: She loves to dance, read on your lap, play with any kind of technology, wave and say hi to anyone she meets. She loves climbing and going down the slide, and she loves cheese. She wants to be barefoot as often as possible and her favorite games are chase and peek a boo.

Obviously we have had a lot of fun together over the past year. Here are a few memories from our time together:

Enjoying your HERE and NOW

I read this article this morning and thought it was just wonderful and exactly what we all need to hear (Hint: it's not about what you think)...

" How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps "

I know there are many times I can be the girl that is waiting for what's coming next for my life to get "better" or "easier". Those are the times I realize I'm not enjoying what I'm doing because I might be too consumed on focusing on what I don't have our what someone else does have. 

Each of us are given a unique life to live and special circumstances to endure that make us who we are. We are special and beautiful individuals and we should never wish to forfeit that for anything. 

Optimism is a hard  characteristic to learn if it's not naturally apart of you. But I belive it's what makes us see life for the good, it allows us to not only see what's good now but the possibility of what can be good. I have been told many times that this is a part of who I am, and I agree. Sometimes to the fault that I cannot see the reality or endure it because it isn't good,  but I'm learning to work on it. 

When life is exciting, good and simple, it is easy for me to go through it as though this is how it should be. But I sometimes forget to be thankful and embrace it. When the bad comes along I want to ignore it or I just want to get back to the good seasons. Both of these seasons make up life ans both make us better and who we are. We need to embrace and live in both the best we can.

We need to remember our life is perfect just the way it is in this moment, and we will never be here again.  So whether it's stressful, peaceful, looks great from the outside, or is a little jumbled, enjoy it. Learn from it. Never forget it. 

What do you think?

Being me

Just the thought of starting a new job back in the professional world makes me nervous,  but not about the job, I know I'll be able to catch on with training.  I'm nervous about what I'm going to wear and what others will think. After being a nanny for a year and God working on my heart, I've gotten to a healthy place of not putting value on my looks and what others think. I feel, most days, I'm confidence to be truly myself. But that has taken time and a lot of heart opening and change. I don't want to go back to where I was... That is what I fear the most. I don't want to be consumed with my appearance: clothes, makeup ect. And then thinking about what others are seeing when they look at me. Buy I have to be professional and put-together. So, what's the balance?

I'm prayerfully preparing for this change so I can embrace the new atmosphere and still be myself. I got the job without any makeup, therefore I need to remind myself that it isn't about my looks but focusing on my work ethic and building relationships with those around me.

There is a balance. I can look nice without over thinking it and still be myself. I know it will take practice to learn it.

How do you balance this? Any helpful tips?

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This is a part of Love Yourself Linkup. Read all the other posts below and join in!

Lauren F. - Admiring Our Youth

Today, meet

Lauren F.

Lauren is a 15 years old beauty.  As you can see below she loves horses. When she grows up she wants to be an Equestrian Veterinarian. Lauren has a generous and kind heart. This girl knows how to make people feel very special. Everyone wants to know Lauren because she radiates her gentleness and love. Lauren shares life with others by including them in everything going on. She is not consumed by looks, boys and stuff that has no value. This is her true beauty.

What is your biggest struggle when competing with the culture?

I battle with the difference between today's view of what beauty is and God's view of what beauty is and knowing that in God's eyes I am exactly the way He wants me to be.

How do you define beauty?

I define beauty as a sense of confidence in your faith and your character. I believe that if a woman is so beautiful on the inside and not so beautiful on the outside that everyone will only she her true beauty.

What makes you uniquely you?

I strive for a uniqueness in myself and a normality with those around me.

What is the source of your passion and strength?

JESUS CHRIST

If you could encourage other girls your age, what is one thing you would tell them?

That (as cheesy as it sounds) your true beauty is something that comes from within your heart.

I met Lauren though my old boss, she is his cousin. I had heard so much about her and couldn't wait to meet her. I was drawn to Lauren by her humility and desire to love others. I could see it in the way she would approach others, build relationships, share her life with me and of course the more we all got to know her the more we wanted to be around her. She inspires me to want to be like that. She inspires me to be more kind, gentle in spirit and loving to all I meet. 

30 day wrap up

Happy Friday everyone! 30 days ago I committed to wearing no make-up, read about it here. Today I am proud to say that it has been a successful 30 days. 

I believe this was one of the most impactful make-up fasts I have ever done. Some important things in my life have changed and I have learned a lot. I have learned more about myself, grown in so many areas of beauty and faith, and been able to weed out others things that are not important in life. I am not saying this is all because I haven't worn make-up but  along with learning about my true beauty and focusing on it so much more has come than I would have thought.

I was able to focus on being myself. I have been learning so much this past year in a new way about being authentically me. This was just another step i needed to take in continuing to realize its importance in my life. I don't want or need to embellish my looks in any way. I have felt more beautiful in the past 30 days than before. My relationships are continuing to grow in amazing ways and so much of it is due to being who we really are on the inside and out. I am also growing more in my relationship with Jesus. Learning in a deeper way about being a woman of God and having faith in my heavenly Father for His plans are great and better than I could imagine. I know He loves me for who He created me to be, and learning to embrace that. 

From here I will continue to go without make-up. I have lost the desire to change who I am in this way, I have realized it didn't actually change me in any way. I think it is fun to dress up a little every once and a while but it is an amazing thing to be natural and to enjoy it to the fullest!

 I am thankful to share this with all of you. Here is a little sneak preview of my past 30 days.. life with my friends, the little girl I nanny, family and husband.

  

 

  

Lauren H. - Admiring Our Youth

I am continuing the series Admiring our Youth today to reveal the true beauty in a generation that is sometimes mis-understood and under valued.

Meet

Lauren 

This wonderful girl is 16 years old and has impacted her world so much already. This is a girl who is confident in who she is and what she believes in and loving to all. Her kindness is radiant to everyone she is around. Her ability to connect and develop deep and meaningful relationships is inspiring.

When Lauren grows up she wants to be a mom and in ministry, and what is amazing about this, is she does everything she can now to learn and grow towards her goal. She is not waiting for life to happen to her, but engaging in it in every way she can. Meeting people, growing deeper in her relationship with God, learning as much as she can ect.

What is your biggest struggle when competing with culture?

My biggest struggle competing with culture is my self image and thinking that i am not beautiful because i don't look like, act like, or sound like these other girls.

How do you define Beauty?

I define beauty as a love of the Lord and how that love shows through actions, like loving others, and a purity about them.

What makes you uniquely you?

I am uniquely me because i am not afraid of being myself, and i am beautiful, funny and loving all because of what God has done with me 

What is the source of your passion and strength?

God is my source of passion and strength

If you could encourage other girls your age, what would you tell them?

I would tell other girls not to worry about getting a boyfriend because they are lonely, because God has the perfect man in store for them in His time and all you need to do is stay focused on your own relationship with Christ! Also that they are not just their appearances, they are so much more because of their personalities and their love of God!

I had the privileged of meeting Lauren 3 years ago before she came into high school. Rumors were spreading around that inspired me to get to know her more. I constantly heard of her lovely heart and crazy personality. Our goofy personalities instantly hit it off. Getting to know Lauren deeper and deeper and walking through life with her has made me believe that this girl has an awesome future. She is another example of how our teen generation is rocking the world and is going to continue to make it a better place.

Want to check out more from the Admiring Our Youth Series?

Kerry

Leilani

Mary