Humbled in the Shadow of His Love

America,

"Life is a long lesson in humility"

James Barrie, positively my favorite Scottish author, was not only a literary genius and philanthropist, but he obviously had life figured out PRETTY well. I dunno about you, but my life is often a wave of crashing dominoes. You know, those seasons tend to come where you are learning one thing, and learning it EVERYWHERE.

In a wonderful cornucopia of examples, I've REALLY learned this summer that I do not, indeed, have everything figured out and that I may not, indeed, always be spot on. Through a culmination of looking back on the things that have transpired, looking to my side at the things that are unfolding, and looking toward the future, it has come to my attention that people are not always what you may think they are.

1. You are not who you may think you are. Looking back in my life has taught me this error in thought (could it be true that I do not know EVERYTHING?)
2. People are not what you may think they are. By looking at what surrounds me, I've realized that often people are not quite what you would hope (grace is effortlessly beautiful once more). But some few, wonderful people, are the best inspiration you could ever hope for on this Earth (praise him for the reflection of his son in those who call him Lord).

You can only change you, and I am wonderfully humbled in the shadow of his love, where mercy and grace meet me at forgiveness yet again.

America, ya'll

Greetings! I hope your fourth was fantastic! Here's an update on my festivities... 

 We went to a Royals game! Rocking the ponchos, because it rained for ever and the game didn't even start until 10:00. Holy late night, Batman. 

Post-game pics...you know, at 1 AM

 10 years later, we finally have pictures together.

Les deux

 Being stuck in the stadium for 2 hours= getting into mayhem.

Post-game fireworks. Holler.

4th of July spent with the Nickles fam is tradish. Cody was obviously enjoying himself. 

We Rejoice

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and our hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit"- Katie Davis (I urge you to follow her blog, kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com)

Craftastic

Ya'll, I love summer. I seriously have so much time to do all of those cool crafts that I've been wanting to do for the past year. 

Liikeeee.......

refinish a chair! I definitely should have taken a "before" picture, because this little guy was rough. Imagine a Christmas green that was super chipped. This took 5,000 hours to finish, but it is one sexxayy little corner chair!

 I made some coasters! The tiles are only 9 cents at Menards. Talk about the world's cheapest craft if  you already have modpodge and scrapbook paper! Coaster Nazi officially has the goods. 

 Took my littles to the zoo last week! What an adventure! Also, outings with children make you feel like a pack mule. Seriously, we should have rented a wagon for all the gear it takes to take children into the world. 

I lost the cap to my favorite water bottle. If you own a favorite water bottle, you know that this. is. tragic. Luckily, I bought two of them originally, so not all is lost. 

Have a blessed week! The Lord has really been revealing himself to me in such wonderful, small ways lately. I'm so grateful for His grace and endless patience .

Manhappiness

I don't know about you, but I love Kansas. Everyone should experience a KS summer at least once in their lives. It has this wonderful understated beauty. You know, the kind you don't really notice if you're not really looking at the right thing. Some states have in-your-face beauty that you can't miss, but I kind of prefer the silent-yet-fabulous way that Kansas does its thing. 

Before you look at these next pics, please first adjust your mindset. Imagine that wonderful 75 degree breeze blowing, the perfect middle of nowhere smell- like fresh air mixed with sunshine with a hint of grass, and bird chirping mixed with the low buzz of bugs everywhere. 

Summa Lovin

Hiya, beauts! I hope all is well and that summer is kicking in full swing for you!! Here's an update on my life thus far...

I've been reading my little heart out. This gem has been calling out my name for yeearrrs!!

I turned my bff's living room into a studio..it's kind of a funny, long story? No worries, I'll have a bedroom like a normal human soon and very soon!

Eeeekk... speaking of not having a room, I'm livin in  BOXES. Yikes guys, what a struggle. In a strange way, it's teaching me to live with less (If I haven't used it since I boxed it, do I REAALLLYY need it??)

Coffeeeee. Lots of coffee. A. coffee is fantastic. B. I have the best job in the world! I'm one proud nanny for the two best kids in the whole wide world! It's a baller job, but coffee is a must at 8!

Don't worry, Love Fern is really taking to the new home. It's probably something about the air quality.

Can't wait to share more! Terribly sorry about the awful photo quality. I set my camera on auto and edited them for 2.3 seconds. More fun things to happen soon in my life? God is so good, I can't wait!

Simplicity

Recently I've taken a step back to think about what is really important. I feel so very disconnected from people, and from the world, and from my Jesus. And to me, the solution was to take a moment to clear out all of the STUFF from my life. I want to reconnect with the world, and with people. I want to have real conversations, and see nature for myself (and not through someone else's instagram). I don't want to sit back and watch other people kind of live life, I want to actually live it. I want to eat dinner with my friends and have a real conversation, without phones. I want to drink coffee because I like it, without thinking about taking a picture of it.
Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely don't look down on anyone for tweeting and being on facebook or any social media, but I find myself so consumed with pointless information, I forget what really matters. Souls matter, not statuses or tweets or anything trivial. Late night conversations under the stars matter. Reading an amazing book that makes you feel empowered matters. Meeting 80 year old dudes named Ike matters. Watching the sun rise matters. Being at the feet of Jesus MATTERS. I want that for my life.
So, to kick off my summer right, I'm committing to not using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for the entire summer. I'll still blog (because I love it), but I want to spend a few months reconnecting to the things that matter. I would love for you to join me as I rediscover Jesus and his people (in the real world!).