I was asked tonight to think of a moment (aside from getting married) that brought me the most joy. there are so many. but I thought of this day, five years ago. the day that two beauties came into this world.
it was a pretty special day for me. I didn't grow up with siblings, but God gave me a sister who is a very important person in my life. (mom and dad- I know you sort of feel bad sometimes that I don't have siblings.. stop it. (: I love my life and our little family is pretty darn special.) so when she gave birth to her two little peanuts-who basically weighed not much more than two actual peanuts-you can imagine how excited I was to be an Aunt. they have brought so much joy to our family since day one and it is so hard to believe it has already been five years. so big! job well done, sisterlove.
but in honor of their special day, I thought I'd share a few photos of them from our Disney trip last month. we called this the cotton candy photo shoot. wayyy too much cute for such little people.
happy birthday Sophia & Eliana! you two forever hold a piece of your Uncle Chad and Aunt Ali's hearts.
there have been a few requests for the birthstone bird nest necklaces in my shop. which is funny to me; I didn't realize people were still liking them. so I just wanted to tell you all that the shop is back open. I haven't had it open for a bit as I was adjusting to working a bunch again and still being a wife. (: I will be taking orders until December 17th (to assure delivery by Christmas). I am currently working on some more bridal hair pieces that will be available next year. which is so very soon.. crazy. time is flyinggg by.
also, if you're reading this and you are interested in ordering something, I'm offering ten percent off of your holiday purchases. use the coupon code MERRY at checkout. offer is good until January 25th. feel free to contact me with any custom ideas you have.
just thought our friends and family would enjoy seeing a trailer for something Chad worked on. if you remember him writing here a while back, this is the show he was working for a few days when Isla Fisher told him he was cute. something, I'm sure, he will always hold high in his memory bank. (; but really, I would too, ha.
sooo, I feel like I'm taking way too long to post these Romania photos. does anyone even care about seeing them anymore? ha. I'm sorry.
today Chad and Gideon and I voted. we didn't get stickers. little man was a champ through the whole process; I think he at least deserved a sticker. ah well. a Starbucks visit afterwards made up for it. at least it did for me. ( ;
tomorrow Chad and I head to Florida on our "manditory" family vacation. can't wait to see the Taylor clan! we're going to Disney World with the little ladies for the first time.. should make for a pretty great time. though any time with family is a pretty great time these days.
welp, I must go pack. here's some more photos. love you all.
for as long as I can remember, it has bothered me that I don't look at people's eyes. I'm always looking at your face when you talk to me, but I might be looking at your mouth more than your eyes. I can't really figure it out exactly. but I can almost guarantee that if I had to tell you your eye color right now, I wouldn't know. and I don't like that so much.
the other night, while I was getting ready for bed, I noticed my eyes in the mirror and thought, 'wow my eyes are so blue today'.
yeahhh. my eyes are blue every day.
it was almost like I was seeing my own eyes for the first time. or at least for the first time in a long while. and I was a little bit bothered again that I didn't even look at my own eyes. if I don't look at mine, why would I even think to look at others?
then my thoughts took a little turn, so bear with me. our pastor talked about idolatry last weekend at church. it was a really great reminder that we all can have our own idols, not necessarily objects, and I think I can speak for most of the people there, that what he had to say made us check our hearts to see if we were putting anything above God that we hadn't really noticed.
when I look in the mirror, I clearly don't look at my eyes. I look around them.. at my crazy hair, or my skin, or what I see as flaws.
but see, if we would spend the time that we focus on our flaws, on God instead, we wouldn't even see flaws. if I am more focused on what I see wrong, than on thanking Him for things like the fact that I have a mirror, or water, and an actual toilet, isn't that a form of idolatry? maybe if I can try to only look at the eyes God purposefully gave me (and only me) when I am getting ready for bed, my "flaws" would disappear. and maybe I would start remembering other people's eye color. and maybe.. maybe. maybe I would learn something new about myself. sounds a little intimidating to be honest. but might have potential for breakthrough in an area I don't know I need it. who knows?
I'm really sorry if I don't know the color of your eyes. and please don't worry; I promise I know the color of my husband's eyes. (but I will say, one of the first things I noticed about him, after all of that curly hair, was that great smile and all of those straight teeth. so maybe teeth are just my thing. (; )
..
I shared this on facebook a while back, but as I was writing this out I remembered the song. probably one of my favorite performances ever. goosebumps every time I watch. a little unrelated maybe, but just humor me and watch. love y'all.
one important thing to practice before going to Romania: flexibility. they actually stressed that before I went the first time. anything goes. at any time. without warning. like this big hole blocking us from going to and from the house.
