We had a good few days in Miami and even though the weather wasn't the best, we did have a couple days at the beach. Of course our last full day was the best day weather wise (isn't that always how it goes??) so we spent it at the beach after grabbing lunch on the strip. Overall, it was good to get away and have time together as a family. Simon absolutely loves the beach and so he was so excited to be going there. Scarlett had a hard time being away from her own bed which meant that we were all exhausted coming home ha ha. She is a definite homebody - so different from Simon for sure.
I managed to find this adorable swimsuit on radswim.com and I wanted to share it with you girls. I know how hard it is to find cute, modest swim suits now days. One pieces have been making a big comeback but I had not purchased one in years as it's almost impossible to find one that fits well and is cute and modest. I posted a couple pics with me wearing it. The lighting makes it hard to see the fringe on the top so I'll post a link to the website/suit too.
The view of the bay from the end of the complex that we stayed in
Lunch on the balcony of the apartment we stayed in
Hey ladies,
We are enjoying our last day here in Miami. It has been good to have family time but I think we are all ready to be back in our own beds. ;)
Lately I have such a love for black and wear it a ton. I personally love the all black look - I think it is so classic and timeless and can be super versatile. I got this leather jacket as a Christmas gift from Peter and I am officially obsessed. I wear it all the time (as you may have noticed) and it is by far my favorite leather jacket I have ever owned. It's comfortable, warm and looks great with everything. I am far from a rocker, but I affectionately call this my rocker black look cause I feel like a rock star when I wear it! I hope you all have a great week and wish us luck with the flight home. =)
Pants: Nordstrom
Shoes: Target
Sunnies: target
Jacket: Macy's
Purse (old) here is a similar one:
Hey girls,
I'm back! I have been feeling inspired lately in the fashion world and thought I would post a look with some pieces that I have been enjoying. I got this shirt at Nordstrom Rack last fall and it is a favorite for sure. I can pair it with jeans or leggings and dress it up or down as needed. Even though it is short sleeve, I still have been using it all winter with either a jacket over it or a shirt/tank under it. I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!
Earlier this year I watched my friend experience one of the hardest things in her life: she lost her baby at 33 weeks (I was only 3 weeks behind her in my pregnancy with Scarlett). It was heart wrenching and excruciating to say the least. I got to be with her in the early stages of them inducing her at the hospital and experiencing that - stepping into her world with her, even if only for an hour, was really special and brought us even closer together. Singing at her beautiful, perfect, tiny, baby boy's funeral was one of the hardest things I have done. No one should ever see a casket that small. Watching the family's raw emotion through the songs and service as they said goodbye to a life that they had excitedly anticipated was gut wrenching.
On the day that we learned they had lost their baby boy, I heard this song for the first time: In Over My Head by Bethel Worship. I heard that song and just cried. Something about the lyrics just clung to me in those weeks of walking through this - weeks of grieving and feeling helpless to provide the support that a hurting friend desperately needed, weeks of not understanding grief and not knowing how to help or what to say and weeks of not being the friend that I needed to be.
I have come to this place in my life
I'm full but I've not satisfied
This longing to have more of You
And I can feel it my heart is convinced
I'm thirsty my soul can't be quenched
You already know this but still
Come and do whatever You want to
I'm standing knee deep but I'm out where I've never been
And I feel You coming and I hear Your voice on the wind
Would you come and tear down the boxes that I have tried to put You in
Let love come teach me who You are again
Would you take me back to the place where my heart was only about You
And all I wanted was just to be with You
Come and do whatever You want to
And further and further my heart moves away from the shore
Whatever it looks like, whatever may come I am Yours
And further and further my heart moves away from the shore
Whatever it looks like, whatever may come I am Yours
Then You crash over me and I've lost control but I'm free
I'm going under, I'm in over my head
Then you crash over me, and that's where You want me to be
I'm going under, I'm in over my head
Whether I sink, whether I swim
It makes no difference when I'm beautifully in over my head
Whether I sink, whether I swim
It makes no difference when I'm beautifully in over my head
I'm Beautifully in over my head
I'm Beautifully in over my head
What you don't know is that I have been going through a pretty rough grieving period of my own the last few months (which is why I have been pretty MIA on the blog front). I had never experienced true grief before this and let me just say: it is very real, and big and crazy and scary. I have been on an emotional journey - a part of me saying goodbye and letting go - that I don't want to be on but there is nothing I can do about it. It's a pretty helpless feeling.
I am so thankful that I have Jesus during times like these! That I can trust in a God who is good and is for my good in everything. Clinging to the fact that I know He is sovereign and nothing in my life is an accident is a huge rock for me. I honestly don't know how I would do this without Him and knowing these things. It's okay to be in over my head because its not up to me - its up to Him and nothing is over His head.
I have witnessed the power of His redeeming hand at work the last few months and my view of Him is growing by leaps and bounds. Watching Him create life out of ashes is an awe inspiring thing and He is showing me that no one is beyond His reach. No situation is beyond his ability to restore and redeem. The question is not: "Can God redeem"? He is perfectly able and willing. The question therefore is: "Are you willing to let Him"? That is amazing to me. It's one thing to know these things - but to experience them firsthand is life-changing.
I am starting to cycle through and come to the other side some - to find my new "normal" and to even laugh and experience joy. You have to even when you think that you can't. I have two little ones who are so dependent on me and life doesn't stop even if it feels like it is over.
Jesus has been so incredibly tender with me the last few months and there have been some really sweet moments along the way. I feel so incredibly grateful that He gives us what we don't deserve.
Eventually I do want to get this blog up and running again. For now I am going to be taking my time and really re-focusing on what Jesus would have me do with this. I love you all - thank you for letting me share a little of what has been going on with me. I hope you enjoy this Christmas Season with your loved ones. A little baby came - specifically for you....for me, in the greatest Love story of all time. He came with a mission to redeem us to Himself and I am so, so thankful that He specializes in redeeming everything about our lives - not just our salvation.
Hey girls,
Last Friday I had the pleasure of helping to style my new friend, Jill. She is so fun - super easy to talk to and laugh with. We shopped a good part of the day and found her several new items for her closet. A couple of our conversations inspired today's blog post. We were talking about options for tights/leggings under dresses and I reminded her that funky tights are so fun and people forget that they can be a great accessory. I also asked her about a staple dress coat for the winter that she can wear with dresses (or even with pants for a different look). I really think a good, basic dress coat is a huge necessity if you are someone who likes to dress up some.
This last Sunday we were early for church (only because we were late for the first service and so then decided to go to second service ;)) and I realized that my outfit embodied both of these topics so we grabbed a couple pictures at the park where we were playing with the kids.
Dress: Sears - Kardashian Kollection
Tights: Maurices? It was years ago...
Shoes: Target
Coat: Maurices
I hope this gives you some fun ideas for fall/winter!
My sweet, cuddly girl turned 6 months on Sunday and I can't even believe it. Time goes SO MUCH faster the 2nd time around. What a joy she is to me (and our family) and I love watching her little personality develop. She is not as happy-go-lucky as Simon was (at her age) but she is still a pretty happy baby and definitely is a lot more aware of things than he was. She definitely is just as social and loves to "talk" but being in loud crowds for a while will over-stimulate her (un-like Simon) so then she needs to retreat to a room where she can have some alone, quiet time. That is something that I totally get as I was much the same way for a lot of my life. I would actually get raging headaches as a child when I had been in loud, social functions for too much time.
Our oldest niece, Maddi, was in town and snapped a few pictures for us to commemorate Scarlett turning 6 months. Maddi did Simon's 6 month pictures (in this same park!) so it was neat to do them again with her.
You know, we really tried to get one with all of us looking ;)
I just had to put this one in because it cracks me up =)
I have slowly been working on a nursery for Scarlett and while I still feel like it's not done, I have come to the realization that it's probably as "done" as it's going to be until we switch her to more of a big girl room. I do have some more things I would love to get for her but I think I will wait until we have her bed (and not crib) in there so that I'm not doing a room now and then again later.
Once again, the pieces we have for her have all been generously donated to us (she is using the same crib Simon did) so while they don't match, I'm not caring at this point because most of them will leave once we switch her room over anyways (no changing table, no crib etc).
I love neutral colors for her while still adding a feminine touch and a bit of glam (let's face it, she's MY daughter after all). =) Pictures still need to be printed off for her wall (you'll see an empty frame! ;)) so that's still to come as well.
