happy birthday, my love

Happy happy 30th birthday to the man I love most in the world!

I hope that you feel extra loved and special this weekend.

You are one of a kind!  You make everyone's lives way more fun just by being in it.

I am so grateful that I get to spend my years with you. You are extraordinary.



Happy 30th birthday, my love! Can't wait to celebrate with you.

Lauren

Embrace the Camera - 3 years later

We enjoyed the [tremendous] pleasure of having our friend Sarah do a little photoshoot for us to commemorate our 3rd anniversary last week!

I am in l-o-v-e with the pictures and feel so grateful that we have these sweet memories to keep forever.

Embracing the camera,

Lauren

linking up with Emily!

happy 3 years, my love.

Three years ago, when asked if you promised to love and cherish me, honor and protect me, respect and encourage me... you said,

"Absolutely."

You have guarded my heart, put more value on my wellbeing than your own. You have loved me when my attitude is at its ugliest.  You have spurred me on to be better: to dream big, to take risks, and to enjoy each day to its very very fullest.

I feel so blessed to be living this magnificent love story with you by my side. It's a beautiful story. One teeming with stories of redemption, trust, faith, and forgiveness. Brimming with lessons on the fine art of laughter and its healing qualities.

Happy three years, my love.

Lauren

“I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out.” -Roy Croft

I do! I do!

Ever wonder how different your wedding may have been if pinterest had existed at the time?

via

I can never decide if it would have made me more organized and put together...

via

...or a total flustered mess with way too many ideas running through my head!

via 

My husband's videography business is now on pinterest, featuring all.things.wedding.

via

It's been fun for this old-married-woman to daydream about nuptials all over again!

via

You can follow all of our wedding boards here.

Happy daydreaming!

Lauren

sharing here

a quarter century

Well, I turned the big 2-5 this weekend! I was surprisingly a little more shaken up about it than I thought I would be. Birthdays have never affected me much, but this one made me feel rather... GROWN.

Like, I'm not in my "early 20's" anymore. Yikes!

I'm sure the little white hair that popped up on my hairline (literally) on the morning of my birthday didn't help much...

My family and friends made me feel extra-loved this weekend, with sweet cards and messages and gifts. My lovely husband went out.of.his.way to make sure every last minute of my special day was... well, special!

Matt is one of the best gift-givers I've ever known. He listens intently, tucking away gift ideas all year round.

I am about three-quarters of the way through Bloom. Must read!

 

We spent Saturday doing exactly what I wanted to do: relaxing at the house, playing cornhole out back (I won!), and watching my (new) favorite show, Cougar Town.

Matt even played the guitar a little for me which may have been the very best gift of all.

We also went shopping with my birthday gift cards which is, of course, the best kind of shopping.
 

I always take photos of items I like in the dressing room so Matt can give me a yay or nay.

We had my birthday dinner at ourfavorite Thai restaurant and finished it off with the first (but definitely not the last) banana pudding milkshakes of the season.

As if I wasn't feeling exceedingly blessed already, this weekend rocked my socks off.

25 really isn't so bad after all!


Lauren

Free

I am having a rather difficult time putting my thoughts for this post into words.... the statement that was made at my bible study last night did so many things in my heart. It softened my spirit. It revolutionized my thoughts.

It freed me from the bondage of perfection.

Have you read Proverbs 31 in the Message?


"A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing. She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises. She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking.
She's quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn't worry about her family when it snows; their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear. She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them, brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops. Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise:
"Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all!"
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. Give her everything she deserves! Festoon her life with praises!"


We have all read about this Proverbs 31 woman... the superhero? The granola mom with the orderly home, the cutest crafts, and the husband that is smitten by her. The kids that "rise up and call her blessed".

She is the impossible ideal.

She is never spiteful.
She is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She is diligent.
She is quick to assist anyone in need.
She always faces tomorrow with a smile.
She always speaks kindly.

I am often spiteful. I frequently wish for the day to end. I am lazy. I regularly pass up opportunities to help those in need. I often groan when my alarm sounds in the morning. I have been known to speak with malice.

This woman and I? We are exceedingly different. I strive to be like her and yet I always fall short. She is everything I want to be but cannot achieve.

Wife. Mother. Philanthropist. Gardener. Seamstress. Businesswoman. Crafter. Homemaker. Chef. Designer. Encourager.

But what if we read through that scripture again with a different approach?

We aren't called to be these things.
We are free to be these things.

Revolutionized. Inspired. Encouraged.

It was like a weight had been lifted from me.

I know that the Lord desires for me to be like this woman. He wants me to be kind, attentive, generous, joyful, and gracious.

But the freedom comes when I realize that he is not counting my short-comings. He is not keeping tabs of my failures. Instead, he has given me a goal to realize. An example to follow. 

He has given me the freedom to strive for this ideal, without fear of punishment.

And that is freedom.

-Lauren

A SoCal SoJourn

Well, folks. It is official!
San Diego is our favorite city in the US - hands down. I've been raving to Matt about the three short days I spent there years ago, but could never truly describe what it was I loved so much.

"The weather! Perfection!""It's clean! So so clean."
"The breeze off the bay!"
"The food! Oh the food."

"The people! So nice!"

I knew he would never understand until we took a trip there ourselves, so it made its way onto our BK List without much protest.

Matt surprised (surprised!) me on a random Tuesday in October with a mid-winter trip to "America's Finest City". (seriously, that's its nickname. and it's not a lie!)

We spent day one doing a lot of sightseeing and picture-taking. Photos of beautiful-panoramic-views-on-the-side-of-the-road taken by random-but-outrageously-nice cyclists are our favorite.

We headed to the top of Mount Soledad and had our breath taken away by the Lord's beautiful creation...

Oh wait... you wanted to see the view! :)

With the whole morning ahead of us, we made our way over to La Jolla to watch the break over that unmistakable, rocky Pacific coast.

We drove up to Mount Cabrillo, which overlooks Coronado Island and the Navy base. The trip did not disappoint. There were thousands and thousands of graves for military men and women and their families... it was humbling and beautiful. 

I felt so proud of our nation for giving this prime-time real estate to those who deserve it the most.

We also drove over to Coronado Island to spend late afternoon on the beach. So relaxing after a whirlwind of a day!

Day two took us north to Los Angeles, but we (of course) took the scenic route to see what we could see. 

We figured "Ocean Way" in Laguna Beach was a good place to start.

And just beyond what I thought would be a nice little place to sit and see the ocean...

...ended up taking my breath away. A secret garden!

...with a path down to the rocky, rough Pacific

That scenic route was a success! 

After we arrived in LA, we walked the canals in Venice Beach and hit up 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica for the Super Bowl with friends.

All that to say that Matt is officially convinced. San Diego (and socal as a whole) is where. it's. at.

Lauren

Embracing the Camera: Sunny SoCal

Today's Embrace the Camera is from our sunshine-y trip to San Diego earlier this month. What fun!

We made our way to La Jolla early one morning and soaked up the warm February sun... there's nothing not to love about SoCal. We even picked out our future vacation home while we were there!

Killing two birds with one stone, people.

Embracing the camera,
Lauren