for your monday...

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thankful...

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I haven't done a thankful post in quite some time, and I thought it would be a good reminder to myself to do one again.  So today, I am thankful for.....

*My husband.  He is a huge encouragement in my life.  We are a team, and we are for each other.  I need to constantly remind myself of this...especially when I am frustrated and have a tendency to shut him off.  Every day of our marriage, we are trying to grow closer together in some small way.  Marriage is hard, but I believe it's worth fighting for, and fighting for intensely.

*My son.  He is becoming so much more communicative.  The other day, I taught him the sign for milk, and he immediately picked up on it.  It's amazing, and weird, to see this happening.  My son is growing so fast!  I love him, and what he has taught me.

*My heavenly Father.  I don't post a lot about my faith on here, but it is a deep part of my life.  I can see God working in every day things, and I look back on my life and see how He has been caring for me and directing my steps.  I see how the place where Landon and I are right now...our life, our home, our church, even the people we have met...have all been directed by God, and it's the perfect place for us at this time.  Because of my relationship with God, I have a hope and a joy that nothing in this world can compare to.

*My friends.  In our small group, we have been talking a lot about community.  Community is what causes you to grow even further than you ever could on your own.  Friends that can be open and vulnerable with each other are the rubbing together that polishes off the rough spots in our lives.  I am so very thankful for a group of close friends that are just that in my own life.

*My job.  It is amazing to me how much beauty is in this world, and how someone can capture that so accurately through a simple lens.  I have been brought to tears looking through photos I edit, and it's so encouraging to see couple after couple in love and committing themselves to each other.

*Being real.  I have been having the chance to be real and open with people in my life lately, and it is so refreshing.  Our culture is so bent on keeping up appearances, and we are taught this from a young age through media, and social peers.  But being real and genuine with another person is something amazing and wonderful.  Admitting faults, and accepting others where they are at, while encouraging growth, is a freeing experience.  Gaining the trust from real relationships that go even deeper can be such an impact on one's life.  Landon and I are working at being more genuine with each other, and with those we meet.

These have been on my heart lately.  I post a lot about happy things, and simple things that I love to do, but sometimes it's nice to go a little further than that.

What about you, what are you thankful for today?

a weekend away...

We just got back from a whirlwind weekend away to the Turks and Caicos.  Let me just say, that is a beautiful area of the world, and we enjoyed it so much.

Thursday
-got a late start to drop Finn off, but managed to finally get on the road in the early evening
-had to make two detours due to construction
-got Finn to my dad's house around 8pm, fed him supper, and cried a little as I put him to bed (I may have kissed his little face 20 times before leaving the room.)
-left my dad's and headed for Landon's parents' place to drop off some info
-on the road again!
-stopped by Ballard's around 10:45pm to share a Flying Cupcake with her and some coffee she made for us.  Also picked up some tunes for the trip since my cd for our car failed on us.  Love this girl!
-made it to our hotel in Columbus at 12:30am and fell into bed

Friday
-dragged myself out of bed at 4:15am for a shower before leaving for the airport at 5
-busy airport, got yelled at by security for having too big of a baggie for my liquids.  (Note to self, gallon is bigger than a quart.)
-made it to our gate, find out our flight is "Delayed until further notice."  Do some writing and watch some shows for 2 hours.
-flight leaves at 9:30am instead of 6:30, but we'll take it!
-get to sunny Miami, Florida around 11:30
-get a sweet little rental car and head out for the city
-drive around checking out the beautiful architecture and tree-covered streets
-drive past a cute little restaurant, think "maybe we should stop there for lunch," then keep on driving
-30 minutes later, end up back at cute little restaurant for lunch
-find out, it's a local place, and the locals in this area all speak spanish.  Look dumb as our server speaks rapidly to us something we can't understand.
-it's all good.
-have the most amazing pork and mojito sauce, congri, and fried plantains while it proceeds to rain like a hurricane outside
-after more exploring, drive back to airport for our flight to the Island!
-get to Turks and Caicos around 8:30pm, take a taxi to our hotel, grab some delicious burgers from the restaurant, and drink some great beer while waiting for our food.
-talk with a couple workers that are done for the day and hanging at the bar.  find out one is from GB and has the cutest two year old son you ever saw.  Hear a funny story about how his son used the toilet for the first time like a big boy.
-eat our food and watch National Lampoon's Vacation in our room.
-hit the sack for our big day on Saturday

Saturday
-slept in until 9am....whaaat!
-rode bikes to a grocery to pick up some food
-rode to the bride's resort, found the bride and her mom having breakfast and joined them.
-checked out the bride's room (amazing!) and met up with some of Landon's cousins
-got a ride over to another cousin's villa and went snorkeling
-saw some amazing fish and coral, got my souvenir of a scrape on the foot from some rocks.
-got ready for a wedding, read some stories to the bride's adorable nieces and nephew
-beach wedding. beautiful bride, handsome groom, perfect backdrop.
-cocktail hour. good drinks and great company.  Rum is better on an island, hands down.
-had the best time at the reception with amazing food, lots of great music, and some hilarious entertainment....all I can say is the groom is not afraid to put himself out there, and he can sing!
-ate some delicious wedding cake, said goodbye to the bride and groom, and headed back to our hotel
-hit the hay early for our early travel day on Sunday

Sunday
-flight left at 8:30am for Miami
-flight left at 12pm for New York
-saw the Statue of Liberty and the city skyline from the air...awesome!
-ate some pizza and hung out in the terminal waiting for our flight to Columbus
-sat by 6 Canadian ladies who were on their way home from a girls' weekend in the city....they were still having a great time.  Also, apparently there's a comedy show host somewhere downtown named Andre who is extremely good looking.  They wouldn't stop talking about him.
-took our last flight for the day
-got into Columbus at 8:30pm, and drove to Landon's parents' house to crash for the night...I wanted to wake my baby boy up, but I waited until the morning.

Had a crazy, amazing, awesome, weekend with my husband.  Travel is something we love to do, and hope to do more of in the future.  Congratulations to Jennifer and Geoff!!

 

away we go...

Landon and I are feeling pretty excited today because we are leaving for a wedding in the Turks and Caicos!  His cousin is getting married there, and it will be so wonderful to celebrate her marriage...on a beach...out of the country.  We have never been to a destination wedding before, so this is a new adventure for us.  I am loving this beautiful fall weather we are having, but it's supposed to rain this weekend, so I am glad we can enjoy some 80 degree weather on a beach instead.

I usually find a little note from Landon in the mornings since he leaves for work before Finn and I get up, and the one today made me even more excited for our trip.  We are not taking Finn with us, thanks to some amazing grandparents he has.  We'll miss him, but we will love being just the two of us again for a couple days.  There's nothing more dear to me than our family, and our happiness has multiplied 100% since Finn came along, but it's fun to get away and pretend we are young newlyweds...I think every married couple with kids needs that.

My mum is just starting to really bloom beautifully, so I had to get some photos.  Finn and I will probably spend some time outside too, with the bright sun feeling so good.  He is getting over some diaper rash, and I have been taking him outside without anything on his little bottom to help him air out.  The sun is so good for that, and he loves it. :)

We are planning to make the most of our entire trip.  We have a nine hour layover in Miami tomorrow  so we decided to rent a car and explore the city, check out the beach, eat at a great restaurant for lunch...who knows!  I've never been there before except the airport, and the only vision I have is from the movie The Birdcage.  (Which is clearly and accurate portrayal of life in Miami.)

So, taking a break from all the packing to blog a little and enjoy a delicious snack...if you've never had Noosa yogurt, you should try it sometime.

I am ready for a few days on the beach with family, good drinks, and some snorkeling hopefully!  I'm busy packing up the rest of our things, and making sure we've got everything lined up....making a comedy/music playlist for our travels, putting some movies on the ipad so we can watch them on the planes, and remembering at the last minute we probably need our passports to get out of the States....

We are so excited and I will be sure to snap some great photos!

family time...

We try to get outside every day, even if it's just a bit.  My heart is very full these days.  I love my family so much.

We decorated our front porch for Fall yesterday.  My mother-in-law brought us some mini pumpkins and squash, and  Finn and I picked out a pumpkin at a patch the other day.  I also got a beautiful mum last night to complete the decor.  Now, I can't wait to carve the big pumpkin for halloween and put a candle inside!

Last night we hung out with some friends, and they made us some mulled cider.  I've decided that mulled cider is the best drink one could have on a cool evening, and I'm hankering for some more right now.  Maybe we'll pick some up and get some mulling spices this weekend.

I am loving this beautiful weather and cheery time of year!