what are you aiming for?

Back in January I decided to document the boys individually each day.  I started taking a photograph of Crews and Tate separately and putting them on Instagram using a specific hashtag for them.  You may have seen others doing this as well.  I actually got the idea from one of my favorite photographers.  I didn't do so well with documenting their firsts.  Or keeping their baby books updated.  And a lot of the pictures I have of them from their first year are of them together. So, I wanted to switch things up for this year.  And, looking back, I am so thankful I chose to do it!  It is so sweet to glance back through their pictures and see a snapshot of our year.  I absolutely love it.  I'm not sure that it will continue next year, in fact it probably won't, but I'm grateful for this year that has been documented daily.

Well, do you know what number today is?  

265.  

That's right.  We have one hundred days until 2013 is complete.  As this number has been approaching, I've been mulling over what I want the last one hundred days of this year to look like.  I want my life to be intentional.  I want to live each day with meaning.  I don't want to look back and think that I wasted one second.  That doesn't mean that my life has to be busy.  It means that there are healthy margins, that there are lazy days, that there is plenty of time to read books and swing and go for walks on top of working hard.  I know that life always gets crazy with the holidays coming.  And now, with the new website launching, it's going to be even crazier.  

But, instead of succumbing to the chaos, I was to embrace it intentionally.

And, I always find it funny the way God reiterates His point to me.  Last week in BSF my lecture leader made the statement, "If you call yourself a woman of God you must be intentional about asking what you're doing with your days and why you're doing it".  That has come to mind over and over during the past two weeks.  What AM I doing with my days?  And WHY am I doing it?

And, then, God reiterated it again on Sunday.  During part of the sermon, our pastor asked us what makes for a successful life.  He asked the question, "if you don't know what you think a successful life is, how can you aim for it?".  He encouraged us to take the time to make our list of what would make a successful life.  Then, he proceeded to give his list.  And honestly, his list seems right on point.  I can't imagine a better list.  So, I thought I would share it with you.

1.  A personal relationship with Jesus that is real

2.  An enjoyable marriage

3.  A great relationship with my kids

4.  The work of my hards being blessed

5.  Enjoying all the God's created for us to enjoy

This was just a portion of his sermon in which he talked about "The Secret Place".  He referenced Matthew 6 and the three things Jesus tells us should be done privately (or without trying to be noticed).  Giving to the needy, praying and fasting (or sacrificing things to draw closer to Him).  Then, he continued to tell us that outward success is dictated by what goes on in our secret life.  My favorite point of the sermon was this:  "When we see someone's life is successful we can be assured that they are spending time in The Secret Place".  When they are successful, as well as their home and their marriage, the relationship they have with their kids and the work of their hands, it is all because they are spending time in The Secret Place.  

Okay, I've gotten a little off track.  Sorry.  Once I got started, I couldn't stop telling you about the sermon!

Back to what I'm aiming for.  If I want to have a life that is successful, I have to figure out what I'm aiming for and then I have to intentionally pursue that with my days.

And now, I have one hundred days.  To finish out this year.  And I don't know about you, but I want to finish strong.  

Step one, I'm ordering this book.  

What are you aiming for?
And what steps are you taking to make it happen?

celebrating the one i love.

Okay, so it appears that all my friends have been quick to post about their Labor Day weekend.  And, I have the urge to type like two sentences.  Which is more than normal these days.  So, I better take advantage.  Keep in mind, I didn't edit any of these pictures.  I only took pictures of a fraction of the things we did this weekend and it all is going to be super sloppy.  But sloppy is better than nothing, right?

We had such a fabulous weekend.  

My whole family was under one roof for longer than 24 hours.  First time this has happened since May.  It was a sweet time.  I love them.  And they love me well.  I am blessed.

We also spent the weekend celebrating the boy.  He turned 31 on Saturday.  It was fun to spend the weekend celebrating him.  

He was super bummed because he recently broke his arm and didn't get to go dove hunting.  This was his only birthday wish.  So, since that plan was no longer an option, I came up with a new plan.  A surprise trip.  Just me and him.  We left on Saturday morning and to say that Jordan was antsy would be an understatement.  He kept trying to guess where we were going.   

Finally, we pulled up and Jordan could see this...

Since he still didn't know where we were, I finally told him we were at the Hillsville FleaMarket and GUNSHOW.  He was beside-himself-excited :)  I'm so glad the surprise worked out.

They had tons of old fun stuff.  So, I spent time taking pictures while he spent time looking at guns and knives.  He was having a ball. 

We spent the entire rest of the weekend with family.  Eating good food.  Drinking good coffee.  Playing fun games.  And having good conversation.  

We sang happy birthday multiple times to the old man :)

[thank you dad, for the reminder to be extraordinary.]

Seeing my brother and sister love the twins is one of my greatest joys.  It just makes my heart so happy.

 We had a cookout with my dad's side of the family on Sunday night and I didn't take many pictures.  In fact, I only brought one lens for my camera - big mistake.  The night time pictures were a mess.

This morning, we came back home to celebrate Jordan's birthday with his family.  It was also such a sweet time of being together with his family.  

I love celebrating the one I love.

I feel very high-on-life as I settle back on my bed tonight.  Just thankful that I am able to call all the people in this post family.  There are so many people who would kill to have what we do.  And I do not take one second for granted.  I am blessed beyond measure.  And oh, so grateful.

project 52.20

committed.

On the day you say, "I do", you really have no clue what you're getting in to.  You think you've got your relationship figured out.  You think you know what you need to know.  You think your days are all going to be easy and happy from there on out.  

But, thankfully, God designed marriage as a covenant.  Between not only husband and wife.  But also with God.  So that, when you realize that you don't really have your relationship figured out, and you definitely don't know all you need to and your days aren't always happy, it's okay.  Because you're committed.  You not only said I do, but you said for better or for worse.  You're in it for the long-haul.  

Your daddy and I celebrated four years of marriage this week.  And I am here to tell you, marriage is tough.  And frustrating.  And a constant challenge.  But, it's also beautiful and rewarding.  It's amazing to know that someone has promised to love you forever.  And that you have committed the same to that person. 

And, I will tell you, this fourth year has been incredible.  The two of you have made our marriage even sweeter than before.  We have become a team.  Working hard to care for and love both of you well.  I have seen your daddy become a daddy.  I've watched his excitement as you arrived in this world.  I've watched him love you. I've watched his face light up when he sees you.  And it has been amazing.  

So, although marriage is difficult, I want both of you to know that we are committed.  To making our marriage, the foundation of our family, great.  We are in it for the long-haul.  And we are excited about it.  Thank you, for making life even sweeter for us.

visit more Project52s here.

4 years.

Today marks 4 years.

It's so hard to believe that we have been married for that long. But, I can honestly say, I love him more today than ever before.  Even though most of our friends would tell you we about kill each other all the time, we really do love each other.  We fight hard.  But we also love hard.  He was made for me.   And I am so, so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my days with him.  

Tonight we had a mini-photoshoot.  I set up the tripod and we took a few pictures in between changing diapers, attempting to feed babies avocado and oatmeal, bathing babes, and fixing supper.  Our house is a total wreck.  I am obviously a mess.  And I actually started to change clothes and try to fix my hair.  Or, at least put on some lip gloss.  But then, I realized, I want to capture us.  The real us. 

There will be time for high heels and makeup this weekend (when we leave the boys overnight for the first time!).  But tonight, it was real.  And messy.  But, it's us.

(And, no, contrary to what you might think when you look at this picture.  That is not a baby bump.  It is my lack of abs after carrying around two babies.  I'm working on it.  Thank.you.very.much.)

 And, we had to sneak in a picture of our new additions this year :)

I'm linking up with Emily for Embrace the Camera.

cirque du soleil.

We had the best time last night!  We went to see Alegria for my Valentine's Day present.

We rushed to get ready once we got home from work.

Worker Man was waiting in the truck for me when I made him jump out and take a couple of self-timer pics.  We never have pictures together so I'm trying to work on this.   But, clearly, I'm going to have to get a little better about the self-timer.

Terrible background, blurry camera strap showing at the bottom and the second pose?  Well, I had to crop it because we were standing in the most awkward pose ever.  I will get better at that part.  Promise!

And maybe I'll get better about opening my eyes during pictures.

And maybe I'll start wearing lipstick more often.

And maybe I'll get a tan at some point this year. 

So we rush to Greensboro.

Decide we have enough time to eat a quick supper.  So we stop at Moe's.

Scarf our food down.

And rush over to the coliseum because Worker Man hates to be late. 

We arrive at 6:30.  With the show starting at 7.

We get there and here's what we see:

Not a good sign.

[This is where the pictures stop - no cameras were allowed].

So we laugh hysterically and head inside.  It's not much better in there.  There were a few people here and there but not many at all!  We realized we might have made a mistake.  I tell Worker Man, "I thought this was like a big deal" and he agreed.  We also noticed that almost everyone else that was there was 60 years old or older.

We sit for a few minutes and then at five till 7:00 we run up so Worker Man can buy a $4 bottled drink.  [Sheesh].

We come back down and I'm wondering why the lights weren't dimming or anything.

Look at our tickets. 

The show doesn't start until 7:30.
Whoops.

But, after the show finally did start [more people did get there.  it wasn't slammed but a lot more people were there than at 6:30] it was amazing!

My favorites were the contortionists and a hula hoop girl.  But everything was so good!

I would definitely recommend going!

Don't forget the giveaway ends tonight!
I'll announce the winner on Monday!

Happy Friday!

new kicks.

Thank yall for being so excited!

And, thank yall for all of your ideas!  They are fabulous! 

I've already gotten to work on a couple of ideas that you mentioned.  They'll be coming to the shop soon.  I'll make sure to let you know when they do. 

Here's a little sneak peek of one of them. 

The giveaway will end Friday night.  So if you haven't already, be sure to enter!  I want all of you to enter.  Even those of you that don't regularly leave comments!  I won't think you're a stalker, promise :)  Well, I might.  But I'm a stalker too so I'll love you anyway!

And, just so you know I'm making good on my promise to not turn this into only a "shop blog", I present to you:


Worker Man modeling his new kicks.

He'll kill me for this, but I couldn't resist. He seriously was so excited the night we got these. He had to try them on again before he came to bed.

Happy rainy Tuesday!

valentine.

my valentine:

got me tickets to this for valentine's day:

i'm pumped!

studio.

On Friday I am photographing homecoming for a school in the area.

I am typically not a "studio" photographer.  So, I've had to be a little creative on building a backdrop and getting the appropriate lighting.  I did some research on makeshift studios and got an idea of what needed to be done.  On Tuesday night, Worker Man and I bought the necessary supplies.

Last night, we did a little trial run.

I needed a subject for my trial run so Worker Man stepped up to the plate.

He's going to kill me for posting these.

But I couldn't help myself.

Needless to say, it was a pretty entertaining evening.

2 down.

on monday, worker man and i celebrated our two year anniversary!

it's really hard to belive the we've been married for two years already - seriously, it's crazy!

we went to the melting pot for supper and it was fabulous.

worker man had never been and we had the best time.

i would definitely suggest that restaurant - it was amazing!

happy two years worker man!

i'm blessed beyond belief.

marriage is way better than i could have ever imagined :)

umm...does this mean i'm not a newly-wed anymore?  because i totally still feel like one.

hump day highlights: edition worker man.

consider these my hump day highlights.

from the mouth of worker man over the past week or so...

1. i walked into the bathroom the other day and found worker man fixing his hair, standing in front of the full length mirror, in his boxers, singing "this is why i'm hot". i won't lie, it made my morning.

2.  my dad always tells me [along with my brother and sister] that he wouldn't trade us for a gold monkey. so, one night at supper i told worker man that i wouldn't trade him for a gold monkey. and he responds:

"babe, i wouldn't trade you for a gold monkey either!"

and after a few seconds of thinking:

"....well, i guess it depends on how big the monkey is"

3.  worker man came up with this plan that we should have to pay each other $5 from our allowances [thank you dave ramsey] if we say anything mean to one another.  this means we can only say something mean three times a week before we're in the hole. yes, our allowance is $15/week. 

be jealous.

so one night we're talking and he says, harshly, "no, uggh...you dingleberry".

[umm...let's stop right there.  let me tell you, if i'm going to have to pay him $5 for saying something mean...it should be worth the $5. and is dingleberry worth $5? absolutely not.  but apparently that was the best he could come up with at the time]

then, as soon as it comes out - he immediately gasps, turns and grabs my hand and says,

"i mean, no...you lovely dingleberry"

you think you've got the best husband?

i'd say i've got you beat :)

we.

since i have gotten on this coupon streak - worker man always brags to everyone about how much we saved.

so since we are saving money, i we decided we should clip and sort the coupons.

i'm liking this more and more :)

shrrrubbbs.

worker man and i spent saturday doing this.

[yes, that is my husband.  in shorts and brogans].

speaking of brogans...do you know what i mean when i say that?!?  this is what my family always called working boots.  but i've come to realize most people don't call them that and typically have no clue what i'm talking about.  aaand, i just googled the word to make sure i was spelling it correctly and this is what came up:

and no, these are not the kind of boots worker man wears.

anywhoo...

we planted shrubs and lillies and annuals on saturday and oh.my.word.

i slept so good on saturday night. 

it also made such a difference to the way our house looks!

maybe the neighbors will start to associate with us.  i think they think worker man is crazy. because for the last three years worker man has lived in our house and each spring he cleans out the beds and gets all the weeds out and makes a nice little edge.

and then....

does nothing.

no mulch, no flowers, no shurbs.

just pretty dirt.

so maybe our neighbors will finally start talking to us and waving when we drive by.

but, two years in...i'm not getting my hopes up.

i think they are just trying to steer clear of the crazies across the street.

delivery.

worker man had to make a delivery for his dad's company the other night so i decided to ride along. 

i never knew what all happened to make a delivery.

and since i'm sure you're all dying to know what happens, i documented it.

yes, get excited.

first you take off running by all these tanks, turning all the right levers and pushing all the necessary buttons.

oh, and jumping over rails. 

[i think worker man's been doing it long enough now that he could do it blindfolded].

and, apparently the copilot just takes pictures of anything and everything.
oh, and gets excited about watching the husband run around like a crazy man and about sitting that high up so high.

some fancy contraption that you have to pull on.

then you have to fill up the truck.

and the copilot takes more random pictures.
well, except the 'no smoking' sign isn't so random.  we don't wont to blow up the city.


then, you proceed to the delivery location.  but all along the way you point out every customer's house in the 10 mile drive.  while the copilot smiles and nods and acts very interested.  even though they might not be. 

then you pull out the line and start pumping the fuel.

and ask your copilot to puhlease get that camera out of your face.
[except worker man broke the rule, he didn't ask quite that nicely].

then you just laugh because the photographer won't stop.  so you embrace it.

and strike a few poses. 
until you almost overfill the tank and it almost spews out in your face.

then you demand that the copilot put down that darn camera and start helping you reel the hose back in. and figure up the bill.

then, leave it on the customer's door and head back home.  through the country.  just as the sun is setting.


then you eat cereal for supper.


told you, you'd be jealous.