Thursday | Back To The Same Place

I went back to my spot.

I've been struggling in my faith lately and somehow just getting out and away from everything that's normal and everyday brings me out above the daily struggle and into a place where it seems that miracles really can happen.

Friday | Castle Ruinous

Today I went on an adventure. All by myself. A mini road trip and an afternoon of photo taking, beauty soaking and river-side sitting. It was lovely. It's been a highly stressful week at work and I really just needed the time by myself to think, ponder, maybe cry a little and just detox all the issues that took me by surprise.

This place was perfect. I came away feeling braver and ready to embrace all the life has for me once again - the good, the bad and all the awkward moments in-between.

Friday | Three Random Photos

 

 My Target bag

My cat

Me and my newest nephew Toby

Sunday | Old Singles on Ice

Happy Sunday!

Last night found me and my group of "old singles" bundling up for an evening out on the ice rink. I feel like it's been so long since I've spent much time with these people, since I don't see them on Sunday mornings anymore, so I was beyond excited to get to hang out with all of them.

I spent most of the evening out on the ice, but Katheryn wielded the camera and got a few shots for the posting!

Incidentally, our "old singles" group is no longer just made up of singles. The above picture is a sample of the most recent cuteness to hit the news. :)

I'm so thankful for my friends, the ones I've known all my life and the ones I've gotten to know recently. Each one is so important to me and I'm so grateful that the Lord has given me this group of people to belong to. We're not fancy or formal, but we make awesome things out of our own variety"normal!"

Thanks, friends, for over a year of being together as a group!

Thursday | My Honest Thoughts on the New Year

Good morning and Happy New Year, friends!

How was your New Year's Eve celebrations this year? I went all out this year - two tubs of Moose Tracks ice cream instead of just one. Apparently I have no dieting goals for this next year. I spent the earlier part of the evening at some friends house but returned home to spend the last of the year with the people who mean the most to me. That, and I couldn't miss our ridiculous tradition of singing Auld Lang Synge in full harmony and not a little bit of mock seriousness as the clock changed from 2013 to 2014! Never without a tradition around our house! :)

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I don't have any goals for this year, I gave up on those a long time ago. To be honest, the year's transition has been a bit of a tough one for me. As I've looked on the recent years past, I've realized that what's ahead of me looks very familiar. Working, making ends meet, watching everyone else find their dreams and have big adventures, having dreams of my own but no way of making them happen, just plugging on one cloned day after another. I'm basically in the same exact place I was in a year ago, two years ago, five years ago...and that, in my skeptic mind, next year at this time, I'll likely be in the exact same place again. That's hard for me.

I know the point of not knowing what's ahead means anything could happen...but when you hold your breath long enough, you do eventually run out of air.

But if I have to keep doing the same thing again this year...there's no one I'd rather do it with than the people I've been doing it with for so long! I have seven nieces and nephews to pour myself into, siblings who are my best friends, who are pursuing their own goals and need someone to catch their back and support them in their career endeavors, I live in a small town that will always be home no matter what and I've got two cats who keep my own heart purring.

 I'll make that enough for me, because all that is already more than I deserve.

What are your thoughts on the coming year? You excited about the unknown and anticipating big things? Or are you tucking your feet inside a pair of cozy slippers and settling in for another year of the familiar?

Because despite all of it, whether we face the familiar or the unknown, we've got Jesus and what I love about the new year, especially this year, is that it brings us that much closer to His coming back for us. And the older I get, that becomes the greatest dream of my heart and highest hope of what the year might hold. Maybe it'll be this year.

I'm so ready.

So, happy New Year, my friends!