farewell, January.

I can hardly believe that today is the last day of the first month of the new year! I may sound like a grandma (and rightfully so) when I say this, but my, my, how time flies. I feel like it was just yesterday we were celebrating the first few seconds of twenty-twelve, and now it's already time to bid January adieu.

My January was definitely an incredible kick-start to what I'm certain will be my most memorable year yet. I spent hours making a keepsake book that I'll be able to look back at for years and years (which, hopefully, became a new tradition for my husband and me), shot my first 9 mm at the shooting range, honored a hometown hero, celebrated Capstone's third birthday (I reeeeeeeeally love my church), saw my most favorite movie in the whole world in theaters (aaaand in 3D, might I add), made new friends, made new memories with old ones, celebrated daddy turning forty-seven and Emilie Carol turning twenty-three and Granny Pat turning sixty-eight (all years young, of course), did more silly things with my kiddos than I did the month before, loved more, laughed more, cried more (mostly good tears), spent more time being thankful for what I have and less time asking for more than I need.

I always get excited to go to sleep in one month and wake up in the next, and this time is no different. January was beautiful, and I'm certain that February will be even more lovely. At least on the fourteenth. Get it? Lovely? :) We even get an extra day this year, yippee!

My prayer this month is that I give more. More of myself, my time, my heart, and anything else I have to offer, no matter how big or small. Especially when no one is watching. The second month of the year is quickly approaching, and I'm ready for all the adventures it will bring, both the ones I expect and the ones I don't.

Let's have some fun, February!

"To give life a meaning, one must have a purpose larger than one's self."

-Will Durant

emiliecarol.

One of the most beautiful gals in the whole world has officially added another year to her beautiful life. I'm so blessed I get to play a small role in her world and thankful to cheer her on as she makes all of her dreams come true (and, trust me, she's knocking them out one by one, even as I type these words).

Here's to you, Emilie Carol Uphoff.

For being a better friend to me than most, for always giving every ounce of yourself for the greater good, for pouring your whole heart into everything (and everyone) you meet, for being a shelter for those who don't have one otherwise, and for that contagious smile you wear so proudly for all the world to see.

There is no one else like her, and I'll never get tired of thanking Jesus that I get to be best friends with this one-in-six-billion lady. I can't wait to witness all the incredible things she accomplishes during these next three hundred and sixty-six days and cheer her on the entire way.

"But if the while I think on thee, dear friends, all losses are restored and sorrows end."

-William Shakespeare

six.

yesterday marked the happiest +giddiest + smiley-est + wonderfullest + blessed-est + perfect-est six months of my whoooooole life. these next fifty years are going to fly by, but I plan on being intentional in grabbing up every single memory and trying my best to make them all one of our favorites.

being Mrs. Bargeron is too magnificent to put into words, and I love it.

allllllllllllllllllllmost as much as I love him.

"I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears binding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine."

-Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn

a tribute.

To the best man I've ever known on the forty-seventh anniversary of his birth. 

Fortunately for me, I was picked as the oldest of five little chi'rens who get to call him daddy and protector and money-man and Mr. Fix-It and personal escort and body guard and biggest fan.

Happy birthday, POP!

I am SO blessed and thankful to get to call you all of these things every single day I'm alive. I wouldn't trade you for anyone else, even on your not-so-great days (which are far and few in between, of course). I couldn't love you more even if I tried with all my might. :)

"You were my first love, always there for me; you taught me how to walk and how to dream. God gave me your eyes, but it was you who taught me how to see. Now I can stand on my own, but I know you'll never let  go. I'll always be your baby."

-Natalie Grant

family outing.

To see the best movie ever created. Beauty and the Beast in 3D was prooooobably the most wonderful decision Disney ever made, besides creating the film to begin with, of course. Teesh and P. Sawyer and David and Wilber even got to hang out with Belle, who came to visit just for the night. What a treat! Bummer I missed it. Maybe one day there will be a next time. :o)

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell. And, for once, it might be grand to have someone understand; I want so much more than they've got planned."

-Belle

this weekend.

The one where an entire community came together to show respect to our very own hometown hero, my church celebrated its third birthday, and I finally exchanged Christmas presents with my Cait Cait. These two days flew by, as they usually do, but they were filled with tons and tons and tons of great fun and great people. Weekends like this remind me of all the wonderful things I have at my fingertips. I hope your weekend consisted of grabbing them up just like mine did. :)

"It's easy to let days fly by without taking notice to the world around you. Life is beautiful. Soak it in, think about it, and be grateful."

-Author Unknown

the desire of my heart.

I began my first book of twenty twelve three days ago. Speaking in flesh terms, I probably should have chose one with less of a punch to my gut (with every paragraph, might I add), but my heart screams that this may be the best book I've ever read my whole life. And trust me, that is a lot of books. Usually I fly through books consisting of three hundred pages in just a single short afternoon, but this one has taken me three days just to read 28 pages. In these three days, I've cried an abnormal (yes, even for me) amount of tears and spent much of the allotted reading time praying. And not just "Hey God, just stopping by to say I love you" kind of prayers, but with-all-that-I-have-and-all-that-I-am prayers that leave me feeling exhausted.

Katie Davis is my age. She's got a passion for loving others the way she desires to be loved, and she gave up her whole life--all the dreams that she and her family had for her since she was born--to move to Uganda and do life with people most of us pretend don't even exist. She lives in the poorest (materially speaking) village in Uganda, has adopted fourteen little girls who were all abandoned by their parents, and she chooses to die daily to her flesh in order to shine her light and offer a glimpse of Christ's love to everyone she meets. She's just an ordinary girl from Nashville, Tennessee who serves and loves an extraordinary God who is using her to do things that he could do all by himself, but loves to see His Creation do what it was created to do.

" Jesus can light up this entire nation, and my flame can be a part of that. I am blown away that my God, who could do all this by himself, would choose to let me be a little part of it."

-Katie Davis

Imagine what would happen to this broken and impoverished world if we simply said those words and believed them to be true with everything inside of us. Imagine what could happen if we all joined forces and shined our light into the darkness, instead of shining it into more light. It's really easy to get wrapped up in our Christian bubbles and pray for people who don't have the same accountability and community as we do, but it's really hard to go ye into all the nations with that same community and show the world just how brightly the light of Christ shines. I, for one, am with Katie on this one--I'm a total mess and my life is constantly being attacked by sin, but Jesus comes to me, meets me where I am, embraces me, and still wants to use me to make his name famous. He comes to my rescue every single time, even though He knows I'm just going to fall flat on my face again probably sooner rather than later, and still sends me out to make disciples. I can't begin to fathom how He, in all His glory and splendor, would love me with an unconditional love. But He does.

I want to love like Jesus. It's as simple and as complex as that. I want to be transformed daily and to never find satisfaction in the things of the world. I was less of me and more of Him. I want to give my life to make His name famous, whether it's working at City Kids Child Development Center loving on three year-olds or moving to a new place I've never known before to share the name of Jesus with people who have never heard of Him. I don't know how my story will unfold yet, I just know that it will be made up of a whole lot of prayer and a whole lot of love. Not just a spoken love, but a love in action. A love that changes things for the better.

It may take me a month to finish this book, because of it's ability to wreck my thoughts and heart, but I can't wait to experience growth in the Lord because of the life she is living and wrote down for all to experience with her. I encourage you to pick up a copy of Kisses from Katie if you desire a read that will push you and challenge you to be more like the version of you that you were created to be. You can also follow her blog here, as well as give to support the incredible ministry that feeds hundreds of children every single day.

"I knew that I was here just to love, and the rest I would figure out in time."

-Katie Davis

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on the law he meditates day and night."

-Psalm 1:1-2

pretty, pretty girl.

It has been the biggest treat to watch this little girl grow up. While I presently can't find the picture to prove it, I held her in my arms for the first time when she was just six days old. I told her mom and dad on that very day that they were raising my flower girl, and, sure enough, she walked down the aisle just before daddy and I did five and a half months ago. When Teesh and I have a baby girl of our own one day, I hope she's just like my sweet Sara. :)

"Her smile beams like sunshine, which fills our hearts with love."

-Birgit B.

check.

Teesh and I both had the day off, so we decided to tackle an item on our bucket list. EEEK! My favorite thing to do these days! I can imagine that it was quite hilarious for all the other people there to watch this young couple somehow manage their first time in a place like this, but I can promise you that none of them were laughing harder than we were. Maybe next time we won't look like such rookies, but even if we do, at least we'll know we're in for a heck of a lot of fun!

16. Go to the shooting range.

and overflowing with thankfulness.

happy new year, y'all!

Teesh and I decided about a week ago that we wanted to spend every waking moment of twenty-twelve consumed and overflowing with thankfulness. We also thought it would be cool to look back on our first full year of marriage and be able to put our finger on the things we were most thankful for. Solution? Our very own, handmade book to write and scribble and draw the things we loved most about each day in this new year. If I said I wasn't excited out of my mind, I'd totally be lying to you! It was SO much fun sitting in front of my husband, watching him diligently working on something that he knew means a whole lot to me. I hope this turns into an annual tradition, and that we get to fill our books with more and more with each passing year.

We are anxiously awaiting all of the wonderful things that we are confident the Lord will make happen over these next three hundred and sixty-five days, not to mention how we get an extra day to be thankful this go'round. Sidenote: leap years are my favorite!

I believe a little thankfulness can change the way you look at the whole world. It keeps you humble, too. 

Let's all try to be a little more thankful this year. Whatta ya say? :)

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

-Colossians 2:6-7