nashville // day two.

 our final full day in Nashville was a good one. we did so many things and yet never felt rushed, and that in itself is quite magical.

this day's itinerary was:

-explore 12 South like we lived there (which would be real dreamy)

-check into our next hotel early and then drive over to check out of the first one

-visit our first club lounge (multiple times, of course)

-spend a couple of hours at the hotel’s rooftop pool

-drive to the Parthenon replica and spend a couple of hours exploring and playing and daydreaming about the original

-get freshened up for dinner

-walk to tacos with a friend who became more like family a long time ago

-choke out an honest prayer with tears running down my cheeks

-drive back to the hotel in silence

-spend the rest of the night staring at the faces I love so much and thank God for this fleeting life

-edit photos in lightroom instead of sleeping (because as soon as I go to sleep, it’ll be time to wake up and leave)

-document this day before giving in to the rest I long for

-whisper one final prayer

the more I travel, the more I believe that every place is a story waiting to be read. each is unique and memorable in its own way, and I want to read them all.

10/10 would recommend visiting Nashville. Broadway gets a lot of hype, but the real charm is all around it.

nashville // day one.

Today was...

a hotel breakfast

and a few hours with one of my oldest and dearest and truest friends

and tears as prayers while driving away from her and her husband

and welcome back hugs

and exploring the streets of Music City

and good food

and gratitude with every step

and more pictures than I’ll ever post because we don’t always know when we’ll want to relive a memory

and getting our steps in (and more)

and city views

and cultural experiences

and some tantrums along the way (kids and adults alike)

and pool / gym time to wind down

and shower concerts and giggles through the glass door

and falling asleep on Mommy while watching basketball

and a full heart

this trip was only planned and booked a couple weeks ago. I had my first tour of Nashville in 2014 when my beloved friend, Ellen, showed me all the highlights. this weekend, we came to simply hug her (and her husband) while they are in the trenches of heartache and fear and overwhelm and deferred hope.

so, yes. we had a wonderful day of introducing our kiddos to Nashville and we made some really good memories. but this trip is so much more than that. I don’t want to paint a picture that only shows smiles, and I pray my words help me say it with clarity.

walking along Broadway today, I had this thought: life is kind of like that street. there is so much beauty and character and history…and then there is just plain insanity.

thankful to have been here. thankful that love conquers all.

hiddenness // mother's day weekend.

 “Hiddenness is God’s way of helping us with this holy detachment, slowly releasing our clutch on ‘the things of earth,’ which we were never intended to grip.” -Sara Hagerty

it feels like the more I give myself to this season, the more my heart breaks and I feel forgotten or overlooked and life gets messier and I have to listen for God’s whisper while the world shouts and I realize just how insignificant I really am and I want to run away from it all and I don’t want to miss any of it and I feel free and I feel afraid and I feel wild and I feel dumb and I feel deeply known by a sacred few and I feel deeply misunderstood by the masses and I just watch while life goes on without me and I resist the urge to fly to a future where hearts are whole, where mine is whole.

if that confuses you, then we can be confused together.

this weekend, though. oh, this weekend. the ocean met me right where I was, as she always does.

and I felt my chest rise and fall with the tide.

and I remembered that we’re going to be okay. that no matter how many times we cry out, God will never run from us or tire of us. He is not quick to make other plans like we humans are.

He comes as the waves do, over and over and over again. always. forever. faithful.

hallelujah.

litchfield beach, sc // mother's day weekend.

 A few months ago, a dear friend reached out with a generous and unexpected offer from a family member: a weekend at their beach condo in Litchfield as a reprieve. I was floored by the kindness of my friend and her aunt, who was a stranger to me/us. When this weekend was scheduled, I didn't register that it was Mother's Day weekend right away; you can imagine my glee when I realized it.

The condo was off the beach, overlooking the most serene lake. It was quiet, it was timely, and it was perfect. I pray God grants me the chance to provide weekends like this to people one day.

I cried all day on Thursday, the day before we were scheduled to leave. It was not a pretty cry with gentle tears, but sobs and screams. So, TJ took the day off on Friday as a result, we kept B home from school, and we jetted off earlier than anticipated. We ran to the ocean when we got there.

The weight fell off as we rolled the windows down and breathed in the salty air.

We spent most of the weekend where we love the most: down by the water. We ate sandwich lunches, and got to dine at our two favorite spots for dinner while there: Bubba's Fish Shack in Surfside and Hot Fish Club in Murrell's Inlet. We, also, ate yummy ice cream both nights after dinner; the first night being a generous gift from our wonderful hosts. There was, also, a donut place nearby that we tried and love: Parlor Donuts. Delicious!

All I asked for for Mother's Day was a sunrise together, and that's what we woke up to on Sunday morning.

The clouds blocked out view of the sun rising from the ocean, but the sky told the story: a new day has begun. It was a good reminder for me in this season: sometimes you see it to believe it, and sometimes you believe it because everything else confirms it.

The beach always calls for us, and I pray we also answer as often as we are able.