multitude monday.

253. sleeping in on rainy mornings.
254. eating a candlelit dinner with my love, serenaded by greats like frank, tony and dean.
255. bruschetta. yum.
256. aimless drives along the coast, holding nick's hand and taking in the scenery. no particular plan, no hurry, just relaxed. perfect.
257. when bella runs at me, grinning ear to ear, and falls into my arms in a great.big.hug. there's nothing better!
258. a homemade belgian waffle, warm maple syrup pooling in it's square-filled-surface.
259. charming coastal villages.
260. when jesus whispers to my heart and reminds me of his promises.

one is silver and the other's gold.

friendship is such a blessing. as i grow older and have seen many seasons of my life come and go, this i know and have experienced.

treasure friendship.

there are some things that cannot be replaced in life, and this is one of those things. as my life has changed throughout the years, there are friends that have walked through life with me since those awkward adolescent years. friendships that were maintained through letters in the mail and trips to see each other every few years. friends that i met in college dorms and others i met throughout my life in dallas. and others i am meeting now, or have yet to meet. we giggled as we passed notes to each other in high school, sneaking when the teachers weren't looking. we stayed up late at night talking about what boys we thought were cute. we said tearful goodbyes as we parted ways for college. we grew up in college, and sprouted our wings. we saw each other move into (and in some cases shared) first apartments, landed first jobs. we cried with each other through break ups, grieving deaths, and other various hardships. we rejoiced with each other when we met our husbands, and celebrated the birth of our babies. and even if we didn't talk all the time, these friendships are always savored and held dear.

i've been reminded of this lately as i am on the endeavor once again to make new friends in this new phase of my life. and this past week as bella and i spent three days with two of my best friends from high school and their little ones. it reminded me that although life changes, some things just stay the same. and sometimes those things are the gift of rare friendship. those friendships that stay the same even though so much has changed. the ones where your heart feels at home.

i *love* that.

last week, farrah, kellie and i watched our little ones play together, had big meals at their kitchen table including us three adults, and five little munchkins, took a trip to ikea with four kids in tow, went to the beach, and even found time to have an adult-girls-only-night-out :)

it was such a refreshing time and one i had been looking forward to all summer long.

the kids playing in the backyard

farrah, kellie and me at dinner

our girls! eli, olivia and bella

there is a little tune we sang when i was a little girl in girl scouts (which literally feels like a lifetime ago) and it goes like this:

"make new friends, but keep the old

one is silver and the other's gold."

as i've gone from high school to college, college to seminary, seminary to my life in dallas, and dallas to my new life in maine, it's been a challenge to consistently keep in touch with the precious friends in my life. as i've moved away from best friends and made new ones, it's been a balancing act of sorts. but no matter what, there are so many friends in my life that will never be replaced... and that is silver and gold of the highest worth :)

always on time.

waiting is never easy. almost exactly three months ago, nick&i packed all of our belongings into a bright yellow penske truck and drove thousands of miles to our new home, leaving behind the comfort, safety and familiarity of our life in dallas. there, we knew what would happen next. we both had jobs, life felt secure and predictible. which is how we like it, right?

three months ago, we began our new life in maine. and what a journey it has been! living with my parents while we get our new home ready, mailing off applications after applications, interviewing, praying, waiting... and repeat.

phew.

throughout these past few months, god has been beyond faithful. the moments i've felt weak, discouraged or scared, he has provided. scripture verses that i had grown to take for granted, god resurfaced in my mind... anchoring my heart in its truth.

we knew this was where god had lead us. we knew he would provide for us. we knew he had a perfect plan for our family...even though we didn't always feel it.

the saying is true: god is never late. he is always on time.

a couple of weeks ago, i accepted a position as a school counselor at an elementary school three days a week. knowing it was part time, i'd have vacations, holidays, snow days and the summers off, i couldn't pass it up! especially since school counseling is what i ultimately have been wanting to do... god was working for our family and he was reminding us of that, even when we couldn't see what he was up to. just today i finalized care for bel for the days i won't be with her... which has been agonizing to my mama-heart. but even in that, god has shown up. our pastor's wife is going to watch her two days a week, and my sister will watch her one day. bella will have socialization with other children (tanya's sweet little baby whose name is also bella who my bella loves to touch and call "baby! baby!" and my nephew jude who is bella's best bud) aaaand she will be watched by caring women who love god and will love my baby so well. we couldn't be more grateful!

just this week, nick interviewed for a physics and chemistry teaching job at a local high school. about two hours after he left from his interview, they called and offered him the job! i am SO proud of him. after a few hoops to jump through because of certification, he signed paperwork on tuesday and started training yesterday. school starts next week.

that's right... god is always on time :)

i'm so thankful for this summer of waiting on god's plans for provision for our family, even though it was stressful and scary at times. sarah young, in her book jesus calling, talks about looking at trials in life as opportunities to work our "trust muscles". how true.

we know that through this season of trust and blind faith, god has made us stronger for the next part of the journey he has us on. and for that, we are thankful.

"trust in the lord will all of your heart, and not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." (proverbs 3:5,6)

what's for dinner tonight {chicken packets}.

i'm pretty sure nearly every family in america has a variation for this recipe. crescent rolls + chicken + cream cheese... i mean, what's not to love??

seriously.

not by any means the healthiest recipe, but sometimes you just need some comfort food. and this is one of my go-to recipes. our family *loves* these lil bundles-of-golden-brown-goodness... so so yum (bella even loves these... most of the time...)

chicken packets

* 2 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
* 1 (8 oz) pkg of cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 t. salt
* 1/4 t. pepper
* 3 T. butter, melted
* bunch of green onions, chopped (add as much as you'd like according to your taste)
* 2 T. milk
* 1/2 c. seasoned breadcrumbs (i use italian seasoned panko... delish)
* 2 (8 oz) tubes of refridgerated crescent rolls

- preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- combine cream cheese, chicken, green onion, salt&pepper and milk.
- remove crescent rolls from package; pinch two triangles together to form a rectangle. roll out a bit to flatten.
- place a scoop of chicken mixture in the middle of each triangle, pinching the sides up toward the top to create a little bundle. should make eight chicken packets.
- brush the top of each packet with melted butter, then coat with seasoned breadcrumbs.
- bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

we like to serve ours with some veggies... you know, to feel a little better about ingesting crescent rolls, cream cheese and melted butter all in one sitting.

multitude monday.

246. rainy sundays with my family.

247. watching bella squeal with delight while watching the train at governor's restaurant.

248. sushi date nights with the mr.

249. downtown art festival on a beautiful summer saturday.

250. rocking my sweet nephew to sleep; his arm looped around my neck.

251. family coming in from houston and watching bella play excitedly with her cousins.

252. nick&i, standing before our church family, dedicating bella to the lord; promising to do everything we can to raise her to know and love jesus. priceless.

turquoise birds.

i'm on a spraypainting binge. it's getting a bit ridiculous.

but seriously... spraypaint to me is like magic-in-a-can. sprayable magic, actually. which makes it even better.

we are in the process of going through some of my grandparents things since they just moved into a retirement home and downsized a whole lot. nick, bel and i are getting ready to move into their house, which is really exciting. it just makes my nostalgia-loving-heart really happy at the thought of living in a home that i have twenty five years worth of memories in.

the other night my mom, sis and i were going through some odds and ends and we stumbled across these porcelain birds. i remember these birds decorating my grandparents home when i was a little girl, which makes it even more special for me to have.

enter: spraypaint.

i fought the urge to just paint them white, since i tend to want that classic look... and instead, grabbed a paint of turquoise (my latest color obsession) spraypaint and went.to.town.

+

=

love these sweet little birds. and they will be perfect to add a pop of color & happiness to a spot in our new house.

have you spraypainted anything lately? frames, lamp bases, ceramic/porcelain figures, vases, plates... the possibilities are endless. one of the cheapest transformations you will ever do!

this post is being linked to these *sweet* blogs:

at the picket fence

the shabby creek cottage

homemaker in heels

somewhat simple

tales from bloggeritaville

funny faces, getting into trouble & "elma"

i always say every stage bella is in is my "favorite". i guess her personality is ever-budding and she is discovering new things every day, as every young child does, so it's just so much fun to watch her learn and grow.

she is such a little ham. one of my favorite things to do with bella is to go run errands between her morning and afternoon naps. wherever we go, she makes new "friends". constantly saying "hi hi hi HI" and waving, a giant smile lighting up her sweet little face. the other day on our trek back out to the car in the home depot parking lot, she waved incessantly; not even stopping as i put her in the car. i couldn't help but laugh as i buckled into her car seat and kissed those chubby cheeks, her tiny hand still waving through the air.

what a nut :)

she also looooves to get into things that she knows she shouldn't. just this week i was busy cooking dinner, and turned to find bel in an off-limit-cupboard. knowing i was about to stop her, she grabbed an object she wanted and took off--running--around the kitchen island, squealing with laughter as i chased her to take away whatever she had found. we do this on a daily basis. she looooves to run away from me when she's trying to escape through a gate that's been left open, see if she can go play in the toilet or grab a remote control. always laughing... that's the best part.

some random things about our bella grace:

- after starting at 4 months teaching her how to sign "all done" and "more", she's finally signing "more". i don't even know what clicked all of a sudden, but it's the cutest thing.

- she has started having a hard time when we leave her in the church nursery... we have been doing so since she was about 4 months old and it has never been a problem; she hardly noticed. now, she does and it's so sad :(

- she looooves to dance. she does this foot-stomping-move. it's awesome.

- she is obsessed with elmo. she points to everything he's on and says: "elma!"

- she will not... i repeat, WILL NOT drink milk out of a sippy cup. i don't even get it. we are trying everything; even something we said we never would: adding a little bit of chocolate syrup to lure her. nope. doesn't work (somewhere jamie oliver is sighing in relief). she will only drink milk from a bottle and it has to be warm. sighhhhh. i have no clue what to do.

- her cousin, jude, is her best bud. it took her a while to win him over, but she finally did :) now they LOVE each other. on a day we are going to go visit, i'll say "bel, wanna go see jude?!" her little face will just light right up, eyes big she'll say "ju! ju!" adorable.

- she has a baby doll that her uncle jim gave her. when you press the doll's belly, it will talk. one day when i was putting bella down for a nap, i gave her the doll. when i went to check on her a while later, she was sound asleep holding a plastic box. when i looked in the crib, i found the poor baby doll, chest ripped open, voice box gone. and there bella was, sound asleep cuddling with the doll's voice box. once she woke up, the rest of the day she carried that voice box around, pressing it to hear baby giggles or chatter... what a strange toy of choice.

- she looooves her blankie. and it's so cute :)

lastly, here are a couple of videos to document recent bella-action.

lunchtime with mama: making faces, being a nut and signing "more"

getting into trouble with jude... i found the two of them sitting in a pile of wipes; they had pulled half of a box of wipes out and were throwing them alllll over the kitchen. we couldn't help but laugh.

i am reminded more and more every day how fleeting these moments are. trying to treasure and savor each one, enjoying every step of the journey.

refreshing words {hope of heaven}.

life seems heavy sometimes. there are days when it seems too much to bear... it doesn't make sense... where grief can seem to outweigh blessings.

i've been reminded of this lately. so many stories, so much suffering. amidst the struggles and trials of life, there is one thing every human needs in order to keep on going: hope. hope is what tells us that life won't always hurt. that it won't always feel so heavy. that it won't always seem this dark.

this too, shall pass.

i love this devotional i read a couple of days ago...

"hope is the golden cord connecting you to heaven. this cord helps you hold your head up high, even when multiple trials are buffeting you. i never leave your side, and i never let go of your hand. but without the cord of hope, your head may slump and your feet may shuffle as you journey uphill with me. hope lifts your perspective from your weary feet to the glorious view you can see from the high road. you are minded that the road we're traveling together is ultimately a highway to heaven. when you consider this radiant destination, the roughness or smoothness of the road ahead becomes much less significant. i am training you to hold in your heart a dual focus: my continual presence and the hope of heaven."

(romans 12:12: rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer...

1 thessalonians 5:8: but since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

hebrews 6:18-19: so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for god to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. this hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.)

irving bible church in irving, texas was the place where nick&i met, we established deep friendships, and were employed and involved in several ministries. we just heard this week that the youth group there is grieving the loss of one of their students, friends, brothers. please be praying for this young man's family as well as the youth group at ibc. these things never make sense... pray these kids are held in the grace and peace of jesus, and that in him, they would find hope.

multitude monday.

236. spending hours with my husband at our new house, painting, removing wallpaper, imagining our life there together.

237. buttercream paint by better homes and gardens (the color, not the paint quality!)

238. antiquing with my mom, sister and cousin.

239. hearing the sound of bella's sweet voice as she learns new words. love.

240. light-aqua-colored mason jars. all or any mason jar, really.

241. the christmas tree shop.

242. my husband, for everything. and also for watching bella so that i can sing on our praise team at church. loving getting to do that again after so many years.

243. nachos.

244. watching "the bachelorette" finale with my mom and aunt. i'm so grateful i get to spend time with them again!!

245. the color turquoise. i'm obsessed.