I’m a very social, extroverted person.  But I like to be alone.

I need “me” time every once and a while to be alone and just be. To pamper myself.   To spend time with Jesus. To pray. To watch Grey’s Anatomy or whatever girly movie just came to Redbox (that seems very opposite ends of the spectrum…well i’m random like that).

I haven’t gotten to the point of putting cucumbers on my eyes, but maybe one of these days.

I looooooooooooooove spending time with my hubby more than anything in the world, but I also need my me time. He’s been playing basketball with some friends on Tuesday nights for the last year, which has opened the door for a night at home alone.  I almost always beg hubby to not go, and I still miss him a ton when he’s gone.  But I still love my time.

I’m getting even more thankful for this time as I prepare for my Baby Girl to come in a few short months.  “Me” time will happen very rarely.

What do you do for your “me time”? Especially if you’re a busy mom, how do you make time for just YOU?

Do you freely love yourself?

Are you comfortable in your skin?

Women struggle.  We yearn for something different, because we’re told we’re supposed to be something different.  Since moving to Southern California, I see more and more of this.  Everywhere I look are women in bikini’s, super skinny & “perfect”.  It’s easy for women to fall into that trap.  We allow ourselves to believe we’re supposed to be that Hollywood symbol of perfection.

But if that was what we were supposed to be, wouldn’t God have created us to be that? Luckily, God made us in HIS image and absolutely perfect.

I encourage you to get comfortable in your skin.  If you aren’t happy in the place you’re in, do all you can to get there in a healthy way.  I’ve lost 12 pounds.  Not to fit in to the OC scene, but to help me feel comfortable with who I am…and fit into my jeans again I believe that we should take care of the bodies God gives us, and respect them.

Pamper yourself.  Get away.  Love yourself.  Give yourself another chance.

Husbands, encourage your wives.  Support them and build them up.  Remind them daily that they are perfect, and exactly what you want them to be.  Don’t allow Satan to come into your marriage and discourage her in that way.

Ladies… enjoy who you are.  You can be the ‘perfect’ woman… who God created you to be!!! Live in the freedom and joy only HE can put in you!

Meet precious little Braden Dale Willard.  Goodness he’s cute!  My Big (sorority sister for those of you that don’t speak greek) and dear friend, Sarah Willard gave birth to this angel.  I can’t wait to hold him in just a few short weeks! Biggie, I love you and am so excited for you! Congrats!

Speaking of babies… my niece Taelyn Brooke  is due in 4 short weeks!!

Speaking of babies… I want one! No? Hm. Ok.

Praise Jesus for babies!

We are a couple who would love to wait another year or so to have babies.  We like this time together! However,  we are also a couple who doesn’t use birth control.  I want our children to truly be a gift from God in HIS timing, not something we plan for! Therefore, we are a couple who have little ’scares’ every once and a while.   Typically I jump to the worst possible conclusion and convince myself that I’m pregnant.  Sometimes it’s just indigestion! (Wow… my apologies to our children who might read this someday, you are not the worst possible conclusion!!)

All that to say, we recently had one of these little ’scares’.  I went to the local pharmacy to pick up a preggo test.  As I stood there staring at the wall of tests that all look the same, this young girl walks up next to me with a terrified look on her face.  She glances at me and hides her face in shame.  My heart immediately goes out to her.  “Can I help?”, I ask her.  She sighs and asks me which one is better.  Since I’m a professional at peeing on a stick, I give her my expert opinion.  We then chat about how expensive the tests are and how ridiculous that is.  (I think it’s just preparing moms for how expensive children will be!)

My heart broke standing there in that aisle at the store with this young girl.  After stealing a quick glance at her naked left hand, it tore me out of my perfect little world I get so wrapped up in.  I somehow made it through those years without ever facing the fear she was facing at that moment.  I walked down a white aisle and was presented to my husband on our wedding day as a pure bride.  For that, I’m so thankful.  But this little girl, is taking a walk down the aisle that is not her idea of her future.  It’s the aisle full of fears and pregnancy tests.

How many girls make the mistake of thinking it won’t hurt them to just give in to that cute boy?  Do they really think there will be no lingering effect? Part of me wanted to just hug that sweet girl and make it all go away for her, but she walked away still filled with fear. 

There were no thoughts of what color to paint a nursery or how excited her husband was going to be when he found out.  There were fears of if her parents were going to kick her out, and how she would be able to support a baby.

Sometimes I forget how blessed I really am.  Even if we are surprised a little early than we ‘plan’ for our first little one, we are still in a place we can handle anything life throws at us and there will never be a doubt or fear about it.  (And no, I’m not pregnant…must have been indigestion!!)

I’m pretty sure my husband will lock up our daughters once they realize what boys are, and if they’re anything like their mother that will be about the age of 3. 

I wish I had an unlimited supply of money to bless people.  I wish I could just anonymously give people money.  I wish I could just write a check for someone in need and never even have to worry about it. 

Unfortunately, I married a pastor.  Wouldn’t change it for the world though!

Today, I was blessed.  A client of mine that I planned an event for sent me a $100 gift card to Sephora! I’ve been dying to get some new makeup, and then it just fell in my lap! This was a very sweet couple and they were a joy to work with.  It’s people like that who make my job amazing!!

I can’t wait to go shopping!!!!!!

What can you do today to bless someone in a big or small way?

I’m a woman.  Shocking, I know.  My husband doesn’t understand how I work.  He doesn’t understand that I have ‘cute days’ and ‘fat days’.  He just has ‘days’.  But as a woman, I have emotions.  And they change a lot.  The hormones can be all over the place, and that little voice in my head can really try to tell me lies.  It’s so difficult not to listen. 

I so badly want to ALWAYS be a confident woman, content in who God created me to be.  But, He created me as a woman so unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.  I have fat days, and skinny days.  I have days where I feel confident and nothing can get me down.  I have days where everything feels as if it could go wrong and I won’t fit through the door frame.  Ouch.

Today, I’m having a confident day.  I’m working on being confident and loving myself the way God made me to be.  I look cute today! I know it’s not about outward appearances.  But there is something about jeans that fit well, high heels and cute dangly earrings that just help make any woman feel better. 

But even better…there’s something about feeling beautiful from the inside out because of the person God made me to be!!

1 Peter 3:3-4  ‘Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyle, expensive jewelry or beautiful clothes.  You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ‘

I was never really one of “those girls” who struggled with insecurity.  I was always pretty solid in who I was and loved myself.  As a teenager I felt like I was doing pretty good that I made it through those years without hating myself & my body and never went to drastic measures to change who I was. 

As I approach my 25th year of life, I am becoming one of those girls.  The insecurity has started to set in.  I’m not afraid to talk about it.  Obviously, I’m telling the world here in my blog.   It’s interesting to me that for about the first 23 years-ish I was confident in who I was, and secure.  Now, I find myself struggling with those things I thought I had lucked out on. 

Maybe it’s because I strive to be the best I can be for my husband who I love more than anything? Maybe it’s because I’m getting “old”. Who knows.  As a pastor’s wife I’m supposed to be “PERFECT”.  Maybe that has something to do with it (I’m obviously not perfect!)

As a woman have you struggled in this way, or maybe you are now? How to you find security in who you are?

Bangs are so in.

I decided to jump on the bandwagon.  1: because I was bored with my hair and B: because I thought I needed a new “California” girl look.  Mostly because of the boredom thing.

I had several hairstyles growing up that consisted of bangs, which I’m sure were awesome at the time.  It started out as a lovely “bowl” cut, which turn into awesome poofy bangs and then when I got to Jr. High I realized I was way too cool for bangs and had to grow them out.  So since 6th grade, I have been without.  Until now.

The Bowl Cut:

Awesome Bangs (First Day of 6th Grade):

Now:

Which one is your favorite??

THEY’RE BACK!!!! Last night I attended a New Kids On The Block concert.  That’s right.  It was spectacular.  Now my first thoughts going into this was thinking I’d see the same cute 17 year olds as before.  But I realized that was a long time ago.  Now they’re all grown up.  That worried me a little.  My worry was quickly taken away.

THEY WERE AMAZING! These boys aged WELL.

Then:

Now:

It really was an awesome concert and we had a blast.  We had a private suite stocked out with tons of food and drinks.  Incredible seats, good company and lots of fun!!