Cattails, Rabbit Trails, and Thistlefish: March 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

Braids and Skirt Stylin'

Tonight I spent over an hour doing Ame's hair. Just cuz:) Braiding hair is one of my favorite things to do, but since I've cut mine off, my fingers have been dying to get tangled up into some braid-able material again.
  I've never tried something like this before, and it definitely needs some work, but it was just for fun.
I have always been jealous of her granddd freckles! She's such a cutie...
Something I'm looking forward to these coming weeks, is outfits!
 It felt good to dig through my spring clothes again. My closet got 5 times brighter! And I like the challenge of finding new ways to wear old clothes. Like the white top below that I've had for years:
 Or finding ways to rock really unflattering shirts, like this purple floral one I got on sale at Old Navy:
Today I just so happened to score two great finds at a thrift store, and one of them just so happened to be a navy dress (which just so happens to be something I've been searching for a while).
But everything looks exceedingly better with a tan! And I am most definitely looking forward to THAT! ;D

Monday, March 26, 2012

Spring Break

My posts have been a bit scarce lately because last week was my Spring break. It was a great break; I cleaned out my closet, went to the beach with some gals from school, went to a concert in Richmond, spent a whole day doing random stuff with my family, led worship for a prayer weekend, MC'd at a Crossover event, and spent a rainy day with my beau:)
These next few weeks will be no less busy, as I finish school, camp, host a bridal shower, and do a bunch of other good things.

Here are some pics from the beach last Tuesday, when I went with Jess, Evie, Jo-Ann and Naomi

It was so foggy you couldn't even see the water from where we were sitting! So much for a tan...
Our group is obsessed with the plantain (a.k.a, plantoon) chips from Trader Joe's. Jess was our hero for bringing two bags to share!;)

During our family day last Thursday, Daddy took us to a putt-putt course...

 ...and then to the beach for a few (windy and cold) minutes!

 I was trying to finish the first Hunger Games book so we could go to the midnight showing;)
And our first camping trip of the year is right around the corner! Woo!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

A Sprung Spring & Sushi


Spring seems to have visited us; but knowing Virginia, it'll be cold a few more times before She decides to stay for a while.
(completely unedited, fyi..)

It makes me excited to think of having a garden again, full of flowers and cherry tomatoes!!


It makes Darby happy, too:) Her cheesy little grin is the cause of much laughter and adoration from my family and friends lately.



A few random things that make me happy:

1) Eating dinner on the back porch.

Andie and Amy (Ame just got her braces off! Woot!)

(Wyatt the Jello Chef;)



Only half of the fam was home (The boys were out having man-time;) but it was kind of nice getting to spend some time with the younger set.

2) Summery dresses

I have been waiting all winter to get back into this dress! I got it on sale in the Target maternity section (randomly) towards the end of last summer. My red boots are one of my New York thrift finds from my senior trip last fall, and my bangles came from good friends with real good jewelry connections!;D

3) Sandals


Huddy gave these to me for my birthday last year; and even though they are very painful to wear for long periods of time, I so appreciate the splash of color they add to my outfit. He picked them out himself, and he has a great sense of style. (And yes, I acknowledge my extreme need for a pedicure...! I wasn't prepared for this 70-degree weather.)

4) My brother and his random chocolate milk obsession
Hayden says when he's older and out on his own that he is going to drink at least one glass of chocolate milk every day, and die at the age of 28 (fat and happy).





























5) SUSHI!


Mama and I have a great like of sushi. The two of us and Daddy are the only ones in the family that enjoy it, but I don't complain because that means more for me!!;) The Tokyo Love Story is one of my new favorites; mostly because I discovered it when Josiah and I went out for sushi with my parents last month, hahaha;)

And one more, for good measure...
6) Angus and Julia Stone


Monday, March 12, 2012

Love Shown

   For the past few months I've had a quote on my dry-erase board. I'm pretty sure I read it in a school book, or heard it in art class, or something like the sorts, in a context that was totally unrelated to any realistic life circumstance, but I liked it. It goes:
"Never explain what you can show."
   I took it, and I've been runnin' with it since. The way I see it, that's what life's about in a lot of ways. We learn better if we've been shown an example. And heck, God works that way all the time. He can't just scream His love for us from heaven; rather He shows it to us in huge ways. 

   That's how I wanna be.
   I want people to know I love them, not because I tell them all the time, but because I show them all the time. Especially in today's culture where the word "love" is used more often to describe a shallow affectionate feeling, or one's opinion of an object. I've challenged myself to a form of love that's more meaningful.

   Mama and I had talked about people saying, "I love yadda yadda" so often, that she came up with a new phrase to describe objects or concepts that she really liked: "puffy heart." We used it for a long while, like when we were shopping ("Oh man! I soooo puffy heart this skirt!") or tossing around hypothetical situations ("That is such a great idea! I so puffy heart it,"). It's a dorky phrase, but it got the point across without using "love" in such shallow sentences.

   I still tell people I love them, but I don't just throw it around. I don't go through one day without saying "I love you" to my family members, and there are a few girlfriends of mine that I say it to, too. But I've placed such huge meaning on those words, I don't just say it to anyone. In fact, when I was younger, I made a commitment to myself not to say "I love you" to any man outside of my family until I knew that I knew that I knew that he was the one I'm gonna marry. Just because those three words are so close to my heart, I wouldn't be able to say them to a guy without giving him a huge chunk of the red, blood-pumping muscle beneath my rib cage.

   It really is a fun challenge to show love rather than say it, when I have the right perspective. It forces me to be more creative with ways I show it, especially if I turn it into a hunt to discover the person's love language!

   I got to love on my cousins Hattie, Aubrey, Lillian and Carter with quality time last week:
It was quite the challenge to get all five of us in one picture using my dad's SLR. But we did our best;)


   It was loads of fun to spend the whole day with them! They're growing up soooo fast...!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Refining



 I sit and sip my Maté Chocolate tea, wishing it would warm and revive my brain as well as my insides... it's so worn out!

This weekend was hard. But God is building character. I know it, cuz He never fails to put me through something without a reason. I choose to have faith; I choose to trust that He's got something bigger in mind, that He's refining me.

Character shaping doesn't feel good. But the reward is great at the end.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future."

Those plans start now. He hasn't forgotten today and I shouldn't either.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in ALL things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

I can know and trust that God sees much farther than I can, and that He wants me to be the best I can be. It's all for my good.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

 I know You will not leave me hanging, God. You will not let me down and You will never leave my side!!