embracing the Brrrr . . .

In honor of our first actual cold day here...

{and the fact that we are still in our snuggly jammies at 10:00 AM}

I thought I'd share some pics of my sweet baby

from a snowy day last winter!

brace yourself and put on some mittens,

your heart might just melt at my little snow princess! :)

I am so excited for the cold weather to be in swing!

like I wrote here,

I believe that we are on the edge of a new season of life

that God has been preparing us for.

I have no idea what it will look like,

or how it will feel.

But I am trying to trust HIS plan.

His SEASON.

Embracing the cold.

Embracing the falling leaves.

Embracing the different needs that come along with a new season.

Embracing the changes that are taking place.

... and embracing that HIS love is the thing that holds it all together,

and puts things in their perfect place.

Stay warm today friends!

And DONT FORGET:

{click here:}

link up starting tomorrow to meet some new friends,

be encouraged and inspired,

grow your blog,

and just be blessed all around!

what i need today

I need to remember.

that there is freedom, life, grace, purpose.

that there is a time for every season.

that He is my Strength, my All.

that HE is my Plan.

no other plans will work.

that HE creates.

He gives and takes away.

He cares.

I need to remember that He loves me more than I can grasp.

that He will see us through, and meet our every need.

That there is JOY in Him.

Help me remember Lord.

a new season...I've missed you!

Almost 2 months ago, I shared with you

that I would be taking a little break from blogging...

{you can read about that here}

but I am SO excited to be getting back to it and to start catching up on yalls lives

and catching you up on ours a bit...

though I won't do too much backtracking and just pick up from here!

I truly hope everyone has been so blessed...

I seriously have felt something was missing in my life

and my community the last few months!

Oh, how I've missed you bloggy friends!!

But here we are!!

It's been 2 months of trusting God, like always,

to meet our every need,

to guide us into new seasons,

and to remember the power of prayer.

He's also been teaching me the power of

remembering

what He has already done for us.

And in that remembrance...

to recognize the ABILITY He has

to restore, to provide, to show up.

Fall has come, which is our favorite...

here it means

Candy Corn, Northface jackets, pumpkins {"punkies"},

nights by the firepit, Okahoma wind, and of course Aggie football!

In our life right now, it also stands for the

coming of a new season.

new prayers, new needs, new excitements,

new struggles, new revelations, new desires.

{and don't forget, the growing of a new baby...

I am almost 30 weeks now!}

We are in awe of the grown up girl before us.

{and a little bit in awe of the attitude that has come along..

yikes, toddlerhood!}

She is now sleeping in a big girl bed, (post on that to come!)

and we are headed towards potty training.

yep, shes growing up...she will be 22 months next week!

With Abigail growing up SO fast...

with this little princess growing each day in my belly...

with our need for trusting God growing each day...

I know this coming season will be challenging.

But I believe it will be RICH.

I believe the Lord has said this season will be full of life,

in more ways than we can know right now.

But that with that fullness,

will come an extra measure of faith needed to believe that what

He is doing is for our benefit and out of His love for us.

because HE IS GOOD.

I can't wait to share life with you here again...

BLESSINGS!!!!

P.S.

Parker and I are leaving tomorrow for a little "baby#2moon" trip

{another God story I can't wait to tell you about!}

so I will be back to posting more next week...

CAN'T WAIT!!!

P.S. #2 :)

I have been so blessed that while on my little break,

my new bloggy friend, Melissa,

with The Cutest Blog On The Block design team,

helped design some new features on my blog!

She was a JOY to work with and I am SO thankful for all she has added...

Check it all out!

{I've added those pages over on the side, and also a few other "extras"!}

Check out her personal blog and design shop too...

she is a sweet sweet treasure,

and I hope to meet her in person someday!

THANKS Melissa!!

check her out here:

linking up with other amazing ladies

over at Casey's....

check out some precious hearts here starting on Friday:

under construction!

oh my, how I have missed yall!!

Just a little note that my blog may be "under construction" for the next couple days,

but I am looking forward to getting back to blogging this week sometime.

Cannot wait to catch up on your lives. and fill you in on ours!

yay! :)

See Yall Soon!!

i will miss you bloggy friends...

Blogging is not a distraction for me.

It is a BLESSING.

But sometimes even things that bless need to be set aside for a season.

This blog brings me SO much joy,

especially thanks to the precious community of bloggers I have connected with.

I love you all!!

It may just be for a week, or maybe for a month.

It is not a forever thing.

But I am feeling the Lord press upon my heart that I need to be focusing on other things right now.

I'm being really honest with you, as you all are with me...

When we moved and began a new season here,

I heard the Lord say that this was to be a season of prayer.

I know that He is asking me to press in more closely now,

talking with and listening to His voice, His direction, His guidance.

A lot of times throughout the day, I find myself thinking

"oh, i should blog about this."

or

"ok how would I word this in a blog post?"

there's nothing wrong with that.

{I know God has given me this outlet to share my life,

and I am thankful to have found blogging}

But my heart wants and needs to be thinking

"Lord, what do you think about this?"

or

"Lord I need you to encourage me about that"

I want to hear HIS comments about my daily life.

SO I am trying to be obedient to this,

and set aside things that take time or thought away

from the season He has asked me to be in right now.

In addition to prayer, I know that He is also asking me to

focus energy and passion into

my home, my family.

An unpacked garage, the unfinished baby book,

preparations for the new baby, being more on top of cleaning my house,

taking time to call or write letters (or have coffee with) friends. Planning productive activities to do with my little girl. Serving my husband better.

I said at the beginning, this blog:

It is an ADDITION to my life...a huge blessing.

But for now, I will bid you adieu, my sweet bloggy friends!

I may be back soon, or it may be a little while...

we will see what God does.

I do look forward to sharing life with you in the coming seasons.

There is always a lot to share, and I am hopeful there will be even more

after this little "break".

For you, my friends, I am thankful.

I will be lifting you up too,

and just know that I will miss you.