This month of March has been so revealing. The Holy Spirit has been showing areas in my heart that need to be scrubbed clean. The little corners that hold Camillo accountable to my unfair expectations. Or the pieces that I've let remain hard and calloused for the sake of self-protection. The spaces that I've tried to fill with petty things instead of walking out my new identity in Christ. 

I know it's good for me but ya know what? It hurts really bad. Yesterday morning I was telling Jesus how I'm tired. I kinda feel like I've been beaten up. I just want to duck and cover. For the first time ever, I am physically, mentally, emotionally feeling the weight of my sins. I don't mean I've never felt regret or remorse for them. But before, it was easier to brush them off and claim my salvation. I know Jesus died for my sins but He's God so He could handle it. That was my attitude. 

Along with revealing my heart, Jesus has been revealing Himself to me in a new way. He came to earth as a human being. He wasn't here as Superman. He had a heart that pulsed blood just like any of us. So when they whipped Him, it was blindingly painful. And He felt it. When they shoved a crown of thorns into His scalp, it burned like fire. And He felt it. When He took my sins upon His shoulders, they were heavy and heart wrenching and treacherous. And He felt the weight of every one of them. Every one of mine and every one of yours. 

This week I've only felt a teeny tiny pinch compared to what Jesus endured for me. It's been painful and exhausting but if I didn't feel that, I couldn't appreciate the enormity of the cross and the man who took my death sentence. Because He loves me. I killed Him with my sins and He still loves me. It's a very somber revelation but it's the absolute truth. In this truth there's hope! He took our sins so that we can live. I choose Jesus and I choose life!!

xoxo

Joy

The Best Parts of This Day

The little fingers that tap on the wall first thing in the morning

And his little voice that talks to Francis the Hippo before Mama gets up

The daddy that snores next to me

The quiet play time before the sun comes all the way up

Snuggles before nap time

The living room to myself for coffee and devotions

The bright sun shining all day

Walking to the field with Uncle Jordy to watch daddy play soccer

Finally being able to spray paint some projects

Dinner with Camillo

Camillo helping with dinner clean up

The daddy rocking the baby to sleep

Lounging on the couch watching the Big Bang Theory

And an early bed time

Happy 2nd Day of Spring

Spring is here, Spring is here!! On its first day we were greeted with torrential downpour. Once the rain subsided, the wind blew in and held us hostage in the comforts of our snuggly home. I love those kinds of days!

Thankfully, we took a family walk the day before the rain came. It was cold but sunny and we made many quick stops to touch the leaves and rocks and flowers and trees. Oliver is so curious and watching him explore is so much fun.

Camillo has been on Spring break this week and we've had a fun few days with Daddy not having to study all the time! Having a full time student in the family is hard on all of us sometimes. I'm just grateful I'm not the one having to study organic chemistry and parasites!! We both knew before we got married that there would have to be many sacrifices made in the name of Camillo's education. He and I have learned a lot about ourselves, each other, and what it means to fully rely on God for grace, patience, humility, and finances...just to name a few! The road isn't always easy but it's a beautiful journey. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

We're a happy family and we're definitely happy that spring is here! 

Did you do anything special this week to welcome spring? 

xoxo

Joy

Travel, Baby!!

Our friend Lanissa over at Sweet & Petite Party Designs featured Oliver's baby shower on her blog this week! She and Kristie planned the whole thing to go along with Ollie's nursery theme - Travel! Head on over to Lanissa's blog and check out the sweet treats and decor! 

I'll be back later this week to show you the spray paint project I'm working on today while the sun shines..I better hurry!!

xoxo

Joy

7 Months!

/\ Telling Mama something very important! /\

/\ Climbing up onto the pouf! Look, Ma, no hands! /\

/\ Your buddy, Preston! Somehow, you are bigger than ALL of yours friends.. /\

/\ Showing Gpa your climbing skills. Oh, look! I can reach this platter and bite it! /\

/\ The baby loves the swings!! /\

/\ You and Aria had so much fun climbing on the suitcase! /\

Dear Oliver,

   Okay, that's enough. You can stop growing up now! What a fun month we've had. So far the 6th month has been my favorite..but maybe I will say the same thing about this 7th month!
   You are crawling everywhere!! Your new favorite thing is to pull yourself up..onto everything! When you get onto your feet, you laugh and laugh and your voice gets high pitched - Mama can tell you are just so proud of yourself! This morning I watched you 'walk' from one side of your crib to the other. Oh my! 
   We took our first trip to the park a couple weeks ago. You were so captivated by all the other kids running around! There was just the right sized swing for you and guess what? You loved it so much!! Mama has a sweet little video of you giggling as you go back and forth, up and down! It was a wonderful day. 
   So far you have tried sweet potatoes, acorn squash, avocados, peas, apple sauce, and, by necessity, prunes! You love to eat like a big boy and you're starting to eat more and more each meal time. You are also very interested in drinking water from a cup. Some of it stays in your mouth..but a lot of it ends up on your shirt. It's okay, it's fun!!
   We've had lots of fun play dates this month, too. Every Wednesday we get to see your friends Elouise and Levi. Elouise was born just 4 days after you! We also spent a day with Preston and another day with Aria. You love to be with other kids, Mama can tell. It's so fun to see you and your friends talking to each other. I definitely have some little movies of that, too!  
   This week Daddy is on spring break which means we are going on lots of family adventures! We love being a family, Sonny. Thank you for being the cutest part of it. Love you!!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Homework and Housework

Source: dear-olive.blogspot.com via Dana on Pinterest

What a crazy weekend. Are you guys aware that it is mid-March already?! I just checked the calendar - it’s true. In the midst of this rainy month, the sun shone bright over the weekend. It was glorious. I opened the blinds and didn’t even care that the neighbors could see into our embarrassingly messy house. Didn’t even care. 

Good news! The embarrassingly messy-ness of our house has been [almost] fixed!! Friday we got an unexpected phone call that the contractor would be by within 15 minutes to finish the closet. And we were given the A-Ok to start putting Oliver’s room back together!! The last couple days have been a whirlwind, to say the least. This mama is trying to bust a move to get things back in order before the next crew comes in to clean the carpets! Yay! 

You can be sure I’ll show you some photos soon. I’ve definitely been documenting all six weeks of this project. Oh em gee. In the meantime, please don’t mind my potential absence in this space for a few days. My move buster is working over time!

xoxo
Joy

Pretty Prints

I take pictures. Like, all the time. I've only had an iPhone for about 6 months and have filled my album to the brim...twice! I've always had a thing for photography. In 3rd grade I had to do a quick research project and short presentation. I chose cameras as my topic! 

I've made a pact with my photo library to be more diligent about letting some of them out! It's great to have photos but, if nobody else can see them, isn't it a little lame? I printed our first small pile of photos and am so happy to have them in my hands! Something tangible that we can display and keep special moments fresh in our memories. Like a sleepy baby and a creepy 'stache. I chose some 4x4 pictures from my Instagram library and, instead of the normal 4x6, printed the others in 3x5 size. They're so cute and fun!

Now we just need to figure out how we want to display these for all to see! Something like this Instax Wall from A Beautiful Mess would be amazing. We'll have to work on our collection first, I think though. I also love the idea to use old clipboards. If you'd like, you can take a peak at my Pinterest Board of ideas. 

How do you display your photos? You can be sure I'll share some DIY projects when they're finished!!

xoxo

Joy

A Pretty Case of The Mondays

Wow. What a great day this Monday has been! We woke up to gorgeous weather and the sun hasn't left yet! It's so invigorating when the sun shines in Seattle. It gave me the gumption to go to the gym, clean up the house, and read a good book! Like I said, a great day.

Is it sunny where you are? What kinds of things do you like to do when you have a blue sky day?

xoxo

Joy

Wishi Washi

My first roll of washi tape happened on accident. I found it in the bottom of a dusty basket in the clearance corner at Anthropology and thought it was pretty enough to be worth the few pennies they were asking for it. From there, a love affair began.

There is so much you can create with washi tape. I could scroll though colors and patterns online for a very long time..But since that clearance roll, I'd never bought any of the gorgeous stuff because I couldn't justify spending up to 6 dollars on pretty tape. Also, Camillo would kill me.

Enter: Downtown Tape

I found this site through Pinterest (of course) and was shocked to find these little pretties for only $1.99 a roll! I ordered a couple patterns - not so many that I'd be disappointed if they weren't that great, but enough to make it fun. Plus, it's flat rate shipping (only $2.95!) so I figured what the heck.

Well, I'm really happy with my order. I can't wait to start crafting with my new colors and patterns! I'm glad I took a chance, I'll definitely be ordering from Downtown Tape again!

Have you had the chance to experiment with washi tape? What sort of things have you made? Maybe some of you think I'm a little nutty to be so happy about tape..But, dude. It's cool stuff. Also, I might be a little nutty.

xoxo

Joy

sidenote: This was not a sponsored post! Just an honest opinion about a new company I'm so glad I found :)