My kind of Saturday

We haven't had this kind of Saturday in a long time. And it is wonderful!

1) Woke up earlier than intended but both felt awake enough to just lay there together

2) No tight scheduled agenda

3) Conversation over coffee at Starbucks

4) Farmers' Market

5) Fresh produce

6) Fresh flowers

7) Time laying out at the pool

8) Time spent with friends in the city

It is days like this that I feel relaxed for once.  No agenda.  After a long, busy week at work, it is finally time to slow down and really take in the freedom and all the above things to just enjoy.  Thank you Lord for days like today that are meant to re-charge.

I never purchase fresh flowers but I absolutely love them.  Now that we're out of debt, it sounds silly, but we have the freedom to be able to spend a few more bucks on little things like flowers.  There's just something about the freshness, the colors, the different shapes and sizes the Lord created that makes me feel natural and organic when purchasing them.  For a long time, I have dreamed to be the mom that always has fresh flowers in her home.  Always changing, always alive, always natural.

We found a cute little tent selling fresh flowers at the Farmers' Market.  They were beautiful and I felt like a kid in a candy shop picking out fun flowers.  Now, I'm not the world's best flower arranger by any means.  It will certainly take time and practice.  Unfortunately, I underestimated how big the vase was so I could have used a good 5 more flowers or so.  But regardless of how shoddy it may look, it still livens up the room.

Happy Saturday!

New tunes

I only took a few weeks of Spanish and this was way back in 8th grade.  The amount of Spanish I knew last week equaled that of a 1 year old Spanish speaking child.

After being in Cancun for a mere 7 days, I am proud to say the amount of Spanish I have learned and so far retained, (albeit retained 1 day thus far of being back in the states) now equals that of a 1.5 year old Spanish speaking child.

Ohhhh the small victories.

I really enjoyed Latin music before this trip as I've taken Zumba classes but now I'm really enjoying Latin music.  I came across a couple songs tonight and if you'd like to add a little culture to your music collection as well as give a new exciting beat when folding laundry, doing dishes or picking up the pile of clothes that have yet again somehow accumulated on your bedroom floor, check them out!

Daddy Yankee - La Despedida

Enrique Iglesias - Cuando Me Enamora     yes, Enrique. err.. Si, Enrique.  I'll say it.  I'm a fan.

Enjoy!  And don't be alarmed, but your hips are going to want to move in some way, shape or form to these two songs.

Reminded of Genesis

Caleb and I had a fantastic time in Cancun this past week.  It was certainly a much needed vacation and as always, takes forever to get here and then is over in a heartbeat.  It felt like this:

The long awaited trip began it's final week countdown.  7 days, 6 days, 5 days, 4, 3, 2 and 1.  Waiting anxiously for our ride to arrive, bounding down the stairs, strolling out to the taxi at the crack of dawn with a light bounce in my step, hopping into the taxi with a big ol' grin on my face.  Cancun, here we come!

Then we blinked.

And we were left standing in our parking lot, luggage sitting beside us, taxi pulling away, and us looking at the apartment with dazed, unimpressed expressions, thinking with a heavy, internal sigh, "aaaand back to the grindstone."

Literal, no.  Figurative, yes.  If how I felt was put into a short film, it would have looked something like that and would have occurred in two scenes.  Now if that doesn't get nominated for an Oscar in Best Short Film, then I don't know what will!

But in all seriousness.

I had a few moments with the Lord on this trip as I stood in awe of the majesty of the ocean.  I couldn't help but look out, breathe in the ocean air and thank the Lord for the beauty of His creations.  I thought of Genesis and how God created the oceans, separated by the sky and the land.  

Beauty... majesty... meticulous... purpose.

God created the very ocean I swam in and may or may not have gone #1 in when the restrooms were just too far away.  

He created the powerful waves that continued to knock me over with legs and arms flailing, attempting not to choke to death on salt water.

He created and knows how many grains of sand are on that beach that always found its way into my swimsuit. 

Awesome God is He!  with a great sense of humor :)  I wonder if He smiles and chuckles silently as He watches us flail around in the ocean, acting like 5 year olds as we splash around, and casually glance around to make sure no one is watching as we break the 'no P in God's pool' rule.  I think he does. 

G-rents

I've felt quite sentimental lately.  You want to know who has the ability to make me tear up every time I speak to them and spiral into a long desire to be home with my family?  I'll tell you who.  My grandparents.  Both sets.  Every time.  

There's just something about grandparents that remind you of a happy time, a safe time, a cozy, loving, and fun memory filled time.

I will be the first to say how extremely blessed I am to still have both sets of my grandparents.  In case you didn't know, I grew up with grammy and papa living 5 minutes down the road and grandma and grandpa living 20 minutes in the opposite direction.   Needless to say we were always at both grandparents' houses.  Blessed?  Yes.


To this day, circus peanuts, Rice Krispies, Trident gum, mints and Crunch'n Munch remind me of grammy and papa.
Coupons, small individual boxes of cereal, swings, the hill, and Disney movies remind me of grandma and grandpa.


All four are believers.  All four have raised my parents to be believers.  All four have been faithful and godly examples to myself, my siblings and my cousins. They never fail to pray before meals and are not ashamed to let tears fall during those prayers.


They are generous to no end.  The words 'hard work' run through their veins. They would put us all to shame at the amount of legitimate hard work they still do today.
I look up to them, respect them and love them.  I am proud to be their granddaughter.  
And I miss them terribly.


Grammy and papa... grandma and grandpa... I love you so much.  Thank you for all you have done for us.  You are the epitome of godly examples.