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Friday, April 26, 2013

high five for insta-friday

yay for friday!!!  im excited to be linking up with lauren, jeanette, and rachel to share five awesome things from this past week.

ONE:  i got my hairs chopped off.  technically i did this one week and 2 days ago but i didnt do a h54f post last week so its ok :)  i did the typical "short cut after becoming a new mom" thing.  i was talking with my hair stylist about it ... about how it has less to do with needing something "quick and easy" and more to do with figuring out this new person i am becoming.  she brought up a great point about how getting your hair cut is like shedding skin or coming out of a cocoon and being something new.  i really like that analogy.  

TWO:  i am a runner.  i ran the four mile race i was training for and guess what, it was fun!  we got up at the butt crack of dawn last saturday to leave for the race.  all i could think was "i am about to run for fun and i freaking paid to do it.  what the devil is wrong with me?"  ha!  but we had a great time and even though we were super late because of traffic and didnt get to the start line until 9 minutes after the gun shot, we still ran.  i was determined to run this race and enjoy doing so with my sister ... cause she is a runner too!  

THREE:  henry tried out his highchair this week for the first time.  i gave him some blocks to play with.  he looked so big and smart.  

FOUR:  ... and then we gave him his first real live people food last night.  he had 6 bites of mushed up avocado.  i think avocado is what butter tastes like disguised as a fruit.  henry also thought it was pretty yummy.  

FIVE:  i had a fabulous guest post from aj yesterday about dating your significant over, check.it.out.  
that reminds me of the camping date night husband and i had a few years ago.


HAPPY FRIDAY!

Photobucket

life rearranged

friday favorite things | finding joy

Thursday, April 25, 2013

what vs. why

hey ladies and gents!  i am excited to introduce to you my preacher, foauxhawk rockin, coffee making, fellow blogger, and beer lovin friend, aj.  if you are a long time reader, you may recognize him from the trash the dress photo shoot we did a few years ago.  and for all you grammar geeks out there, you are really in for a treat because he cares about things like spelling and punctuation :)  enjoy!
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Hello, friends of Elizabeth! My name is A.J. and, like Elizabeth, I like to write. I enjoy writing about things that are important to me, like coffee, beer, my wife, faith, and community. Today, Elizabeth and I are blog swapping! Head on over to my blog to read what she's writing about today!

One of my favorite things I get to do is pre-marital counseling. Don't get me wrong…I enjoy officiating the ceremony of a wedding, but I won't do the ceremony part if I can't do the pre-marital part.

After doing wedding photography with my wife for the past six and a half years I've learned a lot of things about weddings. Things like; moms are usually the cause of stress at a wedding…not the bride (though there are exceptions to every rule), the groom is usually the more traditional one as opposed to the bride (which really caught me off guard), and last, but not least, most weddings are not what the bride and groom hoped for, but more often than not, one of their parents are to blame (especially when they are paying for it).

Anyway, the reason I require any couple whose wedding I'm going to officiate to walk through some pre-marital counseling with my wife and I is because of this simple fact: the vast majority of people who get married spend more time, money, energy and resources on the wedding ceremony, as opposed to the marriage.

This reality is something that I will drive home over and over again: the wedding is just an event, it's important to be sure, but it is simply an event. It's an event to celebrate what comes next; the relationship. And if you've worked more on the event as opposed to the relationship then there's a good chance it's going to get rocky. 

One example of the sort of things we talk about during these sessions is dating. Things like, how often will they date, what does a date look like, etc… What I find incredibly interesting during questions like these is how men and women usually respond differently. 

Most of the time they are saying the same thing, but they just word it differently. Which, automatically makes them assume that they answered differently, but really it's just a verbiage issue.

Dating is a really big deal when it comes to a relationship. If you don't actually focus on dating each other you will eventually just turn into really cool roommates. Dating is what keeps the relationship focused on what's important…each other.

A common misconception in dating while married is that it has to be extravagant. False. Some of the most fun and meaningful dates that Cynthia and I have had involved Ramen noodles and a movie we've seen 4 billion times (I may be exaggerating).

When it comes to marital dating remember this: it's not about the what…it's about the why.
Are you dating your spouse to check it off a list? Are you going out because you just don't feel like making dinner and you like the Pad Thai that place serves?

OR

Do you want to take time for what's important to you? Do you really want to spend time with the person you love in order to continue getting to know them better? Do you truly desire to keep your relationship the most important thing in your life, so you're willing to make time for it?

Dating in marriage isn't so much about what you do, where you go, how much you spend, or even how long the date lasts, rather, it's about investing more time in the relationship as opposed to anything else in your life. It's about the why.

That's what successful marriages are made of and that's one of the things I hope to see in the couples I get to marry.

Friday, April 12, 2013

high five for insta-friday

today im linking up with lauren, jeanette, and rachel to share five of my favorite things from this past week.

ONE:  hello spring!!!  after spending the end of last week inside with a sick baby, i welcomed the sunshine with open arms.  we spent some time outside on saturday and sunday just soaking up springtime.  


TWO:  henry was able to spend some time with his grandparents while husband caught up on school work.  we are so blessed to have them so close.  this photo of henry and his granddaddy swinging on the hammock was taken by my sister in law. 

THREE:  this weeks fresh 20 menu was awesome because it really appealed to husband and the things he likes.  on monday night i made veggie sloppy joes and on thursday we had the fresh 20's take on hamburger helper.  both meals turned out really well and had a lot more veggies than they appeared to.  i need to remember this week when henry gets older and i have to disguise healthy foods.  


FOUR:  this is my favorite picture this week.  to see more from our family photo shoot, click here

FIVE:  henry has been practicing sitting up all by himself.  it trips me out when he gives up and sits forward ... always aiming for his toes in his mouth.  

this weeks awesomeness is heavy on the henry, i know ... but right now life is a little heavy on the henry and its pretty awesome!  maybe one of these fridays i will try and post 5 things that are not henry related ... if i can :) 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Photobucket

life rearranged

friday favorite things | finding joy

Thursday, April 11, 2013

family photos

i was gifted a photo shoot with simply photography at one of my baby showers and i finally cashed it in!  cynthia always does such an amazing job, so i was super stoked to get these pictures back and share them with you.  


















thank you cynthia!  

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

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