Fall Lunch and Last Minute Coffee Date

Today I babysat Ava, which is always worth rejoicing in, but I've done that already:)

Instead I'm rejoicing in her amazing mommy and the chance to have lunch together. Kristi served me a yummy fall lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup with a fall candle lit and fall decor all around. Such an inviting atmosphere. But, even better than the atmosphere was the conversation. I love spending time with my best friend!

I also love spending time with Jackie and rejoice in our last minute coffee date tonight. I wasn't really wanting to go home after leaving my parents earlier so I thought to myself "who would be interested in hanging out?" And of course Jackie came to mind! And we had a great conversation. I'm blessed to be challenged and encouraged by her.

Happy Birthday Jess!

I rejoice in having Jessica Jones as my sister and in celebrating her 21 years on this earth! Had a fun day today spending time with both her family and mine at the Getty Villa. I'm blessed to be related, by both blood and marriage, to such amazing people.

A New Brother, A College Sister, and a Great Church Family

It became facebook official today that my sister is engaged! Even though I've known for a few days (but still haven't seen them since they're busy traveling the world) I rejoice in being able to share her excitement with so many people all at once! :)

I also got to spend some good time with my baby sister, who is home from college for the weekend. Who could have known I would miss her so stinkin much?! I rejoice in having a sister worth missing and that she is close enough to come home on occasion  :)

Lastly, I rejoice in being blessed with a great church family and the freedom to worship Christ together as a body of believers. We celebrated our church's 45th anniversary today and it was a great day of awesome music, challenging messages, and great fellowship.

Breakfast with the Parents and Books with my Baby

I went out to breakfast with mommy and daddy this morning, then I spent a majority of the morning hanging out with them. I rejoice in the blessing of having parents who want to spend time with me and for whom I feel the same. Don't know where I'd be without them!

From mommy and daddy's I headed over to hang with the cutest lil one year old girl I know, Miss Ava Jean. We read books and danced and spoke gibberish all afternoon. How can I not rejoice in the blessing of having my bff's lil girl to fill my mommy desires???

Old Pictures

So I decided that today would be a good day to get all the pictures that I have printed over the last five years actually in albums. I rejoice in the feeling of being a bit more organized and actually feeling like I did something with my life today:)

Here is a sampling of a few of the ones I ran across during this process...

I also rejoice in the blessing of special memories captured in pictures!

His Yoke

So I have really been struggling these last few days. The whole reason I started this blog was to help me focus on the good in my life, even in the midst of not always good times. But, because of that, there have been days where I've felt like I am being fake and not reflecting the genuine me, which is something I have also really been striving for lately, genuineness. In a lot of ways not only do I want this blog to be a reflection of good, I want it to be a true reflection of me, which is definitely not always good. How do I keep a balance?

For tonight's post I am going to strive to do that, in the best way I know how, but am still continuing to learn and grow in. In the midst of all the questions, and struggling, and growing, and changing, and seeking, I rejoice in the truth of these verses, that I was reminded of in class tonight...


²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

God knows everything I'm going through right now. Not only does he know it, he wants to bear the burden of it. I am going to strive to take his yoke and let him take care of all the other crap in my life. Yes, I said crap :)

Friend and Food Pantry

I spent the morning helping my good friend Laura shop for and organize the food pantry at her church where she works. Then she bought me lunch. Helping those in need and spending time with a good friend are both worth rejoicing in.