Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you

There is a picture on our wall that i look at everynight. I think about the words that are on the bottom and contemplate what they mean to me and my life at that moment. Those words are such a comfort to see each night and morning...

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you" ~John 14:27

Last night, I thought about those words again. I sat there looking at the picture and realized I am at peace knowing that the things that are sometimes difficult to swallow somehow work themselves out. Even when I am frustrated and at my witts end, when I stop and let go of those frustrations I realize how peaceful I really am. I know I am doing the right things. I am not perfect (by a long shot), but I am trying my hardest and the Lord knows it.

I am grateful for those small moments of comfort. I started thinking about that classic poem that I never really gave much thought to until now...
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Life can sometimes be hard... everyone experiences those trials that make you wonder why. But I know that the Lord is always with us. He always knows our sufferings and he will make those burdens light. He will give us peace. I am so thankful for that knowledge.

Just because...

Who needs kids when I have this wonderful little girl!!
PS: she got two new toys today- one being a little otter that she is loving to destroy!! Toys around here dont last long. At least she only chews her toys... otherwise a baby might look more appealing.




like the jeans in the background that look like half a body??

Home Is Where The Heart Is...

Well I didn't lie to you- we really bought ourselves a house. Still a work in progress and the next big project is the landscaping. However, for now its nice to have our own place. I feel like we are already filling it up. How is that possible?? Maybe we can upgrade sooner than we thought (if john reads this he might start laughing and say YEAH RIGHT!)
Here are some pictures of the living room and kitchen. The three rooms on the backside of the house are pretty much an office for john, a workout room, and a storage closet. :) Our master bedroom is where the magic happens but isn't anything special to take a picture of at this moment.
So here is a little preview- (nope, definitely did not pick up our house before taking these pictures. ohhhh well.)

Happy Anniversary

I know, I know... I get the award for the crappiest blogger. I never take pictures so I dont ever have anything great to blog about. Luckily I remembered to snap a few shots when John and I went to California for our big 1 year anniversary. Thats right folks- we made it a year. Now lets see how the rest of our lives go. :)
Here are some beach shots...








It was a beautiful weekend so we did lots of walking! We walked through some neighborhoods that would be AMAZING to live in... not so amazing to pay for! In between some houses they had these stairs that went down to the beach shore. Well the tide was SUPER high that night so the stairs were halfway covered with water. It was pretty neat.









and... just cause I am so dang cute-