In Saying Yes, sharing a BIG SECRET!!!!!

Good morning friends! I have not been too active with writing in this space here of mine. I would LOVE for you to join me on instagram and over at Happy Heart Box to stay connected. For right now writing here is being less frequent but I love this sweet community here and will be sure to follow along as your hearts bless mine. Join me on Happy Heart Box & on Instagram @brittany.willard 

I hope you are doing well today! This morning I have decided to share something the Lord has been doing in my life over the last few months. It feels very scary to write the words that I am about to but not listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading is far scarier for me.

About four months ago the Lord began whispering to me when I would least expect him to. Encouraging me to pursue a dream he placed in my heart a few years ago. So instead of running from his whispers I leaned into them. Leaning into Him and the Holy Spirit has been a daily experiencing I am learning to embrace with open arms. Let me encourage you friends, this is the right choice – to lean into him. I promise it is worth all the uncertainty, anxiety, and fear of listening to his every direction given. Clairty comes with obedience. 

Over the last month I have slowly been writing a devotional and book that will hopefully be complete by the first of the New Year. I could keep quiet until it is finished but as you may know, living authentically and transparent is how I feel called to live. Sharing the struggles of life in all its vulnerable glory is the way I choose to live life. Living in another way to me is by far worse than baring my soul. 

In Saying Yes.

After spinning my wheels to try to come up with the most clever or catchy name to call this book I finally gave in to simply sitting still with the Lord. He sweetly spoke the phrase, In Saying Yes. Year after year the Lord has asked me to do things to make him known, to stretch me, to bless others, to fulfill his plans and purposes and each time I say yes he gives me a little more of himself.

Saying yes to the Lord is a choice.

Agreeing to listen to the Holy Spirit on a daily basis is a decision that I desperately long to make every day. In saying yes to the Lord we shed a little more of who we are to embrace more of him.

Over the next month I will be writing freely over here at Happy Heart Box as a way to prepare my heart to challenge myself to listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading in writing. The book he has given me to write is a reflection of his grace, goodness, faithfulness, authority, and sovereignty in my life. Before fully embarking on this journey of writing an entire book I want to stretch myself to grow in writing as well as in listening to him. Some entries from this next month will make their way into the book but most will not. This next month is to simply listen to his voice in saying yes to his direction in writing. 

Last year I attempted to participate in a 31 day writing challenge but failed miserably at posting daily. This year I have decided to try again because its better to try in life than to just allow opportunity to pass by. Tomorrow I will post a little more about what the next month of writing freely and saying yes to him holds for myself and us on Happy Heart Box. Join me on instagram @happyheartbox and @brittany.willard to challenge ourselves over the next month to learn to listen to his leading in saying yes for our lives.

~Brittany Willard

www.happyheartbox.com

Breathless

Tonight I almost feel breathless 

Like each breath is a little harder to take in

My lungs slower to take in the air 

My chest working harder to push it back out 

Consciously reminding myself to keep breathing 

Because I feel out of breath 

My heart aches tonight 

Literally my soul is heavy 

The enemy attacking loved ones

Sickness tearing apart vibrant lives 

lies overpowering minds to pull people deep down into the pit of depression 

addictions over taking precious lives, minds, and hearts. 

Fear crippling perfectly healthy bodies

Worry stripping away promises of the gospel 

Judgement decaying the body of Christ

Unforgiveness festering in hearts leading to destruction 

Women tearing apart women with their eyes, thoughts, and critical attitudes 

Men refusing their roles 

Youth learning to disrespect  

A society feeding off of anger

Communities hating others. Ignoring problems. Developing new ones. 

Me forgetting to pray. 

I feel breathless. 

My heart aches 

My soul is overwhelmed 

A righteous anger must overtake our hearts cries to fight with powerful truths from a savior who defeats all. 

God replace my breathlessness with your truths to fight in a place that exhausts. 

A righteous anger in my battle cry. 

One that never gives me opportunity to forgo praying to sit still in exhaustion. 

A righteous anger to change things, motivate my movements, be an aid in restoring situations by you, breath life into the broken by your grace, and speak your truths above all. 

Give us our breath. 

Let us stand righteously in you. 

A Perfect Me. To Replace a Perfect You.

Jesus help me.

Help me to get it right more than I get it wrong .

Cultivate patience within me.

Help my overwhelmed soul sinking in this sea of sticky counters, cheese covered floors and my unrealistic desire to successfully balance motherhood, wife, ministry, and my dreams come to the surface of your shores.

Into the arms of your grace. mercy. love. 

Jesus I'm calling out from the deeper parts of me.

Asking you to help me get it right.  

Jesus help me.

Help me to get it right more often than I get it wrong.

My desire is to not to be the perfect woman; 

the unflustered mother, 

having it all together, 

maintaining an uninterrupted routine (one not even you could set astray), 

a mother who never raises her voice in frustration

a mom whose makeup doesn't sweat off before she enters the sanctuary doors 

the woman who never repeats her outfit from the week before

the mom who works out 5 x's a week & never drinks coke

a wife who meets her husbands every daily need

all while keeping a tidy home and a working mom from home.

Jesus help me.

Help me to get it right more than I get it wrong.

My soul longs to never be perfect.

God, then I wouldn’t need a perfect savior.

My heart longs to be patient in these waves of daily life.

To yearn for your Holy Spirit to find me day after day as I sweep my floors again & again.

I need this longing to always last within my soul to have your joy released in my home in moments of frustration. 

To speak truth over my body - the temple you have created for me to best serve you from.
Protect my thoughts from harmful words centered around my temple.
Keep my mouth shut never spilling out words of harm over it.
Guard my heart Lord.
Keep me God.

Jesus thank you.

Jesus thank you for helping me.

Helping me to get it right more than I get it wrong.

To notice when I get it wrong and to be encouraged to set my eyes on you. 

To pursue you when my thoughts gravitative towards a perfect me to replace a perfect you.

~Brittany 

Everyday. Fill Me Up.

Lord fill me up every day. Your mercies are new every day and you are faithful!
Lamentations 3:22-24

Lately my friends & I have been talking about how lost we would be without God. How low we would feel in life without the constant presence of the Holy Spirit.

Honestly, I would most likely not be alive today without the Holy Spirit carrying me through the darkest places of life. If I didn't know God in a deep everyday kind of way and have the Holy Spirit in my life I would be in a constant state of worry, anxiety, and frustration. Probably anger would weave its way in there too.

But God.

Because I have a relationship with Jesus I have never been that woman. The woman the enemy wants me to be. At pivotal points in our lives we make the choice to decide to follow Jesus or to stay in the places we are in. Even if we already have accepted Jesus as our savior there will still be moments of great hardship, trials, temptations, fears, doubt, lies, anxieties... that we have the choice to allow those to take over our thoughts & life or we make the choice to allow the Lord to take over.

Everyday is a choice.
Everyday is not easy but the more we allow God to fill us up everyday & the more we say yes to his ways the more natural it becomes. The less we think about it & closer we get to Him. He becomes are everything and everything else in life becomes the afterthought.

Butterflies

When I think of you I think of butterflies 

While pregnant with Olivia before we knew we were having a girl all I could think of were butterflies. 

Beautiful, soft, unique, graceful, light, full of life - butterflies. 

I started making things with butterflies.

Gravitating towards art with butterflies.

I bought a small journal with butterflies on the cover. (The journal is hers, full of precious memories of her life so far.) 

I knew our sweet baby was a girl. 

Once the ultra sound confirmed it my my heart smiled a little bigger. 

Unsure of why butterflies were what I saw when I thought of our baby I took some time to think about it. Pray. 

I handmade her mobile, complete with roses and butterflies. Her room like a garden with flowers everywhere. 

A desire to know about plants, gardening, and beautiful living things became a love of mine. 

Understanding the lows my heart had been in - the doubt of never having another baby, the uncertainty of my pregnancy - the Lord began encouraging  me with butterflies. 

Glimpses of hope in beautiful glances. 

Noah and I seeing them daily in the yard. 

My heart reassured that our baby would be beautiful, full of life, graceful, and a constant reminder of faithfulness in the broken parts of life. 

Sweet girl, when I think of you i think of butterflies. 

With love,

Your mommy 

What If the Truth Stings?

Prior to the IF Gathering the Lord placed Philippians 2:4&5 on my heart. Reminding me to look for ways to encourage others in their callings, gifts, and talents - to pursue a greater portion of humility in life. To have my joy complete in being a cheerleader for others in their goals. It's a direction that my actions and heart were going but when I read this passage everything made sense.

Christine Cain shared a powerful message at the IF Gathering in Austin. During which she made a side statement, "Stop walking into your personal destiny and go into your churches calling, your community's calling..." My heart shouted in joy and my lips agreed with a big ole amen from the top balcony of ACL. 

Community has become an active part of our lives over the past 4 years and serving the church verses serving from my calling is a prayer I've boldly prayed the last few years. Serving from a calling verses serving from a title is what the Kingdom needs. 

This is an area I did not understand or even try to a few years ago. It wasn't on my radar or agenda. That is embarrassing to admit, but I'm thankful for spiritual growth and the freedom to say that is where I use to be - but am not any longer. I'm thankful that the truth stings. My husband has taught me great humility in this area and continues to be an example of what this looks like in day to day life. 

Our livelihood is ministry - but I long to never again see it as a job. For those who serve Jesus-serve the church, community, and Kingdom who do not receive a pay check - you are an incredible blessing and encouragement to the body. You are an asset that can not be replaced. Your rewards are beautiful in glory! But I want to encourage you, right along side of me, not to walk in personal destiny of where your servanthood can lead you but instead lets come together to pursue the calling of the church. The Kingdom.

Ephesians 2:4-22 is a powerful resource for todays church, as believers lets not work separately, please can we stop holding grudges, lets let go of hostility, lets work towards communication instead of misunderstanding, and lets put aside our personal ambitions and work towards the calling of the church. We don't have time for all that stuff.

If you entertain it
and if you have time for it
Then you are making room in your heart for bondage
instead of clearing the path for freedom in Jesus over your life.

You are making room for bondage in your church instead of pursuing freedom for the Kingdom.

Pursuing the call of the church or in your community doesn't mean we can't have goals or dreams of our own but lets not forget the calling of the church in pursuit of those.

Lets value the platform of Christ over the platform of self.

Know that this is for me! More than anything I write to hold myself accountable to what the Lord is teaching me. I share here in the hopes of conversation and encouraging one another. This has been on my heart and in my thoughts lately and today I finally felt brave enough to share it.
~brit

Thinking of Grace

This morning I woke up early 

I've been thinking about her even more lately because today was approaching.

I crawled over my little Noah, whose nestled tightly between me & Johnny to get out of bed then tip toed down the hall to not wake up my princess sleeping peacefully in her room. 

I grab a cup of coffee then I sit down in my office. 

Two years later on this day

Still, my heart aches for her. 

Still, I can't help but wish I had two little ones to crawl over to get out of my bed. 

Still, I wish I could scoop her up to play with in the mornings. 

Still, I wish I had pictures adorning my walls of her sweet smiles and beautiful locks. 

Still, I still feel this way. 

On January 7, 2013 I wrote this post, Words with a Heavy Heart. 

Then 6 months later, while pregnant with our Olivia I wrote the following post but never shared it until today. I've never shared this with anyone except maybe 3 or 4 other people simply because it was not the time and I know some may not understand. But this morning I've decided to share just how sweet the Lord truly is in every season. 
Good and bad. He is faithful. 

June 2013
One night last week Noah woke up around 2 am. After sitting with him for a bit in his room, I went back to bed. Walking the few feet from his room to ours a great wave of thankfulness came over me, hitting me so hard that I couldn't stop smiling. Quietly whispering to the Lord, "Thank you for Noah and baby Olivia."

Pulled the covers over me then closed my eyes. 

Sleepy but not asleep. I told the Lord that I really miss the little one we had just lost. 

I had been asking the Lord if our baby was a boy or a girl. I was only 11 weeks pregnant and we didn't know the sex of the baby when I miscarried. To me this was one of the hardest parts, I felt like I needed to know this baby's name to help me grieve the loss.

Although I have this incredible baby girl I'm carrying my heart truly aches over this baby. I'm pregnant but grieving the loss of our child I miscarried. This is an interesting place to be as a mother. So I've been asking God to show me, to somehow know if we were expecting a baby girl or a baby boy. In my heart I felt we were having a baby girl.

I closed my eyes and asked the Lord to please reveal this to me soon. 

Laying in bed, with my eyes closed I saw a little girl off in the distance. 

She looked about seven or eight months old with light brown hair, the sweetest rose colored pouty lips, and round little cheeks, just standing there.

I opened my eyes because it was so very real that it startled me.

I was not asleep. I was awake. 

Quickly I closed my eyes again this time asking the Lord, "is this her? our January baby?"

Never did I hear an answer, but that didn't matter.

The peace that entered my heart was everything I needed.
My emotions finally free, my heart felt safe seeing her.

My eyes closed I'm getting closer to her. 

She was just beautiful.
Porcelain skin, brown eyes, pouty lips like Tuckers (my nephew)big cheeks like Sammy (my niece). 

Her little face staring up at me.
Her right hand stretched towards mine. 

Laying there in bed I just began sobbing. Uncontrollably.

My heart finally feeling true joy thinking of this sweet baby we lost.
No longer was my heart so broken at the thought of our January baby, but instead joy. peace. hope.

I'm so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to have joy restored to my heart from aching the last several months. I've felt guilt grieving the baby we lost while being pregnant with our precious miracle girl. 

Still laying there...

Thinking if I opened my eyes then it wouldn't be real and that I wouldn't be able to see her anymore, I just kept my eyes closed so tight. The most beautiful aspect of this dream/vision is that none of it has left my memory. It wasn't like a dream that I struggled to remember the next day or a week later. It was beautifully real in every way. I can close my eyes to see this baby girl of mine or leave them open to enjoy her precious face and barely there light brown hair.

Johnny woke up because I was sobbing so loudly. Concerned that something may be wrong, I did my best to explain to him what happened. Through more crying & lots of pausing finally I was able to share with him that our January baby was a girl. Holding his hand we just laid there in awe of the Lord for healing my heart by allowing me a glimpse of her.

I told Johnny, her name is Grace.
~June of 2013

These pictures are from last year on January 2nd. We bought some beautiful roses to remember our sweet baby Grace. Today we will add another flower to them. I'm so thankful for my sweet babies. I'm thankful that the Lord cares about what my heart feels. There have been times that I feel like I shouldn't be so heart broken because we have two beautiful children but I still am. At times I have felt embarrassed that I still think of her because we lost her so early, but to me how could I not? I'm thankful that I never have to feel ashamed of my thoughts and feelings, like they don't matter because they always do to the Lord. We serve a faithful God who restores our broken hearts. My journey to becoming a mother of two here and two in glory has not been the easiest but it has been truly beautiful. I look forward to the hope of more children. Our future rest in the Lord and that is the most perfect place for it to remain. 

~brittany 

Faith's Greatest Moment

At times saying yes to Jesus is truly a challenge.

Perhaps saying yes to his direction can cause to you second guess everything.

Feel broken. 

Perhaps the thoughts of making mistakes flood your mind. Of failing. Not getting it right.

This is faith's greatest moment to shine in your life.

The perfect foundation to take root in your heart, to grow abundantly.

As tears from the unknown wash over your face, this is one of the most beautiful moments of your life. 
Take Heart in it. 

Find purpose and seek his wisdom. Don't let this moment pass you by as heartache.

Embrace it as freedom in walking into his plans and out of your own. 

The regret of saying no to Jesus is greater than saying yes. 

Abide. How wrong I was...

image via Happy Heart Box

Every other Sunday evening a group of sweet women and myself gather around a table at Panera Bread to discuss Abiding. I’m honored to lead a Thrive small group and this season we chose to work through a journal called, Abide, by NaptimeDiaries. Its an eight week study that is all about resting in the Lord as women while we realize that we in fact don’t know everything that we thought we did about trusting, resting, and growing in the Lord.

This is what I love about the gospel. We can never reach a plateau. There is not a level of “knowing it all” or “having it all together” in Him that we can attain because our God is just too big for us, full of so much grace, and offering a never ending fountain of knowledge to us. We just have to search his truths, wisdom, and all the grace we can receive while we pursue him.

Easier sad than done.

As we began reading through Abide a few months ago together (it has taken us a little longer than 8 weeks) I quickly realized how little abiding I was actually doing in my life. Once again I thought I was abiding because I’ve somehow figured out how to - on most days - have alone time with Jesus. Even if alone time means I've been asked 20 times to put on Curious George or I change a diaper and pick up a pretty little girls pacifier 15 times. Its time in the word and I’m so very desperate for his gospel that I will take it however it comes to me.

Little did I truly understand that abiding wasn’t worshiping to music during my day at home, or squeezing in his word when I could, and it even wasn’t trusting him with my thoughts, hurts, worries, and concerns. This wasn’t abiding at all. This was spending time with my savior and worshiping the one I am blessed to know.

Abide, the journal, has opened my heart to understand that truly abiding in the Lord is making new rhythms in my life of pursuing Jesus on a daily basis. Rhythms that have come from a true desire to find my rest not in sleep but to truly rest in him. To spend time alone with my thoughts, prayers, and love for our King without anything or anyone threatening that time. For me, I’ve truly fallen in love with a time of day that use to be so ungodly to me. A time of day that I rarely have seen in my life unless I was catching an early flight, holding a sick baby, or too worried about something that I couldn’t sleep.

I’ve fallen in love with a quiet, still, absolutely breathtakingly beautiful 5 or 6 am. I know, you think I’ve lost it, maybe you think I’m “one of those Christians” or perhaps you don’t believe me. But I’m so serious.

It’s so wonderful. I just want every single woman (momma or not) to do this. At least a few times. When I use to hear women say they woke up before everyone else I literally would think they must be those super hero Christians or totally crazy or totally exaggerating because there is no way anyone would do that on purpose. Jeopardize their glorious uninterrupted sleep. Especially if she had kids because God knows where you are in life & totally gets that you are cleaning up poop and exhausted that you don’t need to wake up early for him. He gets it.

Yep. Ive given that advise before. Which in many ways I 100% believe. God gets that my bible time, worship time, and prayer time is stretched out over 24 hours, crammed in between PBJs and the evening news but shouldn’t I want more? Maybe I need more…

Turns out I do.

Now, I’m her. Not a superhero Christian, crazy, or exaggerating… instead I’m just truly needing to abide in him before I do anything else in my day. It makes knowing him, resting in him, and sustaining me so much easier. Joyous. Happier. And even when my days are so full that I can barely remember if I’ve brushed my teeth (it happens, don’t judge) it doesn’t seem like it is at all. The days seem so full, so wonderful, so amazing, and full of grace.

Rest.

What does abiding mean to you?

What does it look like for you?

In love,

Brit

Today is the Day! Happy Heart Box is HERE!

Happy Heart Box from Brittany Willard on Vimeo.

This is the day that I have been praying about & working so hard towards. If you follow me on facebook or instagram you are fully aware that I've been up to something the last two months. This is it! The Lord gave me a dream this year to start a ministry for women. The purpose to encourage women to passionately pursue Jesus at all times. Especially in the hard times. I invite you to take a few minutes of your day to watch this video and to visit Happy Heart Box at www.happyheartbox.com to learn all about this ministry. 

My heart is to bless women who are experiencing a difficult time in life with a gift box full of beautiful products. FREE of charge! If you own a handmade shop or would like to donate products please email me at happyheartbox@gmail.com Also there is a go-fund-me account set up to fully fund Happy Heart Box for the entire first year! This will fund 56 boxes that will be sent out to women throughout the year. Happy Heart Box is completely run by donations and we need you to be successful. 

Please feel free to share with everyone you know. 

Thanks!

~brit

Freedom to Fall in Love.

Falling in love with my babies has been something that has happened so intensely the last eight months. I have always loved them. However, I've fallen deep in love with enjoying both of them everyday. We have been building tents all throughout the house the last two weeks. Laying there together, snuggling, telling stories, eating snacks, and making memories.

I had someone recently ask me, "How do you always seem to enjoy your kids so much all the time? I always feels so overwhelmed...tired..." I want to share how I got to this place I've been for a few years now. Even more so the last 8 months. It hasn't always been this way for me, being deeply in love with my babies & our everyday life together. I don't have it figured out & am confident I never ever will. 

But through freedom in Him I've fallen deeply in love with my everyday life with my littles. 

Let me explain a bit....

Noah is my sweet little buddy who has always been such a gift to me in my everyday life. Initially Noah was a very unexpected little surprise in our lives but over the years I have realized what a true gift in the perfect timing his precious life has been. He has been so much comfort, joy, and a constant reminder of faithfulness to us in our lives. I've always enjoyed him. However, until he was about 1.5 years old I often struggled with my attitude as a stay at home momma. I felt exhausted, tired, lonely, and sometimes depressed. This prevented me from truly falling totally in love with Noah & our everyday life together. I would often find myself down during the week. Wishing to be working in a career, frustrated with trying to be a wife, mother, & the "stay at home mom" that I thought I had to be. Honestly, I felt trapped. Trapped in a box that I built around myself. 

Pinterest was becoming a thing & it was ugly. 

Pretty on the outside but ugly on the inside.

All these mommas, women, & wives showing me how picture perfect their homes were, how clean their kids were, all the ways their children were the smartest, their weekly menus overwhelmed me, and how their everyday outfits were always so clean. For real? Who lives like this? I didn't. 

Slowly the enemy convinced me to be enough that I needed to adapt. Quickly. 

I fell into the trap of believing that as a stay at home mom that I had to cook, clean, keep a schedule for every part of my life, and act a certain way. All of this fueled my emotions and prevented me from truly falling in love with my baby in a deeper way. Obviously I was in love with him. If I looked at him when he smiled I would cry. I often still do. His sweet snuggles just made my heart burst. But I wasn't in love with our everyday life together as mom and child. God often convicted me about my lack of patience not just with Noah but in general. If my meal flopped, if others frustrated me, or if things didn't go the way I hoped. I got frustrated. Annoyed. Impatient.

I was trying to be something God never intended me to be. I was trying to live up to a dream that was never mine. Definitely not God's dream for my life. Who he called me to be - as his. 

 The Lord set me free of that whole mind set. It wasn't easy and it took work but when he did I never felt so joyous. Since then letting my kids wear pjs all day is totally acceptable, cooking twice a week is a miracle, having an empty laundry baskets every week is rare, having paint under my nails when I show up to church from enjoying my day is something I never think about anymore, or letting my Noah wear his daddy's long green socks that come all the way up to his bum to church is a priceless memory made or if he wants to carry around an orange under his arm all day for a week - its all good. Who cares what anyone else thinks about it. These and a list so long of things that have become real life everyday unbelievable memories hold more importance than being that woman I thought I had to be 3 years ago. 

There is freedom that my home doesn't always have to be perfect when friends come over. Expected or unexpected company show up, it doesn't phase me. I'm actually genuinely happy about having guest. Three years ago if someone rang the door bell unexpected all kinds of ugly would have crept up into my heart like, 

"why are they here, they didn't call, ugh who is it"

Gross. Ugly. I know. 

Looking back on the last 3 years my heart breaks at the thought of all the things I would have missed out on with my babies, friends, and in my life if I hadn't found freedom in Jesus. Found freedom from something I didn't even realize (at first) I needed freedom from.

I have fallen in love with my littles and our everyday life together by grace & freedom in Jesus Christ. Today I'm sharing this because I've been asked how I seem to enjoy my kids so much all the time. This is how. It is not perfect every day of the week, don't think that. I have my moments too, but honestly those moments are so fleeting since I've found freedom. 

Maybe you can see yourself in the me three years ago. Maybe there are parts of you in that old me. The reason I'm sharing this isn't to pretend I have everything figured out, because thats not truth. However, I am sharing this because I know that other women struggle with feeling overwhelmed, so tired, and even depressed as mommas because maybe we are trying to live our lives the way God never called us to. For you, maybe it is something completely different that you are trying to live up to. You may truly find enjoyment in having empty laundry baskets, clean nails, and schedules. (Some of my best friends truly do love it.) I just know that the enemy loves to speak lies over our lives in any area he can. Whatever & wherever that area is for you just know you are not alone. You never will be.

Know that there is hope & freedom in Jesus. Seek his freedom in all areas of life. It may not be easy, it may take some work, and the enemy will fight you over it a lot but it is possible to live in freedom. 

~brit

Letters to Olivia

My Olivia Rose. 

When we learned we were having a baby girl I began keeping a journal for you. Writing down all the words that came to my mind when I thought of you precious girl. The most important things in life I want to teach you I began writing out to you.

 One of the most important things I know to teach you is to dream, then fly. 

It is easy to dream up all sorts of wonderful things for your life. To dream of all you want to learn, accomplish, experience, and to go after in life. It is another to go after the dreams in your heart. The dreams the Lord gives you. 

Sweet girl, do not just dream of wonderful things but go after them. Fly. Pursue them. The Lord keeps reminding me that the regret of saying no to him is greater than saying yes. Say yes to his dreams for your life. Watching you move mountains will be one of the greatest accomplishments for this momma. My heart is overwhelmed with joy each time I pray over your life. The Lord has amazing plans for your life and I can't wait to see you walk in them. 

I love you sweet girl.

~mommy

Family Days

Finding joy in our days. The last few weeks, this week will be no different, have been a bit busy. Thats probably a huge understatement, ha. So a few days a month we try to wake up, hop in the car, take off, no plans, and just go! Every time we do this we make the best memories. Planning doesn't work too well for us. Johnny & I are a bit of free spirits.

So on this day we opted to not have lunch instead trying out a new chocolate shop where we discovered yummy cheesecake, raspberry gelato, and wonderful macaroons. Heaven! We eventually ate lunch at Noah's pick, chick-fil-a, and then wandered around a beautiful outdoor garden. I have a feeling this place will be frequented often by us once the temperatures drop. 

I absolutely love watching Noah experience new places & things. My heart swells up so big! Spending time with our little family, doing new things together always seems to inspire our everyday life. We are slowly getting out and exploring the new city we live in now. I truly can not wait for Fall to get here and the temperature to drop so we can explore even more in cooler temperatures! 

~brit