Shine Like The Stars

*knock knock*

who's there?

*library monster*

library who?

*Library monster gone done and eaten Stephanie......*

*burp*

MIA

So here we are starting a new adventure. My three weeks of stay-at-home-dom has come and gone, and I do believe I did it well. I slept [a lot], ran errands [a lot], watched TV [a lot], and prepared myself for a new step. GRADUATE SCHOOL.

Going back to school has been something I've always assumed I would do. I love learning, I love that environment and I love to be knowledgeable on the subjects I'm passionate about. I was lucky in undergraduate school to choose what I wanted to study early on, Marketing -- and enjoy it from the get go. I always just knew it was where I needed to be. I love this field, and have found it fascinating from the beginning. But graduate school for me, is a chance to make myself better in the field I love. An opportunity to go further.

So, back to school. It will be tough. And it will be stressful, and I plan to enjoy every moment of it, because I know I'll never be back here. I'll never be here, at LSU, in class, on campus, care-free (mostly) with my entire day focused on reading, absorbing and learning. I'll probably never have the freedom like this experience offers. And I know Jason and I will never be in this place again either.

It feels as though graduate school is the gateway to so many bigger things. It's that "last step" before the next step -- a family. Moving to a new city (probably). Having kids. Getting grounded. And being more than just the two of us. I think that is part of what excites me the most about starting school. I know it's the first step in a new direction for us. I don't want to get ahead of myself and miss this experience, but I can't help but look down the road a little bit and get excited about what's to come.

So, in honor of that. I wanted to reflect on where we've been lately.

We braved our first holiday season together:

We moved into a new place (with the help of some amazing family and friends):

We celebrated another Spring, where a year before we stood waiting to see each other for the first time on our wedding day:

And of course, loved on our adorable, almost human child, Sadie (who right now, I kid you not, is licking the couch cushions):


And we danced. A lot.

So soon, there will be new pictures of new moments together. And I can't wait to share our exciting it will al be!

So Good I'll Take It

So I finally did it. I left my job for the start of a new adventure. It was time. That much was as clear as daylight. And it's time to focus on something new. Graduate School. Back to the halls, back to the alma mater, back to class. I'm looking forward to studying exactly what I know I want to know more about.

But before that adventure begins, I've take a few weeks off to just...be. To breathe a little deeper, to take a break. And that has given me an opportunity to do things I've been putting off for years. All those tiny projects that line up and never get done because of lack of time, energy, patience...etc.

It's been relaxing, rejuvenating and just plain nice. I know things will pick back up again. And I won't have many more quiet moments like this, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it. Even it means just having the time to clean the boring ol' oven.

As It Was

Even though owning a home is far down the road for me and Jason, I have been obsessed lately with looking at remodeling, decorating, home-type blogs. I don't consider myself much of a DIY-er (do it yourself-er), but these projects people come up with are incredible.

Need to re-brick my fireplace? No problem!
I need an Indian silk handwoven rug to match my acryclic blue hand crafted tile? Uhh...easy.
My 6 Kitchen Aid mixers are so boring, who can hand paint with oils derived from honeybees tears? Cake walk.

Not to poke too much fun, but I do have a lot of fun perusing them to see what type of inspiration it might create in me.

And today, I've found a winner.




A PLATE WALL.

Not to mention the super awesome, if anybody wants to buy me one I would love them forever, blue piano. This idea of displaying artsy, beautiful plates as artwork is so endearing to me.

Definitely will use this one day in my home, or maybe....business? *wink wink*

If That's What It Takes

There is a song by Mercy Me "Bring the Rain," that I've always loved. Its verses and melody has touched a part of my heart that was always stubborn - always wanting God to bless me with the good stuff, and none of the tough stuff in life.

I haven't talked much about my struggles at work here mostly because of an internal rule that my daily victories and struggles at work should stay there (minus the vent sessions had with my husband and family). I tried my best not to bring work home.

But lately it's been so overwhelming and heavy that I've been baffled that I can't find peace in the midst of it. I would pray the entire way to work "please make today OK, make me patient, make me strong," but everyday I would come home more defeated than the last.

So during a drive last week I was listening to that song.

"Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Being me anything that brings You glory
I know they'll be days when this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You, Jesus bring the rain...

And it hit me. All this time that I've been praying for my own personal comfort I had been missing the point. All of these struggles were opportunities to praise God during this storm in my life. The good times aren't the only blessings we are given.

God showed me I had been taking his faithfulness for granted and not given Him enough credit. This time at work, the times when it feels like a gorilla is sitting on my chest, are the best opportunities to share Gods love and grace under fire. He will see me through.

And Is To Come

A sweet, summer dessert. Perfect ending to a boring, but perfect Monday night.

One Thing I Know

Life recently has been calm (...saying that very quietly so no one can hear it and change it...). Aside from daily struggles and daily victories, it seems we're slipping into the lazy days of Summer, where the heat sticks to you like honey, and there is a constant film of sweat all over you.

Jason has been hard at work...perfecting his Call of Duty skills, which will certainly come in handy one day in life, I'm sure of it :) But he's also been able to flex his creative muscle and spend some time playing with a local band. As a drummer, he is constantly hitting, tapping, banging, slapping, counting, bobbing, pounding something to a beat only he hears. After being with him for nearly a decade, I've grown accustomed to becoming a human drum, and very often have to remind him that my knee is not a solid as a bongo drum, nor does my car dashboard appreciate the constant beating to the tune of Hold That Tiger (aka LSU pregame).

So how excited was I when I found out he was invited to play with some friends at a local hangout with his new cajon drum (see wooden box-looking thing above). For four hours, he was in heaven. Playing along to every song under the sun, and enjoying being able to be a musician once again. He is a musician at heart, he hears melodies, notes, songs, rhythms that affect him on a different level.

I hope he continues to have chances like this to be in this space, to be in this way, and to live in his musical world, just for a little while. Makes him happy = makes me happier.