devotionals

"I realize that when the pastor says, “God loves you,” many of you might think to yourself, “Well yeah, God loves me. I mean God loves everybody, and I’m part of everybody, and so here I am in this big room and . . . ” Listen, God doesn’t love you like a football stadium full of people, all right? He knows where you’re sitting and He never forgets your name. God knows you better than you know yourself and He loves you! That’s the love you need to know."

Pastor James MacDonald

 the above is an excerpt from a devotional at this website. my husband and i started doing devotionals together. partly because we needed a jump-start to our spiritual lives, partly because these devotionals end up sparking fabulous conversation and thoughts. i'll be the first to admit that i haven't been the christian i should be the past few years, it's just so easy for faith to get put on the back-burner, when there are so many other -far more demanding- things that seem to suck up the 24 hours in the day. but i will also recognize that i see the change in myself when i start to make time. 

there are those who would refer to this as religion. but it isn't. not to me. it's a way of life, a way of thinking, a way of being mindful. 

 

11 months

as excited as i am for christmas, i will literally be the stereotypical mom, dragged kicking and screaming through jude's last month of his first year. 

he was about 3 weeks old in these pictures, and oh so tiny and altogether sweet and wonderful. i swear everything good in the universe is poured into these tiny creatures.{and that's factoring in the no sleep and other mishaps}. i wouldn't trade the little boy he's becoming for the world, but is it so wrong for me to want to go into these pictures to kiss and love on his tiny self? 

photo credit philip campbell studios

life lately: according to instgram

just a few a lot of shots from this week. i would generally say i am a more faithful instagram-er than blogger{who am i kidding, i am not a true blogger at all}, but if you ever miss me here you can follow me on instagram @hannahjoelle88.

i may also need to do a food post on that meal you see above- soo good!

and in case you were wondering, jude is wearing a firefighter outfit for my brother's wedding today. (my brother is a volunteer firefighter, and jude was the ring bearer).

no no no no no no

christmas is coming so quickly

which means 2013 is right around the corner

which means january 18th will be here before i know it, and jude will be 1

{excuse me, while i go cry buckets. how can his first year be almost over?!}

the best years of your life

to some people, the best years are in college, or maybe highschool, or some other care-free time of life. and while i loved those years, i have a feeling these years will be my favorite. the years of no sleep, squishy thighs, sloppy kisses and tons of snuggles and love. when my life is{happily} dominated by the needs and wants of a very little person that just so happened to have been created by me and my favorite guy.

no these times are not all sunshine and rainbows, dinner isn't always on time, the apartment is sometimes messy, and i can be a grump, and sometimes jude is fussy for no reason all day.

but then, we have evenings like this. with a chatty baby giving the best kisses ever, playing with anything that is not a toy. 

and my heart is content.

fa lalalalala la la, la la

the little reindeer welcomes you to our wonderland

i did a post a few weeks ago with my christmas inspirations, and now it is time for the big reveal!

ok maybe not so big, but i'm excited

it's kind of hard to see, but the lower garland is finger-knitted by me, through this tutorial from the alison show

the beauty!

c for cifuentes

love this sweet bird from target

for my nerd

baby's first christmas

our sweet manger from macy's

thank you target, big lots, and macy's(and a few thrift shops) for making my home beautiful!

food for thought

gerson and i had another one of our talks tonight, the specifics aren't important, but i started to get defensive and over-emotional- per usual. but then i stopped. and i actually let myself listen. 

i hate being wrong. i hate admitting i'm wrong.  and that will be the death of me. but tonight i definitely made progress. normally i would shut down and sulk, and then we would make up later and i might see that i was wrong, but would never say so, or if i did it would be reluctantly. tonight i rebounded in the same conversation and was able to make it a really good one.

a lame epiphany- but being wrong is not my comfort zone. and it has held me back for far too long. but after tonight i actually have one thing i can at least take the responsibility and initiative for- and by doing that on this one thing, i hope for it to be a catalyst for other things.

i am so good in the logic department....when it comes to running our family and keeping things great that way, i am awesome. i am awesome at being happy. 

but when it come to the negative emotional things, i've let my unwillingness to confront and possibly be wrong/ say the wrong thing hold me back for far too long. 

no more.