Beautiful Lyrics

My sister told me to listen to this song. If you're ever struggling, questioning, or just trying to get past certain issues in your life, this is a great song to listen to.

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

1/2 Marathon + Birthday = Great Sunday!

So yesterday was the first birthday I've been able to celebrate with Josh since we met. Crazy! Four years in a row, I've celebrated without that man! It was exciting to actually have a birthday with him home. We started the day off early. I had a half marathon in Denver that morning so we had to leave early enough to drive there and pick up our packets. Most people think I'm crazy for spending a good portion of my birthday running. I love it! Races are fun for me. And it was even better to have my husband waiting for me at the finish line this time! Again, he's been gone for most of my races too (thank you Army).

I also PR'd in this race! I'll be the first to admit...I'm a slow runner. The fastest I've ever run a half marathon is 2:30. I ran this one in 2:16! wahoo! It was a great feeling...especially knowing that the older I get, the faster I'm getting. Age is nothing folks! Why do so many people complain about it? Kidding...kidding.

We ate lunch on a rooftop patio in Denver. It was a gorgeous day! The rest of the afternoon we spent lounging (my choice). Cuddling on the couch with my husband is one of my all time favorite things to do. :)

Pre-Race

 Post-Race

One of those days

It's been one of those days...everytime I turn around I hear about someone else being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for these people but it's still not easy to hear. Maybe I just need to get off facebook. That way I won't have to face reality on a daily basis.

This is a struggle that no one will understand unless they've been through it. It's the struggle with wanting to be truly happy for others but having a hard time because jealously gets in the way. It's a struggle with wanting to punch someone in the face every time they complain about being sick while pregnant. It's a struggle with adoring your friends' brand new babies but crying when no one is around to see.

Usually I'm ok with our situation...but every once in a while it seems to stab me a little harder. Today is that day.

As I promised...

....here are some before and after pictures of our house. It's so much fun owning a house because you can put your own personal touches on everything. Problem with this is that personal touches usually cost something. It's been tough wanting to make changes to the house, but only being able to make these changes slowly due to a budget.

So far, the yard has probably been the biggest issue. Jax is a digger and we can't seem to break him of it. We have dead grass right now and are curious to see what this tuns into as the summer approaches. Colorado Springs is also on a water restriction and we're only allowed to water two days a week, which won't help our vision of a luscious, green yard!

Here is what we have now. Expect many more changes in the future! I'm excited to be able to make updates to this house and have so many ideas.

Living Room Before

 Living Room After

 Kitchen Before

 Kitchen After

 Basement Before

 Basement After