happy anniversary

 

how i met my husband. part three.

hey remember when i started this back in JULY?! well, i figure since tomorrow is our three year wedding anniversary i should probably find the time to finish this sweet story! 

if you are tuning in for the first time {which you probably are since its been ages since i last wrote about this.} you can catch up on part one and part two. 

so, last time we talked about this, i left off with him making me a picture of my dream field. that sunday, he invited me to church to watch his band play, and we spent a good chunk of the day together hanging out with his friends and me awkwardly feeling like uncomfortable around all these people who actually knew nick. before i left that day he asked me to plan our next date. & i said yes. i was scared out of my mind. 

i asked practially all of my co workers for ideas, and one of them suggested that i take nick to the art muesum. brillant! at least i thought it would be. i was terribly wrong. we got there, and almost everything in the entire place was under construction. literally, we could barely go anywhere and everything that we could look at was ugly. 

case and point. this was some crazy thing made with wadded up paper mache.

 we left that place and i thought i had ruined EVERYTHING. i picked a really lame place and had no back up plan. lucky for me there is a park near that museum so we took a walk and sat on a bench, and talked. a lot. about everything. we call this date our 'falling in love' date because thats what we did on that bench. he told me all about his life, and i told him all about mine. we layed it all on the table because neither of us wanted to date just to date. we both had been hurt, and we wanted to only continue a relationship if we thought it might get more serious. it was the best afternoon turned evening of my life. 

we walked to a Chinese restaurant {which is now an adorable cupcake place} and ate and fell more in love. 

dinner and a flower

 we spent the next 3 months getting to know each other, and falling in love. by novemeber he had decided to ask me to be his wife and the rest is history. :) 


i'm so thankful that Jesus has given me this gift of a wonderful husband, and i am looking forward to celebrating 3 years of marriage with him tomorrow!

 

the eighth of novemeber

three years ago a sweet shaggy haired, bearded man picked me up.
he brought flowers.
he took me out to breakfast.
he bought me coffee.
he took me shopping.
he bought me a dress.
he took me hiking.
he asked me a question.
he gave me a ring.
and i said,"yes."
he prayed with me.
he called me his fiance.
he took me out to dinner.
he took me home.
he updated his facebook status.
he changed my life.


i love the 8 of novemeber.
and i love that man.

11.08.08

and every year on this day (or a few days before)
to celebrate he takes me on a date and buys me a new dress.
i love this little tradition.
not just because i get a new dress,
but because it is something that my sweet husband decided to do.

i love this man & i feel so blessed to be his wife.

how i met my husband - part two.

i am so excited to share with you the rest of our story this week! 
if you are just tuning in, here is part one .

so, i think that we left off with him friend requesting me on facebook... so, we talked for a few weeks on & off & one day he asked me what my favorite place was. i told him about this field that i had imagined. it was {still would be..} my dream place. we talked about it in detail & then a little later he asked me if i wanted to finish our conversation in person. i was so nervous, but said yes as quickly as i could type it. he started texting me every single morning & i had no idea what to think. on july 30, 2008 we met for lunch at a Mongolian grill. i almost threw up i was so nervous. { & i do not throw up, except for 3 days before our wedding, but thats another story..} we spent over an hour talking & eating. it was the easiest conversation that i ever had. we were getting along so great. i was so surprised to find out how much he loved Jesus - it made my heart feel so full and glad. he asked if we could keep hanging out, so we went to starbucks for another hour. it was like we had been friends for so long. 

i knew on that day, that i was going to marry him. or if not him, someone who was exactly like him. 

after we said our goodbyes, i went home to pick up my little brother & we headed out to the mall. i was on cloud nine the entire time. i couldnt get this amazing man out of my head. 
my friend {the same lady who introduced us..} called me & told me to get on facebook as soon as possible. when i did this is what i saw:

 it had the caption, "field of {your} dreams".

i. almost. died. 

it was exactly like i had described it. this man had listened to every last detail of my dream place. it was something i had never imagined would happen. 

we were in nonstop contact ever since that day. 
and i had enough wisdom, to let him do all the pursuing. 
which made falling in love so much sweeter. 

and you will hear more about it next week- i promise, this will only be a 3 part story! 

 

how i met my husband - part one.

three years ago today, i met the man who would become my husband.
the story starts a little before we first met. 

this is the first photo that i ever took of nick.

it was late june of 2008 & i had just been heartbroken over the ending of a deeply emotional relationship earlier that year. one of my sweet friends & her husband deeply cared about me & knew my desire to be married & wanted that for me as well. i was young, but felt very strongly a desire to be married. she soon started to tell me about this guy that was in their worship band. i was so not interested. like, really, really not interested. i later found out that they had been talking to him about me as well & he was not that keen on being set up either. i had plans, plans to apply to bible school, plans to travel, plans to do whatever the LORD wanted me to do. my list of things to accomplish was very long. 
she persisted and talked to me about how much he loved Jesus, how funny he was & how we would be perfect for each other. so one day i gave in. i remember sitting in a comfy chair at starbucks, just about to start my shift & we were talking & for some reason i let her send this man i had never met a photo of me. & he sent one back. suddenly everything felt awkward & i felt like a silly girl. i thought for sure that he would never be interested in me, because i was younger than he, & so unsure of who i was becoming. in true 'just out of highschool' fashion, i scoured her facebook for him. i had to know more about this guy who had a photograph of me. {something i learned later was after he received my photo, he asked my sweet friend if she would also be planning our wedding. as a joke. ha!} 

this is the photo i found of him on facebook, that i literally stared at for days while trying to figure out what i thought about the whole situation. 

 

my friends birthday was that weekend & she was throwing a backyard bbq party to celebrate. i was so excited to get to go & so excited to spend time with her & some of our other friends. i never even thought about if he would be there or not. the idea of him even being interested in me seemed so silly, so i didnt even worry about it. the day of her party i woke up late & dashed out the door for church. i didnt even brush my hair. i just wanted to get to church.

 

i remember looking exactly like this. same dress, same hair, no makeup. i showed up to the party & felt right away that something was going to happen. pretty soon, this tall man, with a handsome beard walked in. my heart sank. i was so nervous. at that moment, i really wanted him to like me. i tried to be cool. i tried to be calm, but i get really nervous around new people. i'll never forget the way that my friend introduced us to each other for the first time. she said, " nicholas, this is alexandria" & we shook hands & sat across the deck from each other. i told you that i get silly and nervous around new people, & it was no different this time. i started babbling about the coin collection that i had in my purse. i had a penny from 1880, & some 50 cent pieces & a few 2 dollar bills. i passed them around to anyone who wanted to see them & nick was one of them. it was so silly. typing that makes me sound like such a dork! i ended up not saying anything else to him after that & left the party early. not even an hour after the party was over he had friend requested me on facebook, & then the romance started... but i will save that for another post. 

come back for ' how i fell in love with my husband- part 2' next wednesday. i promise it is a really great love story. ;) 

happy 3 years of knowing each other, sweet wonderful husband man. i'll love you as long as i am alive. 

 

five things...

today there are a few things that are on my heart, some are serious, some are silly. i'll share them with you in no particular order.

one:: i adore the sunshine. & because of my love for the sunshine, i have been loving on all things yellow. here are a few of my favorites::

Source: google.com via Ally on Pinterest

Source: 6thstreetdesignschool.blogspot.com via Ally on Pinterest

Source: dn.se via Ally on Pinterest

 two:: i just used baking soda to wash my face & my hair. my hair has not felt this clean in a long time, & my face feels extra soft. i have been having some trouble with my hair falling out the past few months, so anything that makes my hair feel pretty & not like i am balding is awewsome. 

three:: 

Source: gatherlove.tumblr.com via Ally on Pinterest

 

i just need to memorize this. 

four:: 

lately i really miss breastfeeding. you can read more about why i am no longer breastfeeding my sweet girl here. 

but today this week, i have really been missing it. i don't know if it is because i am reading a ton of blogs where beautiful ladies have just given birth & are breastfeeding for the first time, or again, but its making me miss it something fierce. i know i had to give this dream of breastfeeding until at least 1 years old to Jesus, because i didnt think that formula was in 'my plan', but it is. & i am 100% ok with that choice because it was & is the healthiest option for maggie & i. but, there are days when i just want to remember what it was like, to feel that intimate bonding again. & sure we have a million other ways that maggie pearl & i bond, but for some reason, lately this has been heavy on my heart. i will continue to give it to Jesus, because i know that he knows what is best. 

five:: i have been dreaming of a photoshoot with my sweet husband man & my lovely baby girl. here is what i have been dreaming about :

Source: sloanphotographers.info via Ally on Pinterest

Source: sloanphotographers.info via Ally on Pinterest

Source: wildflowersphotos.com via Ally on Pinterest

so there you have it. just some of the things in my mind. {also, i am a little addicted to pintrest lately...} hope you are all enjoying your midweek! 

 

six months?!

sorry i have been absent lately! a little pearl has been taking up most of my time { & i am alright with that!} over the weekend we went on a camping trip {those photos will be up soon..} & we also celebrated margaret's 6 month birthday. six whole months. can someone please tell me how in the world my daughter got this big? it feels like it was last month that i was laying in a hospital bed with the most beautiful human being alive in my arms. i can not believe how big she is, & how much grace the LORD has given us. she is an evidence of that grace daily. i have grown so much as a mama, a wife, a friend, & a Christ follower in the past 6 months. i am so excited for the next 6, { & pretty sure i know why people cry at their babies birthdays.} its such a blessing to be her mama. here is a photo recap of the last 5 months. {i'll post the six month one when she is almost 7 months... it makes more sense to me that way...}  enjoy our little pearl! i know we do! 


{ok so i know you can not read this one, but i tried.. i'll try & fix it soon...}

a mothers day recap & some really exciting news.

hello friends! i'll start with a little recap of how lovely my mothers day went. i woke up in the morning to my sweet baby girl all ready to touch my face & snuggle me until the end of time. we stayed in bed & snuggled for a half hour & then my sweet husband brought me my gift. he totally heard what i said about cards {i have a thing for really beautiful cards that can double as artwork..} and he gave me 2 of the most beautiful cards i have seen. then i opened my amazing gift of stumptown coffee & 3 {yes, you read that right..} of these amazing anthropoligie mugs. 

 he gifted me the 'a' & the  'n' & the 'm' so that someday we can all enjoy drinking out of them together. {they are so lovely i can not stop using mine.} i was also gifted this lovely perfume that i dreamed of buying to wear on our wedding day, but never actually got around to buying. 

we just laid in bed as a sweet little family of 3 for over an hour before getting up & heading out to starbucks for breakfast. it was a lovely day, even though i had a pretty terrible migraine that left me in tears near the afternoon. i feel so blessed to be a mama. so blessed that while i was putting our sweet pea to sleep that night i had the chance to pray hard for so many things. for her, & for me & for my husband. i spent a good 45 mins trying to get her to sleep all the while praying & talking to my father. it might have been the highlight of my whole day. 

so i eluded in my last post {by the way, how sweet is my husband for writing what he wrote?!} that there were some exciting things to share. i have thought about how to share them for the past 4 days & i feel like its not real so i cant express it, but the truth is that its real, its happening & i couldnt be more thankful.
here is a piece of my heart::
when we discovered that we were having a baby we were so excited. so excited about all the wonderful things awaiting us. we knew it wouldnt be easy & we knew it was not the 'perfect' time. we both worked & needed to be working because otherwise we would be negative every month. & oh how our hearts desired for me to be able to stay at home. they have always desired that. but the timing was not right. so we prayed. we prayed & prayed that the LORD would prepare us for being a working family. we prayed & prayed that he would give us strength & we prayed that he would open up a way for me to stay at home. we were satisfied with whatever he decided for us. & it seemed he was writing our story with me back at work after our little pearl was born. i was blessed to take an 18 week maternity leave & to be able to go back part time. {like super part time...} in about january the LORD spoke to my heart & told me that it was time for me to trust him completely & that trusting him meant giving him control over our money & staying home from to raise our baby girl. what the heck!? i have been known to really idolize money. to think i can not live without it. & the LORD gave me complete peace about giving it over to him. i shared that with my husband & he agreed, but we needed to both pray about it more & work some things out. nick was promoted & i had been just having the hardest time back at work because that is not where my heart was. my heart longed to be at home making a home, praying for my husband, snuggling with my baby. we prayed more & talked more & on sunday the first of may, my sweet husband told me to quit. he told me it was ok to stay home. & my heart soared. not just because i was no longer going to work, but because we were being obedient to what the LORD had called us to do. {i just want to be sure that you all know that if you are a mama who has to work, i do not think it is bad. i admire you because i know it is hard, hard work. this is just what the LORD had called us to do & if he has written your story differently than i think it is ok. i think that following him is far more important than anything else...} so, all that being said, on friday i put in my notice after working for starbucks for almost 5 years. at the end of this month i will become a stay at home mama & i could not be happier. i am so excited to start this crazy journey of living on 1 income {because honestly it doesnt work out on paper...} & trusting the LORD to provide for us. i am excited to spend so much time with maggie p. i am so excited to serve my husband better {because i couldnt balance working & all those other things.} so, that is just a small piece of some things that are going on over here. we are feeling very blessed. 

 

Ally the Mamma

Since its Mothers Day, and it would be strange for Ally to blog about how great of a mom she is, I thought I would do it for her. I’ve never really considered what a mom goes through in just a few months after having a baby. Or what kind of hard work it is to raise a child all the way to adulthood. There are a lot of things that I have gained perspective on only after going through them myself. My dad would always tell me “just wait until you (fill in the blank), then you’ll understand.” And it’s true. At least for me anyway.  Maggie is just about six months old. After Maggie was introduced to the outside world, Ally has been hard at work to care for, love, and protect. The self sacrifice and love that Ally has shown for our daughter has been amazing to see. After dealing with so many diapers, feedings, so much crying, screaming, and whining, she perseveres. Not to mention all the struggles, trials, sleeplessness, and working part time. Thanks to you most wonderful mamma. Thank you for all your hard work. Thanks for all the love you have given. Most of all thanks and praise to God. He couldn’t have chosen a better lady for my wife and a better mamma for our baby. Now after six months I’m beginning to understand. My wife is a tough lady doing the toughest job in the world. Happy Mother’s Day Ally.

Love,

Nick & Mags

my mama...

a lot has happened in the past few days that i am eager to share with you, but it will all have to wait until monday, because today i want to tell you all about someone who is very special to me.


my mama is a wonderful lady. she has worked so much harder than a lot of other people that i know to get where she is today. my mama has made countless sacrifices for her 5 {3 that she birthed, 2 that she gained by marriage} children. i have also seen her basically mother my best friend growing up, & lots of other younger children through her devotion to family & to serving those in need. my relationship with my mama has not always been something to blog about, in fact there were times that it was so rough. like i am talking very tough. but by the grace of God we were able to come out of it & love each other well. my mama is an evidence of Gods grace in my life for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is because i have seen her transformed. i have seen her become a new creation. my mama was unsaved when she found out she was pregnant with me at 25. she went through all of pregnancy as a single mama. she spent somewhere around 36 hours of hard labor trying to birth me {thanks mom! its all because of you that i got to experience that too! well, kind of...} she had me completely natural. {which i applaud her for because i thought i would be able to, but quickly changed my mind.} when i was a little babe my mama started dating my {soon to be} father. {another post on this will come next month...} they fell in love & were 100% committed & devoted to each other, but not ready for marriage. when i was 2 years old my mama had my brother, Gordon. Gordo was born very, very sick. she had to spend days with him in the hospital & hours taking care of him & making sure that he didnt stop breathing. all the while she was working more than full time to provide for our little family. 2 years later she became pregnant with my baby brother. while pregnant with Dylan she was in a car accident that caused her to have to wear a neck brace while taking care of 2 toddlers & working a ton. my mama never complained but she just kept pushing forward. she loved us so deeply & we never felt unloved by her. when i was 3 years old my aunt started to take me to church on sundays with her. i went every single week until i was 5 & then i changed churches & started to go with another one of my aunts. i begged my mama & my dad to come with me & one week they did. they never stopped coming. i had the privilege of watching my mama give her heart to Jesus & become captivated by his love. soon after this our lifestyle changed greatly. my mama & dad got married a year after my baby brother was born. they attended church weekly, my mama was baptized & i feel so blessed to witness the heart change, the life style change & just being apart of this wonderful experience in my mama's life. i am so thankful that Jesus picked her to carry me into this world & to raise me. i am thankful that he saved her so that she could raise me to love him, & to learn along with her. after having a baby of my own i see all the hardwork that she did for me. i see that she woke up countless times, wiped countless tears, changed countless diapers, spent thousands of dollars to clothe & feed me, rocked me, snuggled with me, rejoiced with me the way i rejoice with my own daughter. i love that this is an experience that we get to share now. i could write so much more, but i wont.  i'll leave you with some photographs & 10 things i love about my mama {i had to limit it otherwise you would still be reading this weeks later...}


1. my mama always has a song to sing. i mostly act like it is annoying, but i really do love it. {shhh dont tell...}
2. my mama & i look freakishly like eachother. i used to hate it, but now its something i find very sweet. 
3. she is obsessed with candles. its a good fall back gift. ;) 
4. she has always encouraged me to write, even when i didnt think that i was any good at all.
5. the way she unconditionally loves my husband & my daughter.
6. the fact that she always buys me a coffee, or a treat whenever we go out. 
7. she likes all things vintage & would spend the day at garage sales with me :) 
8. she listens to me talk & talk & talk.... 
9. she has been serving in the childrens ministry at church since she became a Christian.
10. she really, truly loves her entire family. 

happy mothers day mom! i love you!! 

a royal marriage

i dont know about you, but i have always found royalty so intriguing. as a little girl i would lay in my mamas bed & ask her silly questions like, "what if we really are royalty & we just dont know it?!" or " lets pretend that i am a princess & you are the queen & daddy is the king." i would seriously fall asleep dreaming of a palace & a pretty sparkling crown. i wanted to be 'princess alexandria' so very badly. i also do not think that i have ever grown out of that. i think my heart really truly desires to be a princess & have a prince & a pretty crown & wear a lovely dress. i desire to be saved & protected. i think that it is one of the reasons why the wedding of will & kate is such a huge deal to us {at least to me!} to see a commoner become a royal - - is that not what almost all little girls dream of?! a prince coming  & sweeping you off your feet & making you his princess? now, i was going to watch said wedding yesterday, but couldnt find the time {i can assure you i'll be watching sometime this week!} but what i did find the time for was reading this little link {sent to me by my own sweet prince}. i found it to be very insightful. as i was reading it i thought it would be about marriage between a man & his wife,  &  it is, but what i got out of it was something totally different. remember what i just said about that deep longing to be a royal & wear a lovely dress & glittering crown? well, the LORD basically blew me up when i was reading because here i was thinking so materialistically & not having an eternal perspective. friends, we do get to be a royal.{1 peter 2:9} we will be wearing a glittering crown! we are children of the KING! i love that the LORD has placed that desire in my heart & the hearts of many other women. i love that he is created us all to have a deep longing to be rescued by a prince {Jesus}. oh it just makes me want to squeal that someday my dreams of waltzing around a palace will come true & that i get to do that while worshiping my savior & king!! doesnt that just make you giddy for heaven? 

so, like i said God totally blew me away with that sweet revelation while reading this morning, but he didnt stop there. nope. i kept reading & after just being smitten with the ways that Jesus pursues me, i started to focus more on the marriage of husband & wife and not Christ & the Church. 
who doesnt love a good wedding? you can sit & see the love that the man has for his {almost} wife & you can see the respect radiating from that woman to her {almost} husband. it brings people to tears because it is so beautiful. but what happens after that lovely ceremony? does that love & respect just keep going strong & never skipping a beat? i know in my marriage it didnt. {oh dear, thats another post all in itself. i believed so many lies about marriage!} i know that quickly we began this crazy cycle of my sweet man not loving me the way i expected him to & that i was not giving him the respect that he needed. this way of life just kept on going until we dug a little {okay, a lot} deeper & realized that with unconditional respect nick was able to love me like i needed & being loved that way i was able to give him the respect he needed. its a crazy balance that we are in no way amazing at but constantly working towards. its in those moments that we can really see & use the gospel in our marriage. 
with all the hype around will & kate's big day, what i think that people{including me} are missing is that the wedding day is just the first day in the marriage, that we should be praying for them to know Jesus & to be able to apply the gospel to their marriage because without knowing & understanding what true royalty is & who the real king is marriage is hard. {it's hard even knowing & understanding that!} instead of oohing & ahhing over princess catherines wedding dress, we should pray for her heart & her salvation & pray for their marriage. that they can know Jesus & know how to love & respect one another, the way that speaks to the most intimate parts of their hearts. 


i have so much more to say on this topic, but i dont want this post to get out of control long. so be on the lookout for more of my thoughts on marriage. until then, don't forget about my sweet giveaway! today is the last day to enter & i will be randomly selecting & announcing the winner tomorrow!! 


happy sunday! 

some thoughts...

this morning has been filled with giggles and squeals of delight.

playing with my lady baby is such a blessing. 

seeing her grow up is so beautiful.

and scary.

how and when did she get so big?!

i can not believe that my little lady doesnt always want to be swaddled and snuggled for hours. she has more energy and less desire to sleep in my arms or on my chest for hours. it is amazing and beautiful, and bittersweet. i love it. 

being a mama is not what i thought it was going to be. it is actually much harder than i thought. there was a time during the last 4 and a half months that i wanted to give up. i wanted to quit. i didnt want to do this "mama" thing anymore. it was hard. just thinking about those times makes me sad. i couldnt see a way out, it seemed like all my days {for the rest of my life} were to be filled with a screaming, inconsolable, fussy baby. this mama was tired. i was so overly tired that i could have slept for a month. 

oh, but the LORD is good. he is so good. his love endures forever. he poured so much grace and mercy out on me during that time. he gave me strength to get through. he carried my tired, sleepy, heavy burdened body though that month of {what felt like} hell. i know that without him i would not have made it through. he sent beautiful more experienced mama's into my life to encourage me, to help me, to speak wisdom and truth into my life. he continued to bestow gifts on me in my time of desperate need. he loved me like no one else has, and he is the reason i can say that playing and snuggling with my daughter is a joy and a blessing. even now as she fusses on the couch while i type this, my heart is overflowing with love for her. it is all because of the LORD. i am so thankful that i know him, so thankful that i trust him. i desire to share more of him with you. i desire to learn more about him and share what i learn with you all. it is my hope that through this blog you will be able to see my love for Christ, his love for me,{and for you.} i desire to share deep parts of my heart, to try and make sense of the crazyness inside of my head and my heart. i want to show you pieces of my family, the joys and hardships of marriage and mamahood. i want to show you how we are trusting in the LORD to lead us in this life. i want to be friends, i want you to feel like you can know me. even if we are 1,000 miles apart. i feel like the LORD has given us each a story, and it is not our story but his story... and i just want this blog to be a space where i can share that. 

looking forward to knowing you more! 

xo,

a

4 generations. {photo heavy}

this morning maggie was picked up by my wonderful mama. thursdays are the day that my mama watches maggie while i am at work. it just so happened that this morning she was able to pick her up at 7:45am and i dont work until 1pm which means i get some 'alone' time at home. i am determined to take a shower, put away the piles of laundry in my living room and bedroom, finish the dishes, and put away my groceries when they arrive from amazon fresh.  

{my sweet husband knew this week was going to be hard and encouraged me to just order our groceries online and have them delivered. it is much more expensive than what i usually spend, but i had a coupon and it is saving my sanity! i am excited!}

lets hope i can get all of that done before 12:30. i think i can. in the meantime, while i am waiting for some coffee to brew,i will post some of the amazing photos we had taken a few weekends back. i know i am a little lot biased, but my daughter is the sweetest thing! 

four generations.

my mama

me

my gramma

my daughter

so beautiful

 

 xo,
a