Seasons of Love

I was thinking about today's post, and all I could focus on was my to-do list, which seems like a very Mondayish thing to focus on. Over the next few months, my to-do list will be growing, mainly because today Aaron is starting up his grad school again. 

When we first got married he took a couple of classes, but I wasn't working full-time and we weren't really involved in a ministry. Things have certainly changed though! I am now working full-time, teaching music lessons on the side, and am really involved in the church youth ministry, as well as a few of the administrative tasks. Aaron's obviously involved since he is the Youth and Children's pastor. 

The past couple of weeks I've found myself frustrated with the thought of the extra work I'll need to be doing. Aaron is absolutely amazing so he often cleans the house and does the grocery shopping on his day off - Monday. Since Aaron will be so much busier, I'll get to take over these jobs. . . you may be sitting there thinking this girl is crazy it's not that big of a deal, but I'm awful at that stuff especially the cleaning part! And while I may be better now than I was when we first got married, leaving the cleaning up to me is a scary thought! (Just ask Aaron, my mom, or any of my college roommates!)

However, I love this man. And in every season of life my love will be manifested in different ways. When we were dating in college it was sitting together even when we were just doing homework, over our long distance dating it was taking the time to call him(it was a sacrifice - I hate talking on the phone), or send him letters. These past couple months it's been expressing my appreciation for all of his help while I was involved with Oklahoma! I know that during this season what will help him most is having a clean home and full fridge! A dirty house stressed him out, and that definitely doesn't help when you're studying or taking a test! 

As awful as I may be at these things I know that during this season of our life, this is the best way to show love! Later this week I'll be sharing my cleaning schedule!! Fingers crossed that I'll actually stick to it!

All of this to say. . . love your man! We're all in different seasons of love, and I know that every person wants to be loved in a different way, but be thankful that you have someone to love! Love him, regardless of how busy you are at work, how many children you have, or how often you see your special someone. There will always be an excuse, but love is a choice, and I promise you'll both be a whole lot happier if you choose to love him! 

What season of love are you in? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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Five on Friday

We are here for another weekend!!! Yay!!! So excited to have this weekend to do nothing! I've been a production of Oklahoma, and haven't had a free Saturday in about a month! Here are my 5 highlights from the week!

1. Macaroon Monday - I had some friends over on Monday and finally made macaroons! They are so pretty I have been dying to try my hand at them. I was a little scared, but was so excited when they turned out pretty well!

2. Aaron at camp - my husband is a youth pastor so he spent the past week out at a local camp speaking. I went out to see him on Tuesday, he did a wonderful job, I am so proud of him!

3. Ultimate Frisbee - I was in charge of Youth Group on Wednesday since Aaron was gone, we went to a local coffee shop, played some corn-hole, and then went out for some Ultimate Frisbee. I only played one game, but it was also nice to sit and talk with all of the girls on the sidelines. 

4. Pistachio Cupcakes - These are my Achilles' Heel, I could seriously eat about 20 of them. . . no joke! I had my wedding cake made out of this recipe, so it always brings back amazing memories! We had a cupcake competition at work, I didn't win, but I did get a few votes. . . I'm always nervous I won't get any when we have those kind of things! 

5. Movie Night - tonight Aaron and I are going to have a movie marathon (can you call 2 movies a marathon?) It's been forever since we watched a movie at all. . . especially at home, I've been wanting to see Lone Survivor and the Lego Movie, both were in Redbox so that's what we're doing tonight to kick off our weekend!

Hope you have an amazing weekend!

I'm linking up with the Lauren Elizabeth, Meet @ the Barre, and the Farmer's Wife! Check out these amazing ladies! 

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O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!

This past weekend was the last performance of Oklahoma! It ran for 3 weekends, 1 show on Thursday, & Friday, and 2 shows on Saturday. This was such an amazing opportunity and I am so glad I was able to be part of it! I would encourage any of you that have a community theater to get involved in a production or definitely get your kids involved! There are so many wonderful things about theater: you get to meet new friends, it keeps your mind sharp (all those lines and music!), and it builds self-confidence, especially for children! All of the kids in our show were amazing, they were outgoing, super helpful, and I'm sure they learned a lot! 

Here are a few pictures from the show! If you've never seen Oklahoma, go and find the movie! It's wonderful!

"Surrey with the Fringe On Top" this is the male lead, Curly

"Many A New Day" 

Jud, Ali Hakim, and Curly

"Oklahoma" this is after the wedding!

There's a plot twist at the end that I'll let you find out for yourself : ) 

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Five on Friday

Can't believe we're already back to Friday! I can't say that this week has been amazing or super productive or memorable. It's just been another week! I don't know about you, but I'm tired of having "just another" days? You know the kind I'm talking about? Nothing note-worthy, nothing specific accomplished, you just made through the 24 hours without the sky falling.

So for my 5 on Friday I'm sharing the 5 things I am most looking forward to, that will help me make the most of my days and actually feel accomplished!!

1. The Abide Journal - I bought this devotional back in June when it first came out, and just because of how busy our summer was I didn't feel like I could devote the time and effort I wanted to give to it. So I'm going to turn this fall into my season of abiding! Excited to start this next week, and learn more about remaining in the Lord! 

2. A vacation with my hubby!! - This summer we were way too busy to schedule a vacation. Between church summer camps, and Oklahoma rehearsals I can probably count on one hand how many free days we had! BUT Aaron just told me to make sure there's nothing on my schedule August 29-September 1. We will be taking a mini vacation!!! This will be a time of restoration and relaxation, which I am beyond ready for! 

3. Being better about following our budget - You can ask my husband, following a budget is not one of my talents! 

4. A weekly cleaning schedule - this does not seem like something I should be looking forward to. . . but I'm tired of exhausting myself with one huge cleaning session! I'm hoping that coming up with a weekly schedule will help me enjoy my weekends more! 

5. My Reading List - Unfortunately the books on my reading list have been pushed to the side by the Oklahoma script! I'm ready to start reading again and checking those books off my list! 

What are some of your biggest productivity tips? I'd love to hear them! : ) 

I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, Meet @ the Barre, and the Farmer's Wife! Check out all of these awesome ladies!

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Is It Fall Yet?

One day last week our temperatures were down in the 60's and all of a sudden I couldn't wait for fall! It is by far my favorite season! I love falling leaves, sweaters, crisp winds, scarves, and everything pumpkin flavored so I thought I'd share my wish list for this fall. What's wonderful about all of these is that they're perfect transition pieces! 

1. I am in love with this sweater from Lauren Conrad. She is my go to girl for tops. They are all so feminine and comfortable. 3/4 length sleeves are a must for transitional weather.

2. I currently have a different pair of leopard print flats, but they are on their last leg, because I wear them so often! I'm currently looking for a replacement, and as of right now this pair from Target is at the top of my list!

3. I may be behind the trend on this, but I remember last year these waterfall cardigans were everywhere! I loved them, but couldn't find one that fit me well, I'm hoping there will still be a lot to choose from this fall. 

4. Scarves - I wear them all year long! They are hands down my favorite accessory. I have way too many, but can't seem to stop. I mean look at this one, it's a map! How can I resist?!

5. Leather flats are my other favorite shoes for the fall, I had a pair from Nine West that unfortunately broke this past spring. . . I had them for 4 years so I definitely got my money's worth. I love these, and they're on sale for $30! 

6. I love all fall nail colors, but purples and dark greys are my favorites! This Merino Cool from Essie is calling my name! 

Is there anything on your wishlist for this fall? Hope that you have a Happy Tuesday!

I'm linking up with Lauren at Style Elixir

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Five on Friday

Wow I feel like this summer has been the busiest one of my life! I would say I'm thankful for the weekends, but they're busier than my weekdays at this point! We're starting our 2nd week of Oklahoma performances, and so far it's gone wonderfully! We have one more weekend after this and hopefully things will start to slow down. I'm so thankful that we don't have rehearsals during the week between performances, because I finally got a date night this last Monday! Here's a little recap of my week! 

1. Sorry for the bad quality pic, my aunt snapped it last week during the show! Oklahoma had really great reviews from this past weekend! And last night's performance was great! I'm loving this opportunity!!

2. Our youth group played Ultimate Frisbee on Wednesday. It was the perfect weather! I didn't play, instead I watched one of our youth workers's dogs and walked a few laps around the park, very nice and relaxing!

3. I love free stuff. . . I love iced coffee! This may seem like a silly thing, but yesterday in the drive-thru Chickfila was giving out samples of their new iced coffee! Yes, Please!!

4. Finally got a date night with this guy! I may have felt like I was going to fall asleep the whole time (as you can probably tell from the picture) I'm so thankful we finally got some time together though! 

5. One of the perks about this show is I'm getting to leave work early on Thursdays and Fridays!!! I am so ready to get out of here! Even when my weekends are super busy, it's always a great feeling leaving work on Friday!

Hope that you all had an amazing week, and have an even more amazing weekend! I am linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, Meet @ the Barre, and the Farmer's Wife! 

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