Long Hair

I have been thinking a lot lately about how to put my long hair up in a comfortable, stylish, and easy manner. You see I started babysitting my friends 6 month old during the week so I need a way to keep my hair out of the way. I usually just wear it down or put it in braids. Lately I have been rockin the side braid which works for a little while, but within an hour or so I end up having to re braid it because it becomes messy. Anyways, I found a couple of YouTube videos that have inspired me to play around with different hairstyles.

This style is fun to do. You don't need ties, clips, or anything to do it!!

This is a quick video and the updo looks pretty easy to try.

I learned how to fishtail braid out of an American Girl book back in elementary school and I'm pretty sure I haven't tried it since, but I just did it and it is super cute!

Preparing for Fall

I know it's a little early to be thinking about decorating for fall, but I'm just too excited to wait!! :) This will be my first fall in my own home!! I have been eyeing the fall aisles at Hobby Lobby lately mentally picking out what I'm going to buy (when it is on sale for 50% off of course!). Anyways, I decided to start working on some fall decorating projects. The first one is a felt banner for our fireplace and I love how it turned out!

Also I thought I would show the pictures I have on the mantel because they are so very special to us. The two older pictures below are Mike's maternal grandparents.

This is the other side of the mantel. The picture on the far left is my great grandma. The small picture is my great-great grandma and the one in the cream frame is my grandma. All on my mother's side. The frame with three pictures is of both sets of my grandparents with my parents in the middle. I have always been interested in my family history. I think it is so important to preserve the past and pass on what you can to the next generation. I love that I have five generations of women framed on our fireplace!

Three Months!!

Yesterday marked our first three months of marriage! We celebrated by going garage sale-ing (at Mike's suggestion) and having dinner at Cracker Barrel. Here is the treadmill we bought for only $10!! Also we bought an adorable peacoat for my two year old niece for $5! Its super cute.

Mike also put up our porch swing and spray painted my bike basket. :)

The last three months have been wonderful and I'm so happy that I am married to a man that is so very patient, respectful, understanding, and full of love!! I love you honey!!

Most Influential (thus far)

After posting about a worship song yesterday that has meaning to me I started thinking about all the other things in my life (songs, artists, movies, books) that have moved me and have helped to shape me into who I am today. So I'd like to share with you some of my most favorite things.

Worship Artists

Jimmy Needham - I stumbled across his first CD by God's grace and have loved him ever since. He has a jazzy/pop sound and his lyrics are very creative and passionate. Just by listening to one song you can tell he is completely in love with Jesus. His lyrics give me chills they are so powerful and full of truth. Some of my favorite songs by him are Fence Riders, For Freedom, Dearly Loved, Firefly (a fun song to his wife) and Tossed by the Wind. I just bought his newest CD and haven't listened to it all the way through, but I'm sure I will have some new favorites soon.

Shane and Shane - I walked into a Christian bookstore a few years back and they were playing An Evening with Shane and Shane. I asked the store associate who was playing and I bought the CD. They have such wonderful talent and one of the reasons that makes their music so powerful is that most of their songs are scripture plain and simple. I would suggest absolutely any of there music, but my favorite Cd's are Psalms, An Evening with Shane and Shane, and Clean because they are all more acoustic which is what I love. I have seem them in concert and have plans to see them again. The video below is very moving. They tell the story behind the song Turn Down the Music. You will probably have to turn up the volume on the video and your computer. It is TOTALLY worth watching.

Some other worship artists that I love are

Alli Rogers (Praise the Lamb makes me cry every time)

Watermark, Bethany Dillon , Audrey Assad, and Chris Rice.

Fiction Books

Grandma's Attic Series - I loved to read as a child and I could sit here and list all of the books I enjoyed and that entertained me, but the truth is the only books that I have actually kept from childhood are the Grandma's Attic Series books. My dad brought me home the first book in the series one night when I was in about fifth grade and I was instantly in love. I have reread them many times and I look forward to passing them down to my daughters (God willing) someday. Now I grew up loving Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie, but Grandma's Attic has continued to be my favorite. These books are based on a true story and they are about a young girl (Mabel O'Dell) who lives on a farm in Michigan in the late 1800s. The reason they stand out from the other books is because they are way more overtly Christian. Mabel and her family have a true relationship with Christ and that's what makes these books different. I would recommend these books to anyone who likes Little House or Anne. I would also like to read the full Love Comes Softly series. I have read two of them, but didn't stumble across those until adulthood. There is just something so magical about a book or movie that you have loved since you were young. If you are interested in reading these books here is a link to the the first one.

Redeeming Love and the Mark of the Lion Series - Ok if you haven't ever read these books by Francine Rivers I suggest you stop what you are doing right now and go get them!! They are the most impactful and influential novels I have ever read in my life. Period. End of Story. I would suggest starting with Redeeming Love. It is set in the Gold Rush in California and is based on the book of Hosea in the bible. It is about a little girl is who sexually abused and sold into prostitution at a young age and about how God tells the most amazing Godly man to marry her (once she is grown of course) and love her no matter what. It makes you cry and fall even more in love with your precious creator. It is pretty graphic for a Christian novel, but totally worth it. The Mark of the Lion Series is set in Rome right after Jesus has ascended to heaven and it is about a girl who is captured and made a slave. (And about soooo many more things throughout the series). These books are also very very graphic, but will impact you so much. I promise you will never look at the new testament the same after reading them. The first book is hard to get into at first (like the first hundred pages!!) but please if you start them keep reading!!!! Here is a link to Redeeming Love. Here is the Mark of the Lion series. My sister, mom and I have two complete sets of the series and we can never keep track of where they are because we are always giving them away. PLEASE READ THEM!! :)

Ginny Owens - If You Want Me To

These lyrics are really powerful and I would recommend listening to this song. If you aren't familiar with Ginny Owens you probably don't know that she is blind which makes the last verse even more powerful.

The pathway is broken

And the signs are unclear

And I don`t know the reason why You brought me here

But just because You love me the way that You do

I`m gonna walk through the valley

If You want me to

No I`m not who I was

When I took my first step

And I`m clinging to the promise You`re not through with me yet

So if all of these trials bring me closer to You

Then I will go through the fire

If You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen

When You lead me through a world that`s not my home

But You never said it would be easy

You only said I`ll never go alone

So when the whole world turns against me

And I`m all by myself

And I can`t hear You answer my cries for help

I`ll remember the suffering Your love put You through

And I will go through the darkness

If You want me to

When I cross over Jordan, I`m gonna sing, gonna shout

Gonna look into your eyes and see you never let me down

So take me on the pathway that leads me home to you

And I will walk through the valley if you want me to

Yes, I will walk through the valley if you want me to