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why I love him.

Published by Aubrey

Brian and I on our first date. Oh my we look so young! Still love being right by his side.

Even after 11 years I see new things and understand my husband more and more. Little things that just make me think “yep, this is why I love you.”

This morning was one of those of those times.

He took Mason to his basketball league early this morning. Yes, it made Mason’s day but I know he was just as proud to have his little guy there by his side. He came home to two little girls excited about the outfits they had picked out for the day (not unlike every other day) and he joined right in their conversation about skirts and tights and purses. He listened to me talk about all the things we have going on this week, concerns I have about this and that and all he did was listen and encourage me that it would all work out. Simple, but exactly what I needed. Best of all as he was heading out the door to work he heard the annoying woodpecker that is destroying our trees in the backyard. So what does he do? Puts down his bag, goes back into the house and comes out with his BB gun. Just firing a couple warning shots he said to let the bird know who’s yard this is. Seeing my Southern California husband shooting a BB gun as goes off to work made my day.

I love him. Thankful he’s all mine.

5 on friday.

Published by Aubrey

1. We officially have two 5 year olds in the house. I say officially because 2 weeks ago we unofficially celebrated their birthdays with a bowling party. That’s right ten kids bowling. Both Brian and I were out of town on their actual birthday (who does that!?!) so when the calendar means nothing to you and someone tells you it’s time to celebrate your birthday, no questions asked that’s what you do. As far as they were concerned they’ve been 5 since their party but it was on the 14th five years ago that these two little ladies came into our world. Our hearts have never been the same. Happy official birthday Theia and Kaia!

2. Eleven years ago tonight was my last night as a single woman. I remember it so clearly. I had my last sleepover with my best friend and maid of honor, Amie. Ahhhhh, memories. Anyways…Tomorrow we celebrate 11 years being married! Seriously, we are getting old or something. How did this happen?! But despite the getting old part it just keeps getting better. I think of it this way: You know how jeans just get better with time? New jeans are awesome, one of the best feelings in my opinion but they feel a little stiff at first. You have to work on them a bit. They need to be stretched and put through the wringer a couple times to really break them in and have them feeling good. To have them fit you just right. And the more you wear them, the longer you have them, the better they feel. That’s how I feel about marriage. It keeps getting better especially after it’s been stretched and grown over time. Yep, Brian is like my fave pair of jeans times hundred

3. Can’t get enough of the amazing colors that are right outside our front windows. I love our neighborhood always. But especially in the fall. So good.

4. Next week I am leaving for Allume. There has been a lot of talk about bringing business cards to share. I was back and forth on this one. At first it felt like I was promoting myself and my very small space in the really big blog world. But when I thought about it some more and looked at it as just an easy way to share my info with the new friends I will be making. So I decided to do it. I came up with my own. Nothing fancy here. But I am all about the cool washi tape I found at Michaels to use! So if you see me at Allume, humor me and ask for my card and I will ask for yours and then we’ll be fast friends, I know it!

5. I’m sure most of you know about the 31 days series happening in October hosted by the The Nester. Over 1200 hundred bloggers are writing on one single topic of their choice every single day in October. The topics range from A-Z. Some great reading! I’m really only keeping track of two in particular, my fabulous friends Amie and Christie. Amie is passing on tips of this and that. Little things about life, decorating, crafting and such that she is sharing with her readers. It’s great and I have learned a thing or two! Toothpaste to hang pictures?!? Who knew! Christie is sharing what life is like as a small town girl. Specifically in her small town of Tennessee. What great things her town has! So much so I think I’ll be planning a trip in the near future to come see for myself. I’m a sucker for some good ice cream. Yes, Christie I just invited myself to your house and we will go to the Sugar Shack. Check these blogs out for some good weekend reading friends. You won’t be disappointed by my two friends!

Thanks for reading friends! Have a great weekend!

a kona ironman whirlwind.

Published by Aubrey

Who goes to Hawaii for a long weekend? Oh! That would be me, thanks to my awesome parents. That’s right 4 days to see my brother compete in the World Championship Ironman. I wouldn’t recommend Hawaii for just a long weekend because of the severe jetlag I am experiencing right about now. Not that I have any regrets, totally worth it. But I would recommend going to watch the Ironman if you ever have the chance. Words really can’t describe the energy and emotions when you get some of the top athletes in the world on one island. It’s intense. Being in that atmosphere makes you feel like you can do anything as you see all these people pouring everything they have into this race. To think about all the things they did and did not do for months in advance to prepare is so inspiring. I know what my brother went through to get himself there. It’s amazing.

Right before the race. I’m sure Brent is thinking not nice things right now but…got capture the moment!

For those of you who are new to the whole Ironman scene the race consists of a 2.1 swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. All in one day. Brent finished his race in 9 hours 49 min. This is not what his goal was but considering the extreme weather conditions and it being only his third Ironman he did amazing! Well, anyone who completes an Ironman is amazing in my book. He finished 250th out of 1800+ athletes and was in the top 50 Americans. Pretty awesome, huh?

About to the cross the finish line!

It was a long, tiring (I feel guilty saying that considering) day for us spectators but at the same time it went by really fast. We would stake out our spot along the course and stand and wait and wait and wait. As the time grows closer to when you think he may be coming the anticipation grows. You just keep looking and looking for that one familiar face to buzz by you. Then every once in a while we just start yelling for him, as if that would bring him in any sooner. But it felt good to do! And then all of the sudden he’s there! And you scream your head off and yell and shout any sort of encouraging words that come to your mind in the 15 seconds that he is in earshot. Then he’s gone. And then you pack up and go to the next spot where you hope to see him. That’s most of what our day as spectators was like. In the midst of all that was a lot of praying, wondering, cheering for others and dancing. They had some great music at the finish line where we stood for 3 hours. We had so much fun in the midst of a really intense, emotional day. Very thankful it all turned out so good.

My SIL, Angie who I had such a great time with!

Beside watching Brent cross the finish line and seeing him after it was all over, my favorite part of the experience was right before the race. The energy and anticipation was so real. You could literally feel it in the air. I loved it. I am so thankful to have been apart of the whole experience. To be there with him and support my brother alongside my family meant a lot to me and I know it did to him too.

Mom and Dad living it up in Kona. They loved it!

Brent modeling his custom made TYR goggles. Love it!

Just petting my new friend and talking to him like the sea turtle in Nemo. “Dude, off the shell. Just waxed it.”

Outside of the whole Ironman experience some other highlights were

running each day with the bright blue ocean right there! Come. On.
getting to swim on the same course where the race was and doing a little fish watching while I was at it
KONA COFFEE. Nough said.
seeing and petting sea turtles
swimming in the Queens Bath, a natural spring in some caves
our last dinner out together overlooking the ocean where huge manta rays were swimming around
Exclusive party Brent and his entourage (that would be the fam) were invited to by TYR, a swimming apparel company. We all got to make our own goggles and hang out with some pro triathletes. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

This one goes in the books as one of my all time favorite experiences!

keep pushing play.

Published by Aubrey

Whatever it is, it will pass. It’s not worth the worry, the fear, the time and energy spent.
It’s a phase. It’s a stage. They will grow out of it…and then be onto something else soon enough. That floor you just mopped that now has OJ spilled all over it.? It’s okay. It was bound to get dirty at some point. That clothes bin that was just empty 5 min ago is now overflowing with dirty clothes? Yep, laundry is never ending. It is a fact. And you are doing a good job. Your kids are melting down one after another and now you feel like you are next? It’s okay. Moms aren’t supposed to have it together at all times. No one is.
You didn’t make a well balanced meal with all sorts of fruits and veggies?
Sometimes it’s just the right night for mac-n-cheese or a bowl of cereal.
That pile of “stuff” just keeps growing on your desk? Yes, tomorrow is a new day and it will still be there. Your “to-do” list didn’t get any shorter today but actually longer? Well maybe tomorrow will be different.

We all have outside pressures from here and there and everywhere. We also have the pressures we put on ourselves that often is the greatest of all.

So what do you do? You keep going. You get up the next day and push play. And you keep pushing play. Each day is new with His mercies. Yesterday is behind us and He promises us He will only give us what we can handle for this day.

So whatever comes your way…Just roll with it.
Trust Him. He’s right there. He knows. He’s rolling with you, right by your side.

5 on friday.

Published by Aubrey

1. Fall is here. Cooler weather. Sweatshirts. Warm blankets and LEAVES! We live in a forrest you could say with huge trees all around that dump and I mean dump piles and piles of leaves all over our yard. Hours upon hours will be spent raking these leaves in the weeks to come but for now we will just throw them up in the air!

2. The sweetest thing has happened; the girls and my grandma have become pen pals. The girls love to make pictures and send people mail. Their favorite person to send mail to is Great Grandma and Big Pa. They send pictures covered in stickers that I know is lovingly displayed on their fridge. My grandma sends back a hand written note asking questions and telling them about her days. She often sends stickers back to them. Recently she sent Kaia an article from the local newspaper where my grandma was honored for her many years of community service. Kaia proudly and ever so carefully carries this with her in her purse. I have the best memories growing up with my grandparents. It melts my heart that the girls are developing their own relationships with them. These are good memories to have.

3. I’ve been wanting to make these triple chip butterscotch cookies I found on Pinterest. I’ve also been wanting to thank our firemen for their service to our community and teach the kids about random acts of kindness. Win. Win. Win. We made cookies and pictures one afternoon this week and shared them with our local firemen. The firefighters loved it! And so did the kids. And the cookies were amazing. You gotta try these!

Source: twopeasandtheirpod.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

4. Looking for a simple, cute Fall craft? This week the girls and I made Fall trees by dipping wine corks into paint and dotting the trees up with bright Fall colors. It was fun and mellow. My kind of kid craft.

5. This weekend we are celebrating the girls 5th birthday. We are going bowling! This is kind of funny because they have never been bowling and I’m not really sure if they know what bowling is. Their idea was to do mini golf (which they have never done either) but it’s supposed to be cold and I didn’t really want to monitor 10 kids with golf clubs running around. So 10 kids with big heavy objects and lots of sugar it is! But at least we will be warm and I KNOW we will have fun!

Happy weekend friends! Enjoy!

*** Would you like to join in 5 on friday with you own random tid bits of the weeks you had? I would love it! If so, let me know and I will send you the button I made that you can add to your post. Hopefully soon we can all link up! Wouldn’t that be fun?

OneVerse Project. Won’t you help?

Published by Aubrey

Today I am so excited to share you an amazing story and opportunity that YOU can be a part of! My friends Katie and Lara wrote a book last year on how to have effective quiet times. I bought and it’s amazing! From the start they have committed to giving away a portion of their proceeds. They also set a crazy goal to go along with it! Guess what?!? They have almost reached their goal. Read Katie’ story below and see how you can help them cross the finish line!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

It has been a year since Lara Williams and I first launched Savoring Living Water: How to Have an Effective Quiet Time. I thought we might sell a hundred or so copies of our little e-book. Yet here we are—thousands of copies later—with the book in print and a leader’s guide right around the corner.

God has chosen to use our little e-book in a big way to help end Bible Poverty. We set a crazy big goal last year to bring 104 verses to the Vidunda people, through OneVerse, a Wycliff Bible Translators affiliate.

Today, we stand with only 16 verses left.

Sixteen!

To celebrate all the Lord has done, and to reach our goal near our one-year mark, we are going to give ALL PROFITS to OneVerse for every sale of the e-version sold today, and we would love for Y-O-U to be a part of the work God is doing in the lives of the Vidunda people!

Every PDF, Nook, and Kindle version sold on Thursday, October 4th will bring $5 to the Vidunda people.

If you already have a copy, will you consider gifting a copy, or donating directly to the Savoring Living Water OneVerse project. Any gift amount is welcome!

Thank you for helping us bring God’s Word to the nations!

10 things my Allume roomies might want to know about me

Published by Aubrey

In just a couple weeks I will road tripping east to the Allume conference. Say what?!? Allume is a Christian blogging conference. I am super excited and nervous all at once. I am going with my local partner in crime Jenni who has become one of my best friends. So thankful to have her to enjoy this whole experience with. We are meeting up with Christie, an amazing gal and someone who has become such a dear friend. Christie, Jenni and I have been chatting back and forth online now for over a year. Words cannot express how excited I am for all of us to meet in person! So the three of us are not only meeting one another but we are rooming together at the conference. Good times are to be had for sure. But I feel I need to prepare these girls a bit for being a roomie with me.

Here are 10 things they might want to know:

I’m more of a morning person than a night person. There will come a point in the night when I just shut down. It’s bed time. Trust me, you want me to get good sleep.
I will take time to plan my outfits before I come but mostly certainly I will second my choices and I will need your reassurance that what I have brought is the most perfect choice and I can’t go wrong!
I like to have a bedtime snack. So I will probably ask you to go on a hunt around the hotel to look for something to eat. No worries, I will share:)
Again, I am a good sharer so clothes, accessories, beauty products: it’s all up for grabs in my opinion.
I wear contacts except for the 10 min before I go to sleep and the first 5 minutes before I pry my eyes open to put my contacts back in. So…you may see some funky glasses that may or may not be held together with super glue at the time.
I will run in the mornings. Therefore my sweaty, stinky running clothes will be displayed in room somewhere to air out. I. Am. Sorry.
My face says everything. Anything I am thinking will be displayed through my facial expressions. Sometimes this is good. Most times not. Again. I am sorry.
There will be a point when I hit maximum capacity of social interaction. Our room will be the safe place. Just go with it.
Music is necessary when I get ready. You will probably see some crazy, absurd moves which I call dancing.
There are no other two people that I would rather room with that get to enjoy all this goodness about me!

I’m linking up with my friend Stacey who is also attending Allume. Are you going too? Don’t you want to share a little bit with your roomies?

pinspired.

Published by Aubrey

I’ve been on a Pinterest kick lately. Recipes, projects, decorating…it’s all there. Here are some things I have done lately that have been successes or not so much!

Source: familyfun.go.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

This soup was AMAZING and everyone loved it. Highly considering making it weekly just for that reason. I added turkey sausage for some meat and it was a nice addition. This is a must try folks!

Source: pinterest.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

Love this simple Fall decoration. I made something similar on our front entryway table.

Source: foodgawker.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

This recipe did not turn out so great. In fact I ended up just throwing the leftovers away that night. Something just wasn’t right about it. Maybe it was my doing, not enough taste for us and I even added some extra seasonings.

Source: glutenfreenavywife.blogspot.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

I see these DIY beauty tricks on here all the time and have never tried them. Last night I decided to try two! I did the silky smooth sugar scrub on my legs (above) and the baking soda microabrasion on my face (below). I had great success with both. Silky smooth legs and a nice, smooth face. Oh, yes I was glowing just like this girl below:)

Source: wihousewifeconfessions.wordpress.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

How have you been pinspired lately?

5 on friday in pictures.

Published by Aubrey

Amazing deal on this grey bowl at Target, $4.58! It’s grey AND at Target…there was no will power. Love.

This is girls old dresser. The drawers have fallen out but I’m holding on to it because I know there is some way I can repurpose this into something funky and beautiful. Therefore, I wait for inspiration.

I love running. I love Fall. I love running in the Fall.

Oh yes! The quilts are done! They fit so nicely on their beds. I smile every time I look in their room. Last night, Theia was having trouble sleeping so I joined her on the top bunk and snuggled under her quilt for a bit and it is quite snuggly. Makes me happy.

Lastly, I had the fun treat of getting my hair cut and colored by my sweet and amazingly talented friend Carly. So awesome. I love her and I love what she did. Fun way to spend a Friday afternoon!

That’s all folks! Have a great weekend!

little miss thing x 2

Published by Aubrey

Yesterday was THE day. THE day we’ve all been waiting for. The girls went to preschool! As some of you know our start day was pushed back for several reasons several times. This caused much discomfort around here. Ok maybe more for me than them. What can I say, after 7 years of having at least one little person with me at all times I was ready for a couple scheduled hours a week to do whatever I wanted. You know, wild and crazy things like cleaning the house and going to the grocery store.

We’ve been counting down the days and then we started recounting and recounting again BUT we made it to yesterday. Carefully chosen outfits from the night before were put on by 7:30am. School starts at 12:15 my friends. Long morning for everyone involved. Finally, with MUCH excitement from everyone in the car we arrived to drop off time. We said a prayer for peace and confidence and lots of fun for the first day. With huge smiles, giggles and hand holding they hopped out of car and went right to their teachers. Wait, do I even get hugs? Quick hugs and kisses and off they went. And what’s this I feel? A little ache in my heart as I watched them bravely walk away. My big girls. I was so happy for them and proud of them. Oh, maybe I will miss these little sweet peas a bit.

But then without a minute to lose I hopped back in the car. I had to make the most out of the next 2 hours and 20 minutes and the grocery was calling my name. Told you I was getting all crazy!