babymoon bliss

If you know me and Ben, you know we love to travel! We've had the privilege to do this so much throughout our marriage due to Ben's benefits working with Hilton hotels. It's a sweet side gig that can get us hotel stays for such an affordable price! We've always loved the fun of planning our next adventure, mapping it out, making a playlist, finding fun places to explore, documenting everything with #rothwellroadtrip, and getting away from the routine for a few days to just BE and have FUN.

Family vacations were a huge part of my childhood. I have such sweet memories of summer road trips where we entertained ourselves in our 15 passenger van by playing the license plate game and convincing my mom for more snacks (she always had stashes and stashes, but rationed them out so meticulously!) We would stop at rest stops and picnic in the pavilions...the boys would play football, the girls would play with the babies. We'd pass the time and the miles by journaling and reading Anne of Green Gables and listening to our portable CD players. We'd cheer and holler when my parents announced Olive Garden for our dinner break, piling into the restaurant after hours cooped up in the car and my parents would smile apologetically at our servers and tip a little extra for the cranky kids. I still don't know why Olive Garden of all places was such a favorite. Probably because we could eat as much as we wanted with unlimited bread for the boys and salad for the girls. We'd whine when my Dad would insist we were not stopping to pee...again. We'd inevitably fight over someone's feet on our seat or someone drinking the last capri sun. We'd overnight in cities I wanted to live in like Nashville and NYC, my adventurer's heart leaping and soaring as we pointed out landmarks from the windows and walked streets that seemed larger than life to my adolescent soul. I've always dreamed about making similar memories with my future family. And Ben and I look forward to all the adventures to come for our family in our new Ford Explorer -- with our "The Explorers" playlist. Filled with all our favorite music, it will carry us from destination to destination with our precious baby girl in the backseat. Bliss...

But before we plan these trips for three, we decided to prioritize one last hoorah just the two of us...a little babymoon before baby comes to crash join the party! Last summer, we spent a beautiful week in a cabin on the lake in Michigan (courtesy of our very gracious and hospitable honorary parents) and as we talked about babymoon destinations (most tropical places were ruled out because of the zika virus), we knew this little slice of heaven would be the perfect place to relax and reconnect before our world turns upside down in the best of ways.

We kept our pace pretty slow most days, but sprinkled in a few day trips to get out and about. The beautiful cabin we stayed in is nestled right on Hamlin Lake, a quiet lake that's connected to Lake Michigan. We were 5 miles down a dirt road and 30 miles from any real civilization. It was fun to stock up on groceries and make yummy meals between lounging on the dock or cozying up by the fire. The roof of the cabin was lined with large skylights and we'd literally sit in the living room and watch the sun move across the floor all afternoon as we read, talked, drank coffee, and watched sports (haha). Our bedroom was in the loft of the cabin and felt a little like a dreamy treehouse surrounded by the woods and water. The bed was topped with a beautiful homemade quilt (shout out to Mama Judy) that added SUCH charm while the mattress sunk in just a enough where we'd wake up every morning cuddling in the middle of the bed. I won't complain about THAT! We slept in, kept the windows open, and let the lake sounds act as the BEST white noise ever.

For fun, we visited nearby cities for shopping, coffee, and some exploring! We loved strolling main street in Manistee -- a quintessential American street that raves antique shops, book stores, fabric stores, bakeries, ice cream shops, and even an old dime store! The shops sit adjacent to the Manistee Riverwalk that leads right onto the beautiful beach of Lake Michigan where there are parks, picnic pavilions, and a lighthouse! It was too cold to swim, but this is a definite for next time. Best part about swimming in Lake Michigan? NO sharks and NO salt water!

We took another little road trip to Traverse City. Such a cool place with tons of little gems to enjoy....complete with a free wifi network for the whole city. We started with coffee (of course) from BLK / MRKT, a beautiful warehouse coffee shop with lots of windows, greenery, and black & white aesthetic (my love language)...it's also attached to a plant shop where you can build your own terrariums! Afterward, we walked around downtown...and squealed a little at every children's boutique we stumbled across (there were a lot and we had to practice a lot of restraint). We lunched at a YUM comfort food restaurant called Harvest where Ben declared he ate the best chicken sandwich he's ever had (yes, better than chick-fil-a). Originally a food truck, they just opened their new space that has the best atmosphere, local sodas, and a daily changing menu. We loved it...just wish I could experience their weekend brunch. Next time! Another place we highly recommend is a cute espresso bar / bakery / cafe called Morsels. This shop overlooks the West Grand Traverse Bay and offers gorgeous views of the water. It has the most DELICIOUS bite-sized baked goods -- both sweet and savory -- that are the perfect little treat after walking and shopping. The coffee is amazing and the breakfast/lunch menu looks just as good.

It was kind of surreal-- we were just the same old Ben and Destiny -- on just another trip together -- until we'd remember we're not -- and we weren't. At times, it felt so unseen, the impending change, until we'd look at my baby bump and then each other with a "this is it" look in our eyes. The ending to an era...and the start of the best one yet. This season that has lasted 8 years (four dating, four married) is coming to a close and while the flow of the trip felt like any other, the feeling of the trip felt entirely different. There was a special "make the most of it" attitude as we ventured together, stayed up late together, and made no plans together. There was the hope of so much more just weeks away from us that actually made us eager to go home (to nest, hello!). There was a flicker in our spirits as we drove our new "family car" and imagined it being full of coos, cries, and cuteness. There was a definitive "YOLO" feeling as we drove to the water to watch the sun set at 9:32pm, taking our shoes off and putting our toes in the wet sand where the waves crawled back and forth (people say we'll likely be in bed by this time in a year from now).

Our conversations shifted with new flavor and different timbre....parenting, retirement, budgets, strollers. Should we do a diaper subscription? How many bows are too many, I mean really? Will our daughter have brown or blue eyes? When will we allow her to get her first cell phone? Should we set up a trust fund for her?! And so on. We talked while sunbathing on the dock by the water, listening to echoes of children's laughter and squeals floating through the breeze from their nearby cabins, canoes, and boats. I bet this is their favorite place on earth, I thought. I bet all their best memories are here. We'll bring her here, we decided. She'll love this little haven up north where you wade out to giant sand dunes and take a boat across the lake to get pizza from a waterfront dive.

We sat with our feet dangling off the dock, enjoying the coolness of the water, breathing in the quiet, knowing uninterrupted calm and relaxation will soon become rare commodities. Reminded of that sentiment every time speed boats and jet skis sliced through the glass-like surface of the lake, causing wind and ripples to sweep toward us, folding over our ankles with a gentle splash. Things will be so different. Life will be so fast. Stillness will be interrupted by the unexpected "suddenly" like these boats cutting across the water with loud motors announcing their arrival. Zooming past us...the way moments become memories before you're ready and you're left in the foam of the wake, trying to hang on to everything.

In just a few weeks, what's known will be replaced with the unknown, which will eventually become the known again.

And it's too weird and wonderful to figure out.

So we just sat there.

Our hearts resting in the moment with our feet in the water and our dreams somewhere in the clouds.

 

SaveSave

live at peace with everyone

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

An excerpt of this passage was read at our wedding. My little brothers spent hours practicing and reciting it. They even took turns writing it out on paper and carrying it around in their pockets. And I'll never forget their voices during our ceremony: clear, a little sheepish, raspy, sure.

On that summer day -- july 13, 2013 -- I didn't really put much thought into how I would live this scripture out. I honestly didn't think it would apply to much more than my marriage -- a resolve & recipe for ben & for myself. I didn't think I'd actually have to use this as my "how to" guide for responding to real life on the outside with the real love of Jesus. I didn't think we'd find ourselves sitting at our kitchen table, his voice full of emotion as he reads these words aloud to me. I didn't think we'd be driving down fenton mill road, me ranting, and him reminding me softly: "as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Now, it's become more than a scripture read at our wedding. It's become part of our life message. Part of our calling - to love others in spite of our preferences and priorities. I'm so thankful I learned this lesson when I did. I'm thankful God chose us to learn it and live it out - together. I am joyful because I have a sure and steadfast hope. I am faithful to surrender it to him in prayer because he hears and he has mercy. I am patient because I know God brings good out of affliction, serves justice, and grants peace.

"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good."  -- John Steinbeck 

xoxo,

d

about time and about life

I realize that I've nearly completely neglected this beautiful little piece of me. I've missed blogging, but also been busy living...so I guess it's okay?

I'm in a season of stretching & trusting. I'm being pushed out of so many comfort zones (necessary!) and also trying my hardest to look to Jesus when things get sketchy & uncertain (also necessary). It's a funny thing -- trust. You worry about so many things in life and often the thing that creeps up on you to threaten your joy & peace is the last thing you ever thought to stress about.

I watched the movie About Time recently. It's full of british humor, face-palm time traveling escapades, and Rachel McAdams (whom I love soooo much). But it also provides some pretty good life advice that kinda stuck with me and even had me grabbing it a second time at redbox.

Like this quote about worrying:

"There's a song by Baz Luhrmann called Sunscreen. He says worrying about the future is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life will always be things that never crossed your worried mind."

Or this one about life in general and knowing when to stop stressing and start living:

"And in the end I think I've learned the final lesson from my travels in time; and I've even gone one step further than my father did: the truth is I now don't travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live everyday as if I've deliberately come back to this one day - to enjoy it - as it if was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life."

So my life may be ordinary. I may work a crazy schedule and have a huge family and be way too obsessed with quality time to actually accomplish tasks (or blog for that matter). I may be going through some health issues and growing into new roles and trying to figure out the future (futile endeavor). But hey! I am loved by Jesus, my husband, and my family. And sometimes when you're finding a new rhythm you see those types of things more clearly: like when your people bring you coffee, drop off Zoe's Kitchen for dinner, text encouragement, and give you the best hugs when you need them. And in all of it, I am reminded that this life really isn't about me at all. It's about whose name I carry. It's about showing people Jesus -- reaching out, showing up, being there. It's about making Jesus known and spreading his GOOD news to everyone I encounter. So really? I am living the extraordinary life. A life of ministry. A life of hope. A life of purpose. A life that's evolving, constantly taking new shape, and for that I am thankful because who likes to stay the same?

(Now who can help me with time management so that I have clean clothes to wear, painted walls in my house, friends who feel poured into, and me time to decompress?!)

"Ideals"

Courage to face tomorrow,
Love that is clean and pure,
Faith that clings to simple things,
Hope that is strong and sure;
Strength when the storm clouds gather,
A heart that will soon forgive...
This is the gold your heart will hold,
These are the things that live!

Oh, for a spot that slumbers
Warm in the evening sun;
Oh, for a gate where dear ones wait
After the race is run;
Oh, for a peace-filled garden
With roots in the good brown loam...
Behind each hill they call me still,
The sun-splashed walls of home!

Songs you sang in twilight,
The warm sweet smell of the land,
A love-filled face by the fireplace,
The touch of a loving hand;
A kiss from the lips of someone
That no other lips can give....
This is the gold your heart will hold,
These are the things that live!

-- Carey Holbrook

twenty thirteen

I am proud of the year twenty thirteen. I spent half of it preparing to be married and the other half privileged to be married. I stared change in the face and conquered it. The biggest telltale sign being the former Destiny Morrow replaced with Destiny Rothwell. I started my own (very small) family, exercising strength to leave my (very large) family in order to do so. I got a dream job, kept house, changed my hair, watched tolerated redskins games, folded towers of boxers, walked the foundation of our future home, and endured sharing a bed with someone who clearly never learned how to share a bed. 

Twenty thirteen was good to me. In fact, on New Year's Eve, I woke up feeling hesitant to let it go. It was as if I refused to unclench my fists and open my hands to let more in. What if what's ahead doesn't live up to what we left behind in that beautiful year of bliss?

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”   ~Isaiah 43:18 & 19

our LAST photo from the year we got hitched…peace OUT!

So yes. I may not have control of what comes. So yes. I may not be able to foresee what I will face. But I am confident. And with God, I am courageous. It will be a year of victory, wonder, and significance. He is making the way and because of that, I live with excited expectancy!

twenty thirteen was the year of change.

twenty fourteen is the year to charge forward.

you are a collection

"For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock" -- Psalm 27:5

Recently, I learned (thanks to that powerhouse preacher, Beth Moore) that the Hebrew word used in this passage for "conceal" is tsaphan, meaning "to hide" or "treasure up." The substituted meaning totally changed my perspective:

"He will treasure me up in His shelter in the day of adversity"

He will treasure me up. Treasure me up! 

I instantly envisioned the Lord gathering up all parts of me -- the good & bad, the confidence & the insecurity, the greatness & the shame, the faithfulness & the discontentment -- and holding it ALL close to Him. He becomes the shelter over us, our true hiding place where he is more than sufficient in guarding, covering, and concealing. He treasures every detail of who we are and gathers it near to Him. 

The illustration that immediately came to mind - as I was nestled on the couch jotting down prayers - was an image of my mama's china set, carefully stored away from her everyday dishes. White. Shiny gold rims on the teacups. Whimsical pink roses swooping across the glass. A precious collection.   

He will treasure you up. Gather all parts of you. And hold you gently. 

YOU are a precious collection -- just like a china set -- that Jesus is seeking to complete. And he longs for all the pieces that together comprise YOU as YOU.  

But let's admit it...at times we're ashamed of the all the different pieces that make us who we are. And we just want to keep them  wrapped in newspaper and stored away under lock and key. We don't want them being seen or used. We convince ourselves they're not adequate enough to create that hostess-worthy, picture-perfect place setting that we all want to display for others...instead our pieces seem scattered, disassembled, and definitely not ready for company to sit down at our table of life and catch a glimpse.

We look at ourselves as fragile. Maybe we even have broken pieces and we're jagged and sharp. We feel incomplete, even disposable. If we're a collection, we feel like we should be sold, traded, replaced.

But the Lord doesn't see the brokenness -- only the beauty. In His eyes, we are hand painted, hand crafted, dazzling like gold, purposefully curved and molded, transparent like crystal in the eyes of our Maker.

Like my mother's tea set, or something similar that's displayed in the window of an antique shop...these collections each have a story. They have value. They are coveted, preserved. They represent a cherished heritage and are used for the best of guests. 

The same goes for you. THESE are the things His Word says you are:

Designed (Psalm 139:13)
Crafted (Isaiah 64:8)
Admired (Zephaniah 3:17)
Wanted (Luke 19:10)
Chosen (John 15:16)
Bought (1 Corinthians 7:23)
Displayed (Psalm 8:4-6)
Useful (Ephesians 2:10)

God seeks to collect every aspect of your character and your heart in order to fully KNOW YOU. He views you as a precious collection that is proudly acclaimed, sought-after, and rare, no -- better, ONE OF A KIND!

So don't dwell on those little cracks and smudge marks. The chips or fading paint. No, instead hold fast to this truth:

"My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my POWER is made PERFECT in WEAKNESS." -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

He is the maker of perfection. He has created you to be a beautiful collection. And he is gathering you, treasuring you, and hiding you under his mighty shelter.

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He GATHERS the lambs IN HIS ARMS and CARRIES THEM CLOSE TO HIS HEART" -- Isaiah 40:11

a beautiful woman and her beloved men

Last week I had the privilege to have lunch with a new friend, Ann. It was my first time meeting her, but I feel already so connected to her. It was her 52nd birthday -- although she doesn't look a darn bit like it. Her skin is smooth and sun-kissed. And you'd never guess she carries all the cares of the world on her shoulders when you see her sweet smile.

She's from Chicago. She planned a trip to Virginia in a desperate attempt to just "get away and hide" as she said. Her two daughters back home are gluten-free, dairy free, and everything else-free, so we all decided to go get rich, creamy, carb-y italian food since she needed some people to indulge with her. The restaurant was small -- a local store-front place -- with natural lighting and tuscan decor. The 6 of us sat at a long table in the center of the room. We began with small talk and when conversation shifted to what she does for a living, she started. Stopped. Then said, "do you know my story?" We shook our heads, innocently, and she delivered the blow. The blow that left me in tears in the middle of Francesco's -- me, a mere stranger to this woman -- so moved that my eyes welled up and spilled over.

See, within 20 months, Ann lost a man in 3 generations of her immediate family: first her son, then her husband, then her father. She's planned 3 funerals, inherited a company she doesn't quite know how to run, and became void of every male figure in her life that mattered to her.

Last weekend was not only her birthday, but the 2 year anniversary of her 21-year-old son's death, who died in a plane crash while flying with friends on a college break. It was just a few months later, while grappling with unimaginable grief, that they learned her husband, Dan, needed a kidney transplant. What a miracle it was that Ann was the match and could sacrifice one of her own kidneys in hopes to save her husband. They both underwent surgery and everything was deemed successful. That is, until Dan collapsed after the procedure and to this day, the doctors couldn't tell you why. Seemingly left alone and forced to face the most ugliest faces of loss, Ann's father was there to console her. Although he was ailed with heart issues, he poured his life into his widow daughter. When she mentioned something needing to be done to her house or odd jobs that typically required a man, he readily volunteered. "you don't even know what it is yet!" Ann would say. But he would reply,  "it doesn't matter. I'll be there." It wasn't long before his heart couldn't keep up and he too went on to be with the Lord.

Beautiful Ann talks SO fondly of her men that still fill up every inch of her heart. She doesn't smile much, but when she does, it includes laughter when re-telling a sweet memory. Like when her son, Josh, spent the summer back home on their farm instead of doing a college internship. They employed him to pick and sell tomatoes and onions on their Illinois land. Josh and Ann spent hours together out in the fields. And she quickly learned that if she stayed quiet, he sure wouldn't. "He talked the day away," she says, "He would just talk, and talk, and talk. And I would just listen." She chuckles when recalling the way he hated working with crops and announced at the end of summer: "I am never doing that again." Her smile vanishes and is replaced with the hoarse words: "and two months later...he died."

Or the way she describes her and her husband's experience with the grief counselor after Josh's death: they would go in, sit down, and Dan would always talk first. He'd say a few words and then be done -- leaving the rest of the time for Ann to unload her sorrow and confusion and desperation. As she recollects, it's as if she forgets we're there and instead, she's in that counselor's office once again. She isn't making eye contact. She's looking away. She lets out the most heartbreaking combination of a contemplative sigh mixed with reflective laughter, and says, "he didn't even really need to go, but he went for me...he went for me every time."

So. Here is Ann. A woman who hasn't seemed to age one bit in spite of her turmoil, sitting beside me, tossing her pasta with her fork, choking out the horrors of her world and the vaulted pain she relives at night. And I am in stunned silence, trying to sift through my feelings; my compassion bubbling up until it about overflows. Sure, I knew what my heart needed: I clung to my Dad after lunch, sought out my husband to hold onto him just a little tighter than usual, hugged my 18-year-old brother who's also my best friend. But that was all for me. What about Ann? 

Your heart always aches when you hear a story about terrible loss, but I'm not sure it really BREAKS until it's right in front of you, and you hear her order her entree, and you see her sip on her coke, and...and you hug her and can actually feel her exhaustion. And when the person who survived it is good, and beautiful, and real, and strong. Oh...so, so strong. 

At the end of our lunch, as we were walking to the car, I asked her:

"Ann, have you ever considered writing your story down?"
And her response sunk down low into my gut and left me with goosebumps all over.
She stared at me, looked at her niece (who I later learned has been encouraging her to do the very thing), and responded with:

"God is still writing my story. But I don't want my loss to be wasted. And not used by God. So maybe one day I will."

Phewwww... THAT is what I call TRUST.

She faced the horror every parent dreads when she buried her only boy and the baby of the family. She survived life's tumultuous storms with her life partner -- including an accident leaving him with prosthetic legs -- only to have him suddenly gone when things finally seemed all right. Then she lost the only man she had left -- the one who mourned with her through all the agony, the one who was there from the very beginning -- her Dad. And yet she still trusts God? She still gives Him the credit for writing and crafting her story?

I can't say whether or not I could -- if I were in her shoes -- do the same thing.

At one point in the afternoon, amidst Ann's brave vulnerability and our wide-eyed stillness, she told us she has a life-song. It is a song she had sung at all of the funerals -- and then, without coordination, amazingly it was sung at Josh's friend's funeral (who died with him in the plane crash) AND also at the university's memorial service honoring the two boys' young lives. It's a song I know well -- although will never, ever, ever listen to the same way. The lyrics to the chorus are as follows:

"what if your blessing comes through rain drops? 

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?"  

"Blessings" by Laura Story

So, even now, as I write this, I haven't yet answered the question that seems to repeat in my mind: "what about Ann?" But I know of someone who DOES have an answer, and who is confident in the part He plays in the continuing story of beautiful Ann and her beloved men...

"Father to the fatherless, defender of widows -- this is God, whose dwelling is holy" Psalms 68:5

*If you feel comfortable, please take a moment and pray for Ann -- that she would continue to experience Jesus as the Lover of her soul and the Knower of her heart. 

summer 2013: "it's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"

This summer, one of my very biggest dreams came true. The same dream that echos in the hearts of every girl from about five years old onward. 

The opening scene of The Wedding Planner comes to mind-- a little girl donning a white veil is sitting in a sunlit room, surrounded by toys, with a Barbie and Ken also dressed up and ready for marriage. My sisters and I acted out that very same scene many times in our own barbie days. Weddings were the very best story line to play...we'd always beg my mom to buy us more ken dolls so more of our barbies could get married! I smile now....even then we knew that Barbie was better with Ken. I guess we had school-girl intuition that everyone desires to find a person who is willing to change their whole world and tailor it to yours, that single person who will sleep beside you, live beside you, and love no one besides you. 

It's just like the little girl from the movie says as she holds up the plastic bride & groom:

"From now on, he'll take care of you...and you'll take care of him. He'll make you big bologna sandwiches...and you'll buy him new socks and a white briefcase. And you'll live happily ever after. You're the luckiest girl in the world, Barbie."

On July 13, 2013, barbie matrimonies were long gone. I was the one wearing white. I was saying "yes" to a man who is tall, dark, and much more handsome than any ken doll. I had my own precious promises written in a mini molskine notebook and I was ready to declare them to the world. My overall vision for the day that first originated in my mind had been flushed out, sketched out, mapped out, and planned out. Every detail had been crafted. Every chandelier had been hung. The 7 month wedding planning journey was over and there I was, sitting in a salon chair getting my hair done by my talented sister, totally freaking out. I knew it was the beginning of a long, long day (as I had been told), but I knew it was also the beginning of much more. No, of everything. That day was when it ALL began. 

I need help from one of my most favorite books to summarize my point:

“But Anne with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth's own optimism. All the Beyond was hers, with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years — each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet.” -- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

My wedding day was the beginning of all my hopes, all my imaginations, all my plans, and all that God has promised to fulfill in my life! It was as if my story leading up to that point no longer mattered, suddenly everything that came after was much more exciting and enticing. I realized I am no longer out to be the great Destiny Morrow, but rather WE are out to be the great Rothwell Family. And all our goals and dreams are now shared. His are mine and mine are his. How amazing it is to have TWO people pushing you to become who you want, to pray like you should, to love like Christ loved, to cling to your passions, and dream up new, crazy dreams. So, taking a cue from my red-headed kindred spirit, I'm sitting with my chin in my palms, peering out the window of life, confident that all the beyond is ours. 

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.” -- L.M. Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams

"love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for"

This past weekend, Ben and I went to our first wedding of the season. This was also my first wedding to attend since my own wedding planning began. I noticed everything pre-engaged Destiny never would have. The names of all the flowers used in bouquets, how the folds in her dress flattered her waistline, whether or not she was wearing fake eyelashes, wondering where she got her brass cake stands, eyeing her creativity with every bride's best friend--mason jars.

But what really struck me was the couple. Their tenderness and sassy-ness toward each other. Their googly-eyed gazing one moment and then jubilant humor the next. Everything else could have been nonexistent and they'd still be glowing. Their love and sincerity was overwhelmingly beautiful. It was in their eyes -- in their voices as they said their vows. I always love witnessing that kind of love. The forever kind. The can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over-the-fence, World Series kind of stuff (to quote my favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley movie). I cried as Jason barely held it together when Rebekah came around the corner--her Carrie Underwood hair blowing in the gorgeous May breeze; I cried when she reached up to his face with her perfectly manicured hand to wipe his tears; I cried when one of her bridesmaids toasted, challenging them to fight through the hard moments, to remember the love they have now and the One who gave it; I even cried at Jason's "OH YEAH" in replace of "I do" during his vows.

It was a beautiful day. And served as a great reminder that love is truly the only ingredient needed as I continue planning my day. My and Ben's love will endure and sustain long past a mere date on a calendar that I am trying so very hard to perfect. Love is the only thing perfect.

wedding attire details

seriously --- how gorgeous is she?!?!

that blue sky; the Lord just straight SPOILED them

my fiance doing what he does as the bride and groom share their first dance

it's our turn in TWO MONTHS!!!

my beautiful friend...who let me gawk at her for minutes on end as she talked to me

aaaaaaand guess who caught the bouquet?!