Casey Wiegand and Faith

One of my favorite daily reads is the beloved Casey Wiegand.
She is inspirational to no end.
When I become a mom (if ever), I want to have a heart like hers.
I want to feel love like she feels it.
And I pray every day to have a relationship with God the way she does.

I am quite often moved by her posts about her relationship with Christ.
As a brand new Christian, I reached out to Casey and asked her to write a little post for me about her relationship with God, and how she came to
accept him into her life.
What she wrote for me was nothing short of beautiful.
I'd like to share it with you today.
And if you don't know Casey yet, I'm sure you'll love her every bit as much as I do. Please go tell her hello from me,
and enjoy her wonderful post!

***************************

Hi! My name is Casey Wiegand, I am a freelance artist, wife and mama. I also own an art studio for kiddos in Dallas! I love painting and sharing our life through my blog...where you can expect pieces of my perspective on life, faith, kids, marriage, with touches of art, creative inspiration, projects and things I love along the way.

 I love the weather right now. 

The warm sun on my toes and the crisp air makes me so happy. There is something stirring in me. 

I can't quite pinpoint it, but something is stirring in my heart. 

I have been thinking a lot lately, really the past 2 months about what I believe. I have a fear of hurting anyone. And sometimes that holds me back.
For some reason I feel like over the past year or two it has been a very concrete time in my life where everything I grew up believing....I was able to truly stand firm and say...yes, I truly do believe that. Or no, I no longer see life that way. 

It was me, alone, standing before God saying here is what I believe to be true. 

I just wanted to write out that if you are struggling...if you are wrestling with your faith or your place- I can tell you that  through my greatest heartaches, I truly found my faith.

I grew up in a christian home....but it wasn't until I when my life began to crumble and I was in a place of being tested that I said.... wow, yes...I am actually living out what I have always said to be true. I am choosing Christ when it is hard...I am choosing forgiveness and choosing to trust.

I guess it was then that I TRULY  knew that yes, I really believe that. Jesus is my savior and I am going to spend eternity with  Him. Choosing Christ is saying goodbye to the old me and literally dying to my sins. Dying to those fleshly desires, dying to the selfishness, dying to the quick reactions and the judgements.

I am new, because of Him.

Just Because: From Daniel

Hello everyone!

I'm Daniel- Aunie's boyfriend

I was asked if I would like to write a little something for Just Because Friday.

We were looking through pictures once and we came across this one.

Out loud I said "Oh my!" 

I was referring to her short dark brown hair.

Let me just say.. big fan :)

Having said that, I think Aunie is absolutely gorgeous inside and out.

  She can have long blonde hair if she wants.

She's gorgeous no matter what.

To tell you all the truth

I love her more and more every day...

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San Diego.

Our final day spent in beautiful California took us back to San Diego.

I was finally able to meet Daniel's middle brother, Ian, and his beautiful fiancè Georgina. 

Ian is the brother in the shorts and black hoodie. 

I am really sad I didn't capture a shot with his fiancè, who is truly a dish.

Their younger brother, Adam, is the one with the hideous accidentally really blonde hair.

Sorry Adam, but it's so bad.

I still love you, brother.

Anyway-- it's almost as though he was letting me live vicariously through him since I can't dye my hair right now... so he did it to himself for me.

Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Our short trip to Coronado Beach was not without surprises.

We witnessed a man get down on one knee and propose

—she said yes—

and right afterward we got the chance to see dolphins jumping through the waves.

And no, this time I did not cry when I saw the dolphins...

...and NO— that is not how we kiss.

We began giggling mid-kiss, if you must know.

That evening, while dining at the Barefoot Bar and Grill,

I also got to share a glass of wine with my best friend from college.

What a wonderful, beautiful, blessed day...

...which ended with us sleeping in our car in the parking lot

and waking up at 4am to head to the airport.

We live the glamorous life, eh?

Joshua Tree.

6am on Friday, April 20th brought with it an adventure 

at Joshua Tree National Park.

When most people go to Joshua Tree, I'd assume they hike, rock climb, visit the oasis,

or just drive around and look at the pretty Ocotillo Garden, Cholla Garden, or Joshua Tree forest.

But Daniel and I?

We did all of the above... and went lizard hunting.

Yes. Lizard... hunting.

We didn't just want to look at them sunning themselves on the rocks.

We wanted to catch them.

And catch them we did.
Chuckwallas, side blotches, horny toads...
all of the above.
We caught about 6 lizards total,
and released all of them right where we found them, of course.
Clearly... we like lizards.
We thought of it like we were visiting Dobby's cousins.

Let me tell you... it's not as easy as it looks.
We spent 7 hours catching lizards.
It was the best-spent 7 hour adventure I've ever had.

The Desert.

On our second day in the desert,
Daniel and I found ourselves at the Desert Falls Country Club,
(which is also where my dad's condo is)... but this time we were golfing.

Yes. Golfing.

It was my second time golfing ever and I definitely did not improve my skills.
(First experience golfing and same shirt can be found here).

Never-the-less, it was a blast and a half.
We played with my dad and his girlfriend.
It was a hot, sweaty experience.

Do you remember yesterday how I mentioned that my idea of a vacation is different than most?

While golfing may be a standard vacation staple, that was way down the list of what we had already accomplished that day.

We had gotten up at 6am, went to the gym and burned off our booties in a workout,

watched a couple play tennis for about a half hour,

went back to the condo and cooked ourselves an egg and fruit breakfast,

and then we even spent an hour at the pool.

All before our golfing adventure. 

I am 100% certain that we did not let one moment go to waste while in the desert.

♥

SeaWorld.

I. Am. Back. From. Vacation. In. California.

But not mentally.

In fact, my desk at work is already piled high with loads of work.

So, while I will finally be answering emails this evening,

I will not be able to spend too much time blogging this week.

I had so much fun in San Diego and Palm Desert with family.

This week is going to be little recaps from my vacation.

Also, I've decided that my kind of vacation is officially different that most.

So I hope you enjoy my week of reminiscing!

*********************

Wednesday, Daniel at I were up bright and early at 3:30am to catch our flight to San Diego.

As soon as we arrived, we bolted over to SeaWorld. 

I haven't been to SeaWorld since I was a kid.

It was so wonderful.

We saw everything—except the Shamu show.

The park was practically empty the entire day.

We felt as though we had the place to ourselves.

My favorite thing was the Seamore and Clyde show, Sea Lions Live.

The guy who played Biff was hysterical.

Oh—and a side note—apparently dolphins make me cry.

I totally cried through the whole dolphin show. 

I just love them!

Bye Bye Beehive

Last October, I began the blog and 365-day project, Bye Bye Beehive, as a journey
 to achieve the long, beautiful, healthy hair I've always desired.
 The rules? No dyeing, teasing, blow drying or frying.
Through BBB, I'm even helping raise over $1,500 for local cancer patients!

Last month, I almost made a huge mistake and came so close to quitting.

Now, 6 months and 8 days later, I can't believe I'm over half way!
And I will NOT be quitting!

 

If you have some free time and want some hair-inspiration,
check out Bye Bye Beehive,
my hairstyle archive,
 my monthly hair growth updates,
or any of my past posts related to HAIR,
head on over to
BYE BYE BEEHIVE.
Home of all things hair—minus the hairspray, teasing, dyeing and frying.

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LINK UP YOUR FAVE POST OF THE WEEK ♥

The Really Long Saturday.

Dress: TJ Maxx // Leggings: F21 // Sandals: Steve Madden // Belt: Target // Blazer: Thrifted

Saturday was a long day.

A crazy day.

I can't believe all that happened.

 

I was woken up early by a call from my mom.

She sounded horrible. She said she needed to be rushed to the doctor.

Her stitches from her hysterectomy in December (DECEMBER!!) had still not healed and had basically exploded.

I will spare you the graphic details, though I was fully exposed to them as I was in the exam room with her,

but she had to be rushed into emergency surgery.

She received a botched surgery from an incredibly rude and thoughtless doctor in December, and

Saturday she was fixed by a wonderful, trustworthy doctor. 

It was all a very scary experience, and we are so thankful for that doctor.

She went home from the hospital yesterday and is doing very well.

So... that was one 8-hour experience on Saturday.

About an hour after I left her hospital room (her boyfriend had arrived by then), 

I took Daniel's parents to the Boise State spring scrimmage.

It was lackluster, at best, but a good time to spend with Daniel's parents

That was Saturday experience #2.

Immediately afterward, Daniel's mom and I went and grabbed dinner and saw Titanic.

We saw it on the 100 year anniversary.

Of course we sobbed through it.

I'm a bawl-bag at any kind of chick flicks.

Heck, I even cry during AT&T commercials. 

You can imagine what a mess I was during Titanic, even though I've already seen it countless times.

That was Saturday experience #3.

I got home around midnight on Saturday.

It. Was. A. Long. Day.

Looking back, I'm so grateful it's over, 

I'm grateful for the care my mom received,

I'm grateful for everyone who prayed for her,

I'm grateful for time spent with family,

and I'm so grateful for each day.

♥

Just Because: Moxie Kisses

This one time,

I was a college student.

Naiive. Young. Not willing to listen to advice.

And that one time, I had major puppy fever.

So, I did what any non-sensible girl would do.

I got a puppy.

A chihuahua, to be exact.

I named her Moxie.

Moxie was, in one word-- presh.
So, so presh. All 1 pound of her.
I loved giving her little kisses.

Then—this one day,
I left Moxie at home while a friend was over.
Said friend supposedly went to let Moxie out, and she "fell off the couch"...
and broke every single bone in her tiny foot.
I think said friend may have been lying.
Just maybe.
Said friend most likely (and accidentally) stepped on little Moxie's foot,
completely shattering her little paw.
So then, this one time,
I got a hefty vet bill, and
Moxie got a cast.

It was at that time that I realized I was in over my head with this little fuzzball.

I was a full-time student, had a part-time job, 

and I was also on the Boise State Cheerleading team.

So, this one time, I decided a puppy was not a good idea.

Thankfully, my aunt came to the rescue.

She adored miss Moxie and took her right in. 

Then, this one time, about a year later,

I went to visit little Moxie.

The only thing I could do was give her a little kiss,

be very excited that her paw had healed,

and notice how incredibly bad her breath smelled.

Moxie is going to be 5 this year.

She's a fuzzy, kissy, sassy little lady.

I miss her...

but I'm so happy she lives with a family who can care for her and 

give her all the puppy love she deserves.

So, Mom... Dad... Daniel...

Next time there's a "this one time" and you think I may be coming down

with puppy fever...

just direct me back to this post.

And this post.

And then hopefully we won't have any more of

"this one times..."

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Link up your favorite post of the week!

Thursday 13: Favorite Places

Thursday 13 has arrived!
And guess what?
I'M NO LONGER IN CHARGE!!

I have "passed the torch" as Miranda says,
and now these three new ladies are your T13 hosts:

Chloe @ CJVZ Hearts You
Jennifer @ What's Mine is Yours
Miranda @ All Things Lovely

I hope to see you there each and every Thursday for their T13 link-up! ♥

This week, we are linking to Miranda, at All Things Lovely. The topic she, Jennifer and Chloe chose was favorite places/spaces. The cool thing about Thursday 13 is that you can take the prompt as you want it. I chose to pick my 13 favorite places to visit (or want to visit)! Here they are... and here's to vacation next week—this is just what I need to get myself in the mood for a sah-weet trip!

 Places I HAVE visited:

1. Whidbey Island, Washington. Whidbey is my second home. I grew up (for 6 years, anyway) in Seattle. My grandparents live on Whidbey and it's our destination we would always travel to. I love beach walks, collecting agates, pesto pizza at the Village Pizzeria, and spending time with family!
2. Maui, Hawai'i. Ka'anapali Beach is the most incredible place. I love Hawai'i... all things Hawai'i. 
3. Palm Desert, California. Daniel and I leave for the desert next Wednesday! The photos above are from that trip last November.
4. McCall, Idaho. It's a 2-hour drive from Boise and the perfect little spot to get away to for the weekend. You can ski in the winter, boat in the summer, and enjoy all sorts of delicious food. 
5. Edmond, Oklahoma. I lived in Edmond for 4 years and I'm heading back in May for my best friend's wedding! I couldn't be more excited. 
6. Seattle, Washington. It addition to Whidbey, it truly is my second home.
7. Norway! I went when I was in 3rd grade for an entire month with my grandma. Seeing where my family tree was established was such an amazing experience. The fjords, the ocean, the farms... it was all wonderful.

Places I WANT to visit:

1. Fiji. I would love to stay in a little hut right on the beach. It would be the perfect getaway.
2. The Oregon Coast. I really want to travel there. I've heard so many wonderful things about it and would love to take a visit. Compared to the others on this list... this one is actually one that could happen rather soon!
3. Africa. I know that's rather general... but I would love to take a mission trip to Africa. That would be so fulfilling to be able to help others!
4. Japan. Um... home of sushi? How could you not want to visit Japan?
5. Australia. I would looove to take a safari trip. That would be too awesome.
6. Europe. I can't just say Paris or Berlin or Dublin... because I want to visit them all! A European  cross-country bike trip or hike would be fantastic.

Don't forget to head over and check out your new hosts and link up today with Miranda!!!

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Whoa Baby.

 I'm not usually one to place a huge emphasis on "followers,"

but today, I just want to say

THANK YOU.

Your support of
me
my journey
my adventures
my style
my poetry
my faith
my family
and my little blog
means the world to me.

THANK YOU!!!
♥

In Him.

♥

An original poem - 4/3/2012

April 4th was a busy day at work.
At once, I felt the need to write this poem.
It is times like those when I drop everything,
because faith through words 
is so important to share.
My gift to you may be small,
but it is my story, my piece of the puzzle,
my journey through this crazy, unpredictable, beautiful life.