silly girls...

So...this weekend E and I went to a new (I guess it is new?) store called Charming Charlie.

SO MUCH CUTE STUFF...I could spend my entire paycheck there!

I can't wait to go back soon, love it! :)

Hot Preggo Mama

I heart big floppy hats :)

We love birdcage veils

We are in mourning

June's Friend of the Month

Kathleen Naomi Brown

I LOVE this girl. Kathy and I have been best buds for YEARS now…we started talking in middle school, but really became close in high school. She is AWESOME. We have been through so much together, and I am proud to say she is still one of my dearest friends. I love her so much! We always have a great time together, whether we’re out shopping, having a girl’s night at Melting Pot, or just plain chillin’. She has ALWAYS been there for me, through everything. She’s so wonderful, and I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. She has such a sweet kind spirit. She is my most loyal friend for sure. She will stand behind me, no matter what, even when I haven’t deserved the backup, she has graciously given it to me, all without passing judgment. I could get in an argument with someone, or want to something completely ridiculous, and she’d back me up 110%. It’s awesome to have such a loyal friend. She is beautiful. She is a mother, and one of the best ones I know. The love she has for her child, I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. She’s about to be a mother again! On my confirmation day, I had the pleasure of feeling her little one kick during Sacrament Meeting. It was amazing. I am not usually one to grab pregnant bellies, in fact, I think its rude-but something told me to do it. I couldn’t help myself, I immediately started crying (again…haha that was an emotional day). She must have the biggest heart in the world. Her love for her family and friends is so amazing; I always wonder how she can contain it.

I am happy to say that she really will be my forever friend. =)

                                    

woah...

That. was. EPIC

I loved it!!!!!!!!!

Yes its after 3 am. Yes I stood in line for two hours. 

Yes I am 27 years old.  Yes I have to work in a few hours.

Worth it? OH YEAH!

Don't hate on it till you give it a chance! :)

Life is awesome. xo

June G.N.O.

Last week E & I went to our first Girl's Night Out with some of the fabulous ladies from the Mechanicsville Ward, and we had a blast!!! It was so awesome to meet and get to know a few of the ladies I hadn't met yet, and of course it was great to spend time with the ones I'm a little more familiar with.  We went to Kitchen 64 (I think it was 64?? haha) and had some delicious food and some great fellowship together. Below are a couple of pics, I didn't take the normal amount, as to not scare these women to death haha.  Enjoy!

Looking foward to next month!

E & I split a couple of appetizers and a dessert :)

Black Bean Hummus-YUM! (minus the yucky onions hehe)

Greek Nachos with Feta-YUM as well!

Sorry...no dessert pix, we were too excited to waste time taking a pic!

The lovely ladies of the Mechanicsville Ward =)

 

I ♥ these women, and I ♥ my ward!!!!

I am so blessed!

Life is awesome...xo

June's WOTM-Patience

I hate this word. I've always had a problem with it.  I've always struggled with it. But...I'm slowly getting better.

patience~the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.

I'm mostly working on this post, because while I'm doing better with it, it's of course still an issue. I searched LDS.org for any info I could get on patience. This quote especially hit me hard...but I needed to hear it:

"Elder Neal A. Maxwell linked patience and faith together when he taught: “Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His”" (“Patience,” Ensign, Oct. 1980, 28).

This is so unbelievably true. Heavenly Father always knows best, obviously. How do I so quickly forget this? I know the truth, yet I still struggle. I struggled with patience while waiting for my baptism day to come, then confirmation, and now, struggling to find patience as to what my future holds for me, concerning callings, my job, and even an eternal companion.

Being a single female 27 year old Mormon...patience is necessary. In our faith we are strongly encouraged, really commanded how I see it, to find an eternal companion in order to obtain certain blessings. Um, can we say pressure??? I mean really, I am barely dried off from the baptismal font, and people are already asking me who I'm going to marry? Well gee...I wish I knew! hahaha...not kidding.  When this happens, my patience is tested. But I have to keep reminding myself of a quote about patience. I found it especially true in my own life, by constantly asking Heavenly Father in the past to help me gain more patience..."When you pray for patience, do you think God is just going to give you patience? Or is He going to give you the opportunity to be patient?" Yup, you guessed it, God's giving me the opportunity to be patient. He sees that I need it, and that I want it, and so He's doing the best thing possible...He's teaching me patience. It would be very much unlike Heavenly Father to just give something like that, especially when there is a lesson to be learned.

So this was a lot of rambling...but hey, its my blog...so whatever!  I'm going to continue to push through and keep learning my constant lessons on patience...maybe I'll get it someday! :)

googled patience...love this pic :)

gotta share!

Another excerpt from "He Chose the Nails" by Max Lucado

The question. How do we explain it? Jesus was a backwater peasant. He never wrote a book, never held an office.  He never journeyed more than two hundred miles from His hometown. Friends left Him. One betrayed Him. Those He helped forgot Him. Prior to His death they abandoned Him. But after His death they couldn't resist Him. What made the difference?

The answer. His death and resurrection.

For when He died, so did your sin.

And when He rose, so did your hope.

For when He rose, your grave was changed from a final residence to temporary housing.

The reason He did it. The face in your mirror. 

The verdict after two millenniums.  Herod was right: there is room for only one King.

skimming through an old favorite...

While doing a bit of research to help E with a lesson, I decided to skim through a book I haven't read in a while that I love...

This book...is awesome! It's such a simple read, but sometimes, that's really all we need. A simple reminder of what Christ did for us. For ALL of us, what He CHOSE to do.

Anyway, before I start crying like a baby, I wanted to share an excerpt

from the beginning of the book:

We are at our best when we are giving. In fact, we are most like God when we are giving.  Have you ever wondered why God gives us so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and gray; we wouldn't have known the difference. But He didn't.

He splashed orange in the sunrise

and cast the sky in blue.

And if you love to see geese as they gather,

chances are you'll see that too.

Did He have to make the squirrel's tail furry?

Was He obliged to make the birds sing?

And the funny way that chickens scurry

or the majesty of thunder when it rings?

Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste?

Could it be

He loves to see

that look upon your face?

If we give gifts to show our love, how much more would He? If we-speckled with foibles and greed-love to give gifts, how much more does God, pure and perfect God, enjoy giving gifts to us? God's gifts shed light on God's heart, God's good and generous heart...Every gift reveals God's love...but no gift reveals His love more than the gifts of the cross. They came, not wrapped in paper, but in passion.  Not placed around a tree, but a cross.

And not covered with ribbons, but sprinkled with blood.

The gifts of the cross.

Much has been said about the gift of the cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? The garments taken by the soldiers. The garments given for the burial. Have you taken the time to open these gifts?

He didn't have to give them you know.  The only act, the only required act for our salvation was the shedding of blood, yet He did much more.  So much more. 

Search the scene of the cross, and what do you find?

A wine soaked sponge.

A sign.

Two crosses beside Christ.

Divine gifts intended to stir that moment, that split second when your face will brighten, your eyes will widen, and God will hear you whisper, "You did this for me?"

The diadem of pain

which sliced your gentle face,

three spikes piercing flesh and wood

to hold You in Your place.

The need for blood I understand.

Your sacrifice I embrace.

But the bitter sponge, the cutting spear,

the spit upon your face?

Did it have to be a cross?

Did not a kinder death exist

Than six hours hanging between life and death,

all spurred by a betrayer's kiss?

"Oh , Father," you pose,

heart-stilled at what could be,

"I'm sorry to ask, but I long to know,

did you do this for me?"

...Unwrap and examine these gifts of grace as if for the first time.  And as you touch them-as you feel the timber of the cross and trace the braid of the crown and finger the point of the spike-pause and listen. Perchance you will hear Him whisper:

"I did it just for you."

Again, this book is great. Each chapter outlines some very specific things that happened that day that we tend to forget about.  Here is part of the chapter outline...

"I will bear your dark side"-God's Promise in the Soldiers' Spit

"I loved you enough to become one of you"- God's Promise in the Crown of Thorns

"I forgive you"-God's Promise in the Nails

"I will speak to you in your language"-God's Promise through the Sign

"I will let you choose"-God's Promise through the two crosses

"I will not abandon you"-God's Promise in the Path

"I will give you My robe"-God's Promise in the Garment

"I invite you into My presence"-God's Promise through the Torn Flesh

"I understand your pain"-God's Promise in the Wine-Soaked Sponge

"I have redeemed you and I will keep you"-God's Promise in the Blood and Water

"I will love you forever"-God's Promise in the Cross

"I can turn your tragedy into triumph"-God's promise in the Burial Clothing

"I have won the victory"-God's Promise in the Empty Tomb

I know that my Redeemer lives. And I am so thankful for the blessings He's given me so far. :)