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Friday, January 28, 2011

how much time do you have?

{disclaimer: i wrote this um over a week ago i believe and have all kinds of fun pictures to add but my cord to my brand new camera to transfer images is m.i.a.  don't even get me started.  apparently if it doesn't turn up they are only like $10 but the whole thing makes me bubble with rage so we'll move on.  i'll add pics in later when i'm able}
*****
i've been having a lot of fun lately.  "is that blog-worthy?" i ask myself.  i'm not sure.  sometimes i think that recording the mundane is silly but then i think about how much i love our everyday life & remember that that's exactly what i want to record.  i want to remember moments of holding hands, moments experiencing the Lord, moments laughing with our families & friends, moments creating a home.  so...i press on.

i've been having a lot of fun lately.  writing that sentence reminded me that ben & i have also been bickering more often lately.  {husband, i don't equate bickering & fun}.  other than bickering, i've so enjoyed the comings and goings around the brzinski household.  christmas & the holidays are all wrapped up & all my feelings of hustle & bustle have subsided.  we're officially back in the swing of things.

some recent "fun":
benny is back in school!  i say 'yay' and he says 'boo'.  but behind his boo is actually a small yay because after this semester he only has ONE MORE fall & spring before he has completed undergrad.  speaking of school, ben also was on the dean's list this past semester.  oh my little student!

recently me & my bestie rachel went treasure hunting {aka thrifted all over the city of lexington}.  she's 'with child' so we found all kinds of nursery greatness for her & well, i just got things that caught my eye & didn't hurt my wallet.  i walked away with an oval frame {will likely hang empty on the wall someday in a gallery layout}, small caddy {to hold thread that matches one benny bought me for Christmas last year}, a globe {less than $6 and the beginning to a collection i hope}, and a mirror {$2}.

also in the land of thrifty finds...a while back {months-ish}...i bought a pair of chairs.  just old wooden ones off craigslist.  i didn't get around to painting them while it was still nice out, mainly because i didn't know what color to choose, so i decide that now is the time. my friend tells me that they used kilz latex on wooden furniture and it works just fine so i try my hand at that so i can stay inside, with heat, and not die from the fumes.  welp after 1 coat of kilz i quickly learned that it wouldn't stick to my chair.  peeled right off.  i thought i had found the miracle solution so that i could paint until my heart's content!  but sadly no.  i have a pair of chairs, a dresser, a mirror & a night stand that desperately WANT me to paint them.  does anyone know why it wouldn't stick since it said you could use it on stain, furniture & wood?

this topic brings me to my newest addition.  yesterday ben & i went and picked up this little guy.  a daybed.  one like what i had been wanting for years.  it is old and nicked and perfect for me.  i'm going to set the bed up like a couch. i especially cannot wait to paint it.  i think i'm going to do light gray but i'm not 100% sure.  the trouble was to find a twin that had a headboard and footboard that were the same height.  a couch wouldn't have lop-sided arms, you know?  and this will do just the trick!

craigslist pics are the best i can do since it is disassembled in my garage until it is warm enough to paint.  it sits taller than what i had anticipated so we'll just have to see how that feels once we get it in there.  maybe just have a mattress & memory foam with no box springs to make it sit lower?  ben & i were talking and aren't sure what a box spring is for anyway.  i should check.

after picking up the daybed benny & i got to go on a date.  we ate texas road house with gift cards we've been sitting on forever and it was delish.  after our cheese fry appetizer & rolls we were already full so you can imagine...we basically needed to be rolled out into the car after our full meal.

when we came home we played games.  skipbo, where ben tried to let me win but still crushed me anyway and chinese checkers {thanks paul & greta!}.  i won but mainly because ben had never played and for a while thought that you could kill each others marbles.  it was really great to sit on the floor and play together.

i've been meeting with this group of 3 girls for, i think, 2.5 years now.  we've added two more girls along the way and it is so awesome to watch them grow in their faith, battle through Sin, have a deeper understanding of Grace.  i can't think of anything that spurs me more.  recently, one of the girls basically laid out the fact that she wants more.  essentially, she's legit.  she wants to be in the Word, she wants Jesus, she wants full life that only he can give, she wants to be discipled.  so we're meeting more & a few of the girls want in on that too.  some of the five meet on tuesday mornings to share life together and on thursday mornings we have biblestudy specifically.  God is good & i could not cherish this time together more.  i know that i am blessed to be a part of this, to be a witness to what the Spirit is doing.

last weekend we had a lafayette team slumber party.  um i love our team.  they are so fun & have such a heart for the Lord and for lost friends.  we ate snacks & laughed & slept on the floor & planned for the semester. 
{this is the last pic i have of us by the way...from last JULY...we must fix this}

as we speak i hear hollering & booming as boys wrestle in my living room. we have a 'no wrestling in the house' rule that rarely gets observed but at this very moment the wrestling is actually bringing me joy. i love that my husband wants high school guys to know jesus.  even if that means we break things.

Friday, January 21, 2011

burnin' love

as much as i would love to curl up in front of a crackling fire on this freezing winter's day i also have other ideas in mind for a fireplace.
{via}

if i had an unusable fireplace i might cram all my books in there for storage just like these people.  maybe it was never a working fireplace and they just put up a mantle.  i'd really like to do that but i don't know if i have a wall for it.  perhaps in the dining room but is that weird?  i've seen a lot of images of 'just mantles' and each peaks my interest just a little bit more.
{1}
{2}
{3}
{4}
{5}
{6}

i decided to have an adventure this weekend.  can't wait to share it once i return, more than that...i can't wait to go.  until then dear friends, stay warm by your real fires or cozy up with art placed on the floor, baskets filled with blankets, mirrors for more light or logs filling to the brim.
1 & 2 & 4 ... apartment therapy
3 & 6 ... real simple
5 ... ashley ann @ under the sycamore

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

things i like...



i also did some perusing recently at emersonmade.  first of all i like that name, emerson.  i like it a lot.  second of all she has really pretty things to share.  i wish they were all hanging in my closet.  if each piece was maybe an eighth of the cost i may be able to talk myself into it.  i'm too cheap for nice things.  but i can still look right?

Friday, January 14, 2011

today i...

today i...

woke up very late
thought i wouldn't shower & just go to work
i turned on the light...shower deemed necessary
had to go back into the house 3 separate times for things i forgot
did my make up at my 1 stoplight on the way to work {daily routine}
sang to mumford & sons the whole way
had muffins & red cream soda for breakfast
recognized at about noon that i put my underwear on inside out
got to eat lunch with my momma {i really love that she comes to lexington a lot}
dreamt & delighted in the fact that i get to have a yl team slumber party tomorrow w/ some of my favoritest
meditated on john 14:21 & job 19:25-27 {must reads}
planned vacation time at work to line up with benny's spring break {adventure, yes?}
like balloons like this & above:
realized that my friend tagged me in this pic & no it is not me {see passenger seat}
hope your today is great!  live for the King!
{one . two}

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

the remainder: ho ho ho

i wanted to throw the rest of my christmas pics up here. i wanted to record the rest of our christmas stops.  i wanted to include all the things i got to hear and learn about.  so, even though all our decorations are gone, our vacation days have ended & we all now feel that the season has passed...i'm going to do it anyway.

one of our most special gifts were these:
awesome, pretty, handmade, HOLY PENS.  ben's dad made us these out of wood from olive trees in the holy land.  is that not one of the coolest things you've ever heard?  both of us are basically obsessed with them.  i keep trying to find somewhere to put "special pens" but i've never had a special pen before so i'm not really sure where to keep it where its both used and not stolen {accidentally} or broken {also accidentally}.
it was great to see the brzinski's. i want to go back up and visit now!

on thursday we went to southland's service - we were blessed because ben & i were joined by two girls we love, jenna and katie and we also were surprised to see: my whole family including extended, the raisor's, the iffland's & the stone's.  what a good day!  we were blessed to worship the Lord & to hear about jesus & the one sent to prepare the way for him, john the baptist.  i love to learn/hear about john the baptist.  he was born with the holy spirit {can you imagine?}  he was always connected to God, always.  he truly understood humility; he continually pointed people to Jesus when it would have been so easy to point people to himself.  the most loving thing you could ever do...point someone to Jesus.  i love that.

after visiting with all our fun friends and family, benny & i had the pleasure of having dinner with jenna and katie.  treat.  we love logan's.

i had christmas eve off of work so i got to sleep in.  maybe even a bit too late.  i left too much left undone so i had to spend some "frantic" time preparing to leave town.  we headed to louisville to visit one set of my family.  we went to christmas eve service together which is actually such a gift.  when you haven't always worshipped the Lord with your family, you really appreciate how amazing it is to see God orchestrate that.  the pastor talked about Christmas {of course}.  he talked about how special it was because it was the day we were given a gift no one else could give, a promise no one else could say and a question no one else could ask.

after church we ate dinner all together & then went home all together.  we played romp your neighbor with my siblings, their spouses and benny of course.  and watched my parents open a very special present from my brother & sil.  an ultrasound!  my brother & greta are going to be parents, my parents are going to be grandparents & ben & i will be an aunt and uncle for the first time ever!  holy moly i can't wait for their little one to be running around!

christmas morning - so blessed to read about the birth of Jesus with my husband.  i really cherish times like that.  God's plans & provision are so good.

we all opened presents Christmas morning like little kids.  here's the family...
ben & i in our matching bears pants.  unfortunately it took a few tries to get the shot so neither of us look too happy.  but really we were very happy!
i didn't get a pic of my grandparents but they were there too.  i'm so glad we got to see them before they headed to florida for the winter.

after a good ol' home cooked breakfast we headed back to lexington to finish celebrating the holiday.

we stopped at my dad's to have Christmas with that family.  ben had one very nicely wrapped gift {it's a ladder fyi} and we had a great time being with them.  i'll have to record some really neat things from this house soon too.  maybe i'll do a 'things i love around my house' post.
from there ben and i had our own christmas together.  we filled each other's stockings for Christmas.  its a fun way to get each other something(s) special and not go overboard.  our only pic.  classic with our mt. dew creeping behind us.  at least their packaging is in appropriate colors, right?  i think that time alone in our house on Christmas day is really sweet.  celebrating jesus with your husband?  um...one of the best things ever.  we also got took a little cat nap before we braved the cold again.
our last stop of the day was to my nana banana's.  she was hosting our neighborhood christmas party and then afterward was our family christmas with my dad's side of the family.  it is a really fun time.  i love seeing everyone.  and this year we had a new addition, baby carter.  he was pretty worn out but i didn't get to hold his sweet self for a little bit.  it was awesome.

this is unrelated but i loved these little tags so much that i wanted to share them.  i want to print some more out now, go ahead and cut them and then next year i'll have them waiting for me & i won't have to do it in a frenzy.  you can find these free printables {HERE}.  this unstaged pic doesn't nearly do them justice.

Monday, January 10, 2011

new year, new deal

i saw this {HERE} at design sponge right before the new year and knew that i had to make one.
it is a daily calendar, created by ashley ann {one of my fave bloggers} who talks about it here.  the awesome thing about the calendar is that you can record big things, little things, highlights, special happenings of daily life and then after the year is complete you start again.  how fun to be able to reflect and remember daily.  some of my girl friends saw it over the weekend and even mentioned how this could be a neat way to record what's going on specifically in your ministry...people you've met or are praying for, ways God is moving etc.  i hope to incorporate that into mine as well but it would be neat to have a calendar specifically for that purpose too.

i altered ashley ann's instructions ever so slightly so that i could use things that i already had on hand but for the most part i followed the idea to a 't'. here's what i used...
i bought 2 packs of 100 index cards, size 4"x6" {$2 total}
i had the rest...
the paper cutter was from big lots for $1 forever ago
the postcards i got for my birthday and i feel like have a million uses, they are penguin bookcovers
my tin was from hobby lobby and originally was going to house something in our craftroom/office but loves its new purpose
the stamp i borrowed from work

i'm sure ashley's instructions are much more clear / in depth but i just cut the index cards in half, cut my postcards to be slightly taller but the same width too.  i stamped my index cards with the month and day only so i can put multiple years on the cards.  i put a small piece of paper held by tape to cover the year part of my stamp because that made it easier for me but i'm sure you wouldn't have to.  i also think it would look cool to stamp the year on the lines as they go, but that also seems like so much more work.
i'm so excited about this little project & know that as the years pass we will really enjoy looking back on all that we've gotten to be a part of, see & do.

other uses / ideas:
a gift of course, maybe for christmas, new year, hostess gift perhaps
a way to record the first few years daily with a new babe
planning for a wedding, beginning a marriage
ministry milestones and prayer {like i mentioned earlier}
daily goals
daily highlights
something you're thankful for

let me see if you make one too!

Friday, January 7, 2011

happy birthday baby ava

 today is the sweeeeetest little angel baby's birthday.  baby ava.  she's one year old today.
ben & i got to scoot on down to louisville this past weekend to spend the day with friends and babies.  ryder, lib & ava traveled all the way from virginia to spend time with their families and {bonus!} have a birthday party for ava.  libby was scheduled to recieve chemo thursday, the day before ava's real birthday {today} so she wasn't planning on having a big blowout in va.  {they actually rescheduled so pray that their day is sweet with their little babe}.  justin's generous sister offered to throw an ava celebration and let's just say...it was awesome.  the most darling, girly 1 year birthday party ever.

libby allowed me to play photographer {even though i'm a beginning beginner} so she didn't have to fuss with it and could enjoy her time.  i was more than pleased to try my best.  i took about a billion pics and could hardly decide what to include so here's my best shot...

{quick disclaimer:  since the ryder's have a professional photographer in the family it would probably be best if they never saw this}.
the spread
the adorable favors
there may or may not have been a gelato cart there
and i may or may not have had more than one serving
baby's first birthday cake

libby & ava. aren't they pretty?
ava flirting with benny...

ryder & libby-
we were so blessed to get to see you all.  we wish our time together was longer.  maybe like life, like regular life that we could live together.  i would definitely be FOR that.  ben and i miss you dearly living so far apart but it is such an encouragement to each of us and to our marriage to know of your faithfulness in trial & to know your passionate hearts for the Lord and for Truth.  we are so thankful for you and for the example that you have lived out in front of us.

baby ava-
happy birthday little princess.  we SO enjoyed meeting you this weekend.  i wish you were closer so we could squeeze and love and hug on you all the time.  things your parent's friends want you to know:
1.  your dad was once 'ryder, the spider'.  he wore a head-to-toe unitard and spit fake blood into the crowd.
2.  you momma is really brave
3.  you have been really blessed to be placed into the family you're in because your parents know full-well numbers 4 & 5
4.  you are cherished & dearly loved by the creator of the universe.
5.  because of that great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  we pray that you'd know Jesus & that he'd be your everything.

LOVE YOU ALL & we had so much fun being you, a handfull of our friends & a handful of our friend's babies!