Two Days of Snow!

In South Arkansas it is a guarantee that when snow is forecasted ice will show up instead. Last month, talks of snow and snow days were a buzz in El Dorado. Bread and milk were flying off the shelves (a Southern thing)!


As I was tucking Skip into bed, we both prayed for snow. Imagine my absolute surprise to wake up to a winter wonderland! Skip was also the cutest. He kept shouting, "Jesus brought me snow! Or wait, did Santa bring me snow? Is it Christmas again?"

We made a delicious breakfast of fresh blueberry muffins and eggs and of course, so much coffee. Any day that I am home with no where to go, multiple cups of coffee are always on the agenda.

We bundled up the kids the best we could. The thing Rusty and I realized is we are not prepared for snow in the sense that we own zero cold weather items. We hardly ever get snow. In fact, two snow days this winter season is unheard of for us. Adding cold weather gear to the kids Christmas list for next year. And also why do kids freak out when you put gloves on them? Mittens all the way. :)

It was so fun to capture the babies playing in the snow! Skip loved it and we had to drag him inside while Clara June enjoyed a few minutes and was quickly over it. And much to our surprise the snow stuck around for a few days. I hope you enjoy these sweet pictures below as much as I loved taking them.

What This Blog Is All About

When I first started my blog 7 (!!!) years ago, it was an outlet for my new business. A space to talk about weddings and love and share videos. But over time that business was no more but this blog kept running.


A few years ago a trend of having a niche with your blog started. Articles popped up everywhere saying a theme to your blog was the only way it would survive. First, you had to establish where your blog fit, what you would write about, your voice. And I totally believed it. I thought I needed to have a theme that I stuck to and never strayed. I could only write about relationships. Or I could only write about my family. Or I could only write about my faith. Or travel. Or home renovations.


At times, that same idea has kept me from writing. To be totally transparent, I have over 15 posts just sitting in draft mode waiting for me to click publish.


The other day while updating the blogs look (she is so pretty :)), I thought about who reads this blog. I thought about my love for writing. I thought about the longevity of my blog. I thought about its true purpose (being an outlet and not a source of income like in the past). And with that discovered my niche, my theme, my voice.


This blog is about everything and about nothing in particular. It is my special space. My place to visit from time to time to escape and write. My creative outlet. My happy little corner of the internet. My 7 year old journal. My blank page for today. My look back but my next move forward.


So if that all excites you, stick around. I plan to.

Books I Look Forward to Reading in 2018

In 2017, I set a goal to read 12 books throughout the year. And y'all, I did it! I actually read more than 12 books and that felt good.

When I was in high school I hated reading. Assigned reading assignments over the summer were, in my opinion, the absolute worse. Alas, I did the assignment and still owe a lot of my work to cliff notes. :)

The winter break of my freshman year of college, more than likely because I was pestering her with my boredom, my mom gave me a book to read. It was about a young single girl, trying to make rent, who becomes a bail bondsman and her mishaps along the way. Putting the book down was next to impossible, made me laugh and threw in a little romance! Lucky for me the book was number one in a long series (20+). I read all winter long and my love for books kept growing.

Naturally when making my goals for 2018, this rewarding goal was put back on the list. Taking advantages of the notes app, each time I see a book that interest me I jot it down. Here are some of the books making the list now:

1. No Drama Discipline: In all honesty, God has put on my heart how I parent, discipline, my reaction to my children. It is apparent that my actions are noticed by my sweet babies. Parenting is hard stuff. Fun, but hard. I want my littles to be kind and compassionate and full of faith and wonder. So how do I teach them that? This book helps redirect the meltdowns and Lord knows we need that direction right now.

2. Uninvited: My mom gifted me this book last Christmas and I just haven't gotten around to reading it. Everyone has such wonderful things to say about this read!

3. The Best Yes: Currently reading right now! And it is a game changer. I cannot wait to tell you my thoughts after I complete the book. Also, this book came highly recommended to me for the season of life I am in.

4. The Life Giving Home: Another way God is challenging my heart is the way we do "home". The way we invite people in, the coziness, the use of all that we own, the importance of making a home an outreach of my faith. I want a home that invites other inside and offers my guests an invited atmosphere. I want a home that blesses others just by being just like it is. Again, this book was a recommended read and from what I am told truly life changing.

5. The Woman in Cabin 10: Suspense, thrilling, on the edge of your seat read and I cannot wait! I have a feeling this one will be a cannot put down read. Mystery thrillers are one of my favorite genre's of books.

6. I Know How She Does It: Our world has this idea that having a successful career means a back seat to family and life. This book studies how successful women split their time and make their days feel meaningful on all aspect of life.

So what is on your bedside table now? What books do you hope to read in 2018? Let's start together! Light that candle, bundle up and crack that book open :) I am right there with you sister.

Images