Mother's Day, y'all.

i got to play with my Talley girls today, and i loved every bit of it. oh... and Barrett Smith Tucker is one of the cutest little things i've ever seen. i'm glad his fingers were there to comfort him while his tummy hurt so i could spend a little time holding him. today, i'm thankful for the mothers-to-be (and, no, ET is not pregnant) and my friends who are already amazing mothers! i'm pretty much just thankful for life and that God had this all figured out before the world began. He knew who we would need, and He knew how beautiful it all would be.

you don't have to be afraid.

i haven't written in awhile, and it's not that i haven't felt inspired. i've just felt busy.

busy and safe.

in the past, i've used writing as an outlet for a lot of internal struggles that i could never express without a pen in hand or a blank screen in front of me. maybe it's because i felt insecure or scared or a little of both. i still experience these emotions, but every day, they are loosening their grips on me.

i believe that's what happens when we feel loved and valued. we are always loved and valued by the One who spoke us into existence, but we don't always FEEL it. sometimes we need earthly relationships that model His love for us to re-affirm it more and more.

i can honestly say i feel loved and valued. my relationship with the Lord and with Kevin have taught me that i can be myself and be loved just as i am. i don't have to put up a front , and i don't even have to pretend to like something i don't. i can speak the words that are on my mind and in my heart. i don't have to be afraid.

i'm currently learning to find a healthy balance between the two... between saying exactly what's on my mind and using discernment. we say 'honesty is the best policy,' and that's true, but we have to make sure whatever it is we have to say is said at the right time and with the right attitude. and the right time could be a day or even a year down the road. words have such power, and i'm continuing to remind myself daily. in the past two years, i've gone from not opening up about what's bothering me to sometimes (OK... more often than not!) saying way too much. it's so nice to be with someone who gives me the freedom to speak and be heard. Kevin doesn't always agree with me, or i with him, but we know there's love regardless. that's such a wonderful thing.

love really isn't all that hard when it's true.

so... here's to truthfulness and discernment... to speaking out and biting our tongues... and to the ones who make figuring all this out worthwhile. :)

you don't have to be afraid.

grace is here.

the further i go into this little life of mine, the more i realize this: it's all about grace.

situations are going to disappoint us. people are going to disappoint us. people are going to disappoint us a LOT. we can't put our complete confidence in someone here on earth, because we will always be left feeling empty and unsatisfied. our confidence comes from the One who created us and knows just who we are. we are perfect in His eyes because we are reflections of Him.

or we should be.

we need to give the grace we've been given.

 we need to forgive because we've been forgiven. 

i've been in unhealthy relationships. i've made too many mistakes to count. i've held grudges for way too long. i've spoken when i needed to be silent. i've been silent when i needed to make a stand. i sometimes let my insecurities dictate how i act and react.

....the list goes on.

tonight, i needed to remind myself that it's okay.

it's okay that my past relationship sometimes causes me to react in certain ways in my current one. it's okay that i've made mistakes. it's okay that i'm sometimes insecure. i'm human.

all i can do is strive to be more like Him tomorrow than i am today.

and remember, everyone else has stories too. they have been bruised and beaten and scarred, and they don't act like they do for no reason. there's a reason, and 9 times out of 10, we wouldn't trade our stories with theirs even if we could.

so be gracious... and kind.

He gives grace freely.

Meet Kevin.

Kevin: Handicapped people should NOT drive in the fast lane!

Me: *hysterically laughing* ...Uhh, Kev? I'm handicapped.

And this is why I love him.

And...well... him being an Alabama fan doesn't hurt either. ;)

home.

there are days my past sneaks in and reminds me of

dreams stolen, heart broken

and you're here to show me past is past and this is now

you came to me and i breathed you in suddenly, deeply

dreams survive, heart alive

and every day with you is even better than the first one

...i'm at home when i'm with you.

'cause all i know is we said hello, and your eyes look like coming home.'
taylor swift

you're a peein' vacation.

i went overseas with the Joneses a few weeks ago and did not take one picture with my camera; however, i DID take a few (and by few, I mean 50 or so) with my iPhone... Instagram style. here's a little European prettiness for you.

 Eiffel Tower view

about to partake in the eating of our American burgers in Tour

Tour

 unprepared

 ...and the American burger was delish.

Chateau de Chenonceau

sisters

so, i really loved taking pics of horses and cows while i was there.

market in Beaune

i love train rides!

a couple getting hitched

another one of the sisters :)

can you say fog?

Swiss cows and mountains

let the light in.

“Maybe it's like you said before, all of us being cracked open. Like each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And then things happen - these people leave us, or don’t love us, or don’t get us, or we don’t get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack in places. And I mean, yeah once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable. Once it starts to rain inside the Osprey, it will never be remodeled. But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And it's only that time that we see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face to face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade, but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.”

John Green