The Home Stretch

{ Photo credit: John Pope }

Finally I can begin the official countdown to Andy's return from New Zealand! 

He is set to get back late Wednesday night, which puts me at just

two days and a couple hours :)   

Love in action

This week was one of the hardest weeks I've had since October.  Work has been intense and challenging on a whole new level, but I found myself in a place where I heard God with more clarity than I ever have.  That's the beauty of being in a difficult situation: God is always there, but the struggles drive me closer to His presence.

In my seeking I read Romans 12.  I've read this passage countless times before, but it was as if I was reading it for the very first time.  I wanted to share these few verses that have been my motto this entire week: 

Romans 12:9-12
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Lonely doodle

Poor Ralf is left home alone a lot more than he is used to now that Andy's been gone for a few days. He really misses Andy when he isn't there with him all day working from home (apparently they eat lunch together and discuss the day's business), and he certainly knows how to make me feel guilty for leaving him home while I go to work all day. From the moment I get home he grabs a squeaky toy in his mouth and barks constantly if I try to make a phone call. But he's so adorable I guess I can overlook his big loud mouth. Looking forward to the weekend (already) and some milder temps so I can get this guy out to the park for a walk!

The other side of the world

{ Image from Town & Country }

I've been M.I.A. the past few days because I've been helping Andy prep for a two week mission trip to New Zealand.  This past weekend we made several trips to pick up rental equipment and purchase the things he would need while shooting in absolutely the most beautiful place in all the world.  Traveling to New Zealand has always been on my bucket list of places to visit, and wouldn't ya know Andy Reale is the one who gets to go!!  Hopefully he's taking this opportunity to scope out locations when he takes me there some day...(hint, hint Andy!)  I'm actually super excited for him.  This is a huge opportunity to share Christ's love, and he is traveling with the guys at Come&Live! so he's bound to have a stellar trip.

We've known about this trip for quite some time, and I personally didn't think it would get here so fast!  I have to say, I was not prepared for the emotional goodbyes today brought.  Two weeks is the longest we have ever been apart throughout our nearly 5 years of marriage!  I know that in the grand scheme of our lives together two weeks compared to 60+ years of wedded bliss will just seem like a flash in the pan; but today it feels like two weeks is going to take for.ev.er.  I'm banking that the old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true (18 hours into this and I'm already pretty sure it is!)  But I'm thinking, if I love him this much and miss him this much right now, my heart just might explode before the two weeks is up!  It feels good to love someone with that kind of intensity...It reminds me of how blessed I am that God gave me Andy for a husband.  He's absolutely my very best friend, and I love love love spending time with him. So I've marked my calendar and started the countdown until he comes home and we can get back to living life together rather than on two separate Continents.  


Until then, please keep all the Come&Live! bands and team in your prayers.  Pray that they would be used by the Lord in every opportunity, for the people they meet in New Zealand, and for their safe travels and return to America.
Tonight I am thankful for my amazing friends and family that have reached out and made plans to hang out with me these next couple weeks.  I feel so blessed and I'm seriously looking forward to some fun times with you all!


P.S. Thanks for allowing me to get all mushy about my awesome husband!  Here's a quick promo video he did for their NZ trip...

Come&Live! New Zealand Kickstarter from Come&Live! on Vimeo.

Husbands vs. boyfriends

{ ♥ Photo from my wedding in 2006 ♥ }

I've noticed a lot lately that our culture really recognizes boyfriends equal to husbands, and I'll be honest...as a wife, it kinda bugs me.  I mean, what is the point of getting married if it's all the same, right?  But I'm not aligned with most of our society.  I don't believe it is the same...even being engaged is so much different than actually being married.  Marriage is such hard work; it's sacred--and between two Christ-followers, it's a holy covenant. It's that whole "two becoming one" thing: the beautiful merging of two seperate hearts, two seperate existences into one shared life. 

What are your thoughts on husbands vs. boyfriends?

Gray hair is a crown of splendor...

{ Thought it would be funny to see what my pointy-chin-face looked like with gray hair! }

Let me tell you why I am clinging to Proverbs 16:31 today...


The past few months I've been noticing an increase of these silvery-white little blades scattered throughout my mop.  Gray hair—I'm not even 30!  No one in my family has ever been prematurely gray either.  I'd yank them, but there are just too many at this point.


This next part I'm sharing might annoy Andy a bit, but it's too funny to me not to write about!  Last night at Target, while shopping for dish soap and a few other necessities, my sweet and kind-hearted husband looked at me under the bright flourescent lights and said, "You really do have a lot of gray hair."  Now, let me just say that although I was embarrassed he could see them so plainly (meaning everyone could see them and it's not just something I notice), he did follow it up with some really sincere and sweet comments about how pretty he thinks I am, and how he thinks my gray hair is "cool;" so he's off the hook for noticing I guess ;)


At any rate, my hair has been blonde, Dr. Pepper red, black, and brown so why shouldn't it also be gray some day?  I'm not at the stage where all my hair is gray yet, but I imagine some day it will be, and by then I'll be ready to wear it proudly (in a long old lady hair style, of course!)...but for now, I just might be making a visit to Studio 31 to have my cousin Jackie fix me up!

Weekend Recap: Winter Hike

{ I love this picture of Andy and Ralf, one of my favorites of the day! }

We went for a winter hike on Saturday with Ralf, and I brought the camera along.  I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't had much free-time to be creative, so I thought maybe snapping a few pics would make me feel better.  The good news is that this actually did ignite some inspiration!  Not sure yet when I'll get around to more paintings or the other creative projects that are waiting patiently on my list, but for now a few brief moments on a weekend with a camera will have to do :)

{ Even though Ralf is sorta out of focus I really liked this moment because he looks like he is having so much fun in the forrest }

We had a really fun time, and by the end of the day, my ears were completely numb despite my warm hat, and Ralf's poor feet had frozen balls of snow all over them.  

Totally made my day

My friend Keli from Colette Paperie is amazing.  You'll be hearing from her very soon, as she is the very first guest blogger I have lined up for this year for a new monthly segment (that I can't wait to tell you about)!!

Anyways, today she messaged me these amazing personalized cards, and totally made my day!

{ She rocks my socks off }

She'd love to make up some for you--check out her awesomeness here.

Banners of Love

I had a few moments to spare today and created this Etsy Treasury.

It won't be long before Valentine's Day is upon us, so I thought it would be fun to see what love themed items are available right now.  Enjoy!

{ Click here to see the full treasury! }

Back to reality

After having one whole glorious week off work, today I am back to that good old routine that we all know as "the rat race."

All day yesterday I was grumpy about having to go back to work. So here is my public apology to anyone who happened to stroll through the mall too slowly, talk too loudly on their cell phones while we waited in line to make a return, and anyone else I might be forgetting. Thank God for Andy! He was a real champion yesterday and managed to put up with all my grouchy shenanigans...guess that's what marriage is all about!

Hope you are all ready to get back to work! 2011 is just getting started ;)

{ I stumbled across this old picture and thought it summed up my attitude yesterday quite well, haha }