{Return}

I had a lump in my throat as we entered Lincoln. 

It was strange driving into the town as a visitor. I was no longer coming home. My chest felt heavy as we drove by familiar routes through the town--so badly wanting to feel the comfort again. Truman had to be out of town for a few days so we decided to come visit friends and family. 

It had been a rough week. I knew the optimism of a new town wouldn't last forever, that there would be days where I stray from trusting the Lord and his will for our family. This last week was filled with those days. I was doubting the change. Hating the discomfort. Discouraged by the fact that we were having to start all over and build our life from the ground up. The longing for something familiar came over me and I started to really miss home for the first time since we left. I feared these feelings because I worried that I wouldn't be able to let them go once they settled in. I feared that I would never be able to move on and accept our new reality. After talking with my amazing husband (who, thankfully, knows exactly how I feel) and spending time in prayer and the word, I'm confident that one day these feelings will pass. I know that the Lord is present even in my discomfort and I trust that, in time, we will be able to call Omaha home. Or anywhere we end up. I'm learning to stop treating a location as my home and instead find home in Christ and my family. It's a long process. But I'm learning :)

We had a very nice visit and I think it was good for me to see old friends and spend time with family. 

I devoured a love knot from Love Knot coffee shop.

Penny got to snuggle in bed with the gals.

We got lots of Aunt Kal time which is always good for the soul.

We even ran into Aunt Ash while antiquing!

And we did a little spring shopping at the local consignment stores while we waited for Aunt Kal to get out of class.

I'm thankful for the life we had here in Lincoln. I'm finding that I can be grateful, but I'll need to let go of it in order to really embrace this change. And that's okay. Change is okay. My voice is still a little shaky when I say it, but it really is okay. AND we've already been so blessed with the friends we are making through our church and with old friends in town. Praise God for that!

Also...I'm so obsessed with this song it's ridiculous.

{Nude Lips}

I am the LAST person who should be giving makeup advice considering I'm not even wearing it most of the time, but I have been searching for the perfect nude lip for years and finally found it so I wanted to share.

 

Drew Barrymore has a new line out at Wal-Mart called Flower. It has a neutral, girly, flowery vibe which is what I love so I wanted to give it a try. I always feel better taking chances with cheap makeup rather than breaking the bank for something that might not even look good.

 Lip Liner- Nude

Lipstick- Nude Narcissus

Lip Gloss- Baby's Breath

On a side note...Am I the only one who thinks Caleb Followill (of Kings of Leon) should collaborate with Alabama Shakes? Minds would be blown.

Cheers, J.

{Snowed In}

Though I'm not a fan of the snow, I'm so thankful that it snowed enough to give us a snow day! Pen and I are fighting colds so we plan on snuggling all day (and eating comfort food). 

This is what our afternoon will consist of. Lounging and watching endless episodes of The Amazing Race on Hulu. We are addicted.

We've also been face timing with Grandma and Aunt Kal :)

This snow was making me a little nostalgic so I created a killer playlist with a bunch of my favorite tunes from high school and college. They will always rock. 

Enjoy and stay warm!

Listen to the playlist here.

{Little Joys}

We have been having a lot of fun lately. This winter seems to be dragging on (the pending snow storm definitely isn't helping) and I'm feeling anxious for it to be over. However, I've been trying not to complain and focus on the things I have to be thankful for. Here are a few of my favorites lately...

#860: these two. always.

#861: watching her sleep. still. and that cute little arm (she's only allowed to have one out for now).

#862: Valentine's Day card from my dad. A girl is never too old.

#863: big flakes falling softly from the sky.

#864: baking a Valentine's Day cake for Truman. And the best cake mix ever.

#865: Saturday morning snuggles.

#866: Playing with her toes.

#867: playing with my girl.

#868: Saturday morning breakfast outings.

#869: Cinnamon & Pecan rolls from Bliss Bakery. Heaven.

And this has been on repeat lately:

{My Little Valentine}

Before I had Penny I treated Valentine's Day as any other day. I thought it was a silly holiday and usually told Truman to just save his money (who am I kidding? I could never pass up chocolate). But now that I have a kiddo I am embracing the cheese. She obviously won't remember it at all but it's fun to have pictures for her to look back at. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be flipping heart-shaped pancakes for her next year ;)

To add an extra element of cheese, I created the ultimate love song playlist. My favorite love songs will be ringing through the house all day. Feel free to have a listen here!

 This girl is so into her toes right now.

Hands are fascinating, as well.

And of course I have to dedicate this little tune to my hunk of a husband :)

{Preparation}

"Lent is a journey to the cross: meditating on our
sin and weakness, looking to Jesus as our perfect example and substitute, and being
heightened in our worship of his victory over Satan, sin, and death. On the cross, Jesus
took our place to appease God’s righteous anger toward our sin and rebellion. He was
separated from God so that we could experience union with God. He was crushed by
God so that we could be adopted by God. He was raised with God so that we too might
be raised with God. The drama of how this unfolded is the story of Lent.

The journey of Lent is to immerse ourselves in this grand story so that it might increase
our appreciation of Easter and love for Jesus. May we mourn the darkness in our hearts
and rejoice in the light of God who came into the world to save us!"
 (Journey to the Cross: Readings & Devotions for Lent)

As we approach the Lenten season, I find myself passionately longing for a refocus. Wanting to take full advantage of this time leading to Easter to meditate on my sin and need for Jesus and the sacrifice that he made so I could be washed clean. To break away from my routines and habits and worldly things "so the soul can fall in love with God" (Ann Voskamp). For forty days (and beyond) I want to focus on the heavy cross that Christ carried and my sins that nailed him to it. In Ann Voskamp's blog she put it this way: "the deeper I know the pit of my sin, the deeper I'll drink from the droughts of joy." Oh how badly I want that joy. I want to rejoice in the victory that has been won over satan and sin and death.

I'll be taking away a few things that have become a comfort to me and though it's going to be really difficult, I'm ready to be filled with joy that can only come from The Lord. Through repentance and praise it is my prayer that the gospel would only grow larger and I grow smaller. I'll continue to post tidbits of our life in Omaha and journey towards gratitude on the blog, but I'm limiting my use to that only.

I am also so, so excited to be ending the Easter season with a public display of my obedience to Christ. Truman and I are going to be baptized on Easter Sunday, symbolically washed clean. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the work that has been done on the cross and I feel blessed to have my husband to experience it with.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."
(Psalm 51: 10-12)

J.

The One

Friends.

The search for the best chocolate chip cookie is over. After many different recipes I have finally found the one! Seriously, I am deleting all of the other 20 recipes I have saved on my pinterest board because I only need this one. I was craving something sweet the other day and decided to try a recipe I had saved with a few different ingredients than the norm. Those ingredients made all the difference!

Find the recipe here.

I hate crispy cookies and the best thing about this recipe is that the cookies stay soft and chewy even a day later. Plus you sprinkle a little salt on top before baking and that makes them so. delicious. Just try it, you won't be disappointed. 

Listen to this while baking :)

Sunbathing & Daydreaming

It looks like we'll be having a few more days like today! Praise. The. Lord.

In case it wasn't already obvious, we're ready for spring over here and on sunny days like this we can't help but get excited. Penny had her second round of shots and was having a rough day so I decided it was best to lay around in the sun and listen to music. It had been so long since I've listened to Feist or Kings of Convenience but they both seemed like perfect companions for our afternoon.

So I created a playlist :)

Kings of Convenience are the definition of sunny day, easy going tunes. When I listen to them I feel like I should be sipping coffee in a cafe in France or driving through the countryside with the windows down, sun beaming through the trees. It's the kind of music that takes you to a place...even in the most mundane Nebraska winter days. So I compiled a (quite long) playlist of Nick Drake, Kings of Convenience, and Feist. 

This isn't the type of playlist that you play each song right after another. You hit the shuffle button and let the music blend together. It's a long one so it will last all afternoon. Hope you enjoy!

Listen to {easy listening} here.

{Penny Emerson: 4 Months}

I know 4 months isn't monumental or anything, but it feels like Penny has made leaps and bounds in the development area this month. January seemed like a really long month, but I had so much fun interacting with her each day. I'm making my own little baby book for her, but I want to keep it simple so I'm using the blog to document the little details. So this is your warning if you could care less about baby pictures and baby updates :)

Development:

-We're rolling over, people! Since Penny hates tummy time so much I was worried she would take forever to roll over and eventually crawl. One day I decided to try a little tummy time and she realized she had arms to support her. She pushed herself over on accident and now does it any time I put her on her tummy. So...essentially she still hates tummy time, ha! I'm just happy we went from this....

to this...

The girl loves it so much she wouldn't even stay on her tummy long enough for me to take a picture.

Here's a little video of her rolling over...and I sound like an idiot. I was having a proud parent moment :)

 

-She hates the pacifier, but loves to suck on her fingers.

-She found her voice and loves to use it! When she's really excited she stiffens up and squeals with delight.

-She also laughed for one of the first times when we were visiting Lanny and Jewel. Baby giggles are the best.

-I think we are beginning the teething process because she is drooling a ton and chewing on our fingers. She loves to chew on her giraffe.

-She is always trying to sit up now. I wouldn't be surprised if she sits up by herself this month. She hates to be laying down and likes when I sit her up so she can see what's going on.

-She found the feet. It's so funny to watch her stare at them in awe. 

Her quirks:

-She has the funniest expressions. I'm thankful for the iphone because it takes quick pictures so I'm able to capture them from time to time :) 

-She gets super dramatic when she's hungry and holds her hands over her face while she's eating. 

Our current favorites:

-We finally figured out how to use the sling successfully and she loves to be carried. It's better now that she can actually see what's going on. I am finding that it's way harder to actually do things successfully while I'm carrying because it takes twice as long. So I plan on using the carriers more when we are out and about this spring.

-She LOVES bath time. I take a bath with her and she loves to watch the water comes out of the faucet. We have a nightly routine where we take a bath and listen to the Rain for Roots album (it's amazing, EVERY mother should own it) and then I give her a massage before her last bottle. I think it's a good way for her to associate that it's bed time.

-Truman loves to read her a bible story and tuck her in. It warms my heart every time.

-She loves to be held so we do a lot of dancing around to records. That's probably my absolute favorite :)

-I try to give her some alone time each day so I set her in her crib, turn on some music and try to get a few things done. I find myself getting distracted a lot because she screams and squeals with the music. 

Trials:

-Lately she's going through this phase where she has a meltdown at 5pm sharp. Lots of screaming and crying. Truman will try every trick in the book to calm her down, but the second he hands her to me she stops. Not quite sure what that's about, but I think staying home with her has something to do with it. I love that she always wants mama, but I also don't want her to become clingy and not be able to leave my sight. It's something we're working on :)

Little things:

I love, love, love when she's eating/sleeping and grabs my hand. Usually I'm reading or doing something on the computer but it stops me dead in my tracks. Such a sweet moment.

It sounds like a cliche but each day seriously gets better and better. Truman and I have so much fun with her and we love getting to know her funny personality. On average she is so smiley and curious and it adds the perfect dynamic to our home. What a blessing she is.

Pen's 1 month picture:

4 month picture:

And a few more of my favorites...