My walk around the neighborhood

Today I was home as my husband worked and I decided to enjoy the southern breeze and talk a walk. (:

It was fun to gaze upon the beauty I love by. (:

Walks in solitude and love. - Monica


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my favorite month!!!

i love all things pink and with hearts.. so of course February is a favored month!

"Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy ; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; (love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Okay, i know that sooo many people have probably heard this verse before at weddings, on anniversary cards, on wall art... we probably all know it! Its probably as common as 'For God so loved the world..". But bear with me.. read it again... stop and think what each part means. 

Love suffers long (NIV says "is patient" but i like the "suffers long"... it is more honest, i think). Patience (suffering long) is not something i am perfected in. After a long day at work with the general public and then coming home to do housework can often times test my patience. And sometimes that impatience inside of me will have me react in the not-so-kind way. Then the ripple effect starts... I am sure my husband will tell you! 

But my heart is to represent love to my friends, family, and to those around me. I do not want to be rude or think evil of others. Sometimes we need to make that FIRST choice... to love. To be patient. To be selfless. To be nice... and see the ripple effect of love start. 

These verses aren't written to give us those warm and fuzzies based in emotion. These verses (i believe) are to teach us and encourage us to love correctly. It is a challenge... and every single morning we get up and choose to love again. It is so much easier to be impatient, or arrogant, or selfish.. but it is more rewarding to follow the advice of Paul and be love. :) 

re-reading common verses, pink hearts, and of course .. love. - Monica

♥ . ♥ . ♥

our road trip as Mr. & Mrs.

Martin and i had a lovely New Years Eve. We decided it was FINALLY time to take our first road trip as husband and wife and make the looonnngg (a whole 2 hours) trip to visit my sister. (which we realized when we got there that Martin hasn't been there since BEFORE he left for school in So Cal).

Saturday we woke up with NOTHING ready to go. We weren't packed. We didn't even have clean laundry. I told my sister we would be there AT noon.... needless to say that did not happen.
Martin got up and had to start a load of laundry (which quickly turned into two loads) and get a haircut. I jumped, sprung, slowly got up and started to clean the kitchen so it wasn't a MESS when we returned. After that i hopped in the shower while Martin finished our dirty wet laundry. I had to time to straighten my  hair and do makeup! Its amazing how sslllooowww laundry can take!

Martin bought me this new shirt... i wasn't too sure about it.. but now i think i am in love! I thought i looked like a farmer... but at least i look like a cute farmer! hehe

He actually bought my entire outfit. hehe. He's good. :)

But.. i can give myself credit for my oh-so-simple hairstyle. hehe. :)

After laundry was all finished and tummies were full of food, we headed off.

Our radio doesn't usually work (i think we need new speakers) but for some odd amazing reason it worked the majority of the ride there. So my hubby and i grooved, sang, and were silly for 2 hours.
Being a girl.. i tried to start serious conversations... but he asked if we could just have fun. hehe. :) I agreed and joined him in singing and dancing to the radio. I am glad i have him to remind me to be silly. ;) Although this is him being serious driving..because the roads were starting to get icy.

When we arrived in the mountains the temperature DROPPED! And we were surrounded by beautiful pine trees!

Do you like the crack in my windshield? hehe.. i really need to get that fixed.

When we got to my sister's house my nephew ran as fast as he could to.... Martin. Yup, my husband is apparently his new favorite. hehe. But i still got some hugs and kisses.

But he quickly returned to "Mar-TIN". (he pronounces the 'tin' part very distinctive.. it is soo stinking cute!)

Then he, of course, had to show off all of his new stuff he got from Santa.

He really loved this watch he got. It had a little light and would shine different little aliens on the wall. He would NOT take it off! hehe. And every picture he took he wanted to show it off. lol. He took it off to play with Martin some more and had me wear it. He was all kinds of excited when it fit me. hehe. He made sure to tell everyone around him that his watch "fit Auntie too"!

My sister cooked an amazing meal of tri-tip and crab! Sooo good! and then we had cheesecake and carrot cake for dessert.
My nephew and husband played the (old school) Super Mario Bros game on AJ's gameboy. hehe. My nephew cant really play.. but was amazed when Mar-TIN "beat the game" (he only beat one level.. but AJ was soo happy!)

At about 9:30pm we all headed out to my sister's friends house for a New Year's Eve party. Although stuff like that isn't really my thing... it was still pretty fun.
Of course i probably looked silly with my giant Hello Kitty purse (which Martin eventually put it in the car.. because i kept it on all night lol) and my red cup of the kid's punch. hehe. No shame though. lol. :)
At 11pm we went home because my brother-in-law had to work early the next morning.
At home we watched Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve and drank some DELICIOUS Starbucks peppermint hot cocoa with my sister's homemade marshmallow.

That was probably the highlight of New years Eve. I love just snuggling on the couch with hot cocoa! I don't really enjoy "going out". I'd rather hang out and play board games, sipping hot chocolate, listening to music with my loved ones. i know.. i am probably boring. hehe. but i like it.

At midnight we said our happy new years.. and after Martin stopped coughing (he got a tickle in his throat RIGHT at midnight haha) i had my FIRST ever New Years kiss! :) 

It was a really great first New Years as a new wife. :) 

The next morning was the 49er game and so my sister made her brother-in-law an amazing football meal!

She is such a wonderful cook!!! :)

After the game we talked for a little while and packed up and headed back home. :)
Arriving to town the sky was sooo beautiful!!!

We had SUCH a fun road trip together. :)

I am sooo excited for the new 2012 year! My resolution is to continue to get closer to the Lord, be love everywhere i go, and cherish my marriage.

new years, short road trips, and love. - M
♥  . ♥ . ♥

2011

Well the year 2011 is almost gone. I am still in shock that 2012 is almost here!

So many amazing things happened this past year. Lets take a walk down memory lane (bee dee doo dee bee doop du dooo. *that is flashback music*)

At the end of the year 2010... i did get engaged to a wonderful man!

The early months of 2011 were filled with a million wedding decisions and changes. My wedding was at first going to look like this:

A room filled with red roses and black and white accents.... but half way through.. i changed it to this:

Beautiful fuchsia all over and dark plums scattered all around. Gerbera daisies all about. :) 

I planned and planned and planned majority of the first half of 2011. In May i turned 24 years old... and also in May my wonderful then Fiance graduated from his ministry school and returned home. We met him at the airport.. signs in hands. 

Nine months of long distance (4 of the months while we were engaged) prepared me for his job where he had to travel. hehe. 

I remember seeing him walking up to us.. i remember being so nervous! As he approached us he looked soo different for some reason. My heart was pounding and my hands were sweating. "THIS is the man. THIS is the man i will be marrying", i thought. We hugged and my heart finally started to calm down. That was our little beginning to our happily ever after. :) 

In June 2011 Martin and i got approved for our new little apartment. Looking at it then.. it looked small.. now that i live in it.. it feels even smaller! hehe. We also started learning and growing with pre-marital mentoring.. and Martin started working.

July and the beginning of August was filled with last minute details. Martin working a lot out of town. And paying all the bills for the wedding. 

August 20th, 2011 i became a Mrs. 

My wedding was definitely the highlight of the year 2011.

The next 4 months has been filled with cooking, cleaning, and learning to be a wife to my husband.

I am sooo excited for the new year 2012! :)


new beginnings, beautiful pasts, and love. -M
♥ . ♥ . ♥

The Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge

So... my beautiful friend, Shawna and i were talking the other day about life, confidence, busyness, and ourselves.  We were saying that we often look at other girls  women around us and think how cute they look! Then we take a look back in the mirror and feel disappointed.

Now i know that there is soooo much more to us then our outward appearance.

Beauty is fleeting and charm is deceptive but a woman who fears the Lord deserves to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

But i think there is something to that inner confidence that shines outward. That feeling of beauty. Of course it is more then jewelry, hairstyles, and clothes. It is more then expensive make-up or high heels. 

It is that inner, quiet peace inside all of us as a women that speaks to our hearts and says "you are lovely." I do not use things (makeup, clothes, jewelry) to cover anything up (except maybe a blemish or dark circles hehe). I use it to enhance what God has already made beautiful. It is good to feel good about yourself. It is uplifting to yourself to feel cute. 

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom (like my friend), a new bride, a single woman, a full-time student, a career woman, or still discovering who you are - take some time for yourself to enjoy your loveliness. (: 

I ALWAYS feel cuter when I try just a little bit harder. Style my hair. Put on a cute outfit. Have a pretty accessory on. When you have found that inner confidence inside of you.... it is easy to manifest it on the outside. Don't make it all about the "stuff"... but find a good balance. It is okay to feel lovely. 

When i truly FEEL lovely... i just feel good! My heart is warm. I am happy. I feel confident. Feeling lovely and feeling "hot" are two different things to me. I think feeling lovely comes from both the inner and the outward. Where hot just seems.... shallow. Based upon JUST the looks. Loveliness comes from within and pours out. 

Now back to Shawna and I.  Currently Shawna is about 17 weeks pregnant with her 4th little bundle of joy and definitely needs a confidence booster! Her body is changing with every passing week as her little baby grows and she is running after her other little ones. I am a new bride.. working and learning to cook clean and basically how to be a wife. We are on different parts of life... but one thing still remains with us... the longing for that feeling of loveliness. Things feel good when WE feel good. 

So we have come up with this little challenge - The Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge. (Shawna's is called the Pregnancy Perk-up Challenge). The challenge for ourselves is to find that little bit of loveliness in us every day.  I am not sure when it will end... or if it will become a lifestyle. But we are going to embrace the lovely bodies (even while they grow) that we have. We will find that true loveliness inside of us and have it pour out. 

We will document daily us trying to "perk-up" our days a little with a splash of our loveliness. Wear cute outfits. Do our hair. Cute accessories. Just adding a little extra everyday. After all it takes the same amount of time to put on jeans and a nice top as it does yoga pants and sweatshirt. And i know i feel way lovelier with jeans then i do with yoga pants. hehe.
Feel free to join the challenge too! It starts tomorrow!

little lovelies, confidence booster, and love. - M

♥ .  ♥ . ♥

Learning from Titus

This morning my husband and i got up very early (well... he woke me up and made me get up lol) and went to our church's prayer chapel to read and pray. The air was soo cold that i saw my breath. it was sooo wonderful.
Of course we stopped at Starbucks first... and then headed over.

I have been getting lost in the words of Paul in the book of Titus. I finished a book by Carolyn Mahaney called Feminine Appeal - 7 virtues of a Godly wife and mother. It is all based on Titus 2:3-5.

'The older women, likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not give to much wine, teachers of good things - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. '

I really enjoyed the book and i am thinking that i might read it again. The book walks women through those 7 virtues and what they mean. It is transforming, humbling, and encouraging. It allows us to find the JOY in being a wife, mother, and homemaker. 

Today i read Titus again... hehe. I have been reading it a lot lately. I am always finding more and more in it though. I enjoy reading things that i have read or heard before and really realizing what the Spirit is telling me in His Word. 

Titus talks about how we should be. What we should do.. and gives us an outline of how we are to honor the Lord with our actions. Titus 3:1-7 is what impacted me a lot this morning. 

^'1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ³ For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.'

Paul takes us on a short little journey in these verses. He says how we are called to be. Listen to authority. Speak good of everyone. Keep the peace. Staying humble. Then he reminds us that yes... we were once not living for the Lord. At one time we were foolish, not obedient, deceived, and living in hateful ways. How can we talk bad about other people.. when we were once there? How can we not be gentle... when we needed others to be gentle to us when we were living in our sinful nature. I love the next part (v. 4-7). Paul clearly explains to us the reason WHY we can do what we are called to do. We CAN be peaceful because God has given us mercy. He poured out abundantly through Jesus, justified us by His grace and allowed us to become heirs to eternal life. It has NOTHING to do with our works and what we can do. It was all about what HE did for US. amazing! 

We can represent Jesus because He lives in us! 

I want to be known for my love. for my peace. for my joy. I want to be known as a women who has Jesus living inside her. 

What do you want to be known for?

learning, true feminine appeal, and love. -M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

stopping to smell the roses

This pretty flower bouquet was at my work. A guest sent them to my manager. (:

This beautiful flower just kind of made me smile when i saw it. With life going by soo fast and always having a million things to do (especially with my wedding a week away) it  truly is nice to stop and smell the roses.

Its a phrase that is often said... but i doubt anyone really thinks about it. At least i don't. lol. But lately i am trying to really understand what it means.
Just STOP everything... the thinking, the worrying, the complaining, the wondering, the budgetting, the to-do listing and enjoy what is around you. Not just roses... but sunsets (or sunrises... when i take my future husband to work.. often times we can see them.)

this was once after i dropped him off. (:

It could be looking at a rainbow. When my Fiance and i first started dating... we both sent eachother a picture of a rainbow at the exact same time from our own houses. (:


this was from him. (:



this was from me. (:

There are soooo many things that we could just take a moment... and enjoy it. Let the beauty speak to us... and it can calm our fears, take anxiety, remind us of what is important, and just simply put a smile on our face. (:

It could be snow....i personally do not like the snow... but some people like to look at it.

i woke up to this one morning, when i was visiting a friend.

Whatever it is that takes your breath away... just enjoy it. Search it out. Thank God for His beauty. Allow yourself to stop and be captivated by all that is around you. (:

-Beautiful things and love. -M

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