happy birthday me!

well, it’s my birthday!

i can’t believe another year has gone by.. and i know people always say that, but seriously, i feel like i JUST had my birthday … (maybe because it lasted like 2 weeks last year, see here & here!) i heard someone say the other day that when you are ten years old, time seems like it’s passing so slowly, like you’re going 20 mph & you can’t wait to be older. and then as you get into you twenties, it feels like you’re going a little bit faster, maybe 40 mph and then each decade, time just keeps speeding up until you are eventually going the speed limit & then suddenly you are in the fast lane. and it’s SO true. well, at least from my current decade’s viewpoint. time feels like it is passing SO quickly and for this next year of life, i honestly just want to be thankful for all the ways God has blessed me, and really focus on what matters. my life is so full and so blessed. i didn’t do anything to deserve all of the love, grace, blessings, mercy, but He loves me & so He gives it anyway & i am grateful.

so, happy birthday me :) thank you mommy & daddy for having me!

another year to love & serve.

oh, and another year with this guy… NOT a bad way to spend a lifetime if you ask me :)

xoxo!

it’s almost my birthday.

my birthday is on monday! last year i posted about all the things i was grateful for since the previous birthday, this year, i am again SO thankful for all of those things, but felt more like an ‘a few things i’ve learned this past year…’ post.

so here it is, enjoy :)

since my last birthday i’ve learned that…

• once you go fresh picked strawberries, it’s hard to go back to store bought… really hard.
• even at age 24, 27, 35 & 50 people still don’t always know what they are doing or what they want to be when they grow up… and it’s okay. because it’s not what job we have or how much money we make or where we live that matters. it’s not this life on earth. it’s after, it’s our eternity<3
• it’s time to start checking things off of my bucket list, big & small.
• best friends are few & far between. not everyone you meet & become friends with has to be a BEST friend. there are different levels of relationships & a place for each of them in your life.
• the diet of a teenage boy is probably not going to fly much longer & it’s time to eat like a grown up.
• frozen fruit for smoothies is the way to go… all that time i wasted struggling with fresh fruit & ice… geesh.
• God can change the lives & hearts of ANYONE. i have seen it with my own eyes and it gives me hope. hope for myself & hope for others. He can work miracles. He is good.
• SO many dog/cat foods contain animal-by-product and i learned what that is… let me enlighten you:  Animal by-products are ground, rendered, and cleaned slaughtered meat carcass parts such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, bones, heads, and intestines (and a small amount of feathers in the case of chicken) — yes, by-products are as gross and disgusting as they sound. The quality of animal by-products is very inconsistent between batches. In many cases, by-product meals are derived from "4-D" meat sources — defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as "Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled." ---- ewwwwww. DO NOT FEED YOUR ANIMALS THIS. if you wouldn’t eat it, you shouldn’t give it to your furry friends.
• even though i have grown so much in my relationship with the Lord, i am still desperate to know Him better & love Him more.
• pictures are not a waste of time. they are SO special and so important to have for enjoyment & for the future. THAT being said… i’ve learned that taking the same one over & over until you get the perfect one, diptic-ing // instagraming// twittering // facebooking// and any other app-ing that you spend precious time on instead of enjoying the moments that you are in CAN be wasted time. i caught myself doing this TOO often. now i choose to take the pictures in the moment & mess with them later, and i am not missing out on moments with the people i love :)
• brussel sprouts are not a meal… i’m still not convinced of this one, but husband would prefer if i ate more complete meals when he is away.
• colorado is still the best place to live. we have lived in california, missouri, north & south carolina, and texas… and while i know that isn’t a TON in comparison to some people, for us we love the fact that even after living in 5 different places we still call colorado home & hope our future brings us there.
• it is actually possible to love my husband more and more each day, and every time i think i couldn’t love him any more… he goes and does something all wonderful & there i go again :)

that’s all i’ve got for now. 

i’m excited for a new year! bring it on 24… or mid-twenties (as some might say) i’m ready for you!

happy weekend!

xoxo

thursday nights.

this is not an epic post. just a little love letter to my thursday night tv line up...

dear thursday night tv, 

you never disappoint. seriously. you don't...and tonight was no exception! vampire diaries & grey's anatomy? gah! both such good episodes. i am seriously sad that over the next two weeks you will both come to an end for the LOOOONG summer & officially begin my countdown to your return come fall. but let's not talk about that now... i will atleast wait until July like i did last year before pining for all things pumpkin & cozy. anyway, i love you thursday night line up. thanks for always showing up the day after wednesday. here's to the next two weeks!

love, hillary

So Long, Insecurity

"when we allow God's truth to eclipse every false positive && let our eyes spring open to the treasure we HAVE, there in His glorious reflection we'll also see the treasure we ARE."

a year ago, my beautiful friend jessica sent me a book to read that she had loved & learned so much from. at the time of receiving it, i opened it up and started reading the forward… i am a person who hasn’t always loved to read, and still to this day, if i’m not in the right mind set or immediately intrigued by the first page, i know that i would be better served saving that particular book (or reading in general) for a later date. so that is exactly what i did. almost a year later, and a few other books along the way, i opened the book again and began reading. this time around i could not put it down. i guess waiting was the right thing to do after all! good thing my friend is a patient person :)

this week i finished the book, ‘So Long, Insecurity"’ by Beth Moore. i feel full of encouragement. i feel like encouraging others. i feel like the Lord opened my eyes to the tools that can really help me say so long to insecurity for good. we as women, especially in today’s culture are walking insecurity magnets. not to say insecurity is a new thing, one of my favorite things she talks about in the book is how insecurity is as old as time, but back then women were comparing themselves to the 10 people they knew, where as women today are comparing themselves to not only the people they know, but also the hundreds of women in hollywood as well. its unfortunate, but it’s not going away. what we CAN change is how we respond and think! Praise the Lord for healing! the writer covers insecurity in SO many forms. i wish that every woman would read this book! seriously. so if you are in need of new material, i vote this :)

happy wednesday!

happy may day.

happy may day!

i remember as a little girl, coming home from school on may first and my mom having a ‘may day’ treat made for us! the rice krispies year is the one that stands out in my memories. what a wonderful mom :) that’s how i want to be for my kids one day! anyway! since i can’t really give you rice krispies through this blog, and posting a picture of some would only make your mouth water… i leave you with these beautiful flowers to wish you a happy may! ranunculus are my favorite, so when trader joe’s had them fresh, i couldn’t pass them up!

happy may day to you!