Day Trip to Salado!

I've been so busy with my grad class and preparing for camp, that we haven't had a chance to really get out of the house and go somewhere together. This past weekend the weather was gorgeous and in the 70's so I decided to put off working for one day and hit the road. We headed down south to Salado--it's a little bitty town with a lot of charm. We were actually expecting it to be bigger than it was based on their t.v. commercials, but the weather was great and the people were sweet so we had a great time.

      

Not bad for a low-key Valentine's Day--and I got this excellent bottle of Parmesan Garlic Olive Oil. Best Valentine's present ever!!!!

Weekend Happenings

From the top: The EPIC (3) cheese Grilled Cheese that the Hubs made us for lunch, finally checking out what all the talk was about (McClane Stadium @ Baylor), taking advantage of the 70 degree January weather (Thank-you Texas), found love on the Walking Bridge, the difference between Him and Me, more cheezin at the Park, getting tired of taking pictures after Church, and finishing it all off with some homemade Stir-Fry.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend because mine was Incredible!!! Just give me a sunny day and I can do anything!

#MakeItHappen

I meant to do this sooner, but because of the goals I've sent it has already been a busy year for me! I
don't like resolutions. They are so finite and often single-minded that it is so easy to break them in a such a short amount of time. Instead, I prefer to set goals for myself because they allow you some wiggle room to be human and make mistakes. They are organic and allow for tweaking when you need to make adjustments. It is also encouraging that there is no real end to my goals; they are areas in my life that I want to improve and that can continue on for years to come. I have deemed 2015 the year of the 'S': Spirituality, Safety, and Success. I have also another 's' in there that has to do with my marriage relationship, but I'll let you guess what that word is because I don't want creepies coming here by mistake :)

Spirituality: I chose this goal because you can never be too close to God. Since becoming a full-fledged adult, I have let my faith waiver significantly due to anxiety and lack of effort. I've determined to study and reflect on my Bible every day and already it feels so good. I've been participating in the Good Morning Girls study and I love it. It's a chapter a day and I use the SOAK method to pick out the hidden pearls written there for me. I can already feel a change in myself and I can't wait to keep learning.

Safety: This has been a struggle for me since getting married. When I was young and my parents provided for me, I always felt safe and never questioned a thing. Becoming a grown-up and taking care of yourself changes your perspective. You realize there are these horrible life-suckers called bills and you owe everyone but yourself. It's scary finding a place to live and hoping that no crazy people live beside you and then your car keeps finding parts to break. I thought I was worried kid but I never truly knew worry until the last few years. My husband takes good care of us, but we have our struggles. It is my goal this year to let a lot of worry go and trust. Thankfully, my spiritual goal is already helping this.

Success: The last couple of years I have felt stuck. I'm not growing or learning and I have been lazy and comfortable doing nothing. This year, I have determined to succeed, or rather start planning to succeed. I realize that success isn't an overnight occurrence so as a goal it makes sense because it may not be this year that anything major happens but I at least have a framework and an end goal in sight. I am taking my first class for my Masters in Reading and I am reading a spectacular book by Lara Casey called Make It Happen: Surrender Your Fear, Take the Leap, Live on Purpose. I want to speak more on this book later because I'm only in chapter 3 and it's already changing my life. This book is mind-blowing.

Sssshhh: The last category is a strengthener for my marriage. I was dealt an unexpected blow and it made me realize that although we spend a lot of time together, we are severely lacking in true intimate time. I honestly feel that this is crucial for every Godly marriage and we could feel the lack of bond between us. We've made a lot of headway already and we have an action plan that makes my heart glad. Today we spent time together in our reading nook, sitting in our recliner together reading comic book and let me tell, it was like magic. The sun was shining in, the windows were open and letting in the sound of birds, and we were huddled together in a chair made for one. I just sat there and smiled like a goob the whole time.....I think it's what life is supposed to feel like.

I can tell it's going to be a big year for us and I am overjoyed. I've felt so stagnant for a long while and for the first time, I'm excited again. I can't wait to see what's next and I'm not afraid. If anyone stumbles across this blog post out there, I would love to hear what goals you've set for yourself in the new year and I wish you the best!

On Having Children(Someday)

I know I haven't taken the time to list them here yet, but one of my 2015 goals is to be more Spiritual. As a child of God, I haven't spent enough time in His word and that makes me feel ashamed. I have to determined to carve out some time in the mornings to spend reflecting on a chapter, a passage, or evn just a verse. Because having children is on my mind lately, I've chosen Psalm 127:3-5 which says:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Growing up watching my mom take care of children, I knew I wanted to be just like her. Loving, kind, and warm all describe how she made and still makes me feel. Having kids was always a given for me. That is, until I actually grew up and knew what it was like to take care of yourself. Sometimes I wonder if we are responsible enough to raise a child; we both still feel so very young and we enjoy having time to ourselves to be selfish and do whatever we want to do. Many of our friends are having children and the older I get, the more pressure I feel to not 'run out of time.' Insert slightly inappropriate quote from my favorite show ever, New Girl:

What if all that's left are the weird eggs and the evil eggs? I can feel them, they're turning. They watched their brothers and sisters die and now they want to be birthed. I need to be fertilized!

Kidding aside, the Bible says that children are a true blessing and reward to those that have them. My biggest fear is that we will get pregnant and not have the means to take care of him or her. My mom has always told me that 'if people waited until they could afford children, no one would ever have them.' I hear that and I believe that, but anyone who knows me well knows that I am a worrier and a planner. If I don't have an exact plan for taking care of my child, my world will come to end(at least it will feel like it). Babies aren't like super expensive shoes that you can regret and take back to the store for a refund, they are with you forever. And while I would like the company now and then, it scares me to think that I will hold another person's life in my hands. I will shape them, mold them, and hopefully help them become something great. This must be what God feels like every time He creates, nervously waiting for the outcome even though He already knows.

I don't think I will ever get over my fear of having children; I know my mother still worries every day despite the fact that we are all grown-ups now. Fear comes with the territory. But with the fear, comes the joy. The last sentence of the passage says 'He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.' I don't know about you, but to me that verse is describing a Proud Father. He has beautiful, loving, obedient children that he is blessed to brag about in front of everyone, even people he may not like as much. Children are a glory to their parents and though I am afraid, it is the fear that will help me to try my very best to raise them well. Hopefully, one day soon, I will be making some blessings of my own! (And yes, that precious little person down there is me!)

Happy 2K15!!!!

If anyone out there in the big, wide internet sees this--Happy New Year!!!! The Holidays were fast and incredible and I'm looking forward to something new.

2015 has a very special sound to it and my heart tells me it's going to be a good one! I want to sit down and write out a few goals for the year, but for now I'll leave you with a photo. It's from camp this summer and it's from one of the happiest times I can remember for awhile. I resolve to be as happy as the girl in this picture:

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! We are wishing you all the best and many blessings in the year to come!

An Unceremonious Christmas Tree Lighting

It only took 22 days into the Holiday season, but we finally put up our little Christmas Tree. I don't know about anyone else, but to me it feels like the Holiday season is going by faster than usual. I love Christmas, but for some reason I feel like I can barely catch my breath this year; we're not even halfway done shopping for gifts and Christmas is less than a week away!

This has been a great December so far and will continue to be the busiest one yet: my best friend had her baby shower for baby #1, we traveling to Oklahoma to see my Dad's family, and right after Christmas, my college roommate is getting married! We are definitely in that stage of life where everything is on the upward slope; life is really just beginning and I can't wait to see what happens in 2015!

Our Christmas Card 2014

Photos Taken by my sweet sister Kelsie @ The Candid Photobooth

We've done yet another DIY Christmas card this year and I am so proud of how it came out! Kelsie is a budding photographer on the side and we love getting our pictures taken(yes, we're attention-hogging theatre kids) so another Holiday shoot was a must. She did a beautiful job with our photos two years ago so now that we are back all living in Texas it was super easy. I love the light airy quality of her editing style and I added in a few Christma-y touches of my own with Picmonkey and ipiccy.com. I can't wait to print these and get them sent out to our family and friends!


Happy Holidays!

Let The Morning Bring Me Word

*I found this print on Pinterest, but sadly the link led me no where. If you recognize its owner, please let me know!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Yesterday morning I was greeted with good news. I have been fully accepted into the Masters in Reading Program at UT Tyler. I applied a little while back, turned in all of documents and waited. 'You must have an interview' they said(well, not quite like that but you know...) and I had to wait again until our internet officially worked. Interview: check. I was hoping to hear word before we left for Break, but no such luck. That's when I started feeling really doubtful. I told myself a lot of very negative things and put myself down. I thought maybe they didn't like my lack of experience or the fact that I waited five years after graduating to start my masters again. I worried. A lot. Just like I always do. I began to lose hope and faith in myself and God. I was so promising in school and now I'm a failure. I didn't sleep Sunday night at all--I sat in the bathroom floor, in the dark, and cried. Loudly enough that my sweet husband came creeping in to hold me until I fell asleep. Where is He leading me, I felt so lost.

But wouldn't you know, my answer arrived. I came to work Monday morning determined to email the Admissions department if I didn't hear back that day about my acceptance. Nothing at 8am.

 *Mild freak out ensues as I decide what kind of email I should send: Sweet and urgent or scathing and accusatory. I chose the former.

I log-in to begin said email and there it is. I don't even click it open; I speed read the preview looking for one word and find it instantly.

 Congratulations. 

That one word melted away so many feelings of regret and sadness. I have been praying that God would lead me where He wanted me to go, that He would give me a path. I'm interested in so many things that I don't often know where I belong. I'm hoping that this is His answer to my questions and my longings to be successful and whole. I have been missing a career path since I graduated and I want so badly for this to be the right choice. God has opened a door for me and shown me His love; I now must pray that I can rise to His challenge. 

Weekend Waco Exploring!!!!

This weekend the weather was gorgeous here in Waco so the hubs and I decided to spend most of our free time outdoors. We explored the parks around the Brazos River, walked downtown, and made our way to the zoo just off the river. I was pleasantly surprised at how much there is to do downtown and I can't wait to visit the places we walked by!

A Rant Post for Thursday

After I left my job in Tennessee, the college closed my email account (for good reasons of course). When I got back from my whirlwind summer at Camp Wamava, I finally sat down to try and post again only to find that I had linked my blog to that old work account....fast forward and I was able to gain access again but now all of my pictures are gone. Boo. Even the profile picture I worked so hard to crop and shape into the perfect 'blogger circle.' It's my own for not actually using my Photobucket to host pictures but alas it is too late now. Someday, when I find the time, I'll try to remember all of the pictures I had up there but I'm pretty sure that's impossible....


Thursday Rant Over. And now, because I need it.....Here are Kittens and Rainbows. Enjoy.

This Weekend

Happy Cold, Rainy Monday!!! It seems that Fall has finally decided to descend upon Texas--it only took half of October, but we'll take what we can get! I'm not sure why, but this weekend seemed especially long to me--perhaps it was because we didn't head up to my parents house for a crazy adventure but I'm not complaining. It was leisurely in that warm, fuzzy way that makes you want to curl up in bed with a good book or movie and have plenty of cuddles. 

The weekend wasn't entirely wasted though, because the hubs finally built me my table!!!  

I found the plans for this gorgeous Farmhouse table here and I am beyond pleased with how it turned out! It only took a few hours on Saturday to shop, cut, and assemble the whole thing. Now my job is to sand and stain it a beautiful dark brown and then I'll be hitting up craiglist and garage sales for chairs! I will definitely post more pictures when I'm finished--I'm dreaming of warm family gatherings and someday seeing little ones playing underneath. It's so sturdy, this baby is gonna last a long time!!!                   

Taking Stock: 10/10/14

Now that we've more or less established ourselves in our new home of Waco, TX, I thought it was about time to Take Stock again.

Making : Picture frames to decorate our bedroom and the hubs is going to make my dream table this weekend (See it here)

Cooking : Tonight we will be dining on this lovely dish--Pesto Chicken!!!!
Drinking : Water. From the Bubba Jug. 
Reading : Insurgent and Blood of Olympus--I'm a sucker for YA books
Wanting : To figure out my calling; I don't know quite where I belong in the working world and I'm losing heart...
Looking: At the pile of packages in our mail room that need to be sorted soon
Playing: Solitaire like nobodies business. I've become suddenly and overwhelmingly addicted....I even play it with real cards!
Wasting: Talent. I know I'm meant for so much more I just need to focus and let God lead me.
Sewing: Belt loops back onto my husband's jeans...he wears those pants out!
Wishing: I could go back to the last two weekends my whole family spent together at the Zoo and State Fair--we haven't had outings like that basically since we all left for college/marriage/etc and it was kind like being a kid again. I cherished it.
Enjoying: The sound of birds singing in the courtyard outside of my office
Waiting: For 1pm so I can get off of work and go home! Happy Friday!
Liking: My new favorite snack: Plain greek yogurt, a little honey, and mix in some sunflower kernels. Healthy and delicious!
Wondering: If husband made it to work ok....we are having some car issues that need to be addressed.
Loving: My husband--I don't know what it is, but lately I can't get enough of him! I always love him, but I go through these random periods of time where I simply adore him and everything he does.
Hoping: That we can start a family soon. My best friend is pregnant with her first child and we always wanted to have kids together so I'm hoping we sort our lives out and be blessed with little ones too.
Marveling: At the peace God can bring if you let Him. It's a daily power struggle for me and I'm having to learn how to let go.
Needing: More encouragement. My heart and mind are a little bit lost at the moment and I could use a few good pep talks.
Smelling: The quietness of the Lobby where my desk is located. You know how people have distinctive smells? Well, it's just me today and although I love my perfume, it smells a little lonely in here....
Wearing: My Baylor t-shirt for Spirit Day. At my old office we never got to wear jeans, here it's every Friday! Huzzah!!!
Following: New people on Instagram. I haven't had mine for very long so it's fun to find new people. You can find me at thesetwohearts411  :)
Noticing: My silly handwriting on the announcement board...I swear I write like a 7th grader...
Knowing: "Is half the battle!" Sometimes not knowing feels so much better...
Thinking: About all of the life decisions I need to make. You're mid-twenties are so full of possibility and I just hope I open the right doors.
Feeling: Anxious about our future; student loans are really weighing heavy on me right now. 
Bookmarking: All of these...
Opening: The new books that the hubs surprised me with last night!
Giggling: This. Just this whole thing. Watch it. 

I am one blessed girl. :)

I'm Back!!!

It's been quite a hiatus but I have finally made my way back to my blog again. I've made my from Tennessee to Texas, to Virginia and back again! I'll post more of my latest adventures later when I've given myself ample time to celebrate the fact that I can actually get back on my site(details to follow)!!!! Hip, Hip, Hooray and Happy Monday!!!!

Times Are Changing

Well, we've made it once again. The end of the school year has come to a close and all is quiet on the western front--meaning the students are mostly gone and the professors have taken off for the summer season. They are beginning construction on the lobby outside my office and there is the sweet sound of beeping equipment. All. Day. It's a lovely way to spend the last two weeks of my time here in Tennessee. But I digress....here are a few photos of the happenings in the Decker Household. They include: pizza night with Joshua's student workers, a photo from Si and Jep Robertson, and our final Graduation(until my sister finishes up). Thanks for stopping by!

Pranksters...