Uuuuuuuuuuuugh.   You guys, I literally JUST typed out this amazing post all about life lately, Empire Records, getting older, and sunshine in a jar (aka this vinaigrette) and went to click "publish" only to find out that I accidentally deleted it instead.   YAY ME.   It's one of those things that you just can't re-do, you know? I can't rewrite all the wit and wisdom that I already wrote down because a) the baby is waking up, b) I'm too tired from doing it ... continue reading...

WHOA this week was nuts! I feel like every time I feel that I'm starting to get life figured out, a curve ball gets thrown my way and I'm back to square one. For example, Monday was a totally normal day and then BAM! Around mid-afternoon I started getting this weird feeling in my eye. Of course I freaked for about 5 minutes that I had brain cancer or an aneurysm, fell asleep on the couch, and then woke up around 3:30am with an eye that wouldn't stop watering. I went to a walk-in clinic first ... continue reading...

9 years ago today I took this man's hand and we did just what you see here: we jumped wildly into the future together. We didn't know that it would include two cross-country moves, a church plant, numerous jobs, rental homes, mortgages, car payments, and insurance. We couldn't dream of two more amazing boys, and we didn't expect to lose our first baby. Big dreams, big jumps, big decisions - we've done them all, and have more ahead.   And all the while we've stuck together, leaned on ... continue reading...

Let's talk New Year's, shall we? I remember once upon a time I was terribly terrified of the whole Y2K thing. I remember it very clearly - I was spending time with my high school boyfriend and our mutual friends, and when the clock struck midnight I braced myself for the worst. Surely - SURELY! - the world was about to end!   And then midnight hit and the world was the exact same, and I had one of my first real lessons in not believing all the hype you hear and see and read about in ... continue reading...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! About a year ago I was exhausted beyond belief in the physical sense, anxious beyond belief in the emotional sense, and all used up creatively/socially/mentally. Pregnancy was hard, and the last trimester of my pregnancy with A certainly confirmed that. It's crazy to look back at 2015 and see how I went from completely emptied out at the beginning of the year to just overflowing with joy. God is so very good, even to those who least deserve it like myself.   None of ... continue reading...

I partnered with Dr Pepper Snapple Group and The Motherhood for this post, but thoughts and opinions are my own. You can read the first two posts in this series here: Part 1, Part 2.   After the first two days of hanging with the incredible team at Kaboom!, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and the ACCESS School I wasn't sure how I could adequately describe how much the playground rebuild means to the kids at ACCESS. How does one fully share how a simple act of kindness from a community can ... continue reading...

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Birds Eye® through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Birds Eye®, all opinions are my own. Confession: I love meal planning so much and take great joy in doing it on a weekly basis…only to end up winging it pretty much every night. It’s inevitable that my best-laid plans are usually going to get redirected, so rather than obsess about it, I’ve embraced it the best way I know how: having a back-up plan ... continue reading...

[via]   GAH! Y'all - I so meant to share this with you guys on Friday, but then it was Christmas and we were with family and I totally TOTALLY spaced and, well, yeah. I'm not going to apologize because I'm actually not sorry for not working on Christmas day. But I do wish I'd shared these lovely links earlier!   All that to say - Christmas was fantastic. I love getting to see our families, I love getting the see the magic of the holidays as our boys experience them, and I ... continue reading...

Guys, I love you. I know we've never really "met" but the stuff I share on here - and the things about your lives that you share with me - make blogging fun. It makes it worth it. And I so love getting to share it all with you!   I hope you have the most beautiful Christmas with your loved ones, and I can't wait to get back to you next week!   Much love,   Heather ... continue reading...

Alright y'all, I have your Christmas morning sweet treat RIGHT HERE! I don't know about you, but for me breakfast on Christmas morning is almost more important than the actual dinner. Growing up we would only ever have "the works" for breakfast on holiday mornings - eggs, breakfast meats, cinnamon rolls, fruit, milk, juice, coffee. It was such a treat to have such a big breakfast on a special day, and to this day the breakfast is always on my mind as Christmas approaches!   These ... continue reading...