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little branches the blog

master bedroom.

perusing pinterest these days for inspiration.

it's chalk full of it, huh? 

keeping in mind what i have to work with + what is DIY & cheap to find.

i love the mix of old + new. 

modern touches + chippy paint is totally my style. 

and i rarely see pictures that are TOTALLY me. as in, i want to mail-order the room just as it is. 

mostly, i see pictures that i like many things about the room, but i'd change certain things out. trying to find my perfect mix. 

here's today's mix & match.

quilt / photo credit / reading chairs / photo credit / photo credit

insta-sale. TONIGHT.

DON'T FORGET! 

HOP ON OVER TO INSTAGRAM FOR THE SALE & A CHANCE TO WIN!

summer's coming.

it's warm. sometimes hot. 

and the fountains are on at fairview. 

friday nights are the best out there.

these are some of my favorite pictures i take ALL year with my big girl camera. so i busted it out for some new pics. 

check out these four from last year. they've grown SO much.

 

and just for fun. here's the four of them from last year. awww.......

new favorite app.

a new app for the iPhone was released this week.

it's for your pictures {but really for instagram!}

check it out.

it's from the cutest bloggers over at a beautiful mess. 

so much fun. i've been spending WAY too much time messing with it this week. 

try it out & see how you like it! lots of different ways to play!!

happy thursday, ya'll. 

 oh!!! and don't miss it!

over on instagram, little branches will be having our first ever insta-sale!!!

head on over, follow the directions under this picture and then YOU could win this cutie pie 12" x 12" hand painted sign! woot!! how fun would that be? 

{you're also eligible for a 10% discount on any purchase you make during the instasale!!!}

the online shop will be stocked a few days after the sale - this is just a fun preview of what's to come. mostly restocking the spring line, but there will be some new items too!!! 

back.

yes, we are alive.

the last five weeks have been absolutely insane.

clean. laundry. pack. drive. play. pack. drive. unpack. laundry. 

repeat.

we've been living out of suitcases for the past five weeks. lots of {fun} trips. seeing family, daddy, friends, etc. 

and now we're back. {missing daddy, but we are back!}

and it has reeked havoc on our little nest. 

so i've been trying to make my way through the tornado of clothes, unwashed sheets & such. 

bringing out our "spring" clothes and attempting to put up winter, only to have a cold snap again, has NOT helped. 

and giving away tons of stuff in an effort to spring clean & declutter the excess in our lives.

i cannot wait to tell you all that the Lord has been showing me. or, should i say "not" showing me.... 

either way, i'm still in processing mode. all of these new & fresh ideas and convictions swirling around in my brain. all while "needing" to buy a house and trying to keep it all in perspective. it's hard to do in the american culture. AND when we're trying to figure out what the Lord may have planned years down the road for our family.

again, processing. 

and the session pushes on. little by little, we are creeping slowly toward the finish line. and we are excited. we're in countdown mode. and hopefully daddy will really come home when the countdown is over. and we won't have a special session. 

oh, please, Lord. we need daddy home - at least for a while. 

i'm excited to be back on the blogosphere. 

praying about some changes here. and in my little business. 

making sure that family {and household duties} come first. that's really really hard for me. to slow down on the business side of things - just when i feel like i'm gaining momentum. 

but He is bigger than a little momentum. He is greater & wider & stronger than i ever will be - and He has plans for me. and letting go of my little business & my money enables Him to work through it. He can take it where He wants it. and if that is to remain steady, that is great. 

slowing down. 

taking deep breaths. 

living one day at a time.

i heard a quote last night at a dinner i attended with some friends. 

"live like Christ died yesterday, rose again this morning, and is coming back tomorrow." - martin luther.

wow. 

that changes my perspective. {i wish it changed my thoughts on laundry, but it just keeps coming}. 

today i will honor Him with my actions. my patience toward my children {deep breaths} and serving my husband {from afar}. He has been faithful to me, and i want to be a good steward with what He has given me - my children & my husband being the first and foremost of those. 

ahhhh.... i could write forever now that i finally sat down.

but i won't bore you.

here are a few insty's from the last few weeks. happy weekend!

30 day shred. kill me now.

sweet muffin.

isaiah 58. read it.

hill country. 

children's museum in austin. ginormous light bright.

ice cream break with daddy. they are at the age that they think THEY are the star when they walk on the house floor. i LOVE that for them. b. was telling me "how to get there" as we were walking through the capitol. like, "mom, i've done this before. follow me." 

a little cinco de mayo at hula hut. our fave.

sic 'em.

i toured the children's advocacy center last week. it broke my heart & amazed me at the same time. these people are salt of the earth. the God stories gave me goosebumps, and i will share them next week. the Lord is changing hearts in our church & in our community. He is stirring something big, and i just want to be willing. thankful to be a small part of His plan. {and will be even MORE thankful when He finally shows me what that plan might be!!!}

birthday weekend.

***all pictures via sarah avitua {photography}***

30 days.

yesterday i started the 30 day shred.

it was awful. 

terrible.

torture.

i couldn't think of ANYthing I wouldn't rather be doing. 

and today i'm in gut wrenching pain. i have no idea how i'll even start day 2. 

seriously.

i hate working out. i hate taking time away from doing stuff i want to do to do something for {eek!} myself. seriously. 

and i can make excuses all day long. 

i don't like walking with the double stroller. i like walking though. but my hubby isn't home so i only have one day a week that i technically could walk without the double stroller. but when my hubby is home i don't want to spend time away from him. and the gyms that have childcare are super expensive.

and so on and so on and so on.

but this has no excuse. 

and it's 27 minutes and 56 seconds.

and i can give myself that. right?

and add to that - i've heard the results are amazing if you stick out the 30 days. 

and i plan to seriously do it monday through friday. i don't do that crazy stuff on the weekends. let's keep it real, y'all. 

so who's with me? 

i'm not asking you to post before and after pics. i'm definitely not into those "selfie" pix like that. but i'll keep you updated. and i'd love to have some 30 day shred buddies!! so are you coming??

grace.

do you ever have those weekends where you feel yourself gearing up for what is lying ahead? the kind where you try to soak it all in and breathe deep because you know it's about to be crazy hard coming up? 

that's what we did this weekend. went on a little getaway with some dear friends. 

and it was awesome. just what i needed. because these next few weeks are going to be cray-cray. the end of school, end of session, birthdays, swim lessons, volunteering, lunches, dinners, etc. just lots and lots of transitions and stuff happening. 

and so, with every breath this weekend, i tried to soak in the quiet. and gear up. and try to plan out how i'm going to pull it all together this week. {read: pull myself together this week.}

and as i was writing out my to do list, going over our calendar and thinking of all the {good} stuff coming up, i was trying to get it in my head that i need to have it all together or none of it's together. 

but that's not right, is it? 

having balance in my life really isn't a good thing. 

it's all about having it unbalanced. doesn't that sound backward? 

{reading interrupted by jen hatmaker. life altering. vision changing. read it.}

it's really all about having a life out of balance. God taking over - being huge in our life and the other stuff falls in when it can. i'm not saying that i don't need to do laundry or fix my dinner or wind down. i'm saying that if my priorities are straight - unbalanced, if you will - then everything will feel in balance.

and so today - i'm taking it one step at a time - trying to give myself a lot of grace. a lot of room for error. asking the Lord to take me by the hand one chore at a time. asking Him to show me what is a need vs. want. what does He want me to get done vs. what i want to make happen. 

and it's hard. but freeing. a few times today, as i've found myself rushing from one task to the next, i feel Him whisper "slooooow....." and i quite literally have to slow my steps. breathe slower. smile more. see my kids more.

i'm excited to get on with the next few weeks, but i truly feel convinced that we tend to fill up our time with good things instead of pouring out our time to Him. in this season i find that i've had to cut activities out just to make it through the week. without an extra set of hands it feels like a gigantic task to get to and from and here and there. and yes, i have dear friends that are more than happy to help out - but that's not really the issue now. 

the issue now is that i actually like it this way. i like slowing down and having room to breathe. our weekends are meant to rejuvinate us {especially as a couple, in my opinion} and when we're separated by a million activities it's hard to feel refreshed when it's all over.

maybe you could say that my kids are "missing out" because we're not involved in every activity, but i'm actually grateful that we have time to experience life as a family while we can. i know there's going to come a day really soon when b. is going to be hyper involved in a sport or other activity. and c. will be doing the same soon after. and i want that for them. i loved being involved. so did the hubbs.

but - for now - we've chosen to live slowly. and again, it's our season. not anyone else's. and as judged as i sometimes feel, i know that j. and i are making these choices together and are on the same page. we're trying to follow our plan - the race He set out before us.

so let's make a deal. let's give each other grace. i won't judge your choices and you don't judge mine. your life is different than mine. your personality is different. your kids are different. your circumstances are different. none harder than the other. none better or worse... just different. 

and there's no way i could ever walk a mile in your shoes. and i wouldn't want to, i'm sure. 

so let's not pretend there's another way. and just accept that we are who we are. and keep our eyes on the Prize and not on our surroundings. keeping up with the joneses - or what have you. if you're in a season where you are able to live "fast"... go for it. more power to you. 

i'm just simply sharing that my season - well - it should be "fast". it's crazy. but we're choosing to live it slow. whatever that means. and i'll be trying to figure that out until i'm called elsewhere. failing everyday and giving myself {and others!} grace.

and that's that. 

xoxo.