june goals

I haven't done monthly goals since March. And let's face it.. I totally failed on pretty much all of those goals. I didn't think I even achieved any of them, but there are a couple I did do. They just took me a few extra months to do them. :)

I got a bump update finished - and now I'm super behind again. Another post will come soon!

And I tried a few new recipes. I will share those on here soon! One new recipe I did try but will not be sharing is Pad Thai.. and oh my stars - what a horrible mess up. Have y'all ever heard of fish sauce? Well if a recipe ever calls for it.. use it SO super sparingly! Unless fishy-ness is what you're all about. It was bad.. and I felt horrible having to dump it all but my attempt at fixing it didn't work either.

But June is here! It's finally summer and I'm officially in the 'nesting' stages of this pregnancy. Today marks 31 weeks. Which means in 9 short weeks (give or take) we will have a sweet daughter in tow and learning all about what parenthood is like! This also means I have a LOT of things I'm hoping to get done in these next 2ish months. I'm linking up with Hayley to share my goals!

I'm keeping them all focused around things that will benefit us once our little lady arrives:

June Goals

1. Create an atmosphere where our house becomes more our home. I want to put artwork on the walls, finish up some little projects (like putting knobs and pulls on all our cabinetry)

2. Start and finish Natural Hospital Birth

3. Make a trip to IKEA - I know, this one seems fairly easy to do. But with my exhaustion and a 6 hour round trip drive on top of being there.. I'd say it's a pretty big goal to accomplish 

4. Pray regularly for our daughter. Often times I find the days going by so fast and I realize I haven't spent adequate time in prayer over our daughter. I want her to know our love for her, but most importantly - the love our Father has for her. I want to pray over her daily

5. Drink at least 60oz of water a day and do regular prenatal exercises. Every time I go in for a check up; which is now bi-weekly, my midwife says I need to be drinking more water. I never thought that would be tough. It is! And I want to make sure I'm doing my pelvic tilts, kegels, tailored sitting and squats to help when labor time comes!

So there they are! I feel good about these goals - and I know there is always grace for the days I miss.



What are some things you're sure you want to accomplish this month?

gender reveal!

On Friday we had our first ultrasound and the babe is growing wonderfully and there were no concerns. Having to wait 4 weeks between appointments has been hard for me! I found out my placenta is in front of the baby so that is why I'm not feeling as much movement. What a relief to hear that because I was worried when I wasn't feeling kicks and jabs as much as I "should be" by this point.

After our ultrasound the tech wrote down the gender on a piece of paper and slipped it into an envelope (We turned our heads during the ultrasound when she was in the lower region). We brought the envelope to a party store and told them what to do. We popped next door to Target for a half hour and then returned to pick up the goods.

I didn't sleep a wink on Friday night! I stayed up late prepping for the reveal party and laid awake thinking and dreaming of the gender and all the fun things that were about to happen hours later. We woke up, finished decorating the house and waited for our families to arrive. While they were arriving, I was calm and enjoying my time with them. We took our guesses, prayed, ate and continued talking.

team ties VS team tutus

A little while later we were getting ready to have dessert before the reveal and someone suggested doing the reveal first and having dessert after to celebrate. I thought that was a fabulous idea so we gathered together. I grabbed the supplies and explained what to do.

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story!

We are over joyed to announce a sweet daughter will be joining our family come August! We are so grateful and super thrilled to meet her!!

most photos c/o my girl Marissa

march goals

Can y'all believe it's March already? We are almost a quarter of the way through 2014. Crazy! I want to be real with y'all and share that this winter has been rough. Talk about some major winter blues around here.. which is sad because I shared with y'all our super exciting news.. but I feel that I haven't been able to fully enjoy and embrace this new season because there is so much other yuck going on in life. I don't want to stay here either.. so this month I am going to be intentional and make choices based on how I want to feel.

This month there are some things I really want to hone in on and give special attention to:

I have so much catching up to do on posting and even sharing the small little baby bump that is finally made it's appearance! I'm hoping to have the last almost 19 weeks caught up on here by the end of the month! I feel writing this all out will help bring reality and a special something to myself about our first pregnancy.

In March I want to focus less on electronics: TV, phone, computer and spend more time reading in the evenings. I started this book last month and I still haven't finished it. It's my hope to finish it and also read another one! Any suggestions/recommendations?

Since this winter has been so hard on me physically and emotionally, I have decided I want to create to bring inspiration back before spring. And this dress will be perfect to start wearing once all the snow melts and sun shines more! I've heard it's a super simple design for beginners (that's me!)

I love cooking. It brings joy to see the creative meals to be made and I feel better knowing how it's been prepared. There has been lots of new and exciting recipes pinned to my cuisine Pinterest board. I want to make sure I continue to make healthy choices during this pregnancy so I'm looking forward to trying one new recipe per week this month!

This one might not sound like a challenge.. but for me, it totally is. I've never been one to work out regularly so I'm really trying to get that into my schedule as a regular habit. Since it's really hard for me to actually want and enjoy exercise.. I need to start small. Once a week I want to do yoga, pilates, take a walk outside. I've already been experiencing pain in this pregnancy and it's super early.. so making sure I stay active is important! Any good pregnancy work out suggestions?

I'm looking forward to improving my health and wellbeing this month! It's been a long time coming with this crazy, cold, long winter. I feel these goals will benefit my big goal for 2014!

Linking up with Hayley

What are you hoping to do in March?

what joy!

Baby Visser will be arriving sometime in early August!! We are so excited to announce this next season of life we're stepping into! I think it's safe to say we've been all sorts of emotional around here lately. We have been praying for this sweet life since the day we found out they were growing.

We are honored to be on this journey into parenthood and are super thrilled for what's to come! God is so good and faithful. He knew when I wrote this reflection post, that I would be shocked to find out November was even better than I thought it would be. November brought some of the best of 2013 before we even knew it. I have been so anxious to share our news, but we wanted to get beyond the first trimester and all the crazy that comes with it. There have been many times I wanted to just blurt it out for everyone to know, but it was important to us to share and celebrate in private with our family and close friends first. 

We are already loving and spoiling this sweet babe and can't wait to meet them come August!

welcoming 2014 with open arms.

Much of 2013 felt like I was just living. I wasn't very intentional with what God gave me. And although we had quite a few big changes, I felt like I lived 2013 being content. Almost like I was lukewarm, just going through the motions. But I know how the Lord feels about that.

I don't want to go through 2014 like this. And more importantly, I know God doesn't want my heart to stay here. So I'm welcoming and embracing 2014 with open arms. I want to get to the end of the year and see growth. See growth in my relationship with Jesus, growth in my marriage, friendships both online and offline, growth in our ministry and community. I want to see and know that I've grown. Throughout the year I am expectant and super excited to see how I will be stretched, challenged and changed. I am also leaving much room for grace and wanting to set goals that are attainable and measurable. So here is to a fresh start and a new year!

How are you looking for grow in 2014?

november was good to me

Jessi over at Naptime Diaries creates these beautiful monthly bundles for only five dollars each! They are my little treat to keep myself organized and what better way than to do it in style! She includes a screen saver for your phone. November's lock screen was this:

I took this photo November first knowing it was going to be a great month. 

A month of fresh starts, new adventures, my golden birthday, Thanksgiving and so much more.

Back in August, Brandon and I accepted a new position as youth directors of a community center as well as a youth pastoral position for a church we had attended while in college. This brought about lots of changes. In September we moved to a new city, joined a new church, met new neighbors, formed a new community, purchased a new home and so much more. While all of this was occurring, I was still working full time at my other job. As things progressed in our new position, it was evident that I needed to have a more flexible schedule in order to be there for Brandon in this new journey. We prayed, talked with family, friends, our employers, prayed some more and decided in November that I would go part time at State Farm. 

Y'all... this was so freeing. So refreshing. For so long I have shared my heart in regards to my job. It was a source of income for us, a needed income while Brandon was finishing school and only working summers. And during that time it was good. But after a while I began to feel stuck. I wasn't happy and I didn't understand how God was using me there. I knew he was though and that was what kept me going in the tough moments. As the months progressed one email we received opened up doors and a new full-time job for Brandon and allowed him to continue school. So November 1st was my last day full-time and November 4th started my first day part-time.

November also brought the celebration of another year of life for me. I celebrated my 26th birthday. This birthday was special though because it was my golden birthday. 26 on the 26th. We celebrated in gold and made memories with friends. It was so wonderful. And a two weeks before the party, I decided I wanted to build a fireplace.. go ahead, call me crazy. Now it's almost finished, it looks amazing. I can't wait to decorate for the Christmas holiday!

The day after my birthday celebration, we woke up super early and cheered our amazing friends on in their Turkey Trot race. This was Dave's first race since his accident! What an honor and blessing to watch the Lord grow, change and heal him from the inside out. So super proud of my miracle friend.

Then a few days later we enjoyed Thanksgiving with Brandon's family. A refreshing break from the busyness of life and work and taking time to invest in relationships. And a little Black Friday shopping never hurts.

So as you see.. November was a great month. I'm expecting the same for December.

Who's ready for an awesome December?

december goals

It's the last month of 2013. It went by so quickly, didn't it? That means this is the last month to finish out this year strong and that's my main goal. We are just shy of 31 days to bring 2013 to a close and get prepped and ready for 2014. I don't want to slide into 2014 just getting by; I want to make this last month count and start the new year off right. I'm wanting to focus on all ends of all the things. Our family, house, work, ministry, creative ideas.. goals for all of it.

So here they are for December 2013.

golden birthday

Growing up I always thought my golden birthday was so far away. Like it was never going to come. I felt the same way about my 16th birthday - I couldn't imagine what it would be like the day I would drive. But even more so I couldn't imagine the day I celebrated being 26 on the 26th. I woke up this morning thinking 'it's finally here'. I wanted to celebrate my golden birthday.. I mean, it only comes around once! But a recent move, job change, and crazy life happening over the past few months pushed those dreams and planning aside.

Then a few weeks ago my sister-in-law asked what I was going to do for my birthday. I was hesitant and said I wasn't sure.. she encouraged me to have a party. And to have it at my house. My eyes bugged out - I couldn't imagine having people over in two short weeks with our house torn apart. She immediately threw out all excuses of not having a tidy house, or finished construction.. and instead she reminded me everyone would be coming to celebrate me. Instantly all the ideas came rushing in of how fun it would be to celebrate in style.. in gold!

I looked to Pinterest for some easy and inexpensive party ideas to pull this thing off. The crazy thing.. there wasn't very much on golden birthday's for adults! So instead I ended up using some New Year's party ideas and made other things up as I went.

The night before the party I was running around trying to finish organizing the house and get the food prepped and finally gave up on trying to do it all. I just couldn't do all the things. I was flustered and texted my sister-in-law, our home was still a mess and the week didn't go as planned. Again, she reminded me people are coming for me and my identity was not found in my house. Whoosh. I needed to hear that right in that moment. She was so right.

And the party was fabulous. I have some amazing friends who walked through my door, past the mess and loved on me so well that night. So much so that I forgot to take photos of us all! My birthday was fabulous and full of laughter and memories. Just how I had always imagined celebrating.

We toasted to my 26th year. A year that will be golden and full of fabulous blessings from the Lord.

How did you celebrate your golden year?

influence link up!

 

so.. the conference is two weeks away from today!

two.weeks.!!

 

2 things i will have packed and 2 things i am looking forward to.

 

2 things i will have packed:

- a notebook and pen. even though i will have my computer.. i would much rather take notes and doodle and dream on paper with a pen.

- dry shampoo and a bright lip color. both are mandatory!

 

2 things i am looking forward to:

- friendships. real friendships. i love this community and am passionate about relationships. so i am looking forward to connecting with old and new friends.

- worship. i am so excited to worship. and.. what better way to end a conference?

 

 

will you be joining us?

 

 

 

when i doubted.

source
i considered this current season as one of uncertainty.. one of struggle. honestly, i didn't think this season would ever end. it's been a long and trying journey, friends. and on august first we are going to embark on a new one.
we're about to enter into a whole new world in a couple days. a world we've never explored, but yet one we've been dreaming of for years. i would say at this point we are a crazy ball of emotions - excited, nervous, honored, saddened, joyful, overwhelmed, anxious.. and the list goes on. we're experiencing both the bitter and the sweet.
i've been absent online and off. it's been refreshing and the lord has been doing a lot of revealing to brandon and myself. we know the lord is calling us into ministry. the only things we didn't know was the when and where. over these past few months he has been revealing his timing and location for us. i recently wrote about wanting to go where the lord leads and he's led us to an amazing opportunity. this opportunity is one that i processed privately and kept quiet. the pages of my journal have the words from my heart. through god's revealing of what the next season looks like for us, he has been refining my heart and drawing me closer to him. he's been showing me those areas that i haven't trusted him. the areas i've doubted his calling on our lives. he's revealed and opened rawness in my heart that i've kept closed off from him, from brandon, from myself. and it's time i surrender them. again. will you hold me accountable?

personalities.

source

i took my first personality test recently.. i tried out the myer-briggs test.

 

my results are ENFJ

meaning.. extraverted, intuitive, feeling, judging

 

i had no clue on what that meant.. so i started researching and it was very interesting to read about and so true to who i am!

 

i even found other famous ENFJ's and david - yes king david of israel was an ENFJ!

 

one website described it as having phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. guess maybe that's why i'm in sales...

ENFJ's are global learners - looking at the big picture. i often times try to do this.. especially when it comes to having an eternal perspective and seeing the bigger picture of god's plan in the midst of the present circumstances.

 

another site gave some more traits..

- genuinely and warmly interested in people

- value people's feelings, structure, organization and harmony

- creative and imaginative

- need approval from others to feel good about themselvse

- good people skills

 

some career paths for an ENFJ..

..consultant

..events coordinator

..social worker/counselor

..teacher

..ministry

..facilitator

..sales rep

..writers

 

which a lot of these i have either highly considered or have done!

 

it was so great to see through this test so much of what is on my heart. i have a desire for being relational with people. i've shared my passion on that before here, my struggle about it here.

 

 

have you ever taken a personality test?

what are your results?

 

 

 

 

dutch empire.

hey sweet friends!

i am excited to travel with y'all today! if you're not sure what i'm referring to.. the influence network is hosting a link up. if you're unfamiliar with the influence network.. you can read more about that here and then you should join because i can't speak highly enough about it!

the link up is a chance where we are able to share about where we're from and where we're currently living. so that means i am going to show you all the reasons you should come visit me - and then i can go read all the reasons why i need to come visit you!

i was 'born and raised' in the wonderful city of holland, the dutch empire as we know it.
no.. not in the netherlands though - although i did try to convince someone of that once. they believed me for a while until my accent started to sound a little more australian.

i'm talking about holland, michigan.

but instead of describing my town.. i decided to take lots of wonderful photos of some of my favorite spots and sweet memories made.

entering into downtown, the arriving spot for those coming by train. welkom.

the famous 'peanut store' where there is more candy than y'all will know what to do with. you can't visit without leaving with some sweet treats! - if there is any left when you leave.. and a hint.. their caramel is to die for!

found.. one of my favorite vintage stores. ohhh i could spent hours in there! definitely one of the spots i would take you to. along with spring sweet and the cottage corner.

we are surrounded by water and lots of outdoor activities. one of my favorite things i picked up last summer is stand up paddle boarding. have you tried it?

these downtown streets are lined with colorful tulips during tulip time. if i mention holland to people.. the first thing they typically mention is our awesome tulip time festival. i have so many memories parading down these streets as a little girl - in my big wooden shoes and dutch dancing outfit! and outside of the festival.. these are some of my favorite places to dine.

the other thing holland is known for is our beaches. they are wonderful! most of my summers have been spent on the lake.

when y'all come to visit.. it is a must that we stop by jp's coffee while downtown. mmmmm coffee that is local and delicious - can't get much better than that!

big red. that's the lighthouse. you can't leave without a picture of big red and the sunset!

as i mentioned earlier.. the cottage corner. this place is PACKED full of furniture, antiques and other amazing home decor. you can go there to shop or envision ways to diy some of the wonderful pieces yourself.

and you have to stay for at least one sunset! they are so gorgeous going down over the lake! so many people drive there and sit and read from their cars while the sun goes down, others stand on the pier.. but my favorite spot it tucked away up in the dunes with my husband on a blanket. doesn't get much better than that!

 

 

and i would totally bring you to one of my latest favorite spots!!! the downtown farmer's market! i started going there last summer and i can't get enough of it! we are totally supportive of the live local, shop local, support local and this is just one way to go against all that crazy factory farming that's going on! but that post will come later..

 

 

i grew up in holland and lived there until i moved to college. once college was over and i got married and we moved to holland where my husband and i are currently living. it's a central city between where i work and where he attends school. we're not sure where we'll be next - so we are soaking up as much of this sweet community as possible while we're still here!

ohhh i could have shown you SO many more places i adore in this town. just showing y'all around makes me fall a little more in love with it myself.

isn't it charming?
come visit?