Beautiful Struggles

"Traditions are behaviors and actions that you engage in again and again – regular rituals that you perform at the same time and/or in the same way. Traditions can be big or small, but they differ from routines and habits in that they are done with a specific  purpose  in mind and require  thought  and  intentionality . Meg Cox, the author of  The Book of New Family Traditions , defines family ritual as “any activity you purposefully repeat together as a family that includes  heightened attentiveness  and  something extra that lifts it above the ordinary ruts .” Traditions, when done right, lend a certain magic, spirit, and texture to our everyday lives." Brett and Kate McKay As we approach the wonderful holiday season my heart begins to journey  back to childhood memories and the family traditions that make those memories so perfect. I come from a large family filled with lots of cousins, tons of laughter, and of course many traditions. These traditions helped create a

Well, hello there November, and yes I am aware that it is November 3rd and well I should have written this three days ago, but anyway  November has always been one of my absolute favorite months, for well the obvious, Thanksgiving, fall decorations, and MY BIRTHDAY! Which is in two days, I'm like V for Vendetta REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER. All of these awesome things are reasons to absolutely adore November, however two years ago November also developed a very different feeling.  November 10th will mark the two year anniversary since Kaleb's accident. And though I will always love November I now have a heavy heart as we fast approach that day. It is as though every birthday will in some odd way be a reminder of my 21st which is what I was celebrating when I received the phone call that forever changed our lives. Every Thanksgiving as joyous and wonderful as it will be will also remind me of the saddest Thanksgiving we ever celebrated, a Thanksgiving spent

  “FALL HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE SEASON. THE TIME WHEN EVERYTHING BURSTS WITH ITS LAST BEAUTY, AS IF NATURE HAD BEEN SAVING UP ALL YEAR FOR THE GRAND FINALE.” —LAUREN DESTEFANO,  WITHER Being a twenty something year old girl of course means I love fall and all its amazing glory. It means oversized sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes. It means cool mornings, warm days, and perfect cuddle weather. It means instagram photos with my boots in the leaves, and yes I am admitting that I searched for the perfect pile of leaves to pose in.  As a former New Mexican it means green chile, balloon fiesta, and leaves that are on fire with color.  As a new wife fall means warm snuggles, a ton of baking, and of course bath and body works candles! I have been obsessed with warm fall recipes, baking spice anything, and making sure that my house always smells like "tailgate", thanks again bath and body works. It means spending our weekends watching football,

Finally I have a moment to sit, reflect, and enjoy some of our wonderful memories from our Disney Moon. I cannot seem to find the words to express just how enchanting that week was. It was magical, but should I have really expected anything different, after all it is disney!  We arrived early Thursday afternoon and was welcomed at our wonderful resort, Port Orleans Riverside. I had done a decent amount of research on which resort would be romantic, fun, and not to much of a splurge. Port Orleans was the perfect match, especially because Kaleb had been stationed in New Orleans for three years. It was the best of both worlds, disney and New Orleans. We of course had to get our happily ever after pins, and I absolutely adored being told congratulations by so many sweet people. It was a nice way of remembering that not only were we in Disney, but we were celebrating the beginning of our adventures as husband and wife.  Our days wer

Well,  we just returned from the most magical Disney Moon a girl could ever imagine! Every single bit of it was fit for a princess, and well of course it was because it is Disney. I have so much I want to share, and I want to be sure to capture every emotion that was experience this week. But for now I will leave you with this one photo.  Talk soon! XOXO, B

Luke 16:10   ESV / 269 helpful votes “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." I will be the first to admit that I am a bit obsessed with our finances. I guarantee that I ask Kaleb what our balance is a minimum of, Oh I don't know 75x a week, give or take. I am in a constant state of worry that some day it will all just dry up, and we will be left with nothing. Now don't get me wrong I absolutely have no problem with spending our money either, and not always on the wisest of things. I love being able to treat our friends to lunch, or buy little gifts here and there. I am not one to shy away from a Starbucks coffee on a long day, and I will always justify a new purse. We are not at a point in our lives where I should stress about our finances, but that's just who I am.   The other day when I was panicking about money I was r

So often I see these families who are in the eye of the storm. Their hearts are hurting, they don't know what lies before them. They are having to learn a whole new language. A language where your back is referred to in the form of C's, T's, and L's. A language where transfers, spasms, and returns are used in every other sentence. They are having to take shelter in a building that throws the storm at you on a daily basis. They are having to live with strangers surrounding them at all times. They are scared and alone, and yet never actually alone.  For those of you who don't know, the name of this storm is called SCI, and it stands for Spinal Cord Injury. The location of this storm is Englewood, Colorado, more specifically Craig Hospital. Our lives were hit with this storm in November of 2012 when my now husband shattered his C6 - T1.  Our whole world stopped in that moment, when we had no other solution than to take shelter in Denver, Colorado. We left ev

  Nancy Guthrie says it well: “If your faith is real, you will not fall away. Not because you are strong or because your faith is strong but because God has his firm grip on you and he will not let go. You will remain in him because you are his forever.” I often think back to my days in college, and oh my goodness do I sometimes wonder how I survived. I was well a wild one. I lived fully and completely in the world and of the world. I tried very hard to avoid my church home, and all the amazing loving members in it. My days were spent feeling ill from the night before's drinking, and my nights were spent trying to see how much alcohol I could ingest. My heart was anything but guarded, and I sought the attention of every man that would say hi to me. It was a dark and lonely time, and yet here I am.  I survived, and have learned so very much from those days. I look back though and realized that even though I turned my back from The Lord, he never turned his back on me. H

Love is an absolutely crazy thing.  It is so much more than butterflies and fireworks.  It is learning what makes your little heartstrings sing! So what is it, what makes you feel most love? Are you one for physical touch? Do you like coming home to a secret surprise? Do you feel most loved when your person empties the dish washer? Are you completely content just being next to your person? Does your heart leap with joy when your person speaks highly of you?  I remember the first time I took the love language quiz, and truth be told I was not shocked by my results. I best receive love through receiving gifts, with a close second in acts of service and words of affirmation. The rest of my results are listed below, along with a definition of what receiving gifts as a love language really is.   Take the quiz  here and find out your love language. Knowing how you receive love and how the people in your life receive love is so very important. So curl up with your per

Well here I sit enjoying my second cup of coffee, which I am slowly learning is my new minimul amount for each day. I can honestly say that I cannot function before my coffee. I am grumpy, in a daze, and flat out unable to function. I cannot start my day until I have my coffee, which I know for many of us holds true.  What if... just hear me out... instead of allowing coffee to be our sunshine in the morning we turned to God. I know that many of us enjoy our morning bible readings while sipping on this golden drink, but  really shouldn't The Lord be our refuge and strength.  Now coffee aside, there have been so many times lately in my life where I am exhausted. Not a physical exhaustion, but a complete emotional and spiritual exhaustion. An exhaustion that pulls me down into this deep place that is so very hard to climb out of. Between work, life, and still dealing with so many emotional aspects of my wonderful husband's accident sometimes it hard to see the ligh

How many of you have tried series after series of bible studies, but somewhere along day 20 we forget all about it. I know I myself have done this time and time again, I become disinterested in the series because well its just to long. Well ladies, I believe I have found a solution to this problem. The other day I stumbled upon #SheReadsTruth and fell madly in love. The series last only a few weeks at most, and are incredible. They are not too long, but are very deep. They are interactive with every other woman going through it, and they are just flat out amazing. And I forgot to mention... THEY HAVE AN APP!!!  So ladies I want to challenge all of you to go through the Hebrews serious listed in the link below with me. Let us dedicate the next 18 days to falling madly in love with the book of Hebrews. Let The Lord speak through this study and move mountains in our lives. Let the next 18 days just rock our world, so that we may continue to grow into the women that The Lord wants

I don't know about y'all, but its like the moment after we said "I do" this huge burdon of popping out babies is put on your shoulders. All of a sudden I feel as though I should be nesting, or joining a mommy group, or something along those lines. It's not only the pressure that comes from others, but the pressure I put upon my myself.  You may ask why in the world I would want to hurry up and put my body through such a traumatic experience, and the honest to goodness answer is I have no idea! The reality is I actually 100% do not want babies yet. I want to sleep in, go to the movies without a sitter, and enjoy MY TIME!   So the question remains... Why oh Why do I have baby fever??? Does anyone have answers? Comments? Advice on waiting? Advice on going for it?  This article has 10 things to do before you have kids, which I absolutely love!  http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/Relationships/10-Things-to-do-Before-You-Have-Kids.aspx?p=5&u

ad·just·ment ( -j st m nt) n. 1.   The   act   of   adjusting   or   the   state   of   being   adjusted. Well... I wanted a definition with a little more depth, but I guess this will have to do... We have been married a little more than a month, and as strange as it sounds we have been doing a lot of adjusting. Kaleb and I had lived together for almost a year and a half by the time we got married. We were already learning how to interact in a home together. I had already washed his dirty clothes, he had already forced himself to eat more than one of my not so awesome meals, and I already knew that when he is exhausted he snores.  June 15 came along and on that summer morning I woke up as his wife, and suddenly everything I thought I knew changed. No longer was I washing Kaleb's dirty clothes, I was doing MY HUSBAND'S laundry, and that in it of its self was empowering.  When I speak, I am no longer speaking as Brittany Heronimus, but as Brittany

Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ~ 1 Peter 3:3-4 As I sat this morning reading this verse in search of an uplifting and powerful verse about woman, one that would make me feel as though I could take on the world and all I would need is God on my side. Well that was exactly what I found, just not in the the way I thought it would be. I thought my heart would settle upon a verse about how women are as precious as jewels, or Proverbs 31 where the whole chapter is solely about being a Godly woman. But The Lord had other plans, and if I have learned anything in the last couple of months, it is best to listen to him when he is talking.  See I am so very guilty of seeking the approval of the world , through my makeup that must be perfectly done befor