Beautiful Struggles

My Sweet Princess,  One month, how did that happen? There's a Winnie The Pooh quote that states "Oh no, please. Can't we just go back to page one and start all over again?", and sweet baby that is exactly how I feel. Oh how I would love to go back to day one and meet you all over again, and yet I cannot wait to see who you become.  You currently look just like your daddy, especially with your beautiful almond shaped eyes. Your hair is a light brown, but I believe everyone still has their fingers crossed that you will end up with red hair like your daddy (though I would be okay with a brown haired little girl). Your eyes my sweet girl are blue, I believe they are my eyes (but who knows). Your eyes have changed from sleepy eyes that look like they are looking through you to these big blue eyes that are filled with wonder. My favorite moments are when you are lying on my chest and you turn and look up at me. In those moments I feel like you k...

Living in Denver is a huge blessing, and we absolutely love it. We have a great group of friends, I have a wonderful career, Kaleb is pursuing the school of his dreams, and our church is where we know God has called us. All of these things make living in Denver a huge blessing, and a place that we love calling home.  That being said Denver is EXPENSIVE... for lack of better words. The housing market is rocking, and finding a place to call home is a little bit of a struggle. It's stressful, exhausting, and sometimes a bit heartbreaking. All emotions that I would really prefer not to feel.  Tuesday night we put an offer on our first dream home. I loved it, Kaleb was obsessed, and it was a place that we were ready to call home. We offered $15,000 over asking, and tried to be as competitive as possible. We prayed, and asked for guidance over the next couple of days. Wednesday night we got the call from our perfect realtor letting us know that unfortunately ...

Philippians 4:6-7 6  Do not be anxious about anything,  but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   7  And the peace of God,  which transcends all understanding,  will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Life is filled with being busy!  You are either busy at home, busy with work, or both!  Life is filled with being busy!  For the Wilsons we have decided to see how busy we can be at this particular season in life. Kaleb is busy pursing his degree in Petroleum Engineer, which most of the time sounds like a foreign language.  I am busy with pursuing the title of "Rookie of the Year" at work, which leads to many stressful nights. And yet with all of this wonderful busyness we have also decided to throw a few more curve balls into the ball pin.  As of this past weekend we are officially on the hunt for our...

TimeHop... An app that I both love and hate. An app that allows me to see what silly things I have posted in the past on this day as long ago as I have been on social media! This app has allowed for me to see the transformation of Kaleb and I's relationship, the friends I have developed over the years, and the way may faith has grown. It is normally the thing that makes me giggle through out the day.  Today there was a little less giggling as I reflected upon my TimeHop. Today the photo that popped up was of Kaleb and I standing together for the last time as two able bodied individuals.  Three years ago today we walked around the glorious city of New Orleans looking at engagement rings, while strolling hand in hand. We enjoyed a meal on the river, and took in the sounds of one of our favorite neighborhoods.  We went to a jazz concert off of bourbon with two of our favorite coasters. We wondered around bourbon street with several of Kaleb's dearist friends, an...

"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 tradit...

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 saddes...

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...

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 long...