A December dream come true

Have y'all ever cut down your very own Christmas tree?? Back in December, I had listed it as one of my goals to accomplish during the holiday/birthday season.

I was born & raised in the Sunshine State, meaning we had mostly palm trees, orange trees & yes, some pine trees, too. But not your choice of farms with the big, beautifully perky evergreens that so perfectly hold out their branches as if to say, "I'm here for you. Please, do put your ornaments on my needles." Since moving to Northern Virginia (or, if you're not from around here, DC :) ), I've wanted to bundle up on a cold winter day & head out to a Christmas tree farm for a tree picking extravaganza. And this past December, that's exactly what Hubby & I got to do!

We drove over to Evergreen Acres in Nokesville. Such a great farm! It's a family-run business & even though we went in the middle of December, they still had a ton of trees left to choose from. Bonus? They gave out steaming cups of hot cider. YUM!

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This guy :) :) :)

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Here's the hilarious part of it all: although the wintery white flakes were melting/on their way out of town when we were at the farm, it was still preeeeetty cold. Meaning I was pretty cold & Dean was not :) I was SO excited to go frolicking through the rows of Fraser fur & pine trees that I didn't even consider that the boots I was wearing were not exactly weather appropriate. 

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My comfy brown boots! Oh how I thought they would never do me wrong. But after the wear & tear of a few winters, they have slowly started to fall apart. Which leads us to the middle of our tree-cutting adventure & I have cold, dripping wet feet. With every step, the melting snow & ice sloshed more into my boots & socks. And y'all, there were puddles ALL over! Since Hubby couldn't cut down the tree & carry me, it became one of the fastest rounds of find-your-Christmas-tree that farm has ever seen!

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There it is! And down she went! So fast. I was telling Dean to let me know when it would fall & then it was already cut down haha. He works so fast!

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Such a welcome to the cold day! If only my soaking wet toes could have had a cider bath...

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We successfully attached our voluptuous tree (she was pretty curvy!) to the roof of our car & brought her back home. I must admit I've never before attempted carrying a tree up 3 flights of stairs! Luckily for me, Hubby & his gun show could get it upstairs with very little assistance from me. And our FSU Just Married ornament was a wedding gift from my sweet friend Lauren Elizabeth & her boyfriend :) Go NOLES!!!

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We brought back this angel from our honeymoon in St. Lucia :)

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Slipper time :) Feet finally started defrosting! Next year, I'm definitely wearing rain boots! Or any pair of boots without holes in them! And if you want to have your own Christmas tree experience, we highly recommend Evergreen Acres! Everyone was really helpful & the prices are great! P.S. if you wait til closer to Christmas time to snag your tree, they go on sale! $25 for any of the pines, same as picking one up at Home Depot. Sold!

happy 2-0-1-4!

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It's here - 2-0-1-4!

And I couldn't be more excited for this. Now. Not just what's up ahead months from now. But Wednesday, another day that the Lord has so gloriously made & given us the opportunity to live it to the fullest for His glory.

How was 2013 for you, friend? Did you set goals & achieve them? Were you making positive changes in your life? Maybe some scary ones like moving, starting a new job or trying something completely foreign to you.

As I sit typing this, I'm reflecting on the highlights of past 12 months which included getting engaged, switching jobs, starting LMP, shooting my first 3 weddings (Fatima & Marlin, Bekah & Steve, Lara & Dan!), planning our rustic barn wedding, marrying my handsome hubby in Winchester, traveling to St. Lucia, moving into a new home & turning 26, to name a few.

Instead of posting my monthly goals for today, I wanted to share about what I'm using to help dream big this year: PowerSheets a la Lara Casey. Y'all, if you haven't visited her site before, go mosey on over there now! She is an incredible source of business, wedding & spiritual inspiration as she challenges so many to make. things. happen.

And I've still got quite a bit of dreaming, reflecting & praying to do as I walk through the PowerSheets. That I would be led by the Holy Spirit & walk in the Lord's footsteps.

Here's to this new year! 

"May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart  
be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

Joy to the world!

Taken by the awesome Pinwheel Collective

Taken by the awesome Pinwheel Collective

One verse that has been on my mind through these past few days leading up to Christmas is a beautiful scripture from Isaiah 9:6. It says:

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, came down to earth to be born to a virgin & her carpenter husband, live a perfect, sinless life in a small town growing in wisdom & stature with God & men (Luke 2:52) & spend the last 3 years of his life teaching 12 men, serving others, healing the sick, sharing the truth & hope for all mankind.

It is this time of year that we rejoice & celebrate that our Savior, long awaited by many in the Old Testament was born. "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” // Luke 2:11-12

It is through His perfect love that we rejoice with that hope for eternity. "I am the way, the truth & the life; no man comes to the Father except through me. // John 14:6

It is through placing our trust for salvation & forgiveness for our sins in our Savior that can know the fullest meaning of Christmas. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."  // I John 4:9

From our family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!

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Earlier this month, I was hardcore dreaming of a White Birthday. And that's exactly what I got!

Dean & I started off the morning with a it's-starting-to-snow-so-shoot-faster-so-we-can-all-get-warm-again engagement shoot with Sabrina & David. We had planned to cut down our very own Christmas tree at a nearby farm. Insert excited squeal here! But all of the snow we accumulated throughout the morning & afternoon was actually *too* much to make the trip out out to the farm.

Instead, we spent a cozy afternoon in our new home, enjoying pumpcakes (pumpkin. pancakes!), snuggling under the covers to watch Home Alone. And don't you worry you pretty little Christmas socks off - we *did* get to cut down that tree the next weekend. YAY!

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Part of Dean's gift to me was a bouquet of roses with reasons he loved me on them. So pretty to look at AND read :)

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To my Hubby, who can somehow manage to make me laugh even on the crummiest of days, gives me the world's squeeziest hugs, patiently waits when it's hard for me to open up about something & rocks a pretty awesome spoon on his nose, you are the real deal. The past 18 months have been the best adventure together & I cannot wait for a million more. Thank you for pointing me to the Lord & being a man I truly look up to.

Happy weekend! May it be a little bit snowy & a whole lotta bright :)

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I got to marry this guy & my best friend.

We were SO blessed to have our closest friends & family join us in Winchester for our wedding day almost 2 weeks ago. The Lord heard our prayers & the weather on that Saturday was beautiful. I'll be posting photos from our amazingly amazing photos Katie & Amelia of Pinwheel Collective soon.

Happy weekend!