and he tells me i am his own

on saturday i heard the old church hymn i come to the garden alone, and although i've grown up in church always knowing it, these particular words really touched me this time, more than ever. almost like i heard them for the first time....

and He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.

out of his millions and millions of children, i am still that important to him, i am still his own, and you are too. isn't that amazing. i've been singing the song all weekend, i love it.

kevin and boyd spent most of saturday together, running around, going to eat, seeing a movie.
i did a little shopping and had an iced coffee, and then i got to sneak away and have dinner with one of my best girlfriends, whit.
it was a last minute thing, and we laughed because i picked her up about 5 pm, and we were home by 8 pm, so that might make us old or something...but it was still a great night.
we had mexican and margaritas at el rancho grande in the stockyards.
thankful that i can throw on a top and shorts, no makeup, and feel comfortable with a friend.
the best kind of friendship.

i came home and kevin had bought boyd his own dartboard, for his room.
{note. he did get soft tip darts. no worries}.

kevin cooked me a delicious breakfast on sunday, of fried eggs. i love to be in the kitchen, and i feel brave enough to cook almost anything, but i have never mastered a fried egg. he makes them so well. we did house work, yard work, and had friends over for bratwurst on sunday evening. our friends brought us fresh cucumbers from their garden, so i made some pickles this morning. i just threw in some vinegar, water, dill and salt. they smell good already.

and that's about it.
we have school and grocery shopping this week, swimming, and more of the ordinary stuff.
i only have a few more school supplies to buy for boyd, and it's time to find him a new backpack and some school clothes. {thankful for my mom for helping out with that}. this is such a special time for boyd, and as his mama, i'm feeling extra sentimental about it all.
4 weeks until the first day of kindergarten.
boyd might just be the most excited kid in the world about kindergarten. he is so ready for it.
and that makes it easier on my heart.
the summer has flown, but i knew that it would.

sometimes i look back on parts of our life and can't remember a thing, so even recording the ordinary makes me happy....and, even when i think i'm almost done with a blog, i change my mind again.
have a good week.

love,
nicolle

{overextended}

hi.

do you ever feel like this?

a to do list a mile long, not enough energy, you would really rather trash it and forget it exists.

{i've done that before}.

it's probably because we're coming off a crazy almost 2 weeks of camping and the races,

but i have a lot of things that have backed up.

car maintenance, doctors appointments, school stuff, cleaning house.
i also thrive on silence and alone time, so that has to fit in somehow, as selfish as that might sound.

i've had to say no to a few friends/family for playing and lunch, 

and that really bugs me. 

{please forgive me}.

 i did get several things done yesterday that were pressing,

and that felt good.

today boyd and i ran more errands.
a couple more things checked off of the never ending list.
 

i have been craving a salad for a few days, and finally made one today.
{mixed greens, avocado, grape tomatoes, rotisserie chicken, sunflower seeds,
balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice}.
i think i will eat this for the rest of the week. this might be the best salad i've ever had.

i bought a sweet little lavender plant today.
it's one of my favorite smells ever.

we loaded up on popsicles today while grocery shopping.
boyd is our little popsicle fiend.
i had one of these too, lemon lime, it was so good.

i hope i don't step on any toes by saying this...
i know a lot of people think we live in a godless world.

why do tragedies happen? where is god? why didn't he show up the other day in boston and stop those bombings? i can't even begin to imagine what those families are feeling right now, so it might not be my place to even speak on what happened. this world is broken and fallen, but god is everywhere. as humans we have a free will and we know from back in the bible that bad things happen and will always happen. i don't pretend to know how it all works, but i do believe that this world got messed up way back in the garden of eden....because of human choices, because of our free will.
not because god wants bad things to happen.
but god has not left us. he's waiting to call us all home, and he's everywhere on this earth.

all is not lost, hold onto faith.
his desire is that we turn to him.

this world is far from godless.

Because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world.
Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. 

1 John 5:4

love,

nicolle

the most beautiful weekend

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Boyd was baptized with the name of St. Patrick when he was 7 months old,

so today is extra dear to my heart for that reason.

We had massages at home today, from our favorite masseuse, and we got to share that with a few others that we love. It's a luxury that we enjoy once a year or so. 

We had snacks, we played outside, we laughed and talked a lot.

Boyd and I rode down to the park this evening, but the second we hopped off our bikes, he had to pee, and on the way home he fell and scraped his knee, so that didn't really go as planned.

But life rarely goes as planned.

Yesterday I joined some friends and high school classmates to say goodbye to another classmate, Shain. The service was beautiful, there were laughs and many tears. It warmed my heart to see so many old friends.
My dear friend Jodi told me something right before the service started, and I got that giggle that you can't contain and it was the most inappropriate moment for me to be laughing and I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself, but I got it together. Thank goodness.
{but i still think laughter is good, even at a funeral}.
I have told this story to some already, but it's on my heart to share one more time. 

God's timing is so perfect. Shain was baptized this past Christmas, at his friend's outdoor swimming pool in the freezing cold. I could cry just thinking about it. I had so much hope knowing that he accepted Jesus. I keep thinking about how we are all so imperfect. Jesus didn't come to save the perfect people. He came for all of us who are messed up and who are big time sinners. He died on the cross to wipe away every sin. If we confess his name and believe that he is the son of God, and our savior, we can have the promise of eternal life. There will be no better promise in our lifetime, than his promise.
I want everyone I know to know this.

Of course I cried yesterday, especially during Amazing Grace, but my heart was full of hope.

If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe, and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 

Romans 10: 9-10

a few more pictures from the weekend.

You might have noticed, Boyd's newest bike is now red. His green one lasted a week and a half and we discovered a defect, and there were no more green ones to be found. He loves this one too though.

i was out of tahini, that i needed to make hummus with.
i am frugal, and didn't want to pay big bucks for another jar.
so i made my own, for a fraction of the cost.
i was so excited.
about 1/2 cup of roasted/unsalted sunflower seeds, and a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil,
in food processor, until creamy.
you might need to add a bit more oil as you go, it should be thick but pourable.
cover, and store in fridge.
so easy.

how was your weekend?

love,

nicolle

beautiful days

The last couple of days have been beautiful here in north Texas.

We've spent a lot of time playing outside.

Boyd learned about flags today in school. 

He couldn't tell me much about them, just that they sang a song.

I know he's learning, he just never wants to tell me.

I came home to find this surprise in the mail.

{thank you Cindy}.

I can't wait to frame it and hang it up. 

This will make me smile every time I see it.

I love it to pieces already.

Other things going on...

Boyd carries around the Valentine's card that he got from his daddy, he has even slept with it.

That makes my heart happy. 

I bought Boyd his first pair of tie sneakers today. Actually 2 pair. We are designating one for play only, because he is rough on shoes, and pants, right now.

As much as I love it, I haven't cooked a lot lately. About a week ago we decided to start eating sandwiches at night, for a while, and I can't tell you how freeing that has been. We haven't been that hungry at night anyway. Kevin gets home from work, we eat, we talk for a while, then he goes out and has his cigar. I like our simple routine for now, I look forward to it. It works with his long work hours. I live for the simple.

I started a bible study with one of my best friends, and I already feel so encouraged by it. 

Beth Moore, Breaking Free.

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do it at first, but God works in mysterious ways, and I'm already learning things about myself, and things in the bible that I didn't know about.

I need to be challenged, and I need to learn more about Jesus, and his word.

Going to church is wonderful, but there is so much I don't know, after 39 years.

I was listening to the radio today and this song came on that I love.
{song, here}.

All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.

Don't get me wrong, I want to suck the life out of my time here on earth {it is such a gift}, and I hope to live to be 100, but I also know where our real home is, and that is so comforting to me. I hope you know and trust that too. It's especially comforting when life is hard, and it's hard each day, in big or small ways. I don't know everything, but I do know that heaven is real, salvation is free, and Jesus wants us all to have it.

There is a little bit of what's on my heart, and some things that I want to remember about this precious life.
I'm glad you stopped by today.

love,

nicolle

lent

Lent is a time for reflection and sacrifice and charity. It's a time to prepare our hearts for the death and resurrection of Jesus. It's a symbolic time just like celebrating Jesus' birthday at Christmas. Many religions observe Lent. I think it is such a special time.

No, giving up something for Lent doesn't make you closer to God. Those that observe Lent don't have that misconception. Did you know, no acts can make God love you more. You can not be saved by good works. Not one of us is saved more than the other because we do good things on this earth. We should do good, because it makes life easier, better, happier.
We should do good because that is what God asks of us.
We are saved by FAITH alone.
We are saved when we confess that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and that we believe in Him.

Sometimes religion is hard for me to write about on here. I wonder who is turned off by it? Who will stop reading? That shouldn't matter. This is just a blog. It doesn't matter how many followers I have or how many comments I get. Those are fun things, but should not keep me from having a voice. I am not ashamed of the love I have for God. Some days I want to shout that love from the rooftop. The fact that He loves me in spite of ALL my weakness, all my sin, all my failings. That is something to rejoice in. I would be nothing without Him in my life. When I have been in those darkest of places, His presence was even stronger. He truly does have His hand on us, always.


Kevin grew up Catholic. Boyd was baptized in the Catholic church when he was 7 months old, in 2008. I grew up {and was baptized} in the Church of Christ, quite a bit different from the Catholic church. I was confirmed in the Catholic church Easter of 2009. We also had our marriage recognized in the Catholic church shortly after my confirmation. It is a beautiful religion, but full of so much that I will never grasp it all. I do know that it is a religion of beauty, history, charity, love.

Converting was both easy and very difficult for me, for so many reasons.

As one of my best friends said, we all are striving toward the same goal, and I know we will be dancing together in heaven one day.

What I do know is that God loves you. No matter what you've done or where you've been. We are on this earth to love each other, be kind to each other, be charitable, put others first, show others His love. Nothing else really matters.
What shape and size we are,
if the world thinks we are beautiful or not.
Our homes, our cars, our clothes.
Flashy titles and statuses.
None of it matters.
Do not store up earthly treasures.



I need to set my mind more on Jesus during this time.
Less time on the computer, less rushing around, less resentment and anger, less jealousy and comparison.
More love and hope and peace and charitable works.
We are all the same in God's eyes. The world is not as kind. That is why we have to remember where our focus should be.
Lent is a wonderful time to restore our focus.


Jesus took care of all of our sins and burdens on the cross, all those years ago.
If we were perfect, the cross would have been for nothing.
He planned our forgiveness before we were born.
Our hope is built on the cross and the resurrection.
That was His plan.
What a beautiful plan for our lives.

{photos I took in Santa Fe last year}.