Friends mean encouragement!

I got to have dinner last night with one of my dearest friends, Marie. It's amazing what a little girl time can do for your soul...no kids, no husbands, just the ladies. We get to be uncensored and talk about the vulnerable parts in our lives, uplift each other, and be real with each other when we need to hear it. It's amazing to have friends who will pray with and for you, right there in the middle of a noisy, crowded Panera.

One of my other friends, Becca, had a birthday yesterday and her baby shower is this weekend! I can't believe how exciting this week was for her, and I can't wait to celebrate her tomorrow! Us ladies will be going out afterward for a little dinner, and I can't wait. More girl time? Yes please!

Then tonight, my family is coming over for dinner. Actually, they are coming over BEFORE I get home so dinner is ready when I get there...could it get any better? I'm so thankful this week has gone so well, and honestly pretty quick! We've spent our evenings watching Modern Family, and with lots of laughter. Just how I like it! Seriously, if you haven't watched that show...you're missing OUT!


Happy Friday, friends. Thanks for all your love and prayers the past week or two. You guys ROCK! Enjoy your weekend!

A few things of this week.

This week, I've decided to look for more happiness in the every day stuff. Not having had the greatest week last week, is kind of forcing me to turn myself around. So, I looked at what was around me...and it was hard to not smile. I'm surrounded by so much positivity, yet it's so easy to forget when you're in the midst of pain. I'm thankful that this week I'm beginning to feel like myself again. So here's a little glimpse into what I'm smiling at this week:

Finding old pictures on my phone that make me think of sunshine and baseball games with my favorite people... although I'm a football girl at heart, we've gotta pass the time until next season!!

When a co worker surprised me with the most delicious "cinnamon toast" bagel I've ever tried, just because.

Being surprised by one of my favorite bloggy friends with a sweet Starbucks card, just to bring a smile to my face because she knew I had a WEEK.

and "make my day", she did. Thanks, Becky!!

Getting lunch with a sweet co worker who is expecting a little girl!!!

This verse. I've kept up with my Bible reading since the first of the year when I began. It's made a significant change in my faith. I can't quite explain it, but if you're looking for more in life...I promise you, this is where you'll find it. The perfect verse always seems to come up in my daily reading and I don't think that's any coincidence. The app I'm using is "Youversion" and I've picked a "whole bible 1 year" plan, that I plan to finish by the end of 2015. I can't wait to see what 10 more months of reading does for my faith.

Caleb and I have made some significant changes lately, and we believe they are for the better. Speaking of that man...he makes me laugh like crazy. Guys, he's so awesome. Seriously. Everyone needs a Caleb in their life ;)

Enjoy your Thursday, friends! 

Life is freakin hard.

As I sit down to write this, I'm kind of at a loss for words. If it was either from my somewhat vague Instagram's, or my lack of blog posting lately...you were probably inclined to think my family has been going through something lately. Well, its true.

I'll never understand why certain things happen the way they do. I often wonder why God allows some extremely painful experiences into our lives. Then I remember that there is no point in worrying. God has me in His hands. To inform you, I won't be sharing on my blog what happened last week, because frankly, its not my story to share. But it's tested my faith in ways I never thought possible. Then it hit me; God allows things into our lives to make us stronger.  To make us better. To prepare us for a future only He can see. To use our story to help others one day...and THAT gives me hope, friends.

If you know me at all, you know I'm an extremely optimistic person. I don't usually stay upset for too long, and I can brush things off rather easily. The only way I made it through last week was by the grace of God...and because of my amazing husband. Never have I ever understood what I did to deserve such an amazing man. He held me while I cried, he cheered me up when I needed it, but most importantly? He was PRESENT. Most of the time there weren't actual words that could comfort me, because the situation we were put in was downright ugly. Yet having him there along the way made me feel better, all week long. He's seriously an angel.

So all of this to say that I can't thank my friends and family enough for helping me through it. Even those who have no idea what's going on, have still tried to come to the rescue anyway. I have literally felt covered in prayer the last seven days, and that's just what I needed. I received so many kind gestures and seriously can say that each one brought tears to my eyes! I know I've been pretty absent in the last week but I just could't put on a "face" and blog about happy stuff when life felt anything but that. However, last week is over, I'm moving on. Things have happened that can't be undone, but we're praying for God to do something big in this situation, because I know that He can! If you've got things going on your life... know that you aren't alone! You CAN pull through this, because you're strong, you're beautiful, and you're a child of God.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow.

Valentines Day was FUN!

Our Saturday wasn't your typical Valentines Day. No reservations were made, nothing fancy happened...but we still managed to have a blast together! Caleb woke me up early and decided to get donuts (I swear, he knows the ways to my heart!)

We don't really do "big gifts" on V-day so I knew we'd be keeping it small... so I wanted to do something more personal for him. My gift to him was a print with some lyrics from the song he sang to me on our wedding day...my awesome SIL created it and I couldn't love it any more. He really liked it!

Besides the donuts, he gave me the neatest DIY book, as well as an Emily Giffin novel! He knew I was obsessed with her "Something Borrowed" series, & I thought it was sweet how he remembered. His catch was that I had to pick one project out of the DIY book and we'd spend our evening doing it.

So, we were off to the Flea Market then Ikea. We decided that (while we had fun at the flea market) we like it much better in the summer. The outdoor vendors that obviously aren't there in the winter, are the ones who carry all the neat antiques/etc.

We had a gift card to Chili's so we had an early dinner after the flea market, then headed home to get started on our DIY project right away. We had a blast and I can't wait to show you what we did (later this week)! We even bought Caleb a drill... he prefers to be called Mr. Handyman now ;)

Caleb is such a great man. He literally makes me laugh until I cry, and I love him more every single day. I hope you guys all had a fantastic weekend!!

Valentines past.

Valentines Day isn't a huge deal for Caleb and I. We usually celebrate with dinner or a "date night in", but it will always be a special day for me for one particular reason.

It was 2011, we were broke kids in college, but I surprised Caleb with a dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (he had never been). We gorged ourselves on fried macaroni and cheese, and abut a million other appetizers. Sometimes, I think that's the only way to dine out appropriately ;) ... and on our walk back to the car (it was freezing in Downtown Columbus) we stopped for a self-timer picture with my tiny point and shoot. Ohhhhh how I don't miss Picnik and its pathetic "photoshop" skills.

Caleb and I didn't feel like going back to campus yet, so we turned on some music and just talked for a while in the car, talked about us, life, our future... that's when he surprised me with the sweetest gift in the world. My first Bible!! He got "Kayla Lynn" engraved on the bottom .. I think he had a feeling my last name would be changing in the future ;) so he just got my middle name.

Off the V-day topic; we had a great week. Caleb was able to go to a basketball tournament after work with a bunch of guys and when he came home last night he couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had! We also had a blast babysitting our favorite little girls on Wednesday night...and I'm excited to tell you I've worked out four days in a row! This first week of half-marathon training is brutal, but I'm loving it!!! We're really looking forward to a nice weekend with no big plans.

Although we don't have any insane plans for this V-day, we do plan on relaxing! I bought us some cookies (and by cookies I mean pre cut squares of cookie dough, I know, I'm so domestic) with red and pink chocolate chips, and I can bet you that we'll be watching a ton of Disney movies. Hope you have a blast, with whatever it is you're doing!!

When things don't go right, be thankful anyway.

Lately life has put me in a little funk. Nothing has gone terribly wrong, and I won't go into details, but  things haven't gone 100% amazing for my family and I recently. There are times when I question why things happen the way they do, but then I remember that its not my job to fix things. With that being said, I don't believe that I'm a natural complainer... sure, I'll gripe here and there about things that really get under my skin, but the majority of the time? I try to stay pretty optimistic.  So, I figured a thankful post was in order. I know that these are typically for the month of November...but this blogger doesn't play by the rules. #rebel

Most importantly I'm thankful for my amazing God. Second? My silly, hilarious, handsome husband. I love when he makes fun of my laugh, when he falls asleep on me during almost ever movie we watch together (even in theaters), and the way he leads us.

I'm thankful for my friendships. These girls mean the entire world to me and have been there for me whenever I've needed them. I have such a unique relationship with each of them, and life would be weird if any of them weren't in it.

Thankful for sweet baby toes that I could just gobble up...and for friends who let us watch their babes!

For bubble baths and me time.

For my health, and the ability to go after my goals.

and for getting up before the sun. God, you're a beautiful artist.

My point is, things aren't always going to go right, but that doesn't mean we have to let them ruin us. Choose joy...
every. single. day.

Adventures with friends!

We had friends come into town over the weekend and they actually made it to our home before I DID after work...so once we caught up for a few minutes, we hit up our favorite Mexican joint and then of course, took a trip to Jungle Jim's. Megan was cracking me up, snapping pictures of everything (what am I saying? That's me, too!). The greeter was so excited it was their first time and snapped a photo for us.

We were probably there for about 2 hours, and got stocked up on goodies for the weekend, and of course played one of our favorite games, Bananagrams.

Our husbands woke up before the sun to get us the best donuts Cincinnati has to offer... we gorged and then took a "nap" until it was time to leave for Findlay Market.

Caleb and I had never even been to Findlay Market so I was nervous with it being in the Winter, that it may be a bust, BUT we were so surprised. It was insanely busy, and with the weather feeling more like Spring (mid 50's!!), we had an amazing time. It was so awesome that everything there was SO fresh! We bought some crazy items to chow down on for lunch (queso filled cornbread, monster spring rolls, and insanely thick chocolate coffee...yeah, we tried it all).

After that adventure, we took them to Eden Park to see an amazing view of the city. Unfortunately, its not Spring/Summer...so the "green factor" was non existent...but you just can't beat the view of the river!

After having a blast all day, we decided to finish off with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and a walk near the river.

We went home after a nearly 2 hr trip in Barnes and Nobles, finished off our snacks for the weekend, and I finally learned how to play euchre! I'd call that one successful weekend. Hope yours was, too!!

Hey Friday, I love you.

Dear Polaroid...you make my life so much more fun. Dear taco seasoning...thanks for making dinner so much tastier!

Dear yellow... you're the best color ever. Thanks for making my wardrobe prettier. Dear self timer... thanks for rocking my world. I'm not ashamed that I still get so excited when I prepare something for us! Bonus points when your husband loves it (side note; due to the popular opinion on Instagram, I'm not blonde again....just a few lights in the kitchen + a good filter...its dark, still!)

Dear newly engaged couple I met this week... you were such a blast to talk with for nearly two hours in the middle of a crowded Starbucks. It's so refreshing to have so much in common with two nearly-complete strangers!

Dear Wednesday morning... you were a hot mess. My car keys were still in Caleb's coat pocket from the prior evening, and he was at work (40 mins away). So I go to leave for work...and can't find my keys anywhere. He had to drive all the way home to bring me my keys... love that man. Even though its kind of also his fault ;) ...since I had time to kill I pulled my hair back (that's seriously the most I've done with it in months), and made a silly video explaining my morning.

see, hair is still on the dark side!

Dear laundry...can you finish yourself? There are piles everywhere. Thanks. Dear new bookshelf...  you really do complete the living room. You're the most beautiful corner in our home!! I'm glad we found you, and at 60% off, might I add.

Dear funnies... you made me laugh this week.

Dear Andy + Megan...we're so excited you're coming into town for the weekend! We can't wait to see you both.

Dear blog readers... thanks for your sweetness. Sometimes, I don't know why I keep up with this blog (its pretty time consuming)...but its a hobby I enjoy, & gaining all of you readers and good friends makes it more than worth it!  Hope you all have a great weekend planned!

The man behind the blog -- straight from his phone.

Many of you know the man behind this blog...my husband, Caleb. Well, he's kind of awesome, in case you hadn't realized that yet. I was going through the photos from his iPhone since we recently backed both of them up and came across some gems I'd never seen before. I realized something more though, as I went through these photos... they all represent who he is so well. 

Like how much he loves his friends and family...

or like these photos, that show how insanely goofy he is nearly 24/7.

Or these photos, showing him serving the awesome kids from our church.

His hobbies that he loves like crazy. He is seriously obsessed with anything sports, and has thousands of card photos (football, baseball, basketball, you name it)

I say it a lot but Caleb really feels like an angel in disguise to me. He couldn't have come into my life at a more perfect time. He forgave me of my ugly past, and has never looked back. He truly makes me feel beautiful every time I see him (which is good, as most of our nights are spent in sweatpants), and I just can't thank Him enough for all he's done for me. He took the day off work Monday and spent most of his day on a "surprise" for me,  just because. I can't wait to show you guys what it is!

I know this post wasn't too long, but sometimes I like to keep it simple. I'm just thankful that I've got Caleb. A man who loves me, leads our family, and has fun doing it along the way.
PS- Tomorrow's Friday!!