Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday JESUS!

I can’t believe it’s Christmas DAY! WOW! This year has flown by and I couldn’t be more thankful to God for the person He is shaping me into. A year can bring many changes and looking back at where I was last year during the holidays makes me so so so thankful of the growth that has taken place in my heart and the trajectory God has led my life towards. Dad did a beautiful job last night during Christmas eve services (he even managed to stay awake through the 11 o’clock one) and also did fabulous this morning. He is always pointing us back to Jesus. The only answer, only King, and the savior of the world!

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

It has been such an amazing time for my family this break. Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, and my cousins have all made this Christmas as special as ever! I am SO excited for what is to come during this time of my life and sweet days like this fill my heart. Oh what a beautiful life we have been given!

Above is the video of Dad doing his sand art, it was played at Christmas Eve services @ PCBC and is truly moving!

There are also a few pictures documenting my amazing time a home. 1st is Dad on the big screen, a commercial that shows in movie theatres for PCBC..Pretty funny seeing that before Sherlock Holmes with the fam!! 🙂 2nd, Dad practicing his art for Christmas Eve services. 3rd=Whitney and I ready for a luncheon with friends. 4th is sweet Ellie girl. 5th jam session with new friends. And 6th is Spoons Garage in downtown McKinney, TX.

Staying Fit Through the Holiday Cheer!

Lots and lots going on this season and I don’t know about YOU and your family but we get lots and lots of gifts from family and friends.  For some reason most of these gifts seem to be baked goods! It’s hard to be good when your whole kitchen is filled with holiday treats…Or at least it’s tough for me! 🙂 I’ve read lots of intense tips about how to steer clear of eating your heart out but I think Whitney Ports’ personal trainer puts it best at an article [ here.] Simple self-control always does the trick too. Something I am trying to pursue harder! Self control not just in eating and excercise patterns but in everyday life. Kind thoughts, nice words, pure thoughts. It’s all a choice! Choose the right thing! 🙂

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Lots of big changes coming up for me with school this next semester. I can’t quite see past rush but that’s ok! This morning I am already reminded to take a step back, breathe, and enjoy today for what it is. “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of it’s own.” <–That is a truth I should really focus on! So as for today, it will be a great one! Christmas party tonight with dear friends, getting my hair done with my Mommy:) and probably knocking out a few things for Pi Phi.

Dear God, with all of the stresses I have recently encountered I pray you would take them away and give me peace, rest and joy this Christmas season. Allow me to complete all my busy work and find joy in you while I do it.

I hope today, with whatever you are stressed about, you will seek Jesus. He is the only one who can take away our burdens! Be mindful of where you turn to for approval and peace. It is only found in Him!

 

Help-Portrait @Cornerstone in Dallas

Today was a great day. This morning my Mom, Whitney and I headed to Cornerstone Baptist Church in South Dallas to prepare for a day with Help-Portrait.

HELP-PORTRAIT IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS USING THEIR TIME, GEAR AND EXPERTISE TO GIVE BACK TO THOSE IN NEED.

Mom had the job at the check in table [perfect for her] while Whitney and I had the job of greeting the people once it was their turn to have their picture taken. We had some characters, that’s for sure! But what beautiful characters they were. I was so blessed. When I asked one man when was the last time that he had his picture taken, his answer was quick as if that was a silly question, “Here, last year.” I also witnessed a baby’s first picture with her foster Mom, many elderly taking their picture solo, and quite a few color coordinated groups! 🙂 Each person was so proud of their picture once it was hot off the printer and I enjoyed seeing all of them. Although a few people weren’t too fond of their picture, one woman put it like this, “the camera just snaps what it sees.” Haha!

Many Merry Christmases were exchanged and I received multiple hugs from knee high friends. All children of God and all fearfully and wonderfully made. This Christmas I challenge you to ask for a specific gift. Ask for God to give you His eyes a little while, people might start looking a little different. Perhaps you’ll see the soul instead of the body.

Today I am thankful for my new friends.

To see more click [here].

#thelittlethings

Instead of a “Friday Favorites”, I thought today I would try a new post! A list of the “little things” I noticed today that made for a wonderful day!

Starting with a morning workout with Whitney and Dad at Lifetime, the sun was shinning and I could tell it was going to be a GORGEOUS day, which it was…truley gorgoues! After the workout and a quick chance to get ready for the day, Dad and I headed to HP Village for some shopping and studying…he did most of the studying while I did most of the shopping.

Who doesn’t love a day at Starbucks where it’s just you, music, and the worldwide web:) I snagged a window seat and sat back to let the people watching begin. After finishing up some of my own to-dos, I walked from the Village over to my favorite place in Dallas, Lakeside. Leaves are changing. Wind was blowing. Sun was shinning.

Dad, Mom, Whit and I headed to Hillstone for a delicious dinner, where we enjoyed each others company and I filled myself up with their delicious clam chowder! Final family event: Watching Elf together in PJs. Truly a glorious day!

Here are a few beautifully simple things I noticed today:

– Smiling mother playing with her baby in the backseat of their car.

– Kindness from a stranger to my Dad.

– Chiwawa dressed up as Santa-belt and all!

– A smile and a wave from a down-syndrome boy.

– Encouragement from a personal trainer to a struggling weight lifter.

– Hearing my Dad sing and play his guitar in his room- My favorite of the day.

Top 5 Blogs: A post for every girl

Recently I’ve been able to catch up on some reading…not books but blogs! I’ve discovered a whole world of them and I’m loving it! Here are a few of my new favorites….

All of these blogs explore crafts, style, fashion and design! The first, is a recent find that focuses on the simple things in life..hints the name! The second one is a new favorite as of right now, literally you can find ANYTHING on this blog and the graphics are so fun. The third is actually my friends older sisters blog. Created to promote her Moms new shoe line..Dee Keller shoes, AMAZING! The fourth, Coco and Kelley is a fabulous blog with tons of design tips for outfits along with home decor. I LOVE IT! And fifth, last but most definitely not least is my ALL time favorite blog, cupcakesandcashmere. This blog inspires my own in so many ways, helps that the author name is Emily;)

Loving these creative and insightful writers! Hoping my own blog can evolve like theirs have!

“I love the rain the most”-Joe Purdy

Today has been a beautifully rainy day in Dallas. Was able to get a lot done at Starbucks in HP Village this morning after a great morning work out with Whitney. I’m happy to be checking off quite a few things from my list of things to do before Christmas…Up next? Finding presents for everyone. Yes, I am aware that I’m behind! 🙂

Home

I don’t even know how to explain what it means for me to be home. Dallas has been so so good to us and to me. Only the best memories so far. This is our second Christmas in Dallas since our move back from McKinney but our first Christmas in the new house…hang with me, OK? Ha ha! I just know this Christmas will be so wonderful. I’m in such a beautiful place in life where pretty much all of my plans have been changed, not really against my will but against what I thought was going to be happening to my right now. I thought I knew exactly where I was going to serve in college until graduation, thought I knew what my relationships would be like, and all of those things have changed. I feel like I have a very clean slate ahead of me. Few plans and few strings that tie me to anything. I think if I’d been given this path last year or even a few months ago I would have been very sad and confused about the closed doors. But I don’t view them as closed doors, if anything God has given me the eyes to see other doors wide open for me. And I’m so thankful for that.

This morning Whitney, Dad and I went and served alongside Cornerstone Baptist Church by feeding some friends in South Dallas. Cornerstone has so many amazing ministries and I felt blessed to see a few of them today.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”- Matthew 25:40

 

Kendra Scott, you have my heart!

I’m currently OBSESSING over Kendra Scott and her genius COLOR WHEEL on her website. If you haven’t heard of her then you my friend are out of the loop! The jewels and colors she has are beautiful. It’s perfect timing for Christmas present shopping because all I did was create and design some earrings, saved them in my “shopping bag” and emailed my username to my Mom so she can check it all out for herself. 🙂 The color wheel is so simple and allows you to design with the exact colors you want. All you have to do is click and drag the stones of your choice to the earring. This picture is a bracelet I designed with Baylor as my inspiration! I love the green and gold color combo!

My first piece of jewelry I purchased from her were her Danielle Earrings. Gorgeous huge stones, very simple. I decided to customize them and go with a turquoise color. They are by far my favorite earrings right now. After you design your jewelry you can save it and look at it again later or hold off on purchasing them all at once…it’s very tempting to do though! Here is a glimpse of my future purchases:) Hopefully adding in a few pieces before the Baylor Bowl game in San Antonio! Would love to rep Baylor with some KS earrings.

Found a great interview of Kendra in her new location in Dallas at West Village. Click here to watch! This interview is from our friends at LOLO Magazine. If you haven’t heard of lolo and creator Lauren Scruggs, check it out and be diligent in prayer for Lauren as she heals after a tragic accident this past week. Lauren accidentally walked into a moving plane propeller walking to thank the pilot for taking her and friends to overlook christmas lights in Dallas. Our thought and prayers are with her during her recovery.

Kendra loved this post!:)

New title!

I decided to actually name my blog and it has been a LOT harder than you’d think! But I’ve settled with “Lavender Daffodils”, I think lavender is a beautiful mature color and the daffodils comes from my most recently favorite poem by William Wordsworth. It’s called, “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud.” Read it! It is gorgeous! I’m hoping this name sticks but who knows, maybe over Christmas break I will have some moment of genius and fall in love with a new title but for now lavernderdaffodils.wordpress.com it is!

Recently I have been doing anything and everything recruitment. Recruitment chair is seriously intense and I’m so thankful I’ve had this position because it just makes me respect ANYONE in a leadership position in a college oragnization..haha things are CRAZY! I have 3 finals and then I can officially ENJOY Christmas and this wonderful time of year. Two of them will be pretty hard but my last one shouldn’t be too bad and I’m thankful.

I’m currently playing around on my computer and watching the first cut of Pi Phis slide show for slide show day…EEEKKK it looks great and I’m thankful for the work our friend Brennan put into it! I’m so excited for recruitment week..and I can’t believe it’s so close. BriAnn, one of my roommates and her boyfriend Tim are here. They are headed to a Christmas party in a little while, (don’t worry I was invited just can’t go) Hehe! I can’t wait to have more time over break to put up more posts. Dallas I can’t wait to see you!!!!

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