30 Days in Pictures: Day 18

A picture of your biggest insecurity



It's not my lips, mouth, or teeth that are my biggest insecurity. No, it is my words. Things have a tendency to come out all wrong. I really hope people take what I say with the best intentions. In various situations I spend hours analyzing what I said, could have said, or didn't say. In the end, I try to become more of a ponderer like The Virgin Mary. If you look at the Scriptures, she is always pondering something. I'm trying to become slower to speak, think about what I say, and listen more than I speak. It's a weakness~an insecurity, but I'm trying.

30 Days in Pictures Day: 17

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.


The Great Adventure Timeline Bible study series and those afterward have made a huge impact on my life recently. I have never understood the Bible so clearly. Basically, the writers of the curriculum have taken the Bible and organized it, so readers can understand the Bible as a story. It is intriguing and exciting.

30 Days in Pictures Day: 16

A picture of someone who inspires you



I had a hard time picking one person who inspires me. Many people inspire me. So, I will tell you about four people who inspire me. My sister-in-laws on Dane's side. Tracy is missing from this picture, but this is when we were all five pregnant together. Earlier in the day, Tracy announced that she was pregnant. (Christmas 2009) Unfortunately, she left before we could all get a picture together. We always meant to photoshop her in. I guess we still could.

Monica (in white): Inspires me to trust God. I try to be a go-with-the-flow type of person, but I like my schedule. I like things to be just so. Monica reminds me that when the plan fails, God still has a plan. She always seems to have a peace in Christ. She inspires me to seek that kind of peace as well. She also inspires me to cook well for my family. She is always whipping up something delicious.

Tracy (not pictured :( ) Tracy is very inspiring. She is just a real, down-to-earth person. To be honest, I wish I could be more like Tracy. She is very genuine. She never says a bad word about anybody. She is very interested in her faith and always wants to learn more. She is humble. I want to be more like that. She also teaches her children (and any children she comes in contact with) I desire to simply teach my children like she teaches.

Diane (in red) Inspires me to be creative. I love the arts. Anything creative~from photography, to cupcake-baking, painting, sewing...the possibilities are endless. However, I sometimes lack the confidence I need to follow through with projects. I tend to come up with an excuse of why my next project won't be perfect, so I shouldn't do it anyway. Diane (and her work) reminds me that everyone is creative. Everyone can be creative even if you don't have a degree in art...(she does which I think is so cool by the way) She also inspires me to play with my children. Being a stay-at-home mom is a blessing, but it can also be a curse. You are with your kids so much that you can tend to put things before them (cleaning, cooking, sewing, painting...etc.) She reminds me to stop and take time to play with my little boy.)

Alissa (in blue) Alissa is a very sweet girl. She has a personality most similar to mine. As far as inspiration, she inspires me to work out and take care of my body. Dane says that she has been running everyday since middle school and she rarely misses a day. Talk about dedication. I'm trying to get into the workout everyday groove. I'm doing pretty well for the most most part, but when I need a little pick-me-up, I think of Alissa!

I am so blessed to know all of these ladies and even more blessed to be a part of their family. Most of them probably don't know I look up to them so much, and all I have to say about that is, actions speak louder than words. You are all true blessings to those around you. :)

30 Days in Pictures Day: 15

A picture of something you want to do before you die
I'm not going to lie. I thought about this post for a long time. I've got many things on my bucket list. From skydiving to travel adventures to random acts of silliness. However, I had a hard time pinning down the one thing I want to do before I die. Therefore, I will say this. All I want to do is live a simple life, loving God, serving others, and being joy-filled. I will leave you with this poem.

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.


He noted that first came her date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the “dash” between those years. (1934 -1998)


For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.


For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars...the house...the cash,
what matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our “dash”.


So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
that can still be rearranged.


If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.


And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.


If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special “dash”
might only last a little while.


So, when your eulogy's being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your “dash”?




Copyright by Linda Ellis

30 Days in Pictures Day: 14

A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I love you Fredrick Dane and Jude Azariah!

30 Days in Pictures Day: 13

A picture of your favorite band or artist.
If you know me, you know I am a music fanatic. Growing up, most of the time the TV was turned off and the radio was on from 6 AM until bedtime, and sometimes it sang all through the night. I grew up listening to my dad's music--John Prine, Steve Goodman, Todd Snyder, Fleetwood Mac...etc. As I got older, I fell in love with country. A little bit older alternative rock. I went through and "emo" phase in college, and sometimes my husband can get me to dance to a little R&B in the car. Needless to say, I have a wide range of musical taste. Therefore, picking my FAVORITE band or artist is practically impossible. Instead, I will choose a good local band that's from Ames where I went to school. The Nadas. They make me think of summer, bonfires, the state fair, and being in love. They are my feel good music.

30 Days in Pictures Day: 12

A Picture of Something you Love

It is pretty obvious that I love my husband and little boy, so I decided to picture of something else I love. My nieces and nephews!



On Dane's side, we have quite the clan and tons of fun!
Back row: Jude Azariah, Bridgette Veronica, Isaac Jay, Peter Augustine, Lillian Elaine
Front Row: Sydney Suzanne, Henry Augustine, Avery Eden, Mason David, (and another little one on the way that I cannot wait to love on! Mason and Avery's little Brother)




My quite a bit smaller, but they are two strong-willed little boys--Liam Joseph and Jude Azariah

30 Days in Pictures Day: 11

A picture of something you can’t stand.


This is a picture of my little boy with his nose-sucker. No, It is definitely not my little boy that I cannot stand, it is sucking out his little nose! He has been sick for three weeks. First with an ear infection and bronchitis. Then croup. Finally, we are finishing it off (hopefully) with another ear infection. Through these sicknesses, I have had to suck out that nose so many times so he can breathe. Let's just say he screams and cries through the whole thing and I feel like screaming and crying along with him. Sigh...it is to help him, right?

(I can't get my imaged turned, but you get the idea...:)

30 days in Pictures Day: 10

A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.

Without question, I do the craziest things with my brothers! Let’s just say they keep my life VERY exciting. Whether we are riding go-carts, motorcycles, snowmobiles, going on road trips, or having a wrestling match things can get pretty WILD when the three of us get together. When we were younger, people used to come to our house and say we should have a sitcom of our lives because they couldn’t believe all the insane things we would do! Even though my life was probably in danger many times, those are my favorite memories! I love spending time with them. They are constantly making me laugh. ☺ Oh, and a little public apology, I’m sorry for all the times I scratched you with my “claws!” In my defense, sometimes that was my only defense! Love you guys!

30 Days in Pictures Day: 9

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Besides the aforementioned loved ones, my mother is the one who has gotten me through the most. Whether she was holding me while I cried because the girls stopped playing with me in 4th grade or agonizing over my problem of the week math homework in 7th grade she would do and does anything for me. I talk to her everyday sometimes more than once. Okay, let’s be honest, often times more than once. She tells me how to cook delicious food and assures me that everything will be okay when I call in a panic because my baby has a temperature of 104 and won’t stop crying. My mom. She gets me through the day to day every day. I love you, Mom! ☺ (P.S. don’t you think we look alike?)

30 Days in pictures Day: 8

A Picture that Makes you Laugh
Are you tired of seeing this guy yet? I couldn't just choose one picture. This whole set makes me laugh. We tend to have A LOT of fun together even if all we have in our midst is a couple of plastic containers. :)
(P.S. Don't mind the cough-drop tongue in picture #2... :)

30 Days in Pictures Day: 7

A Picture of your Most Prized Possession

I have a few of possessions that I really like. For example, my SLR camera and my KitchenAid. These two items get a lot of use in my house. However, without a doubt, my most prized possession is my wedding ring. It is a beautiful ring, and my husband did a great job picking it out. However, it is not only the ring I love, it is really what it symbolizes; a covenant between the Lord and the two of us to remain together through thick and thin until death do us part. I love this guy! This picture was from our engagement. I know you cannot see the ring very well, but you get the idea...

30 Days in Pictures Day: 6

A Picture of a Person you Would Love to Trade Places With for a Day

This was a tough one for me. I would love to trade places with a lot of people for a day just to try out "a day in the life of..." However, if I had to pick one, I don't know WHO I would pick, but I know WHAT I would be doing. I would be bringing clean water to the people of Africa. God moves in such amazing ways through these ministries. I would love to be a part of it for a day or even more!

30 Days in Pictures: Day 5

A picture of your favorite memory



I have many good memories, so it was hard to pick my favorite. However, I would say my favorite memory is when Dane told me he loved my and kissed me for the first time. Many of you have heard the story before, so I won’t bother telling it again. If you are curious, next time we are together, you can ask. (I love to tell this story. It’s my favorite!) Let’s just say Dane was my first kiss and I didn’t want to "ruin" it… My foot ended up in a fire, and got little burned. ;)

(This photo is actually not of that night, but it is an old school one of the two of us :)

30 Days in Pictures: Day 4

My typical night is spent having fun with Dane and Jude. This picture is not at our house. It is actually at hotel, but it explains what we do at night. In this picture Dane and Jude are making faces in the mirror. As you can see they are quite the pair. Jude and I have so much fun together all day, but the fun doesn’t get REALLY exciting until Daddy comes home. When Dane comes home from work, we rush to the door to greet him. Jude barely stays in my arms because he is reaching so excitedly for his dad while looking out the window. When Dane gets in, we give him loves, eat dinner, play games, read, give Judebear a bath, say our prayers, and then put the little man to bed. After Jude is tucked in, Mommy and Daddy try to get some together time. I love my nights with my boys!

30 Days in Pictures: Day 3

Parenthood is my guilty pleasure of the week. The theme song is catchy and reminds me of my childhood and John Prine. (You may have to look up who he is if you are interested. My dad made me listen to many good ol’ boy musicians growing up, and I can’t help but sing along to the music now.) I love all the characters for their distinct personalities, but I would say I am most like Christina. Funny thing is, Dane is most like Adam and they are married in the show. I also love Zeek and Camille. I hope they stay together always. They are just way too sweet. In spite of all their difficulties, they really do love each other.



(Photo Credit: http://www.watchtopdrama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/parenthood.jpg)

30 Days in Pictures: Day 2

Day 2: A picture of you and the person you have been the closest with for the longest


This is my Mary. She is my Marymama. We are twins separated by 25 years or so. We share our love for Jesus, mochas with a little atmosphere, and our children. We also share some not-so-fun qualities such as always loosing our keys and phones. (If you call either one of us and we don’t call you back for days, please don’t think that we don’t love you. We have just misplaced our phone somewhere and it has died so we cannot call it to figure out where it is.) She has and continues to get me through more than I can say. She was the matron of honor in my wedding. She is and always will be my better half.

30 Days in Pictures: Day 1

There is this thing going around the internet called "30 Days in Pictures" I'm sure if you are reading this, you've seen it. If not the idea is to post 30 pictures with different thoughts/ideas/information. Most of the time I think these internet games are silly, but one of my friends is doing it. I enjoy seeing what she has written and getting to know her. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Day 1: A picture of yourself with 10 facts




1. My name is Brooke. I love when my cousin Jennifer and Aunt Bah call me Miss Brooke. And when my babies Bella and Samuel (who are not really babies anymore) call me Brookie.
2. I would love to work for The Cake Boss on TLC for a day.
3. I could waste so much time taking personality tests. I am an ENFJ on the Meyers Briggs scale.
4. I am kind of a clean freak, but I rarely make my bed.
5. I am a brand loyal to bare minerals. Their makeup is amazing!
6. I want to start a shopping ministry where I discuss fit, style, color etc. with women and then take them shopping for clothing. Ultimately, I want to help them feel good on the inside and out… Now I just have to figure out how to fund this ministry…:D
7. My son’s name is Jude Azariah. Jude after the patron saint of hopeless causes and Azariah after a young Old Testament king who followed God’s will.
8. I will do anything within my moral boundaries for a Starbucks peppermint mocha.
9. I often wear my mom’s shirts from highschool…how’s that for vintage? Hmmm…No, I was not trying to call my mother old.
10. I'm pretty sure I met my husband for the first time when he was 13 (We've discussed it, and he was either 12 or13) and I even thought he was cute back then. :)

Mommy's Helper

I guess they always say, "Start em' young..." Jude loves doing chores. He thinks he's so big!

BIG BOY

Our little boy is getting so big...

"...Every Dance on the Kitchen Floor..."

I normally like to have pictures with my blog posts. It makes them more interesting/fun to read. Fun to look back on and remember. Well, this one I don't have a picture for because some moments you don't want to stop to get the camera. During a busy day of running around trying to get oh too many things done my husband turns on the music. Stops me in the kitchen. In the middle of everything. And asks for a dance. Perfect moment. The only thing that made this moment sweeter is our little boy looked at us with the cutest little grin like he wanted to join in too. Of course we let him. It's the little moments in life really. The moments where the three of you take a second out of your busy day just to dance. I love my husband! He reminds me to slow down and enjoy life! I hope wherever you are at you get to dance today. :)

Body for Life (for women)

I've so excited to tell you about this. I've been waiting to see how it would go for me for a few weeks before I shared. It's called Body for Life. You may have heard of it. It's been around for awhile, and I'm a little behind the times. Anyway, it's not supposed to be just another diet. It's supposed to be a lifestyle change~eating~working out~being HEALTHY! Now, I don't practice the method exactly, but I've been doing what works for me, my likes, and my lifestyle. If you want to know the cut-and-dry you can check out The Body for Life books. I personally like the Body for life for Women because it is personalized. So...Here's the gist.

You eat 6 small meals a day~filled with protein, SIMPLE carbs, and believe it or not a few fats (good for you ones of course, like avacados.) Then, you work out six times a week~the 7th is the day of rest, of course!

Why I like this lifestyle change... Why am I'm so excited to tell everyone about it? Let me tell you just a few reasons.

*I am a girl. Some girls claim that they are not hungry or don't like to eat. Say what they want (I don't believe them) I LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat! I LOVE FOOD. Food is a life-giver, energy. There are so many memories attached to food. I come from a line of AMAZING cooks! In my world, food=family=love.

*I have tried to navigate through the mass chaos of calories, dieting, starving, overeating. I have done it all. Anorexia, bulemia, binges, workout frenzy, and laziness. For a long list of reasons, I just couldn't get the eating/working out thing figured out. Too much? Too little? I'm a bit of an extremist. So I was either all in or all out when it came to dieting/working out. This eating/workout plan provides me with a COMPROMISE. I eat SIX TIMES A DAY, but I eat the healthy stuff. So, I can eat to have energy, but I don't have to over-eat because I know my next meal is right around the corner.

*In the book it says to only follow the plan 80% of the time. What about the other 20%? Dessert? Yes Please!

*Most importantly, I feel so much better. I'm not really doing this to loose weight; I'm doing this because it makes me feel ALIVE. Let's be honest, being a new mom it is kind of hard to get the nutrition that I need. So often I would be lucky if I had something to eat by 1:00 in the afternoon. Sometimes I would be so busy caring for my hubby and little one that I often got neglected. The BFL plan has provided me with a bit of routine. I convinced my hubby that we should join a gym, so I get up in the morning, eat, workout, eat......do some other things....and keep eating. Giving my body the fuel it needs. Giving me the ENERGY I need. I don't drag throughout my day anymore. I can keep with with life and enjoy it too!

I really hope I'm not getting too excited too fast. To be honest, sometimes the plan feels like a diet because boy oh boy do I like carbs(the complex ones like PASTA AND BREAD), but I'm trying to balance out my love for carbs with some protein and veggies. When it gets hard, I just have to remember the ENERGY that goes along with it!

I really hope everyone has some sort of plan like this that helps them feel energized throughout the day. I know Body for Life isn't the only plan out there like this. If you are having some of the issues I described above, you should either check out BFL or some other eating plan that will help you get on the right track.

Blessings,

Brooke

Jude the Baker Noodle Maker

I have been going through Christmas pictures. I have realized I take WAY TOO MANY PICTURES because I feel as if I will be going through them for a lifetime trying to get them put in albums, but anyway, here is one of my favs. My little boy making homemade egg noodles with me. Just for the record they are SOOOOOOOO much better than store-bought.