Currently...

I get the urge to write in this little space at the most random of times. Sadly, those random times have become few and far between. I hate that. I thought I'd catch up a little bit since I have started school....

Currently...

wishing for......fall weather. In general, I am a summer girl to the core but, I can't help but wish for some boot and scarf weather! :)

reading.....One Thousand Gifts and it is so so good. It is such a great reminder for me to stop, look around, and be thankful for EVERY little thing. So often I am thankful for the big things but not the little things that might happen each day.

itching....to know if the new baby Jacobs will be a boy or a girl! :)

wanting....this camera. I have been saving and am almost there...

thanking....the Lord for His faithfulness and continued provision

needing.....to blog about Lucy's first birthday!

loving...my husband and how hard he has been working for us

clinging to....."I am the Lord, I do not change!" -Malachi 3:6

praying...for joy in all circumstances!

thinking....about everything going on these next few weeks and how busy it will be.

feeling....tired and needing to get to bed :)

Goodnight!

Hello 5th Grade! Ready or not!

Today was my last day of summer vacation. I say that quite sadly if I am being honest. The past couple of months have been so busy. I have had a lot going on with my photography business and then more recently in the last couple of weeks, a lot going on with getting prepared to start the school year. But, every teacher will tell you....no matter how busy your summer is, nothing beats waking up without an alarm clock (even if it is 6:45), planning a day out (even if it includes cleaning your house), or going shopping in the middle of the day (even if it is just for groceries!). So again, while the summer may not have been glamorous, it was a nice break.

I spent my last day of summer in the best way and doing the things I love. Breakfast with my husband, time with my mom, sister, and niece, a quick swim, blogging, a little editing, and more time with my husband. It's the little things. I have to say, with the start of this school year I have wanted to dig my heels in a little bit. There have been several, "but God"s thrown out in my prayers lately. "But God, I have so much going on!" or "But God, I have two jobs! How can I balance this?" or "But God, I am not sure I remember how to balance teaching, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc." :) Thankfully, when I deserve to hear, "Suck it up and be thankful for what I give you!" He is full of grace. He has so sweetly reminded me and whispered a few things to me lately. "Laura, my grace is sufficient" and "Trust me" and "This is the work I have for you. Do the next thing." I am grateful for His grace in my life.

Last night we met our students and parents. Over the past week of busily trying to prepare for school to start I haven't really been able to get excited about things. But last night, as I was blessed by many of the parents that I met, I was able to get excited.

God has been gracious to use people, His Word, and other situations to encourage me right when I need it. So, ready or not, here comes another school year. Praying for a grateful heart and a hardworking spirit. After all, this is the work He has given me! May I serve Him well!

twenty-five

25 years young. I cannot believe I am 25 today. I saw something on a blog the other day about making a list of things you are thankful for on your birthday each year based on how many years you are.

So...in no particular order at all....twenty five things I am oh so thankful for...both silly and serious.

1. An amazing school to work at each day...one that encourages me.

2. A family who is so close and loves each other so much.

3. A Savior who loves, provides, and cares so deeply for me.

4. My three precious nieces.

5. A husband who plays with my hair every night as I go to sleep.

6. diet coke

7. Early mornings in God's Word.

8. Natural light

9. My bed

10. Our church family and worshipping with the nations.

11. Candles

12. My camera that has captured so many memories.

13. Marcie :)

14. Mercies that are new each morning

15. A husband who can fix anything

16. A good workout

17. Pool days

18. Grace that has saved me and is continually poured on my life daily

19. Privilege to pray

20. My health

21. Generous and supportive parents and the greatest role models

22. A home that the Lord has blessed us with

23. Great friends

24. My husband. My sweet, hardworking, supportive husband.

25. Another year to serve the Lord and live for Him.

I am so very grateful for another year. I don't deserve all that I am given and all that I have been blessed with. May I know Him better and walk even closer with Him this year! :)

Around Here

Around here we have been BUSY. Last week my sister-in-law brought my two nieces to town to stay while she and my brother went on a little vacation. So, those babies are here and it has been so busy and so fun! We have done a lot of swimming, some crafts, gone on walks, taken lots of pictures,  and entertained three little ones. P.S. Three babies is exhausting. Just saying. 

Little mermaid! :)

Love these sisters! :)

Jimpa and VirginiaLove this big girl! :)

They will also be here for the weekend to celebrate this baby girl turning 1! Can't believe it has been a year! :)

Other than that, I am trying to sneak out here and there to get ready for a new school year. Is summer really over already? Ahh.... I will also be celebrating my 25th birthday Thursday! Gracious....me! It is going to be a busy few weeks!

I am just so thankful for God's grace! He has been showing me so much and I have learned a lot about prayer and that He hears me. I am in such need of His grace DAILY! What a loving Father we serve.

Virginia Louise turns 4!

On July 8th we celebrated Virginia turning 4! 4? What? I cannot believe it has been four years since she came into our lives! What a privilege it is to know her! She has the sweetest heart and most precious spirit and we love her so much! For her party she requested an "under the sea mermaid party" so that is what she got! Here are a few pictures from the weekend that we celebrated her!

With her JimPa

The big birthday girl!

Hello sweet Charlotte!

Her daddy prayed for his girl and I had to snap this picture! :)

Virginia's best friend! How cute are they?

We also had some "spa" activities starting with nails! :)

She opened some presents....

Y'all she is going to school this year.....what???

Blowing out the candles! :)

The whole family!

Sweet Virginia, we love you so much and are thankful for your first four years! You are such a sweet blessing to our family! :)

Charlotte turned 1.....in April! Oops!

I am feeling a bit ashamed that I never blogged about this sweet girls birthday. I knew that we had two more birthdays this summer for Virginia and Lucy so I had to give this girl her own post! I hate that it is so late! So, in April we headed up to celebrate her first birthday! It is hard to believe that it had been a year since this baby came into our lives! You can watch her birth video here.

Charlotte Elizabeth is quite possibly the happiest baby ever. She is so sweet and so easy going. Currently she is very much on the move but she is so precious! We were so happy to celebrate her!

LiLi and her girls!

Excited for her cupcake! :)

Opening her presents....

Big sis was so excited for her baby sister!

Sweet family

Uncle Sam and Charlotte

Baby girl, you are so sweet and we love you so much! You were the best addition to our family and I am sure your parents agree! :)

Next up.....sweet Virginia's 4th birthday.

Update and Hello!

I can't believe I haven't posted in a month. Well, that's a lie. I can actually. School ended and it's as if summer started, took off, and hasn't stopped. Life is busy. But, at the same time, I am still able to rest and relax.

Summer has been busy so far. I kicked it off with a vacation to West Palm Beach with my family. It was an amazing week of rest. The weather was so so but that didn't stop us from truly enjoying the rest and relaxation that came with it.

I think being an aunt might just be the best thing ever.

This man....I love him!

Sadly, we were missing Sam on this trip and we HATED that!

We made the 12 hour ride home on Friday and I jumped right back into work with a wedding on Saturday. It was a LONG and hot day and night but so much fun!

Congrats to this happy couple!

So my week has consisted of tons and tons of editing! I have another wedding tomorrow so I am gearing up for that as well. I am thankful to be busy and I really am having to practice balancing my time! Thankfully, I am off for the summer from school so that definitely helps.

In other news around the Kittrell house, we have been doing a couple of updates. I need to do a house tour soon! :) The other big news is that Brett is in the process of changing jobs. It has been a whirlwind of decisions and lots of prayer that has been leading up to this and we are really excited! I will share more at another time but we are still praying for direction and we are very thankful for how God has been leading us so far!

I need to get back to editing but I am so hoping I can pop in more frequently around here. I miss it! Plus, there is so much happening this summer! More weddings/shoots, a special niece's 4th birthday and a 1st birthday,  (however, I need to blog about Charlotte's first as well...it's coming Linds!), changes around the house, a trip to Tennessee, etc. So much stuff to pack into two months off of school! :)

Her Lamp Does Not Go Out

Happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there! This morning we were not at our home church but went to church with Brett's family. The message this morning was from Proverbs 31. He directed the sermon towards mothers of course but all women in general. I have read Proverbs 31 so many times. I prayed that I would become a Proverbs 31 woman and pray that I continue to grow in the areas I fail in.

Proverbs 31 is so challenging and states so many things that I want to embrace. I want my husband to have confidence in me. I want to bring him good and not harm. I want to be busy and work hard for my family. I want to use my time wisely. I want to speak with wisdom and give good advice. All of those things are so important.

There was one small part of the passage that the pastor in no way harped on this morning but it did stick out to me. At the end of verse 18 it says, "and her lamp does not go out at night". I am not a mom but have seen/heard first hand about women who can relate to this. While I know this might not be what the passage is specifically addressing, I can remember countless nights when my mom stayed up with one of my siblings or I if we were sick, had a project, or just couldn't sleep. Gracious, even into my late teenage years there were moments when I lived at home when my mom would be up with me late. I can also see this in my sister and sister-in-law as they wake up in the middle of the night to feed and take care of their babies.

I do know that the passage is encouraging women, wives, mothers, daughters, etc. to be hardworking. I pray that now as well as when I have a baby that my lamp will not go out at night. I pray that I will work diligently and be responsible with my time. I pray I never take my days as a wife fore granted and I pray that I will not take fore granted those nights in the future when I will be up with sick babies or doing a project with a middle schooler.

May I be a woman whose lamp does not go out at night.

I am thankful for my mother and that she has always been so willing to help, care, love, protect, or just be with her children no matter the hour.

Happy Mother's Day mom! I am so thankful that God blessed me with such an incredible example of Christ in my life. I love you so much!

It Is Well With My Soul

I have been putting off writing about this but not for any reason other than uncertainty on how to address it. On April 20th my family was in Georgia looking forward to celebrating a special little girls first birthday. However, early that morning my mom got a call. My grandmother had passed away.

My grandmother, affectionately known by many as Ding Dong :), passed away. She had been having health trouble but it certainly was sudden. It was one of those situations that you know it is coming but are shocked when it happens.

You may be wondering, "Why Ding Dong? That is kind of cruel!" haha. Well, my older sister gave her that name at age 3 when she would ask her to go hear the clock "ding dong" at our house. The name stuck and at times, it fit. Just being honest! :)

There are so many things I could say about Ding Dong. There are so many funny stories and so many memories that include her. She was always there! Every holiday and birthday included her! She was thoughtful and kind! She was such a great grandmother and I think her greatest contribution to me personally was my mother!

We were blessed with many years with her!

She will be missed and I look forward to seeing her again one day!

Hello There, It's been a bit!

Well, where to begin? I feel like so much has happened and yet I don't know if there is a way to remember all that has happened during this time. We will have to go with a pictures update instead to get you caught up on the craziness of this busy time!

First of all, Brett and I have been doing a lot to finish up various projects in our home!

New throw pillows on the bed....Brett loves having multiple pillows and the fact that they are monogrammed makes him love them all the more! :)

Our master bath does not have a linen closet. Since we moved in we have searched for something to go in the bathroom to hold towels, sheets, etc. Finally, we found something and although it was too big to go in the bathroom, our bedroom was big enough and I just love it.

Oh, and then my awesome husband built this bookshelf! Yeah, it looks fabulous!

Don't worry, we haven't neglected the outside. :) We kind of love being outside and since last year with having a garden I pretty much think I have a green thumb or something. Haha! But seriously, I love having plants and seeing them grow! :)

Just watering azaleas! :)

Oh, and again, husband built this table for our porch out of pallets. Seriously so handy! :)

We also planted our garden this past weekend! Praying for tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet peas, zucchini, squash and more! :)

Other than that, we have been very busy. I have been busy with school and photography! Brett got to celebrate his spring break last week and I will begin mine tomorrow! I am more than ready for a week to relax!

Oh, and let me just say....I am incredibly thankful for my husband. He shows me so much grace and is such an encouragement. I don't deserve him but am so grateful God made him just for me! :)

Perhaps while on spring break I will blog a bit more! :)