Weekending.

   {before I forget! Today's the last day to enter this giveaway- and stay tuned for another great Fall Must-Have's giveaway tomorrow! So many exclamation marks!!!!}

  My weekends are going to start looking different, since I won't be bringing work home anymore. {hooray! no complaints here!} One week in, and I already love knowing that work is at work. No nagging desire to fire up my laptop and get just a few more things done. Le sigh.

   So how did I kick-off this awesome new trend of not working on the weekend? Glad you asked! :) 

   Justin's grandfather passed away this week, so he travelled to Georgia for a few days to be with his family. Cheesy as it is, I really hate when he's gone. I don't sleep as well and I feel just a little lonely, you know? So I made sure to fill my days right up until he came home, of course. Fridays have unofficially become cleaning days around here, so there was that. Saturday morning, I reunited with my long lost love, Aldi. Gosh I love that place. And grocery shopping on Saturdays. Also, new stamps! I was so excited to picked out some new stamps. {Hi, I'm Katie and I'm 27-going-on-43} 

  
  Ok, ok. I promise it got more exciting than just cleaning and grocery shopping. Stick with me. 

   Saturday, I was so so lucky to have my bff and niece over for a sleepover! Oh my gosh, I love being an aunt. I also had some girlfriends over for homemade pizza and candy and a cheesy chick flick. Quintessential Saturday night, right? And somehow, Justin timed his drive perfectly because he was home only 20 minutes after the girls left! Sunday, after my sister picked Mia up I headed downtown for my first Colts game in Lucas Oil Stadium. Being the wonderful wife I am {toot my own horn much??}, I cheered against my home team- because the Raiders were in town! Gosh, so much fun. I see season tickets to some sports team {any sports team, really} in our future! 

  Moral of the story? I'm totally ok with next weekend being here already. 

Birthday babies.

   A little over a year ago, I became an aunt twice over. Gosh, I love those babies. How has it been a whole year?? Since my nephew and niece are only two weeks apart, they both had parties over the last month. Baseball and sunshine themes, of course. I took a lot of pictures at Brady's party on my sister's camera, so I don't have tons of good ones on mine, but I was able to snap some great ones at Mia's. Girl loves cake, as evidenced by the face dives into it. Brady just loved being held and snuggled on all afternoon! Too sweet. Happy birthday to the cutest babies in the world! 

Easter.

  For the first time in our married life, we were able to attend an Easter service at a church we call home. I say it all the time, but it really is wonderful to have found such a great church family. We wouldn't change a thing! 

  After a beautiful service and reflecting on the amazing news that He is Risen and death has been defeated- we went to Dunkin Donuts. Yes, yes we did. We have a McAllister's giftcard that expired yesterday and were going to stop in for a sweet tea, but then realized they were closed for the holiday. But DD was open right next door! Why not? After that, we headed up to my parents house to celebrate with the family. My mom {as usual} out did herself and decorated down to the place settings. We competed in our annual easter egg hunt {yes, we're all around 30.}, guys competition, and played with the adorable easter babies! 

  I love Easter for the obvious reasons. This year, my heart was more reflective than ever after spending weeks studying the Songs of Ascent and Holy Week. You guys, God is good. It is finished. We have victory! Let's celebrate that every day, not just Easter!

"Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

Isaiah 25:9

Mia Louise.

Since I made such a fuss about it all,  and dedicated two whole posts to my sweet little chunky-face nephew...
I figured its about time I formally introduce my sweet, sweet little niece.

{Jessica Vaughn Photography}
Mia Louise Solomon was born on August 4th and weighed a whopping 4lbs 13oz. Tiny, right?! So adorable and tiny! She came a few weeks early, because just like her mom...she likes to be the center of attention. {Still love you, Lori!}
After 11 days of extra TLC in the NICU where she proved to everyone her breathing and eating and jaundice were all under control... she finally came home last week on m'birfday! {best present ever= finally holding my little peanut of a niece}

{Jessica Vaughn Photography}
Oh, I love her. She's so tiny and perfect and already such a diva like her mama.
And just in case you wanted to see the two cousins next to each other or the difference between a 4 week-old chunker and a 2 week-old peanut...

{Jessica Vaughn Photography}
Stop it. Too much cuteness! Also, they will hate that picture when they're 18.

26

{source}
25 was a good year. A bunch of really big and wonderful things happened...
I got a new sister {who I adore!}. We bought a house. Both of my sisters got knocked up and I got a nephew and niece {who is home from the NICU!!!} out of the deal. I got my Master's degree.
And a lot of little great things happened... I got a new camera and started taking more pictures, we travelled to FL for Thanksgiving, I finally cut my hair after 2.5 years, I did a lot of fun crafts, I got to watch my hubby do the Tough Mudder, my alma mater went viral, and I thought a lot about faith, desire, and love. Oh, and I made my first quilt!  
Of course, there's the stuff I didn't blog about, too.  We made our little life here a home. We found a few more friends. We continued to search for a church that fit. We took the pups hiking to our favorite state park. We ate a lot of good food.
Still, there was the tough stuff too. We had a miscarriage and found ourselves immersed in grief.  We continued to search {and struggle to find!} a church family that we felt a part of. We learned how to communicate with each other a little bit better. 
25 was a good year. I say that more for my sake than for yours. Gosh, looking at that list you'd think it'd be a no-brainer. The good clearly outweighs the bad. But the bad sometimes seems SO much bigger and weightier.  Taking stock is so important and helpful for me. It helps me see the bigger story, to take a step back from what's right in front of me. And the bigger picture screams blessing and hope and joy. Not perfection. But definitely hope.
Even still, today I'm glad its a new year. 25 was good and full and busy with great stuff. The hard stuff though, it was pretty hard. I know 26 will for sure have its challenges,  but I've learned a lot this past year and grown to rely on Jesus even more.  I look forward to being an aunt and snuggling my sweet niece and nephew. I look forward to a vacation with sweet friends and time with family in Florida and maybe a trip to Denver. I look forward to a job that is right for me in this season. I look forward to settling more and more into our home. I look forward to investing in our new church more and more and finding community there. Good things, for sure.

Opportunities.

August is my first month offering sponsorships {free of course!} and I'm so excited! Spreading a little blog love is important around these parts. All the small ad spots are already filled! And I can't wait, because they are all some of my favorite and best blog {and RL!} friends. Just you wait. {ads will be up starting Aug. 15th. *cough*mybirthday*cough*}
BUT I still have two large ad spots up for the taking if anyone is looking to get some extra business or exposure for their blog or handmade shop! Have an etsy shop? Thinking of opening one? Or just want to host a fun and random giveaway? Let me know :) 
In the meantime, here's a sneakpeek at my one week old baby niece!

Mia Louise Solomon weighed in at a whopping 4lbs 13oz after being born a few weeks early. Guys, she's ADORABLE. Already a little diva, she's requiring some extra love and TLC in the NICU and we're excited for her to go home soon. I can't say it enough, being an aunt is the best! 

New.

You guys.

I'm officially an aunt!!! 

My oldest sister had her sweet baby boy two weeks ago.

And it would be the understatement of the year to say that I'm in love.

He basically has my heart.

But let's back up a bit.

Exactly one week after we lost our baby, 

we found ourselves standing in the hospital as my sister was in labor.

Can I be real for a second?

That was a really difficult night.

It was the most painful mix of joy for my sister and grief for us.

We decided to wait to tell my sister and BIL until after our nephew was here. I mean, no one wants to overshadow such joy with such sad news. And I'm glad we did, because it really helped us focus on the most beautiful part of it all.

New life.

Over the past few weeks, as I've thought and prayed and talked with other women who've had miscarriages...

I've learned so much about how Satan uses this kind of grief {and all grief, really} to isolate and separate us from the love and support of others. He wants to create dark places in our hearts where God wants to shine light and healing through joy. So, I've been learning how it is so ok for me to keep grieving while still being joyful.

That makes no sense, I know. 

But just trust me!

So, back to my nephew.

I've been praying for him for months, and already had so much love before I even met him. And then I held him.

And guys. 

When I held him, Jesus did some really sweet things in my heart.

Healing things. 

Yes, I lost my baby. And death is a terrible thing.

Oh, but new life.

That's a beautiful thing.

Such a reminder of the hope we have, how all things will be made new one day.

So, in a nutshell, being an aunt is awesome. More awesome than I could have imagined. And I think sweet Brady Liam Bowersock will always have an extra special place in my heart.

Its no coincidence that only a week after the most painful news, he gave me the greatest reminder of God's grace and hope.

So, thanks Cari for making me an aunt! :)

And, thanks in advance, Lori, for the best birthday present EVER!

{my niece is due close to my bday!}

And without further adieu...

meet the sweet little nugget of love!

{Jessica Vaughn Photography}

 {Jessica Vaughn Photography}

And can we take a timeout to note how great my sister looks just a week after giving birth? Seriously.

 {Jessica Vaughn Photography}

{Jessica Vaughn Photography}

Those cheeks {both sets!} get me every time. Look at him! 

And a fun tidbit about his name...

our {my sister's and I} maiden name was Brady.

Cari and Jonn decided to use that as their baby boy's first name...cute right?!

Ok. Ready, set, go comment on how cute he is! :)

Little man {baby shower}.

Highlights from the Little Man's baby shower this weekend.

My nephew is one loved little boy already!

 Mama-to-be! {enjoying some AMAZEBALLS crab cakes!}

Mom & sisters.

Parents to be.

So excited for their little man!