goodbye June vibes

this month:

daily dates galore

including our last jamming session in the Chicago Blues Fest

& last Gold Coast Art Fair

miles & miles of walking by the lake shore

watching hundreds of bikers take over Michigan Ave

right after the news anchors we watch every day waved to us from their desks! 

acting like tourists museum visiting

& taking photos in all the places we love

a serendipitous search for hidden cash on a p.m. walk thanks to @HiddenCash (twitter)

farmers market eats

with lots of blurry, fun-time timercam cooking at home

getting caught in a thunderstorm on the first day of Summer (and the Saturday after that)

night time walking by the water again & again

so. much. fun. with my "darling" little lady (can you guess who bought this outfit for her?)

gorgeous sunsets outside our door

celebrating being his wifey for three years!

with a picnic

& fun bumming at Oak St. Beach

also, we can't forget every anxious moment watching Brasil play in the World Cup!

Looking back through these memories on the last day of June make my heart so full. This is why I like to capture the moments we have together; the everyday moments. The ones you tend to forget over time. I do not want to forget them, but also I do not want to deceive myself or others who think life is "picture perfect". Our life is no where perfection. And our marriage is hard work like everyone else's. In fact, there were some tears & unhappy days in between these photos. But we celebrate life because it is a gift we have been given from Jesus. He gives us the love and strength to smile & live fully every day (although not every day feels this way). And I do not want to neglect this truth: with God as our refuge there is peace, hope, love and joy like no other. Learning this lesson this month has been life changing. I am so thankful for June.

weekend snaps

Thanks for the most fun-filled weekends June. You're our favorite. 

having & holding: year 3

I feel so lucky & blessed to be tying knots with G another year. 

He loves me in the rain, shine, snow, clouds & dark skies. In every season, every one. 

I love you babe.

The joy of the Lord is our strength

"A cord of three strands is not easily broken." Ecc. 4:12b 

Gold Coast Art Fair

If there's one thing I love about living in downtown Chicago in the summer time, it's all the free events & concerts they give every week, without fail. This weekend it was all about the Art Fair in Grant Park, featuring over 100 different artists selling handmade jewelry, paintings, photos, hats, clothing & so much more! It was a blast going even though G would not let me buy him this awesome leather hat that looked so good on him! Yes, it was expensive - but yes, it is our 3 year leather wedding anniversary coming up in three days! So, I thought it was the perfect gift with perfect timing. But, alas - it stayed behind & we bought some paella instead; good for the body & wallet. Yes! The last few photos are from our walk home from the fair. For some reason walking over those same bridges we've walked on hundreds of times (probably literally accurate) have been making me so emotional & even more thankful that we got to begin our lives here. I feel like we're living in the most beautiful dream that's beyond what we've ever imagined for our lives. God never ceases to amaze me.

these flowers are made our of clay! so pretty!

I liked this blurry one

loved so many of these pieces

paella time!

please pause & take a look at my nails that were painted 8 days before! brand: Wet & Wild (wild shine). Paid: $.75. Your're welcome ladies!

Cheers to the first weekend of Summer! 

words from the wiser: anyway love

Thanks to having some free time at my internship this week, I was able to read multiple articles about marriage sent by our Executive Director at Cornerstone, and this one by Gary Thomas really stood out to me. We read his book, Sacred Marriage (which we highly recommend) when we were engaged and I am currently reading Sacred Influence right now (thanks mom!) & am loving it. These 'words from the wiser' posts have been some of my favorite to share, and I hope you have been enjoying the wisdom from others by reading them. What does "anyway love" mean and how does it look like Jesus' love? Let's find out and read...

Anyway Love

To love anyway is to love like God – and to learn about God's love for us.

"On Valentine's Day, Meg went all out, giving her husband, Peter, his favorite candy and tickets to a hockey game. Later that night, she wrapped herself in a special outfit purchased just for the occasion.

Peter got her a card.
At the grocery store.
That he purchased on the way home from work.
He didn't add anything to it, either. He just signed it, "Peter."

A couple of days later, Meg tried to explain that she felt a little taken for granted. Apparently, Peter misunderstood her intent because two months later, when they celebrated their anniversary, Peter didn't get Meg anything.

"How could you not get me anything for our anniversary?" she asked Peter the next day. "Especially after our conversation about Valentine's Day."

"Well, I thought about getting you something, but it didn't work out," he replied. "And then I knew not to get you a card because you said you didn't like that last time."
"It's not that I didn't like the card. It's that the card alone seemed a little sparse. But even that is better than nothing ..."

Several months later, Meg had a birthday. This time, Peter got her a present – a kitchen tool set. Several weeks before, Meg had asked to borrow Peter's tape measure and screwdriver. Peter figured that Meg should have her own small set of kitchen tools so she didn't have to borrow his.

Meg recounted all this and then explained how she had tried to get her husband to read several how-to books on loving your spouse. He would read the first few pages, lose interest and never pick the book up again.

"I've realized this is never going to change," she confessed. "But I love him anyway."

Because ...
That last statement of Meg's, "but I love him anyway," is one of the most profound theological statements on marriage I've ever heard. Most of us base love on because, not on anyway. I love you because you're good to me. I love you because you're kind, because you're considerate, because you keep the romance alive.

But in Luke 6:32-36, Jesus says we shouldn't love because. We should love anyway. If we love someone because that person is good to us, or gives back to us, or is kind to us, we're acting no better than anyone else. In essence, Jesus is saying you don't need the Holy Spirit to love a man who remembers every anniversary – not just the anniversary of your marriage, but the anniversary of your first date and your first kiss. Any woman could love a man like that. Or if you love a wife who lavishes you with sports gifts, who goes out of her way to make you comfortable when you get home from work and who wants sex anytime you do – well, you're doing what any man would do. There's no special credit in that!

But if you love a spouse who disappoints you, who can be a little self-absorbed – now you're loving anyway. In doing that, you're following the model of the heavenly Father, who loves the ungrateful and the wicked.

... Or Anyway
Will you love only because? Or are you willing to love anyway? Will you love a man or woman who doesn't appreciate your sacrifice? Will you love a husband or wife who takes you for granted? Will you love a spouse who isn't nearly as kind to you as you are to him or her?

Just about every faithless marriage is based on because love. Christians are called to anyway love. That's what makes us different. That's what gives glory to God. That's what helps us appreciate God's love for us, because God loves us anyway. He gives and gives and gives – and we take Him for granted. He is eager to meet with us, and we get too busy to notice Him. He is good to us, and we accuse Him mercilessly when something doesn't go just the way we planned it.

But God loves us anyway. To love anyway is to love like God – and to learn about God's love for us.
That's love, the way God intended it."

click HERE to read more about relationships & marriage by Focus on the Family

& to read more words from the wiser, click HERE

lyrical: You make me brave

I stand before You now

The greatness of Your renown

I have heard of the majesty and wonder of You

King of Heaven in humility, I bow

As Your love

In wave after wave

Crashes over me, crashes over me

For You are for us 

You are not against us

Champion of Heaven

You've made a way 

For all to enter in

I have heard You call my name

I have heard the song of love that You sing

So, I will let You draw me beyond the shore

Into Your grace, Your grace

You make me brave

You make me brave

You called me beyond the shore

Into the waves

You make me brave

You make me brave

No fear can hinder now 

The love that made a way

You make me brave

You make me brave

No fear can hinder now 

The promises You've made

You Make Me Brave by Bethel

This album has been breaking me. I share these lyrics because I hope these words can encourage you. No fear, even your own, can hinder the love that made a way for you to be in relationship with Jesus. He said himself that He came to seek & to save the lost (Luke 19:9-10). And how many times have I felt lost. Lost in His will, questing life & if He's really present. In these moments I come to His Word to read the promises that never fail, that stand forever. Forever. My fears cannot hinder His love & my doubts cannot stand in the way of what was finished on the cross. Death is overcome! Every day, the temptation to enter into death are lies straight from Satan because Jesus overcame that very death for us. We sing Hallelujah. In the biggest questions & doubts of life, we have a Father who loves to hear from us, a Savior who overcame them for us & the Holy Spirit who comforts us in our fear. This is our God! Be encouraged by Him today.

"How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey." Psalm 119:103

we love our daddies

In honor of Fathers Day, these are some photos from the most recent time we were able to spend with our dads here in Chicago this past May. The first pictures were from our winter-like day at zoo & conservatory with g's family & the latter are from my dad's birthday with my fam, adventuring in the city. We love you daddies! Thanks for keeping life fun & exciting while protecting us along the way.

 ^ best tour guide ever! ^

hottie sister! what?! 

happy father's day dads! we honor you...