a golden post!

We're celebrating! Because today's post marks our blogs 50th post thus far! yay!!!

photo via pinterest

It has been quite the journey writing & posting photos in what feels like a very small corner of the internet world. It's been very joyful & also very hard because I believe God has been using it as soul searching avenue of life for me. Through this blog I've been forced to ask myself some hard questions about my life, time, relationships, hobbies, self-awareness, etc... Honestly, it's been huge for me. So if you've been glancing through these pictures & reading since last August, thank you! & If you're new to our small space online, thanks for joining us!

The encouragement I have gotten from some of you who read these posts have been God given gifts to me on my journey here, so I thank you for your words of love. I pray that this blog is not an end in & of itself or solely about our lives & likes, but that it encourages & inspires you! That you can be blessed through it in a genuine way. That's why I do my best to be completely honest here about my struggles & joys because we all have them in life. Some hide the struggles better than others, but we have them. So whether or not I relate to you, or if you just like to look at the pictures (don't worry, I follow lots of blogs to do just that!) we are glad to share our journey with you! 

In the spirit of celebrating, I wanted to use this post to commemorate one of my life-long friends who just recently created her new blog: fabianephotography.com

This is Fabz! In my very first post I mentioned that she was the person who really gave me the final push to get this blog started after she started her own blog in August as well. Since then we've both really gotten in to blogging, although now she is officially a small business owner making her debut in the photography world & I could not be more proud. Her passion & love for capturing special moments is endless & I cannot wait to see where it will take her. Her True Beauty series was a favorite of mine! She truly showed so well how unique & beautiful all women are individually and united together as well. Plus, she made each flower crown for the girls by hand herself! (I mean...!) Yep, totally swooned over every picture.

had to show off my flawless sister!

(see more from this shoot here) 

I love you Fabz! Even though we only get to see each other a couple times a year I always pray for the best that God has for you in all areas of life! I pray that your love & passion for photography only continues to blossom & I thank you for sharing the passion with me - for always being encouraging & sweet. 

I wanted to end our golden post with a few of my favorite photos by Fabz! If you haven't yet, check out her blog to see more of her lovely work & to contact her for more deets!

Cheers to growing, dreaming big & 50 more!

love, the olives

to the Pereira's

(photo by Monique Maragno de Menezes, additional black & white edit)

Because we love this family so much, we wanted to honor their story here today - a day that will forever change their lives.

As Ketty & Julio are in the hospital now, awaiting the birth of sweet Brielle, we pray for their strength & courage & precious lives! When you see people you love so much experience deep hardship, the first thing you want to do is fix it for them, or take it away because it really just sucks to see your friends going through pain. But just by hearing them speak about their sweet baby girl Brielle has been such an encouraging testimony to us of God's love, presence, and care for our lives. Truly, their story is one filled with grace, love, and such tremendous faith in God it is an inspiration beyond words to hear and see. We feel so honored to be considered their friends. 

Courageously, Ketty started a blog to share her experiences and journey, and I think her own words are so beautiful, authentic and true. She writes, 

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that 

everyone who believes in him not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

“If He loves us this much, we have to trust, believe and have faith in His love.  Even in bad times, God is in control.  He knows what is best for us.  There is ALWAYS a purpose.  This is what I am holding on to.  Everyday I feel God’s peace and it’s hard to explain it but I know it’s not coming from me.  I am far too small and powerless to keep it together all on my own."

You are so right Ketty, God is always in control & today from thousands of miles away I'm believing that too, encouraged by your faith. You have been & continue to be someone I look up to.

We lift you up
We love you Julio, Ketty, Raquel, Daniel, Isabel, & little Brielle

With a heavy, yet hopeful heart...
t Olive 

(If you want to read about Ketty's journey with Brielle, please visit her blog: http://kettypereira.wordpress.com/)

a thrilling & quite humbling experience

& so it begins! 

writing this first post is - exciting, nerve wrenching, thrilling, & well - quite humbling. I've had the desire to start a blog a little over two years ago when my dear hubby "g" & I got married. (best day EVER!) I wanted to document the happenings of our new life together for our own memories (because g has a hard time remembering what we did last weekend, let alone what the special happenings of last year were, but no one's perfect.) & for our families and friends who we moved away from to finish school, two weeks after saying "i do." & to our future kids & grand-kids & great grand-kids for remembering the roots of our family tree. 

so let's see what this blog turns out to be, shall we?! (sometimes I like to rhyme.) *smiles 

before concluding, many many thanks are due to very special people: 

To my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, who I believe has placed this one of many dreams in my heart & has given me the freedom to share the story He has written for g & I as we live in His mercies everyday // To my lady friends from church who are always reminding me to start this thing, even if it's not "pretty" - yet! // To fabz, who inspired me this week to write this first post after creating her new blog last week! She also helped me with the name for the blog & she takes pretty pictures & I love her! (http://fabianemellophotography.blogspot.com/) // To my family who is always supporting me in every passion & dream I have, even in the moments when my faith is lacking & I don't believe I'm good enough to accomplish those dreams // & finally, To my one & only lover & life-long mate, g. your belief, faith, and love for me reminds me of Jesus' everyday. I am not who I am today if it wasn't for you in my life. 

I pray that every season of our life will bring encouragement to the seasons of yours
as I write about the seasons of this olive tree.

Love,
The Olives