To my loving husband,

I was looking back on some past posts.. specifically the ones in the beginning stages of my relationship with my wonderful husband, Tanner. Wow. How it made my heart swell. It's so funny to see how, even before we took the first step as boyfriend/girlfriend, I saw a future with this amazing man I had met. I am so happy that it became a reality.

I do love the fact that, almost three years later, we have been deemed the cutest couple as we are still very much "in love". Of course, we have our ups and downs as every married couple does. Through it all, we are keeping God in the middle of our relationship. As well as making sure we don't get into too much of a routine by mixing things up every now and then.

I love my amazing husband. He is so wonderful to me. I love how deeply he cares for the youth at church and how he LOVES my family and how he longs for him and us as a couple to have a closer relationship with God.



Tanner,

You are such a blessing in my life. I love you so much and I am so appreciative of everything you do for me and us. I am so grateful for the work you do everyday and your goofiness that keeps me laughing. Thank you for choosing me and making me your lifelong partner.

Yours Always,
Elisabeth <3



Keep on keeping on.

It's Just One of Those Days

Do you ever have those days when the knot in your stomach just won't go away? Yep. That's been my day.

I had to pay my first ever ticket today. Of course, I was a little nervous. I think the knots would have gone away after if it hadn't been for the other things weighing on my mind. Credit Card bills (of which I know, without a doubt now, is from the devil), not knowing exactly how much I am getting paid on Thursday, uncertainty about what exactly is going to happen at work tomorrow, and the fact that I have an interview tomorrow and I'm not sure what is going to happen there or what/if I need to bring anything.

Thus, I haven't wanted to do anything at all today. My stomach is still in knots and I no longer know what to do with myself. I'm praying everything will be fine.. I have faith it will. I know God is on our side. I keep telling myself, "Green pastures, Elisabeth. Green pastures."

Guys, I miss my family. I REALLY want to go to Dallas one weekend SOON! However, I know I have responsibilities here. I get off work at 6pm which, if we left right then, would get us there at midnight at the earliest. I have committed to working with the youth group and doing small groups on Sunday mornings after service. Dont' get me wrong, I love working with the kids! They are great! I love watching them grow both physically and spiritually! On the other hand, I missed my sister's last Homecoming Game. I haven't been to one of her performances at a football game (or any other place) this year! She's a senior! She now has a boyfriend! SHE'S GROWING UP TOO FAST! (Yes I know I'm only her older sister and not her mother.)

I really want to see one of her performances! I don't want to next time I see my family being Thanksgiving! That's simply much too far away! I miss getting to see my baby cousins grow up! I miss constantly being around family!

I know I have my church family, and I am so grateful for that. I love them dearly. There is just something about biological family that no one else can fully replace.

I know I shouldn't be super concerned with our finances.. but it weighs on my mind. If I just hadn't gotten that stupid ticket! The whole situation could have been handled without the police, but some people just get so upset and enraged!

It's just been one of those days. I'm just in a slump. I know God will help me and I know he is faithful. I just have to keep on going.

Keep on keeping on. <3

What Do You Rely On?

I read a story in progress a while ago by my friend Paige Hottle and it got me thinking.

What are we relying on? If we rely on the wrong things, what happens when they are gone?

For example: Someone has a cat and they rely on that dog. That dog is his/her whole world. One day, the dog dies. Suddenly, he/she doesn't think he/she has anything to live for. He/she decides the whole world is against him/her and there is nothing in the world worth living for, thus taking his/her own life.

It's a sad story. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. It's not always a pet. Sometimes it a boyfriend or girlfriend, a job, a friend, a title, or a prized possession. This is could be why some people jump from relationship to relationship or someone always needs a pet (or another pet and another pet and so on).

Why is it that we don't rely on God?

Here's the thing. God is constant. He loves each and every one of us. He is never going to leave us. If we put our trust in Him and rely on Him, let our life depend on HIM, our hope will never be lost! Nothing on this earth can satisfy us like God and His love can. We can try to fill that hole with everything under the sun, but we will never find purpose in those things.

The purpose of life is to give glory to God. He created us. He is the only one that fulfil us. He made us to have relationship with Him, to give Him glory. If we aren't living for that, we aren't living for anything.

So, what are you relying on? Is it material things? (Yes, pets included.) Or are you truly relying on God?

Keep on keeping on.

<3 Elisabeth

I am done with "Romance Reality" shows!

Out of pure curiosity, I have been watching "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" and "The Bachelorette". Though "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" ended well, I have found that I think these types of shows are the most rediculous. I have never liked shows like "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette" and never understood why girls were so into them.

Now that I have actually watched a couple, I can see the appeal they can have. Fancy dates, romantic excursions, and enough drama to keep it interesting and to keep you guessing. However, the extent of the drama - especially when it's multiple girls vying for a guy - is absolutely insane! All these girls fighting and then acting like everything is okay in front of the guy, along with acting like they never said anything behind others backs or started fights because they wouldn't even dream of doing that. Thus lying to the guys face saying they didn't do those things when they CLEARLY did, claiming that they've been completely genuine...

I could rant for a while. It's classic high school drama played out by ladies in their 20's. It's sad really. It's sad because drama queens are out there and there are a lot of them. I don't understand the whole self-centered, entitled personality. I am not suggesting that girls are the only ones with this type of personality. Several men have it as well. It's a "Gaston" type of view. "I'm the best looking, so I should get the girl. I'm the obvious choice!" Disgusting.

I honestly feel bad for the people on those shows that aren't "drama queens" or "Gaston's". Usually, those are the girls or guys that get beaten on the most. If I was a single girl on one of those shows, I wouldn't want to act as if all the others were my friends. That makes no sense to me. So, I would be the one that would feel attacked all the time because the others wouldn't understand my lack of wanting to be friends with my competitors. (Honestly, who wants to be friends with someone who is vying for the attention of the same man as you?)

Clearly, I am not fond of these shows. Once "The Bachelorette" is over, I am so done. No more drama-filled, crazy, multi-date shows for me! I'll stick to the fiction syfy fun shows like "Castle", "Beauty and the Beast", "Grimm", and "Sherlock". ;)

For those of you who do like the dating shows, that is great! They just aren't for me. :)

Keep on keeping on!

Unboxings!

Recently I ordered a box from a few subscription box places! For two of them, I made an unboxing video! The boxes I got were a Madame Ladybug box (www.MadameLadybug.com), a Bonjour Jolie Mystery Box (www.BonjourJolie.com), and a Julep box (www.julep.com)!

Madame Ladybug is a time of the month box with extras to pamper yourself with. Bonjour Jolie is also a time of the month box but the box I got was a limited time Mystery Box in which they put things they had left over from other boxes and things that didn't make it into their normal boxes for some reason. Julep, however, is a beauty type box. I got their summer box which had nail polish and make-up inside.

I was really impressed by the things in these boxes! If I could, I'd get subscription boxes every month!!

So, here are the things I got in my boxes!

This is the video from my Bonjour Jolie Mystery Box Unboxing!

There were SO many great things in the box! And I LOVE how it was packed full of stuff! I was so happy to get the jewelry! I had just said earlier that week that I didn't have ANY gold-type necklaces!

As for my Julep box...

From left to right: Yellow nail polish, eyeliner sharpener, eyeliner (black on one side, brown on the other), gold nail polish, silver sparkle nail polish, aqua green nail polish, orange nail polish, pink purple nail polish, lipgloss, and two buffer blocks!

I LOVE the eyeliner (and sharpener!) as well as the lipgloss! I haven't tried any of the nail polishes yet, but I am loving the gold and silver colors! The ones in the three pack look very nice as well; I just don't see myself wearing them as often.

And last, but certainly not least, my Madame Ladybug box.

Unfortunately, I had some technical issues and thus the video is not a true unboxing. Love everything that came in this one as well! Most of the food is already gone! Haha!

Go check out these boxes for yourself and tell me what you think!!

Keep on keeping on!

<3 Elisabeth