Simple Things

Sometimes life can get so busy and overwhelming. So, because of that I'm going to share some of the simple things that make me happy and remind me of how blessed I really am.

• A good cup of coffee to start the day.
• Getting a text message from my husband when he's out of town that says something like, "Good morning baby! You are my sunshine. Have a great day!"
• Knowing I have the absolute best friends in the world that I could call on for anything.
• Mountain Dew.
• Coming home to two dogs that could absolutely not be more excited to see me.
• Christmas music.
• Clean sheets.
• Wine.
• Getting cards from friends or family just because.
• Being able to go to spin class and yoga to center myself more.
• Jeremiah 29:11.
• Black squirrels.
• Glee.
• Laughing until I cry.
• And living here...

Here's to a day full of enjoying the simple things!

Tis the Season

I believe we've established that Christmas is my favorite time of year. This Christmas is going to be special though. The Richardson's are sending out our first-ever family Christmas cards!

I couldn't be more excited about it. Getting cards from friends and family is a definite holiday highlight for me, so I'm ready to get in the game.

Shutterfly is one of the reasons I'm so anxious. Their Christmas cards are adorable, and affordable, and unique, and fun... I could go on and on. And the best part is it's simple. They make it so easy to create your cards and get on with the busyness of the season.

Here are some of my favorites...

Aren't they great? I'm a big fan of the square designs. In fact, I've even created Christmas cards for my work through Shutterfly. I'll share my little family's card and my work card after I send them out. I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone.

So, go get started on yours and you'll probably find a million gift ideas while you're browsing around.

Shutterfly is giving me 50 free cards. (The beauty is that I already had our cards picked out when I heard about this great opportunity!) If you're a blogger, check out how it works here.

Snow

Well, it's November and up until this week we haven't had snow yet in Colorado. I've only lived here through one winter but even I know that's pretty crazy. Last year, it snowed the first week of October. I was SO excited about it, and I'm ready for it this year big time! On Tuesday evening I got my wish. I came out of my house to head to class and it was snowing. So beautiful and fun, especially for this Oklahoma girl. It didn't last long and was gone the next day but it was still great. Here are two pictures (terrible because they're from my phone) at our house. One was taken about a month ago and the other on Tuesday. It's crazy how quickly things can change!

So, in honor of the first snow I am officially counting down the days until Christmas, my absolute favorite time of the year. It's only 44 days away! I'm not just a normal lover of Christmas, I'm over the top and one hundred percent in love with it.

Here are a few of the reasons why:

1. Because it's the celebration of my Savior's birth.

2. Because buying gifts for people is my favorite thing to do.

3. Because being with family brightens my days.

4. Because Christmas decorations -- trees and stockings and lights make everyone's home a little warmer.

5. Because it's a time when people come together and cherish the relationships that matter most in their lives. And hopefully a time when we all give back a little to those who aren't as fortunate as we are.

This is my little family from our first Christmas together last year. We celebrated in Colorado with my family and it was wonderful. This time around we have an addition to our family (Paisley Ann) and so much to be thankful for!

Hope everyone is getting in the holiday spirit!

Love Like Crazy

I love the lyrics to the song "Love Like Crazy" by Lee Brice.

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You

Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy

And love like crazy

They're pretty simple, but I wish I lived my life more this way.



Greatest Desire

We heard an amazing message at church on Sunday. I’m often touched and inspired by sermons but after going to church for so long I rarely leave a service feeling like I really learned something I never knew before. That’s the way Sunday felt to me.

If you have time, you may want to watch it. It is here if you’re interested.

We had a guest pastor, Robert Morris, who discussed God’s Greatest Desire. Before he got into God’s Greatest Desire, he wanted to touch on Satan’s Greatest Desire. In a series of awesome illustrations he explained that Satan wants us to worship anything other than God. i.e. houses, cars, clothes, people.

I won’t go into too many details but encourage you to watch the sermon for yourself.

I just want to highlight the overall point – God’s greatest desire is us. He didn’t create us because he needed to but because he wanted to.

The pastor used a powerful illustration to demonstrate the love Jesus had for us.

When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, imagine if only Eve would’ve eaten the fruit. God would’ve come to Adam and said, “Adam, I have some terrible news to share with you. Eve has sinned and now she must die.” Adam would plead with the Lord to spare her because he loved her so much. And maybe God would offer to give Adam another woman to take Eve’s place, but Adam wouldn’t want anyone else, just Eve because that’s who he loved. Now, imagine Jesus in Heaven and God telling him, “Son, I have some terrible news. Mankind has sinned and now they must die.” And Jesus said, “No Father, I don’t want them to die because I love them so much.” And the Lord said, “Well, somebody has to die.” So, Jesus took the sins of the world upon him and died specifically for you and me so that we may have eternal life.

We all know the story, but somehow it felt more real to me that day. And the magnitude of why we were created and by whom has never felt more significant.

Costume Cuties

Just wanted to share a picture to brighten everyone's day. Here are my sweet pups on Halloween. They greeted trick-or-treaters like champs and showed off their awesome costumes.

Paisley Ann was a bumble bee and Cheyenne Michelle was a turtle. :)