Advent, part three

A short late-night post. Today has been a long, very difficult day. Confession time? This verse is actually tomorrow's reading, but I cheated and switched the two days. I read ahead and just knew that this one was meant to be shared today. A light is coming. That truth might not ring in your ears tonight; I know that tonight, it doesn't in mine. But that it doesn't feel true doesn't make it stop being truth.

A light is coming. A light is coming. A light. is. coming. 

See the rest of the Advent series here: 1 | 2 

Advent, part two

Today's reading was Psalm 25. I picked this center section out because it reminded me a little of Brandon's wedding vows to me. And shouldn't the love you find in marriage mirror the love you find in the Bible, and the other way around? I'm learning how to wait expectantly on God because my husband waits expectantly on me. Waits with patience, waits with wholehearted love and affection. Waits with expectation without weighing me down with expectations. 

I'm one of the lucky ones; this I know.

{Side note: Brandon gave me a copy of his wedding vows on our wedding night, and I gave him mine.  I went to read over them when I was waiting for the ink to dry on this piece, and totally cried, then cried again reading the letter he wrote me on our wedding day. One of these days I'll tell you guys our love story, because it's a special one. In the meantime, I need to go kiss my husband this minute!}

See the rest of the Advent Series: 1

Advent, Part One

The other night, I was talking to Mr. Fiddler about Advent; he told me he had never heard of it! Growing up, my family always did either an Advent Wreath or an Advent Calendar, so I thought it was a normal Christmas tradition. Doing a little research about it, I'm finding out that it's a very Catholic tradition, which struck me as funny because my family is not Catholic at all. Now that I have my own family, I don't even know where to buy an Advent Wreath, and Advent Calendars don't exactly fit in a home where kids aren't here every day [which hello, have you been on Pinterest? Advent Calendars are taking over. Next to Elf on the Shelf, which I kinda find just a little creepy.]

In a season that can so easily be derailed by business and expectations, Advent is such a beautiful way to reset your soul. Mr. Fiddler and I laid in bed the other night talking about Christmas; who was going where what day, what gifts we were buying, what dinners we were going to. It quickly escalated to tears [for me]. What eucharisteo is to my heart in the Thanksgiving season, Advent is to my heart at  Christmas. A shift in focus; from the kind of expectations that bring me to tears, to the kind of expectation that fills the soul with hope. A light is coming. 

And so for you, my friends, and for me; I'm lettering my way through the Scriptures of this year's Advent. I hope it brings to you what Advent means; expectation, hope, love and joy.

Pumpkin Farm Days, Fireplace Nights

It's officially the last week before the wedding. I can't believe it's almost here! We spent this last weekend with the boys taking their annual trip up to the Pumpkin Farm. We couldn't have asked for better weather; sunny, clear, and crisp. It was the perfect 'last weekend' before our family changes in a major way. 

brothers

trying to find just the right one

i don't know what this squinty face is, but he makes it all the time.

my guys

that laugh!

H couldn't smile with the hay in his mouth.

crazy about these two!

Bloglovin

I just started using Bloglovin to follow my favorite blogs. I had previously been using Google Reader, but would like to connect more with bloggers I love, and Reader just kept me from doing that. Now you can follow my blog on Bloglovin!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Lately

I can't stop journaling and I can't stop writing on things with pretty pens. [although, can you see where one of my 'pretty pens' exploded on my journal page? not a happy thing!]

Everything's Amazing

This week [or month? or series of months?] has been really, really hard. And I can't really explain it, but this is a season where I feel like we should have Midas' Golden Touch, everything happily falling into place, but instead it seems like everything we touch is breaking. Getting into the house we already own has been tricky. Finalizing wedding details has been tricky. Boys are having meltdowns, we're both sick, work has been a nightmare for both of us. We've fought this month like we've never fought before.

And yet ... everything is amazing. Nothing is going the way we want it to, but it's somehow forging us; creating Us. We've fought and realized that we can't do this life without the other being our biggest advocate. Our house will mean a whole heck of a lot to us once we get in it, since we've had to fight for it. Our wedding ... who cares! We're getting MARRIED. It won't be exactly what I've dreamed up but it will be beautiful, and people we love will be there, and at the end of the day we'll be married.

Everything is terrible and we're happy. Or crazy, who knows.