Thankful For Lately

I've been so thankful for my life lately. I'm feeling overly blessed as I jump into this new semester, expecting it to be great. A few things in particular have been grabbing my heart lately, things that make me excited to start each day.

I'm thankful that I rediscovered our espresso maker and started a few days off this week with delicious vanilla lattes. 

 

 I'm thankful that I get to see the sunrise at least twice a week when I go to work. It's an incredible reminder of God's provision everyday.

  

I'm thankful for this amazing mid-January weather. I can't remember any other winter in Colorado where it has been nice enough to slack line in the middle of winter. 

 Finally, I'm thankful for this sweet, little baby AJ and I adopted yesterday. Her name is Roxy and I don't think I've ever fallen in love with something so quickly.  We are so excited to have her and I can't wait to share our adventures with you!

I'm continually reminded of how important it is to pause and remember the things that make life great. Anything from a vanilla latte to a puppy.

What are you thankful for this week?

Six Months in a Nut Shell

Now that I've had my moment of clarity and decided to pick up where I left off on my blog, the real work begins. I can barely remember everything that has happened the last six months, let alone summarize it in a blog post. Its kind of like when you're trying to watch a movie, but the DVD is scratched and skips about 4 scenes and then you're completely lost and have to take it out and wash it with dish soap and pick back up where you left off. .....Kind of.

So this is me cleaning up that scratch. A lot has happened since I last blogged, but I'll fill you in as best I can starting where I left off- Latvia (you can read about part of my trip here).

My time in Latvia was amazing for so many reasons. I got to spend two weeks doing what I love- playing music and teaching kids. I grew not only as a worship leader, but as a person through the many lessons God etched into my heart. Going on this trip was one of the best decisions I've made and I'm planning on going back as soon as possible!

My acoustic guitar workshop :)

Getting a little crazy after our talent show

Most of the team

Remember when I said the trip was amazing for more than one reason? Well one of my favorite reasons is the gentleman sitting behind me in the picture above. I know what you're thinking...and no, I didn't just take a trip across the globe to snag myself a man, but that's what happened in the end. So ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet AJ. One of the more significant changes to my life in the past six months ;)

We got to know each other while serving in Latvia, kept talking afterwards, and started dating about a month later (July 21st...but who's keeping track...). It's quite a lovely story and I love telling it, but I said this was a nutshell recap, so I won't bore you with the mushy-gushy details. But he will probably make quite a few appearances in posts to come, so consider yourself warned.

For the rest of the summer, I worked up in Grand Lake at a lovely little coffee shop and spent most of my time skyping AJ, drinking coffee and hanging out with my adopted Grand Lake family.

Once August rolled around, I moved back to my apartment and started my third semester of college. I learned a lot about things like procrastination, direction, keeping my priorities straight after throwing a boyfriend into the mix, and the negative effects of skipping class. Needless to say, last semester was not my favorite. But more on that later.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for school, my job added quite a bit of sunshine to days when I just wanted to hit the snooze button...again. I'm now a nanny for two incredible 3 year-old twin boys. We have such a blast together and it has been wonderful spending a few days a week with them. They will probably make a few appearances on here as well throughout the year.

That's just about all you need to know. The past six months have been wonderful, but I'm so excited to be back in the blogging world. I'm still brainstorming ideas for posts, but keep your eye out for bits and pieces of my day-to-day, DIY inspiration, random musings and encouragement to notice the small, simple things in life.

 Until next time, remember to:

here

 And:

here

Simply,

Liv

Simply Re-Starting

There's really no way to have a smooth opening here, so I'll just say it: I haven't blogged in six months. There is probably some law out there that discredits anything I ever say on here again just because of that.

SIX MONTHS.

Where have I been, you ask? In the middle of the world's longest writer's block apparently.
After my trip to Latvia (....when I wrote my last post), I guess I just got distracted by "real life" and forgot about writing it all down. Things started moving quickly and a lot changed, so I just stopped writing. I lost interest, honestly.

But something in the back of my mind kept nagging me, telling me that I wasn't being completely myself. I wasn't content with just living life, in spite of how beautiful it has been lately. I wanted to write about my life and share it with others. I wanted to inspire and be inspired. Without that, things just feel sort of dry.

So I'm back.

I debated whether to start a whole new blog or to just pick up where this one left off and somehow make up for half a year of lost time, and decided to keep this here blog for good. I really like where I was headed before I fell of the face of the internet and hope I'm able to pick up right where I left off.

My goal in re-starting this blog is to inspire my readers (and remind myself) to see the beauty in the day-to-day and to live simply, enjoying every moment. More than a mere New Year's resolution, I hope that this journal of a normal college-student-trying-to-make-a-difference does inspire you to make changes and notice the small, beautiful things in life.

Be patient with me, though. It will take time to catch up with where I was six months ago, but I can't wait to share the changes with you, big and small. So here's to a new year, a new mindset and an old blog!

Simply,
Liv

Please take this wonderful quote from one of my favorite people as my sincere apology for the past six months.