0 Busy, Happy, and Blogging {a life lately post}

Hey friends!

So life's been sorta crazy lately. Not crazy in a super busy, packed way... just normal life crazy. Days are kind of blurring together, but we've been enjoying a great fall so far. Last week I meant to share like four or five fall themed blog posts but that just didn't happen. My hands, head, and heart are all feeling pretty full right now. I love blogging but it's just been tough to get to lately.  So I'm learning to just let myself take a step back know it will be okay if things don't go as planned. It's always so good to type here and connect with you.

But, yeah, we are doing really good. I was texting my friend Kirsten the other day, telling her I feel like I've found a little bit of a rhythm with some of this momma hood stuff. I joked that that probably means everything is about to change. :) Bekah is a sweetie, a great sleeper, and I am loving my time with her. Today I'm feeling sort of beat, to be honest. Just sleepy and impatient but still very thankful. Luke is still a phenomenal partner in parenting, always serving us so kindly. There's always so much to be thankful for and sometimes just writing or talking it out, like this, helps me get the right perspective again.

Phew. How are you doing?

I just wanted to share a few things that have been really meaningful to me this past week or so... maybe they'll encourage you too.

1. I recently joined The Influence Network - a community for women committed to using their online (and offline) influence for good and for the Gospel. Part of my membership includes a free monthly class, so last month I purchased one by Ellen Parker called "Minister to Women right where you are". It was excellent... watched it for the second time while catching up on a sink full of dishes yesterday. I'll link you to her blog here. She's a sweetheart and her love for the Bible gets me fired up.

2. Speaking of the Bible - I finished the Open Your Bibles SheReadsTruth plan yesterday. It was fantastic. The ladies of SRT took 14 days to restore the way we look at the Bible and perceive our ability to approach it/make it a part of our daily lives. Great stuff. Here's the link to that plan if you want to read it! Let me know what you think.

3. Luke surprised me with a new dining set a few weeks ago. We had been planning to buy it from IKEA for a while, but we just hadn't gotten around to it. He picked it up and assembled it while I was out of town. It's meant so much to me to have family dinners sitting around this table - even now I'm blogging here while Bek naps. Last night Bekah joined us at the table in her little highchair for the first time. I told Luke, in a silly voice, that I had "been waiting for this moment for my whole life". Haha! Family dinners are the best. I really am enjoying cooking lately and it's so special so share that time with my husband and daughter.

By the way, if you're looking for an easy dinner... last night I made a modified version of this meal, switching out regular potatoes for sweet potatoes, and adding in onions, fresh green beans, and sliced green pepper. So easy and really yummy. There were no leftovers. :)

Alright. So after you tell me how you're doing... do you have a link to share with me? :)
Hope you're having a good week, friends. Whether it's been crazy or fun or boring or whatever... I'm glad you're here and would love to hear about it.

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Busy, Happy, and Blogging {a life lately post}

0 Currently... {sharing little pieces of life}

building friendships with some really amazing ladies - ones I've known for a while and ones I've just met recently. Friends are so precious. Whenever I feel like I'm really struggling to be a good friend or maintain strong friendships, I'll pray about it and God is faithful every single time to refresh me in this area. 

dancing to a silly playlist I made on Spotify for Bekah. It's called "Bekah's dance playlist" and has a mix of Roar by Katy Perry, Gold by Britt Nicole, Next to You by Chris Brown and Justin Bieber and other fun songs like that. Last night I entertained her for soooo long just by standing in front of her, singing and dancing! haha - she was really wide eyed, either thinking it was fun or that her mom is crazy. :)

studying the book of Psalms using the S.O.A.P Bible Study method. Click here for a really quick description of S.O.A.P. It is so simple but I always end up with such practical, encouraging applications for my daily life. 

thinking about family a lot these days. Also about how faith and my health goals fit together. I studied scripture to build my faith before labor and delivery - it made all the difference in the world in shutting down my fears and filling me with faith. I want to do the same thing to help me overcome struggles I have in caring for my health. 

finishing our bathroom makeover! Well, the paint anyways. Does anyone have tips for painting a room more quickly? I'll admit... I never use primer. I think that's my problem. I can't wait to start moving a few storage pieces and accessories in there over the next couple days.

celebrating my friend Alyson!! She's one of my dearest friends in the world and she got engaged last night!!! I'm so happy for her and her wonderful fiancé Josh!

enjoying time with Luke. Car rides can be some of the best times to just enjoy each other's company. We were in the car for about two hours yesterday and laughed so much together. I love you, Luke! Thanks for being such a sweet husband and best friend to me. 

What's going on in your life currently? Choose one of the words I used or tell me about something else. :) Hope you're having a great weekend, friends.

Love,

Bonnie

Today's post was inspired by Bailey at Brave Love. Bailey created 31 awesome prompts for the month of september, in a series she calls blog-tember. 

Today's prompt encouraged me to write a "currently... post" giving you all a little look into what's currently going on in my life.

Detail: Currently... {sharing little pieces of life}

0 My Birthday Recap {& a thank you!}

I just want to start today's post with a quick thank you. Some of you reading today know that my father-in-law, Gerry, was in a serious motorcycle accident last Wednesday in Chicago. Countless people are praying for him and we have seen amazing healing in his body. It looks like he will be discharged on the 3rd and doing therapy close to home. We are really thankful for that! I can't express how grateful I am for everyone who has prayed for Gerry and supported the whole Stoltzfoos fam during this time. God is a great, great God - able to heal 100% and work all things together for our good. Luke, Bekah, and I can't wait to have Gerry home, hug him, and see the healing miracles continue. Thanks again, friends!

So this past Saturday, I turned twenty three! The whole weekend was so special. The night before my birthday, Luke returned home from work with Runaway Bride and candy for a movie night, just the two of us (Bekah was fast asleep in her crib). On Saturday, the three of us slept in a little and then I enjoyed my usual birthday giddiness and morning silliness with my girl. I love the excitement of the morning on a special day and Bekah is so bright eyed and happy in the morning!  If you check out this video on my Instagram account, you can listen to a little "birthday song" Bekah sang for me. The video is only about 10 seconds long but I laugh every time I watch it! This was my first birthday as a momma and, I've gotta say, having Bekah to share the day with sure made turning twenty three extra special.

After a slow wake up, playing with Bekah, and getting all cleaned up and ready, we got in the car and drove to Panera Bread for an early lunch. Bekah napped pretty well (thanks to some Daddy snuggles) so Luke and I were able to just lazily lean back in our booth, drink more than our fair share of hazelnut coffee, and eat delicious food. That morning had such a slow, peaceful pace to it. It was perfect. I loved seeing his handsome smile from across the table. On our way home, Luke dropped me off at HomeGoods (one of my favorite stores) so I could walk around and soak in all the HomeGoods goodness. After twenty minutes or so, I was back in the car and we headed home.

Saturday evening, my parents came to visit and took Bekah and I out to eat at the restaurant where Luke works. I love visiting him at work, talking to his coworkers, and, of course, spending time with my parents and Beks... so it was such a good way to celebrate. Near the end of our meal, Luke came by and scooped up Bekah. He couldn't wait to show her off to the people at his tables. On our way out, we bumped into a lady who told us, "He is the proudest daddy I have ever seen!". That's my Luke! 

On Sunday we continued with some casual b-day activities. We went to church in the morning, then picked up a yummy lunch to eat at home. We lounged around our living room in our most comfy clothes and watched a movie called American Blogger. That was my choice... since I was the birthday girl and all :). A storm rolled in, a cozy afternoon nap happened, and then we spent the later part of the evening at Target. This weekend was so good. Simple and full of family. I was definitely extra thankful for the gift of family this year, with everything surrounding Gerry's accident. People are so precious and, man, am I blessed with some good ones to call my family and friends. :)

Thanks again for the continued prayers for my father-in-law. I'm looking forward to being able to share some great reports on his progress this week. How could I pray for you? What's going on? :)

Love,

Bonnie

Detail: My Birthday Recap {& a thank you!}

0 And We're Back! {Home from Vacation}

As of yesterday, we are home from vacation! It was a really wonderful and relaxing week. The week flew by but I am feeling energized, thankful, and excited about everyday life around here. Vacation feels a little bit like New Years to me in that way… it feels like a fresh start to think about what I want life to be like when I go home.

We spent the week with both our families in Ocean City, Jersey. Luke and I both grew up going to there with our families even before we met. We love everything about that place. It was so fun bouncing back and forth between the two beach houses, having fun with both sides of our family. We even had a chocolate fondue night with the two families together - so fun! My sister, Ellie, was the only sibling who couldn't make it this year. We missed her a lot but the cool news is that she got engaged early in the week! So happy for Ellie and my soon-to-be brother, Jackson. They are perfect together.

This was our first vacation as parents and it was an adventure just experiencing the joys and challenges that come with this new season of life. Bekah did awesome with the travel and our family was incredibly kind, offering to watch her sometimes at two or three in the morning just so Luke and I could get some extra sleep. I had so much fun watching her aunts and uncles love her, sing to her, and start their relationships with her. She has grandparents and great grandparents who love her (and us!) so much and we felt that love all week long.

My favorite vacation moments this year...

  everything on the board walk: taking walks, getting ice-cream, playing mini golf

spending the afternoon at the beach with Bekah & wave jumping with my brother and Luke

how the sunshine made Bekah's red hair even brighter

dinner at Manco & Manco on the last night

sitting around with family doing nothing but watching Bek and her cousins be cuties

laughing with my siblings

 my french fry and lemonade date with Luke and our encouraging conversations

spending time with Grammy when it was just the four of us left at the house 

playing bananagrams

sitting on the boardwalk eating Kohr Bros. and watching the sky change over the ocean 

with Dad, Luke, Bekah, Aaron, and Annie

so much time to spend with my husband - love that guy!

I had a tough time getting myself to stop writing that list! I guess that's a good problem to have - having too many favorite memories from vacation.

How was your week, friends? I'm beating the post-vacation blues by dreaming about what I'd like to do this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend - I'd love to hear what you've got going on in the week ahead!

Love,

Bonnie

Detail: And We're Back! {Home from Vacation}

0 Vacation Bucket List + Things I Love

Happy Weekend!

Tomorrow we leave for the beach! I am so excited and can barely believe the time is here. This year I decided to make a list of things I want to do at the beach (tons of family time, good conversations, game nights, dates with Luke, etc.) and things I don't want to give my time to (spend a lot of time online or on my phone).

I like how the list turned out and I can't wait to arrive at the shore tomorrow morning. Ocean City, New Jersey - you are the best!

I'll be back a couple times during the next week and can't wait to share a new contributor post with you. I hope you all have a great, restful weekend and productive week ahead! For now, here are a few things on + off the web that I'm loving this week.

1. This beautiful article by Ann Voskamp - I have never read something so powerful and encouraging about blogging. I can't get it out of my mind. Check it out!

2. She Reads Truth released their new app (currently just for iPhone) this morning! I can't wait until it comes out for Android. (This is a free tool I use to help me say committed to reading the Bible - I love it and think you might, too!)

3. My new friend Anna over at The Beauty Section shared this tutorial on getting wavy beach curls. Planning to try this soon!

4. I'm feeling very excited and inspired to draw more these days - I included one of my drawings in my Happy Home Wednesday post and have been filling up my Illustration & Inspiration board on pinterest. Looking forward to drawing this week at the beach. :)

Love you, friends!
Bonnie

Detail: Vacation Bucket List + Things I Love

0 Happy Home Wednesday: A New Conversation

Happy mid-week, friends! What have you been up to this week?

This afternoon I've been hanging out on the couch doing some brain storming for future Strong+Sweet posts and series. Do you ever have people ask you what your hobbies are? I think I went years and years of being asked that question with absolutely no idea how to respond. Isn't that funny? Sure, I had stuff I like to do but I had a tough time identifying my "hobbies".  Within the past year or so I finally found something to say as I found myself falling in love with interior home design. I would guess Pinterest played some role in that infatuation ;). I can spend a lot of time watching HGTV, scrolling through home design pin boards, and reading blogs like Young House Love (those Petersiks are awesome). So now when people ask me what my hobbies are, I'll usually say something about home design.

I've found that what I love most about home design isn't acquiring "stuff". What I love about home design is that I get to share it with other people. It's so easy to take the physical blessings God has given us in our furniture, kitchen ware, and space and use it all to love people.

Source: City Farmhouse via Jennifer Rizzo

You see, I'm thankful for our apartment, but without Luke, Bekah, family and friends to share it with - it would really just be a bunch of meaningless rooms. I'm thankful for the bright, sunny kitchen we just settled into, but nothing makes me love that little kitchen more than when I use it to make something yummy for my sister and husband to eat after they get off work. (I mentioned in this post that my sister is currently living in the area and we are loving having her around!)

I think using my home to build relationships is what makes it a happy home. It doesn't have to be a big party or loud get-together - some of the best times that this little home is used to foster relationships are when it's just Luke and I at home enjoying each other's company or just me, home alone, growing in my relationship with God.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

I'm going to try something new here on Wednesdays. I want to explore this happy home idea with you through a series of posts.They'll mix together related scripture, pretty images found on Pinterest, and maybe even some thoughts and stories from you about how you've used your space (whether one room, or a whole house) to care for people and share God's love. I think this is going to be fun. :)

So, let me ask you a few questions to get our little home-y conversation going. What could you share about creating a happy home? Do you love being the party-throwing hostess or treasure the moments of private family time lounging in the living room? Do you shop for table settings while thinking about the friends you'll host for lunch? How do you use your space and your physical blessings to love people?

Can't wait to hear from you!
Love,
Bonnie

** Disclaimer: The photos shared above include source links under each image. If the photo belongs to you and you would like it removed, just let me know in the comments below!

Detail: Happy Home Wednesday: A New Conversation

0 Back in the Swing of Things

Hi friends! Hope you're all doing well this week. Our first year at Valley Forge is coming to an end and  beautiful Spring weather is here! I woke up to the sound of a big riding mower outside our window and it was such a welcome sound. This semester has been busy for Luke and I but so rewarding. Luke has been working so hard on school and at his job -- I am incredibly proud of Him and honored that He chose to share his life with me. My course load was lighter this semester, but as I look back and work through the last few assignments and books, I feel like I've been learning a lot -- and that's a very good thing. :)

Pregnancy is still going very well. Our little girl is growing big and strong and we can't even imagine how pretty her sweet face must be these days. This week is my last week in the "twenties", on Easter Sunday we'll reach 30 weeks of pregnancy! Time has really flown by and we are so excited to meet our Bekah. I've been feeling very good and just received Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize in the mail this week. From the little I know about it before reading, it sounds like an excellent book… maybe I'll do a brief review here once I finish. It's all about applying the truth of scripture to overcome the fears related to childbirth. I've experienced the power of God's Word set me free from fear so many times in the past, so this will be a nice refresher. :)

This week we took the exciting step of getting a few things ready to move into our new apartment! This week we bought paint (yay Sherwin Williams 40% off sale!) and a new swivel rocking chair for our living room. The chair was a craigslist find, sold by a very sweet young family that we met last night at pick-up. They even gave us a box of free baby clothes that are adorable! And I mean adorable. There was a tiny faux fur baby vest in there, people. :) I'm very thankful for God's provision for our family and all these fun experiences as we prepare for moving into our new home and getting ready for our girl to come.

It feels good to be back here blogging this morning. I went into a bit of a blogging slump the last couple months, feeling a tiny bit discouraged about what I had to say and uninspired to write. I think that happens sometimes when we're too hard on ourselves and think every post needs to be perfect. I know it might sound a little funny to some, but I really do believe this blog is something God has called me to use to share life with other people, to share about him, and to share encouragement that empowers people as He empowers me. God is really sweet. :) So thank you for allowing me to share my voice and our life with you. Every page view and comment means so much and I especially love when you take the time to share with me what is going on in your life.

This spring and summer I plan to write here much more frequently. I have some fun updates about fixing up our apartment on the way and others about some special topics that have been on my heart lately. I'm hoping to involve more contributors soon, including Kirsten who shared this beautiful post a few months back. I'm hoping to convince my friend Hannah (who is a baking and DIY pro, in my opinion) to share a crafty/DIY kind of post here. I might not have mentioned that to her yet… ;) but I think there is a lot to look forward to!

Thanks for reading again today. And happy spring!

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Back in the Swing of Things