Spring and simplicity

I love fall. The smell of burning leaves, pumpkins growing, thoughts of pie and warm rich colors all around. It is a season that feels cozy, small and quiet and evokes a spirit of rest. But this year, maybe because our sweet girl is on the way, I am truly excited for spring.

I love flowers and happy bright colors. I am not one who wants bouquets of flowers brought home from the store. My hubby is awesome and knows that I can't bear the thought of spending more than $10 on a bouquet of flowers that will die in a week. Oh but give me a garden filled with blooms (heart eye emoji here) - it is a dream! I have mentioned it here before but my little dream home for us would be a farm house with some acreage and flowers, chickens, big garden and bees. Now, I have never had any of those items and I am not going to lie, the tomato plants I have had, they survived probably because they were hardy, but I would like to learn. The older I get the more I desire for that peace of simplicity. To be less in the world and more in what God has blessed us to care for.

I desire that simplicity for our home as well. We are a big family. My husband and our kids are precious blessings and I want to cultivate a home that gives a feeling of peace and order. Having less stuff means more time to rest and enjoy each other's company. It has been a process for me for years of letting go of things. I am a dreamer at heart so I have 10,000 ideas and plans going on in my mind at one time. But unfortunately, I have this slight hurdle of follow through so the projects and plans tend to stay in their dream stage, meaning a pile (or piles) of projects growing around the house. I am a work in progress. I am happily finding that balance of allowing myself to dream (that is part of the fun) while still being realistic of knowing when to actually purchase items. Really, being a creative, it is just my desire to put something together that is pretty.

Not really sure where this post is going. Maybe just random thoughts :) It started with looking at Magnolia's Silos spring recap and how much I am drawn to the photos and desire to do something along those lines. Thinking about the different jobs I have had over the years, my favorite was working at an inn along the coast of Maine for the summers and being responsible to set up the decorations for weddings. I didn't do the big things, like lighting, bringing in the floral pieces etc. I was given the freedom to add those delicate touches the bride and groom hadn't considered, like the placement and organization of name cards, having the centerpieces be just so for balance and beauty, small details of lighting and candles to highlight the gift table and cake table. Really, just the little details that made them neat and orderly with simplicity.

My hope is that the Lord will see fit to bless us with some sort of creative job like that in the future. My husband and I are entrepreneurs at heart. He has the gifts of big picture, marketing and management. While I on the other hand have the small details, beauty, customer service part. What I love about how God has wired the two of us is that we are both creative in different ways. He is the one on the ground holding the big happy red balloon flying in the sky (me.) But, by God's grace and prompting, he keeps me grounded, aware of the God's faithful and secure character, and he doesn't let me go. And I let him see we can dream and have that reckless and free trust for our Heavenly Father's love for us. It is one of the sweet and refining gifts of marriage God has blessed us with. And it is truly by God's grace that we can see them as gifts and not hindrances.

So here is to joyfully embracing spring and the different seasons the Lord has for us. God has truly impressed upon my heart this past year that life is a gift, He is trustworthy and faithful, His love is steadfast and that to enjoy the season you are in. You just don't know what He holds for your tomorrow but we can trust that every prayer never ever falls to the wayside. He hears and cares for each one.