Characteristics.

Hello friends!

Greetings from Clearwater Beach.  Many of you know that I have been swept up in a whirlwind this past week.  I left Thursday morning bright and early for Raleigh, North Carolina where I would celebrate the marriage of my sister Ruthie to her one and only sweetheart, Luke.  It was a precious weekend with my family and a testament to the Lord’s faithfulness to a couple that fell in love in high school (maybe even before) and dated long distance for four years of college, hours and hours apart.

It was a crazy four days.  I landed, picked up a rental car, and drove straight to my sister Rachel’s house.  Can I pause here and be sappy? My 1 year old niece came toddling out the front door with her arms outstretched to me  and I started my weekend with watery eyes (which continued most of the weekend).  Gosh I love that sweet little girl.  Thankfully Thursday day was low key and I was able to have a lunch date with Rachel and my niece Noa, just us three.

After that lunch date however, things geared up quick!  Rachel planned an amazing bachelorette night for Ruthie and I was thankful to be a small part of the day of prep for that.  The food was delish, the panty game was hilarious, the dessert was on point (as it always is in the Breslin household), and the closing of the night was my part.  I was in charge of bringing the serious, spiritual element to the night.  I guess this makes sense being that I am the one working for a church now, right?

As the ultimate charge I read Proverbs 31 – the wife of noble character.  I think we’ve all heard that at some point but how often do we take that line for line and consider what it would be like to be that wife?  Here are a few highlights:

She is virtuous.

She is capable.

She is trustworthy.

She brings good to him (her husband) every day of her life.

She is a cook.

She is a businesswoman.

She helps the poor.

She is strong.

She is dignified.

She is wise.

She is hardworking.

After I read that on my own to prepare for Ruth’s party I thought, man, this is it.  This encompasses all that I could want for her as a believer and a wife.  It’s whole and complete in and of itself.  What’s sweet about looking at this now is as I prepare myself for this life and eventually (not REAL soon, so don’t get too excited) to be a wife myself.  What a goal to strive towards.  And better still?  I don’t have to wait to be married to work at being this type of woman.

We used this as a guideline to pray for Ruth as she transitions into this new role, the biggest one yet.  It was such a precious time for Rachel and I to pray for her and to hear 15 of her closest friends who know her differently than Rachel and I do pray over her.  Is was truly a sweet, sweet time.

I’m really continuing to muscle through this in my mind as I’ve come back to my hometown (and left again, for a retreat across the bridge).  God continues to challenge me every time I start to get a little bit comfortable where I’m at in my relationship with Him and in my identity (hey, did I JUST write about this?).  Obviously I’m not giving you the whole description of my weekend today but I really wanted to share this portion by itself because it spoke to me even as I was the one supposedly leading the charge.

Love,
B

Weekend Recap: Daytona Beach.

It's no secret I love to travel but I'm a little sad to admit most of my travels that few years have involved flying.  That's not to say, I don't love a good road trip.  In fact, I love to drive for hours by myself (that sounds weird, doesn't it?).  I picked up a few books on CDs at the library last week, filled a cooler with diet coke (totally unnecessary but awesome), and hit the road for Daytona Beach Saturday morning after a quick workout and a few cups of coffee.

My niece, Noa, is now 6 months old and my sister and bro-in-law were coming down to celebrate the 35th wedding anniversary of his parents.  35 years, isn't that amazing?  Lucky for me, they usually let me tag along when they visit so I can get extra time with both families, whom I adore.

So here is my quickly growing 6 month old niece, Noa June:

(please excuse the disaster that is my hair in this picture)

She's growing so quickly these days, it makes it hard to be the faraway Floridian aunt B.  But I cherish every second that I do get with my sweet niece.

Saturday night was the official party so Noey and I got ready and went to the beach clubhouse to celebrate Nan and Ned's big 35!

This is my older sister,Rachel and of course Noey and I at the party Saturday.

Noey and her Aunt B.

This is my favorite picture of the weekend.

A special thanks to Jess for lending me the dress, loved it.

I drove back last night to play catch up before today when I'll return to work.  But it was a perfect 36 hours away with my family.  And I'm so thankful it will only be 4 weeks til I'm reunited with them all in Myrtle Beach.

Love,

B

Chapel Hill/Raleigh Trip.

Hello darlings,

I've been working ahead of schedule on the blog lately, in prep to be away in Haiti for a week. I've noticed the trend is to have guest posts while you're away and I've actually had a few offers I may take them up on it someday but I've actually had plenty to say/share/write about, just need the time to get it down before I'm away. I also expect I will come back with plenty to write about as well. We'll see. Maybe you all would prefer a few guest posts...

First up I wanted to share after my post about crochet sweaters that I found an orange Michael Kors one in Kentucky with Candy and I wasn't lying when I tweeted I planned to wear what I bought the week before instead of doing laundry for North Carolina. This was my favorite purchase of the Kentucky/Indiana weekend trip:

After my tweet a few of you wanted to know where I got it. The answer is TJMaxx and it was $39. I've already worn it twice and I love it.

My weekend in Chapel Hill/Raleigh was incredible. It was so nice to be away, to be with my sister and her family, to reunite with my sweet niece, and extra special that I got to spend Noa's first Easter with both of my sisters and my bro-in-law.

The girls on Easter morning @ church. That's Noa, me, Ruth, and Rachel.


Noey and I before the Good Friday service.

Rae and Ruth at Geer's Garden with our 'pile' o fries.

Noa and I on Easter Sunday.

Reunited! This is Friday after I arrived.

Ruth drove in from Clemson on Thursday night. Chris, my brother-in-law grabbed me from the airport on Friday morning. We all went out to lunch at Geers Garden (near Duke). We also had a fro yo stop immediately following lunch. Thankfully, my sisters love self serve fro yo as much as I do!

Friday night we went to a special Good Friday service put on my Chris's church where he is the Associate Pastor, it's called 'The Gathering Church'. It was so fun to be a part of their church and to meet their friends! Everyone was delightful.

Saturday morning I met Jo and Mia for coffee at Starbucks (actually Mia came got me and bless her heart, got lost!):

These girls have such a special place in my heart. I treasure their friendship and it felt so good to chit chat over coffee and bagels with them. I feel like I've known them forever. And I have to say it's great to have friends who understand the football world. It's really not something you can understand unless you've been part of it, lived it.

I was so excited leading up to this meeting that I was kind of depressed when it was over...BUT they've agreed to let me host a girl weekend in August here in Tampa that will include food, sun, beaches, pools, tans, and shopping. So I will just anxiously await that while obsessively over planning in the meantime.

Saturday afternoon the girls and I hit the mall for a bit. I behaved myself, buying only one top from the Limited that was on sale for $6 (couldn't turn that down, now could I?). That night my sister and bro-in-law cooked an AMAZING Easter dinner for us all plus a few of their friends. We had a blast! And I haven't eaten that good in...well, maybe ever. It was delicious.

Sunday we went to church and celebrated the resurrection of my Savior! What a special thing to celebrate with my precious family. I'm so grateful for the sacrifice and the victory associated with Easter weekend. I hope each of you celebrated it with your families as well.

I feel so blessed to have spent Noa's first Easter with her. It was great to catch up with both of my sisters as well as to be part of Chris's church during this special holiday weekend. It was hard to board that plane back to Tampa and I did so tearfully. But I'm already looking forward to many more weekends like this.

Love,

B