thankful thursday - what is lovely.

yesterday at work, i was very frustrated with the amount of whining & complaining going on.  none of it {well, what i specifically heard} directly had anything to do with me, but it still really brought me down.

when i had a chance to decompress afterwards, i realized i whine & complain.  it's probably fair to say i whine & complain a lot.  & i bet even when it has nothing to do the people who hear me, it likely brings them down too.

so i'm going to make a conscious effort to whine & complain less.  maybe if i spend less time with that nonsense, i can spend more time building others up.

& now, dear brothers & sisters, one final thing.

fix your thoughts on what is true, & honorable,

& right, & pure, & lovely, & admirable.

think about things that are excellent & worthy of praise.

- philippians 4:8 {nlt}

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful too.

love love,

kjp.

happy easter weekend to you & yours!

{design idea: dear lillie}

happy easter weekend to you & yours!  i hope you get to spend time with loved ones, eat your family's traditional easter dishes, & wear white & pastel until your heart is content.  all the while celebrating that Christ is risen, i hope you take time to remember this good friday & what had to happen before sunday morning.

by this time it was noon, & darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.  the light from the sun was gone.  & suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn down the middle.  then Jesus shouted, "Father, i entrust my spirit into your hands!"  & with those words he breathed his last.

- luke 23: 44-46

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - christmas time is here!

blakey & i have had the greatest two months of traveling, vacationing, wedding-ing, partying, cabin-ing, eating. & more fun-ing :)  & after it all, we are really happy to be home & begin celebrating christmas.

 {blakey knows it's christmas when he gets eggnog}

{& i know it's christmas when my advent calendar comes out}

{ps yes, i count DOWN to christmas.  not up.  

i know you do it the other way.  but i like my way.}

{kraft paper & sparkly ribbons under our christmas tree this year!}

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

love so amazing.

happy easter, friends!!  i hope you & your loves had a wonderful sunday celebrating the day He rose for us.

although blakey had to spend the day working, my easter was way lovely.  i met a couple of friends at our church's sunrise service at the park lead by high school students.  love the faith of high school kids.  so refreshing.

then i made my favorite lemon cake!!  lemon cake with lemon simple syrup & lemon cream cheese buttercream.  yum!  

i even got to run up to the hospital to take treats to blakey & his friends!  carrot cake cupcakes & chocolate chip cookies & buttermilk oatmeal muffins.  a pretty good easter meal, if i do say so myself.

& next up was our easter meal with our wonderful friends!  the rogers were so kind to invite all of us over for the easter celebration of food fun & a gorgeous day in the sun.

{me, elyse, & amy}

{the gorgeous 6-months pregnant sarah & will}

{matt playing in the sprinkler with little asher}

{lola also loved the sprinkler.

& asher too.}

{look how grown up we are:

little kids playing, giving each other gardening tips,

& a bunch of delicious food...}

elyse out did herself, of course, with an amazing meal of pork tenderloin, boudin sausage balls, corn casserole, potato salad,  & rolls.

sarah & amy went all-star with creativity.  it looked like a very successful pinterest holiday:

{sarah's baby chick deviled eggs}

{amy's bunny bread dip & veggies}

the meal was incredibly delicious & the friends were so much fun.  they even packed up a big plate for me to bring home for blakey to enjoy our easter meal too.

He is risen!  He is risen indeed.  

happy easter!!

love love,

kjp.

a very merry christmas to you!

rejoice!
for unto you a Savior is born.

a very merry christmas to you & yours!

love love,

kjp + bwp.

thankful thursday # 10.

"'even now,' declares the Lord, 

'return to me with all your heart.'"

-joel 2:12

 
i am thankful for the season of Lent.

for me, Lent is a time to pull myself closer to God.  it is a time to challenge myself to be a better person & to deliberately give myself a reason to be in constant awareness of God.  it is a time to pray & a time to be thankful.

Lent is a time to move closer to the person i want myself to be.

so happy Lent season to you.

i hope you can think of something for which you are thankful today.

love love,
kjp.

thankful thursday #1.

my new year's resolution this year is to be more thankful.  our lives are so very blessed.  & i want to take note of the big & small things that for which i have to be thankful.

so to day begins thankful thursday!

this week, i have been so grateful for the opportunity to be part housewife, part coffee shop girl, & part baker.  i LOVE all three jobs so very much.  & am slowly becoming better at all three.

i cannot tell you how amazing it was to look forward to going back to work after our vacation.  what a joy.

super productive housewifey days are so much fun for me.  call me 1950s, if you'd like.  but getting so much accomplished for my husband, myself, & our home makes me smile.

& learning a skill that i truly enjoy & will eventually get paid to do.  every kindergartner's dream.

thank you husband, thank you God, thank you previous job that got me to this point.

"'for i know the plans i have for you, declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.  then you will call on me & come & pray to me, & I will listen to you.  you will seek me & find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"     - jeremiah 29:11-13

i hope you think of something for which you are thankful today :)

love love,
kjp.

happy birthday, Jesus!

we have been working on cake production in class this last week, which must be in celebration of Jesus' birthday!

my first piece:

& my second:

happy christmas time.  remember what we are celebrating, friends :)

"& while they were there, the time came for her baby to born.  she gave birth to her first child, a son.  she wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth & laid him in a manager, because there was no lodging available for them."

- luke 2: 6-7

love love,

kjp.

wedding wednesday # 14: because of your love.

  {more engagement photos.

still love them.

still from LSD Photography.}

more beautiful words for your day from our wedding...

ephesians 4:1-6

"therefore i, a prisoner for serving the Lord, 

beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, 

for you have been called by God.  

always be humble & gentle.  

be patient with each other, 

making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  

make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  

for there is one body & one Spirit, 

just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  

there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, & 

one God & Father, 

who is over all & in all & living through all."

 {& of course, a huge thank you to dr. burget for being a part of our wedding!}

love love,

kjp.

wedding wednesday # 13: a simply beautiful love.

 {love our engagement photos}

{courtesy of LSD Photography}

 a happy encouragement for today from our wedding....

colossians 3:12-14

"chosen by God for this new life of love, 

dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: 

compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.  

be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense.  

forgive as quickly & completely as the Lord forgave you.  

& regardless of what else you put on, 

wear love.  

it's your basic all purpose garment.  never be without it."

 {many thanks, shan, for sharing this part of our wedding!}

love love,

kjp.