Lovely Lee

It was a beautiful chilly Saturday morning and I had just finished painting some young girls nails at a friend's daughter's birthday party. We rally the troops when it comes to 6 year old birthday parties. I had come home tired, yet excited because I had a surprise for Jonny. For a few weeks, some friends had been planning a "just guys" diaper shower for Jonny at Buffalo Wild Wings. I had text him asking him if we could go to BWW for lunch because I was 36 weeks pregnant and craving wings. NOT. Little did he know, friends and family would be waiting there to surprise him. As we made our way to the restaurant, he mentioned that he didn't feel too good and wanted to spend the day together, and possibly see a movie after lunch. I went along with his plan trying not to ruin the surprise. When we walked in, he noticed some of his friends at a table near the entrance. He says it took him a minute to put together different friends from different walks of life and his

When we were in Italy, I remember sitting at the steps of the Trevi Fountain. With a penny in my hand, I clenched my fist tightly, closed my eyes, and threw it into the water beside a thousand others, making a wish that I hoped would come true. Be careful what you wish for! The morning of July 9, I woke up with a stomach ache. Hoping it was my long awaited period, I quickly got up to use the restroom. I had been comforted by friends who assured me that an irregular cycle is common after coming off birth control. I had taken 4 pregancy tests in the middle of June wondering if my wish at the Trevi Fountain in Rome had come true. The tests were all negative. However the morning of July 9, two little lines turned pink and changed my life forever. I screamed at first, then cried. I held my tummy and started thanking God for the precious baby already growing inside of me. I turned on worship music and blared it throughout my apartment. I cried for a good hour praising God for answering

Tonight, I dropped off two boxes and four bags of clothes, shoes and home decor at Savers. I walked in and loaded my items into a rolling cart. I threw up the peace sign to my beloved belongings, as the lady handed me a 30% off coupon for my future shopping spree at savers. How does this woman know my life? How does she know that I WILL BE BACK? I may have just dropped off a cart full of crap, but don't worry, I'll be back. I will also use my coupon. You're welcome. While we were in Italy, I read the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up . As soon as I got home, I began applying the principles I read in the book. I took every item of clothing and I threw it on the floor of my bedroom. I began to make piles. Keep, give away, throw away. Looking through my give away pile, I realized I had some cute clothes in there. Curiosity set in and I began wondering what selling my clothes online would look like. I reached out to a few friends who had success selling their clo

Its 5:26am. This is the fourth day in a row where I have woken up and not been able to fall back asleep. It doesn't help that my grandma tendencies have me asleep before 9pm. It's almost as if I am not capable of staying awake past 9, and I become a zombie and beg Jonny to come snuggle me. This of course is from Jet lag that I am experiencing from our beloved trip to Italy.  The trip was indeed a dream. I saw so many beautiful sights, experienced rich history, and ate enough gelato to satisfy me for a lifetime. Rome stole my heart. I adored the small streets in which cafe's and stores are located below apartments and hotels lofted above them. Little faces peer out from glass windows watching the passerby's below. Our favorite sights included The Colosseum, The Vatican Museums, and St. Peter's Basilica which took my breath away. In front of the Pantheon  Vatican City  There was a particular corner that sold flowers and I had Jonn

I am a classic good girl. For as long as I can remember I have been a rule follower.  I have struggles, but have become very good at hiding them, mostly because since entering into marriage, it's mostly been my husband who has had issues. (sarcasm) My identity has always been found in the things I could do well for myself, others, and God. I desire to be strong, and good, and I have put my hope in the fact that these things would keep me from trouble and hurt. For about 24 years, they worked really well for me. The last three years have been an unravelling of the depths of my heart and mind of why I do the things I do. What I have been discovering mostly is that I am afraid to disappoint God because I don't want to receive judgement. If I do everything right then He has no reason to judge me, discipline me or punish me- and life will be grand. This has been an exhausting journey, because trying to be right all the time is HARD WORK. The past couple months have been excrucia

I met Jonny in college. I remember seeing him in a coffee shop on campus, he was wearing my favorite blue flannel, jeans and he had a laptop bag. I remember thinking that he was way to cute to have a laptop bag. This man needed a backpack or something besides a man purse. He grabbed a double stack peanut butter and jelly and a coffee, and waved hello to me. We had known each other from a few years back, and was surprised to see him back on campus. We exchanged hello's but I didn't really know anything about him, except that his green eyes were crazy beautiful. A few months later, we got placed on the same team to go to Indonesia and I got to know him as the weeks went by. He had a new girlfriend and had turned his life around, and decided to follow Jesus and leave the booze, women and drugs behind. I was drawn to him, but not in a romantic way. Our stories were so different that I admired him for choosing the road less traveled. Each week at our training for our trip, he woul