Trying to Keep Up With My Jones'

So I already had this post ready to go for today, but it just doesn’t feel right to start it off without addressing the absolute devastation that has occurred all week. My heart is broken as should be everyone’s. The amount of hate and prejudice and injustice and violence happening in our country is disgusting. And unfortunately it’s not anything new. As so many are praying for Jesus to quickly return, we need to be praying for Jesus to reign over our country and our hearts. We need to be wise to how He is calling us to not only react to these tragedies, but also how to respond. Because we MUST respond. Whether that means you allow God to work on your own heart about any bitterness or discrimation against absolutely anyone that consume you or that you find ways to be loving and kind that make a difference. If you are at a loss at where to start, maybe this is an organization that is worth your consideration. This quote is from their website..

Let us pray for God to call ALL of us to action. 

And now to regularly scheduled programming (there’s just no good transition here)…

Happy Friday! We made it!!! Still a victory even if it was just a 4 day week. 😉 So I am finally returning to link up with Andrea and Erika for..

Since its been a while, there’s lots of randomness coming at yah…

*ONE*



The whole month of June please. It was absolutely packed to the brim. If you missed what we were up to, I shared about VBS, our visit from friends, and little man’s first youth camp. How we had time to sleep and shower is beyond me. But thankfully we made that happen. 😉

*TWO*

When Jen was here, she gave me this sign for my birthday which I LOVE. Because I’m pretty sure I’m real sad at the end of each cup of coffee I drink so it’s perfect. I also loved absolutely every single thing/card/message I received on my birthday so although turning 31 wasn’t a favorite, my actual birthday was! 

*THREE* 

We went on a family hike this week which was so fun! Although there was a sign warning of mountain lions and rattle snakes, I still managed to have a good time. (And then the mountain lion was actually spotted there that day. Just glad we weren’t the ones who spotted it.) Little man loves to ‘adventure’ now so I’m pretty sure he had a great time. He face planted in dirt at one point so he totally looked the part for ‘adventuring.’ He also loves to now give thumbs up and peace signs when he takes pictures. So if you tell him ‘say cheese!’, expect one of those to appear! 

*FOUR*

We are so super blessed by an amazing girl that spends a couple of her days with Caleb when we are at work! He absolutely loves his ‘Pee-Ta’ (Payton) and she’s pretty much incredible with him. When God called me back to work, it wouldn’t haven’t been possible without her and how comfortable we feel that she is the one loving on our little man. This week she took him to our town’s little pioneer museum and sent me the absolute cutest pictures. 

(We are also pretty sure she is the one who will break him of his fear with dogs with her sweet puppy. HE PETTED HER DOG THIS WEEK. This is huge people.)

*FIVE*

Yesterday morning the little man and I were already on a wagon ridge by 7:30 am. Don’t worry.. Coffee also came along. He absolutely loves riding his wagon and then yesterday he decided that he really loved pulling it too. (I just don’t understand why he keeps getting so big.) So we spent a ton of time on the trail with him pulling the wagon which of course meant we moved at a snail’s pace. I sent Nick a snapchat and it said 1.5 mph so obviously we got really far. Although speed may not have been our friend, lots of silliness was. 

*SIX*

A HUGE favorite coming this Sunday is Nick has the honor to preach in both services. He is second up for our July sermon series so prayers would be so coveted as he teaches on this topic. Because it is so obvious such a time as this. Nick is my absolute favorite person to hear preach (because I’m not biased at all) so I am obviously pretty pumped about this. So Sunday morning if you’re around, you are welcome to join us! And if you’re not, you are definitely welcome to pray for God to speak through him. 

And that is all for the week! As it ended up starting with a serious note, I would like to end with Jesus’ words. 

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Did everyone have such a fantastic 4th of July?! I love that it was connected to a weekend so it was like we were able to celebrate all weekend long! And wear lots and lots of the red white and blue. 

On Friday, Nick got home just in time to rally for us to go to our town’s festival. I’m pretty sure a million people go to this thing, but luckily having a one year old worked in our favor because we are in the business of arriving early & leaving early. We came, we ate, we people watched, we played, we left. (Soapbox moment: Moms of teenage girls, please make sure your daughter wears more clothes than pieces of material that barely cover what a bathing suit does. I saw more teenage girl skin that I ever would like to. It both makes me mad and breaks my heart. Alright, random rant over.) 

Saturday we took a day off from our patriotic festivities, but not from the fun. We spent the morning at the library because we had a rainy day… 

…and then Nick and I ended the day with a date night to celebrate my birthday. Sushi please! 

On Sunday after church, we headed to JoJo’s to celebrate the 4th with her because it’s pretty much her favorite. She’s also amazing because she got us the best cake ever to also celebrate my birthday! 

The little man was excited to ham it up for his favorite JoJo by dancing around in the 4th of July outfit she got him. He thought it was pretty much hilarious that Mickey went everywhere with him that day. 

And it was only right for us to go to the pool..

He’s still not completely sold on the idea of swimming but he is however all about chillin’ on JoJo’s patio..

On Monday (the ACTUAL 4th of July), we started off the day at a parade in the mountains with our small group. 

What’s NOT photographed is this parade was actually an all out water fight. We were straight rookies and were NOT prepared whatsoever. I’m pretty sure the guys are already strategizing how next year will be different. Other randomness was watching a helicopter land and a pancake breakfast at the fire station. 

That afternoon we grilled out and headed to one family’s neighborhood pool party. 

So although our little family of 3 may not have seen a single firework this year, I’m pretty confident we celebrated our country’s freedom to the fullest. Hope everyone else had yourself a fun and festive weekend too! 

So I did it! I caught up telling you all about those crazy two weeks with VBS and the Jaspers coming to visit… But it was all while I was on our 3rd crazy week straight at youth camp. Because that’s just how we roll. So are you already guessing what’s next?? Oh you’re so smart.. CAMP RECAP!!!! 

Did you grow up going to youth camp? If not, I’m so sorry. You just need to seek out your church’s student ministry immediately, start volunteering, and score you a spot for camp next year. It’s not too late for you. (And plus, volunteering in student ministry is pretty much where it’s at.) So I grew up going to youth camp and unfortunately I don’t have any of those pictures to prove that to you. Then I married a youth pastor and now I get to go every year again. 

It’s where we celebrated our one month anniversary of being wed (with a baby face Haylee)…

And then the next year all the pics I found don’t prove at all Nick was there.. But Natalie definitely was.. Whoops..

And then the last time we went, little man went along but in my belly (because an 8 month pregnant lady at a 100 degree student camp is always a good idea)…

Let’s just say I enjoyed this years picture a whole lot more…

So this year we went to Snow Mountain Ranch in Winter Park and the weather was LOVELY. It’s very family-friendly so Caleb was able to go along and there was even childcare. Say what?! So every morning, he went to go play with friends and do crafts while I got to enjoy the morning session with our students. He’s still a little too young to stay awake for the evening session so I did miss those. 😦 But hey, I’ll take what I can get! They even made a book of all his crafts of the week. I about melted at the sweetness of it all. 

And camp with mountains all around us? Yes please. 

It was such a great time! There’s just always something about being at camp with students getting to dig deeper into the Bible. Absolutely love getting a front row seat to watch God work! (Remember you could too ;)…) 

Another first time thing this year was I had my birthday at camp!! If you have even known me a hot second, you know I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. So it was definitely a crazy twist to have it at camp and celebrate in a new way. My oh so sweet husband made sure I got embarrassed first thing in the morning by having to go in front of the whole camp. Luckily they didn’t make me sing ‘I’m a little teapot’ like they originally threatened. Because believe me, nobody wants to hear that. 

But then we went tubing down the summer hill!!! I’ve never even tubed on snow yet (I KNOW! TAKE ME!) so I was definitely pumped. It was just as fun as it looked!! ​

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Caleb was too young to go down but pretty sure he had a blast just playing in the tubes and watching everyone. It’s the little things. 

Pretty sure we all had a blast! (And yes I did almost fall every single time coming back up the hill on the conveyor belt. Nick married himself quite the athlete.)

Plenty of other shenanigans happened during the week too, including us all channeling our Katniss Everdeen during archery. Let’s just say a good bit of us would NOT survive the Hunger Games. We of course did not allow Caleb to give the whole bow and arrow thing a whirl either, so he played with all of our sunglasses instead. 

The little man and I only stayed through Wednesday and headed back to real life that afternoon while the rest of the crew stayed til Friday. I can’t wait to see how God is going to continue to use what He taught the students this week for His glory! 

Now we are off to continue our weekend celebration of the 4th of July! Our church service was so fantastic yesterday to help remind us to be thankful that we are able to FREELY proclaim the Gospel in our country! We are so grateful to live in a country where we are not persecuted for believing in the one true King because our real freedom is found IN CHRIST. Hope everyone has such a fun time celebrating today! 

So in the fall of 2005, I joined a Christian sorority and met some of the very best friends a girl could ask for. One of those girls was Jen Qualls. She later became Jen Jasper and I was able to stand next to her on that special day, but she will forever be Jen Q in my phone (sorry Ryan). We lived through and graduated college together and then her boyfriend (later to be husband) and I moved off to the same grad school in Fort Worth so that meant I got lots of visits from her. And then later she moved up to live with me because Ryan decided to put on a ring on it. (We lived together through their engagement, not actually after she got married just to be clear.) A little later they moved off to Houston but then years later, we followed. We then got to experience the entrance to motherhood around the same time. And how do I know Jen is a fantastic friend? Anyone willing to put their 8 months pregnant self in a bridesmaid dress is someone you want to hold on to. What a gem. 

So now I’m pretty convinced it’s their turn to follow us and move to Colorado. 😉 But in the time being, her sweet little family decided to use their family vacay this summer to come visit us in the mountains and I’LL TAKE IT. (Another indication of a good friend is taking a 15 hour road trip with your 2 and 4 year olds.)

So on Tuesday when they arrived, we let the littles unwind because 15 hours in the car is a LOT. Plus watching kids see each other for the first time in forever is pretty much the cutest thing. ​We then showed them our cute little downtown area for dinner that night but that was about it for day one. The next morning however started off with a dance party. ​

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Nick had a hike planned for a youth event that day so Ryan went along. That meant Jen and I had the day to entertain the kiddos so we immediately hit the splash pad. I promise this cutie was excited to go with me. 

Caleb has decided that he’s not real sure about the splash pad this year even though last year he was obsessed. So he did a lot of watching the girls play from the sidelines. 

That afternoon more dancing happened. ​

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On Thursday, we drove up in the mountains to Tiny Town. This literally is a doll sized little town for the kids to walk through. 

Such a random, hilarious little place. And we of course had to take a picture of us with our littles. Crazy to see how far we’ve come since college. 

So then there was a train to ride which the kids were PUMPED about. As we watched the people before us go and the train break down in the process, we knew we needed to see what Plan B was because the kids were basically yelling ‘Choo Choo!’ with excitement as they waited. 

So they pulled out their back up train and we decided to take our chances. Even though it looked like a rain storm was about to let loose on us. 

 Did the train break down and the guys working have to come and push us through the track while cold rain began to sprinkle on us? It wouldn’t have been the hilariously awesome train ride if it had happened any other way. But we survived and headed out of that tiny town quick. 

That afternoon we took them to Red Rocks and walked around. 

Then the rain ran us out of there too! So we headed to dinner at Breckenridge Brewery because their restaurant is dang cute and their ‘backyard’ is full of lawn games and nice chairs to chill in. Win win. 

That night Jen and I had girls night on a roof top getting to chat and talk about all of the things. #muchneeded

The next day was our last day together. All the sad face emojis. We went up to Georgetown to see a mountain town that I hadn’t even been to either. (I can’t wait to go at Christmas time because I know that’s what it is really famous for!) Their little shops were adorable and they had the cutest little coffee shop. Which we all know is the way to my heart. 

This little cutie was finally all about taking selfies with me. 

And then there’s just no one cuter than my two guys. 

After then we headed to Idaho Springs for a late farewell lunch for some yummy pizza. Because Beau Jo’s. They loved it as much as us. Duh. But then came the hard part of parting ways. It’s hard enough to have to say goodbye but when the kids are crying too, it pretty much makes it 10 times more sad. But we will see them again soon in the Lone Star State! 

I sure do love my bestie and her family for making the long drive to come visit!!! 

Now who’s coming next?!

I AM STILL ALIVE. 

This summer has been cuh-razy and seems to be flying by!!! So we have had a full past two weeks with VBS and some friends coming to visit so I shall split those two things into two posts. Because everything deserves its own rightful attention. And I want to be able to remember all of the things because it was all so full of awesomeness. 

Let’s start off with VBS!!! 

So way back in the fall, our amazing children’s ministry director at our church asked if I would be willing to be the co-coordinator for VBS. I immediately said yes because if you know my background, you know it’s children’s ministry and I love me a good VBS. Well a couple months passed and I ended up on staff with the children’s ministry (because God is awesome like that). So VBS became my life for a little bit. 

But here’s the deal though.. I’ve helped put on a lot of VBS’s and even Nick and I have done VBS together every year since we’ve been married, but this was the little man’s first one. And it made my heart SO FULL to see how much he loved it. Obviously he is still in the nursery so it’s on a much smaller scale but even his coloring pages he brought home brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that Caleb is learning about Jesus and getting to color pages that says ‘Jesus will be my friend forever’ pretty much makes my heart explode. We brought him upstairs a few times to the big worship rally to hear the songs and he absolutely would have danced forever. ​And bubbles coming from the ceiling pretty much rocked his world. 

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It was a fun underwater theme and the amazing decoration girls transformed our church into an incredible underwater scene! 

Nick received the opportunity to be Scuba Nick for the week which was one of the ridiculous characters on stage.

This was definitely not his first rodeo at being crazy during a VBS skit. Anyone remember the villain from Topsy Turvy Kingdom, Aledo people? That voice will forever haunt me. (TimeHop even gave me a picture of him today on bottom right.) 

Apparently our family likes to embrace looking crazy on stage. Introducing my camel face to the world…

It’s safe to say that the Jones fam thoroughly enjoyed us some VBS this year. And us matching all week. 

And pretty sure the VBS songs & videos are still being played on repeat in both our home and car. So way to go, LifeWay. You hooked a one year old. 

But what is way more amazing then all of the super cute decorations and all the tons of fun we all had, 56 kids accepted Christ!!!! YAY GOD!!!!!! And THAT is why VBS is awesome. Kids getting to learn about Jesus in a way that is relevant to them is such an incredible thing. Even watching my own one year old be so pumped about Submerged and making us listen to the song on repeat just affirms my belief that the Gospel can be taught (and start to take root) at such a super early age. It is such a fantastic thing to be apart of. 

I already can’t wait until next year. 🙂

THIS. WEEK. HAS. NEEDED. TO. END. SINCE. MONDAY. 

So instead of going on and on about why it’s been a stinky week, I will instead choose to focus on things I love because it’s…

And in true fashion of how this week has gone, I am linking up with Erika and Andrea to share all of my faves on SATURDAY. Because posting on Friday would have meant something went right this week. 😉

FIRST

So our week started off getting to spend time with Nick’s sister Juliana. She came in town for their mom’s surgery and so lots of family time got to happen. And Caleb was a BIG fan of Aunt JJ. They’re pretty much besties. 

SECOND 

On Thursday, Caleb and I took a friend’s two little girls to spend the morning at the park & splash pad along with some other girls and kids from MOPS. Little man had the best time just watching the girls do all the things and pretty sure he wishes he was already big enough to do the same stuff.

And them riding in the backseat with him was icing on the cake. 

THIRD

Friday afternoon our little fam went for frozen yogurt on our favorite lake by our favorite park. Because sunshine was NEEDED.

Then Caleb and I took some silly selfies and his mischevious look got caught on camera. 
Can you tell he’s about to yank off my glasses? Straight stinker. 

Then he decided to cooperate. 

FOURTH

Today this popped up on my newsfeed which I absolutely loved because I sure do love my Nana and I love how TimeHop captured our different life stages. 

FIVE

I am SUPER excited about a girls morning today. Brunch and an outside antique  market is on the agenda. And what’s funny is that before we moved here, the only thing I knew about this town was this market when we would come visit the past two summers. And now I live around the corner from it. God is funny like that. 

Here’s pics from going last year.. Ahhh, life before he could walk. 

Happy Satirday everyone!! Enjoy the weekend! 

Happy Memorial Day!!!! This officially means the beginning of summer, right?! This past week I went from wearing boots and a vest one day to shorts and a tank top the next. And I wonder why my allergies are crazy! #weatherbecrazy

First I just want to say THANK YOU to anyone who’s ever served or is serving our country!!! We are beyond grateful for your sacrifice so that we may experience freedom. I’m thankful for days like today for you to be recognized because we are SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE. 

So today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika to chat about all of the fun summer plans our little fam has! 

So first is first and that is to enjoy all things OUTSIDE!!! I feel like we are finally starting to enjoy some outside activities lately and we are LOVING it. I hope to spend our days enjoying the sunshine. Because summer is my FAVORITE. 

If you know us at all, you know Nick does student ministry so our summer will be full of all kinds of fun student summer events and trips. We already had our hilariously awesome summer kickoff event and a picnic at the park and looking forward to way more events full of fun and our favorite students. Think student camp, water parks, mission trip to Poland (for Nick), open gym nights, and something called ice blocking that Nick is very excited about. Help us all. 

MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! Yes, you read that right. My family celebrates in months and since my birthday is June 28, we get to start celebrating June 1st. (Go ahead and write that down to plan accordingly because that’s in TWO days.) Last year was my big 3-0 (womp, womp) so this year feels even more sad. 31? That means I’m officially IN my 30’s. #29forever

One of my besties is coming to visit for a week and bringing her family! I told Nick this makes me feel really grown-up that we are old enough to have a college friend come visit my little family with her little family. Yes, I still think it feels weird when I feel like an adult. It’s because I’m only 29. 😉 Anyway, I’m SO excited for our families to get to hang out for a week! And I know my flirt of a son will be SO PUMPED. 

I CAN’T FORGET VBS!!!! Especially since that’s all I’ve thought about the past few months. It is coming so soon!!! And it will be SO MUCH FUN. 

The little man and I will take a trip to Texas this summer too! We will be there for a good while and get to visit the Houston and DFW area. Yay for getting to see lots of our favorite people! 

Then a piece of Texas will come visit us at the end of summer when my dad and stepmom come for the first time so we will get to show off our new state! Have you noticed the pattern that I LOVE visitors?! Hint, hint. 

Then we will end the summer at the beach. Can I get an AMEN! My mom has rented a beach house for us to all come stay for a long weekend (my fam & my sister’s fam) so I have fun in the sun to look forward to all summer! YAY! 

Somewhere along the way, the 3 of us will do some fun things exploring all things Colorado!!! Needless to say, we will be very busy but we will be having fun in all of our busyness! 

Hope everyone else is as excited as me!!! Here’s to everyone having a fabulous time soaking up sunshine and time with people you love! 

Happy Friday everyone!!! 

So today I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea to share all of the things I’m loving. Besides the given that I’m loving that it’s Friday. 🙂 Because this girl is EXHAUSTED. 

Our little man has been all about waking up in the night and EARLY in the morning so let’s just go ahead and state that sleep regression is NOT my favorite. And pass me all of the coffee, please and thank you. 

So starting it off with last weekend being a huge favorite and I’m still wishing it back. You can read all about that here if you missed it while living your own life. 

So last week was our anniversary and when I got to work on Thursday, my desk was BEYOND decorated for the occasion. When my husband goes big, he goes BIG. And I guess it’s one of the perks of working at the same place. 😉 
This little guy has been able to rock some new summer clothes this week and looking stinkin adorable every where he goes. #futureheartbreaker

It is officially summer which means we are now entering the student ministry summer calendar! First stop was a picnic at the park this past Wednesay and someone LOVED getting to take the football for the big kids. 

And then the next morning he was tuckered out from all the fun. (And random side note.. We just discovered today that paper is someone’s math homework. Umm, hope they passed anyway considering school is out now.) 
And my show is back. (NO JUDGEMENT ZONE.) Who will she choose?! I don’t know yet but I gotta figure it out since I only have until Monday to fill out my bracket. I don’t make fun of you for doing fantasy  football so you don’t get to make fun of me for my Bachelorette fantasy league. Because THIS is my football season, buddy. (I don’t really know who I’m telling this to unless you are currently shaking your head at me then it’s you.) 


Today we went to Golden for a graduation party at a park that had this super fun creek where we could watch people kayaking. Just another day in Colorado (that included sweaters & jackets). The weather wasn’t a fave but the state still is. 🙂

And that is DEFINITELY a favorite. I’ll be back on Monday to share all of the things about our summer plans. 

Happy LONG weekend y’all! 

Our weekend was PACKED full of fun times, especially outside. The weather was AMAZING and finally feels like spring (or more like summer for the Coloradans). THIS is some weather I can get with. Bring on the shorts and sandals and see ya later pale skin! 

So as soon as Caleb woke up from his nap on Friday, we headed to the zoo. Caleb has never been to a zoo ever which was apparent when we saw farm animals and he kind of freaked. I didn’t have super high expectations but Nick was pumped and I knew it would be a fun day outdoors regardless. Well Caleb LOVED it. 

We took his wagon just in case but he was all about running to each exhibit and looking for the animals (and then having his daddy lift him up to get a good view). 

He was still quite the gentleman and offered to help with the wagon every once in a while. 

Seeing the monkeys was definitely a fave. He did a lot of ‘OOH OOH AHH AHH’ to get a good chat in with them. 😉 

I think it’s safe to say that he will want to go back sooner than later. 



On Saturday, Nick and I were able to celebrate our anniversary thanks to some awesome friends that let little man hang out with them all day. According to this picture, he looks like he was pretty content with the whole arrangement. 

While he was busy flirting, Nick and I went to downtown Denver and hung out. They recently redid Union Station and it is SO cute. 

We grabbed some iced coffee and started walking the 16th Street Mall. 

The weather was fantastic! I was loving soaking up the sun. We sat on the patio outside Union Station for a bit because, well, people watching. Then we headed to dinner. Nick surprised me with a reservation at..

Or in my world it’s known as Justin Timberlake’s restaurant. And the food was SO STINKIN GOOD. There are no pictures to document it because we were too busy eating all of the deliciousness. As we left, Chauncey Billups opened the door for us as he was going in. Don’t know who that is? Yeah, me either. I didn’t realize this was a big deal until Nick started stumbling over his words to tell this stranger ‘What up man!’ He apparently is a retired NBA player. Or as I know him, a really nice stranger that held the door for me. 😉

We then grabbed some ice cream at Union Station and watched all the kids play in the splash pad. It was such a fun night seeing a part of downtown that I hadn’t really seen before! I am definitely becoming a fan of my new town. 🙂 

So on Sunday we had our big student event to kick off the summer.. FSM Ninja Warrior style! This was a crazy fun-filled game-packed two hours. Such a fun hilarious way to kick off the summer! Everyone was pretty much covered in flour or face paint before it was all over. Caleb said UH OH! a lot about all of the messiness. Pretty sure he was thinking that he should have brought his broom. 

To say that we are all a little EXHAUSTED is a tiny bit of an understatement. We need a weekend to recover from the weekend. That’s allowed, right?

So four years ago today this happened. 

You would never know in that moment that Nick had woken up that morning with a huge stye on his eye, I had to have an emergency dental procedure that week prior, and our wedding cake had just been dropped somewhere along the way to the church. All that mattered in that moment was that WE WERE MARRIED. We had finally arrived at the moment that we had prayed about separately for years and together as a couple for a year. Amongst the crazy things I just listed, God gave us the sweetest, most fun wedding weekend ever. 

And it all started with our Save the Date that was this picture stating ‘You Don’t Wanna Miss This!’

It is no secret that Nick loves baseball and I love coffee. So we pretty much celebrated our loves being joined together at our wedding.

Our rehearsal dinner was a BLAST. We had good Mexican food at Pappasito’s and Nick’s mom had decorated with Texas and Colorado flags. Another fun way to celebrate our two worlds (and states) colliding. 😉

The next day was a blur of getting ready with my best girls. I gave them all shirts that said Team Bride to keep in the spirit of things!

The church was decorated and ready to go. 

One of my favorite moments of the day was my bridesmaids praying over me. Talk about much needed since I was a ball of nerves. 

Nick and I wrote each other letters before the wedding day and planned on giving them to each other before the ceremony. This is what REALLY put me at peace. We were on each side of a door so we weren’t able to see each other but we were able to read our letters, hold hands, and pray together. (Nick was already starting to cry so I prayed.. Haha!) 

After that, it was GAME TIME. 

As you will notice in these first pictures of us seeing each other (and really throughout the entire ceremony), Nick cried and I laughed. Because that’s what we each apparently do when we are nervous emotional messes. 

We had such an amazing ceremony that completely put the focus on Jesus and gave all glory to Him. We took communion together for the first time as man and wife and also were able to worship together. 

We wanted that whole day to reflect Christ and the work that He had done in our lives. 

As we were told that Nick could now kiss his bride, we got our own surprise. (The things that happen when your old youth pastor marries you.. Ha!) 

We were on the..

And then we danced our whole way back down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs. Jones! 

And yes, I DID let my husband (that you never see without a hat on) wear a hat in the reception. Because I did marry him for him, amiright?? 

As much as I absolutely loved that day and reliving those memories, the four years that followed that day is what I really want to celebrate today. Because the man that I get to live life with everyday is pretty much the most amazing man in all the land. He constantly points me to Christ, loves me tremendously well, makes me laugh more than anyone else, comforts me when I cry (even when it’s for no reason at all), and just makes life plain fun. We have lived in three cities in four years, gone through some incredible highs and some pretty crazy lows together, and added a cute bundle of energetic little boy to our family. I thank God everyday that He gave me Nick to do this life with. 



Last night we played our wedding song for Caleb and I definitely teared up. It’s so fun to celebrate how much God has done in our lives and will continue to do. 

Amen by Dave Barnes 

We will have love, we will have pain

There will be days and days and days that feel the same

We will have fear, we will have joy

There may be little girls and little boys

We will have friends, we will have peace

There will be nights of lights and music till you sleep

We will be strong though we were still weak

We live through so much more than we could take

Amen, Amen

With the dawn the love began again

Amen, Amen

What is done and yet to come, Amen

We will have hope, we will have doubt

There will be memories we could never live without

We will have tears but there will be grace

There will be prayers that we never thought we’d pray

Amen, Amen

With the dawn the love began again

Amen, Amen

What is done and yet to come, Amen

In the sun or the storm, the flood or the flame

When everything’s wrong, when I’m the one to blame

When heartache grow old, I swear I’ll say

I’ll say Amen, Amen

With the dawn the love began again

Amen, Amen

What is done and yet to come, Amen

Amen, Amen

Amen, Amen

So Nick Jones, thank you for taking me as your wife and living out Ephesians 5 in our marriage on the daily. I love you so incredibly much and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!