Money Jar

Before anything today I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your sweet words of advice and encouragement with my job situation. I appreciate it so much, and have really taken it all to heart! I have been praying praying praying and I will keep you posted!! Last night was wonderful! Sean and I cooked dinner, drank some wine, and cuddled in for some relaxing. It was the perfect celebration of our anniversary! We got to talking about our future dreams and developed the idea of a money jar.  

 Each week we have decided to put 20-40 bucks each into the jar...and any extra change or cash we may have on hand and don't need. We will just keep filling the jar until we decide its time to fulfil one of our dreams.  One of our dreams is to travel. Neither of us have been to many places, so this is something we would really love to experience. Whether it is packing up and road tripping to the northern part of our home state of Minnesota to explore all the little towns and beautiful nature..... 

Or road tripping to our neighbor state to check out the black hills.....

 Or hopping on a plane and traveling across the country to Hawaii, or maybe even Ireland or Italy. 

I would be happy to go to any of these places with my sweet hubby...I think the company is more important than the location :)

Another one of our dreams is to own an old classic car or truck. Sean has always LOVED cars. He has also always wanted to own a classic to pull out on a hot summer day to cruise around in. I can see us riding around in one of these, this can't you?

Whatever we decide to do with our money jar will be amazing. It is fun to dream of the future and think of things we want to share together. As you can tell these past few days have been full of thinking about my future...so when I opened my Dove chocolate and saw this message today, I felt so much peace and hope.

 Bless you sweet friends!! Have a wonderful day! Jamie Leigh

A letter to the love of my life

Sean, 9 years ago today I was having a sleepover with one of my good friends. We were only 14 years old, had no worries in the world, and were giggling the night away. We decided it would be a great idea to prank phone call some people from school....that's when your name came up. I didn't know who you were, so I was game to give you a call....little did I know I was about to talk to my future husband.  I remember instantly thinking you were so fun to talk to, not to mention you sounded SUPER cute :) We talked all night, and you even ended up asking me to be your girlfriend. I had never even met you, but I knew that I wanted to get to know you more so I said YES! Best decision of my life right there... I remember being SO excited to meet you at school on Monday. We had talked all weekend getting to know eachother more, I felt like you had been in my life for years. Finally I was there, waiting for you by the lockers...I remember you had the most amazing smile and dimples, and you had this long curly hair that was to die for...boy did I have the butterflys! Passing time was so short so we gave eachother a quick hug and were on our way...I am pretty sure I smiled all day long!  

 I remember always getting so excited for your phone calls, our date nights to the movies (where our parents dropped us off haha) and when you would ride my bus home to hang out. I didn't know what love was or how it felt, but I did know you were something special....and every time I was with you nothing else mattered in the world. You were taking my heart....I was scared, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

 High school was full of it's ups and downs. You got a LOT of crap from the guys for not dating around, and I delt with jealousy and felt very vulnerable. We also hit so many milestones during these 4 years...getting our license (YOU could actually pick me up), having the freedom to go where we wanted, getting our first jobs, our first cabin trip and overnight together and of course prom and graduation. I remember always wanting to be with you...all the time just you and I.
 

 We were falling in love more and more every day. I had never had someone I felt so close to or so comfortable with. You were my BEST friend, my protector, my rock, my everything. I remember you always putting me and my feelings first, and you were always so sweet and caring through tough patches in our lives.  

Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with you when I was 14. You have helped make me the woman I am today, and I will be forever grateful for that. Not many people can say they they have grown up with their husbands, literally, graduated from both high school and college together, and have been together for 9 years when we are only 23. I'm pretty proud of that :)

 Not only am I not scared of what the future may hold...but I am excited for it. I know there will be hard times we encounter, I know everything is not and will not be all sunshine and rainbows...but as long as I am with you everything will be good....more than good actually, it will be perfect. I know you will continue to make me laugh, love, and be a better person.  

My love for you grows more and more every day. I am so proud of the man you have become, and the things you continue to amaze me with. I don't know what I did to deserve you and to be blessed with such an incredible bond and relationship. You are one in a million babe, and I will NEVER not for one second take you for granted.  Thank you for your unconditional love and support even through my mistakes and low times. Thank you for always cooking for me (because I suck at it) and never letting me fall asleep without you by my side (even when your not tired). Thank you for putting up with my mood swings and making me laugh at myself when I am being crazy/emotional/unreasonable. Thank you for asking me to be your wife...this is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I love you Sean Patrick with all of my heart and soul. I cannot wait to see the incredible things our future holds for us.  

Love,  Your wife :)

Optimism

I am a strong believer that being optimistic is very important in life. I mean, why not look at events or conditions with a positive view? Lately I have had a few BIG things going on in my life, both which I have struggled with being optimistic. One of the is the house hunt. I have been so discouraged after looking at house after house and not finding anything...however I currently have a beautiful home we are happy at so there is no rush. I keep trying to tell myself this, and that the right house will come along in time. Tonight we are going to look at a few more..and I am feeling very optimistic and excitied!  The other one is my job....this one has been more of a struggle to stay positive about. Don't get me wrong, I am more than thankful that I have a job, and I do even enjoy it most days..however I find myself thinking about my previous job which was working with elementary aged children. I worked at the school for 6 years while I was in college. Not that I have a job in the corporate world, I question whether this is the right path for me.  My question for you is...what do I do?  I usually feel like I have things in order and figured out, but right now im feeling the complete opposite! Any advice would be great!!  I hope you all have a great day!  Jamie Leigh

WILW

Good morning friends! Well I am back to work today and feeling a tad bit better. All the sleep and rest really helped! I want to thank you all for your sweet comments yesterday too...they put a smile on my face even though I was feeling like death!

Today I am linking up for What I'm Loving Wednesday, so let's have at it!

Today I am LOVING...

~ House hunting! Sean and I have really been looking aggresively for houses! We have some more showings tomorrow, so I am staying optimistic that finding our home is in the near future!



~ Gray! I have been really loving gray this winter....gray leggings, tights, boots, scarfs, sweaters, and my most recent obsession...gray nail polish!

~ The weather! It has been beautiful here in MN...I mean is it seriously January? We have no snow and yesterday hit 50!! It's unbelievable. Rumor has it though that temps will be quickly dropping and snow is on it's way..we'll see!

~ Maybelline Baby Lips! Have you tried this yet? There are so many great scents and your lips will never feel softer..not to mention it also adds a subtle hint of color to your lips as well!



~ My friends...They never fail at making me smile and being there for me whenever I need it! I can't wait to see them this weekend!

~ and as always...my sweet loving hubby Sean. He is simply amazing!

Jamie Leigh

Blah!

 

I have been sick for the past week....however I haven't let this cold get me down. I continued to hang out with friends, work, stuff around the house etc....however today I just can't do it anymore.

I woke up with

-watering goopy eyes

-stuffy nose

-ear ache

-rash

-the chills

-coughing so bad my chest hurt

-the feeling that my head was going to burst

I went and climbed back into bed to soak up every last second I could before I had to go to work.

Well I made it here, but I am heading home in 15 minutes once my coverage gets in...my body is telling me to stop doing stuff and to relax. I think a week of fighting it is enough, im ready to go lay down and get better already.

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday, hopefully I am back tomorrow!

Jamie Leigh

Where did this weekend go?

I keep asking myself this question this morning...It was so jammed packed with great things that it flew by in the blink of an eye!  Saturday I spent the entire day at Empower Ladies conference with some of my favorite bloggers and friends. Let me tell you..this day was amazing!! The message was that we are all God's treasures even if we may feel inadequate. All we have to do is believe and let Him in!! The day was full of great speakers, amazing worship, tears, hugs, massages and manicures....it was so refreshing! Here are some pics from the day..all cell phone ones unfortunetly! 

AMAZING! I can't wait until next year!

Saturday evening we went out to a couple different restaurants for some yummy food, drinks, and music! It was so much fun...I love my friends...do I mention this enough?? I just feel so blessed :)

Sunday we went to lunch with my mom, little sister Jodell, and Sean's parents. It was so delicious, and great to catch up with family...I took the cutest picture of my sister and I, but my laptop is out of commission right now so it's stuck on the camera, boooo! Afterwards we looked at a few more houses...still haven't found our home but we are feeling more optimistic about it!

We ended the weekend with some relaxing and cuddling...I love my husband and doggy so much!

Happy Monday :)

Jamie Leigh

 

Scrambling Mind & Happy Friday!

Today my mind is all over the place so I am sorry in advance if this post is a little scrambled :)  First off, Happy Friday! We have finally made it and the beautiful weekend is a few hours away from starting! There are multiple things I am looking forward to this weekend including.. -Empower Ladies conference with some fellow blogging ladies! So excited for a day of pouring our hearts out to the Lord! - A night out with friends...Saturday we are going out and letting loose. We haven't done this in a while so I am looking forward to it! - Sleeping in...YES for sleeping in right? - 1st service at the new campus our church has worked so hard to open!  -And finally, as always quality time with Sean and Remi....nothing can beat that! Other things weighing on my mind today... Last night was awesome! One of my best friends needed to pour her heart out, so 3 of my favorite ladies and myself went out for some drink and appetizers....We shared LOTS of laughs, some tears, hugs, and made some great memories! I LOVE YOU LADIES! There is nothing better than a close knit group of girlfriends :) Our house hunt is really starting to annoy me....it has been over a year now that Sean and I have been searching for a house...we have had an offer in, loved houses but they ended up in bidding wars, and have had struggles with getting ahead of all the other competition out there. We LOVE LOVE our town house right now, but we have always dreamed of a house and most of all a yard for Remi to run free in. Today I am praying that the perfect house will come sooner than later... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of love, relaxation, and things that make you happy :) Jamie Leigh