happy birthday hot stuff!

today is mr. lesley's birthday! 

whoop, whoop! 

you made it through another year, old chap, looking as dapper as ever, might i add.

let's just take a look back on all life brought your way in this 31st year...

-getting hitched

-a honeymoon in mexico {where you felt deathly ill the majority of the time but stealthily kept it from me to make sure i had a good time}

-becoming a small group leader at church 

-moving across the country alone for a 3 month internship in d.c. {and consoling me on the phone every other day}

-starting the baker beer club

-a long and exhausting job search

-dominating 2 semesters of grad school with ALL A's BABY!

...just to name a few.

this year has been great but hard.

these challenges you've faced are making you a man of deep character and perseverance. 

a man i am so proud to call my husband.

so here's to the next year of life! 

i hope it's full of love, beer, walks with sir winston, faith, red wing victories, family time, new adventures, unicorns, and rainbows.

love you higher than the sky and bigger than a blue whale. 

an afternoon with the keiths.

i had such a great time taking pictures of the keiths and company this afternoon.

 the sun was extra bright and baby charlotte was not the biggest fan of having her picture taken, but even still, i was able to capture some beautiful moments of this beautiful family.

here are some of my favorites...

i love being a small part of capturing memories for people to cherish forever. 

festivus for the restivus.

i know you've seen it. 

right there in your inbox just seconds from the recycle bin. 

LIVINGSOCIAL! 

an exotic trip, an earthquake survival kit, aroma carpet cleaning...

you know the drill.

but sometimes, just sometimes, you find a gem in the midst of livingsocial ridiculousness. 

in our case, the south denver beer fest coup was definitely worth the purchase. 

we spent saturday afternoon with two of our favorites, luke and krista, sipping on a whole bunch of beer from all over the place, while sporting our diy-ed, custom made, "you wish you had one" pretzel necklaces. 

there was a lot of good beers there, don't get me wrong. 

but i have to say that fate brewery out of boulder won first place in my book.

their watermelon kolsch was out. of. this. world. 

{second place goes to woodchuck for their blueberry cider, but shhhhh...don't tell anyone. mr. lesley will disown me if word gets out.}

great friends. 

great location.

great beer. 

and when you get down to the lone pretzel, you know you had a good time.

cheers.

my favorite poem of all time.

{via}

Singapore

 In Singapore, in the airport, 

A darkness was ripped from my eyes. 

In the women’s restroom, one compartment stood open. 

A woman knelt there, washing something 

in the white bowl. 

 Disgust argued in my stomach 

and I felt, in my pocket, for my ticket. 

 A poem should always have birds in it. 

Kingfishers, say, with their bold eyes and gaudy wings. 

Rivers are pleasant, and of course trees. 

A waterfall, or if that’s not possible, a fountain 

rising and falling. 

A person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem. 

 When the woman turned I could not answer her face. 

Her beauty and her embarrassment struggled together, and 

neither could win. 

She smiled and I smiled. What kind of nonsense is this? 

Everybody needs a job. 

 Yes, a person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem. 

But first we must watch her as she stares down at her labor, 

which is dull enough. 

She is washing the tops of the airport ashtrays, as big as 

hubcaps, with a blue rag. 

Her small hands turn the metal, scrubbing and rinsing. 

She does not work slowly, nor quickly, like a river.

 Her dark hair is like the wing of a bird. 

I don’t doubt for a moment that she loves her life. 

And I want to rise up from the crust and the slop

and fly down to the river. 

This probably won’t happen. 

But maybe it will. I
f the world were only pain and logic, who would want it? 

 Of course, it isn’t. 

Neither do I mean anything miraculous, but only

 the light that can shine out of a life. I mean

 the way she unfolded and refolded the blue cloth, 

The way her smile was only for my sake; I mean 

the way this poem is filled with trees, and birds.

-Mary Oliver

today i...

{via}

-woke up this morning after a traumatic nightmare that i needed a heart transplant. and the heart looked shockingly similar to a chicken breast. you better believe i was asking for a second opinion.

-took my morning class to hear a bona fide sci-fi author present in the library. his first book was inspired by a 6th grade writing assignment. bravo to that english teacher.
{bonus tidbit- said author also owns a tae kwon do studio. awesome.}

-listened to a student respond to the writing prompt "i will never..." with "i will never become a teacher." he basically said that teachers are awesome and kids kinda suck. i tried to say the rewards outweigh the challenges, but i don't think i was very convincing. 

-survived a surprise fire drill.

-caught a spit wad thrower red handed! victory is mine.

-sat back and listened to my morning class have great conversations about their literature circle books.
hey kid, maybe being a teacher isn't so bad! 

-caught three kids in the middle of a lie and got their parents on the phone asap! victory is mine part II.

-watched my afternoon class avoid reading their literature circle books at all costs, and it was painful.
"hi, my name is hannah, and i'm a professional babysitter."

kid, you were right after all! don't be a teacher! 

-spent the afternoon with some great teachers who make me laugh. laughter is key.

-put on my sweatpants approximately 4.2 seconds after getting home.

-caught up with my favorite college girlie, chels. check out her blog for some bomb recipes. 

-read the bible to sir winston while sitting with him on the bathroom floor. i take my mothering responsibilities very seriously.

-made this for dinner, using the broiler, and i didn't even set anything on fire! insert leo d.'s "i'm the king of the world" here. {remember that time my sister set my apple crisp on fire using the broiler? good times.}

-watched the voice. i mean, duh.

-whipped up some chocolate chip cookies for mr. lesley. am i a domestic goddess or what? 

-decided to blog about my uber exciting day while watching the red wings dominate. domestic and interested in sports? i'm pretty much the whole package. 

fingers are crossed that tomorrow will be equally as mind blowing.

night all.

{thanks for the inspiration flower patch farm girl.}

   

let's go find beautiful things.

yesterday was just about the perfect spring day.

the sky was blue.

the sun was shining. 

and i had a photo date on the books.

my friend mary and i searched downtown for a little inspiration and were reminded once again that denver is pretty much the best city on the planet. 

happy sunday everyone.

i hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

authentic faith.

i spent this past weekend up in the mountains on our annual church women's retreat. 

{if the term "women's retreat" gives you hives, you should probably read this lady's post.}

it was great and totally hive free. 

there was delicious food, a plethora of snacks, time in the hot tub and sauna, a spa afternoon complete with manis/pedis/and massages, a plenty of kleenex (duh), great music, free time to read and relax, and a lot of quality moments with some wonderful women.

but more than all of that, this weekend gave me an opportunity to reflect on my faith, something i don't do nearly enough.

and the one question i kept going back to all weekend was "what does true, authentic faith look like?" 

growing up as a christian for what seems like my entire life, it feels strange to come back to a question like this. i tell myself that i should already know the answer. i should be able to tell you and show you what faith looks like. but as times have changed, i have too. and the significance of the answer to this question seems more necessary now than it ever did.

i knew what faith looked like in my christian school growing up.

i knew what it looked like in youth group.

i knew what it was and definitely wasn't as i spent four years at a christian college. 

and i knew what it meant when i taught and served in china. 

but now, in an everyday life that is less "christian culture-ish," i find myself searching for authenticity in my faith more than ever. 

so while reflecting this weekend on what i wanted my faith to look like, i wrote the first things that came to mind...

my greatest desire is for deep, authentic faith. faith that isn't dependent on circumstances or emotions. faith that does not repel but draws people in. faith that is honest. faith that does not hide struggle and doubt. faith that elevates God and not divisive ideals. faith that is not based on my own strivings. faith that doesn't create insiders and outsiders. faith that permeates every moment of every day. faith that listens. faith that responds.

these reflections and questions come in the wake of a lot of conversations with one of my favorite people kari, as she navigates her questions, doubts, and past experiences with church, and faith, and Jesus. 

her questions get to the core of it.

and they were the inspiration for this time of self reflection.

and because of her and so many others like her, i want my faith to be real. 

i want it to be characterized by love and authenticity and hope and faithfulness. 

i want to live the reality of it in a world that tires of our christian sub culture, that tires of our politics, that tires of our divisive facebook comments. 

so without all the answers, i continue to pray that God would show me, in each and every moment, what faithfulness looks like. 

so whether i'm teaching, or being a wife, or walking sir winston, or enjoying a happy hour margarita, or spending the weekend on a women's retreat, that my life would be a testament that real, authentic faith makes a difference.