Pinterest Picks.

hello there!

today i wanted to start a new little blog series called my "pinterest picks"

i thought it would be fun for me to jot down things that inspire me, i've tried, i relate, or anything that i am enjoying on pinterest lately and collectively list it here. 

what have you been eyeballing on there lately?

share with me!

xoxo kess

wordless wednesday. [boy mom life]

Fill in the Blanks! (May)

Making: a frame with both the boys at the same age in the tub for my bathroom wall :)
Cooking: lots of healthy food lately. Chicken, salmon, asparagus, salads, and broccoli are go-to's over here, Hank's dieting and exercise have been a game changer for us. 

Drinking: sonic happy hour cherry limeades. they're addicting!
Reading: Jesus Calling daily devotional
Wanting: to go to Disneyland and Lagoon! A trip to Roaring Springs waterpark too. I love amusement parks.
Listening: Meghan Trainor's new album, she's killing it! Love her being the poster child for no photoshop!
Looking: At Henry jumping on the trampoline with sprinklers. Pure joy and energy!

Playing: hot wheels. i am constantly told which ones i can be for the day :)
Wasting: time cleaning. it's constant!
Wishing: for this summer to be a good one.
Enjoying: This 80 degree weather :)
Waiting: for Hank to get off at 3.
Liking: park outings with the boys. I love putting them side by side and hearing them laugh as they swing.

Wondering: When my ipsy bag will get here!
Loving: That my mama got her mother's day present, and it made her day.
Hoping: to get our dryer repaired so i can work on all this backed up laundry!

Marveling: at the boys playing out on the kayaks the other day.
Needing: A chiropractic adjustment. Holy ouch, my neck is hurting. DAD????
Watching: Flea Market Flip. It inspires me to create some thrifted pieces.
Smelling:My salted caramel pecan candle :)
Wearing: converse and snapbacks. loving that sporty trend lately!

Following: Brooke White from the Girls With Glasses Show. I love her honesty and vulnerability about life.
Noticing: my lack of sleep with jett is catching up with me, i'm so ditzy and forgetful.
Thinking: about my upcoming freestyle brush letting class with Amanda soon, yayyyyy!

Knowing: I AM ENOUGH. simple words but hard to grasp.
Focusing: on trying to find a part time job I would enjoy. Don't want it to be something not worth my time away from my sweet guys.
Bookmarking: photo ideas. I love lifestyle photography so much. all about the details!
Opening: my tartelette in bloom eyeshadow palette i got for mother's day.
Giggling: at how Henry can make Jett laugh like nobody else♥
Feeling: vulnerable, edgy, happy, inspired. 

real talk.

hello bloggity blog.

for some reason i have lots of words and things i want to put out here and just get off my chest, maybe bring some clarity to my mind, or maybe bring my walls down enough to be vulnerable with you guys in this space. i struggle with trying to find the balance of what i share. i want to be open enough to encourage you and relate to you, but yet i'm guarded a bit out of some insecurity.

well today, some walls are going to crumble a little.

i feel like social medias set such a high standard for "how life is supposed to be" and to present that everything is so kodak worthy, so picture perfect. and boy, do people feed into that.

look at my perfect wardrobe. look at my perfectly clean home. look at how fit i am. look at my perfect vacation. look at how many friends i have. look at my perfect family.

perfect. perfect. perfect.

i truly feel for those people who feel they have to prove that standard of perfection.
it must be exhausting to reach for something unattainable.

sure life is wonderful. sure there are great great glimpses of each of those things.
but let me clear something right up.
i never want to portray that my life is "perfect"

i wish people could just say how they really feel.

like, "hey i really don't like when you treat me that way"

or, "hey, i'm really in a lonely season of life"

"hey, i'm in love with you, and still think of you all the time"

"i just really miss you"

i'm not doing okay, i need encouraged"

i wish people could just say how they really feel without being shamed or sounding "desperate".

why can't we all be painfully honest and save people the trouble?

i will say, that sometimes my little social media box can appear quite "perfect" sometimes.

but let me just tell you, IT'S NOT.

let me just let down my guard for a minute and share with you.

maybe it'll bring you comfort? maybe you can relate? maybe you'll feel you can reach out to me and have someone to come to with your guard down too?

i'll share with you now.

i struggle with my body image. i am such a horrible critic of myself and have the worst self-esteem.

i have lots of dreams to live out, but crawl into a shell of insecurity and don't pursue them

i tear up often on the fact that this time with my boys is SO precious and they won't always be this little.

i have anxiety, some days are really good, some are daunting and gut wrenching.

i'm in a season of life where i'm reevaluating the people i invest in. i'm finding myself always the giver and finding myself in a lot of one sided friendships that hurt.

i have been married five and a half years, and although it's been really great, we are still learning and growing together.

i pray to god often asking what my purpose is and to move my feet to where he wants to lead me.

too honest?

i just want to show you the messy parts. i show lots of good parts but i truly believe if more people let their walls down and shared the parts that aren't so pretty and perfect, we'd all be surprised how similar we are in this crazy thing called life.

xoxo, kess

seed-sown dreams.

have you ever thought of sowing seeds of dreams so big you think there's just no way they could possibly grow?!

A couple days ago we had a beautiful 70 degree sunny day, and we took advantage of the sunshine and went out for a drive. I love rolling the window down with the music up and having my hair blow in the breeze out to the unknown. Hank and I always seem to find ourselves driving to the outskirts or back roads of town, row after row of crop and little homes scattered here and there throughout the open rolling hills. We decided to take our drive out past Lake Lowell in Nampa, and I must admit its one of my favorite spots. Henry and Jett had fallen asleep in the car, and I was just ho humming, staring off into the farms, when suddenly a certain house caught my attention. 

"Hank, go right over there. I see my dream house."

"You do??"

I always say things I love here and there, but I've never said that.

We pulled right across from this house all quaint and kept on a road spread out with a couple houses a ways down.

 The wrap round porch. 

The big windows with the black shutters.

The big barn/tractor shed on the left of it.

The welcoming front steps and street light.

This was it.

I felt like a Fixer Upper client and that Chip and Joanna Gaines had just pulled back the rolling lifesize photo of my fixer upper before my eyes for the big reveal.

I began walking Hank through our life, just by looking at it.

"That's where I'd read a devotion and sip my coffee in the morning."

"That's where Henry and Jett would play catch in the yard"

"Those steps are where we'd sit and reflect together after a long day."

"That's where we'd have a Sunday dinner outside if it was nice out."

On and on I went about describing the details of life and how this house was the setting place for it all to unravel.

"I really love it too, Kess." he kept saying.

I took a photo of it to awe about later, and we continued our drive. 

I kept thinking, "this is a little patch of heaven"

"this is a home you'd want to write a book about or have a movie feature."

"this is the ideal home."

I know what you all are thinking. Good grief all that from a stinking house you saw on a drive?

Yeah, well...yeah. I guess so.

Something about a life outside of town just appeals to me.

Life is such a fast and instant whirlwind already.

This place would slow all that down real simple.

No, it's not my house, and no, it's not for sale. 

But yes, I'm a dreamer.

Yes, it's just an old house.

But also, yes to God-sized dreams.

and yes to seeking Him out in our dreams.

big or small.

XOXO, KESS

life of little dudes.

hello everyone.

happy sunday!

today i wanted to share a little bit of highlights of our lives around here.

lately i've been so inspired by fellow mama bloggers and instagrams where they are filled with photos of simple day to days with children, or the "mundane" moments.

i have learned as a mama that pictures that are super posed or kodak worthy are nearly impossible, and to me, kind of cheesy. i'm drawn to taking pictures where you are seriously peeking in on a memory being made. i always told myself if i was a photographer that'd be my photo style.

anywho, here is some quick pics of the little dudes.

they seriously make this mama girl so happy and i enjoy our days together so much.

they are truly growing like weeds...time please slow down?!

well, here we go, here's some moments of henry and jett.

xoxo, kess