#FletcherHoneymoon

Maui was amazing. There were so many opportunities where we were able to reflect on our new stage in life and appreciate all of God's blessings. Snorkeling was so much fun, exploring the water was just beyond any words I could describe. ATVing was so much fun and such an adrenaline rush. And parasailing, I have to say was one of my favorite things we did. I was really proud of Matt for conquering his fear of heights & water and agreeing to do it with me. And we were able to pray for each other and our marriage while we soaked in the beauty of Maui. We absolutely fell in love with the island and can't wait to plan a future trip back there. 

I also want to add that our trip really wouldn't have been the same without the amazing people we were able to experience Maui with. Matt & I are the type of people who love to have those closest to us go on our adventures with us. We love our alone time, but we also love spending time with our friends/family. It really is when we are happiest. We can't wait for future parent getaways.

myFLETCHlife - Weekend Adventures

I am always on the go. From work full-time, to cooking meals for my family, to Rylan's soccer practices/games, to fitting in running/working out plus non-stop weekend events. It's been difficult to really find some down time. The few times that I do get it, it's spent doing chores, editing pictures or creating more decors for my shop. I've been wanting to document my life here & there through video - boring as it may be lol. I am a week late in posting this, since these were from last weekend, but it was fun to record and put together. If you guys have anything you'd like to see, please leave a comment or just let me know. Most of my videos will consist of my goofy son & husband and I have some fun ideas to do in the future - whenever I can find the time. Anyways, enjoy!  

Home Sweet Home

Rylan & I moved into our new apartment back at the end of June. Matt joined us here after we got married a little over a month ago. With all the wedding planning I had to do since we moved in, I have boxes still needing to be unpacked and decorating to do. I've slowly been able to put things up & even create some DIY decor. The apartment isn't where I'd like it to be, which when you have a 7 year old and a non-perfectionist husband, it's hardly ever how perfect I'd like to it to be - but what is, right? I thought I'd at least show some of my favorite parts of our home. ENJOY! 

Biased mother

Every mother/parent is inevitably going to favor their children over others, no matter how obnoxious they can be. So, even though every child is absolutely adorable, my biased opinion will always choose Rylan as the cutest. That sounds a little big headed, but I can't help it. 

One of my favorite activities with Rylan, is capturing him in photos while he plays & just allows himself to be the silly & goofy little man that he is. The camera just loves him, and I guess me sticking a camera in his face since he was born has given him lots of practice on how to give the same love back to the camera. Surprisingly, he enjoys getting his photos taken, just as much as I love taking pictures of him. 

Fall is here in the Pacific Northwest, and I've been watching the leaves change into their beautiful fall colors. A ton of leaves have been falling throughout our apartment complex and I've been wanting to take pictures of Rylan playing in them for the past few weeks. I was lucky enough yesterday that it wasn't raining and we had enough time for me to capture a few shots. Anytime, I tell Rylan he can just play around while I take pictures of him, he gets excited - so as his mom it was such a joy just watching him enjoying himself. 

We spent it in our "backyard" and it wasn't at all this planned out, fun filled trip but we had so much fun. It really is the simple things. 

I mean isn't he just the cutest goofball? At the end, he asked if he could use the camera & take a picture, so I let him. He took a good couple of minutes to really think about what he wanted to take a picture of, and this is the end result. 

It's amazing. 

Love(ing)

Agape love - "Agape has to do with the mind: it is not simply an emotion which rises unbidden in our hearts; it is a principle by which we deliberately live." - William Barclay

It is the kind of love that we must have for all men — even our enemies (Matthew 5:44). The Christian must always act out of love, i.e., in the best interest of his fellow human beings.

     I couldn't attend service yesterday because of work. Matt sent me the notes he took on the sermon yesterday on love and love(ing). I have yet to listen to the sermon, but immediately feel guilt as I read his notes. And have been doing a lot of reflecting...

Agape, is a perfect love. The kind of love we all want but have such a difficult time giving to others, especially to those who have crossed us. I did not know how to truly love others until I really understood and received God's love. 

     To veer off topic a little, growing up, I was told of God's love, but at a young age my confidence was ripped apart by disappointment from my parents for not being the daughter they wished for me to be. Though as a mother myself now, I completely understand their intentions for me were always the best despite the nuisance of a child I was. The amount of bullying from my peers throughout middle school & high school only amplified my lack of confidence & I allowed myself to be in a very dark place, emotionally. A lot of the internal damage, I took upon myself to cope with on my own because deep down I didn't feel like I could go to anyone who would understand or care to understand (which I realize now wasn't true). 

My identity was based on the acceptance and love of others - and doing whatever it took to achieve that. It's crazy what boundaries a person will cross just to get what they think they need to be happy. How could God possibly want to continue loving me when I had lost everyone close to me because of my mistakes? Maybe I hadn't done anything near evil but I did enough detestable things. God only loves those who are good. Or at least that is the lie the enemy continued to feed me all those years and even onto my twenties. 

2011, was a year of many changes for me. I was going through a divorce at the time, with a lot of uncertainty of what was to come. I didn't realize it at the time but God was waiting for this moment and used my best friend as a way to help me see what God's love really was and how much He desired for me just as much as I hoped for Him to love and accept me. He does not need our love but He yearns for it. He does not need our companionship but He yearns for it more than we do. We turn our backs on Him whenever we feel ashamed of our failures or feel betrayed by Him - yet those are the times where He yearns for us the most. In our brokenness (because we are all broken), He provides for us the kind of love, grace and hope that'll help us persevere beyond this world. His love is the one love we all need to crave for, because His love is truly perfect. His love sacrificed His only son for our sins, even though we were undeserving and continues to be our number one advocate. His love has no conditions to fill, nothing to earn, nothing to do and nothing to be. Agape-God Love just loves unconditionally, spontaneously and continually. 

It is the kind of love we as Christians are called to have for God & others (enemies & all). Our natural, human love will always be a conditional love that is dependent upon three things: how we feel; what our circumstances are; and how that other person responds to us. In other words, natural love will always seek the good of itself and not the other person and will always be based upon certain reciprocal expectations, "I'll love you, if you'll love me. But, if you stop loving me, I will stop loving you." 

Love is one of the most beautiful gifts God has given us to share with the world, yet we have a hard time giving. The desires of the flesh, cause us to look inward & think selfishly about what we feel we deserve from others. We were not created just to live a happy life and be content within ourselves, we were designed to be open and cleansed vessels, not only receiving God's love for ourselves, but also passing it on to others. 

I fail at this every single day. I get frustrated at my husband for not remembering to put his clothes in the laundry basket, or not helping with keeping our house clean when I've had a rough day at work. I get impatient by people at work who chose to consume their day by being negative. I become resentful towards friends who don't reach out and keep in touch or make the time/efforts to spend time with me/us. I get upset at family members when they set unreasonable expectations from me. I'll retaliate against strangers when they're being rude or inconsiderate towards me and the list can go on forever. These are all real emotions I go through almost every day. I may love my husband, family, friends, co-workers and even those strangers but I'm not being loving. I do not have the right nor authority to hold unrealistic expectations and be upset when they aren't met because I fail at them too. 

Our love is to be modeled after Jesus’ love. We are to love one another in the same way that he loved us. True love is an intentional decision to put the needs of others before your own, and it results in sacrificial action.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.

He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:3–8)

It is inconsistent and false to claim we love God while not be loving other believers. We cannot love God without loving brothers and sisters who also love Him. The second is that it is inconsistent and false to claim we love God if we don't obey Him. It is impossible to love God while ignoring what He says. The two are inextricably connected, as Galatians 5:14 says: "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

It all comes down to this. For almost every action we take, we have a choice. We can walk by the flesh, or we can walk by the Spirit.

If we walk by the flesh, we will act selfishly—seeking our own good.

If we walk by the Spirit, we will act in love—seeking the good of others.

The Farm & Soccer

I have to say our schedule at the Fletcher home is always filled with something. Whether it be little man's practices and games or expected & spontaneous plans with friends/family. I can't recall a weekend where we didn't have anything planned. Our life seems to be always on the go. 

One of the many reasons why I was motivated to start up this blog after being on hiatus for 3 months and do my best to update regularly is so that I can look at these posts and be reminded of the memories we made and the fun we had. With life being so busy for us, I think we sometimes forget to stop & enjoy all of God's blessings in even the little things. In a world where we are so consumed with getting to our destinations as quickly as possible, and trying to jam pack our schedules so we can do as much things as we can in one day, all the while trying to capture everything so that we can post it on whichever social networking site of choice - we often forget and take moments like this for granted. I am guilty of this just as much as the next person. My biggest vice (which Matt will agree 100%)  is allowing myself to get so absorbed in the instagram/facebook world that I neglect the little time we as a family get to have together. Let's just say, I've been trying my best to work on not doing that when we're together. 

Anyways, yesterday ended up being a beautiful day & and we were able to follow through with some last minute plans with one of our good friends to bring our kiddies to The Farm and enjoy some fall activities. Making sure all 5 kids stay together can be quite chaotic & challenging when you're in a big place with lots of fun activities, but nonetheless Matt & I absolutely enjoy helping out our friends who need that extra hand. 

Afterwards, we headed straight to Rylan's first soccer practice. I have to say I wasn't sure how much he would enjoy playing, but he just seems like he has such a great time. I have to admit that I have definitely become the mother on the side lines screaming and cheering on her child. Biggest fan doesn't even come close to what I am. I am just so proud of his growth and for taking the steps to build enough confidence to come out of his box the last couple of years. It makes me excited for the future. 

Happily Ever After.

"How is married life?"

The million dollar question people have loved to ask us when they see us since we got married almost 3 weeks ago. I believe, I can speak for both Matt and I when I say, answering this question can be more difficult to answer than some would probably assume.

I mean, it's everything really. There's this worldly presumption that we are now living the sweet life, and while marrying my best friend has been one of the best things that I've done, it's also just like all our relationships, it's work. Every morning, I wake up next to the love of my life and I remind myself of  how thankful I am of the journey and opportunities God has blessed us with. I kiss him & tell him I love him before I leave for work every morning (sometimes I'll forget and he'll whine to me about later) and smile at the fact that I can do that. We both go on about our days and some days can be horrible, but at the end of the day we get to come home to each other. If I'm not extremely exhausted, I make dinner for the three of us where we can spend a little bit of quality time together before we have to get our little one to bed. Afterwards, we get to spend a little bit of alone time stuffing our faces with ice cream and we watch our addictive shows. It may sound a little on the mundane side but it's been the best for me.

And it's not always beautiful and grand. Even in just the 3 weeks of being married, we've had our bad days where it's taken a little bit more effort and understanding to be loving & forgiving towards each other (and I'll admit, most of time I'm the one being unreasonable) but the best part about marrying Matt is the fact that he challenges me to always be better than I was yesterday. He encourages us to reflect on His word together, and talk about where we can be better for and to each other for the Glory of God. And as my life long partner, that's all I need.

So, to answer everyone's question. Married life is nothing short of amazing not because everything's been perfect. Our new lives as husband and wife has just begun and although we may not be ready for every single thing (good and bad) the world will thrown at us, our God will always be there to help us persevere.

"What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." - Mark 10:9