Love is what makes a family...

I've been thinking a lot about the struggles of life recently. Seems like everyone I know is have a hard time with life. So much of me just doesn't believe that it should be that way. It seems like it shouldn't be such a challenge to everyone. Are we making it harder that it needs to be? How much of life's complications are our own doing? Is it really that life is hard to make us better people? Is it preparation for something or all just one big test? Or are we just making it all harder than it needs to be?  I've heard so many times that I "take on too much" and try to do too much. I've questioned if that's what makes my life hard. I don't think it is. There's a strong train of thought in our day and age to let people do what makes them happy. To live and let live. Make the effort to understand our differences and love one another. However, that only goes so far. Ryan and I took a boundaries class when we hadn't been married for l...

So, for years people have told me that I act like a kid. It used to bother and upset me. Did it mean that I'm immature? Unprofessional? Not serious enough? I would spend so much time trying to figure out how I could act more "grown up" and not so "childish." One day, a couple of years ago, I was on the beach with my husband. I started freaking out over sand dollars - I'd never seen one before and it was truly mind blowing to me. Ryan looked at me and said "I love how excited you get over the tiniest things. Most people are so run down by life that they don't even notice the little things."   And that's when my attitude changed about being called a "kid." There are attributes that children exude that I absolutely love and pray that I also exude: innocence (let's be clear here that I don't mean naivety), unbridled love and joy, unadulterated excitement over the tiniest of things in life, genuine happiness to see ...

So, some backstory and history: Ryan and I had been saving for a "honeymoon" since before we got married. We decided to go for it this year - to my first choice of location: Saint Lucia. Why I really wanted to go there I can't really say. I'm not totally sure. I know that it looked fantastic on the Bachelor (Jake's season and one of only 2 seasons I watched, so don't judge me too harshly). Also, when I googled "cheaper version of Tahiti" Saint Lucia popped up as first. I'm sure there were other things that factored in... such as the coffee and cocoa plantations (2 of my very favorite things), the strong history of rum creation, and the hundreds of delicious tropical fruits. Not to mention the active volcano, multiple waterfalls, natural hot springs and jungles. Literally everything I've thought looked fun on vacation is all found somewhere on this tiny island. I was sold. Plans were made, flights booked and a resort chosen. Off we go on th...