dear nancy.

on this journey in life you can only hope that you are blessed with genuine friends. i am here to tell you that i feel so blessed. alix & nancy you guys are the real deal.

almost a year ago i met one of my favorite people on the planet. june of 2015 i met alix. one of the nicest, most sincere & funniest people i know. cory & i love him & i consider him a brother and a huge part of our family. you guys should only be so lucky to meet him & the people that have will all agree with me. however, behind every good man is usually an even greater woman.

nancy. you are the sweetest. when i first met you i was like oh my gosh SHE IS SO PRETTY, i will always tell alix, "are your friends jealous because you have the prettiest & sweetest lady in haiti?"

 i spent some time talking to her & she might seem shy & reserved but her heart speaks louder than words. when i see her with all my kids, helping them with their lunch & making sure everyone gets enough, & then when i see her loving on the children i feel so blessed to know her. i like to think i am a good judge of character & from the moment i met nancy, i was drawn to her. her heart is contagious. there is a light in her that shines so bright & that light can only be described as jesus.

here she is with my son, wilderson. look at those smiles. 

you might not know this but she is apart of  a clown therapy group, it is called CLOWN Therapy Haiti. go visit their facebook page & give them a like. if you are in haiti & you want an amazing group to visit your kids HIRE THEM. it was such a fun day & i cannot wait to have them come back in june.

nancy is the one in the middle, & her sister is on the right. 

now, you tell me that nancy is shy? look at her. you know what that tells me- with nancy there is so much more to her & i want to know everything. she is someone i want to spend time with. she is someone i want to be friends with forever. nancy can we please be friends forever? 

you can hire them & they will do games with the kids, they will sing songs, they will make balloons, they will even face paint. i got the prettiest butterfly this last trip.

so to everyone that gave on this last trip part of your money went to hiring this AMAZING group to bring so much joy to the kids lives for a day. the kids had SO MUCH FUN.  sometimes just a moment of happiness for these kids means so much. it means SO MUCH to me to see them smile. i also love supporting this group. they are making a HUGE difference in haiti & i want to continue to support what they do. if you are interested in supporting them let me know. if you want to hire them let me know. if you want to pay to have them visit some kids email me. together we can make a bigger difference.

dancing.

a papaya eating contest.

look at makendy. hahahah!

the kids had so much fun!

god is putting some amazing people & groups on my path. please be in prayer with me & for me. god has BIG plans & i want to be an avenue for him to work through. 

nancy. thank you for being my friend, my sister. i am so blessed to know you. i pray for you everyday & look forward to spending more time with you. i am so happy god put you & alix together. together you guys are going to do incredible things for the kingdom. you are such a beauty inside & out. thank you for doing what you do. thank you for serving the lord. thank you for making a difference in the lives of all the children you are with, in your home, in your country, & in my life. you are so special & i know god has things planned for you that you haven't even thought about. i am praying he opens doors in your & alix's life. i pray he gives you strength to walk your journey. there are people out there that only you can reach. thank you for being a blessing to me. see you soon my beautiful sister. 

mesi anpil pou tout bagay. mwen kontan nou tout, se zanmi. mwen pa ka rete tann yo wé ou nan mwa jen. 

- e

life lately & a very fun girls night.

i have spent most of my days helping my mom with her house in which she makes me really good meals & she always has my coffee ready when i get to her house. #bestmomever

i started a photo challenge on instagram & you can follow along here

it is a really cool one & its all about celebrating life, beauty & YOU. i never do these, but i decided to do one for the month of september- my birthday month- i have found it is a really cool way to "meet" new people & find some really cool feeds to follow. 

who doesn't want to see artsy pictures of my hair on a pillow?

i have been slumming it in these shoes almost everyday. i have so many shoes but i always wear these. i scored them at target for $7!!!

i went to goodwill the other day & seriously scored a pair of donald pliner shoes for $3.99

go check out his stuff. #ifihadamilliondollars

a brand new pair of sandals that are from tj maxx for $3.99

did i ever tell you i love thrifting?

 you can find my cold brew coffee post here- i made another batch this month for cory & it has been saving us some money!!

cory's sister, jenny, came over last saturday & held her first trunk show for noonday collection

let. me. just. tell. you. looking at their catalog is dangerous! everything they have i love & i cannot wait to get the bracelet i ordered. i love buying things that serve a double purpose. this company is amazing & what they do really pulls on my heart strings. please go look- you will fall in love & i promise you will find something perfect for you or someone you love!

Noonday Collection is a business that uses fashion
to create meaningful opportunities around the world.

                                                             i ordered THIS bracelet. 

so. stinkin. pretty. 

this sweet man of mine has been working so hard, working so many jobs to provide for us & i got him to myself for 5 days! that is like a record unless we are on vacation. i love him so much & i am so very thankful for everything he does & everything that he is. 

last night my friend jessica & her friend lillie went out for a night on the town. that is the saying right?

we went to dinner at the irish pub & then went to get a tattoo at skinwerks

you guys. i had so much fun. my cheeks were hurting from laughing & it so nice to be around people where you don't have to "try" you can just be you & everything is like magic. 

these pretty girls. 

jessica asked me to look sexy & this is what she got. 

however, i hate side profile pictures of me & jessica actually took one i like! i think this means we are meant to be best friends. 

                                                          Psalm 18:33

                                   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

                                     he causes me to stand on the heights. 

up close. 

i love this girl. jessica is one of a kind. it is so freakin funny how things happen. i don't think its by chance, i think the lord sets things into motion from the very beginning. 

funny story: she was my husbands first kiss. he was in 5th grade & she was a little older & during a pretty intense game of spin the bottle his lips landing either on her nose or chin. so we were probably destined to be friends. the devil really did try to keep us apart- i listened to whispers in my ear about this girl & because i trusted that someone i believed them- wrong move-- side note: make up your own minds about people, don't let someone else opinion of someone keep you from something great. 

every time i would see her at a birthday party or a baby shower (she throws the best) (i have already told my mom for my baby shower its up to her & jessica) we would laugh & have the best time. i would always think to myself hmm.. she isn't at all what i have heard of her, she is so down to earth & so caring & one of the funniest people i know. when someone has character they are the same around every person- those are the good ones you guys, & how they live speaks for itself.  you ever meet those people & you think THIS person is good. THIS person is genuine. THIS person is an overcomer. then you have this moment where you say to yourself wow, i have the opportunity to have a person like this in my life that i can learn so much from but what can i give to them? well, i can give her my time, time to laugh. time to pray, time to get tattoos, time to bring her a donut from lamars,  time to be an encourager. so thats what this little part of the blog is for. so jessica if you are reading, which you probably are because i told you too, be encouraged. YOU are an overcomer & every. single. thing that the devil has stolen from you. every. single moment will be giving back above & beyond what you could expect & when you feel like you are at the end of your rope always remember. 

 ISAIAH 41:13- FOR I AM THE LORD, YOUR GOD, WHO TAKES HOLD OF YOUR RIGHT HAND AND SAYS TO YOU, DO NOT FEAR; I WILL HELP YOU. 

lord sometimes life throws us curve balls & we are left standing wondering what in the world happened. why is this happening to me? what is the point? why are you doing this? we blame you. we need someone to blame to take some of the burden off of our hearts. help us to come to you open arms & just surrender. help us to lay all of the pain & questions at your feet & say lord, whatever the devil has planned your plan is greater. give us strength to face every day. give us strength to forgive those who have wronged us. give us peace to not care what others are thinking. help us remember your word when thoughts come in our minds that are not of you. give us joy in sadness. give us peace when we worry about finances or how things are going to work out. we know that when we are at the end of our rope you are always there to pick us up & give us the strength to trust you & know YOU are always on our side. 

Matthew 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

i love you girl & i am always a phone call away. know you are surrounded by people who love you & are praying for you. 

--e

                

birthday weekend.

started my birthday weekend last night. picked up some fried chicken from publix for dinner & watched some sherlock holmes. why is there only 3 episodes? that show is so good.

tomorrow is my little get together at my moms house. i think i will always celebrate my birthday's at my moms. it reminds me of my childhood & i always feel young. i am turning 29 you guys. i feel like i have learned so much in my 29 years. i have grown a lot in the last few years. learned a lot about myself. learning how to say no to things. learning what true friends are. learning how valuable family is. learning to laugh. learning to celebrate everyday as a gift. i am looking forward to the last year in my twenties and plan on learning everything i can before i turn 30. who knows what the next year will bring, but i am really excited about it. what does the lord have in store for my life? that is the question. to all of you who will be celebrating my birthday with me- i love you guys to the max.

not going to be posting this weekend as i will be enjoying celebrating all weekend long!

wore my high-tops to celebrate early.

it's FRIDAY YA'LL

cheers,

mrs.estes

labor day weekend.

my holiday weekend went by too quickly. did it for you guys too?

friday ashlan & aj stopped by & we took a walk to cafe intermezzo for some coffee. cory had some pasta and the skidmore's shared an oreo cheesecake. i got my usual caramel cappuccino. i am going to miss that little place when we move.

saturday we stopped by my mom and  step-dads house to hang for a bit- she made me one of the best iced coffees i have had in a while. we then went to the crawford's house to hang out and head to dinner to celebrate russ getting his masters! i got to see all of their kids who are such a joy & then we headed to gumbeauxs. i know you guys have heard me mention them before, but seriously so good.

cory & russ usually get their guitars out and play.

i brought the girls come coloring books & crafty things & we played for a while.

lyla took my picture

their new addition is little will & i cannot get enough. cannot wait to have my own little ones so they can play together. can you tell he was flirting?

& then of course there is "abomb" & she is one of the most amazing women i know. she has been there for me through so much & knows the deep stuff. i look up to her in so many ways & cannot wait to live close to them. i am looking forward to many more memories to come.

she is a total babe.

sunday was church & lunch at cory's parents. i am so blessed to have such an amazing church family. 

monday we slept in and then headed to my moms house for lunch. she showed out with ribs, homemade biscuits, sweet potato fries, & pinto  beans. she also made some amazing cookies for desert & we all watched a  movie together. 

so blessed.

what exciting things did you do for labor day?

cheers,

mrs. estes