A New Year, A New Post

It seems I've forgotten about this little space on the internet. A lot has happened since the last time I posted. We have been settled in our new, adorable, little, yellow house for 8 months now and have loved every minute making it our own. We still have many projects we'd like to do, but that's how home ownership goes, right? The projects never end! :-) I love it though. Kyle got a new job at Calvary Christian High School which is a ministry of Calvary Church. We both went to high school here, and it is the church where I grew up. He is the campus pastor for the high school, but also helps out with the high school student ministry at the church. He serves a bit of a dual role between the school and the church. As a result, Calvary has become our new church home and we have been very blessed by the community we have found here. We both have been given the opportunity to help out with leading worship on Sunday mornings as well. So that has been very special too!

A lot of wonderful things happened in 2014 for Kyle and I, but as I look back, I also feel like a big chunk of the year I was in a rut, spiritually and just in general. I often found myself complaining and just being negative. I've also felt unmotivated on many levels - like writing in this blog for instance. I am thankful that in 2015, I have a fresh start and chance to focus on the positive, to make the best out of the not so enjoyable things, to be creative and learn new things, and to refresh and renew my faith and walk with Jesus.

I am thankful for the life God has given me and a new year to make more wonderful memories,  my husband who I get to share life with, my job, my friends, and my family.

2 years

May 2014 will mark Kyle and I's second year living back home in Florida. I can't believe how fast time has flown. I've been working as a paralegal (never saw that one coming, but it's been great!) and Kyle has been thriving as the contemporary worship director at our church in downtown Clearwater. We love our hometown and spending time enjoying it's beauty and wonder! I will be honest that's it's kind of fun to say "we live where you vacation" (but seriously, if any of our friends ever want to vacation down here, you are certainly welcome)!! Since October we have been on the house hunt. It has been quite the journey with many emotional highs and lows, excitements and disappointments. We are currently under contract on a home. yay! And things were going smoothly until the appraisal which came in too low. Boo! We are in the throws of a reconsideration of value with our lender and are praying for a better result so that the sellers will be able to negotiate better with us. If not, the deal will likely fall through. :-(

I will certainly be sad if it doesn't work out, but one thing I've learned through this entire process is that God has gone and continues to go before us every step of the way, and we are on His journey laid out for us in this whole house hunting process. I know that if this house doesn't work out, it not only means He has something better in store, but it also means that He's giving us opportunity to learn how to trust Him better. And I find comfort and joy in that. I think that's a far greater prize to seize than the house itself.

Other than that, there's not too much else to report. (Actually, I'm sure there is but I'm distracted right now by old episodes of One Tree Hill on Netflix as I type this.)

Five Happy Moments of the Week

1. Found two beach chairs at Target on sale for $10.00 each

2. Florida afternoon thunderstorms every day this week

3. Spent Saturday evening with the Whites and learned a new card game called Garbage

4. Visited my old livejournal account and read posts from my freshman year in college...I was hilariously immature and ridiculous

5. Got a salt water fishing license so I can start fishing with Kyle

xoxo

Measuring the Universe

One of my favorite blogs I follow is called **Happiness Is...** 

http://www.happinessisblog.com/happiness-is/

One of my favorite things about her blog are her link posts where she will find really awesome things on the

Internet and compiles the links into one post. It's like opening up little presents. And I love presents! The first link 

was just so beautiful that I had to share. It reminded me of Kyle's family as they still have a door frame in their

kitchen of everyone's heights from when they were toddlers all the way up to when they stopped growing! I think

their dogs are even on there lol. I definitely will be doing this with our family some day. 

Enjoy and check out **Happiness Is...** !!

Roman Ondak's Measuring the Universe

http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/tateshots-roman-ondak-measuring-universe

Fresh Start Friday

It's Friday. But more importantly it is a new day. And i am thankful for new days, fresh starts. By the time I went to bed last night, I was feeling very frustrated about the day and some things here and there in my life. I don't really know why, but little things were bothering me and the frustrations just kind of added up and I unexpectedly had a venting session with my sweet husband who is always so patient with me and just listens when he knows that's exactly what I need...even if he has no idea what I'm talking about or thinks I'm being a little irrational. He just listens and offers advice when needed...but a lot of times he just listens because he's learned that's usually what I need. Sometimes it feels good to just vent and then sleep it off and wake up refreshed. It helps too that it's Friday. I love Fridays. Here's to a great day!! x x 

Retrace

Anberlin has always been mine and Kyle's favorite band since highschool. We recently got to see them in concert at the state theatre in St. Pete. It was amazing and simply perfect! It caused me to go back and listen to some of their past albums. I came across this song last night that I hadn't heard in very long time...and when I heard it, it immediately reminded me of the fall of 2008. Kyle and I had actually broken up at the end of this summer and it was certainly a difficult time for the both of us. (Maybe ill tell that story in detail here someday...it's not one of my favorites, but it is a part of Our story...and without it we wouldn't be who we are today.) When Kyle and I had gotten back together, I remember he had shared with me that he had listened to that song often during our time apart. He said it encompassed all that he was feeling during that time. As you can imagine, my heart just about exploded.

And this is why I love music. A song can ring true with every thing inside of you, just like this song did with Kyle. Songs live alongside memories, good and bad. And I love that sweet moment when you hear a song and it takes you right back to a moment in time you don't want to forget. 

Thankfully, this song did not mark the end of our story. If it did, I'd probably hate Anberlin to pieces and would send this song to it's grave where the songs of Britney spears and backstreet boys lie. :)

"Retrace" - Anberlin

Oh how I've tried to get you out of my head

And I lied, the broken words I said

Never thought I'd walk on this street again

Standing where it all began

And I tried to forget

When I left this town

But it takes me right back

When I come back around

Retrace the steps we took on that lost summer night

I'm back there by your side

Retrace the steps we took when we met,

Worlds away, counting backwards while the stars are falling

Oh now I find, every subtle thing screams your name

It reminds me of places and times we shared

Couldn't live locked in these memories

Now I'm chained to my thoughts again

And I tried to forget

When I left this town

But I'll take you right back

If you come back around

Retrace the steps we took on that lost summer night

I'm back there by your side

Retrace the steps we took when we met,

Worlds away, counting backwards while the stars are falling

I need some shelter, I need some safety

Photographs, they haunt me lately

Chasing shadows as the evening takes me

I'm still searching, but the picture's fading

And nowhere else has ever felt like home

And I can't fall asleep when I'm lying here alone

I replay your voice, it's like you're here

You moved the earth, but now the sky is falling

Retrace the steps we took on that lost summer night

In my mind I'm back by your side

Retrace the steps we took when we met,

Worlds away, counting backwards while the stars are falling

An ordinary Tuesday evening

The sound of gentle folky music is drifting through our apartment at this moment. This ordinary moment of time. Kyle is on the floor reading his book (for some reason he finds that comfortable...). I'm sitting in "my spot" on the couch flicking through old Facebook posts and pondering on the beautiful twists and turns that life has taken me. Taken us. As I sit here on what most would consider an extremely boring evening, I am overwhelmed with contentment. And that's a good place to be. I've been gazing at our living room and at all the random pieces of garage sale/thrift store/gifted/up-cycled furniture that all just happens to work together so beautifully to make the coziest little home for the two of us. I have loved creating a home with Kyle over these past four years. I love the life that we are building together. There is no one else in this world that I'd want to do this life thing with. I love that I can sit in the calmness of this evening, stare at my sweet husband, and simply by his presence be assured of the love he has for me. I love these ordinary evenings where I am reminded of how extraordinary my life really is. 

For me

It's been a while, little blog. Four months!! I was feeling nostalgic the other day and decided to read some of my old blog posts. My, how much time changes your perspective on things. And my, how beautiful it is to see where life has brought me. I had a different blog before this one...and then I decided to switch to blogger one day...but I've actually been blogging on and off since 2005. Blogging really started out as a social media thing. It was before we had facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, and all that jazz. For me, blogging started around the time that people were using instant messaging. (There's a little Throw back Thursday for ya!!) Your blog was a place to write about everything you did in a day or a weekend. It was all pointless really, but it was a way to connect with friends and share with the World Wide Web of the awesome piece of pizza you just ate and that you were about to take a shower. haha! Oh, and there were always these surveys that people would post that had all these random "about me" questions. I did so many of those...(learned later in life that those are often used by horrible people who like to steal identities. Which reminds me...I have some deleting to do...)

As I read through some of my old posts...and some semi-recent...I saw how much of my heart has been spilled all over these digital pages. I guess Intricacies of the Heart has always been a perfect name for this blog. While you can't always visibly tell, I truly feel things so deeply, at the core of my being, whether good, bad, happy, or sad.  I guess that isn't really a surprise to me...but as I was reading various entries, it was almost embarrassing to read some of the stuff I posted. Especially during this one season of life when I was working through an annoying yet legitimately hurtful experience - one that I drew out much longer than necessary. But that's just me. It takes me a while to deal with stuff. And that's ok.

Growing up as the youngest has certainly played a part in how I tick. Ever since I was little, I've always wanted my voice to be heard (but sometimes felt like no one wanted to listen or cared). I wanted my opinions to matter. I wanted people to care about the things I cared about. For the record, I haven't been wounded for life or anything - I had an awesome childhood and even more awesome siblings! This has just helped me understand myself a bit better. And I think that's why I've always written about how I'm feeling or what I'm going through. Because I felt like someone was bound to read it - and thus I would be heard. And writing always helped me make sense of what I was going through - I felt better when I could put my emotions on a page.  

So many times I've told myself that this blog needed more of a purpose. A blog based on a theme - like cooking or pinterest projects...something other than all the personal stuff in my life. Because who really wants to read that? But after reading all my old silly posts, I realized that this blog was always a place to share my heart and my life, and it simply needs to stay that way. Maybe one day I'll have a more themed blog about renovating my house and maybe get paid for it at the same time... (haha! JUST KIDDING - I could never do that...and I really do love Young House Love btw)

So my goal for this blog is for it to simply remain a place where I can express what's in my heart and share all the different facets and experiences of my life - even if it is about something as silly as food! If someone somewhere benefits from it or enjoys it, then that makes me happy...but this blog is really for me. An expression of Leigh Anna Mullett in word format - and I look forward to reading it 10-20 years from now...that is if the internet is still around then...haha who am I kidding! 

x x