{insta}week

so i guess if sandy wreaks havoc on us this week, this could be my only post until we emerge from our storm shelter.

i did decide to go to the store last night to grab a few things just in case. 

you know, stacy's pita chips, life cereal, sandwich ready tuna packets, apples, oranges & bananas.

yeah, water too...the last 2 cases in the entire store!

i really didn't want to be one of those people though. 

people are crazy! 

here's a peak into my week:

anyone else love raking leaves?

yeah, me either.

i raked twice this week but you would never know!
maybe sandy will take care of them for me?

my cousin donated some cupcakes for the food pantry on tuesday, and since it was our trick or treat night {if you're not from around here, yes, it's weird}, i decided to decorate them to hand out.

i attempted to make my own frosting, which was "eh" in my opinion. 

i added some candy corn to redeem them!

just a few shots from she reads truth this week.

we just started a study on philippians.

good stuff!

everything is a step for this little one latley.

baskets, bins, mike's work bag, toys.

if it holds him, he climbs.

on thursday i got to go to the orange tour.

it's a one day conference that goes around to various cities throughout the country.

this one was held at national community church.

i'm thinking a separate post will come later with my thoughts on the day. 

we've been into homemade pizzas lately.

i love it because i can enjoy whatever creation i want with no sauce!

{yes, i'm a weirdo & don't like pizza because i don't like tomato sauce}

i attended a baby shower this weekend to which we had to bring our own tea cup.

i'm not much of a tea person, so i don't own tea cups, but my mom gave this to me a couple of years ago for such occasions. 

someone gave it to her when i was born, and i love it! 

this week i taught pre-k, and as i was preparing materials, i was so thankful for this awesome reminder!

and speaking of pre-k, this had to have been one of the sweetest things i've ever seen.

he was just sitting there "reading" his bible, tucked in his little cubby hole for the longest time. 

today our church celebrated its 5th birthday.

we started with just a handful of us in our pastor's living room, and have grown into an awesome community & family. 

we are so blessed to call this our church home.

1. we took the kids into "big church" this morning where we go to worship with glow sticks!

then tonight we had a party that was such a blast!

2. this is the closest that eli will get to halloween this year. doesn't he make such a cute cowboy?

3. we signed up for the cornhole tournament & we brought it! competitive much? we only won 2 games, but we did shut one team out, so that was cool. 

well, i guess we'll see what happens in the next few days! 

could be a week full of firsts:

first time losing power for multiple days. 

first time losing power for multiple days with a one year old.

first time existing on stacy's pita chips & almond butter sandwiches.

{except that the pita chips may or may not be finished off by tonight}

first time i won't be able to check instagram 86 times a day because my phone is dead.

oh boy! 

have a great week, and be safe if you're in the path of "frankenstorm".

{seriously, why do they do this?}

bragging rights

i'm not really one to boast & brag, but if you'll allow me a few minutes, i'd like to do just that.

today's subject: my hubby.

the summer leading up to eli's birth {2011} my hubby began a job search so that i would be able to quit my job to stay home. 

his job search concluded in august of this year when he landed a position as a sports reporter for our local paper. 

yes, that's 15 months of searching & praying for a full time job.

120 job applications (no exaggeration, he kept track).

tireless hours of writing resumes and combing indeed.com.

he literally applied for any position he was even remotely qualified for.

people, he applied to be a 911 operator!

if you know my husband, you know this would've been an epic fail!

the man has to leave the room at the mention of blood or guts. 

he gags when he hears the cat throwing up. 

he would need the paramedics to come to the 911 dispatch office if he received a call from someone in a real emergency because he'd be passed on the floor with the first "help me, i've been stabbed & there's blood gushing everywhere!"

there weren't too many jobs i would discourage him from being hopeful about.

this one, though, i suggested might be best on the decline list.

bless his heart, he was so willing to do anything so that i could live out my dream of being a stay at home mom.

during those 15 months, we had no idea what God had in store for us, but we knew to just trust Him. 

we knew His timing would be perfect.

 and right when we needed it, he opened the door for a job that mike would describe as one of his dream jobs. 

{first being full time children's ministry director, of course. still waiting on that prayer to be answered!}

here is someone who holds no degree in journalism, has never taken a journalism class, with limited journalism experience having been offered a job as a sports reporter.

recent graduates of major universities who have received rewards & literary honors, who are willing to move to remote parts of the country, cannot find jobs, and yet, my husband has been given the opportunity to do something that he loves.
hang out at sporting events & write about them. 

that, my friends, is an only God thing!

to hear him say that he loves his job, makes my heart smile.

to think that he might've had to actually take one of the hundred plus jobs he applied for, only to be miserable, would've broken my heart.

recently, he was given the opportunity to work on a feature story that ended up being published as a front page article.
he put so much time & heart into this article & tonight i finally got to read it.
the topic of this article was certainly not an easy one to write about. 
a local high school quarterback whose father committed suicide.
that's heavy stuff!
he did an amazing job!
{you'll have to read it for yourself to see!}
 the feedback he's gotten has been remarkable & i'm just so proud!
 i love his ability to connect with people on the most genuine level.
that he cares deeply & honestly.
that he is sensitive, & therefore, people's needs grip him at the heart.
God has gifted him in the area of relationships like no one else i know & He is allowing mike to use this gift as a sports reporter for the evening sun. 

i'm so beyond thankful that once again God has provided for us & provided beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined.

{insta}week

whoa! three posts in one week!

i know, i'm on a roll!

not to send you on overload, but it is sunday & that means it's picture time!

 last sunday when i came out of church, i had a flat. 

some of you may know the alpha male i married.

some of you may know that's not so very true :)

thank goodness for the manly men of providence community.

funny that our message that day was on relationships: keeping it real & banding together.

why is it that women always have more bathrooms, yet such LONG lines??? 

 this is at the apple harvest festival where we went after church.

 i got to partake in one of the most wonderful delicacies of all time: apple sausage. 

oh.my.word. it is so good.

this year i bought some to bring home!

we're really trying to get a little more organized {key word: trying}

this week we worked in the office.

the boss man made sure we didn't take any unwarranted breaks.

sometimes i think charlie looks like the saddest dog in the world. 

i just love him. 

as i mentioned in the previous post, i've been following She Reads Truth.

just a snippet from my journal this week.

now for two very exciting happenings this week:

1. i finally gave eli a haircut

2. eli has started walking

here is a pre-haircut pic:

it was soooo long & shaggy.  

the back was hanging over his shirt collar. 

it was driving me crazy.

post-haircut:

i tried to get a better one, but when i asked him to look at me this is what i got:

such a monkey!

here's the aftermath.  

it doesn't look nearly as bad as it was for real.

i had cleaned up most of the hair.

the only way i could get it done was to let him play in the sink.

this was also post-haircut :)

i took eli to the library to play this week & that's where he decided to let loose.
here's just a little glimpse i caught:
{just a note: the voice you hear is not eli, though it seems to fit perfectly}

thanks for checking in {again}.
have a great week!

a nugget of Truth

lately i've been so blessed by this wonderful little source of awesomeness, that i just felt like i have to share.  

to be perfectly honest, i didn't want to at first.  

i wanted to keep it as my very own. this "source of awesomeness" that i could have all to myself.

but this morning, God began stirring my heart.

this is not something to be kept a secret because something is happening here.

hearts are being transformed. 

lives are being touched.

souls are being awakened.

this is something that definitely needs to be shared.

a few months ago, i came across a bible reading plan via an old friend's instagram feed. 

{the most likely of places, right?}

as she posted more and more pictures, i became intrigued.

here's what i found:

this is online community of women coming together to study the Word of God & spur each other on in growing in knowledge and love for our Savior.

did i mention it's awesome?

i've been struggling lately {months & months} with getting into the Word and not having it feel like just another thing to cross off my list.  

workout. check.

do the dishes. check.

read the bible. check.

there were so many days that i just wouldn't do it because my heart just wasn't in it & i felt like a fraud.

i started about a week & a half ago in the middle of a study on Ephesians & haven't missed a day.  

i love the comments left by other women that encourage me & make me think. 

i'm inspired by the creativity in the worship through art i see on the instagram feed

{#shereadstruth}

i love knowing that i'm apart of a group of women that have a desire to love Jesus more.
to know Him more intimately.

to love Him fully & completely.

to influence our worlds by His mighty power.

i've been following the blogs of the writers of SheReadsTruth { Kacia, Jessi, & Raechel} & it seems to me that God is doing something in the hearts of women.

i believe God wants to use women to begin a movement of restoration in our homes, churches & communities.  

i pray that i am one of those women. 

friends, we are in a battle here & the time is now.

remember when....

remember when i started a blog and then just fell off the face of the earth?

remember when you all were so worried about me and missed reading about the all the wonderful things happening in the world of the rubins?

hmmm....

well, have no fear, people, i'm back!

where was i, you ask? 

to be honest, despising the use of the computer! 

i go through periods where i will use my computer every night {hours spent on pinterest, anyone?}

then i go through periods where i do not even want to look at it.  

it's a great dynamic for one who wishes to maintain a blog, right?

but i have really missed blogging & have been so inspired by others' blogs lately 

{yes, back in a season of constant computer usage}

& so, i'm making another attempt to do this blog thing.

i'm not going to inundate this post with a recap of every last detail of life over the last 5 or so months since i've been MIA, but i do have pics to share.  

{aren't there always!}

here are just a few {how do i pick just a few} of my faves from the last few months & 

don't worry, plenty in the future to come!

1. our first family trip to the beach

2. lots of time spent outside cooling off 

3. our little boy turned 1! {how did that happen??}

4. a shot from our one year photo shoot

5. also from our photo shoot

6. after {barely} eating his cupcake at his party

7. enjoying the last bit of good weather outside

looking at these i see how much that little boy has grown!  

well, i thank you for checking back in....

i look forward to meeting you here again soon!