in high school and college, i had plans. i had goals. i had dreams, man. my plans went something like this :

• i would graduate with a degree in interior design
• after graduating, i would find a killer design job and create beautiful, functional spaces
• i would have a successful career
• we would live in a big city and would never desire to move back *home* {montana}
• we would have kids…when we were 30
• 2 kids to be exact
• i would continue to work, pursuing my successful career and loving my kiddos when i got home each day

if you would have told me…

• that 7 years after graduating with that degree, it would be sitting stagnant,
• that i would be a stay-at-home mom to THREE amazing kids {and that i would LOVE it},
• that i would do anything to get back to montana,
• that i would have 3 kids BEFORE i was 30,
• that a teeny part of me thinks there’s room in my heart for 1 more,
• that i would start my own business as a photographer,
• and that i would fall in love with blogging…

…I WOULD HAVE LAUGHED IN YOUR FACE, if you would have told me that.

*  *  *  *  *

how crazy is it that we can have all these hopes and dreams, these big ideas about how our life will play out, and it turns out nothing like we imagined. it’s crazy. it’s wonderful. it’s beautiful. you can plan the ba-jiggers out of your life and absolutely NOTHING will go as planned. it’s honest-to-goodness crazy if you think about it.

i can tell you one thing for sure. i’m so thankful i’m not in control and so very happy things didn’t go my way. what an amazing life story i would have missed out on if i had followed the path I had set out for myself and not the one God had laid out for me.

and as lover and i talk about the future and things to come, it’s exciting to think that whatever we anticipate may never happen, and that something even more amazing awaits…

{images by erin kaye photography, edited by yours truly}

deep thoughts for the night *