Hello, I have 40+ coffee mugs

Today is the third day I've used dry shampoo.  I have the baby sitting up on my chest, computer on my lap, and my mint striped coffee mug in my hand.  And if I can be honest, I smell.  Life is crazy.  However, I am embracing my new role – stay at home mom.  Even though I love this new stage in my life, it has drastically put my character to the test.  I've realized I can’t be a perfectionist and I can’t control everything.

I’m Hannah Nicole, welcome to my blog! 

I already have a bio written in my ‘About Me’ page of my blog but I thought I’d let you know a little more about me that isn’t written on that page.

A Wife

I am in my early 20’s.  I am married to a strong man named Ben and we have a baby girl named Brooke.  Since fifth grade, my life was only sports; specifically volleyball.  From then to my freshman year of college, I played volleyball all year round and loved it; I truly miss playing on a team.  Because of sports being such a large influence in both of our lives, it only makes sense we met each other through sports.  My husband and I met in college inside the athletic training office.  We both had just gotten out of long-term high school relationships and became each other’s “rebounds” according to everyone (but we proved them wrong).  To put our dating relationship and engagement in a nutshell, it was quick and an obstacle course.  Sometimes I wished our relationship was more romantic comedy, but God wrote our love story, not a scriptwriter.  We married August of 2013 and by May of 2014 we found out we were expecting.  Our lives changed so quickly in one year, so I am always anticipating what God has for us in our futures.

William Soule Photography - 2012

I graduated college about a month before Brooke was born.  I have a degree in Early Childhood Education and an unfinished degree in Writing/Literature.  I've only had one job in my whole life; working in childcare.  My job has been one of the biggest blessings.  I worked at a private Christian daycare.  The workplace surrounded me with strong Christian women who influenced me positively for almost five years.  I want to thank everyone right now for being such a significant part of my life.

Brooke Elizabeth was born January of 2015.  She is a gift from God.  I never thought I would be a stay at home mom at the age of 22.  I am so thankful to my husband who works hard so that I can stay home, and obviously blessed that God opened doors that this situation is available to us.  A seed was planted to start writing a blog as soon as I found out I was staying home.  Even though caring for my little peanut is a full time job, I knew I would need hobbies and me time to maintain my sanity from time to time.  Starting this blog just made sense to me.  I felt like I was meant to start writing again, and not writing for me but writing for others.  I've been working on what I really want to present online to women for most of my pregnancy.

Of Coffee Mugs

For some fun facts, I have 40+ mugs in my cabinets and I deal with this obsession every single time I go shopping where mugs are distributed.  The struggle is real.  Chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries are my absolute favorite dessert and possible food.  I love trying out new hairstyles and makeup that I find on Pinterest.  I hope to use this blog to let women know my favorite hair and beauty products, alongside posting “how-to” videos.  Another passion of mine is fashion!  I love shopping and clothes.  I am constantly looking for new ideas and combinations to try out.  My fashion sense has changed a lot from high school to now.  I've tried almost everything. 

Even though I love the prior, I think my favorite hobby is health and fitness.  I want to use this blog mostly for writing to women about finding their confidence in God for all aspects of their life, but I also want to post about the importance of talking care of your physical body.  Our bodies are temples.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Eating right and keeping your body active is a responsibility you have.  I want to supply readers with fun, healthy, and realistic recipes from time to time, alongside exercises I love at home & at the gym.  Everyone has one body given to them by God.  I am so thankful that I was blessed with my body.  God didn’t have to give us the body we have and it really isn't ours– it’s His!  He gave it to us to care for it until we go to heaven.  No matter what type of body we have, we need to care for it.  I make it a priority to eat healthy (although I do treat myself, maybe a bit too often) and exercising.  Everyone has different priorities and different levels of commitment, but I want to use this blog to encourage women to care for themselves and even spoil their bodies (because it really is essential).

Of Character

Even though I love fashion and beauty, health and fitness, and of course all things children; my main purpose for writing this blog is to encourage, help, and connect with women.  Life is hard.  There is evil and sin in the world and it can be a scary place to be alone.  But remember, we are not alone.  We have God and we have each other.  Throughout my life I dealt with feeling unwanted, depressed, anxious, and the inability to be as good as all the girls around me.  I don’t think I am alone who has felt this way.  

Whether you are single, dating, married, or divorced, we all can help each other and I believe my posts can relate to any one’s past or present.  The words I hope to write I want to encourage women to turn to God in their struggles instead of relying on themselves or the world.  Proverbs 31:10-31 is a great reference to women about how to live their lives and respect their husbands. With this blog, I hope to help other women discover what I discovered about truly honoring your husband through loving God.  I don't want anyone to feel excluded with the word “Wife” in the title.  Even though most of my heart will be calling to the young mothers and/or wives, this blog is for ALL my ladies out there.  

I think women are blessed with the ability to connect and communicate with each other, so this blog is going to be just that – a way for me to connect and communicate my life experiences, tests, trials, joys, and successes!

Let’s Connect

My goal as I begin posting is to post something new at least once a week, but please be easy on me since I have a newborn at home.  If you have any recommendations for posts you’d like to see, let me know! I also want to invite readers to comment back with any questions, concerns, or stories.  I don’t want to be the only one connecting.  Feel free to email too (find in my bio)! 

Thank you for reading my first post of “A Wife of Character & Coffee Mugs.”

xo