:)
i am thankful...
for this man.  this weird & beautiful man.  he's really good, guys.  like, SO good.  lots & lots i could say about him, but he is becoming one of the people i'm fondest of.  mahhh fran (:
for time spent with afton and how she made me feel like i was funny ha!  got her crackin up at some old interview stories and felt pretty proud of that. (:  besides that though, i am just thankful she is my friend.  whatta dear friend.
for the sun driving home from work today.  ohh baby, what a relief to see that guy.
for vic and sarah and kassy.  i guess they noticed that i've seemed a little off at work this week because i wasn't acting like myself (don't worry, i'm doin fine!), but just the fact that they know me like that really means somethin.
for  a trip to bangladesh reeeeal soon.  wow.  haven't thought too much about it except for being nervous, but i think it's going to be a really good thing.  hoping for my heart to grow as a result of it.  
for the chance to be heard by a room of high schoolers tonight as i sit on a 'relationship panel' ...whaaaat?!  never done that before, but i'm excited & honored.
for seeing holland soon.  finally!
for the honor of being asked to be a part of cassie & jason's wedding day!  oh my goodness!
for the best weekend ahead, oh boy!  
for the things i feel i'm learning about my dear Father these days.  what a gift to be His child.

these pictures are super special.  thought i'd share a few favorites!  all taken by the amazing, gabe stejskal!
holland kabat redinger, you are the dearest friend to me.
this day was so much fun.

life is beautiful sometimes, huh!

haha, little chuggy & little gulpy (: these pics are from last monday when paiger came over for a lil tea & chat.  i don't know why we look so dark in the pictures on the right, ha.  won those mugs from christmas dice game at grandma's!
but hey, friend!  how are ya??
we got tons of snow today.. like, tons, which provided for a slow evening for me which has been so nice!  feel like i haven't been home alone with nothin to do but make myself pancakes for dinner and fall asleep to a boring movie about queen victoria in a long time (:  i've loved it.  also both anna and coral have texted me tonight saying they're thinkin of me, and if that isn't the most special thing!
don't have much to say.  hope you're all safe & bundled in your little homes.

this has meant an extra lot to me lately so thought i'd share...
"as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.  like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

ephesians 2: 1-10
night night night!

hi, hello!
wanted to write for a while now but haven't felt super inspired.  currently sitting in eau cleezy, wi, at racy's, the coffeeshop i used to spend lots of time in and that's inspiring!  bein in eau claire is so normal for me.  i really love it.  know this town like the back of my hand, i do!  just came from menom where my dear friend, becca, lives and she made me the most beautiful breakfast for lunch in her cozy lil home!  like, homemade lattes and egg bake!  that's what those pictures ^^ are all about.  and a pic of her gallery wall, too, because she hates it but i love it and don't want her to ever get rid of it.  isn't it amazing??  i think it's amazing.
i'm still not sure i have much to say, but we'll see what comes to my head, huh?

hmm.  oh!  i was real close to buying a snail this week!  probably even two snails, 'snailexi' and 'fransnail,' for francis (:
still am plannin on it, just ran out of time on the day i was going to do it.  CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE IT though... snails!  they're only $2 each, guys!  agh, i can't wait.  but also, poor snails.  haha.. if i care for those snails the way i've cared for cactuses in the past, the lil guys only have a little bit of time left. :/  i read online that you should assess if your water is coppery because snails don't like water that is too coppery, and i'm sort of like... come on.. they're snails.. they don't get to be divas about their water.  wow, who knew i had so much to say about snails, huh?

bein in eau claire is so right.  except holland's not here this weekend, so it quickly becomes not as great.  why isn't holland here?  where's holland??

amy accidentally called me becca and i told her she could call me whatever she wanted, just don't call me late for dinner, and i know it's not my joke, but wow, i cracked myself up with that one.. haha!  

my dear friend, cassie spartz, is engaged to a kind & good man and i'm real thrilled for them!

in youth group at church on wednesday we had a little time of worship and wow, have you guys heard the song 'Jesus we love you,' by bethel worship?  oh man.  every lyric really hit me this week.  
your grace remains the cornerstone
things that we thought were dead
are breathing in life again
you cause your Son to shine on darkest nights
...
our affection, our devotion, poured out on the feet of Jesus
what else is there than that, really.  

francis.  can't leave a post about things i'm thinkin about without mentioning that dear man.  i'm quite smitten with him, that's all. (:

hey, tomorrow's national squirrel appreciation day, did you know that?  how are you celebrating?

our hearts never stop beating our whole lives, isn't that somethin.  what an honor to be counted among the living.  it’s pretty amazing.  & life and peace rest on my whole body because of God.. full life, not just a beating heart and functioning lungs.  my body knows rest and knows peace because of Him.  somethin i’ll never be able to get over.

so.  in sum... snails & squirrels & francis & bein alive.. that's what's on my mind, haha!  
i'll write again sooner next time, who knew i had so much gold to share (;

love you guys.  rooting for you.
over & out,
your homegurl,
​LEX.

¡hola!
haha, this mornin in church i almost said "gracias" to the person who handed me a coffee.  i really loved using the little bit of spanish i know with so many gracious mexican people, and seeing everything with both english and spanish on it.  i really liked learning & seeing more spanish.  and you guys, the mexican people we interacted with were so kind, wow.  
anyway, wanted to share some pics i took from this past week while on vacation with my family.  there are quite a few of them, so if pics aren't your thing or you don't care, come back another day (: 
to be honest, i felt a little guilty getting to go on this trip.  it was even slightly hard to accept, considering all the people who don't have anything.  i was very aware of that.  at the very least, i was and am incredibly thankful.  so so thankful.  this trip was a gift i don't deserve.
yeah.  don't know how to transition from that but here are the pics, ha.

oh baby, pure JOY boarding that flight bright & early saturday mornin, in the coldest of cold!  i think it was -14 degrees when we boarded!!  we were so excited.  shoutout to @davehack97 for taking us to the airport in the wee hours of the mornin!

^^ cancun out the window, probably a half hour before landing!  and ^^ mama's face as we stepped off the plane (:

^^ breakfast the first mornin.  oh my gosh.  ya'll know how i feel about breakfast food, right?  and in such a lovely location!

^ dad cooked this beautiful breakfast for us!  he actually cooked for us a lot during the week.  he's the best!

^ sid in front of the ocean.  that ocean is somethin special.  so is sid.

^^ haha, paige's hat.  just a buncha noobs!  

^ you guys.  the ocean was really that beautiful.  i couldn't (can't) get over it!  i love it so much.

dad buddy.  

^ just in case you didn't know where we were (;

pretty paiger.  can't remember the last time we spent so much time together at once!  it's been a while.  i love her.

haha, dad took these pics of me on my favorite day of the trip.  feel a little weird about solo pics sometimes, but captured my joy, i think.  and i love the background.  the day was really that bright & beautiful!

my pretty mama & sisters!

^^ this garden was so beautiful.  like a little slice of heaven.

doesn't it look kinda like jelly??

on our last mornin we took a walk along the beach before packin up.  ^^

​it was a really refreshing time with the fam, and i'm grateful.  the sun felt soo nice, we played more bananagrams than i've ever played in my life, and ate chunky salsa & guacamole with chips for basically every meal (you'd think i'd be sick of it but woahoho you would be wrong).
but i like bein home (:  glad to be back and feel refreshed for a new week.