Decided to take a gander at the ole website today and was ashamed to see how outdated my entire page is! Yikes. Today officially marks the beginning of my annual website overhaul. Timely as I’m two days away from turning 31 and sorting through this new decade crisis I’ve found myself in. Last year, I celebrated my 30th year of life bringing new life into this world with our 2nd son, so I did not have the energy to dive deep into my ambitions, goals, and desires for this new decade. Therefore, I’m re-celebrating my 30th birthday this year even though I’m technically turning 31. Regardless, my mind has been a hamster wheel these past few weeks thinking about how I want to make the absolute most and best of this new decade before me. I’ve always fallen victim to the “just too busy” excuse for not doing the things that bring me joy, including writing and maintaining my blog, so maybe keeping up with a post or two here and there will be one of my new decade goals.

Nevertheless, it only makes sense to start by updating my [Zeiglers] page to include BOTH my children given that my last update was simply announcing being pregnant with my first. Haha! My husband and I have been incredibly preoccupied (strategically not using the word busy) with this new parenting gig! Oh yeah, not to mention navigating parenting little babies through a global pandemic. Our oldest son, Bennett, will be three in March, and our not-so-little littlest son, Graham, just turned one at the end of January. We have been through A LOT the past three years but I’m amazed how our lives have come into focus and our priorities have changed… better yet, evolved, since having our boys. We have never known a love like this and we have never felt more complete and purposeful. My momma heart can write for days about my boys and my amazing husband but I’ll save that for a post. Anywho, this is us! We’re officially a family of four and just adventuring through life one day, one week, one month, and one year at a time. We’re just trying to soak up and soak in every moment of this crazy life with these two!

Extremely excited to share that Benjamin and I are expecting our first kiddo this coming March 2019! We are over the moon.

We found out in October 2018 that we are expecting a little boy and we couldn’t be more excited. We are so grateful to carry on the Zeigler name through our baby boy, and blessed that God chose us to parent this little nugget- to raise him to be a strong, independent, loving, considerate, and God fearing man.

More updates to come once our bundle of joy arrives!

I think it’s about time that I update my [Zeiglers] page! I’m not deleting anything I’ve written previously on my [Zeiglers] page, but am keeping the most recent life happenings at the top. Benjamin and I have been married almost two years now. We tied the knot on  | September 15, 2015  | and have been truly “living it up” as a young married couple ever since. We escaped to Riviera Maya, Mexico for our honeymoon and have since traveled to Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Belize, China, California, and North Carolina! We are hoping to capitalize on a few more adventures before our family starts to grow and life gets a whole lot busier. We are just so grateful for the opportunity to travel, experience new places, visit friends and family, celebrate life happenings with our close friends (graduations, weddings, babies, etc.), and just take in this beautiful but ever so valuable thing we call life, together.

We bought our very first home in July of 2016! It’s a beautiful 4-bedroom brick home that sits on a 1-acre corner lot in a quiet and rural neighborhood in Crestwood, Kentucky. Crestwood is about 35-40 minutes North of downtown Louisville, so it’s convenient for both of our commutes to work. (Benjamin and I commute in opposite directions!) We bought our house from a family that spent 30 years building a life here and giving this house the character and love we absolutely adore. We cherish the 30 years of life that came before us here in this beautiful home, and pray that we can build on those 30 years with the same God-fearing love and compassion. The picture below is a beautiful snapshot of the front of our home from last fall. All photo credit goes to my best friend, the one and only Mrs. Sarah Sipos.

Mr. & Mrs. Zeigler, est. 09.12.2015

Well, it’s official folks! Benjamin and I are getting married. ❤

Last year, Benjamin and I planned an end of the year trip to New York City between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We chose New York City because 1) I love Christmas, especially Christmas in the NYC,  and 2) Benjamin and I wanted an adventure before the busy holiday season, and 3) We both love NYC. Little did I know, Benjamin had a bigger plan. We arrived to New York City on Thursday, December 4, and spent the evening navigating the subway system and Times Square. Fun little fact, on Thursday night, we went to the corner pub from “How I Met Your Mother” for dinner! On Friday, we woke up extremely early so I could experience the glory and happiness of being on the Today Show Plaza. I thought the Today Show was going to be the highlight of our trip….but little did I know there was something even bigger ahead! After the Today Show, we walked around the Rockefeller Plaza and soaked in all the Christmas energies of the city. We stopped at the famous Rockefeller Tree to take some pictures, and then ended taking pictures for other people. Haha. As I was walking back to the tree for Benjamin and I to finally get a picture, I turned around and Benjamin was on his knee asking me to marry him. ❤ I was completely surprised and awkwardly waving my hands in excitement. Before I could even look at the ring, I just hugged him. Of course, I answered his question with a huge undeniably exciting “YES”!!!! I never really thought about how I wanted to be proposed to, but folks, getting proposed to by the best and biggest CHRISTMAS TREE is the perfect proposal. Benjamin knows just how much I love Christmas, so his proposal plan was perfect! We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the city, being tourists, eating at Irish pubs, laughing, adventuring, and taking lots of pictures. Our New York City trip was one for the books, and I couldn’t be happier about committing myself to Benjamin and our life together.

My entire life changed the summer night we held hands, with our feet intertwined, sitting atop the roof of your apartment looking out at the Cincinnati skyline. My eyes were locked on yours, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop smiling. I was completely consumed by you. My heart was beating so fast I thought there was something wrong with me. The butterflies in my stomach, I was certain, were going to whisk me away into the night sky and take me far away from you and the force between us… but they didn’t. They only brought me closer to you. Little did I know, the abnormal, uncontrollable and irresistible feelings that took over my body…my heart… were the first signs of love. Yes, love. That night on the rooftop changed my life forever because it was the night I fell madly in love with the person I knew I would spend the rest of my life with.

There is reason for every human on this earth. There is purpose for every heart that connects with another. I know deep inside, our hearts were brought together for a special purpose, and that purpose may be beyond yours or my understanding, but I can tell you  that our hearts were undeniably brought together to love each other. There is no denying the energy between us, and the compassionate and genuine connection we have. I have never felt anything so powerful in my entire life. Some say they have found love, but we have found true love. We found love in its truest form.

I don’t know how it happened, but I am the absolute luckiest girl in this world to have been there that night on the roof with you. Every second, every thought, every action, and every reaction in our lives led us to that moment; that night on the roof together. Looking back, even through the heartaches we have been through in our pasts, I would never take back or rewrite a day in my life if it meant not being there at that moment when you kissed me for the first time under those stars. As cliche as it sounds, my life truly began at that moment, and I have been living every day since happier than I could ever imagine.

I will live the rest of my life loving you the way you absolutely deserve to be loved. I will never take for granted this once in a lifetime opportunity to love and cherish you. I promise to be here for you no matter what life has in store for us. I will be your pillar when you are too weak to stand on your own. I will be your voice when you are at a loss for words. I will be your encouragement when you lose confidence in yourself. I will be your guard when someone tries to tear you down. I will be there to help lead you through darkness and walk with you through troubled waters. I will be the first to run in when the rest of the world is running out. Even when I think you are wrong or I don’t agree, I will be the first one to support and defend you. Most importantly, I will always be here to make you smile, and remind you that life is about doing what makes you the happiest.

Benjamin Wesley Zeigler, it is you that makes me the most happiest, and I will forever be thankful for you. I love you, and you must know deep in my heart that those three words have so much more meaning behind them. You are my world Benjamin; you are what makes me happy.

Forever & Always,

Your Girl 🙂