My guest for The Happy Hour # 188 is Layla Palmer. Layla is a storyteller/photographer whose passion is sharing home and lifestyle inspiration. She is a contributor for HGTV.com, and her home and work have been featured in numerous publications including HGTV Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, and Good Housekeeping.

Layla starts out the show telling us how in efforts not to fall for her now husband Kevin while they were working together, she kept herself quietly busy in a corner painting pictures of cartoon cats (yes, you read that right). After they got married, Kevin started passionately seeking Jesus, and she talks about how watching him simply being a child of God made her take notice. I love her story of the moment she felt changed everything when in the darkest season of their marriage, she and Kevin encountered Jesus in the drive-thru of a Krystal Burger.

Layla and I both have adopted children from Haiti, and at the end of the show we talk about some of the challenges we've seen our children face - including wanting them to recognize their preciousness and the difficulty in establishing that feeling of permanence for them.

I loved my conversation with Layla and also love following her on Instagram - her intention of educating, entertaining, and encouraging comes through all of her stories and posts. And speaking of Instagram, come find me @JamieIvey! I've partnered with Starfish Project to host a contest that will begin April 12 where five winners will receive a signed copy of If You Only Knew and $100 gift certificate to Starfish Project!

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