The beginning

via

And so it begins

this person is here

Living

Her awareness has yet to develop to our level

the awareness of others

of humanity

It won't be long that she will recognize you

your laughter

your anger

your trickery

Forgive me

I am angry already

hopeless

The reality this person will face

the sorrow

the pain

it is going to hurt

You are going to hurt her

shame

Promise me this

promise as if your life depended on it

you will try

and beyond try

with all your might

to love those around you

not for them

not for yourself

not for me

but for this person

she is perfect

Her Name is Rosaline

This girl has done something pretty spectacular. Yes, she has melted my heart while being states and states away. What I would give to have her sleep in my arms tonight. My auntie arms are missing her terribly. I wish I could see her grow up, without using photos. I wish I could give her kisses whenever I wanted. I want to make memories with her. Oh, how I wish....

I'll be dreaming about you tonight, sweet girl.

There is a place.

That is artistic...

Delicious....
Breathtaking...
Magical...

Happy almost Easter!

Hailey's Quilt

I made this quilt for my lovely niece. She makes my heart sing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for...

My friend Rae, who inspired me to make a thankful list.

My husband, who is working a graveyard shift right now in preparation for Black Friday at Target.

My family, that will be all together over one roof for dinner tomorrow.

This website

Creme Brulee


A Job.

A the ability to do what I love.

This Man. And his voice.

For My Friends...

I ache for my friends when they ache. Death is never an easy thing to deal with, it hurts. It hurts so bad and there isn't really a lot of comforting things to say when it happens. And it hurts. It feels like there is no hope and nothing good can come from it. And it hurts. When morning comes and your eyes are still red from crying the night before. And it hurts. School and work are not put on hold and the world moves on while you are in agony. And it hurts. It's okay to hurt. It's okay cry. It's okay to be broken. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Jesus said so.

Looking back.

Nathan and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary this past Sunday. It was wonderful. Our weekend started out with Stumptown Coffee at the Bipartisan Cafe and a drive to the beach. Cape Lookout is truly breathtaking. Someday we will camp there, without a doubt. The hike was fun, we booked it! We passed so many people hiking, I felt really good about myself. Working out has really improved my hiking skills, who would have thought?! 5 miles was long, but so doable!

After our hike we drove south to Pacific City where we had a fabulous lunch at The Pelican Brewery. Nathan enjoyed his beer while I enjoyed my... water.

The evening was beautiful, amazing sunset! On the beach outside our hotel was a really great tide pool, which was something I really wanted to explore! I am completely blown away by sea life. I could spend hours looking at all the incredible animals and plants.

Here is a collaboration of photos of Nathan and my first year together as a married couple. This year has been so much more than I ever could have imagined. I love my husband, I love the home we live in, and I love how the Lord has provided for us through and through.

Hailey Rae

Today I'm feeling like I need some loves from my girl... over 1000 miles away, I'm sure you can imagine, I am a little sad. Here are some photos I snatched while she was here in June. My heart is crying. These pictures always make me smile though :)

Mother's Day

This mothers day was a big success. Nathan and I honored our mothers by making them a wonderful breakfast - waffles from scratch with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries along with a mushroom, tomato and basil egg scramble! YUM!

After breakfast we hopped in the car and drove to Aloha to the Barefoot Quilt Festival. It was a little hard to find, but once we made it to the Jenkins Estate it was worth it! The Estate was beautiful, so much history within the home. I told Nathan I wish we knew about this place when we were looking for places to get married, not that our wedding was not perfect, it was just that pretty!

The quilts were really great, the theme was "Then and Now - Twenty Years of Quilts" Each artist had a quilt from twenty years ago next to a quilt they made this year. My favorite was the water color quilts...

I also really loved the fabric stretched over canvas to create a different kind of look...
After the quilt festival we drove to Elk Rock at The Bishops Close, Portland's best kept secret. The gardens are beautiful! It was so relaxing and definitely will become a regular place to visit on sunny days. Here are some pictures I took while exploring...






It was a perfect day. We are so blessed to have our parents in our lives that support us and care about us. It was fun spoiling our moms with a homemade breakfast and flowers.

Mother's Day has always been a fond memory for me, this was the first year I was not home with my mom so I had to make it special in a different way. Growing up, we would get up early before mom and make her breakfast in bed and bring it to her while singing,

Happy Mother's Day to you,
Happy Mother's Day to you,
Happy Mother's Day dear Mommy....
Happy Mother's Day to you!

I'm looking forward to the day that song will be sung to me by my little ones... until then, I will celebrate my mom - she is a wonderful mother and friend. I appreciate her so much and I don't know what I would do without her. Even within these past few months I feel like our relationship has grown to another level. I pray my children think of me the same way I think of my mom, she is beautiful inside and out, in every way.

I am honored to say this year I have taken in another mother as well! Getting married has its perks in so many ways, I have twice the family I had before! Carol has been such a blessing to me and I look forward to the future we'll share together. She is the only woman that loves my husband as much as I do and that means the world to me.

Mother's Day might be one of my favorite holidays, and I'm not even a mom! :)

Here's a shout out to our moms! We love you SO MUCH!!