Decorating what I can

I am such a homemaker. No, I don't have my own home...yet. ;o) So for now I love to put my decoration ideas into practice in my bedroom. It's become my own place - my getaway from everything (aka everyone) else going on in this house. I take some pride in the appearance of it, and I really like imagining doing these things with my own home someday. Here are some of my favorite parts of my bedroom. <3

I love my headboard! The Christmas lights on it are a fun touch, I like it!




My swirly mirror from Spencer's Ally! LOVE IT! (In the reflection is my desk with a huge photobooth photo of Tara and I in high school, lol.)


Christmas Tree and window seat. :)


Cutest picture frame ever, with scrapbook papers in it. :) I really like this little corner.


Just some fun photos and inspiring quotes. I love the one of my grandparents holding hands walking...




So excited for Christmas! The end.

Babysitting the Porter chillins!

I love these kids. That's about all I have to say.. they are deliciously cute!

Sing, sing, sing!

One of my current favorite worship songs by Chris Tomlin!

Sing, sing, sing, and make music with the heavens!
Sing, sing, sing, grateful that You hear us,
when we shout Your praise, lift high the name of Jesus!

What's not to love about You?
Heaven and earth adore You!
Kings and kingdoms bow down;
Son of God You are the One!
You are the One, we're living for!

You are the love that frees us,
You are the light that leads us;
Like a fire burning,
Son of God, You are the One!!
You are the One... we're living for!

Sing, sing, sing and make music with the heavens!
Sing, sing, sing, grateful that You hear us
when we shout Your praise, lift high the name of Jesus!

Canned Food Drive for Hope Station.

So, after my rant on not celebrating Halloween, I did. I guess "celebrate" isn't the right word, but I participated in a trick-or-treat canned food drive for Hope Station, with Outward. We collected LOTS of food, between all the groups that went trick-or-treating (midday, by the way). It was a really great cause, and we all had a blast collecting food for those in need! One thing I love about everyone in our church, is that we cannot really get enough of each other. We love to spend time together, and never have a dull moment. It made for a very, very fun afternoon! Afterward a few of us hung out at the church, talked / ate / watched Edward Scissor Hands. (Weird movie). It was an amazing day, and there were some really, really amazing costumes.

We were cowboy and cowgirl. Brian got badges from his parents, which made me Sheriff and him, Ranger. So much fun! And our hats are actually his parents that they got on their honeymoon road trip to Reno. We insisted to wear the hats, because of the story behind them... ;) Regardless of the fact that his was FAR too small. Everyone let him know it didn't fit well, lol. He has such an awesome attitude about those things though. (BTW, I realize I have a double chin in this photo. I'm trying to be light hearted about it, and even laugh. However, that was my cue that it's time to start shedding pounds! Lol).





Fun, fun!!

Great Adventures!

Last Tuesday, (Brian's day off) Brian and I headed out to Detroit for a fun adventure! We both have a passion for the outdoors. We love admiring the beauty of our Creator in nature, and Oregon is SUCH an amazing place to do so! I have never driven out that way any other time of year except summer, so it was so refreshing and nice to see the beautiful colors in the trees. One thing that blew our minds on the drive out, was the beautiful mist rising among the trees on the mountains. SO GORGEOUS!






Sadly, my old school camera and lack of any photography talent does this scenery no justice! But I thought I'd share anyway! Once we got to our destination, we loaded up a couple of Brian's guns and shot targets. Not going to lie, I'm a pretty good shot! Nothing compared to Brian, he is always spot on.. his friends brag to me about how great of a shot he is. :) Hottie.




We had a little over a solid hour of shooting and sunshine, before it started to pour. At that point we decided to sit in the truck for a while and take photos. We have way too much fun together, I don't think it should be allowed! Everyday we ask each other "are you REAL?!" How on earth could I be dating someone who loves things I love, and teaches me things that I want to learn? God is SO GOOD!

::Laughing fest / accidental photo::

After lunch at a super cozy restaurant in town, we were pulling out and saw the best license plate ever!! Brian spotted it, and we LOVED IT!!!


I love blogging, it's like a journal documenting fun events and thoughts on life.

Choose faith, not fear.

As of late, I have becoming more and more convicted about the way our society tells us to celebrate holidays. It kind of hit me really hard this past Easter season, how much we (Americans) have cheapened a holy day as precious to our faith as Easter. The death and RESURRECTION of our Lord and Savior, the One who gave it all so that we can have life everlasting, a life that we do not deserve in the least. This last week I recalled a status update I wrote on facebook at Easter time along the lines of being saddened by the pastels, bunnies, and eggs that have stolen our focus from the celebration of Jesus' sacrifice for US. It's one thing to celebrate spring and the fun colors, it's another to let it completely take our focus off the beauty of the Man with nail scarred hands.

While thinking about how saddened I was at Easter this year, I have also been feeling sad about the celebration of Halloween. For some reason, it has never set well with me to take part in a holiday that was founded on searching out spirits of the dead and chasing away demons. Not only is that something weird and dark to celebrate in general, but especially as a Christian who claims to live in the light of Jesus Christ. I hate that it's called a holiday which = holy day. My best friend, Tara, was raised in a wonderful Christian home, and her parents chose to celebrate All Saints Day (Nov. 1) rather than Halloween. I always found this very interesting, since I was a kid I thought I would like to celebrate this holiday rather than Halloween, with my future family! I have been doing a little bit of research this past week on All Saints Day and the founding of Halloween. All Saints Day was actually founded long before Halloween, and it is to celebrate the lives of saints / martyrs who lived for the Faith.

I have had this topic fresh on my mind for a while now, and yesterday I just so happened to run into Tara's mom, Beth's blog. Very fascinating. She is a FANTASTIC writer. Her latest post is on this very topic and the reasoning behind her choosing to celebrate this holiday with her family rather than Halloween. It is very cool timing, and I think God is really teaching me something big through this. I am going to get back to my research now, and soak in all my thoughts. I have many more to write about, but can't seem to compose them well right now.

Aloha from Kona!

I have been told by some sources that I need to write a new post, so here it goes! Not sure what specifically to write about, so we shall find out soon, I suppose.

I am on day 7 of my lovely Kona trip, only 4 more to go! It has been such an amazing trip to catch up with my incredible friends, take a break from life, and reflect on the goodness of my Father. It's interesting, because it may look like I planned this Hawaii trip for a "vacation" or to get away, but that's really not it at all. I planned this trip primarily to see friends that my heart missed terribly, to catch up with people who have influenced my life in GREAT ways, that just so happen to be separated from me by a big ocean. Being here with them has done so much that phone calls and skype just cannot accomplish. It has been a very low-key trip. Not much - actually, any, site seeing or typical tourist attractions, just hanging out at people's houses, coffee shops, and occasionally the beach. That's the cool part about my living here almost 2 years, that the sites have been seen and it's so much more important to me to catch up on my relationships. I shall post some photos now!










THANK YOU LORD for these amazing friends who have so richly blessed my life. They have all been such vessels of truth and blessing from you, to me. Thank you that I have the opportunity to spend 10 days on a rock in the middle of the Pacific to become refreshed and enjoy the presence of You and my dearly loved friends. You are such an amazing Father, I love you.