purpose.

                                       

pretty happy

This was the view last night on my run. If it wasn't for this beautiful sight, I don't know how much motivation I would actually have to get out & run. I love where I live. It makes me smile

Smiling. It is something I have been doing a lot of lately. Yes I am smiling today, because its my Birthday...who doesn't love their birthday?! But it is so much more than that. I am smiling because I am so excited about the future. I have never been so excited before. Turning 18 seems more like a fresh start, than a milestone for me. From here on out, life is going to look a little different & I am all for that! I am smiling because I just came home from the most wonderful weekend in Spokane. I spent time with great friends & made new friends as well. :) All around I am pretty darn happy.

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Hope your day is wonderful!

Smile

I have always been a big fan of Nat King Cole & his music. Christmas would not be Christmas without his songs. His other songs are fantastic too. Just the other day his Smile came on my Pandora. I had forgotten what a great song that is! Take a listen here & follow with the lyrics below.

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though it's breaking.

When there are clouds in the sky

you'll get by.

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through

For you.

Light up your face with gladness,

Hide every trace of sadness.

Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying.

You'll find that life is still worthwhile-

If you just smile.

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying.

You'll find that life is still worthwhile-

If you just smile.

No matter what we go through, it is always best to find a reason to smile. Right now I am smiling because I know tomorrow is going to be a gloriously sunny day filled with school, some of my favorite kids & one of my best friends' softball game. :)

Oh and the Mariners beat the Yankees tonight. That is another great reason to smile. #truetotheblue

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Tell me what you are smiling about!

for us & not against us

Happy Saturday friends. I love that spring is here and here to stay! Just as I write this I can look out my window and see beautiful pink tulips & two blue jays hopping around in my backyard.

Something about spring time in the natural makes me feel more alive in the spiritual. God has been speaking to me lately in deeper & ever more exciting ways. I have been very encouraged by Bethel's new album, You Make Me Brave. It is so very good & I encourage you all to get it! Particular favourites include- You Make Me Brave, It is Well, Anchor, & I Belong to You. But seriously just buy the whole album.

The Lord has been showing me that he has good things planned for me! In my heart I have known that all along, but sometimes you forget or it is hard to see how good could come from *insert your situation here*. But He never fails. He is always good. In every situation. Being completely honest, I will say that I am coming out of what has been an incredibly painful & difficult season, as I am sure some of you are too. These past few months/ years have been rough, BUT GOD. He restores. It is easy in times of hardship to forget that God has a good plan for our lives. But when He reminds you of his good & perfect plan, you can't help but praise Him!

Lately I have heard the Lord speaking to me about who I am. I am his daughter & he loves me. Recently I was reading one of my favourite blogs & she was talking about finding our identity in Him vs. the world. It was so very encouraging. 

I feeling so hopeful right now. It is a great place to be. I pray you feel encouraged.

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catching up

Guess, what? I am officially into the full swing of things at my new school (which explains my lack of posting for a month)! I just finished week 3, which means there is only 7 left. It is going so well. No doubt I had certain fears going into it, but most of those have been laid to rest. My three classes are perfect. They are just the right amount for me. My favourite class is 2 dimensional design. It is so wonderful to have art & creative projects as homework.

My first assignment- finding a repeated shape in magazines & making a grid out of them

Second project- creating negative shape using black & white construction shape

  I have made a few friends too. I didn't realize how having a class again would make me feel or that it would make such a big impact on me, but it has. To have someone sitting next to me that is working on the same assignment as me makes me feel, well I can't exactly put it into words, but I can tell you it makes me feel not alone. And I like that. 

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Have a great Friday!

Spring Vacation.

Hey friends! Hope you are enjoying the beginning of spring. I know I am! Last weekend my mom, Josiah and I made a quick trip to Spokane to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins. It was so fun! While there I celebrated probably my closest (in age and friendship) cousins 18th birthday! We spent most of Saturday at the mall for a birthday shopping spree. I love her so much & am glad I got to be there to celebrate. 

|The perfect thing to read on the way over|

|My aunt & uncle own 2 horses, plus they live on the most beautiful property.|

|Cass & I. Love her tons!|

 On Sunday we went to Josiah's old church from when he lived here. I absolutely love it there! We didn't even know it, but one of our friends who lived here years ago, but who now works at that church, was preaching. It was so cool to here him speak. He brought an amazing message about jumping into spring not just physically, but spiritually. It was so good! If you have the time, you can watch it here. I highly recommend it.

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Have a great rest of your day! 

far better things.

I am sure you all have all heard this famous C.S. Lewis quote & if you are like me, you know it is true, but at times have a hard time embracing it. 

purchase the art print here

Lets be honest. Sometimes the things you have to move on from have been filled with great memories & wonderful people. It is hard to just leave that. I have a reached a point in my life where all I have ever known has completely changed. I guess you could say it all started about 2 years ago, but I feel like I am in the climax of it now. Change is nothing for the faint of heart. It can be incredibly painful. As you can tell, this is something I have been struggling with lately. But just the other day I was having coffee with my friend Kim, and she reminded me of an encouraging verse. 

Proverbs 16:9

We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.

This was such a great revelation for me. I am a person who loves to plan. Heck, just today I was at target buying stylish notepads to plan out my weeks. Its just part of who I am- a planner. I always thought my life would be normal & perfect. I would go to CCA, graduate with a class full of friends, go to Master's Commission with most if not all of those people, then go to college. Not too much to ask right? Well just trying to complete the first step of that plan had more challenges than I thought. The second part, well that did not happen and I doubt the 3rd part will either. And you know what? I am learning to be okay with that. I really never saw myself as someone who stands out. My goal in life used to be to just do what everyone else did and go unnoticed. I thought of myself as just an ordinary girl. But God showed me that is not who I am. I have passions & aspects about me that make me unique. My story thus far has been far from ordinary. As the old cliche saying goes, people are like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike just like snowflakes are all unique...or something like that. You catch my drift.

So, I can make my plans & according to Sarah's plans I would still be going to school 5 days a week with some of my best buddies, but God directs my steps, which means trusting Him & his plan fully. It is hard to leave great memories behind, but there are future adventures to be had. 

as of late.

Lately I have been doing a lot of walking. I have always been fond of walks, but going for a daily stroll these past few weeks has been such a delight. With everything that has gone on in life these past few months, it is so nice to take some time to just enjoy the beautiful world around us. I like to walk to the lake & around the dock. I am convinced the water has the ability to calm my crazy mind. The park I usually go to was recently renovated and there is a new spot I particularly love. They put these benches in a smaller quieter part of the park. It is a little off the trail so not a lot of people go there. It is my new favorite. Today I just sat there for a little bit & thought about life. It was perfect.

|Sorry about the quality. I don't tend to take my camera on walks so I had to resort to the iPod.|

enjoying the little things

In my time off between high school and college, it is my main goal to focus on doing things that make me happy. Life has been pretty busy these last few months(maybe even years) and I have had very little time to do the things I love- take pictures, cook, draw, plant a garden, be creative, etc... Now that I have time on my hands again I get to do these things & boy does it make me happy :).

Cooking has always been a favorite of mine. I love being able to experiment with ingredients and come up with delightful combinations. This is probably why Ratatouille is one of my favorite movies of all time :). Today's challenge was to make potato leek soup. It was so good & I would love to share the recipe with you. This recipe is from my sister Melissa. She is a master when it comes to cooking. All I did was re-create the recipe and take pictures :).

Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

Garlic- 1 clove

Leek- 1

Vegetable Broth- 1 box or 2 cans

Milk or Half n' Half- 1 cup

Potatoes- 7-8

Parmesan- a lot :)

To begin, saute the chopped leeks and garlic in butter in a large soup pot. I used most of a leek and about half a clove of garlic, but you can use however much or little you desire. 

Once they are soft add vegetable broth. Then add chopped potatoes. You can peel them if you like, but to save on time I just used non peeled potatoes. Bring to a boil for a few minutes, then let simmer for a while until the potatoes are soft.

Then add milk or half n' half- 1/2 a cup to 1 cup depending on how creamy you like it. Then add a handful or so of grated Parmesan (or 5 handfuls if you are like me :) and salt and pepper. Let it all simmer for a bit, then cool. Let it cool because the next step involves putting it through the blender. This will take 3-4 stages depending on how big your blender is, but fill you blender 2/3 of the way and blend it until the leeks and potatoes and no longer chunky. Because they are so soft it does not take long. You will need another pan to put the blended soup into. At this point if it is too thick you can add more milk. 

Then garnish with a little cheese if you like.

Viola!

Love.

Today is a day for love. I am extremely grateful for the family & friends I get to love & live life with- those who are with me every step of the way- through my hardest times & biggest milestones.

Speaking of big milestones, today is my 300th post! I started this blog when I was in 8th grade and I am so glad I did. I enjoy looking through my archives and reliving moments of my life. I appreciate all of your comments and encouragement along the way & I would like to celebrate with a giveaway! What better way to beat the mid February dullness than to win a little box of fun? 

Here are a few of my favorite things. :)

1. Accessory dish (I find it great for holding bobby pins & earrings) 2. Two white & gold striped gift bags 3. Kraft paper gift tags & twine 4. Set of 10 "hello" greeting cards 5. Anchor necklace from my recent travels in San Diego :) 6. 2 Sharpie pens- these are a must have in my opinion 7. 1 roll of bicycle washi tape 8. White storage box

There you have it. Its nothing huge, but just a few small things that may brighten your day. All you need to do to enter is answer the following question in the comments. 

What is your favorite thing about Spring?

Giveaway ends next Friday the 21st & winner will be announced next Saturday!

 Happy Valentines Day! xoxo

Sunshine.

I hope you are all surviving this cold snap! I think it is safe to say we are almost out of it and looking towards the good old warm(er) rain next week.

On Wednesday I had the privilege of going to the NIKE headquarters for a day with their shoe designers. It was AMAZING! My favorite part of the day was when their Color Designer was talking about where they get inspiration for their shoes and what not. It was a great a experience to say the least. 

This week I also took my tests for college and scored the highest I could, which is good because it opens up more classes for me to take for this next quarter. I also attended a meeting for my program. It was so inspiring & exciting. I finally felt like there is something in my life that I will be pursuing and it is going to be stable for the most part. As an over organizer in personality, it is nice to finally have a plan again. I am all about the plan. :)

While I am definitely looking forward to this new challenge in school, I am going to put that aside this week for a much needed vacation. My mom and I are heading to sunny & warm San Diego for a few days. I wont be posting for a bit, but be sure to check back around Valentines Day for my next post. Its going to be exciting & you wont want to miss it. I will give you some time to guess about what it might be. :) See you all next week! 

Dreams & Realities

This week is going to be a week where dreams become real. Things I have been waiting for are finally happening.

1. Our very own Seattle Seahawks won the Superbowl yesterday in an unbelievable fashion. 43-8. We did not just beat them, we crushed them. I don't think there has ever been a day where I have cheered so loud and consumed so many skittles. What a joyful celebration it was. It is not everyday that you can sit in front of the TV eating terrible yet good food and erupting in shouts and screams while hugging and high fiving family and friends. 2.2.14 is a day I will always remember- a day when the dream of our very own team getting a Lombardi became a reality. 

Now for a more personal dream becoming a reality.

2. In September, an opportunity arose for me to apply for a Design Academy at the NIKE headquarters. The application process involved designing your own shoe and answering questions about why you should be selected for this Design Academy. Getting accepted meant a whole day with top shoe designers from NIKE, Adidas, Puma, a tour of the NIKE headquarter campus and your own custom NIKE sketchbook. I am pretty sure that is not all, but just some of the highlights. Anyway I applied. I was not sure I would get in as they only accept 35 students. A few weeks after applying I was notified I was accepted. The only thing is they cancelled the fall one- which is the one I applied too, but they held a spot for me in the winter one. Tomorrow I am traveling down for this event. I am so excited. My Dad is taking me and he is pretty stoked too. It is going to be a special trip- that is for sure.

1.24

This is a day I will be remembering for quite some time. It was on this day I received my diploma from high school. It was on this day I transitioned from one phase of life into the next. It was on this day I finally felt I could look forward in hope. Yes, on Friday I graduated high school, but for me the day was about more than just getting my diploma, as exciting as that was. :) For obvious reasons, these past two years have been hard, but in graduating I felt that those things need not hold me back anymore. I am now a high school graduate who is starting college in 2 months. Can that really be true? I find it hard to believe that I am already at this stage in life. Part of me is afraid of this entirely new phase, but the other part of me is thrilled to be moving on. That is all I have wanted to do for the past year, and now I am - ready or not- moving on. 

Graduation Day, was quite spectacular though. The day started off with my mother surprising me by telling me we are going to San Diego next week. That is quite the stellar senior trip if you ask me! I am excited to say the least. The majority of the day I spent finishing my life board and speech, but only with the help of my amazing friend, KoL. She spent most the day with me and in the evening we got ready together. On Friday night, I did my makeup, I curled my hair, and I slipped into my dress, but it still did not feel real that I was graduating. That was until I put on my cap and gown. I looked in the mirror and saw a very happy girl. I would not have described myself that way too many times lately, but on Friday, I was most definitely happy. The time came for the graduation to start. Pomp and Circumstance began to play. I walked down that aisle with probably the biggest smile on my face in a long time. I had worked so hard for so long and at times wanted to give up, but didn't. This. This was the culmination of it all. I had made it.

In my opinion, the graduation went better than I could have ever expected. I was truly blessed and am grateful for each person who shared it with me. 

Its going to be the best week.

Well folks, it has come down to this. The final week. I can hardly believe that in just 6 days I will be a graduate. These past few weeks have been filled with nothing less than hard work and now I can see it all paying off. All I have left to do is turn in is my senior thesis, a history paper, and watch some videos about Italian artists. And that is it. Just like that it will all done. My senior year all done in just 4 1/2 months.

It is so crazy to think about where this journey called school has led me. I started out with 19 amazing students. Through the years the dynamic and number changed- most dramatically during my junior year. Would I have ever picture or wanted  to graduate by myself? No. But God did. I am learning every day to trust his plan. Is it hard at times? Absolutely. Really hard in fact. I so wish I could be sharing these lasts with someone, sharing classes with someone, sharing memories with someone. As such a nostalgic person it is hard not to recount funny stories from elementary school. There are so many times where I have wished this could all be different, but through the hardship, pain, and tears, I fully trust the Lord. At times I feel abandoned, but then I remember He has brought me this far. He wont leave me now. He will never leave me. 

Onward I go. On Friday I will be launched into another phase of life. Who knows what it will hold, but I look at it with hope. My Dad reminded me of Proverbs 31:25 a couple weeks ago. He reminded me that with these hardships, I have also grown. They have definitely strengthened me. "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." It is hard when I don't know what the future holds, but I want to be able to approach it without fear. All I know is that when I don't understand, I will choose Him. He is worth it all.

But, back to this week. I do know what this week holds. This week I will get to decorate my graduation board, go shopping for a new dress & shoes, catch up with great friends, and oh yes graduate with a small group of amazing people. This week will be good.

Hope your week is great too!

2 weeks

Happy Friday, in fact, Happy BLUE Friday! Go Hawks.

In exactly 2 weeks I will be walking down the aisle to pomp and circumstance as one happy girl. I cannot believe it is actually happening. Until then, how about a few pictures from my first photo shoot. Courtesy of the lovely Cami.

so close, yet so far

My cap, my gown, and my tassel showed up in the mail yesterday. Graduation is just 16 days away! That's just over 2 weeks, but these 2 weeks will be productive to say the least. I have one giant checklist of everything I need to complete by then. It feels amazing to cross something off. I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, but I can see the finish line. Cannot wait for January 24th. It will be here before I know it :)

The beginnings of a great study guide.

I have been waiting for this year for a long time. Cannot believe it is here.