Baby Shower - Celebrating Emily and Maryellis

To start, I'll tell you a bit about Emily. She's been one of the most influential and wonderful women in my life, to say the least. She began mentoring me almost four years ago, and has always been there to pray for me, and push me to seek the Lord more. Emily has such a loving heart; a huge love for Jesus that overflows into abundant love for anyone she comes into contact with. She has truly taught me what it means to be a strong woman of God.

Emily and her husband, Matt, recently began the process of adoption. I'm not 100% sure of the timeline of everything, but to me, being far away from them, it seemed like just a few months of preparation and prayer. I had visited them in April, and we chatted about what had been going on with the process, and while there had been a couple birth parents they had been shown to, there wasn't any solid news. Then, about a month later, Emily had posted something on Instagram that said they were coming to Seattle. I immediately texted her and asked what the reason for the trip was. She said they were coming up to meet with birth parents, and she was sorry it wasn't to come visit me. Honestly, I was praying that the reason they were coming had to do with the adoption process! :) Through tears of sadness, and I'm sure tears of joy, their adoption of baby Maryellis was finalized just over a month ago! 

If you would like to read the details and updates by Emily about the journey of their adoption, go here!

So, naturally when I first found out that they were adopting Maryellis, I went through Pinterest for some gift ideas. I started making an embroidered map of the USA on some pretty white linen fabric. I used lighter pastel colors to go with what I had seen of their nursery back in April. It took me quite a while to finish it because it gets a bit tiring after a while, plus I had to redo a couple states early on. 

I wanted to make a quilt as well, and actually quilt it as opposed to tying it. I opted for a trendy chevron pattern (of course) and a grey, white, and yellow color combination. The back side had a light yellow fabric that had tiny white polka dots. I quilted it along the chevron lines, about 1/4" on each side of them. It made a really cute chevron pattern on the yellow polka dot side as well (which I didn't really get a good picture of... oops). I also made a little tote bag to carry everything with a tiny white and grey chevron fabric, and a light yellow on the inside. On the drive there, I had to get out of the car and walk around, so I decided to go to Old Navy and get a couple more last-minute gifts ;) I got little leggings that were navy and white striped with ruffles on the bottom, a light pink onesie, with some super cute light pink shoes. So adorable! I couldn't help it. 

Emily had also asked me to snap some candid pictures during the shower. Unfortunately, only some of them turned out as the lighting was pretty harsh. But there were some great ones of her opening her gifts! Here are most of the best ones...

The setup was fabulous! Talk about delicious food and beautiful decorations. There were pictures of the Imlach family hung all around, and they were gorgeous!!

(I had some fun learning how to use my new wide-anlge lens alongside my new polarizing filter!)

Prayer over the afternoon and the meal - So glad I caught some laughter and smiles!

Did I mention the food was amazing? - Isn't Maryellis adorable?! Ah!

So many blessings in the form of gifts for Emily and Maryellis! They were truly showered with gifts and affection!

Emily was totally digging the blondies. I'm bummed I didn't snag one!

 There was seriously SO much pink and red! Everyone looked so beautiful.

 Winner winner chicken dinner! It was actually a candle, but that doesn't sound quite as good... ;)

Let the gift opening begin! 

Laura and Ezra, the helpers - Aliya's gorgeous quilt! 

I was so excited about giving her my gifts! My heart overflows when I get to give people things. I just love it! Emily also made me tear up a bit at this moment... But we won't talk about that. Mostly because I'll probably cry again.

 The bag and quilt that I made! I love creating things - I'm so grateful that God has given me these little talents and that He gives me opportunities to use my talents to bless others!

Precious romper much? - Precious baby much?

She was loving, and I mean LOVING this elephant finger puppet...

... And these jellies! So cute, but I always got blisters. I've heard beauty is pain, but why?!

Jill was feeding Ezra some Skittles, which gave her enough energy to carry over some hefty presents.

Lani's handmade mobile! Love it!

Isn't Em the cutest mom ever? She definitely wins the hot mom award. Plus, she's got some crazy buff arms.

So glad I caught even just a glimpse of this moment. Hugs!

My gift alongside Laura's gift of one of their family photos in a great frame. 

This is an accurate portrayal of Maryellis' journey from Seattle to Eugene, right?

For my future projects, I WILL take photos of them prior to giving them. In good lighting. 

Look at that intense hair! She's got some natural ombre going on, too.

I'm rarely in front of the camera, but I needed a picture with Em! Honestly, words can't express my love and joy for her. I'm so excited about this new journey as a family, and can't wait to see what the Lord does in and through their lives! 

Lani said it best, we all love you already, Maryellis! 

We Want More, We Want More

Have you seen that commercial? I have no clue what it's about, but I love it. Are they scripted or are those kids just inherently hilarious? I wish I was that funny.

Well, I do want more. More of what, I don't know, but I want more. Definitely not more clothes or food or craft supplies. I want more adventure. More opportunities to help people.

I went to the Hillsong United concert the other night. While waiting in the line that wrapped all the way around the building about one and a half times, I wanted to cry. Partly because I was alone in line, and partly because it was s o  l o n g . I thought I might die in that line, honestly. I wanted to give up and spend the $20 in my pocket at the Starbucks down the street. I ended up staying in the line because I had already spent $35 on my ticket, and I deserved a good show.

Well, it was no Kim Walker-Smith, but there were a few tears shed and many smiles from me during the show. I really enjoyed the song "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" and another song talking about how Jesus is all I need.

I really want Jesus to be all I need, but He's definitely not. I need new shorts and tanks for summer, I need cute plants to decorate my sad apartment, I need chocolate to satisfy these lady-like cravings. And yeah, I need Jesus too. During this song, my heart wanted to pray that Jesus would make Himself be all I need, that I would be somehow put in a position where I actually realize He's all I need. My thoughts flew to Africa and India and the Middle East, and part of me wanted to be in their shoes, or, for the sake of this post, lack thereof. I want to just need Jesus because He's all I have, all I could ever even hope for. It feels like I could say more about this, but I'm just not sure what that is.

The other song, "Oceans", really got to me, as it did a lot of others I suspect. First off, the girl's voice is D Y N A M I T E and somehow belongs to a tiny person, so that's legit. Second, the lyrics just made me want to leave and be pushed to the end of my rope. I've been living off this high for the last couple days and can't get my mind away from the simple fact that I want my faith to be stretched so far, I want to be used to help/love/save/comfort, I want to GO.

I have no idea where this is, when, how, who. I got nothin'. But God is definitely stirring something in my heart and I know there's something out there that's going to be more satisfying than working at Starbucks or customer service or babysitting.

I'm thankful that God chooses to use us for His purpose and to draw people to Him.

a w e s o m e .

New is the New Vintage

I've decided to spice things up a bit and just create a new blog. I want to write more, and perhaps this will entice me to do so. Here's to hoping...


I love old things, antique malls are a big hit with me. I'll seriously spend hours in those places, and I usually only leave because they're closing or I have someone dragging me out. But has anyone else noticed that so many "vintage" things are actually, well, not vintage? What a sneaky little joke. The sad thing? I like those wannabe vintage knick-knacks.

And one of those not-so-new-but-new things is my blog!

I want to write more about my life. I have a lot of thoughts, weird things that happen to me on a daily basis, things I'm learning, crap I'm struggling with, and questions I can't seem to find answers to. And I wondered to myself, "Where can I share all this without bugging all my friends on Facebook?" Then I turned on my brain and got smert again. (Yes, I know I spelled smart wrong, all you spelling/grammar crazies can breathe. I'm not that dum.)


I'm calling it quits for tonight, unfortunately, but I will be sure to post about my exciting adventures at the dentist tomorrow...

P.S. Anyone wanna trade lives for the next 12 hours?