High Five for.... Saturday??

Hi friends! I missed Friday so, High Five for Saturday!!

ONE. Family Time.

Mike's Dad's side of the family was in town for a week about a week ago. We had so much fun! Mike and his dad went salmon fishing and caught A LOT. Like, 50 + pounds of salmon. Yum! We explored the area and did hiking and swimming and hung out! Here are some pics from their time here.

{Ferndale}

{cute top hat in a Ferndale shop}

{succulents in a planter outside of a shop}

{the shop owner found this walrus skull in Alaska. Cool!}

{a local told us we had to go see this ship builder down an alley...}

{one of his awesome ships}

{the ship builder, Aunt Susie, Mike and Jalene}

{Jalene and me!! I gained a sister marrying Mike. Blessed}

{Mike's aunt got this photo of me on one of our hikes. I love it}

{sorry it's blurry. some of our fun!}

TWO. Photo shoot.

I am not a photographer. I understand angles and light and what not but I am not a trained photographer. But, I had fun taking my brother and his wife's photos. We went to Patrick's Point which is GORGEOUS. Pictures below!

{Kristyn and Andrew}

{Patrick's Point}

THREE. Juice Fast.

We decided to go on a juice fast. All four of us (my bro, his wife, hubby and me)! We originally set a goal of 7 days but ran out of some of the produce but day 5 (tonight). We all feel much better! We went through detox and are ready to start our clean eating lifestyle. Breakfasts were yummy, lunch was hard, and dinner was harder than breakfast but easier than lunch!

FOUR. River time!

The Mad River is so close to our house! Kristyn and I have gone multiple times and we love it. I'm even getting a tan this year. Score. Mike and I have gone swimming a couple times too. 

{the mad river}

{Kristyn and I on our first trip down to the river}

FIVE. Husband.

Mike and I are so blessed. We met in 7th grade and have been inseparable since we became an item in 8th grade (minus 6-8 months sophomore year. That was all Mike... ;). We are truly best friends and really enjoy each other. We also love each other. All I know is we are luckily, sure we have our problems and we work on them like anybody else but we are still blessed.

{somewhat awkward kissing photo of me and the hubs}

SIX. 4th of July.

I love everything it stands for and the way people come together on this day. I'm so thankful for the people who fought (and do fight) for this country! I'm grateful God put me HERE to live. Again, I am blessed!

SEVEN. Job Interview.

I finally had a job interview!!! I should find out about it next week. Feeling hopeful but I won't be crushed if I don't get it.

How were the last couple weeks for you?

How did you celebrate the 4th of July?

How do you best like to spend time with family?

High Five For Friday

It's Friday! And, it's been a ridiculously long time couple weeks since I last posted so you're going to get a couple extra but not many photos... As always, I'm linking up with Lauren from thelaurenelizabeth.com. Let's dig in!!






ONE. Home.
We finally, finally, have a home up here in Humboldt County. We live in Blue Lake, Ca. It's about 10 - 15 minutes from Arcata and McKinleyville (where Andrew and Kristyn [bro and sis-in-law] spend most of their time) and maybe 25 - 30 minutes from Eureka (where Mike works). God is an "eleventh hour" God in my life... I graduated high school, got a job at Hume, was accepted to UMKC and moved to Kansas City, moved back to Cali, and found a place to live here in Blue Lake, all "in the nick of time". This search for a home has taken months. I'm not exagerating. God is good! Now it's coming together as we decorate and plan for the vision of our shared home. Here is some of the inspiration for a Moroccan styled living room.

{via} 

{via}

{via}

TWO. Marriage.
Yeah... I'm grateful for mine but, I was talking about Andrew and Kristyn! They are married!!

{Photo/instagram skills belong to Bethany. She rocks.}

THREE. Kitties.
When Mike is gone for work, I realize how much having another living thing around is awesome. Mojo is a cuddle kitty. Mitzy is crazy kitty. It makes for an interesting mix.



FOUR. Knowing Myself More.
As you get older, you get to know yourself better. And that's a good thing. I have been going to a bible study on Monday nights here on the North Coast and a few weeks ago we went through Spiritual Gifts. I'm excited to see what these will bring over the next two years and how my life will look. I want to be a creator of beautiful designs/things/events, encourager of people's souls, awesome wife for my hubby, and whatever else God has in store for me. I want to do them well.



FIVE. In home washer and dryer.
Who knew this would make it on my top five list?! I'm just super stoked at how wonderful it is to not have to go to the laundromat.



SIX. (One more High!) Setting up a dentist appointment.
I know, another weird thing to be on the top five list BUT... if you had a couple teeth that were PAINFUL to eat with and you just want to eat something in a normal fashion, you would understand my excitement. I haven't been to a dentist in about 4-5 years. Last time I was at the dentist they prepped one of my teeth for a crown. And then I moved to KCMO and life was crazy and I have no excuse other than I just didn't make it a priority. FAIL.



SEVEN. Coffee with a new friend (and yes, you get another "high").
This is the third big move of my life (1st, KCMO. 2nd, back home (but I knew people). 3rd, Arcata). And the scariest thing is wondering if I will come to know and find great friends and people. So far, God is showing up in this area! I went to a super cute little coffee place in Arcata called "Couple Cups" with a girl I met through the college group at church. She is such a sweet sweet girl. God is good!



How was your week? Do you get excited when you get an appointment scheduled that you've been putting off?

Leona Valley Community Queens Pageant

This is a very very very late post... But if you follow me on FB then you know I've been crazy busy moving and finding a place to live (yes, in that order). And now life is full of wedding preparations for my brother's wedding in just 10 days!

In October 2012, I was contacted about restarting the Leona Valley Community Queens Program. It's a great program for young women in Leona Valley. It's all about community service, grace, poise and who will be the best ambassador for the community. I was Miss Leona Valley 2005 so, I know all about it (and I had a great helper). I was very excited and honored to be asked. It was such a good time working toward the day of the pageant and encouraging the contestants.

Christie Klein and Rachel Bartfai ran for Miss Leona Valley. Olivia Bosma ran for Jr. Miss Leona Valley. Follow to the end to see who won! Enjoy the photos!

(Making the crown for the stage.)

(Bethany is the BEST. I am so grateful for all of her help.)

(Transforming a space. Love all the help!)

(The stage is almost ready!)

(Decorations going through the decades.)

(More great helpers)

(Completed stage.)

(Judges table and gifts)

(Queen's baskets that go to the winners.)

(View from the stage.)

(View from the back.)

(Opening Dance.)

(Olivia Bosma. Jr. Miss Contestant. Commercial as a news anchor.)

(Christie Klein. Miss Contestant. Commercial as a flight attendant.)

(Rachel Bartfai. Miss Contestant. Commercial as the sun.)

(The crowd! My hubby and the MC is the man in the front of this picture and I'm sitting next to him.)

(Judges.)

(Jr. Miss Contestant being escorted by her father.)

(Jr. Miss Contestant answering a series of impromptu questions.)

(Miss contestant, Christie, being escorted by her father.)

(Miss contestant, Christie, answering impromptu questions.)

(Miss contestant, Rachel, being escorted by a family friend.)

 (Olivia Bosma, Jr. Miss Leona Valley 2013)

(Christie Klein, Miss Leona Valley 2013)

(Rachel Bartfai, 1st Princess Miss Leona Valley 2013;

 Christie Klein, Miss Leona Valley 2013; 

Olivia Bosma, Jr. Miss Leona Valley 2013.)

(Christie Klein, Miss Leona Valley 2013 and Olivia Bosma, Jr. Miss Leona Valley 2013.)

Congratulations 2013 Leona Valley Queens!

If anyone ever needs any tips on running a pageant or creative event planning, send me an email!

~Emily~

High Five For Friday

I had a whole post written out so naturally ALL of my webpages reloaded. I didn't save anything. 

This is going to be a lot shorter than originally planned, which is probably a good thing for you all. ;)

ONE. Home.

We finally, finally, have a place to call home.

God is good!

TWO. Quality Time.

I have enjoyed all of the time I've been able to spend with Kristyn. We had a ton of fun and silly time and then we also were stressed about finding a place. I love this budding friendship! In a few weeks, we will actually be sisters! She is such a perfect match for Andrew (my bro). I couldn't be happier for either of them.

THREE. Walks.

I love taking walks. I know some people will just call these pretty flowers, "weeds" but, I love them. They are pretty. I wanted to upload more photos but my phone is trippin'. Photos of buttercup flowers, iris, other flowers, new growth on ever green trees (it's a much brighter green and feels so silky soft), and fog rolling in through the trees. Maybe I'll try uploading again later. ;)

FOUR. Love.

All of this wedding talk makes me reminisce about my wedding day. Mike and I have grown so much since that day. God is so good.

 He has blessed me with a wonderful man.

FIVE. Kitties.

When I'm at home by myself for almost a week, it's really nice to have other living things with you. Mojo is a cuddle bug but Mitzy is crazy. 

It makes for entertaining moments.

SIX. (yes six, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted!) Seeing More of God's Vision for Yourself.

Last Monday my bible study group went through the spiritual gifts. It was really good for me to go through this as an adult. It confirmed a few things and gave me some direction. My top 2 are Exhortation (motivational speech) and Leadership/Organizer.

 The verse references we used were the whole chapters of Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Here is a link to a survey also. 

http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/test/adult

Let me know what yours are! Do you already know? How are you using them? I'm curious!

I'm off to move into our new home! Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend.

~Emily~