blessed.

bellingham. gorgeous, friendly, green and uniquely bellingham. it's a city all it's own.
a.) work --> hours --> money for bills. b.) i actually like my job. and who wouldn't? they're adorable.
dustin dean hill. inspiring, encouraging, faithful, loving and sweeter than sweet.
mom and dad. they love each other, and they have for 31 years.
these are my cousins. i love family.
double wammy. wonderful, inspiring friends like Sarita, and a fab-u-lous trip to Mexico.

See? I'm blessed.

A Perfect Afternoon

Let me paint you a picture. I would ask you to close your eyes in order to see it better, but for obvious reasons, that won't quite work.

I am currently sitting inside the Woods Coffee in downtown Bellingham, typing on my beautiful new MacBook. I'm wearing a summer dress with cute black stockings underneath, and a long sweater over top. I have a scarf on, too, and my trusty "jingle flats," as I lovingly refer to them, are on my feet. I'm drinking a warm nonfat vanilla latte that is in a for-here mug. (Much better than the to-go cups. I'm working on slowing down, remember?) Oh. And one more thing. John Mayer is singing "Gravity" in my ears and I love it. Now, right here, in this moment. I am content. Oh so very content.

Contentment seems to be this crazy, radical idea that is always just out of my reach. I love my life, and I always have. I'm happy, and I feel like I always have been. But contentment just seems to never be approachable. But awhhh let me tell you. Today, I have discovered it. I've been thinking about Paul, and how he says "I have learned to be content in every situation." I love The Message version:

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."

Okay. How beautiful is that?! Love it.

So. Right now, I'm content. And man oh man, am I loving it.

This kind of has to do with this post, but not really.

These kids are the lights of my life.

These kids just bless my life so much. So much joy. So innocent. They add to my joy for life.

I have this problem. I don't have a husband or any cute kids to blog about (which really isn't a problem at all, come to think of it...). But this makes me wonder what interesting things I could possibly write about. Most of the blogs I read are either cute little families or amazing superwomen-type folk like the Pioneer Woman. And you know something? I just don't fit into either of these categories. Therefore, it's been two months since I've blogged anything which is just pathetic. So here I am. Back in action.

Today was my first day back at Western. I walked through the Arboretum to get to school, and from my house it only took 12 minutes! This is exciting news. I walked it four times today, and am thankful that I got to enjoy some peace and quiet in between classes. I used my morning walk as a prayer walk, and prayed specifically for my sister and her munchkins. (It's Reese's 3rd birthday tomorrow, so she was on my mind.) I also took time to thank my Jesus for my generous parents who are blessing me with the gift of an education at Western.

...Then I started to think about what I am thankful for. It wasn't hard to make a list...

I am thankful. I am thankful for the beautiful colors of the leaves and trees. I am thankful for the view of the Bay on my walk to class. I am thankful for my friends- faces that I haven't seen in months, lining the fountain in Red Square. I am thankful for freedom. I can make my own decisions. I am thankful for the gift of relationships. I am thankful that I get to serve at my church. And tonight, tonight I am thankful that I have a constant friend in Jesus. I may not get to see Jesus in skin form, but I see him everyday. I saw him at my worship night tonight. Friends gathered in a basement to sing praises to our God; to pray for one another and for our campus. I saw Jesus in Tino. He blesses me everyday and spreads Jesus' love. I heard Jesus in my mom's words today. She looks out for me. She cares for me. She wants me to succeed in all areas of my life. Today, I am thankful. I am thankful that the people around me spread the love of Jesus. These people really are the hands and feet of Jesus.

I just had a little baby Bible study over the phone with T. We read some of what Paul spoke to Timothy. "Flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness..." So, as I begin my Fall quarter at Western, I plan to pursue righteousness. I plan to pursue godliness, and to live a life of life. A life that is truly life.

I'm inspired by the Word of God, and I'm ready to fight the good fight of the faith on my campus.

Raspberry Picking!

Tino and I went raspberry picking a week or so ago and had so much fun- the raspberries out at Boxx Berry Farms were gigantic. Like, huge. Seriously. We made a delicious cobbler and it was so good that we decided to go out picking with some friends and make it again.

We went with our buddies Chris and Linden. The berries weren't quite as big this time around, but still delicious and the cobbler didn't fail us.

We plan to become professional bakers by the end of the summer.
Chris and Tino shared a cabin at Royal Family and have become good friends.

Linden and Chris! So cute.

Secret Beach & Foil Dinners

If any of you have ever been to Camp Firwood, you know what I'm talking about. Ahhh the glory of a foil dinner. Bell peppers, potatoes, onions, carrots, and, of course, lots and lots of sausage. Mmmm delicious. I remember being a camper and always wishing (and praying, I'm sure) that my cabin would win the barbeque sauce for our campout. Long story short, tonight we had bbq and it was absolutely fabulous. I made the trek down to Secret Beach with my good friends Dustin and Nat, and then three other friends who staffed at FW with D last summer. We had such a great time. This is me and Dustin down at Secret Beach, which is located off of Chuckanut past Larrabee State Park. This next picture had great potential, but our lovely friend Dustin wanted to join us.Can I just say that Nat added an awful lot of spice to this little trip. He is deathly afraid of heights, and not exactly what one would call "the outdoorsy type." I laughed so hard on the way down the mountain. It's steep. VERY steep. So Nat just looked down in absolute terror and he clawed his way down. For me, it was completely hilarious. Poor guy.



This is Keaton. Yes, he is a stud, and yes, he is holding a disgusting, rotten crab. Sick. He pitched this crab to Dustin and D hit it with his makeshift bat into the water. The poor crab broke into a million pieces.


Overall, the night was great. It was a nice night, no beautiful sunset, but no rain. We had the beach all to ourselves, and it was so good to enjoy the company of friends. The one downside? I smell like campfire. Boo.