Kisses from Katie

Hope everyone had a great weekend :) Two weeks ago I got to spend a weekend with my family in my home town and It was awesome! We went to celebrate father's day with my dad :). My cousins happened to be visiting my while we were there and they have both recently been to Uganda so they were sharing about their experience and the impact it had on their lives. When I asked what inspired them to go in the first place she told me about a book that is now at the top of my must read list. The book is called Kisses From Katie and apparently a young girl about 22 years old wrote it about her decision to live in a village in Africa and serve God and the people there. I haven't read the book yet but I wanted share the promotional YouTube video that my cousin shared with me and hopefully inspire you to read her book too!

You HAVE to watch this!

click here to watch Kisses from Katie

and now on to the Library to check out the book!

Hope your day is full of blessings from our God and that you aren't to busy to bless others!

the celebrities who show up the most often are my celebrity twins:

Jennifer love hewitt, Ashley Tisdale, Jessica Alba and Ashley Olson.

want to see who yours are?

go to myheritage.com and click on the "celebrities and fun" link.

Have Fun!! :))

for the love of music :)))

So if you know me at all, its no secret how much i love music! Specifically singing!! but i love it all.

i've always felt like music is a special, deeper way of communicating that God created to touch our hearts in a way that nothing else can......and in the same way express our hearts in a way like no other.....oh and i'm soooo thankful God created music!!

and so (this is where i become the music/choir loser) i've quite consistently spent my life imagining which songs would play where/when to the soundtrack of my life :)) ha ha ha!

oh i laugh but i am oh so serious and it actually means so much to me! :)

we're talking having a fun time at church and thinking of song i that i would love to sing or have playing in the background to that moment...(maybe Rachel Lampa's "You Lift Me Up") :)

sounds confusing, but its like picking "your song" for your first dance at your wedding....you pick something that captures who you are as a couple-your relationship together-that special day and the rest of your lives... its that same philosophy with everything else in life :) ha ha!

ahhh.....if life were a musical! :) if my life were a musical. . . . :)

*Wicked's "Defying Gravity" would play in my Junior year of high school--letting go of bad choices...peer pressure... trusting God and moving on...!

*"Girls just wanna have fun" and "dancing queen" for the tween girlfriend years :)) (cliche but oh so perfect, we for sure got all dolled up and danced to those songs all the time)

*Carrie Underwood's "Don't forget to remember me" on my way to college....

*Barlow Girl's "Never Alone" when my mom fought against breast cancer....

*"Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood's "Checotah" and "Wide Open Space's" by dixie chicks are all go to songs when i'm missing Othello (my home) or happy to be there :)

*"I think I'm in love" by Jessica Simpson reminds me of the amazing and giddy love i felt when Justin and I were first dating :))

*Tim McGraw's "my little girl" and "Cinderella" by Steven C. Chapman are my songs for my dad & I.

*and for Justin and me: our love song (among many) is "You & I" by Michael Buble :) and yes it was the song for our first dance at our wedding

mmm....just a few :)

music is just so good!

Thank you God for music :)

what if your life were a musical? :)

Golden Globes 2012: Best Dressed!

Did you watch the golden globes last night?
I did!!
Did you find a favorite dress? I mean THE dress, the one you yourself would have worn if you had gone to the golden globes. . . ?
I did!! :)

So here are my top five favorite dresses from last night:

5. Shailene Woodley in Marchesa

4. Reese Witherspoon wearing a Zac Posen gown


i feel like i always love anything Reese wears, lets face it she's gorgeous!


3. Katherine Mcphee in a custom Donna Karan gown


I love this look, so gorgeous and classy, and completely wearable for those of us
who don't attend red carpet events! :)

*did i mention i LOVE her accessories!?


2. Jessica Alba glittering in Gucci


****ok the top two were basically a tie because both of these gowns are
unbelievably gorgeous!



but finally my number 1 absolute favorite--

I WISH I had this dress!

1. Kate Beckinsale glowing and glistening in Robert Cavalli

what can I say?
i love it all: the color, chiffon & lace, fit, hair, the sparkle....love it all!

Who were your favorites?

Sweet Summer Time

I'm convinced! I was born to live somewhere where it is always summer. . .

can you imagine?

. . .Sunny 80-95 degree weather all year long! :)
would i miss the fall colors, the winter snow, springtime flowers?
probably. . .
but i'm thinking i could schedule three trips each year to get my fix for each season...
and then go back to summer weather :)

I don't know why but summer has always been my favorite season,
to me summer is magic :)
I love the sunshine, and I love hot hot weather!

I grew up riding my bike to the local public pool EVERYDAY!
My friend Samantha and I had pool summer passes for $20
(for the whole summer! thanks to our parents!)
we rode our bikes up to the pool at 1:00 and spent all afternoon swimming until 4 or 5...
we loved it :)

gardens, BBQ's, baseball, camp fires, sunsets, stars, fireworks, festivals, movies in the park, the sweet smells, fresh produce, long days of light, late night swims, the early sunrises and late sunsets, the beach, waterslides, swimming, boating, sprinklers, slip'n'slides, water fights!!!
Not to mention the fun and flirty clothes you get to wear! sundresses, skirts, tank tops, sandals...
Thank you God for making Summer! <3

flip flop fix

ok soooo i waited to long and my flip flops which had already seen better days LAST summer lost their little flower this week.

It was pretty bad, the plastic flower petals were hanging by a thread on one of my shoes and it would bounce and make a clinking sound with every step i took.... :) ha!

So I decided to go to payless and target and just see what they had, thinking oh they will all be on sale b/c its fall!

I walk inside payless trying to hide my feet from the sales clerks :) but feeling like every step i take my shoes are announcing to everyone "hi! I need knew shoes!" . . .and are there any flip flops in my size? no. ok plan B target: annnnd again no flip flops left. . . sad :(

sooooo i decided to quick fix it and remove my hanging-by-a-thread-flowers and replace them with bows! I just used ribbon and hot glue, as you can see they are still not in great shape :) ha! but i shouldn't need them for more than a couple weeks.

Before: (minus the flower)

After:

I'm pretty happy with them :)

wow!

"Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and-
glory and power be
to You the only wise King!"

...I'm sure I'm not the only one in Salem Oregon who woke up to the awesome display of God's power in this morning's unbelievable thunder storm! What a commanding reminder of the all powerful God I serve!!...scary and comforting at the same time...

I practically jumped out of my bed when the loudest thunder I've heard in a long time boomed right outside my window at 3:30 this morning, and to be honest, I was a little scared! go ahead and laugh, but seriously I don't know if I've ever heard thunder that loud! and the sky was so brightly lit up with lighting. . . it was unbelievable!

So many things sped through my mind as I listened and watched the storm while taking refuge in my blanket and pillow...could lightning strike us and start a fire? should I close the kitchen window? this is a powerful storm, God is a powerful God, is this how it feels when a hurricane/tornado is headed your way on the east coast? (and how much MORE terrifying would that be?)

. . .then my thoughts went to the discussion we had at Bible study earlier that night. . . we were studying John 10 when Jesus talks about His sheep and how they know His voice, hear His voice and follow Him. We were talking about ways we hear God's voice, and I whispered to Justin, I think I hear God's voice right now :) both terrifying and comforting, reminding me that even when I feel like life isn't fair and God isn't doing all He could be doing for my hurting loved ones, He IS doing everything that needs to be done, He IS in control, actively and undeniably in control above every other power.

and then I remembered we also discussed God's authority from John 10, in chapter 10 verse17-18 Jesus says: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-- only to take it up again. No one take it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This commend I received from my Father." Who else has that kind of authority? Praise God!

Justin + Allison = love

For our 2 year anniversary Justin took me to Portland!
We stayed in the Hotel Deluxe close to the Pearl district.
I LOVED it! He picked it out himself and surprised me with it :)
it is decorated in a 40s-50s Hollywood theme...palm branches outside,
beautiful old chandeliers, and right in the middle of the grand entryway there was a HUGE
frame featuring Audrey Hepburn, one of my FAVORITES! :)

Our Hotel is the white building on the right

This was our complimentary upgrade room :)

Justin bought me pink roses just like my wedding bouquet!

Right before we went out to dinner at the old spaghetti factory :)

The next day we found a fun little pizza parlor called Bellagios
it was delicious!

Here's to the day we said "I do"
forever and always
:)

wow. . .
. . . it has literally been FOREVER since I've blogged. . . can i just say life has been crazy!?
. . .it's good to be back. to be home. :)
so since its been forever I feel like I have everything and nothing to talk about at the same time! but i decided to just make myself do it, so here I am.

and since it's half way through July and I haven't posted any of my summer stuff I decided to give my summer-to-do-list and then hopefully I'll get around to posting pictures and details soon!

1. Spend time at home (othello home) with my familia*
2. **Star gaze** (hello summer stars is the name of my blog!)
4. learn to sew.
5. watch my my dear friend Liz Bates get married :)
6. watch fireworks (k.p.'s song instantly comes to mind!)*
7. eat at El Caparol (i think it has a new name now?)*
8. watch gilmore girls, my ABSOLUTE favorite :)*
9. apply for teaching jobs!*
10. play with sparklers
11. explore Portland with my husband of 2 years (we're in love)*
12. be healthy: working out 5x/week hopefully. . .*
13. cliff jumping*
14. break in our new tent*
15. eat smores with reese's peanut butter cups mmmm!*
16. coffee! coffee! coffee! :)*
17. soak up the sunshine & play in the water*
18. make grandma's strawberry pie!*
19. sing songs from glee*
20. paint the coffee table white :)
21. love on my adorable nephews*
22. grow a garden (tomatoes, peppers, zinnias, dahlias)*
23. love Justin!*
24. write: diary writing and letters
25.Read through the book of John*
26. go to saturday market!
27. practice piano and singing
27. go yard saling...is that a word?
28. spend more time talking to God.*

28 so far. . .maybe I'll add more later :)

the ones with stars I've done/started. . .details and pix to come soon!

xoxox

My Amazing Mother

Today in church there was an time for people to come forward and share special memories and tributes to their mothers. As I was sitting there listening to others honor their mothers I couldn't help but wish my mom was there, because I wanted so badly to let everyone there know what an amazing mom I have been blessed with! Since we couldn't be together today, and I didn't get to share why I believe she is the MOST amazing mom, I decided to blog about it!

Dear sweet mother,
Almost as soon as the invitation was given for people to share about their mothers I knew exactly what I wanted to say about you.

You have been an amazing role model, care giver, and friend through out my 23 years of life. I couldn't have asked for more and wouldn't trade you for anything or anyone in this world.

You have been by my side through thick and thin, good and bad, giving me just what I needed.
love. support. rules. hugs. ears. laughs. prayers. even tears.
I always knew no mistake I could ever make would separate me from your love.

You stand out among mothers as a mom whose arms are always open and accepting.
happiness. sadness. anger. silliness. and nothing-ness were all acceptable emotions to feel in your arms, you taught me to be honest with my emotions with you, my husband, and with God.

But I think most of all what makes you a lily among thorns is your faithful devotion to the Lord. Mom I've watched you go through some of the hardest trials any person has had to endure. Yet you have kept your eyes, heart, hope and faith in the Lord. You taught me to surrender not just my dreams but also my hurts to God. and even when He doesn't take them away you proved true that He gives us more than enough mercies and love for each new day.

Thank you!!

I love you and wish you the most wonderful Mother's Day!

Allison Joy :)

It's Here!! :):)

The first day of Spring! :)


(ok it was a couple days ago. . .)

I always get so excited for the first day of spring!!!!

. . .it means summer is coming!
. . . and summer is magic :)

it makes me want to put on a baby pink sundress, sandals & sunglasses and go to the park!


part of me feels like a character from "the lion the witch and the wardrobe" who has been waiting years for spring to come back. . .good book!

a lot of me feels like one of the girls from "seven brides for seven brothers" singing in the barn-yard "Spring, Spring, Spring...!" :) (if you haven't seen this movie you have to!!! its a classic musical!)

Ever since I can remember my mom would make dirt cups on the first day of spring. . .


its a super yummy dessert with chocolate pudding, cool whip, oreos and gummy worms! :)

and now every year (this is only my second year) I make them!

Spring brings a new, beautiful, fresh and innocent start with it. . . blossoms & baby animals :)

I really want a kitten :)

its incredible how symbolic it is of Jesus's resurrection,
and the new life He brings to each of His children
. . .

God thank you for Spring!