Party Planning and Photo Booth

I went over to my best friend's house today so we could work on planning my graduation party. She offered to help with it and I am so grateful. I'm excited for the night. It's gonna be fun! And decorated oh so cute. And, while there, I also got to hang out with her cutie patootie lil girl, my Ava :) And take fun pics with her. I rejoice in time spent planning for a special ocassion and hanging out with a good friend and her cute kid.

30th Birthday Adventure

So, my amazing friend Sara gave me a day of adventure for my bday a few weeks ago and today we had that adventure. It started with her telling me that she got permission from my brother Randall to break for the day from our no sweets bet. And she handed me a whole bag of candy cane Hershey kisses! Yum! After that we headed to Irvine Spectrum where she completely spoiled me. I got $30 to buy stuff with and I got this adorable new coat. Then, after walking around a bit more and doing some ridiculous people watching we headed to Red Robin for dinner. From there we went to the movies and saw Footloose. It was pretty cute. And so was the main character ;) Sara also had treats for me in there. When the movie was over we headed over to Claim Jumper and had dessert. And my sis was there! Sara finished off the night with giving me some super cute earrings. I can't wait to wear them and my amazing coat! I rejoice in the chance to spend time with a friend while she spoiled me rotten. So blessed!

Coffee and baby love

I FINALLY got to catch up with a good friend tonight. Due to the craziness of life she and I have not had much chance to spend time together recently. But, we remedied that tonight with a nice little visit to Starbucks. And, she brought her baby boy along. What's not to love about that combo? I rejoice in a great evening catching up with a great friend.

Balboa Birthday

I went to Balboa today to celebrate the birthday of a good friend from work. It was so much fun, just hangin out with co-workers, outside the work environment. We indulged in a late lunch, taffy from the candy store, a Balboa bar, and most of all, great conversation! I rejoice in a great afternoon on the island!

Reunited and it Feels so Good

This friend is one of the best a girl could ask for...

My only complaint would probably be the fact that she keeps leaving me :) But, tonight we got to spend some precious time together and it was soo good. She reminds me how to laugh. She reminds me how fun it is to continue to find some boy to crush on ("am I lowering my standards or do I just think a lot of guys are cute?"). She reminds me what it means to love Jesus. And why we do. And what serving him looks like. She reminds me to look for the adventure in life. She reminds me that I'm going to be 30 in a couple of short months. Which means it definitely wouldn't be weird for me to date someone in their 30's. Weird. And the list could go on. But that's good for now. I rejoice in the Lord blessing me more than half my lifetime ago with a great friend, all because she decided to eavesdrop. And I rejoice in the chance to hang out with her tonight!

Birch Street Symphony

The Orange County Symphony has had a show on Birch Street in Brea the last 3 nights. Tonight I got to go and enjoy some incredible music, both instrumentally and vocally. In my opinion, the theme for tonight was the best of the three nights. Broadway! So fun! I also got to hang out with my super awesome roomie, a great work friend, and some of my incredible family. Good night. I rejoice in good music and good fellowship.

Convos

With my long lost sister, aka Rachel, catching up on life. And a lil heart to heart with my bff, aka Kristi. Conversations like these do my heart good. And make my love tank feel full. I rejoice in having people in my life who I can really "talk" to. About the good, the bad, and the ugly of life.

America's Favorite Pastime

There's just something so fun and exciting about going to a baseball game on a warm summer evening. And tonight was the perfect night for it. I had the super great chance of going to watch the Dodgers play the Angels. And, even though sadly the Dodgers lost, it was still tons of fun. I rejoice in the chance to go and enjoy one of America's favorite pastimes. And in the chance to eat some yummy snacks. But most of all, I rejoice in good people to hang out with...

Spur of the Moment

Hang out with a friend today. And we had some great conversations. I rejoice in the chance to spend some time with someone I love very much (and her adorable new son) and to talk about things that are very important to me.

Sampling

Lots of different, yummy food at the food trucks tonight. With good company, aka Oliver and Laura. I rejoice in fun things to do and fun people to do it with :)

Former Co-Worker Lunch

I love those days of catching up with people I love and don't get to see very often. Today was one of those days. I rejoice in last minute lunch plans with special people.

Goodbye Friends

First of all, I just have to say, not having a computer and then being out of town for a few days really threw me off. I will be back to faithful blogging from here on out :)

Tonight I rejoice in the blessing of having good friends in my life who are a great example to me. My rejoicing is bittersweet because those dear friends, Nathan, Shannon, and Josiah  left for Hong Kong today. Forever. Well, not forever really but three years is going to seem like forever. And that is probably the next time I will see them. Three years is a long time. But, I rejoice in the fact that they are choosing to follow God's leading. They have given their lives over to serving him and he has led them to go train pastors in Asia. I know he is going to use them in amazing ways. (If you want to hear more about their ministry or how you can get involved in supporting them, let me know. Trust me, God's gonna use them in a big way and you just might want to be one small part of that). Anyway, saying good bye was hard, but I know it was right. I rejoice in the fact that I didn't get scheduled to work today and that I could go to the airport to see them off. Can't wait to hear that they made it there safely...

Emily Love

So getting back in the habit of this is going to take some getting used to. But, tonight I rejoice in good hangout time with Em. And the amazing massage and hair braiding that she gave me today :)

Reunion

I rejoice in the arrival of this lil guy today to Cali...

And in the chance to spend numerous hours of hanging out with him and his mommy and daddy (you can read about all of them here) over the next month. Hurray!

Ikea and Hans

Tonight I made a trip to Ikea with 3 good friends to get some stuff to redo our youth room at church. Then we made a quick stop at Hans Ice Cream, one of the best places to get ice cream that I've ever been. It was a fun night, especially after a not so great day. I rejoice in the fact that shopping and spending time with good friends makes things better :)

Invitations

So I worked on the invites for my sister Rebecca's bridal shower today, with our good friend Laura. I just have to say they are super cute. I rejoice in having a creative friend, the chance to spend some time with that friend, and that my lil sis is getting closer and closer to the big day :)

Happy Birthday Laura!

Tonight I went out to celebrate the birthday of my great friend Laura. I'm so thankful for her. I could just stop with rejoicing for her friendship. haha. But, I'll also share a bit of the evening. We started with dinner at Octopus Sushi on Birch Street. It was good stuff. Then we headed next door and I had my first experience at The Melting Pot. Seriously, fondue is where it's at! Laura's super generous hubby treated us all to dinner and dessert (with coupons in hand, but still so great. haha). I rejoice in great food but mostly just in having amazing people to spend time with.

Happy Hour

No, not for drinks. Haha. But for super yummy appetizers! I went to the Yardhouse tonight with some work friends and got some great food for super cheap. I rejoice in good deals and the chance to hang with new friends.

Cake Girl

I spent hours at church today, hanging out with Emily, while she worked on yet another amazing cake. You can see a few of her amazing creations here. I rejoice in the chance to keep that cute girl company, grow closer in our friendship, and even get some homework done. It was a great afternoon/evening.

Skype Date

With Shannon. Those always make me rejoice. I rejoice in the blessing of being able to keep in touch with friends who are far away. And in the chance to both encourage and challenge one another on this journey called life. And that she is on the lookout for a cute boy for me ;) I simply rejoice in my amazing friend.