to paint.

 

This week i painted Jairus, my future nephew, a little something something for the nursery.

he already loves it.

 

hope your week is going great. you are blessed

timely.

okay okay,
so i've gone into professional mode with the shell collecting. but this time, i have a super cool reason to blog about it.
last week, at the beach, i found my very first sharks tooth, ever, in my entire life, like ever!
and a sand dollar.
how many times do you fine a whole sand dollar?
they're something special. please don't be jealous. if it makes you feel better, you can come over and hold it anytime you like. unless i don't know you, then that would be creepy.
did you know that sand dollars are really blackish/greenish? and not white? its true, look it up on wikipedia. they get white b/c of the sun.
every professor would fail me if i told them to do that, "we turn our noses up at wikipedia"
the truth is they love it. they use it. i know they do. they have to.
but last saturday i had some kinda day.  i don't take bad days well, and its hard for me to recover from them easily. needless to say, i needed some serious encouragement.
anxiety was at a low rating, but still there. i'm learning to deal, and it gets better each time it creeps up.
i remember thinking to myself, i could really use someone just sending me a sweet note. i haven't gotten one of those in a while, and i miss my notes i used to get from my favorite friend-asian, Shion when we lived in college together.
this one reads-morning orange is food for your health and makes you MORE beautiful. love you! enjoy your orange.
oh i just love that asian.
well anyways, back to sunday, lo and behold. God just done and did that. sunday-He spoke through shells. He gave me a "morning orange" message through shells. something totally simple, yet appreciated.
i know, it sounds corny, but i prayed that i could find some good ones, its therapeutic for me to shell hunt, and i hadn't found any on my first walk down the beach. i went for 45 minutes, nothing of great consequence.
i tried again, finding not only a sand dollar and sharks tooth, but other beauties as well. they were eeeeuuugggeee. ('huge'-the way we all say it).
one of my friends even commented on all the precious loot i was getting. i really could only point to God. He knew i needed those shells at that moment. i had truly a bad day the day before, and God reached down and gave me a little note of encouragement, a little "morning orange" message, like a "hey kid-you're doing the right thing. relax. its all over."
i got home today to a real life letter, from a woman who i hold dear to my heart.
i could only praise the Lord for such a timely letter. she didn't have to write me back, she didn't have to say the nice things she did. but she did. and God brought it when i needed it most.
thanks, Jesus. 

 

and happy easter everybody.

coincidence? i don't think so guys.

a few of my favorite things...lately.

these are a few of my favorite things lately, they're ever changing, but some things that need to permeate my life right now.
or i may go crazy.

1. painting. i've been slacking lately. jairus, my future nephew will be getting something his auntie nattie made him.
if i have anything to say about it.
2. the beach. im going today. pray for my time spent in the word.
and my time spent in the sun. i'm peeling from last week.
don't tell my mother.
she's worried i'm going to get skin cancer.
3. a favorite blogger of mine. her name is kelle hampton, she has two daughters and two sons, and they are all so precious. their life is filled with adventures, gorgeous pictures, and a beautiful youngster with down syndrome, that i just wanna steal because she is so darn cute. blogger of the week alert.
click here to enjoy the small things.
you're going to be so happy you did.
enjoy. love you guys.
go outside.
its gorgeous.
unless of course wherever you live isn't gorgeous.
in that case stay inside.

prepare yourself for a beach adventure coming soon. ill let you know how my skin goes. :)

unbelievable.

unbelievable.
that word could mean so many different things. "that concert was unbelievable!"  "can you believe what he/she did? unbelievable!" "that was the most unbelievable food i have ever tasted!"
today i am leaning to say something like, "God, i'm sorry, but what you have promised to me just sounds unbelievable." i don't have a lot of faith that He's going to deliver today.
there i said it.
then i remember, oh yeah, all of my issues, dreams, posessions, situations, events...they're all fleeting, earthly.

they don't matter.

i know what you're thinking, "how is this girl going to tell me my situation doesn't matter."

i'm not. i don't know what you're going through, but i do know that you're going through something. we are always tested and tried. as children of Christ, He increases our faith until we say, "wow, God, i had NO idea you could deliver something so unbelievable."

the trials are worth it to show us that the only thing that does matter is Christ and Him crucified. 

lately i have felt like habakkuk, the Biblical prophet, and i are brother and sister. i get you dude. i'm exactly where you are in my own little way...(minus the world wars and national problems.)

but i understand your need for justice to a people who is running away from God and towards something that is worldly. the need for justice of saying, "God, where in the world are you with MY blessings? where are you to deliver ME?"

how long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you "violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is preverted.

summarized: "what the heck God?"

have you said that one before....i have...

God has an answer for Habakkuk and us, though:

"hey kids!-"

"look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." 

"something habakkuk, something natalie, will happen. something will happen that will be completely unbelievable to you. a blessing, a life, that you will relish, because its from me, it has eternal weight, it will be glorious, because the God of glory will make it. but i'm going to do it. just wait on me, child. wait for it. its coming."

i believe this. i believe one day i will be astounded with where God is taking me. its His promise.

i can count on the fact that HE will bring people to righteousness in His justice. i can count on him to completely blow my mind with what he has in store for me. i know that though today may carry strife and conflict, tomorrow could abound in unbelievability.

nat.

good morning.

every morning my roomate jen and i have a routine. i wake up. open the shades and praise God for the beautiful weather we've been having go and get breakfast from the kitchen. granola and peanut butter and soymilk.
i begin to get ready for school. jen wakes up and finds me in my room sitting on the vanity, doing my make-up, hair or something with my outer appearance.
jen tells me i don't need it and that i'm beautiful. thanks jen.

i've come to expect that every morning.
"natalie, you don't need it. you're beautiful!"
"uhhh! thanks jen! you're the best!"

(usually followed by her doing her own make up and me finishing up mine. hahaha.)
we finish getting ready and jen tells me every now and again
"its a starbucks morning natalie"
"really!?!!?!?!"  i get excited

she buys me starbucks every now and again. sometimes we see this pretty lady, our friend jackie.
she is a great person, that jackie. it was a blessing to see her the other morning. especially since we documented "jen and natalie mornings."
she's a precious little lamb, that jackie.

 cheese it with your starbucks!

off to class we go. though we can't forget to mention our jam sessions. its the only thing, after a shot of espresso, that wakes us up and makes us get to class with a good attitude.

this morning i think it was taylor swift, britney, and of course a little celine dion. she's the woman.

work it girls.

 fierce. tyra would be proud.

another tradition recently developed is pizza night. in case you didn't know, jen is an expert pizza shaper.

 i make the crust, from scratch of course, using my favorite kitchen appliance, the good ol' kitchen aid.

 we make the crust marinade. basil basil basil, garlic garlic garlic, salt, pepper, and a little of what i like to call italiano influence.

jen assembles it and puts her in the oven.

deeeee-lish!

i am a blessed soul. lately i have been feeling like i don't give thanks enough for the things i do have, things we take for granted like food. or starbucks. or roomies who tell  you you really don't need make-up.
i go about everyday with much of the same routine. can i survive with out it or am i really dependent upon it? i don't want to get too comfortable in routine, in material prosperity, or anything else.
i want to be completely dependent upon God for everything. and to see miraculous wonders that He does. not that He doesn't do them, but that i will see them.
that i will open my eyes to the possibility that God will perform miracles if i am aware and listening and looking. i want to earnestly wait on God to blow my mind with the life and the people in my life that he has for me.
Habakkuk 1:5- look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
get ready.

feature.

from now on there will be a blogger of the week i feature on my blog.
trying to support fellow bloggers and share the wealth of entertaining and inspiring things with YOU.
its because i love you.
this week is my sister's blog, thought i would keep it in the family.
--click here to get there!--
she's featuring my cousin's babies! they are soo precious. you may have remembered them from --my page about them-- at my grandmother's house.
babies!
enjoy!

nat

garden update.

remember our dear garden a month ago? well she's a growin!

lettuce then...

 

now!

 Green beans then....

now!

 i know, right! they're awesome!

its like a jungle underneath them. i feel like fern gully.

oh, batty.

suga snap peas then.....

now!

 

 my favorite part about these peas is that they wrap themselves around our stakes, like interlocking fingers. 

it just warms my little heart.

 a "roots' eye" view of the suga peas.

watermelon then...

 

now!

(ok so those could use a little more help)

but what i've noticed about watermelon is that those little plants are rebellious. they do what they want. for instance, during a really hard rain one day all the seeds were washed away...or so i thought..

we have watermelon on the outside of our garden. thanks watermelon.

im going to leave you there, you can have that sand and forfeit the nice soil we made for you.... jerk.

cabbage then...

 

now!

 strawberries then...

now!

 

and them is good!

 

the first (failed) attempt of our garden not only was because of just not knowing what we were doing, but we had a pest problem. something was digging in our garden. we got on google, tried to find a low cost pest deterrent and came across coffee grounds.

 

it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it actually works! just sprinkled around the plants and there go the squirrels, or moles, or whatever was eating those roots.

and the best part is that we get them from starbucks for free! there's a tub outside of sbux that is full of grounds for gardeners to use in their garden. its a way to get sbux to pay me back for all those drinks i've purchased over the years. mwhahahaha.

finally, stuck it to the starbucks man...lady...nevermind...

 

don't forget the cilantro-he's the best.

very impressive, cilantro!

 

ill keep you posted! there should be a delicious dinner coming soon! 

nat.

my pregnant sister.

and she is beautiful. its true, those prego ladies do glow.

 i am so excited for this kid i can't even begin to tell you. and for her. she's going to be a great mom.

 and the Lord knows he's going to be a great dad.

 its just taking too long!!

 

his name is jairus. like the man who's daughter Jesus healed after she died. his story is the epitome of faithfulness and patience on the Lord. his name means "Jehovah Enlightens."

now thats what i call a strong name, ya'll.

be strong and take heart and wait on the Lord. like jairus, wait on the Lord.

 only one more month.

i have been too too busy. and apologize for not blogging more. don't worry though! once april ends, summer starts and i am free from this crazy schedule!

love you guys. pray for the pregnant lady in my life, her husband, and the soul they will raise up.