kansas

Last weekend we visited my dad's hometown for a family reunion. We got to see family that we haven't seen in awhile and I loved being able to show Mitch around a place that was part of my childhood. I have warm fuzzies about the town of Kansas. It is one of those places that is teeny tiny and full of old buildings that I imagine have wonderful stories tucked within their walls. It has alleys with the most beautiful brick (all hail, exposed brick!) and neat paintings. One of my favorite things about the town is that it was my dad's childhood home, my cousins home, and still is my great-grandma's home. My great-grandma is 94 and let me tell you, she is spry and incredible. I wish a picture could do justice to her outlook on life and her optimism. Her favorite shows are the Bachelorette and The Big Bang Theory which she watches faithfully. (how great is she?) I have lots of memories of spending time at her house. We watched the Fourth of July parades there each year and she made the best cinnamon applesauce. Her house is surrounded by an iron fence that I was fairly certain surrounded my favorite American Girl Doll Samantha's Victorian Home. Naturally, I spent a lot of time playing around that fence and pretending I was a Victorian Girl like Samantha. The town is always friendly, always waving with a 'hello' or a 'howdy'. The kind of town that makes you think that lots of kids in your big backyard and sweet corn in the summer is all that really matters. It was a good day. A really good day.

 

 (who doesn't love a good coca-cola wall?)

 (a lovely crooked photo of my handsome man)

 (always a good time riding in the backseat with these two)

 (THE Samantha fence... do you see the pink house in the background?!)

 (family of five!)

 (Mitch is just really funny)

 (Old fashioned milkshakes at the Original Burger King which is not in Kansas... they don't have restaurants. )

(happy, happy, happy!)

simple summer

  This summer my life has been on the (wonderfully) slow side.  I don't remember having many 

summers that I felt like I have really grown as a person. But this summer, I definitely have noticed 

growth in many areas of my life.  On one of my favorite blogs "Feel and Flourish" the authors 

answered these questions and it got me thinking... As I am getting older I feel like I am learning 

more about who I am. I think answering questions like this annually could be a fun way of 

documenting areas of growth and change. 

Take some time to answer these questions on your own too! 

 

 

I am happy when... I can spend a day creating-especially when it is a rainy day.

I am grateful when… I get to spend holidays with my family.

I am nervous when… I get put on the spot.

I am proud when… I can create something someone loves. 

I am anxious when… I have to do whats right even though it is hard.

I am at peace when… I get quiet time to spend in prayer.

I am wondering when… Mitch and I will move and where we will go.

I feel most like myself when… I am with Mitch. 

I am waiting for when… I will know what God's will is for my life and be able to pursue it each and every day.

married woman

On May 31st, Mitch and I tied the knot. Our wedding day was beautiful, romantic, and full of family and friends. Now that we are finally getting settled I want to share some of the things we've been up to. Married life is seriously the best. I don't want to forget a single thing about our happy little life. 

sunday

I had a thought today that made me think twice about the way people view church. At the beginning of the new year, every church seems to have that vision casting sermon. The one where they say "these are the great things we are planning to do this year" "this is how we are going to get there" and those sorts of things. While I think there is validity to vision casting, I really struggle with certain aspects of how the congregation gets involved in that process. I was looking around today while listening to our pastor and I realized that many of the people have an attitude toward church like they are watching a play. As a congregation we are moved by the service, for some, through worship, for others through the sermon. Some Sundays we laugh, Some sundays we cry, some Sundays there is both, and some Sundays there is neither. As a whole, most people bring nothing but themselves to church no Bible, no notebook, just themselves. While I don't think there is anything wrong with that per se... I think that we come to be entertained and to feel something like we would go to a play. There is music, and words of wisdom and a lesson to be learned, a story to be told, but we leave there feeling inspired or moving right on to the next thing on our to-do list. This concerns me. I feel as though church should be a place where we go to learn. As a college student, I see very clearly that in order to get the most out of class you should come with a clear mind, on time, prepared and ready to take notes. I am the first to admit, I am almost NEVER on time to church. I am about 99% sure that every sunday morning we loose about three hours of sleep because I just cannot wake up! Judging by the people who trail into service up until about half way through the sermon, I can imagine that this is true for a lot of people. But I think that since there is no "attendance sheet" or "homework" people come to church to be entertained and shed a tear, it is something we do to feel good because it's what we should do. I feel so convicted in the idea that when we start treating church like a class instead of a play, we will begin to see a shift in Christianity as we know it. If everyone came to church on time with a clear mind, with their "homework" done and their Bible and notebook in hand I think going to church would take on a new meaning to many of us. 

My vision-casting for myself this year is to treat church with way more importance and preparation than  I treat my college classes. I am so disappointed in myself for not making the connection before now because for as much attention as I pay to my classes for my career, I should be able to make time for my reason to be alive. I am so incredibly thankful for a God who extends grace to me and loves me despite my selfish nature. What a privilege it is to live in a place where I can go to church every week without fear. I hope that this conviction that God has put on my heart will transform the way I value my ability to learn from people who he has appointed to be leaders and the way I prioritize my time with him both in and outside of church. 

Christmas 2013

Okay so I'm backtracking a little... sue me! 

We had a seriously wonderful Christmas this year. Spoiled with love, time, and thoughtful gifts from our families. This year Mitch and I tried to do Christmas on a budget. We are both givers by nature. We LOVE to buy things for people and give gifts. However, when you have approximately no money due to idunno wedding thangs, it kind of cramps the giving style. 

I was pretty proud of some of the things we did to save some money because it allowed me to be creative. Here is a picture of some of our gifts wrapped up. I used my 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby (hallelujah chorus) to get some kraft paper and then went back another day and used it to purchase a canvas bag (originally $1.99) to paint as a reusable gift bag! I thought I had a brilliant idea to stamp my craft paper using polka dots and then I got on pinterest and realized I was about the 8374983658234 person to "come up with the idea"...wah wah waaah. Regardless, I thought they turned out pretty cute!

The thing I was most excited about this year was being able to ask our flower girl and ring bearers to be apart of our special day! For our flower girl I actually made her a "flower girl" doll.  Since she is not even two yet, I wanted her to have something tangible that she could be excited about. We also got her the Pinkalicious Flower Girl book (so cute) and the cutest freshly picked moccasins for her to wear for the wedding. I didn't use a pattern or anything for the doll, it was just a little trial and error project that worked in my favor! Gotta love it! 

And here is a terribly lit picture...sorry about that.

For the Ring Bearers, I made little bear bags out of brown paper bags. I attached a note on the back of both bags that asked the boys to be our "Ring Bears." Inside were a set of suspenders for each of them to wear for the wedding. Soon to come are bowties but since I am a TERRIBLE decision maker I am unsure of what color I am wanting them to wear. So they will get them once I can make up my mind! 

Here are the boys with their bags! Aren't they the cutest?! 

 

And here is one of Mitch and I on Christmas morning getting ready to head to his parents' house for lunch. I love that man of mine what a babe. 

2014

It's here! 
The year that my life will change forever. 
In May I will move out of my parents house for good. 
In May I will begin my life as Emily Guth!!!!
On June 1st I will wake up a wife for the first time. 
In August I will start my full-year student teaching. 
In all the months in between I will be working hard to be the best version of myself that I can be. 

With the start of the new year I am confronted with thoughts and dreams of the future while also consumed with possibilities of what is to come. After ringing in the New Year at home with my love (photo above), I found myself getting inspired from all kinds of things. I whipped up a couple crafty things, I watched a lot of romantic movies, I began my journey to 25 miles in January and addressed our Save the Dates. (which I really really love!) I also wrote a bucket list. I really love making lists... it helps me to be more proactive. If I don't have a list I have a tendency to let things slip to the back of my mind. 

I'm not gonna lie, folks... I watched Anne of Green Gables more times than I've ever seen it before in my life (which is saying something.) I want to be more like Anne this year. She is bold, but gentle, she is imaginative, she is real, she is passionate, she is kind, she does what she feels is right in every situation. 
This year I hope to engage my creativity on the daily. This may be through a blog post, a picture, a craft, or through a painting. I want to grow bold. Not because of who I am but because of who God is within me. I have never been good at being bold and I think that holds me back in many situations but it also pushes me too far because I am a "yes" girl. This year I want to be bold in what is right and what I believe to be true. I want to use gentle words, less sarcasm, more understanding. The tongue has the ability to speak life or death and I want to use mine to speak kindness and truth. 
I think we should all learn a little something from Anne with an e. Her kindness and general attentiveness to beauty is something I am striving for. I am also striving for the opportunity to visit Prince Edward Island (it's on my bucket list. I'm telling you... obbsseessiiioooonnnn.) 

Hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing break with plenty of time for the things you love. 

a sweet surprise date

Wednesday is my crazy day. If there was ever a night for a surprise date, Wednesday would be the night. I have a clinical in the morning from 8-11:30 and then class all day until 6:30 at night. My last class of the day is my Early Childhood music class. Brief Tangent: While most days we learn about the classically awful children songs like Wheels on the Bus and the ABC's (has anyone noticed that NO ONE can sing these songs and sound good? I'm pretty sure it is impossible.) Today we learned a song that will never be incorporated into my classroom. However, it was probably the most excited I've been at school in years. We not only pulled out the ukelele's (to which I know approximately three chords to) but we learned how to play a wildly modified version of PROUD MARY. I was basically beaming with excitement and sang a liiiiitle louder than I probably should've for the sake of my classmates. But let me just say, you haven't lived until you've learned Proud Mary on the ukelele. End Tangent.

Anyway.

Date Night.

So at 6:30 I had a text from Mitch that said he was waiting outside my building. When I got into the car I was greeted with a sweet smile and two kisses. (because one is never enough. and i like even numbers. he gets me.) He took me to Fresh Market and we got some fresh sandwiches which were quite delightful and we ate them in the car. I don't know what it is about eating in the car but I really love it. I think it makes me feel like I'm on an adventure. Or maybe it just allows me to stuff my face and not have to worry about anyone judging my eating habits. After we finished our picnic of a dinner (in about 5 minutes flat) we headed to a couple furniture stores and tried out all the couches, beds, and recliners we could. Comfy furniture is our jaaaaam. And after tonight we kinda realized we are furniture snobs. Too small, too big, too firm, too ugly. But the good news is that we don't have any money for the "just right" furniture sooo all we are looking for is "free." #youngloveprobs After closing the furniture place down, Mitch surprised me yet again this evening, with a trip to starbucks. We sat in the only two open seats (which, lucky for us, happened to be two giant leather chairs-booya.) and talked all about life and how much fun marriage is going to be. We talked about what kind of apartment we are looking for and decided that window shopping together is just as much fun as actually buying stuff. We are such dreamers. 

Wednesday- you were pretty stinking awesome this week.  

And now, I leave you with this little morsel of soul: