be lovely: December 2011

twenty-eleven

twenty-eleven was an interesting year.

twenty-eleven was a long year. it seems like the easy parts of life are so far away behind me.

but nobody said it was easy. nobody said it would be simple. no one ever said twenty-eleven would end like this.

but it is. twenty-eleven is ending on a low note. i thought it would just be like every other year: we live our easy life and just enter a new year like that. but this year, it feels so wonderful to leave this year behind.

a lot happened this year. a lot i didn't even talk about here.

my best friends moved away.

the one thing i ever wanted was taken from me.

i think katie davis said it best: "Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together more beautifully." i'm just waiting for the putting it back together part to happen.

maybe 2012 will be filled with joy. maybe 2011 will bring fulfillments. but maybe it won't.

all i know is... i am overjoyed to say goodbye to 2011. goodbye pain. goodbye sadness. hello new friends. hello new adventures. hello new year.

listen.

i like it like that

note :: i may or may not be listening to this song blasting w/ these:

+++

i'm sitting here with music blasting, and if i look to my left, i see two crazy boys dancing along to the wii. it's the funniest thing ever, but it makes me think "i like it like that".

they go crazy and run around screaming and it bothers me so much, but if sit back and watch, i like it like that.

they invite their friends over all day everyday and it can get annoying... but i like it like that.

they attempt to sing songs really loudly and i like it like that.

they wear the same shirts as they wore to bed, they hit me with wooden spoons while doing dishes, they trick me into thinking they're talking to me while i'm listening to music, they make stupid new years resolutions and mock the news people... but i like it like that.

i've said it a billion and two times before, and i'll say it again....

i would never change a thing. having boys around all day everyday is the best feeling in the whole world.

i like it like that.

the boy with the swag

>> – you

he's always making me laugh. he wears the coolest color of jeans ever. he is secretly a boy belieber.

this is logan, and he's the boy with the #swag.

the girl with the crazy-cute attitude

>> – you

she has the biggest, brownest eyes. she says the funniest things. she has a crazy-cute, so fun attitude.

this is evelyn, and she is the girl with the crazy-cute attitude.

the baby with the giant eyes

>> – you

she is only a few months old, and already the most prettiest baby girl ever. she is always so happy. her eyes are her best feature, in my opinion.

this is willow, and she is the baby with the giant eyes.

the girl with the beautiful voice

she is so fun to be around. she has the most contagious laugh, the most captivating eyes. she has the most crazy-awesome voice.

this is dorian, and she is the girl with the beautiful voice.

the boy with the monkey hat

>> – you

[i'm starting a new collection... people... who they are... portrayed as they are... on camera.]

he has the funniest sense of humor. he has the best hair. he is obsessed with his new hat.

this is liam, and he is the boy with the monkey hat.

when it's all gone

for me, the cliche saying came true. you never know what you've got until it's gone.

my best friends moved away, and i didn't know i loved them as much as i do now until they were gone.

but, goodbyes make the hello's so much sweeter.

when you have to say goodbye to someone you love, it's best to look forward to the next hello. it's the running-jumping-hugs that make the goodbyes worth it.

the girl with the big glasses

she has the biggest heart. she has the biggest glasses. she is beautiful.

this is jemima, and she is the girl with the big glasses.

CHRISTmas

this year, less is more. i didn't get any new fancy gadget or smart phone. but i gave. and i laughed. and i learned. and i let it all go. this year, less is more.

merry CHRISTmas, my dear friends.

afterall

i'll let it speak for itself.

but maybe.

just maybe.

what i think i want

isn't really

what i need

in the end.

i love you to the moon

sometimes the best posts are ones with less words.

i love you to the moon and back, sister. i miss you with all my heart.

questioning

will it ever come, i don't know, but waiting patiently is the hardest thing ever.

i will wait for the Lord, my whole being waits. and in his word i put my hope. i wait for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning. more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6

give

if i get nothing this christmas.... knowing that i got someone a gift.... i will be perfectly fine.

boys

there's something about the constant laughter, always noisy, sometimes annoying thing about boys that just makes me smile. there's something about always having boys over, playing and being mischievous that just makes me happy. most people sort of gasp in astonishment when they realize i don't have any sisters. i most definitely do not.

someone once told me that they can't handle "chaos" very well. the thing with boys is that there's always chaos, no matter what's going on. if you can't handle chaos, don't come here. there are always always always at least five boys over here at all times. it never gets old. okay, maybe it gets slightly annoying at times, but i enjoy it with all my heart.

it's these three boys that give me joy. i've said it in the past, and i'll say it again:

i would never.

ever.

ever.

change a thing.

new launch!

my lovely friend jemima and i love fashion. i've always wanted to blog about fashion, but it just hasn't really been my thing here on be lovely. one night, we were talking, and came up with the idea of having a fashion blog. we both sort of had a freak out moment. it took us forever to come up with a good name, but we finally came up with one that we both love. be now.

be now is now live! go check it out. we're so excited about the future of this little blog.

xoxo
emma

dorian.

one of the most talented people i know. beautiful inside and out. amazing voice. amazing friend. so blessed to know her.

check out her youtube channel here. girl's got talent, and is gonna go somewhere someday.

guess what

Does this ever happen to you? "What's wrong?" You just say "nothing", because it's easiest. But really, you want to say, "I'm just having a hard time."

I'm just having a hard time. Sometimes, words escape you. You don't really know why you're having such a hard time, but you are. I guess that's sort of where I am at.

I'm just having a hard time. I'm really not exactly sure why. I can't really pinpoint what's in my life that's causing me to have a hard time. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm just making things harder than they have to be. But maybe it's something. Maybe it's waiting. Maybe it's patience. Maybe it's expectations and hopes.

I'm just having a hard time. Life right now is of those things where once this trial over, I'll realize exactly why. Why I'm just having a hard time. Why waiting and patience and expectations and hopes made me just having a hard time. I guess I just have to get through it to realize why I'm just having a hard time.

Guess what, I'm having a hard time. But: 'Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.' Psalm 25:16-18

(p.s. something someone said in the comments on my fb link : "Than...God shows up and I get it.")

adventurer

sometimes i want a place where i can throw everything into my bicycle basket and ride four minutes down the dirt road to a secret place underneath a big oak tree. a place where i can read or just simply enjoy myself. maybe i'm imagining the one from because of winn dixie? or maybe i'm just a dreamer. :)

most evenings i throw on a sweater and uggs, grab my camera, and walk out to my bike. i usually then attract the neighbor girl. the neighbor girl i speak of is five years old. she likes to walk beside me and "find interesting things to take pictures of." i can already see a spark of interest in photography in her, as i saw her crouching down to get the shot of an orange with my iPod camera.

we walk around the neighborhood and find things to take pictures of. today, i spotted an orange tree hidden between two houses. sure, maybe javelinas do dig in there, maybe there are snakes and bugs, but sometimes you just have to lose the fears and give in to the photographer's eye. it's probably not my "secret place" that i'm thinking of, but it is sort of secret. sometimes, you don't even realize that you have something amazing right in front of your eyes.

all the time

when life falls apart, you wonder.... is God really good all the time? Or when people get angry at God for what he does in their life.

when everything fell apart, someone said to me that they were so impressed with me, because i wasn't angry at God. i wasn't upset with the choices he made for my life. it made me think... how could i have been angry at him???????? i was racking my brain trying to figure out what reason i could think of to be mad at Him. there was none. there is none. there will be none. i will try my best to make sure it always stays that way.

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15

december, be kind.

i browse tumblr blogs. i browse tumblr blogs and then pin my favorites to pinterest. today, i saw this:

i sure hope december will be kind. i don't want any more falling apart moments.

i enter each month going "maybe this month will be the one!". it gets old. really fast. because, months past, and it never happens. maybe it will never happen. i guess time will tell.

i do, however, hope that this month is kind to me. even if we don't get matched, i don't want another month like the last one.

listening to: +++++

adventurer

sometimes i want a place where i can throw everything into my bicycle basket and ride four minutes down the dirt road to a secret place underneath a big oak tree. a place where i can read or just simply enjoy myself. maybe i'm imagining the one from because of winn dixie?

most evenings i throw on a sweater and uggs, grab my camera, and walk out to my bike. i usually then attract the neighbor girl. the neighbor girl i speak of is five years old. she likes to walk beside me and "find interesting things to take pictures of." i can already see a spark of interest in photography in her, as i saw her crouching down to get the shot of an orange with my iPod camera.

we walk around the neighborhood and find things to take pictures of. today, i spotted an orange tree hidden between two houses. sure, maybe javelinas do dig in there, maybe there are snakes and bugs, but sometimes you just have to lose the fears and give in to the photographer's eye. it's probably not my "secret place" that i'm thinking of, but it is sort of secret. sometimes, you don't even realize that you have something amazing right in front of your eyes.