What's Your Perfect Day?

What would your perfect day look like? Now hold up, we aren't getting extravagant here. No jet setting to Paris, just a normal-ish day. Just picture this: You (and someone of your choosing) get the day off. What would your day look like?

My day would definitely include a whole lot of time with this guy! 

I would love to sleep in with my hubby (which is like 8am for us), get ready and go to breakfast somewhere super delish. I think my favorite is the Sheerwater breakfast buffet at the Hotel Del Coronado. Yum! Then we would either go home and take a little nappy nap and/or do something outside like take a walk on the beach or go for a hike or horseback ride. Then I would love to prep a good dinner and have some friends over for a grill out. Apparently that's southern for barbecue. There would be good drinks flowing, s'mores over the fire and some good guitar playing and singing by my fantastic hubby. Doesn't that sound wonderful?!

What does you perfect day look like?

7 Hoorays!

1.) Hooray for my hubby coming home! Definitely number one on the list. My husband comes home for 10 days starting on Tuesday. Hopefully we will fit in lots of snuggling, laughing, time with family, kisses, and a birthday celebration for a particular (almost) 21 year old lady. (Me! Me!) 

2.) Hooray for my job! This new job challenges me so much. I have to talk to a lot of people that I don’t know, most of whom are looking to me for answers, which is not a natural comfort zone for me. However, I have faith in the fact that God is teaching me lots of lessons (especially in patience) that I will need later on in my life. That is what makes me look forward to going to work every day, because I know God is molding me into the woman He sees me as. Also, the senior volunteers I work with are hilarious. On Friday, one described to me how she was "jet propelled" after eating a bran muffin the day before, if you catch my drift. 

3.) Hooray for coffee dates with friends! Claire and I have been friends for over 15 years and nothing ever changes. It was so great to catch up since I haven’t seen her since right after my wedding!

4.) Hooray for chocolate covered coconut nuggets! These little beauties are the perfect treat at the end of the day. I just keep telling myself that the dark chocolate is full of anti-oxidants as I pop my 1,000th one of the day into my mouth…

5.) Hooray for fresh fruits and veggies! I seriously went off the healthy eating wagon on Saturday night, accompanied with lots of red wine. This morning I woke up with a serious food hangover, but a nice smoothie and big salad and lots of water made me feel much better!

6.) Hooray for new babies! So many friends and family are having new babies soon. So along with belly pictures and bumpdates online, I got to listen to the grunts and coos of a beautiful 2 month old baby girl (with so much hair) behind me at church this morning. Talk about baby fever!!

7.) Hooray for a grateful heart! I am in such a great place right now and am so grateful for all the blessings God has showered me with. Things are not perfect, nor will they ever be, but things are pretty darn good. And I know it’s God! 

A Grateful Heart and Self-Control

Life, especially this military life my husband and I live, throws us curveballs constantly. God likes to keep us on our toes and sometimes plans don't go our way. 

For example, my husband's phone got turned off by the cell phone company, leaving me with no way to contact him because his computer was dead and the charger was in my car. We went in before deployment, setting a date for them to hold his number. We realized we needed a little more time to get our ducks in a row and tried several times to stop his phone being turned off, but nonetheless, it happened. When we tried to get his phone turned back on, the company's whole system was down. Did I get frustrated at first? Yes. Do I realize this is a spoiled problem to have during a deployment? Yes. A lot of spouses get to talk to their service member very very sparingly during a deployment.

It would be so easy to get angry about these inconvenient little plan changes. You know that angry, bitter feeling where all your insides just seem to be in knots? We have to fight that. I know I do. and I feel so much better when I let those things go. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 teaches us to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Keeping a grateful heart is so important. It allows us to see more clearly and hold on to that self-control that God instructs us to have. 

I love watching 19 Kids and Counting and I think Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's example of self-control is something everyone can learn from. In an old episode I caught the other day, their area in Arkansas was hit by a devastating ice storm. When Jim Bob was outside assessing the damage, he acknowledged that the children were watching to see what his reaction was going to be. His display of self-control was crucial in keeping his family calm and secure, but also thinking through a solution for the problem. Michelle's patience and self-control in raising so many little ones always inspires me. It is something I hope to come close to (even remotely on the same spectrum would be glorious) when I have our own little one. 

Displaying these characteristics takes a lifetime of learning and adjusting, but our God is a loving and merciful God. He knows we make mistakes, and is waiting with open arms to grant us forgiveness. The sooner we learn that fact, the more at peace we will be. 

Have a blessed week! 

Lots of love,

Em

What a Wonderful Friday It Is!!

Today is a great day! The birds are singing, the skies are… uhhh gray. But nonetheless today is going to be fabulous.

#1 My hubs comes home tomorrow for a long weekend!!! Hooray!!! Look how handsome he is… no seriously, look!

Oh be still my heart! 

#2 I am back at the gym! After knocking out my awful sickness and getting settled back in California, I have returned to my playground. However, because I haven't worked out in 2 weeks, I am sore! 

Hello old friend

#3 It's smoothie time! I have been addicted to smoothies, or smoodgies as they're called in our house, in the morning lately. Here is my recipe:

     1 banana

     a scoop of plain coconut yogurt

     a Tablespoon of coconut oil

     frozen berries

     a handful of greens (kale, spinach, etc.)

     a splash of almond or coconut milk

     -I am wanting to add chia seeds because they are such a great source of Omega-3's but I haven't gotten any at the store yet. 

#4 I have been trying oil pulling. It's kind of weird but I keep hearing so many benefits about it. I've only done it twice so I'm excited to see the results! Here is a great list of all the wonderful things coconut oil does! 

http://www.sunwarrior.com/news/50-of-the-best-uses-for-coconut-oil/

#5 I am going to make a few loaves of these little babies today. Hello PB&J's and grilled cheese sammiches! 

Look at those beauties! 

It's going to be a great day friends and an even better weekend! Embrace it and choose joy every moment.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

John 10:10

XOXO Em.

A Silly Little Wedding Story

I’ve always loved “the dip” at weddings. I think it is super cute and romantic and makes for great pictures. So part of our preparation for our wedding, of course, was practicing the dip. And we just had to practice in the place best for practicing dancing: the kitchen! 

We practiced several times before the wedding, but never really said “okay we are definitely doing this.” 

Flash forward to wedding day. We were both so nervous right before we walked down the aisle, but once we got up there, we were locked in on each other. Nothing else mattered. 

I knew the ceremony was wrapping up. Towards the very end I looked up at my hubs and whispered/mouthed “Are you going to do it?” Because of course I had to put my hands and everything in the right spot to be able to pull it off. 

Now what my husband heard was “Do it!” I’m glad he did because he wasn’t going to do it! We heard “You may kiss the bride” and we pulled it off! It turned out that that dip created one of my favorite pictures of our whole wedding, so I’m pleased with our little miscommunication. 

XOXO Em.

Disney Magic!

Well the Walraths had a fabulous, magical Disney weekend! We moved from Gulfport, Mississippi back to San Diego for the next 6-7 months. I've been back at my parents house and the hubs has been at rock crusher school so I haven't seen him all week. I missed him! We met approximately halfway between San Diego and where he is at his school, which happened to be Disneyland, also the spot where we had our first date almost 2 years ago. We had a blast!! Here's some pictures of our adventure! 

Day 1 of our adventure!

We eat healthy… most of the time

The happiest place on Earth!

Packed lunch!

New Cars ride. Awesome!

End of day 1 at Trader Sam's.

Beginning of Day 2! 

A Disneyland staple. Mint Juleps! This was about 37 seconds before I knocked the whole thing over into my lap. Boo. Luckily my hubby shared his with me.

We happened to look down and see Nate's hometown!

About 5 seconds before we both had very wet jeans…

Waiting for World of Color.

What a wonderful weekend we had together! Can't wait for our next adventure!

XOXO E.S.W.