Love my Bloggy Bloggers!

Okay so confession time: I love blogs. I am not the best at keeping up with my own blog, but I love reading other people’s blogs. I especially love Bloglovin because it puts all my favorite blogs in the same place. My husband may or may not make fun of me for how much I love reading blogs. 

I have this fantasy where all my favorite blog writers and I would have lunch together and talk about life and our husbands and babies (if we have them. Not I... yet) . Really, that’s what I feel like is going on as I scroll through my Bloglovin. I feel like I’m getting an update on all my friends, even though 99% of us have never met in real life! 

Here’s the point to this little ranty rant. I want to meet you! I want to have a real friendship with my blog friends! Any of you ladies down? Email me! emilysuewalrath@gmail.com Be my friend! Let’s share our lives! Hey, maybe sometime in this crazy life, we’ll really meet :) I hope so! 

Love always,

Em

What would I do without my God...

Today I give thanks.

I work in a job where people come in, step up to my desk, tell me their problems and ask for help fixing them. I have to know or figure out the answers to their questions. Some of these people’s problems are so devastating and the sadness in their face just hurts my heart sometimes. 

But every person’s problems remind me of one thing. No problem I have is really that bad because people around me are experiencing things that are so much harder. Furthermore, nothing I face is impossible because I have a loving, omnipotent, omnipresent God who is with me every step of the way. 

Sometimes I sit there and think about how much of a dark, black hole I would be in if I were in those situations without God. But then again, I would be that same black hole without my God, even in the best of times. 

Seeing these problems that other people have, first hand, makes me so thankful for what I have and helps me send up a quick prayer absolutely anytime I have a moment of difficulty.

There is always a way, through God. You can always find a way with His help and I truly believe He has a plan for us all. Be His light, not matter if you’re helping other people solve their problems, or trying to solve their own. 

That’s all for now my friends.

Happy Wednesday!

Em

What's your {Un}Word?

I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions, but I read a blog post today about an {un}word. This is a word that ideally, you would want to remove from your vocabulary. What is weighing you down? What is keeping you from having a closer relationship to God? To your spouse? To your family? How about with yourself? 

Mine is 

{un}worry

I have a tendency to let little things weigh me down with worry. I know these things will not matter the next day, week, month, or year but nonetheless, I worry about them. This causes stress within my mind and body (hmmm, wonder where that terrible sickness I had came from?) and spreads to the people around me. 

God’s word says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in any situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7. I wonder why I have so much trouble with this? 

The only remedy, as the verse above says, is prayer and investing time in learning what God has to say to you. God’s word has an answer for any question or problem, whether it is direct or indirect. Everything we need is in there. We essentially have an instruction manual for how to live life, so where is the need for worry? That is what I am trying to tell myself. 

I am going to try to achieve this goal through more prayer, both in quality and quantity. I will make it a habit to pray about the most simple things, like what my weekend plans should be. You can learn more about this beautiful process in Walking With God. Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really. by John Eldredge. 

{Un}worrying will be a process. But it is one that I am willing to take head on. Today I will get done what I need to get done. Today I will be nice to myself. Today I will be the wife I need to be for my family. Today I will learn as much as possible for what I have coming soon. Today I will react appropriately to challenges and take care of business. Let’s do it friends!

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.

The Happiest Place on Earth!

This afternoon, I will be making a semi-spontaneous trip to the happiest place on Earth. That’s right folks. I’m going to Disneyland! 

In a little baby recap, I am back in my hometown of sunny San Diego for about 6 months during the hubs’ deployment. He will be nearby the whole time so I will be able to see him periodically (yay!). It was the best deployment situation that we could’ve ever asked for so we are soaking up this blessing along the way. 

Anywho, earlier this week we looked at our calendars and realized that we should probably go to Disneyland while we are in California because, well, why would that ever be a bad idea? Disneyland was our first date and we’ve been one time since but not for a while. So hotel room was booked, tickets were purchased and the day is finally here! 

Necessity is definitely the mother of invention and we always need to stay on budget. We decided to reserve a hotel room with a full kitchen. It was just slightly more expensive that a regular room but in the long run, it will save us having to eat out. 

I did all our meal prep yesterday. Here is what we will be snacking on during our trip! 

Friday night dinner: Turkey burger tacos (homemade tortilla recipe http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/06/soft-homemade-tortillas.html)

Saturday/Sunday lunch and snacks: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (homemade sandwich bread http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2010/03/25/homemade-sandwich-bread/), kettle chips, veggies and hummus, strawberries, apples, Lara bars, Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter 

Saturday night dinner: out

Sunday night dinner: Italian meatloaf (http://paleomg.com/italian-meatloaf/), Lemony pasta salad (http://www.forkknifeswoon.com/food-drink/side-dishes/2013/05/lemony-orzo-pasta-salad-with-cucumber-and-feta/)

Dessert: Lemon Pound Cake (http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/10/lemon-pound-cake.html)

Hmmm I seem to have a lemon thing going on right now. But all these recipes are delicious and super easy! And more importantly, super easy to prep before you go and they will last just fine on the counter or in the fridge. 

Ps... I am so darn proud of that sandwich bread. I have always struggled with baking things that need to rise. Truth be told, I tend to half-bake them while they are supposed to be rising, which is exactly what I did with my first batch but I think I nailed it the second time! It helps that the weather in San Diego is 85 degrees in January. Madness!

Pss... Check out my lovely friend Madi’s post today over at www.homegrownhostess.com This girl is my soul sister and when we got together for lunch the other day, we realized we both decided to go to Disneyland the same day! So we will be meeting up tomorrow, probably squealing at each other across Main Street. 

I'm choosing...

Life is full of choices. It seems like if you just pay attention, every second you are making a choice, and those choices dictate your mood and how your whole day goes. Furthermore, that dictates how your whole week can go. We only get 52 weeks of 2014 so each we have to make each one count. I am really trying to focus on enjoying every moment this year and trying to make the best out of each one.  

So I am Choosing:

God

Fun

Kisses and hugs

Cuddling with my hubby as much as possible.

Less worry

Laughter

Automatically looking for the best in people and situations instead of the worst

Long, drawn out lunches with lovely friends

More prayer

Being silly

Cups of tea and good books

Enjoying every single morsel of food

Dressing to feel my best

Being me

Joy. Always choose joy.