a delicious autumn day at apple hill

there is nothing quite like apple hill in the fall. barns are stored full of apples, shelves are lined with apple butter and apply syrup, and picnic tables are covered with plates of pie, crumble, crisp, turnover, or any other kind of apple and pumpkin pastry you can imagine, and cups are topped with hot apple cider. it is a delicious place to be. and a beautiful one. 

yesterday, we celebrated my little brother's 9th birthday, and it is just oh-so-good to be home. my soul needed it. plus, as excited as people get about fall in southern california, there really is no such thing as fall in southern california (not along the beach that is). we can pretend and dress like it, but we can't see it and smell it and feel it. 

so, grab a cup of hot chocolate and imagine yourself here...

the birthday boy! 

and thus started an impromptu string of family photos in an apple orchard - how could i resist?! 

here's to wishing you all a happy weekend - go bake a pie or heat up a cup of hot chocolate and savor this delicious season! 

recipe // breakfast bagels

breakfast is hard for me. i mean really, who can be creative about their food at 7 am? i just need it in my stomach, asap, with a big cup of coffee. but, we all know "it's the most important meal of the day," so Travis and i have gotten into a good routine of eating together before we leave for the day. sometimes, it's as lame as a bowl of cereal, but that's better than nothing right? or, on our sleep-in days, we go nuts with french toast, waffles, or pancakes - we've even coined "french toast fridays." but sometimes, i need an inbetween, and this little go-to breakfast sandwich has been a new fav. i thought i'd share in case anyone else is looking for a little quick-and-easy breakfast inspiration. 

ingredients:

bagel

cream cheese

lunch meat (we use oven-roasted turkey)

egg

sliced cheese (currently, we're as simple as colby jack)

instructions:

grease a latte mug or bowl with either non-stick cooking spray or a drop of olive oil (any bowl with a smaller base will do - nothing too wide). crack an egg and lightly beat it with a fork. add a pinch of salt or other seasonings - i love adding a crack of lemon pepper. microwave the egg for at least 1 minute, or more if needed. when cooked, the egg should be completely firm and "patty" shaped. toast the bagel and shmear it with cream cheese. add a layer of lunch meat, the cooked egg, and then the cheese on top. sandwich everything while it's still hot so the cheese melts. and wham-o, you're ready to eat an easy, filling breakfast. 

i've always been inspired by food photography, so if you like this, i'll keep taking pictures and posting recipes, because i have a love affair with both my camera and making great food! 

orange county family session // the johnsons reunited

these dear people have not been in the same place for almost two decades. so, when the stars aligned, a few phone calls were made, and last minute flights were booked, the whole affair just had to be documented. these photos prove that time and distance have not at all lessened the love and joy this family shares, and it was a joy to be a part of. 

dear johnson family, thank you for taking a few moments out of your precious weekend to give me the opportunity to get to know you all - it was a delight to capture your reunion! 

our first camping trip

nothing makes our hearts happier than spending time in the great outdoors. it connects us and reconnects us when life has gotten busy. the stillness, the stars, the majestic trees, and the shadowy mountains, they remind us of how perfect, how big, how creative our God is. 

last weekend, we were able to spend a night away in the mountains, and man was it good for my soul. singing worship around the campfire, engaging in conversation with friends who are in the same season as us, sipping on hot chocolate, and roasting s'mores - does it get better? i wish we could have spent 5 more nights in our cozy little tent and our cozy sleeping bags (that zip together - how genius is that?!), and i can't wait for our next trip! 

women's retreat re-cap

this past weekend, i was gifted with a weekend of retreating and relaxing (literally, gifted - i'm telling you, God keeps providing). i've attended women's retreat for the last 3 years, and every year, i get to meet new friends, engage in refreshing conversation, and experience God in a new way. this year was no different.

because it's so easy to forget what i've learned as soon as i "head back down the mountain" (or the nasty 91 freeway in this case), i thought i'd journal my thoughts here, just for my sake, but maybe yours too. 

// everyone has a story. a messy, unexpected, full-of-challenges kind of story. life isn't always picture-perfect. it doesn't always go the way we expect. but God works it for good, and as several women transparently and vulnerably shared those stories, i was reminded of His goodness. everyone has a story. 

// the people i admire and aspire to be are those who own their story. they know themselves and how God uniquely wired them. they know what benefits them and what harms them, how they are drained and how they are refreshed. they know how to set boundaries for their own good and invest in the things they were created for. and they embrace their identity. they are rooted in Jesus. don't compare your insides to everyone else's outsides one lady shared. and that hit home for me, because you know what? i do that all the time. i can let myself become so consumed with what others think about me. it's like a twisted and self-depricating plague. but if they're focused on you, then they're not focused on Jesus, and that's their issue, not yours, she said. it's not about me. 

// i was reminded again that God is not a god of confusion, or chaos, or hopelessness. never. He is a Giver of hope, peace, and life. the fullest life. in the last few weeks, i've let the enemy distort my understanding of God. it felt like tough love. like God was challenging us, not even out of love, but...i'm not quite sure. God felt distant, and my prayer for the weekend was that God break through again. that i would be able to quiet my heart and remember that He is love. He can't be anything but love. and through conversation and times of stillness, my heart recognized the enemy's lies and claimed Truth. draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you. 

have the most wonderful week, friends.

living in the reality of His blessing

i cannot even begin to express how WOW-ed we are by God's provision right now. like, jaw on the floor wow-ed. 

in two days, we'll have been married 2 months, but my goodness sometimes it feels like a few years already. not because it's tiring or mundane or because we've already lost that newlywed love (we plan on never losing that, thanks so much), but because we've had to tackle a lot of life in the past two months - challenging, messy, stressful life. besides family and transitioning and moving and scheduling and learning, we've also been struggling to make ends meet financially. while Travis was in china, a lot of changes and cuts were made at his job, but thankfully, he remained employed. but the unforeseen changes have left us with very little extra. every time rent looms ahead or bills are waiting to be paid, we have to get creative in connecting all the dollar signs. it's not ideal, but we have learned a lot, especially about each other. 

my whole life has been a story of relying on God, and time again i've seen Him provide in miraculous ways. so this financial challenge of ours doesn't worry me too much, because i've seen the Lord do things before. it takes a lot of discipline and thought (things i don't super excel at), but trusting the Lord is almost second-nature to me. it's how i was raised and it's how life has always been. 

as the income-provider and hard-working breadwinner my husband is, he feels the pressure much more than i do - it's that man thing you know? to provide. and i'm abundantly grateful to him and appreciative of all he does to make our life happen. but there are gaps sometimes, gaps that only the Lord can fill. negative numbers and surmounting expenses that require us to let go and rely on Jesus. 

and then today's miracle happened. though we both graduated last may, i'm still a full-time student in the credential program and therefore still receive federal aid for school. those disbursements usually happen at the very start of the semester and that's that. so when a string of e-mails showed up about a week ago suggesting an additional refund, i started looking into it. and when i happened upon the amount they were supposedly refunding, i sat in disbelief. it all seemed too good to be true until the check arrived in the mail today. oh man, God is so good. He meets our needs and sometimes even goes beyond. He is a God of blessing and providing, and we are living in the reality of His blessing and provision. it's truly astounding. as if money just fell out of the heavens and into our laps. we're not rolling in dollar bills and saying goodbye to expense tracking and strict budgeting, don't get me wrong. but some of the weight and worry has fallen away. but in exchange comes extra responsibility and wisdom, another opportunity to carefully steward what the Lord has entrusted us with. 

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

matthew 25:14-30