And I Quote . . .

Since my name IS Maria, I of course know the songs from the Sound of Music...Actually, I get to hear "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" decently often. Seriously, there must be something about the name because there are lots of songs about various different Maria's. I feel special.  Umm...rabbit trail. All that to say, the song from the Sound of Music that goes "these are a few of my favorite things..." and then lists a lot things that the singer likes...that is kinda what I'm trying to do in this post. Here we go: My verse of the summer. Seriously. Read it out loud. There is something so strong and powerful in the words.  Since Melvin (my happy little bug) broke down, my dear brother Logan has been letting me borrow his truck. And I love it!!! So does my friend Jess. We roar around to lots of places.  Current favorite song...I think. I have this problem of liking a song and listening to it over and over and over. And then it bec...

This past Sunday my church had an outdoor service and a whole entire day of fun. It was epic. (Overused word, I know.) Games were played. Soft ball. Volley ball. Prisoners base. Frisbee. There was lots and lots and lots of conversation. And singing. And laughter. We crack ourselves up over how completely hilarious we are. And there was sunshine. Most of us got burnt like toast. Have I mentioned that it was amazing?! There is just something about a group of people who love Jesus and love each other. The joy is overflowing.  You have to hear this group. They sound amazing together. And that's my own Jess on the far right. Gorgeous Rosanna with the golden voice is next to her, with her handsome husband, Bradley. That is Silas on the left. All of these grand people that I am proud to know. Father and son moment.  Jeremy and Jared...brothers who are talented like you wouldn't believe. They have their own music cd out. In fact, more then one.  The bubble ma...

Although I don't do it nearly as often as I used to, when I'm not waitressing, I do still babysit. The 3 on the right are foster children and I have soft spot in my heart for them.   I love these kids. And most of the time they love me.  I can't say I am an expert at childcare. Or even very good at it. But we have some good times. Like when we sing along (loudly and off tune) to songs from Frozen and Tangled. Yes, I do resort to bribery in the form of popcicles when the occasion arises. 

I don't care how cliche matching outfits are. There is just something about wearing the same shirts as your best friends that makes you feel special. To me anyhow.  On Sunday Jess, Rosanna and I wore polka dot shirts. A great find from Target (which we all love). We were called the triplets. Ack! I'd love to look like either one of these beautiful ladies. But I'm pretty decently happy to just be friends with them. And wear a matching shirt. =)

 To celebrate my friend Jess's birthday, a bunch of her friends got together and we spent the day together just having fun. We shopped. We ate. We laughed. We sampled ice cream. We saw some falls.   It was a nice relaxing day.  In the evening the guys joined us for supper at Olive Garden...those bread sticks. Ack! I love them! We then went and played Laser Tag. It was my first time, but it will not be my last!!!  A happy birthday to my dear friend Jess!!!

Today is my birthday. I am now 23 years old. Crazy, eh? In honor of becoming this outstanding age, here are 23 lovely little photographs from my past year. They are not organized according to how things happened and I apologize for repeats from past posts.  1. Trotting around Europe with these lovely people. It was indescribably amazing.  2. I love wild and crazy friends. It adds a certain spice to my life.   3. I went skiing. Twice. And caught cold and was sick for a good long time.   4. Drove my beloved 'Melvin' around. That car. The cause of a lot of stress in my life because of certain random breakdowns. But I'm quite attached.  5. My church moved into a new building. This is from the dedication. Something I love about Cornerstone is that there is a lot of prayer. This year I saw so many different prayers answered. It's changed my life.  6. Shopping with the coworkers. Truly love these girls!!! 7. One of my best ...