happy birthday, baby sister!

My lil sis and me, July 2013

Happy 4th Birthday to my precious gem of a little sister. Budgie Bird, I love you more than I can say and I am beyond grateful to God for you. You amaze me in new ways every day with your wisdom beyond your years, your sweetness, your hilarious-ness, kindness, cheerfulness, silliness, beautiful-ness...you are pure sunshine. I just can't get over how much fun it is to be your big sister. Dealing in facts, you are simply the cutest human on the planet. It thrills me to watch you grow and see you become the person the Lord has you to be. I praise and thank God daily for your life. I pray that Jesus will bless your fourth year and all the splendid years to come. Happy Birthday, Baby girl. I love you forever and ever.
Kiss, cuddle, hug,
Your sis Emmy

not too late to be

Wait, what-is it really October already? This year has just flown by for me...man, I really haven't been present on this blog much/at all. Blogging is kind of tough like that, you know? For me, at least. Putting my real self, my real thoughts into words and then hitting 'publish' is so...hard. So easy it is for me for me to close my eyes to sharing and being open. You know, balancing on that fine line so as to be authentic...not superficial and not overwhelmingly personal. I don't know. I want to be uplifting and only be an arrow pointing to Christ.
Anyways, life is busy, and beautiful and uncertain and weird and sad and happy and it is LIFE. My Savior knows just what He's doing. I pray I constantly am conscious of that fact.
Just a little ramble today, folks.
-smiles and love-

"food is my liiiffeeee"

Yeah, my birthday was almost six months ago and I'm posting a picture of my birthday cheesecake. YOU'RE WELCOME.

papa's day

my daddy and me, 1995

Happy Father's Day, Papa! I love you so much, and I thank God for you!!!

rejoice and be glad

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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 minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

How wonderful are those truths.

Happy friday, my friends!

P.S.I'll be eighteen day after tomorrow...

California wild poppies and lupines circa 1995 by my mama

Dear Hannah

1998

Happy 20th Birthday to the dearest big sissy!

1998

You are so lovely, loving, kind, brave, beautiful, wise, hard-working, talented, caring, forgiving, styyyyylish--you never cease to amaze. You are mature yet fun-loving, serious yet spazzy. You are my best friend. I love you.

1997

The LORD has placed such a beautiful spirit, sweet soul, and heart for HIM in you.

2013

Happy golden birthday, princess! May Christ bless all you do this year!
I love you now and forever,
your lis sis,
Em
xoxoxoxo

A Prayer

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

--St Patrick's Breastplate

 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

beach bonfire

Last night, my brother Henry and I (just the two of us; sadly the rest of my family was feeling under the weather) were so blessed to spend the evening with dear friends at the beach for a good ol' fashioned bonfire!It was a slice of heaven to fellowship with such dear, precious people... Cassandra and her family, and Rachel, who was visiting from Arizona. I love those girls so much!

There was much laughter, heart-sharing, hugging, cute little kids, s'mores,the most delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookies made by my brother-boy Hank, crashing waves, a beautiful sunset,inside jokes and rejoicing in the goodness of our Savior!

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
-John Fawcett

Much love,
Emily

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Add caption

          Here are some nearly vintage photos of my darling big sissy Hannah, Valentines Day 1999. I love these photos! She was so cute! (Still is, but she's almost twenty...a little less cute, a little more beautiful now.) And I'm pretty sure a pink dress, rosy cheeks, happy smile, and a chocolate lolly are a recipe for a pretty 'sweet' love day!

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7 xoxo,Emily

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Photos from my grandparents ranch,CA June 2012

May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: “Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voice, and looked on their adversity, etc.” Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good, and his mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how he hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness, and his wonderful works before the sons of men.”

-William Bradford

in honor of a veteran

my grandpa David,circa 1970. photo by my beautiful grandma Janie.

Thank you to my beloved grandfather  for his military service to our great land. My grandpa's vision, knowledge, and love for God, family and his Country are so evident  in everything he does and has done, including serving in the Air Force. I am so blessed to be his grandaughter and we are all so grateful for his example of bravery and patriotism.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

We LOVE you, Gramps!

Note: I fully intended to post this ON Veteran's Day, but ran out of time. After debating whether or not to post it late, I decided I would still post it for him.

hello my friends...

 I'm just popping in to say I have not left this little spot to fall by the wayside...my two week blog vacation was, in fact, a real life two-week trip with my family. The Lord truly blessed us with a glorious time at the coast, filling our lungs with cold sea air and our eyes with marvelous sights.
Then the week after we made our way home, I was busy with settling back in; getting re-acclimated
(that's a word, right?) to, although not loving, city life; educating my mind; working at home and our business;not to mention enjoying precious times with my family, I just wasn't ready to blog about it yet.

Now after a bit of time to reflect, you can expect to see our beyond-belief beautiful trip
in photos shortly.

xoxo,
Emily



And a sign of things to come....

my baby sister Elizabeth, photo by hannah

ally/baby/art

This beautiful woodland princess is my uncle's wife, Ally. She is just a gem and over this past year has become such a dear friend. She is such a kind, lovely, open-hearted person and I am so blessed to call her family. I just love her so much. So grateful to God for her.
 They are is expecting their first little one, due in a few weeks ( happy dance!) and we just found out IT'S A GIRL!  I am so happy to finally get to meet and hold this little one. The whole family is so thrilled, this is going to be one LOVED baby. New life is so exciting. Praise God!

I made this for her baby shower. I loved painting it. I really wanted to make something for her because she has been such a graceful pregnant mama, and I know she will be a graceful, natural mama once baby is here!

Much love,
Emily

c. Emily Barish

c. Emily Barish

c. Emily Barish

lunch time!

green goodness in a glass:

frozen spinach
frozen fruit ( papaya, pineapple, strawberry)
banana
coconut water
whey

blend, pour, DRINK UP!

Mmmmmmmmm.

rosebud

A little sweetness for you.

xo,

Emily

post script: Dad, Mama, Hannah and I are off to our homeschool convention! Ray Comfort and Dr.Voddie Baucham will be speaking...yeah!

Hanky-Boy

My brother/best friend turned twelve years old on saturday.

He is so original, creative, super smart, amazing, fun, brave, good-hearted, Christ-loving... all around great kid.

He is five years younger than me, so I get the best of both worlds--I get to be the 'big' sister and we're also really close. He's my pal.

Meet Henry.

A few weeks ago, he and I went to the park to shoot some photos...we had so much fun. He was very obliging and even wore this snappy vintage outfit, because  he's just cool like that. ( =
Notice the hat? He effortlessly wears hats and has a growing collection. This boy is the man.

Henry boy, just know that I love you so much and you are the best brother we three girls could hope for...you are a gem!
I pray the Lord would continue to grow you into a young man after His Heart!

Love always,
Em

for my father



My dad--drinking coffee of course! photo by mama.

                                                                            ~

      Papa, when I was little I would sit on your board-

straight towards that blue horizon.

I was never scared you know

I knew you, the strongest man in the world, were right there

It still happens, no matter where we are or what kind of situation we're in

When you're right there 

I'm safe

My dad, the strongest man in the world

Here on earth we are fallen-nothing is perfect.
Only our Father in Heaven, our savior Jesus--only He can love perfectly.

Still,

It's a good example of our Heavenly Father, right?

No matter where we are 

He's with us 

We're safe

Because

Our Father IS the One True God

Thank you Papa

For being my earthly father

For all that you are, all that you teach us, all the adventures.

Thank you most of all

for guiding us towards our Heavenly Father

and our inheritance and abundant life in 

Him.

~

Papa,

I love you so much and I am so grateful to God for you!

Happy Father's Day!

The righteous man who walks in integrity—
     blessed are his children after him!

Proverbs 20:7

the pleasing rhythm of everyday

c. Emily/song of the sea

Life has just started to slow down into the pleasing rhythm of  ( almost, not quite) ordinary days.
My sister Hannah's graduation was beautiful and so much fun! I am so proud of my big sis and the beautiful,godly woman the Lord is fashioning in her! ( Pictures of the ceremony are coming!!!)

My life this week has been full of taking pictures, going for walks with my two favorite littles in the world ( brother and baby sister), cooking, chores, tea, lots and lots of drawing ( want to see some?), family Bible time, singing, studying,history with my brother, music, talking, leftover graduation cake ( =, flowers, coffee, pondering, dish-washing, smiles, sniffles, light, wonder...more comes to mind as I write.

You know, life is simple and wondrous every day.

We just need to recognize it all comes out of our Father's loving hand.

Much love,
Emily

rose of my heart

A poem I wrote today.

Rose of My Heart Allegory


Rose of my heart, sing sweetly as you grow in faith
Knowing one day
The Gardener's work will be finished in you

Open your petals to the sky
As your roots grow deep
As trials and love deepen your
Trust

Inspire others to love Him
Grow in His love
Grow in your love for His people

One day your petals will fall
And all that will be left is a soul
             taken up to your LORD
Perfected by the Master

HE
Who planted you
Who grew you
Who watered you
Who tenderly pruned you
Who picked you.
~

Much love,
Emily

Stepping towards the light.

                                                                   This is me. photo by my dear Hannah

From my journal:

  April 28, 2012

 ''Seventeen. That's what I am today.It is just incredible to me how the future becomes the present so     

quickly, that growing up is a reality. For the first time in many birthdays, this concept of leaving behind    an age, a part of myself, and moving on isn't bothering me.

 We all move forward--this time I'm excited. I'm excited to grow and learn and live and to walk along the   stepping stones of life, simply in awe that the LORD of the universe is the One directing my path, guiding my steps. Growing older is not a dark threat, it's moving towards the light.''

Thank you,  dearest Kelsey, for taking this beautiful photo!

On Saturday, we had a fun little exploring day with my family--who, may I point out, are my favorite people in the world. I love them to the moon and back.
Then...

We had a little family get-together on Sunday at my grandparents house. It was perfect. Just to be surrounded by people I LOVE  was such a blessing from God!

My heart is so full.

Well. Can't sing I am sixteen-going-on-seventeen anymore. I smile as I write that. Because, you want to know why, seventeen? You're already promising to be wonderful.