the best day

mother-daughter lunch and shopping date, hangin out with Kenna, one of the most incredible worship services I've ever been to, and spending time with amazing friends sums up the day :)

We tried a cute new cafe in downtown Frisco.

She is my rock, I love her more than she knows.

Water's Creek in Allen

Little piece of heaven right there


There were several quotes on the walls around the shopping center. I liked these the most.


"This is a loud faith, a sacred devotion. I'm reaching out to know who You are. It's not a fake life, a religious commotion, but a living breathing portrait of Christ."


Continued prayers for Marianne!

a life for Christ

Yesterday I was blessed in an amazing way! Totally unexpected and taken by surprise when the youth leader at my church, David, told me that someone wants to sponsor and pay for my trip to camp as a leader this summer! I told David that I would not be able to go unless the trip was going to be of no cost for the leaders, and he told me to continue to pray about it and they would help find a way for me to get there if I felt it was what God wanted me to do. So that I did, I prayed. It is incredible how the Lord blesses those who seek Him above ALL things. If we seek His Kingdom and have faith that He will provide, He will and He always does. I'm not sure who this person is, but they have blessed me with their generosity and I will never be able to repay them for that! I'm just so incredibly thankful!

**Romans 12= good stuff. Go read it if you haven't. It inspired me toady. Especially verse 9 "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it."

Let this encourage you to see all people as beautiful, no matter what you may see on the outside.

I really want a craft room one day. This one would due I guess ha ha.


Please continue to prayer for Marianne! Her surgery is one week from today!

new found love

I now have a new found love for blogging, as of today. I have given my blog a "makeover". I'm in love with this new website I found: http://www.shabbyblogs.com/extra.html So adorable! If you blog, I recommend taking a look! I have decided to change up the way I blog a little bit. I want to post pictures, videos, quotes, and other things I stumble upon that inspire me, rather than just "journal" about my day. I want to post things I love, things I find beautiful, things that make me happy, things that inspire me to embrace creativity. I believe that creativity comes in many forms and can be expressed in so many ways, so why not take advantage of that? The ability to create and express is never ending, and who knows who you may inspire along the way, this is the beauty of it all.

I miss her, my best friend. She comes home in 7 days.

I love flea markets. I want to go back to Canton, Texas.
I love cupcakes and sweet desserts. I want to go to this place in Austin.

I want to learn how to sew. I also love antique/vintage things.
I love these trees. So pretty.

What a beautiful mess this is. Embrace what you love.

Be inspired.


I want to one day intern for this and take part in the special ed program in Guatemala. I miss missionary work:
http://www.kidsalive.org/involvement/missionary-opportunities/

I hope you enjoy my new blog as much as I do. It challenges me to think outside of the box and reminds me that being different is refreshing.

summer nights :)

Today definitely was better than the days before! I decided this morning a little relaxation would make up for the stress I've had consuming me the past couple of weeks, as I talked about yesterday. To relax, I went to Ashley's and laid out by the pool. Not sure how much of a tan I got, but it felt nice to just sit and be still and at peace.

Speaking of peace, I spent a lovely night with my friends, some of the most amazing people in the world in my opinion. They are all just loving, real, down to earth people. The reason for out little "get together" was to celebrate Macy coming home from Africa! She had such incredible stories to tell. It really made me realize how much I miss mission trips. I have such a passion for serving and in big ways! Mace told me that as she was thinking about all of her friends on the trip, she wished I had been there the most. I was taken back when she said this! She told me that it is so clear and obvious that I have a love and passion for children of all sorts (referring to Makenna) and that I would have made such a difference while I was there. She told me about getting to teach in different preschools to Muslim children that had nothing. To them, school was such a positive place to be. Knowing that I want to teach one day, Macy knew that I'd fit right in. How amazing and life changing would that be?!?!? I want to go on a mission trip now SO badly! I would LOVE to go to another country, possibly even Kenya one day. I tend to dream big, but I feel like the Lord has put that passion for serving in my life for a reason. Who knows where that will take me??? Macy also showed my videos of the kids singing "Here I am to worship". All of the kids knew every word and they signed it as they sang...watching this brought tears to my eyes. I am just so blessed to live in a safe home with so many luxuries and the freedom to express myself and the religion I practice. We all take these things for granted until they are taken away. It is incredible what this will do to you.

I'm continuing to pray for Marianne and her health! Also praying to be at peace with change, as it will give me room to grow!

the past...

It's funny how the past always seems to come back and haunt me. It never fails. And to be completely honest, I'm not in the greatest of moods now because of that. I promised to always be real, so that's what I'll be. Without giving too many details, I am having a VERY hard leaving past relationships in the past. In the sense that I just want to leave them in the past, but they won't stay there. There is always some sort of drama that comes my way and I have a difficult time handling it. I like to keep my life as drama free as possible...other people at the moment are trying to bring it in though.

I just need to take a breather. I want so badly to just get out of this town for a while and forget about everything...however reality will be here waiting to bite me in the butt when I return.

Lord, please help me to see that with You NOTHING is impossible! With You, I have EVERYTHING and that is more than enough. In my weakness, You are made stronger.

Hoping for a brighter day tomorrow filled with strength and forgiveness!

Making a Difference

The power of faith is absolutely incredible. For one to believe so strongly in something that they would lay their life down for it is wonderful. For me, this is all about the walk that I am in as I follow an amazing Creator, Christ. He leads my tiny steps wherever I go and helps me to leave huge footprints.

In this world, I want to be different. I want to leave footprints on the lives of many. I am all about talking the talk and walking the walk. You cannot do one without the other. As a devoted Christ follower, I try my best every single day to do both of these. I want to show others the love I have for the Lord by reaching out to others around me, even if it is in a small way. Never underestimate yourself and the things you can do in this world. I have learned lately that you cannot sit back on the sidelines and hope for something to come along and happen. God wants us to be proactive. He will bless us in so many ways if we simply reach out and do our part in making a difference by sharing His love that He has given to us with people that cross our path.

All this being said, I want to do my part in helping Kenna's mom, Marianne. Most of you know that she has surgery coming up and is having a difficult time financially as she is uninsured, for Makenna's sake. Marianne is such a wonderful woman of God and has extreme amounts of faith right now. She knows that the Lord will provide! He will, and He always does! Her and her family are so precious to me and the real love they have for one another and for the Lord is absolutely astounding. Although I may not be able to support them financially, I will support them with my time and with my prayers. I ask all of you who read this to support them with your prayers. Lift this family up and PRAY! So many of us forget about the difference that prayer can make so often, but as He said, He can heal the sick, give sight to the blind, let the lame walk, and provide to those that believe. For those of you that can support financially join the facebook group Step Up! for Marianne Johnson and see what you can do to make a difference. You CAN make a difference, you just have to have the faith that you can and believe.

“NOW FAITH IS BEING SURE OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND CERTAIN OF WHAT WE DO NOT SEE.” -HEBREWS 11:1

A few other updates:
- The OKC Hope Link fundraiser is coming up and I shipped the Miracle Makers clips to them yesterday! I am really praying for this group! The leaders, Ryan and Amy, are such incredible women and they are doing their part to make difference in the lives of many!
- If you are interested in purchasing anything from Miracle Makers please visit http://creativemiraclemakers.blogspot.com/ I hoping to get this really going somewhere now that the summer is here! I know that we can do this!! Your support is so greatly appreciated!
- I would like to thank the Lord for all the incredible people He has put in my life! I cannot get over how blessed I am! I am not sure what I did to deserve such amazing friends and family, but I am beyond grateful!!! I cannot wait to have my best friend, Meghan, home for the summer. She will be home in a week and a half. Please pray for a safe trip home for her and her concert choir friends as they are on tour now!
- The Epic youth group at Hope Fellowship had a great turn out for the Flipped event last night with over 550 kids showing up! We had BMX bikers, free hotdogs, the Mavs drumline, and a great message! Never a dull moment at epic :)
- Went on adventure #2 yesterday to a little place called the French Cafe. The food wasn't bad, but it seemed a little overpriced. I have a feeling this experience will be pretty interesting this summer!

Hope yall are having a great week!!!

Praying for Marianne and for the Lord to provide for her and her family! Also, praying for Miracle Makers' growth!

Nothin's sweeter than summertime!

Hello sweet sunshine, long summer nights, snowcone lady visits every other day, and days spent with my sweet Kenna! Gosh, this is going to be such a great summer! I can already feel it! Pretty sure that acing my bio lecture final was a very nice way to start it off. So glad to finally be done with this semester so that I can move on to relaxation!

For those of you that haven't already heard, Marianne is doing MUCH better!!! She has been blessed by so many people bringing meals, groceries, and company (including my mom stopping by with dinner and a quick visit, I just love her through and through! So blessed to call her Mom!). Marianne will have to get surgery most likely and will have more details on Monday as far as that is concerned. Once I hear something, I will let those of you that read this now! I am sooo glad she is doing so much better! I got worried there for a while, but I knew that God had His hands on her and He would help her. Kenna and I made sure to prayer for her every night before bed.

And I must say, I think Kenna knows a thing or two about praying. Every night before I lay her down I sing to her and then start out by saying "Dear Jesus" and as soon as I say this her face lights up and she looks up. The whole time we are praying for her, her family, and anything else we need to pray for she just has this glow about her. After I say "Amen" she smiles so big that her eyes close and then she hugs me without me prompting her do so. I may be reading into this a little much, but for some reason I just feel like she knows and that she has such a hope and peace about her that the Lord is there. I cannot get over how beautiful she is, inside and out. I can't help but smile when I look at her and see more than just a little girl with big blue eyes that may not be like the rest of us. To me, that is a wonderful thing. She doesn't have a care in the world, she's just sweet little Kenna and changes lives everyday without a single clue she's doing it. Unspoken words, a joy that can't be contained in her little body, and a smile that melts you goes so far!

Speaking of impacts, Makenna's teacher, Sarah, won teacher of the year award!!! CONGRATS!!!! Sarah is such an amazing teacher with such a passion for children like Makenna. I could only hope and pray that I can be a teacher like that one day and impact children's lives the way that Sarah does!

Well, since my summer has officially begun, I have been in such a good mood!!! More of my friends have started coming home from school and I am just reminded of how blessed I am. I have the best friends and family!!! Although everything is not perfect and will never be, I have people that love and care about me unconditionally and that can be real with me. I respect that more than anything! Over the past several days I have spent a lot of time with Ashley and Zack and we have decided that once a week we are going to go try a new restaurant that none of us have been to. Our first adventure was yesterday. We went to a little Italian place called Capri's Italian Grill. The weather was a little crazy outside and the first thing out waiter told us when we sat down was, "We are under a tornado watch so if one comes then we are all going to run to the deep fridge!" Umm ok? We were the only customers in the place and the food was pretty good. Ashley and I shared pasta, which we didn't eat much of after getting full on bread and Zack's calzone, which was the size of a football!! So good though! We also decided that we want to get a group of friends together and go to float the river this summer, just take a long weekend maybe. Should be fun!

Also, Ashley and I both have a business, which many of you are aware of mine (Miracle Makers). We got to talking and have decided that over the summer we are going to throw little parties, a lot like Mary Kay does, and sell our products. We will both have our separate things set up, but do the parties together. We are still working out all of the details and plan to have several over the summer. Our first one is planned to be held at Dimples cupcakes! We have already gotten manager approval and she is very supportive of the whole thing! If any of you live in the area and are interested in attending a party, please let me know!!

Well, now that I have shared about a week's worth of information, just the basics that is, I should get going! I need to grab some lunch before heading to Kenna's house! Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!!!!

Praying for Marianne!!

Nothing is impossible with God!

First off, I would like to wish all the mothers out there a VERY happy mothers day! I am SO incredibly blessed to have the mother that I do. Such a wonderful Godly woman with a heart of gold. Without her, I would be nothing. I love you so much Momma! Happy Mothers Day!!!

Well, to say the least, the past couple of days have been quite crazy! I have officially decided that I could pretty much take on anything that comes my way. After Friday, I feel unstoppable! For those of you that don't know, Marianne was rushed to the hospital Friday afternoon after her blood pressure shot up, her eyes crossed, and she began to feel light headed. She had several tests done, including MRIs and CT scans. Apparently all appears normal, and they have ruled out blood clots and any sort of stroke...so bizarre. I was very worried about her, but glad that she is back home and resting up! To find out more about what happened, you can go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/makennajohnson/journal

While Marianne was in the hospital, the kids and I had quite the adventure! Here is an overview of Friday: I started by picking up Marlee to take her to lunch and to the mall for a girls day out. I wanted to give Matt and Marianne a little break and thought Marlee would have fun having a day out on the town. She also had been begging to see my house, so we went by there as well. She met my dad, grandmother, and our puppy (aka "goggie" by Marlee). After we went to the house, we all went out to lunch at Cici's, and then I took Marlee to the mall. I got her a view presents, including a Dora purse and some princess jewelry. Matt then called and told me that he was on the way to the hospital and my heart skipped a beat. He told me what was going on with Marianne and asked me to keep Marlee for a little longer. We then met Matt at the hospital to get a set of house keys and then went to pick up Micah from school. He was a little confused to see my car I think, but finally recognized me. Once we got Micah, we went to Braums for some icecream, then back home to wait for Kenna. Then, I (meaning with NO help- which I am proud of) managed to get all three kids in the car with two car seats, a wheelchair, diaper bags, and a skateboard. For those of you that have never conquered a two year old, a special needs child, and an 8 year old alone at the age of 19, it is not the easiest thing. Our adventure then began! I took all three kids to Taco Bueno for dinner, then back to my dad's house. I fed the kids, let them play with the dog, skateboard, and hop around the house. They were all SO good! I was so proud of them and so thankful for Micah's help along the way! My dad even played the guitar for Makenna, and she loved every moment of it!!! This made my dad SO happy! He truly loves those kids so much and was glad to finally meet them!

Well, you make think the adventure ends there, but it doesn't! Matt called and informed me that he locked himself out of the house because he gave me his house key. I then piled the kids back into the car with all their things, and went back home to the Johnson's. We let Matt into the house, and while he got things together to take back to Marianne, I got the girls ready for bed and put them to sleep! Right before Micah went to bed, Marianne's parents arrived! They were such a blessing to us all during this time! I love them both so much!

Whew! I did it!!! I conquered the "circus" on my own! It was an interesting adventure, but SO worth it! I actually had fun, and although I was tired at the end of the day, I was SOOO glad to help my family out! And it means the world to me that they trust me so much with their kids. Love yall!

Saturday was another busy day, but I had some help! Marianne's parents were at the house with me and helped take care of all the kids. We spent a good majority of the day outside! It was so nice! Poor Kenna kept looking for the bus though, sweet girl loves school so much!

Well, I should get to studying. I have two finals left this week and then my summer begins!!!! Praise Jesus!!

Praying for Marianne and for wisdom this week!

It's gonna be a good one :)

From the looks of this past weekend, I can already tell it is going to be a good summer! One of my really good friends, Ashley, came home from school for the summer on Friday, along with her brother Zack. We hung out on Friday and Saturday night and had a lot of fun! Friday, we went to the snow cone lady, and it was well worth waiting in the long line. Saturday, we went to this really cute cupcake shop in downtown Frisco, in the square. If you don't know this about me, I am a HUGE cupcake fan. I don't know what it is, but I just love them. And I know this is a little far fetched and some of you may find it strange, but one day, whenever that day comes, when I get married, I'm pretty sure I want me wedding cake to be made out of cupcakes! Wouldn't that be awesome?!?! The place we went to is called Dimples, and it is a lot like the cupcake/bakery, Sprinkles, in Dallas. Basically, it's a little taste of heaven:





Today was pretty good too! Started out by going to church, which was great, as always. Pastor John talked about how our name, our occupation, and other things like that do not make up our identity. He talked about how God has a plan for our lives and we must be committed to His will. If He wants me to be a special needs teacher, I need to be committed to that and I need to pour every ounce of myself into that. I need to strive to live in His will always. And, I must have the courage to do this. Pastor John said something that really spoke to me, based on Galatians 6:14. He said we must be committed to what God has called for us to do, even when we live in a world that may not always celebrate that. As I was at Kenna's house today, I kept reminding myself of the message today. Kenna was having a really rough day, where she kept crying and screaming for no apparent reason. I wanted to help her, but didn't know what to do. And in all honesty, this can be frustrating at times, for the both of us. I know she wants to communicate to me what she needs/wants or what hurts, and I want to be able to do something to help. I hate watching her cry and not being able to fix it. When I found myself a little frustrated, I just thought to myself, "You know what, Allie, you are here for a reason. This is God's will for your life, and you are passionate about this. You are committed to her and she is committed to you. Be calm, and thank God for all that he has done for the both of you." Sometimes it just takes a deep breath or a reminder that everything is going to be ok.

Especially after talking to my dad tonight, did this become even clearer. I guess he kinda gave me that reminder, that something that lit me back up. He told me about this movie, which I can't remember the name of, that is about this music teacher who came across a deaf student. The teacher completely poured every ounce of time, energy, and love into this child. He didn't give up on him because he wasn't like the rest of the kids. This music teacher made a huge impact on this little boy's life. My dad went on to tell me that that is one of the most important things you can do in your life, is to reach out to at least one person and pour your love into them, making a difference in them. He told me that I was so lucky to be already doing that at such a young age. He said that he LOVES Makenna and thinks she is precious, and he has never been in the same room with her. But, he does see what she has done/does to me and he loves it. He loves that I am wanting to make a difference, that I am wanting to help, that I am looking to put my heart and soul into all I do, especially with her. This meant the world to me. It reminded me that even though I have my rough days and I'm not sure what to do or how to help, I am helping...in some way. I may not always see it and it may be unclear, but I am seeking to fill HIS will, therefore I must go at %110...no less.

Sorry if I am getting too deep, but it really meant the world to me, what my dad shared with me. Speaking of my dad, we had a last minute daddy daughter date to ja'dore frozen yogurt! It was delicious, and I really enjoyed talking with him!

Also, today was my Aunt Kathy's birthday and we went to Bucca diPeppo! It was so good! I was glad to be with all my family, because that doesn't happen often with all of our busy schedules. Happy Birthday Kathy!!! Love you!!

When I went to Kenna's today, we took a little trip over to the duck pond/park! We fed the ducks, and played on the playground. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, and it calmed Kenna down for a while, which was good. Here are some cute pictures we took:







I had a great weekend! To all of you that were a part of it in any way, I love you!

Praying for a good day for Kenna tomorrow, sleep for Marianne, and the determination to study and do well on my final lab practical on Wednesday!

P.S- If anyone is selling a futon (preferably a wooden frame), please let me know!