Getting to Know Me

IN CASE YOU LIKE DETAILS

I was adopted as an infant and grew up on a cattle ranch in Northern California, just south of the Oregon border. I believe with all my heart that I was meant to be my parent's child... God just got me there a different way. I haven’t grown any taller since I was 12 and my imagination has always been the biggest thing about me. When I was little I dreamed of being an astronaut, idolized Sally Ride and went to Space Camp. Twice. Which will either make you really cool in some people’s books… or really really nerdy. 

I’d choose the country over the city any day and camping over the beach every time. I love the energy of New York City, the cobble stone streets of Europe and the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii; but the mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes of the Pacific Northwest whisper and tug at my soul, feel the most like home, and will always be my favorite destination. 

I love quiet moments and cozy evenings at home with my family. My closet tells a two-sided story of stripes, polka dots and ballet flats, constrasted with western boots, Wrangler jeans and flannel plaid shirts.  I love red wine, cider beer, Downton Abbey, Anne of Green Gables and books I can hold in my hands.  I love our church, and listening to the Cageless Birds station on Pandora. It seems I hardly ever use my phone for talking but instead for podcasts and Audible. I love to see family and friends face-to-face, but relish Skype calls in between real life hugs and Voxer conversations with my best friends.

I am a mix of classic and country; a little of then and a bit of now. My heart sings for the things that last like large leather albums and small silver frames but I adore digital downloads and Netflix. I love vintage design and modern technology; all things Apple, Nike, Nikon, Banana Republic, Duluth, JCrew, Carhartt, Pottery Barn and vintage farmhouse. I love printed books I can turn the pages of and digital ones I can swipe through. I try to read To Kill a Mockingbird every summer and feel a little sad every January when I put away the Christmas decorations. Black and white movies are my favorite. If it stars Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant I’ve seen it and adore it. I take more photos with my iPhone than my fancy expensive camera. I love bright happy colors, but black and white photographs leave an imprint on my soul. If words of inspiration, faith and knowledge were a cereal I would eat them every morning with my cup of plain black coffee.

I was a cheerleader at the University of Oregon, GO DUCKS! and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism & Communication. My first job out of college was the same job I had during college… teaching cheerleading camps. My first job in the journalism world was at KTVK Channel 3 in Phoenix in the Marketing department. A couple years later I found myself working for a production company traveling the country as the Parts Producer on the reality television show NASCAR Angels. I know more about replacing the parts, especially the engines and air conditioners of old cars than I ever thought I would. Just before our daughter Lily was born I did what comes so naturally to an entrepreneur and quit my job to become self-employed full-time. I wanted to be home with her while she was little and not miss any of it. My business started with project management and evolved quickly into graphic design, web design and eventually wedding photography. 

I spent six years as a wedding photographer documenting the engagements and weddings of so many wonderful, joyful brides and grooms. It was a blessing to be a part of their lives for short periods of time and I am so glad to have given them photos to remember the day their marriages began. But as much as I loved wedding photography I felt God calling my creativity in a different direction. I didn’t grow up with a camera in my hand like so many other photographers. I grew up with words and stories on my heart and a notebook in my hands. But I was scared. I was scared to go in the direction of my big dream. Scared of what failure might look like and feel like. And then I experienced failure; fabulous, life changing, all consuming, bottom of the barrel failure. I opened and closed a business in 9 months that failed so fabulously it made my head spin, my heart hurt and brought me to my knees. It was a collective creative space for photographers and creatives. It was the thing everyone said they wanted, but turned out no one wanted to pay for. It was humbling. It hurt a lot. But I learned a lot. I learned that we are not defined by our failures if we choose to be defined by something bigger than ourselves. Through it all God and my husband loved me, encouraged me and lifted me back to my feet. As a result my faith is deeper, our marriage is stronger and life will never look quite the same and I am so incredibly grateful for that. 

In 2014 I took a full-time job with the website company I have been using since 2010. Being part of the Showit team was a wonderful opportunity and a blessing. While I never made it to outer space as an astronaut I did get to work in the Showit Mothership for almost two years. While at Showit I handled Community Relations and worked closely with our amazing Showiteer community and industry partners in the photography and creative world. When my husband and I decided we were ready to turn our lives upside down and inside out in order to chase the dream of a more intentional life and one free of credit card debit it meant leaving Arizona and that meant leaving the team at Showit. I will always look back on my time there fondly.

In June 2016 my husband and I gave away 75% of our personal possessions, sold our house and used the proceeds to pay off more than $60,000 in credit card debt. We went from living in a 3,600+ square foot home in a beautiful neighborhood in Gilbert, Arizona to sharing a 400 square foot room with our daughter on my family’s cattle ranch in far Northern California. We believe that God desires freedom not bondage for His Children and the freedom we’ve found being credit card debt free is worth far more than the lifestyle we enjoyed enslaved to debt. 

In 2018 after living with my parents for almost two years, we moved down the road into a house we affectionately refer to as "the little house." It's small and cozy and my favorite place I've ever lived. I worked for 2.5 years as the Executive Director of the Fairchild Medical Center Foundation and as the Director of Marketing & Community Engagement for Fairchild Medical Center in Yreka. In December of 2019, I transitioned out of full-time employment back into full-time entrepreneurship. In January of 2020 I quietly launched a small marketing, media and design company called britelime. Through britelime I work with a handful of handpicked clients on building their businesses and brands. 

In 2022, I felt the Lord calling me into a new season. One that would require the faith He has grown in my heart, a faith that tells me and has shown me over and over again that He is good and trustworthy. A faith that is grounded in the knowledge that His plans are always better than mine. I quietly closed my business, ended my client work and have shifted focus to helping our teenage daughter with her online school program and begun actively writing the book He laid on my heart in 2016.

I began my first term as a student at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology in January 2024. I am working towards a Master's Degree in Christian Apologetics and plan to use my degree to further God's calling on my life to biblically equip women so that they can confidently engage the lost in conversations about God.

I want to live a life that grows God's kingdom. I want to leave people and places better than I found them. I want to push people closer to Jesus. I am passionate about the right to life, contentment over consumption and sharing the Gospel. I am blessed to live a life I enjoy and wait in joyful expectation of what God does next.

GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE... THIS IS MY STORY FROM BOARDROOMS
AND BALLROOMS TO BARNYARDS AND THE BIBLE.