Hello adventurers!

My name is Mikayla Rae Obermeier. NE native, KC local. Here is a little glimpse into my story…

I’m a follower of Christ and a lover of Disney (a major understatement). I love deep diving into a good book, my dog Cooper, roller coasters, new adventures to far off places, my whimsical mug collection, Harry Potter, fashion, video games, the pumpkin patch, sushi, Marvel, getting lost in fantasy and fictional worlds, cruising in my green Jurassic Park jeep wrangler, the sun peaking over the mountains on a chilly morning and most of all, my husband and love of my life Brian, my baby son Jude, and my family.

I'm so unbelievably happy that you stumbled upon this little nugget of the internet that I am attempting to cultivate. I've always known that I wanted to start something like a blog to write and share stories about things I’m passionate about and put those stories out into the world to connect and start conversations about real things that many people can relate to. I have sat with the idea for years, letting my perfectionist tendencies get the best of me, telling me that everything had to be a certain way before I could begin. And so I finally said, who cares?! Time to let go of fear and do what makes me happy! With both Brian and I’s families living in a different state, I have also been searching for a way to better connect with them and share our family’s day to day going’s on, travels and adventures.

Anywho, here’s a little more about me! I was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska with my awesome mom. My parents divorced at an early age and my mom is the person who raised me and taught me the importance of family. She was always the person right there supporting and cheering me on through anything and everything I wanted to pursue.

I started dancing at the age of 4 and continued dancing competitively throughout high school and college. Dance taught me about discipline, friendship, confidence, perseverance, grit and about working hard for what you want.

I went to Nebraska Wesleyan University where I majored in Communication Studies and triple minored in Psychology, Gender Studies and Peace and Justice Studies.

I feel my life didn't really truly begin until after I graduated from NWU. I was teaching 10 group fitness classes a week and living at home with my mom. We had been searching for a church home for a little while and finally started joining my great grandmother every Sunday at her church. On what would become a fateful Sunday morning, she told me that she wanted to introduce me to a young man who was working on one of the outreach committees. I was perfectly content with being alone after recently coming out of a pretty unhealthy relationship and honestly a little embarrassed that my great grandma was already trying to set me up with men within our first couple of weeks of attending the church (great grandma Virginia was feisty and diligent about finding me a good man to marry. Spoiler alert: she finally succeeded). Well, that day was the day I met Brian. Little did I know my whole world was about to flip upside down.

I am absolutely certain that the Lord was working through my great grandma Virginia that day. She has returned home to her heavenly Father since then but she was and remains to be my biggest Christian role model. I’ve never encountered another person as faithful and trusting in the Lord as she was or as kind and giving to others.

I was in a pretty dark place mentally during the time before I met Brian and even though those around me would not have probably noticed, I was anything but happy. I felt very lost and without a sense of purpose or direction. Even though my mom and I are close, I felt a deep sense of loneliness. God nudged my great grandmother to guide me in the direction I needed to not only find the person who would change me for the better but set me fourth on my path as a believer.

Meeting Brian was like coming out of the darkness after years of trying to find the light. Like coming up for air when it felt like I had been on my last breath and couldn’t find the surface no matter how much I struggled to swim. Brian reintroduced me to Jesus and showed me what it was like to feel His love and what it meant to be a follower. To be a sinner but always be forgiven. To be broken and to sweetly surrender. I knew Jesus before Brian but I did not understand what it meant to have a deep relationship with Him, to experience the weight of His love or to realize the gravity of what His death on the cross meant for us as His followers. Brian also introduced me to a girl named Jenna, who would eventually end up becoming my very best friend.

That same week that I met Brian he had accepted his job at Burns & McDonnell and was beginning the process of moving to Kansas City. We both assumed that nothing serious would come of our meeting/friendship (or maybe that was just me 😜).

We both obviously assumed wrong.

We spent the next three years maintaining and navigating our relationship and falling deeper in love long distance. Brian diligently, patiently, lovingly and intentionally pursued me for nine months before I agreed to commit to being his girlfriend (I know, I had some MAJOR commitment issues 🙈 Brian is THE most patient and loyal man I've ever known!!)

Over the course of those three years Brian patiently taught me to love and trust again, we were engaged and planned a wedding long distance and we got married in the same exact place that we met, in the church where God nudged my great grandma to introduce us. With her smiling on us right in the front row, we made our vows before the Lord that brought us together. It was one of the most powerful testaments of faith that I have ever experienced. Proof to me that the Lord works through everyone, as long as you have patience in his timing and are open to listening and taking the trusting steps to follow His plan.

Immediately after we got married we left for Kansas City (with a 2 week Disney honeymoon in between, duh) moved into our home that we bought and started our life together. My life drastically changed and though the changes were ones that were positive, moving away from home for the first time, getting married and moving to a different state all within a week’s span definitely took a toll on me emotionally and mentally. It took about a year for me to settle into my new life and get my bearings in my new city away from my family. Luckily, I was doing it alongside my best friend and husband who encouraged me and helped me get back on my feet every step of the way. We had all of our dreams and plans for our lives together in our back pocket to get started on. I can look around now and say that KC feels like my home and all of those dreams for our lives together are the good days that we are currently living out.

We were so unbelievably blessed to welcome our son Jude Lee into our world on June 4th, 2020. The joy and love he has brought into our lives is unlike anything we have ever experienced and we are over the moon to be his parents and teach him all about God's love for us (and Disney, duh). He is literally the happiest little guy and we can’t fathom God’s unmeasurable love for us through this gift of our son.

From as far back as I can remember I have always loved storytelling. I can vividly remember playing elaborate games of pretend and giving all of my Barbies complex backgrounds and personalities. I remember making up countless stories in my head and little books out of construction paper and crayons and the immense joy that I felt when I showed all of my fantastical creations to my mom and grandma. To this day there is nothing that fills my cup more than sitting down with someone and hearing their story: what experiences, chance happenings, and magical, spiritual journeys that person has been on that make up who they are.

I’m so excited to finally get out of my comfort zone, throw aside all of my perfectionism related anxieties and finally put myself out there. I am so looking forward to writing for fun, sharing some stories, documenting some memories, and hopefully hearing and sharing many others’ along the way. Thanks for coming along on the ride with me!