Fall Crafting with My Ladies

Fall is my FAVORITE time of year! What better way to get in the mood but to spend an afternoon crafting with my girls.......I've been looking for some inexpensive ideas for crafts. I found this cute idea on Project Simplify 365 for making a fall tree out on canvas at the hands of the littles...Oh, btw this blogger also has another FABULOUS blog called Living Well Spending Less. Ruth is local to our area and has been featured on the news giving all her cool tips and tricks! So we used:

---1 16 X 20 blank canvas

--Brown Acrylic Paint

--1 bag of Fake Fall Leaves (Seasonal Aisle)

-Hot Glue Gun

The first step is to take a canvas...This one is a 16 X 20 from two pack that I bought at Hobby Lobby with their awesome 40% coupon, think it cost me $4. Next, KES took some brown acrylic paint and painted in between pencil lines that I drew out for her. 

After the acrylic paint dries, after about a half hour, AMS takes on the hot glue gun..With a bag of fake fall leaves...(These can be purchased at Dollar Tree, but we found this bag also at Hobby Lobby for 40% off)

After putting a strip of hot glue on the leaves, she places them in the shape of a tree, and fills the top part of the canvas. For the ones on the top, she cut off the little brown stems so they wouldn't show. 

After it dried, about another half hour, it was complete for showing! 

The perfect addition to our entry way for fall decorating! 

-Amanda

Reset, Recharge, Renew

ts been awhile since I have blogged. I guess you can say, time has a way of getting away from you. Very easily it seems. Its so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life, that you forget, just to reset, recharge, and renew.

Reset
When I first started this blog, I had planned on really just journaling my life for me and those who chose to read it. Many of my posts though got into ranting, and I needed a reset button. That's not me, life is too short to constantly rant about unimportant things. Maybe it was just that time of the month or something, but my reset button is going in the positive direction, not the negative.

Recharge
I recently picked up a more active role in many things at my job, so it has made my work days, long, productive, but very much mentally exhausting. So in January, Hans and I planned our spring break vacation in March to Pigeon Forge, TN. We spent our honeymoon there almost two years ago, and we really enjoyed the time.

This was truly a memorable vacation, both of our moms were able to go....and spending a whole week uninterrupted with the girls was priceless. As a working mom, I look forward to this kind of quality time with my girls. My goal in the future is not to let these times get past me and to truly enjoy every minute with them, not being so caught up in the chores, stuff, and normal daily routine.

We rented a bike from the local Harley D and took a ride down the back roads and mountains of Smoky Mountain National Park. Just something purely exhilarating about being one with God's beautiful nature and the temperature was a perfect 70 degrees. ;)

On our last day, we got lucky and had a few snow flurries. Enough to sit on the van, cabin, and roll up into little balls to throw snow at each other! It wasn't something I had seen with my girls before, so that was pretty sweet. Even though we ended up in the car for the next 13 hours after that, I really, really felt like my batteries were recharged, it was good because I had a baby shower to get ready for the day after we came home!






Renew

God has a way of renewing our mind in even the smallest ways. This past week, I went to our married couples small group solo. (Hans had band practice), our lesson for the week was about Abrham and Sarai, and them questioning what God had promised them and being in fear and getting themselves ahead of God's plan. I realized during our discussion how much of a different person I have become in the last several years, but not necessarily saying it, but feeling it, deep down inside, in my heart. I feel even the deep parts of my heart truly believe that the life I am living now is what God has had planned for me, and I can't imagine doing life with anyone else but the family and friends in my life. I want to focus on renewing my faith, my heart, my love for my husband, my love for my children, and its just the beginning.

Marriage Is.....

In the last few months, I have had several friends share with me the disheartening news that they were experiencing terrible marital problems, or on the brink of divorce. Most of them have resulted from their spouses all of a sudden being unsure of their happiness, or even worse, not being in love with them anymore. After experiencing a similar situation, and taking lessons from my experience the second time around, I wanted to throw out some statements that reflect what marriage is to me.

Marriage is LOVE
Marriage is a commitment til death do you part.
Marriage is a two-person bond that requires taking the "YOU" out of the equation (Selflessness)
Marriage means to never be "complacent" or "comfortable"
Marriage is always coming to a compromise
Marriage is hard work
Marriage is like watching a foreign language film, even though there are subtitles, you still don't know whats going on half the time.
Marriage is taking pride in yourself, each of you being healthy
Marriage is an unwritten book
Marriage is staring into your spouse's eyes at least once a day
Marriage is having faith
Marriage is teamwork
Marriage is open-mindness
Marriage is something that needs a protective wall around it at all times (to keep outside influences from coming in)
Marriage is listening
Marriage is happiness
Marriage is honor
Marriage is something that requires patience
Marriage is a chance for you to fall in love with your spouse all over again, every day, for the rest of your life.

My marriage is based on trust, love, God's love for us. However, only one of those can be guaranteed. :)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
—Ephesians 5:22-33

10 Things

(Saw this on a friends' post, and thought it might be fun!)

10 Things

I LOVE.......

My family
Laying with the girls on the couch watching TV
Learning more about what God is trying to say to me through bible study
Feeling better from my new diet and exercise
Seeing someone succeed in their ambitions and dreams
People who are honest with you (in a nice way)
Being crafty with sewing and paper crafts
Our church, Deep Creek Community Church (DC3 Rocks)
Singing, even if it hurts my family's ears.
Kenpo X section of P90X

I HATE........

Lying
Cleaning the house when I just cleaned it a few days ago!!
The new rap that's out
Not having stability
When people are selfish and big-headed
My long commute when its pouring rain
The AB Ripper X portion of P90X
To hear people thinking infidelity in their marriage is ok
Yellow Squash
Not having enough time in the day to do everything i want to do

Cross the Border

What is it about certain things that keep us from what we are searching for? Why can't we just walk over and ask for what we need, how hard is that? In our tspirituality, what keeps from redeeming ourself to Christ. Is it the fact,that we can't see him, hear him, talk to him, in a mortal way? We can, he speaks through others to us.

Recently, I started a Beth Moore bible study, Breaking Free. Just when I thought that this woman could not get anymore amazing, interesting, or closer to my heart, I start this bible study, and realized, WAIT! Its much deeper then just her preaching to us. Its her preaching to us that we need to understand the basic fundamentals of why Christ was born, died, and was risen? It comes down to this phrase, "You cannot experience healing without being wounded". Exactly as Christ did, he experienced all of our pain, suffering, wounds, etc. in order for us to be healed. Another great phrase, "Sometimes the only time someone will look up, is when they are at the bottom".

Pondering a bit, "the bottom" could be at varying levels, it could be to the lowest point in your life to a minor problem you are trying to deal with. It doesn't always have to be a dramatic means to your suffering, many times, its that "a ha" moment that you realize, Ok Lord, I see what's going on.......

So, I will cross the border, over to him, because he does not care about my past, or sins I have made, he does not care what I wear, where I live, how I dress, whether I was raised a Christian, all he cares about is that I've made the strive to come into his presence.

I am looking forward to crossing that border on Sunday, as I will receive my adult baptism. Looking forward to a new beginning. :)

Brides and Blankies

I've been a bad blogger, I was doing really good for a few days, and now its been over a week since I've blogged. So to catch you all up, this is a two part blog, Brides and Blankies.

Part 1: Brides
So, L'Esprit had a wedding shoot in Clearwater Beach over memorial day weekend. The bride, Katie, is a nurse in Norfolk, VA. What's truly inspiring about her, is not only passion for wanting to help people(being a nurse for new babies), but in supporting her husband, a Navy officer. Sometimes he can be deployed for 3-6 months at a time, even longer. I don't know what I do without Hans for a week! But.......many military wives, like Katie experience this as a part of their day to day life. My heart truly goes to all the women who stand behind their men as they serve their country to support our freedoms. To brag on Hans a little bit, his pictures of this wedding were breathtaking, and it was truly a team effort, with three of us working it, including our other photographer, Mike Clementi. Here is the beautiful bride, Katie....



Part 2: Blankies
So, by now, you know I've started sewing. By no means am I actually "good" at it, but I have attempted a few projects in the last few months, thanks to help of some friends. I am doing the easy stuff. The harder stuff seems to take much longer, and have been really pressed for time lately. But, for a good friend, of mine, Katy (diff spelling, haha), is having her second child, a baby girl, and her shower is tomorrow!! I decided to find some cool flannel at Joanns and make a nice big (36X36) receiving blanket. Good for swaddling, burping, and whatever else the baby wants to do with it, lol. Here is a pic of the nicely wrapped gift:

Priorities

I haven't blogged in a few days due to all of the stuff Hans and I have been busy with.

I had another ephiphany today. I am very glad I know what my priorities are.

1. God
2. Husband
3. Children
4. Parents & Family
5. Work (Day Job)
6. And business

I witness other people, however, take their god-given talents and use them for their own selfish purposes. They take #1, and shove it way down below everything else.

It is their own personal struggle, however, it ceases to amaze me that for a spiritual baby, I know more about what my priorities are then people who have grown up in a spritual setting. Why, I am not sure. All I know is, I will never put my work or business before my family or my children. and certaintly not ahead of the Man himself.

Recently, my husband started his photography business. He has had great success with it while growing in his profession as well as growing spiritually. Never once though, has he put his business, or his profession over me, the girls, or family. He will not let that happen. He has taught me a valuable lesson in life, and that is the importance of the family relationship. He's very wise for his young age. :)

God however, still remains his and my top priority. We have committed to our church our time, money, and faith to watch our pastor and his wife build the church God has called them to do. They are wonderful people, and I can' t imaging growing in my faith anywhere but with them.

The point of my post today is that at one point in my life, I did have my priorities twisted. But I can't imagine being where I am today without knowing whats truly important in my life.