Saturday, June 30, 2012

Another one crossed off my bucket list.


A few months ago, my sweet husband decided to drive me up to the beach to see a sea turtle release as part of a surprise. This is something that I have always wanted to see as sea turtles have always intrigued me. A combination of their uniqueness and history makes them something worth keeping up with for me. I felt kind of silly when i got teary eyed watching the sea turtles being released into the ocean.  But i felt like God gave me that gift because he knew it was a part of His creation that really inspired me. The ocean is another thing I find so amazing. It has so many beautiful things to show us. I love waking up early enough before everyone gets out-to watch the sunrise. It seems every single sunrise is different and artistically crafted for that very day.  I wanted to share some of the snapshots I got at the sea turtle release. There were several released that day. A great experience that I won't forget.








Be brave.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Cupcake fun. :)

Since Memorial Day is coming up, I wanted to share a cupcake creation I made last year. It is super easy. I just used blueberries and strawberries to create the American Flag image on 48 mini cupcakes. It is better to use mini cupcakes otherwise you are going to have one huge American flag...which you might want. We loved them! Enjoy! Happy almost Memorial Day!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A pocket full of rocks..


Conner almost always come home from school with rocks in his pockets. His teachers have actually started getting on to him about this. Haha. He always tell them, “I have to get some for my mommy. ” Why he feels the need to bring me rocks every day..I don’t know..but I think it’s sweet. I could probably fill up a giant pickle jar with the little rocks he has brought me if I kept them all. I asked him one day why he chose the certain rocks that he did and he said, “I just did.” Sometimes he says they are shiny or cool…and sometimes they are ugly and dirty…but he presents them in a way as if they are so beautiful. Like I am going to be so enthralled at the beauty of these rocks. Besides the fact that they are from Conner--there is nothing particularly special about them. But Conner thinks so.

I found myself the other day asking God what He could be showing me through Conner giving me these rocks every day. Its pretty neat how God can speak to us through simple things as this. My answer was this: You are beautiful. I chose you. My grace is sufficient.

I have been reading a book called Made To Crave and its about satisfying our cravings with God instead of other things. So far it’s a pretty good book and ventures through other things that people use like drugs, food, and other addictions. I’ve struggled with the way I view myself--in probably every way--spiritually, physically, etc. Letting myself believe that I’m not good enough..I don’t do enough of something..yada yada…letting others steal the joys of my talents and passions. Making myself believe things that are not true. Lets just say --Satan knows exactly what to do to get me down. But in reading the book this passage has stuck out to me the most--

“I’ve found my beautiful. And I like my beautiful. I don’t have to hold my beautiful up to others with a critical eye of judgment. Like Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

God chose me. He loves me. I wasn’t a perfect and smooth rock when he found me--I was broken and cracked..yet he still thought I was beautiful.

Today at church there was a man that was baptized. He did not go to our church--he was trying to catch a bus across the street and the station happened to be closed. So, he decided to come in and attend the service. Through the service he accepted Christ and got Baptized---forget the bus ride-he found Jesus! :) He wants that man to find his beautiful and experience Love too. He wants us to find our beautiful. He wants me to stop and look at my “beautiful” and embrace it instead of trying to find it in other things. He even tries to show me through simple things like Conner bringing me rocks. So now, every time Conner brings me rocks from play time or when I hear the clanging in the dryer from escaped rocks out of his pockets.. I am reminded..

You are beautiful. I chose you. My grace is sufficient.
I’ll stop babbling now. :))


Be brave
Amanda

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Delighted and Enchanted.




Ever watched the movie Enchanted? Michael, Conner, and I watched it for the first time last week and it was pretty cute. It’s about a princess who lived in an animated world and the mean witch banished her from the animated world into a horrible place known as “New york.” haha. That’s not the important part of the story at all.

The one thing I remember most in this movie was the super cute little girl that did not have a mom. She was a little girl that lived with her dad and never really got to experience things that little girls should experience. Things like pedicures, manicures, shopping, and girl talk. There was a scene in the movie where the Princess asked the little girl for help to find a dress for the ball so they go shopping and do all these things. The little girl responds to this event by saying, “So, is this what its like? Going shopping with your mother?” That’s where the tears happened for me!

Michael and I had a miscarriage over a year ago and this past month would of marked her birthday. I do pretty good not thinking about it--until I received a birthday card from Gerber saying “Happy 1st Birthday.” Remind me to hate Gerber Baby later. :) Things like this just bring memories flooding back from that place in time for me. Even though we did not know the sex of the baby-I always believed it was a girl. Call me silly but I just had a feeling. I know God knows the desires of my heart and to keep praying. But my heart remembers sometimes and there is a very distinct pain that comes from it. I get sad because I desire to do those things with my little girl one day. Things that some moms take for granted. I desire to play dress up, go shopping for cute clothes, and paint each other’s nails. I want to be able to buy her cabbage patch dolls, have tea parties, and braid her hair. This a desire of mine.

I am so blessed with my family. I thank God every day for what He has given me. And I love playing cars and trains, running around the backyard pretending I am an airplane, playing football and doing all these boyish things. I am so blessed. And I can’t wait to see how wonderful a big brother Conner will be to a little sister or brother. He has been learning from his big brother. God tells us, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

No matter what your heart desires..know that God already knows what it is..and keep praying for that thing. In His time. All of us have so many passions and desires. God cares about them all. Take time to share them with Him.

Blessings and Love
Amanda

"Wow, that's so COOL!"


This past weekend the circus was in town. Conner got to go for the first time and absolutely loved it! He is so adventurous and really takes everything in wherever he goes. He sat through the entire thing and kept making comments about everything and saying how "cool" everything was. He doesn't act 3...he acts like he is 7! Please slow down time! :) My favorite part of the whole Circus was watching his expressions and seeing how he responded to things. I loved the smiles. He even was brave enough to go out on the floor with the clowns and the acts and participate in the dancing. He loved it. I was so glad we got to go. We can't wait until next year. Some of our favorite pictures from the evening...