Way too ambitious...

Aren't they pretty? I found them on Bakerella, a blog that my amazing-baker sister-in-law, Julia, mentioned on her blog. I fell in love with this site and couldn't wait to try her cakepops. It seemed pretty easy...just bake a cake out of a box, crumble it, mix it with icing, dip them in melted candy and voila!

Well, this is how mine turned out...



Nice sculpture, huh? I laughed a lot.



I did manage to get a few decorated. Nine total. Though I think thirty or so ended up in the trash, it still was a lot of fun making them. Practice makes perfect, I am sure, but I don't think I will be doing much practicing any time soon.

You have to check out her site! It's cuteness overload.

Happy Easter!

"That's what Christ did definitively; suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all, was put to death and then made alive to bring us to God."

1 Peter 3:18
The Message

Happy Birthday, Brandon!

I have such a wonderful husband. Every day, I think about how blessed I am to be his wife. We celebrated his birthday yesterday with a trip to hit range balls and another trip to El Paso to our favorite restaurant, Taco Tote. Several of our good friends joined us...in spite of the drive.

Thanks, babe, for being the perfect husband for me. I love you.


(And thanks to all you sweet people who commented below. I really like you guys and am excited to make something for you. :-) Andrea and Kel, I don't think I have your addresses. Could you give me those?)

For you. Love, me.

A few of my friends have posted this on their blogs and I think it sounds really fun and creative. So feel free to comment and enjoy something fun from me to you!

The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Lucky you!

My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a mask. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

(Sidenote: I copied and pasted the above...I don't even think that five people read this, but it still sounded fun. I just got my camera back from Nikon yesterday, and an external hard drive is about to help me clear out some more space on my computer. So, I hope to start blogging again more regularly.)

Why I am not blogging...

Lately, I haven't been blogging as much. I haven't been blogging as much because I haven't been taking pictures as much. I haven't taken many pictures for two main reasons: 1) My home has been absorbing all of my creative energy...and 2) I haven't taken very many good shots. And I just found out why.

My camera is broken. There is something wrong with it, and now I need to send it into Nikon. I think that there is something wrong with the light meter, and so it will be out of commission for a while. I am sad. Honestly, it seems that technology is getting a shorter and shorter life span these days. But, it may all have something to do with the fact that Caleb somehow got a hold of it and dropped it. Crazy kid. And Julia, if you are reading this and still haven't bought your new camera...one thing to add is that the more expensive the camera, often the more difficult and expensive it is to fix.

Minutes after I realized this, I shattered our patio door. There are literally huge shards of glass protruding from it, and I am not sure how I will keep Caleb away from it. Thankfully, however, God reminded me yesterday once again of how He really does care to answer prayers about such things. After over a week of a massive plumbing problem, an amazing plumber (the second of two to attempt it) fixed our drain after two days of work and only charged us $100. I thought we would have to break into our emergency fund. We were amazed.

"Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you." 2 Peter 5:7

A Weekend to Remember

When we were married, Brandon and I committed to try to attend some type of marriage enrichment event every year. This year, we were able to do it the weekend of Valentine's Day!**

Family Life, a ministry of Campus Crusade, has an amazing marriage conference called A Weekend to Remember. Because we are on staff, we get to go for free. So, of the almost five years we have been married, we have been to three Weekends to Remember, one Love and Respect conference, and a weekend in a cabin with some friends and our nursing infants. I am so grateful to have a husband who values our marriage so highly.

I HIGHLY recommend this conference. Family Life's materials have been such a significant help in our relationship, and this weekend was one of the best of our marriage.

**NOTE: We were only able to do it this weekend because Caleb's favorite babysitters, Denise and Trevor, sacrificed their Valentine's Day to take care of our little boy. It was their first V-Day as a married couple, and they gave it up for us! Thanks so much, friends!

My 25 Things

On Facebook right now, a lot of people are posting "25 Things." The idea is to list some things that people might not know about you so that they can get to know you better. After weeks of reading the lists of others, I made one too. I am posting it here in hopes that it will get me in the habit of blogging again.


1. I am a big fan of change, and I strongly dislike routine. I hate getting ready every day, and the only reason I feed my child three times a day is because it keeps him alive…and I like him.

2. I love reading classics because I know they’re good, and I won’t be wasting my time. I don’t have much.

3. One of my life dreams is to hike the Appalachian Trail. Georgia to Maine.

4. I am notoriously horrible at keeping in touch with people. My closest friends are the ones who practically chase me down to talk to me, unfortunately.

5. Someday I would love to live in a foreign country again. I LOVE other cultures, landscapes, and languages.

6. Almost all of my best friends are people I have lived with in some form.

7. I love color…and need lots of it in my life.

8. I am married to an incredible man. He is a wonderful balance of grace and truth in my life…and he bought me flowers a few days ago.

9. I am a huge fan of Pandora.com. It has replaced itunes in my life. Right now, I am listening to a U2 station, and it is lovely. This website knows me so well. ☺

10. I took a test called the Birkman a few years ago and was very surprised to learn that I tested highest in the artistic category. I was told that the reason I love hiking so much is because I love and need the beauty of God’s creation…not because I need to be outside. It’s so true. And since then, I have loved making things with paper…and now I am playing with photography. It’s been so good for me.

11. I love my job. Being a mom is the best ever...though he does make me crazy sometimes.

12. I don’t miss Indiana weather, but I miss Indiana people.

13. I can flip my eyelids inside out. Brandon doesn’t like it too much.

14. When I was born, my parents chose my name because they liked it and nobody else had that name. But, then I was always in school with at least three other Amandas.

15. I detest running but joined the track team and cross country team in high school because all of my friends were on it. I lasted one year.

16. My favorite passage in the Bible is Psalm 63.

17. Guadalajara, Mexico was the last place in the world I wanted to go after I graduated…and I decided to go because my mom wasn’t a fan of all the land mines in Kosovo. But, now I cannot imagine what my life would be like now if the Lord had led me elsewhere. In Mexico, I met some of the most wonderful people on this planet, experienced God as I never imagined I would, and met my husband. In the end, it was clear that God definitely knows what is best for us.

18. I can’t sing...but I really appreciate people who can.

19. I have a blog that I have been very bad about updating lately.

20. We have a cat named Millie who used to lick my eyelids while I was sleeping.

21. My son is obsessed with the guitar, and we spend a lot of time each day practicing. ☺

22. I met one of my best friends, Heather, when we were in second grade and we traded jelly bracelets on the playground. We have been through many stages in our friendship: unicorns, dolphins, the Monkees, New Kids on the Block, and now photography.

23. I always round up when I tell someone my age…to the point where I really have a hard time remembering how old I really am.

24. My parents still live in the house we moved into on my first birthday, so I had lots of consistency growing up. They are still happily married, and my mom stayed home with us when we were kids. The older I get, the more grateful I am that God gave me the family He did.

25. Jesus changed the course of my life when I was eighteen years old…and now I don’t know how I lived all those years without Him.

Very Scary

Read this. Amazing.

Facebook Hackers

So, I hear about identity theft all the time...but I really haven't known many people who have been affected by it.  But, I just found out about a friend of ours, Geoff, whose facebook account was hijacked.  The hacker posed as Geoff, started chatting with his friends, and claimed something happened to him in England and he needs money wired to him.  The hacker even had accomplices posting things on Geoff's wall.  Scary. 

Check out Ryan McReynold's blog post.  Geoff was sitting next to him as the hacker contacted him for money. 

Word Frames

I made a couple word frames as Christmas gifts this year, and they were SO FUN to make. I am putting a picture up for two reasons: 1) My good friend Heather asked me to, and 2) I want to say thanks to the people who gave me the pictures. I didn't take the pictures...just played with them in Photoshop and put them in Target frames. I got them off an amazing blog full of wonderful people who contributed them for people like me who didn't have time to go out and find all the letters I needed.

I just have a picture of one of them...the one I made for Mike and Melissa. The other is "Cross," Patrick and Hannah's last name. I might post that one too if I get a picture of it.

Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who shared your skills with us. :-)

HOME...at last!

After almost a month of traveling, Caleb and I are now finally home.  It was a wonderful few weeks, but it is always so amazing to be in our home.  I am actually excited to do laundry and clean our house!

For the past nine days, we were in Colorado for Denver Christmas Conference.  It is an incredible conference, and God uses it again and again to change the lives of the students (and staff) who attend.  

The morning we were leaving to make the two-day trek out to Denver from Indiana, Caleb woke up with a barking cough.  Unfortunately, the cough and the congestion that accompanied it never went away throughout the entire duration of the conference, and we were unable to put him in childcare.  Although I had hoped to participate more this year, I really enjoyed getting to spend fun time with people.  And I also didn't mind too much not having to cook or clean. 

This morning, Brandon went back to Kansas to go pheasant hunting with his dad and brother. Caleb and I came home to a fridge stocked with the basics, freshly made bread, a very excited cat, and an amazingly leaf-free yard.  Our friends, Daniel and the Wong Family, all took great care of our home and Millie while we were gone.   I cannot say THANK YOU enough!  We love you guys!

Our trees finally decided to dump all their leaves just as we were leaving...and I was not looking forward to dealing with that when we came home.  A group of friends from church took it upon themselves to rake all those leaves and bag them up.  Our yard looks amazing, and there must be twenty or more bags out there on our curb waiting to be picked up by the trash truck.  What an incredible BLESSING you guys are!  Thanks so much!

I am off to go do some laundry now.  :-)

 

Christmas in Indiana

Christmas at my parents' house was wonderful. All of my family was together, and we had such a great time spending time with everyone. Caleb especially loved "Mamaw's house." He was often the center of attention due to his being the only grandson/nephew. His vocabulary exploded with essential new phrases such as "Go Boyers!" and "Go Coats!" ** And, he received more presents than I can describe. My parents are amazing. Thanks, Mom and Dad.



He loved building towers with his new alphabet blocks with "Gam-pa..."



...and loved destroying them even more.



He received a set of golf clubs from Uncle Patrick and Aunt Hannah and did the only thing he knew to do with them...use them as microphones. :-)



But then he got a new guitar with real strings!



And of course he had to have a few jam sessions!





And the boys did what they do every Christmas...gamble away their Christmas money. :-) Well, not really. They do what they call "Cross betting." They never really call up the debts. They're so cute.





** Translation: "Go Boilers (Purdue)" and "Co Colts"

Roadside Americana

When I was a kid, I was so blessed to get to see so much of our amazing country on road trips with my family. And it's funny that what I remember most about those trips isn't the amazing destinations we were driving towards (such as the Grand Canyon and Glacier National Park) but instead it was all the random little stops along the way (such as Wall Drug, Custer's Last Stand, Dodge City, KS). As I have gotten older, I have realized that for me, the journey is as important as the destination. When we travel, Brandon often humors me by letting me stop and see things I find interesting. And living in the Southwest, I have become fascinated by Route 66.





On the first leg of our month-long travels, we stopped at Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo. It is a really interesting old landmark on Route 66. We had driven by it before, and I was eager to get out of the car this time and go see it. So, we planned it (because Brandon needs planning). But, after leaving the warm Las Cruces weather that morning, I couldn't handle the 15 degree (below 0 wind chill) weather outside of Amarillo...and barely got a picture of the place. My fingers hurt too much. :-)

More Family Black and Whites

I have taken countless pictures since we have been traveling, but I am not uploading any of them to my computer. Unfortunately, I have completely filled my computer with music and photos...and am having a hard time getting the files backed up. So, the only recent pics that are actually on my computer are those I am using for projects.

These are some of the pics I took for a Christmas present I did for my parents. And to answer your questions, Angie, I use natural light and place them by a window with indirect light. I usually place the velvet (I think it's two and a half yards long) on a wall at a ninety degree angle from the window...and just try to get it to stay up however I can. This time I attached one corner with the binder clip to the top of some blinds and stuck the other corner into my parents' wall with one of those corn on the cob holders. Yay for improvisation.

I really have no idea what I am doing. I am just figuring it out as I go along. But I did want to answer you. :-)


MIKE (my brother who is two years younger than me) and his girlfriend of two years, MELISSA

He is a lawyer in Colorado Springs and loves hiking and photography. So, he's always fun to talk to. Melissa I met for the first time this week, and she is such a sweetheart. She fits so well in our family, and I hope to get to see lots more of her over the years.



PATRICK (my brother who is 4 years younger than me) and his wife, HANNAH

They have been married for almost four years now and live in Indianapolis. After many years in the army including service as a medic in Iraq, he is in school at IUPUI and is beginning his studies to be a doctor. He got all A's and a B, and I am so proud of him. Hannah is wonderful and an amazing wife for him. She is a property manager, so they get their housing for free. Pretty sweet deal.



BRANDON and ME

I think that, if you are reading this, you know who we are. :-)



JEFFREY (my brother six years younger than me) and CALEB

Caleb loves Jeff, so I thought that I could coax Jeff into getting his picture taken by having Caleb pose with him. But, Jeffrey is purely nocturnal and never seemed to wake up until Caleb was down for his nap. And by the time our little man was up, it was dark outside and I could no longer get the picture I wanted. So, in the end, we used a bounced flash, a bribe of chocolate and some Colts jerseys. :-)

Cousins

We are spending lots of time with family as we travel...and it has been so great. We were sad to leave the Carbaughs. It is always such good quality time with Christine and Tony, and Caleb loved playing with his cousins: Makkedah, Seth, Courtney and Emily. We would love to live closer to them. This morning, we took these pics of the kids before we left.

And Sarah, to answer your question, I bought a piece of black velvet at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon (love those!). I just hang it in the background with binder clips. So easy and it makes backgrounds so simple and undistracting.

Oh Baby!

We are currently in the middle of our month of traveling...and enjoying every minute of it. I wish I could say the same about the negative 6 degree temperature outside. The day before we left, I took some maternity pics for a friend who is one of the cutest pregnant women I have ever seen. So, Kristen, here are a few of them and the rest will hopefully be in the mail tomorrow. :-) Thanks so much for letting me practice on you! It was lots of fun.

Our Christmas Card

Happy December! I thought I would post our Christmas card on here because we never seem to order enough...as was the case again this year. :-)

We have been super busy these last few weeks. After finishing the semester up and looking forward to a break, we all got sick. I hadn't planned on that, so I didn't get anything done this week that I had planned. But, I got to spend some good quality time with my sick family all week. :-) We are hoping to go to the doctor...Caleb for the second time...in Kansas on Tuesday.

Our yearly travels begin tomorrow morning. We are going to Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends, and, as of now, I am looking forward to the trip. We are driving, and it will definitely be an adventure. Please pray for us.

I am right now procrastinating packing, and so I had better stop and go get that finished. Hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season. I love this time of year.

What we've been up to...

A Summary of November:

** Brandon's mom, Hope, came to visit us. We had a great time with her. We always enjoy being around her, and we look forward to seeing both her and Barry, Brandon's dad, in a few weeks.

** We raked leaves for the first time since leaving the midwest. Our trees are yellow and lovely, and Caleb got to experience the joy of leaf piles for the first time today. More pictures to come.

** Brandon's hernia surgery went well, and he is recovering well. He feels lots better, and he has had no more blood clots. Even with his inability to pick up Caleb, we are managing really well. Caleb is becoming really independent and can do everything except get into grocery carts by himself.

** Caleb's sleeping has been up and down all month, but we are getting more creative in our parenting. I think we are all learning together how to help that little boy get the rest we know he needs.

** Donnie and Renee Begay reported to NMSU to officially join us on campus as Cru staff. They are a Native American couple who went to school here and have begun the first ministry within CCC to Natives. We are SO excited that they are here! We got to spend the week with them while they stayed with us as they were moving in to their new home. They have moved just a few blocks from us, and we love our new neighbors. They have a one-year-old, Natalia, with whom Caleb has quickly fallen in love.

** Caleb has developed a habit of taking every single book off his shelves (and because I was an elementary ed major, he has a lot). He pulls them all down, and sits right in the middle of them and reads forever. It is the cutest thing. Though the cuteness factor is quickly wearing off the more time I spend cleaning them up.

** I am sure there is more, but that is all I can think of right now...seeing as how it is pretty late. Hope you all had a wonderful November...and are enjoying the start of the Christmas season.











** Oh...one more thing...Caleb seems to have learned to smile for the camera. I am sure it is temporary, but I will enjoy it while it lasts. :-) I so enjoy that smile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We...as a nation...are so blessed in so many ways. We...as a family...are unbelievably blessed as well. I pray our lives would be characterized by gratitude for all that God has given us...no matter what our circumstances may be. I have a long way to go.

Thank you, Lord, so much...for our sweet family and wonderful friends. Thanks for our home and all that you have given us. Thank you most of all for the incredible gift of Jesus. Thanks that you made a way for us to be called your children when you sent your Son to take our place on that cross and make us right with you. May we all understand the significance of that gift even more this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. I love you.

Welcome Noel Isaac Pelton!

Our sweet little nephew was born last night, and both he and his mommy are doing well. Jeff, Brandon's brother, and Julia welcomed their second child into the world at a little after midnight Atlanta time. We are so excited he's here...and hope it won't be too long before we get to meet him. It is so hard sometimes living across the country from our family.

Check out their blog for more pictures of this sweet little thing.

GREAT JOB, Julia! We're really excited for you guys...and so grateful to God for the precious gifts that He has given to the world in your children. :-)

We love you!