leaving heaven

I have decided to break a little from blogging through the end of the year! I have two posts (this and another) that will go up but nothing consistent or up-to-date until 2014. God has given me two full weeks completely off. No work, no teaching, no nothing. I am really looking forward to some family time and relaxation.

I have been reminded in a fresh way this year of the Father's great love for us. I think my students are getting tired of me learning new things because I can't wait to share them and then I talk on and on about them! The thing of it is, God so loved us that He sent His Son from the splendor and glory of Heaven to touch the earth in an unforgettable way. He broke the barrier between us and Him with the gift of a baby, all in the name of love. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the God of the universe laying wrapped in my arms.

Matthew West released this a few years ago but it hadn't found it's way to my ears until this year. I posted the lyrics below. My heart rejoices for that dirty manger, small town, and those days on this broken earth. At the end of the song he wraps up John 3:16 in one phrase. "And if you wonder how much my love is worth, you should know, I'm the reason you'll be seeing heaven." God's plan is glorious and beautiful and I am so thankful His love makes me valuable.

Listen and read along and remember to praise the Father, so full of love, for the gift that can't be wrapped under the tree!  

Well, it’s been real nice, living way up here. 

In paradise, over the atmosphere. 

But I can’t stay long, gotta make my way, 

I’m leaving Heaven today. 

You see the world is dark and it needs a light, 

I’m gonna hang a star in the eastern sky.

So everybody’s gonna know where I touch down. 

I’m leaving Heaven right now. 

I’m gonna walk around that broken Earth. 

Trading in these streets of gold. 

So if you ever wonder how much you’re worth, 

You should know, 

That you’re the reason why I’m leaving Heaven. 

Ain’t gonna be no kingdom, 

ain’t gonna be no crown. 

Just a little old manger, 

in a little old town. 

But it’ll do just fine for this humble King. 

I’m leaving Heaven let all the angels sing. 

I’m gonna walk around that broken Earth. 

Trading in these streets of gold, 

So if you ever wonder how much you’re worth, 

You should know, 

You’re the reason why I’m leaving Heaven. 

And when my time comes to an end. 

I’ll lay down my life like a truest friend. 

And when I get back home, I’m gonna make some room. 

So, don’t you worry, ‘cause I’m coming back for you. 

And you will say goodbye to that broken Earth. 

You’re gonna walk on streets of gold. 

And if you ever wonder what my love is worth, 

well you should know, 

That I’m the reason you’ll be seeing Heaven. 

Oh, you’re the reason why I’m leaving Heaven.

Bridesmaid for $50

I posted here about the wedding this past weekend! I was very excited to be asked to be a bridesmaid but I was not so excited about the prices I was looking at. My mom forewarned me about the money I was to expect to begin with but I was still not wanting to do it! 

Tightwad

Frugal

Cheapskate

penny pincher

I've heard it all. I prefer budget-minded, wise, and the like. However, I digress...

I tucked away the idea that I wouldn't spend less than $100 for the dress alone as I went out shopping. I still hoped but decided I had the money and needed to fulfill the commitment I agreed to! 

After a long day of in and out of shop after store after consignment sale we found a dress at JC Pennys.

source

I wasn't thrilled about the top of the dress but the length and color was perfect and I loved the material! I tried it on to see if we could do anything with it in way of covering up those spots. Plus the price tag indicated it was a clearance item and the last one left in my size. Score and double score!

I decided to purchase the dress given we could "fix it." Upon check-out I learned that the $70 dress in my hands would only cost me, $28!

Thrilled with my purchase price I knew I wasn't done and had to keep at it! I was contemplating returning the dress and starting from scratch at one point! 

In the LAST store we went in I eyed a dress that I loved! The only problem, it wasn't the color I needed. We turned to leave and as I walked toward my mom she pointed over my shoulder to a cropped lace top. Unsure of what and the world you would wear with that on a regular basis I sceptically grabbed my size and off the fitting rooms! 

It worked! 

The final item was my pink! The bride wanted to tie in pink throughout the wedding and wanted each of us to get some pink.

Again, after searching for pink everywhere I was coming up with nothing. My mom happened upon the jewerly section in our Joann's and viola, pink! 

These 10 inch sections of pink pearls were $1 each! I grabbed 5 and strung them myself! Nylon beading thread was $2...$7 total for my pink! 

 

After I finished the length I wanted I had enough to make some hair pins with them too! 

My mom (wonderful woman) spent several painstaking hours Monday practicing with my hair. Oddly enough, it wasn't close to what I planned but I LOVED it! 

 Didn't she do a great job!? The hair pins I made are on the right side of my hair! Can you see them tucked in there? Tutorial later! 

I had to wrestle my makeup myself. My sister offered but we ended up not having time Saturday morning. I don't wear much at all ever. BB cream, powder and eye liner is about as adventurous as I get. She took me to the makeup aisle and walked me through products she likes and knows well and some that I may like, knowing I don't like any! 

After taking along several new products I knew little about and given about 15 minutes this is what I came up with. So, any of you makeup connoisseurs, no laughing!

 

So, dress, makeup, and pink, and just missing the shoes. A quick trip to Charming Charlie fixed that! 

source

Shoes = $19

(quick tip: try them on with the dress...I ended up having to borrow a pair of heels 10 minutes before the ceremony because the dress was too long. I wore these for the reception and it worked well!)

 So, viola!
Dress/top = 28
Necklace = 7
shoes = 19
hair and makeup = nada

Grand total = $53!!

So, my reputation remains but all together, it was a beautiful day! I didn't spend a crazy amount of money, at least crazy in my book, and we all had a great time!

 Lessons learned:
#1 - start early, look long and everywhere!
#2 - don't settle! I was very comfortable in what I was wearing because I liked it and I didn't spend an arm and a leg.
#3 - don't fall prey to the "I have to have my hair done." With enough patience, hairspray, and hairpins you can make something happen!
#4 - Have fun and don't get caught up in trends!

Wedding weekend!

 Whew! What a few days this has been! I am feeling exhausted and slightly sick but what a great weekend to show for it!

I posted this picture a while ago about this girl getting married! Well yesterday it finally happened! All the months of preparation and planning resulted in a wonderful day of celebration!

The weather was supposed to be rainy and yuck but the clouds held back the wet and we just grinned and bared the cold!

She was a beautiful bride and I was honored to stand with her as she said, 'I do.' She asked me to do her hair for the wedding several weeks ago. I did a few practice rounds beforehand. Two days before the wedding her sister asked me to do her hair. The day before the wedding another bridesmaid asked for help and finally the day of the wedding I received a text from one of the other bridesmaids asking for help! While we were busy getting ready the mother of the flower girl asked me to spice up her little girl's hair. I ended up doing all but two of the hair styles in this wedding! It was fun and I am honored they asked!

Here is her hair. This was the second trial run!

Something else I was SUPER excited about was the price I spent for everything as a bridesmaid! But that is another post! *teehee*

My weekend didn't begin Friday, unfortunately. I tried explaining to my uncle that my weekend begun with the weekend activities on Wednesday but still acted like a week during the day! EVER exhausting, but fun!  

Wednesday we took Bean's friend and my student with us as a family to a local Christmas tradition! It is a live, walk-through tour of Bethlehem leading up to Jesus' birth and then following Him and His disciples through to after the Resurrection. The night was awesome! It usually takes several hours of waiting and walking but we had a good night!

 Thursday my family was able to spend the evening together volunteering for ShowHOPE again! We were thrilled when they asked us! For me, this is about as close to my heart's cry as I can get right now! God has been so faithful to meet that desire in my heart by allowing me to be a part of nights like this.

Plus, we were able to attend my MOST favorite concerts of ALL TIME! For fourteen years Andrew Peterson has been leading the Behold the Lamb of God tour with a collection of artists. It is by far one of my most favorite things to do! I have been to this concert three times now and it hasn't gotten old yet! If it is coming to a city near you I encourage you to go! The tickets are always $10. That is it! Get a sitter, better yet, take them with you and go to a good great concert! 

Of course Friday was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and Saturday was the wedding! By the time I got home yesterday evening I crashed! Still don't feel like I have caught up on sleep entirely but I am thankful I am through the craziness that was this last weekend! 

The big ice storm that came through kept us at home this morning so we decided to do some decorating! It was a nice morning and afternoon together getting our house Christmas ready! We still have some to do outside but the tree is up and things look like the most wonderful time of year!

I hope everyone had a blessed weekend!

30 Days of Thanks: recap

What a 30 days it has been! I have loved capturing these different moments! I know I got behind some but I know that there are not hard fast rules! So here is the quick run down! Left to right, top to bottom.

Day 18: Pastor Saeed and the encouragement to keep fighting and praying! 

Day 20: pink!

Day 19: Hot drinks

Day 21: uncles

Day 25: 5 whole days with the nephews

Day 6: these God painted skies

Day 30: this big sister's birthday

Day 26: hair turning out like it's supposed to! 

Day 7: my angel nephews

Day 28: THANKSGIVING

Day 29: surprises

Day 5: voting

Day 1: movie nights with my family

Day 9: my crazy family 

Day 13: heaters!

Day 16: day trips

Day 24: opprotunities like Operation Christmas Child

Day 10: freedom

Day 27: pizza for breakfast

Day 22: God painted skies (getting a theme)

Day 8: fall colors

Day 12: my job

Day 14: my bed!

Day 11: firemen

Day 23: good grades

Day 2: dinner dates with my family

Day 3: concerts with my family

Day 17: history

Day 15: nephews!

Day 4: the opportunity to bless this girl on her wedding

30 days of thanks: days 18-30

 

Day 18: Good news and the reminder to keep praying!

Day 19: Hot drinks on cold days!

Day 20: Finding the pink I needed for the wedding on Saturday

Day 21: uncles...

 Day22: This may be overkill but I can't get enough of these skies my God paints! Zephaniah 3:17 right there people!

 Day 23: Hard work and extra credit! Whoop whoop!

 Day 24: One of our favorite things to do just before December every year is Operation Christmas Child. This year our family gave 5 boxes and it was such a fun day putting it all together!

 Day 25: Their daddy brought work to us so they got to be here for 5 almost whole days over Thanksgiving break!

 Day 26: This pretty bride asked me to do her hair for her wedding! Such a fun thing and I was SUPER excited when it turned out like she wanted for her bridal portraits!

 Day 27: fun holiday breaks and treats that come with those breaks...like pizza for breakfast!

Day 28: THANKSGIVING! The whole day was something to thank God for!

Day 29: We planned a surprise party and 30 gifts to lead up to the party for...

Day 30:...this girl! *circa 1994* We enjoyed two whole days of celebrating her!

30 days of Thanks! Days: 10 -17

Never fear! I have returned.

What? 

Too dramatic. 

Yea, I thought so too! 

We got home yesterday evening from a great family weekend away! It was so fun being all together for 3 days! Blogging went second for a little while! So, here is last week's installments for 30 days of Thanks! 

 Day 10: Sunday I was reminded of all the men and women who served and do serve for our freedom. Monday was a day to honor them, but for Sunday I wanted to show them my thanks.

 Day 11: I wanted to take a field trip to the firehouse forever and finally was able to arrange one! We spent the morning looking around where the firemen sleep, eat, cook, and keep the trucks! The firemen let the kids climb in and out of the trucks and look at everything!

 Day 12: This mess. Oh my Boogie. There are some days that make me want to pull out my hair. There are other days that I don't know where the time has gone. All days I end them thankful for my buddy!

 Day 13: For many days this last week this little box has been wonderful! Pumping some warmth into our frigid little house!

 Day 14: Some days it is the little things folks. Just let me have it, ok? Everyday I am thankful to be able to end and start my days here!

 Day 15: These boys! Oh my heart! I love them, all three of them!

 Day 16: Saturday we spent the day as a family roaming all over Gettysburg! It was such a fun family day being all together! I loved it!

 Day 17: Living in this area of the country, I am really thankful to be able to take advantage of all the places to soak up as much history as I can!

I hope you all have been able to gather all your "thanks" recently. It has been such a cool thing to see them out in front of me! Let me know if you are! I'd love to see!

Happy Week!

Gettysburg break

I am a little behind on my posts for this week! We went out of town Friday night and will be back tonight! We have been soaking in some rich history in Gettysburg, PA. These two shots are the top and bottom of the Longstreet Tower. About a 70 foot difference of the same view! 

Will be back with posting soon!

30 days of Thanks: Days 3-9

Day 3: Our family volunteered for a Steven Curtis Chapman Concert. The concert itself was one cool thing. On top of that we got to love on some orphans indirectly! Fantastic! The cherry on the very top, we go to meet Mr. Chapman himself and Jason Grey!

Day 4: My mom and I threw a bridal shower for my life long friend! We have known each other for so many years and it has been so much fun to walk through this milestone with her!

Day 5: Voting! I am thankful for this privilege.

Day 6: Whenever God paints skies like this I think of Zephaniah 3:17. I feel the Father singing over me!

Day 7: I am thankful for the expectant joy that this aunt's arms awaits when I meet my King and my angel nephews!

Day 8: I am thankful for the colors this time of year!

Day 9: I am thankful for these crazies and the 11 or so others not seen! Love me some all day family time!

salted caramel popcorn

Get ready for some goodness!

 This guy is a pop corn nut! He would eat popcorn breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let him! Because a half a cup of kernals makes a whole bunch we've had to get creative with how we fix it!

So glad I found this recipe! I have altered it a bit.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
salt
cooking spray

Use an air popper to pop your kernels in a big sprayed bowl. This step is important because of the caramel process. You need BIG and you need greased!
Over medium heat melt the butter and sugar together. Add the corn syrup and heat. Cook and let boil for 5 minutes alone.
Pour over your popcorn and stir. Dump onto a greased pan, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Set a timer and stir every ten minutes.
When you take it out you will want to dive right in! I promise!