Shanna's belated b-day party

Me reading a receipe for a cake I found on Marthastewart.com It looked simple enough, and it certainly looked yummy. Chocolate... SHANNA'S FAVORITE!!! PERFECT!!
"Yeah, I can do this. Piece a cake!"
Notice how similar the two cakes look... What did I do wrong??? Oh well, it still looked good enough to eat.

Happy Birthday Shanna-bo!! I love you a lot! I don't know what I'd do without a sister!

First things first...

This was Molly & Izzie's final ride from Lubbock to Dallas. We took them home to mom and dad over spring break. It was pretty hard. I miss them a lot, but they are having a lot of fun with grandma and grandpa. We get to go up there next weekend and I can't wait to see them... the dogs that is. HA HA!! Ok, Ok, and my parents too! Anyway, so these are our farewell pictures to Molly and Izzie. They are officially Dallas girls now!

Ok, so we need some serious prayer over these two things. I've been trying not to bring it up cause I didn't want to make a big deal out of it if we didn't get the jobs. However, we are getting down to crunch time and we could really use your prayers. I applied to Texas Dreams gymnastics in Coppell over spring break. It's been looking pretty good, but they have not offered me a position yet. I really like this gym. The staff seems very nice and the athletes are just amazing. I had the opportunity to work on the floor with some of their youngest and most talented athletes when I was there for the break. I am anxiously waiting to hear back from them.
Clay interviewed with this company. It is a very well known and high-to-do car dealership in the Dallas area. I am really proud of him. He has really been working hard at staying in contact and making sure they know who he is. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to hire Clay. He knows everything about cars, he's very likable, and he's REALLY cute! I don't think I've ever seen him want something this badly. So, if you could keep him in your prayers also we would greatly appreciate it.
We know that the Lord has a plan for us. He always does. Sometimes it is so hard to trust Him and be still with stuff like this. I know He will provide and I want you to see it happen. We may not get these jobs, but even if we don't, He will give us something better... better than we could ever imagine. It's the abundant life!

Twister!!

TWISTER!!

This is the theme for the State meet coming up in April. Talent Plus Upsidedowners (where I work) is in charge of this meet. As you can probably guess, it's a pretty big deal. I've had the privledge of designing the T-shirts and esentially the theme all together. I've been working a lot more since the meet is only 4 weeks away so I've stayed pretty busy. I'll keep ya posted on how everything is going.

Today is also my sweet sister's birthday!! She is out of town for the weekend shooting a wedding and I'm pretty sad I couldn't go with her. Hopefully, we'll get to hang out when she gets back. I'll be sure to take some pics if we do. I love you Shan!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

The Trilogy

Well, as I said I have been working on some promotional stuff for Farmers Branch Church for their women's retreats. We're presenting the three retreats as a trilogy - so you don't want to miss ANY of them! I had the hardest time with this particular project. It had become something I was trying to do instead of letting the Lord do it through me. I finally had to throw in the towel and say, "ok, I just can't do this..." and I started over. So, this first file is MY efforts for the trilogy poster (it's a mess!).

And the second one is the one that the Lord did. Look at the difference.

Isn't He amazing!!

Today was a good day.

I haven't posted in a while so i'm sure many of you are wondering if i'm still alive over here. I'm still here. I had a good day today and thought I'd share it. I've been working on some more stuff for Farmers Branch Church Women's ministry. They are heading up a spa retreat called "Oasis" in June and I'm officially a part of the team puttting things together. Of course my part is the promotional stuff (which i LOVE). I've come up with a logo and am now working on posters and such. This will be the 2nd part of a trilogy of retreats for the women. I'M SO EXCITED!! The best part about working on this retreat stuff is that I'm always in the Word. Needless to say, I'm learning a lot and I'm having to really study these different stories. It's so amazing to me that the Lord could write a book (through man even!) that could give us every answer we'd ever need for the rest of our time here on earth. I thought I'd share the story that we're studying for the spa retreat for your enjoyment! This translation is The Message. I like this translation because it's easy to read a little more entertaining:

The Woman at the Well

1Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed 2(although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. 3So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee.
4To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. 5He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.
7A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" 8(His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)
9The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)
10Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."
11The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this "living water'? 12Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"
13Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. 14Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst--not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
15The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"
16He said, "Go call your husband and then come back."
17"I have no husband," she said.
"That's nicely put: "I have no husband.' 18You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough."
19"Oh, so you're a prophet! 20Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?"
21"Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. 22You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's way of salvation is made available through the Jews. 23But the time is coming--it has, in fact, come--when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. 24God is sheer being itself--Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."
25The woman said, "I don't know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we'll get the whole story."
26"I am he," said Jesus. "You don't have to wait any longer or look any further."
27Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn't believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.
28The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, 29"Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?" 30And they went out to see for themselves.

It's Harvest Time

31In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, "Rabbi, eat. Aren't you going to eat?"
32He told them, "I have food to eat you know nothing about."
33The disciples were puzzled. "Who could have brought him food?"
34Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. 35As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time!
36"The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. 37That's the truth of the saying, "This one sows, that one harvests.' 38I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others."
39Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman's witness: "He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!" 40They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. 41A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. 42They said to the woman, "We're no longer taking this on your say-so. We've heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He's the Savior of the world!"
John 4: 1-42

Spanish for... Hard Wood Canyon

Well, we got back yesterday from Palo Duro Canyon. We had a blast! We cooked hamburgers, ate smores, made pancakes and eggs, hiked... Yes, it was a little windy... ok, a lot windy. We were glad that we weren't staying another day cause it was getting pretty bad out there. Anyway, here's some pics from our adventure.

before

after

Clay took this picture... isn't it cool!?!

So, there was a fire ban seeing as it hasn't rained in like a million days so we had to roast marshmellows over the grill. This is Melanie's smore. Looks good enough to EAT!!!! And we did.

The four of us after dinner and smores. We're about to hit the sack. It was freezing out there!

I think I had something in my teeth... how embarassing...

This is us in our tent. Daniel and Shan let us borrow their awesome four man tent. It was nice and warm. I felt like we were in junior high again... all of us giggling and not being able to sleep. It was so much fun.

This is Dave's version of a bed head. Lame isn't it...

Cool pic huh? Photo by Jess (that's Clay up there)

Dave & Clay on top of a very windy plateau. I took this pic right before Mel and I decided that being on a really windy mountain was awful and that we were going to get off without waiting on the boys.

Dave, Me, & Mel. Another cool pic! Photo by Clay

Mel flexing her muscles. Isn't she cute?

The end. What a great time. We should do that again!!

Coming Soon

Well, Clay and I are leaving for Palo Duro Canyon in about 2 hours to go camping with Mel and Dave. I'm a little excited... ok, A LOT EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! I'll be sure to take plenty of pics to show ya when we get back. Say a prayer for us that the weathe will be as beautiful as it is right now and that we will all be safe. We'll see ya when we get back!!

Meet Molly & Izzie!

Meet Molly

Meet Isabella (Izzie)Well, I can't believe that I haven't introduced the other half of my sweet family!! My two sweet puppies Molly and Izzie are my babies. Molly is a 9-year-old Rottweiler and Izzie is a 4-year-old Cocker Spaniel. I took some headshots so you could see what they look like but then I thought you needed to see a little bit of their personalities...
Izzie has started this new thing with sleeping on her back. I'm convinced that she learned this technique from Molly because Molly has been rollin around on her back since she was little -- it's a Rottweiler thing. Izzie snores a lot -- I mean A LOT! Sometimes Clay and I wake up in the middle of the night because she is so loud. She is really clingy and will climb up in your lap the second you sit down -- because that's why you sat down anyway right?


Molly HATES the camera. I can't believe she is related to me!! I've been taking pictures of her since she was born and she has never liked it. So it's difficult to get a picture of her looking at the camera. She's such a brat. Molly loves to chew on stuff -- usually ropes. Here she is chewing on Izzie's oil can (no, not a real one). As you can see, the fluff is coming out of it... I think she's looking for the squeeker. Molly is 9 but acts like she's 2. She has had 2 major cancer surgeries and one emergency historectomy (I have NO idea how to spell that). She is my miracle dog. I thank God she is still here and I pray that she is here for a long, long time.

Stuff I've done

These are just a few things I've done recently for friends and family. I am beginning to realize that I really love graphic designing. And since a bunch of my friends are getting married I'm getting plenty of practice in. Let me know if you need help with your invites, save-the-dates, or anything else!

women's retreat logo for Farmers Branch Church of Christ

This is the inside of Rachel & Nick's invitations. She wanted something really unique and fun, but still with a little bit of class. What do ya think?
This is the outside of Rachel's thank you notes. I love the way this turned out!!
Mel's program cover. I can't even begin to tell you everything that went wrong in trying to get these printed, but the Lord provided and we got it done. They were beautiful and so was Mel!

Boy trip

So, my husband and I spent the weekend apart. He went "snowboarding" with our good friend Chris Schwartz in Sipapu, NM and I went to Dallas to hang out with the parents. Of course, being the wonderful boy that he is he only took like 5 pictures... so here's 2 of them. Look how cute he is!!!! I've decided that I don't like being away from him for that long. Three days seemed like forever!!! I'm glad to be home.

The Newlyweds

So, we went out to eat with the newlyweds on Tuesday and they haven't changed a bit. Here are before and after pictures...

before

after

It's almost scary how similar those pictures are. Those crazy kids. I am so excited that they are moving to Dallas the same time we are. I don't know what I'd do if I had to leave Mrs. Forbess. David wants to find a duplex so we can live right next door to each other. I thought he was joking, but the other day Mel called and told us about this duplex David found through a realtor... I guess they're really serious. I didn't know they liked us THAT much.

HALLELUJAH!!

Well, i fixed my camera... it wasnt' really broken which makes me really mad cause i didn't get pics at Mel's wedding. These are our victory pictures.