Showers of Blessing

Alright, let's count them up. This year, I have attended...at least eight showers and would have attended more, had I RSVP'd "yes" to them all. Some of them I've thrown, some of them I've just attended. I love the anticipation of the event--whether it be an upcoming wedding, the birth of a baby, or seeing a newborn grow into a little person. This weekend, I had the privilege of helping with a baby shower for one of my best friends, Annie. 

I met Annie and her twin sister at that camp that keeps making its way into my posts when someone ran up to me and said, "Come on! Come on! You have to meet these 4'11" twin Egyptian girls! They're the same size as you!" A year later, when I was a freshman in college, I looked Annie up to see if I could ride with her to church. Six months later we were good friends, another six months passed and we were roommates, and four-and-a-half years later we would have still been roommates had I not married and acquired a new roommate. :)

I am really thankful for the many friends that I have and how many of them are sincerely close friends that I can say with all truthfulness really know me. 

It was so much fun to see people I hadn't seen in a long time and to see everyone share in the excitement of one person whom they all had in common. My dear friend looked so cute and received a lot of really fun gifts. Plus, her sister made an amazing centerpiece and another friend planned some really fun and creative games.

I have often offered to plan and make the food for showers or parties. For some reason, that's what I feel most comfortable with. But I never remember to take pictures! Why?! Anyway, I like to do themes when I'm making food for a group--something to connect all the items together. It could be as simple as a seasonal or a cultural theme. This time, I picked a theme of "miniature" or "bite-size". Here's my list:

• Roasted red pepper, sesame, and black bean hummuses with white and wheat French bread cubes
• Baby BLTs (cherry tomatoes with a creamy, bacon-y filling)
• Sliced strawberries with fruit dip
• Mini peanut butter pies
• Mocha punch (why just have punch when you could have mocha punch?)

Unfortunately, my camera died after just a few pictures, so I hardly got any food pictures, and absolutely no people photos! Still, I had so much fun and, as much work as it always is, would do it again in a heartbeat. :D

Roasted red pepper, sesame, and black bean hummuses

Baby BLT's...get it? Baby?

Photo Friday

Three-and-a-half years already....

Your Roots Will Make You Strong

Disclaimer:  This will be somewhat long and not a guy-friendly post, so you may want to grab a snack!

For me, 2010 will always be marked by the many weddings I had the joy of participating in. Every wedding has its own personality, and there is usually a sense of the couple's unique love story throughout the day. I do not usually define myself as an overly sentimental person, but getting married has opened my eyes to the wonder and expectation involved in one's wedding day, and I have learned to get wrapped up in the couple's perspective of hope and commitment. 

On our wedding day, Jordan and I chose a passage from Ephesians 3 to define our day, our marriage, and our lives:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

I love that sentence, "Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." I would never have gotten married had I not had a confident assurance that the redeeming love of God would be the soil into which the roots of our marriage would grow. So, my greatest joy has been to watch my friends make this same commitment in a way that was theirs alone.

In January, I was a bridesmaid in Beth and Dan's wedding:

This couple had waited quite awhile for their day to come, and when it did, you never saw bigger smiles in your life! One of my favorite aspects of their wedding was seeing Dan lead worship during his own ceremony. I love watching them because I know that they want to always point to God first, and their day was such a testimony of His work in their lives. A winter wedding was so much fun, and little details like silver pine cone necklaces for the bridesmaids added special touches that rounded out the day.

In May, I was a matron (major dislike of that word) of honor in Becky and Jake's wedding:

Becky and Jake's thoughts were on everyone but themselves that day--okay, I know they were thinking about each other quite a bit, but their concerns were for everyone else. Their ceremony was such a special time of honoring the people who have been a godly influence in their lives and a humble expression of their thanks to the One who brought them together. Plus, I love that Becky's decorations (browns, deep orange, and a deep green) were purchased with the intention of later decorating their new home.

In June, I had the privilege of singing in worship at Emily and Brian's wedding, as well as singing a solo during their unity candle ceremony:

I miss Emily and Brian a lot! Soon after their honeymoon, these two moved down south for a job Brian accepted while Emily finishes college. It was so much fun to get to witness these two as they grew in friendship, then see their dating relationship begin, progress, and eventually lead to marriage. Emily and I had many talks about marriage, and I really respect these two for being honest about the struggle involved in building a relationship God's way. Though on their day I was a bit distracted with making sure I did my part right, I loved seeing these two demonstrating love in Christ.

In July, I took a break while Jordan ushered in a Fourth of July weekend wedding.

In August, I embarked on a new venture and coordinated decorations for Bekah and Nate's wedding:

This was my first time experiencing an outdoor wedding. It was amazing to see how God worked everything out for their day. The wedding took place in Bekah's parents' backyard, which was flooded before and after the wedding, but dry for the weekend of the wedding. To me, it felt a little like taking a trip back to the Pride and Prejudice era. There was definitely an ethereal quality to the day; yet, it was also a relaxing time with a picnic reception. One of my favorite aspects of this wedding was the vows these two wrote themselves that reflected their priorities, their perspective on marriage, and their deep joy in each other. Bekah has a wonderful eye for decorating and all things vintage, and helping her vision become real was really enjoyable because of her good taste!

Labor Day weekend, I was again a matron of honor in Ruth and Matt's wedding:

Ruth and Matt's wedding was a perfect balance of solemnity and fun. Their ceremony focused on God and the families that raised them to become the people they are today. When each of their parents came on stage to encircle them in quiet prayer for their new life together, that's when the tears came to my eyes. What an awesome foundation these two have! I really enjoyed their reception and the photo booth that the best man built for the couple so guests could get their pictures taken, too. Another fun aspect of the reception was the way that the host dismissed tables to the buffet lines--someone would draw a table number out of a basket, and when your table number was called, your whole table had to excitedly yell out your number back, or your table would be skipped. :)

I think I may be done with my involvement in weddings for awhile, but after all that shower-throwing and the weddings themselves, I am starting to wonder if my new hobby should be wedding planning.... Any thoughts?

Here are just a few more pictures I can't resist including:

Singing at Emily and Brian's wedding

How cute was Bekah's idea of buttons around the flowers as centerpieces?

Movie Review: Despicable Me

"That universe is people who are blogging not to reach a large audience, necessarily [or] to supplement their income. They're doing it to express themselves, to find out what it's like to write in public and to tell something of their own lives and experiences."

I recently read an article entitled  "The Evolution of Blogging"; in it, they discussed, well, the evolution of blogging and how it is becoming more relevant and an almost all-encompassing word. This made me think about my blog, and how it should always be evolving. Neither the writer nor the reader should get bored with the predictability of it. Yet, I feel as though I need some structure, too. I have a lot of interests I would like to explore without specifically turning this into a food blog, a photography blog, or the like.

So, in my attempt at structure, every other Tuesday-ish I want to write a review blog. I love reading reviews and so it only makes sense that I should contribute some, too--recipes, movies, books, music, and more. Since I also enjoy pictures and non-text posts, every other Friday-ish I will post a picture that captures a moment in the last couple of weeks. This way, once a week (on a Tuesday or Friday, accordingly), I will post a journaling-style post. Of course, I don't want any of this to become a chore, so all rules are flexible. :)

Movie Review:  Despicable Me

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences and flowering rose bushes sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by an army of mischievous little minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell) planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!). Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. That is, until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.

Three things made this movie:  the main character, Gru; Gru's minions; and the three orphans, Margo, Edith, and Agnes. Gru is a villain with an indiscernible accent who discovers that he has been out-played by a younger, up-and-coming villain--Vector--and is starting to become obsolete. In his quest to best Vector, he encounters Margo and her sisters, weaving them into his plan for the ultimate heist--stealing the moon and holding it for ransom.

Like any efficient super villain, Gru employs somewhat of a mad scientist, along with an army of minions. These small, yellow, capsule-shaped minions speak a form of gibberish that only they understand, and their antics keep the laughs going throughout the movie. On the other hand, Margo, Edith, and Agnes bring out the sentimental side in this movie--and in Gru. Unlike, "Up" (a recent animated feature that people seemed to either love or hate), "Despicable Me" balances laughter and heartwarming moments with ease. By the movie's end, I felt as though I were a part of this unconventional family.

My recommendation:  see this movie with people who love to laugh! Below, is an excerpt from the movie--one of my favorite scenes, in which Margo, Edith, and Agnes coax Gru into taking them to an amusement park. Enjoy! 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I have a lot of blogging to do, it seems.

Actually, I have quite a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but have been lacking in time and motivation lately. So, you can look forward to some interesting posts in the near future. 

This past weekend, I went to the state ladies retreat at the camp in Clear Lake that I have worked at and counseled at in the past. It was a good weekend of learning, fellowshipping, and eating (there is always food whenever you are not in a session!). This year's theme was "Diamonds in the Rough: Changed into His Image." I have to admit that I was having a tough time paying attention this weekend. Sitting is not normally my thing, and our speaker was a tad on the long-winded side this year. Still, I was grateful for the reminder of the worth of giving yourself to God to be molded and transformed. In church, we are also focusing on the theme of "Ambitious Worship," founded on Romans 12:1-2. These two themes really pushed me to confront my selfishness, yet again. To realize that my goal should be the excellence of knowing Christ.

Right before work on Friday, I went over to my friend Megan's house, where she died my hair! Until now, I have been a "hair-dye virgin." Never died. Never highlighted. So...I was quite ambivalent about the decision to do it, as well as the color choice. But I committed, and I did it! Well, Megan did. And here are the results:

 Before

After

Really, these are not great pictures of me, but perhaps you can see that I went a shade darker to a "chocolate brown." The second one was taken in one of the bathrooms at camp at 4:45 in the morning because I just could not sleep [sigh]. Anyway, it's just a semi-permanent color, so we'll see if this is a keeper!