My Favorite Things..

Now include . I stopped in today on a wonderful tip from a new cookbook. Wanna see the treasures I found?

These lovelies allow you to ice with perfect detail! Just stick them in hot water for five minutes, snip off the tip and ice to your heart's content! They look beautiful and taste fantastic, too!

Oh-so-pretty sprinkles. For cupcakes that look like they've been dusted with sparkles.

I really want to become a professional cake-decorator; can you tell? I can't wait to upload pictures of my finished product....

What A Beautiful Day

Check out Darrell's blog to see how my fantastic day went down.

Darrell surprised me by taking me to the Inwood - awesome!

He made me.

Having so much fun at the Nasher.

He has fantastic ideas!

Love it.

We're pretty much ridiculous.



Back at my place...doing nonsensical things..









Funny story...I don't think he knew I was trying to bite the finger that was in my face.

Love Song

God sang me a Love song tonight.

I got my hair cut this morning (yay!) after my mile-long skate as soon as I woke up (baaad idea, I felt ill when I finally collapsed on my couch at home again). I got to relax for a bit before heading out to church, where it is my weekend to serve on the A/V team. Turns out that I wasn't sent the email that told me I didn't have to be there until 3:30, instead of the normal 2:30. With the extra hour I had time to just sit in the sanctuary, while Lee set up the sound, and journal and pray. I'll be honest - it was the first time in a long time that I was just...still.

When it was finally time to start practicing, I made my way up to the sound booth and then noticed the set list for the weekend. It was the first acoustic set we've had since I started attending two and a half years ago, I think. Among the five songs Bleecker chose to sing were my two absolute favorite songs: You Are The Light and Before The Throne. And just in case that wasn't enough to get my attention, God had one more trick up His sleeve to stir my heart. We had a guest guitar player (for the acoustic set), and, while going through the sound check, he just started playing. The song was gorgeous, and sounded a lot like the music from August Rush. And all of a sudden, a Voice whispered to me, This is for you. This song is for you. I was overcome with Love, peace and tears as my Savior showed me how much He loves me. My favorite songs, a beautiful guitar piece and the peaceful setting of the church.

As I sit in my living room now, sipping my glass of wine and watching Justin Chambers propose to Jennifer Lopez in the background, I am still overcome with an overwhelmingly peaceful joy. My God loves me. He is not a distant stranger Who does not know my name, but a doting Father who wants to protect me and display His Love and Grace.

Not to us,
Not to us,
But to Your Name
Jesus
Be all glory,
Be all honor
To your Name,
Forever

I Hate That I Love You

It's odd to hear birds chirping outside at this hour. It's odd to be awake at this hour on that note..

The opposite of Love isn't hate; it's apathy. Hate requires a level of effort that you would only devote to something you truly care about. My Daddy told me this many times growing up. I think he is a very wise man.

Stay Awake?

Wide awake though sleep-deprived..Listening to the rain outside my window.

I've decided someone must have prayed for me to learn patience. If I find out who it is, I will most assuredly punch them in the face.

He Rose

He rose,
Jesus, He rose
My life's been forgiven
This world holds no bounds
He rose,
Jesus, He rose
My life's been redeemed,
This prisoner set free
Death, where's your sting?
'Cause He rose...
- Jeff Johnson "He Rose"

So beautiful, so true, so stuck in my head for the past six hours. So many random thoughts going through my head right now...

• The Friends episode where Joey loses an eyebrow is one of my favorites. "It's like a baby caterpillar chasing its momma!"
• I hate when I go to the grocery store and get home just to realize that I should have checked for, say, sugar. Gr!
• I ♥ Steven Wonder.
• I can't decide if I'm going to grow my hair out for the first time in a while...or keep it short. Help?
• This winter had been refreakingdiculous. Don't get me wrong, I love 72-degree weather and I absolutely love snow. I just can't take both twice in the same week! Texas SUCKS. Not gonna lie, though. I think it's totally cool that God seems to have said, "No, I haven't forgotten your snow. Here it is!" How fantastic is a God that created snow because He knows how much I'd love it! Give me winter, or give me death!
• Monday night, I met two of the coolest little boys! Braxton was three and MacGuire ("Mac") was nine months. SO cute!
• I want to go to the aquarium.
• I think watching the stars from the roof of the Orange House is one of my new favorite things to do. 'Tis fantabulous. But only with certain people...
• I am totally freaking stoked about this Friday.

Aren't you glad I shared?

The Ride

First off, I love Amanda. The time we spend together is always a blessing and a joy to my heart. I was talking to her on the phone yesterday, and something she said really struck me. She and I are both going through very interesting (and often difficult) times in our lives right now. We've both been faced with decisions, joy and unexpected change.

Regarding one of the changes (unfortunately unpleasant), Amanda said she felt like she was on her favorite roller coaster. She said that she would always get on the ride with great anticipation which would quickly change to dread as soon as it began. As soon as the cars began to move, she would panic and wonder, What have I done? I should never have gotten on this! A knot in her stomach, a scream rising in her throat, the ride would take off. The rush, the movement, the unexpected turns and twists, the drops, the peaks, going forward and then backward. And then it was over and she was back on solid ground. Her heart racing, she wanted to do it all over again.

How much like life is this? We make a decision and suddenly we're swept off our feet, rushing forward or backward, up and then down, going straight or weaving, not knowing what comes next. And then it's over and we can step back and look at where we are. We decide that it was one of the most unintelligent things we've ever done, that the terror of it all simply was not worth it; or we decide that it was the greatest decision we ever made and that the temporary fear was greatly outweighed by the final joy. Or maybe our breath is so taken away that we need some time to understand what just happened and decide whether or not we enjoyed it.

As I look at my life, I'm unsure what kind of ride I've had so far. Twists and turns, highs and lows, reaching a peak and having just seconds to catch my breath and see what lies below. Have I spent more time going backward or forward - and which has been more productive? Have I ridden with my eyes shut tight or tried to see what was coming and what has passed and tried to comprehend both? I don't know the answers to these questions. I do know that the best part of this ride is still to come. I have so many decisions facing me now and still ahead of me, decisions that will shape and change my life forever. And so I brace myself, and hold my breath...and do my best to enjoy the ride while it lasts.