I Believe In Love

sweet potato kale curry

2012-05-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Jeremy rocked this dish the other night. Sweet Potato Kale Curry, oh my, so yum. This was only served to adults so I can't give you a kid's review on it, but all the adults around the table loved it. He used coconut milk for the non-dairy milk. Coconut milk and curry just seem to go together. He also doubled it for 4 people. We only had a little bit leftover. I highly, highly recommend this recipe!

I'll be taking tomorrow off to celebrate Memorial Day with my family. See you back here on Tuesday!

from shag to buzz

2012-05-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

The other day Joshua suddenly decided he wanted to cut his hair. He asked me what I thought and I said if he wanted to cut it, then he should. Jeremy did the honors while I stepped out for the evening. Apparently he had some hair cutter's remorse after a pile of blonde locks were already on the floor. I think we're all getting used to it. It doesn't matter, though, he's still the cutest (or maybe I should say handsome-est) 10 year old I know!

Happy Saturday!

re-purposed men's shirt

2012-05-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week has been a bit hectic with little time for creative things. It's a garage sale weekend. I hate garage sales. The house feels like mass chaos as you're going through everything and piling it up for pricing. I don't function well in that kind of clutter. I guess the feeling of purging, though, makes up for it.

However, yesterday, in the midst of the chaos, I remembered several half finished projects and thought, "Surely I can finish just one." I'll tell you, even a minute of a creativity, is soothing to the soul. Stepping away for just a moment has a way of clearing the mind.

I saw this idea to re-purpose a men's button down shirt in an issue of Sew It All. While I love the concept and the shirt in the photo, I'm still trying to decide if I like mine (and also if I should re-do the ric rac since I didn't really follow those instructions too well). It just sort of fits like a men's shirt. Nevertheless, it will be another good one to have for Africa.

Any fun creativity come out of your studio this week? If so, be sure to link up with Jennifer @ Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday!

Photos once again taken by Joshua. :)

here's lily {giveaway}

2012-05-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here's Lily! is the first book in The Lily Series which has sold over one million copies. When it arrived in the mail, Emma G was so excited about the redhead on the cover exclaiming, "Now there's two redheads in the house!" (her Daddy being the first and foremost).

I was excited about this book for another reason. The message is one that applies to young girls everywhere...that real beauty is more than makeup and pretty clothes. That real beauty comes from within. It's comes from walking in the confidence of who God made us to be. As 6th grader Lily moves toward her goal of winning the model search fashion show, she learns this important lesson along the way. Emma G and I are only partway through this book, but we are loving it!

Giveaway

Up for giveaway is one copy of Here's Lily! courtesy of Tommy Nelson! Be sure to catch a sneak peek of this book by Nancy Rue, geared toward ages 7 and up. Giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only and ends Thursday, May 31st at 9 pm CST when random number generator will choose one winner!

Entries

1st Entry Answer this question...

How do you apply God’s definition of beauty with your daughters in today’s world?

2nd Entry Tweet and / or share on Facebook the following...

#Win Here's Lily! from @TommyNelson & teach your daughters where true beauty comes from. #giveaway @jenprice77 http://bit.ly/KGyBde

Be sure to come back here and leave a separate comment for each entry. Also be sure I have a way to contact you should you win!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Here's Lily! from Tommy Nelson in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

bright and white :: family portraits

2012-05-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

When a friend contacted me to photograph his family as a Mother's Day gift for his Mom, I was too excited, because that Mom is a fellow friend who works in Romania. I knew that this would be a priceless gift that would be treasured while she is away from her family. I think this was the largest family that I've ever photographed. I love the bright colors they wore against the white siding of this cute little church. I also love how the group photos of the boys and girls turned out! I guess I haven't photographed many families against straight lines. Thus the Photoshop ruler tool quickly became my friend to straighten photos! It's amazing!

And because this little princess was just too cute, I have to post this one...

These were taken at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Wylie, TX.

at the zoo

2012-05-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

I love field trips! Last week Jeremy and I were chaperones for Emma G's field trip to the zoo. We were only responsible for three first graders, and still we only scratched the surface of what there was to see. At least they saw what was at the top of their list!

After living in Africa right by a game park, the zoo experience is usually just "Eh" for me, but I have to admit seeing this cheetah was pretty cool. I've only seen cheetah a handful of times in S. Africa. They're hard to spot!

It seemed we couldn't make it fast enough to the giraffe. They wanted to pet them so badly! Since I refused to pay $5 for three pieces of lettuce, it took a bit of coaxing to get them to come over to us.

Feeding the goats was more in our price range (only 50 cents), and I think the girls loved it!

Nothing compares with a true African safari, but I have to admit the "safari" through the Dallas Zoo made for some happy 1st graders and a fun day indeed!

giveaway day :: spring prints

2012-05-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. I love Giveaway Day! It's such a fun way to meet lots of new people. I'm going to keep this post short and simple, so here's the details...

Giveaway

I thought long and hard about what to giveaway and thought I would offer up something photography related. Hanging in my kitchen I have a set of three prints that I took at the Dallas Arboretum. I love these. They remind me of spring days amidst the flowers and butterflies. I'm offering this entire set (unframed) in 5X7's! Giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 25th at 7 pm CST when random number generator will choose one winner!

Entries

1st Entry Leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing is about spring.

2nd Entry Become a follower!

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure that I have a way to contact you should you win! Be sure to check out all the giveaway goodness on Sew Mama Sew!

Comments are now closed. The winner is sandyandcosmo!

last games of the season

2012-05-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Both of our kids played sports this Spring. It's been busy to say the least. We're a one car family, so figuring out schedules and toting them here and there has been quite the task. I will say, though, that I absolutely love seeing my boy play basketball and my girl play soccer!

Happy Saturday, friends!

pillowcase skirts

2012-05-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

With Uganda on the travel plans this summer, I needed to make some skirts, ones that would be cool and airy for my two weeks near the Equator. I found brand new packages of pillowcases at Salvation Army for $1 and thought they would be the perfect, inexpensive solution. Now I wasn't blessed with slim hips. No, my blessing came in the form of being able to birth a nearly 10 lb. baby. One pillowcase doesn't cover those kind of hips, but 1 1/2 do. Jeremy said that one didn't look bad. I squatted to test it out and all I could envision was maneuvering this way and that to get the perfect shot while a seam ripped up the side. I'm not going for my most embarrassing moment in Uganda, so 1 1/2 it was.

There really wasn't a lot of measuring and carefulness with these babies. I did learn a bit of a better technique with the second one, using the additional "half" for the sides. Thankfully the black and white (or maybe it's dark blue??) skirt has such a busy pattern, you can't see what I did there. :) After getting the width I wanted, I made an elastic casing at the top and used 1 inch ribbed, non-roll elastic. A little embellishment from felt scraps at the bottom gave them a fun touch. For less than $3 each, I have 2 skirts to wear. I love that I don't have to worry about them getting ruined nor do I have to worry about ease of movement as I photograph my way through Uganda. :)

the oh so ~~cheesy~~ cool moi

With Joshua's growing interest in photography, I asked him to take these shots of me. It's not easy taking photos of a photographer, but I think he did a great job. I had to laugh as I modeled my creations for Jeremy. He said, "I didn't think they'd be so long." Perhaps on a person with a normal height, they wouldn't be, but on a 5'1" gal, yes, they're a little long. :)

Linking up with Jennifer @ Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday!

glowing backlight :: family portraits

2012-05-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

My favorite time of day to take photos is usually around 5-6:30 pm (right now anyways). When the sun is out and starting it's descent, it creates such a beautiful backlight that just glows. It was hard to pick only a few favorites from this session but I tried...

Doesn't it just make you want to find a field of wildflowers at sunset and bask in the beauty?

If you're interested in portraits, email me to schedule a time before the Texas heat hits!

These were taken at Prairie Creek Park in Richardson, TX.

an african summer

2012-05-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Or winter, depending on which hemisphere you might be on. I'm quite excited to escape the hot Texas summer in exchange for a cool African winter. The plan is to leave mid June for S. Africa. The kids couldn't be more excited. It's been over 2 years since they flew on an airplane and they're itching to go. I'm so excited for them, now that they've been in the U.S. for this long and they're older, to go back. I'm believing that God is going to touch their hearts in a deeper way. Joshua has already been talking heavily about orphans and adoption, and I'm hoping his heart is going to be touched in a way that it hasn't been before.

Our plan is to stay as long as we need to. Jeremy will be casting vision, I'll be focusing on catching the stories with my handy dandy camera, and together we'll be investing in our crew of volunteers. There is more here and there, but these are some of the biggies.

2009 ~ Jinja, Uganda, the source of The Nile

As if that wasn't exciting enough, I have some news I've been chomping at the bit to share. Back in February, I received an email from Adonai Partners with this as the subject, "How about spending 2 weeks with us in Uganda?" Totally curious, I opened the email to discover it was a personal invitation to come with my camera to capture the stories and to teach local Ugandans about storytelling. My jaw dropped, and I squealed with excitement! Several emails back and forth and a couple of phone conversations later, and it's confirmed. I'll be spending the last 2 weeks of July in Uganda!

I'm always amazed with God, but things like this, things that are a part of a dream, continually blow my mind. He loves me that much. I can't tell you how excited I am to document what God's doing in Africa this summer (winter...smile). And of course, you'll be able to follow along here in my adventures through Kampala and Gulu.

If you have cameras you would like to donate for the local Ugandans to use in their storytelling, please email me. I would so love to bless them with cameras! Also, if you would like to donate toward our trip to S. Africa, please visit the Donate page for instructions on how to do so.

lovely mother's day

2012-05-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

I hope all of you mothers had an excellent Mother's Day. Joshua's basketball team finished out the season on Mother's Day, so we took some time on Saturday to spend together as a family. I love having those times when it doesn't matter so much what you do but just that you're together.

I also love those times when you can upgrade your phone. :) My Mother's Day gift was replacing my old and slow iPhone 3G for a 4S! I am amazed at the picture quality on this thing. My favorite photo apps (Instagram, Camera+, and Frametastic) are getting a workout! (I'm also giving Snapseed a try because it was free. Don't know that it's worth $4.99, though.)

Emma G made me a sweet little book at school called My Mommy. This was the last page, my favorite...

I also loved the page on the funniest thing I ever did. Her answer? My dancing! Yes, I guess it is quite a sight. :)

Some snaps of our after game treat at the Purple Cow...

Have a super Tuesday!

Linking up with Communal Global for Sneak Peeks Around The World.

never too young :: risk

2012-05-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

With my 2012 "word" being risk, I am studying risk takers in the Bible.

It's fascinating to learn these nuggets from Bible greats.

Josiah was just eight years old when he became King. Eight.years.old. I don't know about you, but I don't know many eight year olds with the character to handle the title of King. It seems Josiah was determined to do this thing right. He did right in the sight of the Lord and in the eighth year of his reign (at age 16), the Bible says he began to seek God and by the twelfth year (20 years old), he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved and molten images. He tore down the altars of Baal.

Risky. Israel had been deep into worshipping pretty much everything but God. Here comes this new King, a young lad, who tore all of it down.

Josiah made a choice. He could have continued building altars to other gods as the two young Kings before him did. Instead, he brought about change, good change.

2 Chronicles 35:24 says that when Josiah died in battle, that Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him, the same Judah and Jerusalem who Josiah came in and tore down their idols. I would say that was a change that was good and right and executed well, so well that the Bible says throughout his lifetime, they did not turn from following God.

Change can be risky, but when a leader walks humbly and obeys God, it brings lasting change, no matter how young you might be.

"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:12

Scripture reference: 2 Chronicles 34, 35; 2 Kings 22, 23

beans and franks

2012-05-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

I grew up eating canned baked beans and hot dog franks mixed together. Is that a Southern thing?? I rarely eat hot dogs and try to opt for dry beans now. As I rummaged through the cabinet the other day to see what I had on hand, I thought I would try a slightly different version of beans and franks. I didn't actually have dry mustard on hand, but I would've used it if I did. The recipe...

1 lb. dry navy beans
2 tsp. salt
4 tablespoons molasses
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 links chicken sausage, cut into pieces

Rinse and soak beans overnight. In the morning, bring to a boil and boil 20 minutes. Pour beans and water used for boiling into the crock pot along with all the ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours. Serve with corn bread if desired.

There you go. My slightly healthier, homemade version of beans and franks! And Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

super moon

2012-05-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

Did anyone see the Super Moon last Saturday evening? Oh, my! It was definitely super!

teacher appreciation

2012-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week was Teacher Appreciation week. For a crafter like myself, things such as this get me going. A couple of weeks before, I start gathering ideas and talking to the kids. We make a plan and then slowly, each day, we work on it. I'm so thankful they are as into it as I am. I love how they suggest things. I help them when they're stumped, and together we make a plan to say, "Thank you." Here's the little gifts they brought each day. Joshua was only embarrassed about carrying a vase of flowers to school. Other than that, he was totally cool with blessing his teacher.

Day 1 :: An Izze drink in the kids favorite flavor, blackberry.

Day 2 :: Popcorn for a very POPular teacher (inspired from this idea).

Day 3 :: Lemonade pie in a jar. This was a Mother's Day idea I found on Our Best Bites. The recipe was easy enough for the kids to make themselves!

Day 4 :: Flowers. Washed out Izze bottles make great vases. :)

Day 5 :: A box of homemade chocolates. This was Emma G's idea. I bought cardboard boxes for them to decorate and made Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Truffles (recipe from Sweet Confections) to put inside. She had a great idea!

Did you do any fun things for teacher appreciation? If you need ideas for next year, check out my Today's Mama roundup. So many fun things!

Linking up with Jennifer @ Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday. Awesome creativeness to check out over there!

our family portraits

2012-05-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned last month that we were Mother's Day models for Alisha Ippolito Photography. I love the moments she captured of our family and especially of me with my kids! I don't have enough of those kinds of photos.

all photos taken by alisha ippolito

By the way, Mother's Day is this weekend, but you can still book Alisha for a Mother's Day session! Check out the details here!

Linking up with The Anderson Crew for Embrace The Camera.

dallas area family portraits

2012-05-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Spring weather and beautiful colors have made it a busy time for family portraits. I love it and am so thankful for those hiring me to capture their family's smiles! This family is near and dear to my heart as I've known them (and even worked with them in my early YWAM days) since I was 18. I changed the boys diapers and even helped potty train the oldest. Now that he's headed off to college in the fall (senior portraits here), it was time for a family portrait. My favs include...

My favorite moments are the non-posed moments of smiles, laughter, and fun!

These were taken at Prairie Creek Park in Richardson, TX.

If you're in the Dallas area and you're interested in family portraits, email me. I'm booking sessions through the first week of June.

guest post :: joshua on austin

2012-05-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week the 4th graders at Joshua's school took a field trip to Austin, our state's capital. It was a long day but what a fun experience! I wasn't able to go, so I gave Joshua our point and shoot so he could capture the day on camera. I also asked him to write a guest post about his day...

Austin was very exciting and I wish I got to see more of it. My favorite part of the trip was the capital because the shape of it and how they made the inside of it.

I learned some interesting facts about Texas history like Pa Ferguson was governor of Texas but disobeyed the law so Ma Ferguson became the new governor.

At Bob Bullock Museum, we watched 3 films. One was a 4D IMAX film about rattlesnakes. It was the scariest part of the trip for me. I screamed when the snake hissed, because it looked like it was coming out at me.

I took lots of pictures while I was in Austin. This is the best picture I got of the capital.

I hope I go back to Austin sometime.

josh

I tried to get him to put more photos on here, but this is the only one he wanted. For the sake of giving him liberties over "his post," I let it be, but he took lots of other great ones, too!

choose the high road :: risk

2012-05-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

With my 2012 "word" being risk, I am studying risk takers in the Bible.

It's fascinating to learn these nuggets from Bible greats.

Image Courtesy Stock.XCHNG

At the last Passover, Jesus knew the reason He came to Earth was about to happen. When you know you are going to die, you say a lot of things, but since the disciples didn't know Jesus' fate, they were slightly confused (no surprise there). In Matthew 26:33, Peter assured Jesus that he would never "fall away." Imagine Peter's surprise when Jesus told him that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Him three times.

I'm sure Peter thought, in the back of his mind, that it would never happen. He loved Jesus. However, fear is a crazy thing. It can grip us in a way that causes us to do things that aren't who we are. I can imagine, in the midst of Jesus' arrest and the chaos of the crowds, that there was a shock and fear in the disciples. Sure enough, before the rooster crowed, Peter denied Jesus three times. After he realized what he had done, it says he went out and wept bitterly.

I believe that experience forever changed Peter, in a good way. When things happen to us or when we make a wrong decision, we have a choice. We can either wallow in self-pity and get so down on ourselves, or we can take the high road and learn and grow from it. Peter took the high road and risked everything. The book of Acts is full of the sermons and bold words spoken by Peter which led to his imprisonment many times. That didn't stop him. Even the prison council was continually amazed with the undeniable miracles done through him.

Peter did a lot of risky things and spoke a lot of risky words, but I really think his greatest risk started when he made the choice to accept God's forgiveness for what he had done. He could have held onto it and let bitterness and anger creep in, but instead he chose the road of humbleness, brokenness, and forgiveness. That road is risky, because it means you must be vulnerable, but it also means choosing freedom over bondage. My desire is to choose freedom every time.

Scripture reference : Matthew 26

spelt flour bread

2012-05-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

So it seems lately that I keep hearing and reading about how modified wheat has become. It makes sense. We've modified everything. That doesn't ease the frustration of thinking that I'm trying to eat healthy by eating wholewheat if it's actually not good for me. My love affair with bread keeps me from wanting to give it up totally so I decided to try something I've wanted to try for a while anyway...bread made from spelt flour. Spelt flour is not cheap but it's supposed to be closer to what was eaten long ago, before modifications. I also read somewhere that your body absorbs its nutrients quicker. I picked an easy recipe for the first go around, Very Simple Spelt Bread. It is indeed simple. No yeast, no rising time. It rose beautifully in the oven as it baked. It was a very dense bread, which my husband and I love because it actually fills you up. I also noticed that it had quite the nutty flavor. I'm excited to experiment with some other spelt flour recipes. If you're wanting to try a bread using spelt, I highly recommend this recipe. So, so easy!

multiple perspectives

2012-05-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I had my camera on the table. Emma G saw it and picked it up. This always makes me slightly nervous. She doesn't handle it with the care it needs, so I asked her to please put it down. She set it on the table, looked through the viewer, and said, "I have a good shot!" I love her capture of B.Toys Rain Rush. In school, they talk about multiple perspectives. Her different way of seeing how to capture this toy reminded me of those multiple perspectives!

Head over to Today's Mama to read my review on B.Toys very cool Rain Rush!

passport photos

2012-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Now I know the title doesn't imply something very exciting but this has been my week...gathering everything needed to renew the kid's passports once again. I believe this is the third one for both of them. So crazy!

So yes my "studio" has been very practical. I did do something new this time and took the kid's passport photos myself. A friend was very helpful in pointing me in the right direction. You can find passport photo requirements as well as a photographer's guide on the travel.gov website. After you've taken your very interesting looking passport photos, you can go either to EPassportPhoto.Com or use the Photo Tool on travel.gov to turn them into the right size you need. I opted with the Photo Tool because I liked how it made it easy to fit the head into the dimensions.

It all seems a bit complicated so we'll see if they accept these when we go this afternoon. I figure if I have to pay $20 for new passport photos, then I have to pay it, but if these fly, then I'll have saved $20! I'm hoping for the latter. Don't they look so happy? I told them they couldn't smile big, so this is what I got!

UPDATE: So we went to the passport office this afternoon, and they did not accept our photos. I took the opportunity to ask the nice lady what I should have done differently so they would accept them next time. It was the textured background that didn't fly. I had wondered about that. I asked her if next time I could use Photoshop to fill in the background with a solid white. She said that would be fine (just no editing on their faces). I guess I got points for trying because she didn't charge us to take their photos! Yea! Still saved $20! Oh, and for those who mentioned something in the comments about the ears showing, in the U.S. you do not have to have the ears showing. Just some FYI. :)

Linking up my oh, so fun practical "studio" time up with Jennifer @ Studio JRU for Sneak Peek Friday. I'm sure the rest of the creatives linking up are full of much more fun than passport photos. :)

developing creativity

2012-05-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned yesterday that last weekend I was in the woods of East Texas. Not only was I basking in the GREEN, but I got to lead a session on Developing Creativity, a topic I've become passionate about over the years of realizing that creativity is bigger than a brush and canvas.

Right before the session, I read a post titled Stop Critiquing Start Creating by Justin Zoradi on Donald Miller's blog. He talks about how there's three types of people in the world: consumers, critics, and creatives, and how we need to try and move from a life of consumption and criticism and into a life of creative action. It's a great post that I highly encourage you to read.

I totally agree with Justin's observation. Consumers consume and take. Critics judge, and if they're not careful can become extremely angry. Creatives create. They give.

We were made by a creative God. Genesis 1:27 says we were made in His image. That means that we are creative beings as well, yet we let the roadblocks of fear and insecurity get in the way. Creative works are personal, they're vulnerable. That's why it's easy for those roadblocks to rear their ugly heads.

I have to make constant decisions to not let fear and insecurity block me. I'm constantly learning to dream without inhibition. I'm trying to put myself out there creatively and practice it, setting aside comparison and frustration.

I can't remember if I've posted Ira Glass' video on Storytelling before, but it's awesome. I love how he talks about how we just need to do it.

We're all creative in different ways. I love how Justin ends his post, "The worst thing you can do is postpone your creative action until tomorrow." So true. As one person brought up in our discussion, the question is not, "Are you creative?" It's "How are you creative?"

How are you creative?

color your world :: green

2012-05-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited for this first ever Color Your World link up. It's so easy, in the busyness of life, to miss the color around you. If you're a little lost on What Color Your World is, you can find the details here.

This past weekend, I was in the woods of East Texas surrounded by beauty and so much GREEN! Perfect for this month's challenge. Soon summer will be here with all of its hotness turning everything a nice shade of brown, so it's nice to savor the color before it goes. I loved how the sun was shining through some of that beautiful green.

So here's the lowdown...

1. May's color is GREEN!

2. Take GREEN. Interpret it how you want using whatever medium you want.

3. Write a blog post about it.

4. Grab the Color Your World button to display on your blog or link back to the linky.

5. Link up your blog post (not your blog). Link will stay open through Sunday, May 6th at 11:59 pm CST.

Color Your World is a monthly linky hosted by...

Jennifer @ Studio JRU

Stephanie @ Beyond Words Designs

Jen @ I Believe In Love