The Power of a Word

I have spent the last hour or so reading through some different blogs.
I actually found quite a few new blogs to read last night that have been very encouraging to me. So, when I logged into Blogger today, I had a lot of blogs to read. Two of them in particular stuck out to me...for two very different reasons.

The first was this one...and it broke my heart.
Jeannett is a beautiful person with a story that will make any heart feel for her. She is the one that started the fundraiser for Cliffy. She has a huge heart for other people...and now her huge heart is so broken. Oh, it makes me so sad...


The second blog I read today was this one...and it made me do a lot of thinking.
I just started reading Heather's blog last night. I love that she is super creative, a wonderful mother, and has a huge heart for God. One of the things she put in that blog brought tears to my eyes:

He wants me to love that my life doesn't look the way I had
planned, so that my heart can let go of what it's still
hanging onto. He wants me to love the broken and
crumpled up parts of myself so that I can love myself and
the world without hesitation. He wants me to love the
person in front of me, even if it's a person that's afraid of
me and my loss. He wants me to love like Him.
(to read about her loss, click here)

I need to learn to love that my life doesn't look the way I planned it...because in my heart, I am still hanging onto some sadness and some pain for what happened or didn't happen. I need to love the broken and crumpled parts of myself so that I can truly love myself and those around me. I definitely need to LOVE like Jesus loves.


Oh man...


The power of a word.


Zero.


Love.


They are simple words...but have such complex meanings.

My Creations

Here are the pics of the jewelry I made yesterday.

This one was actually the second one I made and it came together so easily.

A close up of the beads near the top

The next set

And the last set and bottom section

I LOVE this clasp!

Doesn't it look so cute?

This is the first necklace I made. I really liked these red beads as soon as I saw them at the store.

What the sets look like

And the bottom section

Another toggle clasp

So easy to put together

I took these to show the length

I am hoping to experiment with chains next time I make a necklace. There are so many endless possibilities and I can't wait to try some of them out!



My next project to tackle this week/weekend is putting up more pictures. I bought a Family frame a few months back, and we got a multi-opening collage frame for Christmas. I printed all the pictures for both and picked them up from Costco today. Now the pictures just need to go in them so I can hang them up! Can't wait!

Creative Side...Fed

I spent the majority of my day doing something I've just learned that I love.
I wrote a blog a little over a week ago about something I've been wanting to do lately (you can read it here).


I got to do it today!!


I made jewelry with some of the girls from the college group (Oh man...this could seriously be a dangerous hobby for me). I could have spent all day in Joann picking out different beads...and I hear Michael's has an even BIGGER selection! I bought some beautiful beads, gold and silver nylon wire, crimp beads, and gold and silver toggle clasps. We spent over 2 hours creating some beautiful masterpieces. I made two necklaces (I will upload pics tomorrow. The hubby is sleeping and the necklaces are hanging up in our bedroom). I was extremely happy with how they turned out. I have some other beads that I bought that I didn't use that I am already dreaming up ideas for.
It was so relaxing and enjoyable for me. I found much joy in it. It made me feel like I was fulfilling a huge need in my life. I suppose that life test may have been right all along.


On a side note, I am really excited about some fun things coming in the near future. I have mixed feelings about my birthday...but I think that's just normal. I always feel a little happy and a little sad when it's time for another birthday. This year has to beat last year, though (you can read that blog here). But, there's a trip to Disneyland in the near future, our third wedding anniversary, retreats, and so many other wonderful things to look forward to. It's going to be a good year...and it's just getting started.

Sunshine and Waves

Yesterday was a very foggy, dreary day.
Fortunately, we had plans to meet up with some good friends in Santa Cruz...and it was bright and sunny there! We hung out around the boardwalk, walked to downtown and ate at Pizza My Heart, walked along the beach and the length of the pier, and ended our day with some yummy Marianne's ice cream. It was a glorious way to spend MLK Day.

Waiting in Neptune's Kingdom for Emily and Phil to arrive

Gotta take a picture of the husband in front of the pirate ship :)

We took this same picture when we were in Santa Cruz in the summer

This guy is just too creepy looking

Oh yeah. He's pretty BA.

Some of the arcade games

Our new shoes!!

Ahh...sunshine and waves

The boardwalk from the beach

Emily and Phil

I was SO wishing I'd worn flip flops at this point

Yep. They're manpanions.

We've been friends for 11 years!

Taken on the pier

I find paddle surfing fascinating. I thought they'd have to have foot straps or something...but no...they are just standing on the boards with their bare feet!

It was a wonderful day of fun! We were so glad to finally spend some time with Emily and Phil!

A Fun Adventure

Sometimes you just need to do something out of the ordinary.
Saturday was one such day.
I actually had been planning on this whole big fun day for Josh and I for a couple of days. We were going to go to Knight's Ferry and take pictures, and go to the old drive-in A&W in the area. Unfortunately, it was really overcast on Saturday, so we didn't end up going to Knight's Ferry. We did, however, go to the A&W, which Josh had never been to. We brought the new camera along and took some fun pictures.

I think this may be the original sign

Waiting to order our food!

The cute husband

The menu

I love that they serve the root beer in a frosted mug

I am not a huge root beer fan, but there is something about A&W root beer that makes me so happy

Bottoms up!

This was a fun way to spend an afternoon!