The Color Purple

Changes

in my WILD journey over the past year and a half i've experienced A LOT of changes. WAY too many to write down. the only thing that hasn't changed is where i live and what i drive. seriously. a change in my church home. a change in jobs. a change in friends. a change in the ways i think and believe. and a BIG change in my faith. most of my "change" has been internal.

TODAY....i'm changing in the physical. my hair will experience CHANGE! i know this seems like a little thing compared to what i've said above BUT it's not. i've wanted to do a WILD and CRAZY "do" to my hair since i was in high school but NEVER had the guts. it's ALWAYS been on my "bucket list" so after i told my hair dresser last week we started rummaging through pictures on the internet and it will be CHECKED off! my hair will have a new "do" by the end of the night. should i post a pic? we'll see -- got to see if i like it first!

Wet + Cold = Escaping to my Hideaway

Today's been one of those days that the need to leave the house goes FAR, FAR away even if I did need something. Wet, rainy, cold, nastiness...it's literally been raining ALL day long. On days like this I don't even want to get out of my PJ's. I was reading a new book I got this past week this morning all snuggled on my couch I had the grand thought of running away and escaping in my hideaway. My craft room is my hideaway and many times serves as my therapy room! I decided today I wasn't going to finish something I had started or waiting in the wings. I decided that I was going to start AND finish something NEW. My sweet friend, found here http://jenniferstewarts.blogspot.com/ inspires me ALL the time. We used to swap craft stories all the time but I don't see her or talk to her as much anymore as our paths in life have gone elsewhere, however, I follow her blog and keep up with all of her projects on Facebook. She travels teaching workshops at scrapping conventions and has written for magazines, etc...and a few years ago she led some classes for Donna Downey's Inspired. I had bought one of her projects and there it sat at the top of my closet so TODAY WAS THE DAY! I have to say that I didn't really follow Jen's instructions or do it the way she taught the class but she was my inspiration because I'm not sure I would have EVER come up with something like this on my own. What she had used to display pictures I decided to display several of my favorite scripture verses. I LOVED the Christmas lights being used to highlight it as a "soften" feature and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of my crafting today. It was very needed and timely.

Friends...

One of my most favorite things about serving at Gateway are the people that God has brought into my life. I have, in such a short time, created heart-friends for life. It's been so neat to watch how God has allowed each of us to share our stories, pray for each other, challenge each other, but above all enjoy each other. Last Saturday we were able to celebrate Ericka's birthday. She is, by far, one of the SWEETEST new girlfriends and is such a blessing to my heart. I wanted to MAKE something for her birthday and so I came up with a simple canvas project. I was so glad that she liked it and I have to say it brought a smile to my face when I saw that she hung it on her wall next to her desk at work! We had fun spoiling her at Cheesecake Factory that night...

Gateway's Imagine Christmas

God's AMAZING blessings have been pouring over me since October after I accepted a new position on staff at Gateway Church in Austin. I absolutely LOVE serving alongside the staff and leadership and joined the staff at such an awesome time with the largest Christmas Production they've ever done being planned. My position is Guest Services Manager and so I immediately began my first assignment of overseeing the ticketing for Imagine Christmas. It was quite the challenge but such a rewarding one. I had shot this short video to send to my lil' sis to give her a "preview" of what was to come when she came to see the performance. We "sold" (it was free) 15,000 tickets and had 12,000 in attendance. We also collected 11,000 pounds of food for our Feed the Community Ministry that we have every Wednesday at our McNeil Campus. I'm SO thankful for God leading me to Gateway to call my "church home" earlier last year. It makes life sweeter for it to come full circle and him opening the door for me to become part of the staff. Totally a God-thing!

Apple Family

It's been a L.O.N.G. road but officially at the end of this month everyone in my immediate family will own at least ONE thing with the Apple brand- my Dad is caving in for an iPhone! Several weeks ago I took this picture in Starbuck's. 2 1/2 years ago I decided to go back to school to finish my degree in Christian Counseling. The fall was my LAST semester before I graduated and I had a HUGE paper due for my proctorship of logged hours and describing psychological characteristics of those observations based on counseling theories. The Friday my paper was due I reigned in the help of my lil' sis and mid-way through the day Mom showed up to help edit my paper so I could get it turned in by midnight. It was hilarious because my Mom and I were both on Macs and my lil' sis was on an iPad. I think people thought it was hilarious! One thing's for sure....paper got done, edited, and turned in and I'M DONE!

WAHOO! These have been 2 1/2 very long years but I've graduated and was smiling from ear to ear when I hit the submit button one last time!

2011--ROCK my Socks OFF!

I honestly can't say how many times blogging has come to my mind the past year and even more the desire to sit down and actually blog-- but as you can see it simply didn't happen. My journey this past year has not been easy and while I wouldn't wish it on anyone else I've learned so much about myself and my relationship with my Heavenly "Daddy" is so much deeper because of it. I am humbled and awed at such a loving and caring Savior and he continues to amaze me with his goodness, grace, and mercy every morning when my feet hit our earthly ground for another day of living.

One of my goals for 2011 is to begin blogging again. Should be a simple thing to accomplish. Whether it's a craft I've done, places I've been, people I've enjoyed spending time with or something God is showing and teaching me. So, my first post is sharing some scripture that God has placed on my heart in my journey the past year. These served as daily and sometimes moment by moment reminders for me. I'm continuing to claim them and pray them over me for the new year and am excited to see what 2011 will hold for me and my journey with the Lord. In the first verse I emphasized in parenthesis and used "me, my, and I" to personalize the scriptures as well.

Ephesians 3:14-20 (NLT)
"When I think of all this, I fall to MY knees (with my face to the ground) and pray (plead, ask, make my requests known) to MY Father (Daddy), the Creator (the originator, maker, designer) of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his GLORIOUS (splendid, brilliantly beautiful), UNLIMITED (infinite, endless, countless and vast) resources he WILL empower (encourage, equip) ME with inner strength (courage, might, momentum) through his spirit. Then Christ will make his home (dwelling, take residence) in MY heart as I TRUST (rely, believe, lean) in him. MY roots will grow (increase, enlarge) down (DEEP) into God's love and keep ME strong. And may I have the power (know-how) to understand (grasp, comprehend, realize), as all God's people should, how WIDE, how LONG, how HIGH, and how DEEP his love is (for ME). May I experience (encounter, enjoy) the love of Christ, though it is TOO great (immense, extraordinary) for ME to understand fully. Then I will be made complete (whole, absolute, thorough) with ALL the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now ALL glory to God, who is able, through his mighty (strong, grand, massive) power at work within ME, to accomplish (fulfill, carry out) infinitely MORE than I might ask or think (or imagine)."

Lamentations 3:20-26; 31-32 (NLT)
"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over MY loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: THE FAITHFUL LOVE OF THE LORD NEVER ENDS! His mercies never cease. Great is HIS faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each (and EVERY) morning. I say to myself, "THE LORD IS MY INHERITANCE; therefore, I WILL HOPE IN HIM!" The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him....For NO ONE is abandoned by the Lord forever (not even ME). Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love (for ME)."

God's love letter to us is so personal. His Word speaks straight to our heart and our circumstances. God ALWAYS has a plan and his plan is AMAZING! My personal prayer for 2011 every day when my feet hit the ground is, "OK...God, I'm YOUR girl TODAY (and everyday). Use me, mold me, teach me, and send me to accomplish YOUR great things!"

What's yours? And what has God shown you in your life personally to challenge you through his Word? I encourage you to spend some time writing out a prayer and promise for 2011. It's a great reminder for us to grab when we need it most.
Here's to a GREAT, AWESOME, and AMAZING year!

First Round Top Project- DONE!

Well, we made our Spring Trip to Round Top and I have a few "projects" on the horizon but the first was conquering something for my Lil' Sis. Back in January when I spent several weeks with the Wells, Brooke started me on sewing. I kind of never really had the drive before and really was intimidated by this "machine." BUT....I've come to LOVE it! My Mom's sewing machine my Granny bought her years ago has made up permanent residence at my house and I have had fun with several different projects in the past few months.

My Lil' Sis really likes the crop knit shorts and in Round Top they were selling them with appliqued letters and when I saw the price I leaned over to Hillary and said, "I CAN MAKE THOSE!" Now...don't get me wrong. Sometimes things are worth spending the $$ because either I don't feel confident enough to make it OR it's just something I would NEVER try to conquer but for this I was UP for this challenge. After a trip to Hobby Lobby with my Mom and a few calls to Brooke with some questions I was ready to CONQUER the "machine" for this new project!

Off to Target to find Hill's crop shorts and then out with my Cricut! This is the first time I had ever tried cutting fabric and it worked WONDERFULLY! It didn't like cutting the Minky so I cut a pattern and used it instead. It's always fun when beginning a new project. I don't know about you but I always sit back and do the "What if I do this?" Or "What about that?" If you're not careful you'll "what if" yourself to DEATH! Or at least I do!

In my personal (and humble) opinion I think I did a REALLY good job! HA! I did learn a few things but for the most part I had figured out enough before I got started and it went really fast and simple! Here's the final product...I text a picture to my sister and she replied back with an "OHHH, those are SOOO cute!" So, we'll see when she puts them on and to the test if they really ARE!

A Very Special Easter...

ALL Easter's are special simply because of what it reminds us as Christians of Jesus' sacrifice but this year was EXTRA special for a very small reason. It was the first year that we were able to get a COMPLETE "family" picture! Many people know that the Day Family is very much a part of our own. It all started when this "girl" who looked and acted a lot like me showed up at Great Hills many, many years ago. I still remember ALL the stories like they were yesterday and smile at the bond that God created through that. Some of the kids to this day still get "Mom" and "Aunt Ha-ha" confused in pictures. Of course, that was pre-brunette and colored-blonde!

This FRIENDSHIP that grew into a very close knit FAMILY began a little over 15 years ago, however, it seems as if Angie and Tracey have been in our lives long before that. I couldn't have ASKED for a better Big Brother and Big Sister than they are. And I couldn't have PRAYED for 7 "nieces and nephews" such as the ones in this picture. I was at the birth at every single one of them and have always been the first to KISS them (Mom's tummy) before they entered God's amazing world. They give me more love than I need or want and my heart leaps with JOY every time I hear the words

"Aunt Ha-ha!"

My Reveal....

Several months ago I posted a picture of "something" I got from my last trip to Canton! It was such a great find for me and I was so excited to bring it home and try it out! It has now become a showcase of something that is definitely my trademark...NECKLACES! If you know me, you've seen my flashy, trashy, and sometimes CUEGLY (cute/ugly) things that adorn my neck! I'm

OBSESSED to say the least! Most of them have come from Canton, Round Top, Junior League Christmas Affair, and other places that I run across unique and different necklaces. I even have necklaces from Ecuador, Nicaragua and Africa! Most of them have stories...some don't. Some are bought just simply because! But...ONE thing is for sure...I love EVERY single one of them. Several years ago my parents bought me the neatest jewelry mirror that hangs on my wall. It is a full length mirror that "opens" into my plethera of necklaces hanging on hooks.

Sad to say I began to run out of room.

When I ran across this treasure in Canton it was one of those MUST HAVES!

I absolutely LOVE it!

Yesterday, it was time for Round Top! We went and had such a great day shopping. OF course, I helped grow my tree with 3 new necklaces. One would say, "How many necklaces does one need?" Well, for me...the number is ENDLESS! One may say, "Do you really wear ALL those necklaces?" And I would reply, "EVERY ONE!"

LOTS of Time in Ft. Worth with My Fam!

In January & February I spent a lot of time in Ft. Worth with my Wells family and it was totally and completely a God-ordained time for me! When I'm with Kent, Brooke, and the girls I can be "me!" I can stay in my PJ's all day, hang out on the couch, talk to Brooke, sew with Brooke and just get back in bed at night the same way I crawled out of it that morning! In between, I cook and play with the girls, talk and laugh with Kent, and feel loved and at home from all of them. I ALWAYS leave Ft. Worth feeling refreshed, relaxed and typically NOT ready to leave!

Brooke and I typically always go on our fabric hunt to

Downtown Dallasand this last time we found a great new place with

TONS of Minky Fabric in ALL different patterns. Our sewing project

was pillowcases and we had a BLAST! Once made we monogrammed away! Kent even begged for one...it was great! The girls LOVED theirs and Brooke is a sewing machine now making pillowcases for everyone!

The Sunday after the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony the Children's Ministry at First Euless challenged the kids to give a Gold Medal to someone who has taught them, loved them and is there for them to "honor" them. Abby came out of Sunday School and said, "Aunt Holly, I want to put this Gold Medal around your neck." Brooke and I weren't sure what she was doing besides just giving me this cheap, plastic medal on a ribbon until she explained what they learned that morning. It was such a sweet moment!

My heart was BLESSED!

I sure do love my Abby Girl!

SNOW in Texas and A LOT of it!

My goodness....there was 12 inches of snow in February and

it stayed around for 3-4 days! I had SO much fun with the girls

playing in it and just had to get a picture of me in my flip flops!

It was UNREAL driving to Ft. Worth with snow on the ground on both sides of IH-35!

While in Ft. Worth, Kent had his Rev Weekend (Disciple Now) and there were 475 kids and adults involved!

It was amazing and as his "lil sis'"

I absolutely LOVE watching my big bro in his element!

He is, by far, one of the MOST amazing Student Pastors EVER and

knows how to reach students in today's generation.

I'm so proud to sit back and watch him minister!

He's FUN! He's REAL! And he LOVES students enough to

tell them the truth in LOVE and kids lives are changed because of it!

Joshy being his co-hort is a blessing!

To watch Joshy "behind the scenes" always teaches me!

His techie-ness adds so much to ETHING they do and it's simply AMAZING! Kent's on the stage but Joshy is making everything "cool" happen with media!

I'm back and Noble's here, too!

Well, blogging friends....I'm back! I took a blogging break

since early December for nothing more than the choice of it. I really have been taking a break in life with a lot of things but I've truly missed blogging and especially reading everyone else's! God is doing amazing things in my heart and life and though I wouldn't say this has been all about enjoyment in this part of my journey it is where God has me and HE has me right where HE wants me! My biggest news since taking a break is the newest addition to my family. My puppy was born on December 30th, 2009 and he is by far the cutest thing EVER! I've had so much fun with him and he is the sweetest, most easy going puppy!

His name is Noble. I've always LOVED that name. There is a very special man in my life and is very much a "big brother" to me. His family is my "family" so it only seemed right to keep the name in the family! His middle name is Noble. His Mom's maiden name was Noble.

It's a very strong name and one that I knew I had to pass on to someone in MY family. It seemed only right to name him this. My only hope was that Peyton wouldn't be offended that I was naming my DOG after him...he wasn't! HA! Now, the only question is...IF God blesses my life with a son one day would it be too redundant to still name him "Noble?!?!" We'll see!

Here are some pix of Noble...

Canton Find...What is it???

SOOOOO....can you guess what this is???? It's unique....It's different but when I get to places like Canton, Round Top, and Wimberly my creative juices start flowing and sometimes I see something and say "WOW, I can do this...I can do that...what about this...what about that?"

This was that to me! Of course, after I "thought" up my idea I then "see" it a few booths down and think, "Oh, okay....well, I wasn't the first with that idea!" My plan is to let everyone hang for a few days on what this is and then I'll post the picture of what it becomes!

Birthday Blessings

Obviously, I'm playing some catch up from the past month of my life but I've learned something that will SO save my Blog life from being sucked dry! My friend, Marcus, shared his sweet wife's trick on blogging everyday! SHHHHH!!! don't tell! I had always admired the fact that Anna even had an extra 15 minutes in her day EVERY day to blog about their precious Abby Lu! But, I have now learned the secret...there is AMAZING post option of choosing what day and time you want your post to actually publish! WOW! My life has been forever changed! Of course, now I've probably put more pressure on myself to not have a month go by without posting because simply stated~ I HAVE NO EXCUSE!

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 32nd Birthday..

.and was EXTREMELY blessed to be able to share it with some of the MOST special people in my life. Kent, Brooke, and the girls happened to be in Austin and was able to come celebrate with us at Z-Tejas. My sister was also already in town for Thanksgiving break so she was able to be with us as well as my precious parents!

Having "family" to celebrate with makes it so much more special!

Creative Juices

Okay, so I was wasting time as part of my 'therapy' looking at the blogs that I absolutely LOVE to spend time stalking and came across such a neat idea...Modge Podge Shoes!

I was sharing the idea with Johnna and Amy one day at work and Amy says if I bring you a pair of Avenly's shoes will you experiment with them? Of course, I said SURE!

SO....here goes it...the before and the after...

I learned A LOT after doing the first shoe so the second one went SO much easier. A few weeks back I learned how to make the posies off of someone's blog and decided to add them to the front of the shoe. I bought myself a pair to try next!

Michalik's = Zimbabwe

I have been blessed by having MANY precious, precious people in my life that I'm beyond BLESSED to call "friends" but the Michalik's are more than that! Charlie is one of my greatest heroes and Jennifer is one of my greatest prayer warriors in life. To have sat back and watched our Sweet Jesus work in their lives has been a true JOY in the JOURNEY to say the least!

I left my heart in Africa nearly 8 years ago and when God laid it on the Michalik's heart to give up every modern day convenience they had, pack up their children, and move to Africa to provide clean water through wells for the people of Africa my heart was definitely part of this with them! It has been the neatest (and sometimes scary) journey to watch and see God at work. He did some AMAZING things using them to further HIS Kingdom in Sudan. AND He still has some AWESOME things planned despite them having to leave that country. SO blessed they have been to come "home" and be refreshed and renewed to head out on a new part of their journey....BACK to Africa!

It has been a sweet Jesus journey to pray alongside them and "see" where God is sending them and what He is doing through them. I'm SO excited to sit back and watch what HIS plan is for them. As they board that plane on December 10th I pray for safety and for God to go AHEAD of them to lay out ALL their provisions. God knows what's BEST and NEEDED and HE is their ultimate "Father." My biggest prayer is that RIGHT at this very moment God has just the right friends for Abbu and Hunter. I'm MORE than confident God is going to bless ALL their socks off in just the RIGHT way!

I love the ENTIRE family and was even able to spend some quality time with

Abbu this past weekend.

We created frames for her closest friends as prayer reminders for her to be able to give them. Such a great way to begin teaching the youngest about how BIG God's world is and that they can be a part of this journey! Thank GOD for Facebook and Skype...it makes HIS world seem small even in the HUGE realm of them being across an ocean in another Continent!

Missing My Boys...

Barrett and Brock...

These boy simply just make me smile.

When I think of them a smile resonates on my face.

When I look at a picture it reminds me of a memory, I smile.

When I step on a Lego that has "mysteriously" showed up after all these months, I smile.

When I'm in a store and I see something they would like and can't pass it up, I smile.

When I hear their voice on my phone, I smile.

When I "see" their faces on the computer when we iChat, I smile.

When I get off a plane and see them running to me, I smile.

When I hear them call me "Aunt Holly," I smile

I absolutely LOVE that these boys have ALL these ways (and MANY more) of making me smile!

Happy Birthday Brock!

Today is one of "my kiddos" birthdays and I'm sad I wasn't there to celebrate with him! BUT...let me tell you even though I wasn't there did NOT mean that I did not SPOIL him! A Birthday Box complete with a birthday sign, balloons popping out, noise makers, birthday confetti, and LOTS of prizes were mailed to Stone Mountain, Georgia this past week and on Friday my precious Brockie was able to ENJOY his birthday box!

This sweet boy just simply makes me SMILE. His little personality is about the sweetest thing EVER! He still cuddles and loves with you (which I've told him he CANNOT outgrow). He is the GREATEST little helper. His sweet spirit is CONTAGIOUS. He loves to PLAY with his brother. He says the sweetest prayers at night when he goes to bed. LOVES friends and gets along with EVERYONE! His little voice when he talks gets me EVERY time. And my PROUDEST achievement is the fact that Aunt Holly got the Hook 'Em in his blood BEFORE his parents moved him away from the greatest state EVER! He absolutely LOVES those horns and even yesterday, Mara told me he was helping cheer them to victory over OU! I cannot believe he is 4 years old now and much less believe that I've been blessed with watching him GROW into what he's becoming. I'm confident even now at 4 years old he will make some girl an AMAZING husband one day!

God's got GREAT plans for this little man!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROCKIE!

Aunt Holly sure does LOVE YOU!

Crafting and a GREAT Movie!

Natalie and I ENJOYED being creative together!

She was working on a CUTE Modge Podge clipboard while I made some more Fabric Flowers (a.k.a. Posie Pins). The GREATEST part was the movie...The Proposal! We had fun crafting, eating homemade peach ice cream and LAUGHING at one of the BEST movies EVER!

LOVE me some Sandra Bullock AND Ryan Reynolds!

ORANGE is in honor of the Horns victory today over OU! HOOK 'EM!

LATE...sleepless night!

I've been having A LOT of LATE, sleepless nights lately. One thing my Mom always taught me was to NEVER "lay around." Whether it's during commercials or in bed at night...because "there's ALWAYS something you can do." Her words ring true and tonight I've been productive in my scrap/craft room. I've been re-organizing some things and I'm nearly done.

One of my dearest friends, Johnna, keeps wearing this cutesy little flower brooch. EVERY time I see her with it on I have this urge to make one! The other day I found several blogs that had tutorials and so I watched several. I also am working on a Swag for my house and so last weekend I went shopping for fabric. I absolutely LOVE looking and shopping for fabric. One of my MOST favorite things to do when I'm with my other dear friend, Brooke, is to fabric shop! The colors, the schemes, the patterns...it makes me want to learn to sew but NOT really! Ha!

There are so many no-sew things out there now and that's what I'm all about! However, I can sew a mean button on to ANYTHING you need me to! ANYWAY...here's my first attempt on a flower brooch. I learned quite a bit and am anxious to make my second...third...fourth! I've seen them put on headbands for little girls, hats, bags, and dresses/jackets.

What a NEAT accessory!