The Van Wynsberg, Images, Happenings, & Life Expressions.

NYC; Concrete Jungle

2012-01-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures from our trip to NYC.

This trip was definitely a trip of a lifetime for me.

I had never been to NYC before. It was quite a culture shock ;)

I'm thankful we got to experience and do all that we did while we were there.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

Enjoy!

[ Previous NYC post HERE ]

Here we are waiting to meet up with Katie.

Clearly we got bored.

This is the ball that they used to use for the NYeve celebration.

This was the braclet that allowed the magic to happen.

Hanging out, waiting to go on stage.

In the green room, with our silly hats on. These were required.

Time Sqaure. The evening had just begun.

Katie and I while she was working.

Katie gettin it done. ;)

Lady Gaga being dropped off.

Julianna Rancic interviewing this lady who had survived cancer while pregnant.

Getting mic'ed up.

I'm not one to go gaga over celebs, really! But I had to get some shots since they were so close. ;)

Katie and her crew working.

Happy New Year! We hung out in the green room between sets.

These next three pictures crack me up. Anytime anyone wanted to get a picture in from of this ball, a certain worker insisted on taking the picture and as he did he gave you detailed instructions on how you needed to stand. He placed us just like this. Had us touch the ball, look at it, and kiss. ;)

I was trying not to laugh at this pose he had us doing. He was very serious about them too.

Notice that he instisted Kevin still be touching the ball while we kissed. lol

Drake.

Us, with some of the other people we were on stage with.

Silo Green.

Our New Years Eve kiss when the ball dropped! xx

Katie and I marveling at the crowd.

See the person wearing the big white hat/mask. That's Lady Gaga.

Only a tiny portion of the crowd.

Dancing after the ball dropped.

So I guess we did make it on TV. ;)

Kev & Kate being silly at Anthro.

Enjoying the streets of NYC.

At the Gramercy Theater to enjoy church at NYC Hillsong!

We had to wait in line to get it. We just made it in, and we were early too!

Hanging out, eating after church.

Ready to go see the Rockettes! A dream come true for me! :)

Thanks to this guy!

I documented this, because this was my first time in a NY taxi ;)

Radio City

We bought the biggest bag of candy you could buy. The lady at the cash register said we were the first ones to purchase this much candy. We weren't sure if we should feel embarassed or proud. ;P

I tried getting some shots of the Rockettes. I don't think I was suppose to be taking pictures. ;P

Loved the performace! We were shocked, because they actually told the true Christmas story in the play. Jesus and all! :)

I think this was our last night in NYC.

Dessert from Crumb. Delicious!

Last night with this beautiful chic. She made this trip amazing. I Love you dear friend!

{ HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2012 }

Happy New Year :: From NYC

2011-12-31T08:51:00.000-08:00

Kevin & I are spending our New Year in NYC this year!
:: Here we are on our way ::

NYC on New Years is actually something I've NEVER wanted to do. Ironic huh?
Well, Kevin and my best friend Katie who is a PR rep in NYC surprised me with a trip here to see the Rockefeller Rockettes! Something I've ALWAYS wanted to do.
It just so happened that this trip falls in line with experiencing the New Year here too!

Katie's company is a big part of hosting/putting on the new year celebration in Time Square.
She personally is in charge of the "Revelers" (among other things, that girl works more than anyone I know), which is what Kevin and I are and will be doing tonight on stage (reveling).
I don't know that we will actually make it on TV, but NBC and ABC will be filming the stage we're on.
We'll be on the Nivea Kiss Stage along with Bill & Giuliana Rancic & other performers.
We'll be representing Nivea to the fullest. ;)

Tomorrow we plan on visiting Hillsong NYC.
This I am SUPER excited about. I hope we get in. I heard you have to arrive early,
and even then it's difficult to get it. We'll see. :)

Monday, I'm not sure what we're doing yet.
Tuesday, we'll be seeing the Rockettes!! Front row too!
A true dream come true! :)

I have to admit, so far this has been overwhelming since the second we arrived in Jersey City.
This is my first time in such a large city (except for Paris, but Paris is amazing)...
...this concrete jungle on the other hand is different. Way different, in my eyes.
Last night when we arrived into Jersey my anxious spirit kicked into high gear.
I had a rough night of sleep, that is if I got any at all. I'm really praying and hoping that my nerves calm down, which they have a little this morning. Pray for me!!

Here's some shots from the trip so far.

:: Here we are at Katie's house in Jersey City. Smallest sink ever ::

:: Sink in our Hotel in NYC. It's basically a tub ::

:: Dunks being silly with the hotel goods ::

:: This hotels decor is amazing. Can you tell? ::

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve!!

:: Cheers to 2012 ::

From Old :: To New

2011-12-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Since having a break from school and a few days off of work I was able to tackle some projects that I'd been putting on the back burner.

Here are some items that were old and busted (not really busted though), but turned new (to me) when given the right paint, fabric, & TLC. :)

:: Before ::

This lamp was given to me by my Director.

She had it in her office for years, and so did the Director before her.

:: After ::

I had a ton of sample paints leftover from redoing the guest room project, so I was able to pick one and use it on the lamp. Those little sample paints can go a long way!

I wanted to give this lamp some color in order to cheer up my office at work. I feel like theirs not a whole lot I can really do right now to make the office my style, so this lamp is a good start.

I bought a new lamp shade from Ross, and added the lace to it.

:: Before ::

Bought this mirror at a garage sale over the summer (can't remember the price).

I've been waiting for the right moment to paint and use it. I decided to paint it the same color as the lamp and place it in my office on the book shelf. I love having mirrors in spaces, so it worked out well. :)

:: After ::

:: Before ::

I love finding chairs and reupholstering them! If I had more time (or no job) I think I'd really look into making this my job. I just love it. It's a easy way to make a piece of furniture unique and your own in your home. Anyone can do it. It's really simple when you have the right piece.

Bought this chair at a garage sale over the summer (again, can't remember the price).

I haven't done anything to the paint job on the chair, it came like this. I do think eventually I might touch it up, but for now I think it's just fine.

Fabric from JoAnn's

:: After ::

This is NOT the best seat job I've ever done. I was in a hurry and just wanted to get it done .

Either way it turned out, and I like it. :)

Here's the aftermath of a night filled with projects. Feels good to be done with them!

Painted a lamp
Added lace to a lamp shade
Painted a mirror
Reupholstered the chair
Added fabric to a frame

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

A friend on Facebook (Peter Stern) posted this as his status, and I thought it was really great.

I ditto his request.

"God decided to do the last thing we tend to do... He humbled Himself. He exposed Himself to danger, poverty and imperfection by coming in the body of a helpless baby to our world. May the story become more than a story to me; let my life echo it."

Guest Room

2011-12-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

I'd been wanting to update our guest room for awhile, but never really found the motivation to get it done. This past September my friend Katie was planning to visit me for the first time in Virginia. So of course I HAD to get the room done by then! I was determined, so I set out and worked hard on the room before she arrived. Below is a series of before and afters within the guest room.

For starters here's some of the inspiration that I found on Pinterest for the room.

I knew I wanted to make this room lighter and more cheery.

A room that would one day (Lord willing) transfer well into a nursery.

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Here are some old BEFORE Pictures of the room.

I had taken better/more before shots, but can't seem to find them. :(
This room was originally "suppose" to be an office, music, lounge room.
Not so much. It quickly became more of a catch all, messy room.

I was having a lot of trouble finding the exact color I wanted for the walls.

Can you tell...
I ended up picking the one on the very top right.
It's a very beautiful color.
It looks more blue in some lights and then more green in others.

I made these four pillows for the room.

The turquoise one was made out of kitchen towels from Target.
All the other fabrics were from JoAnn's.

I was wanting to buy a new desk and bookshelf for the room, but after some looking

I decided it would be more cost effective to try and paint the furniture.

It actually turned out much better than I anticipated!

:: Before ::

:: After ::

:: Owl painted white ::

:: Before and afters of the globe ::

:: New sewing desk. It's not an ideal desk for sewing, but it does the job for now ::

:: Kevin found this chair at the dump when dropping off our garbage. Nice! ::

:: Bought these tins from Ikea awhile ago ::

:: Mirror painted white ::

Kevin found this frame at the dump too. He's quite the lucky guy!
I need to send him there more often.
:: Mirror and frame before ::

:: I was shocked to find this chandelier for $5 at a garage sale ::

:: Before ::

:: After ::

Here's the before and after of the knight I placed over the bed.

This was given to me by some friends. It was originally in there house when they bought it,

but they didn't want it, so they gave it to me. :) So kind of them!
Can I pretend this is the Van Wynsberg Coat of Arms?

:: Before ::

::After ::

The flowers, and Helvetica saying was inspired by Pinterest.
The picture is from my grandmother.
As a little girl I liked to pretend that the girl in the picture was me.
Can I still pretend? ;P

:: Flowers and vase from Michaels ::

Picture from my Grandma on my mothers side.

It was originally given to me in a frame,
but I took it out of the frame and did something else with it in my house.
I plan to reframe the picture though.

I'd like to eventually get a white bedspread for this room.

My dream bedspread is this one in white from Anthropologie

I'd also like to add some sort of headboard.
Not sure what yet, but one thing at a time. :)

:: Final project (mostly) complete! ::

:: Rug from Ikea ::

:: Curtains from Target ::

Pictures Taken...

2011-12-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I had the awesome privilege of getting our picture taken by Sam Stroud Photography.

:::: Sam is talented and excellent at what he does ::::

^______^

One thing that we really appreciated about Sam was that he gave us a lot of direction while shooting the photos. It's easy to feel lost and not know what to do or how to "pose" when getting pictures taken, but Sam was all over it. He was helpful the whole time which made the whole process that much more enjoyable and relaxing.

Thanks Sam for the great pictures!

:: Here are some of our favorites ::

Old Poetry Throw Back

2011-11-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

I have been the WORST blogger this year. :( This makes me kind of sad, becuase I love to blog. It's a great way to track what's going on in your life. I've been blogging since LiveJournal was popular, and have been writing since I was a little girl. So for me to not write/blog is strange. I have no time for blogging though. :( I think once I'm done with school I'll get back to doing it more consistently. I miss documenting my thoughts, crafts, and life. There's a season for everything, right? :) For now I'll blog when I can and enjoy other blogs along the way.

Since I don't have time to post new pictures and write new thoughts, I thought that I'd share some of my old poetry. I used to write ALL THE TIME. It became my escape when I was a little girl.

I still remember writing my first poem in 2nd or 3rd grade, and I still have it memorized too. From that day forward writing was me, it was my life. It was a way of escape when I had no other. I've never been good with grammar, but I really dodn't care because free writing is not about that to me.

To me writing is about an expression, not perfection.

So here's a throw back to an old poem I wrote in 2004. I wrote this poem dedicated to guys waiting for their bride to be. It describes how "waiting" for your bride is a lot like how God is waiting to return to His bride. So often, guys (& girls) don't enjoy their single years, and forget to recognize the beauty in the current season. I felt it was fitting to share this one since Kevin and I just returned from a marriage retreat.

**Again, I'm not the best with grammar, so if you're an English major or an amazing 4.0 writer, you will probably spot errors in my writing, so move along if that will drive you crazy. ;)

Tasting Heaven

You see, waiting is what makes for the beauty.
Gods preparing her for you in many ways.
In ways you can't quite fathom, comprehend or explain.

As passion churns and inside fiery flames of love seem to burn
Take this time to see...
Allow God to show you what his heart must feel like,
as He waits to come back for you and me.
We are his bride to be.

He burns with love towards us
A passionate flame-
-one, only He can tame.

We are His desire,
but instead He chooses to wait.
Knowing preparation must take place.

This is also true for you.
That beautiful bride being prepared for her groom.

So as you wait for her
You get a taste of what heaven must be,
... of what its like as God waits for you and me.

I also thought I'd share an old picture of Kevin and I when we were dating. Tee-hee...

Francis Chan

2011-10-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I respect and look up to Francis Chan? I don't think I have.

Well I do. I don't have time to give the details as to why (currently on lunch at work), but if you watch this you would understand.

[ I tried to figure out how to stream it to my blog, but couldn't so here's the link]

Think Hard, Stay Humble: The Life of the Mind and the Peril of Pride

Guess what!?!?

2011-10-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

I get a week off of school after this Friday! Not sure if you realize how awesome this is...rarely do I get a break like this! ;)

Do you know what that means?? I'm planning to blog! Can't wait!!

For now, I would like to share one of my new favorite bands with you:

-- SERYN --

I was introduced to them at the Catalyst Conference a week ago.

- They are the shiz -

.Enjoy.

Reupholstered :: Chair

2011-09-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Kevin & I spotted this beauty [chair] at a friends yard sale,

but to our dismay someone had already snagged it up.

:: but :: Little did we know it would find it's way to us!

Once my friend got the chair home, she decided that she didn't want it.

She knew we had been eying it so she sold it to us for $8!

Thank you Amanda [for originally selling the chair] and Nicole [for deciding to sell to us].

We love this chair!

:: This has been my biggest reupholstering project yet ::

I love how it turned out and how well the pattern and colors go in this nook area.

.items for project.

White furniture paint

[arms & legs; 3 coats]

Reupholstering fabric; Jo-Ann's

[2 1/2 yards]

Decorative nails; Jo-Ann's

[each one individually placed]

Scissors

Hammer
::
Staple gun

:: Before ::
She was pretty even before I touched her.
[yes, I am strangely referring to the chair as a she]

:: After ::

Not bad for a first try, eh?

Moss & Vases : Chair & Foyer

2011-08-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind around our house lately. I've had so many projects going, and no time to post about them. I just started 3 classes (while working full time), so it's a wonder I have any time for extra craftastic things. I've been working hard at getting my homework done early on in the week, so I have the weekend to play, lets hope I can keep the momentum going. ;)

MOSS & VASES

{ DIY }

I've been wanting to add a little something more to our fire mantel. Something of color, but not pictures, because I have enough of them in that part of the house. While I was searching Michael's it all started to come together.

[ Items for the project ]

Two small clear vases

($1.49? each, Michaels)

Black spray paint
(I used semi-gloss)

Two round foam balls

(not sure the actual name, Michaels)

1 package of Moss

(I found the most beautiful viberant green moss at Michaels)

Hot glue gun

I spray painted the vases black (forgot to get a before shot of them),

then hot glued the moss to the foam balls

& voila!

{True brightness of the moss - no photo editing - Isn't it pretty!}

CHAIR & FOYER

{DIY}

I purchased this chair from a garage sale for $5.

It's very sturdy chair, but needed some TLC.

Their is not much of a wall to put a table or anything in our foyer,

so this chair was the perfect answer to what I had been wanting to put in the foyer for awhile.

I added some little touches with two frames I spray painted, and one of them I chalked.

The branches and vase is what I had their previous to the chair and other items added.

[ Items for the project ]

Chair

Fabric

(bought from Jo-Ann's)

Staple gun

Paint for the body of the chair

Vintage frame

Framed chalkboard

White spray paint

Chalkboard paint

Voila!

{ I love this fabric. It's vintage, and I like how the characters lives each tell a different story }

{ I might continue to add to this wall, but for now this will do! }

DIY: Master Bedroom Wall

2011-08-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely I have been putting things up on the walls in my home. This has been a turtle moving process for me. One room at a time. It's been like putting together a 5000 piece puzzle; you work on it, then you quit for a while, but then you work on it again, and then quit again, and so on. Unlike a puzzle, money is involved in decorating your home which has been a factor in the delays. Oh and TIME too, never enough of that. ;)

Thankfully, summer has helped with the money thing. I've been able to find frames and different house things for great prices at garage sales. I keep thinking about how I used to wonder why in the world my mom loved garage sailing. I now understand, which ultimately means I'm getting old(er), or how about just more thrifty...yeah I like that better. I have to say Lynchburg has been full of great finds this summer. I am throughly addicted. Seriously. Today for example, got up at 6am and didn't make it home till noon. I scored 3 awesome vintage chairs for 20$, one globe, two vintage necklaces, a large mirror, an old suitcase which has this crazy awesome purple inside, some other vintage wall assessories (DIY to come with all this), and I think that's it. I believe the grad total was around 35-40$. Score!

Anyways, if you don't garage sale you should. And if you don't DIY projects, you should. Their easy, inexpensive, and end up being unique to fit you and your own style.

OK enough of me talking, and onto some pictures!

{ Before }

Please ignore Kevin's grumpy face. He was being silly. ;p

Oh and, yes, we do still have the plastic stuff from the winter up on our window. Not sure why.

{ Had to slip these pictures of my loves into this post;

they clearly would not get out of the way when I was taking before pictures. ;) }

{ Our babes }

{ Having some fun with his buddy }

{ After }

Painted all the frames except for the two with pictures in them.

{ Small mirror: from white to black }

{ Picture frame: turned chalk board }

{ Put this together with fabric, and scrapbook pieces }

{ Owl: from gold to black }

{ Made 3 of the flowers on here, other three were hair pieces turned decor }

{ Mirror: from white to black }

{ Complete }

Finally something. I might add more stuff, but for now it will do!

Wanted to mention...
The reason I chose to add purple shades to the frames is because the other wall in our bedroom is purple(ish) [not sure what color you would really call it].
You can check it out in this post, from when we originally painted it:
::CLICK::

The Adventures of Leonidas...

2011-08-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Leo knows how busy mommas area is at work lately, so he got up early, dressed in his finest shirt, and offered to come help key some transcripts today. Here he is asking, "Ready? Ready to go?" Unfortunately, I had to break his little servant heart, and tell him no go on helping me at work. I gently explained that having no thumbs would cause issues when trying to type. Poor buddy.

Leo was a little sad when I broke the news to him. Here he is holding back tears.

But after a few minutes of gathering his emotions and accepting the fact that work was not in his cards that day, he then chirped right back up and became his happy self ones again.

This is Leonidas Winston Peabody and he is happy to help, love, and give kisses all the time. :)

I would hire him.

Rolling.Projects.Hair.

2011-06-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, I'm pretty much obsessed with this song by Adele.

I keep playing it over and over, and I think Kevin might kick me at some point.

I haven't been up on the blogging much this year but I have had my reasons.

1. I just don't have time. [work, school, church, husband, life... you know]

2. It was becoming too consuming, and was taking my focus off of God and putting it too much on me. Sometimes I'm just not good at balancing it all. Relate?

3. Been focusing my attention on my school work. I'm trying hard to finish strong. Too much internet/blogging tends to keep me from studying like I should.

That's about it. I would like to at least try to blog something once a week becuase I really do enjoy the outlet. Who knows. We'll see where the tide rolls.

Just wanted to share two small projects I recently completed.

Bought this vintage mirror at a friends yard sale. Spray painted it white and ended up putting it in my kitchen. Love it!

.Before.

.After.

For this one I forget to take a before picture of the outer frame. It was brown, and given to me by my grandmother years and years ago. The center mirror piece I found at the DAV.

I had spray painted these a few weeks ago, and have been procrastinating at putting them up in our bathroom. But when I came home today from getting my hairz did, I was pleasantly surprised that Kevin had taken it upon himself and put them up for me. Thanks babe! ;)

Oh, I should mention that this bathroom of ours has been a work in progress for about 5 yrs now. We JUST bought a sink for it and the faucet should be here Wed.! I'm stoked. It will be nice to not have to wash my hands in the kitchen sink after using this bathroom. ;)

.Before.

.After.

What do you think of the color of this bathroom? This is the 3rd color I've painted it, and I'm still not over the moon for it. ;/ I think at this point I'm just going to leave it though. I was going for a more mint color, but it turned out a little more blue than I wanted. Oh well, it has a clean feel to it, so that's good.

Me, getting my hair died and cut. I got a good two inches off, and it's still this dang long.

It was getting out of control. I was starting to feel very Amish with such long hair. Kevin was freaking out about me taking two inches off. I had to put my foot down, and get what I knew it needed. It's still long, but now feels so much lighter. love love.

Here's my hair after getting it cut [above & below]. See, still long. No need to fret.
{I was trying on dresses at J.Crew for fun. Didn't buy one. I did buy a pair of jeans though, and let me tell you, they fit so amazing! I've never tried on a pair of their jeans before. These ones were on sale for 25$, which is good for J.Crew, so I HAD to buy them. I haven't been fitting in my jeans lately [[[depressing]]] so it felt good to find a comfortable pair.}

Kev's a stud and a trooper. He HATES to shop for clothes. We've been on a vest hunt, and we seriously stopped in every store in the Burg trying to find the right one, and he handled it well... though he stayed silent most the time, I knew he was trying hard to hang in there and shop with me.
Here we are at J.Crew trying to find one.

Love this guy.
{No vest found yet. Man hunt it still ON.}

Oh, we did find this gem at Good Will though. Definitely hot.

.Nolan.

2011-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Good friends of ours little boy Nolan had his first birthday this past weekend. It was definitely a lot of fun and it ranked party of the year in my book for sure! ;)

Thought I would share with you the preciousness of Nolly-Poly-Pants.

Carter (Nolan's dad did all the camera work)
{http://carterwingfield.com}

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/25461210

Feather & Belle

2011-06-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Music I'm currently devouring.

Feather & Belle - Walk in Gutters from Feather & Belle on Vimeo.

http://www.featherandbelle.com/

Summer Time Wreath

2011-05-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Check out my new summer time wreath! Believe it or not the wrapping of the yarn around the wreath foam took much longer than making the actual flowers.

I'm not normally a fan of butterflies, but I thought that these cute black and white ones suited the wreath well. I found them at AC Moore. Also butterflies are a good representation of summer so hey, I went with it. :)

I *LOVE* summer. And now my door loves it too. ;P

Mother like daughter.

2011-05-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

So it dawned on me today that I have my mothers genes [obviously]. I remembered today that used to make fun of her and get annoyed with her when she would call her girlfriends "girl". It pretty much drove me crazy. It just felt weird, and I couldn't understand why she would call other women "girl".

Well I am now my mother. Yep. It's happened. I've hit that point of becoming like her. The title "girl" is no longer a frustrating annoyance, but instead a common way of addressing the women around me. It's in my DNA, but took 20 odd years to come out!

Either way, if you hate being called "girl" I apologize in advance.

It's just funny how mindsets change over time. I'm definitely not the snotty high schooler I once was. I can now own up to the fact that calling my other lady friends "girl" is actually a term of enderment.

So shout out to you mom! You were right all along. ;0)

Pillows, Dogs, & Friday Nights...They go together right?

2011-03-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

So I have this thing for pillows. I've made quite a few of em', probably because they're quite easy to make.

Fact about me: I prefer making pillows with zippers. I truly believe it's easier to make them with zippers. If you want to learn I can show you how.

Anyways, I recently bought some plain gray pillows from Ikea, and decided that they needed some glaming up [well one so far]. I was bored last night [Friday] while Kevin did homework [per-usual].

It's very relaxing to just create. I tuned into Pandora [Lady Gaga selection; which led to other awesome songs] and went at it.
As I was crafting and singing [well if that's what you call it coming from me <--NOT the next American Idol] some of the songs made me really wish I was out dancing. Do you ever just want to dance, dance, and dance some more? I did, but instead I had to let the energy flow through my fingers; which was fine.

**Can we please have a dance party, someone? Any takers? I'd be down.

Here's the {before} of the boring ol' gray pillow:

Heres the {afters} of the gray pillow

[WARNING: I got picture happy with the after shots of this pillow]:

All handmade pillow accents.

This pretty little bow wasn't too tough to make, I wasn't sure where I was going with it when I first started crafting it, but then this came into being. I'll take it!

*Kev dislikes the bow on the pillow...gerr. I highly value his opinion, and were usually on the same page, so I'm finding it difficult to stick with what I like when he doesn't. Anyone else married and have this dilemma?

I really need a girls opinion around here sometimes. Or I need to just learn to be confident in MY OWN opinion.

All the fabric used for the pillow accents.

My workspace after crafting.
It looks like something exploded.

An explosion of craftiness.

I made this pillow [below] months ago. I don't believe I ever posted pictures of it though. Well here she is. I stitched the flowers and sun design on it with my sewing machine. I had plans to make two of them but have yet to finish the second one [though I did start it!..months ago]. ;)

Glance at the back. *Zipper on bottom.

Leonidas & Bailey recently had their hair chopped off, so they've been extra cold [they're used to having long hair]. Being the nice mom that I am I bought them some sweaters to keep warm. They have doggy sweaters on sale at Wal-Mart for $2.50. Deal.
[& YES, I am that crazy person who calls herself "mom" when referring to my relationship with my dogs. I can't help it, I just love them]

It's a hard life being a dog.

I especially like how Leo skeezes up the windows all the time. ;)

I'm thankful the Lord created animals. They're a blessing.

Oh & I really hope I'm as spunky and free-living as these ladies 40 or so years from now.

Before and After...

2011-03-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not the first to spray paint something, and I'm sure I won't be the last. It's amazing what paint can do. I never knew how much of an impact paint has until Kevin and I purchased our house 4 or so years ago. Paint has definitely transformed our home.

I get bored. I've had the same centerpiece in my dining room since the beginning of time {click here to see it}, so I've been wanting a change. After some inspiration from friends and other things, here's what I have so far.

Also, I still have A LOT of bare walls in my house, soo, slowly but surely I'm adding to them.

I picked up some cheap vases from the DAV and some old ugly frames I found there and spray painted them into something new! I bought the "Amore" vase and flowers from Michael's.

I didn't end up taking very many before pictures, but I think you'll get the idea.

Please ignore our HUGE dog cage. I would like to down size it; so if you know anyone who needs a gigantic cage let me know ;)

Spray painted vases below:

What do you think of the placement of the vases? Should I add more? I don't know.

Kev wasn't a fan of the candles on some of the vases, so now I'm a little insecure that it all looks funny.

I think this is one of those things, that I need to just accept that I like it, and that's good enough.

Vintage frames given a modern fresher up-er.

Yay something on the walls!

To Paint or Not to Paint? I don't know!...

2011-03-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

I need your opinion on something...

Kevin and I were talking about possibly painting our fireplace mantel white. We thought painting it white might make it pop more in this room. I don't know though! Once we paint it we can't go back.

Do you think it would look better white? Or should we leave it as it is?

What are your thoughts!? I need your opinion, please!

Also, wanted to show you something new we have on one of our dining room walls.

Bought this frame from Ikea a few weeks ago [i & <3 ikea; who doesn't?] and then spray painted the center with chalk.

{.I like it.}

This is what love on the wall looks like:

You like what?

2011-02-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

As I was sitting in my car anxiously waiting for the light to turn green I noticed the car ahead of me had a bumper sticker on it [hence the word "a"; meaning only one"]. What I read struck me like a knife to my heart. I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach, it hurt, and took my breath away. I was now experiencing an unpleasant "Ah-ha" moment. Here's what it said: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" - Gandhi .Ouch. I am [claim to be] a Christian.

After reading this quote all else left my mind. I was no longer worried about getting to where I was going, no longer concerned about how long the light was taking to turn green, no longer in a frazzled frenzy by the burdens of the day, but instead my heart was heavy, my mind was bleak and taken back by what I had just read. It was shocking that someone out their in this world [well many "someone's"] feel this way about Christians.

YES CHRISTIANS --> you know, those people who are called to love, called to carry burdens, called to set selfish ambitions aside. To "like Christ", but to not like the ones who are called to represent Him, called to imitate Him is a big dang deal if you ask me. As Christians we're called to _____... you fill in the blank.

As a "Christ follower" what does God say we are called to? Do you even know? Do you even want to know? If you answered "no" I might ask you this: Are you even a Christian? This quote speaks volumes of the vile character we are reflecting to this broken dying world.

[VILE: |vīl| extremely unpleasant, • morally bad; wicked, • of little worth or value.];

Meaning [in my opinion]: we offer nothing good to those who need it.

To put it simple: if non-Christians don't see Christ in us then they don't see God, and if they don't see God, who then is going to show them? I'll admit that I'm pointing fingers here, but it wasn't me who did it first... read the guys bumper... that said though, I am pointing the finger at myself as well, believe me I need it too.

I'm so human it's sickening.

-->I NEED Christ. I need His love. Apart from Him I haven't a clue on how to be like Him.

So now I'm faced with this challenge, with this charge in my heart:

I no longer want to be the "Christian" Gandhi and others speak of. I want to be the Christian Christ speaks of. I want to be the Christian God gave his one and only son for. I want to be the Christian that Christ died for. I want to be the Christian whose life depends on the Gospel, and whose character shines the truth. I want to be the Christian whose glory is not her own, but instead Christ's alone.

What about you?

**I say all this, knowing that as Christians, we are not perfect, and here on earth our actions will never be the perfection of Christ, but I do believe perfection in Christ should be our ultimate goal as we dwell in these earthly tents. As Christians we point people to the true Christ through our lives, through our testimony's, and through our love. This is why He is our goals perfection.**

>>>> This is me jumping off my soapbox, thanks for reading <<<<

I want you more than just answers...

2011-02-21T20:30:00.001-08:00

... watch and you will too.

Life [2010] in pictures/video...

2011-01-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

...I decided it would be neat to pick ONE picture from each one of my 2010 photo album's.

So here you are. {starting with the oldest 2010 to the newest}

We brought in the 2010 New year @ City View.

--all dressed up for the night.

Kev reading to us on a Friday snow day

Jewelry made. eMVie

Kevin. Paul. Van Wynsberg

Another Snowy Day spent exploring.

Pillow Covers I was making.
I never did a blog post on them, but here's the beginning stages;
Front pieces.

Bailey's 2nd litter of puppies. She had 4; 1 girl and 3 boys. Precious.

{ Jonathan & Amanda }

- these two are awesome, and I love there engagement pictures together.

{ Vandegriff Wedding }

This was our first wedding ever to photograph. It was a privilege and honor to do it for these guys.
I heard that the bride did not want this belt buckle worn during the wedding, and so I guess he put it on during the reception. I like this shot Kev got with Amanda in the background. Ironic.

{ Mike & Alyssa }

Loved taking their engagement pictures!
It was the perfect day. Sunny. I loved it.

{ Mahone Wedding }

I enjoyed the location of their wedding. It was beautiful.
I love the details that went into this wedding.

JORDAN

For some reason I don't think I ever blogged the pictures we took with the Cowan family.

Their little girl Jordan is precious. She was fun to capture with the cmera.

Don't these muffins look delicious? Well they are...and they're weight watchers [with maybe a Melanie touch] --> Muffin Mornings

Matt Cote sitting alone reflecting on his mini golf losses and wins.

Great times with the Cote's this year.

Kevin as Mr. mom.

I'm glad he loves the pups as much as I do. He will be the best daddy someday. :)

College Life

I don't think I blogged this event, but Kev took some good shots, so maybe I still will.

For easter we had an CL egg hunt at the Masters Inn. It was loads of fun. Pic of some of the CLifers that showed up. Good times.

This is what you do when you have puppies in your home.

You kiss and hug them a lot. Lots of love in this place because of these lil guys.

Kevin's Aunt, Uncle, and three cousins came and stayed with us for a weekend.

They drove from Ohio to VA to check out colleges for their daughter.

They enjoyed getting to see the pups, and we enjoyed having them stay with us! :)

[don't think I blogged this either]

This picture is in our "personal" folder for 2010.

We are VERY serious photographers. VERY. no laughing.

Nahh. not really. ;P

Took this picture after we added all these photos to the gray wall.

This was a fun project we did together. We like how it turned out.
Fills the space with good memories. :)

Kevin is the Graduate!

I don't think I blogged this event (wow fail). But I do think I posted pic's on FB.

Here's Kevin and his goofy self walking along side his dad. :)
He accomplished SO much this year! I'm so proud of him and thankful to the Lord, who gave him the strength to endure it al.

PARIS VIDEOS!!! Yay. Love these. Here's one for ya.
Here we are eating a the Louvre. Delicious.

We made it to PARIS.

I dropped the ball on our Paris pics though... I have a ton I never posted.. but did post some.
This was such an amazing trip. The best part, was the fact that Kevin enjoyed it so much as well. He was reluctant to go, so the fact that he wants to go back means a lot.
Here's one from each album I have on Paris.

Inside Notre Dame

In Paris. This wall supposedly says LOVE in all different languages.

Wish I could read them all to tell you for sure. ;P

The gardens at Versailles. Beautiful.

Someones home along the river. ;(

On top of the Eiffel Tower.

In front of the Ark de Triumph

In front of the Venus de Milo statue

I really need to blog the pics from the Lourve. The Lourve is filled with amazing art.

The Seine river goes for miles, and many people walk along it.

It was so peaceful, and surreal to be there.

& yes Starbucks in hand. ;) Needed are our fix. Though it's not as good, as in the States.

It sparkles so beautifully.

Inside the house of a hat designer. Her name was Isadora. She was awesome!

She's the one to the right, standing with a mint green dress on.

She showed us some hats she's made, and taught us how she makes some as well. It was neat.

Washing my arm because a bird pooped on me. Yep.

Entering the Metro lots of memories in the metro.

Everything I bought in Paris.

Can you tell I have a black and white complex when it comes to clothes?

Sunday Shots

Pres. Home 5k.

We were whipped. Sarah, Erin, and I.

Tim & Sara

Baby Alaina was on her way...

The day THIS came in the mail... It took Dunks and I three years to pick out our (already paid for) wedding album pictures. We were happy when the final product arrived!

Baby Norah- Little Norah was fun to take pictures of!

I didn't end up blogging the pics, but I'm pretty sure their on FB.

She's so cute!

At City View waiting for my friend Jen to arrive to her surprise birthday party. :)

This fall we headed out to the pumpkin patch with Tim, Sara, and this precious little one...On Sweetest Day.

I learned how to make these super easy pumpkin muffins. They're quite delicious.

I bought these little gems for a great price on Urban Outfitters website.

I like birds. What can I say; I was born a Finch. ;p

My co-workers took Karen and I out to dinner on our Birthday (we share the same b-day).

It was fun; thankful for the people I get to work with. :)

Here's us blowing out our candles...

These lovely ladies made turning 26 better than ever.

One more flame added to the fire.
Love this boy. He turned 27 this year.

Kevin and I attended our first Marriage Retreat this year,

and I'm so thankful we did. It was awesome.

This is what siblings do when they get together...well, we do.

Thanksgiving Day in Michigan - hangin with my little brother Tyler. <3 him.

Lady friends in the Mitten.

We saw SANTA today!! Madison was excited! [and so was I]

[some] Items needed to make a baby wreath.

Chrystal's baby shower! I have yet to blog this event.

Progress of the Christmas tree I was making...

Final Product.

Baby Wreath made for Chrystal.

Brentwood COFFEE BAR Christmas celebration! Another one I have yet to blog, but will.

Gifts for my ladies. They inspire me to serve.

Kevin surprised me with a gift a day or two after surgery.

Can you tell I was shocked?

Awww puppy bellies; I love them!

She found a friend. precious.

Here's the guy [other than Jesus of course] who brought Christmas spirit into the Van Wynsberg home this Holiday season. With surgery, losing someone dear to me [RIP Pa], and other things, I was having a really rough few days leading up to Christmas. Christmas had a funk. It felt lifeless. BUT Kev came to the rescue and on his own accord started hanging decorations everywhere. It made the whole house feel like Christmas, and it brought a sense of joy to our home. I am forever grateful that he did that. It really meant a lot to me. He is my blessing. God. Is. Good.

Though all was NOT well this season. I can say I did learn the real meaning of Christmas.

I felt the pain of the world on my shoulders, I had anxiety that I felt was going to kill me. I was sad and stressed [for more reasons than mentioned above]--&; and then it dawned on me, like peace in the night;
THIS is why the baby was born. THIS is why He came.
This is why I need him.

THIS is why we celebrate HIM today.

So through it all, God showed me the true meaning of His love &; I wouldn't trade that for anything.

It was a great 2 0 1 0. It had it's ups and downs, but doesn't every year? I do think 2 0 1 1 is going to be great. I'm ready for it. Ready to be able to run better, faster, and harder. Ready to grow spiritually, give more, and love longer. I'm ready to be the best me God created. I'm ready for the possibilities. I'm ready to give up the things that keep me from Him. I'm ready to take baby steps to achieving the goals set out in front of me.

[This is Pa and I, the night I got engaged to Kevin. Kevin and I might not be married if it weren't for the fathers love Pa showed me/us] Missing him today.

RIP Pa. [Michael Settles]

Pa passed away on December 19, 2010

Pa was a second father to me.

His life was a blessing to many.

We love you Pa. I'm grateful that we'll see you again one day :)

. 2 0 1 0 .

MIchigan 2010; Part THREE...

2010-12-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

...last of the Michigan pictures from Thanksgiving break.

[ Time Horton's is a true delight ]

[ Merry Christmas pops! ]

[ On our way to see Santa ]

[ Spying on Santa ]

[ Madison ]

[ Photo-bombing with Santa ]

[ Sisters. <3 ]

[ Excuse all the kissy pics; tis the season ]

[ Snaiel & Dunks ]

[ Mom enjoying some new gifts ]

[ C- Chantel ]

[ What up dawg? ]

[ Ty being strange ]

[ Super woman! ]

.I LOVE THEM ALL.

.Thankful for family.

.Thanksgiving Break.

- 2 0 1 0 -

Michigan 2010; Part TWO...

2010-12-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

More Mitten pictures.
Hanging out with some of the bestest friends/ & siblings in the world. :)

...miss them.

{ Michigan on the lake }

{ Holly thinking deeply in the Kings chair }

{ Brothers }

{ Joel thinking deeply as well }

{ Oh lordy... Holly please control your husband ;P jk }

{ Brian & Joel...who knows? }

{ Matt super-grump-o-king }

{ Guys observing whatever Kev's dad was doing on the computer }

{ I wonder what the pic Holly was taking looks like? }

{ The Ladies }

{ Kev doing something strange; per-normal }

{ Erin lookin like a queen }

{ DJ lookin like?? }

{ aw their cute together }

{ Some of the gang hangin out }

{ Lovely friend Amanda... Love her! }

Thanksgiving = Michigan...

2010-12-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

...Part Uno.

This year Kevin and I spent Thanksgiving in Michigan. We were home for a full week! It was so refreshing to see familiar faces, familiar places, and to get to hug and love on family & friends.

I adore the times that I get to go "home"... their is nothing like family and friends to warm your heart during the holiday season. I especially love going home to see my mom & siblings. I'm the oldest of three others and so it makes it difficult to be so far away from them. Tyler is 17, Daniel is 9, and Madison is 6.

Since we were Mitten bound for a week, you can only imagine the many many pictures I took. Yes. I took a lot! My fam was getting annoyed with me snapping so many, but I believe they will thank me someday for doing it! It's always fun to look back on pictures and remanence on the "good times".

So yes, here's just PART UNO of our Mitten trip. [probably 2 or 3 other PARTS to come]

[ Mom & Tyler ]

[ Tyler loves to drive my mother crazy ]

[ Siblings ]

[ Insert caption ]

[ Mother & I ]

[ They were chanting "Snikes, Snikes, Snikes" to wake Michael up aka Shinkes ]

[ It worked ]

[ Brotherly fun ]

[ We fight --> in a brother-in-law & sister-in-law type way]

[ Dinner ]

[ My moms such a shorty ]

[ I believe he will make a fun dad one day ]

[ I taught the kids how to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies ]

[ All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth ]

[ Kev, his dad, and the kids, did A LOT of this trick photography stuff... here's only a FEW of the pics ]

[ Ron aka dad/father-in-law ]

[ Tyler aka Butters/brother ]

[ This chair is called an "engagement" chair... hence the weird poses ]

[ The kings chair; everyone gets a kick out of this chair @ Kev's dads ]

[ Servant boy ]

[ Maddy was precious; she kept drawing dresses and they were really good! She kept calling herself "a designer" --> too cute ]

[ Daniel aka Baby Dan's/ brother ]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2 0 1 0

Baby on the brain...

2010-12-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

...a baby shower for little baby Anders #2. :)

[Thankful to get to blog, because while I'm down, due to surgery...blogging is helping me keep my mind off the pain!]

My community group and I came together and hosted a baby shower for Chrystal (who is in our CGroup). Chrystal is due in January with little boy #2. :) We had a lot of fun making this shower special for her. Megan had the idea of having different fondue stations. It turned out really well! We had 4 different stations (chocolate, peanut butter, cheese cake, and hazelnut one). They were delicious!!!

Here are pictures from the evening:

{ Carter and Nolan stopped by to drop some stuff off before the shower began }

{ Little Nolan on his way out }

{ Chrystal's momma cutting up the fruit }

{Drink station }

{ Peanut butter fandue; my favorite one. yum yum! }

{ It was Megan's genius idea to have fondue stations; it turned out great!! }

{ Chrystal checking out all the goodies we had for her }

{ This little bear was so cute and smelled so good, I want one! }

{ Everyone just hanging out }

Christmas Crafts...

2010-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this Christmas Tree for a few weeks now.

Slowly but surely it came along. :)

I got this Christmas tree idea from my friend Morgaines blog: It's Simple Holiday's

--> she's ubber-dubber crafty, and has every single craft tool under the sun I swear <--

{ Here's what you need }

cut up scrapbook paper
pins
scissors
& the green looking foam things from Michael's in whatever size you'd like. I was planning on making a family of trees, but have yet to complete more than one ;)

[ In progress ]

[ Complete ] [ ! ]

Bow added to the top / I had to hot glue it to stay well

[ Now I'm inspired to make more ] [ ! ]

My community group girls and I recently hosted a baby shower in my home.

I really wanted to make Chrystal a diaper cake, but as I was googling them

I came across the idea of making a diaper wreath!

I had never heard of this before!

Some looked very cute, but some looked very gaudy...which I don't like.

That's the cool thing about a project/craft,

you can make it what you like & that I did.

It turned out WAY better than I had anticipated!

I had some of a vision of how I wanted to make it,

but really it all just came together as I was making it...as do most of my crafts.

{ Here's what I used}

Foam ring thing from Michael's
Ribbon
Diapers
Scissors
Hot glue
Fun Lettering

**It was difficult to find diapers without some sort of character on them...I did NOT want a character on the diapers, but I wanted them to have some boyish color to them, so these were great!

[a great] marriage...

2010-12-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

...is something God has blessed me with. :)

Kevin and I recently attended our first marriage retreat at the Berry Hill Resort {VERY COOL PLACE}. It was awesome. I'm really hoping BWood will do them more!! [wink::wink::hint::hint::] - I know we aren't the only ones who appreciated it. :)

The main concept that I took away from the retreat - was to be all in with all of my heart. Below you will see a heart diagram and what facets of our hearts should be all in.

It was a great time, and I look forward to growing more and more with the love of my life.

Thank you Lord for him.

[Random pictures]

CREEPY EYES

.Picnic with friends.

.Made Bird Houses, as a team effort challenge...believe me, IT WAS Challenging.

.Millions of him.

.All Ready for the Dinner Date Night.

.At Dinner.

.Exploring.

One more flame added to the fire...

2010-11-29T20:08:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post some birthday pictures...

With the holidays full speed ahead my time with blogging has been limited, but I'm pretty OCD about not posting pictures/events out of order, so I figured I need to get these ones up before I start posting marriage retreat & Thanksgiving/Michigan pictures.

I never imagined turning 2 6 would be such a blessing; but it was.

My awesome coworkers treated me to dinner at Depot Grill. I love those girls. I'm grateful for the people I work with. They make the 8-5 worth it.
Vanessa Cote and I share the same birthday, so some of our friends teamed up and surprised us with a very fun filled day. We first headed out to Blenhein Vineyard in Charlottesville. It was a lot of fun, we had a delicious picnic spread and some delightful wine tasting ;P After that they took us out to Short Pump mall---LOVE Short Pump! Kevin gave me a generous amount to spend while I was there; I'm a big fan of getting to shop for my b-day!

THANK YOU dear friends for making turning 26 so incredibly worth it!

Honey-dearest (Kevin aka Dunkets/Dunks)'s birthday is two days after mine. He turned 27 this year. This year has been a very challenging one for him (& I), with him finishing school he has been technically working two jobs for a year now, but good news, his birthday was extra special this year! His degree conferred (was made official) on his birthday. :) I'm very thankful for a husband who doesn't take education lightly, he is a nerd (& quite the good lookin' one I might add)...& I'm 100% thankful for it. Kevin now has his MA in Counseling, and is now accepted into Liberty's Counseling PhD program. Go-get-em babe!! Word around town is that he's an awesome counselor and I believe these rumors to be true. I see how much he takes this professor/calling very serious. I'm extremely excited for what his future holds. He's changing lives and I admire him for it. I wish to be more like him. OK I'll jump off my husband/Kevin soap-box.

Happy Birthday Babe!!

Pictures to follow, in order of events...

{ Out to dinner with some of the lovely ladies I work with }

{ It was Karen's b-day celebration too! Interesting fact: V, Karen & I all share the same b-day, and we all used to work together in the same department at LU }

{ Day at the vineyards with friends }

{ preparing the awesome picnic spread; it was seriously so good }

{ V and some of her fam, that are great ladies; enjoyed getting to know them better }

[ Kevin's lil' celebration ]

[ making his wish ]

[ and then it came true ;P ]

C o n g r a t s Boo!

[[BOLD]]ness like a Treasure.

2010-11-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

L - O
L - O
L - O

"L - O - V - E

with

Boundaries

&
B O L Dness"

{famous Matt Cote words at church tonight; taken from the life of Christ}

Praying for the BOLDness:

to love those who may never love me back.
to take a holy stand.
to give with o p e n hearts, and hold with warming hands.
to forgive the "crazies" when they get louder.
to set the boundaries that make us stronger.
to dance in the darkness; knowing we are free.

Loving with BOLDness;
Christ-like: through --> you & --> me.

I thought this might be fitting:

Here's a piece to something I wrote (in my journal) on 1.26.09 when I was going through some pretty tough stuff. I like this because it's real but yet hopeful...

Though the pain remains

retrieves me and holds me back,

God takes my right hand & says,

"I'm stronger then that."

He steps beneath my shadows

begins to clear a spot,

Says he'll stay forever

planted like a ROCK.

Anchored through the darkness

swaying through the rain,

This must be LOVE...

He who stays through the pain.

. action verse .

Did you know?

2010-11-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the day....

I turn 26. ---> Wow.

26 seems old[er] when you think about how close it's getting to 30, BUT counting back it's only 10 years away from 16! so come on now, it ain't old! ~~I hate when people say the 20's are old. YOU FEED LIES.~~

Anyways, just wanted to share some facts that might interest you.

|Me| |mē| |mi| |miː||ˈˈɛm ˈi|

.Born.

NOVEMBER 2 1984

{a beautiful month} [a crazy day] {a hopeful year}

.Mother / Father.

Chantel Pandora (19) - Terry Royce (21)

{i have her eyes} [i have his dark features]

.Birthed in / Raised in.

Texas - Michigan

[hot] {cold}

.Maiden / Married.

Finch - Van Wynsberg

{easy} [hard]

Melanie Ann

pronounced MEL-a-nee / pronounced an

.Meaning in a name.

Black - Yes my name translates as Black.

{it's in my nature; literally} [i hate brown on me; it all makes sense now]

.Ironically / I was born on.

The Day of the Dead - & [some] Election Days

[interesting; glad I'm a Christian] {even !scarier!}

.Born on.

My G-pa & G-ma Finch's wedding anniversary

{= favorite grandchild} [loved]

.What HE |hē| |hi| |(h)i| |hiː|says about |mē|.

.You are mine.

{I am nothing / without him}

nothing |ˈnəθi ng |

not anything; no single thing

• something of no importance or concern

• (in calculations) no amount; zero.

.BUT.

I am everything |ˈevrēˌθi ng | in Him

• all things of importance; a great deal

• the most important thing or aspect

.Proof. |for you too|

  ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?  ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,” ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

Not even the blackness of my name, the darkness of my youth, the pain in my existence, the sin I have committed, can keep me from you. [my added version]

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

Thank you for the 9,490 days [and more]

that you have never forsaken.

The 26 years. The endless moments of your presence in my life.

.I am {Melanie}. [everything] I am, because of you;

the author and perfecter of my faith.

Thank you...

for taking this Black, Day of the Dead, Election-feared-freak of a girl

& making her,

your own.

Ps. I did Vote today.

a Sweet{est} Day.

2010-10-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sweetest Day,

happens only in the north... Or in the lives of those who care to be sweet.

Some people are [haters] some people are [lovers] of the day; and that's OK. I understand that it can be commercial. BUT. still. It involes being sweet to people & eating candy! Simply put.

~~What's so wrong with that!?!?!?~~

You can check out the Sweetest Day Wikipedia to learn more - CLICK the Click.

Anyways, just thought I'd mention this, but it has nothing to do with my real reason for posting.

It just so happened that Kevin remembered about 8pm last night that it was in fact Sweetest Day.

So really if you hate Sweetest Day now, tell Kevin, he brought it up first. ;P

True { Sweetness } of the day...

Kevin and I got to hang with some friends of ours at the orchard in Nelson county. [can't remember orchard name]

Tim and Sara are good friends whom we met back in the day in our Engaged class [4years ago?]. We've been in small groups with them for a total of three [or longer] years. Pretty crazy hun? We recently ended our time together, but the cool thing about it is I know we will always be friends. That's one big reason why I appreciate Community Groups; you're given the chance to form lasting relationships that stay meaningful even when you no longer meet weekly.

: Love these guys : They're awesome people : + awesome newbie parents :

Pictures of the day:

"Stop, stop, my cuteness might break your camera."- Alaina

She's loves being a mom & I love her being a mom.

Isn't she precious!?

Dorky... but I like him.

::Nom Nom::

I don't know...I guess he was freaked out by the GIANT pumpkin behind us. ;)

Matthew.

2010-10-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Matthew; Chapters 5-7 are killing me.

I can't bring myself to read anything else in the bible.

God is speaking something to me here.

His word is life changing.

Read the Sermon on the Mount.

Don't stop until you really do all that it says.

This could take me AWHILE.

I hope to share more later.

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

Muffins made easy...

2010-10-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not your average "I love to" bake or cook type person. I don't thrive on finding the best recipe or the best home cook meal like some ladies do. I keep it healthy, I keep the cook time short, and the meal simple. That's how it's done.

Don't get get me wrong, I LOVE people who can cook well, and who's passion is cooking! I love food, and I love them for sharing their amazing food! I just don't like being the one to make that amazingness happen. ;)

Anyways, my friend Martha is one of these "I'm-amazing-I-can-cook-you-anything-if-you-want-me-to" type girls (she among many of my other friends). Martha has a blog where she posts recipes {check her out here: http://martarosa.wordpress.com/}, and she recently told me about this pumpkin muffin one that ONLY includes 4 ingredients!

4, yes 4. OR 3 if your lazy like me.

Now that's my kind of cookin!

I was going to attempt to make these muffins a few weeks ago, but there was a pumpkin shortage here in the burg, and again I'm not adventurous enough to go out searching and searching if it's not at WalMart or Kroger. So get this, finally WalMart had the canned pumpkins, but none of the cake mix I needed! GUH! Thank goodness for Food Lion though, they had the mix {I should give FLion more credit than I do}.

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of this muffin adventure since the recipe is SO STINKIN EASY!

It's delicious too! I bet everyone else already knows this recipe though, but hey I didn't!

2010-10-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

.God's Truth & Nothing Else Matters.

Urgent

2010-09-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

This thing called God is real,

and it's only going to keep getting realer.

...for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
   "Wake up, O sleeper,
      rise from the dead,
   and Christ will shine on you." Eph.5:14

So God, in his greatness, has been beaconing my spirit, etching at my heart, and captivating my mind. Everywhere I look, everything I read, all the devotionals I hear have been urging me to go deeper. To get real, because God is only going to keep getting realer. When he returns I want to be ready...

"...for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Luke 12:40b

This theme keeps playing out in my life, like a song getting stuck in my head. I think God is trying to catch my attention, I think he's trying to woo me in, I think he's trying something new with his potter hands. With the countless entry's of truth hitting my heart lately, I believe he's calling. Calling me, to no longer live lukewarm, to live wide awake, and to renew. It's time I answered his call.

I've been reading this book with College Life called "Wide Awake" by Edwin McManus. I just have to say, it's awesome. I've only begun reading it and would already recommend it to somebody.
Here's the gist of it so far. These are the random note's I've taken while reading the book. Maybe it will entice your taste buds as well. :)
Notes:

Life is a work of art.

Paint your dreams born of burdens. {love this thought}

Your life becomes the brush, you are an artist.

Dream of things that don't exist, but must exist. {awesome challenge}

If we want to live the wide awake life of our dreams,

we must trust God to guide us on a journey we cannot take on our own.

At church yesterday, Matt Cote spoke and presented a challenge that I feel I must take. ~~DANG YOU MATT, for challenging us!~~ I had already begun challenging myself to go deeper and get more serious about my personal time with God, but today's message put the cherry on the cake. Matt presented a challenge that's going to be tough, it's not conducive to my schedule, it means I need to move things around, figure some things out, and work it in. His challenge you ask? To RENEW. For 40 days, read the bible for at least 25 mins. I know what your thinking, because as I type this I'm thinking it too...this seems like a simple-easy-no-brainer-task, well if it is, then why am I not doing it already? Not so simple anymore.

Matt's message touched on the fact that Christians {some % that I forget, but it's a lot} no longer consider the Bible the Masterpiece that it is. {my take on what he spoke on} --> At the end of the day, our dependancy isn't on what God's word says, but instead our lives become dependent upon our own understanding. We no longer depend on the Word of God, but instead we brush it off like an annoying fly. Our motto is no longer "God Speaks", but instead "We Speak".

Matt went on to say that, "God is not a matter of talk, but of power."

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power." 1 Cor. 4:20

The challenge now is to .RENEW. through the Word of God. To actually read it. To actually get to know it. To actually live out the masterpiece that is it.

"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

So, today begins the journey of 40 days in God's word.

If you're doing it too, send me a link to your blog, I'd love to follow you.

I forgot...

2010-09-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

... to show you these little gems.

I recently found these curtain "holder" hooks, and coat hooks on sale at Urban Outfitters.

They were a great deal in my book. I like them. Amazing what little things can add a big touch.

Anyways, here's some fun pictures I snapped. I got a little picture happy with these.

The lighting was good and the product was cute, couldn't help myself.

Before

A Hobby.

2010-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

We've done A LOT, and I mean A LOT to our house in the past 3 1/2 years, with good reason though! Our house was originally a Foreclosure which entailed a lot of fixing up to do. You can Click HERE --> to see the beginning Before & Afters of our house.
We were able to get a lot done when we first purchased the house, and ever since then it's been small projects here and there.
I feel like a house is ALWAYS in "project" mode. This could be because I'm not rich and like most normal people I have to save up and get creative with things in order to afford what I want to do in my home. It would be so nice to complete ALL the projects at once, but that's not reality {at least my reality}, It keeps life interesting though! I enjoy house projects, it's just a matter of time, money, and inspiration! :-)

I recently made a list off all my TO DO's around my house. This list is long, and I'm sure along the way it's going to change, or things will be added to it. For awhile now I've been hitting a wall for ideas on some specific rooms in my house, but I think having a list and making them a "goal" will help me get creative and venture out of my box. Here's my house goal list {for now}.

**They're other things more important in life that take up a big majority of my time, so this list could potentially take me awhile, but this is a hobby, and hobbies are allowed to last a life time ;p
**Also! I would love to have all this done before we start having kids, therefore I need to get my butt in gear {{dreaming big}} HA!.

{ House Goals }

Downstairs goals:

Finish Downstairs Bathroom

o Painting

o Wallpaper - Recently bought a sample of this and loved it: Vintage Flock

o Sink - Already have it picked out, but it's a matter of saving up for it.

o Decor

o Fixtures

o Rug

PS - I've painted my downstairs Bathroom 3 times now, and I've ended up hating it every time. This bathroom has become my never ending challenge. {insert mean face}

· Downstairs Paint Touch Ups

o Ceilings

o Stairs

o Finish baseboards/window ceils

· Fix Quarter Round

o Front door

· New Kitchen Fixtures

o Oven fan

o Microwave/ & stand {this is Kevin's dream; he HATES our microwave stand with a passion, I personally think it's fine. He's weird ;)}

· Down Stairs Decor

o Dinning room walls

o New Chair in Nook

o Carpet in Nook

o Canvas painted for Stairway

o Stairway Wallpapered: - Recently bought a sample of this; it's Kev's favorite: Solitude

o Shoe/Key/ rack - something like this: j-me

o Create Chalkboard - Had no idea I could make my own; Inspired by (click) Jenn & Amanda {other cheeka's who have an eye for design}

Upstairs goals:

· Master Bedroom

o Decorate Walls - Already have canvas's to paint; it's a matter of getting inspired

o Long sturdy mirror

o Sitting chair or bench

· Guest/Sewing Room

o Decorate Walls

o Shelves/storage for Craft items

o Curtains

o Clean out closet/Organize

This is ONLY the inside of my house. I have yet to even TOUCH the outside! I hate gardening and would much rather be dreaming about the inside of my house. I definitely have dreams for the outside, but that's going to be a very slow work in progress for me. My dream is {if I had the money} I would hire someone to do it for me. Who knows maybe one day I will be a fan of gardening. Don't get me wrong I want it to look nice, but not by my labor. ;P Thinking about it, I need my friend Tiffany from Michigan to come visit me!! She's amazing! Check out her site: EarthyGirl.

I was going to post some pictures on some resent little projects we did over the weekend, but this post has gotten quite long so I need to take a break. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow, if not this week sometime.

Someone Special...

2010-08-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

...is on her way!

{ Alania . Noel . Hilton }

Our friends Tim and Sara are expecting Miss Alaina in September.

We're no experts, but we had a lot of fun taking pictures of Alaina hiding in Sara's belly.

These two are such a fun and loving couple,

I can't wait for Alaina to officially get to meet her awesome parents. :)

No words...

2010-07-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

...needed.

Simple Earrings...

2010-07-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

...simple project.

A friend from work recently asked if I would make her bridesmaids earrings for her, and course I said yes! She wanted something simple but classy, and didn't want to pay a lot of money for them.

Sometimes when I make a piece of jewelry for people I like to meet them at Michael's and get there opinion on the beads of stuff I'm picking out. There opinion matters to me, and it helps me to get to know what they really like and don't like.

These particular earrings are for a fall wedding, and are suppose to match brown bridesmaid dresses. The pictures I took aren't very good, but you get the idea.

Here's the one main tool I use when making earrings.

Here are all the pieces that go into making each pair.

Half-way complete.

I made eight pairs of these. :)

I'll have to try and get a picture of them on someone at the wedding.

Baby...

2010-07-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

...season.

That's for sure! I love it! So many of my close friends are having babies!

Many of them have already had babies, but as of recent they have been poppin-out

some more (or some for the first time)! I don't mind.

It gives me all the more reason to shop all things baby; which I love.

I have fallen head over-heels for all things babies.
I know what your thinking...you're thinking I need to just

take the jump and have one of my own. Well, good call, but no. ;) Not right now.

For now I get to enjoy, love, hold, snuggle, and adore all the little ones my friends have had/are having.

I love all my baby-mamma friends. You all inspire me.

Anyways, I thought I would share this fun gift bag I decorated for my good friend Sara's baby shower.

**Also, I recently took some maternity pictures for Sara & Tim.

It was my first maternity shoot, and I'm glad it was with good friends.

I will be posting some pictures of them shortly.

They're expecting sweet little Alaina Noel Hilton in September. YAY!

I can only imagine their excitement.

Here's the gift bag. I had fun with this.

Also, I thought I would show you a few of the cool gifts I got her.

A friend of mine is super creative and makes all sorts of fun baby things.

Here's Steph's website if you are looking for a unique baby gift.

Mon Tresor

Two handmade pacifier clips with embroidery.

Super cute baby blanket called The Breindel with embroidery.

Who knew burp cloths could be so cute as well?

I get excited and giddy about baby stuff, so I thought I would share some

of the baby adventures happening around me. :)

DO YOU have any fun baby Creations?

Really?!? if you read nothing in this post, please at least read the letter at the bottom

2010-07-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Paul sure does sound like a people pleaser to me.

Have you read 1 Corinthians 10 lately? Yeah, I hadn't either till recent.

Has anyone ever told you, "You shouldn't be a people pleaser," or "You're such a people pleaser!"
Yeah, I've heard that a lot, maybe not always directed towards me, but it's the word on the street.

After reading 1 Cor. 10 (& other parts of the bible) I'm starting to differ on the "people pleaser" mentality.

**Mind you, I am not/nor do I claim to be a bible scholar. It may seem that I am taking these line out of context, but the principle behind it is where my thoughts went. So take what you will with a grain of salt.

Read these lines & tell me what they say to you.

1 Corinthians 10:24 - Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:31-33a - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God---even as I try to please everybody in every way.
1 Corinthians 10:33b - For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so they may be saved. 11:1 - Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

People pleaser?

OK Paul, your saying I should not seek my own good...ever? AND do whatever I can to please people?

I think if Paul were here and I was able to ask him these questions, he would blatantly say, Yes. He then might nod his head towards me, look up with all seriousness in his eyes and ask this question back at me: "Who [pause] exactly did you say you follow again?"

Christ. I said I follow Christ. [thinking: is this a trick question?]

{again with all seriousness in his eyes}: "What example did I say I follow?"

Christ. You said you follow Christ.

So [pause] Paul, your saying people pleasing is a good thing?

{with all sincereness and love}: "I'm saying [pause], what did Jesus do?"

Gosh we are stupid smart people. We I clearly have trouble grasping the cross of Christ. Least I do.
[[God knew my intelligence wasn't so wise, hence the cross. I need him]]

HE DIED. THAT is Paul's example. How am I suppose to follow that!?

Is that really who Paul is following? Someone who blesses his enemies by dying for them? Yes.
Yikes! I don't even know if my friends would do that for me let alone my ENEMIES! Thank goodness someone stepped up to the plate and carried it all for us. Seriously.
Romans10:4 - Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

That's pretty selfless and might tip the scales of people pleasing if you ask me. Yet, I plow through life as if people owe me; as if they should love me. But Christ's example is that I should love you.

I'm working on it. I promise. Give me grace please. :)

And so it continues....

Love.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rom. 12:14

Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. Rom. 12:17

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Rom. 12:19b

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom. 12:21

....But the greatest of these is love. Cor. 13b

After reading these passages, I'm inspired to become the people pleaser Christ was.

How can we love greater?

Lord help us get this.

This might inspire you.

Just as I finished writing this post Kevin (ironically) asked if he could read me an email that he received today. It's from a student he helped (while working at Liberty) who had little faith that she could succeed in school after recovering from a brain injury. Some of my take from this email is that what we do does matter and that we have the opportunity to influence people; either for good or evil, better or for worse.

In this case it was for better:

Kevin -
Guess what?!!! I just completed my graduation request form!!! Praise Jesus Forever! He is soooo incredible! I can't tell you how many times I felt like giving up - but He would never let me. I just finished re-taking the one class from that not so nice prof and get this - I have an A (the prof makes a big diff). So I have all B's and ~5 A's - not bad for a brain injury survivor! Thank you, thank you a million for helping me with so many things, Kevin. Your rewards are huge in Heaven, but may God bless you immensely on earth as well.

I will continue taking classes as it has helped my memory so much. I no longer leave the oven or stove on for 12 hours at a time or leave the vehicle running. I do still lock myself out of the house a lot - but what can you do (but hide a key - lol).

Take care, my friend and I thank you for everything!

In Him,
Sharon

*PS -Sharon is graduating with her MBA from Liberty.

[e]Nough said.

Slumps & dumps...

2010-07-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

...ever get in a slumpy dumpy mood?

Well that has been me lately. :( Ubber-dubber discouraged. I feel like I have this awful sense of unhappiness and disappointment inside of me. I feel like my heart is lacking a lot of joy.
Key word here; Joy.

I desire joy. A joy that comes from God and says, "I am a child of God, and nothing else can stand in the way of that."

As I am writing this other keywords comes to mind; peace, and confidence. Which I feel the lack of.

I desire peace. A true peace that surpasses all understanding.

I desire confidence. Not a selfish confidence, but one that drives out fear.
**the list would be a mile long if I told you all the things I fear. I want the confidence to know that I know that I know...I am simply ok {in God}.

Lately I've been trying so hard to press into God more then I do and seriously it has been ridiculously hard! I swear the world fights {and nearly always wins} at keeping me (& possibly you) from God.

...from his love, from his joy, from his peace, from his confidence.

Why does the enemy win?

More so, why do I let him?

I had a good talk with a friend recently, it was refreshing to say the least, come to find out we both have been struggling with some of the same feelings/disappointments in oursleves. We both desire God more, but realize we have allowed other, I guess you can say "earthly" things get in the way.

I feel foolish admitting this, but one of those things is internet use. Yes I said it. There are days I would rather browse the internet instead of reading my Bible or praying, actually there have been a lot of days like that lately. There have been plenty of useless hours spent on unnecessary websites. Oogaling & googling at material earthly rust away never to see in heaven "things". I don't want that.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the internet is a bad thing. I think it's awesome! That's why I am on it so much. But their needs to be a limit, at least for me. I know their needs to be a limit when I start to choose these things over my personal relationship with God.

I talk to God all day (least I try), but where is his Word? He gave it for a reason. It feels so foreign right now, and to me that is wrong, and simply a lack of discipline on my part. Laziness at best.

With Kevin working nearly 60-70 hrs a week, it makes it much easier to fill my time with non-sense. Kevin and I both made a promise to read at least 1 chapter a day of God's word. Pathetic, 1 chapter, seriously?!, is that all I can give right now? I guess. We started about a week ago and have been reading 1 Cor. and it's good! I don't want to read God's word out of duty, that is NOT why I choose to do it. I want to read it so that I know my heavenly father. I want to read it so that his word is hidden in my heart {right where it should be}. I want to read it so that when I do step forward in heaven he might say, I know you, and you know me.

A big fear of mine is that I will get to heaven one day and hear the words, "I knew you not, or you knew me not." whatever the saying might be - either way, I can't stand the thought of God not knowing me, or me not knowing God deeply and personally. It breaks my heart and nearly brings me to tears when I think about it too long. It's a scary thought, but a real one!

Maybe I am too hard on myself. Either way I desire to be content whether I am joyless or joyful; just knowing Christ in all His glory is more than enough.

*****I wrote this post yesterday (8th) but didn't post it because I was scared. I get afraid my words will be judged and I will be rejected by people who might read how I am really feeling somedays. Thinking about it, that is rubbish! If I never "fail" or show that I am weak then I'm not truly living, I'm not allowing myself the freedom to be human; to be the person Christ died for. He did it for a reason and days like yesterday remind me that I am completely lost without Calvary.

I am nothing. He is everything.

I may be down in the dumps somedays, but that does not mean my God is not my God.

He is and will always be.

[[[[Take THAT satan!!]]]] I'd punch you in the face & give you a round-house kick to your head if I could, but I can't, so for now I will refrain from giving you a capital "s" in your name - you don't deserve the respect!

I love Isaiah 43. It's always a beautiful reminder to me.

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
       and because I love you,
       I will give men in exchange for you,
       and people in exchange for your life.
  Do not be afraid, for I am with you...

So yeah that is my heart. That is my humaness. & I don't know why I am crazy enough to share it.

The Van Wynsberg, Images, Happenings, & Life Expressions.

NYC; Concrete Jungle

Happy New Year :: From NYC

From Old :: To New

Merry Christmas!

Guest Room

Pictures Taken...

Old Poetry Throw Back

Francis Chan

Guess what!?!?

Reupholstered :: Chair

Moss & Vases : Chair & Foyer

DIY: Master Bedroom Wall

The Adventures of Leonidas...

Rolling.Projects.Hair.

.Nolan.

Feather & Belle

Summer Time Wreath

Mother like daughter.

Pillows, Dogs, & Friday Nights...They go together right?

Before and After...

To Paint or Not to Paint? I don't know!...

You like what?

I want you more than just answers...

Life [2010] in pictures/video...

MIchigan 2010; Part THREE...

Michigan 2010; Part TWO...

Thanksgiving = Michigan...

Baby on the brain...

Christmas Crafts...

[a great] marriage...

One more flame added to the fire...

[[BOLD]]ness like a Treasure.

Did you know?

a Sweet{est} Day.

Matthew.

Muffins made easy...

Urgent

I forgot...

A Hobby.

Someone Special...

No words...

Simple Earrings...

Baby...

Really?!? **if you read nothing in this post, please at least read the letter at the bottom**

Slumps & dumps...

Really?!? if you read nothing in this post, please at least read the letter at the bottom