Pinterest

I have heard people talking about pinterest for a while and a few weeks ago I decided to check it out for myself.  The result: "Hi, my name is Crystal and I have a problem."  I am completely addicted.  

Not only do I love it, I have actually been trying some of the things I have found.  Here's a list of a few of the things I have tried: 

*Monogramming our pumpkin 

*Tie Dyed Cake & Cupcakes

*Photo Ideas

* Re purposing empty Clorox & Baby Wipe Containers

What I am most proud of though is the cool orange wreath I made!  

This is the original picture that I saw on pinterest.  (original post))  I felt certain that I could recreate this and I got pretty close!

The original must have been on a smaller wreath, but I am happy with it.  I did learn a couple of things though.  1. Burlap is very messy.  (There are little orange strings all of my house!)  2. Buy more fabric than you think you need!  (I had to buy more and the colors didn't match up.)  3. If you have multiple shades mix them in together so that they blend.

It took a good bit of time, but I will probably do this again with another color really soon.  I can easily change out the ribbon and make it work for a lot of different things.

Daddy + Mommy + Reese = 4-ever

This weekend we celebrated our adoption by having a dedication service and reception at our church.  I put this video together as a part of the service.  Please excuse the poor quality.  

The Face of Foster Care

What do you think of when you hear the term foster child?

This is what I think of:

These are two of the most beautiful and energetic kids I know. They were both adopted from foster care this year and the handsome one happens to be mine.

This month consider supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption by purchasing the $1 Frosty coupon books at your local Wendy's. Give the books away to trick-or-treaters and the money goes to help beautiful kids like mine find forever families!

It's been a while

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged until I logged on and saw the last date. WOW! A lot has happened since December. I won't even attempt to share everything, but here are a few highlights.

*Reese made his wedding debut in our nephew Jeremy's wedding (January).

*We made it through the TPR process with our adoption. (February)

*I changed jobs and now work for one of the pastors at our church. (April)

*Bryan obeyed God's call and was named the Lead Pastor of our the new campus our church is launching.

*We made it through another summer of youth ministry craziness (all without Reese this year).

*Bryan turned 35

*Reese turned 3.

*I turned 33 last week.

And the biggest news of our year;

We finalized our adoption of Reese on Wednesday!!!!!!

Today we launched the new campus and Bryan is officially Pastor of Marathon Pickens. We had close to 200 people and heard lots of good things.

Now that I have gotten you somewhat caught up, I hope to resume a more regular blogging schedule.

Hide Your Trees- (Santa Thief)

Get In Shape Girl!

Like every other little girl in 80's I was a fan of Get In Shape Girl. Unfortunately, I haven't held on to that obsession. A few weeks away from 32 and I am in the worst shape of my life. It is so hard for me to get motivated to exercise on my own. However, I went to the Y last week for an orientation and have another appointment next week to check in with a trainer on my progress. Today marked day #3 of exercise. I am hoping that I can stay motivated! If not I may have to pull out that old Teen Steam video. That could get ugly!

Chocolate: the aftermath

This is what happens when the chocolate is gone!