Creative Passions

Life.

2012-02-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

Oh life! Yeah, right now I am kind of lacking on this whole blog thing, but there is a lot going on! Oy! With life being a crazy as it is, I do know for sure that God is testing my trust in him. For this semester, my bible study leader had us think of one word to have as our word for the semester to keep us focused throughout the rest of the school year. My word was peace. Peace with myself, peace with school, peace with family stuff, peace with relationships of any kind, and just peace in everyday life. I have realized that I am so stressed about the future that my anxiety is acting up and then that sets off my depression and that is no good very bad, that I haven't really been focused on the present day like I should be. So, I just want to be really thankful for what I have at the moment and make sure that I am thanking Jesus for that every second that I can. Let's just say hat hasn't been the easiest thing in my life, but I can definitely feel myself growing and my confidence growing, which for me and my history, is huge. =) There have been so many ups and downs the past couple of weeks, that it is easy to thank him in the good times, but I have noticed that it is a lot harder in the tougher times and some of those times have for sure hit, whether it is financial, family things and everything going on, or just random things. So, some of the things that I am thankful for right now are definitely my roommates, the relationships I have with people, my family, my bible study family, my job, my health and just the little things that God puts in my life. =) One of my favorite verses that I have been really meditating on is:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." -Matt 11:28-30 (The Message)

On a side note, if you ever want to get a little pick me up, babysit the Sapp girls. Well, ok, not everyone can just go babysit them, but let me tell you. This family is such a huge blessing to me and these girls can brighten any of my darkest days. Last night I was needing a little pick me up, and Nate was taking Erika out for her birthday, so I got to babysit these three. =) I took my laptop over to their house because I didn't really know how late they would be out, but then the girls wanted to watch some sound of music clips and then we played "Going Ape" (By the way, if you have children, you must buy this game. So fun!) and then we took some pictures with my webcam. Even little Aliza joined in some! =) Here are some of the fun ones!

The beautiful Sapp girls! =) Oh how I love them.

Absent.

2012-01-09T13:31:00.001-08:00

Hello! Yeah, I have been lacking with this whole posting thing. Sorry about that! A LOT has been happening! Well, my computer crashing is one of the bigger things, that is why there has been a lack of posts. I have been using my roomie's computer to get by. =) Since my absence, I have been taking pictures of adorable children, awesome families and other random stuff and during the editing of these, I think my computer decided that it officially hated me for all of the memory I was taking up, so it crashed, but I made a huge step in the business direction and I was able to use the money that I have been saving up from my art show, and photo sessions and bought a new laptop STRICTLY for pictures and editing. I am so excited to get it! =) Business aside, my break has been overall pretty good! It started with Tacky Sweater night at Christmas Challenge, babysitting a couple of my favorite girls, and mostly staying in Manhattan for the majority, but the *combined* 2ish weeks at home were really good. This year's Christmas' was one of the best that I can remember. I don't know what it was about it, but it was just awesome. Started with the Akers family Christmas at the Diamond W Wranglers Christmas show in Cowtown. How fun! Then, at our church we had our Evening in December where, Emily and I sang together and we definitely showed how fun we are and dressed as twins. haha, it was awesome. =) Fun times. Then we went over the Grandpa's and this year was another emotional year. DEFINITELY not as emotional as last year, but Grandpa gave us all a special gift again that kind of hit an emotion button. My grandma had an Indian jeweler that she LOVED and Grandpa had that jeweler make all of us girls one of a kind necklaces. They are beautiful! Then, we had a small Christmas this year according to presents, but we really didn't care. Emily and I are to the age where that isn't what Christmas is about and I think that helped. =) Then, on Christmas day, Carrie got to be with us ALLLL day. It was awesome! Now that she has been with us on Thanksgiving, and Christmas, which holiday is next?! Hmmmmmm. haha, Christmas day was awesome though. Very relaxing and I think exactly what all of us needed. We watched about 4.5 Christmas movies while we were working on our annual christmas puzzle. Let me tell you, it was good Carrie was here this year. Those Schulz's love their puzzles and she was a machine! ;) Needless to say, Christmas was awesome and I actually didn't want to come back to Manhattan. BUT, I got back and it has been good, other than me being home alone until January 3, but I did get a lot of quiet time and time to think. New Years kind of hit hard this year for us and I let my depression get the best of me, but Mom and Em came up and spent the evening, night and morning with me and it helped a lot and now Brittany is back, and things are starting to get back to normal. =) Here are some pictures that I took off of my facebook because I couldn't really upload them from my computer. =) Enjoy!

(Sorry for the complete random post.)

Tacky Sweater Christmas Challenge!

Roomie and I with our homemade tacky sweaters! =)

Me and the awesome guys of the worship team. They are pretty great

The girls of the worship team (Past and Present) =)

These guys are wonderful.

Two of my favorite girls with the presents I got them!

This little bundle of joy is about to turn one! Crazy!

The Akers family! Well, those that could attend. =)

The Diamond W Wranglers

My mom and her brother and sister. =)

The ladies with the Wranglers. =)

My seester and I in our lovely attire. =)

My best friend and I. Our typical pose.

Now on to Anderson family Christmas! All of the grandkids with Grandpa. =)

Us girls with our necklaces!

Mom, Em and Carrie working on the Puzzle

One of our many movies of the day!

Me and my best friend. What a blessing. =)

More blessings in my life. Gotta love the matching Seahawks attire too. =) hehe

Sisters with the finished puzzle. =)

The finished puzzle!!

So. There ya have it! Sorry for the long post! I hope that you have had a super great break full of family, fun and blessings! =D

Maple Frosted Pumpkin Blondies

2011-12-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I hope that you had a great great GREAT Thanksgiving whether it was with friends, Family, or co-workers! I wish that mine would have been a little longer, but that is what I get for working at a place that has a great black friday sale and they want us to be there at 5 in the morning and stay until 5 in the evening. Whew. What a day that was! Who knew Menard's in Manhattan would be that packed?! I surely didn't! Well, before that, I was at home for Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't get much of a break because I also had class until Tuesday, but I still got SOME time at home, so that was fun. =) Well, On Black Friday, we had a dessert day, which is basically a dessert potluck. SO, I found a recipe online for Maple Frosted Pumpkin Blondies and I just HAD to try to make them! They were actually delicious! Well, I love anything and pretty much everything that has pumpkin in it, so how could I not like these!? So, here are the steps to making them! I would HIGHLY recommend making these. =)

(Sorry this is a long post!)

Preheat to 350

Ingredients you'll need!

Having fun dishes will help! =)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside!

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy and smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time...

Get a generous cup of this heavenly goodness. =)

Add the pumpkin until it is all mixed in

This is what it will look like!

Add the flour mixture slowly until it is all mixed

Spread the batter evenly on the pan

So excited. =)

Put it in the oven for 22 minutesish.

While that cools, make the frosting!

Ingredients for the frosting:

Beat together the ceam cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until it is smooth

Add the Maple to taste

Then spread it on!

Recipe:

Batter:
-Preheat oven to 350* F

- Grease a 15x10x1" jelly-roll pan.

-Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

-In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy and smooth; scrape sides of bowl.

-Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.

- Add the pumpkin; blend well.

-Reduce mixer speed to low; gradually add the flour mixture until well blended

-Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

-Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick tests out clean.

-Cool completely

While it is cooling, work on the Frosting!

-Beat together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium low speed until smooth.

-Add enough maple extract for desired flavor and spreading consistency; frost cooled bars.

http://www.food.com/recipe/maple-frosted-pumpkin-blondies-70691

Good luck making them! =)

Pinterest!

2011-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

Wowzers. Sorry for my like month absence from this. I have been actually pretty busy and my mind just hasn't been focused on writing blog posts... I don't even really know how many people read this, so I don't think I am really letting a lot of people down. Haha =) I just had a 'Lily moment' from The Princess Diaries where she said that her cable show only reached 12 viewers. Maybe that is like this? Oh well, that was a pointless rambling session. Anywho. I have recently became addicted to www.pinterest.com. It is basically a website that you can put in your interests and it is a virtual bulletin board of dreams, crafts, ideas and all around awesomeness. Well, while looking at it, it makes my creative side start to imagine a lot of stuff I can do someday! Well, I saw this on one of the boards and instantly fell in love! I love love love love anything and everything to do with colors, and the next day I just decided that I had to do it. Brittany then told me that she had a friend that had done it and she wanted to do it too! Soooooo, about a month and a half later, we are doing it! So, I grabbed some crayons, a canvas, a bowl of pomegranate, a spoon, a hot glue gun and a hair dryer and went to town! We also had the KSU vs. Texas game on and that also helped. =) So, here is how you do it!

First: Line your crayons up in how you want them on the canvas.

Then, start hot gluing them to the canvas!

It takes a while.

Now, time to start blow drying!

Woot! This is the part where it gets to be time consuming. It takes a while for it to start to run down the canvas. =) But it is totally worth it.

Awesome.

Oh my. Happiness.

Even the cardboard underneath is happy!

Brittany's!

She put hearts on hers.. It looked pretty sweet too. =)

Well, there ya go! A pretty inexpensive fun little craft for you next rainy/snowy day! I hope that everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving break and an even more blessed, and amazing Thanksgiving day!

"Give Thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." -Psalm 107:1

901 Family Pictures!

2011-10-19T21:37:00.001-07:00

Hello! Man. I am totally lacking on this thing I used to do called blogging... Well, nothing big has been happening in my life... Just loving it! =) Man, I look at people who are just miserable at work, or at school, or just in general, and I have a huge calmness come over me and realize that I am so blessed! Wow. I definitely take that for granted. Unfortunately. But, even though I have some TOUGH things that have happened and I am sure will happen in the future, I know that God's hand is on me and recently have really been thinking about my friendships also. I have met a lot of people in challenge, that are acquaintances, but not heart friends. God has truly blessed me in the area of heart friends though, not only the girls in my life group, or my brothers in Christ who are seriously amazing, but also in my house. The 5 other girls in my house bless me so incredibly much! They know me from the inside out. We all know what makes each other happy, and we know what makes each other sad. These girls are some of the biggest blessings in my life and they are true sisters. This last Saturday, we took family pictures around Manhattan, Keats and other places around that general direction. =) So, here they are!

The Family!

I love them.

Cliche fall shot, but I love it!

Yeah. We are pretty much a band. Look for our cd soon. =)

I love living in Kansas!

Yeah, we are awesome. =)

We all took individual shots too!

There is a lot of laughter and love in this household. =)

I hope that you all have those heart friends too, if you don't, I would suggest that you truly need them! They just warm your hearts!

Open Our Eyes

2011-10-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, Christian Challenge went to Fall Conference! We go every year, and to be honest, the past couple of years, I kind of am hesitant to go. Something inside of me just doesn't want to go because I think that every year, it is going to be the same routine, and I won't really learn anything. But, EVERY year, God shows me that I am wrong and this year, I learned so much. Our speaker, Paul Sabino, was up there on the list of favorites. Max Barnett will always be the first, he is just unbeatable, but this year, Paul was so easy to relate to, funny, real and just a great speaker all around. Every session held everyone's attention so well and it was awesome! Also, the worship team that led us was Anthem. They led us two years ago, and I just love to worship with them! They write the majority of the songs they perform, so it is fun to learn new songs and hear the lyrics and how powerful some of them are. Another awesome thing was that there were about 175 people from K-State alone that went! So great! Kind of (really) overwhelming, but awesome none the less. It is so great to see all of the freshmen that are getting involved with Challenge! So, once again, I was definitely wrong about what kind of weekend it would be, and I felt really good after that weekend, and I am still thinking about some of the things that Paul said. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

The KSU bbq on Friday

Of course, Dominion was played.

Hammock city!

During free time, volleyball, basketball and frisbee were played!

Someone decided to take pictures. Of himself...

Tent City

Slack lining, and Ukulele playing were also some free time activities done

A spontaneous (gross) hot dog eating contest during supper on Saturday

13.5 Minutes of Fame!
First was Greg

Then was Jay, Then Casey, John and Sarah!

Love her. =D

Such great friends!

Someone else stole my camera...

Tradition of going to IHOP at around midnight...

Ryan was a little hungry ;)

Anthem on Sunday morning! So great!

Our tent. =)

Thank you God, for showing me a great weekend again!

Tradition

2011-09-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

The last time I went home, it was a weekend full of family. It was wonderful! (Well, for the most part) On friday, we had the hall of fame stuff from my last post, and then on Saturday, my mom, sister and I drove around Newton and I got to take pictures of our wonderful, historic town. =) It was actually a lot of fun! First, we went to my grandpa's store. We took the longest there, but I pretty much took pictures of everything in there. It was awesome to explore it with my sister. We went up to the attic space, and into the basement. I don't remember ever going into the basement, so that was a fun new adventure! =) Here are some pictures of our lovely family store and then some Newton ones at the bottom!

The view of the store from the balcony =)

The stairs up to the balcony and then the view looking down.

A ledger from 1908. It was awesome to find such old things!

I loved this. It was painted on the wall. =)

The door on the left is signed by a lot of amazing Anderson men, my dad's is the C.R.A "81" =)
Then, that is the safe on the right

You have to have a little fun, right? Of course we had a photoshoot in the mirror. hehe

We were all sporting purple to support K-State. I am glad Em made us all wear purple. ;)

Love them!

The Golden Rule. Love it.

The register!

All of the varieties of lead

Pens, markers and highlighters. Oh My!

So many school/office supplies!

Great old drawers

My grandpa's desk and a sweater that has been hanging there forever and my grandpa in the background. =)

My Great Grandpa's type writer =)

The store front. =)

Love this old building!

Historic Carnegie Library and the Historic Train Station

Train Station again!

Historic Fox Theatre

Our courthouse

My Church! Isn't it beautiful? =)

Of course, we got stopped by a train, so I hopped out and grabbed a shot! =)

Hope you have enjoyed a little semi-tour of my hometown! =)

Oh what a night!

2011-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, it was a night that we were totally on a roller coaster of emotions! This friday was the day that my grandma and my grandpa were both inducted into our High School's Athletic Hall of Fame. The two of them were two of the main people who started this Hall of Fame, and I was so proud that I got to see them be inducted into it. It was a very sad night though, because Grandma wasn't there, and this was her baby. She was always always ALWAYS super prepared and organized for this. Every year, she would tell us stories about what was happening with the food, and who was getting inducted. It was also special, because I got to wear the necklace that was Grandma's that Grandpa gave me for Christmas and Emily got to wear her earrings. =) So, last night at the high school football game, we were supposed to walk out on the field during half time to accept the award with Grandpa for the both of them. Wellll, knowing Kansas, you never know what will happen or not. So, we got a lovely 50 minute rain delay, but after that, the game went on, we went and accepted the awards and then off to the reception for speeches and people! (By the way, NHS totally dominated.) It was great. So, going from happy, to sad, to proud, to sad, from laughter, to tears, and so on and so forth, it was a good night over all.

My sister and I ready for the game!

My beautiful mother with her daughters!

They were having fun covering up during the rain. Haha =)

The awesome Railers dominating! =D

Grandpa and his girls, minus Kaylee

I adore my family.

Mom and Uncle Mur accepting Grandma's award for her. Mur did a great job!

My grandpa gave a great speech and he is also the cutest man ever. =) I love him.

I love my cousin Avery! He is so handsome!

I have the best friend in the whole world.

Oh. And the best sister and mom.

One of my favorite things: Laughing with them. =)

We ended the night at the huddle house with some spectacular milkshakes! =)

I hope that everyone has a great rest of the weekend!! =D

Life!

2011-08-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! A lot has happened since I last posted! Well, first of all, tomorrow I start my SENIOR year of college. What?! Can that reallllly be true? I don't feel like I have been here going on 4 years. Holy buckets batman. Anyway. Life has been busy to say the least! I have been working, I have been babysitting some of my favorite girls, making some yummy desserts with friends and the girls, been taking pictures, moving Brittany in to the basement (Woo!), going to leader training, moving freshmen in to the dorms, hosting a HUGE bbq at our house to kick off the school year, being tested by God, spending time with some friends and some more testing by God, first week of classes, first bible study and first challenge! It has been great. =) This past weekend, well technically starting on Thursday, and went through the weekend, was Christian Challenge leadership training! Oh, I just love love love all of it! It was a great time to see everyone that was gone over the summer, and to really learn some great things to help share the Gospel. =) Then, after move in on Saturday, we hosted a BBQ at our house! It was amazing! There were probably around a little more than 200 that showed up. It was awesome to see so many freshmen here, and oldies too! It was grand! So, here is a random picture post. =)

I will always love trains. (Go Railers!) ;)

God's beauty always amazes me.

Playing around with my camera. =)

Baking cake in a jar with two of my favorites. The adorable Sapp girls. =)

I loved watching them while they were trying to figure out what colors they were making

Please notice Josie's purple moustache. I look over and her head is on the jar trying to lick the batter off of the sides. It didn't work to well and she had a very colorful ring around her mouth. It was to cute actually. =)

Photoshoot with these three stunning ladies!

A huge lightning storm in Manhattan!

Cookout time! On the right: Bob Anderson said that at leadership training and we decided to find a use for our blackboard! =)

GREAT turnout!

I love my house. =)

Missy got a new camera, so we were walking around campus trying it out, so I grabbed mine too!

Here are two of my favorite shots from that little walk.

I mean, it is a pretty great name.

The new WWII Memorial on campus with the flag reflecting off of it. (and of course the K-State flag too!) =)

Well, there ya go for random! I hope that everyone has a great and awesome weekend! =)

Kaley Bug. =)

2011-08-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was taking a nap, and all the sudden, Kaley wakes me up and says, "lets go take pictures!" Let me tell you, it was a very interesting way to wake up from a nap. The whole summer, we have been talking about us going and me taking pictures of her to practice taking senior portraits, or just portraits of one person! It was a lot of fun! When I went home last week, I found an awesome vintage suitcase that is in great condition and for my birthday, my mom bought me a really cute stool thing and so, after I woke up a little more, I charged my battery, gathered the props, beautified her and hit the road! =) We went to the train tracks/bridge thing on highway 24. Funny story actually, we were in the middle of some pictures and we all the sudden hear a train, so we clear the stuff off of the tracks and stand down towards the gate and about 3 minutes later, a train comes! It was actually very cool! Haha. Then, we packed up our stuff and head out to Tuttle! Here are some of my favorites from the day! =D

She has some of the most stunning eyes!

this is a definite favorite. =)

My Art Show! (and the rest of the week)

2011-08-02T11:36:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I had the most amazing opportunity! I was able to host an art show with my cousin, who is also a photographer! It was amazing! I was smiling the whole night, just in awe that it was actually happening! It was an awesome turnout too! It was great! So many of my friends and family were there and I was just very blessed! Here are some pictures from the awesome night! =D

Here is the basic setup! Here is one wall:

Here is the other! Jills work was on the left of this stuff =)

Jill and I!

A lot of people!

One of the most amazing teachers that you would ever have the chance of having. Such an inspiration!

I would've listened to her the whole time!

Charlie loves me. =) hehe

Some of my amazing church family. New and old.

Great great friends that surprised me! =D Blessings!

My amazing family!

The owner of the gallery

Grandpa and his brother even came! =)

My seester. I love her.

The artists and the moms!

So great!

The rest of the week at home has been great too, we moved my sister into her new house, I have had a lot of time with my best friend, Carrie, I went junkin with Carrie and found a sweet espresso machine in amazing condition for 5 bucks and I found an awesome suitcase prop for senior pictures, we went and saw Harry Potter 7 part 2 at the IMAX in 3D for my Uncle Bobbys birthday, I have been able to spend time with my dogs, and I have just loved getting to spend time with family. =) Just how visits home should be! Don't tell anyone, but I actually don't want to leave! ;) Here are some more pictures!

Us and our matching shirts. Yep, we are awesome. =)

52 Weeks of Awesome!!

2011-07-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

For me, I think it is a good thing to get out of your comfort zone. To help you grow and learn in the things you like the most! I am joining a group of photographers in the 52 Weeks of Awesomeness challenge. For a year, every week, we will be putting up a new picture. Some will definitely be harder than others, but I am excited for this challenge! Hopefully I don't forget! =D This week, it was a free for all. So, I used one of my favorite sunflowers from the field we found last week!.

I’d love for you to join us! You don’t have to be a photographer to do this. You can participate with a point-and-shoot camera or your camera phone! Just have fun, challenge yourself, and see where you go!

Here is the full list of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness!

~~Week 1 Free for All~~

Week 2 Introduce yourself

Week 3 Show us your home

Week 4 Your name

Week 5 Sports (anything related, teams, players, equipment, etc,)

Week 6 Guilty Pleasures

Week 7 ONE object shot at 5 different angels/distances

Week 8 One for the road (signs, streets, traffic, etc.)

Week 9 Objects that tell something about you

Week 10 Things that make your life easier

Week 11 Your favorite color

Week 12 Household item

Week 13 Foods

Week 14 Flashed (an image created using artificial light)

Week 15 Sun (sunlight, sunset, sunrise, etc)

Week 16 Emotion

Week 17 Lines

Week 18 What you do outside the world of photography

Week 19 Weather

Week 20 Emotional attachment (heirloom/special gift, etc.)

Week 21 Pets

Week 22 Things you couldn't live without

Week 23 Habits

Week 24 Fire (candle, fireplace, etc.)

Week 25 Scrapbooking (stash, room, lo's, etc)

Week 26 Textures

Week 27 Hands

Week 28 Shoes

Week 29 Jewelry

Week 30 OOF (Out of Focus)…purposely OOF

Week 31 What I consider dessert

Week 32 Fill the Frame (close ups)

Week 33 A week in our lives

Week 34 Faith (what you believe)

Week 35 Dance (body in motion)

Week 36 Family & Friends

Week 37 SOOC (straight out of the camera)…before & after

Week 38 Patriotic

Week 39 Object: straight up shots and then straight down shots

Week 40 Something at night

Week 41 Something that gives you the feeling of warmth

Week 42 Smell

Week 43 Water

Week 44 Animals

Week 45 Music

Week 46 Reflections/Shadows

Week 47 Flowers

Week 48 Sleep

Week 49 Action Shots

Week 50 Circles

Week 51 Your car

Week 52 Self portrait

Favorites. =)

2011-07-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

Flowers! My favorite flowers are tulips, daisies and sunflowers! I absolutely love the feeling of standing in a sunflower field. It is awesome. Looking out and seeing an endless sea of golden flowers. How breathtaking it is!! Well, on our way home from taking my stuff for my art show to the gallery, we found the most amazing field of sunflowers! So naturally, my mom pulled over because I never go anywhere without a camera! Here are some shots! =D I hope they make your day a little brighter!

I love how unique each one of them are!

The next two are my favorites:

LOVE the barn in the back! Truly Kansas!

Just had to add a couple tulip pics =)

What is YOUR favorite type of flower? =D

Independence Day! =D

2011-07-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!! I hope that everyone had such an amazing 4th of July! I know I did! I was able to come home all week (minus a trip back for a day of work and a meeting) to Newton and I loved it! I have been needing a trip home for quite sometime. All I have been able to get lately were little 1 day quick visits that, quite frankly, were not cutting it. It has been swell! My cousin Jonny's best friend came from Seattle and it was great! It was like having a little piece of Jonny with us for the fourth again. =D It has also been a great time for the three of us to be together, aka, my mom, sister and I. There has been a lot of laughter and that truly is the best medicine. It has also been a great time to catch up on stuff going on with my art show! Not all of you know, but I am getting the amazing opportunity to co-host an art show in Halstead and I am so excited about it! My stuff will be going up tomorrow and it will be in the Gallery until the 20th of August, but we will have an actual show July 30. Here are some pictures of the week! Actually, they are from the fourth, we have yet to do a trio photo shoot, but enjoy my Fourth pics!! =D

When we got there, we found this cutie in the pool

This cutie was taking a nap, and didn't like the big boom that woke her up

And this little angel was just precious!! Then it was time for our annual tradition! The Potato Gun!!! I love it! =D Bobby loves his guns... ;)Bobby aiming for his target with the potato gun and Kevin giving it a try =) Bobby and Kevin on the bikes!

Uncle Bobby has his tounge out everytime he is concentrating... I thought I would capture it =)

Putting the tator in and then adding the 'power' aka, hairspray =)

I absolutely adore my uncle Bob. He is ENDLESS entertainment!

Kinsley is precious! Look at her cheeks! =)

Time for fireworks!Loved playing with my camera/lenses during the fireworks!

I loved this one!
Before we left, we had to get a couple pictures:

Ethan and I and our silly faces

We told him to show us his teeth, and this is what he showed us =)

Oh I love him! He was cracking all of us up!

The amazing Slaughter family and Emiy and I =) Thank you guys for loving Jonny all those years and thanks for coming to Kansas this year!

I hope everyone had a great great GREAT fourth of July!! =D

Kimbo! =)

2011-06-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I had the great opportunity to take pictures of my beautiful friend, Kimberly while she was getting ready for her wedding! I didn't take the wedding pictures, but it was fun to be with all of the girls while they were talking and getting ready for Kimbo's big day! Here are some little sneaks of what I did! (the colors seem to get a little messed up on here too, so not all of them look as good as they do on my computer.) =)

Mal getting ready

Laura loves her coffee...

Her comfort =) Orange Cream Slush!

Sisters

The amazingly beautiful bride!! (it is washing her face out for some reason...)

Beautiful hair!!

The Bouquet

The mom and her best friends helping her with the dress...

fwHer wonderful mom helping her into her dress... =)

Finishing touches =)

Stunning!

One of her besties and her wedding planner! =)

Kimbo, thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this!! Love you!!

Summer Camp

2011-06-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

This past sunday, I had the awesome opportunity of taking pictures of our summer camp at NewHope. =) It was so fun! I am just learning how to use the Manual setting on my camera too, so it was a perfect opportunity to practice! =) I love love LOVE working with the kids program. I love seeing the innocence of children and their way of thinking that is so simple, yet so awesome! It is an amazing learning opportunity for me and for the other leaders as well! Huge blessing! Here are some pictures! (We had to be inside because mother nature didn't want us to have a water fight apparently...)

The welcome sign =)

The two team signs. I am a Crazy Crocodile leader =)

These two adore each other. It is so cute to watch!
Learning the actions to the songs

Mindi: Our fearless leader ;)

Orange Crush following Miss Mindi
The kids yelling (Yes. Really yelling) our camp chant

The camp chant!

Dawson showing how strong he is...
Moving their paper balls across the line
The paper ball fight between the Crazy Crocodiles...

Orange Crush's turn!

Three great boys enjoying a little treat after Summer Camp =)

My church is AWESOME. =D

Sorry!

2011-06-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been absent for a while... My computer crashed, so I am borrowing peoples computers to access the internet. =) First thing, if you haven't read "Heaven is for Real" you absolutely NEED to! It tells a story a little boy who dies for about four minutes and goes to heaven and comes back to Earth. It is so amazing how he tells about heaven. It is how the Bible states it in Revelation. It makes me even more excited because it also talks about him meeting his unborn sister, and his great grandpa who died before he was born. I now know that I will see my dad again! It is such a gift to look forward to! (Not saying I want to die soon, I can wait for death, I just can't wait for Heaven) =) and Second, Before my computer went to *hopefully* get fixed by Superman (Aka: Charlie) I was able to set up a facebook page for my attempt at a photography business. =) I have recently decided that I really do want to be a photographer! So, I think that means that I should start taking steps in that direction. =) So, if you have a facebook, you should 'like' my page!! Creative Passions Photography, but I need to go get ready for work! As soon as I get my computer back, I will post pictures of our garden, and other fun things that we are doing here at the 901! =) But, as of now, you get a boring-no pictures post =) I hope you are staying cool in this gross-humid-hot weather!! Ta ta!

Nutella Poptarts!

2011-05-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Last night, Becca was over and we were having a little sleepover and we decided that we should make something! So, I was looking at recipes and thinking about what I already had in my little food collection, so I found this super duper easy recipe for Nutella Poptarts! All you need is refrigerated pie crust and some nutella, and Viola! You are done! =) So, here are some step by step instructions if you want to try them! I only had one because Nutella is really rich, so I didn't really eat a lot, but we shared with the girls upstairs and they were great!

Gather your ingredients:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Spread flour out on a smooth surface

Roll out the pie crust

Cut 2x3 rectangles out of the dough, I used a ruler, but you don't have to!

Score the dough with a knife and then cut with a pizza cutter

Spread them out on a cookie sheet.

Put two teaspoons on one of the halves

Then place the other half on top

And seal them together with a fork

Poke holes in the top!

Becca wanted a smiley face... =)

It doesn't make very many, but it made a good amount for one pie crust! =)

I also covered the tops with nutella, we didn't have to much luck with drizzling. =)

I didn't get a picture of the final product either... sorry!!

Enjoy!!!

I got the recipe at http://mamagrubbsgrub.blogspot.com/2011/05/nutella-pop-tarts.html

Now introducing...

2011-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

The 901 gardens!! =) We have started growing things!! Rachel asked for a garden for her birthday, so her dad and grandma came up to our house and they built her one and that was our inspiration!! So, in her garden, there are tomatoes, arugala, lettuce, spinach and some more goodies that I can't remember. =) Then, I planted basil and chives in two seperate pots. Kaley planted some strawberries and I just got done planting cantaloupe, green beans and sugar snap peas! I can't wait to see them sprout over the summer! Here are some pictures of our little gardens!

My two pots with Basil and Chives with my little water gnomes =)

My basil is sprouting!

The chives are kind of there. If you look closely, you can see a teensy weensy little sprout. =)

Rachel's garden!

Love all the green!

Spinach!

The weather + barefoot = perfection. =)

Tomatoes!

Cantaloupe

Sugar Snap Peas

and Green beans! Strawberries are by the green beans, but no sign.

The garden by our house!

And, tomorrow morning, Kaley bug and I will be planting these beautiful flowers in front of our house! =) S

I hope you are enjoying this lovely weather!! =D

Amazing women.

2011-05-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I was able to photograph these amazing women. Everyone of these women have had an impact of my life and I love that I can call them sisters. If you ever have the chance, just sit down with the four of them and just sit back and watch them. You will be entertained for quite a while. They have been the best of friends for their whole lives and it shows! They are so full of joy and laughter! I just love them all!! Here are some of my favorites from the shoot! =)

They are all stunning, right?! =)

Giving the "smolder" look

I love love love authentic laughing shots.

Love you girls!!

The Past Week

2011-05-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Man! My nose has been in books this past week, that everytime I would think of updating, I would forget or fall asleep. =) Finals are officially over and I have OFFICIALLY started summer vacation! Woot woot!! =D Holy cow... This semester has been so strange! We had so many snow days at my school, and I had three surgeries that got behind too. I never thought this semester of school would end! I am so glad it has though! Only for the school work though. I kind of want to freeze time when it comes to friends and the seniors that are graduating and moving away. If you know me, I absolutely HATE change. So, now that a lot of my dear friends are moving away, that is change, therefore, I hate it. Dang. I am super excited for every single one of them and cannot wait to see where God takes them!! =D This past week or two has been packed full of challenge events/random things that I thought I would share with all of you! Well, it consisted of the last 834 group time, the last worship team time, a wedding, The Casual (a dance), midnight runs to IHOP, Studying, studying, OH! and more studying, The Last challenge and a bonfire/worship night of awesomeness. =) Don't worry, I won't put pictures from EVERYTHING, that post would be way to long and I feel like you would get bored, so I will just put up a couple from some of them =) So, if you are in college, I wish you luck on all of your finals and ending of school times and if you aren't, I wish you luck in whatever you are doing at this point, and I hope that everyone is loving this weather that God has blessed us with!! =)

First started with an orange leaf date with my very dear friend from high school and her daughter! =) Loved it!

Studying... Oy.
Some of the best women that you could ever know.
I just love them all and was honored to be one of their LIFE group leaders this year!!

2 pictures of me with some of my favorite girls. =)

Porch time with one of my roomies.

The amazing worship team. =) Love them!

Random pics. 2 are from the worship night, then the other 2 are pictures of me with two amazing people at the last challenge. =)
Worship at the last challenge
Again...

The note card pile that was my choice of study tool. They took about 2 hours, but were definitely worth it!

During our random trip to IHOP, we each drew pictures on our receipts for our waitress. =) We hope we made her smile!!

Toasting some marshmallows!
Yummmy!
The Sapp girls loving their smores at the Pot 2 campfire night =)

Man! I love my life! =D

Blessed.

2011-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

This year, I was part of the Christian Challenge worship team again. We are lead by two amazing people, Nate and Erika, they are so wonderful to let us invade their house every Wednesday and Thursday and Erika cooks for us every week! How brave! ;) Last year we were a family and I thought it would be weird to have people leave and new people come in. I honestly didn't think that we would ever be that close and I was a little scared. Why in the world would I think that!? This year has been so amazing! I love every single one of these people and I am honored to be able to call them brothers and sisters in Christ. I look forward to Wednesday for bible study and our community togetherness. God is so incredibly great and even though I hate (I seriously mean despise) change, he knows what he is doing and he never ceases to amaze me! Last night we prayed over our seniors and the ones that won't be coming back, I realized that I hate that those 5 people are leaving and i am so sad, but then I got a little excited for the 3 that will be joining. =) So, thank you Jesus for every single blessing in my life and thank you for the amazing opportunity to know these people! =)

The group =)

The amazing girls, that I would seriously be lost with out.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

-Jeremiah 29:11

Sunflower cake!

2011-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

So, for Easter, I went home! I didn't know if I would be able to, so it was kind of a surprise for everyone! =) Saturday was a great day! I worked, then I went home and mom, Carrie and I went to Wichita for a little shoppin, then mom went to date night and Carrie and I got a little best friend date night of our own. =) It was wonderful. Carrie truly blesses me and I am so honored to have her for a friend. Then, this morning after church, we headed over to Grandpa's house! =) This was the first Easter without Grandma, so I decided to make a sunflower cake in a way to kind of dedicate it to Grandma. Sunflowers were her absolute favorite flowers in the world. =) It was so easy to make and it was a hit!! I am definitely proud of my Grandpa! He is doing so good! I just love my family. They are awesome! Here are the steps to making the sunflower cake!! =D I hope you all had the most AMAZING Easter day with families and friends!! Enjoy the cake!

The ingredients you will need:

Make the cakes like it says to on the box:

Split into either two 8" pans, or two 9" pans (I did 8")

We were supposed to cool immediately, so, I sat them outside for a while... =)

After they are cool, start putting frosting on the cakes!!

After, you frost the first layer, stack the other cake on top,

Then, pile the frosting onto that one to make sure you cover both of the cakes really well

Voila!

Put the peeps around the edges so they are touching (mine took about 2 packages of peeps) Also, don't put these on until you are almost to the event

Then, put the chocolate chips into a bowl, or something to make it better to grab them with! (optional) I just used the peeps box.

Now is the part that takes the longest... Cover the top of the cake with the chips to make it look like seeds

It takes quite sometime, but there was a good movie on tv, so it worked great. =)

Done!

The cake and the inspiration in the back =)

There you go! A sunflower cake for any occasion!

What you’ll need:

1 box cake mix {flavor of your choice, plus ingredients to make cake}
2 containers of chocolate frosting
chocolate chips {enough to fill center of cake, I used a combination of regular sized and mini chocolate chips}
2 packages of yellow peeps

What to do:
1. Bake cake{s} according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.

2. Place bottom layer onto serving tray, spread a layer of icing on top. Top with second layer of cake. Continue icing until cake is complete.

3. Arrange peeps around the edge of the bottom layer. Place chocolate chips in center in circular pattern.

"For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him." - Romans 6:9

A great great weekend. =)

2011-04-19T00:02:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was super duper amazingly fantastic! =) It started on Friday morning around 5:15 in the morning (which is odd, because I soooo do not do mornings) but, it was good and I was in a good mood because I was on my way to Kansas City to pick my sister up from the airport! She hasn't been home since she moved to Nashville in January! I was talking about it all week and I was so excited! So, I got to spend the WHOLE day with her and I didn't have to share her with anyone! =) It was awesome. Well, I shared her for a couple minutes with a few people, but other than that, it was all me. =) Then, I came home around 6 on Friday night and we got ready for our moustache party here at the 901. Yep, you read correctly. I said a moustache party. What is it you ask? Oh, it was just a few hours of pure awesome. =) We have been wanting to have a party/excuse to get a lot of people together for a long time, so about a month and a half ago, we planned on having a moustache party! It is a fun, unique idea and I honestly recommend it to anyone! That started at 8 and we had pictures of famous people with famous moustaches, cupcakes with moustaches on them, a picture frame for great picture taking fun, and prizes for best moustache! It was so much fun! (Pictures below.) I definitely think that another should happen, if it will, I don't know, but a girl can dream, right? =) Then, I worked on Saturday and Sunday and then on Sunday night was the auction for Christian Challenge to raise money for the FOCUS teams this summer. It is always amazing how awesome God is. I will never stop being amazed. =) This years goal was to raise $4500 and our final count was $13,140. God is so incredibly amazing! To amazing for words!! It was an awesome time of community and just a great time to (once again) prove Gods faithfulness in these situations. =) So, I hope that all of you had an amazing weekend and that you are loving this amazing weather God has given us! Now, enjoy pictures from party!

We had quite a buffet...

The cupcakes had moustaches!

Those of us from the worship team that came

Shannon even showed up! =D

love my twin. =)

Oh my. That is all I can say for both pictures.

2 of my amazing roommates. =)

George won first and Jared and Grant (the creeps) won 2nd =)

=) =) =)

I am blessed with amazing friends.

The girls of the 901 minus Rachy Rach

Another one of the worship team peeps.

The girls representing the Amish Hippies!

He couldn't find his facial hair...

Love her. =)

Hope you have enjoyed them!! =)

I hope you have a superb day!!

Randomness =)

2011-04-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

I am SERIOUSLY loving my new camera. =) Soooo, todays post will be just random pictures. =) I hope you are enjoying this amazingly beautiful spring day!!!

Summit 2011

2011-03-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

This year for spring break, I went to Summit again! =) It was so amazing this year too! I don't know, but they do a pretty fantastic job planning this thing because I haven't ever heard a bad thing about it! After Summit, I got to come back and work and it was great and it also allowed me to really think about what I had just learned. Pastor Terry Williams came and was the speaker and he spoke about Passion and Pace. It was just so great to hear some new things! Summit is not one of those conferences that you go to and come home with your head about to explode with the steps of how you are supposed to become a better Christian. This year it really came at a perfect time in my life, with my surgery troubles, and other troubles, it was great! =) Here are some pictures!

Our caravan crew!

The beautiful camp I will never get sick of =)

Watching the KSU game! =D

Our sweet Henna tattoos.

Lovely friends

A lot of Crud was played!

Terry and Jim worked behind the snack counter!

A mountain goat came to visit us! Actually a couple!

Amazing.

What an amazing sunrise God gave us this year!

Beautiful friends during an amazing sunrise

Thank you Jesus!

The wonderful girls from our LIFE group that came. What blessings!

More Crud

Two of my favorite people.

I will never get sick of this view!

Last view of the mountain as we left!

Our caravan crew on the wayhome.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" -Deuteronomy 31:6.

Giving this another try... =)

2011-03-15T02:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the first time I did this, the name was taken, and I didn't really feel like I liked it, and then someone hacked it, so, we are trying this website thing again!! =)

Click HERE to see it! I am excited about it this time and I hope that some good things can come from it! =)

I hope that you are all enjoying life and making the most out of every day!!! =)

"The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad."

-Psalm 118:24

What Love Really Means

2011-02-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

This week has kind of been one of those weeks. I have really struggled with a lot of stuff internally like body image, comparison, and jealousy (What girl doesn't, right?!) I have struggled with this for so long, and I am finally starting to really notice that I am doing it and I am always reminding myself to see God's love for me and that whenever I put myself down (which, unfortunately, is a lot) it really hurts God and hurts me too. Last week, I was on my way to class and I heard this song on the radio, and I just started to cry. The words at the end are saying that God is telling this person that he will love him for who he is and not what he has done, or who he will become. That was such an amazing moment for me. I felt very overwhelmed with God's love for me and now, I just need to constantly keep telling myself that to really really believe it. I feel like it will, yes, it will take some time, but I do feel like eventually it will come!

Thank you Jesus for dying for us and showing us the most amazing act of love ever.

Here is the song:

1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie

2011-02-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

Last week was our annual dessert auction at my Church in Newton. =) I made White Chocolate Strawberry pie, a Twinkie Cake and Cupcake poppers. Here are some posts on how to make them! =) Enjoy!!

First, gather the ingredients

Combine 4 oz of chocolate and the milk and melt them in the microwave and then set it aside

In a blender, mix the powdered sugar and the cream cheese until it is soft

Make about 1 teaspoon of orange zest

Add it to the mixture

Then, mix in the white chocolate mixture

Next, fold in the whipping cream

Wash and slice 2 cups of strawberries

Pour the mixture into the pie crust, and add the strawberries

Melt the remaining chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the pie

Stick it in the fridge until you serve!

Enjoy!! =D

White Chocolate Strawberry Pie –

1 box (6oz) white baking bars, divided
2 T. milk
3 oz. cream cheese,softened
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 t. grated orange peel
1 c. whipping cream
1 graham cracker crust
2 c. fresh strawberries, sliced

In microwave, melt 4 oz. of baking bars with milk. Cool to room temp. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Beat in orange peel and melted chocolate. Fold in whipping cream. Spread into crust. Arrange strawberries on top. Melt the remaining baking bars; drizzle over berries. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Store in fridge.

Twinkie Cake

2011-02-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

First: Gather the ingredients

Cook 1 cup of milk and 4 T. of flour, then set it aside to cool

After you cook that, and set it aside, make the cake batter!

Mix all of the ingredients together and blend! Pour half of the batter into a 9x13 pan and cook it for about 13 minutes, or until golden. Cool it and cook the other half

While the cakes are baking, it is time to make the filling! Add the milk mixture, crisco, butter, sugar, ad vanila and blend until it is fluffy

After the two cakes are cooled,

Spread the filling on one of the cakes,

Then place the other cake on top and add some powdered sugar to make it look purty. =)

Enjoy!

Twinkie Cake

FILLING:
1 c. milk and 4 T. flour. Cool.

I pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (3 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
½ c. oil
1 c. water
4 eggs

Beat until mixed well. Pour half of batter (approx. 2 ½ c.) into sheet cake pan which has been lined with waxed paper, and the waxed paper greased. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until done. Cool just a little, then flip over onto board, or larger sheet cake pan. Bake second half – cool. Finish filling:

Add to flour and milk mixture:

1 c. butter flavored Crisco

½ c. softened margarine or butter

1 c. sugar

2 T. vanilla

Beat until smooth. Spread filling on cake that’s on board. Flip other cake over on top. Freeze until ready to serve. Can be stored in fridge or freezer. Cut right before serving.

Cupcake Poppers!

2011-02-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Beware: These are very very messy!

First: Gather the ingredients!

First, make the cake batter, same as what the box says

Then, divide the batter into either 5 or 6 different bowls

Then, add the gel food coloring to each bowl and mix

Scoop about a 1 Tablespoon into the mini cupcake tins

Bake for about 11 minutes

Let them cool and then place them on a wire rack to cool for a good while.

When the rest are baking, make the filling. Beat the marshmallow creme, butter and powdered sugar in a mixer, or use a hand mixer

Blend until fluffy

When the cupcakes are all cool, (make sure they are cool enough or you will have trouble), Cut the tops of the cakes off

Take the tops and add the filling in between each sandwich

Keep the cupcake bottoms for another project, or just have them as snacks!

It makes about 30 little cupcake popper sandwiches!

Enjoy!!! =D

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
1/4 teaspoon each gel or liquid food colors (neon pink, neon purple, neon orange, neon green, classic blue)
Frosting
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 60 mini muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter among 5 small bowls, about 3/4 cup each. Make 5 different colors of batter by adding 1/4 teaspoon food color to each bowl; blend well.
2. Fill each muffin cup with 1 level measuring tablespoon batter, making 12 cupcakes of each color.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
4. In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Divide frosting among 5 small bowls, about 1/3 cup each.
5. Assemble each popper using 2 mini cupcakes. Cut tops off each cupcake horizontally (save bottoms for another use). Spread or pipe about 1 tablespoon frosting on cut side of 1 cupcake top. Form a sandwich by placing cut side of second cupcake top on frosting; press lightly. Repeat with remaining cupcake tops. Store loosely covered.

Spring!

2011-02-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am really over all of the snow, ice, and freezing rain. There are 41 days until spring, and those 41 days are going to feel like a year! To add to that, I am really not looking forward to the 7 inches of snow that Manhattan is supposed to be getting tonight. Lame. Ok, maybe I am a tad dramatic, but here are some pictures that might warm you up, even if the weather will make you frozen. =) Enjoy!

Women's Retreat!

2011-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I went to the Christian Challenge Women's Retreat. It was truly a blessing. The retreats/trips that Challenge provides, come at perfect times, When I get really stressed, run down or tired. This weekend was so great! Priscilla Sapp was the speaker and she talked about the amazing life of Daniel and gave us some great practical questions to live like Daniel. It was so great to hear her again! I heard her share at Summit a couple years ago, and her wisdom and experiences are amazing. =) When Priscilla wasn't talking, it was a great time of dancing, laughing, worshiping, talking about relationships/engagements (there have been a lot of those recently, so there were a lot of stories!) and just a great community of women. Here are some pictures and videos from the weekend! Enjoy!

Shannon was even there!

A lot of talking happened.

Let the dance party begin!

All of the girls dancing to the 'Cupid Shuffle'

Missy and Lizy taught everyone a dance

Then, of course, Jai Ho happened!

The girls from our LIFE group that came =)

Dance Circle

More talking + Shannon

Quiet times were amazing

These ladies were all talking about their engagements/wedding plans

Priscilla speaking

Great turnout!

Casey, Laura and Whitney led worship

Beautiful women!

The amazing Sunrise that we woke up to

The Living Water Ranch is beautiful!

Snow Ice Cream!

2011-01-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

Since Manhattan has been getting A LOT of snow the past day or two, the girls of the 901 thought it would be fun to make Snow Ice cream! =) So, last night, we did it! It is so easy, and so fun to make! Here's how you do it!

First, you have to gather the snow...

(preferably clean.)

Second: If you get stuck in snow boots, have a friend help ;)

3: Take pictures while they try to get the snow boots off...

4: Gather ingredients: Milk, Sugar, snow, and vanilla

5: Scoop however much snow you would like into a big bowl

6: Add about 2 cups of milk (we ran out of milk, so we used coconut milk)

Eat the snow!

7. Add about 2 tablespoons vanilla to the mix

8. Add a cup of sugar

9. Stir it all together and you get ice cream!

Then, try it! (We might have been a little scared by the coconut milk, but it was good) ;)

You can also solve a few conflicts with a bowl of snow... ;)

And enjoy it with wonderful people (that is what I did at least.)

=) I hope you can make snow ice cream!! Enjoy!!

Playing with the new toy!

2010-12-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, we went out to my Uncle's farm for Seahawk Sunday, but instead of watching the game, I went and took pictures! =) I love love love this camera!

Hope you enjoyed them!! =D

The most amazing Christmas

2010-12-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

In our family, we were all more or less dreading this Christmas because Grandma would not be there. We were so wrong. This is a Christmas that we will always remember. Grandma was there, we could feel her in everything, from the tree to the meal... She was there. When we were dividing the presents, there were seven under the tree addressed to us from Grandma, so we saved those and one other one for the last ones to be opened. I am so glad we didn't open those first. The first one, was a recipe book that she had typed up for all of her grandchildren to give us at our weddings, they had the family recipes, her favorite recipes and tons more for us. That was super emotional, BUT then, there were 5 little gifts for the girls from Grandpa. We each opened them one at a time. Kaylee got a precious moments Noah's Ark, Carlye got a music box from her, Abby got a necklace with the initials J.A., and her birthstone (They shared the same birth stone) =) Then it came to me, I was already a mess, but when I opened it, it was so beautiful. It was one of her favorite cross necklaces and it had turquoise on it. If you didn't know her, my grandma LOVED anything and everything turquoise. It is amazing. Then came my sister, she got the most amazing and most precious gift. They were earrings that my Grandpa had gotten for my Grandma to give her this Christmas. We call them the miracle earrings... They are stunning. So, this years Christmas at the grandparents house ended up being terrible, but amazing in one. =) And on Christmas morning... I got the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. You will see in the picture later on... And we spent the day as a family. We went Geocaching, came home to relax, went geocaching again, home to watch A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, and then yes, even more geocaching... It was wonderful! =) I hope you all had the most amazing Christmas' and you saw God's light truly shining!!

Grandpa (and helpers) did an amazing job! Grandma would be proud...

Family =)

All of the cousins

All of us with Grandpa

The recipe book

She typed up every recipe 7 times...

The cross necklace

It is so pretty!!

Also, this year, we didn't do a huge puzzle... We did a little 48 piecer. =)

All bundled for Geocaching

She is pretty great. =) haha

While we were geocaching, we had a sword fight. =) Of course!!

Charlie even participated!

And introducing...

My new toy!!!! I got a Canon Rebel xs EOS 1000D.

Aka. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

I am seriously in love with it. =) =)

1 Chronicles 16:34:
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Anderson family! (Plus Charlie)

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Luke 2:11-14

Cupcakes!

2010-12-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

]',9*"0About two weeks ago for my life group, I made these cupcakes... They are Oreo cheesecakes. I am not a huge fan of them, but I don't really like oreos, but my girls loved them! So, if you ever need a cheap, easy snack, here you go!

Here is what you will need:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees

First, line the liners with oreos

Chop about 12 oreos up and set them aside

You always need a little snack and some great music. =)

Follow the recipe and blend everything...

Then stir in the oreos

Scoop the batter into the cups on top of the oreos

Then, bake about 22 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through

This is what the finished product looks like!

Enjoy!!

Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes Recipe
Makes 30

Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

So so Thankful

2010-12-01T20:19:00.002-08:00

Today, my family and I buried my Grandma. My amazing Grandma that is such an influence to so many people. At her funeral, it was just so amazing to see everyone there and everyone had their own story about how amazing she was and how she touched their lives. Wow. She loved to cook, bake, make candy every Christmas, collecting precious moments, sunflowers and pigs. Yes, pigs. =) There will never be anyone like her and I just am so so so grateful that I had 20 years with her loving all of us unconditionally. So Grandma, thank you so much for everything you did for our family. You will be truly missed and we will love you forever and I cannot wait to see you again! =)

You can't see it, but here is a link to her obit. =) Just click under this text.

http://www.thekansan.com/obituaries/x1743707127/Janet-Lee-Anderson

57 years and still so much in love.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:1-4

Love.

2010-11-12T12:41:00.001-08:00

Fall is my absolute favorite season! Spring is a close second, but the leaves that are changing are just breathtaking! I love pomegranates, pumpkin pie, the smell of rain, the heat coming on, Thanksgiving, baking delicious fall desserts, sweatshirts, and especially the orange, yellow and red leaves!! =D

Oh life...

2010-10-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Life is crazy. I don't know where my life is heading right now. God has really been putting a lot of stuff on my heart and mind, and with that, there have been a lot and lot of tests. Oy! I am really kind of over having so many questions! In my freshman bible study last week, we did something about our old selves and our new selves. It was definitely good for me. =) It was good to see who I used to be and who I have grown (still growing) to be the Christian woman I am today. I have also had a lot of time to think. Which, as dangerous as that is, it has been good. Everyday at lunch, I sit at the park, either doing quiet time, reading 'A Praying Life' or finishing homework. That time is usually about one and a half to two hours of just me time. God has really shown me a lot through those times also. I have been able to think about life, relationships, life, school, relationships, life, my prayer life, and a lot more stuff. Even though it sounds ridiculous and repetitive, it has been so good. In girl time, we are talking about the sin in our life and accountability. It really makes you think throughout the week. Holy cow! It has been great! Erika gave us a sheet of accountability questions that really is great to look at everyday and ask yourself how you are doing on certain things. =) Also, one of test God has been continuously putting me through is a test of relationships. Not necessarily just friend relationships, but boy relationships also. It is so hard to figure out what he is doing and I just wish that I could have answers, but I am starting to realize, that even though I don't like them at all at the time, they are really building me and making me grow in ways I didn't know that i could grow in. There have just been so many instances where I feel like a relationship is going really well, and then something happens and it is just all down the toilet and Satan gets in my head and starts listing off why I don't have a boyfriend right now, or why I am lonely. This whole exercise has really made my prayer life grow. It has been great. Also, we are doing song testimonies and I chose the song "Beautiful" by Bethany Dillon. This video. It is such an amazing song and when I feel down and not liking myself anymore, I just blast this song and it just fixes everything. =) Thank you Jesus for everything.

Psalm 13:5
"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

Fall! =)

2010-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! Fall is my favorite season and it is also the time of my favorite fruit! Yep. You guessed it! Pomegranates! The only problem with these amazingly delicious fruits is having to cut them... What a pain! Well, here is a step by step way to help you cut into this fruit! Be careful though! They can stain anything! :)

First: Cut the 'crown' and the bottom off of the fruit
Then, take the knife and push it in to the pomegranate. Just enough to get through the skin to the white part.
Score it into 4 different sections
Then, in a bowl of cold water, pull the fruit into four sections

Then, trying to keep the fruit under the water (to contain the juice) remove the seeds from the skin. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the skin will float
Take the pieces of skin out the best you can
Then dump the seeds into a strainer then put them into whatever container you want!
Then, violà! You have successfully cut and de-seeded a pomegranate! Eat them with ice cream, pies, tarts or just by spoonfuls! =)

ENJOY!!

The Constant

2010-09-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Collegiate Fall Conference and it was so amazing!! I feel as if it gets better and better every year. Jeff Iorg was our speaker and the theme this year was "The Constant: Finding the Anchor in a Turbulent World" It was so so great to hear all of his talks. If you ever have time, you should listen to some his podcasts. He is a pastor that has an amazing story. I went to his workshop that was called, "Discerning God's Call" and I do not regret going to this one at all! Holy cow! He talked about three types of call experiences and then he told us about all of his call stories. What an amazing guy! The whole weekend was full of amazing worship led by Micah Peacock, amazing community, great talks in our small groups, camping, laughing, amazing talks and all around great great great time with God. I learned so much about myself in two days. =) I love this weekend every year and I cannot wait at all for next year! Thank you Jesus for such an amazing Christian community!!! =)

Tent city!

Yes, those are hammocks. Some boys stayed there instead of tents... =)

Great friends... =)

13.5 minutes of fame

Lots of hang out time =D

Of course bonfires!

And of course IHOP at 11:30 pm.

1 Peter 1:22-2:3

²²Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you