Special News Alert

My computer has crashed !!! I have close to zero internet access. Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year. I hope to talk to you all soon !

Mary did you know ?

Please pause the Christmas music at the bottom of the page to listen to one of my all time favorite songs.

10 Years Younger

In recent months I've noticed more fine lines and wrinkles. Actually, I've noticed them for a wile, but I've just now let them bother me some. So....I ordered some skin care products to try. The ad claims to make you look 10 years younger. WOW ! They were right, and it's not just 10 years, but closer to 20 ! Since I started using the products a few days ago, I've gone back in time and now I've hit puberty. My face has broken out worse than it has ever ! So now I'm dealing with that. Lovely. Curse you Joan Lunden and your infomercials !!

More Heartspun favorites....

Dear Vivi - Thank you for these wonderful pictures of my family. I'm in love with them and I think you are super talented ! Thank you for being a great friend. You have a very sweet spirit !

Who's ready ?

Happy Thanksgiving

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

I am so thankful ! God has blessed me and my family immensely. I hope you all have a safe and blessed thanksgiving. Now, I leave you with these very silly cupcakes....

Toothless

Emma has been nursing a loose tooth for a while now. James and I have been trying to get her to pull it out, but she was too scared. This morning, I told her she looked like a witch. As you can see, this tooth is barely hanging on....

A few hours later, it finally fell out !!! She is very excited that she can put a straw in the hole.

Junkyard dawgs.....

Well, what can I say....I asked my friend Viv to do our Christmas pictures because I knew she wouldn't disappoint ! She is an amazing friend and an amazing photographer. Don't ask me why, but I've been wanting to take pictures for a very long time at a junkyard, and this week we were fortunate enough to make it happen. Looking at these pictures makes me all teary eyed because they make me so happy ! You can see some of the others on her Heartspun Imagery website. Enjoy !

Busy busy

Due to my schedule, I've been unable to blog much. I feel like I've been put through the ringer with everything that has been going on at work, so I don't have a lot of extra energy to really blog much. I have yet to give a Central market update. I can tell you the food was delumptious and super easy to make. I will have some pictures to post in the near future that I'm super excited about and I need to get shopping for ! I'm praying it all turns out how I see it in my mind's eye. Sometimes I get angry with my mind's eye. I see it one way and I won't rest till it materializes in that fashion...can be frustrating. Let's see...what else. Busy, busy. Sleepy, sleepy. I love my baby. I love my hubby. I'm ready for Christmas. I'm ready for our C3 Conference in a few months. I'm ready for Disney in a LOT of months. I wish we were having a baby, but all in all, I'm very happy. Now, it's time for bed. Good night all.

And....this was how we found Sleeping Beauty last night before we went to bed. This is about how I feel.

Happy Halloween !

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. We had a fun filled day for sure ! Here is my super cute Harajuku girl and my easy Martha Stewart ghost cake. I definitely took the easy way out on the cake !

My cats have gone completely mad. I don't know if it's the additional Halloween decor I've put up, but they seem possessed by the kids plastic tablecloth !

Pranksters

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

One thing is for sure, we have a lot of fun at home. We are usually always singing and dancing and playing tricks on each other. Tonight, while Emma was getting ready to get her bath, James and I armed ourselves with cans of silly string. We snuck up on her and emptied both cans. She thought it was really funny ! I'm sure there will be more tricks to come.

Central Market

For my birthday this year, which was in August, James surprised me and booked us a cooking class at Central Market in Houston. I was so excited and I've been patiently waiting for the day to come. Saturday will be the day ! I'm going to take my camera with me, but I'm not sure if they will allow pictures. Hopefully they will and I'll be able to give a full report. The menu is Fall Food and we are hoping to love it enough to make some of it for Thanksgiving dinner.

Here is the menu:

Seared Tri-Tip Steaks with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce
Herbed Crispy Cracked Potatoes
Baked Acorn Squash with Maple Butter
Pumpkin Flan with Pecan Streusel & Carrot-Root Beer Reductions

I think it sounds great !!!

Houston Zoo

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Friday afternoon when we walked out of the hospital, we were quite surprised by the weather. It was so cool outside and so gorgeous. We were very thankful. We passed the zoo on the way home and Emma asked again about going to the zoo. We decided to take her for a little while on Saturday afternoon. It was gorgeous outside and I got some cute pictures of Emma and her cousins. I just love this kid !

Emma's costume

Emma was so excited to finally get her costume. It was delivered while we were in the hospital, but she tried it on as soon as she could. Of course she was dancing for us and being dramatic.

Texas Children's Hospital

Well....if I had to say something about Texas Children's Hospital, it's the best and the worst place to be. I won't go into great detail, but long story short, in a total freak accident, Emma fell backwards off of our garden tub Tuesday night and hit her head on our ceramic floor. We ended up at the hospital twice until she was admitted. Her first scan revealed bleeding by her brain, but at that point they weren't sure where it was coming from and how severe it was. They ordered another scan and injected her with a contrast dye so they could look at her vessels. Praise God that one revealed the bleeding had stopped and she didn't need surgery. When the doctors were bringing up surgery on my baby, I honestly thought I was going to hyperventilate. We ended up staying until Friday and the hospital was so awesome. The staff was so wonderful and I am so thankful. Emma is a tough kid, but I know that because of the people there, she was able to get 2 IV's without shedding a tear, she got 2 cat scans without shedding a tear, and she gave about 6 tubes of blood without shedding a tear. Not to mention all of the other scary things that hospitals have and do. They were really great. I pray that we NEVER have to go back there, but if we do, I'm so thankful to live in a place where we have access to a medical center as awesome as we have in Houston. Emma was actually sad to leave the hospital. She said it was fun. I was also thankful for the reasons we were there. Walking the halls of the Neurology floor will make you appreciate the blessings in your life. It's a tough place to be and there are some tough things to see there, but I promise you that it will open your eyes. Today I have a praise and a prayer request. I'm praising God for keeping Emma safe, but I ask that you pray for those kids at Texas Children's Hospital.

Halloween invites

Halloween invites
Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

The invites are in the mail ! I wish I could say this was my original idea, but I got the inspiration from Better Homes and Gardens. I think they turned out pretty cute. Emma had fun letting me paint her feet !

Happy, Not-so-happy pets

Happy....

Not so happy......

EEK !! Halloween cats !!

Happy Halloween !

Happy Halloween !
Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

Well, I had planned for a detailed post, but I am short on time, which is the norm lately. These are our pumpkins. We will be carving them, but not until the end of the month. Unfortunately, it's too hot to carve them now. I love Halloween !

Bad blogger

I know, I know....I've been a bad blogger. I really do have several posts piled up in this brain of mine, but I've been too busy. I work for a bank and we merged with another bank back in December, but the actual change-over has yet to happen. Needless to say, it's happening this month and it's been pretty crazy around here. I'm still working on a Halloween party for the kids and I have a pumpkin post to do for you. For now, I'll leave you with a picture of Emma's Halloween costume.

Harajuku Girl

She's going to look pretty doggone cute !

Seasons of change

Now that fall is officially here, I start getting emails with decor ideas and awesome recipes and it makes me all giddy. I love the holidays. James pokes fun at me because with every holiday, I claim it as my "favorite". He told me recently that they are all my favorite. I can't help it. I love family and I love getting together and to me, that's what the holidays are all about. First up is Halloween. I love Halloween. I think it's a blast to get to dress up as some one else for an evening and go to carnivals and play fun games. If I had the time, and of course the money, my house would look like something out of a Martha Stewart catalog to represent each holiday. Maybe someday, but for now I'll just show you some of the super cute Halloween ideas I've seen

recently.

I love to see beautiful and elegant Halloween displays, but for now, I'm really drawn to the kid-friendly ones. I do love this silhouette tree though. I think it's very elegant. I've thought about doing silhouette portraits for our bedroom, now I may have the perfect craft to jump start it !

If you'd like to see some very elaborate decorations, check out Grandin Road . Pricey, but amazing.

This year I'm hoping to have a little Halloween party for the kiddos before we head to the church carnival, but it's up in the air because of work. So, we shall see. I know some people are against Halloween, but to me it's a boat load of fun and I can never remember a time when I didn't dress up. Do you have any Halloween traditions ? I'd love to hear them and maybe get some ideas for myself !

Hosanna

Minnie party

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

Today was my nieces birthday and she had a Minnie Mouse party. I had lots of fun making this cake and the cupcake toppers. Minnie Mouse is just too cute, so it makes it lots of fun! Thanks for looking !!!

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Sneak peek

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

It's 9:15, everyone is asleep, and I'm working on a little something for this weekend. I hope it turns out to my liking so I don't scrap them all !

A sweet follow up....

Too cute !!!

James 30th birthday

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

This past weekend, James turned the big 3-0 and I couldn't let it pass without celebrating. We had a 70's karaoke party and it was a lot of fun. Check out my Flickr for all the pics !

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

Seriously ??!!

Being a Texan I've grown up with the myths of the Chupacabra, but thank heavens someone actually caught it !!! I was beginning to worry. ;)

CNN actually ran a story about this and it is a little gross, but I'm sorry....it's just a poor mangy dog. You can click to watch the video and see for yourself.

The Chupacabra Caught?
by Mike Krumboltz



It really does exist! Maybe! The famed chupacabra has apparently been found, and it's a Texan.
Or at least it was. The beast is now dead, but news of its capture near Blanco, Texas, inspired Bigfoot-sized searches. Lookups on "chupacabra" surged a whopping 571%, and related queries on "what does chupacabra mean" also roared. (For the record, its rough translation is "goat sucker.") The find also inspired renewed interest in the equally notorious Montauk Monster.
Jerry Ayer, owner of Blanco Taxidermy School, has possession of the mythical beast's body. According to CNN, the animal was discovered by one of Ayer's students. The student had "placed poison...to catch an unidentified animal that had gotten into a family member's barn." Little did the student know the animal in question was (maybe) the chupacabra.
In the video from CNN (which is pretty gross, so beware), Ayer shows off some of the unusual features of the animal, including abnormally long legs and teeth. It looks a bit like the world's ugliest (and meanest) dog.
Of course, this is hardly the first time someone has claimed to have captured the chupacabra. In years past, brave souls have spotted it in places ranging from Russia to Maine to the Philippines. Often the animal is spotted by folks who conveniently forget to snap a photo.
Not so this time. Ayer says he plans to preserve the animal and then donate it to a local museum so it can be enjoyed by others. As the taxidermist puts it, the beast is "a tremendous conversation piece." Sort of like the Mona Lisa or a really stellar collection of garden gnomes.

Wow, the things that make headlines nowadays.

We're gearing up !!!

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Feeling Convicted

I've tried to do this post a couple times this week, but with power outages and doctor's visits, this is the first real chance I've had. I've felt very compelled all week to write this post and I think it's mostly because I don't know about the salvation of the majority of the people that come across my blog.

In the past few weeks I've had some health issues that have really frustrated me to the point of tears, and this week something else happened that prompted a trip to the doctor. Unfortunately, I got no answers and right now we are "waiting it out" to see what happens. In the back of my mind, I still am thinking the worst and I know I really shouldn't do that. In addition to this, James and I have unsuccessfully conceived for well over a year, but have really been struggling with infertility since about January. Infertility is a tough thing. It's emotionally hard and can been physically hard depending on what kind you are dealing with, but the worst part for me is the fact that it has made me a judge. I don't want to be that way, but it's very hard to want a baby so bad and it seems like every where you look you see someone that shouldn't be pregnant. I know that's so wrong to have that way of thinking ! In my mind I start trying to hash it out with God, and I have this conversation that goes back and forth where I try to figure out how the unwed teen mother gets to have a baby, but we don't. Or I see people that are terrible to their children and they are pregnant again, or people that are just down-right unhappy with the fact they are pregnant. I could go on forever on this. To me, this part of not getting pregnant is the toughest to deal with because it seems so unfair.

Now, with all of this being said, here's where I sit. I am blessed beyond belief and I am very aware of this. Every morning this week, I've prayed in my car and listened to Christian radio and I promise you that God has been whispering in my ear all week that everything will be ok. He's constantly been telling me this every day this week and I know He's always telling me this, but for some reason, this week my heart is so open and receptive to what He has to say and it feels great. I KNOW no matter what happens with us trying to have a baby, or with health issues, that it's going to all work out to what He has planned for us. I KNOW that what God has planned for our lives is better than anything we could dream up on our own. Right now, I feel kind of like I'm in God's waiting room. I don't know what will happen, but I'm extremely at peace this week.

So here's the main motive behind this post. In addition to feeling all of this, I got to thinking a lot about the people that read my blog and I started wondering about their salvation. I thought to myself that what if someone else is going through a tough time right now, but because they don't know the Lord, their burden is even heavier than it could be ? Have you ever thought much about your relationship with God ? Do you even believe in God ? Are you the person that I used to be years ago that thought if you only lived your life in such a way that would be pleasing to most that you will most definitely go to Heaven ? I am not ashamed that I used to think that way because I think that many of us are blinded by the enemy and are told many lies about the real truth of salvation. I'm so thankful that someone shared with me the truths in the Bible and now I know how I can have eternal life in Heaven. I feel compelled to share it with you all this week which I have to say is somewhat out of my comfort zone. It's not that I'm not confident in what I believe, but talking openly to anyone and everyone is not something that comes easy to just anyone.

Some of you may think about some of the things you have done in your past or may be currently doing and you may think that God wouldn't love you they way He says, but that is so not true. In Romans 3:23 it says "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God". Everyone sins and even as a Christian, you will sin. You will never be perfect and anyone that says they aren't a sinner is blinded by reality. The Bible also says in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord". I love life and I love living it, so to really think about dying sometimes stinks, but dying to this body only and having eternal life is amazing ! If you are unsure about your own salvation, ask your self this....Do you know what it takes to be saved ? Romans 10:9-10 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." And if you are skeptical, or have been told there are other ways to be saved, in John 14:6 Jesus says this "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." These are not my words, so please feel free to look them up for yourself. I could probably go on all day, but this is a good start.

My prayer for you today is if you do not know the Lord, that you will open your heart and receive him. I can promise you that your lie will be changed. I am 32 today and my life is better now than it has ever been and I know it is because God loves me, he gives me peace when I need it the most, he will never leave me, and He has given me the free gift of salvation. All I had to do was ask. I have a wonderful husband that loves me for who I am. I have a beautiful daughter that is so amazing and I'm so thankful on this day !!!!

Pray for your teachers

Tomorrow Emma will be starting school much like the most of the school districts. Remember to pray for your children's teachers and remember to pray for everyone they will come in contact with on a daily basis. These are the people that will have your child more than you will in a day and ultimately can have the biggest impact in their young impressionable lives. I'm very excited about Emma's teacher this year and I can't believe she's going to be in first grade already. Soon we'll be picking out an outfit and getting ready for bed. Good luck to all the kiddos tomorrow and the teachers !

Updates

Well, my blog posts may be scarce for a while, but I hope not too scarce. Our laptop at home has petered out. The laptop itself actually hasn't, but the receptacle in which the Internet cable goes into is messed up. I honestly don't know if it can be fixed. I'm looking into it.

The Jonas Brothers was awesome. Emma and I had a big time, but I was unable to take in my camera, which was a little disappointing. It's not a professional camera, but you were only allowed to bring in a pocket camera, but I don't have one of those. Thankfully there was a very nice lady sitting next to me that took a few pictures and she is supposed to email them to me.

I have a baby shower cake to make this week and I haven't even started on the details ! I need to get after it and hopefully once I get pictures of it, I can find a way to post them on here. I can upload them at home, but no Internet, no uploads.

And lastly, I traded in my beastly Nissan Armada this weekend on a....drum roll please......Nissan Cube !!! Yes, it's a clown car, but I love it ! Surprisingly enough, it has tons of room in it and it gets 30 miles to the gallon, so that's a no brainer. Of course, I can't show you a picture of it, but I'll leave you with a picture of one I found on the Internet, but imagine it in black :)

On another note.....

She hearts Nick Jonas

I heart Nick Jonas
Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

Well, here it is in all its goopy glittery mess. I hope it dries fast !!!! There's enough glue on this poster to shellac the walls. I would like to embellish it some more, but it's 10 p.m. and mamma needs some sleep !

Jonas Bound

Emma is counting down the seconds till tomorrow nights Jonas Brothers concert !! Right now we are making an "I heart Nick" poster. That's Emma's favorite Jonas. I'm pretty excited too !!! I think it is going to be a blast !

Out Of My League

James used to play this song for me and sing it to me. Even now when I hear it, I feel the same as I did the first time he ever played it for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWT1u8ez8KU

Ringo and Clyde

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

Who says cats hate water ??!! He looks to be enjoying it to me ! It was that time again. I've given Clyde and Ringo baths since they were kittens, but it's been a while. Ringo didn't mind the bath as much as Clyde did, but we got it done !!

And Clyde....he wasn't up for picture taking....

Punching bag

One

Two

Three !!

This is what you get when you take a big kid, a little kid and an old thrown together Threadcakes contest entry. A cake as a punching bag, an encourager, and a willing participant ! Sorry Soul Sister.

Soul Sister

I couldn't help myself. Since learning about cakes has become a small addiction, I really wanted to enter another cake in the Threadcakes competition. Do I think I have anything worthy of winning ? No. But it gives me an excuse to play. I've been wanting to learn to paint on fondant and when I came across one of their new designs, I fell in love with it and new it would be the perfect opportunity to try painting. I really ran out of time to make another cake, but last night I had some free time and I threw it together at the last minute. It could definitely be better, but I enjoyed painting. The lady is painted fondant and the circles are fondant cut outs. I hope you like it !

Here's the T-shirt design. I really must purchase this !

And here's my version of it. I got some cracks in my circles because I let them sit too long before bending them over the cake, but such is life !!!

Birthday Cake

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

My sister in law asked me to make a cake for a co-worker for her birthday. Since I didn't know anything about the lady, I decided to do something pretty conservative. The cake didn't turn out exactly like I had hoped. I have to agree with James, the "tendrils" are too heavy. They should be a little thinner. I think it looks like an Octopus is laying under the flowers. This was my first attempt at a bow and I wasn't too pleased with it, but I went with it anyways. The ribbon should've also been a little thinner. Good practice I guess, but I can be a little anal about things. Hopefully it'll taste good ! Alternating layers of chocolate butter cake and golden butter cake with cookies and cream filling, covered in chocolate fondant. Thanks for looking !

On another note, only because it just crossed my mind, and I don't mean to make anyone puke this morning, but.......you know what I love ???

(cue the songbirds)

I love falling asleep holding James' hand. Sorry, I have issues......

Blossoms

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Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

These are my first fondant blossoms.....I kinda like them...

Bad, bad, bad

This is my confession, and I'm really embarrassed. I'm very sad to say that I'm addicted to watching "Toddlers & Tiaras" on TLC. At the risk of offending someone, I will refrain from saying what I think about the show, but I can't help but watch it !!! Forgive me.

Playing In The Sprinkler

Playing In The Sprinkler
Originally uploaded by amberdawn82777

My Threadcakes contest entry ! I needed one more detail, but I'm not changing anything now. It's late and it's been submitted. This was loads of fun to make. It's an orange cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, covered in fondant. All the accents are fondant, including the characters. So, wish me luck !

A little crowded....

I don't like it when James works nights for many reasons, so I try to make the best of it. One great thing is I get to lay right in the middle of the bed with the pillows stacked around me. It's Food Network all night long and it's pretty relaxing. WRONG !! Emma sleeps with me which I do love, but we watch the Disney channel, which at least puts me to sleep. Last night after VBS the animals were all feeling needy. So this is what my bed looked like. I had Emma to my left and Nalani, Clyde and Ringo to my right. Of course Nalani was almost sideways on the bed and she's not a tiny dog. She weighs about 110 pounds, maybe even a little more now. She sleeps like a rock too. I finally kicked them all out of the bed around 2 a.m., but all in all I got about 3 hours of sleep. I will more than likely be napping this afternoon !

BTW, I had to take this picture before I kicked them out.....