Jen's Shower

This weekend I had the honor of attending my dear friend Jen's baby shower (here's her blog). She is going to be an amazing mother, and I am ridiculously excited to meet her little girl in a few weeks (well, several weeks...but still). Here are a few pics of the shower...

The delicious spread! I was particularly fond of the mini-quiches, or as I call them, "little bites of happiness."

Decorations by Faith (here's her blog)

More decorations. I am kinda in love with this...things to remember at my dream shower. 

This is the back of Faith's head, displaying the rock-awesome owl hairpin she wore. 

This is Jen. She is pregnant and rocking cowboy boots. Few women can say this. 

The spread. I was reminded of how insanely cute/adorable/teensy/sweet baby girl clothes can be. And baby shoes. And baby books. And baby thermometers. Seriously.

Alana and Jessi cut the cake, from Community Bakery (according to Jessi). It was superbly delicious. 

An action shot of Jessi cutting the cake. She did an excellent job.

The "cake" of baby washcloths. 

Yeah. This is awesome. 

Okay, so I have Instagram on my iPhone. I decided to make the other shots decidedly more "artsy" by using the Instagram filters instead of just uploading them straight from the phone. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. 

Just bask in the glow of a lovely mom-to-be...

My Thoughts via Flickr, Google, and the Like...

Thanks to Christen over at Creating Little Pieces of Happiness for the idea to describe my current situation with photos, clipart, and the like.

What I'm reading...

Bible study book about, well, Esther. 

This is part of a class (called "Perspectives") that John and I are signed up for on Thursday nights. The readings so far are intense, but definitely making me more aware of how the Old Testament relates to the New Testament and Christianity in general. 

What I'm doing...

Well, okay...I'm not quite to this point yet with my knitting, but you have to admit it would be an interesting alternative to wallpaper...

I love this stuff!

Trying out new recipes, old recipes, and things on the fly. My favorite so far is garlic chicken pizza on halved ciabatta loaves. Delicious, even as leftovers!

What I'm craving...

Three words: Skinny. Caramel. Latte.

I can't wait to use my Bento box. It's so cute!!!

*all images found on Google search.

Progress

Update on "developing community" in my life. So far:

• John and I are in a community group that meets once a week for dinner and prayer;
• I'm in a women's group that meets one morning a week for a study on Esther;
• John and I are taking a night course called "Perspectives: A Christian World Movement" (with textbooks and everything!);
• I've signed up for a free fitness class that does weekday yoga/cardio classes and weekend walking/running (though I haven't worked up the nerve go go yet);
• I'll be tutoring a few days a week and doing AP consulting a few weekends here and there; 
• John and I also signed up for a church class called "Discovery" that meets on Sundays with a great local family;
• I've updated my Twitter "following" list to include tons of local community outreach projects and event coordinators;
• We're going tonight to a "UA International Student Friendship" program that connects international students with local families - not as hosts, but as people who will take them out occasionally for an "American" experience. Like Big Brother for college students. 

So that's what I came up with this week. 

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On a totally random note, here are some other things I did this week:

This is my organized "crafting" corner.

See? Doesn't it look organized?

Kindling

So it's late Sunday afternoon and I'm reading a blog post by the pastor of Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll. If you're not familiar with him, you definitely need to check out his stuff. His sermon series The Peasant Princess was one of the best resources I had during the first steps of my relationship with John. It walks couples through the Song of Solomon, explaining how a God-centered relationship is both lovely and romantic. I loved it, and return to it often for guidance, and sometimes just because I'm sentimental :)

In his latest post, titled "How to Kindle Spirit-Fired Passion," he points to eight key aspects that keep one's faith nurtured. They are:

1. Community

2. Scripture

3. Prayer

4. Worship

5. Giving

6. Serving

7. Obedience

8. Evangelism

My weakness is definitely community, but I'm working on that. Since moving to Fayetteville in June, I've sorta put relationships on the back-burner (with the exception of my husband, of course). I've made a few friendships here and there, but nothing that sticks. If I'm totally honest, I've been kinda lonely, especially in the last few weeks. But I'm trying to make an effort to participate in more stuff around Fayetteville, especially things that happen through our church. The next couple of months will hopefully help me develop a heart for community, for fellowship and for friendship that goes deep. 

Here's the video: