Fall Family Fun

  So thrilled that it has officially cooled off in Phoenix! The weather is beautiful.. the evenings are lovely...this is when we are all reminded of why we love living here!

 Our family recently had the opportunity to go to Superstition Springs Farm in Mesa, AZ. It was such a great evening! Our previous realtor Matt Dunshie hosted a Client Appreciation Party. It was a fabulous event!

Delicious local food (and can i just say that the Udder Delights ice cream was absolutely UH-Mazing!) a hay ride, horseback riding, animals,crafts, games, fire pits, smores kits so much more!

 If you have not had a chance to go to the farm, I would highly recommend it.. it is a lovely place that makes you feel like you are not in the city. They will have some fun family events coming soon for Christmas!

A Big Thank you to Matt, his family & staff for hosting such a great event! If you or someone you know is in need of a realtor, I would highly recommend Matt! He is easy to work with, has integrity and a lot of wisdom!

This was our first Halloween in Tempe. At first we were not quite sure what to do or where we should  go.. but it ended up being such a fun night!!

 Our friends Aaron & Mandy (who work with Athletes In Action)  & their kids, Zoe and Titus, came to our house and we all went trick or treating in our neighborhood. It was fun watching the kids interact with the neighbors & get excited about lots of candy!

 From their we all went to the house of  some of our other Tempe friends- The Trianos ( pastors of Freedom City Church in Tempe). Andrea Triano made some yummy Zuppa Tuscana soup and they opened their home to friends and neighbors! It was so fun to be able to join them.

 Our next stop was a few minute drive away to a cul de sac. A family hosts a party in their neighbor hood- where they block off their street and have free food, a fire pit and games for the kids! What an awesome way to reach out to your neighborhood!

 Our final stop was to the Arizona State Chi Alpha  Costume Party that was held at the brand new Campus Christian Center, also know as C3 (this facility has been an answer to years of many people praying!! A strategic ministry center in a very strategic and visible location!! On Mill Ave, across from Gammage!!)

 Although our kids were tired, dirty from sticky candy faces- they still were SO happy to be able to hang with the XA kids for a bit.

 The XA Costume Party was a blast! All sorts of college students in super creative costumes having a great time together! The best parties are the ones you can remember the next day and this was definitely one of them! Read more about the fun night on our blog

We had a great time! So blessed to finally be living in Tempe! Love the sense of community here and it has been so cool to see how the Lord is connecting us, not only with students but with families as well.

Excited to see how the Lord will continue to move in Tempe & beyond!

Hope you are all having a fabulous Fall.. enjoying family, friends and making time to create great memories!

XA Girl

Representing X A 

A little over 9 years ago when I first started as the campus director for ASU Chi Alpha, I stood in the front of a group of students in the classroom of PSH-151 and asked this question, 

"How many of you girls would say that you do not really enjoy hanging out with other girls or would rather not be friends with girls?" 

About 80% of the girls in the room raised their hands!!

 Although, I was thankful for their honesty my heart was truly saddened. The last 9 years my heart has been to invest in time, resource & prayer into the women of ASU XA and to see God cultivate sisterhood among the XA Girl Community.

All thanks to God,  over the years I have watched this change!

Our XA Fall Brunch

Although, for some girls this is still a challenging topic... I have watched these young women find healing from the Lord in areas of past hurt, rejection and betrayal. These girls are learning to find their identity in Christ alone.. they are learning to trust Jesus and go to Him first.. and then take the risk to be vulnerable with other girls and as a result they have been blessed with sisters in Christ!

winners of our Fall Favs Give-Away

God has raised up and continues to raise up strong godly women within ASU XA! These girls are world changers... they are willing to take risks... they desire to grow in relationship with God and make themselves available to invest in others!  I believe that ASU XA has some of the best girls (okay, I may be a little biased.. but really!)

One area that has really added strength to our XA Girl Community is our Fusion Groups- these are our small groups. I have the great privilege to lead the XA Women's Resource Group- this group is comprised of all of the female Fusion group leaders. This is a time for them to come to be encouraged, prayer for and poured into.

Resource Group enjoys the cool weather and a cup of Joe

 I truly look forward to these times together and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a very strategic use of my time! These leaders are the real deal! Not only are they full time students, many of them are working part time jobs while they are leading a weekly small group and also doing 1on1 discipleship with a girl or two AND fulfilling the other requirements of XA Leadership!

Resource Group at my house

I am thankful to these girls.. they are all investing in great ways into the younger girls in XA! I am confident that everyone of these leaders will not just leave ASU with a degree but they will leave having left a legacy for the Kingdom of God at ASU & beyond!

Resource Group takes it to AppleBees (a XA Fav)

XA Girls if you are reading this -- thank you! We are blessed with each one of you! We love you and we are so excited to watch the Lord continue to write an amazing story with your life!

ASU XA is blessed with great Sisterhood & Community and I pray that it will only get better! :)

A Royal Celebration!

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of hosting a combo birthday party for Trenton, who just turned 6 and Averi, who turned 4.

It was a royal event for sure!

Many kids and parents filled our little castle and we celebrated like royalty! :)

Princess Morgan & Princess Averi

We were extremely blessed to have many ASU Chi Alpha Students come and help us with many details of the party. They played with the kids, assisted with games, helped serve food, performed and even helped with clean up!! A HUGE thanks for all of you who helped and served with a smile! :)

The kids enjoyed a game of Pin the Shield on the Knight

Here we have game of Musical Thrones

ASU students, Chandler & Bryson entertained the kids with a little performance 

Chandler performed A Whole New World from Aladdin - So Fun!! The kids loved it!! And Amanda/Pocahontas sang Just Around the River Bend - Averi was so thrilled to hear both of these songs!

Also a big shout out of thanks to my talented graphic designer friend Paige for designing the cupcake toppers, the knight sign & the invitations! They turned out so so cute!

What would a knights and princess party be without a castle? The kids had a blast in the bounce castle!

     

Trenton and his best bud Logan

Averi all smiles with her new Tangled figurines

A new movie! Hunchback of Notre Dame

Two very happy & blessed kiddos!



The party was huge success!! It was most definitely a joint effort. To those who helped us -Thank You! To those who came and celebrated with our family- Thank you!  We are very blessed!

Our kids are growing up so quickly...What a gift they are to us! We hope to make great memories together! What a great memory to share - a fun birthday party! :)

Candi's Fabulous Finds

I don't know about you... but I have always had a love for makeovers... I love all types of them! There is just something awesome in seeing potential in something or someone and watching transformation take place! 

I wanted to share some fun finds that I found in various places this last year.

The first half of the picture is the fun 1960's mirror I found on Craigslist, sadly I do not have the before picture but it was originally a gold-ish bronze frame, that needed some help... Metallic silver spray paint  and looks like new! 

Bottom half of picture is another great Craigslist find...  a fabulous credenza ( again I wish I would've taken a before pic.. I promise I have some other before pics of other items!)  Imagine with me.. it was Sage Green but now a nice metallic silver! I used Martha Stewarts Precious Metals Line it is a two step process, a base and a glaze... it took a little work but I am happy with the results!

Next Fabulous Find the nostalgic spoon & fork... I can remember a pair of these in my grandma's house.. So I was happy to find these in a downtown Phoenix awesome shop called Ms. Funky Junk , if you like things that have been repurposed, you should definitely check out this great shop! 

Okay, I told you I had some before and after pics... so here we go! Here is recent find from another fabulous downtown Phoenix shop called Sweet Salvage ...  You MUST go check out this place... so many unique and cool things! This place is only open four days of every month, beginning the third Thursday of each month. The next one will be November 15th and will focus on Holiday items. 

Doors open at 10am, but you should arrive early and expect a crowd & a line...  if you don't want to fight the crowd you can come on a different day.. but you can be guaranteed that many things will be sold. This a no nonsense kind of shopping. First come, First serve. :)

 I have been looking for a large metal W and I finally found one I liked... since the rust didn't really go with my house I decided to spray paint it.. It is not completely finished, I plan to distress it and add a silver glaze...but I am loving it already!

And lastly, I found this awesome hanging light fixture in yet another fabulous downtown shop,

 Zinnias at Melrose

At first glance I wasn't so sure... it felt like a risk.. like it could potentially be very ugly or could be awesome... but since it is was 50% off I decided to go for it... and I must say I am so happy I did! We love it and fits perfectly in our home.  I used a Valspar spray paint and transformation! :)

Well, I hope you enjoy my finds. Hopefully, I will have more to show in the future, as I am on the look for some lamps, a clock and a fun accent chair. 

Take some risks this week! Look for hidden potential... and in terms of decorating do what YOU like.. who cares if it follows "the rules". :)

Our 4 year old

Hard to believer our lil' Averi is now 4 years old! She is such a blessing to our life.. she brings joy & laughter to our days!

We celebrated a few days early at a Prince & Princess Night at Valley Christian High School. The vocal ensemble team dressed up as princes & princesses & performed various Disney songs.. not to mention we had a lovely tea party! So fun.. Averi was in heaven! 

For her birthday she requested that we go to Costa Vida for dinner.. we did not complain and were quite pleased that she did not request McDonalds! 

After dinner we came back to our house for a family party. (we opted for a combo kids birthday party later this month since Trenton and Averi's birthdays are only a month apart... we will be having Knights and Princess themed party!) 

This was the year of the princess barbies! Averi was thrilled to get the princess barbie castle dollhouse (not sure daddy was as thrilled to have to put it together the next day. ha.) 

 Another milestone event - First Official Haircut!!! This took a little convincing, since she wants her hair to be long like "Tangled's". But she seemed pleased to see they didn't cut off too much and they styled it with flowers. :)

Our dear friend and super talented photographer Jennifer Jones captured some great shots of Averi.


I asked Averi a few questions and here is what I got:

Favorite Color:  Orange, Purple, Yellow & Pink. "And then I like all the colors!"

Favorite Show: Tinkerbell & Pocahontas

Favorite Song: Just Around the River Bend, from Pocahontas

What do you want to be when you grow up?  "A glittery butterfly" and  she wants to have a "lady job and wear jewelry, a dress & leggings".

Interests: Dancing, Singing, Soccer

Favorite Friends: Kaylee, Beth, Pierson, Jackson, Zoe & Zander

Bible Verses: "God made me in a wonderful way."   "A joyful heart is good medicine."