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."

Welcome to a new semester!  ASU Chi Alpha Fall semester 2012 is off with a BANG!

I love the beginning of a new semester! New faces, new stories and new opportunities.

God is continuing to build momentum within ASU XA.

 Each year is better than the year before. Our student leaders seem to get stronger and stronger with a great capacity to learn and serve!


We feel like we have some of the best students leaders ever! God is building a fabulous team of student leaders & we are privileged to serve along side them!





We kicked off Welcome Week with Refocus. This was a time to bring together our student leadership team and those interested in becoming leaders.
        

Students gathered at our home to pray, plan and prepare for the upcoming school year. (Can I just say that we absolutely LOVE living in Tempe!!! So thankful for the Home the Lord has provided for us!)




God truly did weave our hearts and vision together as we joined in prayer & worship, with great expectation to all the Lord is going to do in and through each leader.

2102 XA Fusion Group Leaders Breakfast

One area we are super excited about is our Fusion Groups.

 Fusion Groups are XA's weekly small groups. These groups are student led and are a great entry point for new students looking to get connected in the XA Community. This semester all of our Fusion groups will be studying the book of John.

We are believing for many new relationships to be formed ... that students would be transformed by the Living Word and would grow in authentic community with one another... that true brotherhood and sisterhood would be cultivated within XA Fusion and beyond!

I am SO SO excited to share that we will be having our first ever International student Fusion Group!

Would you please pray with us for our Fusion groups and for the student leaders as they step out to lead and care for the students that will join their groups?

Student Leader-Clark meeting new freshmen guys

XA Students Represent in Karaoke

XA Welcome BBQ

We ended our Refocus Gathering by heading over to the ASU Memorial Union to go represent XA and to meet many new freshmen.

Our students went out in boldness and met new freshmen.. they not only had a blast doing it
but each of them allowed God's Spirit to lead them and God blessed us with many divine appointments!

International Student Welcome- Ice Cream Social

From their the events kept coming!

 ASU Passport (club fair), 

XA Welcome BBQ

 Sports Night

 Back to School Prayer & Worship 

and Our first XA Wednesday Night Gathering!!

(Can't wait to tell you more about our 
Wednesday Night Gatherings! Just so much goodness to share!) 

For those of you who support us in prayer & resources...THANK YOU!!!

These things could not happen without you! 

Thank you for your partnership!

We want you to know that God is on the move at Arizona State and within XA! 

Many stories of lives being changed by the power of Jesus to come! :)

  

Mission: Tempe

Well, we are now about 3 1/2 weeks into renovations. It has been quite the adventure!!!

Shawn has put in many long hours of work... from climbing in the attic with fiberglass insulation surrounding him, to putting in electrical boxes, leveling out the sunken living room floor, painting, framing .. Oh and did I mention we had to move all of our belongings out of the storage unit into the Tempe house???

Craziness!

We have been extremely blessed with friends and family that have stepped in to help us with multiple tasks... moving (mind you, some of these guys have

helped us move now at least 3 times!!) lots of painting, epoxying the garage floor, removing ducting from attic, electrical work, babysitting and the list goes on and on!

At times I have looked around feeling overwhelmed and wondered if we were crazy for taking on such a massive project, especially while caring for our children and finishing the school semester/Chi Alpha... but God has provided for us around every corner! God has brought me back to the entire reason why we made this move & the vision He has placed in us!

We have a little less than 1 week left before we need to be out of the Scottsdale Condo... the house still needs A LOT of work ... trusting God to help us through!

Please pray with us during this major crunch time..

1. That God would continue to provide the help we need!

2. Resources

3. Energy/Endurance

4. Renovations to go smoothly & quickly

Upcoming projects this next week:

-AC being installed & re-ducted to attic

-Flooring, hopefully, being installed

-Lots of Painting

-Framing/Drywalling

A HUGE shout out to many of you who have helped in significant ways! Your help means more than we can say!

We have been extremely blessed to have my Uncle Danny here, he has now driven from Colorado TWICE -- He has been a God send! (*Please, pray for him as he is looking for a new job and hoping to relocate to AZ... has had a phone interview and hoping for a face to face one this week!)

Thanks Again for everything!

Excited for this new journey!

Believing God for great & mighty things in Tempe & beyond!

Way to Go Kristen & Clark--- You two are my heroes!!!

Celebrate

I love Easter! Growing up I have so many fond memories of Easter... I grew up in the small town of Bagdad, AZ (yes is does exist, and no, you have never driven through it... one way in, one way out... a copper mining town.) Every Easter it seemed like the entire town would head to Santa Maria River to have an Easter family picnic. It was awesome... families of all ages spread all over the place at the river, enjoying time in the sun... swimming, four wheelers, egg hunts and tons of yummy food!

I have great memories of waking up on Easter morning and searching for our Easter baskets, which were always filled with such wonderful things! I must admit, I still love peeps... not sure if it is just a nostalgic thing or if they are indeed good.. but nonetheless I will eat at least one during the Easter season!

And obviously I loved getting a new Easter dress with hats & gloves to match!

I was also just thinking about the time my parents got my brothers and I colored live chicks for Easter... haha, not sure what they were thinking! It definitely made an impact.. .although I can't remember what happened to those cute purple, pink, blue and yellow chicks.... ?

Wonderful memories.

And now here I am all grown up and I have the awesome privilege to create wonderful and meaningful memories for my children!

Although we did go to church growing up, the church we went to did not attribute Easter to the resurrection of Christ.

I am thrilled that Shawn and I can impart our beliefs in Jesus Christ and his life, death & resurrection into our children! How cool it is to already hear Trenton sharing the story with us... I am continually amazed at how much children are able to take in. Such a reminder that as parents we need to make those times & opportunities to speak God's truth into their lives... to expose them to music that is focused on God, to help them memorize scripture and just spend time talking & praying with them. Time to sow seed that will indeed reap a great harvest!!

This Easter we not only celebrated our Lord and Savior but it was also Shawn's birthday & we celebrated Skyler's first birthday as well (April 12th-- today!).

It was such a joy to gather with family and some of our closest friends and their children! The weather was absolutely gorgeous.. the children played great together, the adults were able to slow down for a bit and enjoy conversation. We carried on our family tradition of our annual egg toss... such a fun tradition... can't go wrong with some good healthy competition! :)

Even though it was not the river... it had a similar feeling of simplicity and fun... a blessing to celebrate with friends and family! A reminder to focus on the things that really matter and to not get bogged down with so much stuff, allowing stress to dictate.

Thankful for many things but most of all thankful that Jesus has Risen and that He offers the gift of life to any that would receive Him as their Lord and Savior!

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

In Process

The renovation is underway! Many hours of hard work have been spent in this house transformation. Man, I sure wish it was as quick and easy as watching an episode of Extreme Home Make Over or an episode of a HGTV show... but reality check... we do not have a massive budget, a large work crew, editing or commercials. :)

It has definitely been a challenge in balancing family, ministry & renovations.

We had a little set back this week... our family went through the stomach flu... not fun at all, especially when you & your husband are both sick at the same time and need to care for three little ones! Thankfully, we are all on the mend!

And so goes the process... I guess sometimes transformation does not always happen as soon as we would like it to... there are challenges, set backs and hurdles along the way.

But as we fix our eyes on the vision and purpose, God gives us the grace and strength we need to press on!

We are thankful for many of you who have blessed us with your time and labor! We know that this endeavor cannot be accomplished without help... from the carrying of the massive 400lb support beam,

cleaning, painting, electrical work, removing insulation, moving boxes to helping care for our children... Thank you! At times we struggle to ask for help, not wanting to burden others, but reminded that it is important to express needs and give others the opportunity to come along side you.

So we continue to the process... More to come!

Picture 1- taken from the front door, shows the archway that went into the formal living room.

Picture 2- view from front door looking into the family room.

Picture 3 - taken from the formal dining room (which will become bedroom#4) shows the wall that separated the formal living room and family room being removed and the arch way removed.

Picture 4- guys holding up the super heaving support beam!

On the Move...

A long time ago, someone told me,"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." This has seemed to play out many times in my life..

I am fairly confident that I have a plan... much thought, conversation and prayer has gone into it... and then unexpectedly the direction seems to change. In this moment I have a few options:

1. Freak Out

2. Desperately attempt to control the situation

3. Take a deep breath... pray & choose to trust God

I would love to say that I always choose #3, but that would be lying... many times I attempt options #1 & #2 first, just to be reminded that they really do not work well and that #3 is the best option! :)

This last year has been one of great transition!!! (note the 3 exclamation marks)

About a year ago, I was pregnant with our third child (Skyler)... we put our house on the market, sold it... moved in with my mom while we looked for a new house.

We bought a great 5 bedroom w/ a loft, two story home in South Gilbert.. it was a bit of a process with the loan and other details.. but with the help of our awesome realtor Matt Dunshie all went through!

We got all moved in (never an easy process with three little ones) and we were ready to get settled into our new big house. Our plan was that this house would be a place to put down roots... seemed like the perfect place to raise children.. friends nearby, nice schools, sports leagues galore, gymnastics, splash pads, malls... suburbia!

Several weeks after moving into our new house, I began to feel a little unsettled in my heart and a little restless...I began questioning if, perhaps God wanted us to move to Tempe (something we have wanted to do for the last 8 years, but it has never seemed like the right time & other factors have not seemed to be in our favor).

But this made no sense... we just bought a house! God has provided for us to buy this house... we had prayed about it.. had peace about it and the list went on and on why this made no sense.

I didn't even want to verbalize how I was feeling to Shawn, but I really couldn't ignore it anymore.

As we began discussing this, turns out Shawn was having the same thoughts and inner dialogue.

We reasoned that we really just needed to settle into our new house and that maybe somewhere down the road we might move to Tempe.. but not now. (our plan)

This reasoning did not last long... God kept prompting our hearts that it was time to make a move. We felt like God was telling us this, "You can stay here and it will be fine or you can trust me to sell your house, move you to Tempe, get close to the campus and I will bless you and take your ministry to the next level."

We decided that after the holidays we would get our house ready to go on the market.

We had our first Chi Alpha of the Spring 2012 semester, came home, moved unpacked boxes out of the office/storage unit.. tidied up the house and our realtor arranged for pictures to be taken of the house the next day!

Our house listed on a Friday and .... get ready.... it SOLD the NEXT DAY!!!!

Confirmation!

So, now we were on the quest for a house in Tempe. Our target area was pretty small, as we were wanting to not only be close to the campus, but be in a specific school district. Not too many houses were available in that area... and those that were, did not really work or were less than desirable. After much thought and prayer, we went with location and decided to go with a 1967 fixer upper, less than 2 miles from ASU and a mile from the elementary school. I have given it the name Vintage Beauty ... this is it's name in faith!

So up to date, we have moved out of our 5 bedroom house, placed our belongings in a storage unit... bought the fixer in Tempe and God, in His great generosity, has provided a furnished two bedroom condo in Scottsdale for us to stay in (rent free-- another amazing testimony) while Shawn & whoever he can talk into/bribe/beg to come work with him on the demo and reconstruction.

So, we are on the move!

Through this process I am learning more and more to place my trust in God, to relinquish control and hang on tight while this adventure of life continues. I have been continually reminded of what a faithful Father & Provider we serve,that He cares about the details of our lives! I am learning to walk by faith and not by sight.. to say Yes to God, even when it does not make sense to me or to others.

Thank you to many of you for your encouragement, support, labor & prayers throughout this process. We are grateful beyond words.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

To Be Continued ...