Agape Home

I wanted to share something with you all that has been on the hearts of my husband and I.

Back in 2004, Aaron and I spent three months at an orphanage in Amravati, India while we were studying with YWAM. A while back ago, Aaron received a message from our Indian friend, Sandesh. Both his parents who ran the orphanage had passed away from illness in the last year. He left his university where he was studying Bio Chemical Engineering and is now running the Agape Home Orphanage by himself. He dropped everything so that the ministry his parents had started wouldn’t be abandoned.

He asked us for help and he asked us to pray for him but the Lord was putting more on our hearts. Aaron felt that the Lord was calling him back to India and create a bridge with Agape Home. At first we were a little hesitant since I will be eight months pregnant while he is away but God gave us peace. We want to be obedient to God's call even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.

Aaron will be gone from February 20 - March 14, 2012. I am asking for your prayers for Aaron, our family, Sandesh, and the children of Agape Home. Also, for the months of January and February, 100% of the proceeds from my Etsy store, Poppy & Pine will go towards Aaron's trip and to Agape Home.

You can watch this video that my husband put together to find out more.

diy {asymmetrical necklace}

I was at a store the other day that just happened to have a huge clearance on beads. We're talking 80% off kind of clearance. I checked with an employee to see if I was reading the sign right and then I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Once I confirmed that this was indeed real life I grabbed a basket and started sorting through the selection. I got some great deals and picked up an assortment of beads that I normally wouldn't have picked up at full price. 

Once we came home and I tucked my daughter in bed for the night I started thinking about what I could make with my new collection of pretty beads. I decided to make some necklaces in a fun asymmetrical style. These are very easy to make and I love how they look so unique. Once I made one I couldn't help but make a few more because they are so lovely! Here is how to make your own...

What you'll need
- nose ring plyers
- wire cutter
- beads/buttons
- eye pins
- chain
- jump rings (4mm and 7mm)
- lobster clasp

Take a bead and slide it on to the eye pin. If you have excess wire, cut it off with the wire cutter.

I left about 1/3 inch of wire to make my loop

Grab the end of the wire with your needle nose pliers and start rolling towards the bead until the end of the wire meets the other end and forms a loop.

It should look like this

Repeat this step with another bead. Join it to the first bead before you close off the loop.

Repeat until you have the desired amount of beads connected together. In this case I used six.

On one end of the beads I attached a vintage button using a 7mm jump ring
(Tip- never open a jump ring by pulling the ends apart. Instead, pull one end towards you and the other away from you. Push the ends back together to close)

Attach equal parts of chain to either side of the necklace. (I used a 4mm jump ring to connect to the pearl and a 7mm jump ring to connect to the button)
The length is up to you but I used about 7 1/2 inches of chain on either side.
Now just attach a lobster clasp and jump ring to the ends of the necklace and you're good to go!

Voila!

Here are some of the other necklaces I made...

twenty seven

I suppose twenty seven could refer to two things, I am 27 weeks prego and today is my 27th birthday! To celebrate, Aaron and I went to Glen Ivy Hot Springs and Spa and I had the most wonderful and relaxing day. There was hardly anyone there so we felt like we had the place to ourselves, it was awesome! I floated in the salt pool, pampered my skin at the red clay mud bath, dipped my feet in the mineral pools, lounged in the sun and read my book... not a bad way to ring in a birthday! I've been a little busy lately so it was nice to just do nothing :)
The book I was reading by the way was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I just started it but I'm already sucked in! There's nothing like a good novel.
Anyways, I had some time to think today and as I was reflecting I became overwhelmed with how much I have to be thankful for. My husband and best friend who is ever supportive of me, my daughter who is the joy of my life, my little boy on the way who I can't wait to meet and my family who I love dearly. I am so thankful for our church community and dear friends and getting to live life with each other. It is amazing how your perspective shifts when you take a moment and realize the blessings in your life.

Family

Was it just me or did this month fly by?? Here we are already just around the corner from the new year. I learned a lot in 2011 and I am really looking forward to what 2012 holds. I am ready to take more chances, dream bigger, and live more fully. I am also looking forward to seeing our family grow a little bigger in April :)

Speaking of family, we took some family photos last month. Jhen at Stark Love Photography did a marvelous job and we couldn't be happier with them. Thanks Jhen!

So from our family to yours, Happy New Year!!

 All the kids

 Of course our iphones had to make an appearance in the pics too :)

 love this one

never a dull moment with the Mendez crew

 the boys

 the girls

 Jhen took a few belly shots of me too. Here I am at about 21 weeks.

diy {christmas ornament}

Christmas is just around the corner so I thought I would share a fun little diy on how to make a Christmas ornament... out of a shower curtain ring! I love crafting with unexpected items. Sometimes I'll wander around the dollar store or Target and keep my eye out for things that I think could be used later for a project. I may not have a plan (or any clue at all for that matter) on how I'll use it but I know that sooner or later I'll think of something. And that is how I come up with weird ideas like shower curtain ring ornaments or Jenga block keychains :)

To make these ornaments you'll need just a few simple supplies. You may even already have everything you need on hand, bonus!
- plastic shower curtain rings (I got a pack at Target for just a little over a dollar)
- lace, yarn, trim, ribbon, rope... whatever you want to cover the shower ring and something to hang the ornament
- embellishments, you could use buttons, bows, pearls... anything you like!
- glue gun

First, I added a dot of hot glue to one end of the lace to secure it to the shower ring. Then I tightly wrapped the lace around the ring.

 Once the ring was covered I secured the end with another dab of hot glue.

 Then I added a loop of twine for hanging

And finally I added an embellishment. In this case I used a pretty felt bow. I found the tutorial for the bow via I {heart} naptime.
And that's it! You're done! Easy Peasy right?

 Here's another lace ornament with baker's twine and flower embellishments.

This one is my favorite, it's a little vintage-y looking. I used gold lace, pearl beads, and this pretty book page flower. The flower is a smaller version of the one I used for my diy gift box.

So there you have it, a fun and easy little project for you to do this weekend :)

Palm Springs

My mom and dad came down for a visit at the beginning of this month and we had such a wonderful time with them! Talia definitely loves having her Yaya and Grandpa around. It can be difficult to live away from your family so I really cherish and savor the times that we are together.
We spent a few days at Palm Springs and was it ever nice! We sat by the pool, went on walks, took Talia to the playground, and just enjoyed each other's company. My parents offered to watch Talia one evening and sent Aaron and I on a date night. We went out for dinner and then saw the movie, Hugo. We really enjoyed the story, I would recommend it.
I didn't really take too many photos of our trip but I did manage to snap a few of Talia by the pool and at the park. Enjoy!

Talia loved the see saw!

 We pretty much had the pool to ourselves, it was great!

 Catching some sun

The playground was on the way back to our room from the pool so we always had to stop in for some playtime :)

two

Last week our little girl turned two years old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone and what a big girl she is becoming. We absolutely adore her wild and free spirit. She is a dancing machine, loves swimming, jumping on the trampoline, and climbing. She is also a total sweetheart and when I tell her that I love her she responds, "I lub you mor." We have to read Olivia to her every night and she loves sharks and turtles. She is such a joy and a gift to us. Happy birthday sweet pea :)

On her birthday we took her to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! It was her first time there and she had a blast! Here are some photos from the day.