House Hunting

I am beyond excited to go house hunting this week! I really think Alex and I are going to have a great time in the city looking at all these houses, one of which could be our future home!
I even made a little chart with all our prospects and rated them on a scale of 1-5 and chose a top ten. Look, it's color-coded and everything. [Thanks to my mom for suggesting to do this, it's really helped us see which houses best fit our family without getting caught up in unimportant things or feeling overwhelmed]

We'll also squeeze in plenty of time for fun. I can't wait to explore Denver with my handsome man.
And we are ever so thankful that Anne Marie will be apartment-sitting and dog-sitting for us. I'm confident Jaxon will be loved on while we're away, but I'll still miss him terribly!

And while we're gone I ask that you please remember us in your prayers. I know the Lord has prepared a home for us and I just pray that He would guide us and give us wisdom and discernment. This is pretty much the most grown up thing Alex and I have ever done. Eek!

Also, please take a look at our latest Soma update video. We need your help, please consider being a part of the Soma Support Community. It would be a huge blessing. "Without those who send, we cannot go."


Soma Support Community from Soma Church Denver on Vimeo.

My Weekend in iPhone Photos

We had a great weekend in the Acevedo household.

Friday I babysat for handsome little Baby Crane. He is just as precious as can be.
I also found evidence of Fall outside. Leaves are changing colors. Hoorah!
Aaand Alex came home with a new toy...the Canon 60D. It's stinkin' beautiful. I love it...but haven't gotten to play with it much because it's permanently glued to Alex's hands. ;-)
[By the way, we're selling our Canon Rebel XTi, let me know if you're interested!]

Saturday we had a garage sale. Not gonna lie, we didn't make much money...but that's okay. It was fun hanging out with friends.
I helped set up for a baby shower at Pregnancy Support Services in the afternoon, hung out with Jaxon for a bit, and then drove to Durham for a night of fun with Pilar. We tried the Indian food truck and it was really delicious. I wasn't expecting it to be so tasty but it was definitely legit. We also hung out at her house, walked to a local coffee shop for some chai, had wonderful conversation, and went to the MotorCo to watch the Love Language and a couple other bands. The Love Language put on a great show and I was diggin' the venue. You should check out a show there if you get the chance.

Sunday we sold our bed so we're now sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Let me tell you, I don't hate it. We also took Jaxon on a walk to Kroger, they were having a good ol' fashioned Southern fish fry. Delicious! The proceeds were going to help needy families, so Alex and I split a plate and everyone gushed over how cute Jaxon is. :-)
That evening we had a Soma meeting where Bryan did some teaching on how discipleship happens best in community.
And then we had a delicious rotisserie chicken and duck dinner at the Riddles. We also watched Pulp Fiction. That movie never gets old.

How was your weekend?

*all photos taken with my iPhone. 

Church Planting Vision

I love my church, the Summit, and the vision we have for planting 1,000 churches in the next 40 years.
And I am honored and privileged to be a part of this vision in going out to Denver to help plant Soma Church.
It's going to be a wild ride.


Church Planting Vision from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

Yard Sale!

We're trying to raise as much money as possible to help us make the move to Denver. Let me tell you, moving across the country ain't cheap! So if you're in RDU/WF please come on out and help us by purchasing some of our stuff or spread the word to others who are looking for a few treasures. Thanks!

[P.S. Our furniture is fun...that's why we call it 'fun'iture... ;-)]

Marshmallow Cupcakes

About a month ago I decided to try this amazingly easy recipe I found in Real Simple magazine. I tweeted about it and got quite a buzz. Even Real Simple retweeted me...it's probably the highlight of my Tweeting career.

Anyway, basically you make regular cupcakes and then when you have about three minutes left to bake you stick marshmallows on top and let them melt.

It's absolutely delicious! I think I even like it better than regular frosting. It's not as sweet, but still sweet enough. It's a pretty good solution for people who are not fans of gobs of icing on their cupcakes.

So give it a try next time you're planning on baking some cupcakes and let me know how it turns out.

Phone Conversations

I don't particularly enjoy talking on the phone.
I avoid it as much as possible. I would much rather text/facebook/tweet/e-mail than talk on the phone. I'm not really sure what it is. Phone calls just feel so awkward. Kinda like this.

But there are a few people in my life (who live far away) who are just not really into the "internet world." This is a fine choice. I can understand not wanting to read blogs or waste time on facebook or figure out how the heck twitter works. I get it. So for these privileged few (really, it's like, three people) I will pick up the phone and have an actual verbal conversation.

And you know what? I feel so blessed after hanging up. These phone conversations warm my soul. I love catching up on chisme, hearing about what God is doing in their life, updating them on our Soma progress. I love these phone conversations. I love these friends. And it's a blessing that they remember me and call me and still include me in their lives...even if I'm far away.

Thanks, friends.

[image via weheartit]

New Music

I haven't been keeping up with new music much these days.
I mean, I love music. I love going to concerts. I'm even a bit of a music snob. There's a wide range of music that I listen to and enjoy. But my excuse for the past two years is that I've been busy with seminary...too busy to keep up with the latest bands. Now that I've graduated though, and I have a lot of free time on my hands I'm ready to discover new music again!

So tell me, what bands are you downloading? What songs can't you get out of your head? And make it good, people...remember, music snob.

Thanks, friends!

The Cardonas

Alex did his first family photo shoot last weekend. He did such an amazing job. I'm proud of my Creative.
Click over to his blog and let him know what you think.

Kat & Lenny: Two Years

The Goenagas have to be one of our favorite couples to hang out with.
We've known them for years. In Miami we went to the same church, and Kat and I even worked together for a short time. Remember those early mornings, Kat?? ;-)

They were married exactly two years ago today in Miami, FL. It was a beautiful wedding that Alex and I were blessed to be a part of. And seriously, out of all the bridesmaid dresses I've had to wear over the years, that was definitely my favorite. Last year, they moved up here to attend SEBTS. It's been so nice having them around in NC. They bring a little bit of the Miami craziness to this quiet little town.

Kat asked me if I could take some portraits for them to celebrate their two year anniversary. Of course, I had to say yes. Kat wanted to do a romantic picnic theme so we headed to Joyner Park in Wake Forest. I usually don't do much editing to my photos, but I tried to give these a vintage feel.

We also did a few just walking around the park in some different outfits. The sun was setting so the colors are really warm. I love it.

If you want to see some more images click here.
Happy Anniversary, dear friends! It's a blessing to know you both.

Blog Redesign

Alex has been helping me redesign my blog. This is what we've come up with so far. I might still change a few things, so we'll have to see what the final product looks like.
If you read my blog through facebook, you should reallllly consider clicking over to my actual blog page and bookmarking me to your browser or adding me to your RSS feed (GoogleReader, etc). :-) I'm just sayin'. I'm considering not importing my blog to facebook notes anymore, mostly because there's always some kind of technical problem...again, we'll see.

Anyway, besides changing the look of the blog I also added some pages at the top: about, Mr. & Mrs., photography, and Soma. Click through those pages and let me know what you think. Advice and suggestions are welcome!

Thanks for reading.

Thoughts on Moving

It's October 1st.
In one month we'll be visiting Denver, looking for a place to live.
In two months we'll be on our way to Miami, to spend time with family and friends for the holidays.
In three months we'll be driving from Miami to Denver, to start our new life.
Cuh-razy.

I've been doing a Bible study on idols with my friend, Kat. It's a great study and I would definitely recommend it. Besides confronting some of the idols in my life I've also found it to be incredibly therapeutic when dealing with our move out west. It's reminded me of all the wonderful reasons we're making this move (despite sometimes feeling hesitant) and helped me to trust in God with all the details as well as the big picture.

Yesterday's lesson in particular talked about the difference between trust and surrender. To paraphrase what the author said and make it more personal to my situation, I feel that I have surrendered to God's will to the best of my ability. The Lord has called us to plant a church in a city where we don't really know anyone (besides our team) and is far away from our family. I am confident that this is God's plan and I will go where ever He leads. But trusting God can be entirely different, though the two can overlap. The author gives the example of Jonah. He finally surrendered to God's desire for him to preach to the Ninevites. But chapter 4 reveals his anger and a "heart issue that remained undetected even in Jonah's obedience."

At the end of the lesson we were told to meditate on Psalm 121 and it was very helpful. "My help comes from the Lord." There's nothing better than that.

And so yes, I still struggle with having to say goodbye to Miami (again) and Raleigh (you've really grown on me) and hello to Denver (though I am excited!), but I am trusting in God to take care of me; physically, emotionally, spiritually.

"I'm not especially fond of goodbyes, but I've found that some are the only path to new hellos."

(cute earrings from Etsy)