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)

house hunting

Alex and I are officially looking for a house in Denver. We spoke with a real estate agent yesterday and will soon get in touch with a mortgage broker.

Uh, it's a little crazy. I've been feeling overwhelmed with the whole process. We have less than three months to pull this off. But I'm trying to just keep breathing and keep trusting in God. I know He has a home for us out there.

In the mean time, prayers would be much appreciated. Pray for my sanity. Pray that Alex and I are super patient with each other. Pray that we keep trusting in the Lord with each and every step. Pray for our future home.

Many thanks!

Image via: weheartit

Summit Saturdays

It's 10am on Sunday morning.
I'm at home, still in my PJ's, wondering what I'll be having for breakfast.
But don't judge me, beause I went to church last night...

(if you're viewing this post on facebook you probably can't see the video that is embedded above so click over to my actual blog to get the full experience)

Oh how I love going to church on Saturday night. It's nice having Sundays off to just relax as a family. Plus, I'm not really a morning person. I'm convinced my mind and body cannot function before 9:30am.
If you're looking for a church in the RDU check out the Summit...and if you like sleeping in as much as I do, check out Saturday nights.

Jenny & Johnny

It's no secret that Jenny Lewis is one of my all-time favorite artists. She is just fantastic.
Alex took me to see her when she passed through Cat's Cradle last summer promoting her solo record, Acid Tongue. Well, she came back to Cat's Cradle last night, this time promoting her latest collaboration record with her boyfriend, Johnny. [Jenny and Johnny...cute]

Again, the show was amazing. She never disappoints. I loved all the new music they played..everyone in the band is so talented! And, of course, they played some of her solo tunes as well. It was a great great night. I'm glad Alex took me. And I'm glad Pilar came along and brought her friend, Lindsey. These girls are fantastic and I'm sure we'll be seeing more shows together in my short time left here in NC. (Love Language?!)

Here are the photos taken by my amazing husband:

The best part is that we got to meet her after the show. Dream come true! She was absolutely fabulous.

Random: Kirsten Dunst must be dating the drummer because she came on stage for the last song and they were very huggy. Can you spot her in the pictures? 

My Weekend in Photos

We had a fantastic weekend.

Friday was the CD release party that Alex played at. It was amazing! Sam Fisher is the man.
I couldn't take many photos because I was working media in the production booth in the wayyy back.

Saturday we visited the North Raleigh Farmer's Market. We bought a whole chicken for the first time! We were pretty nervous about it...but Alex is a great cook! So after church he sliced up that chicken and made a delicious dinner. Yumm.

Sunday we went to SPARKcon in downtown Raleigh along with some wonderful friends. Jaxon also tagged along. It was so much fun checking out the art, music, etc. Good times. In the evening we had our weekly Soma meeting. I always love getting together with these people.

We also watched the entire first season of Dexter. Yup, it's pretty safe to say that we're hooked. As a person who has a bachelor's in psychology I find Dexter to be extremely fascinating. I'm looking forward to catching up on the rest of the seasons.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Summit CD Release Party

This Friday our church will be hosting a CD release party for Sam Fisher's new record. Alex and I love Sam and his family. They're great people and Sam is such a talented musician and the newest worship leader for the Summit's Cole Mill campus. We're excited for this new record. I've already heard some of the songs and they are great! You can listen to a little sneak preview right here.

You should really come out to the Summit's Brier Creek campus tomorrow night at 7:30pm for the party. And if you've got kids, no excuses! Childcare will be provided. Also, Alex will be playing on stage with Sam and some other Summit musicians...it's going to be grand! I love seeing Alex play music, it's kinda the reason I married him. ;-)

And if you're looking for other fun stuff to do in the RDU this weekend you have to check out SparkCon. It's a wonderful free event being held all weekend long in downtown Raleigh. There's art, music, fashion, food, etc etc etc. We went to our first SparkCon in 2008, the year we moved to Raleigh. And here are some pictures from last year's SparkCon. Alex and I are planning on enjoying the event on Sunday...so let us know if you want to hang out.

I also wanted to say thank you for prayers and kind words concerning Alex's uncle. They are greatly appreciated. Alex was able to be with his family this week to comfort them and is on his way home today. I can't wait to see my wonderful husband and I'm proud of him for stepping up to be there for his family.

An Unexpected Loss

Alex and I were getting ready this morning. We were just about to leave to drop him off at work when we received a phone call from Alex's mom. In between tears she told us that her brother, Alex's uncle, had passed away. We were obviously shocked. We're not sure what happened. No one was expecting anything like this to happen...does anyone ever expect this?

We decided that Alex should get down to Miami right away to be with his family. I can only imagine the pain that they must all be feeling. It breaks my heart...

The only comfort is in knowing that he is with the Lord now. When Alex and I were talking earlier he said that he is grateful to Charlie for introducing their family to Christ. It was at his urging that they began to attend church. They all were saved in that process and now Alex is following God instead of the world. I'm thankful to Charlie for being faithful to share with his family. Although I mourn the fact that he is not with us anymore, I rejoice that he is with God now. Death is not victorious.

[Charlie, Patty, Istvan, MariaTe, and Abuelita Teresa on
Patty & Istvan's wedding day last May]

Please be praying for Alex while he is in Miami the next few days and for his family during this time. Thank you. 

At The Dog Park

It's no secret that I'm pretty much in love with our Jaxon.
Every time I see him I can't help but smile. He's the absolute cutest dog that I've ever seen.
I'm sure if/when you meet him, you will instantly agree. Unless, of course, you have a pooch of your own that you are smitten with. In that case, I can understand if Jaxon comes in second in your hearts. But as for me, Jaxon is top dog.

We haven't taken him to the dog park too much because he has some doggie aggression issues. It's kind of hit or miss. Some dogs he's fine with, other dogs he goes crazy and starts barking and lunging. Scary!

A couple weeks ago we took a chance and visited the Flaherty Dog Park. When we first arrived there was no one else there so Jaxon had the whole park to himself. Soon, however, two other dogs arrived. We allowed Jaxon to get close to them using the fence as a barrier. He seemed to be doing okay so we brought him to the other side of the fence so he could run and play with the other dogs. And he did great! He did snap at one of the dogs once, but other than that there were no incidents. It made my heart so happy to see him playing with other dogs.

This week is the official start of Jaxon's obedience training at Teamworks. Hopefully we'll learn how to handle his little outbursts better so that he can have a lot of doggie friends around the neighborhood. Pray for us!

Baby Judah

I should have blogged about these photos weeks ago...but I'm just really slacking lately. I haven't felt very inspired to blog in recent days. I'm hoping that will change soon.

Anyway, if you're a regular around here you probably already know about our friends, Thomas and Leslie.  I did Leslie's maternity photos last April and I did a quick photo shoot after the baby was born when Thomas's family was in town.

Well, it seems my camera just can't get enough of the Cranes. Judah is adorable as can be so I went over to their place and took a few photos of this cutie.
Seriously, check him out:

being a one-car family

Around the beginning of this year Alex and I sold his beloved VW GTI. It was starting to have some mechanical issues and we owed a bunch of money on it. We just couldn't afford to keep it without going into some major debt. So we sold it, paid off our debt (hallelujah), and have been surviving on my trusty Honda Civic ever since. It really hasn't been so bad. In the beginning it was easy because the only places I ever had to go were school (which Alex could easily drop me off at) and work (I carpooled with a co-worker). I was happy with our decision.

Lately it's been getting tougher. The way our schedules have worked out I often have to drop off Alex at work and pick him up later. Let me tell you, after living without rush hour for two years it's tough being dropped back into the middle of it again. Spending so many hours in the car drives me crazy. And then there are days when we both need the car and one of us (usually me) is stranded. The other day I was so frustrated with our situation that I sent out a tweet into the twittersphere expressing my frustration. My amazing friend, Brigitte, responded with, "The inconvenience goes away eventually. We've been one year with one car! We love it. Waking up early and stopping what I'm doing to pick Tom up can get annoying, but we get a weekly date night with our savings!" And they live in Miami (in case you didn't know...living in Miami with one car is almost unheard of). I thought about it and she is so right. I realized I was being selfish and wanting everything to be easy. I wanted to commute five minutes to work and not a minute more. I wanted to be able to jump in the car whenever I wanted and go where ever I wanted without giving it a second thought. And yes, it's nice to be able to do those things. But it's also pretty nice that we no longer have $6,000 of debt looming over our heads. And it's nice to spend time in the car together on the long drive home...talking and listening to Mark Driscoll sermons (we're learning about Genesis right now). And it's nice to know that I have friends who are willing to give me a ride to work or the grocery store when they are able to. And sometimes it's nice being stranded at home. I get to cuddle with Jaxon and catch up on my house cleaning. 

So yes, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences. And being a one-car family isn't so bad. 

(here's a shot of us in our wedding day car - love that MiniCooper)