"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised IS faithful."

Hebrews 10:22-24

Today, our church prays in earnest for one of our own. Lord, we believe that You are sovereign and we trust in you for healing and peace during this time. We will Believe!

Godspeed,

Aim

FIL+Paint

This is my future FIL and I at the paint store picking out the final glosses and things for our paint purchase. We have officially picked a "white-winner" and the standout favorite is...drumroll please...

DECORATOR'S WHITE!!!

After searching through the gazillions of whites that are out there this one came out on top. It's Benjamin Moore's top white seller and I found it mentioned again and again on blogs and in design magazines. The swatch we painted at the house was the best with our dark wood floors so the decision was made and today my future FIL and I brought home 12 gallons of paint+4 gallons of primer! I am also happy to report that we went with the low-VOC grade paint which has far less toxins than your standard paint. I learned all about that over at my favorite DIY Home blog: Young House Love.

Not that any of you care :) but our walls will be done in an Eggshell finish while our trim (baseboards, crown molding, etc.) will be done in a Satin finish. Who knew there were so many more decisions to make once we'd picked the color?!? Haha. It never ends!

Here's to my fFIL who will be painting the entire interior of our house (can you believe it?). He's painted every house that he's ever lived in by himself so I know that it will be done well. Go get 'em Tiger! ;)

DecoWhite or Bust,

Aim

A Whirl of a Weekend

Weekends for me are workdays and once fall hits, they can get a little crazy sometimes. This past weekend was no exception...

I work with the youth at my church and we had our big kick-off event on Saturday night. The kids brought their parents and we had dinner together followed by a rousing icebreaker that the parents had to participate in-sort of a "taste of what we do at youth group" type of deal. Big props to the six brave parents who sloshed their faces around in chocolate syrup searching for the red and white gummy worm sans hands!

*pics to follow. I haven't hit up Pap yet for her stash.

Sunday B and I "invited" our entire church to our wedding so we were at both services. We decided to do this because our church is like our second family and it was too hard to pick and choose who should come and who shouldn't so we just decided that all of them should be invited :). As one of our friends put it, "those who come will really want to be there." I hope so!

High School Sunday School is back up and running and after service we dove into our theme verse for the year together:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3.

We talked yesterday about what exactly a "great cloud of witnesses"was and it was neat to see all of the HSers digging through their bibles looking up references for people like Noah, Abraham, Enoch, Rahab and Jephthath. (yea, we had no idea about that last one either until we looked it up! ;)

After Sunday School, it was off to my dear Grandpa's 90th Birthday luncheon. B had to work so I went with my parents down to Grandpa's favorite Japanese restaurant near their home by Knott's Berry Farm. Not all of the family could make it, but 12 of us were there and although informal, it was a good time of family fellowship and words of wisdom from Grandpa. He spoke of his love and appreciation for his "biggest accomplishment," his family. It was touching, sweet and deep, as Grandpa always is. I was excited to buy his birthday card this year because I was able to buy one with "90th Birthday" written on the front. How many people get to buy these cards for their Grandpas?!? I am thankful that I got to do so for mine. :)

*Grandpa and Grandma with all their grandkids and their spouses last year.

Later that night I had one last birthday celebration to attend-my future FIL's. He turned 55 and we had a small family dinner at home. He is, besides my own dad, the hardest person to shop for because he wants nothing and lives a very simple life. After much hemming and hawing, B and I decided to frame a picture of the two of us in front of our new house with the "Sold!" sign and gift it to him with a note of thanks and appreciation for all he's done, and is doing, to get us this house and to make it a home for us. I'm not sure what he thought of the gift, but I hope he knows that it comes from our hearts and with much love.

So, that was my weekend. How was yours? I capped it off with 12 hours of straight sleep last night. Man, that felt good. :) I think I'm ready to start the week now.

Ready or not, here it comes!

Aim

Ahhhhh! I've been blogged!

So a few months ago at the beginning of summer I signed up for this project called the "Elevated Envelope." The premise was that you would make 9-10 homemade envelopes and include a little treat for the recipient. In return, these 9-10 people would send you their handmade envelopes. The theme was summer and it had to be majority handmade.

Tara Bliven over at Ephemera sponsored the swap. I was excited because I love getting "snail mail" and I knew that I'd be receiving at least nine letters through this exchange.

To be honest, I didn't spend as much time or put as much thought into mine as I'd wanted to. Summer caught up with me and I had very little time to execute my envelopes before the cut-off date, which happened to be two days after we got home from our annual summer family camp and I was exhausted. (so much for procrastination! =/)

I chose "lemons" as my theme and included a recipe for my favorite Roasted garlic and lemon chicken, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa.

Here are Tara's envelopes. I am in love with her gorgeous calligraphy. One day I will teach myself to write as beautifully as this!

Her creation was nothing short of incredible. She hand-typed the quote on the back as well as the words on the front of the envelope. But it was the calligraphed names that killed me. I stared and stared at my name written so beautifully for the longest time. I was in awe. AND she made over 80 of these puppies because she sent it to every single person who signed up=Amazing.

There's another exchange scheduled for this coming January. If you're a fan of being creative and of snail mail, you should think about joining. You can sign up here. It's like getting presents in the mail! :)

Postmark:Fun!

Aim

This is B

Time for you to meet my other half, B. Just a few things about him that you should know...

B is kind of a picky eater. While he'll try anything once, his normal day-to-day diet is quite simple and plain. Two of his faves are spicy tuna rolls (hold the mayo!) and Iced Blended Mochas (only from Coffee Bean). We eat grilled chicken and rice all the time :)

B is addicted to his "Words with Friends" app on his iPhone. He plays constantly and he is, as one of our friends put it, "surprisingly good at it." I personally stink at the game, but B can throw it down with the best of them.

One of his trademarks is that he always wears socks with his shoes, slippers, etc. You name it, he's wearing socks with it. Here's a rare pic of him sockless! *Gasp. This never happens-even when we're at the beach!

A post on my B wouldn't be complete without a nod to his all-time favorite player, Lebron James. B is what you would call a "die-hard fan." He was a Cleveland fan when Lebron was in Cleveland, he's now a Miami fan because, well-you guessed it, Lebron is now playing for the Miami Heat. Here's a pic of B this year when he finally got to meet Lebron face-to-face for the first time. He woke up at 6am on a Saturday and stood in this ridiculous line outside of the House of Hoops in L.A. for over 7 hours just so he could meet Lebron. B got to be one of three people who were selected to ask Lebron a question and this moment will go down as one of the best in his life without a doubt. B's facebook status that day was "Best Day Ever." :)

There are other things about B too...like his love of golf (he has a 6 handicap, not to brag or anything ;), his job (he works in Ad Sales), his music (get in his car and he's always thumping some kind of rap and/or hip-hop. Kanye is a fave), and his love of serving at church and with the youth. I think most would add here his love for me also, which is as devoted as they come. 

B and I do life together. He helps me to step outside of my comfort zone and to really enjoy life. Here we are at a river camping trip we went on last summer. It was crazy, but it was fun because it was something we had never done before. I'm looking forward to all the "we've never done befores" that are to come as we enter into this next phase of life together.

B is also my biggest encourager in who I am and who God has created me to be. He supports me in whatever I do and he encourages me to be better in them too. One of my "before-30-bucket-list" things was to attend a college football game at my alma mater because I never went to a game while I was in school. B not only got us great seats, but he surprised me with a jersey to wear to the game too. He is thoughtful and loving of me like this in many ways. I am a better person because of him.

This is us on the morning of our engagement in the middle of Central Park in New York City. B flew all the way across the country on a red-eye to surprise me with the proposal of a lifetime while I was on vacation with my Mom, sister and a few women from our church. It was really special. I was so shocked that I didn't even cry and the first words out of my mouth when I saw him were, "What are you doing here?" I wish I could replay that moment for him. If I could I would cry, scream and jump up and down with excitement because that is how I really feel inside about marrying him. 

B~you are God's greatest gift to me. Thank you for loving all of me, even the parts that stink sometimes :). I am so looking forward to marrying you and beginning our life together. I promise to try and show my emotions more...especially when they are happy emotions! :D I love you!

Soon-to-be Mrs. B,

Aim

Waves

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, 

as the waters cover the sea."

Habakkuk 2:14

This morning after breakfast with Lala, I decided to go for a walk on the beach. It was early and the sun was not yet out. It was peaceful and serene...and then I noticed that the ocean was anything but-it must have been high tide because the waves were huge and the impact they made when they broke was incredible.

I was talking to one of my "kiddos" yesterday about the importance of spending one-on-one time with God. We talked about how being right with God really changes your perspective. No matter what chaos or turmoil or overwhelming change is going on in life, if you are connected with Christ, then you can have peace amidst all of that. I didn't used to have this type of peace, but I do now. God saved me through the blood of His son Jesus and once I fully submitted to Him, I became the owner of that peace. Do you have that peace today? Right now? In this moment for whatever chaos is in your life?

If not, I encourage you to take some time today to spend with God, just you and Him. Allow Him to calm you, His love to pour over you, and your life to be changed by Him. 

Learning to "be still and know that I am God."

Aim

A Lovely Afternoon

A couple weeks ago I was honored to be thrown a shower by my wonderful bridesmaids.

These guys were the hostesses with the mostest!

The shower was held at an awesome restaurant in their private room-the Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach. I had eaten there before but had no idea that this room existed until I showed up for the shower. It was large, but not too cavernous, had tons of unique details and best of all, it was air conditioned! :)

The guest list was a mixture of old and new friends and family. My future MIL works on Saturdays but took this one off to be at the shower. I'm so glad she did! Here I am with my Mom (on my left) and my soon-to-be Mom (on my right). I hope that I can be the kind of wife and mother that these two have been  and I am blessed to have their guidance as I move into married life.

Another guest who has been with me since birth is this dear lady. Kiku and her husband were power-houses at our church even before I was born and Kiku continues to serve and be involved to this day. Her husband passed away over a decade ago, but her love for him has never faded. Kiku is one person who has been praying for me since I was born and every year I know that I will get a birthday card and an advent calendar at Christmas from this special lady.

After a brief welcome and prayer by my Matron of Honor and dear sister, Bub, and best friend for life, Pap, we sat down to eat. Boy, was that food delish! (sorry, I don't have pics of the food!)

Then, the "Game Master" Quid lead us all in an "Aimee or Blane Bingo" game. She asked a question that corresponded to a number and everyone had to hold up who they thought was the right answer, either me or Blane. There were questions like, "Who is more stubborn?" and "Who says sorry first?" and others like that. It was hilarious and super fun. Apparently Quid has a hidden game talent that she likes to keep under the radar. 

Hmmm..... ;)

Pap also lead us in a game that elicited some...interesting...responses (!!!) but was also a great crowd-pleaser and it poked good fun at B and I. Note my future MIL's expression in this pic-haha!

Then it was on to the gift-opening portion of the afternoon. Here's my sister with the biggest present we've ever seen, courtesy of my crazy MIL. :)

 I got some practical stuff and some other gifts that were totally impractical, but I'll leave that up to your imagination since this is a PG-rated blog!

My dear Quid recorded everything for me and sat by me, which helped me not to feel so "in the spotlight" which I abhor ;) (look it up Quiddie!)

Afterwards we had a time of prayer which was really special despite what my sister may have written on her blog. 

-___-

Here's the whole gang! Each of these women have touched my life in some way. 

I am grateful for each one :).

Some other pics from the day that make me smile...

This is Michelle. She is the secretary at our church and a dear person to me. Every time she started crying throughout the shower she would put on her sunglasses to "hide" that she was having a moment. She cracks me up! *note that her glasses are on in the group pic above too!

This is Mads. She is my college roommate and the only person that I keep in touch with from that era of my life. We don't see eachother often, though we live just 2 miles apart! I was so happy that she was able to make it to the shower. And, even though she knows practically no one, she has the kind of personality that just fits right in, and that she did!

And my dear Auntie. She is my Dad's only sister and she has been with Bub and I from the beginning. I am so thankful for her faithfulness, her steadiness and her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone and come to things like my shower. I love her very much. 

*added bonus-she brought my Uncle's delicious homemade cookies with her!

And finally, this blog post wouldn't be complete without a mention of the incredible favors. I know it was a team effort, but special recognition must go to Pap who put her heart into making my favorite macarons (yes, that is really how you spell it-I looked it up!) just for the shower. They were amazing!

To my girls-Bub, Pap, Quid and DD-THANK YOU for making this shower so special for me. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect afternoon! I know you put many long hours (Pap+your macarons!, Bub+organizing everyone!, Quid+game!, DD+restaurant investigating!) into making it so wonderful and I was so overwhelmed (in a good way) by it all. I love each one of you very much <3

Mary-Kate+Ashley-out!

Aim

P.S. A special shout-out to Big Fun, who came early in the day to beautify my hair and face in preparation for the shower. She's a master of the cosmetological tools! 

I wouldn't have looked so nice without you Le! <3