one more thing today..

I just saw this and had to share it!

I love this little boy's family very much-- his mom really is such a great woman and someone I am so glad to call my friend! I hope that one day I am at least half the mom she is!

First Coast News did a story about 9 year old Preston's cancer survival story.

Preston's Battle and WIN over Cancer!

FINALLY.. I can reveal some *presents* pictures!

This has been a fun month for me to be artsy/ crafty, because so many people I love are having birthdays verrrryy soon!

(today, is my sister's birthday!)

So I can finally post some pictures.. and Steph, even though I know you will read this don't worry because I am not revealing everything about your birthday presents/ celebratory accessories until after your big day!

For my sister I decided I wanted to make her some wall art and she has a degree in graphic design and therefore incredibly artsy herself so I hope my art measures up!

(it was realllly hard to paint the letters, so I may use a stencil next time!)

I am SO incredibly excited about Steph's 21st coming up next weekend! A group of us girls is traveling to Paula Deen's homeland, SAVANNAH GEORGIA! wooo hoo!

So for the party festivities I made some goodie bags for each girl- their contents will be revealed after the birthday is over so I don't ruin the surprises for Steph (and everyone else!)

This is Steph's goodie bag with her own personalized party favors :)

Inside this wrapped box is a present that I am sooo excited to give to Steph. She totally deserves to have the greatest birthday ever and I hope I can be a small part of giving her the best day ever!

Here is a hint as to what is inside the box..

Stay tuned for a reveal of what goes down for Steph's Birthday in Savannah! We are crossing our fingers that Paula shows up to her restaurant while we are dining!

iButterfly.

You may wonder what the heck is iButterfly and why I title this post as such..but, stick with me..

I love butterflies. I love my mac book. Butterflies meet macbook.

step one:

my roommate showed me her fun icons on her desktop of her macbook the other day, and I had to get some for myself.

this website, has tons of cute and some weird icons that you can use instead of the boring ones that come with your computer.. like characters from TV shows (there were no LOST ones.. I checked), animals, flowers, cartoon characters, etc.

for example... here are what my icons look like now, (i reallly like butterflies, especially these.) and when I scroll over them it still tells me what they are so its not like you have to memorize which ones are which now.

(not really the best picture because it was from my phone but you get the idea..)

if you decide to change your icons, and you need help let me know! :)

step two:

why butterflies?

well to me, butterflies are such a true representation of what it means to live as a "new creation in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

in high school I attended a retreat called Chrysalis and it really helped me grow in my faith as I learned what it meant to die to self and rise with Christ in new life. The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly (the chrysalis, see funny chart here) is the central image used on these retreats.

and so I have since then REALLY loved butterflies because it is such a beautiful, tangible reminder of my new life.

recently when I read Francis Chan's book "Forgotten God," there was an AWESOME reference to this same idea...

"For all of its caterpillar life, it crawls around a small patch of dirt and up and down a few plants. Then one day it takes a nap. A long nap. And then what in the world must go through its head when it wakes up to discover it can fly?? What happened to its dirty, plump little worm body? What does it think when it sees its tiny new body and gorgeous wings? As believers we ought to experience this same kind of astonishment when the Holy Spirit enters our bodies. We should be stunned in disbelief over becoming a "new creation" with the Spirit living in us. As the caterpillar find its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully. Isn't this what the scriptures speak of? Isn't this what we've all been longing for?" --Francis Chan

and as we say at Chrysalis retreats, "fly with Christ!" :)

prelude to night

this summer session, I am taking a dance fundamentals class.

I had the opportunity yesterday to go to a master class from the artistic director and founder of a dance company called Rioult. (named for Pascal Rioult, the director and founder)

He taught some of the technique and movement he uses in his company and also gave out free tickets to his show that I attended tonight.

what I loved about this dance company's performance was the real feeling of human emotion portrayed in their movement.

as a dancer, myself, I have performed probably close to a hundred different dances in my lifetime and never have i seen such emotion pouring out of every movement that was choreographed.

a piece, titled "prelude to night" was choreographed by Pascal when his wife battled ovarian cancer. (you can check out the dance here)

(their show was part of an artist series called Chords of Color to promote

cancer research and awareness.)

Chords of Color for a Cause

what i loved about this piece was that it spoke to the reality of pain. and not just of cancer but to the human soul in any battle.

we all feel pain in one way or another.

throughout the dance she seemed to be a part of a transition that took her through her worst nightmare...a battle she felt she fought alone and couldn't win.

but thankfully, she isn't alone and she has won.

it struck pretty close to home for me right now because

I have a family member battling with cancer.

lately he got some pretty bad news and feels very frustrated.

i bet sometimes he feels alone and he probably wants to give up now and then.

i am praying hard for his body to overcome this, for healing, for peace, for rest, lifted spirits, my family, the doctors and for Jesus to hold him close.

although I have never battled cancer myself, i know pain and feeling hopeless.

everyone has fought their own battles in some way or another.

But best of all Jesus has fought the ultimate battle and won it for us, in advance. :)

this is one of my favorite verses, ever.

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

a face to love :)

This my favorite little boy (besides my nephews, of course!)

His name is Scott-- he is 3 and loves to play baseball and ride his trike.

He eats pickles like they are going out of style. He is incredibly sweet and snuggly.

And, I get to babysit him and his sister Brooke every weekend! :)

Just look at the cuteness that radiates from his face!

(eating popcorn by the handfuls)

God has made it very clear to me over and over again that I need to work with kids--

everytime I am in need of employment, He provides me with babysitting jobs

or some job that allows me to interact with kids :) I absolutely love it though.

And am so thankful for the heart God has given me for His children.

really beautiful words.

I saw this today posted by a girl from the youth group I used to work with, and I had to share it because I thought it was just AWESOME.
I am not gifted at poetry, or writing in general.. blogging is as good as it gets for me.
Anyways, credits go to Caroline D. from Mandarin UMC youth group for this poem...

He carved me with compassion, carved me with love
He carved me into a masterpiece made from above
He carved every detail, made every piece
Cleaned out my heart, cleaned every crease
He made all my struggles, made every strength
He took his time, He went the length
He made me something that no one could form
He's bigger than any earthquake or any storm
He made me his daughter, made me his child
No matter how crazy, no matter how wild
He made me me, and now I see
That he sees me for who I am and will be


my favorite part is "made all my struggles, made every strength."

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the STRENGTH of my heart

and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:26

dance scrapbook

While I was home visiting for a week my mom asked if I could help her scrap all my dance pictures from over the years.. there were so many! It was fun to spend time one on one with my mom

and to look back at all the memories. It was a little difficult just because the pictures are SO big when they come from the studio that took them professionally.. so we had to make it really simple.

I did dance/ dance theater performances most of my life since I was about 4 years old. The first picture is my first recital--- I did a dance to "rubber ducky you're the one.." from Bert and Ernie. And I actually told my mom after the show that I didn't want to be on stage ever again because the lights were too bright shining on me. haha. I didn't exactly stick with that decision. I took up sports for a while, and did theater shows singing and dancing but eventually got back into dance. I even did it competitively during high school.

It is a true passion of mine, even still.

I just added pictures of a few of the pages so I wouldn't bore y'all with all the many

pictures that are mostly embarrassing anyways. :)

My Mom's Day Gift!

Every year I make something for my mom for mother's day...

-last year I painted a quote on a piece of wood and stenciled (took a lot of patience). That is now sitting on my parent's mantle over the fireplace.

but THIS year I really went out on a limb (no pun intended.. and you'll see what I mean in a second)

I saw this originally on Eva's blog and thought it was TOO cute. So I decided for mom's day I would see if I had what it took to put together my own "Perry family tree."

here is the result...

It's not the best picture with the glare on the glass from the frame.. but it will do!

I hope mi madre likes it :)

She is a great wonderful loving supporting laughing caring smart woman.

There really aren't enough adjectives to describe her.

She and my dad are my favorite people in this world. They gave me a second shot at life when they adopted me as a baby. They have given me more than I can ever have hoped for.

They really are angels.

Sometimes on holidays, especially mother's day it is hard for me when I start to think about the fact that my biological mother isn't here any more but then I am reminded that God gave me the most amazing parents-- even before I was officially theirs.

I am thankful for them calling me theirs, as well.

Thank you Jesus.

Proverbs 31

(I love it all.. but specifically verse 28)

²⁸ Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
²⁹ “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
³¹ Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! :)

May Angels Lead You In. RIP Corey

At 3:25am Sunday morning a young man went to be with Jesus.

This great guy was not only one of my friends, he was one of the most positive and fun people to be around. He always had a smile on his face and a joke to share.

It all ended too soon when his car flipped and hit a tree just less than a mile away from home early Sunday morning. Spencer Corey Valaer will be missed dearly. He was 21 years old.

I think what hurts the most is that he was SO close to being home. He just needed to turn the corner and he would have been safely inside with his family. I can't imagine what they felt when they got the call that he wouldn't be coming home to them.

Jesus gets to have him now.

And we don't.

And it hurts.

I want him to be back in his little green Saturn. I want him to come home earlier. I want his cars' wheels to guide him home. To his momma. To his brothers. To his friends. I want that pine tree to still be standing. I want him to update his facebook status talking about how great his night was Saturday. I want him to get more posts on his wall congratulating him on getting his A.A. than about leaving us. I want him to wake up tomorrow and dream of the future.

I want him to be alive.

Why him? He was more alive than anyone I know and now he is gone.

It's times like this that make me angry.

It's times like this that make me sad.

It's times like this that make me want to cry.

It's times like this that make me want my momma here too.

Just like Corey- My momma, Alicia, left too soon.

Everyone has somehow or another been affected by the death of a loved one. It is one of the hardest things to deal with.

I pray that his family feels comfort and peace from God. I pray that everyone can take the time to tell people you love that you love them. I pray for safety for people on the road, those both sober and under the influence. I pray that Corey knows how much we love him and miss him.

R.I.P. Spencer Corey Valaer

old school

Sometimes it's fun to look at old pictures...

here are some of my favorites that my mom and I found today while scrapbooking.

sunbathing on my driveway.. probably age 4 or 5. (I know I'm ridiculously tall)

notice also, the barney bathing suit.

one of my childhood best friends, Casey, and I

we clearly loved the power rangers

a really embarrassing outfit I had to wear for a school play,

I sang "down by the bay where the watermelons grow..."

the Sarkees' kids and I played in my backyard a lot..

this was from a "circus" performance we did for the neighborhood