Blake Riley

Sooo I haven't posted in over a year. If you've been following my blog you should know why. If this is your first encounter with "social-media-me"...well...exactly a year ago I had a baby! His name is Blake Riley. He was born October 14, 2012 at exactly 5pm, weighing at 7lbs 6oz. He is my reminder of God's faithfulness in both mine and Reggie's life. We've prayed for him way before we even conceived him and God answered our prayers in His perfect timing. I got choked up last night just reminding myself about the day he entered our world. And ever since then, life has obviously not been the same. Although I may be sleep deprived and have lost my mind a few times, I'm so thankful for this silly boy. I don't think I have gone a day without smiling because of him.

So in light of Blake's birthday, I thought I'd share that special day with all of you. Enjoy this video made by my talented husband. ;) & Happy birthday my son!

P.S. I'd love to continue blogging about my mommy life hopefully in the near future. But if you don't see me for a while...it's probably because I'm busy being a mommy.

Nursing Cover

So I know I haven't posted any nursery pictures yet. Well that's because...there is no nursery yet! We're still working on sanding that crib so we can paint it and I have yet to finish the crib bedding =D. But I did manage to finish a nursing cover! Nursing covers now and days are soooo expensive and all it really is, is a yard of fabric to cover yourself. I found this easy DIY off of Prudent Baby's blog that you can find here. This is probably one of the more easier projects I have going for me. I figured since I am having a boy, lately all my fabric purchases have been geared towards that but not this time! This project is for mama! Here's a picture of how mine turned out:

Baby Instaspamming

For those that don't follow me on Instagram, here's a round up of recent days carrying baby Blake. Less than a week until I am full term...hope to see this baby soon! ;)

Crib Bedding Fabric

Back from vacation and my fabric came in! So excited. Today I bought the solid sea foam cotton to finish the whole look. Take a lookie! I'll be posting an update on our mini vacay shortly, so stay tuned.

Nesting

So I just ordered my fabric for my baby boys crib bedding. We're going for a colorful theme! I'm so excited and can't wait to receive it in the mail. I'll be making a crib sheet and crib bumper out of the following fabrics from Cloud 9, Monsterz collection! We'll also be adding a solid orange or aqua blue fabric.

I'll be updating soon on how our nursery is coming along, but first onto a mini road trip down south with some friends! ;)

I think I forgot to mention that we're having a baby! A baby boy to be exact! He's due to enter the world in October, right before his mama's birthday. That's why I've been so MIA lately. Well that, and also my bestest friend is getting married in 3 weeks in Maui and I had a crazy idea to nominate myself to do all the DIY projects! =P Anyways, I think I'll be adding a tutorial on a few things that I've made for her wedding, i.e. fabric flower bouquets, garters, pillows...etc!

Hating Religion?

In my high school freshmen history class we were learning about religion. My teacher mentioned something about Christianity being a religion. As a new and immature believe, I begged to differ and went on a little rant in front of the class on how "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship". I'm sure we've all heard the phrase or even used it. The phrase has much truth to it especially since most people think of the word "religion" as rituals and morals. That is one thing that Christianity is not (Eph 2:8-9). As I look back, I was not loving in any way especially since I called out my teacher basically saying "Who are you to say that. I'm the Christian here and you're not." I've repented since then and learned my lesson especially since he called my parents after that. Yes, although Christianity is based on a relationship with Christ, it's a "religion" none the less, at least defined by the dictionary. Religion defined in the dictionary says:  Something one believes in and follows devotedly. And I believe that was the point my teacher was trying to make...sorry Mr.Radcliffe if you ever happen to read this. I still stand by my argument, that Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ and not about religious works.

I'm sure the majority of us have seen the viral YouTube video "Why I hate religion, but love Jesus" by Jefferson Bethke. As a fan and writer of spoken words, at first I was excited and in awe of his articulate rhymes. I still am in awe! He had wonderful and biblical truths in there. I had to immediately show my husband!  20+ of my Facebook friends posted it! I'm just curious to know how many people actually listened to the words. But after listening to it and reading the lyrics, i can see why respectable people all over the internet have been rebuking and correcting Bethke. What i don't want people to get from it is that Jesus HATES religion, period!  I'm not going to go on about what I think about his poem, just know I think it's great and filled with so much passion! If you want to read something that I mostly agree with, read Deyoung's blog as well as Tullian's blog about it, both from The Gospel Coalition.They both have different point of views yet posses a lot of truth.

I just wanted to point out, that it's not simply "religion" we should HATE. Christ expressed grief towards the motives and self righteousness behind most religions (Matthew 23). As a Christian, if your life is devoted to Christ...well then that's a "religion"(by definition) to LOVE.

As far as Bethke goes, I praise God for his genuineness and love for people's souls!! I can tell he really wants people to understand that it's all about the gospel, Christ's work is finished. Grace is a FREE gift! Free means you don't have to work for it.

friend

(a drafted post i wrote 2 years ago and forgot to publish)

I started thinking after I read something off an anonymous post. It concerns me how often we can see people in the hallways or run into them in the bathroom and say "hi" with a smile, write "happy birthday" on peoples facebook walls or "like" a status they posted. Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe that person is in need of prayer or someone to encourage them? The term "friend" seems to be lacking definition now and days.


friend
–noun
1.person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2.person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3.person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

Blogging

I think this year I want to blog more. I've neglected the blog world and entered the tumblr nation! It's just not the same. There's so much I need to update you on, I just don't know where to start!! I think the last you've heard of from my life was that I got married...well its been almost 2 years! 2 wonderful years ;)

Anyways, it's extremely late and I just wanted to let you know that I'll be blogging more!

yaaaaaaayyyyyy!
lyss

Rejoice Always

(I KNOW BLOG WORLD I'VE NEGLECTED YOU!!)

In response to Kimberli Marie's post.

Funny, because yesterday when she wrote this, I was studying for discipleship and we were going through a chapter called "God, My Heart, & Stuff" in the book "Worldliness". That chapter is basically talking about covetousness and discontentment with what we have. There was a verse in there that fit being content perfectly!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

I especially like the end part of that verse...FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU!!! So we should rejoice because our perfect God has a perfect plan for us.

Here's a quote from the chapter "If you measure true wealth by material assets, you won’t come out looking prosperous. Like everyone, you have more than some and not as much as many others. But if you measure your riches through what Christ did at Calvary - God's wrath appeased, our sin atoned, our soul redeemed - you're immediately transformed into the richest of the rich."

After reading that quote, I was so convicted! Why am I complaining? Why am I discontent with whatever circumstance I'm in? I have Christ! I have EVERYTHING I could possibly need to be satisfied! But yet my sinful self is looking else wear, to things that are perishable. What a fool! “Like everyone, you have more than some and not as much as many others.” God’s blessed me with A LOT already! Yet, I constantly want more.

2 Corinthians 8:9 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

I’M RICH!!!! ETERNALLY RICH!

At first, when I knew we were going to study about materialism, I foolishly thought that it wouldn’t pertain to me. Thinking, it was going to be talking about coveting over wealth and riches. But materialism isn’t necessarily the clothes we wear or the house we live in. It can also be the drive of wanting a lot of friends, or a husband or wife, or baby, anything or anyone that we think will “satisfy” us.

In James 1, it talks about testing through trials and those who remain steadfast in trials will be blessed. It also says in verse 17, that every good gift and perfect gift is from above. I was telling my disciple today that we are eternally rich! Everything else, all the blessings God gives us is like an added bonus! We don’t necessarily need it because we already have all that we need to be satisfied, but yet God gives it to us anyways. And we should be forever grateful.

I remember a quote I read a while back that said something about when we’re discontent; we’re basically saying, “Jesus, you’re not enough”. It’s almost like a slap in the face. Discontentment means to be unsatisfied. Ask yourself when you are discontent, why are you not satisfied and who are you not satisfied with? Of course we’re not perfect and that’s ok because we have a God who is perfect. He can strengthen us to do all things (Phil 4:13), to be content! In Worldliness it says something about how it’s ok to have stuff, but not ok when our stuff has us. It’s ok to pray for things we desire but don’t live off of those desires. It’s ok to want a family, I think almost everyone wants a family, but don’t live for having a family. To live is Christ; to die is gain (Phil 1:21).

Just like Kimberli mentioned Matthew 6, in verse 33 it says “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Our minds should be on Christ and not distracted by our wants and desires. Quoted from Kimberli, “if you are discontent in your circumstance: fight! Don’t give up your pleas to the Lord for contentment until He answers! Don’t give up, He does fully satisfy. But when He acts, seek Him still more and more. He’s worth it!”

I remember actually talking to Kimberli once, and she reminded me that it's not necessarily about being content and ok with the circumstance we're given, but to be satisfied in Christ and what Christ is doing.

A little about me - Dinosaurs

Growing up my favorite animal, believe it or not, was a panda. When I got into high school I realized that a lot of my friends were in love with pandas. So I decided to stray from my panda loving days and move on to something not a lot of my friends like -story of my life-. I'm not exactly sure when my love for dinosaurs started to evolve, I just know it was in high school. I think one day as I was doodling in class, I started doodling the shape of a dinosaur. I started to perfect that shape and it almost became an addiction to draw dinosaurs. Since then, they've invaded my backpack sometimes would appear on my left hand and even on random things. This illustrated dinosaur was a silhouette of a Brontosaurus. Since then I started collecting all things dinosaur, from cards to toys, you name it, I probably had it! I even had a few nicknames such as Dinolyss and Lyssasaurus.

I must admit, I am not intellectually capable of telling you all about their history and all the different types of dinosaurs. I just like them, I like how they look, I like their names, I like their giant appearance, I like that a T-Rex could probably whoop on your favorite animal, I like that their extinct, I like that the only photos you can see of them are illustrated, I just like them.

In college I found out that Brontosaurus' did not really exist. Or at least that wasn't their real name. Brontosaurus' are actually Apatosaurus', which sounds kind of lame. In fact I think I learned that at church when a guy came to speak about dinosaurs. Yeah, it kind of broke my heart. But I still call them Brontosaurus'. It sounds more intimidating.

Once I got into college, I became broke and I stopped buying dinosaur stuff. So just like dinosaurs, my collection soon became extinct. I still love them though...

&that's the story of my favorite animal.

"Practice what you Preach"

So most of my followers should know by now that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I am a Christian...yes a "practicing Christian". I wanted to bring up that phrase because it concerns me when someone says "Oh you're a practicing Christian?", my first thoughts are "If what you mean by 'practicing' is striving to live a life pleasing to the Lord and a life that is not of this world, than shouldn't all Christians that call themselves a Christian be practicing that? If you're not a "practicing" Christian, you might want to figure out what it is that your life is "practicing". I looked up the word practice in the dictionary and came up with this definition - commit: engage in or perform. Living your life for Christ is a commitment and a lifestyle. Yes we fail at times, but the great thing is that there is repentance. Repentance is not just asking for forgiveness, it's turning away from your sin. Christianity is not just a title to give yourself.

&&to some of my friends and acquaintances...I tell you this because I fear for your lives. I fear that if your lifestyle is not one that is pleasing to Christ, well maybe you haven't given your whole life to Christ? He wants all of you. He deserves all of you. I am in no way a perfect Christian and it's true I sin far too much and I hate it. Like I mentioned earlier, there is repentance and sin is no longer what I live for. If Christ wasn't in me, I know I would be doing way worse things than I am now. I know a lot of people like to use the term "Once saved, always saved". Some people translate that as: "I said the prayer once so I can do whatever I want and I'll always be saved." But one thing my pastor says is "Once saved, always changed". I love you and I am praying for you all!

Ephesians 4:22-24
"to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self,created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Galatians 2:19-21
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Colossians 3:1-17
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Thrifty Finds!!

So since we got our tax return, it was time for me to go shopping! &The best place to go is...Thrift Store!!! Not "The Thrift Store", because it's actually called "Thrift Store".

I must admit, prior to coming here, I spent almost 2 hours in Forever 21 and came out with nothing. I haven't gone true shopping since my single days so I guess I just wasn't used to it! So my last hope was Thrift Store...and it was a success.



The first day I bought this JCREW steal! A beautiful wool sweater for $5 and it's an extra small. PERFECT! I love JCREW but it's always so darn expensive, so when I found this I was jumping up and down for joy! I'm actually in love with it, i think i might add some buttons but i'm not too sure yet.


The second time around it was 50% off the WHOLE store!! I found this salmon oversized sweater at the last second when I was about to leave. It's pretty loose fitting, perfect for a pair of skinny jeans or even a pair of leggings. By the way this sweater was $2, orig. $4!



Not sure if you've seen my previous Christmas sweater but I found this one at a steal for $3! It's not really a Christmas sweater or even a winter sweater. I think you'll be seeing me in this a lot! Look at the cute geometric patterns, i love it!



OK...OMG I'm so excited for this next piece! You have no idea!!!! My first trip this week, I saw it and it was orig. $59, more than what I had to spend...so I passed it up. I knew that in a couple days they were having there big 50% off day but I didn't think the Annex section was going to be open. The Annex section is in the corner of the store literally gated off. This is where all the golden finds are! It's there vintage section that has a lot of great things but it's more expensive than the rest of the store. They're never open on Mondays (the 50% off day) so I didn't think much of it. BUT...when I walked in...i saw the gate OPEN! I ran in and snatched this fur coat up! Knowing it was going to be 50% off I knew I probably couldn't buy much else, but that didn't matter. When I rang it up...she took off $20 because it had holes, which I was aware of and that made it $39 dollars. Plus the added 50% off, i got it for only $20!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! What a steal!!!! I'm in looooove looooove looooove!!




So I've been talking about this goal thing...and well, this next piece is part of this weeks goal. Learn to revamp a piece of clothing. I brought this home and both my best friend and my husband did not like it! They said it looks like a robe...so I will prove them wrong and try to garnish it with the right things to make it look like a sweater. I was even thinking of dying it...we'll see! Let the goal begin!




Stay tuned for more frugal finds!

GOOAAAL!!!!!

Call me crazy, but I've decided to do something different with my life. First, I just want to remind you all that I am not perfect and often fail at things, but this...this I do want to "try".

So you want to know what I'm about to do?

I want to challenge myself by learning something new or giving myself a new project to accomplish every week. Yeah, yeah, yeah...you're probably recalling my failed attempt to take a photo a day...well this is different. I'm not giving myself a year goal. I'm just giving myself a week goal. Who knows how long this will last, maybe I wont even do it every week. But as of this week, I have a goal.

I think this will be fun, and give my life a little more adventure. Being a house wife can sometimes become repetitive so I figured I'd change things up a bit. Live on the edge! Learn something new while I stay at home.

I'll update my blog or tumblr (thealyssarae.tumblr.com) of my weekly adventures and see what comes out of it. I plan on posting either photos or video of whatever I've learned so you can follow along too and cheer me on along the way.

I'm excited.

Worldliness

I'm reading a new book! "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World". I'm thinking I might take my disciple through this one. We'll see...I need to read it first. I get excited with the smell of fresh-never-been-read paper.

Golden Globe Awards

{This is simply just my opinion on a few gowns I saw this year, purely out of boredom and love for fashion}

The Golden Globes is the Black Tie Affair that everyone wants to be at. This year I enjoyed watching it cuddled up on the couch with a sore throat. Although I wanted to shout at the screen, “What are you wearing?” I had to contain myself and rest my voice. So here I am now, speaking out on the hottest to your-burning-my-eyes dresses on the red carpet.

I noticed this year was the year for sequins, slits & shoulder pads. I must say, all of these ladies looked amazing!

Anne Hathaway wore a stunning fully sequined gown by Armani. I loved the slim fit on her accented with 40’s inspired shoulder pads. When she turned around, it was even more breathtaking as she revealed her back in the backless Armani gown. Although this dress was a big hit, I wouldn’t mind if she pulled her hair up in a sophisticated bun. The hair on her shoulders takes away from the beauty of the gown and the elegant swooping back.



January Jones of course has a slammin’ body but I wasn’t a huge fan of the Versace, rebel greek goddess, flapper dress. I think she could have been a little more sophisticated for the Grammy’s. Though, I must say I do enjoy red on her fair skin and her hair is just gorgeous.



Emma Stone is a hilarious actress. I saw her most recent flick and was dying of laughter. I was also dying when I saw her in this Calvin Klein peach tall-tee. The color looked gorgeous up close with her new blonde mane. This was another backless dress seen on the red carpet. The back was beautiful and simple but I thought the front was to simple for Gold, which she did not receive that day. I did enjoy her soft palette of make up and pulled back hair. It made her look more sophisticated than the shirt.



Natalie Portman is gorgeous especially with her new baby bump. She wore a soft pink empire waist dress, perfect for any expectant mother but she ruined it with that huge rose on her chest. Not sure if she thought it would distract people from her protruding belly…it that’s the case, she was right! It was an eye sore, and for photo’s it looks like a piece of clip art placed on her chest. Sorry Natalie, give the Bachelor his rose back.



Mila Kunis is beautiful. She looked stunning and sophisticated with her pulled back hair and one shoulder dress from Vera Wang. At first when she was sitting down, I thought she looked lovely, but once I saw her full body in that gown I had a huge question mark on my forehead. I think the wrinkles were too busy for this petite doll. The color – perfect! But the textures just weren’t working to her benefit. I wish it were ironed. If not, then I can see someone much taller in this gown.



Leighton Meester – I thought Little House on the Prairie should not be allowed in the Golden Globes. She’s cute, yes. It’s a prairie dress, yes. She held her dress while walking onto stage a little too high for the viewer’s eyes, giving tables 1-5 a shot of her undies.



Nicole Kidman – boring. The ivory Prada gown washes her out and I think she played it safe this year. I hope she didn’t pay a stylist to do her hair. Although she was in trend with the sequins, her look was just overall boring.



Catherine Zeta-Jones is to die for. She has an extraordinary beauty. She wore a forest green Monique Lhullier gown. Some may call it putting green but I thought the fit and structure was marvelous. The texture did make me want to play golf but Cat can honestly pull off anything!



But my favorite outfit of the night was Angelina Jolie, in her 40’s inspired sequined dress. Similar to Hathaway’s Armani gown but sorry Annie, Angie pulls it off way better! I would love to own a dress like Angelina’s Versace gown. I enjoyed how effortless her hair and makeup added to the dress. Jolie wore the dress, the dress did not wear Jolie.



Worst dress by far – Helena Bonham Carter. Just look at the picture, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why it won my vote for worst dress ever. Mix matched shoes are for raves not the Golden Globes. Sorry Vivienne Westwood…you’ve lost a fan.

Afro Esperanza

Oh how I wish I had an afro and a voice like Esperanza Spalding.

Scarf Time!

I hear its finally going to rain this weekend...are you ready? Need a scarf to keep you warm? How about a cowl neck scarf made by yours truly?

{photo credit: my husband}

Free Clothes Day!

What an exciting day this was! My sister and I gave away at least 75% of our joint wardrobe for FREE. What a great turn out it was with more than 10 people in attendance! Thanks to all who contributed and all that relieved us of our baggage! It feels good to be free!

Something Fun

I've decided that I needed to go out and do something crazy! So I'm giving away most of my clothes...oh and my sisters too! So far I've already filled 2 huge boxes of my clothes alone! I'm really excited to do this. It's another way I can minister to the girls within my church. Believe me, I know money can be tough now and days...so I thought it would be awesome if I could just give you my clothes!

I want to show off my fun poster I made as well...but i'm not sharing my information with strangers!! Haha, if you are from Community Bible Church and would like to participate, just leave me an email alyssaraetiongco@gmail.com and I could give you more info.

Oh! Also, if you yourself have clothes you want to give away let me know!!