our boys

This is Fitsum.

He's almost 7 years old.

Fitsum is from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and we've been sponsoring him for 2 years.

This is Chengo.

He lives near Mombasa, Kenya.

We just started sponsoring him on Wednesday night.

Click here to watch a video of 3 stories of changed lives.

Click here to visit Compassion International to release a child from poverty in Jesus' name - start sponsoring a child today.

"Refuse to live for yourself."

- David Platt

master p

I just need to brag a little bit.

As of this past Tuesday, my incredible husband is DONE with his Masters!

We had an impromptu get together with a couple friends that night to celebrate, and I made this cake...

We were cracking up because I used some of the leftover raspberry filling to color the piped frosting, which made it look like it was a cake announcing a baby girl. Which it isn't, just to clarify.

Doug - I am so proud of you! All your hard work has paid off, and now you can take random seminary classes like you've been wanting to. Haha. I love you!

recently i'm... (16)

Baking: Cupcakes! I have been on a cupcake frenzy this past weekend! We had a party at our friends, the Schupras', to watch fireworks on Saturday night, and I was on dessert. So I made two Annie recipes - Double Chocolate Raspberry and Chocolate Baileys. Confession: Usually, when I make filled cupcakes with homemade frosting, I'll just use a box mix for the cake. I know, awful, right?! Oh well. Anyway, I modified that Baileys recipe by just using dark chocolate cake mix (no Guinness for me - can't stand the stuff!). Then, I wasn't really liking the taste of the frosting, so I added about a tablespoon or two of my homemade fudge sauce. That did the trick for me! So I guess those cupcakes were sort of like pseudo-mudslide cupcakes?

Awful picture of the insides:

Also, whenever I make filled cupcakes, I always make Doug a sample platter with the leftovers...

Then I made lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. Awesome.

Snacking on: I had leftover buttercream. I couldn't let it go to waste, could I?!

YUM. Also... what's summer without milkshakes?!

And not to be totally unhealthy, here's some lemonade.

Now that I seem totally obsessed with food and eating, I suppose I should also share that I have been...

Exercising: I promise! I did another step class Monday morning, and it went much more smoothly than last week. It's actually a great workout once you kind of know what you're doing!

Enjoying: the dog park. Zooey is a riot to watch.

Reading: I have been a reading machine since school let out! I've read a bunch of books, but a few that are worth mentioning are Brave New World (that one had been on my to-read list for quite some time) and Speak. I've become a little obsessed with Goodreads, and I gave Brave New World 3/5 stars and Speak 4/5. I'm also currently reading David Platt's new book Radical Together, in preparation for...

Excited about: Student Life Camp! On Sunday, we are leaving for Alabama with about 30 teenagers. We'll be staying in condos on a beach and attending sessions where David Platt will be the teacher!

Also excited about: Seeing my family this weekend for Emily's graduation!

Extremely proud of: My little sister is the salutatorian!!! Smarty pants!

Listening to: Ben Pasley, of Enter the Worship Circle - his album Chair & Microphone. My favorite song is "Hurricane".

Snapping pictures of: the Brodhagens! You can see some of my favorites here.

Wishing: that Kent, NY was five minutes away.

Missing: Victoria. I had to make jam by myself this morning... and I had no one to panic over the "full roiling boil" with me.

love is the whole

To the man who slipped little poems into my lunches, even when I was student teaching...

Who was out spraying on the tractor in the middle of the night and came to wake me up so I could see the multitudes of fireflies lighting up the woods by the pond...

Who cut my meat for me until the day I was married...

Who played lullabies on his trumpet for his children...

Who burp-danced my colicky baby tummy...

Who picked me a little bouquet of sweet seringa on the morning of a big regents exam...

Happy Father's Day. I love you!

joy was his song and joy so pure

a heart of star by him could steer

and pure so now and now so yes

the wrists of twilight would rejoice...

(and every child was sure that spring

danced when she heard my father sing)...

because my father lived his soul

love is the whole and more than all

-ee cummings

nerds are cool, yo.

(I even donned my glasses to up the nerdom.)

Check out Out of Print Clothing. Their shirts are expensive, but for every shirt you buy, they donate a book to a community in Africa... which is kind of a drop in the bucket. But better than nothing, right?! Anyway, my small group girls gave me a gift certificate, with which I purchased the Great Gatsby shirt I was wearing in the last post. And one of my students gave me another gift certificate, with which I purchased the above sweatshirt. I'm turning into THAT English teacher. Which I'm totally cool with. Almost as cool as I am with dangling prepositions.