Check out my Slide Show!

Sorrow to Joy

Yesterday I spoke with one my dear friends whom I grew up with. Over the past several years her mother has been battling ovarian cancer. Mark and I were also quite close to her mother and used to clean her home when we owned a cleaning business in Wilmington, NC. Emily ( my friend) shared with me yesterday that her mother went on to be with her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Monday. It was such a testimony of God's love to hear the peace in Emily's voice while dealing with such a hard thing. Such peace comes from knowing that her Mother had accepted the forgiveness that God offers us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We can rest knowing that Janine is in heaven with God where she has no more cancer, no pain, and a brand new body. HALLELUJAH....I want to share Emily's blog with you and I promise you will be more than blessed as you take part in her journey from SORROW TO JOY. RAINBOW HEART (Emily's Blog)

Starting a Business

About a year ago I embarked on a new mission of starting a retail business named Unique World Trends. I had no idea the work and time that goes into such an ordeal. While my husband and I were living in Japan as missionaries, we had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Thailand. If you have ever been to Thailand you know the beauty of the people, the land and the merchandise. I bought a few purses while there and have received compliments on them daily since back in the USA. After some urging on by my mother, I decided to start importing them to sell. One thing has led to another and now I have a full fledged Internet retail shop selling handmade BAMBOO, SILK, COTTON, and WATER HYACINTH bags. Of course along the way I have added some famous Thai silk scarves and some other trendy things to my shop, but I focus primarily on the Thai products. I like the Thai products because they have unique look and are very high quality merchandise. I have had the opportunity to be a part of several TRADE SHOWS and am still very much learning the ropes of running a business. I would love it if anyone had some helpful advise to pass along...I will keep you posted. I will be hosting a table this weekend in Wilmington, NC at the annual Coastal Living Show.

Eagle ray kills Woman

WOW...what a story. In Florida, and eagle ray jumps from the water and crashes into a woman. Read the story here.

Easter

I love this time of the year when everything is coming back to life and the weather is warming up. I have spent the last 3 days with my door open all day playing outside with my son. I also love this time of the year because of Easter. Of all the things to come back to life, there is nothing that compares to Jesus Christ being raised back to life 3 days after His death on the cross. WOW...it is only because of this resurrection that I have been forgiven of all my sins and will spend an eternity in heaven when I perish from this life.Becoming a parent has really helped me to begin to understand the sacrifice God gave us when He sent His Son to die for us, so that we may live. What an amazing love. I hope that each of you reading this have accepted the love and gift of Jesus Christ dying on the cross and being raised again to life. Love you all....

White Killer Whale FOUND

White Killer Whale Spotted Very cool, check it out.

Snuggle Time

We took Josiah to the doctor today to find out he has bronchitis. No fun, but he is playing hard as usual, but needs a little extra love from Mom and Dad. Mark captured a special cuddle time yesterday. Pray he gets better soon...

Home Roastin'

What does a surfer do when he lives 2 hours from any beach? He learns a new hobby. Mark doesn't get to surf quite so much now that he is in school and we live in Raleigh. BUT, he has found a new hobby to fill his time. COFFEE ROASTING...somewhere along the 7 years that we have been married, Mark became quite the coffee fanatic. He got a coffee roaster for Christmas and now he roasts his own beans here at home. I love this hobby as well. WHY? Because it is actually MUCH cheaper to roast your own beans, then to buy them at the store. Mark loves it because he says the coffee taste 100% better then any bought from the store, or coffee shop (sorry Starbucks) I captured a bit of the process for you to check out.

Monkey Video

Watch the link, it may be the funniest video you have ever seen! Just Click on the title MONKEY VIDEO

Monkey Video

Watch the link, it may be the funniest video you have ever seen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1wufZsZgKA

American Gladiator

Mark and I discovered American Gladiator TV show a few weeks ago and now we are HOOKED! If you do not know about the show, it is a test of strength and endurance and so much fun to watch. The FINAL comes on Sunday night and our favorites are "SOCCER MOM" and Evan. Both have amazing skills and awesome personalities. Check it out! GO SOCCER MOM!!

Josiah 15 months

NEW MERCHANDISE

Hello All, I have added and will be adding many more items to Unique World Trends website. Check out the new Silk Handbags. http://www.uniqueworldtrends.com/23.html

Christmas at the Beach

Candy Apples

Mark has been asking me for a while to make candy apples. Finally, this week we are both done with school until the end of January, so we actually have time to do other things then read and study. I found a candy apple kit at a local Lowe's Grocery store and was able to find Gala apples at SuperTarget for ONLY $.99/pound. Great deal huh? Tuesday night I made 12 Candy Apples, which my first time ever to make them, and I must brag and say they are awesome. It was lots of fun as well and they look very festive for the Christmas season. We shared the apples with our neighbors, and they were quite happy.

Christmas Baking

I LOVE baking for the holidays, so I started this week cooking all of our favorites. Some of those favorites include: peanut butter balls (chocolate covered), cranberry squares (YUMMY), fudge, sausage balls, and more! As of now, our house is stocked with a chocolate chip cheesecake, the first batch of fudge and cranberry squares. Along with recommending all of these tasty treats, may I also recommend my workout program which is HIP HOP ABS. Buy it cause it works and because you LOVE the name. Seriously, it is a very fun 30-40 minute workout and you truly see results in 2 weeks or less. Check it out! I am also giving you my EASY and DELICIOUS microwave fudge recipe. ENJOY!

1 box powdered sugar 1/2 cup cocoa 1/2 cup butter or margarine 14 cup half and half Put all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute on HIGH, stir and microwave AGAIN for 1 1/12 minutes. IMMEDIATELY ADD: 1 tsp vanilla, dash of salt, 3/4 cups chocolate chips. STIR UNTIL SMOOTH (add nuts of you like), and empty into an 8x8 pan. CHILL.

THANKSGIVING IN THE MOUNTAINS

We spent this whole week in the mountains of Boone, NC. The weather was perfect the first few days and nice and cold the end of the week. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Jennifer's family and celebrated her grandfather's 80th birthday on Friday. We hiked Grandfather mountain, saw lots of animals, fed horses, sat in the hot tub and ate a TON of good food. Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Holiday as much as we have!! Enjoy the pics.... Josiah playing with his cousins... Grandpa eating his s'more made in the fire place.... Mark and I had a date day hiking Grandfather Mountain...

All bundled up in the mountains

Apple Butter

Ok, so I have to brag on Mark for a bit. I am allowed to brag because he is my husband, right? Well, he LOVES apple butter and has been saying for a while he wants to make some from scratch. A couple of days ago, he went to the store, bought all the apples and other ingredients needed and got to work. The process to make homemade apple butter is a 24 hour ordeal. He cored all the apples himself, peeled them all, (which he says took about 40 minutes because you have to do it after they cook and are really soft), and followed the directions exactly. He made enough to fill 4 canning jars, which he canned himself as well, and it is DELICIOUS!!! Now I have to convince him to make more for Christmas gifts....

Celebrating 7 years of Marriage

This weekend Mark and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on November 4th. Wow, how time does flies. It is true that each year gets better and better. We have traveled many places together all over the world, lived in another country, and are now proud parents of our first son. I am blessed to be married to my best friend who I can and do talk to about EVERYTHING, and most of the time, he listens! He is my biggest fan and I hope I am his. We spent the weekend back home in Wilmington, eating at our favorite places (Goody Goody, Trolley Stop, etc), and just sitting on the beach watching the waves and talking. Of course, Mark was able to surf some perfect waves both mornings, which was a bonus, and my mom took care of Josiah, giving us as much alone time as we wanted. This was one of the first years we did not travel somewhere for our anniversary, but being back in Wilmington made up for it for sure. There is nothing like sitting on the beach with a cool breeze and the warm sun on your face watching and listening to the ocean. We look forward to the many years to come that God gives us with each other.