And we made it....

Woohooo! Back from Mexico! What a trip! Several hours of travel, 3 15 passenger vans, 42 people, many many tacos, 45 second showers, bug filled living quarters, contaminated water, 2 days of work projects, several orphanage visits, and many wonderful devotions later - we arrive home, back to the comfort of our consumer-based mentalities and our cushy lives as US citizens.

You know, it wasn't anything specific on the trip that gripped my heart, but it was a message by Francis Chan that I had listened to on the flight to San Diego that utterly and completely wrecked me. And it remained in that humble state all through the trip. God knew just what I needed. His Holiness was the core of the message, and for the first time I realized just how tiny and insignificant I truly am and how big and mighty He really is (I don't know if I'll ever fully grasp His Holiness till I'm standing before Him, but I've come to respect it more than ever before). If you're looking to be awakened to who He is, I would HIGHLY recommend you download and listen to Francis Chan's (Cornerstone Church) free iTunes podcast titled "The Holiness of God". It's bound to stir you.

Back to the trip - after several long hours of travel, we began our drive from San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico - that drive is incredible. The mountains, the cliffs, the beautiful turquoise coastline that greets the rocky land, the fresh air - it's just dripping of His beauty and Majesty. We spent most of our time at the Calvary Bible College just outside of the city, helping them with various work projects and then venturing out to orphanages, women's shelters and Horizante (the Calvary Chapel of Ensenada). It would take an hour or so for me to fully explain the highs and lows of the trip and it would be one lengthy post, so I'll spare you all of the details but to sum it up - we are certainly a spoiled nation. Poverty runs rampant (their average hourly wage is $2/hr), and resources are limited but the land is beautiful and the people's spirits are high as their way of life is much less complicated. Disconnected from the cellphones, the internet and all of the time and self consuming things we're so tied to, they are connected with each other - looking out for and caring for their families and the people around them. I long for the simplicity of their lives. Seeing their poverty made me appreciate what we, as Americans, do have - we take for granted clean and uncontaminated water, inexpensive electricity, buildings and homes that are built to code with perfection - keeping the bugs out, money that buys us small pleasures, plumbing that allows us to flush toilet paper and after every use. These are things I've easily overlooked and come to expect throughout life. The Mexican people are poor, but I believe God has His mighty hand upon them - blessing them with simplicity and true joy. I hope to never forget the things that touched my heart and opened my eyes to the life I'm living and the life I'm striving to live.

Thank you so much for your prayers and thanks to those who supported us financially. It was a trip that changed lives of both our youth and the people of Ensenada.

Be Blessed Today!

d

Here's a taste:

Crossing the border

B & I overlooking the city of Ensenada from a mountain top...I just love the huge flag that waves behind us!

Lupita (our chef), Alex (a dear friend of ours who has moved to Ensenada) and B.

The Crew! :)

At Horizonte (the church) Isn't it beautiful??

Some of the kids at the Women's Shelter .... aren't they precious?

P.S. I found my calling - Balloon Animal Making! I'm a pro!

Good Morning!

It's finally a beautiful sunshiny day here in NW Florida! We've had days (possibly even weeks) of rain! While I absolutely LOVE rain - the sound, the smell, the sight, the coziness it creates within my house, the cooler weather it brings to our hot summer nights - I've begun to feel a little stir crazy. Blakely doesn't like venturing out into the rain to go potty, so that's resulted in many more accidents inside and he hasn't had much play time outside, so that's resulted in more chewing on furniture and more bottled up energy. But today is a new day full of sunshine and blue skies!

We've been busy busy here at the Collyer household. B and I leave in two days to take a group of 30+ high school students to Ensenada, Mexico for our yearly missions trip. While I'm so very excited to go - I still have lots to do in preparation. I haven't been to Ensenada since I was in high school, so I can't wait to see the progress that has been made at the church there.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend - our was fantastic! We spent time with my family at the beach, grilling and watching fireworks! And while I'm excited about our upcoming trip, I'm bummed we'll be missing the magnificent Blue Angels weekend (it's always the weekend after the 4th)! B and I woke up to the Blues flying over our house this morning - they're rehearsing for the big show! We'll have to go out Thurs morning to see the rehearsals since we'll be missing the real thing.

Well, that's all I have time for today. I hope all is well with you and I look forward to sharing all the stories from our trip to Mexico. Prayers are appreciated - B has never been before, and this is the largest group of kids he's ever been responsible for this far away from home.

Lots of love and blessings,

d

Busy Weekend...

What a hectic weekend! Saturday morning we kicked off the weekend with a 20 mile bike ride around Gulf Breeze with the Focused Youth kids for their Bike-A-Thon fundraiser to support our upcoming missions trip to Mexico. It was definitely a hot morning, but the kids did great! We had minor issues with the bikes and didn't have any wipe outs - I'd say it was a success! Here's a pic one of the parents took of the group before the ride.

Sunday was filled with church and youth events and then a goodbye party for our dear friend Graham. He's in the military and is moving this Thursday to Arizona. We'll definitely miss him around here. He's become a great friend of Brenton's. Unfortunately we had to leave the party early last night cause some stomach bug hit me out of the blue. :-\ But no worries, I have the sweetest boys in my life; Brenton and Blakely took great care of me as they spent the evening watching the Lakers vs. Celtics game and caring for me. Blakely sure is the cuddler around here. He snuggles up with us every time he gets the chance. He's fitting into our little family so well!

I'm happy to say the tummy bug has passed and I'm facing a new week. It's going to be a short week here at home - we're leaving Thursday morning for St. Petersburg with a bus full of youth students for a weekend youth conference. While we're looking forward to it, we're definitely going to miss our little Blakely! Sadly, we have to leave him behind. With that said, I better get on with my house cleaning and my afternoon appointments, lots to do in a short amount of time. Hope you're having a lovely Monday!

Love and Blessings to all,

♥ d

Meet Blakely

After three years of wanting a cuddly yorkie puppy of my own - my dreams have come true! Brenton and I picked up our new puppy yesterday afternoon and boy is he full of personality! He's 2 months old, has ears far too big for his little body and hair that's outta control - just my kind of companion. ;) I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a grate dane or something, cause he carries himself in the way a big dog would - he's fearless. Anyways, I had to take a minute to introduce my Blakely.

Crafty Wednesday

While I had planned to spend yesterday helping my parents paint their new house, I discovered they didn't need the help. So instead of painting, I spent the afternoon making a fun little wreath from the pages of a paperback book. I had found the idea in a blog and decided to give it a try - to my surprise, it was inexpensive, fun and fairly simple. :) Here's what the process looked like:












The whole project probably cost me $3 (I already had craft paint for the edges of the book, so that wasn't included), and it only took 2 hours or so (a great craft to do with a friend or while watching tv). You can find detailed instructions on how to make one for yourself here. :) Don't forget to show me your results - I love seeing what other people come up with!

I'm off to teach music lessons for the afternoon. Hope you're having a beautiful day!

♥

d

Summerfied! :)

So, summer is totally upon is (if you're living in the south, that is). I know, I know - it's still officially spring, but here in hot, sunny Florida, the heat and humidity has settled in. To "celebrate" (or should I say, "entertain myself" as I'm stuck indoors on this humid Sunday afternoon), I've decided to Summerfy my blog and give it a little life. It's been neglected (as usual) and I, once again, am on a mission to keep it alive. We'll see how this attempt goes. ;)

In the mean time, married life is treating us well. Every season is new and exciting, as we're living it together for the first time! The only complaint I have is we never seem to have enough time together, but I suppose things could be worse. Lots has happened since I last updated, don't worry - I won't bore you with it, but I will share some highlights of our most recent vacay to Rosemary Beach (seriously the cutest beach destination EVER). B & I accompanied my family on a little week-long trip to Rosemary and spent the week riding bikes, playing games & basking under the Florida sun. My tan is glowing, my hair is golden and my heart is full as I had some much needed r&r, & enjoyed some good ol' family time. My sister (who is home for the summer! I'm so excited about this!) and I stumbled upon one of the cutest little boutique called Pish Posh Patchouli's. I'm in love. It's a hand-made soap and fragrance wonderland. They even have a cute little corner where you can mix your own perfume and/or bath products - I couldn't resist. I made up a bottle of almond body oil with two delectable scents I found utterly irresistible. All that to say, our trip to Rosemary was fabulous. Here are some fun pics I took with my phone to document the trip:











Oh and did I mention, I found my dream house?? I'm totally going to live in a house just like this someday! :)




As if a beachy summer vacay isn't enough - I've finally planted my very own little ORGANIC GARDEN! I've talked (and dreamt) about doing this for quite some time now, and it has finally happened! We started a little late in the season for a summer garden, so we couldn't plant seeds, but we were able to find some neat veggies and herbs to plant that had already sprouted. I have to admit, Brenton did most of the hard work (what are husbands for?) but I'm so excited to see what comes of it. It looks small, I know, but we're planning on adding on. I want to double it by next month. We'll see how the first batch goes. Check it out!





We've planted eggplant, summer squash, cucumber, sweet bell peppers, sweet 100's (tomatoes), cantaloupe, strawberries, sweet basil, dill & cilantro. I can't wait to see what it produces!! :)

I think I've given you enough for now. I've discovered blogspot's new "pages" feature, and I've added a few summer pages to keep my summer cooking and project adventures up-to-date. Feel free to check them out soon! Hope you're staying cool, wherever you are!

Lots of love and blessings,

d

My Messy Life...

You know those mornings where you just don't want to move? The ones that keep you in bed and pj's all day? I'm having one.

It's been a long couple of weeks. We're renovating a bathroom, putting together a guest room, I started a 2nd job, and everything in my life seems scattered. I feel like my mind and my heart have been strewn about the front lawn for all who drive by to see the mess of who I really am. I've never been good at hiding things (just ask my mom).

This season of newlywedness has been so sweet - but so challenging all at once. In Bible days, I think you got like 6 months to a year together of honeymooning before getting back to the real world (or something like that) - I could totally go for that about now. I feel like I never get to see my husband - my days are long and lonely cause our schedules just don't line up. I've never been one who agrees with the normal American schedule - work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep. Everything inside of me fights against the schedule I now have to maintain. Why can't I just create a pretty little art room in my home and hide in it all day? Creating beautiful things that people would adore and appreciate? That's all I truly want to do--that and sit at the piano and hum happy tunes my heart can dance to. In a perfect world....

All that to say - I'm ready for spring. Ready for a change - in need of a light and airy season to make my heart smile again. Who's with me??

♥
d