Summer

I inadvertently took the summer off from blogging. There was a lot going on in the Wall home and now that life is settling back down into a semi-regular groove I hope to update much more.

Here's a rundown of our summer.

Of Monsters and Men concert
Mumford and Sons concert
Started a ladies Bible study with 5 amazing women
Major Jaw surgery with brief hospital stay
Lived on couch for two weeks recovering from surgery
Knit many gneon gnomes
Lots of physical therapy on jaw
Learning how and what I can now eat
New prospects for leading worship for David and I
Cut over a foot of my hair off
Cut all Chuy's hair off
Began singing again
Made pom pom garlands
Moved to the apartment across the hall
Learning how much singing I can tolerate while still recovering and healing
Gained a super fabulous roommate named Sophie

That's basically all...nothing major, right? :)

If you want to stay more updated you can always like my randamocity facebook page or follow my  instagram @randamocity. I update those way more than the blog.

Our studio is a chaotic warzone right now from the move four days ago. Here's a picture of some gnomes I made this week to tide you over until I can get everything organized and start creating again. These were a custom order for a bride's wedding cake. I had so much fun working on colors and details with her.

bejeweled

I've been on a bit of a jewelry making kick lately. Compared to knitting and sewing it's just so fast and easy to complete a project! I'm also really picky about buying jewelry so I've just turned to making most of my own, unless it's something I just can't or don't know how to make. I love the versatility making my own jewelry gives me, plus it really is super easy.

I keep intending to make and sell some of my jewelry but I just haven't updated my shop yet. I do have at least 4 necklaces hanging up at home ready to sell. I've even taken nice pictures of them! Lazy? Yup! :)

Below are some necklaces I've made that aren't for me to wear. The first was my sister's Christmas present this past year. The second is one of my favorite creations lately. Mini spools wrapped in metallic yarn on a simple chain. There are even color options!

Little bits of lovely

I love working on little details in our home. It's those details that make this place we live in so particular to us and not just any apartment you see on Pinterest or in a magazine (also the clutter and mess...)

I made this wreath sometime last year and its been hanging on our tv/art wall since Christmas. I purposefully made it black so I could easily change the decor on it to fit any season or holiday. But, since its me we're talking about, even easy decor changes can get procrastinated on for months.

Sunday, May 26...I finally took the Christmas colors off the wreath and added some colors to carry us through any season and match the living room. I also did this about 20 minutes before guests were scheduled arrive. Pressure inspires me...as with any procrastinator ;)

Homebodies

David and I both enjoy going out and seeing people, live music, movies, and being outside. We're also homebodies though. When we're tired or just want to relax, the best remedy is to just hang out together at home.

This led to our slight snap decision to go out and buy a new couch this past weekend. We'd talked about it before but decided our old futon was fine. Well...finally it just wasn't fine anymore. Plus, I'll be spending a lot of time home on the couch in a few weeks so we decided it was time for a big purchase.

We decided pretty quickly on this awesome corner sofa in light grey from ikea and we love it! It's comfy, there's room for both of us to stretch out and Chuy thinks its pretty cool too.

After getting the sofa into our third floor apartment we were inspired to finally clean up the living/dining area of our home. Now all that's left is organizing and cleaning up our studio. I love how this apartment becomes home more and more each day. Enjoy some pics :)

Chuy loves the new sofa

Do you see a little friend?

 

adventure!

We had such a great time in Dallas last weekend! It was a bigger blessing than we imagined and we are SO thankful for the opportunity. 

We've been recovering from little sleep and traveling this week and getting my next jaw surgery scheduled. More on that later. 

I did manage to get some crafting done on the drive to Dallas. You'll see him below. That little gnome is heading to Southeast Asia to replace his long lost brother who was lost. It fills my heart to know my little guys are all over the world with friends and acquaintances sharing the gospel. So cool!

Enjoy our weekend documented through instagram:

sustenance for the road!

love road tripping with him

got some fun new sunglasses from old navy

made this little guy just in time for our adventurous detour to avoid I-35 traffic craziness

David kept refusing to smile...

...but I got him :)

day 2 breakfast date at IHOP

huge beautiful chapel at DBU

waiting around for sound check to start

leading worship for the commissioning service

us during the reception after the service

Until the whole world hears

This weekend David and I are leading worship for the orientation and commissioning services for Go Now Missions in Dallas. This is the same organization that sent me on 3 summer mission trips around the world and David on one. Our journeys with Go Now are a huge part of our story as a couple so we love being able to be a part of the organization after our college years.

It was when I was flying home from my first overseas mission experience in northern Germany in 2005 that I felt a strong calling towards leading worship and being involved in ministry beyond regular church attendance. Two years later I spent an entire summer in the mountains of Montana as a worship leader for a small church. Now, eight years after that first calling I have the awesome opportunity to lead worship with my husband for the agency that was such a pivotal part of my ministry journey.

Also, many of the students I work with will be there and are getting ready to be sent all over the world. Such a cool thing to witness!

Pray that we are able to get out of the way and let God use us this weekend and for the hearts of all the students preparing to go. The nations are ready and waiting!

Fun new app!

There's a wonderful blog out in the world of blogs called A Beautiful Mess. It's basically two sisters sharing their life and lots of pretty pretty things. Today their photo app went live on iTunes and I love it! You can read more about it in their post here. My mother-in-law got me an iTunes gift card for my birthday so this was my first purchase with it.

Tonight I will be working on cleaning up and organizing our studio so I can do more crafty things! I might post pics, or I might forget and post them months away from now, ha.

for the moms

For Mother's Day this year I decided something cute and small would be fun. The Purl Bee's flower sachets have been on my to-make list for a while so I picked them. I had all the felt and fabric I needed so I started playing with colors last week. Both my mom and David's mom like teals, blues and purples so their sachet sets turned out very similar. The pictures here are of David's mom's set. The ones I made for my mom all have a solid dark purple squares with white, dark and light aqua petals, backed with teal and white fabric. Theirs are pretty much just opposite teal and purple.

They're filled with rice and I added drops of scented oils: cinnamon, lavender, strawberry, and vanilla. The cotton fabric on the backs is thin enough that the small comes out enough to make any small space smell yummy.

The moms loved them. Now I need to make some for our home because they smell so good!! I've been working on a lot...stay tuned :)

Time is marching on

March is almost over, which mean 2013 is almost a quarter of the way through. Life is moving so fast. I haven't been updating much but I have been creating a lot and living a lot. Below are some highlights of my life lately:

• I had my 5th TMJ arthroscopic surgery in January
• We celebrated 2 years of marriage
• David was ordained a deacon at our church
• I've fallen more and more in love with my job
• We lead a time of worship and prayer every 3 weeks at our church
• Anticipating the return of new Doctor Who episodes
• Lots of hand-sewing and knitting
• Realization that my jaw isn't recovering and I need arthroplasty
• Chuy, as always, makes life just a little cuter
• I've embraced a deeper fondness of fashion
• We feel more drawn to missional living and doing life with a community
• We are also hooked on New Girl and I want to be Zooey Deschanel

David and I are also learning to really embrace who we are as a couple, as people, and as the artwork God created us to be. I read this quote on Kristina's blog and I just absolutely love it:

"Embrace the uniqueness God placed within you.

If you can do that, you'll give the world a beautiful gift."

SO GOOD. I've personally really learned to embrace my own uniqueness and not hide it or try to make it more than what it is. God created me in a very particular way and I shouldn't try to be someone else. He already created someone else, there's no need for me to try to reinvent that. Simple.

Since no post is complete without a picture or two here are a few of life lately.

In Fredericksburg celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary

loving my pup.

playing with some new hair styles.

David leading worship while I recovered from my surgery.

happy puppy.

learning to appreciate beauty in the most mundane things.

no explanation needed.

silly sisters.

my man can drive a bus.

the two most important men in my life.

stage before Mania Marathon 12/13

I'm more active on instagram on a daily basis so feel free to follow me there: @randamocity

2 years

Two years ago, today, I married my absolute best friend. And although he is super handsome and attractive, makes me laugh, sings to me, plays multiple stringed instruments, rocks flannel like no other, wears a great beard, and is generally awesome...that's not why the past two years have been so great.

Don't get me wrong, all those things help make up who he is and are part of the equation of why I love him so dearly. The heart of our marriage, though, can be best described in the below lyric:

You're in the whisper between two lovers
igniting passion long after the altar.
You are the reason I sing
You are the reason I sing

The "You're" up there is referring to God. He is the whisper between our hearts that keeps igniting the passion, love and affection we have for each other. And obviously He's the reason we sing, which as many of you know, is a huge part of our story, our lives, and our marriage.

Because we try to keep Christ in the center of every aspect of our marriage, it's been amazing! Now there are some rough moments when I just cannot believe he says something, or I can't handle another episode of some anime cartoon, but those just don't matter. Honestly, if my biggest complaint about marriage is I have to watch anime every now and then, or he leaves macaroni on the stove for a few days, then I'd say we're doing it right. Some say that first year is the hardest...um, awesome! It only gets better?! Our 10 year anniversary is going to be amazing, and I can't even wait to see how fun it gets at year 50.


Last night we got to listen to a panel of five married couples who all had different stories and backgrounds talk on marriage. There were newlyweds, one married 55 years, second marriages, no kids, adopted kids, kids from previous marriages, etc. It was such a blessing to just listen to them all talk about the role God played in their stories and how they all keep Him in the center of their marriages. It got me thinking about our story and how God's will is so interwoven in every aspect. Sure we pulled against Him at times and tried to do our own thing but He constantly pulled us closer to Him and I'm so thankful for that.


David, you are my perfect match and I completely enjoy every day I get to spend being your wife and partner in our fun journey through life. I can't wait to see where God takes us next, and I'm game for anything as long as we get get to do it together. I love you.