Handmade Half-Apron

I have been working on a new project this week and wanted to get it out to you guys in time for Christmas!

This is a ruffled half-apron, using some of Amy Butler's new fabric collection, "Love". I am absolutely in love with this fabric and think it goes together quite nicely to make a really fun, girly apron! The apron ties together nicely around your waist with a nice sash that can be tied into a cute little bow.

With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to extend this to you guys--I think they would make great gifts!

Anyway, if you are interested in purchasing one please email me: benandashcarter@gmail.com

I am charging $25 each + shipping (probably between $4-5)

I am not putting it on etsy quite yet, so this is a special friends & family deal :) Also, if you like the design, but the fabric does not suit you, we can work on that too ;)

I think I'll go to Boston...

Ben and I sing that song around the house a lot...

I am not really sure why, we do kind of weird things when its just the two of us, but I think part of the reason that we sing that particular song is that we both would love to visit Boston some day.

and on Friday, Ben actually got to GO to Boston!

He got in from his flight on Thursday evening, and after the debrief was informed that he was going on a crosscountry to Boston, MA for the weekend.

Although it wasn't under the lax, vacation circumstances you would normally hope for, it was kind of cool to think that his job can take him there so easily!

But don't be too fooled by the mirage of coolness, because unfortunately this aviator had to study and flight plan the whole time he was there...bummer.

I wish I could have been a stowaway in the luggage. Maybe someday...

So it was just me and myself and I this weekend.

Thankfully, the other student that Ben flew with has a wife that he had to leave behind too, so Erin & I got to hang out with each other most of Saturday afternoon & even got to go to a free Lonestar concert. Good thing they are the only country band that I like.

I also took my pre-Nursing entrance exam this weekend & by God's EXTREME grace scored really well! (I wasn't exactly the most disciplined about studying for this one)

All in all, it was a good weekend--even though I missed Ben terribly. I didn't realize how lonely & boring it gets without my best friend at home. I am glad he is back :)

I almost feel famous...

So I can't really take any credit for this, but I just found out that the photographer for our wedding was a Top 10 image winner for this photo in contest for BRIDE magazine/WPJA.

Weird. But cool.

Here's the link to his post about it and the judge's comments if you care to take a look:

http://www.philipthomasblog.com/2009/10/13/top-ten-image-winner-for-2009-brides-magazinewpja-contest/

The judge's comment was touching, but almost made me laugh because this picture always reminds me of how out of it my mom was on that day. Seriously, she was in a daze, floating around the room...she hardly remembers coming up and putting her head on my shoulder at all. I guess thats why you hire a photographer!

But I do love this photo of me and my mama and I am glad that Philip is using it :).

yipes!

***UPDATE***

Just found out that Ben passed his first T-1 flight! Praise the Lord--thank you for your prayers!!

He did really well!

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Ben has his first flight in the T-1 today!! Definitely keep him in your prayers...we will let you know how it goes!!

ben's new friend...kind of

This is a picture of the T-1a Jayhawk, the Air Force Jet that Ben will soon be flying. We're still deciding whether it is really our friend or not.

For the past week, he has been getting really intimate with it and all its inner workings--learning everything about this little jet. Almost like getting to know a best friend or a spouse...but well, not as friendly or forgiving when you forget what one of its buttons do.

Ben has been taking test after test on the systems of this plane, its emergency procedures, and some other stuff that was probably too complicated for me to remember.

God has been really merciful to him and he has passed all of his tests so far! He has one more to take tomorrow, and then could start flying as soon as Wednesday.

He is pretty exhausted, actually we both are. Ben said that the Air Force should give me half a wing when he gets his wings because I help him study and kind of act as his wingman. :)

I'd be down with half a wing.

Anyway, the point is....these past couple of weeks have been hard. The Lord has really been sustaining us, but Ben especially is really exhausted and still has soooo much to do.

One of his instructors made an analogy of a flight student going through T-1 training as being like a person stranded on a little boat, with all of these vicious alligators coming at him/her.

To defend their self, the person has to club the nearest alligators first and focus primarily on them, but at the same time, keeping their eye on the alligators that are coming up behind the others, because if you drop your guard, they will get ya.

May sound a little silly to some of you, but it describes very well what Ben & the other students are going through. It seems as though they have this never ending list of things they have to get done and they have to slow down enough to decide which ones take priority, and use good time management to balance the rest.

So its one of those weeks where we know 100% that we won't get through it without the Lord's divine hand. Please pray with us that Ben will have energy & perseverance to get through this difficult week and that he will complete all the things expected of him this week. Pray that he will be a shining light to instructors & students and that the peace of God will guard his heart and his mind in Christ Jesus.

Just so you know...

Jesus answered my prayer today and fall came to Pensacola. :)

YAY! I am so thankful for this beautiful weather. Thank you Lord!

home decor idea

This is a picture of the wall in our dining area, right behind our dinner table. Although its a pretty bad picture, at a not so great angle ( I blame it on the overhead lamp...it always gets in the way), I wanted to post it because I got all these vases for super cheap!

So if you have a problem knowing what to do with some empty wall space, and want an inexpensive solution, here's one way to do it.

The wooden shelves were given to us by some friends who were simplifying their house, so we thankfully got those for free, but I am pretty sure you can find them at places like Home Depot or Lowes for pretty cheap. They were given to us in their "natural" form, so we used some black paint we had on hand and painted them up to match our dining room table.

Then I went to Ross (but Marshalls or TJ MAX is great too, depending on what you have in your area) and was able to find all these really fun vases for super cheap! We are talking like $3-6 dollars each! The total cost for the five vases was probably equal to the cost of one vase at a normal retail store.

So even if you just need some vases & aren't looking for any decorating ideas, seriously check out one of those discount stores--you just can't beat that!

fall, where are you?

For many of you, fall may have already shown its beautiful face, but in Pensacola...it is slowly peaking out.

Very, very slowly. Actually, I think we are still in denial that it is fall; most days it feels like a mild summer. But I am ready for it to be here, so I gave my blog a fall face-lift!

We are still in search for the perfect pumpkins to put outside our door...last year we got lost in Alabama and bought ours at this really neat farmers market, but the seeing as we were lost, I don't know if we will be able to find it again :(

We were also blessed to be in Colorado during early fall last year and got to watch leaves actually change colors! It was amazing!

See!?! look at the color!

As we look back on last year, this fall looks very different from the last...and although sometimes we wish we were back in Colorado or in Texas with family, I think we are finally really settled here, and it feels like home. We feel at home in our church. At home in our apartment. At home in our daily tasks, and at home in our lives together.

So although, the Florida weather confuses our seasons a bit, we love the fall, and love the fun & special memories God has gifted us w/ during the fall season, this year & in past years.

Lord, please send the fall weather to Pensacola soon. It would be so wonderful.

But in the meantime I will enjoy my pumpkin spice lattes, blog makeovers, and fake fall leaves.

picnic friday!

Well, we took into consideration all the great advice we got on what we should do for our date night, and although we didn't go running through the corn maze in Milton (er sorry, erin), I took a picture of some really pretty stalks of wheat ( at least i think they are wheat stalks).

I am definitely thinking the corn maze may have to be a future date night outing.... I just can't get over the fact that there is an actual corn maze near us.

Welcome to floribama.

But I digress...

For our Friday date night we took the email advice of Ben's mama and went on a picnic! We pondered over where we would have our picnic very carefully, and finally decided that we needed to get out of Pensacola. Before living here we never realized what HUGE city kids we really are and sometimes we just need to pick up and see some new scenery.

So we chose Fairhope, AL.

For anyone living in the P'cola area, we definitely recommend it... the Downtown area especially, its super charming and has lots of fun little boutiques, antique shops & a really neat bookstore/cafe. Its just something a little different for this area thats not too far away.

So off we went, our fully loaded picnic basket & blanket in tote.

pretty wheat

the happy picnikers

the yummy food!! we had grilled corn, grilled mozzarella cheese sandwiches on sourdough and tomato/carrot basil soup. it was scrum.ditly.uptious.

and ben insisted on taking this picture.

he's so pretty.

we had a fabulous time---thanks for all the help w/ ideas, i will definitely store the others away :)

creativity block

If you were going on a date night tonight, where would you go? or what would you do?

I can't seem to think of anything fun/relaxing...

So I'm calling on you...what would you do?

The Results...

Here are some of the results of my bread making extravaganza, as promised :)

I thought the French Bread turned out really beautifully

And the bagels have been scrumptious too!!

Helmet Fire

A comment from the one and only Josh Owen, has indeed sparked this: the second blog entry by Ben. The comment was made about the verbiage that was most likely used in the cockpit on a day to day basis. Got a little story for ya Ags.

The phase of training I just completed was Low Level navigation or "VNAVs" as it is affectionately called here at Pcola. Cliff notes about VNAVs: fly low to the ground, no instruments to help you out, have to hit certain points such as towers and buildings on course and on time. The secret to passing VNAVs: find your points and get to them on time.

After a very successful morning flight the other day, I had to pass my check ride in the afternoon. I was flying with Captain Jones this particular day. Captain Jones informed me that she would not be helping me on my check ride, that indeed she was going to be a "voice activated auto pilot." I was going to have to get to all the points within 2 miles and make it to my final point within +/- 1 minute of my predicted time of arrival. After a successful take off and enroute journey to our first point, I realized I was somewhat lost (bad way to start a check ride). I directed her to turn north along a rode I new the first point to be near. After a few minutes of not seeing a point I was expecting to see after just a few seconds..."Uhhhhh ma'am, I think we're north of point Alpha. I think we need to turn around." (Which of course we were. In the debrief she informed me that she didn't think I truly ever knew how far off course we really were.)

Josh Owen, you know me well. The Lord has been teaching me a lot about perseverance, prayer, faith, and the the importance of judging myself honestly.

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. -

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (English Standard Version)

www.biblegateway.com

p.s. I made it to my final point exactly 59 seconds late. I passed.

Ben's Digs

digs: (from the urban dictionary)

home;place of residence "my bro just moved into new digs across town."

Well ok, its not his real home, but its been his second home for the past several months.

Let me introduce you to the T-6 Texan. What an appropriate name, right?

Its the plane that Ben has been flying in for the past several months! He spent a few weeks in the front seat, flying the plane & has now moved to the backseat where he is doing all the navigation!

He has been doing so well & working soo hard. The Lord has definitely answered many prayers in his flights! And he actually has only one flight left in the T-6 before he moves onto a new airplane!

I will be sure to post pictures of that plane too so you can get a visual of what he looks like up in the air :)