What to bring...

I want to try to make truffles to take with us to my husband's family's house for Thanksgiving. I have to make them before but each time it came out rather... well not right. This time I was so excited that they turned out MUCH better. At first you don't succeed...

The chocolate waiting to be poured. I did discover that it is possible to burn chocolate chips!

The truffles!

The Final Coat of chocolate.

The finished truffles packed in their cute tin and waiting to be eaten by family. I consider any recipe successful if I don't have to throw it away!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

HgTV Design Star... JK :)

Before...

After

Here is the final product! I hope this will help with the mountain of papers that seem to pile up on our counter. Of course this organizer will not fix our problem. It is just a tool to help us become more organized. This will only work if we are willing to make the effort to keep our home clean and neat. I have to say that I found my secret weapon and favorite new project... the no sew fabric glue. This glues anything to anywhere! I highly recommend it!

101...Ideas

I was inspired by a magazine that a friend let me barrow (I will return it, I promise). The magazine held 101 affordable decorating

tips. I found a really cute hanging orginizer that I thought would help clean up the mountians of paper that pile up on our counters. I'd thought I'd be crafty and modify the pattern a bit. I'm thinking quick and easy...bingo! fabric glue! Right? Wrong? My glue plan failed. Ok plan B, sew it! Great idea, right? Right, if you have a sewing machine ,which I do not. So I got out my mending kit and started sewing. So far plan B is in process and is working (for now). I hope to post more once that final project is complete.

The Eyes of Texas ...I Mean the Ears

Our special dog, Texas, had been scratching his ears. Normally, I'd think "He's a dog, right? No problem!" After a week of nonstop scratching, he started to cry every time he would mess with it. I let it go for another week thinking that he's just being "Texas" and will get over it. As much as I love him and as many cool things he can do, he can be very stubborn and weird at times. One afternoon while shopping with a friend, I shared about this "issue" in our household. My friend use to work at as a vet-tech and suggested that I look inside his ears and see if there were any black spots. I looked and sure enough the inside of his ears were covered in black spots. My husband thought it was time to take him to the vet. I am thinking of all kinds of problems he might have, fleas, bugs, mites, worms... Once at the vet's, the doctor took a quick peak inside Texas' ears and said "He has allergies." A shot and 10 day prescription later, we were home. "That's it?" I thought "Allergies? I can deal with that!" Our dog has allergies. Texas is now doing much better. He no longer has any black spots (no pirate pun intended) and is successfully living with allergies.

Here are some pictures we took in Fort Davis...

West Texas...nough said.

-Phil

Time for Fall

It's Fall time, one of my favorite times of the year. I love fall colors and how everything is apple or pumpkin flavored. Bacy home, the air got crip and cold and the leaves looked like drops of gold hanging from the trees. It' s time for farmers market, craft shows, and holiday open houses. Well things are a little different here. With all the rain we have been having everything is still green, but the rain has been an answer to prayer. This week I was able to experience a few fall activities, the county fair and the pumpkin patch. It was so nice. There were pumpkins everywhere! They were neatly sorted by size and style all over the lawn. It was decorated with hay and scarecrows. I miss a lot of the activities since I did not life here last year but so far I have enjoyed them and all the little festivals make me smile. The weather is cooler in fact down right cold and my husband even suggested some coffee tonight! Even though I miss the golden colors that bloom where I grew up, this year I am reminded its fall all over the country. It now our family's turn to start our own fall traditions.

A Night On the Town

One of the perks of this town is you don't have to drive too long to have a good time. It is so close to two big cities. A few weeks ago some friends

and us went to downtown San Antonio. We had dinner at this really cool place in the art district and walked the riverwalk. I love the riverwalk because there is always something to celebrate and it is such a cool atmosphere. This night we took a boat tour through the river. That is the best was to experience the riverwalk. The buildings and landscaping is breathtaking. Every way you look there is something interesting to look at. This was was no expecting as I got to sit next to Phil! After enjoying the riverwalk, we all walked till we spoted a Starbucks. We stopped in for something to drink and end up talking umong the comfy couches for a few hours. The coffee was good but the company was great!

Reality Based Training

Well we had our first "Reality Based Training (RBT)" last Friday. I was so nervous that i had trouble sleeping the night before! It ended up being a really cool experience seeing as I HAVE NEVER ARRESTED ANYONE...judging by the picture you can tell that has changed! haha! I will say that the whole experience has been really cool but very very tough. I have never studied so much in my life and have had to work for something as hard as i am. PLEASE keep praying for me and my amazing wife:)

Friday Night Lights

Fridays seem to have a more relaxed feel then the other days of the week. I can wear the college uniform of jeans and a t-shirt to school and we know the next day we can sleep in! Friday night is date night at the Estrada house. I don't think we've ever had a conversation to make it official "date night" but after a busy week of school for each of us we both look forward to spending time with one another. Well this Friday we had a home football game. The boys did great! The game was called at half time due to the mercy rule. Way 2 go Falcons! After, we hit a early showing of the new Tyler Perry movie (great film!) and had a nacho dinner at the movie theater. To end the evening we had Dairy Queen Blizzards and drove around the town at night. It was a great ending to a work week. As for the rest of the weekend, there is always something to do for the home, school, or Texas! Thank God for Fridays!

Saturday Afternoon

I love seeing all the fall decorations in the stores. I made a trip this weekend to Hobby Lobby. I love going here and being inspired by all the "crafty" things. I had just finished a section of pages on our dog when I found a ton of pictures that Phil's mom and sent us. I decided to make a scrapbook just for our pets so we can look back or even one day show our children all these pictures. I picked the 6x6 size album for its size and price. I have to say I have really enjoyed playing with different size albums. The 12x12 can hold more pictures and the 6x6 took no time to complete. I finished this all on Saturday before we went to meet friends for dinner! Happy Scrapping! -D

It's all in the name!!!

Six Months

Today my husband and I have been married for six months! Six months ago our lives were flooded with family members coming into town, rehearsal dinners, cakes, flowers, rings, and dresses. I really enjoy the process of a wedding. I had a lot of great help and I think every young girl thinks about how her wedding will look. But I do have to say I am glad that part is finished and we are still married! Not to say I didn't enjoy it or would hate to help someone plans their own but we were both looking forward to the day to day marriage. I love being married to him. He is so easy to be married to. I am very blessed to have him as my love. We just returned from a weekend in Midland where we were able to visit his family. I love spending time there. I think we both get homesick for it at times.

Doggie Play Date

This is Texas' new friend. She is a loving, full energy dog just like Texas. She belongs to a friend of ours from church. Texas had so much fun playing at the playground. I thought this picture was just the sweetest thing! I love the expression they each have on their faces. Love is blind but friendship closes its eyes! -D

Building Sand Castles in the Sky

What a day we had at the beach! Phil and I worked on a turtle in the sand. It turned out really good too! I did not know we had it in us. The rest of these pictures are of us playing in the waves and sand.

Port Aransas

Our first trip to the Texas beach was spent with our friends the Jordans! We headed out about 7:30 in the morning and got there in time for an early lunch of fish and chips. We hit the beach of Port Aransas by noon and had fun in the sun....too much fun, judging by our burnt bodies the next day! We have been truly blessed to have such good friends in the "Jordan clan", who are a constant reminder of God's goodness in the blessings of friendship.
Here are our post cards for all of you who couldn't be there!!!!

Last day!

Well, today is my (phil) last day of work. It was great working at Pro-Vigil and i still will continue doing some of their graphic work from a distance but the police academy is a callin. I had the opportunity to build many good friendships and i hope that over everything that i did in the time i was there, that the truth of what God has done in my life was first. For many people, being a christian is just routine and that was the way they were brought up. My life is not that (though i still fight with "routine") but i was totally living a life that was the exact opposite of how a christian is to live. My life was turned around at 4:00 in the morning in El Paso, Texas and since that day i have been amazed and blown away at how God would love me that He would give His Son to die in my place on the cross because of MY SIN. That is why i love to meet with the church! That is why i hold my life to certain standards! That is why i cant help but share what HE has done in my life. Though my new beginning right now is a job, WE must show the world that their "new beginning" can come with God.

PRAY.

I am asking you to be praying that God would really be watching over us here in Seguin and that we would join in praying for our little city. I daily check the crime reports for Seguin and have been really in shock at just how much crime actually goes on here. Everyday it is not unusual to here of someone getting mugged at knife or gun point, people getting jumped walking with their family down neighborhood streets, families being waken up in the middle of the night with a gun pointed at them while others are taking things of value in their home. There is a rivalry between the Mexican Mafia and the Latin Kings here and it is destroying the community. Even more so, as Christians, we know that it goes deeper....to the sin nature of men. I am asking that you as the body of Christ pray for us. Pray that God would move in our city. Pray that our God would reveal himself to these gangs....their souls depend on it. Blessings.

New Website!

Get ready Lifegate Church....we are building a new website that will be a taste of goodness....a lot like the ice cream place "Marble Slab."

Joking
Joking....but i am pumped about having the opportunity to design it!

Graphics!

I(phil) like to design print stuff and all that BUT i really like to make videos!!! Here is a video i just finished for the company I work for. Oh and the girl at the end may look familiar....the girl with the "pretty eyes" is my sisters daughter.....ms.Emery

God is sooooo Holy!

I am finding myself more and more amazed and in love with God. He has been so good to me and my wife and our families! He is so gracious and merciful! He is so faithful and beautiful! He has provided our every need and is worthy of every breath I breathe!

HE IS HOLY!!!!

A Heart of Worship

There is something inside of me(Phil) that loves to worship. I love to close my eyes and listen to the church sing in union with one another....every voice agreeing in the declaration that God is holy and worthy to be worshiped. It's not uncommon for me to sing through out the day....loud and proud! (Haha) But here recently I have started writing down some of the songs that have been coming to me and they seem to be really effecting my heart as i sing them. Whats really cool is it seems like this same season of worship song writing is hitting my friend Josh Lee at the same time. We have started meeting to help each other fine tune the songs we believe are songs of worship. I don't know where these songs will ever go, or if they will ever be declared through the voice of the church, but i pray God will find them as a blessing to His ears.

Building Our Dreams

I saw a shelf unit in a magazine and when I showed it to Phil he said he could build it. He did! It took no time at all, cost less than the one I saw, and I was so impressed with his wood-working skills. I love the color and the Texas star on each side.

Sweet Tooth

A good friend and I are reading through the book Practicing Hospitality. I have really enjoyed reading the book with her. The neat thing about this book is it gives ideas and recipes at the end of every chapter. I tried this one last week. It came out better than others that I have tried. It seemed like a lot to do but it was really easy. To make Bake Caramel Corn you melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt add vanilla and baking soda, pour over popped pop corn and bake at a low temperature for about an hour. The book said that it tastes like the fancy one you can buy in the store. If you add a prize in the bowl you can make your own Cracker Jacks.

Day Trip to Dallas

Last Tuesday my husband had to drive to Dallas for work. We had thrown around the idea of me going with him since he only had to unload some stuff. He asked me again that morning and I just couldn't say no. We drove to Dallas and back that day. It is so nice having the summer off because I can to fun day trips like this. We have always enjoyed driving places together. In fact most Sundays we end up going for our Sunday Drive just like in the ol' days. Even though 8 to 9 hours were spent in the car, it was a fun day. All day spent talking with my husband, what more could I ask for?

I just want to clear things up for some of you...YES that is our dog posing at the top of the page :)

"Ponch"

Well folks, i (Phil) have officially been offered a job for our police department. I'm already getting called "Ponch" who is the character Erik Estrada plays on the old show "Chips"...hence the picture lol!

Love!

I love being married. I wish people would start sharing more about how great marriage is instead of always complaining about each other!