Whew! It's a bit late but I got it up! Hope you like it! You can never go wrong with black and white. : )

-Amy

Tennessee Happenings pt3

(parts one and two)

From what I saw, Cleveland, TN didn't have much...but one thing it DID have was a great little vinyl record store called Inherent Records. Here is where Owen Pye rocked out and stole the show!

It was an intimate affair and oh so fun. And it was so exciting to share our talented friend with Josh and Morgan!

Here is Owen's lovely wife and my dearest friend Jillian, and of course, Mr. Cash Lincoln - one of the coolest (and cutest!) 20 month olds I know. He absolutely lights up the room (and plays a mean tune on the harmonica).

It was so lovely to see them for a few days and have them meet our sweet family in Tennessee!

(please ignore Adam's awkward stance..hahah)

We finished up our great adventure playing croquet in the front yard.

(this is me smacking my husbands booty with a croquet mallet as he makes the winning shot.)

I'll be back later with my Sunday Sketchbook!

-Amy

Tennessee Happenings Pt 2

(Part 1 here!)

Upon arrival at the in-law's, we were greeted with a lovely gift basket full of organic fruits, veggies and various snackage. So sweet! Not to mention it came it an adorable little basket, and more storage = happy me! 

Adam's dad is quite the talent and does these awesome portraits of his favorite musicians. I adore them!

I'd have to say my favorite are the four fine fellows on the bottom. Sorry for the flash in the face, Paul.

So I was absolutely tickled that he drew Adam and I! 

And not only that, but that I'm included with the rest of his children! *tear*

I love being a part of this family. <3

We then met up with these lovely folks:

The handsome fellow on the right was the best man in our wedding, and is, indeed, a great man! Adam's best friend Josh and his lovely love Morgan! Morgan and I bonded over Japan together (she stayed there during high school in an exchange program). We are set on convincing our significant others that the four of us need to move there together. : ) 

They showed us a good time and introduced us to the greatest pancakes ever. And I mean EVER.

(thank you Aretha Frankensteins for showing us the light!)

..more to come!

Tennessee Happenings Pt 1

Back home from a few wonderful days in Chattanooga, TN! It's always such a pleasure going to see the in-laws and getting spoiled for a few days! On top of that, the sweet Pye family joined us for a night- Owen played a show in Cleveland,TN (they are currently on tour as a family - how cool is that?!) so we hosted them for the evening and fed them good. Owen rewarded us with a rockin show! 

We were greeted with this beautiful sunrise (one of the few I have actually been awake to see).

We had some breakfast...a smoothie made with almond milk, spinach, brazil nuts, lots of frozen bananas, and some frozen berries. YUM.

Our car had no AC (yikes!) so we most definitely stopped for an iced coffee on the way... it really hit the spot. And because it was so beautiful outside we had a picnic!

(silly flash)

The most exciting thing, by far, was this giant planters peanut truck..

It took us a while to catch up with him though...cause Mr. Planters Peanut Truck was going, like...80 mph. Down a mountain. Smart.

But seriously how cool is that?! Why can't all cars be shaped like nutritious snack items?? 

I'll be back tomorrow with more!

<3 Amy

ps: Got a new bike today! YAY FOR SPRING! 

Source

Prayers for Japan

For those who know me or read this blog post, you know that I was in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan this past December.  Thank the Lord that everyone I met and worked with from the Jesus Film and Campus Crusade for Christ are okay and safe! I just wanted to urge everyone to pray for this nation that doesn't know Jesus Christ but in small, small numbers. Pray that this disaster will urge them to turn towards the ultimate source of love, comfort and hope! Jesus.

"God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear

though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling."

-Psalm 46:1-3

Donate: http://www.redcross.org/

I'm leaving for Tennessee tomorrow morning with the hubby to visit his lovely family and also our sweet friends!

Be back Monday!

<3 Amy

In order to challenge me and get me drawing more, I've decided to share a bit of my sketchbook each Sunday. I hope you guys enjoy the tiny glimpses into my madness. ; )

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Animation is magic.

Sorry to blog so late in the day - go me! But I wanted to celebrate my first ever guest blog post over at THREE FOR THE ROAD! My friend Jillian is immensely talented and one of the sweetest, most gracious people I have ever met. So blessed to call her my friend both online and off!

After writing that post I was reminded about how much I used to love and obsess over animation - indeed it used to be a dream of mine.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Disney's second "golden age" - when each movie nearly surpassed the one before it. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hercules, Mulan..you know.

(source: gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca)

Growing up in the back of a fine art gallery/custom framing shop there isn't much to do - except draw. And boy am I glad. I drew the HECK out of the McDonald's happy meal boxes (back when they were still boxes and had disney characters gracing all 4 sides). I would pretend to be an animator sitting at my fancy desk - all the pens and ink and pencils I could ever need - and draw "character sketches" or "concept art."

(source: f*ckyeahdisneyconcept.tumblr.com)

I would then memorize not only the soundtracks to each film but look up the voice actors and performers who brought, what I thought to be at least, the most beautiful princesses and most handsome princes to life. I paused the VHS tapes at the end credits and studied the names of the incredible people that worked on those films - names like Glen Keane and John Lasseter stuck in my mind. I so wanted to see my name on there one day.

In my mind, animation was as close to creating magic as one could get - you could create characters and make them move. Give them life.

However, without getting too negative, Disney took a bit of a nosedive. Once that happened my so-certain self became not so certain, and I instead attended a community college to begin my fine art career. The Princess Frog and Tangled (especially Tangled) brought me new hope. But now that I'm 21 (almost 22) and thinking about my career, the idea of living in California isn't too appealing (call me crazy). Watching incredible films, whether by Pixar, Disney, or Miyazaki (he's deserving of an entire post blog, to be sure), still makes my heart flutter and I feel that yearning reappear. I once again want to be a part of the action - a part of something that starts as pencil, paper, ink and paint and becomes a living, breathing masterpiece.

But who knows? I'm only 21. ; )

xoxo Amy