Sing-A-Song Weekends!

Hello, and welcome to another S.A.S Weekend! This song that I am going to share with you is one of my favorites, it's called 'Beautiful', by Mercy Me. It's a song that I think every girl should hear, because it shares the message that God finds you beautiful. Hope ya enjoy the video:

I just love this song, I think they should make an 'official' music video of it though.... :) Hope you enjoyed!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo ♥

Baking & Blessings

 Dear Readers,
     Today as I write, I am filled with excitement for what lays ahead. This afternoon will be spent baking -and I can hardly wait!!!
Perahps you wonder why I enjoy baking so  much -Well here are a few reasons:

• I have always looked forward to the day that I am married and my husband comes home from work to a house that smells of something good. Then he enters the kitchen to find a plate of steaming cookies.
• If a new neighbor moves in, or a family is going through a tough time, sometimes the one thing that you know they could use is food. And there just so happens to be something comforting about biting into a piece of deep chocolate goodness :)
• On special occasions, sometimes the only way I know how to contribute is to bring a dessert to share.

 So all-in-all, the main reason of why I like to bake is because; I hope that through my baking I can bless others. I feel that there is a way that each person can bless another, for me it's through baking, for a different person it could be something else.
If you don't feel that you have a way to bless others, then you can pray to God and ask him about it. Perhaps you are already blessing others without even realizing it. Even so, you don't always have to bless someone in only one way. Yes, I often bake -but there have been many occurrences were I have chosen a different way to bless others. So don't feel limited to how you bless :)
~Miss.Adriana Castillo

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 

~John 1:16

Book Review

Howdy!
   Ok, so I don't normally start a post off by saying 'howdy'.... but you would too if ya had just read the book that I just finished ;)

~Once Upon a Summer~

By, Janette Oke

Summary:

~*~

Sure, it's unusual to have an eighteen-year-old mother when you're twelve. But when you're an orphan and she's your aunt and the only mother you've ever had well, as I explained, it had worked out real well.

That's why I got so riled up when I heard Grandpa and Uncle Charlie talkin' about findin' a fella for Auntie Lou!

You see, somethin' had to be done! I couldn't just sit back and watch our special family get broken up. But with Grandpa and Uncle Charlie workin' so hard to get Auntie Lou married off, I really had my job cut out for me.

Then, when that poor preacher came along, it really got complicated.

And maybe you'll find out what I found out -- about the best kind of family, I mean.

~*~

Ok.... So I absolutely loved this book!
If ya have ever read Janette Oke books then you would know that she writes books, that for the most part, are from a girls point of view. What I loved about this one, is that it is from a boy's view. And on top of that, this boy had a really cute character ;) Here is one of the phrases that kind of shows how he thinks:

"...Somethin' was brewin'. I could feel it in my bones, but couldn't put my finger on it yet. Whatever it was, I didn't think I liked it."

Well, I don't want to give the story line away... So all I can say is that you should definitely read this one!

May you have a blessed day!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

My Pondering Thoughts

Hello Dear Friends,
    So I've been wondering what I should write about on my blog as a post. I couldn't really think of anything though, so I decided to just write about what I have been pondering lately. More recently, I have been thinking a lot on what I want to become. Not just career, or plans of being a stay-at-home mom, but more of what type of person I want to be. I guess you could call these things 'attributes'.
    Now, I don't know about you, but I tend to have a lot of role models -people that I admire for certain quality's or another. I won't share all my longings with you, but I will share a few ;)

• I want to become someone who has patience
• I want to become an encouragement to people 
• I would love to become one of those people who are positive to be around, even in the hardest of times/situation they can always see a bright side to it 
• ect....

    Maybe now you can have a better understanding of what I mean by thinking of what I want to become. What the hard part is though, is becoming that type of person. And sometimes, it's good to just look at yourself for who you are. Don't look at what you think you will become, or what you were, but look at who you are right now.  Once you know who you are this very instant, then you can move on to what you want to become. And from there, you can make a plan of action to how you will become that way.
Right now, I am working on trying to become a person of encouragement. When I see that somebody is putting a lot of effort into whatever they are doing, I try to tell them that they are doing a great job. Also, when I can see that people are struggling/feeling discouraged, that is also a good time to try and say an encouraging word or two.
    You will only become the person you wish to be, when you put in your effort by seeking God and asking for his guidance. He can lead you in the right direction and help you along the way. Why is he willing to help you? Because he takes joy and pleasure in his children trying to become a person who reflects God. Sometimes I have had to remind myself that God is the Ultimate encourager, and if I truly want to become an encouraging person, then I need to look to him to guide me. And I feel so very blessed that God has put such amazing friends in my life that reflect God, because it encourages me to strive to become more of a reflection of God as well.

Have a blessed day
Sincerely,
    Miss.Adriana Castillo

A quote

Hello Dear Friends,
     So I was checking my facebook, as usual, and I found a neat quote that one of my friends had put on their status. Here's what it said:

"May we not be lost in our presents, but instead be lost is His presence. Merry Christmas everyone."

I thought It was a cool quote and so I thought I would share it with y'all :)

Merry Christmas!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

S.A.S Weekends

Hello Everyone, I have seen a few of my friends posting weekly video's on their blog. So, I decided that I too wanted to post music video's since I love listening to music :) . That is how I came up with S.A.S, Sing-A-Song weekend! Since weekends are usually busy for people, then why not just share a encouraging song with y'all that will help remind you of Jesus throughout the day (I am always getting songs stuck in my head). 

This song that I would like to share with you, is in honor of the Christmas season:

 Hope you enjoyed this sad and touching song.

 Special thanks to my dear friend Raquel, who shared this video on her blog, which is were I had first seen it.

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

A 'Picture Perfect' Day...

Dear Readers,
    Today was a fantastic day! I wanted to share the different events that have occurred, but sometimes words aren't enough... So along with the words I am going to share a picture to represent each event :)

~ Event 1# ~

The first event of the day was a Christmas party hosted at my grandmother's house. My mom's side of the family all got together and celebrated Christmas, and it was pretty fun :)  -All this past week though, I have been working on making my Grandmother's Christmas present... And just last night I finished it and was able to wrap it. So, that meant that I was able to give it to her:

It's a picture that I drew of her dog Sammy, and my Grandmother was thrilled with it. I was glad that she liked it because it took me a while to draw, but I was pleased with my work :)

~ Event 2# ~

I came home from my Grandmother's house, and soon after I checked my facebook account. There I found that one of my sweet friends had taken one of my photo's and edited it for me, she then posted it on my wall:

I am so blessed to have such amazing friends! :)

Special thanks to my dear friend, Madison. 

~ Event 3# ~

After I checked my facebook, I decided to look at my e-mail. And there I found a sweet letter written from one of my co-workers from a summer camp that I worked at last summer. She had read my blog and had written to me, letting me know what she thought of it (She liked it). It is the first response I have gotten from my blog and I was so encouraged by it too! 

Specail thanks to my friend 'Paper Clip', who responded to my blog :)

You have encouraged me so much!!! ~AC

So, to sum it all up, I had a truly blessed day! :) 

"When you bless... You are blessed in return"  ~A quote from my friend Raquel's blog.

Have A Splendid Day!

Your's Truly,

    ~Miss. Adriana Castillo

Maken' Some Snow Flakes!

  So at Art school I have seen these totally awesome snow flakes, but I hadn't actually been taught how to make them. I decided to start paying attention to when people were making them and gather little bit's and peices of how they are made. So, I finally figured it out!!! :D I was soooo happy, and now I am able to finally show my mom what these snow flakes look like since I have been telling her about them.

The first snowflake that I made

 So...... What do ya think? Isn't it cool! :D 

Have a Merry Christmas!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

Baking time!

If you've already read the "Who I Am" page, then you probably know that I love baking. And since it is nearing Christmas, I have had about umpteen-million opportunity's to bake. Oh, Joy! :D :) Here is my dessert lists for this Christmas season:

Thursday the  16th, An Art School Christmas Party:

• Chocolate Meltaway's (Truffles)

Friday the 17th, a camp teen staff Christmas party:

• Chocolate Meltaway's (Truffles)

Sunday the 19th, A youth group Christmas Party:

• Chocolate Brownies with White Choco-Chips

Thursday the 23rd, My Grandparents House:

• Maple Toffee Shortbread
• Holiday Red Rasberry Chocolate Bars
• Toffee-Topped Cheesecake Bars

Friday the 24th, Christmas with just my Family:

• Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

Thursday the 30th, After-Christmas Gingerbread Man making Party:

• Molasses Spice Cookie Dough
• Wishing Cookies Dough
• Sugar Cookie Dough

What do ya think? I can't wait to make them all! :D Feel free to comment about what ya think of my dessert list :)

Hope ya enjoyed reading this post!
Sincerely,
    Miss.Adriana Castillo

Tis' the Season to be Jolly

"Tis' the Season to be Jolly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la...." -Oh, do I love Christmas tunes! Just yesterday my older brother, Richie, and I went caroling with some friends. Although I had a partial cold, and mostly lip-sang because of it, I had a good time! :)

I love going to Christmas party's, especially white elephants!  It's the only time of the year when ya get to 'steal' someone elses gift, and not get put in jail. Also, those type of Christmas party's tend to be a gold mine for crazy and wacky gifts! Who doesn't love watching a guy open a gift to discover some old, ugly, purse? ;)

Through all the party's and Christmas music, it's important that we don't lose sight of what we are celebrating: The birth of Jesus. Jesus, was God's gift to us; And all throughout this month, I have loved hearing the story of Jesus's birth. It's a timeless story, and it seems that the more I hear it, the more I enjoy listening to it.

So, here is a question for anyone who just happens to have noticed my blog. What traditions does your family do for Christmas? When you get older (If your a teen), what traditions do you want to start/keep?

Thanks for taking the time to read! :)

~Miss.Adriana Castillo

Welcome to A Flower in Bloom

Hi Everyone!

I am sooo excited to get this blog started! :D I plan to just blog whenever I get a chance and have something to share with y'all.  Perhaps this will help you to get to know me on a more personal level, either way, I hope you enjoy reading my posts!

~Miss.Adriana Castillo