2013 In Review
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we have entered another year. If your life is anything like mine…it’s felt like a whirlwind ever since Thanksgiving. Yikes. But now the festivities are behind us and it’s time to learn from the past year and step into a fresh, new season.
The year goes by so fast that I often feel like it passed in a blur. {Any one second that?} I have to remind myself that a year is a long time. A lot can happen. One life can do a lot in one year. I really believe that and I hope you do too. For me 2013 could have been a very hard, negative year…but I think we chose how we spend our time and resources and energy. We can let negative circumstances weigh us down…or allow them to give us a chance to brush up on our hurdling skills. I may have banged my shins on hurdles a few times in the past 365, but I can confidently say that I cleared them all.
And if you don’t believe a lot can get done in a year…let’s look back at the biggest moments of a year with Amy Allender. read more…
Woodsy Chistmas Session {with Erin, Adam and pups}
On a day, not so long ago I was in one of the greatest places on earth: Elkhart, IN. While I was there, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to do a few Christmas photos for my favorite {and only} Allender sibling. Newsflash. My sister is precious.
We debated staying indoors, but thought that temps in the 20’s would be warm enough to face. That was a mistake. They look beautiful, but I was behind the camera coat on, scarf tight, and hood up…shivering. Those pups, cute, right? Watch the big one’s eyes. She’s completely absorbed by the squirrel activity going on around her. The little one is in a sweater, but that didn’t stop her from being completely pathetic in the winter air. Sweet babies. Can you tell my sis likes her dogs?
The Thanksgiving Miracle
Once upon a time it was the day before Thanksgiving in Practically Canada. And bitter cold. The night time lows were getting well below zero and the wind chill was simply brutal.
My parents were coming in from out of town later that evening, so I took a moment in the afternoon to get a few last minute supplies, groceries {and coffee} for the days ahead. I was only gone an hour. When I returned I did what I always do as I turn into the driveway: as the steering wheel guides the car over the curb I push the garage door opener. That way it’s open just enough to drive under by the time I roll up to the door.
But this day there was something different when the door opened. There was something furry on the saw table. It was small and dark. My first thought was that it was some kind of rodent. Then it turned its face toward me and I realized it was a kitten. But as fast as it looked at me, it hopped off the table and scurried off to hide in the depths of the garage.
Eventually I got my hands on a cold, squirmy kitten. She was so happy to be held and started purring right away. She nestled into my neck and put her face in my scarf. Precious. I sat her down to go inside and get something for the little one to eat and some warm milk to drink. However, when I came back moments later she was gone. I could hear her meowing. Somewhere distant. Somewhere muffled. I left the food on the table and headed back inside. After all, it was bitter cold. As I headed inside one question was still on my mind: How on earth did this kitten get into the garage? Who knows.
Hours later when Derek got home I asked him if he saw anything unusual in the garage when he parked. Nope. So I told him {not to be mad} to come outside with me. When we went outside the milk was gone, the food was gone…but there was no cat. Just muffled mews. We looked. Under the cars, behind the scrap wood, under the paint shelf. Nothing. Finally, we tracked the sound to my car. Derek popped the hood, thinking we might be able to see her if she had crawled up on the under body.
And there she was. Curled up, keeping warm on the engine. Her whiskers were shorter on one side than the other, a little fur seemed burned..which led us to believe that she came to be in the garage because she rode home. I think she crawled up to the warm hood in a cold parking lot and stowed away back to my house.
But I had a problem. A kitten with no home, a cat of my own who hates other cats, closed shelters for the long holiday weekend.
We popped both hoods and left the kitten over night. On Thanksgiving Day the one and only Katie {cat lover} came over to pick up a cinnamon roll after our morning run. I showed her the kitten. She held it. And just like that…BAM. Thanksgiving miracle. The kitten rode home with her that morning. Now she lives happily ever after with Katie, Sean, and of course…her big brother Bandit. Precious, right?
I love a happy ending.
Amy
A Chalkboard Christmas {session faves}
My how I’ve missed you. Let’s see…all kinds of things have gone on here since we last caught up. There was a Thanksgiving miracle–which I’ll tell you about in a couple days because I need a few extra photos. I went to Indiana for a wedding. I got trapped in a 5-alarm Chicago snow storm, which lead to a long night in the O’Hare Airport and a 24 hour commute back to Practically Canada. Whilst stuck en route my throat began feeling like it had been rubbed down with sand paper. Once I made it back home I was fully sick and the PraCan air welcomed me with a cozy -3 degrees {F}. That was nothing compared to this morning’s -18. So yes, I’m back and I’m diving into the jolliness of the holidays head first. Well, DayQuil first, but I’ll be there as soon as my nose lets me breathe again.
But I’m getting off topic. Let’s kick the Amy Allender Christmas Season with a look at my favorite shots from all of my chalkboard mini sessions. Golly that was a good investment of time and energy. It totally worked over time and I had a blast taking all these Christmas photos for so many precious families! Tonight I’m sharing my absolute favorite shot from each session. {Seriously, have you seen cuter kids??} Take a look.
{Recognize that last name? Yep, that adorable couple is my mom and dad.}
And if you thought I wasn’t using this for our Christmas card…you were sorely mistaken. Of course we posed for a few in front of the “wall.”
Have a jolly night. See you tomorrow.
Amy
PS–It wouldn’t be the Christmas season without a few melt downs from these cute kids. I had one cry when her daddy did a Santa impression. Another took a tumble off one of the props. Another was throwing poinsettias. Of all those moments the only one I caught on camera was this melt-down-moment. Classic.
The Hills Are Alive {10 things you didn’t know about the Von Trapps}
I hope a whole load of you tuned in tonight to watch the adorable Carrie Underwood and a whole cast of talented folks performed “The Sound of Music” live on NBC. It’s good. I mean, it’s not Julie Andrews…but it’s really good nonetheless.
As I sat watching, I got thinking about the real Von Trapp family. If you’ve ever watched a movie with me, you know I have a specific routine. I pull up IMDB and read all the trivia. Then throughout the movie I spout off random facts. I like to think it enriches the viewing experience.
So tonight I did a little research and made this list of 10 thing you didn’t know about the Von Trapps {or the Sound of Music.}
1. You know that classic aerial shot of Julie Andrews {Maria} at the beginning of the original movie? It was shot from a helicopter. Ms. Andrews later stated that every take ended with her falling over due to the high wind produced by the helicopter.
2. Captain Von Trapp was not the stern, harsh man he seems to be in the musical and movie. His children describe him as a warm, musically inclined man who was a good parent. The actual Von Trapp family was upset by his portrayal, but writers insisted that it was a better character choice for him to be a stereotypical “military man.”
3. Maria Von Trapp was 33 when this whole thing went down.
4. The Von Trapp family didn’t actually walk out of the country. They walked to the train and the train took them away for an American tour. They did not leave in secrecy. However, they did make it just in time…only a day before Austria closed its borders.
5. You can stay at the Von Trapp home. The Von Trapp clan eventually migrated to the US. They settled in Stowe, Vermont. As early as 1950, the family began welcoming guests to stay at their large family lodge. After a fire, the lodge renovated into a beautiful 96 room lodge that is still open today!
6. The family toured in Europe then in America as a singing group. While most of the original gang have hung up their performing shoes…the great grandchildren of Captain and Maria Von Trapp are now in the business of making music. You can even see them in concert.
7. Georg Von Trapp really did get to be on thin ice with the Nazi party. He refused to fly the Nazi flag and even turned down an invitation to sing at Hitler’s birthday party.
8. This is the real Maria Von Trapp
9. In the original movie Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, was not 16 going on 17. Rather she was 22 and performed the iconic song and dance on an injured ankle.
10. The Sound of Music held the title of Most Popular Movie Musical until it was surpassed by Grease 13 years later. It was a good run, and if you ask me…it’s still number on in a lot of our hearts.
Amy
Gather Together
Did you have a happy Thanksgiving?
I sure did.
As most of my holidays go, the day revolved around being in the moment with family and friends. Oh, and it also involved quite a bit of food too. I’m a big fan of eating later in the day so that there isn’t a big rush with baking the turkey. It also takes away the need for a second giant meal of the day…we do dinner, pie, tea, games and bed time. Eating at dinner time {instead of that awkward 2pm “lunch”} gave everyone time for a little Thanksgiving activity time.
For Derek and my dad that meant time in the field hunting. For mom and me it meant time at the gym for a little turkey trot {aka an hour on the treadmill.} Of course we were home in time for THE parade.
You like the place setting in the photo above? I thought you might. I bought a new {cheap} table cloth from Target’s Threshold line. I just love that stuff. Then I topped it off with a runner made from some unhemmed gingham fabric I had in the basement. My favorite part of the table was the place mats I whipped up. They are paper bags I ran through the printer {cut to 8.5″ x 16″ long} with this adorable free printable. Paper bags! {And you know how I like paper bags.}
On the menu:
An herb rubbed turkey stuffed with sliced apples. It was just enough sweet. Mashed potatoes mashed with nonfat Greek yogurt, milk, chicken bullion, garlic and green onions. Homemade yeast rolls that Mom and I worked on throughout the afternoon. Jiffy corn casserole {it’s a classic, but I sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream called for in the recipe.} Sweet potatoes with cinnamon and pecans. Apple butter. And the prettiest part of our meal, apple cider sangria. Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the few days of the year I have a glass of wine, and I can’t think of much prettier than this sangria with pieces of apple floating in the glass. And since Derek doesn’t drink at all {ever} he had his non alcoholic. Just cider with apples in a fancy glass. {Which means this can be a fancy drink for the whole family.}
As much as I like cooking and setting the table, my favorite part of the day is sharing a meal with a table full of people I adore. After the meal comes something I like even more than eating…games. Then of course, hot beverages {tea, coffee, cocoa} and pie. Between activities there is lots of chatter, story telling and foolery. I love the rhythm of Thanksgiving at our house.
Where’s my mom? Probably on the couch with Derek and me…occupying my dad’s lap after dinner was his “lap” dog.
This year was very special because the living room was taken over by the chalkboard for mini sessions. But for us it only added to the merriment because it meant that I could take Katie and Sean’s Christmas photos. Here’s a peek. You’ll have to wait a few days for the rest…
xo Amy
Baby Announcement Mini {a chalkboard sneak peek}
If you are a fan of the Facebook page, you may have seen a small post about a super secret mini session I did a week ago. Well…the secret is out! And now you get to see the big reveal.
Some dear friends are expecting baby #2. You may recognize baby #1 from her pumpkin patch session, family photos, cake smash…She’s so stinkin’ cute, I can only imagine what the next one will be like!
So darn cute. This session alone proves that my giant chalkboard was so worth the effort. And if you like this, just wait until you see the Christmas sessions I shot this weekend! Adorbes.
Amy
Happy Hunger Games
I know it’s late. I had a crazy day. And there are a couple more crazy days ahead. That’s okay, though. Crazy days mean you are doing something. No one calls a day spent on the couch binge watching Park & Recreation “crazy.” A day is only crazy when you’ve done a lot of things. Personally, I’d take a crazy day any day.
But seeing that it is late. Late on the night of November 21st…I thought it would only be appropriate to talk about what happens at midnight tonight. The Catching Fire movie premiere!!
Guilty, I’m a big time Hunger Games fan. Okay, I’m a fan of a lot of teen-ish fiction. I like stories that aren’t too deep. I like stories that I can’t put down, with easy words, and plots that aren’t 100% realistic. And, since they are for teenagers, usually they aren’t full of sex or misguided “ideals” of marriage. Those are hot buttons for me. I love good, Godly marriages and I’ll defend them to the death. To the death I say.
Okay, I’m done ranting.
Anyway. Hunger Games, tonight! Awesome. So I thought we’d spend some time drooling over some HG inspired things buzzing right now.
Let’s start here. Cover Girl has a “Capitol Beauty Studio” line out. The site is awesome. Every district has a specific look based on their industry. Every look is broken down so you can recreate it at home…it even includes a way to tone down the look into something you can wear outside the Capitol.
On the craftier side of things, let’s revisit my old blog for a little mocking jay action. When the first movie released I had a crafting party with a couple friends. I still love my mocking jay pin and head band. Oh, and check out my red hair…Click over for my HG’s crafts.
Now food. Of all the Hunger Games food in the world, I think I love these cupcakes from Erica’s Sweet Tooth most of all. I like them because they are doable. No making a frosting mocking jay here. That’s got fail written all over it. You should go to her site, it’s got adorable all over the place.
What’s a Hunger Games post without plugging the best part of this franchise? Jennifer Lawrence! I have a major girl crush on her. She’s so awkward, so talented, so real. I love a good awkward girl. And this one takes the cake. Here is a gallery of Awkward JL photos.
But let’s be honest. The downside of the Catching Fire premiere is that it will only last a couple hours. Then it’s back to waiting. Oh, what to do, what to do in the mean time. I’d say, you should find a new book to love. My I kindly recommend one of these?
Divergent {series of three books}. The Maze Runner {again, series of three…looove this one!!} Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
Or, if you want something more adult for a change, you should read Unbroken. It’s a true story, and it’s amazing. I’m 150 pages in and it’s just blowing my mind.
Dakota Pearls {the skinny on the outreach}
Today is a continuation of yesterday‘s post. If you missed yesterday, start by reading that here.
In this post, I’ll be giving an over view of the ins and outs of our ministry. To start with, we are focused on the women working in the strip clubs in Williston, ND. Technically, the Dakota Pearls mission statement is to:
Love women and help them discover their full potential.
Basically that means that we love all women. All of them. We have left ourselves room to grow, but for now the focus is on the two clubs in the center of the oil boom. And speaking of the clubs…they look like this. Side by side on Main Street in Williston. Tiny. Hole-in-the-wall. But we like it.
We went to visit the clubs last weekend to see if management would even be okay with us starting to come with gifts and such. Thankfully, that visit went well. The staff was welcoming, and we learned a lot. Things like there are about 20 girls working in each club and a set of male bar tenders, bouncers and DJ’s. One manager told us that every single person working there was from out of state or out of country. Every single one. What better opportunity to show these folks, who are away from their families, love and kindness? I can’t think of a group of people more vulnerable to the power of raw, no-strings-attached love.
Okay. Next question. What exactly are we planning on doing? As I told you yesterday, this is a gifting ministry. Again, that was explained in the other post…you can read it here. So the plan is to go once per month with gift bags for the ladies and gentlemen working in the clubs. We are hoping to distribute the gifts to the ladies in the dressing room as they come in to start their shifts. Because the clubs are small we are also offering free makeup services to the clubs when we visit. Heartbreakers told us they were too small to allow for extra people milling around the dressing room. Whispers looked hopeful on that front.
Why makeup? That’s easy. The job inside a club is to look pretty. Makeup brings out a woman’s natural beauty, makes them feel beautiful, and shows the clubs that we have no intention of shutting down their business by offering a service that helps business instead of hurting it. Offering makeup services also give us a little one-on-one time with each woman. And that’s the biggest bonus of all, because we genuinely care about each of them and are interested in their lives and developing a relationship with them.
Let’s see…what’s in the bag? This is what our bags look like. For our ladies we’ll be bringing girly goodies like nail polish, lotion, lip gloss, good candies. We also want to be sure our gifts have a personal touch that demonstrates that time and care have been put into making them…so we’ll also include things like homemade baked goods and hand written notes. For the men, we’ll pack up manly things…like venison jerky and sweets from our church ladies.
Why Williston? Aren’t we in Minot? Great question. Yes, Dakota Pearls is based in Minot while the clubs we are working with are in Williston. Williston is about 2 hours straight west of Minot. A few years ago Minot’s very own strip clubs got shut down. Now city ordinances don’t allow them in the town. So we are going where the business is booming.
The clubs in Williston have gotten a reputation for being the busiest and highest grossing in the country, due to all the men flocking to the Williston area for jobs in the oil fields and construction sites. This has tapered off a bit, some of the reputation may have been only myth all along. But the clubs are still busy and women are coming to work in them from all over the country.
Tomorrow night we’ll be having our first “packing party.” It should be fun. I’ll be sure to take some photos and let you know how it all goes. We are excited to love on these men and women who are away from family, living in a {very} small Practically Canadian town. Again, the objective is unbiased friendship. We are in no way looking to upset business or close down these establishments. We are only hoping that these acts of kindness will let them know that they are valued and leave them wanting to know the One who inspired us to go there in the first place.
On a totally different note, it’s snowing hard enough here that my Wednesday night church-tivities have been cancelled. Have a lovely evening. And stay cozy.
Amy
Dakota Pearls {North Dakota’s Strip Club Outreach}
A long time ago I told you about a ministry I felt called to get rolling up here in Practically Canada. In case you missed it, you can read the full post here.
In case you’ve forgotten, I’ll give you a brief refresher course.
More than a year ago I became aware of a big time boom in the adult entertainment industry in North Dakota, due in large to the oil/construction book that is taking place up here. After praying and Googling I found an organization called Strip Church. They specialize in training and supporting ministry outreaches that work with women in the sex industry. {Namely at strip clubs.} I attended a training conference to learn up on all things strip club, and came home with the tools needed to spearhead this effort locally.
I worked for months trying to get things in line. But everything moved slowly. More slowly than I anticipated. Spring turned to summer, turned to fall and still we weren’t in the clubs.
You’ve flown a kite, right? Think about standing in the yard, or the field or wherever you are with your kite. You stand there, waiting. Because you can’t fly a kite with no wind. So you wait. Then, all at once the wind picks up and you’ve got to run to get your kite to catch it. It’s exhausting, but eventually the wind catches and you can stand still, catch your breath and guide it as it flies.
That’s kind of how getting our ministry off the ground has been. Nothing….then suddenly…wind. So I’ve been running with it. It’s been tiring and stressful, and has taken me away from writing as much as I like, but it’s worth the run. I presented the idea to our congregation and received overwhelming support. A group of more than 30 have volunteered to participate, and even more have been kind enough to make donations to the cause. My hope is that after we get an outreach routine established it’ll be more like guiding the kite than running with it, but for know I’m content to run.
So, yeah. It’s happening. For real. And if we haven’t talked face to face in a while {or ever} about this, I’m sure you are wondering how one goes about starting and outreach in the strip clubs. Let me explain.
First of all, our North Dakota outreach is called Dakota Pearls. The name comes from the fact that we believe we can all be made into precious gems through Christ…no matter how lowly our beginnings. After all, a pearl starts with nothing more than a single piece of dirt.
Dakota Pearls is a “gifting” ministry. This means that we are not about slinging Bibles, judging, demanding that these ladies come to church or quit their jobs. Instead we will approach them with dignity, respect, and gifts. Physical, literal gifts without expecting anything in return. The giving of a no-strings-attached gift symbolizes that we love them, not because we want something from them…but because we value them as individuals. We will go to the clubs instead of asking them to come to us. Jesus never told the sinners to come to Him in His house. He went to their homes. He dined in the house of tax collectors, He spoke to prostitutes. A message of love {especially love from a stranger} is less awkward when you go to their home turf.
The mission is to instill in these women that they are valued for more than their bodies or what they are willing to do with their bodies. To show them that they have been created for a purpose. The mission is not to picket the clubs or even shut them down. That can be someone else’s mission. We are simply here to love and cherish these people.
The question I get most from people who are skeptical is: Why go to these women? They are making a lot of money and probably like it that way.
My answer is simple and backed by the research of people who study this industry. No one wants to make a living stripping. No amount of money is worth devaluing a woman.
This is not a life of dignity. Up to 90% of women working in clubs are current victims of sexual abuse or have been abused in the past. It’s estimated that around 85% of women working in the clubs would like to leave the industry, but feel trapped. Stripping is a gateway to heavier things, like prostitution and human trafficking.
Every person in this world is built with an eternal capacity. I wrote about that recently. Read the post here. Why shouldn’t my heart break over these souls as much as any other? Don’t tell me that there are plenty of people working safer, less grimy jobs that I could witness to. You go do that. I can do that too. A light seems brighter the darker the space. I went and visited with the club managers last weekend and I assure you, this field is ripe for the picking. These women are important. Just as important and worthy of saving as anyone else on the street.
To keep this from getting too long, I’ll cut off here. I’ve got a post ready for tomorrow that will continue to explain the ministry {sorry I got a little heated toward the end there.} That post will fully explain what our clubs are like, who is there, why they are making so much money, and what we plan to do on our first ever outreach visit! So be sure to come back.
Isn’t it funny that God called one of His most awkward, un-cool, un-club-scene servants for this task?
Amy
