Bits and Pieces.

I am linking up over at RagstoStitches for my first every coffee date. I tried to vlog but with the new lap top I have no idea how to do that. So a regular old blog post will have to do.

 If we were having coffee today I would tell you that I am having tea and not coffee because I am spoiled and really only like Starbucks or other fancy over priced coffee. But I love me some Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea.



If we were having coffee today I would tell you how I have been waiting for WEEKS for this book to hit the shelves of my local Barnes and Noble and that now that it has I can't seem to bring myself to purchase it because I have a hard time buying stuff for myself. This is why I have a cart full of business books in my Crafter's Choice shopping cart that I could purchase for just $30.00 but won't.



 

I would tell you about the note books at Barnes and Nobles I have been eye for months but won't buy for again the same reasons.

 





I would tell you about the thread I did by for myself/my shop the other day and how much  have loved sewing with it this week and the beautiful dolls that I made with it.



I would tell you about how much fun I had having lunch with an IRL friend who happens to be the only one I know who blogs as much as I do. And how much fun it was sharing that love and passion with and talking with some one who understands the ups and downs.

I would tell you how excited my girls are to go to the movies tonight and how thrilled they were when I took them to the dollar store to buy candy (because I am so not above sneaking candy into the movie theater).

And I would tell you all of this stuff that doesn't matter because it's easier than telling you the stuff that does matter.

Like how I finally got a passionfruitads.com account and set up my first ad spot available on the blogs and how I am scared for months and months and no one will buy it. Because, as much as I love this blog world, I can't help feel like I am 11 years old again with three beautiful big sisters who are so much older, and so much cooler, and that I am some how just a little late to the game and unsure of myself.

And how that in so many sums up how I feel about so many things. Full of fear over failing at life, mother hood, marriage, house keeping, my faith, our finances. Fear for what is in the future for family and loved ones. How anxious I get in the "waiting". And how each day is a battle to trust what I know to be true over what I feel in the moment.

Or maybe I would share all the nothing because when you focus on all of that the something seems less important.  And so I would ask you to pray that I would embrace the little, quit stressing the rest, and trust in truth. And then I would ask how I could pray for you?

 

Traveling Goodies

Last week I pulled Bear out of school and loaded her and Maddie up in the van with my in-laws and we headed to Gatlinburg, Tn. I grew up going to Branson Missouri so it feels so much like "home" to me I love it. Downside is the drive. It's not THAT far but 5-6 hours with preschool age kids can feel like forever. So, I packed them goodie bags. I thought I would share what I packed for them in case any one is look for ideas. Sorry for the bag photos they are camera pics at 4:00 am!





For starters I took them to Barnes and Noble with me so they could pick out their own book ect. Once we bought the books we took them home and I let them look at them but not actually play with them (They are activity books). By the time the trip came around they were super excited to use the books.



Of course I couldn't leave without a couple goodies for myself. Even big girls like sticker books and this doll house sticker book is such a fun way to be creative without any real work. The book on the other hand was a major disappointment. While it had a great concept it felt really trashy and I ended up throwing it out after three chapters. :(



Ok so it's a horrible picture, but here's what I put in each bag.

*Sticker Book. I really prefer ones that are more like paper dolls or scenes as apposed to just random stickers and blank pages. I feel like it allows them to be creative but still follow directions.

*Magnetic book. Same idea as the sticker books but magnetic paper dolls.

*A 31Bags fold and go organizer with new mini coloring book, wind up crayons, and stickers.

* Their LeapPad/Leapster with fresh batteries.



*In side pockets they each had a full sports bottle with juice and the other side pocket was full of snacks. Front pocket had a ziplock bag for their trash.



Front pocket also had an extra specials surprise for each. I have been participating in doll swaps online for the past year and I saved two special dolls for this trip. They loved their "trip buddies".



And of course Mama's bag with snacks, lap top, nook, book, sticker book, head phones, iPhone, 3DS. Lol yeah I may have a technology problem!

Hope this gave you some idea for traveling with kiddos. Another essential for us is Kids Dramamine. No one got sick the entire time!

Love Club

So I spent all Monday coking. Well most of the day. I started about 11:30 and finished about 8:30. A long day in the kitchen but worth it knowing there are so many meals frozen and ready to heat and serve during the craziness that will be October.

Yesterday was spent Bible study and then camped out in the office working on two custom dollies and two ready to ship dollies. :)

I'll be posting more about what I cooked and sewed later this week but first I want to talk about my first ever LoveClub box!!

If you haven't heard about LoveClub yet you can check them out on their website, facebook, or twitter.

I signed up awhile ago and got moved off the waiting list this month. It came in the mail while I was out of town and was a lovely little surprise in waiting when I got home.



So here is what the package looked like when it came in the mail. So happy. I actually loved the box so much I re-used it for my fall swap give away partner! HI!! Hope you enjoy it!



Group Shot. :)



I was so excited about this!! I am so in love with Pen and Paint.  Their stuff is absolutely beautiful and creative. I already have an extensive Christmas shopping list for that site! These sweet little Mini Hello Cards will not last long in my desk I can promise you that!



Up next three decals from Studio 336. I adore these decals, now I just have to decide how to use them. They are so pretty I want to be sure I put them some where I will see them on a regular basis.



An Oh Happy Day Day print from Pamplemousse1983. So pretty and bright, I can't wait to frame it for my office! :)

There was lots more, I just forgot to take pictures of it.

We also got an amazing candle from Mame Luxury Soy Candles as well as His and Hers oils from Wilde Rose Herbs and a lovely bunch of coupons for more shops I can't wait to check out. All in all I was SO thrilled with the LoveClub box and will be ordering next month!

Baby Shower Decorations/Shower in a basket.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of helping out with a baby shower for a friend in our Sunday School Class. As excited as I was to do this I forgot to write it down and, despite a number of conversations about it, I forgot I was decorating until the hostess texted me the day before to see if I need anything.

So there I was standing in line at AC Moore trying to come up with baby shower decorations that would be pretty, yet functional. (I had forgotten a baby gift as well and was hoping to kill two birds.)

My first thought was to do initials in embroidery hoops. But I decided quickly I wanted to decorate the entire space where the shower would be held, and really who needs a dozen embroidery hoops with their kid's initial in them?

My next thought was hanging onesies on clothes lines and decorating them with cute appliques. However, I had just read proverbs 31 and had been thinking a lot about living intentionally. About not wasting, and praying over our children and about a dozen other things and so after about 5 phone calls, three hours of shopping and a few more of shopping and using a glue stick and paper the bellow decorations were born.

Each decoration is a usable item and is accompanied by a verse that the women in the class will be praying over the mother and daughter.



Re-usable nursing pads and burp cloths.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you." -Isaiah 49:15



Baby headbands and teething necklace for mom.

But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. - 1 Peter 3:4



Embroidery hoop initial.

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. - John 10:2



Baby clothing in graduated sizes and a knitted hat.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. -Luke 2:

and

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.    -Psalms 139:13

Baby Blanket

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. -Proverbs 3:24



Baby Socks

Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.         - Proverbs 2:20



Gifts for Mama. Ruby Necklace and Coffee Sleeve

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. -Proverbs 31:10,15

 

Not Pictured

Hooded Towels: Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! -Psalms 51:2

Cute baby plate on food table:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.          - Mathew 5:6



I printed each verse out on cardstock and glued it onto pretty paper. I'm not scrap book person but I added some stickers and washi tape and made up some rather pretty cards to hang with each gift. We then read the verses at the shower and prayed over the Mama to be. Afterwards she was able to take everything with her and put the cards in a photo album for her to have as well.

I also think this would work great as a group basket gift. Have each women pick a verse and shop for the accompanying item. Also have them make up the card for their verse. Put all verses in an album and fill the basket with the gifts. "Shower in a basket/box."

 

On Memmory Making and Keeping!

I have shared a few times on this blog about the very cool local magazine I am writing for. You can find the magazine blog over here. Today is the first time my stuff has appear on the blog. The article I write for the magazine is called Vintage Diaries and is a bi-monthly interview with an older women in the community. I spend some time with her and then attempt to share at least part of her story with our readers. Today on the blog I shared some of the tools my family use for keep track of our own stories. You can read the full article here. I thought I would also share here a few of my favorite story keeping tools. Enjoy!

 



Christmas Journal

 



Gratitude Journal



Travel/Vacation Journal

 

Hope this inspired you to find a way to keep track of your own stories. Would love to hear what you all do to make sure you remember the little things! Comment bellow and who knows.... you may just win a prize. ;-D

Today I am linking up with:

 Whatever You Want Wednesday over at Pretty Free Things

and

My Picks of the Week over at Deep Roots

Little Pieces

So many random thoughts rolling around in my head today. It is normally the day when I post my weekly five, but I'm just not sure that's the right thing today. It was a fitful/fretful week. The long weekend and two mild cases of the flu left me feeling a little shaky and uneven. I've been feeling weary, and fatigued this week and, more often than not, have let my emotions and anger get the better of me and blown up or allowed myself to get worked up over the silliest of things. Not even sure why I am sharing this, except perhaps as a reminder that I am not alone and as a method of accountability. In hopes that next week I can come back and you all will ask, and I will report to you that I did better this week. That I yelled less and prayer more. That I stopped the crazy train before it left the station and reminded myself of what really matters.

In Sunday school today our teacher challenged us with this "What's at stake?" Oh, how much better would my life be if I considered that before I got worked up. If I considered this before I spoke. If I remembered both the eternal significance of some things, as well as how unimportant other things are. So often I get them confused. The what matters and what doesn't.



Windows down. Counting Crows in the CD player. Sun shining. Cool breeze. Driving down back road. My hand in his. Head on his shoulder. On the verge of tears at the relief of knowing I am loved, that I am welcomed. That I am home.

Judged or Judging?

 

I’m standing in the grocery store at 9 pm on a Monday night with both kids and my husband rushing around buying stuff for my Bear’s lunch for pre-school the next day.  I have crackers and peanut butter and bread at home, but I feel guilty not sending a “healthy” lunch so I buy grapes as well. Then again feeling guilty about all the plastic bags on a whim I buy two (plastic) sandwich holders, one for sandwich one for fruit.  We are out of juice bags and they are so expensive. There are cheaper ones, but they aren’t 100% juice and I worry that I’ll be labeled a “bad mom” for sending my kid with an overly processed drink, so I’ll send money for milk instead.  Only problem is I can’t find the paper with the information on buying milk and so as my husband puts my pre-schoolers to bed at 9:35 on a school night I am tearing apart the house looking for papers I can’t find and end up missing out on time with my husband. As I drift off to sleep that night I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have made re-usable fabric sandwiches bags instead of buying the plastic boxes with a giant brand logo on them.

No wonder I am exhausted! Just typing that exhausted me. Just reading it exhausted me. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we get all hung up on the silly little things? I’m all for a balance, healthy lunch, but really? I ruined a whole evening stressed over my 4 year olds lunch? There aren’t even any other mothers at the school during lunch. And even if there were, what would it matter? Why am I so stressed over being judge?

If I were to be honest I would admit that the reason I worry about being judge is because I judge others so very often. I don’t think this is just a mom thing. It may be a universal thing. I am not sure. I am not a man so I won’t make a statement about how they think. But I am a woman. And I know how women think. I think deep down the reason we are all so worried about being judged is because we are all so busy judging others. The question is WHY?

We all want to make the best choices for our lives. And, for whatever reason, we worry that if someone else made a different choice than ours, then maybe we made the wrong one. “What do they know that I don’t?” we wonder.   So, to make ourselves feel better, we assume they have made the wrong choice. Obviously ours is the right choice, so if they made a different one, they must be wrong. We judge them for not being as well researched, enlighten, opened minded, ect as ourselves.

I believe in absolute truth. I also believe that so many of things we divide ourselves on are NOT matters of absolute; they are, at most, matters of conviction and, at least, matters of preference.

I stumbled across a quote a while back. “The more you love your choices, the less you need others to love them.” I love the truth in this. If I feel judged about a choice I simple ask myself a question. Do I love this choice? If the answer is no, then OK, I need to re think this choice. If I answer, yes, then GREAT, move on, embrace that choice, and free others to do the same with their choices.  If I spent less time judging others and more time loving them wherever they fall on the vaccination (homeschooling/all organic/home-birth) spectrum.  We need community, and I truly believe that demanding every one think alike is the death of true community. So maybe, just maybe if I quite judging, I would feel a little less judged.

 

Pick Your Plum

So if you are part of the DIY scene at all you have probably heard of Pick Your Plum.

Just in case you have never heard of it before Pick Your Plum is a craft supplies discount site. Monday-Friday they feature a different craft item. It is usually supplies, though some times it may be a finished piece like a necklace or scarf, but something that can still be embellished.

Some of my favorite things I have received from there are washi tape and fold over elastic.

About six months ago I signed up to be an affiliate with Pick Your Plum. That means that if you buy after cliking on the link on my side bar I get credit. It also means I get some inside scoops. One of which I thought I would share with you all today.They didn't sure all the details but they did say there is going to be more than one item offered tomorrow Thursday, September 6th!! And they said that there will be a few other surprises. So if you are new to Pick Your Plum or an old friend be sure to stop by the site tomorrow.

Bellow are some of my favorite Pick Your Plum purchases!



 





 

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Weekly Five

1) The office is mostly done. Just need to move the futon in, take down the paint along the ceiling and put on some finishing touches. But all in all it is done and usable and I am loving it as is Maddie. It's currently her favorite room. As I type this she is walking runaway across the room singing what I think is supposed to be "Ta-da" but is coming out "tana".

2) The first full week of school went great. Bear cried when I picked her up on Monday because she wanted to stay like the rest of the kids. Thursday I let her stay and realized while it may be fine once a week we are not ready for full day all the time yet. She took a nap at nap time and Mrs. Roberts said she had a hard time waking her up. You could tell and she was crabby for me the rest of the day. Goose is going to my friends house two days a week. Leave it to me to find some one else to home school my kid. Angie enjoys having the set schedule, Maddie enjoys doing flash cards, and I enjoy having a few hours a week all mine to write and work on shop stuff. Actually getting some custom orders wrapped up and out the door!

3) Josh sold quite a few Mazda 3s in August which meant a nice bonus and he showed up Friday night with a new lap top for me!!

4) Josh and I have been talking a lot lately about the miscarriage and how so many people stories end with "but then I got pregnant with so and so...." While that is beautiful and I know all things work together, that isn't turning out to be our story. And that is ok. We have a but then, but for now any ways it doesn't include another child. It's more like "But then God filled our lives with good things. We still are sad we don't get to meet that child. But life is good and so is our God." and it's a place we are ok with being, for now.

5) We went to Busch Gardens on Sunday. Just a day trip which was a blast till the three hour drive home at 8 pm. But all in all so glad we went. We took his parents and were able to spend some good time together as well as all doing our own thing. A pretty good end to summer!