Glorious Friday

It's official. I stink as a blogger. Really just using my blogroll these days to check in on those I follow. Spring is a time of rebirth. I'm attempting to give a new breath of fresh air back into my journal...

Today has been glorious.

Paul surprised me at work with a beautiful (and huge) bouquet of flowers "just because." My class was intrigued. I introduced him as Mr. Paul, my husband. But throughout the day the kept referring to him as "the dad."

My art class was a success this afternoon. I have been teaching an after school art class to 3-5 year olds every Friday. They sign up by the month. I have 13 kids for March. Never quite sure how my projects will evolve. I think my often lofty endeavors have my assistant nervous most Fridays. Today's project of painting bunnies (one shape to know- all ovals!) and then using chalk pastels to create a background of Easter eggs with dried glue resist that the bunnies got mounted on top of looked beautiful, and it filled the time perfectly. I never know how quickly they will speed through, or if I'm attempting something too complex. I often set the bar high, and they really rise to meet my expectations. Sometimes, I have to "dumb it down" a bit, but not today. It was a good one!

It's a balmy 90 outside. A bit too hot for March for me, but I do prefer warm temperatures and love seeing all the cherry trees in bloom. Lovely!

The girls have been home for almost two hours and have been fight/argument/bicker free. They are doing a play with neighbors and are fully engrossed. I helped cut up a cardboard box and gave them large paper for the backdrop. They wrote the script on notebook paper and highlighted everybody's parts in different colors. They are having so much fun and I love them being outside and using their imaginations.

We hired a neighbor to pain our mailbox post. She cost less than buying the smallest size of the specialty paint color required by our HOA! She showed up today and it looks lovely. A fresh coat of paint makes a world of difference.

It's quiet inside (did I mention the girls are playing wonderfully outside and not asking me every second to settle a squabble?) and I'm relaxing, not thinking at all about the mounds of housework that need to be accomplished this weekend.

Today has been glorious. I needed that.

Is it really almost February?

Been a long time since I wrote anything.

Haven't been much in the mood.

Wish no news always equaled good news, but that isn't always the case.

Still smack dab in the middle of the storm, and just when the winds appear to be settling down, storm clouds larger than before blow in. It's exhausting- mentally and emotionally, which ends up meaning physically as well.

Clinging to the knowledge that God is right here with us and none of this is a surprise to Him. I live to bring all praises and glory to His name, and if walking this path will ultimately glorify His name, bring it on! He'll sustain me. My God is big enough.

Loving the promises in Isaiah 41:10 right now.
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

On a happy note...

I am looking forward to this weekend. Every February I get together with my sorority family from college. Me and my littles! I am the oldest and then it's my little Bridget, her little Becca, her little Mary, her little Erin and her little Kelly. Even though I had graduated by the time Erin and Kelly entered the family they are still that... my sisters. Kelly can't join us from TX this year- she is a new mommy, but the other 5 of us will be there. We decided to meet up in a central location to make travel easier on Bridget who is 8 months pregnant with #3. So Washington, D.C. it is! We'll arrive Friday night and depart Sunday afternoon. Becca, who lives the closest has made all the arrangements. She just messaged me that she has booked us for afternoon tea Saturday at the Mandarin Oriental Empress Lounge. It's supposed to be amazing! The menu looks so good! I have been saving for several months to afford this trip and am really excited about catching up with dear friends and getting away. I need this!

Walking Boldly

A lot going on.

A lot that's really not so good.

OK, downright yucky.

But He is right here with us, even though I'm struggling to see that at times. I've got a lot of scripture I can fall on, and examples from our past and stories from so many friends in real life and in bloggyland to remind me that He is indeed holding us and is working out every little detail, all to His glory. One day we'll see how all of this time of great trial has a purpose in the story He is writing for us.

I'm so thankful that I know I'm in His hands.

I'm not going to walk in fear. My friend from college wrote a devotion that spoke directly to me. She said she could hear God speaking to her (and I'm claiming it too!)

"I know you fear this, but you need to know that I will not allow anything to happen to you that is not best for you overall. Even in loss, I will bring good (Romans 8:28). So, do not let the enemy fill your mind and your day with destructive thoughts and feelings about this today. And do not be sad by what you fear. I got ya and I'm fighting for you."

Sweet friends, I do not think I am alone in my experience of fear and emotions. As women, I think we all can get consumed emotionally by things we fear. But God does not want us to live in fear. He wants us to live in full confidence that he is in control, that he loves us, and that he will bring his best for us if we walk in obedience to him.

Be bold today sweet sisters and do not be consumed by fear of loss, fear of betrayal, or fear of the unknown. Be consumed today by God and his love and his sovereign guidance. Turn your fear into an opportunity to express faith in him. Listen to that loving voice and do what he says to do in full confidence that he does not want you to be afraid. And walk boldly today sweet friends. Walk boldly.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
~Romans 8:28

Photo shoot fun

The girlies don't really like to model for me much anymore. I signed with a modeling referral service several months ago and I ship out my items and get professional modeled pictures for my advertising (I get full rights to the images) and the model/photographer keep my item(s) as their compensation. It has worked out pretty good. One set of pictures was awful and I had to file a complaint and get my items back, but other than that I have gotten some pretty good images and some amazing ones! It has allowed me to get younger and older girls and different ethnicity's than I have in my home.

But I don't always want to send out more expensive or one of a kind items. So I have to fall back on using my home grown models... and bribery.

The bribe this morning?

Mommy needs to sell some more stuff so there will be money available in my paypal account to do some Christmas shopping.

Worked like a charm!

They changed clothes several times, and made silly faces for each other to help me get natural smiles. It was fun! And I got some good pictures.

Uploaded a few new things to etsy this afternoon. Mini Top Hats are the up and coming fashion trend for play and especially for photo shoots. They are incredibly fun for me to make as I get to be creative. I priced mine below the average of the hats currently listed.

Hope I get some sale in the next month.

Christmas shopping needs to get started!

Pocahontas

I'm friends on FB with the nearest Chik-fil-a. Not only do we love their food, but the owners go to our church (and are adoptive parents of two little ones). On Friday the FB post from C-F-A was about a local theater performance. There is a branch of Christian Youth Theater on my area and they put on quite a few shows every year. I love theater, and so do the girlies, but we have never been. So when I saw the post about the show opening I checked it out.

Pocahontas. I knew the girls would like that. Tickets were $15 each. Affordable. I clicked on purchase tickets and it took me to a screen where I could select the performance, and then the exact seats in the local middle school auditorium. Most shows had a few seats on the sides and back, but the Saturday afternoon performance had three seats dead center in row F. Must have been turned back in or something. Everything around it was sold out. So I checked with Paul that he wasn't interested (duh) and bought the three great seats for a girlie adventure.

We had a blast! It was very impressive and so professional from the sets to the costumes to the programs. It is quite an operation. I loved that they had a performer come on stage before it began and open with prayer! The lead role was one of the daughters from the family from our church. She has an amazing voice! We ran into several friends at the show. This was the girls second live performance (took them to the local HS last year for Hairspray). They want to see the CYT show of Annie next month. All the shows they have coming up look neat. Too bad singing is not a gift anybody in our family has been blessed with. The girls were both excited and asked if one day they could be in a show like that. Unfortunately, you have to be able to sing.
For now we'll stick with the audience. We were excited to discover this gem in our community and will surely be back to watch many more productions!

Requesting Prayer

So few people stop by my little piece of the blogosphere, but if you happened to pop by, would you pray for us tomorrow (Friday)?

We are hoping to see God's hand move on our behalf, sense his guidance and feel his protection.

Thanks :)

Make Your Shopping Count!

It bothered me when I started seeing Christmas decorations for sale at some of the bog box stores near me last week... in September. It seems that the start of holiday commercialization gets earlier and earlier every year.

Are you doing any of your gift giving shopping yet? While I don't like to be last minute about mine, I really am not thinking quite that far ahead yet. But if you are starting to pick up a few gifts why not consider shopping with a purpose and support an adopting family!

Sharon, an adopting mom, is putting together a wonderful resource of links to families selling items to raise funds for their adoptions.

Check it out, then check out all the goodies that will not only bring a smile to the face of your gift recipients, but will help bring a child home.