Beautiful

This brought me to tears.  I loved it and wanted to share.  It also reminded me to pray that God will help me to support my girls in their passions and talents.

Night Night

I'm off to bed, but just wanted to say how excited I am about the support I've gotten on my jewelry adventure!  It's been so wonderful to see others enjoying what I've put together!  I'm trying some new things and loving it.  Other than that I'm busy with my little ones.  Keeping them amused on these rainy days is getting difficult.  All the more reason I need my energy!  To bed!  I'm working on trying to get to bed earlier.  I guess it didn't go too well tonight.  Thankfully, there's always tomorrow!

Excitement & My First Giveaway

I created a facebook page for my jewelry sales!  It's called Beloved Garden.  Here's a link:



I'm nervous and excited.  I'm wondering if I have enough stock or too much.  It's a wonderful adventure and a way to do something that's my own.  It's also a chance to be able to contribute to my family financially.  In honor of my grand opening I'm doing a giveaway!  I'll be giving away 1 Alice ring on May 17th.

To enter:

• post a comment below (on my blog, not the facebook note that this post generates)  

You can get additional entries by:

• liking Beloved Garden's facebook page (1 entry)
• "sharing" Beloved Garden's facebook page (1 entry)
• posting about this giveaway on your blog, facebook, or twitter with a link (1 entry each)

To collect these entries just post one comment for each.  The winner will be chosen at random next Tuesday evening.  Good luck everyone!

While Doing Mom Things

Ever the multitasker, I am...

• Listening to:

• Researching Fonts for my Tattoo:

 -Frivolous-

  -Old Script-

 -Platthand-

  -Porcelain-

Thoughts?  Also, if you have fun handwriting feel free to write down "Always Love" and send it to me.  I'm sort of leaning towards one of the lower two.

• Playing to Win

• Searching to Win (and saving up for Starbucks)

Beautiful Reminders

By The Dreamy Giraffe

By Jodi

Pretty Sure

I'm pretty sure this is my lovin' man & I:

 

It's called Clink by Genevieve Santos 

You can find it and lots of other fantastic art at her etsy store, lepetitelefant.

True

Tattooed Lady

I'm contemplating another tattoo.  I'm not ready for the one I'd love to get on my back someday, but I've been mulling over another one since shortly after my older daughter was born.  It would be a simple tattoo in a script style font that somehow references my desire to love.  If you read my blog you may remember I wrote about it here, here, & here (BTW - I'm still looking for all I mentioned in that one). On Memorial Day three years ago some friends and my family went to a graveyard to pay our respects.  While we were there I came across a headstone with the simple inscription, "She always loved."  It was profound to me.  It summed up all that God has called me to. 

"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"  

---Matt. 22:37-39

It is what I strive for and seek God's strength for.  It is who I want to be.  Because of all this it would be hugely meaningful to me.  The big challenge is that I'm struggling with the wording for it.  I don't know if I should use the wording from the headstone, shorten it to "always love," or go with something else entirely.  Ideas?  Input?

Just Sharing

Incredible!

Parking Lot Beauty

Listen Here

Anyone who knows me knows that I love music.  I have no talent for it (unless you count often knowing titles & artists).    I would gladly listen to music from the moment I wake.  I can't listen to it until I fall asleep because I have the bad habit of keeping myself awake listening.  I love the power music has to influence your mood or take you back to an entirely different place and time.  I love that the opening notes to "America" by Simon and Garfunkel make me feel I'm being embraced by an old friend.  To share the music I'm discovering and my dearly loved favorites I've added a section at the very bottom right of this blog that lists songs I've bookmarked on my pandora stations.  I hope you'll enjoy it.

Thank You, Amy

A dear friend just sent me this as an encouragement. It was exactly what I needed so I thought I'd share...

Only 2 More Days!!

Picking Up The Pen

I used to be a poet. That sounds grandiose, but it's not. I used to write poetry. I haven't written a poem in ages. I'm almost positive the last thing a wrote was a poem to Amaya's father. If I'm correct, that was roughly five years ago. Before that I was nearly always writing. If you want to see a few things I wrote, feel free. A lot of my writing was born out of confusion, irony, longing, joy, or sadness. I still experience those, but I guess I process them differently now. I've been mulling over trying to start writing again. We'll see what comes of it. For tonight, here is what did:

Soft rain and strong music mingle in my ears
Flirting with the silence of the night.

Too Powerful And Beautiful Not To Share

A dance choreographed to honor those affected by breast cancer:

Calling All Creative and/or Tattooed People

I have been mulling over another tattoo for about two years now and I'm beginning to close in on it. I'm excited, but I'm in need of some assistance. I'm looking for help from my creative artsy friends to help me design it (especially those of you who are good with fonts). As for my tattooed friends, I'm looking for recommendations of artists and shops. This is all to start getting things figured out so that I can begin my "tattoo process." I'll post the finalized idea somewhere where I see it everyday for 6 months. If I do that without changing my mind I'll get it. If it needs to be tweaked then I'll make the changes and restart the clock. This way I can be sure to get something I'm passionate about. I'll post pics throughout the process.

Don't We All?

"What Mirabelle needs is an omniscient voice to illuminate and spotlight her. And to inform everyone that this one has value."

---Shopgirl

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
Luke 12:6-7

None Greater

Thanks, I Needed That.

The Beginning of a List of Things I Want: