Have you ever had those times in your life when you’re doing and doing and doing, but then, you look back and can’t put your finger on exactly what you’ve been doing? Obviously, we’ve been a bit busy because I haven’t blogged here at My Glamorous Life for quite a few days...a week, maybe? How do people blog every day? Here’s a bulleted recap of the past week or so…
Our friends Valerie and Gary received their precious little girl – Aubriana – yesterday afternoon in the elevator lobby of a hotel in China! She is absolutely beautiful. Valerie says that she is very healthy and a total mama’s girl. Congratulations “Galery”!!
Mia saw our favorite Pediatric Ophthalmologist today. She is doing well, but is favoring her left eye again. Therefore, we’re going to start patching her left eye for about two hours a day to give her right eye a workout again! Of course Dr. Wang gave her anything she asked for, so she came home with 4 lollipops, a fist full of stickers and a little felt flower.
I got a design job! I am so excited about this fabulous opportunity. I’m designing Parent Success Cards for a developmental remediation center in Michigan. I am doing the artwork for 50 two-sided cards with inspirational messages and reminders for the parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. The director contacted me after she heard about me from a client who recently returned from China with their child. Thank you so much to the person who made this referral! It’s a great project that I’m really excited about!
I am still creating digital scrapbook goodies and posting them at Caffeine Created Designs. And, I’ve been busy making Ribbonlicious Bag Tags too! I am doing several for end of the year gifts for teachers. Keep them in mind when you’re looking for something to say thank you to your children’s teachers. Yes, a shameless plug for my store! I already gave Emily’s teachers tags for Christmas, so I need to come up with something else for the end of the year. What they really need (and deserve) after nine months with 12 pre-K kiddos is a spa day!
Emily and Mia are now officially sharing a room. You know what that means? I get my dream come true…my very own craft room/office! I get to move all of my stuff out of the upstairs “loft”, which is really just a big hallway. I just want to be clear that I didn’t kick Mia out of her room. They always ask if Mia can sleep in the bottom bunk in Emily’s room, so a few weeks ago she started going in there every night to go to bed and I let her. It’s working just fine and I hope that it will actually help them develop a stronger bond. Emily will frequently get in the bottom bunk with Mia in the morning and my heart swells when I hear them talking and giggling over the monitor.
Last weekend, we went to Avery’s Welcome party and of course, we had a blast! We took the opportunity to take a Mommies and their girls photo. We have a few more girlies that we’re waiting for who will complete this photo!
House o' Glamour Happenings
Closet Disparity
Much to the delight of the girls (NOT!), we spent the morning trying on warm weather clothes to figure out who fits into what…or more accurately, what no longer fits Emily. That child outgrows clothes overnight! At the conclusion of my biannual closet reorganization, we ended up with this disparity...
Mia's warm weather wardrobe... 
And, Mia also has several pair of shorts on the shelf in her closet.
Emily's warm weather wardrobe...
Emily has no other warm weather clothes in her closet expect for a variety of vacation t-shirts.
What makes this crazy is that even though Mia has twice as many summer clothes as Emily, I know that Emily has two, three and quite possibly ten times more clothes than many children in the United States. In the past, I would sell the outgrown clothes to consignment, so that I could buy more clothes. This summer, I've decided to donate all their clothes. When I would return to the consignment shop and see what they didn't take, I would get bent out of shape. Seriously?! There are families right here in my community who are going to be so thankful to have every piece of clothing that my girls have outgrown and in many cases only wore once or twice.
Thank you Heavenly Father for opening my eyes and my heart to those in need. Please bless and protect the children who will wear the clothing that once covered my daughters.
Replace Worry with Trust
Have you ever worried about not being able to feed your child? Have you ever worried where your family would sleep tonight?
Do you worry that your child won’t make the elite gymnastics team? Do you worry about how you’ll afford those expensive sneakers that all the other kids are wearing? Do you worry about having a new car or the most beautifully decorated house?
Yesterday, our pastor preached on replacing worry with trust. Bruce is a very smart man and has many wonderful insights when it comes to helping us understand God’s Word. Sometimes I take notes at church and sometimes I am so intent on listening to the message that I don’t take any notes. I took a ton of notes this week!
I’ve tacked my note sheet right here beside my computer so that I can refer to it when I feel worry filling my head and heart. I thought that I would share a few of my notes.
The Bible gives us seven reasons why we should not worry:
- Worry is trivial.
- God will provide.
- Worry is impotent…it accomplishes nothing.
- God with clothe you.
- Worry is a lack of faith…remember that faith slays worry.
- Worry is pagan.
- Worry doubts the Father’s care…He will provide!
Rather than worry, we should use our time and energy to pursue God’s kingdom. How? Jesus tells us in Luke 12:33-34 to “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (NLT)
Of course, Bruce confirmed that this doesn’t mean to sell everything we own. Whew! It does mean that rather than focusing on the material things of this world, and, getting more and more for ourselves, our focus should be on what will be most valuable to us in heaven – our relationship with God and our relationship with people.
I will wrap up this post with two more points that Bruce made that I will stay with me. And, if I get off course, I have my notes tacked right here to remind me!
There is a big difference between wise concern and worry. Wise concern is about making smart choices – saving for retirement or our children’s education. Worry gets you nowhere. If you worry without taking some sort of action and responsibility for yourself, you will not gain anything.
Finally, he reminded us that worry (and I’d like to add complaining) is like a rocking chair…it gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere. This made me laugh, but it sure makes a good point, doesn’t it?!
I don’t typically summarize Sunday’s sermon here on my blog, but this was too good not to share!
Cute puppy print from www.gods-inspirational-world.com
Two of my very favorite things...
Can you guess?
If you know me just a little bit, you may have guessed...
Shoes! Of course! But, what makes these beautiful shoes special is that they are made of chocolate! Aren't they gorgeous? Almost too pretty to eat. This little shop - Gayle's Chocolates - has some very unique chocolatey gifts. Very glamourlicious!
A Few Words
Why there are no photos of the girls from Easter morning...
Yes, the fancy schmancy SLR camera allows you to take "photos" even when the card is not in the camera. What kind of design is that?
A long while ago, I put "create about me layouts" on my Digiscrap To-Do List. I got inspired this week and created these.
I just finished up these two "about me" layouts today.
Credits for above layouts:
The Door: Background Paper from Just Plane Cute by Laura Deacetis (Sweet Shoppe Designs), Photo from ClipArt, Fonts: Euphorigenic and Scriptina
A Few Words About Me: Everything from Altered Book 1 by Jackie Eckles (Little Dreamer Designs) except for the following: Flowers and Frame from Made of Awesome by Eva Kipler & Amanda Rockwell; Ribbon from A Groovy Kind of Love by Lori Barnhurst (Little Dreamer Designs)
Best Friends: Background newspaper by me; Curled edge paper from Ulimate Edges by Ake Pangestuti (SophiaSarducci.com); Notepaper and ribbon from A Groovy Kind of Love by Lori Barnhurst (Little Dreamer Designs); Paper clips from Altered Book 1 by Jackie Eckles (Little Dreamer Designs); Women of Faith CD and book images from Amazon.com
Our God is so Great!
What more can I say? God is so GREAT!
Prayers
The candles are at Erin’s, Christie’s and Valerie’s place. I’ve got a glow in my heart for my dear friend that is brighter than any candle that I could have lit!
