Friday, Friday

Well, this week has been full of drama... sorry I haven't been around, but I just couldn't do it. I do have a few pics from the last week, though. Last Friday Halle got her first haircut (just her bangs, but still a notable occasion!), and Remy got his first ever short hair cut. To us, it was a sign of our being mid-westerners, but to Remy is was such a big deal, having a haircut like his friends. (And this isn't a jab on mid-westerners, it's just always been funny to us that here he is the only boy in his class, team, whatever that had long hair...) He looks so cute, and he loves that he and Trace can put gel in their hair together! Ahh, a bonding moment for father & son.

of course, sticking her tongue out

so handsome with his tiny faux-hawk

This week I have also been loving the Peppermint Mocha Creamer from Coffee-Mate. Have you tried this stuff?! Amazing! And believe me, I have had a ton of coffee in the last seven days!

I hope you have a great weekend! I have my last craft show tomorrow at a local school, but other than that I am hoping that ours stays pretty calm and that I'll get back to my normal schedule next week. 'Until next time...

Friday Love

This week consisted of a lot of slowing down. It turns out that 'Making Room' translates into a lot of time away from the computer, which is great for me and the littles, but means less posting on this space. (Not that I spent tons of time on here, but as in every area, there's always room to improve...)  I have so much to love!

 This is what happens when I try to get  a nice picture of my wee ones who were snuggling on the couch. One is happy and the other is just goofy... These were also the shots of Halle's first pigtails. I have been begging her, and she finally let me put some in! Don't worry, the curly girl's bangs and shaggy boy's entire mane are getting chopped this morning.

As good as it gets...

Remy and I also had a date yesterday. We went to see a movie and then out to eat at a 50s Diner. It was fun to hang with my sweet boy, even though he made it clear he would rather be with his daddy, and give Halle & Trace some time together. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, though that almost never happens that way... I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of people you love!

Quiet

" Be still and know that I am God"

Psalm 46:10

I am tired. I wanted you to know that I'm still here... just waiting. And I am not good at waiting. I am excited, as I said last week, to see what's next for me, for our family, but I think at this point God is just calling me into stillness. And it's hard because while I can sit and read/blog/write, I don't do the 'God wants me to just wait' kind of stillness very well. And the craziest thing is that I know personally how awesome it is to hear his voice. Isn't it strange how we can know something and yet continue to fall into old ways? (or maybe that's just me...)

So while I don't have much to say today, I thought I would share something I wrote a while back about being still. I may have shared it before, but it's a prayer I come back to when I need to remind myself just to wait.

God, how often do I forget to be still!  But you love me even then. Give me strength to exalt you, God, because sometimes I lack even that. But I love you. I praise you because in chaos or in stillness you are an Irrepressible God. An Unshakeable God. A Sweet Tender God.

Your word moves me. I fall at your feet because that is all I can do. My heart is full of your love. You fill me up and I am deeply happy. In this quietness I exalt you. My heart of loud praise shatters the silence and I can nearly hear your laughter. Because you are. And I do know. Is this the thing that in the stillness you reveal? Because my only regret is not being quiet before this moment.

Caramel Apples and a Lesson Learned

Happy Wednesday, lovelies! I adore when a simple project looks amazing...  Caramel apples are one of those treats that look really beautiful and are so easy to make.

Remy and Halle were my chief caramel unwrappers. 'Unwrap one, eat one' was the motto of the morning!

Buttering the parchment

The finished product~ Lovely!

We used the easy directions right on the caramel package for dipping the apples, and the littles chose nonpareils and Halloween sprinkles for the toppings. I also chopped up some nuts for good measure. They had a great time from start to finish, and I was thankful that they were still in their pjs because it was super messy!  My one mistake was that I didn't refrigerate them overnight, and in the morning all the caramel had melted to the bottom of the sweet little cello bags I had put them in. I'm still a bit disappointed about that, but our friends were good sports and ate them anyway! (They know I'd be mean if they didn't, and no one wants me to stop making for them!) 

Make Room

Make Room

This two word phrase has been so powerful in my life for the past few months, this year even. (I blogged a bit about the Kelly Minter study 'No More Gods'  that inspired this phrase here.) 2010 is the year I have emptied out the ghosts in my closets. Shaken the dust out of the rugs and truly given God over even the hidden corners of my figurative house. I kind of see the idol metaphor like this: At the beginning of the year I had a mantle. And on it were several trophies/idols that I loved. I put them up there so they would be safe. I could look at them, show them off to friends even, but there they stayed, exalted.  Then God said "Make Room.". And one by one I obeyed... removing the trophy, dusting the spot it had occupied and letting only Jesus remain.

The 2 sweet things shop is my last 'trophy'. The shop is my attempt to do it myself... my own way. And now I've taken the last ten days to reevaluate and recognize that God again is saying "Make Room". Inherently good, but taking time and space that he wants to fill with other things~ things that help me fulfill the calling on my life to love Him and love others. That is my singular purpose. So I do it willingly... wholeheartedly... joyfully. Knowing that I was made for more than this.

I'm not calling it quits entirely, but I do just need to step back. The perfectionist in me is constantly screaming that I should do more, make more, sell more, and that isn't the kind of 'more' I was made for. So while a lot of this 'Make Room' talk is figurative, I am literally making room as well, and many things in my shop are marked down~ get them while you can! I will continue to leave my etsy shop open, but I will only occasionally post new items... I'll let you know when that is! My Big Cartel site will only be open for about two more weeks (until my current subscription runs out), and then I will be transferring what is left there into the etsy shop. I will also continue taking your custom orders as my schedule allows, so feel free to send me an email with a request, and we'll see what we can work out!

God is calling me to live.  And I will still be living here on these 'pages', and I am excited to craft, write, pray, and dream with you still in this space every day. In fact, it probably won't look much different around here, the difference I anticipate will be mostly in my home & my head, which is terribly exciting! (As a boss, even my own, I am so demanding... so I'm quitting that job!) I hope you will continue to come here and live with me~ I do have so much fun here!

I said on Friday that I had been reading Joshua 3:5. "Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'" Of this verse, Kelly Minter said 'My spirit is convinced that these are the things we have to look forward to when we, by faith, move from the idols of our hearts.' I believe this with everything in me~ we are on the brink, and I want it all! God has put amazing blessings in front of us!

The one where I steal her idea...

... and I should have stolen her picture! (My problem is not that I don't make tons of beautiful desserts, I'm just a lousy photographer!) Last Monday, Carissa posted her 'Death by Chocolate' as part of her miscellany- a gorgeous brownie topped with chocolate icing. Divine! Her post said that they only eat dessert once a week, which is a rule I think we all know I don't abide by. Anyway, we had friends coming for dinner and needed a quick and simple dessert that was also kid-friendly. I whipped up a batch of brownies, per the 'cake-like brownie' instructions, popped them into my mini muffin tins to bake and made up some chocolate icing while they were in the oven. The icing recipe was straight from the Nestle Cocoa can and mixed up easy-breezy. Aren't they cute?!

I do make brownies pretty regularly, but the frosting was the perfect touch to change it up a bit. Do you have a go-to dessert you make when expecting company? What do you do to keep it from becoming mundane?

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday and First Day of November! I'm once again linking up with the darling Ms. Carissa for Miscellany Monday~ I have too many random thoughts not to!

~one~ I had an email in my inbox this morning that said 'Now that November is here, the holidays are officially beginning. Are you ready?'. Frankly it kind of freaked me out... I absolutely adore this time of year, but I want to breathe it all in and enjoy it. Don't rush me!

~two~ My craft show on Saturday was a wild, surprising success! On Friday when I went to set up I was a bit nervous because I was definitely a minority (young & pierced), but on Saturday the crowd was great. I had a fantastic day selling and talking to customers and other vendors. It was so good to get out and meet some people!

Wolverine goes to preschool

~three~ Remy spent most of the weekend as Wolverine, beginning with school on Friday. He had a wonderful fall party with his class and brought home a ton of treats! On Saturday our church had a block party with petting zoo, treats, and games. Remy was waiting in line for one of the games, where he told the ladies that 'We don't need treats, we have a bunch, so we're just here to play. That's our motto.'. I swear I didn't prep him with that 'motto' line, but I loved it!  On Saturday Halle wasn't feeling agreeable about wearing her costume, so when people asked about hers we just said she was going as 'fourteen'. Her Scooby Doo did make an appearance at church on Sunday morning, and she had a blast barking in her class. 

~four~ I got to drive Trace's stealth on Saturday because he needed my van for some errands. I was not impressed, and my thirty year old self is definitely happy with the minivan. No sports cars for me!

Well, that might be it for this morning... How was your weekend? I have lots of posts lined up for the week, I think (or at least lots of ideas in my head at this point...).  Until next time...