Felt-a-licious Giveaway!

I have ALWAYS adored wool. Especially felted wool. The texture. The weight. The yummy. :) I've always been a little jealous of those crafty mamas who knew the "secrets" of felting wool. But now...I am going to join that inner circle :) And so can you! I have ONE SPOT to give away for Emily's "Felt-a-licious" online course. Yay!

Em is teaming up with Nicole, who has tons of experience with wool. You do NOT want to miss this. It's going to be so great! I'm really looking forward to working on the projects with Bella and learning this cool new skill alongside my creative daughter. I ordered the "Autumn" kit from Nicole's Etsy shop...the colors are so yummy. However, today (the 19th) is the LAST day to order wool from her shop for it to make it to you in time. If you miss the deadline, you can always source your own wool or join in late.

Here is a little more info in Emily's words:

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

This is a fantastical, fun introduction to felting! During the course you will be shown the nitty-gritty of what turns fluffy piles of wool into magical felted goods.With that knowledge you will be guided to make several variations of felt for our projects: round felt beads, a layered felt flower, a flat felt scarfette and a dimensional felt mobile-phone pouch.

Armed with your new skills you will be ready to felt your little hearts out (warning: felting is higly addictive!) and fall in love with this delicious artform. Even if you have felted before, this workshop is definitely going to have you saying "AH-HA!" THE WORKSHOP WILL RUN FROM NOV 26 - DEC 4

There will be four core 'lessons' during the course (video and photo format), tips and tricks from the gurus, a gallery to share your creations, and two live chats with Nicole and Emily. You will be able to work at your own pace, downloading the project information at your leisure. The classroom will remain 'open' until the end of 2010.

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below. Any comment! Go crazy! For an extra entry, post it to Facebook or Twitter.

I will pick the winner at random on Tuesday, November 23 (8pm CST). Or, click here if you just want to sign up NOW!

Happy Felting!

Vegas and Boba Tea

As I write this, we are driving across Nebraska on our way back to see family for the holidays. It's been a LONG (and wonderful) couple of weeks making the trek from California (which included a small snow storm in Vail, CO), but I just had to share one of the most recent highlights.

Last year, I met up with Tiffani for the first time when our paths crossed in Las Vegas. This year, I was supposed to go to L.A. and spend tons of time exploring the big city and taking photos and just being besties in general...BUT, life happened and we had to bypass L.A. and head East earlier than planned.

I was SO disappointed that we would not get to connect...but when I emailed her about it, we both realized that we would be in Vegas AGAIN at the same time. Oh the joy! We were able to spend a bliss-filled afternoon chatting and letting the kids run wild. California Pizza Kitchen. Shopping at H & M + dancing to hip hop music in the dressing rooms...giggling all the while. And don't forget the boba! Be sure to watch our silly video above. :)

I pretty much ADORE Tiffani and wish that I could magically transport her to wherever I happen to be...but for now, I will take what I can get :) Be sure to read her account of our visit here and check out her fabulous (and I mean fabulous) blog. And look at her pretty pictures.

Now that we are almost done driving for awhile, I have big plans to blog more and I have several REALLY COOL giveaways planned. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend...I'm off to celebrate my birthday! :)

Sisters & Grace

Oh my heart. These photos just make me swoon with motherly love. I've been thinking so much lately about the relationship that Bella and Lucy have and how that relationship will continue to blossom and change throughout their lives.

Bella LOVES being the big sister. She loves to teach and help and encourage. She is so loving...sometimes a little TOO loving :) Lucy has now figured out that if she doesn't want to be picked up by Bella, she can head butt, pinch, pull hair, bite...whatever it takes to get her to put her down. It's actually quite humorous to observe. This is hard for Bella because all she wants to do is have a real live baby doll. Matt and I get so exasperated from repeating the phrase "Bella...please put her down" all day long. She can't walk by Lucy without trying to pick her up!

Lucy wants to be big like Bella. It's so hard when Bella has friends over to play...because Lucy wants to join in the fun! Unfortunately right now that means she will eat markers and tear papers, and pretty much drive them crazy. She begs to sit in Bella's bunk...and when we finally put her up there, she sits super still and quiet...drinking in the moment.

Sometimes after Bella has an interaction with Lucy...she will share her thoughts with me. She whispers with a smile...

"I did that just like a mommy..."

And I wonder in my heart what "mommy ways" I have modeled for her that day. Often times, I am reminded of words spoken too harshly, concerns dismissed to quickly, or her repeated requests that went ignored because I was "busy". I so desire to show her what gentleness, grace, and kindness look like in a real setting. And yet, I fail often.

Watching her act out my inadequacies is a hard wake up call. And something I am actively working on. Because she copies my actions. And Lucy copies her actions. So by controlling my own selfishness and/or impatience, I can affect the entire dynamic of our family. I have God-given power to mold the outcome of every situation by exchanging my knee jerk reactions with thoughtful, Christ-like reactions.

I cannot do this on my own. I do not believe that deep down I am a "GOOD" person and if I just focus on that, good things will come out of my heart. No, I believe that deep down, I am motivated by selfish desires. I'm motivated by my flesh. And acting in the flesh FEELS good at the time, but it's not good.  I'm a sinner. Every day (sometimes every hour), I have to die to those desires. I want more of Jesus and less of me. I walk with Jesus by my side every day so that I can listen to Him whisper encouragement in my ears:

"...and God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed... *2 Corinthians 9:8

Jesus shows me grace daily...and for that I am so humbled and grateful. I seriously don't know why He puts up with me sometimes :) In thinking about this grace He offers, I am able to extend grace to my children and husband in the same way. In every middle-of-the-store-meltdown. In every exchange of words. There is always sufficient grace to offer.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." *2 Corinthians 12:9