More Goodies on Etsy!

The other day I found the most precious Valentine's goodies on Etsy! These are plantable cards for your sweetheart. The paper is imbedded with seeds for flowers so it's a bouquet and card all in one! I couldn't help it, I bought the 20 pack. I'm sure I can find 20 well deserving friends to give them to. I'm a sucker for unique things and this one did me in! I've also been drooling over her 2010 Calendar...might have to make another purchase soon...find these irresistable goodies right here!

P.S. Free shipping to boot!

Valentine's Day is coming up!

So, this is really a Christmas gift that I gave my husband this year but I thought I'd post it here for a Valentine idea. I have a husband who has pretty much everything he could ever possibly want or need. For some reason he seems to attract friends in the outdoor retail business who have excess 'stuff' and love to give it away...this means that he is already well equiped for pretty much all of his interests. Great for him, bummer for me when I'm brainstorming for gift ideas. Another interesting thing I've learned about my guy is that he's a 'quality time' lover. If you've ever read or heard of 'The 5 Love Languages' you know what I'm talking about. Basically it means that he really feels loved when you spend good quality time with him. He's also in the 'acts of service' camp too (another love language)...like he'll clean house or do the dishes or watch the kids for a day so I can go to the opera with a good friend (like he did this last Sunday:) just becuase he wants to show me that he loves me (don't I have a GREAT husband?!). Anyway, this year I was really trying to think of something he'd appreciate for Christmas that would speak his 'language'. I was checking out gift ideas on the internet when I came across a little notepad idea. It was so cute, made up like a little book of matches only with scrap paper inside. I didn't really have a use for that, but I decided it could pair quite nicely with the old coupon book idea. So, I made up a stack of coupons like '1 day of skiing with a friend', 'An evening by the fire with me', '1 steak dinner', '1 day to yourself', and so on. There are back rubs, car washes and coffee dates in there too. I did put an expiration date on them all of December 31, 2010 and a place to write the date that each one was redeemed. This way, he's required to use them all within the year guaranteeing that we'll spend some good quality time together and we'll also have a record of when we did what over the last year. These days, if we don't plan our time together it's likely not to happen!

Anyway, you can make one of these too! Just type and print out your coupons then cut and stack them in the order you want. Cut out some card stock that is a little longer than twice the length of your coupons (you'll have to use the 12x12 paper for this). Fold the card stock so that it wraps around the coupons and then overlaps toward one end and staple it all together. Then you can tuck the longer end of the cover into the stapled end and voila! You have yourself a cute little coupon book. This was a big hit for us, in fact a few of them have already been put to use. If you make this, write me a comment and tell me how it goes!

Check it out!

Here is my listing for Crafthope on Etsy! To see the listing just go here.

Hope for Haiti!

I just stumbled upon this great shop at Etsy.com called Craft Hope for Haiti. It's a store that is full of donations from crafters all over the world. The proceeds will go directly to the organization Doctors Without Borders. I was so thrilled at the chance to use my hobby to boost the relief effort just a tiny bit. What a creative idea! So I signed up to donate a little hat there for sale and will be browsing through the items in hope of finding something to purchase soon. I would encourage everyone else who reads this to do the same if you can!

I gotta lotta thinks in my brain....

This came out of Jack's mouth the other day after sitting pensively at the table for a few minutes staring at the wood grain. Not sure what he was thinking about at the time but I can definitely relate! I know his thoughts and concerns are waaaay different than mine but I really love the way he relates to the world. Sometimes I really wish my biggest thrill could be an over-frosted bite-sized mini-wheat! (Yesterday morning he couldn't wait to show me one in particular so while I was getting out of the shower he shoved it under the bathroom door so I could see it before he ate it...).

A few weeks ago at MOPS we had a panel of moms, who are a little further down the mom road, come and share some wisdom with us. A few things stood out to me during that time and I've been trying to implement some of them since. The main thing was being intentional during these crazy and hectic years. It seems like the very thing that might drive me over the edge and cause me to give up the last bit of whimsy I have left, but on the days when I really am taking the time to be intentional I notice that we are all a little more free to be joyful. I guess it's probably because we know what is coming next and that we are freed up to get excited for it.

The main place that I feel the need for intentionality is in my prayer life. When I got pregnant with boy #3 I remember thinking to myself that my worries were just going to increase...it was hard to be joyful with that thought in the back of my mind. When you have kids hanging out there it's like having a part of yourself walking around without having any control over it. I want so many things for my kids, most of all for them to walk with the Lord faithfully and to love others with all their heart. But because I'm human I also desire success, confidence, comfort and popularity for them! Everything in me wants to control them into this and away from hurt and brokenness. But I realize that what I need to do is pray that they will have the resolve to walk with God through hardship and allow Him to guide them through hurt in order that they will come out stronger and wiser on the other end. Otherwise what kind of flimsy, feeble faith will they have?

So, one of the moms at MOPS named a few things she and her husband prayed for diligently for their kids. The first was that they would love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and love their neighbor as themselves (I think someone else said that is the greatest commandment right?:). The second is that they would have wisdom and discernment for good decision making and the third is that they would have the strength of character to follow through with those good decisions. That pretty much sums up what I want for my kids! I think they could survive any situation if they have these tools in their toolbox. Ultimately it's eternity that I'm concerned with and I don't want to be distracted by daily life and temporary earthly concerns. Let's face it, I'm just not big enough to control all the things that come our way. I'm so thankful for a God who wants to take this on for us!