Etsy Stocking Day!!

What a day! We had to cancel our plans for a road trip when poor Maddie woke up with continued, umm, digestion problems (thinking it may be rotovirus?). I honestly can not remember a day where I have changed as many dirty diapers as today. Poor girl runs when she sees me coming at her with a clean diaper. :( On top of that, she opted out of any sort of nap (but, not without valiant efforts on my part), meaning that she's about to melt into a puddle in about ten minutes. Oh, and did I mention that I'm feeling awful, too? Body aches, chills, throbbing head... We are quite the pair over here, huh?

Moving on.

Brandie and I worked SO hard today to stock up the Etsy store and I am SO, SO, SO excited about our new products!! I've made some new flower clips with larger rhinestone centers (I do love sparkly things) and Brandie made some adorable clippies. We even made some absolutely gorgeous (if I do say so, myself) tutus. I had a playdate at my house months ago, and taught friends how to make them. I've since made a few for gifts, but today we spiced them up with shiny satin ribbon and I'm in love. Maddie was so thrilled with the one she was modeling that I had to offer up a snack to get it off her.

We also have some new things in the works, so definitely stop in when you get a chance. I'm just so thrilled to be doing this; I can't tell you how happy it makes me and what a perfect distraction it is. I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for the orders that have already come in. Truly, I'm like a kid on Christmas morning when I see that something has sold (hmm, truthfully, if we're talking about me, I'm like a kid in a candy shop that's filled with rows and rows of sour gummy worms).

So, browse through if you have a chance and let me know what you think. Aside from feeling like a school bus hit me, I'm a happy girl.

Etsy! Sooooo Excited!

I have a VERY exciting announcement to make! I have officially opened my first (and only) Etsy store! Ever since "discovering" Etsy, I've been a fan and it's always been a little dream to open my own shop. Being that, these days, my hands can never rest, and my dining room table is generously littered with flower hair clips, I felt like now was the perfect time.

Today was one of those mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting days (and really, for a wide variety of reasons). I had so much thrown my way and after a morning of work, sweat and tears, I decided to channel my energy into a more positive avenue.

Thank the LORD for Brandie, who truly made this happen. She took/edited all the pictures, dealt with my many hours of internet difficulties and provided a ton of support (and in return, I made stuffed mushroom caps and changed Mason's diapers). :) And also, thank you Allison, for teaching me how to do these. You have a present coming your way (and no, it's not a shipment of flower hair clips!).

So, if you have a second, click on the gallery in my sidebar and let me know what you think. I really think that the bows are pretty and Maddie can attest to the fact that they're incredibly durable (as she tore one out of her hair tonight, threw it in the sink and "rinsed" it off, only for it to retain it's shape).

I'm really excited about this. I need something exciting and positive in my life right now and I also need to start unloading some of these million clips. And seriously, I want to know what you think!

Mysterious Ways and Hair Clips

I know that God works in mysterious ways, and throughout this ordeal, He has proven that that is so true. There have been many times on this journey where people or things have, most literally, tumbled across my path or fallen into my lap (alright, nothing has literally fallen into my lap, but you know what I mean). From perfectly placed cards on a hard day to touching emails to amazing friends bearing books and CDs, things have just happened that fill me with hope and happiness.

This morning was painful for me. Aside from the anger that I was feeling, my whole being just felt so crushed. I had just wrapped up one of the most difficult conversations of my life, hung up and felt absolute, utter despair. It almost felt like I was drowning.

I had just hung up the house phone when my cell phone rang. As in, two nanoseconds after I hung up (and felt the world crashing down), I got a phone call from my friend, Allison. She's a long-time friend (gosh, we've known each other since the kindergarten-era?) and a huge source of support. While we text and email, we don't talk on the phone that often. So, it was not only a great surprise but a great intervention He made for me.

Turns out that she was driving down for the weekend (again, such amazing timing) and wanted to know if she could do anything. Yay! :) We got dinner, she listened to every thought and detail of my unorganized mind and then we did what all girls do: we made hairbows. :) She is SO clever and I am now SO obsessed. Thankfully, I know about 212 people (slight exageration, but really I can think of 7 off the top of my head!) that are having baby girls, so guess what you all just might be getting!
I can't wait to go buy even more flowers tomorrow. This is the perfect naptime activity for me (side note: Maddie napped for 3.5 hours today; such a glorious change from our no-nap week).

When I have my moments where I falter and wonder if God really is listening, I am immediately reminded that he absolutely is. I'm learning that things don't always go my way (gasp!), but they certainly go in the way that is meant to be, even if it's sometimes hard for me to understand.

And wait, one more thing before I wrap this one up (and head off to bed). I've been worrying a lot about the stress that Maddie sees me under, so I've been trying to hide the tears a little more carefully. This morning, I was sobbing and wanted nothing more than to hide in my bedroom until it passed. I looked down and saw that Maddie was staring at me in an oh-so-quizzical way. She tilted her little head, grabbed my hand and pulled me to her level. She threw her arms around me and said, "Okay? Okay?" I squeezed her so tightly and told her that we were both okay and she just nuzzled her sweet little face in my neck. Ahhhh. :)

Allison, thank you so much for being with me tonight. We absolutely need to have a playdate with Ava and my sweet friend Andrea and her twins (Andrea, I'll explain it to you tomorrow!).