hello PLU’s….

a great deal of clarity is coming this week through the start of school…. everything from physically feeling the weight of how much i love my kids & family to physically and emotionally needing to take a breath.

it has been 8 1/2 years since i really took a breath i think….the kids are both in school (required by the state of Alabama- which is a big difference from mother’s day out) and the weight of so many thinks is dissipating a little more each day….

it is a new season once again and i am grateful and blessed.

the past few years have been a journey of sorts and not an easy one by any stretch.  i am pretty sure that God did not intend our lives to be “journey free”…otherwise i don’t think we would need to be refined by fire…right?

so this morning i didn’t cry as my youngest wrapped her arms around my neck because i know without a doubt she is in the hands of God Almighty and it is just time for this new season.  for many years i have put myself on the very end of whatever list i had going….while there was a period of exercise a few years ago (that totally paid off) it was guilt-ridden and arduous to say the least…early mornings and very little preparation for foods that i needed to be eating….simply not what i would consider a long-term plan.  this new season gives more room for my determination for everyone in my family to be well-rounded, balanced, and in a good place.  i have been keeping a sprint pace in what should be a marathon run….and i am tired….and ready for a new pace.

i listed to need to breathe this morning on my walk through the neighborhood this morning and it added even a little more clarity.  i need to be just as healthy as my kids….their reaction to being thrust into a new year & new situations with a great deal of ease should be the mindset that i have through a healthy relationship with the tasks of my days.  they did well…they were ready…..but sometimes i wonder if i am ready for my day?

over the years the stresses that have come with being a working mom have been certainly been task related mostly-when there is more to do in one day than possible…but lots of that has been emotional too.  maybe it is just in my mind but a heavy weight of the controversial “working mom” has weighed heavily on my mind and that chapter is officially closed. i think part of it is that there are so many judgements being made about what is “good” and what is “neglectful”….hmmm….and i am so very grateful that my heart has yielded to what God has to say as opposed to others because i might have just missed it….

working has been a good thing & my pace has been ok….a wonderful thing …and i hope that every mom is able to drop or give the burden of working to the cross if it is one that you feel inclined to carry…it is just too heavy and completely unnecessary to carry…since this is my blog it is also my opinion….

my laundry is done….my house is clean….my life is organized….and my family is at peace daily….and i work now during school hours….

i have to say that i have zero regrets….it may not be how i was brought up and it may be different than most of my friends but it is what i feel called to do…called…i know that that is where the controversy lies but i know through Proverbs 31 that God intends moms to be highly sensitive to his plans for our very lists…..and be effective for the sake of the gospel no matter what….

please do not post here (said so sweetly)….”i don’t know how you do what you do”….”or great job my laundry is not done”….because everyone has their list of things that they do and it simply cannot be compared from mom-to-mom….

so all of that to say…i am so grateful to rest in God’s plan & the season that i am entering….

i am enthusiastic about the journey that just started yesterday and cannot wait to reap the benefits of taking a breath

i will raise my face and my hands to the heavens to simply yield to God’s desires for my family’s lives no matter if it includes being a working mom or serving in a different way….and take a breath

i am grateful…

all of my love to my people…you are so dear!

hello to my precious PLU’s

how precious you all are to hang in and check here for updates….wow they have just been sporatic….

i am committed here though because this is a journal to my kids & family….my version of scrapbooking and how i record my thoughts….wow (again) that might be a little scary…honestly…they are either going to think that they had a great upbringing or think i was crazy..pick one….or both….sorry kiddos….

so tonight you are kindof – in-for-it….of sorts…feeling a little spunky…not much different than my usual day but usually i have calmed down by the time i get to “laptop time” at night…not so much today!!

two days at the lake, tired kiddos having a first sleep-over (logan is spending the night out, mia has a friend here- OH MY so sweet) and a husband OOT on a fishing trip, & a headache from rough water and wakeboarding will do it to ya…

so here….goes….nuthin’!!

1.  lemme back up…..a lot.  i planned the summer to be pro-active about my new “big kid” life in mom-ville.  swim team for logan and mia is now on a competitive gymnastics team……the plan?  swim team every morning 9:20-10:20 which leaves me time to workout….5 days a week…good plan right?  since the store opened (way long time ago) the gym has been an afterthought…really a little difficult to work in….but i am 6 weeks away (not wishing the summer away mind you) from 2 kids in school all week…this girl is fixing to get back into good shape…..no more excuses….not even my still limping after almost 4 weeks self….

welp….the beach….

2.  swim team has worked out well….but there was the beach for 7 days (blogs are kindof tricky like that….you can’t exactly say you are going out of town right?)…

my seat from my beach chair looked a little different from the beach to the swim meet with just a few days difference…

3.  after saving my youngest from drowning…(she is a fish that decided to sink)…..bruised heel…concrete bottomed pool…..INSERT SHRUG here…..gym plan thwarted….or at least modified…geez…canna-I catch a break?

4. did you know that swim meets take 4 hours?  you can actually play cards if you want inbetween events…did you know?

5.  there is an incredibly amount of spandex at swim meets….maybe we should switch to spandex with BBTN and FL….cotton has seen a HUGE increase in price due to availability overseas…maybe spandex is the way to go?  *insert note:  i never would have guessed that God would have planned for me to have a super good handle on the prices and availability of cotton overseas….hmmmm…he definitely has a sense of humor….i was a nutrition major for pete’s sake….

6.  you should get a badge for how many children you have….don’t you think?  reason?  that is the number of 5YO shots for kindergarten that you had to suffer through…worst.day.bar.none….. i had to apologize and ask for forgiveness from mia for not being honest (she said the absence of the whole truth is dishonest) wow (3rd time) ….true child…she didn’t ASK me if there would be shots but i SURE didn’t tell her there would or wouldn’t be shots….double sad face….

7.  i don’t have little kids anymore…they are big…they grew since the last post….they ask what they can do to help….they do their sweet little chores…geez….their activities are like road trips daily – in town….

8.  the lake is certainly great in fun and super great in the recreation department….but dragging your kids behind a boat can stretch you to lie when you have conversations that include “i am pretty laid back”- what a precious victory logan had this weekend over the wake board….great job buddy!!

9.  BBTN is ready for this season…..i shot the pictures this season in a studio and i think it changed my life….it is worth paying the rent just to have access to all of that beautiful consistent light….oh glory…i don’t ever think i want to shoot outside again!!!!

10.  13 new patterns!!  pixie skirt, playdate skirt, retro ruffle pants, big ruffle pants, bib top, bib dress, paterson bubble, paige bubble, kathryn bubble, new paxton shirt, tunic top, sadie top and bishop top….welcome to fall 2011…catalogs on the way….after only 12 time-outs in art check…sigh…

11.  what a precious thing it is to watch children forming solid sweet friendships….

love this sweet baby and her friend….

12.  please don’t comment on #12…..this weekend we are usually packing trunks…furiously…there is no possible way i can tell you what hard work this trunk thing is…..it stretches me past what my personality really wants to put up with….details…geez buttons for pete’s sake.  i always question why we do what we do….but as soon as UPS takes the boxes….my thoughts turn to GOD WHAT WILL YOU DO THIS SEASON?    we packed them early so that we could enjoy the weekend with our families and i am so glad we did…

lindsay wanted me to tell you that she is 8 months pregnant…thomas is on his way in just a few weeks!!

(we love you all but so glad that these boxes have left the premises….yipeeeee…..)

rest came this weekend for sure….but the reality of tuesday is looming…i always worry about each piece and fit and design….whether we offered enough choices/colors…..but to be super transparent…the bottom line is the hope that it will be well-received….as opposed to just received…

glory be to God for using me in this way…i will shout HIS name to the rooftops because he has saved me….because of HIS grace and mercy my totally wretched soul has a way to walk with HIM… for this i am so grateful….when it comes down to it….i am super glad that everyone wears clothes….i care not to see a bunch of naked people so i will serve you all…but what the clothes are just doesn’t matter….all of this doesn’t matter unless just one more person loves the Lord because of it…..

13.  there are some things that i need to blog about if this is going to be my scrapbook..(i always feel like a loser when it comes to scrapbooking)….i have baby books for my kids but golly they will have hard drives to look through instead of cute books when they grow up….

but you know?  as a mom and a wife….i simply will do the best i can….and that is enough….!

goodnight PLU’s….coming soon…

a new playlist…pictures….and a great season with BBTN….

all of my love to my people….

hello PLU’s…

can you believe it? #3 in a week….

this must mean we are inbetween at the workroom….shipping is almost over, sample sale has concluded somewhat…and fall 2011 has been designed…photoshoot is friday, may 27th even…none too soon on some counts as my nightmares are vivid…..

imagine 20 kids in a loft space (multiples involved) all under the age of 5….first day of summer break…they have had only sugar cereal for breakfast with promises of large amounts of candy for the perfect smile…and lots of corduroy…OH and a mandatory end result of 20 beautiful pictures that need to be neatly folded into a catalog and to print by june um 5th….or sooner.

my dream is about as real as my laundry pile…the minute we go to dress the first child- the studio goes completely dark (super super bad for catalog pictures)- even my big huge low-light lens can’t take care of pitch black dark….and i melt into a puddle…(which doesn’t happen as often as it did when i was a teenager or in college for pete’s sake…) not because of the kids….or the catalog but because i have a deadline and it is just not going to happen with dark pictures…

nightmares over a catalog….nice

so i went to visit the studio we have rented (to try and chase away the nightmares with facts) and could not be more excited to get to pretend for about 4 hours that photography is my real job…not one that i have to learn because i simply can’t impose deadlines or my expectations for creativity on someone else.  good news? i get to quit right after it is over…kindof….

speaking of jobs and the title of this post…maybe i should rename it “bad dreams and rambling”….

the big house drive was a wrap last weekend….(insert another kindof)

if you will remember i pleaded here for your donations for beach towels and bathing suits to supply to 6,000 kids who are in foster care in the state of Alabama… Favorite Laundry was a drop-off site and we had a wonderful turnout…drawing annoucement soon

Shelly (BBTN embroidery manager) donated her time and efforts to make sure that towels had the kids’ names on them…

the Big House packing event was Saturday – so Shelly and i took our girls inbetween breakfast and baseball to serve  – oh to be able to stay all day and help….there were so many!

each child had a towel….hearing their name and what county they lived in soaked my soul with regret for all of the situations that would take them away from their parents….

i simply cannot imagine what it would be like as a parent to not know what my children were eating, what time they went to bed, if they had clean clothes, if their needs were being met….much less not by me…

on the flip side…the horribly sick feeling  that comes with how a child must feel with the circumstances..

oh to just have them know that they are loved and cared for by an Almighty God….he is in charge of their well-being…

it was with the same goal in mind…that Micah (the precious girl who organized all of this) did such a wonderful job matching up people to the task of packing the towels and swimsuits…

my heart is constantly reminded that it is my job to teach my children how to feel a deep sense of compassion for those around them…and to serve selflessly….

these boxes will ship to each county….lawrence, marengo, limestone, shelby, montgomery….and so many more…

Michah (middle)…what a precious soul…and serving selflessly….

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speaking of house….

it is time to change little things around ours….

it’s almost time for this…

it is already time for these….

and most certainly time for these…hydrangea cuttings that are successfully in the ground – yipee….

rooted in just a few days and doing great …

happy day!!

be back soon….

all of my love to my precious people!