"Just One" Give-Away! {How do you wear your apron?}

People, I am quite excited!

And I am excited for 2 reasons:

#1. I am hosting my first give away!

#2. I am hosting a give away for my mom's brand new etsy shop!

My mom has been sewing for as long as I can remember. In fact, most of my clothing and all of my Sunday dresses were sewn by my mother when I was a little girl. My mother is crafty in almost every way. No project, from huge (HUGE!) hand-painted backdrops for large drama productions to corsages for my wedding to handmade nightgowns for my little girl, is daunting to her. So when she expressed the desire to make a little money off her craftiness, etsy was the right fit.

She began sewing aprons. But not just any run-of-the-mill apron. These aprons are fully reversible and finished off with unique and delicate details that make each one truly one-of-a-kind. In fact the name of her shop, Just One Stitch At A Time, or "Just One" as we say, indicates the heart of her work. There is "just one" of everything she makes. Each item is completely unique and will never be duplicated. So when you wear one of these aprons, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that no one else has an apron like you!

I'm a messy person. When I cook, when I eat, when I do anything, I usually make a giant mess. So I've recently taken to wearing aprons when I bake and cook. I love the way an apron makes me feel. Domestic. Retro. Motherly. Classy (in spite of the disaster around me). And lady like (despite my lack of gracefulness).

And my mom's aprons only add to the charm. Every time I've put on one of her aprons, I haven't wanted to take it off. They fit like a glove and are made from a pattern that would make them fit any woman of almost any size perfectly. The neck and waist ties are long and also reversible allowing you to wear your apron in your favorite way. My favorite way? Neck ties tied short so that the top is snug and doesn't sag. Waist ties wrapped around the back and tied in front with a cute bow.

But why should mom get all the fun? My mother's shop is also featuring fully reversible children's smocks perfect for baking, doing messy crafts, or for keeping that adorable outfit spotless during a holiday meal.

So without further ado, I present to you the give-away item:

A fully reversible holiday apron!  A $50 Value!

(not featured in the shop)

Imagine the memories you could make while wearing this stunning apron! Deck the halls, bake the goodies, and great the guests all while looking classy in this festive apron.

But wait! If you act now..........  uhhh.....ahem.... never mind....... this is not an infomerical. Sorry, I got a bit carried away.

You have many chances to win this apron for yourself. Here are the ways to enter this give-away:

1. Go visit my mom's etsy shop by clicking HERE. Look over the smocks and aprons. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one is your favorite. This will get you one chance to win the "Just One Holiday Apron."

2. Blog about this giveaway! In your blog post, include a link back to this post and a link to my mom's etsy shop. Come back here and leave me a comment with a direct link to your blog post. This will get you an additional two chances to win the holiday apron.

3. Post a link on Facebook to this blog post. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did for one more chance to win.

4. Post a link on Facebook to my mom's etsy shop. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did for yet another chance to win.

5. Buy an apron or smock! For each item you purchase from my mom's etsy shop, I will put your name in the drawing 5 times. (My mother will verify the purchase.)

So many chances to win! Let's get started!

The give-away contest begins today and will end on November 21st at 9:00 am central time. One lucky winner will be randomly selected, the winner will be contacted, and the apron will ship as soon as I hear back from the winner.

Good luck everyone!

Another Tardy Monday Post

When the sting of looking back and letting go meets the moving forward and embracing of a new road,

and when the doubt gives way to trust,


and when the bouy of my flesh swayed by every wind remembers that it's attached to an unmoving, unchanging Anchor,

I remember that God is always good, always faithful, and always there.

And when I think about it, God's too good, really, just too good. We just simply.don't.deserve. where He has us and what He's given us.

My intense battle with doubt that left me breathless and fearful looks so silly now. But God embraced me in my doubt and pointed out His goodness along the way giving me the ability to step out into a new direction and deal with the early weeks of the husband's absence and seeing somebody else drive our tool truck.

And us in this white collar world? Oh it's quite laughable. Me with dirt under my fingernails and deepest aspirations to sell at the Farmer's Market. Me bathing a dirty, stinky German Shepherd puppy in the kiddie pool.

And him in love with his tractor and no hobbies other than work.

And when he asks me, "Aren't you glad we took the risk?" I wanna laugh and ask, "And just what risk are you referring to? The risk to love each other? The risk to do that whole Marine Corps thing? The risk to get out and do the civilian thing? The risk to start up a business with 2 six month olds and me not working? The risk to lay it all out there and go toe to toe with corporate?"

Yes. I would risk it all again, with you and for you. From the moment we shook hands with those people putting us into business, I knew we would end up here. And I know you knew it, too. Some things don't have to be said.

But some things do. Because if we don't say them, we might stop feeling them.

So I'm saying this and linking it up over HERE.

God, this is all straight from You:

#346. the sting of doubt that reminds me of my true security
#347. that deep down feeling where you know, even when everything around screams the opposite
#348. the sight of a tool truck deep in a Wisconsin woods
#349. the discussion with him about not half-doing anything, even and especially the things we don't want to do
#350. embracing the stings making the joys that much sweeter

Hints of Sanity

Today when I sent the kids outside, the dog tormented Jack who tormented Ava who retaliated by yelling at everybody.

Today when I decided an afternoon movie was in order, no one could agree on which movie to watch, and when we finally picked one, it held no ones attention and everybody ended up back outside.

Today, everytime I got the kids occupied with something and finished tidying up from the previous occupation attempt, my hand would barely touch the next thing I wanted to do before someone had a problem or needed me or suffered some sort of indignation that needed reconciling.

Today when I made the executive decision that Jack was going to take a nap, months after I had to cut out their naps, and he actually took a nap, I paid for the hour of quiet during the day with an hour+ of restless Jack-Hammer antics at bedtime.

Today when everyone was finally corralled, showered, and pajama-ed but still bouncing off the walls and not listening and I said, "No more hanky panky!" (really, where did that come from?), I then had to listen to a chorus of 3 1/2 year olds singing and laughing "No more hanky panky!" for the next half hour.

And today when everyone was almost asleep and I was this close to quiet and time to myself, Ava had a hard time falling asleep so I got in bed with her and ....... fell asleep myself.

So in the last few minutes of this day which will likely be over before I actually publish this post, I will search for a hint of sanity....

....and remember that God's grace is the only real sanity...

....and that God's grace is everywhere...

Linking up HERE with all the others sifting out the chaos in search of sanity.

#341. the opportunity to be here with them even on their bad days
#342. the little girl belting out a made up song in the shower
#343. the way the little boy talks - so earnest - I can't describe it - but it melts my heart
#344. two little blondies sitting at the table munching on huge honeycrisp apples
#345. just how much they love each other even though they can fight like there is no tomorrow

Adventure #4 {Eau Claire}

I left the husband alone for his first "new start," his first week with a brand new distributor. He needed space to get used to the role without a wife and kids hanging around, and I needed to not stay in a hotel where you checked in at the gas station and were issued a fly swatter with your room key.

But by his second new start, I lovingly insisted on going with. He was hesitant. Traveling 5 hours in the car and staying in a hotel for 5+ days with two 3 year olds was a bit unimaginable for him. But rational daddies sometimes underestimate the persuasiveness and power of highly determined, not-so-rational mommies. In my best from-the-heart voice I told him, "We need to try this at least once. I can do this. It will be fine. I either parent them alone here while you're gone, or parent them alone there while you work."

It worked and soon we were off, leaving behind the Indian Summer at home to go visit the rainy, classified as "hurricane-like," weather of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

And you know what? It was fine. In fact, it was more than fine. It was wonderful, such a great time of family bonding, of watering our ever-growing Matco roots, and a much appreciated sabbatical from home life for me.


After dropping off the husband at the home of his new distributor, the kids and I would head back to the hotel, enjoy the continental breakfast that I did not have to clean up after, do a bit of homeschool in our room that I did not need to clean, and head out for our daily adventures that did not involve late night canning or scary sibling haircuts. We explored outside every dry moment we could and even a few rainy moments.

We took a beautiful drive to visit a cave and had a picnic in the drizzle.

{Ava and I discussing what we might see in the cave while Jack does his thing.} 

{let's just call this guy "Mr. Out-of-Focus"}

{shot through the windshield - more drizzle}

We visited a large city park and had another picnic in the drizzle.

Taking care of potty needs on the go is interesting with 2 toddlers/preschoolers. I think I only got peed on twice.

We explored a little bit of the city and all its rivers. And I snapped a few photos before it began to drizzle.

And during the torrential rain, we spent two afternoons at the Children's Museum.

 We had another picnic in the drizzle, and enjoyed the sun breaking out of the clouds for a few hours.

I have so many good memories from this trip, things like Jack-Hammer teaching himself to swim under water at the hotel pool, going down to the lobby any time I felt like fresh coffee or tea, eating out at different places as a family, all four of us crammed in one bed watching movies, and hopefully starting a simple tradition with new distributors.

But my favorite part was when the husband looked across the table at me one night while eating out and asked if we would come back with him in a month when he needed to return for a week. Inside of my head, my jaw dropped and I jumped up and down screaming "Of Course! And I didn't even have to fake that we were having a good time!" (which I was fully prepared to do).

But I just smiled and replied, "Yes."

Stirring It Up

Stirring up the words, today, that have settled. All the posts unwritten, all the thoughts unexpressed, all the memories tucked in corners.....the things I want to say here, the things I need to say here laying dormant and unused like old paint in the bottom of a paint can.

And I could toss it all out, pretend all those drafted posts aren't there, allow all the thoughts that require the kneading and rising of this place to lay immature in the recesses of my heart. But instead I'm going to stir it up, mixing the seperated parts, until it's all smooth and cohesive.

I want to be here more. Only five posts in September aggravates me in a way I can't explain. But so many things call for my attention. And how does one do it all? The work, the fun, the traditional, the seasonal? All while making it meaningful and working to ground our children in this place called home? All while trying to use the moments intentionally and not let them slip through our fingers in a hurry to get to the next moment?

For the first time since I was 16, I do not have a paying job. This is all by my choice, and I am very happy to be in this place, but I have never worked harder or longer in my life.

And I've come to see that there's a fine line between our work being our idol and our work being our worship. It can all be done for God, or it can all be done for me. The lists can be a tool in my hands or a god that I serve.

I wish I could give credit to the person that said this, but I simply cannot remember where I read it. But these words I will never forget: "Work is not a part of the curse. Unproductive work is part of the curse." Tidying, cleaning, tending, sowing, gathering, tilling, organizing, analyzing, learning.....it's what we were created to do. And I believe that our work is a part of our worship. But completing a task and turning only moments later to see the floor again dirty, the face again grimy, the email list again full with the unreplied, the garden again weedy, the solution discovered now insufficient.....this is a part of the curse, a part of the the fall. It aggravates, it frustrates, it grates against us because God never intended for us to experience unproductive work.

We are living under a curse, and this realization oddly helps. In those moments when I'm late to be somewhere and the dog again dug up the landscaping after I just fixed it and a toddler's shoe tumbles all the way to the bottom of the staircase and the sink is full of dirty dishes only a few hours after I just washed them all and the dryer is beeping at me, I look up and mutter, "Really, God?" But it's not God's perceived lack of help that I fight against, it's not fate that I'm helpless to, it's not karma that I've upset. No, I am daily working against a curse, the consequences we all face for that first sin.

I once read that the idea of tithing, giving God 10% at a bare minimum, was not just meant for money. Nor does it imply some pharisitical approach to life where I weigh out a tenth of every spice and ignore God's heart in the matter. Rather, what if I were to give back to God a tenth not just of our money but also of my time and ideas?

{imagine if I hadn't shot this through a dirty window}

Tithing implies stewardship, that I take appropriate ownership of what I have and fully realize from Whom it came. And when I acknowledge the Giver of all this and when I take stock of what's there, it's only natural to give a portion back, knowing that even 2 small fish and 5 small loaves is a feast for thousands in God's hands. So then, if work is worship, then only naturally and rightfully would also be the giving back of the fruit of our work.

And if a stream of ideas float through my head as a part of my work in raising children, in homemaking, in being a helpmate to my husband then shouldn't I also assess the Giver of these ideas and take subsequent ownership of them? When so many ideas flow through my mind for ways, as a District Manager's wife, to include the wives and families of all our dear distributers should I not push back the fatigue, the desire to keep my time for myself, and the fear of what others may think in order to make at least a portion of those ideas happen? And when countless thoughts run through this head, thoughts that sort out seeing God in this life, should I not at least set aside the time to let a portion of those thoughts run out through my fingers onto this screen?

Finally, when the cohesion of thoughts just won't happen in one post, I turn back to counting, picking up where I left off, a summer's worth of thanks and grace and blessings tucked inside this heart.

And I will link up over at A Holy Experience this time, because Ann is nice enough to leave the linky open for many days, not just Monday, because I just can't seem to publish a post on a Monday.

There's a whole bunch of us counting our blessings over HERE this week.

#331. the crunch of leaves under foot

#332. catching up with favorite blogs

#333. being challenged and inspired with every.single.post

#334. the smell of freshly washed wispy blonde toddler hair

#335. the bittersweet feeling of knowing I can't call them toddlers for much longer

#336. the way the little girl hooks her arm around mine when I hold her

#337. the husband trying so hard to make the family photo shoot work

#338. the reminder on Sunday morning to stir it up, to not let it settle

#339. walk-running the dog during an October sunset in shorts and a t-shirt

#400. the way the little girl tries so hard to like tomatoes