Round-the-World Scrap Matters Blog Tour - FREEBIE!

**Edited: Download link 1 is fixed!**

Welcome to stop #20 in the Round-the-World Blog Tour! I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the United States. Thanks for stopping by! I have not one, but two souvenirs for you!




>>>>Download Set One here<<<<
>>>>Download Set Two here<<<<

The next stop on your trip is to Krista's blog. Tell her I sent ya! ;)


There are 19 stops before mine, so if you missed it you might want to backtrack or pick up your goodies at the end. Sassy Pixi's blog was Stop #19.

Fun festivities at ScrapMatters

Scrap Matters is turning one! Join me and the rest of the Scrap Matters design and creative teams as we shake, boogie, and shimmy!!! Mark your calendar, because it will be a grand party, complete with freebies galore:



I will have some freebies posted here Friday morning - make sure to stop by for them!

It's almost August already?

I recall wanting time to hurry when I was a little girl. My wish has steadily picked up speed over the years! Y2K seemed like such a monumental deal - now that was EIGHT years ago. And over half this year has gone by.

(Smoothing out my clothes and standing up a little taller) Enough of this reactive living! Sheesh. :) Hug those kids a little more. Their growth parallels this heightened velocity. Abigail's already asking to use the potty here and there, and Amanda is now swimming on her own. Sigh. My babies are growing up.

Some Amanda layouts to share:

Credits here

Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to say hi!

The biggest hurdle

I hate to fail.

I know that's a funny statement - really, who enjoys failure? Yet this is an honest struggle I have. I hate to fail so much that I sometimes quit before something comes to fruition. This I have identified over the years. Sabotage is a weird mind game.

On the eve of a pretty remarkable project development, I am feeling that familiar "bail before you fail" tingling in my gut, stealing my precious sleep.

But this time, I think I will allow myself to see the joy in the journey.

Sure, there are huge hurdles ahead of me:

so what?

And I could get pierced by the barbs - the "you're not good enough", "why are you doing this", and "you'll fall flat on your face":

so what?

This I have confidence in: I sincerely strive to do what rings in my heart as God-led. I feel a peace in this. Success or failure is pretty miniscule now... the bigger picture is whether I follow His will.

With all my heart, I will.

Spotlight on two local artists

The girls and I were perusing our local farmers' market last Saturday when we met one of our church friends there, at her booth! What a happy surprise. Anna and her friend Kori make beautiful aprons, oilcloth bags, stylish purses - all in fabric I drool over. Needless to say, I went shutter happy and clicked away (Anna had to tell the market personnel that she knows me so I wasn't hauled off by the scruff of my neck, heh heh):

{The artists, Kori and Anna}


{Their booth}


{Oh, the beautimous aprons!}


{Purses}


{Oilcloth bags}


Once they have more items up for sale at their Etsy site, be sure to grab yourself a thing or two!

More on purposeful parenting

I've been meaning to share this "Children See, Children Do" video on parenting for a long time. Each time I watch it, I am moved by just how much good (or bad) we can impart in our children. Take a look and let me know what you think. It's pretty raw, so here's a little disclaimer:



Thanks to Kathleen for unearthing this powerful video for me!

Big sister Amanda

This is the "fortune" that Amanda received from our Friday night meal. It marks the first time we heard her read off the entire message without asking for help. In astonishment I looked up from scarfing down my own fortune cookie, studying her winsome eyes. The funny thing is, I don't think I've really stopped to see this sweet gem of a girl in her entirety in a long time.

Is this invisibility the unnecessary price a little girl pays when she is a big sister?


This sweet girl with the broad, earnest smile is a pretty terrific big sister.


She loves sitting in the wagon with Abigail, watching the world together...


and leads her to endless adventures.

The problem is, she is too good at being the big sister. She even likes to act the part of a personal assistant at times, and a part-time nanny. She wants to write out the shopping list, and reads off the prices of products while grocery shopping. And she loves almost all the things I love. To this stay-at-home mom that sometimes lacks adult company, she is often times a good girlfriend!

I myself am the oldest. Of four children. And yet I often forget the weight of being the oldest. She is only five years old, remember? Let her be a child.

Note to self: parent with PURPOSE. Don't let the teachable, nurturable moments slip through the fingers because of self-serving reasons. Don't forget how precious this job is. And don't forget how precious your sweet eldest daughter is.