Held Together by the Cross

Saturday morning, I felt like a heathen. I've always been pretty conservative in the way that I dress. My most risque moments stem from being nearly six feet tall - it can be kind of difficult to find skirts and dresses of an appropriate length when you're this tall, you know. I'm hardly ever fashion-forward, and I live my life in a perpetual fear that Stacy and Clinton will accost me in the grocery store. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

Anyway, that's all beside the point.

Saturday morning, I got dressed in a T-shirt and capri pants, hopped in the car, and headed off to practice for the community Easter service. It was at the Pentecostal church. When I walked in the door, I instantly felt conspicuous in my capri pants. I was surrounded by women in floor-length denim skirts with their looooong hair tucked into buns on the back of their heads.

We, clearly, were very different.

But we were also the same. We were there to worship together and prepare for a community gathering of all the Christians in our area. Twice a year, we lay aside our differences and come together in celebration. The pastors from all the churches each share a short message. The choirs mingle together, and we stand on the common ground of faith that we share.

Yesterday afternoon, we gathered together and collectively turned our hearts toward the cross. It was Palm Sunday, and we heard about the hope, and joy, and grace, and new life, and forgiveness, and peace that comes from the cross. I daresay we all had our uncomfortable moments, but we spend so much time talking about our differences that it's nice to lay them aside at least for a little while. It's one of the things I miss most about my days at Beeson.

I love the fact that at the community services, a woman preaches from IBC's pulpit. I love the fact that the Pentecostal preacher makes the less lively of us squirm in our seats. I love the fact that we're in it together, differences and all. It's such a beautiful picture of what heaven will be like. Sometimes it's good to be uncomfortable. We're all different, but the cross is strong enough to bind us together.

On this Holy Week Monday, I hope that your heart is turning toward the cross. That your mind is stayed on the One who gave up everything for us. And that you're clinging to the hope that sprang to life with His resurrection.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Adventures in Toddlerhood: 18 Months

More and more lately, I find myself realizing that I'm the mother of a little girl, not a baby. Every time I blink, it seems, more of the baby falls off of Micah. At 18.9 months old, my little girl is in full-blown toddlerhood. She loves to talk on the phone (or any rectangular shaped object that she can make into a phone), and she babbles all day long. Her favorite word is bow, but she's also very fond of plo, which can mean plate or pillow, because obviously, they're the same thing. If I tried to list all the words she says, I'm sure that I'd miss some, but she's getting really good at matching animals with the sounds they make. "Micah, what's the dog say?" is sure to draw a dog sound from her, and just yesterday, she learned that sheep say baaa.

She's a mess, that one is, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. At her 18-month checkup, the doctor was amazed at how much she's grown in the past six months, and honestly, so am I. At 12 months, Micah still wore 9-month clothes, but she's grown so quickly that she now wears a 2T in some things. She went from being too tiny to even register on the growth chart to reaching {almost} the 75th percentile in height and the 60th percentile in weight. Now that's a growth spurt, people.

She sleeps for 12 hours at night and takes one nap a day, and on Sunday, she pooped in the potty for the first time. That same night, we ditched the paci and haven't looked back. Of course, after she used the potty Sunday, she pooped in her diaper four times on Monday, so we obviously have a long way to go, but still, babies don't use the potty. Big girls do. I'm telling you people, the baby is disappearing and being replaced by a sassy little lady. And she is definitely sassy. She loves shoes {pronounced shooos}, and she knows where to find them in her room. She demands a hairbow and likes to carry her "purse" around.

At the same time, she is her father's child. She was intrigued when Dennis changed the oil last week, and she's certainly not afraid to play in the dirt. If you know Dennis at all, you know that at his core, he's a hard worker. He can make or fix anything, and Micah's following in her daddy's footsteps. At least she knows how to swing a hammer.

Like Father, Like...Daughter from Leslie Ann Jones on Vimeo.

Hope you're all doing well. I'm sure there will be more tales of Micah's hijinks in the future.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Heather's Umbrella Baby Shower

A couple of weekends ago, I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower for one of my sweet friends. Of course, I had to design the invitations and details for the shower, and I really enjoyed creating a special event for Heather. I love the simplicity of this umbrella baby shower invitation, and I'm quite taken by the swiss dots pattern. I stuck with a blue and white color palette, and I think everything was lovely, but then again, I'm biased.

Everything was sweet, simple, and lots of fun. Those white daisies are still kicking on my kitchen counter - they were totally worth the cost. For the decorations, I was inspired by the paper mobile tutorial I shared with you several weeks ago. Instead of strips, I used circles in various sizes to match the invitations, and the sewing machine handled the rest.

It was a lot of fun to plan an event for a special friend. I spend most of my days creating pretty paper for other people, so it was nice to be the one in charge for a change. Of course, the invitations are listed in the Senojal Designs etsy shop. The great thing about this suite is that it may be customized to fit any color scheme, and it's perfect for gender neutral showers. The invitations can even be used for a bridal shower. So really, the options are endless :)

Next big event to plan? Micah's second birthday party. It's only six months away, you know :) Just kidding. I won't be planning that for a while. I'm not that crazy!

Until next time, grace and peace.