Crickets Singing in the Background

Well hello, sweet friends. Have you forgotten what it feels like to see a new blog post from me? Several weeks ago, I decided to momentarily close the etsy shop and take a little break. I never intended to take such a break from the blog as well, but life spun out of control for a little while, and I simply had to tend to the chaos that had become our daily lives. It had gotten to be too much for me to handle.

I'm still trying to find the perfect balance between work and life. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it.

I've finished all of my major writing projects and I've gone to youth camp. I've washed about 511 loads of laundry and changed as many diapers. I've gone running and rocked with Micah and read countless books. I feel like life is finally back under control (for the moment, anyway), and I'm ready to slowly add a few things back.

I quietly reopened the etsy shop at the end of last week, and a couple of orders have already rolled in. I've also got a smaller writing assignment to complete in the next couple of days. Life right now is good.

I know that there is much to share with you, and I've been promising you updates and backstories for a while now. I'm planning on handling some of that over the next few weeks. I promise I won't be gone for nearly as long next time. You'll be hearing from me soon!

Until next time, grace and peace.

Minted: The Sending Good Cheer Challenge

I know that it seems as if all of my posts lately revolve around Minted, but that's because it's been a very busy month in the Minted world. Today, voting opened on the Sending Good Cheer Holiday Challenge. Designers submitted over 2,000 entries to the challenge, and the quality of design is simply overwhelming. Because of the staggering number of entries, the Minted staff made a first cut, narrowing the field of designs to 700. Of the eight designs I submitted, two were selected to move on to the voting round. I've already shared both of these designs with you, but I wanted to relink you to them so that you may rate them if you have a free moment. Here they are:

M is for Married

I'm totally in love with diagonal stripes right now. They're a bit preppy and vintage-y, and I love the subtle character they add to this "M is for Married" Christmas card that doubles as a wedding announcement.

Twice the Meaning

I'm also totally in love with banners, as evidenced by the recent redesign of snippets. They're perfect to highlight important details in a design, including a brand new baby's name, as on this "Twice the Meaning" Christmas card that doubles as a birth announcement.

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It's ironic that the two designs selected were the two I submitted first. Although I'm sad that the rest of my designs got cut, I'm glad that at least a couple made it to the voting round, which will be open for the next five days. If you have some free time, please rate my designs by clicking on the images above, then spend a few minutes rating some of the other designs you see. You'll be blown away by the talent of my fellow designers.

Thanks for your support!

Until next time, grace and peace.

Blowing off the Dust

Have you missed me? Last week I told you that life had been wild lately, and I wasn't kidding. Thankfully, things have slowed down a bit since I closed the etsy shop and the submission deadlines for the latest Minted challenges have passed. There is much to fill you in on. For now, how about some snapshots from our crazy life? I'll fill in the blanks later.

Micah loves playing outside, and since the days have warmed up, we play outside often.

A couple of months ago, we took a trip to the Memphis Zoo with our Sunday school class - I love this shot of Dennis and Micah looking at the big cats.

This is seriously the first picture I've taken with my sister in years. Don't know how that happened, but I'm glad we've got a new one.

We went to Starkville for several baseball games. Micah knows what a cowbell is, and she knows how to use it :)

Summer days in Mississippi are hot, hence Micah's newfound love for the water hose.

More to come later.

Until next time, grace and peace.