Cool Maternity Dress!

I don't need this now, but would be nice to stash away in the closet for a bit later!

Our Little Pot of Honey

Touch of Gray Designs

Fun news! I have been working like a madwoman over the past month to start my own business! I know…it’s crazy! Now that I am an official stay at home mom, I have been thinking of some different things I could do with my time while Grayson is sleeping. Making a little money on the side to pay for diapers is nice too! Thinking through my talents and gifts over the past months has been wonderful and enlightening. The Lord opened my eyes (with a little help from some friends)…sewing! When I was younger I took sewing lessons for years, but with teaching and now having a family, I have not had the time to really sew like I used to. So I worked and prayed, and Touch of Gray Designs was born (named after Grayson, of course).
The website of my little shop is www.touchofgraydesigns.etsy.com . It is a part of www.etsy.com, which is an amazing shopping experience where every item on the site is handmade. Being a new mom, I am engrossed in everything baby, and so I thought baby/children items are what I want to make and sell. I have made blankets, burp cloths, and sweet little hand stitched onesies and shirts. I also have bags, key rings, and items for the home. Everything has been such fun to make and I am so excited for this little business to grow and grow.
I am NOT a salesperson. It terrifies me….in the way public speaking does to others. I don’t expect my friends and family to go out and buy everything, I just wanted all of you to have the chance to browse around and maybe find something you like or need for a gift. I also can make anything in different sizes, colors, or if you have a new fun idea that I should try! If you send my link to your friends that would be awesome! Also if you have any ideas of ways I can market my store, I would love the info. Thanks for reading!

www.touchofgraydesigns.etsy.com

Sweet Cheeks

Uncorked

This past weekend was a tough one. My sweet little guy had been eating rice cereal and oatmeal like a champ. I was so proud of him. Unfortunately, I had no idea it was jamming him up big time! Full on constipation. It was the saddest thing to watch the little guy strain and strain, tears in his eyes, red faced till he cried. It was awful. The pediatrician told me to give him some Karo syrup, friends said prunes, Internet said a warm bath. I tried everything and finally on Sunday morning (Grayson and I skipped church) it was over. It was the most horrible thing to watch him go through, since there was nothing I could do. I am so glad he was able to get it all out. Afterword, we had the sweetest moment. I carried him around for about 10 minutes hugging him until he stopped crying. When I sat down he leaned against my chest and didn't want to move for about a half hour. He just wanted to snuggle in his mommy's arms and let me rub his back. I got tears in my eyes, it was such a tender time. He eventually went to sleep and was back to normal after his little nap. I love my little boy.

Beloved Books...

About 10 years ago, when I was in college, a friend of mine handed me the Mark of the Lion trilogy and told me I needed to read them. And read them I did! I took them to class and had to read them under my desk because I COULDN'T put them down! Since then I have read the trilogy of books about 5 times! They are Christian historical fiction written by Fracine Rivers. The books have remarkable story development and deep meaningful characters that I come to care about deeply and miss when I close the last page.

I love that God chooses to speak to His children in many different ways. I have learned that God speaks freely to me through story. Jesus knew to teach in parables...which means that there are many others like me! The story in these books takes place about 70 years after Christ's assention starting off with the fall of Jeruselum. The story explores the new Christian church and her followers through the disparity of ancient Rome, slavery, emporers, gladiators, and more. The faith of the Christian characters in the story is breathtaking and truly rocks and awakens my love for Christ.

I truly love these books and love to tell others about them. I hope people will pick them up...you will not be dissapointed. If unsure, look on amazon and you will see hundreds of others who agree with me. Happy reading!

School's out for summer....school's out forever!

It just hit me a few days ago that if circumstances were different I would be heading back to school tomorrow to greet the smiling faces of a new class of first graders. Now that I am staying home with Grayson my life has and will be very different. I enjoyed so much my time as a first grade teacher in Charlotte and look forward to the day when I will reenter the teaching profession once my responsibility of being a mom to very little ones has passed. There are many things that I will miss about teaching and many things I will not!

Great things about teaching:

1. Getting the opprotunity to teach kids how to read, something that they will use for the rest of thier lives.

2. Little smiling faces.

3. Wonderful teacher friends that can truely understand what teaching is really like.

4. The challenge of a job that never gets old or tedious.


Things that make teaching difficult:

1. Long commute to work (half hour each way)

2. Behavior problems that I can't seem to handle.

3. Watching kids struggle with issues that they should not have too at such a young age.

4. Being so overworked, and overwhelmed that I can't think straight!


While there are many cons and they often block out the pros of teaching, I am excited to have been part of the profession and will always be a teacher at heart.