Gratitude on Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day that can provoke strong emotions for so many. Gratitude for the wonderful Mothers they have. Grief over the mothers no longer here. Sorrow over the longing to be a mother celebrated. And surely a myriad of others I'm sure. 

I think I feel a little of all of these years maybe more than ever.... gratitude for my own mom that grows increasingly over time as i look back, process, and see how far we have come in our relationship over the last 27 years & considered how much she loves me. Grief as I wish that my love could call his mom tonight to wish her a happy mother's day... something he hasn't been able to do in 13 years. Sorrow over longing myself. 

But I'm choosing gratitude today.... not just for my mom & all that she's done for me, but also for the legacy that Adam's mom left for him, for the way that the pain of losing her brought him to a place of brokenness that could only be redeemed by THE great Healer, for the season of life that I'm in knowing that I am in the hands of an Author who is writing a story greater than one I possibly could. 

I'm also filled with gratitude at the way that the Father uses mothers to give us a greater understanding of His love for us. I am so thankful for an earthly father who has made it so easy for me to accept the unconditional love of my heavenly Father. But I'm also so thankful for a mother through whom He has shown me His gentle nurture & care, kindness & compassion. Motherhood is a high calling; and a difficult one at that... shepherding & nurturing a heart to grow in the knowledge of HIM. 

So today I lift up the ones who have received that calling, that they would be vessels of HIS love to those to whom He has entrusted; the ones who have lost, that they would find comfort in Him; the ones who wait, that they would be sure of the promise that HE is writing their story & withholding no good thing from them. 

So happy mother's day to all of you, and I hope that you too can choose gratitude today through whatever circumstances the divine Author of our stories may have for you. Whatever emotion mother's day draws to the surface for you, allow Him to meet you there as He desires to. 

Thank you to grandmothers and aunts who have hugged & spoiled & loved with every ounce of their being, to second moms that are far too many to name who have invested hours in my life over the years, to Pam who raised Adam into the man that he today is, to Michelle who cares for all of us as though we were her own. 

And from 7,000+ miles away I say thank you to my sweet mom for a billion and ten sacrifices made in love over the years, for who knows how many diapers she changed, for hauling me all over the green earth for the years she did, for putting up with my sassy mouth & forgiving me when my words & actions wounded, for teaching me that it is okay to cry in almost every circumstance, for making me write thank you notes & stick with piano lessons all those years, for still staying up into the wee hours of the morning with me scratching my back & letting me know how much she cares, and for now being my friend. And all that comes with it. I love you. 

"Who can measure the long-term effects of nurturing helpless infants, supervising wandering toddlers, discipling self-willed children, and counseling self-absorbed adolescents? Of family outings planned, traditions built, memories made, books read, songs sung, Scripture taught? That’s why motherhood belongs under the heading, 'Engage the World'; no one shapes generations or fashions cultures more than mothers."

~ Jeff Purswell, Worldliness, (edited by C.J. Mahaney, p. 159).

Here are some links to enjoy this Mother's Day:

Because this is the truth about the real "Mother's Day Card Mothers"

Why We Honor You This Mother's Day: Because You Really Mother Thousands

Always On Call

Joyfully Grateful for Moms,

Fabric Vases {and other spring decor}

As I shared when I posted about my spring mantle last month, I made these fabric covered "vases" to put my fabric flowers that I made last year into. I saw this idea linked up on pinterest:

Source: flickr.com via Haley on Pinterest

 and decided I'd try something similar. I don't have access to lots of good vases, so I went to the supermarket and bought cheap glasses. They didn't have any tall round ones, so I went with what they did have- an octagon and a round squarish shape.  

I used the yellow fabric I used to make my fabric panels for the first one. I covered the glass with mod podge and slowly wrapped the fabric on. 

I cut out different little squares & rectangles from my scrap stash, and mod podged them around the sides.

 

I did the same thing with this blue flower pattern. 

They are quite eclectic, but I think they're fun & fit my multi-fabric theme I've got going on with my spring mantle. 

I bought a round low ball glass to make a little votive with. I wrapped & hot glued this green polka dot pattern trimmed with grosgrain ribbon on both ends. 

I thought I'd also share more decor from around the house. 

The walls in our office are a lovely spring green, making all of the decor in there quite springy. 

On my little desk I have this Ikea lamp with a little embroidered lamp shade. I actually have the big one in my office in America. I also have a few fun frames like the little birdie that Eve sent me. 

I also have these old jars that I filled with little colored rocks, and silk flowers sitting in the window sill. 

I bought these cute animal prints at IKEA last year and really love them. 

You kinda can't see them here because of the glare, but you get the idea of what it looks like. 

On the bookshelf I have my little flower bunny that Eve sent me last year.... 

and my "Friend" frame that I brought with me from America. It's a picture of me & all of my bridesmaids at my bridesmaid's luncheon. 

Over Adam's desk is this Ikea boat print. 

And hanging on the door is the beautiful wreath that Jamie made & sent to me last year. 

Isn't it so pretty? She's so talented. 

In the living room I have lots of other colorful things. 

On the plant stand I put the mosaic orbs that I made last year. 

Next to it I put this little beaded votive I made. I hot glued little colorful beads around the edge and filled it with the rest. 

On the bottom of the plant stand I put this white Ikea vase with silk orchids. 

We have trunks for side tables, that I have decorated them with lots of decor from.... you guessed it, Ikea. 

I bought these cute embroidered coasters here in EA 4 years ago on our first trip here. I brought them with me last year. I love them. 

Finally, I hung this Happy Easter banner that Marissa brought for me when she came to visit in March. 

Lots of colors with which to enjoy spring :) 

Joyfully Springy,

The "Da PuBu"

A couple of weeks ago we went with some friends to famous tourist spot a couple of hours away from where we live. We might be biased, but we think that we live in one of the more beautiful parts of the country. 

"Haley, DaPuPu is waterfall, PuPu is poopoo." Insightful words from a 3 year old as he stared off into space pondering his newly acquired {yet slightly off} vocabulary. My friend's son Grady speaks the language here exceptionally well, especially for a 3 year old, so he adds to his Asian vocabulary pretty quickly. He was a little off on this one though- PuBU (pronounced PooBoo) is how you say waterfall, BUT when you say it fast with the correct tones it really does sound like PooPoo. "Da" means big, and we had been differentiating between different waterfalls this way, which led him to understand that DaPuPu was waterfall, while in fact PuPu was, well poopoo. Makes sense.

So here are some highlights from our trip to see the "PuBu"...... 

There was a little bonsai garden that we walked through to get to the hundreds of stairs that we walked down. 

As we walked down, the waterfall came closer into view so I switched lenses to my 70 mm lens and got some close up shots. 

This little guy was such a trooper all day. 

He endured lots of curious AiYi's attention with lots of smiles. At times I think he was a bigger attraction than the waterfall itself. 

The people here dress according to season and not temperature, so for a child to wear short sleeves in April is unheard of.... regardless of how hot it is outside. At this point, local babies were still dressed for a blizzard. I think Ash had to tell 100 people that "No, he wasn't wearing too little clothing and he in fact was hot, not cold."

One really amazing thing about this huge waterfall is that there is a cave & path that stretches all the way behind it.

I took advantage of being at a waterfall to practice my novice photography skills, using all 3 lenses. 

Here are some pictures I took, taking the same shot at different shutter speeds, aperture & iso. I am enjoying learning to shoot in manual but have a long way to go! 

This was a great time to get more practice. Now I've just got to learn to use photoshop. Everyone says the learning curve is high, but no stinking kidding. I have watched tutorials and feel like I understand less now than I started. Sheesh. 

After we went to see the "Da PuBu" we went to see the "Xiao{small}PuBu"

It was fun to get out of town for the weekend and enjoy nature with friends. 

Joyfully Refreshed,