It's my blog.....

and I'll cry if I want to!



Parenting (sigh).......

This morning I found myself singing the chorus "grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater then all our sin" the good ol' hymn that still rings so true.


I have a 6th grader........



For some of you, you don't even have to read on for you have already lived what I am about to write.....





I was recently told that I was a really conservative parent......



I was a little struck at the "compliment" she gave me...as in, " I respect that you are a conservative parent, BUT look at what your children are missing out on", kind of struck.




I have also been told ......

Women:"I used to say "NO" to a lot of things until my daughter got into 6th grade"...

Me: "what do you mean?" I asked......

Women: "Like NO make up, NO bikinis, NO cell phones, NO Ear piercing, that kind of thing, until 6th grade. It was so challenging that I just gave in and said yes to all those things so that I could say "NO" to the more IMPORTANT things later."



Honestly, I wanted to go home and cry!









6th grade IS very challenging, but one thing that saddens me is the battle we go through daily from the statement above.

As a sociaty (Christian no less)....
What are our Rules and Preferences?

Why do we say NO to our children?? Better yet, why do we say YES to them?

Do we want our children to grow up just thinking "because mom and dad said NO that's why".

Can you imagine later-

No, I can't smoke that joint.

No, I can't steal that really cute shirt.

No, I can't take those pills.

No, I can't get a fake ID.

No, I can't go back to your place and stay the night.

Do we really want our kids to say NO to these things because WE TOLD THEM SO?



Mind you the "No's" that the mother stated in the comment above, are issues that we as parents decided and rule based mostly on preferences. In other words, cell phones, make up , etc. are not bad things, but if we aren't teaching our children why we are saying No to them, we are not teaching them why we make decisions, which in turn teaches them why and how they will make theirs. And if we are saying Yes, are we telling them why?

Do you think the child in the above scenario would like to know that mom only said yes, so that later she could say no??


I won't pretend that I know exactly what Jillian is going through in 6th grade. I was home schooled and realize that it was different. BUT, this I know for sure. The SAME kind of peer pressure that Jillian experiences in 6th grade is the SAME we 20,30,40, 50, 60 year old's battle today. I don't think the statement "keeping up with the Jones" was talking about a middle school student.



I so desperately want my children to make not just good decisions, but righteous decisions in life. If they can't answer "is what I am about to do,act, say going to honor and please the Lord?" with a yes, then I pray they will not do it. Preaching to myself as well, I pray they know that their everlasting joy and fulfillment will only come from the Lord, and not other people. Of course they will fail, I fail. That is why "Grace is Greater then all my sin".


Jillian will one day have a cell phone, make up, boyfriend ect. But now we are teaching her that these things she doesn't need right now and that it will not fill that void of contentment in her life of the struggle of fitting in. It might make her "fit in" for a brief time, but it will quickly be something else she will have to do, act, look or say to keep her there.


When the girls were younger, I was physically exhausted. Now that they are growing, I am emotionally exhausted. Lord, help our teenage years!


Time with our children is really short. Pour into them the scriptures. Teach them that our God is faithful. That His word is TRUTH.

If being called a conservative parent in a negative way means, teaching our children why they can or can't do things, protecting them, wanting their actions and decisions to please the Lord, helping them lay their burdens at the cross and seeking help and fulfillment from our Heavenly Father; then I will take that compliment any day!

I'll step down from my soap box now!

Tea Party Classes!!

It's not too late to sign up!! For more details click HERE!

Coupon Monday!

** a $2.00 charge will be applied to any items purchase with coupons, on sale or discounted**

Back from Market with FABULOUS jewelry and accessories!!! Hurry in!!

Boy, Oh Boy!

First, before I start this post about something totally different, let me start by saying, thanks for all the emails (don't be ever shy to post a comment on the blog!) about what you think I should do with my hair! If I had a "blushed face" clip art option on this blog I would add it, because you all were so super sweet with your comments! So far though, the yes(es) are far out-numbering the no(s)....everyone especially votes pic #3 look. Those pictures are just examples though, and though I really like #3 myself; I should say that the short bangs will be the only change I will be making {as in, I will not being dying my hair brown or black...not this time anyway. OR getting those rockin' lip piercings!!}...Not too late to send me your opinion, if I get it done it will be when I get back from market next week!


Speaking of that fun occasion........

My tree needs to bare some fruit...............





And fruit it shall have when I return!


And last but certainly NOT least.......







There are no words........




Okay, maybe a few like: cute, precious, fabulous, handsome, LOVE!!!

You're so vain......

You probably think this song {blog} is about you......{come on you know you are dying to finish the rest of this song..some of you probably have!}.....

I feel a little vain asking you all, BUT...need your help!!

This is me...............












I had short hair for over 10 years and had fun with it! Hair was just hair to me; in fact for awhile there I had changed it to just about every color and short hair style there was {Tim didn't always care for that!}... About 18mos ago I decided to grow my hair out. This has been a gruesome task! My hair grows SO SUPER SLOW! I have religiously taken Vitamins like Biotin to help speed the process. Had a few trims but total length not over 1 inch. So, during this long drawn out process of not ever seeming like I will reach my goal, I am looking for some kind of change.

What do you think????

Bangs...I mean... SHORT BANGS like this........















OR NOT????

love.......

our UPS guys when they bring us boxes full of pretty things........

Should I ?????

just name this "Coupon Tuesday"?? Do you ever feel like you are drowning in the "to do" list and as soon as you see the surface it starts pouring again!!! I will get my act together SOON, I promise! Here you go........

**a $2.00 charge will be applied to items that are gift wrap when purchased with a coupon or any other discount**

little things......

For those of you who know me well, know that I have a "thing" for little things. I love details and so I especially like to not only bring the details out in my merchandise at the shop, but also the everyday details in my home......right down to the table! Which means, when Tim is with me and we are shopping in the "dish" section of a flea market or antique store he knows to....BEWARE.....


I found these little guys last year at the local Good News shop across from the Bistro downtown {for all you locals}........




The reason why I HAD to snatch up these (8) little gems is because of the memories of silver dollar pancakes and homemade orange juice with LOTS of pulp served in identical juice glasses at my grandmother's on a Saturday morning!! Ahhhh...sweet memories! :)

Then while browsing in Walmart of all places I found these........



I got eight of them and my initial thought was that these would be perfect ice cream dishes for smaller children when they come for a visit (since they are plastic). Even though they have been put to good use for that reason, they have served their purpose more for this.....



Sauces, syrup, fruit and grits! We don't like these things spreading to the rest of our food on our plate so it is PERFECT!

I adopted these (10) little ones from my Papa's house.......



We were served many a sweet tea in these as we sat around this table......




We have moved out all of the belongings of my grandparents house. My beloved grandmother passed away over 7 years ago and Papa moved in with my mom over a year ago after suffering a massive stroke. The house that had been their home for over 50 years is being turned over to new owners and therefore required moving out of ALL it's belongs {you can only imagine}. As my mom showed me pictures of the empty house on her small camera screen, I spotted this table STILL on the glass enclosed deck....

"whose taking the table?" I asked... "nobody wants it, it's too hard to move" she replied.

I might have mentioned before that sometimes I feel sorry that my husband married me because of the "yes we can" response I have on certain things...like this:

YES WE CAN move this 12 foot solid steel/oak slab 2000 lb. table {that was built ON the glassed enclosed deck because it wouldn't fit through the doorway} back to our house. {I am beginning to think that my Nana had the same "yes we can" response to life as well}

Fortunately, Tim works with a guy that can do just about anything! He is the first person I thought of for this task (don't you love how I worded it task as if it was so easy:) ) because he has welded some things for us in the past. He jumped on board, because he is just about the kindest person we know {seriously, he replace piping under my house after I heard running water under it and ran out to see my craw space full of water and Tim was out of town, with NO complaints!}! He and Tim cut the table apart, loaded it up on a trailer and hauled it to his house around 9:30ish at night and by 7:00 the next MORNING he had it welded back together and ready to be put on my back patio. AWESOME!

We have squeezed 20 Plus people around this table for every holiday and I just couldn't see it left there!

Can't wait to create more memories around this table with friends and family!!

Naked......

Have you ever really, I mean REALLY thought about how absolutely PERFECT life was for Adam and Eve in the garden before Sin? How they communed with God in Paradise in perfect peace and had EVERYTHING they wanted. There they where tending to their everyday, including animals mind you, when a snake comes and talks to Eve....REALLY NOW!! How could she NOT think something strange about this??? Did the Elephant talk to her the day before?!?!?!

**********************

I can only imagine the feeling Adam and Eve felt when they realized they were naked. The only two humans on the face of the earth and PERFECT bodies I might add, but ashamed and embarrassed to be seen.

Deception, what does it look like?? Obvious to Eve, it looked pretty good, not just good, but GREAT. How can this be? Well, to deceive someone you do have to seem to look good, seem to act good and seem to be good, for you to trust them. This has become more and more real to me in my walk with Christ. The more I study the word of God the more He reveals what is truth and what is not. I am just like Eve though, and fall into the disbelief far to often. For example, many things I think will fulfill a void in my life and make me more happy than Christ Jesus alone is me falling in deception. For this reason, I mourn what I am about to share....

*********************

In six years of business I have had theft (some), but not as much as in the past 8mos. Some I have caught, others I have not. I can forgive and live with the fact that things that have been stolen would have sold to provide for my family, but what burdens my heart is the lack of fulfillment these women have that would drive them to steal something. I can say this, because at age 21, the Lord opened my eyes and heart to see that He was my ultimate fulfiller and no material thing (which was my struggle) would fulfill my longings. There would always be a void, a longing for something more until I filled it with Jesus!

Unfortunately, because of the extreme theft, cameras are being installed for the purpose of protecting our staff and business. Our intentions are not to "intrude" on your privacy or for you to feel like you are under investigation, but for the sake of keeping our business safe and holding ones accountable for their sin and lack in judgment.

We so greatly appreciate the support of all of you and thank you for your faithfulness to us!

Hammer Time......

{For you locals} No, I don't mean THIS..... but rather; this......

by: Kissy Kissy

Toys by: Schylling and Gund and we think they are perfectly pair for a FABULOUS gift!

B/O..........

Ok, so not B.O. as in BODY ODOR although I think it as an odor{an odor of disappointment!} - but B.O. as in the little column on your invoice that notifies you that the item you ordered is BACK ORDERED! Not my favorite acronym as you may be able to tell and not yours I am sure! Well, after F.I.V.E {5} MONTHS of being Back Ordered we now have a full stock of.........

Designed by God So I Must Be Special Books ANNNNNND their new book Good Morning Beautiful Day!

Come by and pick up your copy of this beloved book as well as it's new sister book {I think Good Morning will be a favorite as well!}! Wonderful shower,birthday, big bro/sis gift!!

better late than never.....

Wow! It has been a whirl wind of a week getting started back in school!!

Here is "Coupon Monday (on Tuesday!)"!

**a $2.00 charge will be applied for gift wrapping on all items used with coupons**

Let's Party......

Tea Party Style that is!

Tea Party Manners Classes-

When: Every Tuesday

Time: 1:00pm for ages 4-6 and 4:00pm for ages 6-8

Where: Bellamia

Cost:$60

Children will learn table manners, communication skills and enjoy yummy snacks as they participate in their Tea Party! Hosted by: Bellamia and Taught by: Bonnie Chancey- Licensed Etiquette' Teacher and Owner of Personal Graces!

Please Email or Call (334)673-8440 for availability and to reserve your spot today (space is limited and fill very quickly!)!!

**Reservations must be made with your $60 Fee. Classes are one hour long and held every Tuesday of the month. There will be a September Class and a November Class. Classes will resume in the Spring. The $60 Fee is for one month of lessons. The same lessons will be taught each month unless specified. Please contact us if you are interested in continuing etiquette' classes or classes for older children.**

*All Pictures posted with permission and belong to Bellamia, LLC*

do you remember????

For those of you that have followed me for some time remember this!

Well, it's that time again!!! Stay tuned; details will follow with in a day or two!!

sigh........

Our summer break has come to an end, and I feel like the little child yelling " I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" Because truly we have had a very relaxing, enjoyable summer and I don't want it to end! This past weekend we ventured as a family to one of our favorite places! Sit back and enjoy the pictures, because no need to explain, I've heard a picture speaks a thousand words!

And.....we're off to another start of a school year! Let your alarm clocks begin.........