Loud Music, Lovely Girls, and Lots of "I Do's" - Project 365

It was more than a full week in my life, but looking back I realize it was also filled with so much joy and true fulfillment.  This week I've noticed people getting stirred to be more proactive (perhaps in response to the Kony2012?)...and I'm thankful that in a lot of ways my normal is just that - working hard in my own way to make a difference.

When I'm not doing something that connects with a global purpose or to just something bigger than myself, that is when I get frustrated and tired.  So, I'm looking back at this week of...what to call it?...fullness perhaps?...with an overflowing heart!  Oh, and I'm so excited that we are escaping for part of this week to get recharged so we can continue to be our normal - pressing forward as best we know how!

Here is a look at my week: Project 365 Style!

Day 100 - On Saturday I took pictures for my mom's cousin's wedding.  Shara & Brad had a beautiful wedding and it was so special to watch as they blend their two families together.  My favorite part of the ceremony was that during the lighting of the unity candle they had a candle for each of their 5 children to light & then they brought all 7 candles together into ONE!  Oh, and this picture I took with their rings - I kind of love it!

Day 101 - This is the only picture I took all day - Mostly because my pregnant self was exhausted after 7 hours of taking pictures the day before (a new found respect for professional photographers was something I discovered along the way)...but Sunday was also focused on prepping for the Gungor concert that we were in charge of the following day.  I was personally responsible for feeding 25 people 3 meals, and if you know me that is somewhat ridiculous since my cooking is sporadic at best (yes, I catered it all)...but this was a laundry basket full of my hot drink supplies...tea and coffee were going to be an all day must & I was well organized for the event!

Day 102 - It was another long day for us but oh so worth it!  Here is Michael Gungor singing Beautiful Things...and it was in deed a beautiful night.

Day 102 (part 2) - Just had to share this quick picture because I was so proud of my husband at this moment.  We both finally sat down to take a deep breath & enjoy the concert - just looking around to see that people in our little city had responded so well & were sitting with expectant hearts for what God would do...it made all the work fade in the distance.

Day 103 - I think I see a pattern developing because once again this is the only picture that I took on Tuesday.  After a day of work we found ourselves at home together for an hour before the night's responsibilities called...and so we sat (all three of us) with feet propped up in the living room.  It was a nice hour!

Day 104 - Selah got food poisoning the night before so I stayed home with my sweet girl on Wednesday...BUT by the afternoon she was feeling much better so we went outside to enjoy some sunshine (isn't it amazing what a little sunshine can do)?  I snapped a few pictures and this one is my favorite.

Day 105 - I typically work from home on Thursdays but since I was out of the office on Monday and Wednesday I decided to sneak into the office at 7am and actually cleaned my desk & made my to-do list for this upcoming week.  My desk hasn't been this clean in a very long time!

Day 106 - My sister Leslie took this picture while she kept Selah for me (Josh and I were at a wedding rehearsal)...and I absolutely adore this picture!  Apparently Selah and her two cousins (Ava & Molly Kate) decided to dress up!  Selah loves her older cousins so much - they are her heroes and I'm thankful that we live close enough for moments like this just to happen.

Day 107 - Josh and I officiated the wedding of Drew Parsley & Tiffany Goforth together & it was a lot of fun!  We've both been involved in other weddings separately in the past, but it was our first time to do an entire wedding side-by-side...and it was just right.

I hope you also had a great week!  And here is to an anticipated upcoming week of rest!

PS - My computer died this week, so my blog postings will likely be light until I get a new one (which I'm hoping is sooner than later)

If you are also participating in Project 365, I'd love for you to link up below!

Hallway Transformation for CHEAP - My March Pinterest Challenge

Addicted to Pinterest?  Oh, me neither...I only glance at it on my phone at least once a day - just hoping I don't miss that idea that is going to change my life.

I have gotten more selective about what I post on my boards though - I try to limit to those images or links that I might actually use one day...and let's be honest those days don't come around too often.

So, this weekend I decided to take up the Pinterest Challenge (something that I hope to do monthly) and actually follow through on an idea that I saw on this addictive site.

I've posted a few images of black & white picture collages with the hopes that I would somewhat replicate this in my little nook of a hallway.  Here are the images I had posted:

Source: google.com via Paige on Pinterest

Source: emilyaclark.blogspot.com via Paige on Pinterest

And I especially liked the first image...but I had a few issues:

1.  I didn't want to spend much money
2.  I wanted to keep it simple since it is a small area
3.  I wanted it to flow well into my girls' rooms (they both have a somewhat vintage feel)

So, I went through boxes of old frames and found a shelf that I had used a few years ago and was saving just because a shelf is always something nice to save.  I then chose a few of my favorite pictures and photoshopped them all with the same finishing.  I then sent them off for printing & here is the final result!

And the best part...it cost me a grand total of $12.  Yep, a little transformation for $12 definitely makes this girl happy!

And I also get to daily see some of my favorite snapshots of our little family.

Like this one of Selah last Easter so happy and taking the stage in front of all the family!

As you can tell, I used all sorts of frames, some with mats and others without.  I tried to keep everything black and white with the exception of the desk and an antique clock from Josh's family.

Do you have any cheap transformations in your house?  It's amazing how a new look just makes you feel excited all over about where you live!

Sticky Notes, Sunglasses, Squirrels, and a Bit of Dust: Project 365

Time for my weekly Project 365 post...and if the lack of this week's posts is any indication that it was a busy week around our house then the multitude of iPhone pictures this week will also testify to the fact that taking a quick picture was all I had time to do this week.  Oh well, some weeks are just like that!

What I'm most excited about is that at the end of the week I'm at Day #99 - wow!  This little project has gone so quickly and it hasn't been that difficult.  I may just keep it up through the next year too (well, I'll wait until I'm at Day #365 and decide then).

Oh, and in other photography news, I'm taking pictures at a wedding tonight...which is REALLY making me nervous - so say a quick prayer for me tonight that I capture beautiful moments and that I get a few decent pics!

Here is our week in pictures:

Day 93 - This is me at 25 weeks!  I realized I haven't taken many pictures at all, and I just got a new tripod so I took these pictures of myself.  Can I just tell you that you feel ridiculous smiling at a tripod when no one else is in the house...yes, you do.

Day 94 - Sunday was absolutely gorgeous in Lubbock, so we found a new park to play at that had all sorts of fun places to explore.  Selah loved the little house & kept closing the window & then popping out - her new favorite saying is, "Ta-Da!"

Day 95: This one picture may give you a true glimpse into my life...note: 1.  It is almost 11pm and I'm about to go to bed when I realize I have not taken a picture all day.  2.  I need to dust.  3.  I tell people often that I'm constantly reading 5 books...and - yep, count em: 5.  4.  Want to know what I'm reading?  Hinds Feet on High Places, Half the Church, a Jane Austen wanna-be novel, The Blue Parakeet, and The Message.  5.  I have Tums...because I'm pregnant...and well, ya know.  6.  I really need to dust.

Day 96 - Another lovely day!  Selah and I sat outside after work and just watched a squirrel.  Seriously, we watched a squirrel and she cheered for him to climb the tree.  Once he finally ascended the tree she decided that she wanted to follow in his footsteps.  She was sorely disappointed.

Day 97 - Just hanging out with my mom's shades...

Day 98 - Selah hates the sun in her eyes.  So, this is often what I glance back in the car to find.

Day 99 - My dad has been Israel for the last week so Selah and I decided to surprise my parents with breakfast yesterday morning and spend a little time with Papa & Gigi.  It was really fun...and my dad kept Selah entertained by drawing her pictures.  I love my dad.

That was our week!  Hope you had a great one too!  I think I'll go dust now.

Dance Parties, Lattes, and Becoming Paige's New Look: Project 365 and a Little More

Becoming Paige has a new look (have you noticed?).  I'm so excited to make it a little more clean and hopefully more user friendly!  I'm still working on updating a couple of the pages, but I wanted to direct your eyes to the Photography and Speaking pages on the navigation bar - this is where I'm telling people about two things I love to do!

Photography is NOT to drum up any business.  I"m quite happy to be an amateur and just take pictures of my sweet family...but I added it as a page to tell people about Project 365 and a few other ideas I have on taking pictures. I just find that taking pictures adds so much joy to my life & I want everyone to know that they can try it out too!

The speaking page is up because of my husband.  He knows how much I love to speak to all sorts of groups and thought I should let people know that I don't just speak at Church on the Rock (where I work), but that I take all sorts of speaking engagements.  So, you'll find my speaking schedule, a couple videos and audio clips of my speaking (still getting this up on the site) & other information on how to get in contact with me if you'd like for me to speak to your group.

So, those are a few of the changes around here!  And now...on to today's post:

It's Project 365 Day around my house - a quick look at my week as I attempt to take one picture a day.  I'm finding that some days I'm just in a picture taking mindset & on those days I have to scroll through at least 20 pictures to choose my favorite, but then on other days I'm lucky if I snap one picture on my iPhone.  I'm sure you can tell which days are which by the quality of the pictures, but I guess this makes my week more authentic - just like yours - some days there seems to be enough time to smell the roses and capture life through my camera while others I'm just running around trying to capture my breath!

Day 86 - I posted this picture on Selah's birthday post, but I just love it!  Just take a second to look at Ava's expression or Madison in the background shaking her little bootie...and don't get me started on my studly husband - ha!

Day 87 - This is going to have to count as my personal picture this week...I was preaching on Sunday morning  at The Dream Center and I went to a coffee shop an hour before hand to pray and look over my notes.  So here is a snapshot of my pregnant belly, my ONE cup of coffee for the day (oh, how I'm cherishing that cup lately), and a story about the Moravians that I used in my sermon.

Day 88 - After a long day at work Josh came home and played Tea Party with Selah.  This is the only picture I captured on this day with my iPhone...but I still love it!

Day 89 - This was as I was leaving my office (this is my computer - do you like my little glass birds that I stare at all day?).  Anyways, my sweet niece, Molly Kate, sat at my desk for a few minutes while I ran to the copier and when I returned I discovered that Molly had somehow rotated my computer screen sideways...and I couldn't figure out how to get it back.  My friend Liz who volunteers in the missions department each Tuesday said, "Well, at least it can be your picture of the day!"

Day 90 - It was Selah's birthday and before we headed off to school & work she skyped with her grandparents (Sabba & Safta) in Dallas.  She LOVES skyping with them & is in a deep conversation.

Day 91 - My sweet niece, Peyton, spent 7 hours with us on Thursday and these two girls played until they dropped!  They are only 3 weeks apart and love each other daily...I was shocked at how well they played together - everything from coloring to running outside & there were very few problems...well, until the last 15 minutes when Selah bit Peyton!  I was horrified - her first time to bite anyone (that I know of)...so I think 7 hours might be the limit...

Day 92 - Josh was out of town for a few days this week so Selah & I did some fun things like eating at Chipotle with my friend Erin.  I brought our extra chips home & a few hours later I walked into the kitchen to find this - she is her mother's child...so I sat down on the ground with her and we just ate some chips.

That was our week!  Hope you had a great one too!  If you are taking a picture a day, please link up below - I'd love to see what you have been up to!

How Selah's Yo Gabba Gabba Party was ACTUALLY easy this year!

Just like I swore I'd never be "One of Those Moms" I also thought I'd never do a theme birthday party - especially with a cartoon as the theme that is a little kooky.  BUT my sweet Selah absolutely loves Yo Gabba Gabba, and I hate to admit it, but these strange creatures have grown on me too.

After perusing Pinterest and online sites like Hostess with the Mostess, I decided that I could handle a Yo Gabba Gabba party so long as the theme was implied and my house wasn't lined with cartoon faces.  So, I decided to take a rainbow theme & then apply Yo Gabba nods sparingly - here is what our little family party looked like!

The Food:
We had our party at 10:00am on a Saturday morning as I've found that works well with little ones and then the rest of the day is free.  So, I made pancakes as the main portion of breakfast and also had a few other treats.

I made fruit skewers that resembled the rainbow - very easy & I felt like I was at least offering something half-way healthy!

Of course, the healthiness of this attempt was thwarted by the fact that I also offered donut pops.  As you can imagine, these were MUCH more popular that the fruit.

For the adults I also made Yogurt Parfaits (I liked the play-on words with Yo Gabba)...and I also made these because Selah would rather have yogurt than donuts most any day - I like to think she gets this from me...although that's probably not true (I was popping those donut holes in abundance before everyone arrived) - ha!

Simple Vanilla yogurt with berries and granola!

The Decor:
I was VERY low key this year and decided to focus on one special piece of decorations.  I made 4 pictures that look like Selah is walking around in Gabba Land.  Nick Jr. had the cartoon backgrounds for free and then I also printed off pictures of each character.  I then found full body shots of Selah that I thought would work well and cut her out!  I put them together with some tape & framed each one - and tada, we had Selah portraits in Gabba Land! 

Here are just two of our pictures (I love the one of her picking grass out of her toes)!

What I loved the most about these is that Selah helped me make them and was absolutely excited to show everyone that she was either walking with Muno or sitting with Foofa!  I then just placed the pictures around our house & called decorations done!

Party Fun Ideas:
I've learned that with a room full of 2-5 year olds it's best if there is a plan of fun.  So, when Selah's cousins first arrived they made rainbow Yo Gabba necklaces...Well, their parents made the necklaces, but the kids loved wearing them & then eating them, of course!

Everyone is pitching in to make necklaces (I used Fruit Loops & string - simple)!

Miss Molly modeling her necklace...although hers was more of a choker...

The Birthday Girl getting her necklace put on by Gigi.

After making necklaces and eating some yummy food it was time to have a Yo Gabba Gabba dance party.  Thankfully, my husband is always ready for a good dance party, so he put on some music and before we knew it the girls were dancing their little hearts out!

I think they are doing the chicken or something...but as you can tell they were busting a move!

And I wish I had captured it all - Ava started to do the Sprinkler...Madi tried to break dance...and my dad (AKA - Papa)...well, take a look for yourself...

 

He had some of his own moves to show off

   After the dance party we opened gifts and wrapped everything up with some Yo Gabba coloring pages!  It was a fun morning that didn't include any mishaps like Selah's 1st Birthday Party!

Opening gifts!

Showing Gigi & Mema her new Foofa doll!

And with that...I'm finished with birthday fun (I promise)!

One of Those Moms

My sweet Selah turned two yesterday, and as my witty friend Jennifer reminded me, it was just two years ago that I was promising up and down that I would never be “one of those moms.”

I swore that I would not gush ad nauseum about my offspring, posting snapshots or details about such things as her potty training.  And yet I’ve overshared so much in the last two years that I even shared a #dailySelahfunfact for a while on twitter…and here I am unabashedly showing off just how adorable I think this girl is.

 

I made grand statements that Josh and I would parent differently as I rolled my eyes judgmentally at that screaming kid across the restaurant…but I’ve been the exhausted mother with the wailing child now & I don’t think I’m quite such a know-it-all.  I still do some things differently on purpose, but I’ve also come to truly appreciate the community of mothers in my life.  Thank you for the advice, the gracious smiles that tell me you’ve been there and understand, and your encouragement that I’m doing well.

Primarily I made a vow to myself that becoming a mom would not change me.  It sounds ridiculous to my ears now, and although I knew that details of life would change I was serious about Selah not changing my vision for life.  And two years later…my oh my…how my vision has changed.  And yet, it hasn’t diminished at all like I was fearful of.  In fact, my vision and purpose in life has grown as my heart has been expanded by her love.

No longer is purpose part of my to-do list but now it resonates from within…for example, the desire I had to impact women around the globe beats stronger than ever because now I’m raising a future little woman & each day I see all the more value and worth in women.  Tears are closer to my eyelids as I read stories of injustice – picturing little girls that could be my own…

I want to open doors for these women...these daughters

In truth, I feel like I’ve become more of Paige over the last two years as I became her mother. And although I hoped to God I would never be “one of those moms” I realize I’m guilty of it…and yet, I’m going to embrace it – because being a mom – whatever sort I am…has been the best parts of my life these last two years.

 Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Stickers, Snow, and Some Beautiful Eyes: Project 365 (The Week of LOVE)

It's been one of those weeks that had some real lows but also some delightful highs!  The stomach flu came to visit me early in the week and it took me a couple days to fully bounce back...but I'm back now and I've had so much fun planning for Selah's 2nd birthday party!  This week has also had some special times with the Lord for me - I find that it is so true that when I feel weakest He is just a "Help me!" away...He's given me some direction this week & blessed me in unexpected ways.

Here is what's been happening around our home!

Day 79 - We had a birthday photo shoot on Saturday and afterwards Selah and I were just hanging out in the car while Josh picked up his new glasses...I pulled out my camera and got a few shots of my beautiful girl in the car.  Love this one!

Day 80 - SNOW!  Sunday is when the flu hit me, so this picture is from inside looking out our backyard windows - I cannot describe how beautiful and big the snow flakes were on this day - I decided that if I had to be sick it was the perfect day to sit and watch the loveliness accumulate outside!

Day 81 - SNOW DAY!  Selah's Kid's Day Out was cancelled and I was still on the mend so we stayed in most of the day and played until our hearts were content!  I pulled out some Dora stickers thinking that she would decorate coloring pages...but oh no, all 30 stickers went on top of the other on her hand!

Day 82 - I know that one day my child will want to kill me for this picture but I couldn't resist!  I feel like this is the epitome of our Valentine's Day.  We were low-key to say the least (after a disastrous Valentine's Date when we were first dating Josh and I decided long ago to keep this day to a minimum).  Anyways, my dad bought Selah a box of chocolates & after dinner I let her eat one.  She loved the box even more than the other chocolates and before bed I found her lounging on the couch clutching that heart-shaped box.

Day 83 - Wednesday was a rough day for me...not sure if was the hormones or that it started off with a cup of yogurt being dumped all over me as I tried to get Selah out of the car, but regardless I was just somewhat of a mess.  Ever had one of those days?  After a day at work and a couple of hours at home I was back at the church trying desperately to get caught up and put out some fires that seemed to be ablaze!  Right after taking this picture (I realized I had not taken one all day & tried my best to look awake :)), is when I finally stopped and cried out for God to simply come.  And He was so faithful to meet me in my mess.  I cancelled my plans to go to zoe (our college group - sorry zoe people...but you wouldn't have wanted me there in the state I was in)...and I just spent the next 3 hours praying and listening.  Wow, it is what my soul needed.  I'm a slow learner, but I'm definitely discovering that sometimes the most important thing is to stop doing what I should do and listen to what my heart needs.

Day 84 - This is my dear friend Mindy (I just love this girl), and she is also my Mary Kay woman.  She came by the house on Thursday while I was working from home to talk and get me caught up on the latest Mary Kay products.  I told her that Selah loves to watch me put on make-up & that I let her pretend...and that was all Mindy needed to make my girl VERY happy!  Selah got a full make-over (appropriate of course for one her size).  She was in HEAVEN!

Day 85 - We were getting ready for Selah's birthday party and had just purchased a handful of balloons...obviously, Selah was wanting more than the one in her hand, but it proved to be a dilemma.  

Would love to see a glimpse into your life this past week!  If you are capturing everyday link up below (I think there are only a couple of us left...but it's never too late to start)!