Josiah is 7!

Seven years ago today, our family was heading into one of the scariest events we've had to deal with, but in the end, we got our sweet Josiah out of it, and I'm so very grateful! This little guy is my special bud. And while he's definitely growing up and doesn't seem to need me quite as much as he used to, he still had to sneak in some snuggles the day I came back from being out of town last week, and it thrilled my soul, haha.

Josiah's biggest accomplishment lately has been learning to read so well that he got his own bible for his birthday this year, a special request he made :). He's a knowledgeable little man, loves taking things apart just to look at them, especially if they have batteries and buttons. He's has a good birthday, I think. He and the other little guys were happy to get to go to the store today, a special treat during this pandemic crazy world, and pick out some fun things, I know they enjoyed it!

Happy birthday, Siah!

 

It's the Last day of the Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign!!!

Hello all!

I just wanted to share with you an update on the Reece's Rainbow adoption agency's Miracle of Christmas Campaign that I have been sharing throughout the month! The goal for this campaign was to raise $1,000 for each of the little ones on the angel tree, to help their future families in the adoption process, and to raise awareness for their need for a home. You can learn more on Reece's Rainbow's site, but I wanted to share a special little boy with you one last time; Scott.

Scott is the little boy that I have been advocating for this year, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the help that you have been to this little one. We have raised over 600 dollars for his account, and that is truly amazing. THANK YOU for all the money, prayers, and shares that you have given for this little man!

Scott is about five years old now, and has many special needs... But the most important special need? He needs a family. 

And for a family to adopt him is going to mean adoption fees and for them to see his page, and we have the ability to help that happen! Scott is still under goal, as are many of the children this year, and he needs just over $360 more to get to goal, by midnight tonight. Would you consider helping one more time? A donation of a dollar, five, fifteen, twenty-seven... Whatever you could spare, it has the potential to change this little boy's life forever. And that is amazing! And every time you share Scott's page, it has the potential to change his life forever. So today, would you please consider doing that? Donate to his account, or tell someone about this campaign, or pray for Scott to get the funds and family he needs. We have less than 13 hours left to make a difference for Scott during this campaign! His account can be found here: https://reecesrainbow.org/104445/scott-2 . And thank you, so much, for your help! I appreciate each and every one of you!

And a happy New Year's Eve to everyone <3! 

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

Little Town ✽ Trip to Aiken

I really wanted to visit a small town with cute shops and scenery for my birthday this year, but because the best was an hour away and the day was rainy with the coming hurricane, we decided to postpone it until after our birthday season and make a girl's day out of it <3. So today, Mama, Tori, Bethi and I took a day trip to Aiken! (And little Isaac was a very well behaved little party crasher, of course ;) <3...) It was so much fun <3! Aiken is a gorgeous little town (which was apparently awarded south's best small town of 2018!), and there was so much to enjoy.

First we stopped for coffee, which was a feat to accomplish, because everything was against that coffee... haha. But we persevered and enjoyed our drinks anyway ;), and were on the road! Our first destination was Hopeland gardens, which was a gorgeous small park. It had huge trees and lots of fountains/ponds.

Also, snow. Or the SC equivalent, Christmas lights being prepared for next month ;)...

Isaac was mesmerized by the water fountain!

This right here was some sort of gum tree... I don't remember which, because there were several variations there. But this one is supposed to be known in the south as one of the best for fall foliage, with lots of yellow leaves whrn the season turns... see how "yellow" they are? That's our fall this year, y'all ;P.

Tori said these little wood/tree whatever they ares looked like meercats sitting by the water :).

Our little buddy in the back <3. He did SO good the whole trip!

Yes, my phone camera is bad. Yes, this town is adorable anyway.

Isaac matches the horse in the art store! (And I do not, I know. Ignore me, he couldn't hold himself, hahaha! I wanted to get him "riding" it, but of course there was a sign that said do not touch :P...)

I really liked the clay sculpture art, for some reason! They were unique and fun.

We stopped at a couple of antique shops while we were there, and one of them had a whole wall of shelves... all of them ticking all together, it was such a fun sound <3!

Baby found himself in an antique mirror ;). He was adorable talking to his reflection. (A lady who passed us just could not handle how cute it was, haha, she had to tell him!)

Sadly, those books were not real, hahaha! But I thought this was gorgeous!

We stopped by a little sweet shop, and we had to pick up some taffy and other candies ;). We enjoyed some chocolate covered caramels on the way home, they were delicious! I overheard another lady in the shop saying that no small town was complete without a candy shop, and I whispered to Mama, "truth", haha. This particular candy shop sold popcorn - on the cob! I had never seen that before!

That window display <3. Decorating with candy - and so beautifully! I loved it!

I loved these flowers!

We stayed pretty much until the the shops we wanted to window shop through closed - and we didn't even make it to a couple, because they weren't open on Mondays! The town has a thing for horses (hence the horse Isaac matched ;)...), and it was cute to see the "yield to horses" signs with the traffic signals. (There were also signs to "please do not park for the health of our trees" around what looked like a dirt parking lot?) There was so much beautiful architecture, and cute items in all the local/handcraft/art areas, it was definitely everything I was hoping it would be!

As everything closed, we stopped to grab some snacks and head home, bringing home a pizza party so the rest of the family could help us finish up our amazing day!

Do you like small towns? What is your favorite thing about them/to do while you are there :)?!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

A Peek into my Journaling Bible

 

I have been asked about my bible journaling, what it is, what I do, and if I would mind sharing some of that with you all a couple of times, and I thought that would be fun to do for my post today :)!

 

Mama and Daddy gifted me my journaling bible for Christmas a few years ago <3. I had seen this new thing called "bible journaling" going around the internet (especially Pinterest) for several months, and when Mama sneakily asked it I thought Tori would be interested in this, I said I didn't see why not - that I would love one, if I wasn't afraid I wouldn't use it (because I have a bad habit of not starting things that I don't know I'll get perfect). Well, I ended up with this gorgeous bible, and I have loved it! While the perfectionist in me still often creates my design in pencil before making it permanent with ink, really, there are no rules! Bible journaling is a great way to gather prayers, scripture memorization, creativity, notes, and questions all in one place, and it's so nice!

I admit that, though I love to use my journaling bible for "bible journaling" (more word art/artwork to illustrate verses), that's not always my favorite part. You know what is? Journaling bibles come with so much SPACE. I can scribble notes all over the page, or underline words without other words getting lost. For someone who takes as many notes as I do, it's still not enough and I also keep a "sermon journal" (also used for personal study) in my bible case, but for those little notes or extra-special notes, the room in this bible is amazing!

A lot of the time, it's just simple little things that I will do in my bible while reading or right after church, but just taking two or three minutes to work on a visual to go with a thought/sermon helps it stick so much better for me, and I love that!

But when I sit down to my personal bible study, I like to do something a little bigger, when I have time, with the verses that stand out to me, and usually that is some word art of one of my favorite verses from my reading :). 

While I'm not much of an artist, and I prefer word art, I have done artwork a couple of times. 

 

Or I combine the two :)! Typically if I am doing something more detailed, I lay a paper under the page I am working on, and place another sheet over it when I finish, for about 24 hours, so that there is no ink rubbing off/leaking through on the other pages :).

I know that this might seem like a somewhat boring page to others, but I poured over this genealogy visual for about an hour, and it is honestly one of my favorite things I have done so far. I also did the other major genealogy list from after the flood, and it is just so neat to be able to see these while I read through the chapters <3!!!

This is another of my favorite ways to use my journaling bible! I drew this partial map on Ephesians' cover page. It has all the main map details on it from wikipedia, but then I am able to add in notes as to where in the bible those surrounding places are mentioned, and things like that :)!

I love to use gel pens because the colors are gorgeous <3! But I also have a thin line black ink pen that I am obsessed with because I can fit twice as many notes using it as opposed to a regular one ;). There is truly no right or wrong way to go about bble journaling (I mean, I just showed you a small sample of my own here, you can't get a full grasp of how different the pages in mine can look from each other!), and I love how it helps me stop and digest, if you will, what I am reading!

Do you have a journaling bible, or are you interested in getting one :)?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Marshmallow Roast ✽ Sunday Evening

Daddy comes in from chopping wood with some nuts he found in the back, and starts cracking them.
Bethi and me: "What kind are they?"
Daddy: "I don't know." *nut isn't cracking*
Me: "Whatever kind it is, it's not worth it if they are that hard to open." (Can you imagine the time it would take to shell enough for all of us?!)
*the nut cracks*
And then this little red-faced grub just pokes up his head to look at Daddy, like, "Excuse me, there had better be a good reason that you took the roof off?"
Apparently there were two others inside as well, but I ran, so I'm just taking Daddy's word for it, haha...

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His marshmallow nose, haha <3.

Daddy set up a marshmallow roast this evening, and we had a delightful time <3. We meant to do it all summer, haha, but it never happened. But today was so nice out! And there were far less bugs! So I think it worked out for the best ;). Mama got Daddy a metal fire pit a couple years ago for Christmas, and it's been so nice to have for things like this! And Andrew has been getting quite capable of use it (and the grill!) himself. Tori asked tonight when Peter would start grilling hamburgers, and Mama asked what Andrew would do when Peter started grilling. Andrew replied that he'd just do the gross parts Peter wouldn't like, and Josiah pipes up, "And *I'll* eat the hamburgers!" Haha!

It's always interesting to see the variety of marshmallows called "toasted". Peter literally wanted his warmed, NOT browned (which is hilarious, given the fact that he's actually eating a burnt one in the picture, haha - it was an extra ;)...). Josiah, when asked how done he wanted his done, answered, "For one minute." Tori said she was trying to toast her's done until it had "warts"... lol! Isaac just slept through the whole thing ;).

It was a nice way to end up our Sunday! Now another week is ahead of us to make use of and to live to the fullest... what are your plans for the week :)?!

Rejoicing in the Hope of Salvation,
Bri <3

A Few of My Favorite Things Tag

"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that cling to my nose and eyelashes, silver white winters that melt into spring - these are a few of my favorite things!"

For my 16th birthday, one of my out-of-state friends took to pinterest and found a picture of each of Maria's favorite things and emailed it to me as a fun little "extra" birthday greeting, and it was such a pretty email, haha! So I think of that every time I hear this song now :). This little tag looks like so much fun!

Tag rules:
♥ Thank and link back to the persons blog who tagged you! That would be Alyssa from Here is Love! Thanks girl!
♥ Thank and link back to the persons blog who started the tag! Thank you, Beth in Boots! I love your tags!
♥ Write about seven of your favorite things in your post!  Add at least one picture of everything!
♥ Tag seven  people at least! (If you don't know seven blogs to tag just tag as many as you can.)
♥ Put the seven rules in your blog post!
♥ Include the picture above for the beginning of your post! 
♥ Have fun!!! 

"These are a few of my favorite things!"...

-Soft fabrics. And the color blue, yes. That has been proven ;). 

-Plants. I mean, plants just make me happy, especially if they need taken care of, haha :).

-Bible study. (And my journaling bible <3!)

-Pretty things. I know that that sounds kind of "obvious", but really. Can you imagine if all the world was "bare minimum"? I am so glad that we have a God who appreciates beauty and slipped it into His creation in so many ways!

-Books, words, writing, letters, one-on-one conversations with close friends... all those wonderful, wonderful things!

-Making memories of all kinds with my family <3! (These pictures are from the solar eclipse last year, which was also amazing :)!)

-The little things in life that make each moment richer <3. The little things that end up not being so little. It seems the simple things in life are always the best!

I am going to tag...
-Maddy
-Bethi
-Daminika
-Danielle
-Jessica
-Ashley
-Molly
-And feel free to snag this tag yourself if you like :)!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Fall Party

Look at that precious little baby <3!

And look at that sky <3! 

We had a respite tonight at the church that I volunteer with, helping out with some of their special needs programs. I've been working with these programs for about two years now, and I absolutely love it! It's definitely something that is dear to my heart. I absolutely love investing in the families that the church reaches out to, and even more so I love investing in the individuals that we serve - it's been such a privilege to be a part of their lives! And the ladies who head up the program are just so sweet, as well, it is a joy to work alongside them.

Tonight we loaded up the church buses and drove over to one of the family's homes - they have a farm, and so it's the perfect setting for outdoor activities! I had actually never been to the farm before (although I hear raving reviews about it all the time ;)!), because I missed the October respite last year, but I am told that the fall party is an annual occurrence, and always a big hit. It was such a neat setting for the evening, with a huge yard big enough for our 50+ group, tables set up outside, and we did a hot dog dinner with sides. And hayrides for everybody in weather that was deliciously fallish, for a SC evening! Then there was a surprise waiting for everybody - one of the ladies has been trying to set up a K-9 unit demonstration for some of our members who are obsessed with K-9s/sheriffs/police cars all summer, and it worked out that she was able to bring them out tonight. That was such a fun addition to the evening!

Several of the group members brought treats to share with their friends. Let me just tell you, if you want to see generousity, this place is the place to go - all the participants share everything they have, and all of the workers share so much of their time and their effort, it's just so inspiring to be around them! There were horses and puppies, bubbles and fall decor and activities set out - and a gorgeous sunset thrown in as well <3! It was a perfect evening for our outing, we were having so much fun that we barely made it back to the church in time for pick ups!

This ministry has been wonderful to be involved with. I started out, hoping to be able to bless others... but I truly get at least as many blessings from getting involved as I could ever give, and it's such a fulfilling way to invest in this passion of mine! While it confirms to me that I do want to pursue doing this further in my life, it's also something that, even if I didn't want to take it further, I would be happy to invest in. And I think that that is important, to find some way to reach out in the community around you and do something that will make an impact in the Lord's kingdom! Isn't it amazing to think that He has given us a part to play in getting His love out to other people? Obviously, He is God... He is all-powerful, and so He doesn't NEED us to help... but He chose to ALLOW us to be able to work along side Him (through Him!). And He made it so meaningful to us to be able to do, not a burden to check off our list... I just find it amazing, and I love it so much :)!

A Look at September ✽ Write 31, 2018

Happy October! It's time for me to share about the past month! This is also the first post in my Write 31 Series this year... because I have decided not to really have a theme this year, I am just going to do one of the free write options ;). I just felt that would be much more manageable this year, and I have several ideas that didn't really relate to each other, so I thought, why not ;)? I'm excited for this year's October blogging challenge :)! For those of you who may be new here thanks to Write 31 - hello! Thank you for stopping by, and feel free to visit my about page and leave a comment to introduce yourself :)!

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Sweet cuddle bear making my work a little more pleasant :)!

Granny gave us these mexican sunflowers this spring, and they 

finally bloomed, haha. They are gorgeous!

Quality time with the two who have been dubbed the twins ;).

I made a taco lasagna, and it was delicious!

Sneak peek at the little blanket set I made for a certain little boy <3. We got pictures of him with it....

but he'd already outgrown the hat. The child won't slow down his growing, haha!

 A terrible picture from my phone, but he smiles the whole ride to church every week, and I love it!!!

 Isaac's beautiful smile <3 <3 <3.

 Josiah waiting very patiently and expectantly for a cookie ;).

Andrew turned 12 yesterday <3!

Our month was really quite wonderful; productive but fairly relaxed, for the most part, barring inventory week for Daddy. I turned 21 (thank you all for the birthday wishes!), and Andrew just turned 12 yesterday! Way back when, he was due the day after my birthday, and I wanted him to come a day early so we could share, but of course he was 17 days late, instead ;). Since his birthday was on a Sunday this year, he and Daddy took his birthday outing (he wanted to go canoeing again) on Saturday, and we made it to church early yesterday to hear our elder's report on the Kenyan mission trip... then we did Andrew's party that evening :). I enjoyed trying out some new recipes this past month (some where a hit, some were... not ;)...), and autumn arrived, so I am very much enjoying all the coziness that I stuff into the season, haha ;). I saw the first leaf shower last week! And I haven't seen one since. But as Mama pointed out, it's still hot, but we CAN sit in the car without the air conditioner running without roasting, so we must really be having a fall this year ;)...

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Noah: *completely scared by thunder and confused as to why "Lighting McQueen" is being so loud tonight*

Noah just a couple weeks later, sees lighting: "Ope, next comes the crash!"

Noah a couple weeks later, as Daddy's camera flashes: "Lightning!!!"
It was a very short lived fear ;).

Peter: "Andrew, how do you spell diary?"
"Why?"
"Someone was rude to me."
Several questions are raised: 1. We call them journals at our house, not diaries. 2. We don't use them that way?!?!?! Where did he get this idea?!

Peter: "Bri should marry."
5 days later, Abbi: "I'm glad Bri is 21 now, that means it's less likely she'll marry."
Twenty. One. And an old maid, hahaha....

Noah, while Mama reads the account of Noah's Ark: "Yeah, I did that."
"Oh, really?"
Tori: "What did you feed the animals?"
Noah: "Tea."

Incidentally, Noah reciting the 7 C's of History is just TOO CUTE. But Noah hearing his own name is just too distracting during bible study, hahaha! The monologue gets longer the more he learns. But, he's listening and retaining. So that's good!

Emmi: "I don't know how to separate eggs. Can someone come do that so I don't ruin the cookies?"
Abbi: "Oh! Oh! I know how, I know how, can I do it for you? Can I do it, Bri?"
*Separates the eggs successfully*
Abbi: "YES!!! I DID know how to do it! I've never done it before, but I watched one time."
Emmi and I: "YOU'D NEVER DONE IT?!?!?!?!"

Bethi, with a touch of concern in her voice: "Would you like me to get you some chocolate?..."
Me: *gestures vaguely at chocolate cookies in the kitchen* "Oh, don't worry. I'm already making me some..."

Josiah eating a new meal: "It's gross, but I like it."
This child is getting worse instead of better as he gets exposed to more foods; he would live off of pizza and cinnamon rolls and cookies if he could, and not much of those foods. So that was actually an A- rating from the Joe, and I felt like I had won, hahaha.

Mama texts me from upstairs: "It's quiet. What happened?"

Me to Bethi: "I put 'start blog post' on my to-do list. If I open blogger and type one line, that is officially starting, right? Please?"

Tori, explains the difference between step siblings and half siblings: "...and then if your mom and new dad have another baby, that baby is your half sister AND your step brother's half sister."
Abbi, so done: "You have to share?"

99% sure I accidentally threw away a paper with 4 funny snippets on it while cleaning out my desk drawers, and it's driving me insane, but it's fine...

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Etsy did some major updating starting in late August, and they finally finalized it a couple weeks ago... and I have to say, I love some of the new changes! There is a new notifications for shops you follow section, which I enjoy, and there was a whole overhaul with the SEO (yep, that again), and it seems so much more streamlined now, it's awesome! I've not created any new products this month, but don't worry! The plan is that you'll be able to see many more items by the end of the month, as I overhaul and add going off of Etsy's new methods! And I'll share a couple of pictures later of two custom orders I am working on right now!

I also mailed out these items:

 Jeremiah 29:11 canvas (link here).

And these dishcloths, requested in a custom color :)! (Link here.)

There are a few new listings added that you can check out at www.etsy.com/shop/underthetapestry, although they are projects that you've already seen revealed before they were official ;).

 Annnnnd, listed today, because, HAPPY OCTOBER!!! is this canvas, one of my all time favorites!

And blog posts from the past month...
-Sunshine Blogger Award
-99 Life Lessons from 21 Years
-Recipe Review: Iced Caramel Macchiatoes
-Summer and Autumn

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And there's a look at my month! Now let's talk about yours! What was one highlight of your September? What is your favorite fall quote? If you are new here, please introduce yourself and leave your blog link down below!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri