Bathtime.

/

"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." ~Sylvia Plath

This is the gloriousness I crawled into tonight, after a difficult, tiring day.  I seem to be living minute by minute lately, not looking too far ahead but just trying to embrace what is right in front of me at the time.  Yes, there is a multitude of laundry to fold, cloth diapers to stuff, dinner dishes to put in the dishwasher, but what could be better at this moment than soaking in a candlelit hot bath with a great book and a glass of wine?

And the best part?  I've always wanted a bathtub caddy but it seemed like a "luxury" purchase, ya know?  Then, as I was walking home from Bre's the other day, voila!  This stainless steel bath caddy was in someone's bulk trash pile on the side of the road!  I'm not ashamed to pick up someone's trash.  My unknown benefactor has no idea (her?) discarded trash is giving me such joy tonight.  It even has a taper candleholder and a spot for my Cabernet.  Could it be any more perfect?

So I nestled my current reading material - The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan, a birthday gift from Suz - in between the terry-cloth turtle finger puppet, rubber duckie wearing a blue bowtie, and California Baby shampoo.  A pretty clear depiction of life these days - baby stuff invades everyday life, but mommy still manages to find ways for her old self to poke through.

I love this article my dear friend Kierstin wrote on the Art House America blog - it beautifully expresses the thoughts of many mothers who, like both Kierstin and I, struggle to keep our creative selves alive amidst the daily joys and challenges of motherhood.  Kierstin does a wonderful job of it and inspires me regularly across the miles.  Even something like a simple evening bath - bubbles, warmth, candlelight, immersing myself in good writing - speaks to that part of me, curing me from the ways I've pushed myself aside all day.  Inspiring me to take a few moments and write for myself, just for the expression of it.

Motherhood is far more wonderful than I ever knew it could be; it is also the most difficult, draining, challenging job I've ever had.  But it's nothing that a hot bath won't cure.

Birthday gift from India!

/

This might be one of the best gifts I've ever received...a special, handmade birthday greeting from the children we help support at Hadassah Orphanage in India, which I visited in January 2005. Touching their hands, sharing shy smiles, playing and coloring on the concrete floor...being with those children made a permanent stamp on my life.  I'm thankful that we still have the opportunity to partner with this orphanage through Peace Gospel International.

Look at these little artists and their work of art!

Precious!

Here I am at the orphanage in 2005...

See more of my India photos here.

Read more of my thoughts on India here.

Best birthday already...

/

It's already been the best thirty-third birthday, awaking to my daughter's sweet face beside me.  Then, a breakfast of hot Enfusia tea, brisket and eggs with my husband.  Simple.  Wonderful.  As I nursed my little girl to sleep for her morning nap, the lyrics of Sara Groves reminded me of what I already know to be true...

 

He's Always Been Faithful
by Sara Groves

Morning by morning I wake up to find
the power and comfort of God's hand in mine.

Season by season I watch Him amazed,
in awe of the mystery of His perfect ways.

All I have need of His hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me.

I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain.

I can't remember one single regret
in serving God only and trusting His hand.

All I have need of His hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me

This is my anthem, this is my song,
the theme of the stories I've heard for so long.

God has been faithful, He will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.

Gratefulness...

/
  • Last year on this exact day, we awoke in the early morning, I took a pregnancy test, and within seconds, our lives changed when we found out we were going to be parents!  Today, I have a four-month-old with a precious little spirit.  She loves to giggle, to cuddle between us in bed, and is so curious as she discovers new wonders everyday, from her own fingers to a bird soaring in the sky.  I could never have imagined how wonderful it would be to have a daughter.
  • Going out on the front porch yesterday evening just in time to catch this incredible sunset.  And right as I was taking a photo of it, I received a text from my dear friend Kyle sending me a photo of the same sunset from her house!

  • Finding time to read again.  I usually get in a good amount of pages each day while I'm nursing.  Today, after three days of ravenously devouring every word whenever I had a spare minute, I finished The Hunger Games - oh my goodness, 5 stars for sure!  Tonight, I'm starting the next book in the series, Catching Fire. {Here's what I've read so far in 2010...}
  • Steven's delicious loose-leaf tea concoction he's been brewing us before bedtime lately - cherry rooibos tea from Village Tea Company, to which he adds some fennel seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Vanilla Creme Stevia.  YUM.
  • The glorious weather in Dallas...heavenly 70s with a breeze, perfect for evening walks.   The light is just getting low in the sky - the perfect time of day - when I return home, with Luci Belle attached to me in the Moby.
  • Speaking of, I'm so thankful for my good friend, Bre, who lives just two streets over.  We borrow books from each other, swap Netflix movies, share food, and just generally keep each other sane during these first several months of new motherhood.  Bre and I were pregnant at the same time and now her son Jack is Luci Belle's boyfriend.  Hey little buddy!

  • Having a silly impromptu mommy/daughter "photo shoot" in the nursery yesterday...

 

...even though it started going downhill quickly...

...and didn't end quite so favorably for Mommy.  Ouch!

fashionABLE.

/

For the last five-and-a-half years, I've had the privilege of working for an organization called Mocha Club.  It all began a few weeks before my wedding in the summer of 2005 when an old friend of mine from Nashville, Barrett Ward, called me and said he had an idea.  He was already working for an organization called African Leadership, and on a recent trip to Africa he had been inspired by young people who didn't have a ton of money but who still wanted to make a difference.  His idea was to create a donation-based website built around the idea of giving up the cost of 2 mochas a month - or $7 - to support a project in Africa.   It would be called Mocha Club.  People could commit to give and then invite their friends so it could grow virally.   I remember where I was when I received this phone call from Barrett - laying on the bed in Steven's apartment, what was soon to be our first apartment as a married couple.  I was in a highly stressful marketing job looking for a way out, looking for a way I could spend my working hours doing something I truly believed in. So when Barrett asked me if I'd like to come on board to help him make the Mocha Club website a reality, I said YES wholeheartedly!

That was July 2005, and since then, it has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to spend my days with such an incredible team of co-workers, our passionate Mocha Club members, and our African partners who work so tirelessly.  Every day I've had the chance to be a part of all the ways God is turning broken stories into redeeming ones - homes for child mothers, water wells in the wilderness, jobs for those in extreme poverty, love and care for orphans, hope for the hopeless.  In 2006, I also had the chance to travel to Africa to experience it for myself.  I'll never be the same.

And now, I am a mama.  I have entered a new stage of life, and I knew it was time to let Mocha Club go, to trust others to continue sowing the seeds we've planted.  So, this past Friday was officially my last day. It was a bittersweet decision, but my husband and I both knew it was the right one - I was attempting to work 4 hours a day from home after my maternity leave, and it ended up being nearly impossible.  I've wanted to be a mother as long as I can remember, and I'm embracing my new role as everything has completely changed.  I love the change though.

My boss and co-workers bid me a sweet farewell, and I promised to continue supporting them however I can.  So, today I wanted to share with you a new initiative that Mocha Club has just launched called fashionABLE.  It's a campaign to create sustainable business for women in Africa who, due to extreme poverty, have been exploited in the sex industry.  I just received my scarf in the mail yesterday, and it's gorgeous!  Extremely soft and comfortable, with a tag that shares the name of the woman in Africa who made it.    There are 3 designs to choose from.  I purchased the "Bezuayhu" scarf, and here is her story:

“I am now 19 years old. My parents had passed away and I used to live with my aunts and grandparents. They always wanted me to work and not to go to school. So, I came to the city, and there I came to this life of prostitution. // Now, it feels so good to get up in the morning and say I am going to work. It feels so good to have a scarf named after me. I’m so proud to be called a scarf maker.”

You are ABLE to provide opportunities, and these women are ABLE to have a new choice.

Actress Minka Kelly (from the TV show Friday Night Lights) traveled to Ethiopia with Mocha Club last year, and she got to meet these women for herself. She has now lent her voice to the campaign.  A huge team of people came together to make this happen, and I am so proud of them!

After you purchase the scarf, you can even upload a photo of yourself wearing it and share your fashion statement.  My fashionABLE scarf reminds me of beautiful Bezuayhu, and it is a special treat for myself 4 months post-baby. 

Won't you join me in living fashionABLE too?