This spring I wrote an article on Creative Ideas for Imaginative Play for Gatherings Magazine. I am so excited to share that article with you now that the spring edition of Gatherings has been released!
Gatherings Magazine is a seasonal online publication (pssst . . . it’s free) to inspire your creative life! Each issue spotlights articles on crafts, food, interiors, vintage collecting, and style with the intent to foster creativity and delight the senses.
via Gatherings Magazine
via Gatherings Magazine
When editor Heather Spriggs and I first discussed what I might contribute to the spring edition, she asked that I write something to celebrate Mothers Day. Because my best days as a stay-at-home mom to two little ones are the days where I intentionally invest in playing alongside them, I decided to put together a collection of creative play ideas that other moms can try at home with their children.
Playing is like exercise . . . we moms can normally think of one hundred things we could otherwise be doing, but it is a commitment so worthwhile and fulfilling once you make the time. Personally, nothing makes me feel more depleted as a mother than a day where I am half-heartily trying to just keep my children occupied so that I can finish emails, errands and phone calls. Of course we all have days like those, but there is something magical for me about those days where I just set everything aside and play.
I hope you find something here that touches your mama-heart.
Click to read all of Gatherings Magazine online!
Hello sweet friends,
We are searching for spring and all of it’s warm sunshiny goodness.
My toddler boy is on the lookout.
Are you?
Everything in me is searching for the light of the Lord. I am hungry for it.
I made this “hot air balloon” for Wynn using a toy basket and big bunch of helium balloons from our local grocery store.
If you want to bring a heap-load of joy to your little one for less than $20, bring home a big bunch of balloons in bright colors. Or go a step further and snuggle up together with the Disney movie, “UP,” and a bowl of warm popcorn. Then build a hellium hot air balloon with your little one. Add a parascope (empty paper towel roll) and keep an eye out for the good things . . . spring, our Lord, His light and life abundant.
I took this picture last week, of Mr. Marvelous reading to our boys at bedtime.
If you took a picture of the inside of my soul-the deepest, most sacred, electrifying wife and mama part- the Agape love, without Christ I have nothing part- it would look exactly like this.
Because while I am worthy of nothing, God has done this marvelous thing.
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5
It is a cool and rainy January night when my toddler boy wakes crying and struggling for breath.
My mama brain is like a text book: “hot steamy shower,” “cool night air,” “keep the baby calm.” I recite the rules of croup over and over because rules keep out the emotions that fight to overtake composure. There can only be one set of tears and tonight they are rightfully his. He breathes in the steam and barks like a seal, his eyes wide with fear.
“It’s okay, baby. You are just fine. Just fine. Mommy’s here.”
Eventually we drive to the emergency room, windows down, wet night air like medicine. The moon is a sliver of pie, eventually overshadowed by the bright florescent lights of a hospital bay. I keep whispering to him.
“It’s okay. You are okay. Mommy’s here.”
And all healing comes from God, but I am thankful that sometimes He uses human vessels and medicine that I can see with my doubting-Thomas eyes. Which is why I love the shot that helps him breathe, but he doesn’t understand, he only feels more pain to compound the already distressing night, so I cradle him close and just sing and sing. I sing his favorite song. The emergency room is quiet in the middle of the night and I cannot sing quietly enough to contain my voice, so I unintentionally sing to the sick and the hurting around us.
Holy, Holy, Holy.
My eyes take in the contents of the room and I am surprised to see my very own love letter, that cherished word of God sitting on a table, less than 6 inches from the garbage can. Maybe it’s exhaustion or those bright buzzing lights but I can’t take my eyes from that bible as I sing to my boy who clings tightly to my chest. There is my Lord, my savior and my King, right beside our earthly garbage, right there amidst the sickness and the fear.
And God says, “It’s okay, beloved. You are just fine. Just fine. Your Father is here.”
Here.
So I praise Him who is ever-present.
I am so grateful, for this night God has chosen to heal.
“God looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any
who understand,
any who seek God.”
psalm 14:2
May you be encouraged today, friend. Be encouraged, because He is there.
We had a rare North Carolina snowfall last week. The light that fell through the trees, melting the heavy snow was beautiful.
My baby boy is now 4 months old. I already miss the teeny-tiny newborn stage . . .
I love to bathe my babies in the sink. This may have been James’ last sink bath because he is getting so big . . .
All bathed and ready for bed . . .
We had cousins come to stay overnight and Wynn enjoyed his first sleepover. . . I am looking forward to the day when my boys can both sleep in these matching twin beds. 
My Wynn turns 3 years old in a few months. How is that possible? He is beautiful and has a beautiful heart. Yesterday he came running into my bedroom and said “Mommy, do you want to come read the bible about Jesus with me!?!?!?” He was so excited. Such a joy to me.
Those are some highights on our end . . . what is new on yours?
We spend a lot of time indoors and at home during these long winter months. The days and the daylight are short, the kids can be rowdy and who couldn’t use a heaping dose of sunshine and Vitamin D by the end of January? Here is my no-fail, four step plan guaranteed to bring more cheer to your home {and spirit} this winter season!
Step 1. Let the Light Shine In!
Image via Smith & Vansant Architects
Never underestimate the beauty of natural sunlight! Walk through your house and open all of your blinds and window treatments.
When we moved int0 Helen’s house, it was large and dark. All of the windows were covered with blinds and in some cases, blinds and other window treatments. The first five minutes that I was in the house, I walked through every single room and pulled the blinds all the way up to the top of the windows. The difference in that one act was positively transformative because light filled the house for the first time in years. In the living room, I ended up taking the blinds down entirely. The windows are now bare. We do get a bit of bright, direct sun for about 30 miutes each afternoon, but it is more than worth the trade-off of beautiful sunlight the rest of the day!
Sunlight is a free, God-given mood booster! Let your light shine!
Step 2. Clean & Declutter
Image via Better Homes & Gardens
Even the most unfortunate rooms feel happier and more comfortable when they are clean and not overun with excess “stuff.” Moreover, even the most beautiful room can induce stress when it is full of clutter or in dire need of a cleaning. Enter the 10 minute power clean! What is a 10 minute power clean? It is going full force for 10 minutes picking up anything and everything in sight. I fell in love with the 10 minute power clean after discovering that 10 minutes of frantic picking-up transformed my living room from looking like a daycare center that had been hit by a hurricane into a place where I was actually relaxed and happy to spend the evening with my husband. Do not underestimate the power of 10 small minutes.
If you don’t know where to start with decluttering a space, address each item in a given room by asking (1) is it useful? and (2) is it beautiful to me? If you cannot answer yes to one or both of these questions, relocate, donate or toss the item. You won’t miss it!
Step 3. Add Fresh Flowers
Image via House to Home
Flowers have the ability to brighten a room in a way that nothing else can.
Thankfully, flowers do not have to be fancy to be a focal point in a room. A mason jar full of Queen Anne’s Lace is a summer favorite of mine. In the winter months, you can buy a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store for less than $10. Alstromeria is a cheapy-favorite of mine. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, check out their always great flower selection (think Hydrangeas in January). When going the grocery store route,try to separate any ferns or other filler (just put each item in its own container).
Put flowers in something other than a traditional vase for quirky whimiscal appeal-consider jam jars, honey jars, a vintage glass or pitcher, even a pretty coffee can works well and tells a story.
Image via Wedbook.com
Step 4. Turn on Some Music!
Few things brighten the mood in a space like music. I particularly love to have music playing while I’m baking or cooking in the kitchen, it reminds me of my mother doing that very thing when I was a child.
Set up your laptop, tablet or phone and play music through your own personalized radio station on Pandora or your own playlists on playlist.com or Itunes. My favorite Playlist for working around the house is this one here. Also try turning on something light-hearted and dancing with your kids. This works particularly well after the 4 o’clock hour. It is a great cure for grouchy child syndrome. For example, check out I Saw the Light by David Crowder Band ., it is a favorite in our house!
What do you think?
Have I missed anything?
What would be on your list?
I have all sorts of fun baby goodness to chat about today!
Here is my baby boy, now 3 months old.
He is such a treasure.
He is so very different from how his older brother was as a baby, {of course I adore them both, madly} but baby James is an angel baby- sleeps well, naps wells, nurses well and is just positively good natured-all smiles and cooos and delicious cuddles. I still stand over his crib at night to watch for his chest to rise and fall with life-giving breath. Does the need to check for this ever go away? Like grace itself, he seems too good to be true.
Sweet baby dolly, how mommy loves you so.
In other baby news, the nursery I made for James in our beach cottage was featured on the {beautiful} website On To Baby. You can see the full article here.
The On To Baby site is such a lovely compilation of design and photography, I was honored to be included in such company.
In other exciting nursery happenings, I worked with a customer of my shop, Wynnbaby, this past spring and designed the cribset pictured below. The finished nursery was recently featured on The Handmade Home. You can read about all of the fun nursery details here! The crib bumper was made from a vintage bowtie quilt. The skirt is linen with (large!) turquoise pom pom trim.
I also recently received this photo below, which shows the Wynnbaby breatheable bumper in a client’s nursery. Beautiful ombre color scheme! This bumper is a thin breatheable cotton and is a favorite of mine. The crib sheet and skirt are the client’s own. Beautiful!
If you are interested in custom designed, vintage-inspired crib bedding or help with an entire nursery scheme, I am taking on limited projects this winter and spring. You may contact me here or through Etsy. It would be fun to chat with you about a dream space for your little one!
When I was 8 years old, I went to summer camp for the first time. I believe I was at camp for five days and six nights, but at the time it felt like so much longer. I remember being homesick. I remember sleeping with a picture of my mom and dad; crease-worn and tear-stained beneath my pillow. But mostly I remember sitting on an old wooden bench beside a campfire, praying aloud to God that Jesus would come into my heart.
Today, I can see that 8 year-old so clearly. Her wild curly hair, her bruised knees. I can smell the Skin So Soft meant to ward off mosquitos. I feel her heart swell with a love she cannot understand as the Lord her Shepherd stoops down gently to pick her up, his little lamb, and whispers:
“I am here, my love.”
“You are my girl.”
“I will be with you always, even until the end of the age.”
So the little girl followed the Shepherd. Through valleys and plains and mountain tops, she followed Him.
Some 25 years later, that 8 year-old girl baked Christmas sugar cookies, a grown woman with children of her own napping soundly in their beds. That day evil rocked the world and something inside of her broke.
Stories poured through the television of beautiful little children, just gone. Of mothers and fathers left without them and the evil that seemed to carry the day. And in the days that followed the little girl seemed lost to fear. Her mind raced and her stomach turned because beyond the loss of the twenty-some lives, she was haunted by the question that no one else seemed to be asking (at least not out loud):
If God is really good, and we are His children, how could Newtown have ever happened.
You may find fault with this girl, I certainly won’t blame you. Christmas lights sparkled outside windows but the girl was lost in the dark. She was looking for her Shepherd, but eyes closed in fear, she could only see the snake. So she prayed a prayer she had only prayed one other time in her life, saying “I don’t know where you are Lord. I am HERE. If you are there, you are going to have to come and find me. COME AND GET YOUR GIRL.”
So the Shepherd picked up his lamb and spoke the truth I share today.
This time that we live in, this world, with its good and its bad in turn, the chocolate cake and spring peonies, the sickness and the loss, it is but a grain of sand on a beach so vast in its glory that it cannot be fathomed. We only need to find the way from our current grain of sand onto the rest of the beach. And that is why God is good, do you see?
While Newtown made us all hold our children that much tighter, God looked on His own child and said “Here. Take Mine.”
“Not Charlotte.
Or Caroline.
Or Noah.
Or James.”
“Not a one of them.”
“Jesus.”
“My Son.”
“He will take their place.”
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him can step from this grain of sand on to the rest of the beach where every mother will hold her child again in perfect wholeness. The time apart, until that day, is so short in comparison to the togetherness to come, it is but the blink of an eye. He promises, there will be no more tears.
Jesus reaches out to all of us saying, “I am the way. I am the truth. I am the light in all this darkness.”
Yes, my friends, our God is good. This Christmas we celebrated the birth of that sweet baby boy who God sent, saying: “Not those children, but mine.”
Oh come, all ye who are faithful. The little girl in me is singing from the mountain top. Her voice pierces the darkness.
Do you hear?
It is amazing grace.
Amazing grace, how very sweet the sound.
