developpé...graceful becoming

You Had Me at Brunch

2016-12-05T15:24:00.002-05:00

You had me at brunch!

When Josh and I adventure together we love to find places to share brunch at! one of our favorite Brunch places of all times has been the Biltmore Estate.

The setting was beautiful and the food was amazing! We tried to device so many ways to go back before we had to leave town! I sure do love adventuring with my guy!

Adventuring Together

2016-12-05T15:20:00.002-05:00

Oh Darling,

Let's adventure together!

One of my favorite things of all times is going on adventures with my handsome husband! I love how he takes me to places just because he wants to see the reaction on my face. I love that he plans things carefully and is always on the look out for exciting things to do!

I can't believe I found this post still in the drafts! We loved going to The Biltmore Estate and can't wait to go back! Enjoy the pictures!

Cultivating a Grateful Heart

2016-12-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

Reflecting on our past experiences can be painful, hard, and sometimes unpredictable. This thanksgiving season, I found that this practice is more essential than we think. Normally, when I find myself reflecting on my past, I feel all the feelings again. I feel the rejection, the hurt, and the feelings of inadequacy that come rushing back. Sometimes, I just pause and neglect to examine the feelings instead of inviting the Lord into them with me. This Thanksgiving, my time of reflection brought along all of those feelings, but I found that there was something else waiting to be examined with them- my gratefulness.

Read the rest on the Dayton Women of the Word Blog.

Seasons

2016-10-21T08:42:00.001-04:00

As the years pass and the seasons come and go, there might be a tendency to overlook them and go on about our lives. A deeper look shows us that our lives mirror that same pattern; they also ebb and flow in seasons. For the believer, the Holy Spirit walks with us in and out of those seasons. I don't know what it is about fall that sets my heart ablaze with thoughts and longings for more of what the Lord has for me. Have you ever felt this way?

Read more on the Dayton Women in the Word blog! http://www.daytonwomenintheword.com/blog/2016/10/19/seasons

Christmas at the Dronen Residence

2015-12-19T08:22:00.001-05:00

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve! I get so excited about it all! The wait is over and he is here! Emmanuel means God with us -what comfort that we are not alone!

He took on flesh, came as a baby to change everything! Setting in motion a plan prophesied for hundreds of years, the plan to set us free from sin! All is well because of Him!

Merry Christmas! May your day be blessed and full of joy!

The weather in Ohio has been so balmy even up to 70 degrees! One morning I woke up to the most beautiful light for pictures! I wanted to share our home with you in pictures! Wishing you could come over for Christmas brunch!

All of the textures found around the house make it more cozy and inviting, don't you think?

I love Christmas cards! I do love finding fun ways of displaying them!

I have so loved having the door open a lot this December!

The lighting in this beautifully redone dinning room, thanks to my love, is breathtaking in person and hard to capture in pictures.

The presents were wrapped thanks mainly to my love! I love that I'm still enjoying this Christmas tree wrapping paper from the shutterfly gift card I won last year from the TomKat studio!

Have a beautiful Christmas, darling!

A Picnic Surprise Birthday Party

2015-06-26T15:39:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet mother in law! I am so blessed to partake in the inheritance of blessing the Lord has bestowed on her- her children. I am married to the Love of my life and her oldest son. We have two beautiful children who light up there GG's (Gorgeous Grandma) life as well as ours!

These past few years we have left for vacation during her birthday making me want to celebrate her before we left this year. But more than that she blesses us so much all the time with her generosity and in lavashing our children with love. In light of this I decided a surprise birthday party was in order! I do love to host people and bring them together to celebrate and bless others! So we planned it and were able to keep it a secret until the day of-barely! Here are a few glimpses of this beautiful night where we celebrated our all American gal!

Dad brought her over to "let Josh borrow a tool" on their way to dinner. "She should come in to see the babies before they went to bed," he strongly suggested. She walked in and Our sweet little Giselle hurt her finger on the door. So we and the 20+ people in our dinning room waited patiently for GG to console her before we yelled surprise!

She was completely surprised and I love how she just embraces Josh! This is one the things I love the most about her she is always ready to hug you and put you at ease!

I loved how surprised she was and how excited she was to see everyone as she went around the room hugging each person there!

I set up the porch for an indoor picnic since it rained all week long, until 3 hours before the party.

A make your own Sandwich station was set up showcasing some amazing bread and awesome fixings!

I was so excited some of her Sisters were able to make it and totally surprised her!

I love celebrating birthdays with friends too they add such a sweet dimension to birthday celebrations!

We had a make your own s'mores bar, again show casing an all American Summer tradition!

Her birthday cake was so delish! Made in town at Love Cakes by DLM ( a local grocer)

These beautiful peonies also came from Dorothy Lane Market.

I love how the cake looked with the sparklers instead of candles.

When I saw this porch I envisioned having people over and spending time out here! I am so excited that one of my first events was in honor of my mother in law! The rest are pictures of the sweet friends and family that came together to celebrate this beautiful woman because she means so much to all of us!

We love you so much Pattie and I pray that this year you understand even little more how deep and wide His love for you is! Happy birthday!

I could not have done it all without help! Josh, thank you for helping me and supporting my vision for this evening! Robin, thank you for listening to my heart from the very beginning as I began to think about this event! Thank you for coming early and staying late, so my kitchen could be completely clean before bed!

To all who gave of their time and brought sides, drink and food thank you! What a blessing it is to bless others!

Motherhood

2015-06-23T06:27:00.001-04:00

Motherhood

I am so honored to belong to this tribe. Motherhood has rocked me to the core. I have been stretched, challenged and filled with indescribable joy all in a matter of minutes.

I see motherhood as a charge- " Do not fear, be strong and very courageous." (Joshua 1:7)

Mother noun
The definition of a mother is a woman who gives birth or who has the responsibility of physical and emotional care for specific children.

Mother noun

Motherhood is the state or experience of having and raising a child.

These definitions from the dictionary are very literal but at least they add a little depth. There is an emotional care that needs to happen for both Mother and child. I believe that it is emotionally where the greatest intensity of motherhood is experienced. Emotions fly high with mothers and children so much so that sometimes we are blinded by our emotions, as we let them take over.

I observe my babes and how hard managing their emotions is for them. They are intensely learning to feel them, understand them and experience them safely. When I take a step back I observe myself, even with a few years under my belt the struggle is real. All the emotions that I see fly across my babes faces are happening to me internally and unfortunately sometimes I can't control them either.

So then I pray, "Lord, this is where you have called me to be strong and very courageous." This where instead of just going on with the day I stop bend down and apologize to the sweet faces looking up at me. I stop and humble myself because it is my responsibility to care for them including their hearts. I want them to see me peacefully control my emotions when dealing with a situation, so that they can learn how to then do the same themselves. Oh I have so much to learn still...

one of the things that has helped me is surrounding myself with godly women. These women love their children and can be real with me about their struggle and pour into my heart encouraging this young mom.

So this year I invited some of the women that have poured into me without hesitation and with unconditional love over for Mother's Day brunch. I love watching them with their own children who are growing up and becoming adults under their tutelage. I love asking them questions and hearing their hearts of how the Lord led them through this journey of motherhood. I love that they pull me in and encourage me not only by loving me but by loving my children as well. I love that I don't feel alone anymore because before me have gone an amazing group of women who have welcomed me and continue to usher me into this journey with tears, love and joy. How many more I would have loved to have around my table and maybe one day soon I will be able to. I love how the Lord is even in the small details of our lives. He orchestrates our paths to cross and for women to touch each others hearts deeply in this journey of motherhood.

Here are a few glimpses of our beautiful brunch and what a wonderful time it was! Thank you friends so much, for taking the time to invest in us, to hold our hands, to teach us how to love our husbands and our children. We all need each other, thank you again.

Gracefully,

Daisy

Good Friendships Refresh the Soul

2015-05-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice

Proverbs 27:9

Getting to spend time with one friend is a treat but gathering many around the table is so special. I love how the Lord brings friends into our lives that refresh our souls. The desire for friendship is something so dear to his heart. Jesus even told his disciples, " I no longer call you servants... I have called you friends..." John 15:15 He was now bringing them in close and allowing them to be a part of the relationship he shared with his father! This is so beautiful and so encouraging he sees your desire for friendship and he knows your longing for true refreshment in your current friendships. He truly does make all things beautiful!

I found this beautiful artwork that brought me so much encouragement here

Setting the table before coming to the table can always make any time spent around the table special.

Giselle spent brunch with us gals and enjoyed the food and the company just as much as we did!
I think she is going to grow up to love brunch too!

The centerpiece was a simple project I have been wanting to try out for so long and it truly turned out great!

We gathered to celebrate life together and enjoy each other's company.

Empty plates but full hearts!

I remember the first time I met Melanie I was a customer at Talbots and she was behind the counter. I had newly moved to Dayton and knew no one. I heard her speaking to another customer about Texas and my ears perked up. I had just moved from Texas and even speaking to someone from Texas would be make my lonely heart happy. Well, the customer was not interested in speaking to me and that did not phase me though because Melanie told me she had a friend that had just moved from Austin back to Dayton. I couldn't believe my ears I had just moved from Austin too! A fellow Austinite in Dayton what a treat! So, Mel introduced me to Marti and now 8 years later we are still friends and every time we get together our souls are refreshed! Another beautiful thing is that our friendships are always multiplying when one of them introduces one of their friends to me it's like we've been friends for a long time! I love when things like that happen!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules and spending time around the tables ladies! It was a beautiful morning and truly energized me!

A Vintage Bridal Tea

2015-05-17T18:50:00.001-04:00

Hello it's so good to be back.

One of my favorite things in the world is getting people together to celebrate major life events. I want to share with you the latest bridal shower I hosted in honor of my friend Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn is getting married this upcoming Friday and I couldn't be more thrilled for her!

This invitation turned out so great thanks to the May Designs free Valentine's Phone and Desktop Backgrounds

Here is my sweet friend- isn't she gorgeous?! I am so excited for her

and I pray that her wedding day is just a beautiful as she is; but mostly

I pray that her marriage is blessed and strengthened everyday!

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Prov. 31:10

The food was just wonderful and gorgeous! My friend Kendra made amazing

mini sandwiches especially the veggie ones were just heavenly!

We also had a yummy roasted butternut squash soup

topped with a mini grilled cheese sandwich.

I kind of followed this recipe for the yummy soup. This beautiful china is probably the only reason this event is considered a vintage tea. I found this china in a local antique store after the former owner passed away at 90 years of age.

I have to take a break from my first love language- food, to bring you these beauties.

Flowers are my other love language and I love the sweetness of ranunculus and that I was

able to find some since the bride loves them too!

This jar was a pretty easy project that I created from a pickle jar with some burlap ribbon and crochet ribbon( could also use lace ribbon) and a hot glue gun.

Now back to food; my friend Donna brought this beautiful salad topped with her famous pickles! I need that recipe! Although, this was a tea the food was more substantial because it was during dinner time and I loved how it all turned out!

The template for this sweet menu is from here

Last but not least before talking about dessert, was this beautiful sparkling pink lemonade in mason jars garnished with fruit! I love the color that it added to the table and of course the taste was refreshing and wonderful.

I combined some seltzer water with pink lemonade to make it fizzy yum!

Dessert Time

Two type of teas were served Chai and Earl Grey with a touch of cream.
Do you see those beautiful coasters on the table that match the invitation? I found them here.

I decided to create an inviting dessert table instead of having a cake.

The dessert table is full of yummy goodies that are also beautiful.

Short bread, scones and macaroons are the main desserts accompanied by colorful chocolate candies.

I love this beautiful chandelier picture ( from Michael's) and I bought it for Giselle's room
but it was a perfect back droop for the dessert table.

Next to the dessert table was this eucalyptus arrangement that created a layered feel to the dessert area. This little wreath was again another easy project with rope a foam wreath, coffee filters and a glue gun!

Last picture of the desserts, I love how the little flower arrangement in a tea cup turned out too. Perfect topper for the dessert centerpiece.

Gift and Blessing Time

My friend Missy put together this beautiful gift basket- it was one of my favorite gifts! It was so beautiful how our group of friends all got her bath stuff ! Slowly but surely her whole house will be outfitted for them! I love how beautifully friend and families rally behind a young couple and help them establish their home and God establishes their marriage.

We each brought our favorite Bible verse to encourage the Bride and had a sweet prayer time for the couple to be strengthened during this time of preparation and to keep their eyes on the one who created and established marriage. The Lord who alone can teach us how to love because he is Love!

My sweet friend Kendra has a way with words of encouragement and I love capturing this moment of the two of them!

The guests also each filled out one of these wed-libs I found on Something Turquoise
They were so funny! We laughed so hard at how they turned out! The bride took them home to share them with the groom!

At the end everyone received a little goodie bag to fill up from the dessert table. It was sure a sweet time with friends and I am so honored to have gotten the chance to host this time for Kaitlyn.

Gracefully,

Daisy

The Donut Party cont..

2015-04-20T05:58:00.000-04:00

I shared my donut inspiration board earlier and now I bring you the actual Donut party!

It was a fun time putting it all together! The girls painted this cute

old fashioned shop looking awning. They had a blast painting it! I loved how it

turned out- their painting gave it a not so serious look but an antique feel still!

There were tons of donuts and the littles did not lose time getting to them! I loved that Krispy Kreme donuts has these hats for free! the kids loved wearing them as well as some of the adults!

The sweet couple on the left top square were our guest speakers! Heather and Andy are the leaders of Dayton Chi Alpha. They shared with us from Psalm 34:8- Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. It was a sweet time of encouragement especially for young families. Their experiences were shared in a vulnerable way that led us to connect deeply with them!

As you can see the fun times rolled with the games! The kids loved the games as well as the crafts!

The donut theme is so versatile and fun that I'm sure I will be using it again! I only hope the spread of donuts will always be extensive- because life is too short!

Love. Life. Donuts.

Gracefully Always, Daisy

A Donut Party inspiration board

2015-04-09T15:07:00.003-04:00

Donuts have been on my mind all week! Not a bad thing per say but definitely very tempting!
I have been planning a Donut Party for the girls at my church! the party is this Friday and I am so excited to see how it all comes together!

1. donut memory printable 2. I designed this sign using picmonkey 3.donut balloons! love! 4. love life donuts poster 5.donut flags printable 6. donut craft 7. donut invitation 8. milk bottles inspiration

Just wanted to share with you a bit of inspiration! I created this board using olio board on line it was so cool and easy to do! For even more donut inspiration check out my Donut Party Board on Pinterest! I will update this post with photos of the actual event! You donut want to miss it!

Gracefully Daisy

Rainy spring days

2015-04-02T22:11:00.001-04:00

I love waking up to rain falling and tapping on the windows. It makes my heart flutter and skip a beat at times.

Another thing that makes my heart happy is fresh flowers. Today I woke up to beautiful fresh flowers by my bed and rolling thunder calling me out of my deep sleep. The soft pelting of the rain was so refreshing and calming.

So for quiet time today I grabbed cup of tea some macaroons and a magazine!

Hello again! It has been way too long! We have been busy around these parts!

In the rainy pictures above you see our new neighborhood, we are enjoying discovering it with the kiddos! Speaking of kiddos they are growing way too fast!

Here is Sam at the library playing all on his own! Here is Giselle finally excited to get a little bit of warm weather to wear cute girlee clothes- well maybe I'm more excited than she really is!

I will be posting some fun posts about what I've been up to and a few fun events I'm planning that are coming up!

Stay tuned...

Book Review: Noah by Mark Ludy

2014-11-02T02:11:00.004-05:00

Noah-A-Wordless-Picture-Book

When I received an invitation from Handlebar Publishing to review Mark Ludy's new book I jumped at the chance. I personally love the story of Noah and I was disappointed at the poor reviews the newly released movie had, that I chose not to watch the movie.

When I first opened the book I was surprised that it was a wordless picture book. Immediately though the pictures drew me in and I could hear the story forming in my mind as I flipped the pages. The pictures also surprised me because they seem much more modern then I normally picture Noah's story. For example, the pages where we see Noah in his house specifically in his study/library type room with with windows and a desk. That is not how I envision Noah's home looked like but something about the depiction in those pictures still stays true to the character of Noah. Even though I never pictured him in a study I can picture him going alone to a place where he could clearly hear what the Lord was telling him. I love the drawings of the ark that he draws based on the dimensions God gives him.

The lush beauty of the woods an the vibrant colors Mark utilizes totally captivate the imagination. Although, the place I imagined Noah lived in should have been more wild.

Mark creates a feel of a paradise lost. There is order, growth and life. Everything flourishes there all is vibrant and alive!

I can see this book becoming a favorite for my son. He loves books that he can look at for hours finding new things in the pages every time he turns them. The depiction of the animals is great. They look as they would in real life. The different ones illustrated here make us realize it was all the different species of animals not just the easy ones to imagine in the ark.

This book gives us glimpse into the beauty of an imagination created by God. I love catching glimpses of everyday life for Noah and his family because then we are able to relate with the characters. God's promises are depicted in beautiful illustrations that cause your imagination to soar enraptured in the beauty of a Creator that made this world and is faithful to us even when we are not.

Gracefully,

Daisy

Disclosure: I received a free book in exchange for this review all the thoughts are my own.

Shortbread Love

2014-09-15T15:51:00.001-04:00

The cookies were pictured on an apron I made for my friend Marie over at Baking Chic

I remember very well when I fell in love with shortbread.

At first our encounters were few and far between, a treat for a special occasion.

Then I realized this could become a normal part of my life. Not only could I buy shortbread but I could bake my own! It did not need to come out of box, which held shortbread that was rarely intact, I usually found more pieces than whole cookies. Because these few encounters turned into a full fledged love connection, I am on a quest to find and create awesome shortbread. Check out my Pinterest board here.

These beautiful cookies were inspired during Valentine's Day this year. I know, fall is here and I am just now sharing with you but this year is going too fast and I am barely keeping up! These cookies scream tea time with your favorite girl friends! I used one of my favorite shortbread recipes and just tweaked it a bit to create a soft, buttery, and sweet explosion in your mouth! Believe it or not these shortbread cookies are also great for the fall, with the chai tea spices and the sweetness of the dulce de leche they are perfect for a brisk fall afternoon tea time.

Chai Tea Alfajores

(Chai Tea Dulce de Leche Sandwich Shortbread Cookies)

Ingredients for the cookies:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temp.
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
2 tea bags of Spiced Chai Tea

Ingredients and Supplies for the Dulce de Leche:

(note: you can also buy a can of Dulce de Leche)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 16 oz canning jar with lid. ( you can use smaller ones but I wanted to leave a little space in the jar.)
1 Crock Pot (make sure to choose your jar size based on the size of your crock pot so your lid can close securely.

Directions for the Dulce de Leche:

Make sure to start the dulce de leche either the night before to cook over night or early in the morning. This is to ensure that your dulce de leche will be ready when you are ready to spread it between the cookies.

open your condensed milk and pour it into the jar or jars. place the jar in the crock pot and fill the crock pot with water just below the rim. Cook the jar or jars for 8-10 hours on low. The longer you cook the it the thicker the milk will become. The glass jars make it easy for you to see how dark the milk is getting.

Directions for the cookies:

In a bowl whisk the flour and salt. Cut open the tea bags and whisk into the mixture of flour and salt. In the bowl of your mixer beat the butter until creamy (about 1 min.). At this time add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 min.). Then beat in the vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until the dough is mixed well and it turns crumbly. At this time I preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Taking two sheets of wax paper I put the ball of dough in between the two sheets and roll out the dough flat but a little thick. You can put the flattened dough on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer for about 20 minutes. When I take the cookie dough out of the freezer I cut out the cookies and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Because the dough is slightly frozen it helps the cookies hold their shape better. Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes. After I take my cookies out of the oven I let them cool on the cookie sheets which allows them to brown just right without getting over cooked.

After your cookies are cooled and your dulce de leche is ready spread the dulce the leche on a cookie and place another cookie on top creating a dulce de leche sandwich or Alfajores as know in Spain and Latin America. Check out this recipe too.

Now invite your favorite girl friends over for tea or coffee! Or do like I did and take this treat on a girls weekend getaway and make your friends super happy! I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you try it!

Gracefully Daisy

A Flamingo Birthday Party

2014-09-09T12:36:00.002-04:00

This picture sums up the feeling of Giselle's first birthday party.

We are in awe of this baby girl and the fact that she was entrusted to us.

Just last night my sweet husband said, " thank you for giving her to me."

We both looked into each others eyes and thanked the Lord for entrusting her to us.

Oh my heart be still...

Life speeds by too fast.

I pray that I can slow down and enjoy the little moments

that make up our wonderful life.

Oh that I don't let busyness steal the joy of spending time with these little souls.

That motherhood continues to transform me into the woman I am to be.

Because these littles are an extension of me but also shape and mold my character.

I love to celebrate them-these two gifted to us. So their birthday parties are a gift that I

thoroughly embrace. I love thinking about them, planning all the little details, and mostly watching them enjoying the time with friends and family.

It was a beautiful time and we so enjoyed celebrating and loving this beautiful little girl as she takes our hearts by storm.

Sweet Sam and I went to the store and bought a gift for Giselle. I loved this moment with Sam having him completely focused on Giselle and struggling as we all do to not focus on what he wanted to buy for himself. Once again I stop baffled that I am gracefully becoming the mom I am supposed to be for the children that the Lord saw fit to give me.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

Psalm 127:3-5

Gracefully Daisy

Flamingo Inspiration for Giselle's First Birthday Party Part 2

2014-08-29T05:54:00.001-04:00

This darling book was a perfect inspiration for a flamingo birthday

I shared about the flamingo inspiration for our little Lady's first birthday party here.

Here are a few more elements that led me to create this sweet event for Giselle.

I totally judged this book by its cover! I am so glad I did because I was blown away by the beautiful illustrations when I opened it! This wordless picture book is a bout a little girls and her graceful flamingo friend that together explore friendship through synchronized dance.

Find a way to get your hands on it you will love it!

The flamingo printable came from The Tomkat Studio. She has the cutest birthday party ideas!

Looking for an invitation can be daunting because there are so many and you could spend a fortune! Of course on Pinterest the ideas abound. Check out my Pinterest board.

I wanted something classy and simple and I was able to create this one on picmonkey based on an invitation I saw on Pinterest. I love picmonkey and the awesome projects I am able to create on this website for free!

I loved how this invitation turned out. It was so fun getting to share it with our friends and family!

Party post coming soon! Thank you in advance for following along on this fun adventure!

Now on Bloglovin'

2014-08-17T04:59:00.002-04:00

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/8902893/?claim=wmv7j6vqeng">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Gracefully Daisy

Flamingo Inspiration for Giselle's First Birthday

2014-08-17T02:13:00.001-04:00

I love how sometimes the story of our life interweaves and catches us by surprise.

The picture below was taken on our honeymoon. We sat in a hammock swinging in the breeze on a private beach that captivated us. A flock of graceful flamingos inhabited the island only adding to the charm of this beach.

Aruba- Dec 2007

Fast forward 2 years after this scene became a part of our happy memory bank. I was pregnant with our first and attended a class for work that was about restoring our spirit of care. We were taught many ways on how to rediscover the reason we were nurses. One of the activities was to draw our happy place. A drawing that we could use to go to and escape or just draw strength from. So you guessed it I drew this happy scene. it became my happy place and I took it with me to my delivery and displayed it in my room while I labored; drawing strength and peace from it.

3 more years pass. I didn't take this picture to my second delivery, not sure why. But we are blessed with sweet Giselle and way too fast her first birthday approached. As I looked for inspiration for her first birthday I was drawn to pink and gold. In come these cute mocs by Faas Design I couldn't pass them up and I bought them way before her birthday and again thought maybe for her birthday I can do something with gold. Now, as the summer approached I began seeing pink and gold everywhere and decided yes, pink and gold it is! Then on my IG feed I saw this sweet deal for the cutest pink flamingo shorts and head band and then it all started to come together in my head. I envisioned baby Giselle wearing this sweet outfit to experience her birthday cake and to hear all her family loving her as they sang Happy Birthday. I could see the colors coming together to create a special atmosphere in which this sweet baby would love and be loved- for first birthdays only happen once.

head band littlebigdreamers * Gold Mocs Faas Design* shorts Lil Sugarlamb

Ok, maybe I'm getting a little sappy, sorry. But then it hit me this theme fits right along with our little family! Flamingos have been inspiring our sweet little family since our honeymoon. How perfect that my mind even gravitated to these flamingo shorts because they carry the tune played 7 years ago sitting on that hammock swinging in the breeze of joy. So our little family celebrated this beautiful baby and praised God for allowing these little surprises add to our happiness bank. ( I will post her birthday party post soon.)

Gracefully Daisy

(in)RL Virtual Conference 2014

2014-04-29T10:42:00.002-04:00

(in)Courage has been such a blessing to my life since I discovered them online!

Last year I signed up for the conference online and attended by myself at home.

I had a great time being encouraged on my own but

this year I was yearning for some girl time with friends.

So I sent out an invitation and prayed for the Lord to meet with us!

And He met with us because He is faithful!

My friend Leah said, "I had a great time. It was refreshing and encouraging."

There were a total of 4 and that was perfect. The Lord promises that when there

are two or more gathered in His name, he is there. We were able to personally

share our stories a little bit a time, creating a beautifully safe place that challenged us to

act out our faith.

Here is a glimpse of our night and the yummies we shared!

I loved hearing this quote, " God puts the extra in my ordinary and makes it extraordinary."

I also love how Lisa Leonard defined community, " True community is when we come together and we're real with each other. " And this is in fact what happened we were in true community and it was beautiful, refreshing and encouraging. We are planning to meet again soon and complete the craft together. One of the Hosts on Facebook shared this idea- to have everyone write down one thing they took away from the conference and then mail it to them! We did this and I can't wait to mail them! We are looking forward to next years already! thank you (in)Courage for blessing us with a place to share our stories!

Gracefully Daisy

A dreamy valentine's day

2014-02-14T18:58:00.001-05:00

Our little family woke up today in all smiles and wishing each other happy Valentine's day!

I woke up before everyone because I had a dreamy breakfast planned. It all started with a picture of these cute crispy Kreme donuts!

Then I got in the mail Giselle's mobile pieces and they were perfect to display.

One thing led to another and when the boys came out of the room they were welcomed by this sweet breakfast table.

We exchanged valentines and read the book I gave Sammy.

Sammy picked the heart shaped donut with sprinkles and then told us which donut he wanted each of us to pick.

These are the sweet valentines Sammy handed out this year paired with Swedish fish- aren't they adorable!

I hope your day was sweet and dreamy too! Hugs and kisses!

Here is Giselle holding the valentine Sam gave her- so cute!

Our little family just loves each other as they only know how but today it was even sweeter! So blessed to have them! "We love because he loved us first." 1John 4:19

Little lady chic styling

2014-02-10T16:14:00.001-05:00

So I recently discored www.taylorjoelleblog.com and her awesome online boutique. This week she is running a contest for styling her lace spring dress and I am having way too much fun! Of course joyfolie.com has so much cute stuff to work with as well!

Grace Leads to Joy!

2013-10-09T16:00:00.001-04:00

Well, I couldn't even catch the tail end of the month of October I feel like it just blew by! ( It really did with a storm that sported 30+ mile winds during my tomato sauce cooking time- that started right when I was settling down to write this post-such is life)

I so longed to share my heart over these 31 days and I am glad to have shared at least a few with you. although I was not able to maintain the writing part for 31 days, believe me these were 31 days of graceful becoming. Every single day grace was in the fore front and it carried and continues to carry me.

there was the day of no napping from my little guy in which grace poured out of me-not as easily as I want to extend it but growth was definitely experienced.

or the long days spent working on a project for the girls ministry at church when Sam was at his grandma's house and all I wanted to do was nap. ( another grace moment within- oh what a blessing my sweet mother in law is! she has taken Sam at least once a week for the last few weeks and Giselle and I have been able to spend time alone...(sigh)...) Grace took over those days in person through my friend and mentor who supports and prays for me and is not afraid to get in the trenches with me.

how sweet to share the Grace of God through the Philippians bible study with the gals from work, those days have truly refreshed my soul!

Oh my sweet husband how he extends grace to me everyday! a constant reminder of what it means to serve like Jesus! I pump in the mornings before Giselle wakes up ( i must insert another grace moment here for my champion sleeping beauty sleeps 12 hours everyday! ) so, my dear Josh makes sure that all of the supplies I need are cleaned and sterilized for the morning. wow!

I know what your thinking...why is she up right now! actually I'm not so sure myself!

one thing I am sure of: His grace is enough!

I get to go back to work this Sunday, but I'm not ready.

I was expecting a longer time off-but God's timing is not mine thankfully because His is better!

I sound positive but at moments today I struggled. I wanted to question and stew but I decided to sing instead. The only way this happened was because of what I have been learning and living this month his grace enough!

One trend I do see is that we were never created to experience grace on our own!

We were created for relationship not only with our creator but also with our friends and family! Oh my what a beautiful community of friends has The Lord blessed me with! I love the way we can do community these days even when we are not close to each other! I have even participated in a cyber book club with dear Marie from baking chic! I have met new friends on Instagram by coming together to help others ( i am so excited about sharing more on this soon)! Truly the closer we draw to him the closer He draws to us just as he promised-and out of that the closer he brings to us those

we are meant to strive on this journey with!

Many blessings and may the Lord's grace suprise you and overwhelm you as it has me!

a glimpse into my life...

picture courtesy of Samuel Benjamin Photography

another graceful becoming reminder!

Grace brings peace

2013-10-09T15:53:00.001-04:00

This graceful becoming is painful, challenging, irritating, and downright intimidating. After all, who wants to see that old self that constantly strives to take over again and burden with lies. It is in this struggle though that His grace is enough. Although, little voices clamor for my attention there is one a still small voice that states, " my grace is enough..."

"My Grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become." 2 Cor. 12:7-10

What peace! Now I don't need to strive, I don't need to try harder, I don't need to look harder! I just need to rest in His word; that my strength comes directly from him and my limitations are merely a reminder to trust that his grace is enough! A reminder that Grace is changing me without changing my individuality it is a graceful becoming more like Christ!

Grace Extended

2013-10-08T02:42:00.001-04:00

But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it). [Prov. 3:34.] (James 4:6 AMP)

Now I know I was not able to post for two days but I have meditated on the topic of Grace. I pondered on this graceful becoming journey that I've been called on.

As a gift that was given to me freely enriching my life, I want to freely give it.

I have discovered that the best place to practice and the one we most overlook is our family.

My prayer for today is Lord make us extenders of Grace just as have extended grace to us.

Gracefully Daisy

Traveling Grace

2013-10-04T00:17:00.001-04:00

It's 12:03 am October 4th and I am just now writing my post for the third!! So I ask you for some grace...

It has been a day of travel for our wee little family! We are tucked in and 3 out of 4 are asleep. I thought about grace during this trip especially because fall is in the air! I love fall and it always brings me back to grace which leads me to discovering joy in the journey! Fall has always felt to as a gift from The Lord directly to my heart which he created to find such pleasure in it.

My family brings me so much joy as we daily practice the discipline of extending grace, now some days are easier than others. most of the time traveling in a cramped car for long hours is a difficult grace extending day. I am so grateful for the beautiful day (meltdowns included) of travel we laughed, we praised, we sang, & prayed!

Gracefully daisy