Day 18. I'm Thankful with Lyssa Beth

Hey folks!  I hope you are enjoying I'm Thankful Week so far!  Today we have Lyssa here to tell you what she is thankful for.  I met Lyssa last year and she is always so kind and thoughtful.  

Hi guys!  My name is Lyssa Beth.  You can find me over HERE where I blog about my life as a mom, photographer, crafter, and organizer in the making.

I am so so excited to be part of Thankful Week over here with Jenn.  

I was lucky enough to meet and craft next to Jenn last year.  She's so genuine and kind!  It's just fun to be here and share with you something I made:)

So today, I am thankful for organization!

Can you imagine life without it?!  I can!  I've been there!

I am an infant hoarder with a love for garage sales and thrift store.  There is always something to be organized at my house!

Today, i'm tackling my headbands.  

I love to make these babies but how do you store them!?

Like this:

Fun huh?!  Well it's pretty simple but the end result goes a long way!

First you start with an oatmeal bin, some paper and a old candle holder:

Found this baby for a quarter at the local thrift store:

You add scrapbook paper around the oatmeal bin and you can even add fun embellishments like so: (did that with my fun ecraft machine...have you heard of it?  if not, check it out!)

Inside, you can even store other things that can't be hung or stuck on something.

Wha-la!  How easy is this?  But I love how it looks.  Very feminine and useful :)

Thanks again for stopping by and letting me share this fun idea with you over here at Ruffled Sunshine.  And Thanks Jenn for having me!

Thanks Lyssa.  Someday Ivy might wear something in her hair besides the once in a blue moon pontyail  so I will have to remember this idea for that day!

Day 17. I'm Thankful with Vintage Country Girl

Over the last year I have really come to admire Jenn and love to read her blog, so when she asked me if I would be willing to write a guest post about what I'm MOST thankful for, I was both humbled and honored.  Many things went through my mind:  my faith in God, my husband and family, my home, friends, and our jobs in this tough economy.  However, one really struck me this year in particular...being able to be a mother to my kids.

It often blows my mind that God has entrusted me with Grace and Evan.  They are great, wonderful, smart, funny, and they already love God with their whole hearts.  They are also strong-willed, emotional, dramatic, and exhausting...but I wouldn't trade them for the world, and I love them unconditionally, warts and all.

By far, being a mother is the HARDEST job I've ever had, and I've had many in my life...babysitter, waitress, receptionist, advertising coordinator, graphic designer, and sales coordinator.  However, that being said, there was nothing that could've ever prepared me for it.  The joy, the sorrow, the stress, and the love.  At the end of the day, it's the most rewarding job I've ever had. I have watched Grace and Evan go through many phases in their lives, both good and bad, (I definitely don't miss the potty-training phase!)  I have watched them gain new friends and lose old ones.  I've seen them excel in school and sports and struggle through others.  My heart breaks and soars whenever theirs does.

Did God really think I could handle this?  Sometimes I wonder.  It seems so hard at times, but he must have faith I can do it, even though he knew I'd sometimes, or often fail. So, I pray each day that God will show me how to be a good better parent.  I pray that he will forgive me for my yelling or for the punishments that I've given that have made them look at me with hate in their eyes.  I pray that he will take care of them each minute of the day, especially when I'm not with them.  And I thank him for all the time I've had with them, and all the time I still hope to have with them.

If you haven't figured it out, I love my kids more than life and I'm more than happy to be their mother.  It's the thing I'm MOST thankful for!

Thanks Lori!  If there is one thing I know its that kids really are what we should be most thankful for! xo

Day 16. I'm Thankful with Karina, Inc.

Thankful week is here and I'm excited to kick it off with Karen from Karina, Inc!  Karen joined us last year and I'm so happy she is back.  Both for I'm Thankful week and from her break from blogging.  I admire her strength and courage.  Plus she is friggin hilarious.  So with out further ado...

This morning, sitting around a heating vent with all four of my boys, our cold toes pointed toward the heat, I'm so grateful for many many things.  One of those things are memories. I have multiple sclerosis.  I know it should be capitalized, but I always feel like capitalizing it gives it that little extra boost of power that no disease should have.  So there it is.  I have multiple sclerosis; with a teeny tiny m and an even smaller s. Because of the way that my ms works, it's taking up a whole lot of space in the cognitive portion of my brain.  It is slowly taking away my cognizance.  That's why I'm grateful for memories.  So many are disappearing, which makes the ones I have left that much sweeter. Little boys singing hymns at night; very very off key but with so much soul. The yummy way my husband looks at me when he gets back from a business trip. Boys who rush home from school so that they can tell me how much they missed me during the day. The way my oldest held my hand on the day of his baptism, squeezing it in anticipation of a new life. Watching my four year old teach his two year old brother how to spread Nutella on bread. The sparkles of happy in their eyes every day. Every occasion becomes a special one.  Christmas.  Dad's homecoming after a week away.  A soccer game.  A trip to the grocery store.  Breakfast.  Thursday.  My rememberances may be fleeting and my recollection getting fuzzier, but I'm so grateful to be holding on to the memories that mean the most.  Especially the simple ones where we sit around a heating vent, warming our cold toes.

As a huge thank you to Jenn for letting me post here, I want to offer a very special someone one of my "to market" bags.  The bag will be filled up with goodies that will be perfect just in time for the holidays.  Maybe a banner?  A burlap wreath?  You'll just have to win to see what kinds of surprises might be in store for you!

Thanks so much Karen!  If you would like to win Karen's generous giveaway please leave one comment telling us what you are most thankful for.  The winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday.  

Day 15. Tender Mercies

Source: myconcretesky.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I'm thankful for tender mercies . Right now they are those tiny fleeting moments when I know so clearly which way my path needs to go.  Those moments when I truly feel its ok to leave the path I want my life to be on and go the way He wants me to.  

I really want to share a little bit more about how I'm feeling friends but I'm afraid its going to have to wait for another day.  We are out of tissues ;)

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On two totally unrelated notes... tomorrow I'm kicking of I'm Thankful Week.  I had lots of requests to have it come back and I'm excited to share from so many others about what they are thankful for.  And its kind of turned in to I'm Thankful for two weeks with just a spot or two left.  If you want to share what you are so thankful for will you let me know?  I'd love to hear it.

Also I've added a new thing here or there to my shop {all to help us raise money for adoption} so you can go check it out and keep checking cuz more will be trickling in over the next couple weeks.  Thanks so much!

Day 14. Three Minute Projects

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all of the projects I need or want to do that I don't do any of them.  I just say forget it.   Does that happen to you?  I've found that the best way to get motivated is to do a super quick project to get me in the crafting mood.  Do you need a three minute project to get your creative mojo going?  Yeah, I did too.  

So,  I dug a cardigan out of my closet that I probably haven't worn in two years.  Then I grabbed some lace from my stash and sewed it on.  It really only took me three minutes and I love how it dressed up my cardi for the holidays.  I even love it so much I might have worn it three times already.  Too bad all the projects swirling in my brain don't take three minutes!