Silly boys...

When brothers are involved...

taking Christmas card pictures is a bit more...

"complicated."

We did end up with a few good ones, but you'll have to wait for the official Christmas card reveal to see those. :)

In other news,
I've written on here many times about how I love writing and receiving letters and cards. For the next two days only, I have a code that you can use to create and send a totally personalized greeting card from Treat for FREE. Whether saying thanks to someone for inviting you into their home for Thanksgiving, wishing a best friend a holiday birthday, or simply sharing the Christmas joy with a just because card, Treat lets you create a one-of-a-kind card that is sure to impress. Today (11/19) and tomorrow (11/20) only, you can use the code TREATBLOGR to order a free card to send to a friend and brighten their day!

This post was sponsored by Treat. All opinions are mine and I only share offers that I really love, enjoy, and would use myself!

happy little gnome.

For this year's fall festival, I was a happy little gnome. 

I'm actually really happy with how it all turned out. I made every part of my costume (excluding the shirt and leggings). I made my skirt with this tutorial (minus the pockets since I ran out of time) and adjusted this child's tutorial for my gnome hat (and added some ric-rack). I covered my Toms with fabric a few months back (using fabric scraps from old sewing projects) based on pictures on Pinterest. 

And the apron? That's all my creation. :) I used leftover felt from my hat, fabric glued some ribbon and ric-rack on it and called it a night. All in all, the costume held up will for mostly being glued together. :)

What I love the most is that I can re-wear the skirt (and I love it!), and the felt decorations were super cheap (so it's okay that they're not exactly everyday wear). 

it's the most wonderful time of the year...almost.

I love Christmas. It's totally my favorite holiday, and YES the season does make me feel jolly (tra la la la la la la la la). While I'm a believer in listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving (except for Taylor Swift, I might possibly listen to hers year round...) and waiting to hang the stockings with care until after the Iron Bowl, I do start planning Christmas cards early. I started looking at Christmas cards months ago (mostly because I'm horribly indecisive). When Tiny Prints contacted me about their Christmas Cards, I knew that I wanted to share my favorites with YOU! :)

Since I'm a religion major and I love Jesus and all that jazz, I started my search with their religious Christmas cards. Tiny Prints actually has really cute "religious" cards that say Merry Christmas like this one:

I love the monogram on this one:

The chevron on this one makes me smile!

I love the colors and stripes of this one!

Oh, decisions, decisions. How will I ever decide? (Not to mention that even if I can decide on which card...we still need a picture! :)

Right now, Tiny Prints is offering 25% off site wide, and they have lots of other special offers!

Go check them out today! 

Sponsored Post: Tiny Prints

Election Day Eve

I'm not worried about tomorrow.

Will I vote? Yes. Do I have a certain candidate that I feel like would be better for America? Definitely. But, even though I don't know who will win the election tomorrow or what the next four years will hold for our country, I do know who holds the future. I know who knows, and has knows, what the coming days will hold. No presidential candidate will change that. No president can change it. No policy will change what is to come in the eternal, everlasting kingdom. What happens here in America tomorrow will not be of everlasting, eternal significance. It won't be a "sign of the end times". It won't be the end of my world, because I'm not from here, this world is not my home, I'm invested in the Kingdom of God- not the kingdom of man.

There are a lot of hurting people in the world today. Realistically speaking, no presidential candidate will change that. They don't have that kind of power. They may make promises, lots of lofty goals. But in the end, the only one who can heal all of the hurts is Jesus. In the end, I hardly think that this election will matter. In the end, I hold on to the promises of God- that his love never fails. I know that God is in control. One candidate winning over the other will not stop the "end of the world" from coming. Only God knows when the day of judgement, the time of trial, the Day of The Lord will occur. But, he already knows it. He's known it for awhile now. Presidential candidates don't have control over God.

If the end of the world is on its way, I'm ready. I already know who the victor will be. I know who's side I want to be on. While hard times may be ahead, I'm ready. I know who will win the final battle. Good will prevail. We already live in a fallen world. We already have hard times. I have hope, because no matter what tomorrow holds...I know who holds tomorrow. Its like the old hymn, "Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives all fear is gone."

So go. Vote. Do your civic duty. But, remember where your true citizenship is from. Remember who is really in control (and its not those pesky pollsters). Don't fear the outcome of the election (and I've heard fear from both sides). Don't you know how powerful the God who created the universe is? Can you trust that he already knows the outcome?

Seek hope. Drive out fear. Trust God.