Day: November 21, 2017

little hands. 

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I pray over these little hands every day. Both Kirsten and Logan’s. But tonight Kirsten’s hands caught my lingers and I can’t help but think about what’s ahead for them. These hands will experience moments of joy so grand they will clap together, and they will wipe away tears during moments of bitter sorrow; they will express frustration with clenched fists and they will hold her daddy’s hands during a father/daughter dance. They will clasp together in prayer, get scuffed during tumbles, find mine during snuggly moments and someday, maybe, be used to give herself shots, or greet her child for the first time. I’m overwhelmed by all the moments these hands will encounter. And as I pray, I also pray there are many things these hands never experience as well. And my heart aches to protect her from harm or hurt, and I find so much comfort knowing that Jesus knows the story of these hands already. He knows and He loves her even more than I do, which seems impossible. I’ve memorized her tiny knuckle dimples and I nibble her fingers with glee, and I am overwhelmed with love. Yet He loves her more. He created these hands. They are His masterpiece.

And I don’t have any ultra-wise words here. I wish I did. I’m just carrying the weight of knowing I’m not in control and daily am in the process of building my trust in the One who knows and writes our stories. Kirsten’s story. Logan’s story. And so, each day I’ll pray. I’ll pray He guides these hands into good, wise, and joyful moments. That they want to be His hands on this earth. And that He brings them comfort in the hard moments. And I’ll remember that just as He loves my babies, He loves me just as much. Oh my heart is so tender. I’m so thankful we have a God who cares so much about us, about every last detail, and sticks with us as we learn to trust Him.
Look at your own hands. What they have been through. Think about how your parents may have prayed over them when you were a child. Take in the significance of what your hands partake in on a daily basis. Lift those hands to Your Father and join me in asking Him to bless our hands and help us to become more aware of their power. Their power as they type words of either encouragement or meanness, as they prepare food, shake hands, clasp together with a loved one, brush a child’s hair. Use your hands to make a difference. Our hands have so much potential.

My dear children, I love your little hands. 

minted.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Minted and as a collaborator, I received free products. However, I would share only the best with you! All these opinions are my own. Using the links below does allow me the chance to make a few cents too, so if you choose to place an order, I would be so grateful if you use these links!

When Josh and I were on the hunt for the PERFECT birth announcement for Kirsten and Logan, we searched high and low for a card that would be perfect. Our search brought us to Minted, and goodness, I am so glad it did! We placed our order and LOVED that not only were there SO MANY options to choose from, but that they also do custom printed envelopes for FREE. This was a HUGE win for new parents and helped us tremendously get the announcements out the door!

So as we got ready to order our Christmas cards, I knew Minted was the place to go! And we just recently got them in and I just love them!

A few reasons we love Minted:

  1. They have a HUGE variety of cards, that are super easy to sort. Photo card – done! 1, 3, or 8 photos? Done! Christmas or Religious or Holiday language? Done! It was so simple to find our perfect card!
  2. You receive a beautiful quality card with the best paper around. They offer a gorgeous double sided stock as a signature standard, no extra fees for a creamy cotton texture that’s 137 lb thickness! This also means the photos print in excellent quality.
  3. Again, those free printed envelopes. DROOL. We had dozens of styles to choose from. All we had to do was upload our addresses in a template they give you in Excel and viola! (Also, I love that you can order your cards without uploading the document yet, which means if you want to place an order when a great sale is happening, *cough cough Black Friday*, but don’t have all your updated address ready yet, it’s no problem!
  4. One of my personal favorites … you are able to get unlimited proofs sent to you and work with your own dedicated designer. They don’t edit your text for you, so if you make a typo, that’s on you, (and I will be honest, I totally made one this year and it’s KILLING ME!), but they will make any and all changes that you notice and want changed even after you place your order. I saw the proof and didn’t like the way one of the photos was cropped and send my designer a note and he fixed it within minutes and sent me back a new proof! (Now if only I had reread my text on the back, he would have been willing to fix that too! ARGH!)
  5. You have a variety of color options. So if you like a card but you wish “Merry Christmas” was in a different color, you have options to change it! Want it to say “Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and New Year!” instead of :”Wishing you a wonderful Holiday season?” … Edit it! It’s so simple!
  6. It supports artists. Each design you are able to read the bio on the artist who designed the card, and when you receive your package, you get a personal note from that artist as well. My sister is an artist and I know how personal art is, and in a world where the mega companies are stealing ideas left and right, it’s so nice to be able to support artists in the beautiful work that they do.
  7. AND you can add a backer for a super low fee. There were tons of design options to choose from, with 1-4 photos and text. Super nice if you can’t decide on just one picture, or tend to get wordy like, eh hem, me. (BUT PLEASE PEOPLE, REREAD YOUR WORK! And not at 10 pm after you’ve had a long day with babies, haha.)

I know you are dying to see which card we selected …. But I just can’t give you a sneak peek until we mail them out! :) That said, here’s a sneak of the gorgeous envelope design we choose! Now all I need to do is stuff and stamp and we are done. (I will update with our card next week!)

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Since I can’t show you ours yet, here’s a peek at a sample of their gold foil cards! I wish you could see the quality in person!

While I was shopping, I noticed these ADORABLE personalized gift tags that I had to add to my cart! They were SO reasonable compared to the store prices and I love that I was able to add all of our names which saves me from having to write them all 500 times. I can customize each one with my own ribbon or twine and was able to choose a fun back design too so I can jot who it’s to. Super cute right? Can’t beat it!

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And lastly … dramatic pause … you guy know how much I LOVE stationary. Note cards, paper, planners, notebooks, even post-its, all of it is my JAM. So when I saw that they had a stunning real gold-foiled personalized stationary section, I just HAD to take a peek. And I fell in loveeeeeee.

Check out my new pretty pretty note cards! I am going to struggle to use them, let’s be honest, because they are so lovely and I never want to run out.

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So, being that I found a company that I just love working with, I couldn’t NOT share them with you! As you hunt for your perfect family card, I encourage you to check out Minted! I feel like we have found such a quality company to collaborate with! Seriously, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, now is the PERFECT time to snag a deal and get holiday cards checked off your list! (Okay, and maybe some adorable gift tags too! And put some personalized stationary on your Christmas wish list! They have SO many amazing products like custom wrapping paper, foiled business cards, birth announcements, etc! Happy shopping!)

Pssssst …. use coupon code BF2017 by 11/24 and get 20% off your holiday cards and 15% off of everything.