BE Print Shop + Giveaway

+++ a little hint: read all the way to the end (or scroll down if you're impatient) because there is giveaway info AND a coupon code +++

So, the BE Print Shop is now live. 

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When you check out the new BE Print Shop, this will be the first print that you see. This is the heartbeat behind all our new designs. We pray that these prints would be more than pretty art.  

We pray that these prints encourage + inspire the young hearts in your lives to be exactly who they were created to be. 

We, as parents, have to be intentional. 

I designed this next set of prints specifically for my son, Ellis. When you read books on parenting, he falls into what they so kindly call the "free spirits"...which we all know is just a nice way of saying "wild child".  He may be wild + crazy but he has the biggest heart.  He is so full of joy that he radiates a room with his laughter.  His eyes are so full of life.  But I know it's a scary world.  And I know how easily that childhood innocence can be stripped away.  My prayer for him is to "be brave, dream big, and soar high, little one." 

...And I'd love it if you prayed it over your kids as well.  So, I've giving away this set of "Little One" prints.  Along with my favorite pair of earrings from my friend Ashley, over at The Poppy Chain. (because who doesn't love an amazing pair of earrings?!)

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If you stuck with me this long, you can now head on over to the BE Print Shop to see all of our new prints! 

Oh, and all prints are BUY ONE GET ONE FREE through Sunday at Midnight with code: BUY1GET1!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Not quite how I planned...

It was one of those days.  One of those "I'm going to control this day and not let it control me" kind of days.  

I decided that I was going to get up, get ready, and get out of the house.  A friend texted about meeting up at the mall for a quick lunch and playdate.  Perfect.

So I got up, got ready, and got out of the house.  Check.  I even remembered to pack everything I needed in the diaper bag.  Everything.  

As I pulled into the parking lot, it hit me.  The stroller.

You know, the one that was not in my car.   

The one that was sitting in my garage.  

The one I forgot. 

I shrug it off, think to myself, "You can do this."

I strap O into the Beco, grab Ellis and tote them both inside...feeling pretty confident.  

We go straight to the playground with our friends and all is well.

We even walked to the food court seamlessly.  (Well...besides the fact that we lost a shoe along the way and had to walk halfway back across the entire mall to find it.  No biggie.)  He held my hand without a fight, it was great. 

We ate lunch with only a few pieces of food thrown.  This is going great!

That's where I should have called it a success and went home.

I should have counted my blessings and not pushed my luck. 

My friend said, "I think I'm going to run into H&M quick..."

Go home, Kendahl.  Say no.  It's dangerously close to naptime. 

But instead I said, "Sure!  Let's go!"

I snapped this picture as we were walking in the store.  It was proof to my inner negative voice that I can do things like this.  I can take him into a store without a stroller for a quick browse.  My kid isn't always crazy.

Awesome, yes?

No.

no.no.no.

In a matter of minutes, I went from feeling like supermom to feeling like a complete failure as I literally ran through H&M with a baby strapped to my chest chasing my toddler as he ran away laughing.  It was a game.  I couldn't catch him and he knew it.  It was awful.
And scary at the same time.

What if we weren't in a store?  
What if we were out in the parking lot?  
What if he turns a corner and I can't find him?

I finally caught him, and sternly addressed the situation.  All at the same time knowing that the more upset I made him, the more impossible it would be to drag him through the mall to the other side where I was parked.  So, I made my point and walked to the back of the store again.  In attempt to calm him down and try some positive reinforcement...I gave him my phone to look through photos since he walked calmly while holding my hand back through the store.

And within seconds it happened again.  This time running and screaming.

I had to leave.  Immediately.
Embarrassed and overwhelmed.
And, selfishly, upset that things didn't go my way...the way I had planned for them to go.

I planned for a fun trip to the mall.
I planned for a lunch and a little shopping to catch up with some friends.
I planned for the little outing to refresh me and jumpstart my day to being productive and happy.

Instead I spent the rest of my day in a funk.  I replayed the situation over and over again.  What could I have done differently?  I replayed the last year and a half over and over...where did I go wrong?  Why is my child the one that everyone comments about?  Why is my son the one that can't sit still in church, or anywhere for that matter?  What parenting book are all these other moms reading that I am clearly not?

This is not how I planned it.

My kids were not supposed to be the crazy ones.
I never wanted to be the mom that had to chase her toddler through the store and reprimand him in public while strangers eyes are burning holes in my back.
I never intended to have to skip outings with friends because I can't control my own kid.


Have you been there?
Because I was there.  I'm still a little bit there now.

In the trap.  The comparison trap.  The lies.  It's a rough place. 


But I know the truth.
The truth isn't in the lies.  Or the comparison.  Or the why me's?

The truth is that I'm not a perfect mom.  And I don't have perfect kids.  And that's okay.

Because I serve one who is perfect.
And in my weakness, He is strong. 

And every time I ask "why me?" or want to give up, He taps me on the shoulder and gently reminds me that His grace is enough.

The next time things don't quite go as planned, remember...His power works best in weakness.

...breathe that in, friends.

 His power doesn't only work in weakness, it works best in weakness.

I share these things because I want the power of Christ to work through me.  I want to help others through my weakness.  I don't want to teach you how to be a better parent (though not taking your 20 month old into H&M without a stroller at nap time is a great place to start :) ) I want to tell you you aren't alone.  I want to drink coffee with you and laugh about all the silly parenting mistakes we made this week.   And about how loved you are.  

post about pacis

Sometimes as a mom I find myself fretting about the small things.

I even sometimes convince myself that if I go easy on my son and let him break our house "rules" I will somehow break him.  I will somehow turn my kid into the bully in elementary school.  Or the detention bound freshman.  I don't worry about the big things.  We call those the non-negotiables around here.  The "don't touch the stove" the "don't sit on your sister" the "don't hit the dog…or your dad…or the wall".  Those rules are simple to keep.  They keep order.  They keep us safe.  

But the little things.  Man, that's where I slip.

We don't let him stand on the furniture.  But when I'm feeding the baby and he's dancing on the other side of the couch, sometimes I let it slide. 

We don't eat junk.  But when I'm sick and too tired to care, that's when I find myself letting him eat half of my pop-tart instead of cooking him eggs.

We watch a show in the morning and one right after nap.  But when he's walking around yelling for Thomas and I've run out of other things to do, sometimes we watch 1, 2, or 3 more just because it's easy.

And we only have pacis in bed.  Not even the car.  We are pretty strict on this.  But when your kid walks into the room beaming, after discovering his parent's hiding place, aka, the jackpot of all pacis…you just have to let it slide.  Because it's adorable.

So, why do I worry about these little rules?  Why do I hold myself up against all these "perfect" standards as a mom and judge my abilities based on the silly guidelines?  It's like a checklist of right/wrong.  And I pass or fail based on how many things I did right that day.

But this is so backwards.

At church this past week, our pastor asked us a question that changed me.  It has changed the way I think about my days.  It changed my perspective.  

"Are we simply modifying the behavior or shaping the hearts of our children?"

Whether our children follow all of our rules or not is not the only gauge.  It's their heart.  Why are they doing the things they do?  Why are they making the decisions they do?  When Ellis ran into the living room juggling 9 pacis and the biggest smile on his face…he wasn't being disobedient.  He was overjoyed.  He was proud.  He was so gosh darn adorable.  At one point he literally just sat down and looked at them.  Spread them out and touched each one slowly.  And I let him relish in that joy.  I let him enjoy his treasure.  

...But after some time of enjoying, when I asked him to put them away because it wasn't bed time, he did.  He listened.  He wasn't driven by fear of rules.  He was driven by the direction of his mama and he obeyed.  

Do we live our lives like this?  Are we driven by the fear of a rule book?  Do we treat the gospel as a book of right and wrong and judge ourselves based off of it?

Or do we live a life in which we respect our heavenly Father and and Love him enough to follow his instruction.  Do we keep the "non-negitiables" but trust God to guide us daily in the little things?

Now, please hear my heart.  I am not saying that we do not need to be faithful in the small things.  Because we most definitely do.  But that's not what this is about.  This is about freedom from the fear of being perfect.  This is about not being so afraid of the rules that we miss the moment.  That we miss the joy.  That we miss the relationship with the rule maker.  

So seek His direction.  And when He gives you good gifts, relish in them.

…and when he tells you to put the pacis away, put the pacis away. 

You are valuable || free print download

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

I was watching Jessi Connolly's wild moms influence net class tonight and wow.  If you all aren't members of the influence network, stop what you are doing and go sign up.  Please oh please.  

Jessi is beautiful in and out and this class was an absolute home run.  

3 kids, a missionary husband, and funds were tight.  And she recalled a time where she heard one of her kids say "we can't afford that".  And it stung. She decided then and there that they needed to stop and change their way of thinking.  Nothing is outside of the Lord's reach.  Why should we limit God's ability?  

I need to let this rub in.  I need to soak in this.  I need this truth in my life.  And my kids need it.  

We need to be careful that we are not speaking lies into our kids without even realizing it.  Whether it's money, dreams, goals, daily life…we need to stop setting our own limitations.  We need to stop thinking that we can't.  We need to start asking God.  Not that everything we ask for will be fulfilled in an instant, but that who are we to be the ones to say no?  Be vulnerable and ask.  

If it's going to be a no, let God be the one to say no. 

When you don't think you can.  Or you think you aren't enough.  Remember, you have value.  God will take care of you.  Don't limit yourself. Soak in this.  

 Matthew 6:26 print  |  download here 

(click link then click small down arrow in upper left corner to download)

22 year old me...

How often do we pray this prayer?

"Our Father, who art in Heaven..."

I remember growing up we would repeat the same prayer before bed each night..."Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep..."  But one night I remember asking my mom if that was the prayer she said when she was a girl.  She said yes, but that they also said the Lord's Prayer.   She started to recite, "Our Father, who art in Heaven..."

From time to time I asked my mom to repeat this to me.  I remember trying to memorize the words...but usually forgot (or stopped trying) after "give us this day our daily bread." 

I don't know why that stuck out to me.  I don't know why I got caught up at that verse.  But still to this day...though I know the rest...I get a little tripped up with the words after "daily bread". 

He does.

He gives us our daily bread.

He promises us what we need.  For that day.  Nothing more and nothing less. 

When Bryan and I were newly married, we lived in a small apartment on an even smaller budget.  I worked in a city over an hour away and drove to and from each day.  He student taught all day and worked all night to make a little extra money.  We sat down one night and I started worrying about the what ifs.  What if you don't get the job you are going to apply for?  What if we have to keep working like this and never see each other?   What if our car breaks down from all the miles I'm putting on it?  What if we can't afford a bigger apartment?  What if our student loans start coming in and overcome us?  What if...what if...what if...?

Bryan told me that night that I have to stop living in the land of what ifs...I can only live in today.  And today I can ask that God will give us this day our daily bread.  And know that he is faithful.  And know that he gives good gifts to his children.  And know that He directs my steps and knows our future.  Even when we don't.  

Bryan was right.  He's a pretty smart dude.

...but I've been finding myself traveling back in the land of what if's lately.  

 What if we don't ever sell our house?  What if Olive has a flat head like Ellis and has to wear a helmet?  What if people don't like my designs and nothing sells?  What if Christmas doesn't look like it has in the past because we can't afford a lot of gifts this year?  What if I'm not working hard enough with Ellis on things he should be learning?  There are so many more.  

And it's silly stuff, guys. 

So, after fretting in the land of the what ifs for a few days, I've decided I've got to stop.  This time I'm giving myself the pep-talk :)   And I'm giving it to you to.  

I can look back 5 years ago and tell 22 year old Kendahl that in 5 years you will have 2 adorable, healthy children.  Bryan will have a steady job doing what he loves and you will live in a cute brick house with a big back yard.  You may not have all the things, but you will be happy.  And you will be loved. 

I can only imagine the great things I will look back and tell 27 year old Kendahl in another 5 years.

What are you worrying about that you need to let go of?  

What are the "what ifs" in your life that you are letting fog the "what is"? 

Because the "what is" is that God will give you enough for today.

{ 10 hours }

hi all.

10 hours of sleep.  That's what my new fancy sleep cycle iPhone app says. 

10 hours of sleep. 

4 hours and 29 minutes on Sunday night.

5 hours and 31 minutes on Monday night.

2 days.  10 hours. 

Yet I feel refreshed. 

These last 2 nights have included extra late hours of crafting and blogging.  Creation makes me happy.  Bringing my imagination to life is what gives me life.  I needed 10 hours of sleep.  

These last 2 mornings have been a little easier to get up.  Because I had a plan.  Because I have a list of crafts to complete and dinners to cook and pictures to edit.  Because I felt a purpose.  Because I only had 10 hours of sleep. 

These last 2 days have been less fussy.  Not because of a happy baby, but because of a happy mama.  A refreshed mama.  A creative, fun, I-want-to-sit-and-sing-you-silly-songs-all-day mama.  Because I got 10 hours of sleep.  

And because I have made time for Him.  Not preparing for bible study time.  Not reading stories from the baby bible to Ellis time.  But just time.  Late nights hanging out and days of long on going chats.  I've just brought Him along with me.  To the wee hours, to the silly songs, and to the early mornings.

And I can have good, fun, creative, life giving days, on only 10 hours of sleep, because of Him.  

And because of ladies like Raechel who understands the life of a mama/wife/crafter/sillysongsinger/jesuslover/dailysinner like me.  And my desperate need to walk through these truths.   And not do it alone.  Join us?