I've had the opportunity to do a few volunteer projects to help people bring new energy and a sense of clear purpose to spaces that are used to care for some of the most vulnerable in our community. It's always humbling, I always feel unqualified, and I'm always floored by the end result of watching folks come together to make big things happen.
I'm in the middle of one such project right now, serving on behalf of University Fellowship and in conjunction with Every Child, a new initiative in Oregon that has recently launched in Lane County, aimed at caring for the huge and diverse needs of children in the foster care system by coming alongside DHS and the folks with boots on the ground.
Last Spring a few of us were able to take a tour of one of the local DHS offices where so many of the kids in crisis in our community have walked through the doors. The staff there have an incredibly difficult job, and they are under resourced in many ways. One of the needs they have is to make sense of the a number of rooms in their rented building that are used for children who are in foster care to have supervised visits their parents who no longer have custody. These visits are a taxing time emotionally for all involved, case workers, foster parents, estranged parents and most importantly the children, and the environment they have to meet in is, to put it nicely, "stressful".
Poor lighting, broken donated toys, games and furniture you wouldn't pick out of Goodwill, tiny cramped quarters........it's a bummer for everyone. The SSAs who are responsible for each room care deeply, and they work to keep their rooms tidy and stocked with whatever they can, often out of their own pockets, but it's just not working. Take a look at what they're working with right now.
There was a FB thread a while back with a number of Foster Parents who were thrilled with a similar makeover done at another office nearby, some started chiming in about our office, the Willamette one, and the comments were telling as to it's current state. One woman wrote, "I had my nephew with me one time at drop off. We walked into the room and he said 'woah, Nana!!! This is like a haunted playroom!' Ha ha ha. Complete with flickering florescent lights and everything." Yeah, it's actually that bad.
Enter Every Child, and a number of generous churches in our community who are stepping to fund brand new furnishings for each of the 11 rooms used on a daily basis and they'll provide teams of folks who will put it all together over the course of a weekend.
I've taken on role of organizing, designing and shopping for all of the rooms and it is a TASK! I'm in the thick of it now, but it is a total joy to see it all come together. We asked for input from each SSA on what toys, furniture and event themes they would like to see in their rooms, we're taking those into consideration, but also wanting to give them something that will look clean and fun for the kids and have some staying power long term as staff may change. The budgets per room aren't massive, about $1500 for everything, which is just enough but not extravagant by any means. We can't paint or change the carpet, so we're relying on art, good storage and organization and fresh furnishings to make a huge difference.
Here's a sneak peek at what some of the rooms will involve, if you know your Ikea products, you'll join me in thanking Sweden for their contribution.
In addition to the churches who are partnering financially, we also are encouraging individuals or other groups on the community to come alongside and help fill these rooms with the "heart" items, the toys, art supplies, games and books that provide the experiences for these children to share with their parents. I've organized a number of these items into an Amazon Wishlist for folks to shop from. If you have interest or questions about helping us fill these rooms, please don't hesitate to contact me. Email is great, ashleydwillms@gmail.com.
All of these items will be installed the weekend of October 14-15 by some incredible folks who are giving up their free days to make it happen! I can't wait to post the updates of this project, stay tuned!
Thanks in advance to Mosaic Church, Gospel Community Church, Grace Community Church, Awakening Church and University Fellowship Church for your donations, time and energy!
Check back in!
Ashley
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Bruin Scott Willms
A month ago sweet Bruin Scott Willms was born. December 14, a bit after 9:00pm, he came out as a big healthy boy, all 9lbs. 11 oz. and 22 inches of him!
He started his arrival on our due date, late on the 13th (love that punctuality) with my water breaking while out to a delicious Christmas dinner with my coworkers. However, the process of getting him here took quite a bit of time and work, actually 24 hours of labor followed by a cesarean. When the doctor finally announced his arrival, she joked that I'd birthed a toddler, and he has proven to be a big happy boy in the month that we've known him.
We feel so honored, and honestly, somewhat overwhelmed to be his parents. But we could not be more in love and grateful to God for his Grace in giving us Bruin, our little Bear.
We pray he lives to be a man who loves Jesus, cares for people well and lives life fully.
And in the short term, we pray he learns to sleep at night...........thankfully he's deliciously cute, which makes up for the lack of sleep, though I admit to being completely biased.
Our friend Kaela at Kaela Mey Photography took some beautiful photos of Bruin at two weeks. I'm so grateful to have some infant photos of him now that he's looking so much more like a big baby these days.
Kirk and I are so in love with this baby.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Baby Boy Willms Nursery Ideas
So this last weekend was a wonderful, packed and totally draining time with about 350 of my favorite people out at Camp Agape. I have a so much to process from this weekend, so many amazing things happened, but this morning I'm overwhelmed emotionally, spiritually and am just plain tired.
So to give myself a little break I decided to take some creative time and brainstorm ideas for Baby Boy Willms' nursery! We're six months along already and it's time to get cracking on our plans to welcome this little man we're so excited about in the middle of December!
Nursery Thoughts
I always love an all white, neutral nursery, but when push comes to shove, Kirk and I just love color too much. So, I picked a few colors that didn't feel too baby but still communicated fun and the things we love. Then I brainstormed some items I already have in the house that we cherish and could see in there, and added in some "theme" ideas. What it all boiled down to was a little bit of a "Adventure" nursery, with a good mix of modern, rustic and classic.
Paint
(Today) we plan to paint the room white, but are considering adding a floor-to-mid-wall border in black chalkboard paint, about 1/3 of the way up. I love the idea of a lot of these furniture pieces popping against the black, and chalkboard will be a fun (and totally messy) element down the road as baby grows.
Artwork
The School House Electric print has a fun mid century vibe to it, making me think of the "golden age" of national parks and I love the scout-like colors in the print especially the olive green. That's the piece I took to pick a color scheme from.
I have a black and white photo print I found at an estate sale years ago that's in a gnarly great old (kind of wonky) custom frame. It's of some folks headed down the Rogue River on a raft and attached to the back were a number of notes and brochures from the previous owners adventures. I'd love to put it above the changing table so I can look at it often and the black and white brings in a nice vintage feel to the room, especially with all of the new furniture that will be in there.
Furniture and Storage
The crib I found is from Wal Mart amazingly enough. They have some great affordable and modern looking options.
The chair is from IKEA, and has some great "hack" tutorials online to turn it into a rocker. Still might be better to just go for a rocker or glider, but we both like the look and shape of this chair, so thought we'd try it!
The dresser/changing table is also from IKEA. A number for friends have used this one and the storage is excellent for organizing baby's items and the height of it is great, especially for Kirk who is taller than average and looking forward to changing hundreds of diapers.
I found the rug on All Modern and loved the shag coziness, charcoal and cream colors and the random pattern that I think will offset of the clean lines throughout the rest of the room well. It's a splurge so it's not on the priority list, and I'll keep my eyes peeled at Home Goods for a large area rug that would work at a less expensive price.
The tee pee is a total kitschy "Ashley" thing, but I do love the rather loud orange and white stripes. Call me crazy, but I think it will make a good hiding place for some of baby's toys, and the dog, and someday will be a much loved play item.
I have used horse bridle hooks in a number of places both in my home and other spaces, they cost a whopping $3 at the local feed store and add a fun, rustic element. I found the fun canvas bags at Harbor Freight of all places for $15 each. They remind me of the green waxed canvas army surplus bags my grandpa would use on our middle-of-nowhere family camping trips to store water for washing our hands and faces. I'd like to use these for storing toys, so I can pull down one bin at a time.
Other little things
I'll be on the hunt for a good ottoman or pouf to go with the rocker, something that ties in the orange and blue or green.
I love the painted oars from Norquay but there ain't no way we'll be buying that, so Kirk has decided to take on a couple of similar art projects to put in the room.
I also have a beautiful arrow made from one of the first Turkeys I ever shot to put on the wall, seems fitting for a little boys adventure room.
And I love the lighting options I pulled on this page. The green flush mount reminds me of a park lodge and the target table lamp has a fun geometric shape while pulling in the blue and it's cheap!
This was a fun, totally rewarding little morning project and put a little fire under me to get started. This will be so fun!
Now if only landing on a name for baby could happen in a morning.....
Much love,
Ashley
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Living Room Paint and a little "How To"
Some of you may have seen the pictures on my instagram account of the new stripey walls Kirk and I finished last week. It was a fun project to do together, and for us it was a huge win in making what was "my" house feel more like "ours". If you were to ask either of us, the house has been kind of an emotional hot button, a physical representative for us of how difficult it has been to learn to share and compromise when we've each had so many years of independence. But we're gaining ground people! Little by little we're figuring this stuff out!
Kirk is really good at visualizing a space and putting it together. He's very artistic, and he loves to host, in fact, had just bought a house when we started dating and he did a great job making it a warm and inviting space where everyone wanted to be. It's now rented out by some great friends, and we're sharing the tiny little 2 bedroom one bath house I lived in and experimented on for the last 5 years.
We had incredibly different houses, but there were a couple of elements that ended up the pretty similar. We both had deep black accent walls, and loved gray and white. The crazy thing is, his house read very masculine, and mine was full of blue, red and green accents that made it feel pretty vinage and cottage-y. We're learning to land on a happy little mix of "us" where ecclectic-pretty-petite meets masculine-graphic-comfortable. Let's call it unique. But we're loving it! Here are some before and afters, with many more evolutions to come, I'm sure.
Hope you're enjoying dreaming of some fun updates in your home as well!
-Ashley
Kirk is really good at visualizing a space and putting it together. He's very artistic, and he loves to host, in fact, had just bought a house when we started dating and he did a great job making it a warm and inviting space where everyone wanted to be. It's now rented out by some great friends, and we're sharing the tiny little 2 bedroom one bath house I lived in and experimented on for the last 5 years.
We had incredibly different houses, but there were a couple of elements that ended up the pretty similar. We both had deep black accent walls, and loved gray and white. The crazy thing is, his house read very masculine, and mine was full of blue, red and green accents that made it feel pretty vinage and cottage-y. We're learning to land on a happy little mix of "us" where ecclectic-pretty-petite meets masculine-graphic-comfortable. Let's call it unique. But we're loving it! Here are some before and afters, with many more evolutions to come, I'm sure.
Old Living Room
- White walls with black accent
- Funky weird and ever changing wall art
- Giant Black table that took up the living room
(Pre Kirk moving in when I was seriously thinking about painting the living room pink)
The art on these walls changes a million times, but was always cozy to come home to.
New Living Room
- We painted a deep, "Hale Navy" from Benjamin Moore on 3 of the walls that contrasts well with the off white trim. Thankfully, there's a lot of natural light from the big fat picture window, the view looks beautiful framed in with the dark walls, and I'm currently working on putting up more artwork that will break up all of the navy.
- We also ended up mounting the giant TV above the fireplace and love it. It blends in well with the almost black walls. Then we put a big brown leather used chair from a friend, for Kirk, in the corner where the TV and hutch used to be. Pics to come soon.
- We painted gray and white stripes on the accent wall which used to be black, the main wall you see when you enter the house and down the hall. The continuous lines has helped to make the accent wall blend in, and the horizontal lines elongate that walls, making the whole space feel much more open.
A little "how to" on the technique for the stripes. Kirk had researched this a fair bit and he did all of the smart artsy stuff, I just threw a bunch of paint up and did some cutting in. Here's the process we used.
- We color matched the original trim paint at the hardware store so and then prepped, filled holes and gave the walls a clean coat. I generally love Benjamin Moore paint, so we went with their Aura line because there were less fumes and the coverage was good. Neither of us are big on taping, so we just did our best to give it a good coat and cut in well. This goes for the navy as well, we were just careful.
- Kirk measured out 12 inch stripes starting from the top, marking every 3 or so feet around the room. My guess is this took him 2 hours. We planned on the bottom stripe being a fair bit thicker, which gives it a little more of a finished feel on the bottom with the trim. Or maybe I'm just saying that because we were lazy and wanted easy math. Either way, it worked. We debated stripe thickness, and the 12 inch size allowed us an odd number of stripes which we wanted so both the top and bottom were in gray, and just enough stripes that it felt wall paper-ish, without being too busy.
- Kirk then took green Frog tape and started placing it on the wall using a level. This took some time, and we did it a couple of days before we had time to actually paint the stripes, so every now and again he'd see an area where it was a little off and would fix the tape. He did an awesome job.
- He taped under and on top of the lines that edged the white stripes. So when it was taped, it looked as though the stripes were uneven. We then took credit cards as ran them along the tape to make sure it had a good seal to the wall.
- When it came time to paint, we first brushed the white back on where the gray stripes would go, making sure to cover the tape, that way if any paint were to bleed under the tape, it would be white.
- A few hours after that we went over with the gray. This took two coats and we finished at 2 am, and I had to do a little spot treating in the morn when we had day light.
- We let the paint dry overnight, and then took the tape off. Note that when pulling that off, you want to pull away from the gray stripe, either upwards or downwards, depending on which side of the side of the stripe you're working on. This ensures that if you a little too much paint on, it won't peel at the edge, but will come off cleanly.
- Because he did such a good job taping, we really didn't have to clean the stripes up. They were crisp and clean!
- As you can see from the photo below, I now just need to go back and cut in with navy at the edges. Don't screw this up Willms!
There you have it! It's a great, clean, cozy and fun punch to the room. I'll continue to mess with the art and furniture (much to Kirk's dismay) over the coming days I'm sure, so look for more pics soon!
Hope you're enjoying dreaming of some fun updates in your home as well!
-Ashley
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Sharing Your Personal Gospel Story
I had the chance to speak to a room of college age women from University Fellowship last night for their weekly gathering called Worthy. I had been asked to speak about what it means to tell your Gospel story in order to share the truth of Jesus. You know, in churchy terms, "your testimony". I think it's something that with a little thought and practice, can become an easy and empowering part of living out your faith in Christ.
It was a great night, and again a refreshing break for me from my normal candy and sticker pushing speaking gigs with the preschool and elementary kids. I had some folks ask that I pass the notes along, and since I have a fancy blog now, 10 more of you will get to read them and decide for yourself if this is worth it's salt at all!
And full disclosure, I learned/stole a lot of this from my very smart mama, Phares Gilchrist. I grew up watching her instruct on stuff like this while she and my dad served on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. She could keep a room full of Delta Gammas at the U of O rapt in attention with her witty and wise delivery.
I mean, who wouldn't enjoy listening to people who are this cute? Look at them, Brett and Phares circa The 80's!
It was a great night, and again a refreshing break for me from my normal candy and sticker pushing speaking gigs with the preschool and elementary kids. I had some folks ask that I pass the notes along, and since I have a fancy blog now, 10 more of you will get to read them and decide for yourself if this is worth it's salt at all!
And full disclosure, I learned/stole a lot of this from my very smart mama, Phares Gilchrist. I grew up watching her instruct on stuff like this while she and my dad served on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. She could keep a room full of Delta Gammas at the U of O rapt in attention with her witty and wise delivery.
I mean, who wouldn't enjoy listening to people who are this cute? Look at them, Brett and Phares circa The 80's!
Share your Story
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
Psalm 107:2
Every single person who trusts Jesus as their Lord has a calling to evangelistic ministry. We all inherit the joyful burden of the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-10, but we’re given both the authority of Christ, and the power of a personal account to help us present Christ in a relatable and compelling manner. Essentially, because we know Jesus personally, we are able to lead people to him, almost like taking a hand, walking them across the room and introducing them to him face to face. We are given the opportunity to make the introduction, but God through the work of the Holy Spirit in a heart, and the redeeming power of Jesus’ sacrifice, does the work of saving and imparting new life. Here are 3 scriptures and some applications that help give us a context for what it means to share our story.
Each of us have been given a personal ministry of sharing the Gospel, in the authority of Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
- This is a directive, not an option. We each need to pursue evangelism in our spheres of influence.
- We absolutely are not alone in this, God has given us His Word to instruct us and has promised His presence to us.
We need to be practiced and ready to share not only our story but also the Gospel whenever the opportunity arises.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
- If we revere Christ as Lord we will spend time in fellowship with other believers, in prayer, in his word, and his Holy Spirit will be more able to direct us.
- We need to be ready to respond whenever the opportunity arises. Whether it’s a blatant ask from an individual or a subtle nudging from the Spirit. Pray for opportunities to share. Practice your story.
- Look to Philip and his interaction with the Ethiopian Eunuch for an example. Acts. 8:26-40
We can be confident in sharing our stories, knowing that there is power whenever the Gospel is proclaimed.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
- When we share our story, remember it’s really not about us, but about the Gospel reaching the ears of the hearer. They have to make a personal decision. Look at the woman at the well. John 4:39-32.
- Value simplicity, honesty and a clear gospel presentation over trying to make your story dynamic. It’s not our words that compel someone to faith, but the power of God.
How to Craft a 3 minute Testimony in Order to Share the Gospel
How you came to Christ is your story. It cannot be argued with or denied. God is a witness to your life, and you are a witness to His. Because it is yours it is unique, even though many can identify with what you say.
There is no such thing as a boring testimony. It is the work of a good and loving Father in your life. There are, however, boring deliveries! This has everything to do with how the story is organized and nothing to do with the event. In organizing your story you want to have the listener in mind. We tend to start with what is important to us which often involves details that we care about but are not needed and can cloud a clear presentation. The goal is simple. Our story should be designed in a way that if it is the only time a hearer will hear the gospel they will leave understanding how to begin a relationship with Christ.
The basic outline is…
- What transpired in my life before Christ
- When/how I came to Christ
- After coming to Christ, how my life looked
- Before Christ…what was your life centered around; home life, school, relationships…you choose the theme.
- Coming to Christ…what were the circumstances involved in this decision. While everyone comes differently, we all experience these 4 things. At some point we came to understand that
- God Loves me
- I’m a sinner…not perfect, never will be
- Jesus died to repair the effects of my sin
- By accepting Christ’s offer of forgiveness I enter into a relationship with him, that is eternal.
- How your life looks after coming to know Christ. This is an opportunity to highlight what has changed for the better, what is difficult, and ultimately what your new found hope looks like as you live it out.
It is helpful to avoid some easy offenders, especially when you consider your audience.
- Using names of churches, denominations, para church groups (unless explained) whether positively or negatively.
- Using “Christianese” or language that is not common or weird to a non-Christian.
And finally keeping it to 3 minutes is easy on the listener and leaves them wanting more, not less.
Your challenge this week is to think through the outline of your testimony, to practice it with friends, and to pray for opportunities to arise at home, in your classes, at work, or with a stranger to share your story! Remember, God is ultimately the one who opens, directs and guides hearts to saving faith. He can reveal his Gospel to the lost world any way he chooses, but so often, he chooses us. It’s an incredible gift, don’t let your fear keep you from the joy of evangelism.
“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” -We Bought a Zoo
Monday, January 26, 2015
Foreboding Joy
However, no sooner did I say I love her, and gush about how wonderful she is, than I followed it with "ugh, and someday, you're going to die".
Charming.
I do this all the time. I take a perfectly sweet, rich, good moment, bask in it for all of 10 seconds, and then it's as if the happiness of that moment triggers a fear in me. Fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of disappointment, fear of change.......the list goes on, believe me. In this case it was the fear of the pain I will one day undoubtedly experience when Scout dies. Sad to be sure, but why do I let future reality rob present joy?
Brene Brown gave me a helpful term the other day for this cycle when I read her description of what she calls foreboding joy. Basically, for some of us, the joy we experience leaves us feeling exposed and vulnerable to the hurt that might occur if the reason for joy were to be taken away. (Loss, failure, disappointment, change....) So we try to beat the pain to the punch.
For me it's about control. I want to let pain know that I see it coming, and that I'm ready for it. But I've deceived myself. I'm still going to experience pain, and I now don't experience the joy of freedom for which I've been created. I'm allowing myself to be ruled by the fear.
Brown suggests that from what she's gathered, the antidote for foreboding joy is gratitude. I like that. What would my day to day be like if I were to retrain myself to stop and acknowledge joy, and thank my Creator for the gift He's given and rest in them? In the moment I was tempted to brace myself for the pain of losing the dog, what if I'd just stopped and said how grateful I was for the joy of my little family? What if I'd just rested in that? I want to be a person who experiences joy because of gratitude.
And better yet, what if I start training myself to find gratitude and joy, even in trial? To be thankful for the opportunity to grow in the midst of pain, because it will happen. No matter how much control I try to exercise, I will experience pain, and I can be grateful for that.
I'm reminded of these truths from the first book of James.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:16-17
God gives the good gifts that bring joy. I can trust His love and care and will. I need to chill out.
Anyways, all of that to say, I love that dog.
-Ashley
Friday, January 23, 2015
"I DO" Season
My baby brother Garrett asked his sweet girlfriend Faith to marry him last night and we're all totally relieved she said yes. Mainly because everyone and their mom knew the event was approaching and we were totally terrified of ruining her surprise. That might have just been me, but either way, the city of Eugene is celebrating! They are a sweet, fun and bright match. It'll be so fun to watch them grow together and as a family. They're so cute.
We had a little gathering with friends and family last night and listened to the stories and voted on wedding hashtags. The pressure was real. When Kirk and I married, we used #maythewillmsbewithyou. Possibly the longest on record, and very prone to spelling mistakes, so let me encourage the young couple to pursue brevity.
Anyways, we're all thrilled for them, and I'm looking forward to paying back all of the man hours they both put into our wedding last summer, and Faith took on a ton of work for me at the church while we traveled. She has to be really loving life now that she's officially engaged to the son and brother of her bosses. Nepotism, the gift that keeps on giving!
My dear friend Kaela is kicking off the new year of wedding for us this next weekend as she marries her beau Drew! Kaela and I have been friends forever, and she had just moved into the Little Rustic Ranch with me when she and Drew started to date. It was a blast to watch their relationship unfold, Drew pursued her so well, she gave him a run for his money, and they are a dynamic and LOVED couple.
I was so honored that Kaela asked me to be a bridesmaid, and she also asked for a selfie with the bridesmaid invitation she wrote. I obliged, but only after my friend Christi Harris had given me a new haircut did I return home and took about 28 pictures. It was not going well, so I finally resorted to placing my phone on top of the coffee maker while I squatted in a chair and tried to find the right upwards or downwards angle of my face to me appear perpetually serene and joyful. Which I am. And then I filtered the heck out of the thing and cut out a weird hair strand I had. I think this is the kind of commitment Kaela was looking for.
Along with taking a perfect selfie, my bridesmaid duties have also involved texting her really bad marriage advice, because that's about all I have to offer 7 months in, and throwing a fun shower for her with all her Eugene crowd.
We had a little gathering with friends and family last night and listened to the stories and voted on wedding hashtags. The pressure was real. When Kirk and I married, we used #maythewillmsbewithyou. Possibly the longest on record, and very prone to spelling mistakes, so let me encourage the young couple to pursue brevity.
Anyways, we're all thrilled for them, and I'm looking forward to paying back all of the man hours they both put into our wedding last summer, and Faith took on a ton of work for me at the church while we traveled. She has to be really loving life now that she's officially engaged to the son and brother of her bosses. Nepotism, the gift that keeps on giving!
My dear friend Kaela is kicking off the new year of wedding for us this next weekend as she marries her beau Drew! Kaela and I have been friends forever, and she had just moved into the Little Rustic Ranch with me when she and Drew started to date. It was a blast to watch their relationship unfold, Drew pursued her so well, she gave him a run for his money, and they are a dynamic and LOVED couple.
I was so honored that Kaela asked me to be a bridesmaid, and she also asked for a selfie with the bridesmaid invitation she wrote. I obliged, but only after my friend Christi Harris had given me a new haircut did I return home and took about 28 pictures. It was not going well, so I finally resorted to placing my phone on top of the coffee maker while I squatted in a chair and tried to find the right upwards or downwards angle of my face to me appear perpetually serene and joyful. Which I am. And then I filtered the heck out of the thing and cut out a weird hair strand I had. I think this is the kind of commitment Kaela was looking for.
Along with taking a perfect selfie, my bridesmaid duties have also involved texting her really bad marriage advice, because that's about all I have to offer 7 months in, and throwing a fun shower for her with all her Eugene crowd.
Christi Harris (friend, hairstylist and co bridesmaid) and I teamed up to host the a glitter and gold filled extravaganza. We had a blast planning it, and it was a sweet, laid back time to honor and celebrate Kaela.
One of my favorite DIY's from this party was the "I DO" that rests on top of the mantle. A couple of months ago I drove by a neighborhood garage sale and saw a number of old, empty metal sign letters. I scooped them up, and had the letter to spell "CUP" and "I DO" or "CUPIDO". I opted to take the "I DO" letters and filled them with some dry floral foam, and spray glued a bunch of moss I bought from the craft store in layers. In hindsight, hot glue probably would have been better, but I was lazy and needed a quick turn around. So now I go around respraying the moss onto them like I'm trying help a big hairdo make it through the day. I've had some requests to borrow them for future showers, so I'll need to re do them soon so they can handle the travel. But the short term effect was pretty fun!
I'm looking forward to celebrating all of these people I love. Weddings are always a great reminder of God's faithfulness in bringing friends into our lives in sweet seasons. And I'm reminded of his faithfulness to bring Kirk into my life at the right time, after what had been growth producing, rich years as a "single lady".