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My little Pumpkin-Poos turned 7 today! SEVEN?! Yes, seven. Where the time goes I will never know. Her given Chinese name means “The Lord’s Peace” as I honestly just really wanted a peaceful baby who would sleep soundly & go with the flow. Daddy has renamed her into “The Lord’s Joy” & she only answers to that when called by her Chinese name. I think these photos explain why we call her full of joy..jpg)
Her nickname “pumpkin” came along because the day before she was born we were at the arboretum & there was a 500 pound pumpkin & I took a photo next to it as I felt like I was as big as that pumpkin. “Pumpkin” turned into “Pumpkin-Poos” which turned into “Little Punkins” which turned recently turned into “Li’l Punks.” {Either that or sweets.}
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Oh, and sometimes I call her my little hippo as she loves cold water & mud. Other things she loves: DOGS! Of course I am allergic, so no living doggy in our home, but you will find 32 stuffed puppies. We read the breed guide book often & she can probably name more breeds of dogs than most people can! She is totally smitten with her brother & sister too. Anything to get their attention & affection {such as covering herself with mud since it is soooooo funny.} The birthday girl even picked out the gift she knew her big brother would love, and so he would gladly play with her. So sweet.
And, talk about creative! She is constantly playing house, school, library or restaurant and she LOVES art.
Pumpkin’s life has taught me so much. The first & biggest lesson is that God has bigger & BETTER plans & they are not always our own. {You might call her our love child or our little surprise blessing, ahem.} She’s rocked my world as my “life plan” exploded for the better. It was because of her that Life Verse Design even began. {You can read more about that here.}
She has also taught me the wonder & appreciation for language. You see, Pumpkins has a speech disorder & the things we take for granted in speech & language has been a learning process and a TON of hard work for her & still is. Our language is so automatic & it’s a fascinating thing to really think about how we developed it or when we will choose to use a pronoun or the required question word, but she has to think about all of that & more. I am so thankful for how far she has come & I love to hear what is on her heart. {My favorite phrase lately is bedtime when she blurts out every night, “I LOVE YOU MORE!” before I can say it … my not-so-favorite but very funny phrase she used all summer was, “You’re NOT the boss of me.” Ummm… little spit fire just like her mama Sam would say.}
Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We LOVE you.
Grace & Peace,
Mommy {aka Julie}
Many of you know I used to gently carry my beloved red velvet couch out to fields & parks for some fun family photo shoots. Well, as described here, that beloved red couch has been retired & my friend GENEROUSLY GAVE ME a vintage ivory couch to replace it. {Total miracle! It is the exact shape of my red couch & I love it!}
As you can see, the ivory couch provides such elegance, beauty, & snuggle time fun!
One great thing about the ivory couch is that wardrobe color is no longer limited {ie: when shooting the red couch, you obviously could not wear any shade of red or it would not look good.} Anything looks great against the ivory {well, maybe not white, but creams would look sweet.}
As I’ve said before, I do these couch shoots in limited doses. I will let you know the next time I am planning one, but for now, simply enjoy this beautiful family!
Grace & Peace,
Julie
{Faithful & Loving : Psalm 145 art available HERE}
TODAY ONLY the 8×10 fine art print is HALF PRICE over on my Facebook page!
I will never forget driving home from our first big family outdoor adventure to Rocky Mountain National Park and scouring the Psalms looking for Scriptures to pair with some majestic photos I had just taken in the mountains, and coming across this little verse. For you see, this verse is not in all Bible translations. {I grew up on the NASB version & this “part b” of verse 13 is not included … nor is it in the KJV or NKJV sad to say.} I was reading my hubby’s NIV Bible & there it was, one of the most beautiful statements in all of Scripture showing God’s faithful & loving character.
I knew immediately what image would pair perfectly with this verse & it was the tender, gentle, and intricate Aspen leaf. The leaves are full of life, just like God’s promises. They are tender & delicate, just like God’s promises. They are intricately woven & in each & every leaf are so many details, just like God’s promises for YOUR life. Walking through that Aspen forest was magical. I will never forget how they shimmered and moved in the gentle breeze. God’s promises are sometimes a gentle whisper to our soul & other times strong & mighty like the mountains surrounding these trees.
What promise of God are you clinging to today?
I hope you feel His deep love for you today.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
{The Fruit of the Spirit available here}
TODAY ONLY the 8×10 fine art print is HALF PRICE over on my Facebook page!
The following is a re-post of one of my earliest blogs ever, talking about how Life Verse Design all started with this one little piece. Enjoy!
I thought I would tell you the story of how Life Verse Design began. I have a BFA in illustration and have spent my career as a book designer so, photography, design, and illustration are my heart and visually bringing this to life is my passion.
While pregnant with my third child (pumpkin-poos), I was mentally preparing myself for the fact that I would not have much sleep, nor have much focused time during devotions while trying to nurse my newborn and care for 2 other toddlers. In the past when my babies were born, I would handwrite Scripture on notecards and place them around the house so that I was at least able to see God’s Word and think about it through my busy days. It then came to me that since I was a designer, I could do much better than a 3×5 index card, so I started thinking about how I could visually illustrate the verse.
At the same time, I was in a wonderful bible study by Beth Moore focusing on the fruit of the Spirit. We were memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 and I thought it would be nice to design it for myself and my small group. I did and the women encouraged me to sell in the fall craft show at church.
So, when pumpkin-poos was 6 weeks old, I brought 12 designs to sell at the church craft show and to my joy, they almost sold out! This was a huge encouragement and confirmation that this is something I should pursue, as well as the fact that it was such a natural part of me. So, in March of 2008 I launched my etsy shop selling scripture and inspirational art, and I guess the rest is history!
I saw Beth Moore teach at Tyndale House Publishers {where I formerly worked full time} and I took her the above artwork framed with a note of thanks for the ministry she has done in my life and for so many of my friends. I was not able to give it to her myself, but my friend who is designed So Long Insecurity was able to sneak it to her in the bathroom! I left Tyndale not knowing if she would ever really receive it, and about an hour later while I was crazily feeding the kiddos lunch, I got an “unknown name, unknown number” call (of which I rarely if ever answer) & low & behold it was Beth Moore herself calling me on the way to the airport to thank me for my gift!
I was so deeply encouraged by her words to me; to keep bringing God’s Word in my own, unique way, and she also totally encouraged me in my mommyhood. I am not very “star struck” with many authors or “famous” artists, as I try to keep in mind that they are just real people like you and me, but Beth truly has God’s anointing on her life. Her teaching at Tyndale was amazing and humbling and challenging, and most of all, her heart for God and the depth and passionate love that she exudes is something I just long for more of. So, needless to say, for her to encourage me to press on and keep glorifying my Savior meant a lot.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
I am happy to announce a fun little sale I plan to hold every Tuesday which involves one piece of best-selling art of my choosing offered to YOU, my loyal customers, at HALF PRICE!
Here is how it works:
1. Sale is only happening over on facebook, so be sure to “like” my Life Verse Design page.
2. I will post the image of the art for sale & you simply comment with the quantity desired & your email address.
3. I will invoice you for the product total + a $5 flat shipping fee {so FILL UP YOUR CARTS!} via paypal.
4. Once you pay the invoice I send you, I will ship your new treasures right away!
This week I am featuring one of my best-sellers: The Serenity Prayer in sepia 8×10 fine art print. Happy Shopping!
To see more beautiful inspirational art, please go to www.lifeversedesign.com & receive free shipping for a limited time.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
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Carrie Anslow - Thank you so much Julie! The photos are beautiful! Everyone loves them!