A man goes into a barber shop....
Fancy Gratitude

A man goes into a barber shop and as the barber is cutting his hair they get talking, the soon get onto the subject of God.

Barber: God does not exist! 

Man: Why not? 

Barber: You only have to look out the window to see all the pain and suffering that goes on. What kind of loving God would let that happen?! 

The man goes silent and allows the barber to finish cutting his hair and trimming his beard. He pays and leaves. On his way home he passes a homeless man with a long, messy beard and equally long messy hair. He immediately turns round and goes back to the barber shop.

Man: Barbers do not exist! 

Barber: How can you say that I have just cut your hair and trimmed your beard of course I exist. 

Man: But I just passed a man in the street with a long, messy beard and equally long and messy hair. This shouldn't be if barbers exist. 

Barber: That is not my fault, I can't help this man if he does not come to me. If he did I would be able sort his hair and beard. 
Man: Exactly, that is why God allows pain and suffering. Like you, he cannot help those that do not go to him!



Ohhhhh...Thats good stuff right there!!! I got it from here. :)




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Wooden Name Blocks
Fancy Gratitude
So Mother's day this year I wanted to make something that included photos. I found an amazing tutorial (see below) via stumbleupon (best site EVER!) of how to make photo wood blocks. So after going through pictures of my four sisters, mom, dad, uncle and eleven (yes, ELEVEN) nieces and nephews...I came up with this:                   


                                     "A family built on FAITH" 


And a little closer view:
                                                  

Because our family is insanely huge (BLESSED!),  I did one family per block as oppose to everyone having their own block. If everyone had their own block-there would have been 24 photo blocks!! (Yes, its a crazy beautiful madhouse during holidays!) 
 In the tutorial, she used rub-ons for the lettering while I choose to use stamps. I think either of them look great so whatever you have in your craft stash. So without further ado, click Here for the tutorial. She does a great job for explaining it all step by step. Also-if your crafty hands are cramping-she has an etsy store were you can have her make your blocks for you! 
As for the blocks, I bought mine here. Your local craft store could have them to however I found it was best to by in bulk. Because you might just get addicted and want to do more. Like I did:







This was for my good friend's baby who had yet to make his appearance to the world. So I just did some ultrasound pictures as well as photo's of him in mom's belly. (These also make for a fun photo prop once baby is here: Proof)

Now go make your own and be sure to post a pic of your finished product!! 

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WELCOME baby Drake!
Fancy Gratitude
The other day I was blessed enough to do a little photo shoot of a dear friend's freshly born bundle of joy. After getting him nice and (milk) drunk, we were able to maneuver the little ornament anywhere and everywhere we pleased (including a bookshelf!). Take a look:











Isnt he precious?!? 
Baby D makes it a beautiful family of three!
Congrats to the Driess Family!! 
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One of my favorite poems...
Fancy Gratitude


The Invitation by Oriah
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.


It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know 
if you will risk 
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.


It doesn’t interest me
what planets are 
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you 
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.


It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”


It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.


It doesn’t interest me

who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.


It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know 
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone 
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.



By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming,
from the book The Invitation
published by HarperONE, San Francisco,
1999 All rights reserved
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Im here to...
Fancy Gratitude
create, praise, inspire, laugh and share worthy random things. And heck-maybe even be a blog you fall asleep to now and then.
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