le petit society giveaway for boys

happy thursday to you
i am so excited to be working once again with the darling children's shop

we received such incredible reader response from you when we gave away two beautiful le petit society girl's outfits here

that we knew we needed to do a giveaway to introduce you to their amazing boys line as well

if you missed my intro of them from our past giveaway, well here it is

i found this gem of a children’s shop... where else, but Instagram

i was drawn to the bright colors and playful, comfortable feel of their girls and boys clothes

i love their darling brand icon that is made up of ‘x’ and ‘o’ s signifying hugs and kisses, gestures of love
check out this darling video of le petit society in action

le petit society is a budding business, with its beginning only last April and their first collection launching this past January

it was founded by the ambitious pair, the lovely Robyn & her fiance Dylan, both from Singapore but now living in Hong Kong

yes, Hong Kong, they are in Hong Kong

another reason i was drawn to them

my hubby lived in Hong Kong for two years while serving a mission for our church

to him it is the greatest city in the world and feels like home

we have a chant, a song really, in our family that goes a little something like

‘hong kong is the best place, hong kooonng’

you can watch my silly boys sing and dance to it here

today you have a chance to win
the light taupe party shirt and the aqua blue skinny pants

both worn below by my Tate

i was so impressed by the quality of fabrics used in the construction of these pieces

as well as how soft and comfortable they were on my active boy
you may have seen Tate wearing these removable suspenders in my photo shoot for my guest post on MINe Style Blog 'Ten Tips for Styling the Whole Boy'

here are two of my other favorite boy items from their shop:

Happy Days Tee set

Forest Green Rocket Print Shorts

LE PETIT SOCIETY GIVEAWAY

two lucky Sweet Dreams are Made of These readers will win

the LIGHT TAUPE PARTY SHIRT& 

AQUA BLUE SKINNY PANTS

this giveaway will close at midnight on Monday May 27th PST

this giveaway will be open to blog readers worldwide

the winner will be chosen using Rafflecopter 

both will have 48 hours to respond to the winner notification email. after 48 hours another winner will be chosen
sizes 2 - 7 available for the light taupe party shirt
sizes 3 - 7 available for the aqua blue skinny pants

ENTER HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW:

one word wednesday: growth

as soon as i saw the word for this week's challenge

i knew exactly what i wanted the photo to look like

exactly like this

mike and i standing side by side holding hands

growth

sometimes it hurts

sometimes it enlivens

whatever the process and outcome may be this is how i know it will be experienced

side by side

the companionship mike and i have is something i cherish 

and day after day i thank my Heavenly Father 

for this man who embraces everything about me and deems it beautiful

who reaches out to lift me

who takes my hand and tells me that everything will be ok

that i can do this

and that i am doing it brilliantly

i know i am the luckiest woman on earth to have this kind of man as mine

looking down at our hands and feet i feel the strength of our connection and

our eternal bond

and i know that even if one day Mike will not be able to physically stand beside me

that bond will never break

not even from all that the world will throw at us

for we are traveling this journey together

learning, hurting, stretching, laughing, crying, but embracing life

in what have you seen growth in your own life lately?  what or who has helped you?

amanda of oh my little dears   /    jenna of jenna lou designs

we have had some exciting things going on the lives of our other blogger friends who weren't able to squeeze one word wednesday in this week.

check out bethany's move from kuwait to santa cruz, ca

leslie's new foster baby arrived

jessica's announcement of baby #2 on its way

@natalie4hudson  /   @shansummer    /  @taurie16   /   @simplycathi   /   @blissfulmae    /   @lexixd  

love seeing all these 'ushering in' summer projects

garden growing, prom corsage making, baby shower planning

thank you to the growing group of one word wednesdayers

One Word Wednesday is a simple photo challenge intended to tie friends together and inspire anyone and everyone to document the everyday beauty in the world around them. Please join us every Wednesday, sharing a photo that celebrates a scene from your life on your blog and/or instagram. Each word will be announced one week in advance to give you time to think on and capture an image that celebrates that particular word. Be sure to leave a link or add hashtag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 to your photos, so that we can all share in the joy! Next week's word: TODAY!

what's behind the quiet

***

things have been a little quiet here on the blog 
but i’m sure most you know me well enough to mistake equating quiet on the blog with quiet at home
things have picked up in craziness busyness
if that is even possible
yes it is
as this true statement by Mark Twain basically sums it up
both good and bad
“apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today”

i know you have had those days
both good and bad

at the time of the year when things start winding down schoolwise
but picking up activitywise
our house is swirling
with adjustment

the truth of the matter is that prayers are being answered over here at a rate that i am feeling a little out of breath with
all of these answers have been regarding things i have been praying about for a long time
issues very different from each other
one regarding parenting a particular child
another regarding desires to improve weaknesses
and another in regards with opportunities to help ease the burdens of my husband by helping to provide for the family

with enormous grace one of them has been answered with a solution that actually eases my workload
but that does not undermine the amount of work it took to finally receive an answer that brought peace
a tremendous peace that only came after i submitted my will to Heavenly Father
time and time again i have had a similar prayer
i presented him with what i thought would be best and really wanted
but said that if that was not what he wanted me to do and not what was best, that i would do what he wanted me to do instead
well in an incredible experience the Lord granted me my heart’s desire only after i had truly humbled myself to be willing to do whatever he wanted me to
even if it wasn’t what i wanted
that’s all he needed to know
that i would have done it if he would have asked
an extremely powerful experience

the ease of workload brought about by one answer to prayer has been balanced out by an increase of work brought about by an answer to a different prayer 
that being the one regarding helping Mike provide for our family
work
why do we fear it
why do we resist it
work brings about satisfaction, fulfillment of dreams, service to others, beauty, growth
yet it takes continual mental strength to keep going some days
and now that the Lord has placed this in my path
it is my responsibility to work, to labor, to stretch myself
to create out of this offering of help, a real opportunity for my family

as i have previously revealed, one way in which i will be helping to ease the financial burdens placed on Mike is through an incredible company called Nerium
the product is fantastic and the business opportunity full of hope
never would i have thought my answer to my prayer would have come in the form of an anti-aging treatment
never would i have thought i would have a great desire to share such a thing with everyone
this is not in my comfort zone
but i have found it to have been easier than i would have thought
just like sharing a favorite recipe or lip gloss color or preschool you love

i have already received a variety of responses from others in my sharing of this product
from dodging and avoidance of me as i come closer
from hurtful comments by dream crushers
to new found cheerleaders and spokespeople of the product
to those who see the hope in the opportunity as i have

i understand that it may not be for everyone
and others may see me as crazy or annoying
but my greatest desire is despite whatever opinion you may have about Nerium and whether its for you or not, and however you view the way I am sharing it to everyone,
you will see this
a woman who passionately loves her family, who views this opportunity as a gift from God, and is working hard to do what she can to provide financial relief for her hard-working husband of failing health and her four young children
a woman who is grasping onto that hope and stretching herself because she remembers why she is doing it and what the end result will be
that is what i hope others will see

in reaching out to others about this product
the greatest blessing so far has been learning how so many of you who read my blog and remain silent without a digital footprint
have not remained silent in your prayers to Heavenly Father on our behalf
i have been so overcome with gratitude to learn of so many of you who are praying for us on a regular basis, even fasting for us by name.
this has brought me tremendous strength and humbled me to tears
that you would deem us worthy of your time and prayers is completely humbling and spirit lifting
thank you to so many of you

what have you done in your life that may have been scary or hard for you to do, but you did it because you had to or because you loved someone so much, it was worth the work and time?
please share
you know i love hearing from you.


***print by jumpoffthepage

creating a community through commenting and following

i am absolutely delighted by the response my hubby received yesterday on his post
the mental challenge
that is the sort of community interaction i would love on a daily basis here on the blog
people sharing their lives with each other
to help lift up one another
a real community where people come to inspire others and be inspired
just by simply sharing their own life
isn’t it incredible to realize that each of you just living your own life and then sharing it can be a means of helping someone else with theirs
everyone is granted trials in life
if we choose to look at them as such, they can be tools for our own growth as well as little beacons of hope we can light for others
that is the power of our little blogging community that i have felt with you
thank you sweet friends
thank you

when have you benefited from sharing your life’s events with others? how have you grown from reading about someone else’s struggles and triumphs?

my challenge to you: comment more
allow others to hear from you no matter how brief it may be
i feel of your strength by simply knowing you have come by 
and the easiest way to let me know is to comment
i am so humbled when i hear people tell me when i see them that they love what they read here,
but i would have never known they were part of my readership
this space is just as much for you as it is for me
by commenting you put yourself in the arena of support
that may seem like a daunting thing to step out of anonymity
but allow yourself to reap the full benefits of being apart of a community like this
support, both the giving and receiving kind

my challenge to you: follow my blog
following my blog allows the best way for you to feel apart of this community that Mike and I are trying to encourage and perpetuate
it keeps you updated on the happenings on the blog
like your favorite tv show, each new episode builds on the last
it also enables me to take closer steps towards fulfilling my dream that i shared with you
of having a blog that will be a sustainable income for our family
‘following’ comes in various formats: email, subscribing to my feed, and/ or using a reader in particular Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram 
sponsors, public relation firms. and other online companies use the numbers from all of these medias in order to determine if i am worthy of their time and investment
numbers are the basic requirement before they will look at the quality of our content
i know you want to help support us 
and an easy way you can do that is to choose at least one way to ‘follow’ my blog
since google reader... that little box in the right that says ‘follow’ ... will be closed down by Google here soon i am in the process of rebuilding my following on other platforms
the best place to follow me would be through Bloglovin’ or subscribing by email through Feedburner
here are links to follow my blog:

follow this blog by subscribing to its feed

subscribe by email by entering your address into Feedburner or in the box towards the top right-->^

follow me on bloglovin

follow me on instagram

follow me on twitter

follow me on pinterest

i want to write a few posts to introduce you to feeds, readers, and other social media such as instagram and twitter
so help me know what you want to learn about
what questions do you have about any of that?
Jani, my sister in law, reminded me that social media is jibberish to so many people...
insta..what?
a feed...what are you feeding?
bloglovin’? why would i even need that?

so come on, hit me with your questions!
what do you want to know about social media and feeds and readers?  
don’t be shy...ask
remember a community of support
that’s what we have here

so ask

the mental challenge: by mike

I worry about writing on this topic.  Simply because my intention is to solicit your thoughts, ideas, and experiences through the medium of this blog, rather than pontificate about myself and my particular situation.  Therefore, as I write this please consider your personal situation and circumstance and be ready to share or respond - or at the very least commiserate with a like-minded soul!

Multiple Sclerosis.  That is my personal El Guapo. 



Your personal El Guapo may be something entirely different, but there may be some commonalities running through our individual experiences and challenges.  

With everything that comes with this disease and its distinctively unique signature, there is one overriding challenge that I can’t seem to successfully navigate.  To employ a horrible pun, it may be the most crippling portion of my disease.  

I’ve always been a big believer in ‘mind over matter’ - or at least my own version of mind over matter.  I’ve always been pretty good at dealing with pain and discomfort.  Physical challenges were opportunities I relished.  Athletic competition and pushing one’s body to new heights was always something I enjoyed.  I have finished a soccer game after damaging the ligaments in my knee.  I injured my back making a diving catch in a intramural flag football game and finished the game (I couldn’t walk for a week after that night).  I have finished a soccer game after knocking heads with another player, cutting my head open, and being knocked out.  No pain, no gain!  I take pride in having mastered my mind over matter mantra.

So when I was diagnosed with MS, I thought to myself.  I can handle this.  I can handle the pain, the fatigue, the loss of equilibrium and balance.  I’ll even handle the loss of mobility.  I take it as a personal challenge to walk miles around Disneyland with my children and forcing my legs to take one more dragging step.  And then one more.  And then one more.  Well, as time has passed, my condition has progressed and I am now relegated to a motorized chair at Disneyland.  I can’t play soccer in the backyard with my boys without threat of serious peril! (I fall easily and cannot brace myself because I don’t know how I am falling!)

What I was unprepared for was the mental challenges that have come with this disease.  As a man, I take my responsibilities to provide for my family seriously.  I take my commitment to my wife to be equal partners in raising our children seriously.  I take my desire to serve others and lift the hands that hang down (Hebrews 12:12) seriously.  To fail at the most basic of commitments, the most important commitments, is unacceptable to me.  And I am fighting to find some sort of understanding.  Some sort of balance.  My expectations don’t match my physical ability (not to mention my mobility!).  

I am struggling to find a mentally comfortable balance between my responsibilities and my limitations.  How does one make a transition from things that were and always have been unacceptable to accepting that you are limited in critical functions/areas?  

How to accept the unacceptable?  
I have not found a ‘How-To’ guide for these mental challenges.

How do you accept limits without limiting your worth?

It makes me angry that I cannot clean the kitchen without completely wiping myself out.  I rely on my oldest son to take care of so many tasks and chores that I should be doing and that’s not fair to him. And I could go on. But that’s not the point.  The point is simply how is it possible to find peace?  

To feel comfortable with a contribution that is so significantly limited?

I have deep and abiding faith in God.  I know that this is temporary and confined to this life.  This area is not where my concern lies whatsoever.

However, as my own harshest critic, it is hard to sit on the sidelines of life and feel worthy.  It’s difficult to stand by and watch others carry disproportionate loads because you are unable.  Feelings and thoughts of worthlessness, shame, and embarrassment invade my mind.

This is a work in progress.  Mentally, I am trying to get my arms around this challenge.

What insight do you have?  What wisdom might you share?

one word wednesday: project

this morning through one word wednesday

i am able to give you a little preview of one of the projects that i have alluded to 

a project in which i will be selling my original handmade designs

see my first little sneak peek here

i am a project oriented person

i love having a project

it gets my creative juices flowing

a rush of enlightenment and excitement

its an outlet for feeling like i am unleashing a part of me that is contained from the daily tasks of normal life

it is essential for my balanced life

i am in love with 'the new' when it comes to projects

creating a new design

the thrill comes in the planning and dreaming process

seeing something original take form

that is just about where my attention span lies

creating a few of a single design

before my thoughts are already racing about the next new thing

this is the process i hope to capture and expound upon

the new

one after another

after another

i will be selling new designs week after week

in very limited quantity

and it is going to be fun

very, very fun

and i can't wait for you to see all my ideas

and hope you'll all be 'dash'ing to see what the next week's design will be

this little sneak peek is of the design that will be my very first release

and i'm so giddy about how these are turning out

any guesses as to what they are going to be???

amanda- oh my little dears  /   jenna - jenna lou designs

we have had some exciting things going on the lives of our other blogger friends who weren't able to squeeze one word wednesday in this week.

check out bethany's move from kuwait to santa cruz, ca

leslie's new foster baby arrived

jessica's announcement of baby #2 on its way

one. two. three. four. five. six.

thank you to all our readers who participated in our first week of one word wednesday

looking forward to more joining us on the challenge this week

One Word Wednesday is a simple photo challenge intended to tie friends together and inspire anyone and everyone to document the everyday beauty in the world around them. Please join us every Wednesday, sharing a photo that celebrates a scene from your life on your blog and/or instagram. Each word will be announced one week in advance to give you time to think on and capture an image that celebrates that particular word. Be sure to leave a link or add hashtag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 to your photos, so that we can all share in the joy! Next week's word: GROWTH!

life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mother

life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mother
i love that
how often do we wish for a manual for life
instead the moment we enter this life
we are given a mother

this video beautifully honors those mothers we love
and summons desires for us to become the mother we hope to be
i love that it emphasizes that it is the little things that truly matter
and compound to make up the grandeur of the bond between mother and child
tucking them in at night
being home to answer their call, 'mom'
dancing around the room
helping them with their homework
butterfly kisses
washing their hands
putting your arm around them
tending to their cries
fixing a necklace to put the clasp in the back of her neck
tucking their hair behind their ear

there in good times
there in hard times
there in the details of life

enjoy this two minute video that will enlarge your heart
and conjure gratitude to those mothering figures in your life





as i reread my last year's post 'to my mother'
i was amazed how its theme is so very similar in nature to the things that touched my heart about my mother and motherhood this year
that the little things matter
it was a testimony to me to the truthfulness of this idea
not just an idea but a lived-out and experienced fact

as i have observed my mother over this past difficult year
i have seen the small things that make her the incredible faithful woman she is
getting out of bed each day
wearing a smile
tending to my needs
being a grandma to my children
attending our church's temple frequently to feel of its peace and perspective
teaching women about the Constitution
quietly serving others
loving and missing my Daddy
making plans for her future, one very different than she imagined

oh how i thank my Heavenly Father each day
for granting me to be her daughter
i'm grateful for her life being a true manual for motherhood

here's to mothers...by mike

Here’s to Mothers!

"Here's To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the
square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have
no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the
human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - are the ones who DO !"

~ Apple Computers ~

Here’s to the Mothers!  The Counselors.  The Teachers.  The Taxi-drivers.  The Soccer moms.

  

They might be more round than they were before!  The ones who see our children differently.  They cling to rules, and they have tons of respect for routine.

You can quote them, tease them, glorify or argue with them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.  Because they raise our children.  They push the human race forward.  And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see Heaven in them.

Because the mother’s who are crazy enough to think they can mold our children - are the ones who DO!

Ok, so that was a little clumsy.  And maybe slightly offensive on the riff about roundness...and we’re moving on!  

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and one can’t help but think about the mother’s in ones life.  In my case: My mom and My wife.  From a boy’s (and man’s) perspective, a mother might be the most important, most uniquely suited figure to shape and mold a man.  

Please allow me a little personal indulgence.

I grew up in a family of 7 children.  I was right in the middle at number 4.  My dad was and is my hero.  I spent countless hours studying him, his mannerisms, his way of writing, and practicing on his ten-key calculator.  Having said that, my mom was and is special.  There is no substitute for Mom.  She was a fierce defender of her children.  Loyal and Loving. Always.  She was (and still is) my champion.

That is the overriding memory and feeling I have of my childhood about my mom.  She was always my champion.  She always had my back.  She was constantly building and encouraging and helping me to grow and develop what she saw as my talents and abilities.  And for that (and so much more) I can never repay what she gave me.

Some say that we men marry people similar to our mothers.  And in at least one important way that is true of me.  My wife and the mother of our children is also my champion.  Over the past 15 years, I have found it comforting (and also humorous) to know that she is always on my side.  She has always been incredulous that I lost a soccer game or didn’t score any goals, or failed at work or whatever.  She is always looking alternative reasons for my coming up short because surely it couldn’t have been a result of me, or my effort, or my shortcomings or weaknesses!  And I love that about Briana.  She thinks the world of me.  And that means the world to me.

There is so much more I could write.  So much more to explain.  So much to praise.

However, my favorite way to write about mothers is to do it with one word.

Thankless

Beautiful

Relentless

Messy

Tiresome

Incredible

Rewarding

Loving

Joyful

Difficult

Profound

Exhilarating

Crazy

Tedious

Frustrating

Hilarious

Hopeful

Fulfilling

My word is CHAMPION

What is your word?

one word wednesday: pink

pink

this one really made me stretch

over time i have grown to embrace the softness of pink

or even the occasional wowsers hot pink like this chair

but as a young girl and into my adulthood i took a stand against pink

embracing all the other colors of the rainbow

pink symbolized mediocrity and conformity to me

though i wouldn't have used those words as a young girl

liking pink meant being the same as all the other girls who liked pink 

because that is what little girls were supposed to do

{and boy does my little girl}

i always prided myself on being a little different

wanting to stand out a little

not too much, just enough to be noted as different but accepted

maybe it began with being named briana

a name which at the time was very unique, which i loved

but had one downfall, i could never find it on a bike license plate or a pencil

upon finding out i was having a girl after three boys, i was thrilled

and did my best to avoid pink

but it was destined to come

because for whatever reason it is ingrained to be loved by most normal little girls

{ones who aren't worrying about individuality at the age of 5}

so it has been embraced in our home

because it is Felicity's favorite color

tutus, princess wands, pajamas, blankets...pink abounds

i have now grown up

and can enjoy the femininity that accompanies pink without feeling like i am jeopardizing my individuality

i am cracking myself up at how absurd this all is

pure absurdity: ridiculously unreasonable

Felicity's frills of pink were not what my non-pink-conformist eye was drawn to for this week

my eye was captured by the beautifully subtle pink of my boys' lips 

my handsome boys

don't forget to link up your blog and/or tag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 in instagram

can't wait to see your expressions of pink

next week's word: project

if you are new to one word wednesday be sure to click over here for a little introduction

top: Me - sweet dreams are made of these | Jessica - living the swell life
middle: Jenna - jenna lou designs | Amanda - oh my little dears
bottom: Bethany - rinse repeat | Leslie - my happily ever after

thank you to all our readers who participated in our first week of one word wednesday

looking forward to more joining us on the challenge this week

One Word Wednesday is a simple photo challenge intended to tie friends together and inspire anyone and everyone to document the everyday beauty in the world around them. Please join us every Wednesday, sharing a photo that celebrates a scene from your life on your blog and/or instagram. Each word will be announced one week in advance to give you time to think on and capture an image that celebrates that particular word. Be sure to leave a link or add hashtag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 to your photos, so that we can all share in the joy! Next week's word: PROJECT!