hello to those who read…
my camera honestly had a little dust…it’s been cold, ugly, rainy and to me there is not a whole lot to record about that…..inside photography especially in weird gym lighting where you can’t get close is zero fun to me and i just plain miss the sunshine and weather that is warm enough to enjoy….so with a great deal of resignation i monkeyed with lighting enough for an update. this is another feeble attempt to record what my kids are doing regardless of the weather and the season….

sidenote: i have decided that basketball gyms and gymnastics floors are the world’s worst places to take pictures…the yellow and just plain weird florescent lighting can be super tricky and while i don’t claim to do it well at all….don’t be discouraged if this is a tough venue…it is…it’s rough….but getting the shot is much better than not….k…end of sidenote…

basketball this season…a little tough…for me…sunshine people…warm weather…..

precious conversations…who knows what they are discussing…

i missed this picture…but he sure didn’t miss…

CCB sent this to me….(thank you friend!!) my precious, newly engaged brother with his new fiance in his new loft…the commercial appeal thinks they are just as interesting as i do….

thanks to AF…a wonderful card in the mail…BBTN clothes in action…

look what we got!!! (in the store)

news is spreading….what fun to meet you all…this store thing sure beats the basement

a little birthday celebration for miss BY

“catching a bubble” seemed to be a necessity to manage the birthday fun…for Mia this birthday party was serious business…

treats???
look at what my inbox held after my last post….mmmm…littles…pictures…fabulous!

in an effort to close the thoughts of a weekend….
we studied Moses this morning….i haven’t thought too much about Moses…but just a quick note about that….i am so very grateful for examples of people in the Bible that were used by God and largely unqualified but their situation was orchestrated clearly by God….
Moses even had a speech impedement for crying out loud…
thank you God for using us, ordering our steps, and orchestrating events that lead us to a place where you can use our uselessness for your glory and the spread of your name….use me God…teach us to be available no matter our skill or lack thereof….

have a great start to your week…..
all of my love to my people….

hello to those who read…
look what i found in my inbox this morning!!! what a treat!!! witto round 2!! these are the actual kids that are drinking from the well that BBTN sponsored halfway across the world….if i am not mistaken spencer (our friend in birmingham) took these pictures within the last 3 weeks!!

what a blessing clean water is and i cannot imagine not having Christ as our living water…

that reminds me….last weekend was tough as we went through job….his suffering and how that works right into God’s plan for so many of us…and we sang these words in worship….tears roll as i think of the suffering God allows, the discipline he doles out, all as a means to bring us closer to him for his glory and the spread of his name…

it is well with my soul….

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

i am captivated by the part where he writes ” EVEN SO it is well with my soul….”

here is another treat that i found in my inbox a few days ago….precious!! a wonderful picture too….judson dot pants coming in real life!!

p.s. i would love to share your pictures of BBTN clothes being put to use!! please send them to me here ….info@blessednames.com

until next time….
all of my love…..

hello to those who read…
this is a pathetic and feeble attempt at catching up here….and really this week is feeble in itself…”one man down” as one of us is away…one child down as she visited the porcelain queen all night (really Lord? this week?)….one quickbooks intuit grande sized reporting dilemma (as in reports by hand this week only)…two new employees (precious but somewhat lost)… and “save the day” SP giving as many hours as humanly possible.

i have enjoyed so much meeting hostesses over the phone this week for the first time in a long time…the questions and excitement that come with having tons of clothes at their disposal surround those conversations. my precious friend bebek just so happens to be having a show too!! what a treat for my blackberry!!

so as a result…slow posts…be back soon!
all of my love to my people this week near and far….and bebek…
**did i tell you? bebek - mom of miracle baby sam, will, and luke with baby GIRL….on the way…what a special week march 26th will be for several of you….

hello to those who read…
it is shipping time around here…be back soon…

all of my love

hello to those who read…
a quick post to show you a funny….after opening a recently received box and reading my friend darby’s post here…..http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/2010/01/smooshed/ you will laugh like i did (if you have had your coffee and have any sort of experience with husbands giving you gifts and getting deals or lack thereof at the same time….deals and gifts are usually not a very good idea….most of the time….
darby’s husband did not look for a deal with her boots…but mine are a result of a deal that was “just too good to pass up”…like almost free….2 for almost free no less….
so i had to post because my present and darby’s were so strikingly dissilimilar that my boots were screaming “blog rebuttle”…..so have a laugh on me….and be so happy for darby!! p.s. if you don’t follow darby’s blog “fly through our window”…you should….it makes me happy….
all of my love

hello to those who read…
it has just been cold…really cold here and my poor camera has not been out of my backpack until really just the other day…it is almost like it is just too cold to even take pictures (unless there is snow of course)…otherwise colors seem dull, children are antsy, and i just would rather not do cold…..unless there is a good reason of course….a really good reason…like a city that is more fun than birmingham for instance.

today was the day…soft opening, favorite laundry store day….really soft opening….like charmin soft but i recently found out that charmin clogs commercial toilets almost every day so we are switching…so maybe the publix brand is soft enough? we are still fighting with the cash register tape, getting a box today that will hold a great deal of things that have to be tagged but nevertheless, you have to open sometime and today is it….my prayers are that we will get to grow the relationships that have been started as a result of BBTN through face to face contact. Building fun new relationships in serving through clothes in order to encourage one another…..anyway….

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but guess what else?
shoes….coming to the FL store…cute huh?

this is the brand but their spring things aren’t online just yet…..livie and luca

and boys’ shoes….lots of them…

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the tree that i have been talking about is finally finished!!  good thing being that the store is opening today right?  if you don’t know this already from spending time here…my thought life is a little quirky at times and i will let you in on what i was thinking today with regards to that tree… it was hard to make the tree…seriously, after about 500 hand cut leaves, a 9-foot pvc pipe, quick-crete, 100 feet of chicken wire & a bolt of chocolate corduroy with a whole can of adhesive… but once i was halfway in it was far too big to find a dumpster and i was invested at that point….i was reminded that God made all of what we see, easily….he didn’t struggle and have to persevere…nada…quick, done….majestic and easy….

i have a favorite tree that  i get to see 3 days a week in a parking lot that i frequent and i have installed a thought process when parking next to it….as silly as it is…God has taught me alot as a result of those few breath prayers there…i, like all of us, am still learning what i am made of and why God made me….

i wish i always meditated on the fact that my God is sovereign, almighty, conquerer of evil, giver of all good things, witholder of some, great planner (his plans not ours), creator and the lover of my soul…..the resting place for my emotions and he has sought after me….this same God that is concerned with my every day made everything we see to remind us …. and my tree project reminded me what a wonderful creator he is…. i am reminded how EASILY he made all of his trees…

the store is slowly filling up with fun things from our manufacturers and from others (this picture was taken well before the store opening today btw)…. fun things? 

frilly frances tutus are in www.frillyfrances.com, fun fabric camera straps as well…..bibs and burp clothes with blankets from blue-eyed monkey www.blueeyedmonkey.com…..

on the way?  shoes, sugarboo frames, concrete block frames and several other gift items….it will certainly be fun to get  shipments over the next few weeks!! OH….and BOWS….lots…and handmade clips….children’s books….more on all of that pronto…

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another guess what? 

carys rose designs website is up and running…she has loaded some precious valentines bag toppers and also valentines cards….keep up with her because her designs are being added to the website and there are so many cute things to pick from….www.carysrosedesigns.com

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so yesterday was another deadline…favorite laundry samples left for market…my rep there came by in his moving sample truck and loaded one of each piece for fall…each hanger numbered, each item numbered and logged….each piece newly manufactured…in short an act of congress that really has put a kink in my neck….literally…

so here it is….favorite laundry 2010 fall samples….

 
not too terribly interesting this way i’m afraid…this way but this neatly hung and tagged rack says to me that job is finished!! but…in the interest of this being a worthwhile read…here is a preview of the newest two patterns…..both companies will carry them in different colors and we in the BBTN/FL workroom are “stoked” about the fit, quality, and market comparison to borrow a college, i don’t have any responsibility other than to go to class word…..
sooo…introducing….our “school day jacket”….for girls and boys…(boys’ not pictured…working on that one..)
BTW…i love this baby….BY you are one of my favorite half-pint BFFs….

so until next time…more pictures coming….
all of my love…and happy birthday to bebek…

hello to those who read….
i think i should probably go back and name the witto post 200….so that it would be more meaningful than the nonsense that i am posting your way tonight for 201…well….i have been trying to make sense of everything all day long so i have resorted to nonsense….and you are getting a dose….we will call it mildly interesting entertainment…soo…

good night…
p.s. all of the delivery notifications from UPS have been received and are accounted for

p.p.s. i am thankful for the blessings that came with today, and the mercy that will be new in the morning….

hello to those who read….

a quick post tonight… i had a wonderful treat in my inbox before Christmas from the neverthirst crew…pictures of the well that you all helped to dig…if you will remember, the village of witto….i just thought you might enjoy seeing how your interest in BBTN has manifested itself….real people with real needs for Christ as living water and also clean water for their families to live off of…..water….just water….and that is what you did for these people……these are the people that live there…amazing to me…

thank you friends…for reading here, for your loyalty to bbtn, and for your compassion to the lost and thirsty….

all of my love to those close and those who made this happen….thank you