ALY ALLEN | THE BLOG

ahhh, it feels good to be back. it's been a long time since i've dumped my insta-photos on you!  so here we go: my mug swap arrived :) it is so cute, and honestly, this is exactly the kind of reminder i need in the morning. the baby has been waking up at 5:30. it's still dark out. and she doesn't go back to sleep after her bottle :( i need to see it as an opportunity to be thankful, spend time with the Lord, and rejoice...  instead of stumble and groan and wish for more sleep. i'm making a bunch of these cute headbands this weekend.  hoping to have them for sale next week.  aren't they cute? and super-fallish.  i've never been one to pay too much attention to the trends,  or the pantone fashion colors [because honestly i don't have the money. or desire.]  but i do see some tangerine tango and bright chartreuse in these ;) for each grandchild, my husband's family has an ice-cream party tradition at their 6-month b...

i never thought i'd be a mom of girls, to be honest with you...  for some reason, i just pictured myself having all boys.  longing and wishing for that girl? absolutely .  but just never actually having one.  well i was wrong. obviously. and i'm so glad... i'm sure boys would be wonderful,  but that would mean i wouldn't have these two beauties: melissa always sends me the photos just a few hours after she takes them.  honestly, i just looked through them and stared. and then cried.  and then just could not believe these were my babies.  sometimes it's hard, during the daily grind and busy-ness of life to really see what we've been given.  photos like this, that are so gorgeous you can't look away, really put it all into perspective.  this is where i want to be. always. i don't love jumping into the shoots, but i do it anyway. because melissa always convinces me to, and because i know i'll beat my...

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."  Colossians 2:8 when i read this a few weeks ago it hit me hard. i think it's so easy to go about our days, dealing with the big and little trials of life, relying on human tradition and the basic principles of this world to guide our reactions and dictate our steps. we're human after all, so it makes sense that we'd lean that way. what hit me was how naturally i do this, and how i don't even realize that's what i'm doing, because it's not always obvious. the nature of deception is that you don't necessarily realize you're being deceived . the enemy works in the gray areas. he knows he can't get us if his lies are completely 100% false. instead, he'll use something just slightly off from the Truth so that we'll believe it. he'll keep getting us f...

every week i put three select prints on sale for half off! how fun is that?  this weeks prints are on sale from August 27 thru September 2 : Fruit of the Spirit: other colors available [see all listing photos here ] Seek First: other colors available [see all listing photos here  and here ] Trust in the Lord : other colors available [see all listing photos here ]

i told you  in my last post  how i really and truly  never thought i would leave  my church. i'm a loyal person, i like familiarity, and i do love routine.  God knows those things so intimately about me, and i believe it's part of the reason why He called me away from it . all of those traits can be good things, but they can also the very things keeping us from the best that God might have waiting for us. the other reason? my pride.  yes, my pride. but let me explain... at our old church, i sang in the choir and the praise team and was given regular opportunities to sing solos. in a church of that size, i guess you could say that people recognized me when i walked by, or in grocery stores, or stopped at a stoplight in my car [true story]. as i served for those seven years, though, i wasn't looking for fame or glory or recognition. and pride really wasn't something i struggled with very often [thank the Lord]. to be honest, i don't love atten...

i never planned to leave my church. i simply planned to take about 9 months off for a last-few-months-of-pregnancy/transition-to-two-children "maternity leave". november 2011, thanksgiving weekend, i sang my last solo with the choir, and headed home filled and content, to a cozy fire and lunch in the oven. i hadn't even kicked off my black peep-toe heels when my husband suggested that maybe we take this opportunity- my little hiatus- to visit a few different churches. you can imagine my silent tantrum. he could tell i was having an internal panic attack but i didn't want to let on. i hummed and hawed and said maybe that was a good idea. for my husband, it was simply a matter of: we've been at this church since we were 13 years old and have never even set foot elsewhere. shouldn't we explore that? shouldn't we know why we're actually going here? we love the church, we love the people, and we definitely love the preaching. there's nothing wrong...

i'll come right out with it since i know you're all dying to know which three of you won the $40 shop credit! just so you know i'm telling the truth, that's the screenshot from rafflecopter  right after it chose the three winners at random... lydia april jessica i have just emailed you. can't wait to hear back from you :) if you didn't win, i thought this little announcement might be a fun consolation prize. what do you think about my new idea: every week i want to put three prints on sale for half price . buy one, buy all three, whatever! they're only $6 each! after the week is over, they go back up to regular price, and three more get discounted.  i think that sounds fun :) this week's discounted prints are: fear no evil whatever is true i hope you dance so go shop! these three are $6 for this week only. yay! this applies to all color combinations, by the way. there are lots to choose fr...