Some News

Hello Everyone! Well I have some unfortunate news to share today. If you've been following me on instagram or read my last blog post you know that I had been planning to do an instagram flash sale to help support Natalie and Dan's adoption. However some personal things have come up for my family which has left me with no time to make and organize my products. Due to this I'm unfortunately going to have to cancel the sale indefinitely.

I'm so sad that I am not able to help this couple out, but I know this adoption is so much bigger than me. I knew from the beginning that my little shop could not fund this entire adoption. So I'm still going to share with you guys about this amazing couple. And if you feel a desire to help here are some ways you can support them:

1. Pray for them! This is an anxious time for them as they await news about their boys!
2. Donate funds! Check out this page to find all the ways you can donate.
3. If you have a handmade business or shop, consider donating a portion of your funds and sponsoring this couple! Visit her blog or twitter to get in contact with Natalie.

I don't know Natalie or Dan. I've never met them. I got connected with Natalie via the Influence Network because I was looking for an adopting family to help support. Through Natalie's blog and instagram I have fallen in love with this little family. I can't wait to see the day when they get to bring their little boys home! Sometimes we just cannot explain how or why God brings certain people into our lives, and that is how I feel about Natalie!

I've got her here today to share a little bit about herself and some information about her adoption.

Hi, I'm Natalie. I'm married to Dan. Things you should know about us:

+ We got married 11 months after our first date. Dan was in his last year of med school, and I was in my last year of social work grad school.

+ Currently, Dan is in his first year of residency. He works in the ER departments of several hospitals in our city. I write home studies for foster and adoptive parents (and read a lot of blogs).

+ We really like exploring our city, playing Mario Kart, walking our crazy dog, and watching Parks & Recreation. (Have you seen it? So good.)

+ Our plan has always been to adopt as the main method of adding little ones (and not-so-little ones?) to our family. We planned to wait three years to do this. Because we're poor and busy, I guess.

+ God threw the best kind of wrench into our plans, and we began praying about the possibility of adopting two months into our marriage.

+ After much prayer and consideration, we were overjoyed to begin the adoption process in May 2012 at the ages of 24 and 25 with a low income and a lot of student debt. It is doable!

+ We requested one child, a boy or girl between birth and six months. Again, God had other plans. We are adopting twin 1.5-year-old boys from Central Africa!

+ These boys are the cutest. Theo is taller and heavier. He's always smiling or giving mischievous glances at the camera. Elliot seems to be shy, and he likes to suck on his index and middle fingers. He looks so apprehensive in pictures by himself, but when they push Theo beside him, he smiles.

+ Unfortunately, we've hit a lot of delays recently as their birth country's adoption process has grown and changed. We are far past the date we thought we'd have them in our arms. We tried to not hope and plan for a certain date, but we did.

+ We've had their referral for over a year now. They live in a foster home, and we are so grateful for how clearly loved and happy they are. We are gladly paying a monthly foster care fee which includes wages for the foster parents, diapers, and food. Because they've been in foster care longer than we expected, these expenses are adding up.

+ Additionally, we have one big agency payment and travel expenses. We have never let the money scare us. We trust God will provide this, as He has everything else.

+ We ache to meet these boys. But we have fought against making adoption an ultimate in our lives. It's cliché but so true: Our identity is in Christ. Not in being waiting adoptive parents. And not in being the young couple that pursued adoption quickly.

Tanya has been so generous toward us, and we're so grateful! If you'd like to get to know us more, you can do so here!


I hope everyone has an enjoyable week! Thanks for your support!

This has nothing to do with Christmas

This post has been sitting in draft mode for awhile and I figured it was time to share.

Over the last several months I've been struggling to balance all the areas of my life. You know the cliché saying about wearing too many hats? And spreading yourself too thin? I might be guilty of that.

As you know I started my business this summer. I loved it, I wanted to run full force with it. Orders started to really pile up, and as much as I was excited about that, I was also incredibly overwhelmed. At the time I thought that, even though it was a lot of work, it was what I wanted. I was looking for a way to use my gifts to make money. After attending the Influence Conference I was further encouraged to run with that passion and do what I could with it.

And then I came home, reality sunk in, and I hit that all too familiar wall of paralysis that comes when you put too much on your plate.

See, not only was I trying to run a business, but I'm also a full time college student. Some of you might be thinking, "well, if you don't have a job that doesn't seem like such a big deal." And others may be thinking, "that was kind of stupid to start a business while you are in school."

There is truth in both of those statements. I could probably do it. I could probably work really hard and have a decently successful business and attend school, and maintain a decent GPA. But that is all I would have. A potentially thriving business and a decent GPA. All the while forgetting what matters most to me.

Peace
Joy
Family
Alex
Friends
Sanity

I've done a lot of praying lately. About the path I am taking in school, about my business, about if I'm seeking God in everything or if I am just trying to control things myself. I've discovered that I need to scale back in areas that don't align with my God given desires and that inhibit me from reaching my true potential.

One of the biggest changes (well at least for you guys) will be the closing of my business. Not permanently! Just seasonally. Obviously planners are pretty much a seasonal product anyways so this just kind of seemed like a no brainer. I'll be relaunching next spring/summer with new designs and a more organized business plan.

In the mean time, I've been trying to help support a family who is adopting two boys from Africa with the sales from my business. Since I still have lots of this seasons stock left I figured it was a good time to clear everything out and do a flash sale! If you follow me on instagram you probably saw some information about this. Right now I've got an instagram giveaway going on with a friend of mine from Topknots and Pearls Crafts.

Check out the giveaway, share the giveaway. I'm just doing it to try to help raise some funds for this family. I'll be back next week sharing a little bit more on my heart behind this and some details about the sale and other ways you may be able to help.

Recently | An engagement session

I have a million things that I would love to tell you guys about right now. I also have a few posts that I've been working on since being home from the Influence conference that are currently in draft. As much as I would love to pour my heart out to you guys and tell you all about my trip, I'm still majorly processing. I've written stuff down, but honestly when it comes to posting it, I don't even know where to begin! I'll just say that there are some posts coming! I'm not sure when, but they are coming. They wont necessarily be all about my trip or even what was taught, but a lot of what I took away from it and the ways that it has changed my heart and my life. 

For now I'll leave you with this sneak peek from an engagement session I just did with my niece and her fiancé! I did pictures for them right after they got engaged last September (you can see those here) and we got together for another session this last weekend. I'm not a professional, but it is really fun working on my skills with these willing subjects!

Enjoy the rest of your week! I'll be back soon :)

Finding Motivation

It's funny how much I feel like my dog picks up on my emotions. It's raining and cold and there are probably dozens of things I should be doing right now. Yet I feel a complete and utter lack of motivation. I haven't worked out regularly, slept well, or eaten healthy. Mostly because I lost that drive to keep my body healthy. And I'm not liking the results these actions are yielding. I've just felt there has been something missing. A sense of purpose maybe? I don't know. I could sit here and dwell on this all day, but it wouldn't accomplish anything.

I'm looking for a change. In all areas. How I eat, drink, breath, walk, work, cook, clean. I want to be healthy, happy, and thankful. Sometimes I just think that is what life is. A constant battle to better ourselves, to discover and live out our purpose, and to be happy while we do it.

Alex and I are working on a plan of attack for the both of us. We are starting with the way we spend money, which leads to the way we eat. Once we actually have a plan I'll share. Even though I know the motivation must come from us, sharing is a great way to feel accountable. If all I do is say "hey, we are going to try this out," and then we fail, I'll still feel like we have accomplished something. If we never try to change... we will never change. Kind of obvious, huh?

On a vaguely related topic, I'm afraid of what this blog will look like in a months time. I know I have never been good at keeping up with this and going to school at the same time. I'm making an effort this year to try not to be bulldozed by my classes and workload. I'm learning (ever so slowly) that it really just boils down to making the right choices, even when its not the most appealing choice.

That is how we are going to approach our change. Sometimes cleaning my house or cooking dinner may not be the most appealing option, but tomorrow I'll be thankful I did.

How do you deal with a lack of motivation?

Fall15

You guys know I'm heading off to the Influence Conference (next thursday!!) right? If you can't tell, I am extremely a little excited. 

Like I said a few months ago, I am paying for this trip with proceeds from my shop. As successful as my shop has been, I still haven't paid off my trip yet due to a lot of unforeseen business costs (bt dubs, owning a business is expensive). So in a last ditch effort I'm having a one day only sale! This Wednesday my etsy shop will officially be in vacation mode and I will finish up all orders before I leave for the conference. If you have been putting off ordering, now is your chance!

If you are going to be at the conference and were wanting to order a planner, email me (tanya@levelandlace.com) for a free shipping discount code and I'll bring your planner with me to the conference!

Thank you so much to those that have supported me along way! Maybe you just wanted a planner, but what you didn't know is that this trip wouldn't have been possible without you! Thank you!!

Getting organized

This week I finally got caught up enough with orders to make my own planner. Just in time for classes that start at the end of the month. I've been putting it off because I wanted to find the perfect cover for myself. It might be completely selfish, but since dozens of other people will have my planner and I wanted something unique. Trip after trip to the craft store I would find stuff that I liked but nothing I could settle on. Until I found this striped glitter paper. It's delicate and beautiful, and definitely different from all my other covers. I'm not going to be selling this particular cover, but I might do some of the other glitter covers. I'll let you know if that happens.

And for anyone who as emailed me, I'm so sorry if I haven't gotten back to you yet! I'm hoping to clear out my inbox by the end of the weekend.

Enjoy your weekend!

I love love

Sweater & Jewelry: F21 // Skinnies: H&M // Wedges: Target // Glasses: My eye doctor (because I really do wear prescription lenses unlike all the other posers.)

I took these pictures in hopes that maybe some day soon I can actually comfortably wear a sweater. Have you read my about page? "Every day that I can wear a sweater is a good day in my book." I actually meant that. We are getting some strange weather here right now and sweaters have not been in my daily wear. It has been deceivingly hot out for the past while. Deceiving because I wake up to wondrous clouds that trick me into thinking I can wear a jacket out on my walks and lay around in sweaters all day, when in reality it is 99 degrees and as humid as ever. Ok it is no wear near 99, but it is hot and that is my point.

Anyways, I'm not sure how this post ended up being about the weather. Let's talk about jeans shall we? Does anyone else have a nearly impossible time finding good skinny jeans? They are either too stretchy,  I buy them a size too small they shrink in the dryer, they aren't the right color, etc... Insert these jeans. I'm not all about the light wash, but I love the color on these ones. Other than being about a million inches too long, they are great. I love the way they fit. I wore them to a buffet this weekend and I didn't leave feeling like I needed to change the instant I got home. I could probably lay around the house all day in them and be comfy. As a bonus they were actually less than 20 bucks! H&M was having a by one get one half off sale, so I also got them in black for 10 bucks.

Now if only fall would come...