on the other side

here we are on the other side of foreclosure; a couple of humble forfeiters. but we have not foreit our dreams or hopes. yes. we walked away from the home we planned to grow old in, but are walking toward a future free from the burden of owning 2,000 square feet of wood, nails and tile. we are free. and i have to tell you, for all the tears of sorrow spilled yesterday as i vacuumed the carpet and mopped the tile floors and scrubbed the baseboards i so meticulously masked so as not to paint on them for the last time, i am confident in God's grace and mercy that many more tears of joy will spill to turn these ashes into something beautiful. he promises. and i believe.

so what's in store for gigi and jay now? well, besides getting petalo in order, i have a few ventures to explore occupationally, in service and personally. one of the benefits of moving was i got to see -- literally -- what i have. and i have much. even after the garage sale last weekend, i have a lot of clothes. i could wear a different outfit every day for about six months and never wear the exact same thing. that's excessive, don't ya think? i have designer bags from my sisters that i haven't used for so long i forgot i had them. a lot of things will be donated; we're considering a second garage sale, but a lot of the pricier things will be going up on ebay or style.ly. i am also concentrating on gifts of grace {a gigi project} and getting some inventory knit/crocheted up as well as dabbling in some sewing and quilting.

on the service end i have volutneered to knit scarves for breast cancer research which I learned about here and am participating in knit pray love which i heard about on klove. personally, there is so much that needs work. i kid you not. i want to move foward in this momentum of change and letting go and letting God. i want to be the best wife, mom, friend and servant. thank goodness God doesn't give up on me. for now i will continue to pray with a grateful, joyful heart for i know i have much.

my logo?

old logo

new logo

there it is. the new a gigi project logo. i like its simplicity and that it can be both of my entities. the bottom is the old gifts of grace logo, which i also like. a lot. what about you, which do you like better? i also have a new facebook page for a gigi project/gifts of grace; i've added it to the links on the right.

Lord, I pray that You would always be at the forefront of this venture; that I recognize that MY gifts come from you and those are the TRUE gifts of grace. May you be glorified. May this brand always stand for and represent You. I pray that You would bless the work of my hands and that they be a blessing to you. This is Your business, Lord, and I just get to go about it. In the mighty name of Jesus, let it be. Amen.

hello, 2012!

photo credit

i'm blogging. my technical prowess has grown by leaps and bounds since hubby gifted me the latest, greatest iPhone for my birthday. thus, i have become that which i most despise and went from a simple facebooker to a twit, a pinster and now a blogger.

j and i have been laying pretty low the last couple of years, so instead of the annual letter and greeting card, we blog...well, i blog. j unknowingly contributes. after all, it's his life, too, right? the goal: one post a day. nothing crazy. like a diary. no big deal, right? but what you don't understand is, it's me. my track record on journaling is "no so good." you know what i mean?

your role in this? accountability. no. you don't really have a choice. either you're going to read it or you won't. i won't know. i'm sitting over here convincing myself what i have to say will hold your attention on a daily basis. who knows?

so i started this process (making my blog) shortly before midnight on new year's day. the sun will be rising in, oh, forty-five minutes -- give or take a few -- and i still haven't gotten my first post up. not looking so promising.

to start: it's j, me and li (part-time) and three four-legged boys: black, yellow and 'tis. those are "the boys." the six of us, including the part-timer, are mid-move. a couple of blocks away, but a move nonetheless. i abhor moving. actually, it's not the moving that bothers me. it's the packing and the unpacking. ugh. i have so much to do and so little motivation. i look at the stuff -- and there is a lot of it -- and wonder where to start. totally discouraged. so we've got that going on.

so i could tell you what's been going on the past couple of years, but that would be moving backward, not forward, and we are a family that will move forward. convincing, huh? but really, this is about learning from our mistakes and moving on.

well, it's almost six in the morning and for all my perfectionism, deleting, writing and rewriting, of course it's this last attempt that's raw and uninhibited/unedited that's going up. sometimes i just need to remind myself to k-i-s-s: keep it simple, stupid.

that's all for now. let's go out there and let our little lights shine.