Gracegivingmas 2013

This past November our world was rocked. Hard.

Our greatest earthly treasure seemed to be slipping from our grasp; and there was nothing we could do. I felt helpless.

So I did what I could; be the best mommy/advocate/wife/force-of-nature possible in this situation. I gave my all. That is all I can give, and pray that it is God's will for Grace to stay here a bit longer. He is hers, to give and take away; she is a gift to us, God does not owe us her. We have blissfully enjoyed raising this treasure for four years, she is living proof we serve a loving God. Everyday with her is testimony to that.

But what I hadn't realized until these three heart-wrenching weeks, is was what a blessing practiced steadfast trust is... In a relationship with our Savior. To intentionally trust him everyday, never knowing what the day may bring; but knowing He is sovereign, whether it be a day abound in blessings or tears.

Over the past few years I have been inspired by the incredible faith of our forefathers; the pioneers who lived by faith and trust for survival. They didn't need lightshows at church, retreats, or multitudes of the latest bible-studies; to trust Jesus daily. They just lived by it, out of necessity. They were not finicky in their faith, but truly made God their Rock. Incredible.

That is the desire of my heart.

And then it happened.

Necessity came clamoring on my door, when our precious Grace was born; and has made itself at home ever since.

But I found living by trust isn't easy, or romantic; but it is the most real thing I have ever done.

Because when that trust was put to the test this time, I experienced one of the most incredible moments of my life.

I was saddened at the thought of losing my girl, but not fearful. I know God has her back, and mine; whatever happens.

I didn't lose myself in despair or doubt God's plan, like a younger Erica could have; I just did the best job I could possibly do, to get her home and healthy... And I knew that it was enough. Because life and death are not my skill set, they are His.

I trusted Him, and our precious girl is happily playing in our house today. God is good.

I trusted Him, and if our precious girl never made it out of Alabama... God would still be good.

We trust Him. We trust that He is sovereign. We trust and know that He loves us; blessings or tears.

One of my favorite hymns that is about 130 years old, has been on a loop since our second hospital trip (when things began looking more serious); "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus." It resonates the cry of my heart.

"Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to trust His cleansing blood;

And in simple faith to plunge me

'Neath the healing, cleansing flood."

 

"I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,

Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;

And I know Thou art with me,

Wilt be with me til the end."

So this holiday season, we have much to be thankful for; we are rejoicing having our sweet girl home and smiling, but we are also praising God for the opportunity to endure trials...

So we can learn to trust Him more.

This is the heart of Gracegivingmas.

And I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate God's love for us; than with the gift of family, laughter, and pie. ;)

And opening some Christmas presents a little early. ;)

This was the very first time she has ever ripped wrapping paper by herself. A true gift for us to watch.

It was also a good time to pick up the camera, after having neglected it for almost the whole month.

My heart was incredibly happy to be capturing my beautiful family.

And I was 100% fine not getting any "regular" smiles. :)

And snapping a few impromptu family photos is always a blast; freezing time for one moment. And snagging a few family portraits for the newlyweds. :)

I am very thankful my littlest sister found one of the good ones. We are blessed with our newest brother in love.

 

Life will have it's times of crises; but it's up to us to either hold onto the reins for dear life, or relinquish them to the One who can easily guide them... Before tragedy comes charging through our front door.

 

"Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest, and joy and peace."

 

Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas, from the Wheat family.



Our Swheat Girl is Four!

Shortly after our move, this little girl turned four! We spent her birthday weekend river hopping, one of her favorite things; I guess that's a perk of being surrounded by rivers.

I think that's been one of our favorite things about living here, plenty of water time! 

When it came time to planning Grace's 4th birthday party, I really wanted to draw off the uniqueness of this new chapter in her life. When we moved to here, I was taken aback by the amount of cotton fields that surrounded our little town; it was a new experience for us to see random pieces of cotton blowing around in the streets. And then there was our peach house, the whole house (interior) is painted peach! It's not every day you live in a peach paradise, ha! 

I really wanted Grace's party to not just be aesthetically pleasing, but symbolize this new chapter in her life. This house and this town are going to forever be a part of her childhood; we wanted this party to mark the beginning of a beautiful, fun, and enriching year for her.

Inspired by the lovely texture of cotton, I wanted to create something that had unique texture... With a hint of femininity. So I came up with a backdrop that I hope captures the essence of fields of cotton on a cool summer evening.

With accents of peach to tie in our new abode, and plenty of gold sparkle to represent the birthday girl's sparkly personality... The party came into it's own. 

Our guest list was short, we really wanted to keep the party intimate; we wanted Grace to know her guests, and for our guests to already have a rich history with her. Granted my family is massive, and Fort Worth isn't exactly close, so we were thrilled by the fact so many drove down for her day! Nonetheless, we still wanted to send out invites; because they're fun and proper. ;)

I don't know why it looks so heavily pink here, but it's actually a lovely peach shade in real life. ;)

One of the things I enjoyed planning her party this year was getting to branch out and try new vendors! And ya'll, they really made this party come together! :)

We used a bakery in New Braunfels for her cake, 2tarts, they are awesome! If you're local, use them, you won't be disappointed. The cake was exactly what I wanted, and it was delicious! Once home all I had to do was make the toppers for the cake! I bought the florals at Blumen-Meisters right before picking up the cake, it's also in New Braunfels. Each stem you buy is perfectly packaged with a little water bottle to keep it fresh for the ride home. I couldn't have been happier with the service and selection. It made arranging them stress-free, after getting home, yay for no sad blooms!

I really wanted to add a little platter of french macarons to dress up the table, and since our guest list was all adults, I thought it would be fun to be adventurous with the flavors. Suprisingly, green tea wasn't a real crowd pleaser. ;) However, the quality was phenominal on these little souffles. Hello! Macaron in Austin is your girl, if you need a fix! :) In keeping with the theme of hearts jumping out of the desserts, I went ahead and made the macarons into minature stacks and added some home-made glitzy hearts to hold them together.

The four for the table was actually cut by hand by my incredibly talented and loving husband! All I did was cover it in sparkle. I don't think I can bear to part with it or throw it away.... I am a sucker for things made with love, but really... Who isn't? :)

The invitation was made by Oklahoma Ginger, I gave her my vision for the invites, and she made it happen! Also note the lovely peach color. ;)

Since this could potentially be one of her last parties with a mostly adult guest list (she's starting to show a little interest in kids near her age), we decided we should probably take advantage of it and trade in the kid finger-foods for a wine and cheese tasting! It was actually really fun branching out our taste-buds and seeing who liked stinky cheese and who didn't. ;)

What she enjoyed more than all the presents, were "her" people. That and the half-hour serenade she got (because if you're going to be sang to, happy birthday is just not a long enough song)! ;)

I tried getting a regular smiling pic, but my family doesn't know how to do that... And I love it!!!

When I think of her 5th birthday, I hope it is as full of love as this one was. And has lots of water, yes, plenty of that. 

I pray that year four is one for the books. Happy Birthday my Littlest Love, Mommy loves you so very much!