November 19, 2012

49ers Fan

He's ready to watch the @49ers beat the Bears! #nfl #beatthebears http://t.co/aXaZvPJs -- Alicia Pence (@apence10)

November 11, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Days 5-11

So, I've missed quite a few days of my "30 Days of Thanksgiving."  I'm sorry that I haven't been devoted to posting each day.  But I feel it's worth it to pick up where I left off...

Day 5: I'm thankful for Lucas.  He has taught me more in these past 15 months than I ever thought something so small could teach me.  My patience has taken root, my heart is more full than I ever thought possible, I am more courageous than ever before, and I have learned to live each moment to the fullest.  I am so blessed to have such a fun, adventurous little boy and I'm so looking forward to seeing him develop into the man God has planned for him to be.

Day 6: I'm thankful for my home.  Although I love to complain about it and could rattle off a list of 100 things that are wrong with it, we are blessed to own a home at such a young age.  It keeps us safe, allows us to spend time with each other, and is all ours.  I am so thankful to have a place to rest and lay my head each night.

Day 7: I am thankful for the modern day luxuries that we have in our society now.  Although some older people would say that some of our modern day technologies aren't needed, I am very thankful for the internet to stay up to date with news, for my microwave that allows me to spend more time with my family than over the stove each night, and for my washing machine which enables me to work outside of the home instead of multiple days each week on our laundry. 

Day 8: So many Christians around the world are not able to worship and fellowship with each other, without the fear of getting caught and killed.  We are very blessed to be able to attend church each week, without that fear.  I am very thankful for my church family.  Although I am often quick to find problems with my church, I must be reminded often that we are SO blessed to have each other, to spur one another on and to encourage and love one another!  I'm especially grateful for my small group ladies, Danielle, Angie, and Sharon!  You ladies mean so much to me! 

Day 9: I'm thankful for clean water.  We are SO blessed to have clean water in our country, and often forget that there are millions around the world without this simple luxury. 

Day 10: I am so grateful for our family.  It truly takes a village to raise a child.  Travis and I have continued to be very busy people since Lucas was born and I am so thankful that finding a sitter is rarely difficult.  We are so blessed to have so many loving family members to love and encourage Lucas and us!  We love you all! 

Day 11: In honor of today as Veteran's Day, I am thankful for the men and women who have risked their lives to keep our country safe and free.  Thank you to our military soldiers, past and present! 

November 4, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 4

Today I am so thankful for my bestie!  We share so many similarites but are also so different.  I'm open and immodest while she's more private and modest.  I'm often loud and outgoing while she's often quiet and reserved.  But we're both givers and love Jesus passionately.  We both have a heart for hurting people and try our hardest to be wonderful wives and moms.  We are both deep thinkers, which sometimes gets us into trouble as we think deeper about some situations than we need to.  :-)

We spur one another on, smack the other in the face with gentle honesty, and listen to each other with a loving passion for the other's opinions and desires. 

I am so blessed to have this amazing woman in my life and thank God everyday for bringing us together!  I love you, Danielle! 

Repost from Life With Jack: 1st Corinthians 13 for Moms

Please, read the following repost from life with jack: 1st Corinthians 13 for Moms!  I LOVE this very honest look into how we often parent our children...


1st Corinthians 13 for Moms

If my child speaks in the tongues of men or of angels, masters sign language at six months and Spanish and Mandrin Chinese by six years, but does not learn to love, she is only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If he has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge-ABCs at a year, reading by two, writing chapter books in Kindergarten-but does not have love, he is nothing. If I volunteer for every mommy ministry-MOPS, AWANA, Sunday School, and if I give all I possess to the poor (or at least bring loads of groceries to the foodbank), but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy other mother's lifestyle choices or possessions, it does not boast in the areas of my children’s natural strengths (while covering for their faults), it is not proud of the way my child potty trained before your child. It does not dishonor others by insisting that my method of parenting is the best, it is not self-seeking-hoping that you’ll notice how smart, talented or well rounded I am raising my child to be. It is not easily angered by perceived slights or misjudgments, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth that all of parenting is fueled and driven by God’s grace. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails-even where I have fallen painfully short of God’s best for my children. But where there are competitions to see whose body bounces back best after childbirth, they will cease; where there are verbal fights over the correct methods of discipline, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge about the best way to feed and clothe and nurture a child, it will pass away. For we know in part and we parent incompletely, but when they are fully grown, what we thought we knew about raising our children will disappear. When I was a new parent, I thought, spoke and reasoned with immaturity and without grace. As my children grew, I asked God to give me the wisdom to put these childish ways behind me. For now we see our children’s future as only a reflection as in a mirror; one day we will behold their adults selves face to face. Now I know in part; then we shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

November 3, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 3

Today, I thankful for the opportunities that we are offered in this country!  We are free to come up with a business idea, sell the items or services, and support ourselves through these endeavors.  Some countries do not have these freedoms, so I'm am very thankful that we live in the United States of America!! 

Sorry this isn't a super long post, but I am worn out after today's craft fair and we are off to a neignborhood block party soon!  Have a wonderful evening! 

God bless,
Alicia

Today's Craft Fair

Here are the pictures from todays craft fair! We had a blast selling our vinyl wall art! 






November 2, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving, Day 2

Today, I am so mindful of what an awesome husband I have been blessed with.  For those of you who do not know, Travis and I work right across the street from each other.  And lunchtime is a real bonding time for us; we purchase lunches every Monday and then spend the rest of the week's lunch breaks chowing down while trying to get some meaningful (and sometimes hilarious) conversation in.  Today, we worked on some of our vinyl business to-do's and had a great time going to Hobby Lobby and eating at KFC!  Woohoo!  I am so thankful  for our lunchtimes together! 

Vinylicious Wall Art

Tomorrow, our new vinyl decor business, cleverly called Vinylicious Wall Art, will be setting up for our first craft fair!  We are super excited and have been prepping for the past week to get our inventory, booth displays, and products ready!  I will most certainly post pictures of our booth after tomorrow so that you can see it! 

We have been keeping pretty busy with our new little business!  Our website just went live this past month, which is super exciting.  Feel free to check it out at www.vinyliciouswallart.com!  I have been working on getting more and more of our premade designs online for purchase, so check back frequently! 

Thanks for all of  your support as we take our journey into operating our own business! 

November 1, 2012

30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today starts the wonderful month of November.  Fall leaves, brisk weather, turkey.  Wow!  I can't believe that we are already entering another November!  This month is, of course, a great time to remember our many blessings in life.  I will be posting each day of November with a short blurb about something I am thankful for. 

Today, I am so very thankful for good health.  I attended our annual Alzheimer's Association conference today and it made me realize how blessed we are to still have our memories intact, our bodies in fairly good working order, and all of our senses working properly!  Thank you God for blessing my family with good health.