Creative Glory Photography

Several of you have complimented us on our new blog design. I have told you that I would be introducing my designer soon and the time has arrived!

Our beautiful new look was put together by my friend Kathryn at Creative Glory. In this post I am going to focus on her photography business, but...yes! She does blog design as well! If you need blog buttons she can put one together for a mere three dollars. And a new header is only five dollars! Kathryn has an eye for beautiful design and great color combinations. If you are like me and find it hard to make time for blog design (and don't have a lot of money to spend on such things), I highly encourage you to take advantage of her custom blog design services.  I will include her contact information at the end of this post, but first, let me tell you a bit about her wonderful and affordable photography services and show you some of her work. 

Kathryn lives in the Knoxville, TN area and will meet you for your session anywhere within an hour of  her home. This is wonderful if you are planning a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, or will be visiting the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN area. Knoxville is quite close to these destinations has many beautiful venues for photography. Kathryn can provide you with suggestions if you need them.    

A photo session is fifty dollars and usually lasts one to one and a half hours. You are welcome to change outfits during this time.  She spends about a week editing photos, and then will post a few of her favorites on her blog for you to preview. ( She is very discrete and uses nicknames if you desire so your family can remain anonymous.) She will then mail you a CD for you to print and share photos as you wish. That is it!  No high pitch sales or pressure...none. 

Professional photographers can charge several hundred dollars per session, plus pricey fees for prints and so on. I love that Creative Glory offers quality at an affordable price.  In addition, if you are a family that had brought a child into your family through adoption within in 6 months of scheduling your session, your first session is free! What a blessing!

This is an excellent and affordable option for those senior portraits!

As a former school teacher and experienced nanny, Kathryn is excellent with children and can quickly build rapport with even the most reluctant subject.  If you are interested in setting up a session, or if you have further questions, you can contact Kathryn at cre8tiveglory@gmail.com . 

Her blog is still a work in progress, but she welcomes you over to take a look!  You can also click on the Creative Glory button in our sidebar. Enjoy!

English Country Dancing...Fun for Everyone, Especially Great for Teens!

This summer our family discovered English Country Dancing.  Our community has a local, family oriented group that meets on a regular basis. We love attending and learning various dances. The setting is laid back and informal, and it is great fun!  Dads with babies in front backs, ladies in their seventies, middle aged folk, engaged young couples, singles, teens and elementary aged children...all spending a delightful evening together learning an old art form.

When our family heard that there was a formal event geared towards families with older children, we were thrilled! I whole heartedly support the Christian community reclaiming the art of beautiful, wholesome social dancing. Our entire family was not able to attend this event, but two of our teens were able to travel with good family friends and enjoyed a wonderful new experience.

 For the young men it is a wonderful way to learn about being a gentleman, even to their sisters!  The focus is group dancing  (you are forever switching partners in English Country Dancing), but the gentlemen must ask a lady to dance.  They are instructed to make sure all the ladies are being included, especially since there are often more ladies than gentlemen. It is an excellent opportunity for young men to initiate and lead. Even the occasion to dress like a gentleman is a benefit in this day of grunge and shagginess. I notice that our own young men stand a bit straighter and speak with a bit more confidence when they have a sport coat on their backs!

 For the ladies, a formal ball is a chance to delight in godly femininity. It is a time to be dignified  and graceful. Ladies are instructed to respond graciously to requests to dance, whether they accept or decline. I will do another post on how to dress modestly/modify a typical formal gown for modesty, but it is a wonderful time to consider these issues as mother and daughter ( not to mention learn useful techniques for modifying everyday clothing). Our gown modification was a three generation event in and of itself! And what a fun time of shopping and planning together!  Many of the ladies at the ball wore period costume dress, which I think will be on a wish list sometime soon. There are some lovely patterns out there!

One area I especially appreciate about such an event is the atmosphere that emphasizes godly relationships.  Modeled before my children are both older couples that love each other very much and  couples in the courtship and engagement phase of life. Several college age couples were present (couples who had attend these events as younger teens) and they, along with other couples in our circle of friends, provide a healthy "normal" of how such relationships can be approached. The whole emphasis on "otherness"... considering another's needs above your own...is what impresses me most. My favorite picture of the evening was of  a special set of four dancers: my son, a friend's daughter, another friend's son, and this young man's 20-something year old sister. The sister has severe autism and functions as a preschooler. When she heard there was a ball she wanted to be in on the action and came decked out in her own fancy dress. It brought tears to my eyes hear ( and see, thanks to a kind photographer) that our teens were thoughtful enough to see that she was included and had fun.

So....if you are looking for something fun and worthwhile, check out the English Country Dancing opportunities in your community. I hear they are springing up all over.  You Tube has come excellent tutorials, as well as video from various ball events.   Pleasant Dancing!

Morning Prayer

The past few weeks have been full and beautiful. There hasn't been much time to sit down and write, but lots of good living going on here.  House sitting, soap making, reading, celebrating birthdays ( including that of our former preemie...always an extra special time of thanksgiving!), hosting gatherings, getting to know a mom with a new preemie, English Country dancing and ball gown outfitting.... even saying good bye to a grandmother who lived  life to the full and has gone on to glory.  All great blog material should my turn on the computer ever last more than 2 minutes :), but no real complaints...blogging is awesome, in my opinion, but living,making memories, and seeing my children explore their gifts ( including blogging...three of us now in this house!) is better! 


One of the books I have enjoyed this winter has been The Valley of Vision. As you start a new week, I hope this excerpt will be a blessing to you:


O God, the author of all good,
I come to thee for the grace another day will require for its duties and event.
I know that without thee I can do nothing,
     that everything with which I shall be concerned ,
     however harmless in itself,
     may prove an occasion of sin or folly,
     unless I am kept by thy power, 
Hold thou me up and I shall be safe.
Preserve my understanding from subtilty of error,
    my affections from love of idols,
    my character from stain of vice,
    my profession from every form of evil.
May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore thy blessing
 and in which I cannot invite thy inspection.


May every creature be made good to me by prayer and thy will;
Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,
     to improve my talents,
     to redeem my time,
     to walk in wisdom toward those without, and kindness to those within,
     to do good to all men, and especially my fellow Christians.
And to thee be the glory. 
     

Homemade Instant Breakfast

 My friend Jonquil  is an former food scientist who is brimming with wonderful ideas when it comes to thrifty, healthy homemaking. I am so thankful to know her! We have bounced babies on our laps together, and spent hours watching teenagers bounce basketballs in the gym.  She sports her tranquil demeanor as beautifully as she sports her all-natural-west-coast-native-L.L. Bean-look :), and is one of the best listening ears around. She is a dear sister in the faith ... and this week is her birthday!

 Today I am sharing one of her great ideas with you: homemade instant breakfast. This is not a concoction for the allergy crowd, but is wonderful money-saver if you are a fan of the store bought Carnation Instant Breakfast.  One of the main ingredients is dry milk. Did you know that you can add extra dry milk in your baking to boost nutrition value of baked goods and casseroles?  I learned this trick from a NICU nutritionist that was trying to fatten me up/increase my nutrition while I was pumping for our preemie. (The nutritionist also said it is a great technique to use if you are recovering from a broken bone and want to speed healing.) Here  is what you need for this protein/calcium boosting drink mix::

3 cups dry milk
1 package instant chocolate pudding

Mix together and store in an air tight container.  Add desired amount to you milk, stir, and enjoy!

Seeing The Bright Side

Winter is often a season that is tainted with discontent. There is plenty of grey and cold....an abundance of things to fuel your pity party fire if you choose to go there! After almost four years of living in an urban location, I can say that the same is true for city living. It is easy to neglect the art of appreciating the distinctiveness that makes each day (and each situation!) unique. During the warmer months, both gardening and walking allow my thoughts to easily turn back to the good things. I am creating a place of fruitfulness and love in the midst of concrete and traffic! Somehow the importance of the mission I never would have chosen drowns out the sirens. The urban clutter and the people here become beautiful to me. But now, in the midst of the brown grass, indoor season, I have to redouble my efforts to relish the blessings of this place where the Lord has led us. This week the Lord has challenged me to dwell on the benefits and blessings of this place:

*People of every race and economic level walk by my house daily. Some walk to catch the bus, some walk to be "green"; some to shop and some for exercise; some because they have nothing else to do and some because they are, as my mother would say, "up to no good."

*My children are not growing up isolated from the poor. Although sometimes we feel somewhat "disadvantaged" around those we know, rubbing shoulders with true poverty keeps this in perspective. We are warm, we are loved, we are fed. The rest isn't all that important.

*Seeing those who daily rely on the bus for transportation, and moms who must walk with their little children to the grocery, causes me to feel blessed to own a 14 year old van.

*The dozens of police and ambulance sirens I hear each day give me the opportunity to pray for those in distress. I remember that there is no certainty in life and people everywhere are scared and suffering.

*Friends and relatives drop by our house often. Our clutter is not hidden, and it keeps us humble. We are connected to our community because our location allows us to be in the middle of people's lives.

*You never know who will show up in our driveway or be knocking at our door. A woman trying to sell her coffee pot so she can pay a bill, a mom with a broken down car, a man looking for lawn care work. We have the unique opportunity  ( providing our ferocious dogs are visible and hubby is at home!) to hand hot children cups of juice, share our jug of milk, and provide information about community relief ministries to those who are in need.  I recently heard some one say that it is fashionable to talk about the poor,but sadly, not fashionable to talk to them. We (using prudence of course) get to talk to them.

*Our family is visible. One day when our car was smoking, the mechanic called us because he noticed our situation. A man asked if we ran a nursery school because he frequently saw a crowd of children playing in the yard. Older neighbors tell me memories of this house we call home and appreciate a young family giving life to an old house. Our family can be a city on a hill, a little place of love in a cold world.  There is a mom at home stirring the soup, a dad working hard day in and day out, and people see it all...fish bowl living at its best. And, on those weeks when we miss trash day and everyone knows it because our trash can sits there overflowing, we glory in the fact that the Lord keeps us humble. Perfect we are not, and what a blessing to know it!



















Heart Macro Monday , Wise Woman Builds Her Home link up.

Pleasant Projects: Creating a Personalized Name Canvas

Although I wasn't doing much writing during the holiday season, I was quite busy crafting gifts with my girls.  This project was one of my favorites!  My sincerest apologies for the poor picture quality in this post.  The good camera was still in the shop at the time we did this project!

 Here is what you need for this project: a canvas, craft paint, card stock, school glue, assorted trims, fabric for embellishment, hot glue gun.

First, we painted our canvas with two thin layers of craft paint. While the canvas was drying we cut out the letters on card stock, using a computer font as a pattern. ( My daughter actually ended up doing our letters free hand, but you can easily print out the letters you need, cut them out, and trace around them.) We did not have the color of card stock that we needed to match our sweet niece's nursery, so we also painted our letters with craft paint.

Next, we searched our craft closet for suitable embellishments. We came up with a stained hand-me-down shirt that had been saved for its cute-fabric value, buttons from the same shirt, a wide lace scrap, and a narrow lace scrap. Both lace selections from a box of trims that an elderly neighbor gave to us!  Next, we used a flower shaped cookie cutter to trace/cut out our fabric flowers.

When our canvas and letters were totally dry, we created a mixture of equal parts school glue and water. Using a paint brush we glued down our lace, also "painting" the top surface of the lace with the glue. We did the same with the flowers and letters, taking care to cover the top surfaces thoroughly and fix wrinkles. Later, we gave the entire surface of the canvas ( embellishments and all!) a second coat of the glue mixture. The next day we used the hot glue gun to secure the buttons in place.

Although the photos really don't do the final project justice, I can tell you that this canvas ended up looking surprisingly "professional" as we placed it in our gift bag. We were thrilled! Our only expense was the canvas (less than $5.00) and two bottles of 99 cent craft paint! It was a wonderful lesson to our girls on reusing/re-purposing items, as well as on the value of sharing what we can't use with others. It was such a joy  to be able to provide my niece with a cute, personalized gift while staying within our budget. I am fairly sure that we will be revisiting this project for future baby and birthday gifts!  

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012 to all of you!  I have certainly missed blogging regularly over the holiday season, but it was a lovely, restful, and creative time for our family.  We made many the gifts we gave as Christmas presents, which was great fun for me.  I have sunk deep into several challenging books and lingered over some good poetry in spare moments.  Mostly, we have just "slowed", stepped back from the normal, and, at least in my case, gained fresh perspective.  Now that we are pulling out of that wonderful "lull week" between Christmas and New Year and are getting back into the normal routine again, I am eagerly waiting to what the Lord will do with 2012!  In several areas, I feel the Spirit's wind at our backs, pushing and challenging our family in several areas.  I'd love to know your how you feel the Lord is leading you as the new year begins!  And if you have any thoughts on posts you would like to see from Pleasantburg this year, shoot me and email or leave a comment....I am doing a bit of planning and praying in that department as well!