Every girl needs her own space right? I have always wanted to have a dressing area in my bedroom with ample space for me to do my hair, apply my makeup, and paint my nails.

My former vanity was the one my mother had as a teen. Though I love that vanity, it was small and becoming overcrowded with all my girly gadgets. I started looking for a larger replacement vanity, but couldn’t find one in the color and size I wanted. In addition, the few I had considered settling for (in desperation!) cost much more than my budget allowed.

What’s a girly girl to do when faced with such a dilemma? Bring her concerns to her loving husband of course! After talking to JT about what I wanted, he agreed that it would probably be next to impossible for me to find a vanity in the size, color, and price range I desired. To solve my problem, he offered to build a simple vanity shelf for me.

At first I wasn’t sure a vanity shelf would look right, but JT assured me that it would. He patiently strolled through Lowes with me while I found the perfect piece of wood. After the wood was cut, he stained it for me, and anchored it to the wall. The result? The spacious, attractive (and inexpensive!) vanity I had dreamed about for so many months!

Once the shelf was up, I was ready to spruce up the area. At the local Goodwill store, I was able to find a few heavy, textured, decorative candy dishes to use as makeup brush and utensil holders. While there, I also discovered a huge, custom-made, cushioned bench that fits under the vanity shelf perfectly. This beauty was a real steal at less than $15!

Now that my vanity is in place, getting ready each day is much easier. All my girly gadgets are in one place and I’ve got room for them all. The area is well lit and spacious. For me, this vanity sure beats trying to beautify in the bathroom under the wrong type of light! For JT, it means my girly glory isn’t spread all over our bathroom.

This simple little creation works well for both of us!

From the time I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a mother. I have fond memories of mothering my favorite dolls. The first was a beautiful brown baby doll named Love Notes and she was soon followed by a precious bald Cabbage Patch Doll named Heidi Ethelin.  I recall dutifully changing my dolls’ diapers, faithfully feeding them, pushing them in strollers all around our recreation room, and singing sweet lullabies to them. After a full day of doll play, I often dreamed of the day when I would mother a baby of my own.

Now I no longer dream, as God has blessed me with two darling daughters! While carrying Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum, I was amazed by the wonderful work God was performing inside of me. Throughout both pregnancies, I marveled at the miracle of life and thanked God for the gift of motherhood.  Today, as I think about how God chose me to carry, birth, and nurture two of His very finest blessings, I am so very grateful for His love and kindness.

Today, I hope you will be able to join a special woman in celebrating the joys of motherhood and the miracle of life!

The wise woman builds her house (Proverbs 14:1a)

As JT looks around the house, he often remarks about “how much stuff girls have”.  I’d like to say it’s not so, but the truth is JT is right. Let’s be honest ladies…we have lots of accessories and it’s hard for us to part with any of them!

In our bedroom alone, I’ve got a gazillion girly gadgets including, but not limited to, blow dryers, makeup mirrors, baskets, jewelry, and cosmetics. If I’m not careful, all this girly glory can take over a room.

One area that was becoming problematic for me was the storage of cosmetics brushes. Last week I mentioned that I had created a feminine and functional holder for my makeup brushes. It really spruces up my vanity and is absolutely adorable! It works for me and today, I’ll show you how I made it.

Let me begin by saying that as much as I’d love to say this idea is mine, I cannot. I actually learned how to make this wonderful brush holder by watching videos posted by the many makeup mavens on YouTube.

Creating your own brush holder has endless possibilities. Choose a jar shape that suits you or if you’re feeling green, recycle a pasta jar or something similar. Select materials and colors that strike your fancy or match your decor. Some holders use colored sand, while others use pebbles, beads, or even coins to keep the brushes in place. Let your imagination run wild!

Materials:

Jar (size will depend on how tall or short your brushes are and how many brushes you have)
Filler (rice, colored sand, pebbles, glass beads, etc)
Decorative ribbon
Your makeup brushes

Fill your jar with with filler material. Tie ribbon around the jar and stick makeup brushes into the jar. They’ll stand up and stay still.

If you’d like to create your own brush holder, here’s a video to get your creative juices flowing. What creativity…I love them all!

Here in my part of the country, the temperatures haven’t hit the 70 degree mark yet. The calendar says spring is here, but we’re still wearing winter coats. In spite of the temporary chill, warm temperatures and fresh air are right around the corner, so I know it’s time for a deep spring cleaning.

When I was a child, my mother scheduled a family spring cleaning weekend well in advance. We blocked off a Friday night and a full Saturday so the four of us could work together to freshen the house. My brother and I were assigned dusting and window cleaning duty, while my mother washed and ironed the spring window treatments. Outside, my father was busy cleaning up the flower beds and sprucing up the lawn. When the big task was finished, we usually enjoyed dinner out or shared a large pepperoni pizza in the freshly cleaned kitchen.

As a child, I thought spring cleaning was a tremendous waste of a weekend, but now that I have a home of my own I understand why my mother was so eager to do spring cleaning. There’s just something refreshing about dust free baseboards, sparkling windows, and new curtains. I can’t get everything thoroughly cleaned in one weekend, so I spread the tasks out over a few weeks.

When I begin cleaning, I like to start in our bedroom because a spotless bedroom gives me the motivation I need to tackle the rest of the house. To motivate myself even further, part of my bedroom cleanup always includes an organizing gift for myself.

Last spring, I purchased a few rolling drawers to house all of hair supplies (blow dryers, flat irons, rollers, shampoos, conditioners, etc) and store the overflow of free or nearly free personal toiletries my couponing habit has earned me. This year, I’ve purchased a few smaller drawers to hold all of my cosmetics and I even created an attractive yet functional holder for all of my makeup brushes.

So far, the bedroom, kitchen, family room, laundry room, living room, and dining room have all been cleaned. Over the next few days, I’ll move into the sunroom, the girls’ bedrooms, the spare bedroom, the bathrooms, and finally into the basement. I even hope to stitch up a new set of curtains for the living room and dining room.

Spring cleaning can be an overwhelming project. If you’re looking for a way to organize to the task or you’re not sure where to begin, here are a couple of places to get you started. Read Barbara’s spring cleaning post over at Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers or download more detailed room by room checklists at Right at Home. Don’t forget that you can also make money by selling some of the unused items you discover during spring cleaning. Hold a yard sale or get those things posted on Craig’s List, eBay, or in your local newspaper. I suspect you could easily make a few extra dollars!

I thank everyone who stopped by to wish me a happy blogoversary. The Target gift card contest is over and the winner is Joyfull over at Joyfull Living! Congratulations! May you enjoy each and every purchase you make!

Photo: Courtesy of mag3737 (Flickr)

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. (Psalm 63:5)

Ladies, I’m so excited! Today is my blogoversary! In other words, I’ve officially been a blogger for one full year! Now that might not mean much to some, but for me and many other bloggers, a blogoversary is a marvelous milestone!

When I began blogging last year, I never imagined that anyone would be interested in reading about my family’s activities, the recipes I’ve prepared, or my musings about the Christian walk, but your positive comments and warm emails have shown me otherwise. Thanks for the encouragement! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

Whether you’ve been with me from the beginning or have just recently begun to follow Embracing Him, I encourage you to stick around! Consider subscribing to my RSS feed or signing up for Embracing Him via email. I’m sure this year will bring even more stories, recipes, and devotions, and you won’t want to miss one post!

To celebrate this great occasion, I’m giving away a $50 gift card to Target.  (If you’re a lurker, you’ll definitely want to come out of hiding this week so you don’t miss out on a great opportunity!)

How to Enter:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me what you’d buy with a $50 Target gift card and why.

Photo: Courtesy of helenjane (Flickr)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

During the Christmas season a gift exchange was held on a forum I frequent. I mailed a gift to my sweet Christmas buddy and received a terrific gift in return.

I have been wanting to read Passionate Housewives Desperate for God for quite some time but had never gotten around to purchasing it. My Christmas buddy noted that I wanted to read the book and she was thoughtful enough to mail an author signed copy to me as a Christmas gift.

A few weeks ago, when one of the leaders of the church’s womens’ department came to speak to our moms’ group, she suggested that we add an inspirational book to our devotional time. Now that I have Passionate Housewives Desperate for God within reach, I’m reading it along with my Bible during my morning devotional time.

In the short time I’ve had the book, it has already been a tremendous blessing to me. Authors Jenny Chancy and Stacey McDonald offer a fresh Biblical perspective of the modern day homemaker. The book dispels the myth of the desperate housewife and encourages homemakers to recognize their call to work inside the home, to embrace the blessings of caring for their families, and to seek God as they go about their daily tasks.

At times, we all become discouraged by, annoyed with, and passive about the work we have to do. However, if our work matches God’s will, He will provide the encouragement we need to pull ourselves out of the rut we sometimes fall into. For me, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God has done just that. This book has given me the extra dose of encouragement and the swift spiritual fanny kick  I sometimes need to make it through the day. I’m so glad Jenny and Stacey obeyed God when He asked them to write this book and I thank my Christmas buddy for being so generous!

Photo: Courtesy of yoshi3329 (Flickr)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

It’s quiet here and there’s not much on my “to do” list. I’m caught up on all of my laundry, I’ve already started my dinner preparations, the week’s grocery shopping is complete, there’s a minimal amount of housework to be done, and for a most of the day the girls have been playing together…happily.

This will probably sound strange, but not having a long list of things to do makes me uncomfortable. Such a lull doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s difficult for me to savor the moment. I spend the day fighting a nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten to do something important. I worry that an uncompleted task will rear its ugly head later in the day at the most inopportune time.

My approach to the quiet moments God offers should be better and it’s a concern I’ve been praying about. And now that I have time to think about it, I have an idea as to why today is so peaceful. I think God is working on me and answering my prayers.

Last week, I was listening to Chip Ingram’s radio broadcast Living on the Edge. Since a new year has begun, He was encouraging his listeners to start the year properly. Pastor Ingram stressed the importance of spending quality time with God and then challenged listeners to devote the first 20 minutes of each day to time with God. Pastor Ingram was certain that our days would progress much more smoothly if we did so.

This advice is not new to me.  A couple of years ago when we joined our current church, JT and I took new members classes. In one of the classes the Assistant Pastor taught a lesson on how to get the most out of our days. We were not surprised when he recommended starting each day with a period of devotion with God.

For the past week, I’ve followed the advice of Chip Ingram and our Assistant Pastor. I’ve shifted my devotional time to first thing in the morning. Now before my feet hit the ground running, my knees greet the floor humbly before God. As a result, my days have been better! I’m more relaxed, less stressed, and more focused. My mind doesn’t feel as full and I’m able to see God at work as I complete the day’s activities.

Today, I’m praising God for hearing my prayers, answering those prayers, providing me with peace, and alerting me to the source of this peace. Though I know I shouldn’t be, I’m constantly amazed at the marvelous things that happen when I embrace Him! This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Photo: Courtesy of DijutalTim (Flickr)

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. (Romans 7:18-19)

Ever since Adam and Eve nibbled on forbidden fruit, we have been battling sin. Even after we admit our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our personal war against sin yet rages on. Paul notes that though we want to do the right thing, our sinful, human nature can make it difficult for us to do so.

None of us are exempt from losing control and misbehaving. Just last night, I snapped, made a poor choice, and was later left asking myself, “Why, oh why, did I do that?”

I was having difficulties uploading some information to my blog so I sought help from JT. In the process of fixing one problem another problem was created when I was accidentally locked out of my blog’s administrative panel for a while.

According to JT, what followed was “quite the shootout” as my anger met his stubbornness head on! Was it my intention to blow up at JT? Was it his intention to take a stubborn stance? Certainly not, but we both succumbed to sin and ended up doing things we ought not and did not want to do.

Last night, JT and I were both reminded that the battle against sin is ongoing. Sin is an annoying parasite that latches onto us, irritates us, bites us, and infects us. Thankfully, our Savior Jesus Christ is the soothing salve for our sinful short comings! We can’t rely on our own strength as we wage this war against sin. We know what we want to do, but God knows what we ought to do. It is only in His power that we are able to act in a manner that glorifies our Heavenly Father. Thank God we can lean on Him and not wage this war against sin alone!

Photo: Courtesy of PauloElias (Flickr)

Many evenings when JT strolls into the family room, he sees me curled up on the couch, balancing a laptop across my legs, and typing furiously. This familiar scene came to a screeching halt two weeks ago when my laptop died. Perhaps you heard my shrieks, wails, and moans in your neighborhood.

Neither JT nor I was surprised by the loss of the laptop. Over the past few months, the laptop had been waging a strong fight for life but its frozen screens, unchargeable battery, eternal boot up time, and perplexing series of blips, buzzes, and hums indicated the end was near. One afternoon, the laptop went into sleep mode and never awakened. Thankfully I had listened to JT when he advised me to backup my files!

Though I was upset about the laptop’s demise, I think JT was probably more saddened than I was. He knew we’d have to buy another laptop and to make matters worse, in the meantime, he’d have to share the other computer with his wife, a real computer hog. It didn’t take long for JT to decide to order a new laptop for me.

Christmas has come early! The new laptop is here, all the bells and whistles have been installed, and I love it! I’m now blissfully blogging and surfing with satisfaction via my new MacBook Pro. Yet another crisis in the Thorpe household has been averted!

On a much more serious computer note, I’d like you to join me as I pray for a fellow blogger named Jenny. She maintains a FANTASTIC homeschool blog that has been a tremendous source of information to moms homeschooling young children.  This week Jenny’s blog was accidentally deleted and she is devastated! Thankfully, she has been able to retrieve the content of her posts via RSS feeds, but it’s going to take her a while to restore the blog. Please keep her in prayer.