Truths I Want My Children To Know

1. You are truly unique and you were created for a purpose that only you can fulfill.

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to nations. 

I was distracted for many years by things that go on around me and wanted to be different but was not sure how to take the road less travelled. I looked around for things and people to mimic, which left me feeling even more lost. I now know to be truly unique, I must only look to God.

2. God is our creator and knowing Him will help you to know yourself and understand your purpose.

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and lead you in the way you should go; I will council you with my loving eye on you.

I have found great comfort in talking to God about my concerns and important decisions. I bring so much to Him through prayer. I hear the responsive and guiding voice of God through The Bible, preachers and through the stories of other Christians. Sometimes a response does not come but spending time with God is always helpful.

God may ask you to do something someday that by the worlds standards of decision making, may not make sense, example: a leap of faith in a career where you don't necessarily have the specific training to do the job. If God is calling you to do something, he will care for you and guide you through the process. I love to think of Noah (Noah's ark) when God is asking me to do something a little crazy. Can you imagine how crazy Noah must have felt when he first turned to his wife and said "honey, we have to build a huge boat and load one of each species on it because God is going to flood the earth and its our job to save Gods creations". What!? I am sure Noah lived through some tough times as he constructed the ark but I bet he was glad he listened to God and not the people around him (maybe making fun of him) when the rain began to fall.

3. It is God's plan that you be successful, happy and blessed. Do not be limited by the worlds definition of success, this does not mean you will be abundantly wealthy, it might but blessings come in many forms.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future. 

I like to remember the verse above when I am going through a challenging time. I have gained most of my greatest pieces of wisdom through challenging times. These pieces of wisdom have equipped me to gracefully move through situations in the future that I could not have foreseen but because Gods plan is perfect, He prepared me for a battle I was unaware I would face.

4. There will be challenging times in your life and no matter how long, you are NEVER alone.

Isiah 41:13
For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.

Talk to God about everything, ask Him for what you need. He will answer your prayers in the best way for you. When I work on being grateful, I can see the many ways that God answers my prayers daily. And, in a time of waiting on a prayer to be answered, it has helped me to remember God's past faithfulness and the many ways he has answered my prayers previously. This helps me to hold onto faith that God is working even when I can not see it.

5. What you do matters! At different phases of your life it may seem that the everyday things like working hard in school, being on time for sports practice and keeping your room clean are insignificant but God cares about everything you do and these small things can often bless those around you in a big way. Do not ever underestimate your impact on your world, by living your life simply to honour God.

Job 8:7
Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous your future will be. 

When I began to put my whole life in Gods hands amazing things started to happen. Only God can take our simple efforts and turn them into extraordinary miracles. I have seen God work through my everyday life to speak into the lives of others which makes all the simple mundane tasks worthwhile. Remember, God needs each and everyone one of us!

6. You do not need to do anything to earn Gods love. He loves you just as much today as He did yesterday and nothing you can do, can change that. Do not allow your missed steps to keep you from growing closer to God.

Hebrews 13:8
Yesterday, he loved you, today he loves you tomorrow he will love you, nothing will change. 

For many years I allowed my mistakes to keep me from getting closer to God. I felt like if I sinned and made a mistake that I needed to stay away from God. This is a lie the devil tells us to keep us from growing closer to our Heavenly Father, do not believe it. Always turn to God.

There are no two people in this world exactly alike. It is amazing and beautiful and only a work God could complete. Get to know your Heavenly Father and you will learn who you are, what you were created for and live a purposeful life.

xoxo
Audrey

We Are Renovating | Life Episode Video

We are feeling excited and blessed to be doing some home renovations! Check out the first weekend of work in the video below. I would love to hear about your home renovation projects and experiences, please share them in the comment section. The more work we put into our house, the more it feels like a home and while the previous space was very out of date, I was a little sentimental when everything got ripped out as it was still filled with memories (yes I am an extreme sap). Thanks for hanging out and watching this video. 

Glitter Glam Makeup | Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation First Impression

Hang out with me in this super chatty and fun, glitter glam makeup tutorial. I create a look that would be great to wear to prom or any special event this summer. I am sharing my initial thoughts on the Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation and how much I love the new Tim Hortons Latte. I also share a little about my prom and would love to hear about yours in the comments below.

What really makes this look special and was a total inspiration for the glitter portion, is the choker I am wearing. This choker is from Park Lane Jewellery and you can connect with my friend Kerry Dunlop to check out more of their line or order this choker for yourself.

I hope you enjoy this makeup tutorial as I much as I loved creating it!

Working On My Clean Eats

I love food! I have gotten into a habit of using my lack of sleep and sometimes being at home for days on end, as an excuse to eat whatever I want. I am working on making more healthful choices, learning to cook differently (vegan, vegetarian and gluten free sometimes) and increasing my activity to live a more full life. I want our family to crave good stuff! This being said, you will still find me eating pizza and drinking pop on Friday nights and sipping coffee and eating donuts on Sundays. I am not giving up treats completely, I am really just working on my balance. And, as I have learned in other areas of my life, balance does not just happen, it requires work. So, here is my first week of food work and a little video of my grocery haul. When I did this grocery haul, I was already pretty stocked up on produce. I personally love watching grocery hauls because I am so inspired by what other people cook and eat. It is very easy for me to get in a cooking/grocery shopping rut and I always feel my inner foodie inspired after seeing what other people eat.

The pictures of meals I am sharing below, are just a sample of what I ate in the week and there were of course a few treats in there as well. I also eat a lot of the same thing during the week. I love leftovers for lunch so I often make 2 extra servings of our dinners so Tyler and I have easy lunches the next day. Luke will eat leftovers but he normally shares with me and Lizzy is starting to eat solids but obviously not enough to require an extra serving yet lol.

week 1 grocery haul video 

chicken & green beans with almonds 

blueberries & coconut whipped cream

garden salad with cottage cheese dressing & hamburger 

avocado, hard boiled egg and cottage cheese dressing wrap 

steak, potatoes and bell peppers

vegan brownies & coconut whipped cream 

smoothie bowl with granola

scrambled eggs & vegan pancakes (mash lol)

cliff bar, hard boiled egg and banana 

Lizzy Lately

Elizabeth is seven months old today. Recently I took part in a free online photography course offered by Motherly and Chatbooks specifically geared towards moms wanting to capture and edit beautiful images of their children. I loved the course and got very inspired to step up my photo game but it got me thinking about how great I was at doing monthly photoshoots with Luke and how I haven't been as diligent about doing the same with Elizabeth. I got hit with a little mom guilt for a minute, about not keeping everything even. I got over that guilt and decided to pick up here and do what I can because thats what we moms do.

Elizabeth, you are interacting with us so much these days, laughing and taking part in conversations with your squeaks.

Your voice is very loud when you want it to be.

You love eating, I think you have my appetite.

You can pull your brothers hair.

You are happy sitting on the floor playing with some toys.

You like to watch Paw Patrol with Luke.

You are so happy and excited in the morning.

Your tongue is always poking out of your big open mouth smile.

You have one bottom tooth poking through.

Your dad calls you Chickaletta sometimes.

I call you Lizzy Loo or Lizzy Girl.

You nap twice a day.

You still love to snuggle and be held.

You are a strong willed soul but also very soft, I love your mix of extremes.

You are wonderful.

Love mom & dad.

If you liked this post you may also like Luke's seven month post here.

These photos were snapped and edited with the tips I learned from the Motherly & Chatbooks photo course. You can still take advantage of the free course until the end of May, by simply checking out the Motherly website. Motherly is a beautiful community about everything motherhood.

Get Ready With Me

Hang out with me while I get ready for the day. I may only be wearing my leggings and a t shirt but doing my makeup helps me to feel ready for the day. I am also sharing some thoughts on the Maybelline Dream Cushion Foundation. Check out the video for this look below.

London Children's Museum May 2017

Come along with us on a Saturday adventure to the London Children's Museum, check out the video below. 

Maybelline Better Skin Foundation & Powder Review

If you guys follow me on Instagram you know that I have been playing around with a bunch of new Maybelline makeup (check out my stories, I am always sharing new stuff). I am excited to share my thoughts with you on a few of the products today. 

This makeup was provided by a PR firm for my review but this post is not endorsed.

In general, my experience working with Maybelline foundation products, their colours run dark so air on the side of light when choosing your shade. 

Better Skin Liquid Foundation

This is an oil free formula created with ACTYL-C which helps to improve the appearance of your skin by diminishing blemishes. I would consider this product a lightweight foundation with light coverage. It provides a matte finish and did last throughout the day.

Super Stay Better Skin Powder

This powder is formulated with salicylic acid to help diminish blemishing and oil. It has a very matte finish and offers a light coverage on its own or builds nicely over the Better Skin Liquid Foundation. 

These two products do what they claim to and I even experienced a few blemishes after beginning use with them proving they work to clear skin (breakouts often occur when using active products and will clear up within two weeks of continued use). My skin is combination and as I get older I do desire more hydrating and full coverage foundation products so they are not my personal favourites. This being said, I am happy to now stock these in my professional makeup kit and think they will be an excellent choice for my graduation and prom clients. As most teens struggle with blemishes and oil, these products will not only help to temporarily mask the issues but heal the skin as well. 

Dream Bouncy Blush 

I didn't realize that this blush was a cream until I dipped my brush into it, lol. I worked my regular bristle blush brush into the product and loved the dewy, flushed colour it gave my cheeks. Cream blushes can sometimes be tricky to work with but it blended nicely with my foundation products. 

It was a good experience trying out these products and I am excited to use them on some of my special event clients this coming spring and summer!

I would love to know your thoughts in the comment section on these products, if you have tried them out. 

xoxo

Audrey

These Days | May 2017

These days;

I often feel like I am rushing.

I don't always talk to Luke in the tone I wish I would.

I am so grateful for the time I have withy my kids.

I am so excited for summer, hurry up beach days.

I eat a lot.

I say yes to Luke eating candy at 10:00am (not often but it happens).

Our back deck is covered with sand from Luke's new sand box but I don't care about the mess because he plays happily and quietly.

I drink 3 coffees almost everyday.

Lizzy wiggles back and forth like she is dancing.

Luke's sentences get bigger and more grown up by the day.

Tyler works extra hard.

Lizzy has started to babble and it sounds like she is saying dada.

When both kids nap in bed at the same time, there are so many things I want to do I don't know where to start.

I feel tired and emotional about all the decisions I make and sometimes wonder if I am going crazy.

Tyler and I laugh at the end of the day about being parents and the stuff we encountered in our day.

I feel grateful that I have him to laugh with because parenting is nuts.

When I hug my kids, I hold them tight, close my eyes and try really hard to make a memory of how they feel at that specific moment.

Luke and Elizabeth do not get equal amounts of attention from me right now.

There are a lot of moose, tigers and deer in our basement.

I am grateful for these days!