The Last Day!

Wow.

It's here.

It's really, truly, finally here!
One dress, one year. It's been wild. Tonight is the last night to donate before I disable the button, so get your money in soon if you're donating! At midnight, me and Nick along with our good friends, The Coles, will be burning the dress. Maggie Cole is going to film/photograph the event. I think I will save just one little piece of the dress to scrapbook. I will post it all for you to see tomorrow, but in the mean time, have a happy happy new year!

Let the festivities commence.

Thank You

My heart is filled with so much gratitude this morning. Yesterday I put up a post asking for readers to help us break the $2000 mark. People responded generously and now, we're even a little over that! Thank you so much to all of the people who have donated and followed this blog throughout the year. You don't know what your support has meant to me, and to so many others. I pray the Lord blesses all of you. Thank you so so much for helping us reach this goal!

⁷ Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.⁸ For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.⁹ --Matthew 7:7-9

¹² Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets. --Matthew 7:12

Help me break $2000!

Hey, guys, guess what? We are a mere 100 smackers away from an even $2000. Get your give on and click the donate button in the side bar. I will be deactivating the donate button January 1, so time is running out. Do it for all the little cutie pies!  Every bit is appreciated. :)

A Charlie Brown Christmas Moment

Yikes!

Where does the time go? I cannot believe Christmas is this week! Now that I am almost finished with gifts and cards and scheduling and what not, I finally have time to be excited.

I remember as a child being so beyond pumped for christmas. Like, as a kid, you start gearing up for it right after Halloween. As the holiday approached, I can recall seeing the pinched faces of many adults each year, who had so lost themselves in the bustle that they had forgotten the real reason for the celebration.

This year, I am guilty of the same thing I said I could never possibly feel--stress over Christmas. Is this some awful rite of passage into adulthood? I admit, that for the first time in my life I have been running around like a crazy person, worrying about this and that, and losing Christ in the shuffle. (Yeah, Jesus, I know this is your birthday, but I've got stuff to do!)  Now that I can slow down and reflect on the past couple of weeks, I feel that voice inside me saying, "What were you so worried about?"

None of the stuff I was doing in preparation for Christmas was worth my worry. It all gets done, it always does. And, I sacrificed several moments to feelings of anxiety, moments that could've been used joyfully contemplating all my blessings this past year, and the happy spirit of gift giving, which I am also happy to be blessed enough to do.

It is easier to say when you aren't caught up in the whirlwind of it all, but that's not going to be a reason for me to not try. From now on, I am going to try harder not to lose myself to those moments of chaos and to appreciate life for the unique and joyful blessing that it is.

Thank you, Father, for your Son.

P.S. Hear are some pics of me and my husband Nick at our church. We are supposed to be a '50's couple. Can you tell? I think the dress worked pretty well for this look, actually. Photos are compliments of Maggie Cole.

A Little History

Have you ever wondered how the little black dress became such a huge fashion must have? Well, wonder no more! I have found a very interesting article on Real Simple Magazine's website about the history behind one of the world's biggest and most enduring trends. I am reposting it here, so enjoy!

A Short History of the Little Black Dress

By Maura Fritz

Its silhouette has changed over the years, but the LBD remains supremely chic.

The Birth of the LBD

Perhaps more than any other piece of clothing, the little black dress is, women have been told, the essential, the one that will take you practically anywhere. And perhaps more than any other designer, Coco Chanel was the one who made it ubiquitous. She did not invent the concept, of course, but according to Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life (by Justine Picardine, $40, amazon.com), “the little black dress was not formally identified as the shape of the future until 1926, when American Vogue published a drawing of a Chanel design.… It was an apparently simple yet elegant sheath, in black crêpe de Chine, with long, narrow sleeves, worn with a string of white pearls; and Vogue proved to be correct in the prediction that it would become a uniform.…” Contrast that description with these more elaborate dresses from 1925.

1927

Note the narrowed silhouette and shorter hemline of this layered creation with a semi-sheer top.

1928

Actress Joan Bennett in a more stereotypical flapper ensemble, a tiered Charleston-style dress and cloche hat.

1928

An evening dress from that same year: handkerchief-hemmed, sleek, and modern.

1930

Renowned entertainer Josephine Baker wears a shorter skirt adorned with peacock feathers.

1935

The ’30s would bring a return to softer, feminine cuts. Full, flowing hems once again fell below the calf. That asymmetrical neckline still looks modern.

1936

This glamorous look may have been influenced by Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who loved embellishment as much as she did strong shoulders.

1939

A meticulously tailored LBD as worn by the Duchess of Windsor, as famous for her sense of style as she was infamous for her love life.

1943

Minimalism and practicality prevailed during the war years; silhouettes became simple, boxy, and functional, with a military feel to their squared shoulders.

1948

Postwar, the fashion world took a new turn with Christian Dior’s legendary New Look: wasp waist, lavishly full skirt, as with this knocked-off version.

1949

Two years after he introduced the New Look, Dior narrowed his skirts—like his velvet-and-satin cocktail dress here—hinting at the lean sheaths to come.

1951

The sleek sheath—this one by Dior again—would be one of the shapes that dominated the ’50s.

1951

A plunging neckline and a pencil-slim skirt combine for a dramatic cocktail dress.

1955

A graceful mid-decade dress harks back to the look that revolutionized fashion almost a decade before.

1956

Marilyn Monroe—hand in hand with new husband Arthur Miller—in a wool-crepe Galanos cocktail dress with a bare chiffon midriff.

1957

A gorgeous pouf of a dress from Paris.

1959

Mademoiselle Chanel, the celebrated couturier herself, puts the finishing touches on a late-’50s design.

1961

Audrey Hepburn in what might be filmdom’s most famous LBD, designed by Hubert de Givenchy for Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

1962

Chanel’s influence is seen in the multiple ropes of pearls piled atop a little black dress (the bouffant perhaps inspired by then–first lady Jacqueline Kennedy).

1965

Though the photograph is from the mid-’60s, Sophia Loren would be just as stylish wearing this outfit today: leopard-print hat, accessorizing brooch, timeless black dress.

1965

The 1960s also ushered in the era of the mini, like this beaded chiffon number. Eventually hems soared so high they had no place to go but down.

1970

Liza Minnelli attends the Academy Awards with her father wearing a simple, sexy wrap style that presages the slinky disco dresses in the offing.

1970

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis chooses a more elaborate black dress for dinner at the fashionable La Côte Basque. Mrs. Onassis would be seen in the dress on a number of occasions; she didn’t believe in retiring an outfit after being photographed in it once.

1977

Blondie’s Deborah Harry puts some rock spin on the little black dress—extra emphasis on the little.

1985

A bit of 1980s excess at the House of Chanel, under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld, who is widely credited with reinvigorating it.

1988

Almost 30 years after the release ofBreakfast at Tiffany’s, Iman elegantly updates the look with a sleek gown and an equally sleek up-do.

1994

Naomi Campbell on the catwalk for Chanel, modeling Lagerfeld’s brief take on the LBD. Mademoiselle herself resisted raising hemlines; in fact, she seemed to disapprove of miniskirts.

1994

Lagerfeld wasn’t the only one pushing limits. Here, Elizabeth Hurley wears—sort of—Gianni Versace’s notorious version of the fashion standard.

1994

Princess Diana raised eyebrows with this stunning LBD—her so-called revenge dress—but not for the first time. The low-cut black gown she’d worn in her public debut as Prince Charles’ fiancée verged on the scandalous for its serious décolletage.

1998

With her chic sensibility, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy epitomizes spare elegance.

1999

Calista Flockhart’s dress is a step back to another time, recalling the luxurious skirts and lowered hems of the New Look.

2002

At the other end of the LBD spectrum, Kate Moss’s minimalistic interpretation is nothing if not edgy.

2008

Madonna is almost demure in latter-day Christian Dior.

2009

Michelle Obama wears a lovely, ladylike Azzedine Alaia dress with a modernized ’50s silhouette.

2009

Penelope Cruz shows everything old is new again: a gorgeously simple sheath with a below-the-knee hem.

2010

One of the most talked about dresses of the year, Heidi Klum’s very little black dress.

Well, there you have it, folks! A little pictorial timeline of LBD fashion. :) All the credit and citations for the photographs are on the Real Simple website with the article. Thanks for reading! Stay stylish. ;)

An Answered Prayer!

Guess what? We have a new contact!!!! I am so excited! Our new contact has written a little introduction for the blog about herself and how she became involved with the orphanages. Enjoy!

I visited my first orphanage in 2002. I was 17. From that moment I knew I would give anything and do anything to better the lives of those less fortunate than me. Especially the orphans. As a believer I am called to "help the widows and orphans" (James 1:27.) According to James this is accepted by our Father as pure and faultless, undefiled religion. Since my first experience in a Ukrainian orphanage I have taken every opportunity to live this out. It is not important what or how I did, but that God has given me His heart for the children of the world and has prepared me for the place He has me in now. A place where I have weekly opportunities to care for orphans.

 For the past year I have been longing for the chance to get over to this country and love on these children.I would read these articles about the children I was praying for and longing to care for and my heart just broke every time. It broke even more the day I actually walked into the orphanage. 

 I was seriously impressed with the facilities that are in my city here. This baby house did not smell horribly, the children were not screaming, and the workers were actually smiling. Most importantly the children were much cleaner and healthier looking than children I had cared for in other orphanages. I know much of this has to do with those who have gone before me, who have prayed, who have given money for clothes, food, toys and medication, and have given time out of their day to visit and love on the children. It has made a world of difference to these children and the workers. There is so much more that can improve and I look forward to being a part of helping meet the needs of these children and the workers who daily care for them. 

 The first day I visited the baby house we went outside and played with the children in the court yard. There were three of us volunteers and thirteen toddlers, and only one worker stayed outside. I did not once feel overwhelmed! I felt so blessed to have the chance to love on these children. They are so precious. So beautiful. For a moment, as I sat on a rusty bench building a tower with sticky, dirty blocks and a precious two year old princess, I felt like I was just caring for kids at a day care or mother's day out...for a moment...then their hard reality hit me. These children were where they LIVE, but they were not HOME. They lived day in and day out with each other. They were not waiting for their mom or dad to come pick them up after a long day of work or a short break to run errands. These children were abandoned by their parents, for many reasons, most of which we can't understand. I can't imagine giving up my little girl because of her gender, or my son because he was born with a physical deformity. I can't think of any reason I would give up my child, but these children were given up for many reasons. I wondered for what reasons these children were given up and how many of them were there because their parents were dead. These thoughts were flooding through my mind as I built this dirty, sticky tower with this precious princess and I just grabbed her up and hugged her tight. She relaxed in my arms and giggled. It was so precious and I enjoyed the rest of my time flying toddlers around the court yard, swinging them around, and holding them close. They called me momma and I called them cutie, precious, princess, handsome and a number of other endearing terms they did not understand. But they understood they were loved by me and they were delighted! 

 I want, more than anything, for everyone of these precious children to know how much they are loved by their creator. How He will NEVER leave them or forsake them. I pray one day they will all understand and I ask that you will pray for this too. 

Pray also that more women will be able to volunteer. There are many orphanages in our region and we would love nothing more than to be able to go into everyone of them at least once a week. We are seeing opportunities open up to volunteer more often but we need more volunteers for the directors to make these opportunities available to us. When we volunteer, we not only love on these children, which would be enough for them and us, but we help feed them, give clothes to clothe them, give medication for colds, teach the babies how to walk and the toddlers how to feed themselves, we even have the chance to teach them English! There are many chances to help them improve the living conditions of the children, the moral of the workers and the children's chances of living a full life. The things we can do are numerous, but it will take time, volunteers, and money. 

  As you pray for the children and the workers at the baby house, pray for those families trying to adopt them. International adoption is still a long process with no guarantees, but there are many trying. Pray for the citizens of this country to be more open to the idea of adopting children. It is a much more accepted thing in America, but we have our misconceptions and hang-ups about it too. Imagine those amplified and you can imagine what it is like here. If they are unable to have their own children they might consider adopting, but then they must have a lot of money and they are not interested in toddlers, they want newborns only. That leaves many children with no hope of ever being adopted and in turn a seemingly hopeless future. I pray to be able to help in every way I can to help change both their hope of adoption and their hope for a future. In the meantime I'm going to keep picking them up, holding them close and soaking in their precious giggles. They're changing my life! 

A Jumble of Feelings.

My dear readers,

Words cannot express how I have been feeling about this project lately. I'm hopeful, discouraged, nervous , and eager all rolled up into one big lump, which is currently residing in the pit of my stomach. I haven't had any orphanage updates in a while, and prospective contacts keep falling through. It is not anybody's fault of course, it's just the way the hands were dealt. Recently, there was an earthquake near the area of our orphanages' country  (I dare not disclose the exact locale, for the safety of those still volunteering there, and for the safety of any future contact) and it was both scary and bizarre. It felt strange to have so much anxiety over a foreign calamity, somewhere I've never even been. My heart goes out to all people experiencing tragedy, but you understand how this feels more personal, more real to me. It was scary too, to not know anything about it for a while. I felt like my eyes and ears had been removed. In a sense, they had been, I guess. Luckily, the earthquake didn't hit the area of the country where the orphanages reside. Praise God! I felt relieved to know that our kiddos were safe, and heartbroken as I wondered how many new orphans that earthquake created.
          My excitement does build, however, in anticipation of the holiday season. The time of year where people give thanks and show good will towards men and sing about the hope of peace on earth. As the holidays turn people's thoughts to giving, I am praying God will ask some to give to this cause.  At the same time, it means that my year is almost up. Part of me feels like we're running out of time. I would be lying if I said I'm not also eager for it to end. On New Year's Day, when I can finally take this dress off for the last time, I will definitely be singing, "Hallelujah!" If my dress had feelings, I think it would feel the same way, judging by appearances.

I don't know where I will go from there. Things won't (in fact, they can't) be for me the way they were, and they can't stay as they are now. It may seem like a small thing, even irrelevant to some. But the experience has changed me, and as the end of the year draws closer, it has got me asking some questions.

                                                             pick a mood, any mood!


"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
                                                                    --Philippians 4:6


"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
                                                                                --2 Corinthians 9:7