Thank you!

A note of thanks from the Blandford Family (read more about their family {here})

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Precious friends,

Whether you have known us for a lifetime or were recently introduced to our family through Savannah's Blog, thank you for your support!  We are humbled and amazed by your generosity. It's been so fun to see so many of you showing off your scarves this month.  It's given us great joy to see you so excited for our expanding family!

 

Thank you for your willingness to join with us on our journey.  What peace we have in knowing we are surrounded by such a faithful community! Additionally, your purchases have helped us make a giant step toward our fundraising goal.  We are blessed and encouraged by your support!

 

Much Love, JJ

(You can continue to follow the Blandford's Adoption on their website {here})

Fall Family Photos 2014

 I'm totally happy with everyone somewhat looking- not bad for a tripod & timer :)

Most of the family shots captured JR half falling/jumping off the pumpkin! 

 

 How perfect is this wooden camera from Little Sapling Toys?!

They have some adorable Christmas gift ideas or get a cute prop before your Christmas photo shoot!

and Vera is working on her first selfie...

(Vera's Everyday Pitter Patter Scarf is on sale {here} and my Aztec Scarf is in my Etsy Shop {here})

Photography- White Balance

Last night, we filled a bag with candy, pumpkins & camera gear and headed to a random field to attempt a few family photos.  I will share some of the photos soon, but I wanted to give you all an example of how "White Balance" can change a shot entirely.

When I first started taking test shots and adjusting my camera settings, I was disappointed that the golden light and colorful leaves were not being captured.  I played around with aperture and shutter speed and even ISO, but they all still looked a little off.

Here is my first image of JR:

( 1/1250 f/1.8 ISO 400 )

Then I wondered if my White Balance needed adjusting... I saw that it was set to Auto White Balance which was normal for me.  I have maybe used the Manual White Balance Preset once or twice over the years- usually keeping it set on Auto and then adjusting in Photoshop or LightRoom after photographing.  But I thought I would change it to "Shade" and see how it looked:

 ( 1/1250 f/1.8 ISO 400 )

I didn't adjust anything on the camera except for White Balance and it made that big of a difference!  It took out the gray cast and captured the golden light I was seeing in person.  Thankfully all of the shots were taken in a fully shaded area, so I didn't have to worry about switching the White Balance back and forth.  I guess the adjustments could have been made later on with photo editing- but it sure saves time to adjust things and try to capture the look the right way from the beginning!

And here is a little outtake:

Dreaming, Planning & Creating

I have been working on some new items & pretty gift wrap options in the shop!

Can't wait to share it all with you :)

Until the new lookbook is created... here are some sneak peeks!

I am not in control.

The following quote was shared in my bible study last week. (Children of the Day- Beth Moore)

It was one of those moments Jesus spoke right to me

with conviction, love and freedom.

I knew I needed to print & have it posted so I could be reminded every single day

and maybe this reminder can bring great freedom to you as well.

(feel free to email me everydaypitpat@gmail.com if you would like me to send you this image & quote)

So long, Summer

Looking back on our summer, the one thing I will treasure is watching these two

learn to play together.  Yes, there was yelling and pulling and tears.

But there was also lots of laughter and... "Here, fafa" - "Bubba" - "It's okay mommy, I got her"

Her little legs running so fast to the steps when she would hear Bubba wake up from his nap.

His little voice telling her a story or mimicking my directions to him back to her. 

Or trying to tempt her with one toy so he could steal the one in her hand ;)

He loves to help and she loves to do it on her own.

Sweet summer- you taught us all so much.

A few days in Chicago with Family!

 

Last week, my mom, sister and I packed up the car & the kiddos and drove to Chicago!  We had been planning a visit to see my aunt (mom's sister) and my three cousins for awhile and it finally worked for all of us to go together! We missed seeing my uncle but had a special time with them seeing their home, church, parks & a pumpkin patch!  They are always such an encouragement to me and a joy to be around.  Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Shop the Manor

 Everyday Pitter Patter is super excited to partner with Shop the Manor

 A few of our favorite gold scarves are now being featured on this beautiful online shop!

(Women, Girls & Baby Scarves)

Below are a few of the MANY pieces that I love on Shop the Manor

and I'm dying to order some Sweet Shoppe Gold Marshmallows- WOW- 

but I'm afraid I'll eat way too many!  Order some for me ;)

Also, follow along at Shop the Manor blog and check out their new One Room Challenge Posts!

Friday Favorites

Camp Moxie

Softest Tee Ever!  Love my new shirt from Camp Moxie!

There are tons of adorable options in her shop- you have to check it out. 

And I love how she paired her daughter's shirt with our Leopard headwrap {here}

Here is a little excerpt from their site:

MOXIE : force of character, determination, or nerve.
Camp moxie is not just a brand it's a lifestyle. We are founded on the idea that your clothes should not only make you look good, they should make you feel good too. You can have moxie any time, any where. When you got moxie, you need the clothes to match.

Sloan & Co. 

"Pretty little things for you and your littles."

I wish I could catch Vera on video when she puts her adorable bracelets on.  She squeals with delight and then does the cutest fast wave showing off her bracelet!  Sloan & Co. has so many options for their bracelets- Halloween, Mommy & Me, Custom color styles... And how sweet would a BFF set be for your daughter and her friend's birthday!!

Want to share your favorites?

Comment below or email me...

everydaypitpat@gmail.com

 

Enjoy your weekend!

Get to know more Families on the Adoption Journey

The Maurer Family {www.jennysara.com}
The Hudson Family {http://www.karlanthony.com/uganda-child-adoption/}
The Davis Family {www.prayloveact.blogspot.com}
The Renner Family {www.bothhands.org/projects/renner-4443}
The Frazier Family {welcomelittlechild.blogspot.com}

Since I can't feature every family for the monthly give scarf, each month I want to share with you some links so you can get to know some more families on their adoption journey.  Maybe you want to connect with them, read their stories, or give directly to these families.  Click on the links by their names above to read more.  

Feel free to email me if you are interested in sharing your story and being featured on the blog.  I'm hoping to make this social world a little more personal by connecting you with others going through similar challenges as you and give you the opportunity to support them through encouragement or donations.  

UPDATE: the geometric print sold out within 24 hrs of this post!  

I will have the October Give Scarf restocked on Oct. 13th- so check back then!

And did you know that we have already sold out of the first {October Give Scarf Style} (Large B&W Polka Dot) and only have 1 left of the next! (Mini B&W Polka Dot) 
Once that one sells- we will switch to the geometric one shown above :)  Never imagined we would be sharing so many scarves with you.  Your generosity has blown me away and I know the Blandford family is extremely thankful.  Let's keep this going!!  

If you missed their story, you can read it {here}.

Friday Favorites- Etsy

The first shop I want to share is called...

Modernly Mae

I'm loving these simple felted garlands.  I think they would be a fun way to add color throughout different seasons, create a unique display for a party or add texture to a wall collage!  Which one is your favorite?  I'm all about the fall colors right now...

Happy Homestead Botanicals

I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon Mandi's Shop last year, but I ended up ordering some of her Fancy Face Oil to use as my facial cleanser... yes that's right, oils as my cleanser.  I was a little skeptical at first because I tend to have oily/combination skin.  I'm sure she can explain it a lot better- but from what I understand if you replenish your skin with good oils, it's better than stripping your skin with drying cleanser to try & remove oil... which leads to your skin over-producing the oil you were trying to dry out!

I use it to remove my makeup and to cleanse my skin in the evening.  It is so refreshing & lasts a LONG time!  Although I miss a good lather from my old cleansers, I love the fancy face oil!  I look forward to trying more of Mandi's products & I love that she creates products for women fighting breast cancer.

Want to share your favorites?

Comment below or email me...

everydaypitpat@gmail.com

 

Enjoy your weekend!

October "Give" Family- The Blandfords

I'm so excited to share with you all the family behind this month's Give scarf. For the entire month of October, all of the profit from the black & white polka dot scarf will be sent straight to the Blandford family to help with their adoption funds.  I've asked Jennifer to share a little more of their adoption story with us...

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We've always known that we were going to adopt.  It was a call God gave me on a mission trip when I was 15 and at the time people thought I was crazy!  As most God-given dreams go, our journey hasn't gone the way we initially imagined.  We were blessed with 2 biological kids before we started our adoption journey.  Currently, we are in our home study and hope to have that completed by January.

The beauty in God writing our story is that he has totally changed our hearts in the process.  We were actually in the beginning stages of an international adoption, when we found out that I was pregnant with our daughter.  We wanted an international adoption because it would be a closed adoption.  Over the last 5 years God has radically changed our hearts and we are now working toward a domestic open adoption.  While we know that this isn't the choice for everyone, we are thankful for this call for us.  

The hardest part of our journey at this point is all the unknowns that await us.  When I was pregnant, we knew that in 9 months we would have a baby in our arms.  There is so much uncertainty about the road ahead.  It can feel overwhelming!

The greatest joy has been how loved and supported we have felt on our journey.  There has been such an outpouring of support by our friends and family.  We are overwhelmed by the way that God is using so many people to bless our family!

God is teaching us so much on this journey!  Patience has been and will continue to be huge for us.  God's timing doesn't always align with our timing and we aren't usually ok with waiting.  We've also learned that it's good to ask for help.  We have reached out to so many people for fundraising opportunities and we have been blown away by peoples' response!  We have continually been met with grace and provision.  We have been repeatedly reminded that God is a faithful provider. 

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If you would like to hear more from Jennifer and her family, you can read updates on their blog {BEBmakesThree}

100% of the profit from the give scarf will go directly to help fund the Blandford's adoption journey.  

Click {here} to purchase a give scarf from my Etsy shop and share with your friends!