On Friday,
Garth Brooks came into our Tulsa store with a family friend to buy a mother’s day gift
for his wife, Trisha Yearwood!

I grew up listening to Garth on the radio,
what a treat it was to have him shopping in our store!!!

He was super nice and very involved in getting her piece just right.
He even came to the back and took pics with a few of our team members.

Thank you Garth Brooks!

You have given us a fun memory—
we are honored, we hope Trisha loved her piece you had made for her
and would love to see y’all come back soon!

I hope you all enjoyed the guest posts last week-
I felt encouraged and inspired- thank you for sharing your stories with us!
I was supposed to post the winners yesterday,
but the day got away from me and quite honestly- I forgot (sorry!)
But here they are:

1. Emily gave away the eclectic charm bracelet to: Stacey Olson, who said: I will always remember the first time I held each of my three girls. Their stories are all so different… one born healthy and screaming, one born with so many challenges, and one handed to me in a small orphanage in Vietnam. And I will never forget the last time I held my middle daughter here on earth and brushed her hair back and kissed her cheek. Precious memories.

2. Rimini gave away the messy nest necklace to: Carrie (sethnjo), who said: Oh my! I laughed so hard when reading this!!! IT IS TOO TRUE!!! And I only have one (another on the way tho =) and can only imagine how it is going to be with more! =) You also made me cry. The last few days have been really hard- way too much going on in our life right now. Your last words are beautiful, so encouraging…. THANK YOU!!!

3. Lovelyn gave away the secret love message necklace to: Nicki Shelton, who said: I would put “forever and more” because that is what I tell my son every night as he falls asleep. What a beautiful and inspiring family!

4. Renee gave away the rustic bloom necklace to: Jennifer Geiger, who said: Your story touches my heart. We have two adopted children in our family as well, both of my husbands sisters. I also relate to the fact that we are all mothers. My husband is an amazing cook and we always try to sit down as a family for at one meal. We often share our table with other children in the neighborhood. Warms my heart to have them eat a meal with us. So many foods that they have never tried, not out of a can! I always wish I could do more but am happy to give what we can. Happy MOTHER’S Day

5. Kristen gave away the eclectic charm necklace to: Ashley Blackburn, who said: A perfect mother is one who loves getting messy with her kids, as my daughters have taught me. They still eat all the veggies, but sometimes we have extra dessert, get chalk on our clothes, paint in our hair and scrapes on our knees from running. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!
If I win I would want me kids names on it, as they are a blessing in my life.

6. Julie gave away the vintage starfish necklace to: Gabriela, who said: I SO enjoyed Julie’s post! It’s absolutely heartwarming to see how Julie recognizes that she is not defined by her job, but that she is far more. I send heartfelt wishes for a very happy and memorable Mother’s Day.
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I hope you all had a great mother’s day,
mine was spent watching baseball games and soccer games
which is perfect for me!
It’s still a tough day for me, this was my second mother’s day without my mom-
a few tears were shed off and on throughout the day-
it feels so weird to not plan the day with her and get her a gift.
I miss the long phone calls and thrift store shopping together.
I encourage you, if you can, to squeeze your mom a little harder for me the next time you hug her.

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Today’s post is from Julie from the fabulous blog Joy’s Hope.
Julie is inspirational and I’ve loved following her sweet family over the years,
her blog is one of my daily reads.
Have a box of tissues handy the first time you read her story.

Here’s Julie:

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For a season in my life I worked in the back office of a Neurology practice.

Not my dream job.  Not glamorous.  But it paid the bills, and I got to wear scrubs.

The doctors were a far cry from Dr. Mc Dreamy.  More like McGrouchy and McSuperweirdo.

Each day I did the same thing.  Make charts, pull charts, copy charts, fax charts, alphabetize charts, mail charts.

Like I said, far from glamorous.

You better believe I was the best darn chart puller/ maker/ copier/ faxer/ alphabetizer/ mailer/ the office ever did see.

Why?  Because it was my job.  Because my parents raised me with an incredible work ethic, to always try my best.  My best I did try.  The doctors hardly noticed.  The patients had no idea of what went on behind the giant filing cabinets.  But I knew.

They were counting on me to have the charts ready so their day could go smoother.  My diligence and consistency was a blessing to them.  I was placed in that office for a very specific reason.  Although to the outside, it wasn’t that important, without me, the office would be in chaos.

Without the charts ready for the day, patients couldn’t be seen.  If patients couldn’t be seen, the doctors could not take care of people in need.

So now, as a mother I try to think back on my time in the office.  To the endless charts.  The unnoticed hard work.  The value that I was to the practice.

I think of it as I fold the countless loads of laundry.  Change another diaper.  Sweep up the kitchen floor.  Fill another sippy cup.

I try to do my best.  Give them my best.  Even in the far from glamorous work.  The unnoticed work.  Because caring for them is my job.

If I worked diligently, happily, and faithfully, for strange doctors who paid me a pithy $7.50 an hour, how can I grumble and complain when I am in charge of raising wild, beautiful, phenomenal, complex, humans?

Small humans who happen to pay me in love, kisses, snuggles, laughter, drawings, and their whole hearts.

Taking care of them is my dream job.

My job is pretty rad.

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Julie’s giveaway: Julie is giving away one of our vintage starfish necklaces…

Simply leave us a comment below to enter.
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Julie will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Today’s post is from Kristen, she’s a mom and wife, she has a popular blog plus she writes books AND she founded The Mercy House Kenya- she is pretty amazing!

here’s Kristen:
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I was an excellent mom before I had kids.

No, really.

I was superb.

My kids slept thru the night, ate all their vegetables, said please and thank you without be asked, never talked back or argued with each other, looked neat as pin, never had an evil thought, played in the mud, or disobeyed.

But then, they were born.

And they actually enjoy eating dirt, among other things.

All my perfecting parenting flew out the window.

Quickly, I discovered that uninterrupted sleep was for sissies, vegetables were great for throwing, grunting replaced formality, my kids enjoyed the fine art of arguing, and neat as a pin was a funny, distant thought. In other words, I was in the middle of raising humans and it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

And also, there’s been a lot of blood in my house, resulting in unplanned trips to the ER with my hubby MIA (okay, he was working, but that’s no excuse).
I’ve learned in my twelve years as a parent that motherhood is not for wimps. It’s also not meant to be done alone. It takes a village or a church nursery, Chick-Fil-A playground, what have you, I’m a better mom when I lean on others. I’m also a happier mom when I toss out the guilt and all the regrets and just try to be present. Every.day.

I’ve worn a lot of hats in my days and my role as a woman is constantly evolving, but I hold none of them as precious as when that dirty little face leans in for a kiss and calls me Mommy.

There is no greater gift or job I’d rather have.

Dirt included.
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Kristen’s giveaway: Kristen is giving away an eclectic charm necklace:

Simply leave a comment below enter.
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Kristen will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Today’s post is from my real life friend Renee, you may remember we made “hope” necklaces for them when they were adopting their girls from China! She writes an amazing blog about their journey you can follow here.
here’s Renee:
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Not long ago I found myself in a situation where some punk teenage boys were cussing and acting loud and rowdy in the midst of normal happy people like myself trying to have a normal happy day. In my twenties or thirties these boys might have annoyed me but out of fear I certainly would have never said anything to them. Now that I am closer to forty my fear is gone and I didn’t hesitate to “speak into the young boys’ lives” and let them know that their behavior and language was unacceptable.

We all know those older ladies who aren’t afraid of anything, not even getting involved in a sticky situation for the better of children. I am finding that I am changing as I get older. I no longer just notice, look after, or care about “my” children. Any child who is in need gets to me now. Because the reality is, many children don’t have a caring loving mother who is looking after them. Mothers who love God and love their children fully and securely are in high demand! So if you are one of those, spread yourself out.

Last year my husband and I adopted two girls from China and added them to our family of three biological children. Lily is 10 and Hope is 2. For some reason I never worried if I would be able to love them fully as my own before we got them. Maybe because God planted the seed of adoption so deep in my heart so long ago that His grace overwhelmed any fears or natural thoughts. But in the past year I have thought about this very thing quite often. While adopting a baby can usually be a smoother transition and feels “more natural” like you actually gave birth to the baby, adopting an older child takes a bit longer in my opinion. And frankly, Lily didn’t care for me one bit when she came into our family. So this year, maybe not too unlike some mothers who adopted or even birthed their child, I’ve been faced with the feat of loving unconditionally AND LIKING my daughter.

When I look at Lily I am overcome with emotion. Everyday I say “I’m so glad we got Lily,” “I can’t believe we got Lily,” and “I’m so glad Lily has a family.” Mothering isn’t about kids making you feel happy. Mothering is about nurturing and loving and training a child up in the ways of the world and of the Lord. Anyone can be a mother.

The world needs more mothers. The children of the world need more Godly mothers that will get out of their perfect American dream worlds and take a chance on “messing up their perfect world” by being a mother to someone. My pastor, Sharon Daugherty, once said that one of the reasons why people don’t reach out to others more is because of the great price that could be involved in time, emotion, or even finances. Selfish.

Adoption is an amazing concept. It’s truly supernatural. Someone CHOOSING to bring someone into their lives FOREVER. Not just for the weekend or a sleepover….forever. Forever saying that I will love you. I will provide a safe childhood for you and be here for you always.

Lily likes me now. And I believe she is starting to know what love really is. No one ever loved her in the 9 years before us. No one. But adopting Lily wasn’t about ME being loved. It was about LILY being loved! And it’s easy to love Lily when the love of Christ dwells within me. After all, God took me in as His own!

When I look into the beautiful light faces and blue eyes of my biological children and kiss their sandy golden hair I see myself and my dear husband. It brings me great joy to see them in the flesh, eternal beings that Husband and I chose to bring into this world. You know that there is nothing compared to the love you have for your children, which begins the second they are placed upon your chest after childbirth.

But when I look in the beautiful olive faces and black eyes of Lily and Hope and kiss their slick dark hair I don’t see myself. I see God. I love them differently than I love my others. It’s no less. Possible more but I don’t think so. It’s just so different. It’s so supernatural. So God! I am their mother! I found them 3000 miles away and brought them into my life and now they have me forever! I am still overwhelmed at how this can happen and feel so good and so natural.

But adoption isn’t the only way mothers are needed. Some of our kids’ friends need mothers. You know the one who comes over to play and doesn’t want to leave because they are feeling love like they don’t receive at home. Or the one who picks on your kid at school because his home life is sad. Mothers are needed. You are a mother. We all are.

One of my favorite books which also changed my viewpoint and gave me more compassion for children other than my own is Too Small To Ignore by Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International. He says that “every child you encounter is a divine appointment.” Never take for granted the power of your smile, an encouraging word, a gentle redirection or a hug.

Children belong to all of us. We are compelled to intervene. Happy Mother’s Day to you. You have lots of kids! Go love them.
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Renee’s giveaway: Renee is giving away a Rustic Bloom necklace!

Simply leave a comment below to enter.
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Renee will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Today’s post is from Lovelyn- she was one of my very customers that was kind enough to make multiple purchases years ago (I was so excited!) and I’ve followed her blog ever since. She has an amazing heart, I hope someday I get to sit down and have a cup of coffee with her and just chat!

Here’s Lovelyn:
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i’ve become a mother in different ways–both were ways i’ve always hoped for.
some of our children require 40 weeks of being sick & 18 hours of back labor and
some require stacks of paperwork, your heart growing as your belly doesn’t &
traveling across the world to become their mother. the one thing that is never
different is how it is refining me more than i ever imagined.

i thought this was about them. teaching them love, selflessness, respect, compassion.
i suppose it is teaching them these things, but i’m learning that it can
only come as it is modeled. more importantly, it can only be modeled by
what is spilled out of the overflow of my heart. as i learn to slow down,
to stop, to put away and look them in the eyes….so do they.

my days that are grumpy and my temper rises too quickly–the days where
they are tucked into bed & i regret the moments that i didn’t invest in them?
those aren’t a reflection of them. they are a reflection of me. every single time
it is because i haven’t cared for my heart in a way that allows me to mother them
in a way that is edifying and glorifying.

sure, there are things in the heart of each child that we work on, behaviors
we try to curb, discipline handed out & much focus on them and who they are,
but the most surprising thing about motherhood has been its need for me to focus
on self. as i learn to accept my mistakes, give myself grace, think of others,
do things without grumbling, answer with a loving tone, have self-control when
things are anything except under control, wait gracefully, not take things too seriously…..
as i learn to love well–
this is how they learn those things, too.

as we wait expectantly to welcome twin girls to our family at the end of the
summer, i get asked a lot how in the world i do it all. i usually just assure them
that i certainly don’t ‘do it all.’ i remind them that it’s all give and take and an awful
lot of grace. if you were sitting down for tea with me, i’d tell you the same. i hope
i could encourage you to just love well by first caring for what is going to be
teaching, training & guiding them–your heart.

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Lovelyn’s giveaway: Lovelyn is giving away a secret love message heart…

Simply tell us what you would put inside your heart to enter.
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Lovelyn will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Today’s post is from my real life friend Rimini-
Rimini and I played 4 years of college soccer together and I’m so thankful that we are able to stay connected through facebook- her posts about her family always make me smile!

Here’s Rimini:

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Before my first child was born I had the grandest illusions of motherhood i.e…Matching diaper bag, stroller, and car seats accompanied by children who would be in fabulous moods every hour of the day. I had imagined how play dates would only ever be delightful, bedtime stories would always be cozy and peaceful followed by obedient sleeping children, and that snow would mean hot chocolate and incredible snowmen. I now have a 1, 2, and 3 year old…(Yes, you read that right….) Those delusions, I meant illusions…are now nothing more than a funny thought that makes me chuckle when I meet a pregnant first time mom…

I think to myself…Someone ought to warn her that she will never get an entire night of sleep again, that when she laughs she might just pee her pants (who knew we had a pelvic floor?), that no matter how hard she works out those skinny jeans will never fit the same, that she will stop caring so much about matching and just pray she didn’t forget anything. Someone ought to warn her that her children will have unexplainable bi-polar mood swings in the Wal-Mart checkout line, that Facebook will make up 90% of her social life, that once they can climb out of their cribs they are professional escape artists, that most of the food she will cook will end up on the floor, that during a play date her munchkins will contract the stomach flu which will turn her new carpet a rainbow of colors, or ear infections that cause screaming so loud her neighbors may consider calling social services, and that potty training will reduce her to any type of bribery that she can think of….

That’s right, bribery…and then she will try bribery again with high hopes she may get one lousy family photo!

Someone ought to warn her that her child will recover emotionally from all of the times she will forget them in “time out,” that using the bathroom without an audience will be a true luxury, that Google has never actually raised a child, that every mom has considered boarding school, that the laundry is an endless abyss because her kids will change clothing multiple times a day, or that no matter how hard she tries her child will still love to play in the toilet!

Someone should just tell her that not washing her hair for four consecutive days is actually good for her hair, that there is no such thing as a “leak proof” diaper, that she will be reduced to buying a five dollar Happy Meal strictly for the ten cent toy, that boogers may perhaps have a high nutritional value, that HOT food is extremely overrated, that naptime will soon become her favorite hour of the day, that backwash and floaties can’t be so harmful, that bandaides are cool, that perfect silence is usually bad, that half her hair will fall out after delivery, and that snot/spit up make great shoulder accessories. Oh yea…lastly… that her mom was right…YES, right about mostly everything.

Then again, maybe she shouldn’t be warned. Being a mom is a humbling and selfless full-time job. Maybe, all of these experiences make motherhood great! Because when her two or three year old tells her that she loves her for the first time, her heart will melt. These simple facts about motherhood will just make her laugh…sometimes even out loud and then she will do the unthinkable………………………………………….. Consider doing it all over again!

Yes, maybe those imperfect life lessons make us the perfect moms. My mother has always told me, that we do the things we do, because no one will ever love our kids as much as we do….

Happy Mother’s Day from one fabulously imperfect mom to YOU!

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Rimini’s giveaway- Rimini is giving away the messy nest necklace

Are you able to embrace imperfection? Leave us a comment below to be entered.
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Rimini will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Moms are amazing- this week we are celebrating motherhood with guest posts from some of my favorite Moms (real life friends as well as blog friends!) about being a Mom. At the end of each post we will giveaway the writer’s favorite tvp piece, so be sure to read each one to be inspired and then comment at the end to enter!

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Our first post is from Emily Anderson of “the Anderson Crew”,
I have followed Emily’s blog forever- she’s super creative and takes beautiful pictures.
She encourages moms to “embrace the camera” and get IN the pics with your kids.
She has 6 kids- when they had 4 kids they decided to adopt,
and then found out they were expecting- I love reading about their busy adventures!

Here’s Emily:

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Will I always remember the sweet way my 6 year old daughter sits next to me in the bathroom, watching intently while I put my make-up on—pretending to do it herself…

Will I always remember the time that my 8 year old declared that he was going to open a frozen yogurt store one day—and that he would pay all his employees in frozen yogurt…

Will I always remember the way my baby wakes up from a nap—so happy to see me, like I’m the best thing in the world…

Will I always remember how my 2 year old chooses to sleep on the floor every night—even though he has a very comfy bed to sleep in…

Will I always remember the first time my daughter learned to swing by herself…

Will I always remember my 4 year old son and his obsession with nascar—how he can name every car/driver/number/sponsor/etc…

Will I always remember how loud our dinner time is—how I wish for it to be quiet every single time—but somehow, I think I’ll miss that loud one day…

Will I always remember the crazy dance moves they all come up with when we have dance parties…

Will I always remember the time when every picture I took, my 4 year old made the most ridiculous faces…

Will I always remember this time?
This time of having a house, full of very young children.
This time that, some days, I wish away.
This is what motherhood is to me…the moments.
The memories.
The good and the bad.
The things that we’ll look back on one day and be glad we experienced.
The moments that we won’t ever forget.

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Emily’s giveaway- Emily’s favorite tvp piece is the eclectic charm bracelet…

Tell us something you will remember below to enter for your chance to win one!
Share the giveaway for extra entries.
(leave separate comments for each please)
Emily will randomly pick a winner (winner will be posted on mother’s day).

Last sunday we were featured in Parade magazine for a gift for Mom-
Parade goes to 33,000,000 homes each sunday, wow!
Thanks Parade!

Our facebook friend Brittany posted this picture on our wall the other day
and I loved it so much I asked her if I could share it-
I love how she “named” each one of her hearts
and how the large heart of God is in the center of her family-
perfect!
Thanks for sharing with us Brittany!
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We love to see customer pics like this,
if you have one to share please email it to us at
customerservice@thevintagepearl.com,
if we share it on the blog you will receive a $25 gift certificate!