Be YOU-Nique...

I have been using this phrase for some time in my classes, the idea of being unique, not to be different... but to be the YOU that you are meant to be. Taking a hint from our last prompt I decided to continue on with a little prompt about being different.

April is Autism Awareness Month and as most of you know, our middle son was diagnosed with PDD NOS when he was two. On Thursday, he will be celebrating his 8th birthday and by the grace of God he is an amazing well rounded little boy. He still has his quirks and his emotions get the best of him, but he is perfect just the way he is.

Part of my sons quirks is his ability to express himself, He has a tough time calming himself down sometimes and can't always find the words to say what it is that is in his heart.

If this is the worst of it, than I will take it. I will be grateful for who he is, and what he is to become. We take things day by day and work the best that we can towards helping him learn, knowing that his purpose in this world is just as important than that of our other children.

So this got me thinking... even with our sons quirks, he still has an amazing purpose in this world. I know this, I can feel it as his mother and his advocate. As a parent with all 3 of our kids... each of their purposes are special to this world and are so equally important.

What if we looked at the things that were maybe not so perfect about ourselves and didn't see them as such a burden, but yet looked them straight in the eyes and made them a part of our journey. Whether they can be overcame or not, what if we included them in with our gifts, used each piece of us towards making something beautiful?

I think we all have those moments in our past that we are not proud of, those things that as we grow wiser and look back, realize just how different we are now. Different doesn't have to be bad... in most cases it is good. It makes us YOU-Nique...



So for todays prompt:

• choose something about yourself that is less than perfect.
• think about your feelings in regards to this.
• write them down.
• write down what you have learned about yourself through this imperfection. Is it even worth titling an "imperfection"?
• Is there anything that you have learned through this that you could take with you towards achieving your goals in life or fulfilling your purpose. Write it down
• If not, no worries... it might take some time or it may be just a tough subject for now. Use this page as a reminder to yourself in the future that at one point you felt this was important for you to record. Maybe time will help, provide clarity or even healing.

There is no craft/art prompt associated with this prompt and I hope this is ok. This prompt is mostly for inspiration in hopes that this will encourage  you to not define yourself by your imperfections yet to work beyond them and realize that as a whole... you are worthy of more than just a label.


If we had accepted our sons label, he would not be speaking. We would never have heard the beautiful sound of his voice telling us he loved us. If we had not pursued aggressive therapy and had just accepted him for what he was then we would not know that our son loves turtles, wants to be a veterinarian and wants to marry the little girl next door and have 25 kids (Sorry Joe and Sarah ☺). We would never know his hopes and dreams...

Labels are not something we can always easily drop. Our son will most likely always be on the Autism spectrum, but having this label does NOT define his purpose, nor his future. It is what you make of it.
I am not trying to make light of struggles or insecurities, so please don't think that one bit. We all have struggles, issues, pains and we carry them with us each and every day. But we can either be defined by our struggles, or define our struggles. We can either allow them to define us... or tell them how they are going to work for the good of our life. It is not always an easy road, but it is our road to travel, our decision to make and that is a very special and unappreciated gift... the gift of choice.

Here is our boy after he decided to help his sister with her run. She was discouraged and he pepped her up and together they ran two more laps and decided running club was awesome.

Here is our boy at tonight's 1st and 2nd grade performance. He played goat #3 and was amazing. He was the most articulate and well spoken goat I ever heard. He also was extremely proud of himself, for a very good reason... he was awesome :)

 

 
I try and write a yearly post with an update on our son, as well as bring light to autism awareness... This year school has got the best of me, so my plans have had to change, but I have to say... this post came together this week and I am glad I waited so that I could share this last pic of our son.

I hope this prompt tugs at your heart. Remember please that we are all YOU-Nique... we are ALL so very special and so very different. When you are doing your writings, do not be ashamed... shame is a horrible feeling that we bring upon ourselves and it is not fair. You are worth more than that...

Thanks again for joining me along this fun ride... I have enjoyed each and every post, comment, email, text or message... you girls are amazing (men too!). Thanks for all you do.

~Liz ♥

Be Extraordinary... PAJWLH

I have been having a tough time balancing everything right now so please forgive me for falling behind on a few of our prompts. I am going to try and get a few prompts up this week to catch up and give you some fun stuff to think about and work on this weekend.

For one of our last prompts we talked about the weight of peoples words. Regardless of how hard we try... others words seem to always creep up on us and try and define us. Sometimes others words are positive, they lift us up... help us through tough times or comfort us when we need it most. Other times peoples words hurt, make us cry, or break our hearts. We have all had those words that have picked us up, and those words that have let us fall.

Through the ups and downs that we have with people, remembering who we are...to the core is so important. Knowing that regardless of what others may say or do, we have control over how we receive criticism as well as praise.

We each have that unique sparkle that is custom made to us. This month, I think we should honor that :)
For today's prompt, I found this beautiful quote on a card at a local gift shop in town and thought it would be perfect. I have noticed that sometimes I find myself trying to blend in to the masses, play it safe... especially if I am around people that I may not trust or know to well. But by doing this, I tend to hold back.. not live life as I am fully intended to. In doing this I am not honoring who I am at the core, and I am also not honoring God. Eventually you get to a point when you realize... enough is enough :)

So based off of this picture here, our prompt for today is:

• Use COLOR. Lots of it.
• Decide to be EXTRAORDINARY! We all have things in our life that make us feel regular, normal but there is that one thing that resides in each of us that makes us different, unique... THAT is what sets us apart from the rest, makes us special... EXTRAORDINARY. Learning to listen to our hearts and hear the truth is so important to our purpose and well being.
• Use your fingerprint in your creation. Just like your finger print is unique, never duplicated...Your  purpose, your sparkle in life is just the same. It may seem like you may be running the same race as others, but your journey is special... specifically designed just for you!
• Use this quote if you wish, or find one... some set of words that defines what it is about you that adds that sparkle to this world.

I hope this prompt jump starts you to see that special gift you have to share.

~Liz ♥

A few videos of inspiration... PAJWLH

I have been sick for what seems like FOREVER... so I am trying to catch up on a few prompts. Here are a few fun videos that I hope will inspire you as well as share some of the fun new products that came out at CHA Winter 2012. During CHA I took a lot of fun videos featuring some of my favorite booths and people. Here are a few to share with you all.


Here is a fun video with Marah and Creative Imaginations. They had some fun new paints, elements to create your own paints as well as some fun new products for mixed media and art journaling.



And one of my favorite glittery chicas- Kathy Cano-Murillo, AKA Crafty Chica. She shares her fun product line from I LOVE TO CREATE, there is even a journal in a box. All of her products are so fun, colorful and definitely share a fun cultural flare.



Both videos I am sure that you will love, so be sure to check them out and leave the girls some love. They were troopers to spend some time with me. Through these two videos I hope that you can gain some insight into what fun products came out during CHA. One of my favorites was the fun new products from Creative Imaginations. Be sure to check out the sites at the end of the videos to link up to those on the videos.

I will have another prompt for this week on Friday with either some more videos from CHA or a technique video... let me know which you would like :)

~Liz