Merry Christmas to customers, friends and family!

Dear Friends,

Happy Holidays from your favorite Premier Designs Jewelry Lady!

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones this year!  The time to purchase gifts for Christmas may be over, but jewelry is a great gift item all year long! Our jewelry is high quality, high fashion jewelry with a golden guarantee and a great exchange policy so you won't be disappointed!

To help you start the New Year right, I’m offering my friends, family and past hostesses and customers this special now through January:

Every customer who purchases $75 or more will receive any item
(up to $50 value!) for ONLY $5!!!

Also all watches AND rings are 30% off!!!

If you would like to see our line of jewelry (hundreds of pieces for every woman, every age, every style!) just call or email me and I will get a catalog to you ASAP!

Now is a GREAT time to get that something sparkly you didn’t get at Christmas!

You can only get in on these specials if you order by January 31st!

However, you can still earn a shopping spree on me by passing around a catalog and collecting a few orders from some friends.  I’ll even bring my jewelry playground to YOUR house for you and a few of your VIP guests! Call me to schedule a personal home show with me in January to earn up to 50% hostess benefits! Sales are great but Free is better!

Thanks for being a valuable customer these past two years!  Here’s a little about what our family has been able to do because of your support…   
                                                                                                                                    

In February of this year, Amelia Ann Parsons joined our little family!  She was seven pounds one ounce and a true joy.  The miracle of her story can be found in an earlier post on this blog.

In June, my “little” brother came to live with us in Woodland.  It’s been a difficult transition for us all, but he is doing well as he explores life after high school.  Amelia LOVES her uncle!     She lights up whenever he enters the room!            

I still dream of going to Indonesia and serving with Pioneers, but right now we are still working on getting healthy, paying off debt, and taking care of family.  Your support has been vital through this journey of following the dream.  Thanks for your encouragement, financial support and prayers. We couldn’t do this without you!   Here's to an awesome 2013!                                                           

Dreaming with God for Indonesia,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

      Erica, Matthew & Amelia Parsons 

Dreaming for Woodland

"When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

This week my heart has been overwhelmed.  With stress.  With sadness.  With longing.  When you dream for so long that dream seems impossible and far away and you wonder if you will ever see your dream come to pass... but for some reason, I just keep following the dream and living each day the best I can just waiting...

But I'm kind of tired of just waiting.  I need to DO something!  And I'm here, in a city that DESPERATELY needs to know the Hope of Christ.  At Christmas time especially there is an extra feeling of heaviness... of sadness... of loneliness. But there is a light in the darkness and a hope for the waiting and that is the good news of advent!  And as I see brokenness all around me, a new dream is forming in my heart... a dream for the town of Woodland.

In this dream, the churches are united. Not just tolerating one another, not just ceasing the competition and bitterness that has ruled them for generations, but loving one another as family and coming together for a common purpose.  I continue to meet people who refuse to go to church here because of the politics or they were hurt by one of the churches.  This has to stop!  I don't know how yet, but I know it starts with prayer and it starts with healing and forgiveness in my own heart for past situations in other congregations.  Unity begins with selflessness.  Setting aside our ideas of how it should be done and seeking God together.  Praying until something happens.  Only when we are able to press through this great division in the church will we see revival, hope and healing brought to the lost of this town.

I've had this dream mulling in the back of my head for a while, but it is becoming a heartfelt desire more and more.  This past week a friend from our local church family spoke up on facebook about wanting to walk around Woodland and pray for people we come in contact with. Her desire to see God move in power through her struck a chord in me that said "it's time to take action!" I have started walking with her and we hope to go out several times every week with open hearts ready for whomever God places in our path that day.

My heart still aches and longs for Indonesia.  But I am here now for a reason. And my purpose is to bring God's light and hope wherever I am not to just sit and wait for the day I can return to Indonesia.  God has not abandoned me in this place until I can get my act together. He has placed me here intentionally out of love for the people here. And He is softening my heart towards them.

hope lives

this morning as I lay in bed while Matthew fed Amelia and put her back to bed
I started thinking
and remembering...

I remembered the Dream. 
the one that started this blog.  
the one that I have lived for these past few years. 
the one about a child and a nation. 

and I realized that dream was sleeping in the other room.

I remembered the part of my dream when I was holding my child's hand.  I remember thinking about the big blue eyes and curly blond hair.  After the miscarriages I thought the dream had died too.  That child was lost forever and the one I had was different with a different plan for her life.  But today I questioned that thought.  My sweet Amelia Ann with her big blue eyes and curly blond hair.  Maybe she will walk the islands with me... maybe she will be the catalyst to a great revival and change a nation.  These maybe's are like sparks that start a fire of hope inside my weary heart.  Hope that I can still participate in a dream I thought I had lost. 

Hope is powerful. 
Hope gives purpose.
Hope brings life.
Without it we are only dust.

God gives hope because He loves us and He loves the world.
God is good.

Hope is alive in my heart again. 
This changes EVERYTHING!

alone

today as i stumble through my day with another migraine i try to imagine what life would be like if i wasn't quite so alone.  with the closest family 2 hours away and busy with their own lives, and Matthew working full time and all his vacation and sick time used up, i find myself often doing it alone. feeding, changing, rocking baby alone at all hours of day and night.  making meals, cleaning house, doing laundry, alone.

it's not that bad.  i can enjoy some peace and quiet now and again.  i enjoy being the queen of my domain.  but on days like today when i can barely see through the pain of a splitting headache i wish i wasn't quite so alone.  that there was someone i could call to sit with Amelia while i took a nap or a shower or caught up on writing invitations for next weeks' jewelry party...

i am jealous of my other mom friends who have a support system they can lean on.  i'm still making friends here in this new town and can't call them  whenever i am feeling miserable... and my family can't stop their lives to come down every few weeks to help me clean my house.

so what do i do?  how can i live a normal life with these debilitating migraines taking over every few days? i need help. another family i can partner with.  a support system that is closer than 2 hours away...

in the mean time, i pray for the migraine to go away today and that the baby will sleep a little longer at nap time so i can rest too... 

sacrifice

It's time I admit it: I'm sad.  I've been ignoring it, denying it for weeks, but it's time to move past denial and embrace the grieving process so I can move onto the rejoicing.

I love my little girl.  I waited and prayed for her for a long time.  But I lost a lot so I could have her.
I lost my friends, my family, my church so I could move to a town with better doctors.  I even cut my hair so my focus could be entirely on her.  My body is completely worn out from lack of sleep. I quit my business so I could spend all my time with her.  I miss my friends, I miss my mom, I miss my jewelry.  I miss my husband.  Everything has changed since my baby girl came into our lives...

So, I'm a little sad.  And I'm a bit overwhelmed.  Having a sick baby is the most helpless feeling in the world. She demands all my attention, all my energy. Every bit of who I am is focused on her right now. 

But it's just a phase. A season.  She won't be sick forever.  She will eventually learn breastfeeding is better than bottles.  And soon I will get to have a few hours alone with my husband again...  And it is all so worth it...

Those little toes and fingers... Those big blue eyes... The way she smiles as she drifts off to sleep...
The pain, the loss, the sacrifice is great, but the joy in those moments is greater than the sadness. 
This is motherhood. This is my life.  And I wouldn't trade it for the world...

Amelia Ann

I hope to be able to share the full story in the near future, but sleep is more precious at the moment and it is calling to me... I just wanted to give you all the quick update...

Amelia Ann Parsons has made her debut!  She is a perfectly healthy little girl with a full head of hair! Our little miracle was born February 11th at 12:28am.  She was 7 pounds 1.4 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long. 

I can't believe a week has gone by already!  We are still learning and figuring out our rhythm, but things are getting easier each day.  My body is slowly recovering from a 2nd degree tear from her arm wanting to come out at the same time as her head and a left over blood clot in my uterus.  She lost 10% of her birth weight in the first 4 days, but is gaining quickly now as she gets better at feeding each day.

It is 12:31am on Sunday, January 29th.  Another late night.  My body is tired, but my mind cannot rest.  I am too full of anticipation and excitement!  Soon... very, very soon... I will get to hold my little girl in my arms!  My long awaited dream is about to come true and as much as I need the sleep, I cannot stop thinking about what it will be like to be a mother and to get the privilege of raising our dear Amelia Ann Parsons.

Although they have not changed her official due date, the doctors have decided to induce me at 39 weeks (less than 2 weeks away!) in order to prevent complications. The gestational diabetes is now being controlled with medication, which puts us in a higher risk category.  Besides the weekly OB appointments, I also see the endocrinologist weekly now as well as having fetal monitoring twice weekly until she arrives. That's a minimum of four doctor visits per week!  Not to mention I'm still seeing the ophthalmologist every 6 weeks to monitor the migraines and make sure there is no swelling behind my eyes.

If I'm not sleeping, eating, or at the doctor, I spend my time at home with last minute preparations for Amelia's arrival.  The nursery is nearing readiness, although our little angel will be sleeping in our room for a while, so we are not rushing the process of creativity that will be expressed in her bedroom. Matthew has promised to paint her room and we have purchased butterfly and dragonfly stencils to aid in this task.  We also have a dresser to assemble, and some curtains to hang.

The grandparents are preparing their schedules for the phone call that says come on down and see her.  Despite their busy schedules, I know they are just as anxious as we are to hold her when she comes and they will do everything they can to make the trip down to be with us during this time...

Matthew has applied for a better paying position at the university to help cover baby costs and keep us on track financially.  He has been an amazing support throughout this pregnancy, but especially these past few weeks as my anxiety has increased and my moods are ever changing.  He is learning to sleep through all the noises of me being up at all hours of the night and even now I hear him snoring from the bedroom as I lay in the recliner and type this blog hoping sleep will come sooner than usual tonight.

Even Skippy, our Parsons Terrier Mix, is feeling our anticipation at this stage.  If he isn't sleeping, he is by my side with his head on my belly listening to Amelia's heartbeat and feeling her movements. I know they are going to love each other! I can't wait to get pictures of them together!

Well, that is pretty much what is going on here.

As my belly gets bigger, so do my dreams.  I know she will fill our home and our hearts with joy and in many ways she already has! I am so excited to see what the next months and years bring as Amelia joins us on this journey of following the dream....