twirl

Doing a little catch up this week and realized I hadn't written about Twirl since our first open house and the "official" announcement of that venue. Well a lot has changed since then!

We now have a store front on Main St in my hometown and my heart is overflowing with gratitude, joy & thankfulness! I literally can not believe I am a business owner and that my dream of owning my own boutique is actually my reality!

A little background - my mom and I started Twirl as a business that we were going to use to sell via open houses and Facebook. We'd been talking about our own store for a long time and finally felt some doors were opened for us to do this. Shortly after that we had the opportunity at a fantastic retail space and decided to go for! This was of course after in depth number crunching, endless conversations with husbands, and lots and lots of prayers.

So here we are - we officially opened on May 1st and haven't looked back since. We have literally been blown away by the welcoming we've received from downtown, from friends that have stopped in, from friends that haven't yet had a chance to stop in but have assured us they've been praying, from our families endless support and encouragement, and for the new friends we've made that have stopped in the last few weeks! We continue to hear positive comments from those that come to shop and we are so so encouraged by that.

We feel such a strong sense of belonging and purpose through this adventure and I know in my heart that it's exactly what I needed in my life! I feel like I am challenging myself, learning so many new things, loving my time with my kids now more than ever, and so appreciative of my mom and her willingness to learn and take this on when she could have just stayed in a job for a few more years before retirement. 

Logisitically things are coming together as well - we have hired a summer nanny that will come to our house just twice a week, which will allow me an office day at home in Ankeny and a working day at the store. We have hired a few additional women to work at the store which will free up mom and I's Saturdays as well. My hope for Saturday's is that it will be 1-2 a month once we get going a little more - allowing me to maintain that time with my precious family. 

So yes things are good with the business. I feel like it's slowing down a bit from all the start up craziness and we're getting into a routine of ordering, buying, responsibilities, budgeting, and all that fun stuff!

So to those that have been praying - thank you! God is good and God is faithful! I have seen Him work so clearly in my life a handful of times and this is definitely another one of those times. I know that He will bless us for being people that aren't afraid to share our hearts, conduct our business in a way that's honoring to Him, and constantly look for opportunities to help others.

our very first piece of inventory

loading the car for the first time

our last open house

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painting day at the store

chicago ikea run

chicago

the fashion show at our first market!

putting together mannequins

our exterior sign going up!

inside the store

back room

display window

lily is 3!

My gracious it has been a long time since I've actually had time to sit down and write about what's been going on with us. We've been BUSY!n Good busy but just busy and life just continues to pass us by.

But before I write a few posts catching up on other things I need to reflect on my sweet little girl's 3rd birthday! On the 10th of this month our little Lily May turned 3! While sometimes that's hard to believe, most times she seems older to me, and it seems she's been in our lives forever! She really is such a joyful little girl that has changed my heart in so many different ways.

We celebrated this year a little differently than the big parties I enjoy throwing at home. Since her birthday was on Saturday and we just had opened Twirl the week before, we decided to do a family only party in Cedar Falls at the dreaded Chuck E Cheese. I really wasn't looking forward to it but knew it was the best decision this year with everything else going on. None the less, it was great!

We spent some one-on-one time with Lily that morning/afternoon by taking her out for breakfast together, then Lily and I went to the nail salon and she had her fingers and toe nails painted for the very first time (at a salon)!, then Jimmy took the kiddos back to Grandma and Grandpa Grovers for the afternoon before her party at Chuck E Cheese.

We invited grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to join us for dinner and fun at Chuck E Cheese that night and they had a blast! The kids never stopped running and giggling - it was so cute! Lily even got into the ticket blaster machine - which I couldn't believe. We had a Doc McStuffins theme this year because that's one of Lily's favorite cartoons. So we had a Doc McStuffins cake, name cards, and party bags and it turned out great.

For her birthday Lily got tons of dress up dresses and accessories and she is obsessed! Literally every morning she puts on a different outfit and enjoys it so much. We got her a trunk for her dress up things, some dress up accessories, her own little make up kit, and some Doc McStuffins stuff as well.

Lily has grown so much this past year. She is such a smart little girl knowing her ABCs, her colors, most her shapes, how to spell her name, how to dress herself, and how to count to 20! She loves to play dress up, watch cartoons, color, dance to music, and sing lots of songs she knows as well as ones she makes up :) Her favorite foods are green beans, broccoli, chicken, chicken nuggets, pizza, and cookies! She loves to play with Preston and is such a sweet and kind big sister.

When I say she changed my life I really do mean that. She has taught me more than she will ever know (until she has her own kids someday). My love for her is immeasurable and she is adored by so many!

Our prayer for her every night is that she would continue to grow strong and healthy, that she would be kind to others, that she would learn to love Jesus for her own someday, and that she will always know how much her mommy, daddy and Jesus love her!

You are fearfully and wonderfully made my sweet angel - happy 3rd birthday Lily May!

trying out her new makeup

some of the ladies at the party

all her chuck e cheese gear on

in the ticket blaster

blowing out her candles

happy birthday my sweet girl!