A time for rest.

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” Psalm 116:7

Rest…such a simple and yet complicated concept to a mother and business owner.  For weeks now, we have been working round the clock preparing for the Collective Grace pop-up event, stocking stores, traveling to Austin for ‘A Handmade Christmas,’ and creating orders for shipping… not to mention all that goes along with readying a household for the holidays.

But this fullness is short-lived.  Soon the Christmas music will fade to the “Countdowns of 2017” as the New Year approaches... the pinging of my inbox will slow… the hustle to find the right gifts will stretch into long days spent playing with new presents surrounded by family… and we in the Tetzlaff family will have time for our souls to rest.

The best part of the holidays is now - the orders are shipped, the stores are filled and the garage is closed down until the new year. We will spend endless hours in the car traveling from MN to IA to WI and back to MN and my heart will be filled as we spend time with family doing nothing but 'just being together'. These are the days we'll remember. 

For those of you who have ordered from us this season, thank you for your business. Your signs have been prepared and packaged with love, and I am giddy with anticipation of the photos you’ll share with our art gracing the walls of your homes.  The Lord is so, so good. I hope you're surrounded by those you love and your hearts will be light as we celebrate the greatest gift, the birth of Jesus. Merry Christmas from our family to yours! allison 

Beauty in the Chaos.

Space designed by the one and only Sarah Martin of Beautiful Chaos. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram she truly is living in 'beautiful chaos' and I promise she will inspire you. www.beautifulchaoscompanies.com

Life. Every. Day. Life is full. The days scoot by so fast and as we're in the busiest season of our business I am left feeling stretched... very thin.... trying to keep myself healthy - body and mind... trying to keep my family in clean clothes, fed and ran to wherever it is they need to go... managing orders, store inventories, new product designs, painting, schedules, marketing... planning and preparing for a store opening... but the piece that I'm struggling with the most is 'being present'. When the lists go on and on I find myself hurrying from one to the next, to the next. Yes, I feel a sense of accomplishment when my to do's are checked off, but I'm left feeling empty because I have not been present in the 'quiet' moments.

When I’m in the presence of my kids and I see them hunched over their homework or creating one of their many masterpieces I catch myself reveling in the idea of what life must look like through their eyes. When school days seemed endless and the weeks drew on forever; when the backyard could transform into a kingdom and the sandbox was my bakery.  I'm brought back to the excitement of getting picked up early from school to travel to Omaha every Thanksgiving to see my cousins where we'd all gather around the table and give thanks.... we'd play tag on the elevators and play spoons in our hotel rooms.... the feeling of how special it was to shop the Black Friday ads with my aunts and cousins to strategize our early morning shopping adventure. It's the tear in my Aunt's eye every time we would leave that I could see how beautiful a family's bond is no matter the distance or how often we would gather. It's these moments and feelings that leave a forever mark on our souls. And I'm learning that time is a relative concept, and it’s reiterated that everything around us is a matter of perspective.

So in these next few weeks of travel and holiday preparation, I’m making a conscious decision to revel in the beauty and magic of the holidays, as I did when I was a kid. I’m committing to pause at our Thanksgiving dinner to breathe in the moment surrounded by friends. I’m committing to playing in the first snow of the season and acknowledging all the blessings bestowed upon me as I shop for loved ones on my Christmas list.  I’m committing to telling the real story of Christmas throughout the month of December, interspersed with some of our favorite traditions and memories.  And I’m committing to being present in every moment of this season, as I will never experience Christmas with my husband and children at this age again. 

I thank God for all my gifts including my family and friends, talents and treasures, and the ability to share my life’s passion with you, my customers.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones.  Love, Allison

Be Brave.

“Be strong & courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

In this season of my life, few pieces resonate so much as this.  So many times in life we experience self-doubt and question where we are at and God’s intention for what is going on in and around us.  But as his faithful followers, our job is not to know all the pain or beauty, the stumbles or successes that are about to come our way… instead, we are called to fully rely on him and trust that He has our best interests in mind, even if we cannot see it for ourselves in the moment.

It was the summer of 2008 and I was at home enjoying my second week of maternity leave with my beautiful first born son, Jackson when my employer called to let me know I was being laid off. What? Really? Me? You can't do that... can you? Oh yes, they can...

I went from being on top of the world to being crushed. My identity had been found in my career (I know that's not healthy), but I clung strongly to my work and when I lost my job I felt lost. It may sound terrible but I did not want to be a stay at home mom, I wanted to work. I wanted to travel the world and have a professional career. So, I looked.... and looked.... and looked... and after 6 months my husband finally said, "Allison, why don't you just stay home and be a mom?" It felt like a stab in the heart, I had been defeated.

So I did some soul searching, joined a mom's group at a church where I knew no one (which was not easy for an introvert like me...) This is where I found a relationship with Christ and with time that defeat I felt turned into peace and a sense of purpose I had never felt before. I was able to fully embrace being a mom. I honestly don't know that I would have ever given myself permission to leave my career to stay at home. I love this saying: 'I thank God for protecting me from what I thought I wanted & blessing me with what I didn’t know I needed.' How true is this?! 

So, in 2009 I decided I was going to start a business to give myself a creative outlet and that is when Allison Marie Design was born. I bought a camera, started doing 'alphabet photography' (it used to be a thing... you can google it) set up a wonky website and took my goods to shows around the twin cities. It kept me busy while the kiddos were napping and made me feel like I was 'working and contributing'. So fast forward two more babies, 3 housing moves, some random product creations, learning to paint and 7 years... we're at July 2016 when my husband called to tell me he's ready to leave his corporate job to work with me and would like to have my approval. What? Really? I've got to think through this one for a bit.

'Having a business together' is something we had talked about since dating. We would dream about different ideas... he'd dream about opening a restaurant, owning rental properties, manufacturing parts or some weird thing... let's just say his ideas never included 'home decor' NEVER. EVER. EVER. So, I prayed and prayed and prayed some more and while I was driving I clearly heard the Lord say, 'His job is toxic, he needs to leave.' What? Really? Are you sure?

And so here we are today, the last year has been an adventure. As my dad would say, 'we're just livin' the dream'. It's not easy, it's actually pretty messy and chaotic, sometimes a little stressful. But I wouldn't want it any other way. If you're reading this and going through something hard I pray you cling to God's truth and Be Brave. 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.' 

I am truly honored and humbled to have had this opportunity to create a business out of my true passion.  Seeing my art fill the spaces where you gather with friends and family is a gift I never could have imagined prior to 2009.  Thank you, customers and friends, for being part of this creative journey it means more to me than you'll ever know! 

Love, allison