The month of April was one of joys and many tears for me. I have learned that trusting in God is the most important thing one can do when the future is dark and sad. On April 15th I lost my father in law, Jared’s dad. He passed away unexpectedly and I have to admit I still feel it’s a bad dream. 

One can never be prepared to loose a loved one. For those of you who know I’ve been a nurse for many years and faced death on a weekly basis sometimes, but this is something I never would have imagined. ( See post) 

I am now slowly picking myself up and getting back into what is the most plausible form of a ” normal ” routine. I want you guys to know there are ups and downs to life. Having your own business and trying to juggle all those things is difficult, it then seems impossible when trajedy stricks. If you’ve ever been in a similar situation you know how I feel. I want to encourage you. I’m sharing the good and the bad with you. That’s why we are all here, to encourage each other. No need to hide and pretend. I know many of us are hurting and experiencing loss. I don’t want to hide that.

I have to admit my priorities are very different now. Very different. I have now, for the first time, truly realized that life is too short. Friends, you’ve got to give your life to God every day and ask Him to lead. Life is too short to live with regrets. Please don’t ever leave a loved one without telling them you love them. That is so important.  If your business is your life, cut back. Your family should be that. I’ve loved having a business, but I have seen how many times it has taken priority when it shouldn’t. I’ve cut back on many things this year in order to make God and family first. I know even more than ever believe that.

I am sad, yes, but I believe in a God who loves us. I know He will bless us despite our hurt. Emotions are a crazy thing. I’ve always considered myself pretty emotionless. I don’t let things get to me. These past few weeks I’ve realized it’s ok to cry. It’s ok to feel sad. God is so good. I have hope in Him. As the days and months go by it’s not going to be easy. Someone like my father in law can never be replaced. His smile and character were such a gift to all of us. If I can tell you one quality he had that we should all emulate it’s this. Remember people’s names, look them in the eye, compliment them. When Scott talked to you, he was talking to you, no one else. Learn to be a good communicator. Learn to encourage others.

As May begins our family has begun a new plan. We have devotion ( quite time in study and pray) not just once a day, but twice. Morning and night. I seek to receive a blessing form that and be encouraged. I encourage you to do the same.

Please tell me if I can pray for you. I have started keeping a prayer journal more now. I want to see prayers answered and I want to pray for more specific things. Let me know, I would be honored to.

Annette

p.s. Amidst the sadness there’s been joy. Seeing happy brides makes me happy!! Below is a peek at a gown. You can’t see the whole picture yet, and it’s not complete, but it is one of my favorite gowns so far. It has taken hours of sewing and folding fabric, but you’re gonna love the end result.

I know this isn’t the kind of topic the blog usually covers, but it’s a part of life. I know many of you have gone through the same thing. I feel it’s good for us to share and talk about how we feel when things like this happen. He was young, only 55. Full of life and potential. One of the smartest men I have ever met, he could do anything. The last few years of his life he had dedicated everything he did for God’s work. He lived in Haiti more than he did here in the states it seemed. With a passion for missionary work and helping others, he spent all his time helping others. His passing puts so many things into perspective. What am I doing with my life? Am I living every moment for God? Am I daily dedicating my life to Him? Scott did not care about fancy things. He loved people.

At memorial service last Saturday over 1000 people came. I can’t say I’ve touched that many lives. Wow!! So many people said he was always so king, so loving, and showed Jesus to them. I want to be like that. I believe we all should. Whatever your belief in life may be, I think we should all focus our time and help others. We live in a world where there is so much sadness. We can make a difference by our words and our actions. It’s as simple as that. Scott did that. He changed the world around him by showing kindness. I’m going to miss that so much.

It’s amazing how a few weeks can change one’s perspective on life so much. I am however determined to be different. I will change sorrow into courage. Tears into joy. I believe the  Bible is a real book, and I believe there is a God in heaven that cares for all of us. Our family knows this happened for a reason. Although we may not fully understand that reason we trust in God. I believe He is also coming back for us very soon, and our family will see my father-in-law again. I look forward to that so much now.

2 Timothy 4:7 describes Scott’s life to me.

“ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day —and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”

There are a couple quotes that our family loved from a book called ” The Faith I Live By” It’ is something I will strive for in my daily life. They say-

It should be a Christian’s ambition to excel in all things that are unselfish,

high, and noble. Let them look to Christ as the pattern after which they

are to be fashioned. The holy ambition that He revealed in His life they

are to cherish—an ambition to make the world better for their having

lived in it. This is the work to which they are called.

– The Faith I Live By

167.6

Only one lease of life is granted us; and the inquiry with everyone should

be, how can I invest my life so that it will yield the greatest profit? How

can I do most for the glory-

The Faith I Live By- 167.7

Friends, our lives are not guaranteed to us tomorrow. Make every moment count. Follow your dreams, trust in God, don’t hold back. If there is one thing I regret is not telling my father in law thank you enough for all he’s done over the years for Jared and I. Don’t live with regrets.

Pray for my family as we slowly heal form this loss. We pray the time is short before we see him again. If you have lost your loved one don’t loose hope. God is good and faithful to those who put their trust in Him.

Annette

Below are a few images of our family. First picture is my mother and father in law. Second picture is Scott in Haiti with one the little boys from the place they were staying. The next image is us in Greece when we took an amazing whirlwind trip. Last picture below is us at Christmas a few years ago. It was a tacky Christmas sweater theme:)

]]> http://www.chavianocouture.com/my-father-in-law-scott/feed 1 http://www.chavianocouture.com/ondina-gown-on-the-runway http://www.chavianocouture.com/ondina-gown-on-the-runway#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:51:33 +0000 Annette http://www.chavianocouture.com/?p=5181 ]]> As I was looking through some of my images the other day I found these two images ,taken by the lovely Dana ( Dana Eason Photography) of our Ondina Cocktial dress and Rose tea length skirt. I love this dress. Thank you Dana for the pretty pictures.

When Keturah asked me to make her custom gown for her Fall wedding last year I instantly knew her dress would be unique and amazing just like Keturah. Living in Switzerland, we did many SKYPE chats and phone calls to create her dream gown. She instantly knew she wanted her gown to be two different colors. Her love of a ball gown silhouette with corset detail to the back and delicate straps came to life in this beautiful gown.

My favorite part of her gown are the straps made of delicate lace flowers and crystals. The back of the gown with gathered layers of silk tafetta created a dramatic look for her as well.

Keturah rode into her ceremony on her horse. That was one of the most important details of the wedding to her. I love the sweet images of her with her horse.

These images shot by my own wedding photographer Garrett Nudd, capture the essence that is Keturah. Her and her new husband Bruce live in gorgeous Switzerland. I hope I can visit someday!

It’s always such fun to work with talented vendors on inspirational shoots. This shoot was put together by Courtney Khail ( who I’ve worked with before, see here) The concept behind this shoot is so unique and different. The florals and plants in this shoot are AMAZING. The bride wore our Ondina gown with our Rose skirt. Such fun! Below is what Courtney wrote in regards to the shoot.

1.) Etsy.com 2.) Urban Outfitters 3.) Dorothy Perkins Dress 4.) Piccsy.com 5.) Unknown 6.) Dolce and Gabanna 7.) Unknown 8.) Etsy.com 9.) Baby dress by LIHO Clothing

The month of March quickly went by for me!  With one brides wedding, 3 bridal fittings, some UPS issues, and me being sick for a week, next thing I know it’s April. What a great month it was though. I love doing fittings and having brides see their gowns. There is always such excitement and anticipation to see THE DRESS.  Below are a couple pictures I took with my iphone of bride Elizabeth’s dress. More pics to come soon!

Elizabeth’s gown had pieces from her mothers gown incorporated into hers. Including some of the buttons and pearls from her mothers dress. With hundreds of swarovski crystals on the sleeves and lace, it was a truly beautiful gown for a gorgeous bride!

The most amazing blessing we received this month was to finally close on our home. We had our house for sale for about 3.5 years. We moved in faith to a new place in mid January with our closing pending. March finally brought the close after much prayer. We are so grateful. We are now looking to find a home a little ways out of Atlanta where we can grow food and enjoy nature a bit more. Please pray God will open the doors for that to happen for us.

March also brought the mailing out of packets to stores with information from our new collection. If you are a store and are interested in carrying our gowns please contact us!! Below is a peek of the packets I mailed.

April is now in full swing! There will be lots of lace cutting and organza sewing this month! Pictures to come. Happy April everybody!

xoxo, Annette

See Elizabeth and Ryan’s recap of their experience here, plus links to images from all the photographers who attended.

Below are some of the images from the talented photographers that attended. Elizabeth( Liz) wore one of our new 2012 Collection gowns called Ivy, and she wore one of our skirts from our 2011 Collection over it. The skirt was our Ruby skirt. Together it was a beautiful gown with lots of chiffon, tulle, and feathers. Liz looked beautiful. I’m glad I was able to be a part of this shoot. Thank you!

1.) Caroline Hilty Photography

2.) Allison Andres Photography

3.) Faith Teasley Photography

4.) Hibou Photo

When you start your own business and opportunities begin to come, it’s such an exciting time that taking advantage of every opportunity that came my way has been a must for me. Yes, I’ll go there, yes, you can borrow a gown, yes, I can be a part of that event. The excitement of being wanted and being a part of the wedding industry is something that was very novel to me and exciting. That is until I realized that I was burned out. Everyday there was a different appointment or task to accomplish. My time at home was decreased. Time with Jared was less, time to do things  that I love was limited. I realized that many times by saying yes to my business I was saying No to my life. No to being a better wife and friend. No to giving 100% of me to what I do and love. I was so busy saying yes to things thinking that would bring my business opportunities that I didn’t realize how much it was affecting the value of what I do. Bottom line, learn to say no. Find out what it is you want your business to represent. Not all opportunities will fit the authenticity of your business. Choose  the opportunities that will reflect your brand. I now only do appointments and projects on certain days of the week. I have learned to say no to opportunities that come my way. I have days that are just my home and family days. I never do anything work related on Saturdays. That is my church day. I feel having a day to completely unplug from work, e-mail, appointments, and such is a must. To me that’s why God set a day aside for us to rest.

I’ll be honest. The first time you say no to something you’ll regret it. You’ll feel like you missed an opportunity, like your business will suffer. I promise it won’t. It will only make you prioritize and focus more on what’s important. You will be able to give 100% more to your clients if you are focused, than if you have a million other things going on. Take time to read and pray. Make time for yourself and the things you love to do. 

I try to remind myself of this every day. It’s never easy, but I’ve had more time for the things I love which are what’s important to me. I am blessed because of that. Give it a try, you won’t regret it. At the beginning of the year I wrote out my Yes and No’s for the year. If you havn’t written yours I encourage you to. It’s never to late to start living:) 

Warmest, Annette

Hugs, Annette

1. Unknown 2. Ellie Saab 3. Kitsch in the kitchen 4. Creative Whip.com 5. Etsy.com 6. Asos 7. Polyvore 8. Polyvore