Happy New Room's Eve!

It's been 4 1/2 years since we moved into our home.

It's been 4 1/2 years since the kids have had a "nice" room.

Truth be told, I just could never get my thoughts together when it came to decorating their room.

Noah was born the first year we lived here and he spent the first 2 years of his life sleeping in our room. First in a bassinet, then onto a pack 'n play and finally into a crib.

I guess it didn't seem worth it to do up a room when the 3rd member of the family wasn't IN the room yet.

I really don't know what my reasoning was.

Maybe it was just laziness. Who knows.

I'm super embarrassed at the "before" that was their room(s) (at times, I cannot believe that I actually had the nerve to post the pics on facebook!).

We never even put a fresh coat of paint over the UGLY that the previous owners of the house put up (worst taste EVER!).

Being that I didn't care about the room(s) because they weren't the way that I wanted them, I "let" them get trashed even further. I just didn't see the point, I guess, in keeping not nice...nice.

Honestly, when I don't like something but don't have a solution to make it better, I tend to "close the door on it" rather than face it in all of it's hideousness. Truth.


This is not an excuse. This is an explanation. One that I can finally admit to myself and make peace with...

...because...

...the fact is that all of the "ugly" is finally coming to an end.

Phew! 

♪♫ I can see clearly now the rain is gone...♪♫

I literally can almost see/feel a depressive fog lifting. 

What WAS this...

Turned to this...

(ignore those black specks on the wall - they on the camera lens, not the actual wall)

I've been spending the last few months planning planning and more planning...

Ideas and dreams have been written in notebooks, added to "notes" in my phone, googled, facebooked, blogged and pinned.

Shopping carts have been filled with goodies...

Bank accounts have dwindled... ;)

But this weekend...all of my months of hard work and preparation are finally coming to fruition.

The furniture is being delivered...the room is being set up...the wall decor will be hung...big boy and girl beds will be made (comfiest EVER)...the lights will be lit...and then comes...

The Big REVEAL.

My husband and I have managed to keep the kids out of their room completely since we've started the remodel.

Our goal is to reveal their room makeover to them in one shot.

We plan to have the video camera rolling...pictures will be taken...memories will be made.

I can't tell you how excited we all are.

And EXHAUSTED.

Part of me wants to scream. Part of me wants to laugh. Part of me wants to cry.

So much of me has gone into this project...and I've had so much wonderful support from my family and friends who've allowed me to run ideas by them...thanks for listening to me "dream out loud" guys! XO

I have a feeling that once the beds are in place tomorrow, I'm gonna feel a gravitational pull towards them so that I can throw myself onto one and sleep for about a week straight.

For as much as I am gearing up for tomorrow and being able to see it all come together, I'm also just REALLY excited about reclaiming my house and having it all DONE.

Anyway...alllllll this to say...YAY...HAPPY NEW ROOM'S EVE!!!!

And now I'm off again...so much to do!

Wish us luck tomorrow and I'll be posting the BIG REVEAL hopefully SOON! (as long as I don't fall into a catatonic state of exhaustion)

XO

Brown Nosing: Yummy (and cute) Back to School Teacher Gifts

Source: catchmyparty.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Oh my goodness. 

How cute would these be for a "Welcome Back to School"  gift for Noah's preschool teachers? 

I know I know...I got a little brown on my nose...but so adorable, right?! 

:)

Words of Encouragement

Source: emilia-jane.com via Kelly on Pinterest

There are some days when you have to fight the "mean girl" inside and just.be.nice...because no matter how you're feeling, it's ALWAYS RIGHT to act right.

Thinking Outside the Bath

Source: westelm.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Oh. my. word.

In researching window treatments for our kiddos room re-do, I thought...what the? No way am I paying for those...

Pinterest saves the day...AGAIN.

Shower curtains as window treatments.

I swear...there are so many genius people in this world.

And I love them.

Hello West Elm shower curtains.

Where have you been all my life?

Come to Mama you beautiful (and yet very affordable) things you...

Research for a Furniture Remod

 

Source: bit.ly via elva on Pinterest

Of course, I can never leave well enough alone. 

As if there isn't enough to do with our kiddos room remodel, I've got to throw in a furniture re-mod as well.

Oh joy.

My husband and I currently use a beautiful Ikea clothing armoire to store our clothes. It's a pine color with great glass doors. I've had it since my single days and it's held up unbelievably well....

But all good things must come to an end...

It's time to once again return her to her some-time owners, the smallest members of our family (it's been passed around a bit, if you can't tell).

When you own a smaller home, space saving is key. Since our 3 kiddos will be sharing a room and their beds will take up a good portion of the space, dressers were not an option.

Our beloved armoire is just what this interior designer wannabe ordered.

BUT...of course...I couldn't possibly leave it it's original color, could I?

Oh, heck no.

So, I'm thinking a soft yellow...to go along with our gray/white/yellow with black and white accent "theme".

And I found some really good step by step instructions to do the job.

http://www.thepurplepea.net/2009/05/how-to-make-repainting-your-ikea.html

So...what do ya think?

Have you guys ever refinished a piece of Ikea furniture? How did you do it?

I'm a little nervous about it and might be possibly kinda sorta procrastinating quite a bit on getting it started...not gonna lie...

If you have any good tips, I'd love for you to share them with me...since I know nothing, anything helps!

Let's Celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Pop Pop! 

Tonight we celebrated 89 years of life for the most precious man on the face of the earth. 

The patriarch of our family. Purple Heart donned veteran, loving husband of over 50 years, wonderful father, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend and now published author of his best-selling book (in our circles anyway), The Odyssey of the Iron Knight, a memoir of his life during WWII as a soldier, MIA and POW. 

It is a gift from God to have this man in our lives. 

We cherish him every.single.day. and feel incredibly blessed for his amazing life. 

----- 
 

Happy Birthday, Nana...

My grandparents were born on the same day of the same year. Always thought that was cool.

:) 

Sadly, Nana passed away in April of 1997 but we have many many sweet memories of her and we miss her every day. 

XO

Looking forward to the day that we're all reunited again...

Lots of love always.

Displaced

dis·place  (ds-pls)tr.v. dis·placed, dis·plac·ing, dis·plac·es 1. To move or shift from the usual place or position, especially to force to leave a homeland

 

Sooooooo...yeah.

We're going on 3 weeks at my parents place. (not including the week I was here while Jer was at Lake Champlain)

Don't get me wrong, it's been nice. No drama. The kids have been well-behaved. Things have been overall peaceful.

But...we miss home.

Even though home right now is a mess.

Our upstairs is a blank slate...it's desolate...no furniture, nothing on the walls...

Promise of new.

But downstairs looks like a bad episode of Extreme Hoarders.

Not. Nice.

You should see our dining room. It's literally covered in clothes from our closets and armoires.

Our home looks stagnant. Left. A B A N D O N E D.

It's sad. 

We had no idea that we'd be displaced for so long...

I'm thankful for my parents and for them allowing us to stay here...especially long since we've worn out our welcome...

but definitely missing home.

We're anxious to get our house back in order, finish the kiddos room remodel and hopefully hop back into a routine before school starts on September 10th...

It's all a bit overwhelming right now...


(we're having our hardwood floors refinished upstairs for those who are confused as to why we aren't living at home right now)

“Where we love is home,
Home that the feet may leave,
but not our hearts.”
― Oliver Wendell Holmes

It's Official...

...we're homeschooling again for the 2012-2013 school year. 

This thought makes me excited, nervous, peaceful and petrified all at one time.

; )

For those of you who know our family personally, you may know that we homeschooled last year.

For those of you who REALLY know our family personally, you may also know that the year was somewhat of a nightmare.

True story.

Due to some circumstances that were out of our control as well as some circumstances that weren't, the year that started out like a dream did a 180 fairly early on in the school year.

Homeschooling was MUCH more challenging than we had originally thought.

And honestly, at times, I think that we must be smokin' crack if I think that we should attempt it again.

BUT...

Call us crazy...

We're gonna do it. Again.

Only this time...

We are not going to allow outside drama and distractions to affect our family life and the inner-workings of how our home is being run (unfortunately, we really learned this the hard way).

Also, we are going to plan...plan...plan...schedule...schedule...schedule...and most importantly have a realistic approach to homeschool and how it applies to OUR family.

So...yeah...(deep breath)...this is it. It's okay if you think we're nuts.

:)

Quote of the Day

"God sometimes removes people from your life to protect you. Don't run after them."

A friend of mine posted this quote on facebook this afternoon. 

Me: This quote has been on my mind and is very pertinent to a situation I am going through...love it! :)

Friend: Guess He thought you needed a little reminder ;)

He's there, Friends...even when you think that you're just perusing Facebook to kill a little time...He gently and quietly reaches out to you...reminds you that He's still there...and He cares about what is going on in your life.

Love that. Love Him.

:)

Pinterest is Ruining My Life!

Source: bellemaison23.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

oh dear...

i think that i just changed my mind on the wall color for the kids room

but...

i already bought the paint

...shoot.

curse you pretty pinterest! 

Favor vs. Flavor: A Little Story About Putting Down the Pizza and Learning to Listen to His Still Small Voice

Without going into great detail (details will probably come in a later post), I'd like to share with you an experience I had today.

I got a phone call this morning that kinda shook me up...not necessarily in a bad way...just a way that I wasn't expecting.

Totally.threw.me.for.a.loop.

It was in regard to something that I have been mulling over for quite some time...no matter which direction I seem to go in my mind with this "situation", I just can't seem to get peace about it.

You say to pray about it...

...and I have.

But...

for as much as I have prayed about it, I haven't really been waiting on the Lord for His answer (to be read, still small voice).

I've taken the ball from Him and I've been trying to dribble it on my own.

Dude, I am no Harlem Globetrotter, let me tell ya.

My fear makes me stumble...I'm clumsy...I travel...I hog the ball.

I allow others to foul me...


But...here's what I haven't been doing...I haven't been passing the ball to God.

Oh, I've tried passing it to friends and family...asking them to dribble it for a while...asking for their prayers and their input...and their PAT ANSWER for my life.

I've begged and pleaded with others to help me make a decision...well, what would YOU do, I'd say.

So, I'm an idiot. Noted.

Anyway, I am rabbit trailing...here's my point...TODAY, I decided to Seek His Face. I decided to look for His answer. Cause...hello...it is the only one that makes any sense. It is the ONLY one that will make everything okay. It is the ONLY one that will bring peace.

And so, I began with prayer...

And with reading my Bible...that book is FULL of answers...sometimes I'm just too stupid and stubborn to read them for myself. Again, I ask others...fallibles. Not perfect like my God.

So silly.

I prayed over my Bible..."Lord, you know I don't have a lot of patience. And at this point, I don't have a lot of time either. So, I am going to open up my Bible now Lord and I need you to point me to a SPECIFIC verse or passage that YOU want me to hear today. Okay?"

Oh, by the way, before I prayed over my Bible, I prayed for myself...I asked God to forgive me of my sin and to open my heart to HIS LEADING. I want what HE wants because I know that is the ONLY WAY TO PEACE. And peace is what I long for. Especially in this "situation" that weighs so heavily on my shoulders and heart.

Anyway, after I prayed, I took a deep breath and cracked open my Bible.

Luke 8:8b -15 (In reference to the parable of the sower in verses 1 - 8a)

vs. 8b "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

vs. 9  His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 

vs. 10  He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, " 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'

vs. 11  "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

vs. 12  Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

vs. 13  Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

vs. 14  The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

vs. 15  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Did the Lord speak to me through those words? Uh...yeah. I don't think that he could have been more clear.

The problem is not that he doesn't speak to me. The problem is that I.don't.listen. 


That is because he's usually saying something that I don't wanna hear.


I also allow distractions and the devil to "take away the word from my heart".


Case in point?

While I was reading my Bible, I suddenly remembered that the kids did not finish their lunch.

I, on the other hand, had finished mine and wasn't hungry.

But hello...I mean, they had pizza...I could go for some pizza dipped in ranch dressing, right?

Yes.

Yes, I could.

I walked over to the dining room, picked up a piece of pizza and took a bite.

And then I heard it...

That still small voice.

"Jen, put down the pizza. You aren't even hungry." 

And then came another voice...

"Oh my word, it's only a little slice of pizza, what's it gonna hurt?" "It is so tasty!"

Then the still small voice said something that I hope stays with me for a VERY long time...

"Jen, how do you expect me to speak to you about the big things when you won't even listen to me on the little things?" 

So...I put down the pizza and walked away. Hard as that was because food has become somewhat of a go to when I am freaking out about life's decisions.

Pizza in place of peace.

Flavor in place of favor.

So, I'm an idiot. Noted.

But God is faithful. And when we listen to his voice, he is pleased. So often I shut him out because I am a very impatient person. I want answers and I want them yesterday.

Only He knows what is best though and only He can grant me peace.

Pizza isn't going to give me answers.

Confession: I look to food for answers A LOT. It's a control thing. I feel very out of control in my life (especially right now) and eating makes me feel in control? I know it sounds stupid.

For those of you who do not have this issue, it probably sounds even worse than stupid.

But I'm okay with that. My life isn't about you.

My life is about me. And I'm a mess sometimes. THAT is honest.

I also honestly want to put God at the center of my life. But more often than not, I don't.

I fail more than I succeed so in order to stay sane, I have to revel in the few successes...

Like today...

Today, I gave Him control. It was hard but I know it was worth it.

He doesn't ever promise that this life will be easy. Not once. Read the Bible and weep.

Life will be hard. He does tell us that.

Thankfully, he also gives us plenty of ways to make it a little easier on ourselves...

Like #1 - TRUST HIM.

LISTEN TO HIS STILL SMALL VOICE.

If you'd shut up and die to yourself already, you'd hear it.

Chances are, he's been talking to you all along...

You just don't listen. I know this because neither do I.

XO

It's the little things: a cozy book nook, kiddie art (and the kiddie artist), a wooden whale and some bling blang

While the cats away...the mice...

will run home to Mommy and Daddy and stay with them for the week.

(After all...they do have central air...)

My husband has been away all week fishing the beautiful Lake Champlain with a couple of his buddies. I'm usually not afraid to stay home without him but this week, I opted to take the kiddos approx 3 miles down the road to stay with Grandma and Pop Pop. We're having the best time...I have really enjoyed being home on my old turf. Mostly, I've just reclaimed "my spot" on the couch, whipped out a huge stack of books I've been neglecting and have gone to town. As much as I love reading, I don't get much opportunity to read these days. This week, I am trying to make up for lost time.

What's on my list of current reads you ask?

Fiction (on my Kindle Fire):

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (the 2nd book in the Shiver triology) - If it's of the YA genre and includes vampires and or werewolves, it's usually up my alley. This series is all about the werewolves but I'm usually more of a vampire girl - little faq action for ya)

Non-Fiction:

My Bible

The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer (the female version of the Resolution for Men based off of the Courageous movie) - this book, I HIGHLY recommend. It is REAL and it is CHALLENGING. If I could be in love with a book, I'd be in love with this one. It's amazing. Go get it.

Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure - I just love her, don't you? She is as talented of a writer as she is pretty. And that is pretty talented. What you'll find between these pages is an excellent Christian viewpoint on getting healthy in the eyes of God.

Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst - Actually haven't really started reading this one yet. I believe it follows a long the same mindset as Reshaping It All though in that it's primary intent is to teach (from the Bible) how to put your relationship with God over a relationship with food.

Spiritual Housekeeping by Kimberly Daniels - FANTASTIC book on protecting yourself (and your family) from Satan and the demonic influence in this world

-----

Today, I went to a few yard sales and as much as I don't normally like to waste my "yard sale money" on books, today's yard sale jaunt was ALL ABOUT THE BOOKS.

Some of the titles were just too good to pass up (and in certain instances, I felt God's leading in the reading) ;)

Here are the books I picked up today:

The Esther Effect by Dianna Booher (Esther is my all time favorite woman in the Bible - Abigail running a close second)

Overcoming the Sins of the Family by Beverly Hubble Tauke (on becoming the redemptive generation)

The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

Help Me Trust You, Lord by Emilie Barnes

Esther by Charles R. Swindoll (part of the Great Lives from God's Word series)

3 books from the Core Knowledge series:

• What Your First Grader Needs to Know
• What Your Second Grader Needs to Know
• What Your Third Grader Needs to Know

Parables for Kids by Danae and Dr. James Dobson

Helpful Hal's Treasury of Christian Values by Michael Waite

And finally, The Kingfisher Book of Great Boy Stories 

So yeah...LOTS of books to read now...phew! :) I'm acting like I'm gonna have a whole bunch of time to read coming up...probably not the case. Oh well, I'll get to them sometime this decade...I hope!

-----

I'm really lucky to have a couple art lovers for kiddos (Nic really couldn't care less, he's much more into sports and the like). The other day, Noah came to me with this ingeniousness...

What he thought was just scribble (though he DID intend it to be water and sunshine), I see as art. Can you see the "waves, dolphin jumping out of the water and sunset"? I so can and maybe it's totally just me but his "accidental art" is crazy awesome to me. It's currently posted to my bulletin board but I fully intend on framing this. Call me coo-coo but I'm a mom. :)

 

Here's my little arteest, Noah. This is his "cheese" face. I am wild about that kid.

As I said before, I went out to a few yard sales with my mom and kidlets this morning...my mom came across this carved wooden whale and somewhat jokingly (I think) suggested I buy it for my kids room (for those of you who don't know, we are in the middle of a total room re-do for our kids and it's all about the nautical). Well, I fell in love with the darn thing. Who knows why we fall in love with the stuff we do, we just do. For $1, I was pleased as punch to take her home with me. Mom keeps asking what I'm gonna do with her and honestly, right now, I don't know...I may paint her or I may leave her as is but either way, she's ours. 

She'll serve as a good reminder that we certainly cannot out run God...if he has to use a great big fish to get our attention, he will. (Jonah and the Whale). I love things that tell a story. I also love that the more I look at her, the more I love her. :)

And my final purchase of the day...a pretty (but delicate) blingy bracelet that cost me 75 cents at a local antique store. You can so not tell from this picture but it is so sparkly and feminine...it makes me smile when I catch a glimpse of it on my wrist. :)

So...that's it. Those are the little things that have brightened up my week. Pleasant little distractions that keep me from missing my hubby too too much (though I REALLY still do!).

I'm linking up again this week with Lindsay at Hello Hue!

Come join the party. Lindsay is completely adorable (,talented and very preggo - can't wait to "meet" baby Si soon!) and I've found some really great bloggy reads through this link up. So fun. :)

(sigh) I'm soooo gonna miss "my spot" on my parents couch. I've really missed it these last 8 1/2 years, I've been out of the house. Guess I better get going and soak up as much time as I have left!

Thanks for reading!

What are the little things that you've been pleasantly distracted with this week? Do you yard sale too?

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. "
Khalil Gibran