Happy Mother's Day...

Being a mom is hard.  rewarding, fun, crazy and hard. being a mom is the best gift I've ever been given. in more ways than one.  even when I wasn't planning that little gift. :)

Nothing in me as a mom is worth being recognized for on a day like this.  I mean really.  There's nothing I can take credit for....except the struggles and the messy house....I feel like on a day like today, all I can do is thank God for my kiddos and for the strength He gives me to keep going, and for the forgiveness and encouragement of my little ones who love me regardless of my flaws, and for the husband who helps me be a better mom.  I thrive when I see that even though I fail and confess, my kiddos {and God} still love me, forgive me and hug and kiss me.  It helps me to try again.

Ann Voskamp says it well....here. I won't try to repeat what she says well.

Anyway...

I've never been so challenged in my life as I am in the every day life with a handful of littles....which is a big gift in itself.  I've probably never laughed so much every day either.  Or appreciated life so much. or quietly called out to the Lord for help that many times a day.....annnnnnd, if we're being honest here, sometimes yelling for help.  I need all the encouragement I can get....all the reminders of truth I can get.

I started printing out some of my pictures with little snippets of Truth on them to remind me of the most needed advice in my life....

LOVE never fails.

and

Give GRACE

Love never fails.  NEVER.  God's way is Love.  HIS way never fails.  seriously.  If I don't believe that and choose otherwise, I don't believe Him.  I want to remember this every time I'm challenged to do something besides LOVE others.

and....

give GRACE to others.  edify them.  Be grace to them.  Show grace.  Speak grace.

And speaking of Ann Voskamp, I must add that my need for these truths was brought to light mostly by her 1,000 Gifts.  of course.  what did her book NOT bring to light in my life?

So, I decided to share these with you as free downloads.  Maybe you other mommas need some encouragement...{or anyone of you who seeks to love others}....a little color of truth to your photo galleries or on your desk or fridge. or maybe you want to give them as a little gift.  A little framed picture, note cards, whatever.  See the "FREE Truth Prints" tab for the download links and more info cause my slowpoke internet is not letting me link up here!

~~~~~~~~~~

As you can see, I'm changing up some things around this little blog {and working out some inconsistent kinks} and adding some pages of info.  I'm also adding a page to keep these pics.  They'll be under the "Truth Prints" tab as long as they are available. I hope to be adding more every month or so and have some different ideas for different styles I'm working on.  we shall see how that goes.

Organizing crafts and the Activity Room

aaah, can we ever just slow down????  Time gets away so fast.  I think I started writing this post 2 weeks ago!

Anyhooo...

I am always intrigued by how people organize their crafts and supplies.  Some things I have tried works, and some I just want to throw out the window!  But, that would just be another mess to clean up.  So, I'll refrain.

One thing that seems to be working pretty well is the soda box.  This one doesn't have any dividers built into it, so I could put in whatever I wanted.  I had lots of freezer boxes from my grandmother, and they were just the right height!

I like this because I can take out one box at a time of whatever we need.  Good for when you don't want those permanent markers out with the crayons!  But, what am I doing with permanent markers even accessible to kids??? good question.

{these shelves are a bit more organized here than in the other pics down below....}

Glass jars always seem to work pretty well, especially for lots of little putties...

and, well....I could've cleared off this desk for a good picture, but I honestly didn't have time or feel like it, so here's how it was.  Um, ok I actually did clear off a couple of things so you could actually see the soda box. Awaiting projects always seem to be lingering around, though and they stayed put.

I was stumped with this coke box for a while.  It sort of worked sitting on a shelf with little glass baby jars, but this is better for me personally right now.  So, I like it.

The metal basket was left in our barn and I painted it the brightest yellow possible, obviously and hung it on some screws.  you can't really tell in the pic, but it's still got some grunge shining through.

This post is so backwards.  Now, here are the full shots of the whole room.
these are some pics of the laundry/activity/storage/school room before I had organized....

It still has a lot of work to be done....caulking, trim work, windows, painting....all that fun stuff.  So ignore the unfinished stuff. :) and keep ignoring it because who knows when it will get done.

this is a view from the back door with the back door opened {in case it seems that door is leading to something else off to the left, it's not}.

LOVE that ceiling. it makes up for the popcorn ceiling in the kitchen. :) sort of.

and that bright yellow thing is an Ikea pot rack that I now use to hang clothes on. It desperately needs to be finished painting.....and that ugly brown chair needs recovering....and that floor needs to be tiled....and all the junk on the dryer and freezer needs organizing, and, and.... :)

I have a love/hate relationship with that turquoise painted concrete floor.  I love the color.  I love the concrete.  But, I hate the clear coat on top.  It bubbled up so badly on the day we put it on....the only day we could put it on that happened to be as humid as it could have possibly been on a hot July evening....and then the bubbles popped....leaving mean little open bubbles that attract whatever dirt they can find.  aaargh..  I hate them.  and they must be redone one day.  but not until I can't stand it anymore.  It needs a couple of more coats of paint on it and about 5 good layers of polyurethane!  And this is all mainly because it was an old concrete floor ~ used and abused with all its little character....not the nice, new flat and smooth concrete floors.  I'm sure those are much easier.
Regardless, I do love the concrete floor. the turquoise, holes and all, makes me happy.

So, enough about the floor.

The curtain lovelies were sewn with whatever fabric pieces I had that would make big squares to cover the ten thousand cubbies hiding all of our junk art/school/activity/home supplies. I left the top row open with books for a little change-up from the fabric. I had wanted to add some ruffled trim to the curtains, but who has time for that? :) I don't.  maybe one day.  great ideas, not enough time.

This is where our new bathroom will be.....within a couple of weeks!  We have a friend here who flew in to stay with us for a few weeks and work on a lot of projects with Matt.  Woohoo! Praise the Lord!  We are very excited.  A nanny for a month would be nice, too so we could both work and get all this stuff done! :)



Hopefully, there will be a little barn style sliding door here....needs to be because I think it's the only thing that will fit!  The entry floor will be tiled.  There were several possibilities for the mudroom and bathroom floor from brick to painted wood.  However, the choice was made for me after I stumbled onto some neutral large tile for 44 cents a square foot....I knew I needed to do that for the floors and shower.  I knew Matt's budget would want to do that.  So, I folded on all the other fun possibilities.

I'm learning to go with the great deals we find, even if they aren't my ideals.  I can hopefully make up for it with other accent tiles or whatever else works.  I'm just excited to get it DONE!

xoxo

growing a little something...

Each year we start earlier and earlier.

and each year we think we've started early enough.

and each year we learn more and more....and realize how we did, in fact, not start as early as we should have to succeed at what we wanted...a good spring garden.

So, now we're just getting an early summer garden I guess you could say.

and now hopefully, we will learn enough this year to just keep it going all year long...complete with winter veggies.....and green smoothies from all those winter greens!  that I De.Clare. my family WILL LOVE one day.  Most of us like them, and hopefully Anna Jaymes will join the bandwagon one day soon.  She likes them when they are chocolate-y and sweet enough.

Anyways.....we ordered seeds {not soon enough for what I wanted....so some of them will have to wait for fall planting...from Victory Seeds and My Patriot Supply, fyi}. Seeing how we were not on top of things, we went and bought some plants that were already started and ready to be transplanted. We just started some seeds indoors and now we are starting some seeds outside in the garden!  wooh! so exciting!  We're also planting some with some neighbors for a little community garden they started. It's bigger and will be great for long rows of veggies such as corn, okra and the such.

She's just about as intense about planting the garden as she is about writing her name on her own pots. So maybe she will be just as excited to eat what she grows.  They all love veggies anyway, but are still  surprising me at how into all of this they are.  So exciting!

and Lulu just loves being outside....although she can barely open those big round eyes.
the baby needs some shades....

There is just something so rewarding about growing your own food....and knowing where it comes from....and what does or does not go onto it in the garden.  I hope each year our garden will grow bigger and better. 

and it probably will if Cole will stop shoving objects down into my freshly sprouted plants. or plucking the new life out of them. he's lucky he's cute.  He plucked the first tomato sprout out, and I shoved it back in....gently.  ha  At least I'm optimistic, but if we're being honest here, it will be a miracle if anything I touch grows....Cole, or no Cole.

Sweet tea...

It was one of those days. Sometimes you just need a drink. Ahem.

Oh for the love of sweet tea.

I thought about asking Matt to bring me home a gigantic frappucino, but figured he would say no. So, I decided sweet tea would do. I never make it anymore considering the load of sugar in it, but I knew it would be a much needed treat for us all.....after a long day with sergeant mom around. I hate falling into her trap and barking commands and rebukes all day.  It's never good, and it's not the way it's supposed to be.

I confess to being an emotional eater sometimes, although I'm trying to get away from it! But, seriously it would've been B.A.D. Bad if I would have had any significant source of chocolate or cookies or cake on hand.

Why is it that we hope in food or other comfort items and not the Lord sometimes?  I mean...ya got FOOD on one hand and GOD on the other hand.  Really?! Like why would I even think about eating just because I'm frustrated and exhausted? Is that the only thing that's going to make me feel better?!

It's such an odd link between the emotional and physical.

That's so weird.  I guess maybe because it's my window of opportunity where I'm in my flesh and I "just don't care" about what negative thing I'm doing to my body...so hey, I better gobble up that big piece of cake before I have my good head on my shoulders again.

We, people are so strange sometimes.

Why don't we just cry out to God and HOPE in HIM and WAIT for HIM?

The answers seem so simple, but they are so hard to do sometimes.  I get distracted by wallowing in my own pity and forget to just simply ask for His help.

or just simply give thanks.

I have a bible app on my phone and I recently read a short weeklong daily devotional from Lysa Terkeurst's Made to Crave book.  I think it was a bunch of clippings from the book mostly.  It was really good and I have put the book on my mile long reading list.  maybe one day. But, it's so cool how she lines up food with the cravings that God made in us....cravings for things that He was actually meant to fulfill.

Regardless, we did enjoy our sweet tea....although it got confiscated from me as soon as I brought it outside.  silly me to think that we could all happily share after a day like that.

good thing there wasn't too much damage done.  Exactly why I don't keep sweets and junk food on hand.

However, there could have been damage done if you got in Cole's way of the sweet tea.

He's a pretty possessive little man sometimes. but he's so darn cute.

the fond memories of lingering and chatting...

One of my most favorite things to do….

I remember the girls' trips and the sleepovers, waking up - whenever you wanted, spending time with friends, lingering over the table for hours talking in our pj's.  The feeling of no responsibility and having time to just chat.  that is like heaven on earth.  seriously, one of my most favorite things.  and then, a few hours later, you up and decide you want to go do a little something!  well, why not? There's nothing holding us back. So, off we go for a little shopping trip to wherever we can find.  or not, if you can't decide what to do in all that free time.

It's the unexpected.  the unplanned.  the no-schedule day. the freedom.  this is a little luxury, and you only see the insane value of it when you haven't had it in a while!  

and who cares if the lack of good decision-making on what to do leads to never deciding and just sitting at the table. happened plenty of times.  You've spent time still talking with friends and enjoying the peace!  It hasn't been wasted.  

Oh, I can barely taste these memories.  It was just triggered by reading about someone else's fun similar day.  I'm trying to hang on to it.  I'm so thankful for those times.  Thankful that I live in a country and had the freedom to go  to a college where I made great friends, and roomed with my childhood best friend {who wins the prize for the longest duration of being my friend ever! ha, she has put up with a lot!}, to go to other places like camp and ministry training programs where I met life-long friends. How I've gotten to live in some wonderfully beautiful places and work with some amazingly godly people who I've shared the fondest memories with.  All of them….I just can't believe the blessings.  I could sit and chat with any and all of them and would love to have a time like this with any of them.

I told Matt the other day that I was starting to save my change and by the time I'm done with having babies and nursing that I was going to have saved up for a wonderful trip somewhere! I told him he could come, too.  but, maybe I'll take that invite back and just take some good ole girlfriends.  So, I can sit in my pj's and linger over coffee and chat and chat and chat. He's not really a chatter, you see.  :) The most wonderful thing about all those friends is that you can't miss the fact that they love Jesus, and by the time we have chatted it up, I am so encouraged and refreshed. that's good friends, I tell ya. gotta love that great fellowship.

 I have so much to be thankful for. So many gifts in this life.  Did I enjoy them to the fullest extent?  Did I make the most out of them? Every season has its valuable blessings that I'm sure we all take for granted until they are only a memory barely there anymore.

{his "lawn mower"}

What about my children now?   It's just not really practical to think that I could sit down and talk with them for hours after lingering over breakfast.

The unplanned days {at least to some extent} are not so successful with little ones. There's no lingering going on around here!

Do I enjoy the blessings that are in this season of our lives? Sometimes, I have to hunt for those sweet moments…because I know they are there even in the hard days, I just have to be looking.  and looking for them is what I want to do more of. Sometimes they are obvious.  I like those times….easily enjoyed.

{scootin out of the way of the real lawn mower}

So, what are the treasures in this season that I want to enjoy the most?  What are the times that I can take to slow down and look them in the eyes and fully enjoy them and experience joy and gratitude at the beauty of the wonderful blessings they are? This season is a hard one, no doubt.  But, we know that often in the hardest times come the greatest blessings.  I want to know the beauty that awaits me in this season every day.  I want to grasp it.  I want to give all thanks and glory to my heavenly Father who gives all good things for us to enjoy.  I want to build the relationships with my kiddos.  I want them to trust me. I want them to know my love for them.  

because then….one day soon, when they are older, and they want to do some chatting. Oh, my time will come. and it will be here far too soon.

{maybe a push mower now?}

I want them to one day be able to linger over cups of coffee with their old momma and talk about all the sweet happenings in their lives….or hard secret struggles.  Lord willing we live long enough, maybe I will get to experience those times once again with my own sweet children.  I mean, the way it's going, I've got plenty of girls to sit around with one day who will have plenty to talk about, I'm sure. :)

So, I may not be getting many of those chances to linger and chat these days in this season.  Instead, I'm in a place where I can be building more dear relationships with my little ones, with hopes of one day lingering over coffee and chatting about life with them.  I want to be the momma that puts in the effort now to love and grow with them. and will reap the blessings as time goes on. 

Until the chatting, I will just let this little man keep me entertained.  

Fabric Photo Display Board Thing-a-ma-jig

Things are slowly coming together.  Some things I like the way we've done them, and some things I don't.  Some I just have to live with, and some I just really want to repaint or redo.  Aahh, but I'm so ready to just be done with everything, that only a little is getting redone any time soon!  The main things are the kitchen cabinets and the chalkboard wall.  More on those coming one day. :)

I recently hung a "gallery wall" in our living room....still waiting on some pictures for some of the frames, but at least the frames are up.  Since this wall is so consumed, I thought something simple on the wall next to it would be best.  

Of course, I didn't end up liking the finished project though in the needed spots since they still seemed a little "too busy" for me with so many different colored fabrics....I was going to hang them on this wall on either side of the window, but these boards will actually go somewhere else....possibly in the hall way.

{I don't know what's going to go in these, but for now, I just threw in some pictures}

I could make some more boards in a more monochromatic design and I bet I'd like them better for that wall.  We shall see.
I sort of think the busy fabrics clash with the pictures...so simple fabrics would possibly seem to be best?
Oooh, burlap may be nice.
burlap with a ruffle or flowers at the bottom, or both.
Ok, I think I'll try that.

First, about pictures.....a while back, I went back and forth as I prayed about what I wanted "decorating" the walls in our home.  I know some things are just not worth the money or space they would take up on our walls.  I just don't really care for things that have no meaning.  I don't have a set rule about this or anything and we all have different things that inspire us....but that's just it...I wanted my walls to be full of things that inspire me....not just some decor bought at the store.  That's just me, and that's not to say I will never do that, but for the most part, probably not.  Anyway, I had also wondered if photography was worth my time and energy and decided that it was.  I LOVE having pictures that remind me of the precious memories of my kiddos and the pics help me not take them for granted.  They give me joy....and sometimes a laugh just when I need it.

On top of family pictures, what's more inspiring than some words of TRUTH?  This is my project lately.....working on scripture prints.  So family pics and scripture pics are what's mostly gracing our walls.  We may or may not have taken it too far with the chalk board paint...oh well....it's another good way to get the scriptures up though. {That's one thing that's getting repainted.....more to come on that...one day!}

So, back to the photo board...

I was inspired by an old frame I had from college.  It was a full 11x14 mat that was layered papers and allowed you to slide in pictures where ever you wanted them.  I thought it would be fun to do something similar with either fabric or scrapbook paper.  Paper on a smaller scale, fabric on a larger scale.  I just happened to have {sometimes it's good to hoard!} two foam boards in the house, and I chose to wrap them in random fabrics I had.  This was a learning process, so I'll share my mistakes and tell ya what I found worked best.  While these aren't my favorite fabric combinations - since they didn't serve my original purpose well - I still like them!  very easy and inexpensive project...especially if you get thrifty with the fabrics or papers.

I got my boards from Hobby Lobby when they were half off. So, $2.50 a board.

I don't put tutorials on here because I sure don't have the time to write them all out and take all the pictures!  But, this is pretty easy, so maybe this will be enough, and it's worth sharing for such an inexpensive and easy photo display.

Anna Jaymes worked on her own little board while I did mine.  She just had a piece of thick poster board for hers....

She got quite random with her fabrics....

that mod podge is a wonder drug.  some powerful glue, for sure.  I later saw, however, despite its miraculous adhesiveness, that Anna Jaymes had decided to glue a piece of fabric to the front of her dress.  Sweeeeeet....not a good idea, Anna Jaymes!!  The stuff actually came out after being washed, though.   good to know. 

 You can see how she's applying a little glue on the back here....

I started with the top corners first...overlapping the top and sides.

I spread the glue on all the sides, the front and on part of the back.

I don't even know if that's necessary, since it holds really well.  I probably could've just done the front and back.

I then folded it over like so....

{the top of the board is actually at the bottom of the picture}

this is on the front....I'd put some glue down, lay the fabric down, then put some more glue across where the fabric would lay.  the glue dries pretty fast, so I didn't want to put too much glue down at one time.

and this is the key to the whole project....

dabbing a little here and there at the top of each row.....

I found it best to NOT completely coat the board with glue, but with just enough so the fabric would lie flat, especially at the top ~ to only dab a little every now and then at the top of the fabric, so that the pictures will be able to easily slide down into the fabric.  I didn't do this at first, thinking I could just slide the pic in where I wanted it and it would peel the fabric away from the board where needed.  Not so easy with that heavy duty mod podge!  So, if I can find the time to do a burlap one, I won't put that much glue on it. make sense?

Also, notice that the fabric is folded under at the top.  It doesn't have to be done this way.  Anna Jaymes didn't fold hers.  But, actually, lets just say that Anna Jaymes' ended up being a bulletin board.  It was just a little something to keep her happy and busy while I was doing mine.  

and this must've been the bottom corner, folded back up and glued...

{see, I'm real good at tutorials :)}

Here's the completed back.  I'm not sure why they are all cut at random lengths.
That's just how I roll these days. :)

And, that's it! Not hard, not fancy....but easy and cheap big art. well, I guess cheap depends on your materials.  

It would be really cute as a scrap board....all different sizes depending on what you have....and possibly not even cut straight or folded down.  You could get real creative with these.

Another cute idea would be to find a big, old chunky frame and cut the boards to fit into it.  Paint the frame or leave it be.  so cute!

Plus, this could be a great way to display christmas cards.  If you have some neutral or christmas fabric, you could easily slide in cards and easily take them out when it's time to say bye bye to all things christmas.

lots of possibilities.

and at the end of the day, I wondered why I didn't just make it a bulletin board without all that
systematic gluing....
but that would mean holes in the pictures. :)

{I'm sure I missed something, just let me know if I did!}

Slumdog Millionaire 2

Matt took some of the college guys to Passion this year.  Passion's been big on trafficking awareness. If helping a cause like this has been on your heart, you can find some good resources through them or through the A21 campaign, along with the one mentioned in the last post.  

After Passion, Matt came home with all these fans of faces on the front and personal, true stories on the back. very eye opening.  Anna Jaymes wanted to give some of her money to the cause.  She was very moved by the stories her Daddy was sharing with her.  However, she did want her money back a few days later.  progress, progress.

It's so hard to see my little girl's body along with a picture and story like this.

{think that was a blurry iphone pic}

~~~~~~~~~~

So, here's some good thoughts from my hubby after watching Slumdog Millionaire...

It isn't often, although I wish it was more, that my heart, mind, and emotions are gripped by the realities that take place in this world. I know that within a few hours these feelings will be lost and I will be back to normal so I quickly want to write down what I am thinking and feeling. 

First of all, my heart is broken and tears are streaming from my eyes.  To think about the lives of so many children who are abducted and turned into beggars and prostitutes.  To see the story of those boys and even though it was a story and they got away, the true story is that many do not.  Many children in India and other poor countries are shown kindness and welcomed into what seems a loving place only to be used and abused for profit.  Many children have their eyes gouged out of their face and body disfigured or dismembered because they will get more money as beggars.  Many young innocent girls are turned into prostitutes.  To even think about my sweet, innocent girls being taken and turned into prostitutes who have no choice but to perform sexual acts or get beat or killed absolutely breaks my heart. 

My first thought is, honestly, how can the God who I love, who I know sees all things and knows that this goes on…how can He let it happen?  How can he watch day after day as children are abused and not act?  Why doesn't he come back now to end all of the suffering and to keep it from happening to any more children?  Second, it makes me think of what I can do.  Can I give money, adopt children from the slums, speak out in some way?  What does it say about me to know that this kind of stuff goes on everyday in other countries and I'm sure even some in our country and to not do as much as I can about it?  

Is it ok for me to continue living my life of ease and comfort with more material things than I need and many things in our life that are only for our pleasure or entertainment?  What should I give up, how should I raise my kids to be aware of this, what actions should I take?  Are these feelings real or are they just manipulated by the movie or am I so much a product of America and our culture that the lackadaisical feelings I have toward this normally are what has been manipulated?  Do I live in an unreal reality while many in this world live in reality?  How do I stay focused on what is really happening in this world? 

What about the spiritual side…do the physical kidnappings, abuse, brainwash, and other things I just saw represent the spiritual reality of people I come in contact with everyday on the college campus?  How many of the guys and girls at Mississippi State are slaves to their sin or things of this world and can't even imagine living everyday in love and freedom with Christ?  Am I called to do more or am I doing all I'm called to do with my family, project 2:2, and the baseball team?  If so how can I reach them deeper, how can I help them to see the reality, how can I live in the reality everyday and not get caught up in my own little world?  Is this how Paul felt when he talks about the emotions he had toward those he has shared the gospel with…genuine pain and sorrow to see them in their sin and true joy to see them free and in love with Christ?  Is this how I should be feeling towards those I have shared the gospel with and am discipling?  If so how do I do that?  How can I keep the urgency that Paul had day in and day out for those who are slaves to their sin? 

God give me understanding and wisdom, teach me and show me what more I can be doing.  Help me to live in the true reality and not get caught up in a make believe world. Help me to experience these emotions of sadness and joy for spiritual realities.  Open my eyes to see what You see, feel how you feel, and to act on the things I need to.  God I pray for the children, you know every single one of them, who are being abused, abducted, brainwashed, and turned into beggars and sex slaves.  God please help them.  Please move in your church to help them.  Give them special grace and peace.  Thank You for the country I live in, thank you for my parents who loved and protected me, thank you for my wife and my children.  Please protect them and help me protect them from all the evil that is in this world.

~~~~~~~~

from the t-615 website...

"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know."

William Wilberforce

What will we do with these physical and spiritual realities?