Thursday, April 28, 2011

organization

I am slowly getting my kitchen more organized. I love organization and I'm pretty good at getting it organized, just not keeping it that way. There are tons of books and magazines out there that tell you it's easier to keep fewer things organized than a whole bunch of crap organized.

Not all of this is crap, but a lot of it I don't even use...if I ever used it. There were some dishes from my wedding, a broken yellow striped plate that I didn't want to part with, and a lot of pitchers that I have never used. Oh, and two sets of ceramic mixing bowls that I never use....because I have two other sets!

before -

IMG_2294 copy

Before and after...I have more room than I thought!

If you need some tips on organizing, you seriously need to look at this blog:
I Heart Organizing

She has some great decorating ideas too!


On another note...I've been working like crazy getting moreygirl bags and accessories ready for Gretchen's moreygirl party. Oh, you didn't know that you could even have a party?! Well, more on that in the next post!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter recap

We went over to Mom and Dad's for Easter Sunday. We always do a little Easter egg hunt for the little kids. They love it! Slone pretty much dominates the competition in the hunting though:)

all the kids that day

I love this little pic of them. Can you tell they are brothers?!

my boys

Jack with his jordans on the wrong feet. Cool shoes for a cool kid.

Jack

Henry is finally starting to like me....I think. He's a momma's boy. He will like me one of these days. I keep working on him:)

Henry

I asked Taylor to show me her candy. I meant the ones in her basket!

Taylor

Sweetie little Calliegh!

Calliegh

Hope you all had a terrific Easter!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter

I got this pic off of Pinterest (my new obsession). 
So a couple of weeks ago I was getting out of my car and a minivan pulled in my driveway right behind me. I knew immediately who it was...a Jehovah's witness. {crap} -yes, that's what I think every time I see that van.

It's an old man that stops about once a year. I never can think of anything really profound to say to him that will let him know that I'm not interested. I take his tracts and throw them away after he leaves. Honestly, I can't really find anything in his little pamphlets that's really "wrong" per say. It's just they leave so much out.

This time though, the old man was driving and his buddy got out to talk to me. He was extremely nice. And I really liked him. He wasn't pushy and he didn't ask me a ton of questions. He invited me to the services that they were going to have downtown. He said it was a "celebration of the death of Jesus".

That struck me weird.

I replied "That's funny! I celebrate the rising of Jesus!"

I did...just like that. I was surprised at myself. He excused himself pretty quickly and said he hoped that I'd come and bring my family.

And while I am so thankful that Jesus died for me on the cross, I am so thankful He is not there anymore! He's alive! And I'm alive because of Him!

HAPPY EASTER!

Little Disclaimer:  I have no idea what the JWs believe, if they believe in Jesus and what He did or not. I don't know if that guy thought I was weird or not. I hope it made him think though... I hope it makes you think.

Monday, April 18, 2011

learning to ride

Well, it has happened. My baby is no longer my little baby. He's a bike riding crashing machine. He's actually doing really well for only being four. Matt thinks in a couple more practices, he won't need us anymore. {sob}



This is a compilation of part of what Bo did yesterday. These literally happened just like this, in this order but I just didn't tape the bringing the bike back up to Daddy every time. These videos make me laugh. This is truly Bo in a nut shell.

Matt is a great bike riding teacher. He has so much patience. If I try to help, I become an exasperated, sweating psycho. You can hear me fighting it back in the video: "pedal...pedal" sheesh, calm down.

I wish I could have videoed Matt at the same time though. He's really proud of those boys and it's really obvious.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

painting and decluttering

I've been busy this week trying to get some things done. About a month ago, I "liked" Valspar on facebook. They will send you a free sample of paint. Color of your choice! And they send you a little tray with a little roller! I am pretty sure you can still do it today. But I had to like and unlike them for about 3 days before I got it because they kept saying they had reached their free quota of the day.

I decided this was looking a little too country:)

before buffet
I really need to do something with the tv cords there on the right. Anybody got any ideas?
This buffet came from my mom. This thing has been around almost as long as I have. I remember going to Atlanta with Mom and Lyn to pick a bunch of furniture up from Laura. We took my grandpa's truck. It had a topper on it and a uhaul behind it. Charity and I bounced around in the bed of a pickup all the way to Atlanta. Mind you, this was probably 24 years ago but Atlanta is about 750 miles from home. Fun times :P  You'd be arrested for no car seats now.

after buffet

I used the turquoise from Valspar on the base of it. I sanded everything down first. Then I used some black stain on the drawer fronts and the top of it. I brushed it on, then wiped it off with a rag til I got the look I wanted. If I had wanted to make this a huge project, I probably would have jigsawed the curvyness off the bottom. But I didn't want to drag it outside.

I found the knobs at Hobby Lobby. They have tons of them. I loved these!

knobs

But they didn't have enough for all the drawers, so I picked up the lime green ones. I'm pretty sure that green is my all time favorite color. When in doubt, I usually go back to green.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Now I need to tackle this:

before -

yuck...

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

whoa nellie! hello spring wreath class

The Class is POSTPONED tonight! Thanks for checking it out!

collage1

want to join us?! Tuesday, April 12, 7pm -9pm!

Whoa Nellie Crafts

Monday, April 11, 2011

busy with swaps

It seems like everything has been going by so quickly since we got back from our trip! I had to get two months worth of my quilt swap done. Really, I only need to do one but I knew the other wouldn't get done before April was over if I didn't do it now!

This was my first shot at paper piecing. That means there is actually a piece of paper on the back of each of these blocks.

For janice

Obviously, she's making a Halloween quilt.

And this block is a quarter log cabin. I've never made an actual square one. They've always been "wonky" or not straight:)

blocks for lulu

Thanks for the challenge girls!

Don't forget to sign up for the Whoa Nellie Crafts Nite! It's tomorrow night!

collage1

Friday, April 8, 2011

i serve a Creative GOD

I bet you thought I forgot about this little series I had been doing, huh? I've been reading though, I missed the whole week I was gone. So I've been playing catch up this week. I love all the Old Testament stories, like Sampson and Ruth. Ruth is the story I'm reading right now.

But there's no way I can recap the last month. No way I can put posts out there like I should have. But there is another little story I want to tell you about. It's about our Creative God who made two sweet little girls that lived on different sides of the world, but He gave them both to a good family and made them sisters. He also gave them Downs Syndrome.

One of the girls' big brothers is in Slone's class. He's spent some time over at their house. He doesn't even realize that there's anything "wrong" with the girls. Slone thinks they are funny, like funny haha, not funny weird.

But this week someone did some horrible things to their home. Here's the story:

Sticks and Stones: those Wounds Heal
by Jolie Howard Alois
 story used with permission

When was the last time you used the word “retarded” to describe something you thought was dumb?
        When was the last time you HEARD someone use that word in that way… or saw them write it in a status update?
        When was the last time you spoke up when you heard it and said, “hey, that’s not OK with me”?
   I feel the same way about the inappropriate use of this word as I do about other discriminatory language… but today, I’m writing about THIS word – the “R” word – because of something that happened.
        Many of you reading this already know the amazing Hollis family and their inspiring story… but for those of you who don’t… let me fill you in on just a tiny bit about them:
Anne and Todd Hollis had the perfect life… a home in a loving, tight-knit community… jobs they loved… 2 strapping little boys, Noah and Caleb (perfect for dad, a high school football coach).  They wanted a big family and were so excited to welcome their first daughter, sweet little Meg, in July of 2006.  But their joy quickly turned to concern – elation to fear – when the doctor uttered the words “Down Syndrome”.  There was no warning, no time to prepare.  Their world was turned upside down.  THIS was the day that would change everything… in ways they couldn’t possibly grasp just yet.  THIS was the day, July 5, 2006, that God picked, to bring - not just a baby girl - but a whole family of advocates into this world.
         It didn’t take long for the Hollis family to take their new role quite seriously.  Todd developed a disability awareness program through Easter Seals (where Meg had been receiving therapy services since she was 2-weeks old) called “Black Out”.  The premise was to teach high school football players and their peers about disability awareness, while raising money for Easter Seals.  The program culminates in a football game where everyone proudly wears a black t-shirt with the Easter Seals logo on the back that says : Blacking Out Friday Night to Turn on the Lights for Disability Awareness, Understanding and Acceptance.  Todd started the program with his team, the Elmwood Brimfield Trojans, during the 2008 season.  This school year, 18 schools in central Illinois participated… raising over $55,000!
         But that wasn’t enough… they felt called to do more.  They wanted Meg to have a sister and a life-long playmate.  And so, their journey to bring their fourth child home began.  Alina was the first little girl on a list of children with Down Syndrome waiting to be adopted from overseas… and the Hollis’s knew she was the one.  When people would ask Anne, “Why are you adopting a child with Down Syndrome?”, she would say (in that smart, dry, Anne Hollis-humor-sort-of-way), “You would not believe how hard it is to TRY to give birth to a child with Down Syndrome”.    For the Hollis family, there were no questions to be answered… just a calling… and they let Proverbs 24:12 guide their journey:
"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act"

    Flash forward to yesterday, Wednesday, April 6, 2011, when the Hollis family woke up to find their home and vehicle marred with hate.  Someone had spray painted the worst kind of hate-filled language and images on their HOME.  This place, filled with nothing but love and acceptance, was now a vile, deplorable example of the hate that most of us tend to forget even exists in the world today.  Now, don’t get me wrong, the home is still a place full of love and acceptance… no amount of spray paint can ever make even a tiny dent in that… but it is now also a place that is opening the eyes of a community and far beyond.  Opening our eyes to the discrimination that so many families deal with every day – with a stare, with a snicker, by using – or allowing others to use – the “R” word.
         Parents, I beg of you, talk to your children about acceptance.  Encourage your local schools to engage in a disability awareness curriculum (Easter Seals has one available for free).  Teach it at Sunday School.  Where ever you can spread the love… do it.  It has to start with our children… so they may grow up to be accepting adults.

This is what the amazing Anne Hollis posted on her Facebook wall the morning after her family was the victim of this heinous hate crime:
“…In the end this will NOT be a story of hate. It will be a story of love, support, awareness & a communities outrage towards ignorance.”

      I pray for the Hollis family, and every family, who deals with discrimination.  But I pray a little harder and a little longer for those who committed this act.  That they be brought to justice.  That their parents are dismayed and embarrassed.  That they grow to be the kind of human beings who are haunted by what they did for the rest of their lives.  That they beg for forgiveness and turn their lives around.  That they never again utter the “R” word, much less sprawl it in a hateful way on someone’s property, and that they might discourage their friends from using it as well.
         When was the last time you used the word “retarded” to describe something you thought was dumb?
         When was the last time you HEARD someone use that word in that way… or saw them write it in a status update?
 
         When was the last time you spoke up when you heard it and said, “hey, that’s not OK with me”?

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act" Proverbs 24:12
The Hollis Family
Hope this gets you to thinking about what you say and how you say it this week.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

embrace the camera {& a new bag}

Over at http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/ Emily does "Embrace the Camera" every week. I'm joining up this week with this pic:

IMG_2181 copy

I've also been working on some new bags since I've been back. My friend, Gretchen is having a MoreyGirl party at the end of this month! So I've got to get busy!

IMG_2182 copy

IMG_2183 copy

Would you like to have a MoreyGirl party? It's just the same as having any other home party...only better...cuz it's MoreyGirl! Email me for details!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

bu-bye vacay

Back to the real world. Back to work. I've been doing paperwork catch up the last two days. Already been to Walmart...if that doesn't welcome you home, I don't know what will.

If ya didn't know, Matt and I went on a cruise last week. This was our home away from home for awhile.

spirit

It was the first vacation that we'd been on since we had the boys. We went with 7 other families, most of them taking their kids (but we didn't). I think the group was 26 or 27 people total! We had a blast. I am so glad we went as a group.

We visited Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel.

In Costa Maya, we rented some jet skis and got totally sunburned while we were on them. Matt has a life jacket tan line. And my butt took a beating on them since I rode with Matt and he held the thing wide open the whole time we were out there.

Belize was pretty miserable. First, I got sunscreen in my eye and it wouldn't stop watering. Then we had to wait on the tender boat to bus us from our ship to the shore. We waited forever and while we were waiting someone sprayed some sunscreen that got up my nose. Oh yeah, I forgot to rinse the conditioner out of my hair that morning and was a total scuzball. Plus, there wasn't a whole lot to do there.

Then we went to Roatan; it's an island off of Honduras. I thought this one would be a bad stop but it was my favorite. It was really beautiful. We were on Fantasy Island for this pic. Evidently, Fantasy Island was a tv show that I never had the privilege to watch.

fanatsy island

That face that Matt is sporting became a huge joke. As soon as you'd snap the pic, he smile. Every single photo that the ship people took looked just like this one. Needless to say I didn't buy any.

matt and his boots

He did get really excited though to find cowboy boot stores in Mexico. (I, on the other hand, was pretty impressed with the free samples from the tequila stores;) He did buy a pair of boots, but not those. They were the ones he really wanted, but they were too expensive. Thank goodness, they don't give out enough tequila to get me to walk next to him in those.

roatan

This was the beach in Roatan. It was, by far, the nicest beach I've ever been on. It had awesome huge palm trees to relax under. I love the beach.

roatan

I did a lot of laying out, but my tan is now going to go to waste since it was a chilly 50 degrees today at home. Welcome home!
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