when mama says...

the stamp pad is only for paper.....Listen to her!



happy friday!

new curtains

Let's see. I painted my living room way back in October. I bought the curtains way back then too. I also bought the fabric to finish them off then too.

I..just..finished..them.

Oh well, life goes on.

I found the fabric at Joann's. It's Robert Allen. I really wanted full length panels of that material but it was way out of my budget...even with my coupon.

So I settled for Bed Bath and Beyond's plain old white panels and sewed up the bottom with my navy fabric. I'm really lovin the look and price.

Here's the before:


Don't laugh, they are short this way, I know. But they hung like that for about 3 months.

And now the after:




I also had enough fabric to cover my pillow for the bed bench. I'm still going to make some more pillows out of some Denyse Schmidt fabric that I've been hoarding. Just an fyi, pillow forms are half off at Joann's til Saturday too! Pics of those to follow soon!

week 3

Week 3! And I am reading Job. Whew! I have to honestly say, that some of it, I don't understand!

I want to trust that God is always looking out for me. But like Job's friends and his wife, I sometimes feel like He doesn't. I want an answer for everything that happens. God didn't even give that to Job, who He said was the finest man in all the earth, blameless, and of complete integrity (Job 1:8).

Job had a good life, good job, good family.

Then the tests came. Brokenness.

Then came "why was I ever born?" (Job 3:11) Ever had that thought?

Then "I have no peace, no quietness, no rest." (Job 3:26) If you are a mom, you have felt this way. I don't care how much you love your kids...you have felt this way.

Then by chapter 9 it's: "Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what's the use in trying!" Ever heard yourself say..."why do I clean? It just gets dirty again." No? It's just me? Be honest....with yourself.

So even with Job, who lost absolutely everything, we can have something in common. I have not suffered anything remotely to what he suffered, but I can understand some of his arguments. Why does God do some things that He does? Honestly, we will never know or understand...He is God and we are not. Maybe this needs to be turned around. Can I just let God handle it? Just give it up? Just be broken?

Sara Groves is one of my absolute favorite Christian singers. Her song What I Thought I Wanted has a great verse in it...

When I get to heaven I’m gonna go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions, I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted and what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

hmm, broken and faithful. Most of us haven't been broken to that extent of Job, some of us have. I don't want to be broken, not really. But how else will we find out if we are faithful, really faithful?



Don't forget to add your comments down below!

valentine decor

Let me just say that I'm not really one to decorate for Valentine's day. I'm really not that interested in putting it all up after Christmas just to take it all back down in a couple of weeks. And let's face it, I live in a boy house and boys don't care about hearts and kisses and decor!

I was thinking I needed something on this salvaged window that I have hanging in my living room. I had a wreath on it during Christmas...loved that. But I was really diggin' Craftaholics Anonymous' tutorial on her tshirt balls! You need to go look at them. I was going to post the picture here but her's look WAY better than mine:) Believe me, follow her tutorial word for word, no matter if you think you can do it better.



I decided that I didn't need two of the cut outs like she posted. It would've been easier if I had. I couldn't find where she stated how big to cut out the cardboard either. I'm thinking that must have made a difference, because my shirts didn't have enough strips to run around them three times.

I let Bo "help" me. Actually, I gave him a pair of scissors and let him cut up the part of the tshirt that I wasn't going to use. He really worked hard at it. It was actually pretty fun for him to "work" right next to me.







But my window was still looking pretty bare. And I did not want to buy anything to put on it. So I went digging. I had found these paper doily hearts at Target in the dollar bins a week or two ago. And I still had some red and white baker's twine from Christmas. First, I just free-handed the "love" on the hearts, then I strung them up on the twine. A little bit of gift tape on each side, and I'm calling it good.





I actually really like it. Check out Bo sporting the rest of my old purple tshirt (the part i didn't cut up:) Now I gotta figure out what Slone is going to take for his school valentines.

another flickr swap

Oh man, I love flickr. It's like a photo album on crack. You can find just about anything you want on it. I've already told you about some of the groups that I've been a part of. I'm still doing my quilt block one, Sew Fun 2. Well, this one is the Urban Home Goods Swap! How could you not want something from this collection?



I'm so excited to get started!

week 2

So what did you think this week? Did you read everyday? Which story stuck out to you? Maybe a little sewing in the Bible? Well, I'm sure they didn't have something as cute as this then:)



This time Jacob stuck out to me, but not his usual stories. This time he was an old man with 12 sons. He had 12, count them 12, but Genesis 37:3 says he loved Joseph more than any of the others. He loved him so much he had a special gift made for him...a coat of many colors. By verse 5, Joseph had a dream and it says "the brothers hated him more than ever."

Think of how Jacob showed his emotion toward his favorite son. He loved him so much he had something beautiful made for him. I had never really thought about Jacob having it made. I'm assuming he didn't make it himself, but he knew the importance of giving a beautiful gift. It was something special, special to Jacob. I'm sure the reason it was colorful was because that's how Jacob wanted it.

Now think of Joseph's brothers. How one coat symbolized love in one man's eyes, it was a reason for hate in another's. Jealousy.

The Bible mentions the robe a few more times, each time expressing it was a beautiful robe. Gen 37:23, "the brothers ripped off the beautiful robe." Gen 37:31-32, "they dipped the robe in blood and sent the beautiful robe to their father." Of course, Jacob instantly recognized it as Joseph's robe.

It's amazing how things can have such an effect on us. Joseph knew he was loved. He knew because of the coat. I wonder if it even helped him be more bold when he was spouting off his dreams to his brothers? His brothers could plainly see that Jacob loved Joseph more, and they were jealous.

I pray that something I give, doesn't cause strife like that. I hope that in my life, I can know, that because of certain gifts, I am loved; that I can be more bold.

Just a little thought that stuck out to me today. Remember to let me know what you thought!

chore chart

If your house is anything like mine, your children whine, procrastinate, cry, beg not to, act silly, and fight anytime you say "pick up your toys." No? Come on, admit it!

I would really love for my boys to act like their OCD neat and tidy father in this department. I was not born an organized person. Matt was. Mess and clutter drive him nuts. I, on the other hand, cannot work or create without everything spread out in front of me. But I am getting better! I promise!

But these messes that the boys are leaving out are driving me nuts. There are some things that they were getting the hang of without a chore chart, but I was thinking the incentive might help a little more. So I got busy on Illustrator. Illustrator is absolutely one of my favorite programs. You can draw on the computer! Does it get any better...



I printed them out on two different colors of paper; orange for Slone, blue for Bo.



Then I punched them out with my one inch hole punch.



Bo helped me paint the gems with modge podge. (The gems are from the flower department at Hobby Lobby. I got the big ones.) Then we stuck the little chore circles on them and waited for them to dry.



Then we painted another coat of modge podge on and again waited for them to dry.



Once they were dry, we glued our magnets on. I got them at Hobby Lobby too. And the glue is e6000.



Then I just made a little chart on a piece of paper. I made boxes for each day of the week and if they complete all their chores for the day they get a check mark on that day. If they get a check everyday of the week, they get a dollar.



I made the chores pretty simple, because, let's face it, I don't want this to be my chore chart. They have to get dressed, wash face, brush teeth, pick up toys, help with dishes, clear off the table, put shoes away, make beds, and an extra (whatever I need help with that day).



It went over better than I thought the last couple of days. Slone is really into moving the chores over. Bo doesn't really care and just wants to check off everyday right now. We'll get there!

Do you want the chart print out for yourself? Well, click here! I'm giving it away! The chores should print out 1 inch square so you can follow the tutorial too!

a little anthropologie redo

I love Anthropologie. It is one of my favorite stores. Of course, I can't really afford anything there until it goes in the clearance rack, but it's still eye candy for me. I did score some really cute wedges last year when summer was almost over.

What started this little makeover was, I need more bedroom space. I do not have a closet in my bedroom. And it is only large enough to fit my bed and one dresser plus my little vanity dresser. I have to move all my summer clothes out every winter and put them into storage. Plus I don't have enough dresser space for my sweaters either.

But right outside my bedroom door is a little nook area that leads to my room, the bathroom, and the basement door (that we don't use anymore). It would be a hallway if it were a bigger house. Anyway, I had had a little side table there but decided I could fit something better there. I cannot remember where this dresser came from. I think Gpa Windish got it for me at an auction. But the paint was beat up on it when I got it, so I decided to paint the stripes on it. I found the star knobs at ikea probably 4 years ago. It when great in the boys' cowboy room.



But the boys don't really use it, and it fit perfectly in that little spot. But it was way to boyish, americana, childish to be seen from my living room. So I went to Home Depot in search of some paint. But I really did not want to repaint the whole thing. I found their little paint samples and the navy blue one happened to match up pretty well, by accident of course.



I decided to just paint a little scallop on each side of each stripe. It gave it a little bit of a romantic feel. I found the knobs at Pier One.





I'm really happy with the results. I also painted the mirror in the pic. But the material on it started warping and peeling when it got wet with the paint. Not all of my ideas work out just like I think they should. I found the little lamp at ikea this last weekend. Which reminds me...if you don't have an old dresser to redo, just do what my little sister does. Invite me to go to ikea with you to help you lift all the heavy stuff;)

That is just her cart, people.

We had a blast! Mom went too.

before/after

So whaddaya think? I'm pretty happy with it. I think it has little "anthro" flair. It's already full. Now where else can I stick a dresser? hmm....

week 1

Well, did you keep up this week? (If you don't know what I'm talking about click here.)I have to admit there were a couple days in there that I had to read two days worth. I'm still trying to get into the habit.

This morning was our MOPS group. It was my turn to do our devotions today. So if you were there this is a little review:)

My brother gave me a pretty stone bracelet for Christmas this year. It has a little silver disc on it that says "brave". My sister-in-law told me that Jake picked this one out just for me. I think that it means that he thinks I'm a wienie and need to be more brave....I think he's right.

While I was read this week, I kept getting stuck on Noah on Day 2. Noah found favor with the Lord (Gen 6:8)...because he walked in close fellowship with God (Gen 6:9). He built the ark, you all know the story. But have you ever really thought about that story? I can honestly say: not really. Not until I watched Evan Almighty, which is silly, I know.




I always thought I wanted God to just tell me exactly what to do. You see, I'm a really good rule follower. Just tell me what to do and I can do it. I'm not usually the one to rock the boat or draw any unwanted attention to myself. I can keep my mouth shut. But in that movie, God asked Evan to build an ark. In real life, God asked Noah to build an ark. And guess what? Both times, fictional and true, it was HARD! Think how brave Noah had to be in order to build it. It said that the people were so wicked that God was sorry that He even created them (Gen 6:7). Think of how they must have taunted Noah. Good grief, even Evan couldn't handle it. He couldn't get away from the animals fast enough. He was labeled: "the weirdo with the beard-o" -- my favorite line from the movie by the way.

Would I have been brave enough to obey God? I'm not sure. I would like to think that I would. The older I get, the easier I think it's getting. But peer pressure is so hard to resist. That's why I thought this challenge would help me and you.

I want to be brave to be obedient. What about you?

Make sure to leave your thoughts on your blog and link up or in my comments. Go down to the "You are next...click here to enter" and follow the directions to enter your blog on here. I want to know what you took out of this week!

a little Christmas review

We had a great Christmas. I wish it didn't go so quickly. I have already taken down the decorations in my house. The boys were not happy about that at all. Slone is already back in school today so I have a little time to sit down and blog.

We spent Christmas eve at Mom & Dad's. I love my parents home. It was my home. I feel at home there. It smells like home. I think the boys feel the same way. Bo asked this morning if we could go to Grandma Susan's. He wants to spend the night.





Don't feel sorry for Bo in those pictures. All the kids got little fuzzy worms that had a string attached to the ends of them. Bo really liked them til somebody would tease him with one.



Aunt Joy got her sock monkey:)




Hope you all got to spend your Christmas with your family:)