Thinking outside the box......

When I get a chance, and I wake up naturally around 6am or so on a Saturday morning, I do enjoy jumping in the car to scout out a nearby Yard Sale.

But, I usually look for very specific things. It's either a lamp that needs a new shade or a chandelier that needs a coat of paint.


I don't own a pair of shorts. Well, not really. I own some athletic shorts, but I'm talking about the dress up cute, go out in public kind. It's most likely because of my recent employment as shop owner, but I will say, that a  petite frame with a little.....shall we say....junk in the trunk.....is hard to fit sometimes. Unless I don't mind the shorts past my knees or the gaping waistband when I bend over.

When I headed to a Yard Sale a few weeks ago, I spotted these.....

The tag said "perfect fit" so, I figured I couldn't go wrong ;)

Besides, the person selling them had my shape so I figured I would risk the $1.00 I spent on them and give them a try....

The tag was correct. It was a perfect fit, but missing a little...... happy.


So for 40 cents I purchased these wooden buttons and gave it a face lift.....

And now they smile in their new home :)


This Saturday the hubs and I scored a pair of these concrete planters for $5.00 each.....

We both agreed that our herbs do much better in planters then our soil. Let's hope so, our summers are hot, hot, hot! Later this week, I will show you how to make these....

These dresses are SUPER simple and only take about a half an hour or less to make.





And with all of this..... Life has been full, very full. The girls consume my time, a lot of it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. And because of this, we are downsizing our booth are the Highland's Antique' Mall.

 I absolutely adore our booth, but simply don't have the time to maintain it's size. It will no longer be exclusive to Childen's merchandise, but will be filled with all things cute, inspiring, creative and fun for you to enjoy.

So much more detail on this later, but for now, head on over there for a Downsizing Sale of 50% OFF or Lower (excludes FIRMS). These little Kissy Kissy long sleeve onesies are only $5.00 and in perfect condition!

Hope this adds a little inspiration to your day! Get creative and think outside the box!

little by little.....

sometimes it feels like the "honey-do" list never ends. I know I am the culprit for it's life. I add to it....daily.



 When closing the shop back in October, I couldn't part with a few pieces of furniture.

It was my opportunity to get organized.






I have sewn on my dining room table for years. Functioned out of Rubbermaid containers. And the craft supplies, oh, the craft supplies. Let's just say, I had multiple "junk" drawers and baskets!




We were blessed in our old home to have the previous owners turn the 5th bedroom into a laundry room. I realize not every laundry room is this big. Unfortunately for me, I despise doing laundry. Oh, flipping the switch and pushing a button isn't the tedious task. It's the folding and putting away that I despise.




Some questioned how in the WORLD I was going to squeeze all the ideas and furniture in this room, and not to mention, create and environment that we enjoy being in. I can't seem to find a before picture of the room, so I will give you this one I found on the web....

image from google images.

And then you can times it by 100 and it will give you a picture in your head of my craziness. :)

I don't have it finished. I still have dog food spilt on the ground that crush under my feet, maybe a dead roach (or two) to sweep up, and not all my containers match all pretty like, but I am loving it. I love the art I picked up at a yard sale that inspired the colors, the chandelier I painted that once hung over my grandmother's kitchen table, and the touches here and there of items that hold 8 years of memories at Bellamia.  I still have some "honey-do's" in there, and some for myself. But it is school room, craft room, laundry piling ready,( sans the curriculum that I have in multiple shopping carts pulled up on 7 different windows on my computer).





And although I resembled something of the wicked witch of the west to my kids and hubs, I did seem to accomplish  the powers of my broomstick yesterday and create this.....

they (my hubs and kiddos) have so much grace and so much love. I felt terrible for letting my frustration of my un-orderness come out through my mouth, and for sending my husband to McDonald's for his dinner at 9:30pm.  And as Tim called me earlier at 4:30pm and said, "I am going to head out soon, do you want me to pick up anything for you?", I believe my response was something like, "I am the most overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed I have been in awhile, you might not want to come home.". Oh, how he loves me and sets me straight.


I kept praying all day......"Lord, please keep my tongue from evil.", but earlier in the day it was "Lord, please keep my tongue from evil, even though I want to bite their heads off!". Hey, He knows my heart, so might as well tell Him what's in there instead of trying to cover it up.

That witch seemed to have melted away and the glitter of the Good Witch of the east seems to be moving about the house today, and my little munchkins are delighting in today.

Praise the Lord, His mercies are new every morning! I need as much as I can get :)

Just put 877 picture in my Summer time folder. Hope to go through them and catch you up soon!

Happy Wednesday y'all!

because you just have to laugh in the chaos sometimes....

(i picked this up here.... click on the link and get ready to laugh through the tears.....)

And as I go through piles and piles of curriculum research today; I had to just stop and laugh at this. It was if God was telling me to chill out, you will get through this...... just breath......

Happy Tuesday y'all :)

In Honor of Father's Day.....

I dug into my archives in honor of Father's Day.... you can click here or read below.


Happy Father's Day to all you active, faithful, loving, supportive Daddy's out there. We need you. Thankful for your life and example!



 

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This Blog

Linked From Here

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Monday, November 7, 2011

Family

did I mention there is a STRONG possibility I will not be blogging on the weekends??? Well, it's true. The weekends have been beautiful and anticipated more and more in our home as the girls get older.

This weekend the girls especially anticipated it! You might be thinking it was because of the Fair that came to town and camps out two weeks over the first part of November, but it wasn't.

A few months ago, we were talking as a family and decided that since we celebrate birthdays and we celebrate anniversaries, why not celebrate family. So we started a new tradition. Every 6th day of each month (because that day will never interfere with a family bday or anniversary) we will celebrate our family.

There are three rules-

1.) we ALWAYS have to celebrate it that day. No matter where we are or how much is going on.
2.) we have to go or do something that we normally do NOT do as a family. In other words, it has to be a stretch.
3.) we have to end the evening with an affirmation to each person (last night was naming a certain characteristic we appreciate about them)


Yesterday was our Family Celebration day and we chose to go to the movies. We never go to the movies as in, we might have taken the girls three times their whole life.


The girls have been wanting to see Courageous and so that's what we went to see.


We cried the whole movie, or at least I did.....

I have heard statistics on suicide, divorce and domestic violence many times about children of fatherless homes and it is heart wrenching. But last night it hit me so much harder. I guess that the fact that there is a very strong possibility that my girls will marry a man that came from a fatherless home, just really made me mourn.






I am not just talking about the homes where father's haven't been present since conception. I am talking about the homes where the father's might very well be physically present, but emotionally and spiritually absent.



This movie did a fantastic job of showing the importance a father's role is. It also brought sorrow to me as I watched a father make a decision not to dance with his daughter in public because of the embarrassment it would have caused. Or when he wouldn't run the race with his son because he never liked running, or sitting in front of the television after a stressful day at the office just to "tune in" to believing this is what he deserved, just so he can "tune out" what he didn't want to do with his responsibility and love.





It's all about decisions in life. We make them every day. Many many times a day. If fact, every thing we do is based off of a decision.

Parenting is such tough stuff. It is by far the hardest thing I have had to do in my life. We have pre-teens in our home that are starting to decide who they want to be. Who they want to listen to. Who they put their trust in. Where they find their security. How to handle what this life brings.






And with every decision they make, every single day, there are times I wish I could go back 5 years and pour into them more and more.







We are by far not perfect parents. And I am grateful to God that He pours His everlasting grace and mercy into our lives, because sadly, so many times I just want to "tune out".







I am so very thankful for the father my girls have. I am so thankful that he takes time, hours in an evening to listen and to guide our girls. I am so thankful that when I want him all to myself sometimes or have a honey do list, I find him playing softball with them, fixing their bikes, or teaching them how to build something. I am so thankful that he has given them the perfect example of how to love me as Christ loves His church. He would lay down his life for me and for them and I know that they know that. But most importantly, I am thankful that he has shown them the total dependency he has on his Heavenly Father and that the bible is truth. They need to see that, they need to hear that, because apart from God, there is nothing.

It's more then just taking them to church, making it to the soccer game, the piano recital or the yearly trip to Disney.

It's about decisions.

pardon me.........

as we enjoy summertime.....


i'll be back soon :)