Easter Photos...A Little Late

I meant to post this Monday and time just got away from me.  I wish I had photos that were  more exciting but I was not on the ball that day plus I kept forgetting to get a family photo.  But my girls are always worth every picture even if it is only the tops of their adorable heads.  They looked so cute and I was so excited Ella was ready to do the the egg hunt this year.

If you notice the above pics, I got their cute, little bonnets from the dollar tree.  I removed the pink ribbon, added my own, and made the flowers from an old bed skirt that I use for scrap material.

Before

 After

The girls love hats.  Which I love because they look so precious and girly. And my hubby told me this sweet story about how his pastor from the church he grew up in always had the women and girls wearing Easter bonnets to stand up so he could ooh and ahh over it. I love that story and since the girls were all for it, I had them wear them.  But did you notice that little piece hanging down on Cati's hat?  She apparently wore out that hat because it started unraveling. Too funny.

After church I made banana cream pies.  I do it each year for Easter dinner. The girls got to lick the beaters.  I always loved that as a kid.

Cati is such a ham.  Takes after her momma.

The egg hunt!  

I bought these cutie baskets at Sam's Club last year and they have held up so nice!  I looooove anything felt so I snatched these up. I use them for different things throughout the year too.

The lollipop flowers worked out OK.  They were much bigger in my mind's eye. Next year, I will cluster them together or make bigger flowers. The kids loved it and that's what matters!

A fabulous day to celebrate our Risen Savior.

Two Tips Tuesday

I am in MAJOR packing mode.  So this may be my last two tips unless any one of you lovely people will graciously volunteer yourself to guest post for me.  There are a few of you I have in mind to ask for help but I am so busy I don't even think I have time to do that.  So today's tips are born of desperation coupled with a desire to salvage anything even if it is merely to post it here.  None of it is new but may inspire some of you as you embark on Spring Cleaning or an urge to purge!

TIP#1:  Other Uses for a Plastic Placemat

 I had this placemat (bought at Target) for Cati because I found myself scrubbing the table for 5 minutes after one of her many meals turned Frenzied Dining Art. It helped a lot but after cleaning it all the time it was showing some wear and tear.  Not to be one to just throw it away, I figured I could use it for something else. Here are two ways I came up with...

 Mouse Pad

Do you like my retro chic mouse? I so looked for our more current one but I think it broke and we had to go back to this one.  Disregard dusty desk as well.

Coasters

TIP#2:  What to do with Mis-Matched Picture Frames

A lot of these frames are great and I have been trying to figure out which stuff will go in the yard sale, donate, or trash piles.  And pictures frames have always baffled me.  Often, they come as gifts in all shapes, sizes, colors and tastes but the photo is the important part!  But I am always left feeling like I am unsure how to make these  look unified. Other people make it look easy (probably many of you) and it was long time coming for me to finally get it. So I decided to throw some of my frames together and give them some new life.

For me, the key was to not be afraid to work with what I had and just change them.  So a fresh coat of spray paint did just the trick. I think I will carry out the unified theme and just do black and white or sepia toned photos.  I am excited to salvage some picture frames and be able to put them to good use in our new home. Now let me go wrap these up and put them in a box.

Happy Tuesday! 

Saying Goodbye to Cati's Room

As promised, I thought I would show you Cati's room before we leave this house that saw the beginning of a family.

Before you come in you need to know that this was the room that we initially readied for the precious foster kids we cared for.  We poured so much prayer and anticipation into this room. Who would have known it was the beginning of parenthood for us bringing our firstborn home in a matter of months?  Below are some pictures of hubs and I painting the room.

I do believe the hubs may threaten me bodily harm once he gets wind of this photo out there for all the webby world to see.  But it is so cute.  This is his "beachy look" stage where he grew his hair long and wanted to buy a jeep to restore.(I am totally laughing right now and I keep hitting delete because I can't stop cracking up).  If you don't hear from me soon, check in on me as I may be trapped under something heavy.  A supposed "accident."

So to soften the blow of this reveal, I have posted this very unflattering picture of myself as well.  Wielding a paint roller and like always...talking nonstop.

This is when Cati occupied the room but I wanted you to see how I stenciled all these happy words around the room like Sing, Cuddle, Hug, and Explore.  We wanted this to be a safe and happy place for these kids.

That dresser was in my apartment during my senior year of college.  I can't believe I bought a kids dresser but I was a poor college kid.  It came with these bright primary color slider things to put on the front of the drawers. Came in handy here!  Those valances are a Kmart special and I have had them forever.  I think they were in my kitchen in my first house.

Cute Cati hard at play and wanting to become one of her stuffed animals.

This is her room now.  
She loves the color pink (I wonder why) and wanted a pink room.  I bought this bedding for a song at TJ Maxx and Cati's sweet daddy painted this room during a weekend Cati and I went away. And see?  Decor on the ceiling.  It is a must.

Her living and kitchen area.  Ha!

Her dress up clothes which are a daily pleasure around here with 2 girly girls. They wear it ALL!

This is the molding around the closet door.  The paint is cracking and it is dirty with filthy zebra stripes where I clean in between the lines. We started a height chart for Cati here and there is no way I am risking wiping it off.  I finally took a picture of it and this is part of the sweet history I am sad to walk away from.

This is a precious doll house she got for Christmas from her grandparents.

As I backed up to take a picture for ya'll, I stepped on the corner and heard a crunch.  Shoot!

Look at this cute thing!  How adorable but look at the door on the right hanging off because I am a klutz.

So then I am fiddling with it to see if I can glue it and I snap it completely off.   

JESS! STEP AWAY FROM THE DOLL HOUSE!  

Cati came up to me later on with the whole door in her hand.  Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Cati's room.  I am not sure I can show you the rest of the house as I have been packing like crazy and we are drowning in boxes and chaos.  But I will see what I can do.

But get ready.  I will be asking you fr advice about the new house.  I will need HELP!

POST SCRIPT:  I am a liar, aren't I?  I told you in another post that I have no pink in my decor and here you see it gracing the walls of my daughter's room. And I did say there is almost none of it in my decor.  But come on?  A pink bathroom vanity with pink sinks?  I draw the line somewhere.

A Sweet Garden

I just love Easter.  Celebrating the Risen Savior.  My Savior.  And to be honest, I can sometimes cringe at the commercialization of this day since it is the crux of what I believe.  My salvation, my faith would be for naught if it was not for the resurrection of my King, Jesus.

Just Another Tuesday

Have I failed you?  

Is there a slight void you are experiencing? 

Perhaps you feel like the world has tipped a bit on its axis.  

Has the section of your brain where all things creative and inspired suddenly dulled and you feel the source of your muse has left you bewildered?   

Last question where I make you think I am so full of myself and actually think that Two Tips Tuesday is that important to you...

Have I just completely ruined your day that I dare do a post that is bereft of not one nifty little tip but two?

There.

I have made a complete fool of myself for thinking Two Tips Tuesday is the foundation of my blog and I am otherwise purposeless without it.  To be honest, it is a relief that I can come here and confess that I am spent for the time being.  Mentally exhausted from this life as a wife, mommy, and somewhat consistent blogger.  I got nothing, friends.  I tried some things this week but they just did not work.  So I decided to share with you my "fail attempt tips" that should make you smile.

How about how I tried making my own liquid starch from corn starch and water hoping to produce these magnificent eggs made out of ribbon or yarn or twine.  You've seen them out there.  What I really need is fabric stiffener or commercial liquid starch. But I am lazy, cheap and petrified to bring Cati out in public. You know. Since she has decided that being a legally defined public nuisance through shrill screaming and screaming the word "NOOOOOOOO." It is best described as a half growl that surprisingly mimics an electronic voice that deepens when the batteries begin to die.  Frightening.

So at first, I tried using spray starch.  I figured if I sprayed it directly into this pretty, plastic green cup I had on hand, fill it up and soak some yarn, it will work.  I scoffed at the expiration date of 2007.  How can it possibly not work?  Um, hey craft genius.  It expired like 3 years ago.  But I press on.  Determined not be intimidated by that mocking expiration date.

Finally, my fruitless efforts woke me up but not before I had a chance to leave it on the table hoping to find other inspiration and in the meantime my Ella drinking this expired starchy stuff in the pretty green cup.  Poison control was gracious and only  slightly snickered at my panicked call.  I mean, wouldn't you panic if the can says "could be fatal if inhaled?"  I figured digesting it would prove more harmful.  Fortunately, corn starch is the primary ingredient and did I mention it was expired?  3 years ago?  I did?  Oh, good.

After I make the corn starch concoction and decide that since I could possibly have a Guiness Book of World Records dental floss collection (Father-in-law is a dentist and my father is just plain fanatical about dental care) maybe that might work to starch and wrap around a balloon shaped egg.  I decided that the minty smell was actually a bonus to this flash of brilliance but it also did not work. Back to the drawing board.

Next attempt at a fun tip was making a sconce out of a picture frame and glass votive holder.  But as I went to purchase these items with both Ella and Cati inside the cart, they decided to experiment with gravity, laws of physics, and shelves full of these glass votives.

It was time to not only vacate the premises but flee the city.

Just so you know she is not demonically possessed I am sharing this sweet moment on Saturday by inserting this quick pic of the girls.  See?  She shares.  Screams like a loon in all places public but I take what I can get.

I guess now I should say I am sorry for no Two Tips. I am here, at home this Monday night, just daydreaming about my future house with my husband and mentally redesigning the master bedroom and bathroom.  I have so many ideas and so little cash. Sigh. Groan.

Ahh, but I never fear a challenge.  Wait, let me show you this future bathroom of ours.  Do you want to see it?  Remember, it is unfinished but think of it as a fresh canvas. Please keep in mind we had a camera full of dead batteries and only used a cell phone for these pictures.  But look at our current master bath for this house we are patiently waiting for the bank to approve on...

Here is the tub.  What on earth is up with this blah and ugly gray tile?  I think if I kept it I would feel like I was bathing in a jail cell. Do jail cells have garden tubs? And what is that ripped up paper thing. I do NOT want to know.

Doesn't the blue painter's tape look menacing?  Wouldn't you be afraid an alarm bell would go off if nature called while looking at this house?  Would you risk it?  I sure didn't.  And with  the unfinished floor it just felt...shudder...gross.  But there is the loo.  And the attractive dull gray toilet roll dispenser.

Suddenly, I feel closer to each of you.  Here I am sharing with you my future commode.  It feels intimate.  We must be digging deep together, friends.  Are you feeling our bond grow like I am?

Oh, this shower.  It is OK but I am hoping our friend who is a contractor can come up with a much more current and spa-esque shower solution than this.  But again, money is always a factor.  But I believe some chiseling may be required to clean this sucker.  Pray for me.  Better yet, just hold me.

Last but certainly not least would be this fabulous pink double vanity. The picture is awful but so is the vanity so I have spared you from defiling your eyes.  I have a complete devotion to the color pink but you will find almost NONE OF IT IN MY DECOR.  My style is kinda cottage, a pinch of beachy, a dash of shabby, a huge dose of comfortable and cozy but NO PINK in my bathroom.  I think I have made myself abundantly clear on pink in my bathroom.


So I leave you all with no tips.  And I will confess I inserted that picture of my girls after writing this post because there was no way I wanted my blog to appear on any of your blog lists with that unfinished bathroom as the photo that went with the post.  Perhaps I have decor vanity issues but I accept this flaw with gusto.  In fact, I embrace it.

I have not forgotten to give you a tour of Cati's room as part of my goodbye to this house.  But it is strange to have one foot in one house and one in the other.  I am sure so many of you can relate. 


So happy Tuesday friends.  Hope you enjoyed my failed attempts at tips and my ghetto pink future bathroom. 

Here We Go!

It has begun.

The tide has turned.

God has gone before us.

As of today, the sellers signed the contract offer and as soon as the bank approves, we will be under contract for this house.

I just sighed with the goodness of God.  Did you?

It is no way near over and the bumpy ride to a closing table is just beginning but I am so excited! I am so grateful for all of your emails, comments, and sweet reminders of the goodness of God.  I can't wait to show you around my house and share with you  the plans we have to make it our home.

Just wanted to check in with you all on the house news.  There are other things a brewing in my crazy life but I will hold off to share those.  Let's deal with what's on the plate in front of me, shall we?

My hope is to be back to writing my normal posts and random musing on life as I know it.  This has been a whirlwind ride but you all have hung in there with me.

In the meantime, I want to say goodbye to my current house.  By no means is it this magazine level house but it is our home with precious memories attached. We started our family here and I want to share with you the various rooms in my house that have meant so much to me.

I have planned on doing this for awhile and then my sweet friend Libbie, over at The Middlest Sister, did a post on her daughter's room that is so gorgeous, so full of charm, and personal touches that I decided to start with Ella's room. Libbie, you inspired me girl!

I just love peeking into other people's homes. Not like an internet peeping tom or anything. Can you say ewww? Just a love of decor and style. Does anyone else see a photo on someone's blog and start looking at the background checking out kitchen cabinets, flooring, and decor?  Or is that just me?   All I'm saying is I love to see how people live and since I don't have cable, I don't have all those shows to check other homes out.  And I looooove to be inspired.

So come inside Ella's room with me. 

This room has seen many transitions.  It used to be my home office for my business, then we made it this cozy little guest room/office.  We had painted it a terra cotta color for my office and then lavender for the guest room. But when I became pregnant with Ella, we made it into this cute little nursery that looks...well...it looks like Pottery Barn Kids exploded in here. The lavender does not match but we kept it because it was girly.  I love it.

The room is apparently an add on to the house so there is no closet.  There is also the back door leading to the patio in here so storage and room are a precious commodity. I had to get creative.  The previous owner put in this built in bookshelf where the window used to be. It is an odd size and shape.  I painted the back of each shelf a different pattern that matches the Penelope Bedding from PBK to coordinate.

All the baskets are labeled and held stuff like diapers, bibs, little bloomers for all her dresses, toys, sheets, etc.  It worked out great.  I also made all those whimsical flowers to put my own mark on the room. That little yellow Llama was in my nursery as a baby too.  Awwww. 

This cute little box on her dresser holds her take home outfit from the hospital, her ID bracelet, and other precious mementos from my pregnancy and her birth.

This fun mobile over her crib is one of my favorite things about the room. It still hangs there and it gives the illusion these birds are really flying.  And the ceiling is one of my favorite things to decorate.  You must always find a way to hang something from the ceiling.  You just have to.

Another side of that awesome shelf.  Oh, I will always remember how much fun it was to prepare this room for Ella.  Just like God say He goes to prepare a place for us. There is so much love and anticipation attached to it.

And of course we can not forget the owner of this room.  My precious Ella. Who was just put down for her nap in this picture.  Don't you just want to reach in this picture and give her a big hug and kiss?  How I love that baby.

Did you like it?  That was kind of fun!  I think I will do Cati's room next. 

Love and hugs to all of you!

EMERGENCY POST!

It is not life or death but seriously this house saga is spiraling out of control into a dimension that looks nothing like reality.

So we find out this morning that the sellers turned down our offer due to the poor quality of buyers (us) because we have been sued by our landlord and evicted in August 2009.

Yes, please go ahead and read the above sentence again for clarification.  I'll wait.

Done?  Continuing on...First of all this is wrong, wrong, wrong because we have lived in our house for 6 years, have excellent credit and have never been sued or evicted.  Can you say our house buying process has become Satan's playground?

Secondly, the seller's divorce attorney has poorly advised them to take the house off the market for 30 days.  Oh, this is just bad. Both realtors and brokers are getting involved because no divorce attorney needs to be giving advice about real estate, this market is in the dumps and will continue to descend within the next 30 days, and...I have just stepped off my soap box. Bottom line, our lender sent a letter to the realtor declaring our excellent credit and past rental history and all parties involved are trying to rectify this bizarre turn of events.

My poor husband paled at the news this morning and called me from the car on the way to work saying he has not felt this disheartened since they called us about our foster child, "J" and told us he would not come home to us after we waited 3 weeks for him. (from our Infertility Story). But this is also what he said...I tell myself to forget not all of God's benefits because Cati came home to us 2 days later.  And we would not trade that heartbreak for the joy that Cati brought into our lives and still continues to being. I

Isn't God good?  That we can strengthen our faith remembering how He never lets us down even in the midst of colossal disappointment. And I am so proud of my husband for remembering Who our hope is and reminding me too.


Here is what I am remembering today...Our integrity precedes us and God is our advocate who goes before us.  Whatever is around the corner is trustworthy.  Whatever it is.  GOD is trustworthy and our present wants have nothing to do with His good, pleasing, and perfect will.  


I will confess that my first reaction to my husband was..."WE NEVER PRAYED!  We got so caught up that we never prayed!"  Then I stepped back and remembered that God even blesses those who don't even acknowledge Him.  Then I lost my wisdom as quickly as I gained it in that moment by crying out..."We never prayed for PROTECTION!  Now Satan is stirring up havoc and mischeif upon our house buying process!!!"


I have not told you that I am a drama queen for nothing.  But in that statement I completely succumbed to my propensity of being a Control Freak Drama Queen. That title so deserved a bigger font size. I mean, why must I assume my lack of praying will suddenly result in imminent disaster?  In that line of thinking, I act as though God is my vehicle and I am the driver steering him to and fro.


Father, I confess to you now my utter helplessness without you.  I ask your forgiveness for diminishing Your sovereignty in all things.  You are a good God and I trust you.  I lay this here at the foot of the cross.  Your will, Lord.  Not mine. 
In Christ's POWERFUL and MORE THAN ABLE name I pray, Amen.

Friends, I ask for prayer.  For our hearts and for where we will live.  I pray this is the house but I want an open heart even more. A heart after God's own heart.