the last of my projects.

so who knew there was a "pair" of these chairs in the attic...and i actually found a cute little table too, which of course i painted as well...good news is...this gas fireplace is broken...which means we might not get it fixed, which means get this thing out of here and the little table and these chairs will look so cute right here...can't wait. unless we realize next year, in the middle of winter, that we really do need a gas stove in here, then...well...we'll have to re-think the cuteness. :)

this little beauty i got at a yard sale for $20, a year or two ago...and matt was horrified i paid money for it, :) but i thought it had huge potential...
[try not to notice the dust on the left half...i had that door closed, and only the right one open, with a quilt hanging over the door...cute, right?]

ta-da. i even got matt's drill and took the doors off...all by myself.

yea me. [i usually hang pictures and stuff, but drills, not so much].


my own distressing and all. i think i love it.

another old chair. was hoping to get a bunch of lilacs in the pitcher yet, but all of them are about done...and brown...

and now...i put my paint stuff away, because i am moving outside for the next few days, mainly to get a suntan, but also to work in my flower beds to get ready to mulch. yeeee-haaaa. sleep tight.

projects.

well...in case you are wondering i DID get the toy room cleaned up yesterday...first thing...and then continued "cleaning". :)

so many times when i am cleaning i get "inspired", so...i stop cleaning and start
a)painting or
b)re-arranging furniture, etc.
you get the idea,
and then maybe i will finish cleaning, or hey...maybe not? ha.

yesterday, i "found" some things that were in the attic, for a "sunnier" day...and yesterday was the day...i started out with this old chair...

and came up with...this one...what do you think?

i still don't have just the "perfect place" in mind for this, but this will do for now...actually it's already been moved once this morning already. :)

when kaycee was a baby...i think?...my mother-in-law called and told me about this next piece of furniture, free along the road, so...i packed up my babies and went to pick it up. to be quite honest i didn't know what i was going to do with it...turns out is smelled like cat pee, and well...was just sort of a headache. but...yesterday, i saw the light...


now, i love.love.love it! i don't have the right spot going on yet for this either, but check in at the end of the day...i'll find it. :)

and i started on 2 more pieces...not done yet...more to come tomorrow, maybe? i love my life. :)

p.s. thanks for all who were praying for me and my family. {hence the real reason i turned to painting...i could concentrate on praying a lot.}turns out the medical profession has once again left my mother down, and she had to be rescheduled for her cat scan TODAY...so keep praying for us. :)

my real. or life?

i don't know if this is real for everyone...or just MY real...but this was my job to tackle for YESTERDAY.

THIS.

and THIS.and THIS.
now...i know SOME of this was MY fault. i am TOTALLY in agreement with having my children pick up their toys when they are done playing with them...but SOMETIMES it's just not worth the fight...as in yesterday, i was trying to tackle the deskwork, which meant calli went on a rampage upturning every game we have...hence the 2nd picture...so, i chose the deskwork, and now i will pay the price for that TODAY...


* * *

and then right before bed, that's 9 o'clock-ish around here,

i had rounded the kitchen corner, into the office, into the living room, and found this pile of clothes on the living room floor...

are you kidding me???

i sighed...

to find...campbell...IRONING...maybe my children are learning to be domestic after all. could it be?

SIGH. and SMILES.

(not to mention how she would haveburned her arm off?)

off to bed we went.

here's to TODAY. have a GREAT one.
[p.s. instead of getting the toy room cleaned up...i got my living room and sunporch/dining room deep cleaned. am i twisted or what? here's to tackling the REAL mess TODAY. :)]

and to the girls who i was with at the Beth Moore Simulcast on Sat.

Is this SECURE or what? who shows pictures like this? :)

only to encourage others like me...

take.a.load.off.

from my devotional this morning...
[taken from beyond. a devotional magazine for young women....
i could not find an "author" per say for this segment.]
drop everything.
that's easier said than done, right? you have places to go, people to see, things to do. you're constantly juggling school, work, family, friends, church. and you think that if you look away for even one second, everything could come crashing down.
obviously, we all have plenty to do, and not all of it is going to affect the rest of our lives. we'd never get anything done, either, if we spent every minute asking ourselves, "is this the absolutely best thing i could be doing right now?" but it's a question to think about now and then.
do you hve time to pray every day? can you relax enough to enjoy a good book or a long walk outside? is there room in your day for devotions and quiet time? in the midst of all you do, are there times you can just be with God?
life was never meant to be a nonstop stress-fest. it's okay to slow down. in matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest."
so drop everything. take a deep breath and rest for a while. you'll never lose the time you spend with Jesus.

and then there was this too...

a while back, ( or in my case this morning :) ) i looked at my to-do list and noticed something terribly wrong. it wasn't so much what was on my list. the problem was what wasn't on my list. time for me.
time for you.
before considering me selfish, stop a minute. as Christian women, we spend most of our time taking care of others-coworkers, friends, spouse, sunday school students, children, roommates-and next to no time making sure we're rested and cared for.
i was on the brink of burnout, so i knew i had to make some changes. while i was sure a two-week vacation in a sleepy town in Italy would do the trick, i decided to settle for a few simpler and less budget-busting ways to pamper myself:
1. celebrate relaxing traditions.
[her roommate and her have an annual couch potato day, when they
stay in their jammies all day and watch three movies in a row.] oh
my word...i think this sounds glorious...i tried to have a jammie
day this winter during one of the blizzards...and it kinda worked
only i STILL had visitors. (which i LOVE...just not when i am still in my jammies. :) ) oh well...i've got to stop caring so much
about what others think of me... :)
2. nap. enough said. :)
3. dream big, act small.
she talks about picturing yourself five years from now. what do you
hope you've accomplished, seen, or achieved from now until then?
her big dream encompasses Italy...mine would be much smaller. i
love dreaming of matt and i's motorcycle trip this june...which
truly will be a miracle if it comes to fruition...our week at the beach
vacations with my family...and on a much more practical scale...
scoring B.I.G. at a yard sale this summer...you know finding a
coach purse for a dollar....something like THAT. :)

at the heart of all these ideas is a simple principle: you're a priceless person created by God and you deserve to be treated as such. you're not being selfish; you're striving for balance. you can't meet everyone else's needs and do everything God has designed you for if you're running on empty.

truly my soul finds rest in God;

my salvation comes from him.

truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, i will never be shaken.

psalm 62:1-2.

come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you and

learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

matthew 11:28-29

so...this so resonated with my soul this morning. i hope you can pluck something from it that resonates with yours. mk.

before -n- after.

before.

after.
my project from the past week. what do you think? :)

max.

meet the newest member of our farming establishment. his name is

MAX.

matt found this chocolate lab for FREE in the paper.

yea.

millie has a new beau. so far they seem to love each other...(which is helping out with the plan.) :)

he is much more calm than millie...which is a great thing...

gives me hope in another 3 years, maybe millie will be more easy going like max. :)

happy birthday.

oh...and p.s.

a big SHOUT OUT to my brother's this morning.

HAPPY 36th BIRTHDAY !!!!

thanks for all your love and support over the years...

it took awhile to kick in, but i feel it NOW, and...

i forgive you. haaa. :)

baseball's here.

kaden had his first "coach pitch" baseball game on monday night. the child is tickled to be playing baseball. he asks every morning how many days until his next game, and keeps counting down...it's so fun to see his excitement on the field. he is one of the few who is very intense in the game...wanting to do it "all" right. his favorite positions to play are short stop and catcher, although he plays many positions in one game. (i think that's so silly...it only confuses them.) anyway, here's my soon to be seven (eeekkkk.) year old in his glory.

*campbell & kaycee's room*

i have been wanting to post these pictures...and just haven't taken the time...

here is a few of kaycee and campbell's newly painted room...

i usually like to have a picture from a magazine to copy...

but i was just ready to get started on a rainy day...

so...that's what i did...headed to Home Depot

and picked out a "pink" that i liked...

i found this cute "bloom" lettering at kohls awhile ago on clearance...

i knew it would come in handy somewhere...

and we just found these butterfly stickers too...they are so cute...

some of them are glittery...i also painted the floor, which i

love. love. love...to look primitive of course, and

then i took the braided run from my room and put it in their room...

i wasn't sure how i was going to incorporate a chalkboard in their room.

but i think it works...i love writing verses on their chalkboards...
the one that is written now says:

"God chose you out of all the people on Earth

as his cherished personal treasure."

Deuteronomy 14:2

(right out of one of their easter presents...gigi's royal tea party...

they are the cutest books if you haven't see them...for

girly-girls anyway. :) )

calli's room has no closet...which means...their room has two.

one is not functioning now, but hopefully matt will get a closet

rod in the one soon. :)

now...i am waiting for the primer in the bathroom to dry...

then i can get painting some more on THIS rainy day...cheers.

quote of the day.

"mom...can you go buy me some cups so i can play catcher......mom...what are cups?"

kaden. age 6.

*my little loves*

* i SURE hope they ALWAYS love each other* smiles.

(kaden: 6, kaycee: 5, campbell: 3, calli: 18 mo.)

easter memories.