Big Room Reveal!

For the past month, we've been busy working on our living room, kitchen, and hallway. It is an open floor plan where it is essentially 1 room. It was a huge job and took about a month to complete. I still haven't gotten my family pictures up (maybe this week...they still need to be moved!), but wanted to go ahead and post my "before and after" pictures.

These before pictures were made the day after we moved. We didn't have furniture moved yet. You'll see in the "after" photos that my furniture is brown, so I referred to our living space for the past 10 months as the "brown cave"....depressing! Hello 1972...





After:


Yes the fruit is real. My mother asked me a while ago where I got my fruit and I guess I looked confused and said, "the grocery store." She thought it was fake. Nope...we just eat a lot of fruit!



This is a good representation of the color on the walls. I'm not a photographer, so excuse my poor quality pictures:-) The color seems "off" in most of these photos to me.

I finally found this rug on Saturday for a great price! It fits in perfectly and covers the entire room, which was my goal.
I also found these metal words this weekend. I love how simple they are, yet it represents the 2 things that are closest to our hearts. The kitchen ended up being a huge job by painting the cabinets, but I don't regret it a bit. It was worth the effort and really brightened up this space. I even spray painted the handles to match my decor and update them a bit. The bottom cabinets are a shade darker than the tops.

This piece of furniture was my grandmother's and I haven't the heart to paint it. So, I bought some scrapbook paper and double sided tape. Viola! A fresh new look that I can easily change out if I tire of it for around $3! Oh look there is 1 lonely picture there that got packed in a different box than its friends:-)
My sad little hallway just begging for some family photos! Maybe I'll update again once I get them hung.

This was some art/photography from Rachel that I received 2 Christmases ago. It never made it to Owensboro, because our van was overloaded with gifts, and then we ended up moving a few months later. So, it is just now up on the wall, but it looks beautiful and we love it!


A close up of our new backsplash:


I have 1 more room to go and I'm starting it today (I hope). It is just the utility room, so should be a cake walk in comparison.

Deciding on God's Will for Your Life

There have been many times since my salvation, 14 years ago, where I've pondered God's will for our lives. God has a plan and it doesn't have to be so mysterious to us as we make it out to be. It is kind of like having a relationship with a person. I can look into the eyes or listen to the voice of Jamie or my kids and know what they are thinking sometimes. No, I'm not psychic, I just have a strong connection to them and relationship. The same is true for God. We have to keep the lines of communication open (both directions), stay in a good Bible teaching church, surround ourselves with brothers/sisters in Christ and it doesn't have to be a big hard thing to see God's direction. It almost happens naturally over time with little steps along the way. It is truly when we look back that we begin to really see how our steps lined up perfectly and it had to be God.

The funny thing about God's will for my life is that it is unique to me and only me. Someone from the outside can't really understand what God is telling me personally. Yes, I can share that communication with them, but I'm actually pretty positive that Jamie and I have made some illogical decisions along the way that people (even well meaning people) would stop and think, "What are those 2 thinking!?!?" Actually, we've probably made many of those decisions over the years. You see, nobody else can determine God's will for our lives. They can determine what God is leading them to do, but that is really all. As long as you don't see a person going directly against the Bible itself, how can you really know about another person's heart? You can't.

I look back over places we've been over the past 14 years and while we are not perfect in any way, I have seen God's hand in our lives over and over with jobs, our children, decisions, etc. I've seen God order our steps, soften our hearts, and put things in our path that we may have never even though of ourselves. Coincidence? Or God? I choose God!

I am sitting here amazed once again at God's handywork in our personal lives. We are very blessed to put it lightly. Some of the moments I feel stressed, discontent, or have a wavering faith, I can go back in my mind to many times where God was right there with us. He has lifted us up, carried us, ordered our steps, and shown us things that we would have never encountered on our own free will. It is amazing really!

Jamie got an extra blessing this week and again, I'm reminded that even when we aren't looking for something, God may just plop it right in your lap anyways (this has happened to us more than once!). I'm sitting here a very proud wife right now:-) I love my husband more than words can express and I hope that he realizes that even when I blow it.

Tybee Island 2011

We just got back from a week long vacation a few days ago. It was very relaxing and the weather was wonderful! We basically spent most of our time soaking up the sun, listening to the ocean, building sandcastles, shell hunting, and playing in the water. It was a much needed break and time to reconnect with family.

I took a lot of pictures, but here are some highlights:

Chloe was the first to find a sand dollar. Micah also became an expert at finding them. We also found a starfish, but we threw all these back, because they were still alive. Chloe was kind of freaked out when she found out it was alive as you can see by her face.
Jamie eating the world's largest plate of seafood. It looked like it was meant for the entire table, but he ate it all.

Hannah getting ready to eat at a restaurant. Poor little thing had stomach issues all week. I think most was attributed to our diets being very different. She is now much better since we are back home and back to our regular eating.

Abbi built a "Sandman"


Chloe posing for a picture.


Micah loved being out in the ocean. He was almost too comfortable, because it made me a bit nervous sometimes, but he loved riding waves in.

And who could forget a little Leah spoiling! Abbi said that Leah was her favorite part of the trip:-)


Home was very welcome though after spending 2 weeks away between house renovation and vacation. It was so nice to sleep in my own bed!!! Our main living area needs a few more details, then I'll post pictures of the before and after. It is crazy how different it looks!

House Project Progress

We are getting there! It seems like Lowes gets all my money right now! As a self-proclaimed tightwad, I hate that, but my house is looking fabulous, so I don't care:-) I think Jamie made 4 trips to Lowes last Saturday, and we've made several trips this week between things. I swear! Just when you think you are "finished"

Today I meant to get started on the floors. We didn't quite get there, but we did get a lot of those little jobs done that seem to bog you down the most. We did the backsplash in the kitchen. We were using paneling/beadboard like stuff (looks like tile), so we figured it might take 2 or 3 hours. Try doubling that! At 7:00 we looked up among the mess (black dust everywhere) in the kitchen and realized that starting the floors was just not even worth the effort at that point.

Our before and after pictures will almost be like those pictures in those kids' magazines where you have to find all the things that are different between the pictures. It has been a major inconvenience since it is the heart of the house, and my kids have eaten more sandwiches and frozen dinners than I care to share (and late dinners too!).

I'm so excited about seeing it transform though. It is just like I envisioned it and feels more like "home" with every added touch. As much work as all this has been, I feel so darn blessed to be sitting here in my own home (with a mortgage and escrow and everything...ha ha). Even almost a year later, it makes me smile and bubble over inside. What a blessing this has been to us and God has been so very good. He has just watched over us and helped us through so much this past year. We had a rough time, but he knows that and I can really see how he just lifted us up out of things and set us back on new ground with fresh starts and new blessings to enjoy. It has been amazing to look back on.

Before and After pictures coming soon...about 2 weeks or so I think:-)