It Was a Good Day!!

Our home is just buzzing as we prepare for Thanksgiving and spend time with friends. I was up at the crack of dawn with ideas from drifting off to sleep still fresh on my brain! There are a few new changes this year with our family that I am needing to address and it all came together in my mind last night after I had crawled into bed. Our oldest will be starting high school football this next year and has been going through weight training right now. He has been working and saving and has purchased a mini gym for lifting. We were thinking of keeping it out in the garage and had a good set up but it is just getting too cold. I also needed to come up with a little more seating up in our living room for quests and I had a light bulb idea! We have a beautiful antique bed down in the basement that rarely gets used that would be perfect for a daybed! Years and years ago we had used a bed for a couch before we had had real couches, and so many friends have told me that they have missed it-which I agree, they just have a cozy charm to them. So, bright and early this morning before school, a couple of us brought the bed up to the living room. It is already a hit with the little ones! I am not going to mind curling up with a good book at night either in this cozy spot! So we hit two birds with one stone and all for no money-yeah!!

We also had some good friends over today for a visit. The girls were just loving on little Pip(Penelope). There is some big time baby dreams going on around here. I just love having the chance to sit for a few hours with a good friend while the kids play. True blessings!!

And this week I worked on a special project for a precious young girl who lost her mama. It was a project that I was very nervous about tackling because of the depth of sorrow that surrounds a loss such as this. But The Lord in His time finally brought a calm to my heart and hands. I was given a bundle of her mama's favorite clothing and linens to fashion into a doll. I am praying that this doll will be a comfort to her on hard days and I am praying that she will grow knowing that she is loved and not alone, that she can always take her burdens and sorrows to the Lord who knows her and loves her deeply.

A Few Finished Projects...

I know I have written about this in recent posts. But I thought I would share some of our progress around the house. Once we came in from the summer activities, Matt and I, with the help of the kiddos as well, have gotten to work on some much needed painting around the house. We have been slowly working through each of the rooms upstairs. This time, we have been so incredibly content with the results and are very much looking forward to the upcoming holidays! Here are some pictures from our adventure in paint cans...

We finally tackled our stairway to the basement. A place of sore neglect and chaos. I believe that there were still areas that was original drywall still finally getting a taste of paint. And since I walk this stairway at least 50 times a day, I can now stop and take in all my blessings.

This is our front closet. I had taken the doors off of it a year ago and put up coat hangers instill of the basic pole. That helped to keep the clutter to a minimum. Everyone was allowed 2 pairs of shoes only, and the rest were to be stored in their rooms. So since it was open at all times, I wanted to paint it and draw it into the room. Noah was my right hand man on this project and it was a project that I could work with him on without to much collateral damage;)

There had been some pretty funky shelf liner paper still at the bottom from the previous owners which meant it needed to be primed once it was torn off. Noah had a good old time doing that for me!

Bell helped me roll on the red, actually almost all of the kids took a turn at that.

Here is the almost finished closet. I am not so anxious to bring in the pile of coats and shoes quite yet, who needs a winter coat or shoes anyways-right?! The dresser was also a project this past weekend. It keeps all of our hats and mittens organized for us.

The dresser was extremely beat up, but I used paint from some other projects we were working on and gave it a nice face lift. I used tape to create the inside boxes for red on each of the drawers. Here is the final look.

The bathroom just got a fresh coat of paint-a bit lighter than before. The walls sure take a beating from all the moisture!

We did have a fun day for Halloween. We did a little bit of trick or treating and then spent the evening at church for our fall festival. Bell was a lady bug, Noah a lion and Joslyn was Lucy from Narnia. Madison and her friend went at homecoming queens.

One of my most precious friends just had a little girl and we have spent some time visiting(kind of helps with the baby cravings!) I think I will be there a lot! Madi is pretty happy to hold this little wonder as well!

I had one of our lovely students from church come over and teach the girls and I how to make jewelry-what a fun and overwhelming hobby! Breann did a great job teaching us the basics as well as giving us some fabulous inspiration!

We have painted our living room with two happy colors, but of course before we began I accidentally put a hole in the wall while attacking a stubborn nail-oiy!

So I learned how to patch holes in walls-useful-especially when you are me;) The kids were quite amused with my predicament.

Here is a glance at the two colors we choose to put together. I am just in love with them. I painted the room orange a few years ago and from the first roll of the brush, was crushed at the color-but decided to finish it and live with it. It feels wonderful to actually like the color on the wall!

I still have yet to get things back on the walls, but I will be slow to accomplish that. Life has been neglected too long and we need to refocus. No more projects for awhile. Feels good to have that behind us though, especially with the windows still open and heat still off. Now that we are all painted up, the kids would much like it to snow. As Noah says, "now we can Thanks Give and put up the tree". There is a reason for that being so important to him, we do not bring out the train until the tree is up, we do not put up the tree until after Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving is here as soon as it snows(at least to Noah). Love their minds!

And last but not least, I made a new slip cover for the ottoman a few weeks ago. It was time to use up some of my scraps.

A Quilt for a Little Girl I Have Yet to Meet...

Today is a very special day!! One of my closest friends gave birth to a precious little girl!! It is their 4th baby and 3rd daughter. They did not know the sex of the baby throughout the pregnancy, so today was such an exciting day, to finally hear the news! A GIRL!!! Her name is Penelope Ruth-I just love it!! I can hardly wait until I can go meet Penelope!! So after school today and a small nap, I went to work on her quilt. I did not want to make the quilt until I knew if it was a little lady or little man . With no interruptions(great thanks to my lovely children), I was able to finish it by dinner time. Yay!! Here is the quilt for the little one I have yet to meet!

I wanted to make sure to include all of her stats, so I hid them on flowers and corners of the quilt.

A Happy Project Finished for a Friend....

My cup runneth over with ever so patient friends!!! Which makes to finishing a few special things for them all the sweeter! I have been slowly, like a turtle, working on some fun creations for a baker friend of mine. And when I say I have been slow-it has been since MAY!! But I finished today and was thrilled to send her pics to see what she thought. Here is a peek at some of the fun creations.

When my baker friend visited back in May she had some fun picking out fabrics for a bundle of napkins. Here are some of the napkins. These were all made from reclaimed bed linens. These napkins are an everyday nessesity around our house, I am completely sold on these! They are reversible and of course washable. I have not purchased paper napkins for years now-heavenly!!

Tied up in a pretty bow and ready to go to the baker lady I love!

Then there is this fun retro kitschy tote-love her eye and ideas! She had seen a vintage curtain panel that I had in the shop and asked if I would make it into a tote for her. I may have thought maybe for a few minutes that I may have to tell her it is no longer for sale(because I now want it) Haha. I had just found this fabulous vintage plaid tablecloth that week and it just popped against the colors of the curtain panel. So the plaid worked well for the bottom and handles of the bag!

Finally I used my favorite bed linen print for the inside of the tote. It is a whimsical robin's egg blue and white floral design.

And last but not least...A MAN BAG!! for her soon to be Husband!!! The man bag was made from reclaimed wool-did I ever tell you how much I LOVE WOOL-just kidding-you already know that-silly me. It is made to fit a laptop and other "man" things. You know, I thought guys did not have anything to carry around like women, but let me just say that my husbands "man bag" weighs 50 pounds!! most days- and I just can't figure out how it is actually holding up to all the wear and tear he puts on that poor thing!! I think it is so funny when he is afraid of having to find something in my purse for me, if he can survive his bag and find what he needs in that, he should have no problem with mine;)

I tried to keep the messenger bag simple with a touch of interest to it. So I added these three stones to the front flap to give it some dimension. The bag is now called "A Stone's Throw".

I also had fun with the thread detail. Most of the top stitching was done in red. I LOVE RED. So, now these lovelies will be off in the mail to a very patient friend. And just in time for another visit in October!! I think we will be talking "wedding!!!"

A Blessed Saturday

One of my most precious friends lost her Mom to cancer this past year. It was only days before Christmas and after attempting to find a miraculous way to get down to the funeral, we had no options. I really grieved over not being able to be there with her during that time. And yet I know she holds no ill feelings for me not making it. It is interesting how many momentous things in our lives have happened and we have not had the luxury of being there for one another in body, and yet, somehow I always know she knows exactly how I feel, and no matter the changes that occur in our lives the friendship just gently rolls along with them. I really think that our friendship took root during a time that Kate and I's foundations were solidifying, somewhere between childhood and adulthood, and the friendship was sealed in that foundation and weathers all of our life changes.

Kate is the friend that my soul aches for when I am struggling or overjoyed with something. There are countless letters written to her and even more started waiting to be finished. She is the friend of my youth and one who knows my heart so deeply. We have gone through really good times and some really hard times and found our friendship stronger for it. She is the one that can make me cry by just saying hello after not seeing each other for a year. She is the one who can scribble a note to me on a napkin , send it in the mail, and I will walk around with it for days reading it over and over. She has a beauty that just continues to grow with age, both inside and out. I have always felt her love for me , even when I was difficult to love, and I have the letters to prove it. She has the gift of gentleness and compassion for others that is so contagious. Kate is the one who I could spend hours talking with but could also be alright just to sit in silence with.

We met amusingly enough my first year of college and found out that we grew up only 20 minutes away from each other! Here we had to go 600 miles to meet, the Lord certainly has a sense of humor! But how right the timing was! Road trips home from school together became one of the things that entwined or hearts, 12 hours of conversation both ways, lots of coffee, music and laughter! I believe on one break, her car was not going to make it home and my folks were going to send me the bus ticket to come home -I protested and said not unless there is a ticket for Kate too! We were a two for one deal at that time!

Well, Matt's vacation came to be such a blessing.We were able to go to a postponed memorial service for Nancy today, Kate's Mom. Kate and Jay traveled down here from Minnesota to spend the day with family and friends who were unable to make it to the funeral in Missouri . Nancy was honored in memory today with wonderful stories shared. It was so good to see Kate and Jay and hug our old friends. And I am so blessed to have gotten to know her mom over the years of our friendship and it was neat to see how so many of Nancy's strengths and gifts have been carried on in Kate. I am forever grateful for the love Nancy had for Kate and how she raised my sweet friend! What a fun afternoon to get to hear all the fun stories about Nancy and how deeply she touched the lives of others. It was also a wonderful gift to hear Kate sing a song she had written for her mom before she died. Kate! Do not forget to send those lyrics to me! I wish I could have seen your mama's face when you gave her, her own song! Your sung beautifully, just as always! Some day-we will do our duet!


And despite how hard the loss of Kate's mom has been and will be, it is good to know she is with Jesus,who she had a deep love for. And one day Kate will see her mom again. It was a good day, one I am so glad that I can say, I saw my Kate.

After dinner, I went to dig through some old photos from college, to find some fun pics of Kate and I. What fun remembering those days, with a bit of heartache, wishing we were closer to spend more time together. Here are a few of Kate and I over the years....



COLLEGE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN THE WINTER WONDER LAND OF BEMIDJI MINNESOTA!

THIS WAS A KITTEN KATE AND I FOUND IN A PARKING LOT AND SNUCK INTO OUR DORM UNTIL WE COULD FIND A HOME FOR IT! SORRY PIPER FOR ALWAYS BEING SO MUCH TROUBLE(OUR PRECIOUS FRIEND WHO HAPPENED TO BE OUR RA!)



NOW WE ARE GETTING A LITTLE BIT OLDER-MATT AND I ARE NOW MARRIED AND I AM EXPECTING COLE. THIS WAS AT ONE OF OUR GANG'S WEDDINGS.

AND A FEW YEARS LATER, BOTH MARRIED NOW. I BELIEVE THIS WAS ON A TRIP OF MATT AND I'S DOWN TO ILLINOIS TO VISIT MY FOLKS. WHILE WE WERE STILL LIVING IN MN. WE ARE REALLY FORTUNATE TO DRIVE RIGHT PAST KATE AND JAY'S ON OUR WAY BACK AND FORTH TO VISIT MATT'S FAMILY, ALWAYS GIVING US AN AWESOME EXCUSE TO POP IN ON KATE AND JAY AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR! I KNOW THE LORD EVEN WORKED OUT THAT TINY DETAIL WHEN WE RELOCATED! BECAUSE FRIENDS SUCH AS THESE ARE RARE! NOT ONLY IS KATE PRECIOUS TO US, BUT JAY, HER HUSBAND IS ALSO ONE OF OUR INCREDIBLE FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE AS WELL-JUST KEEPING US ALL IN THE FAMILY! SO WHEN WE GET TOGETHER, WE ALL ENJOY LAUGHING ABOUT OUR COLLEGE DAYS!



AND TODAY! THANK YOU JESUS FOR KATE!

Kate, I found these pictures of you and your mom at your wedding. Thought you may like to have them.