What Was Promised...

Each time I have worked with the girls on their room, we always only get so far... fitting their 3 beds , 3 dressers, and a closet in a small room always leaves such a challenge especially the older they get. I promised each of the girls that we would figure out and build or find a shelving unit for each of them to at least have a little space of their own, but I have always come up short for at least one of the girls. So often they end up storing their jewelry boxes or keepsakes and collections in a crate in the garage because there is just no room to put them. But today, I finally figured it out and finished it-I was finally able to keep my promise to all of them. I was happy to finally carve out a small corner to give Madison, our oldest daughter-a small taste of privacy. I did this with an old shelf almost on it's way out to the curb. Maybe it has just a bit more life in it to give. Madi and I sanded it , took off the backing, painted it, and made a curtain for the one side. Here is a peek at the room after.

Here is the old shelf that will give Madi a little privacy...

We made the shelf into a little wall at the head of her bed. We added a curtain so she coul access her shelf from either side.

Bell and Joslyn are loving their shelves too. Noah had to join in all the excitement as the girls organized each of their new shelves.

I am just so thankful to finally have been able to fulfill a promise!

An Afternoon Redo and a Thrifted Treasure

Summertime always brings a bunch of weeks single -Momming- it because of being married to a youth pastor:) It brings trips for both the Jr High Ministry and the Sr High ministry. I have to say though, this has been the most mild summer for trips. Early on in our ministry life, I really struggled with all the time Matt was away, and my heart certainly took some time to soften to it and not be frustrated by the responsibilies of his job. It was also due to being a new mom and not being quite confident in my "new position" as well. I was a pretty weepy mama a lot of the time when he was gone, but the Lord has helped to bring a peace, a strength, and actually a joy or anticipation to these times 12 years later! Not a joy that Matt is gone:)-I still deeply miss my husband when he is away ,and, there is nothing that can replace him being home at the end of the day, but I have come to appreciate elements of the solitude when he is not home, that help to get through those times. The kids an I lay pretty low when he is gone, although as they are getting older, there are still things on the schedule for the older kids, it is a bit different from having all babes that need no outside activity nessasarily to nuture their own growth during these weeks. But when dad is gone for awhile, I usually take the time to dig into some projects that cannot be done during a regular week with deadlines and the precious time OF Matt being home, that I do not want to sacrifice. It is a great time to pull things out that will not need to be put away until they are done.

So this week, I had one BIG surprise project for my husband that I still cannot reveal because the little stinker may be reading my blog and facebook while he is away but I will share that on Saturday when he gets home!! But I do have a project I can share. I was able to work on and finish this afternoon while the kids swam in the pool(or lake more accurately-the summer has been so wet that our pool looks more like a mudhole than a pool-no matter how hard I work to keep it clean). I have talked about the small space issues in our house before. I am learning to appreciate the challenges it brings in function and decorating-darn-I am just going to have to be creative! One of the best solutions for us has been to "hutch" many many of our dressers, adding space for organization and decoration where we may have not been able to do so before. Well -I have had one dresser in our kitchen that sits by the back door in a small nook. It is a very narrow dresser though so it has taken me years to find a hutch that fit it. But finally, a few weeks ago, I did!!! And again-it was a thrifted treasure with a fabulous price tag!! $5.00! So here is the before and after-I am very happy!

I will really enjoy having my cookbooks out and accessible as well as some of my favorite blue dishes. I just love how it fit so snug in the little nook that otherwise would be useless!