Whirlwind

I know I have been absent around here lately, but I promise I have good reason! We are in the midst of a whirlwind MOVE. That's right, we're packing up in sunny Florida and headed for Ohio!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided it was time to throw a few of his resumes out "there" and see what happened. Before we even sent a single one, a former coworker called and said he had a position open... and he wanted my husband for it.

That began a 2 week period he was home for approximately 3 days (and throw a little stomach flu in there, too, while you're at it). He interviewed at the company, came home for 3 days, and then left for a conference. When he returned from the conference, he received an offer at the new company. It is even better than we were hoping for, and God has put every detail into place. Yesterday he gave 2 weeks' notice at his current job, and life is definitely in the fast lane.

Thankfully when my mom was here a few weeks ago, we knew this was stewing. So we painted over Asa's walls (sniff, sniff) to make them neutral and buyer friendly. :) We also cleaned out every closet, the laundry room, garage, and many nooks and crannies. Tonight we officially sign on with a realtor and the "real" fun begins. ;)

We are almost done with our "house" to do list. It has occupied about every spare second I have, thus not much crafting has happened around here (plus most of my fabric is already boxed up!).

We will be separated for a time as Matt begins his new job and finds a place for us to rent. We are praying, praying, praying our house sells quickly! Since we'll be apart for a little while, Matt's taking some time to have 2 "family" weeks before he leaves for Ohio. The first week will be just the 3 of us here in Florida. We plan to take Asa for his first Disney World trip (we have some time on passes we bought a while back)! The next week we're meeting my family at the beach (Asa's first time at the beach and first "vacation"). I'm so thankful we can make these memories together!

So, hopefully the house to do list will be completed soon. HOPEFULLY then I might be run out of my home frequently for showings ;), but maybe I'll get some sewing or something in there, too. I have been trying to hang onto links this week (still woefully behind in my google reader) to post a Craft Favorites Friday this week. There are sooo many cute Easter ideas I am excited to pass along!

Stay tuned.... :)

Craft Favorites Friday: Completed Projects

For a slightly different spin on Craft Favorites Friday, I decided to post about a few projects that are complete or almost complete around our house. :)

1. Laundry Room sign

I saw this cute laundry room pun on a blog awhile back and thought I would love to make one for my home. I LOVE fun puns. It stayed on my list of "craft ideas" for several months. But I decided January was THE month. I bought the piece of wood at Michael's and already had the craft paint. I played around with different fonts on my computer and used them as a guide. My favorite part may have been drilling the holes for the ribbon. I love power tool projects. :) [I was so excited when Matt received a drill at one of our wedding showers!] In no time at all, the sign was ready to hang. I'm not certain I will leave the ribbon the way it is, but I like it for now. :)

2. Guest Room Headboard

We have a double bed in our guest room without a headboard. I knew I wanted something as flush with the wall as possible to maximize floor space around the bed. I thought I would keep an eye out for a simple iron scroll headboard or something. But in the back of my mind I wondered about making a headboard or faux headboard. I saved pictures here and there I found online of faux headboards, but the idea of using fabric always stuck with me (imagine that!). While my mom was hear visiting last weekend, we stopped at JoAnn's, pillow sham in hand in order to match colors. I looked at some stripes, but the quilt on the bed is striped. I considered polka dots, but they didn't lend a grown up feel to the guest room, happy though polka dots may be. Then we came across a pattern that had the perfect colors and would compliment the quilt. I couldn't believe it! They had just enough yardage on the bolt to cover the 6 canvases I had bought weeks earlier MAJORLY discounted and even have enough left over for pillow to go on the bed. :) For this project, I got to use another tool! The staple gun was perfect for covering the canvases. I even learned how to reload the staple gun. :) All the canvases are covered now and just waiting for a time Matt is home when Asa is also awake long enough for us to hang them (the wall they will go on is a shared wall with Asa's room). I'll post an updated picture when they are actually in place.

3. Valentine's Decor

I had these beads in this hurricane for the Christmas season. When I was packing up Christmas decorations, I decided to leave the beads out for Valentine's Day. I think they add a sweet, catchy splash of color to the den. :)

4. Asa's photos

We recently got to pick up Asa's most recent portraits. Our "first year" package with the photographer includes an 8x10 from each session. We are slowly building a collage of sorts in the hallway. I hung the photo from his last shoot this past week. I love seeing his bright, shining face grinning at me as I walk down the hall. And I marvel how that little baby boy has already turned into the 7 month old Asa. Time is flying.

5. Christmas Cards

In my parents' home, my mom always did one of two things with Christmas cards. She either taped them to the inside of the front door in a cross pattern or she hung them from ribbon off the stairs. When we moved into our home, I looked around wondering where I would display our Christmas cards. I considered and tried a couple of different things, but I settled on covering our laundry room door. We are in the kitchen all the time, so we get to see the cards all the time. :) It is a fun treat to see our family and friends smiling at us while we cook, eat, and play. I am especially excited to start a new tradition I have heard about from several families. When we take our pictures down (very soon, it just makes the door look so bare when they come down), we will be placing them in a basket. Each night before dinner, we will draw a card from the basket and pray for that family. We can keep cycling through them as the year progresses. I am so excited to start this with Matt and Asa!!

6. Silly Sammy Sign

We have a sweet dog, Samantha, who is a 3 year old mutt (Rhodesian/lab mix) and very much a "people puppy." She LOOOOVES her people. She has transitioned to life with Asa amazingly well. One thing she does NOT do well is keep her tongue to herself. She is rather notorious for this (we always work on it and it improves during the summer.... then everyone's legs and feet are covered during the winter and we retrain all over again in the spring when skin comes out of hiding ready to be licked), as evidenced by the hilarious sign my parents gave Matt for Christmas. It now hangs over our back door (the door we use to let Sammy out into the backyard). It cracks me up. :) And it's true. So very true.

My Ornament Wreath

Here is my version of the ornament wreath in my last post. It was super easy to make, and I love the mix of metallic, matte, and glittery ornaments. :) It cost me about $10 or so in boxes of dollar store ornaments (Dollar Tree, to be specific). I want to go through my stash and find some wider ribbon for the bow, but I'm very pleased with how the wreath turned out. I give the project two thumbs up!

Asa's Mural take II (complete!)

Please read more about this project in the post below, but I went ahead and finished up the mural this afternoon. Here are pictures of it completely complete! :)

the tree, with its little friend the raccoon :), and a bin of toys

our "carved" initials

Looking up at the leaves and branches

Matt insisted (in the nicest sort of way) that I "sign" my work like a real muralist :)
(don't mind the baseboards... they'll be replaced eventually anyway, though not anytime soon--don't worry! We're not completely crazy!)

Asa's Mural

All along, we (I/my husband sweetly went along with it) had a vision for a nursery with vertical stripes painted. I actually first saw the idea in high school and loved it. In high school, I also saw an HGTV design show where they did a backyard/forest theme in a nursery. As part of the decor, the designers painted a tree on a wall and hung a birdhouse on the trunk. I thought it was SUCH a sweet idea and filed it away in my brain.

"All these years later," Matt has so sweetly and diligently helped me bring that vision to life. He marked and painted all the lines in the room, which was a huge undertaking. And he has encouraged me as I thought through the tree mural I wanted to do on one wall. He has done a ton in the room, and I told him I wanted two projects: the tree mural and curtains. He's been chomping at the bit for the tree to be painted for awhile, but he has waited patiently until I was done with teaching. This week I really wanted to get started on it, because we were both excited about it and I knew it was mostly a matter of working up the nerve to begin freehand drawing and painting on the wall (eek!).

Last Saturday I drew the tree trunk and branches on the wall. On Sunday we picked paint colors, and on Monday I began the painting process. He has been SO supportive and encouraging the entire time. His affirmation is such a gift to me, especially when stretching and trying something I've never done before. :)

As it stands today, there are a handful of leaves I need to touch-up, one place on a branch I want to smooth out, 1-2 leaves I want to add, and lastly I will paint our initials on the tree as though we carved them in (and add Asa's and his birthdate... once we know when that is). :) I can finish it today or this weekend at the latest. But I had to go ahead and show you--we are sooo excited! Matt also stained one of the birdhouses (the other 2 will be stained as well and are on display on shelves in the room) and hung it on the trunk. We love the whimsical touch it adds to Asa's forest room. :)

As I was painting the tree, I thought of all the other things it can lead us to talk about with Asa. We can talk about the seasons (since it's a kind of difficult concept to grasp in Florida, in my opinion) :), but more importantly we can talk about our family tree and most importantly the tree of life and Jesus, who hung on a tree. We are so.... excited seems like not quite the right word, thankful? reverent?... to share with Asa all God has done from the beginning of time. All He has done for us in our lifetime--and in our families before us. How we pray for Him to grow and flourish like this tree, with roots deeply drinking from the Father, the True source of Life.

Nursery Progress

While I wait to, hopefully, find out if Baby K is a boy or a girl (TOMORROW) and therefore wait for the pink or blue creative juices to begin flowing, I've been working on the nursery instead. Yesterday, Matt and I cleaned it out top to bottom (except for the closet). We had piled everything in it at the center of the room in order to move furniture for stripping the wallpaper border previous owners left. It was, shall we say, interesting. But we pulled everything into our room across the hall, sorted, and then only put baby stuff back in. Other things are in a pile to donate, put in the attic/garage, or were relocated to different locations. It was quite an undertaking, but it's very exciting to see the room becoming more and more ready for the baby! The closet will have to be for another day, but it's basically big odds and ends that we have already decided on different places for (our luggage, some old instruments, and a filing cabinet that will be relocated). I am ITCHING to clean out more places around the house, but I know I need to take it easy, too. So I'm trying to pace myself. :)

I thought I'd share a few pictures. Granted, we haven't painted the walls or taken out the furniture that will be leaving the room, but at least you can see some of the progress we made!

We loved this giant dog! We plan to take a picture of the baby with it each month to show the baby's growth. :) And does my mom know us well or what--before we ever saw the big dog, she got the little rattle that matches as a Christmas gift for Baby K! :) I also like that the dog matches that duvet cover--we plan to use it when the baby (down the road) is ready for a big bed. :)

Drawers in the armoire. For now the bottom drawer has some kid movies and the top drawer has some odds and ends (including Eric Carle ornaments I found at TJ Maxx!).

Top of the armoire--currently housing some toys, baby meds, gifts, and freebies I got in the mail.

The current view from the doorway. The armoire is staying about where it is. Under the window you see in this pic will be the changing table/dresser. And in the corner will probably be a rocking chair.

Other side from the door way. In the corner where you see the carseat, stroller, and other baby stuff will be the crib. The twin bed, its headboard, and this "entertainment center" are being taken apart and stored in the attic. Please forgive the boxes in the bottom right of the pic--they are trash ready to be thrown out!


A birdie clock I've had that I think I want to put up in the nursery.


We do live in Florida now, after all (this was actually a stocking stuffer one year). The teeth "chomp" when you roll the gator.


And finally, will it be PINK or BLUE??? (frames I got a few years ago at the Bombay Kids Outlet store). We can't wait to hopefully find out TOMORROW! Our appointment is in the late afternoon, but come back tomorrow night to see what we find out! :)

The Latest

Thanks for the prod to update, Ruthie. I've clicked on my blog page a couple of times, but I've often been too tired to know what to think!

Then I read that I last posted we would have our ultrasound in 28 days.... we now have less than a week to wait! So, yes, an update is long overdue. :)

We had a wonderful Christmas with both of our families. We left the week of Christmas for South Carolina to see Matt's family, including our 4 month old niece. It was really sweet to be there for her first Christmas. :) Matt got to go hunting one morning with his dad, although it rained the entire time. They really enjoyed laughing and joking around like old times since the rain meant they didn't have to worry about being too quiet--the wildest wildlife they saw was a squirrel. :) We got to visit with Tyson and some other friends as well. It's always fun to see them and get further glimpses into the 20+ years of Matt before I ever knew him. :)

The Sunday after Christmas we packed up and drove to TN to spend the next week with my family. One brother's family stayed in town and the other got back before we left, so it was really nice to see *everyone.* We had been on a kind of opposite schedule with my one brother's family as far as staying in TN/traveling for Christmas. We both traveled to in-laws' homes for Christmas but were back for New Year's. I'm really glad that worked out. :) I also got to have lunch with friends from my first college Bible study, catch up with friends from my college program, play some Catan (I won!!!) and Ticket to Ride, and finally get to see my sweet friend (who was a bridesmaid in our wedding) who is expecting exactly 2 weeks after we are. :) Most of all, I SOAKED up family time! Some of the family even came with us to Babies R Us to help us begin our baby registry. It doesn't have any gender-specific items on it yet, but we gladly took their advice on the big/gender-neutral stuff! How amazing to have a baby registry?!?

We got back to FL January 2nd. We had the weekend to unpack and settle back in before heading back to work. And since then, we've been settling back into work! :) My class is doing really well. I am really enjoying them (how could I not??), and I even got the "other" big talk out of the way with my principals, letting them know I won't be back next year and will take about the last month of school off this year. My due date is one day after school gets out--even though I think they planned for me to teach to the very end because of that, we did not plan for that. ;) They "handled" the news well. Their only request was that I share the news of me not returning with the parents in my class who have siblings coming up next year and are already asking the administration how early they can request me for next year. I got that done, too, and received a very sweet and thoughtful reply. It's SUCH a blessing to have such supportive parents of my students!

We have been at work some around the house. The wallpaper border backing that previously "graced" the nursery walls is now gone (thanks, honey!). I've started some cleaning out and organizing. And I am enjoying some new things. I received a bread maker for Christmas, and I am really excited to be using it! If you have some great bread maker recipes--bread, dough, etc.--I would LOVE to know about them!!

Baby K is kicking away. Last week the fequency and force of kicking increased a TON. Get this.... Matt even felt the baby kick!! I was only 18 weeks! His eyes got HUGE and he grinned from ear to ear. :) He talks to the baby frequently, as do my students. :) In fact, today they were rather excited about paper lanterns they were making, and as the volume of their little voices got a little louder than usual, the baby started kicking like crazy. :) It was fun to tell them, "The baby can hear you! Baby K is listening!" They they all apologized to the baby for being too loud! :) They are SUCH a sweet class, and they are DESPERATE to know if the baby is a boy or a girl. :)

Well, I suppose that is about all for now. I have been so depleted of energy, I have not been a good crafter. I finally decided I need to figure out how to make do without my energy (everyone said it would be back by week 16... it must have gone south for the winter), so maybe I'll get back in gear. :) I know I have sewing I want to do if/after we find out just who this little one is on Monday! I will be sure to update then, so check back next week for, Lord willing, the big announcement! Most of all though, we're praying for a healthy baby. :)

Blessings,
Becca

Home Improvement: Crafty style

The other night Matt and I sat down and made a list of things we would like to accomplish around the house before the baby arrives. Some if it is as simple as cleaning out a closet (i.e. no real crafting involved). But some of it definitely requires a creative flair.

These are 3 room projects I am getting excited about:

Painting the nursery:

I have known for a LONG time I wanted to do 2 tone stripes. At first I thought maybe the same color but in two finishes, to make the stripes very subtle. Then when I was cleaning some last weekend, I came across this picture I clipped a couple years ago. I love it. The two tone stripes and the third tone solid along the bottom. The division of the wall. LOVE it. So, this is the plan, but in yellow. Now to explore paint chips. :)


Curtains.:

The nursery has a double window along one wall and a single window on another wall. I found the following picture at the same time as the wall picture above. I LOVE these curtains! Of course, they are from PBK several years ago, and I wouldn't want to pay those prices even if they still made them! This needs to be added to the sewing project list once we know if it's a boy or a girl. I can already picture them. Solid at the top, with a coordinating pattern on the bottom. :)


Decor:

Also from PBK (who'd have thought? All 3 pics are from them). If we do birds for a girl, I want to make a bean bag pillow to match (like the PBK Penelope birds, since that's the bedding we picked out for a girl.... oh, about a year ago :) ). And if we have a boy, then I want to make the owl or raccoon. I think it would be too cute to have peeking out from a corner of the nursery! :)

The tree isn't all that's decked out...

A few more decorations around the house... be sure you scroll to the end! :)

Break it up

No, that's not what I had to tell my students today. :) It's part of something that ran through my mind as I worked in the yard this afternoon.

Over the weekend I've been straightening the yard, tidying the lanai, raking and bagging bags upon bags of leaves. And as I uncovered more and more grass (you might not think there'd be so many leaves to rake in Florida!), I thought of one of my mom's favorite verses.

Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

As I raked and pulled up dead grass, sticks, and mounds of leaves which choked out the sunlight and water our backyard so desperately needs, this verse seemed to come to life before my eyes. I was breaking up our fallow ground (in a way). It has not been "living" as it should have been. It's been smothered in leaves, pine needles, and other yard debris.

Now it can receive and take in the physical rain it needs to produce more fruit (in our case, grass).

It made me think...in what ways are we not living as God means for us to be? Where do we need to break up fallow ground in our lives and our hearts, that "he may come and rain righteousness upon [us]"? And do you have fallow ground hidden by other things, as ours has been hidden under piles of wind-swept leaves? Is your fallow ground covered in busyness or endless chatter in your head and heart that prevents you from being still and listening?

Lastly, it also made me wonder what things in my life don't belong here, or what things are you trying to convince yourself don't belong (I don't have time, I don't know how, I can't...), but should be present? You see, I never though of Florida as a place I'd have to rake leaves. But sure enough, we live in northern FL and are surrounded by pine trees and deciduous trees. Are there things in your life that don't belong (as I thought leafy trees and raking yard didn't?) Or are there things you're trying to convince yourself aren't right or necessary (pine tress in sunny FL??) that actually SHOULD be there (our climate IS right for them here)?

The things you can think during some quiet time in the yard. :) May we indeed SEEK Him and drink in the righteousness He showers upon us. He is the only thing to quench our thirst.

Jesse Tree Ornaments part 2 and MORE

Part I
Jesse Tree Ornaments, round 2

Here is my final installment of Jesse Tree ornaments. :)

(one of my favorites above, Elizabeth and John the Baptist)

Part II

While at some church functions at a family's house, we saw the idea for this cork board. That family has a big S on theirs, and it kind of functions the way a fridge would, from what I can tell. So, we placed this one (3' x 4') where my old picture board used to be (it's now in the laundry room so I can see our family and friends' smiling faces while I do laundry), and it has a K we bought and spray-painted from Hobby Lobby, birth announcements, shower invitations, Sammy's puppy obedience certificate, and some pictures of friends. I reallllllly like it! We bought the K in the spring and the board this summer. But we only recently got everything hung and set up. :)

And here's Sammy, spying at me over the back of the couch.

November Came and Went!

Sorry for the utter lack of posting in November...

My mom came to visit, which was WONDERFUL!

Then it was my birthday. :)

Then Matt's dad came down to help us remodel our den.

We have just now put the computer back in its place and still have some things to put back.

Now I am working on a Christmas project I would LOVE to post (it's killing me, really), but the person for whom I am making the gift might click through to here. So, I will post it after Christmas, I promise.

In the meantime, here are some remodel pictures, and soon I'll post some of our Christmas decor!







Have a blessed Advent season, and thanks for hanging in there with me while I was "missing."

It's Finished!

Remember this?


Here it is finished!!


I envisioned red and white gingham ribbon originally, but I need to dig some more through my ribbon scraps. In the meantime, this red will do. :)

Also, the fabric I won from Sew, Mama, Sew arrived! I'm still trying to decide on the perfect pattern to create a handbag with it... I'll keep you posted. :)


I decided to make use of the pine cones our neighbors' trees have been dropping in our yard, too. Here are some ways I'm using them...



And lastly, at a thrift store today I found some patterns... 2 for 25 cents! I chose 3 for a total of 39 cents. :) Two of sweet little girl dresses and one of some baby layette (rompers and such). They're so cute!