Pinterest Project: yarn wrapped letters

In my experience, Pinterest can either be inspiring or maddening. There are SO MANY great ideas out there it's very easy to think "I could totally do that" and, before you know it, there's about 237 new projects now on your to-do list.

Enter this little project. I am always looking for very cheap, very cute decorative things to do to my house. My house and I are in a love-hate relationship and so I try to do what I can to make it cute, but on a limited budget. I'm not interested in sinking a lot of money into this house.

I bought the stuff for this several months ago....

I really liked the look of the cute letters and I wanted to add something interesting to the floating shelves in my kitchen so I bought the letters EAT and yarn at my local Hobby Lobby.

The letters are cardboard and were on sale so they were about $1.25 each. I chose a mustard yellow yarn and it was $3-4. LOVE decor that costs under $10 including tax....and I had tons of yarn left over for other projects! (I already had the glue gun and glue sticks.)

There are instructions at the link above, but they're not really all that necessary. I pretty much just started wrapping the letters in yarn and glueing here and there. It was pretty straight forward once I got the hang of it and decided how I wanted to wrap them.

The "A" was a little tricky so I sucked up my pride and looked at her instructions. :) I will say though, it was time consuming. It took me a good couple of hours to finish, but I really, really like how they turned out. :)

If you have cute decor ideas, please share!

I have another completed project and now 236 projects to be completed so I'm sure I'll be sharing about them.

Eventually.

The Thankful Tree 2011

I just realized that I posted about this very same thing last year, but I'm a year older, pregnant and don't remember anything so you'll forgive this similar post, right?

And I'm happy to say that I managed to finally get this done a full week and one day before Thanksgiving. That makes me one day ahead of where I was last year! I'll take it! :)

So, the Thankful Tree? Chances are you've heard of this before, but in case you haven't, the Thankful Tree is just a tool to help us maintain hearts of thankfulness through the Thanksgiving season. The ideal is to start at the beginning of the month. I am not the ideal, but you're reading this so.....you must be ok with that. ;)

It's a pretty simple project and great to do with kids. My boys really got into it this year. Here's how we do it:

I usually find some leaf clip art that I cut out and the boys color. When we're done, I punch a hole in the end and then tie some ribbon in the end to make a loop for hanging.

Here's where it gets fun. We sit down and I ask the boys to tell me what they're thankful for as I write each thing on the back of a leaf. I'm always hoping they'll name things like food, shelter, warmth, Jesus dying to take our sins away, etc. You know, deep, spiritual things.

This year I managed to get "myself" ..... from both boys. Oh, and Manny threw in "my head" and "my hair" (he really does have senator hair). So, while they were feeling very thankful for themselves, I prodded us to consider just a few more things they left out. We'll keep working on that.

We had already gathered some branches from outside and put them in a vase so now we hang the leaves on the tree.

The overall goal for us is to take a leaf (or a couple) each day and thank God for what we wrote on it. I put our tree in the niche with some burlap underneath and a few decorative things I had laying around and there you have it!

I'm thinking that in December I'll spray paint the branches white or silver and make it a Jesse Tree. We haven't done that before and I'm pretty excited about it. One of my favorite bloggers, Ann, tells you how to do it in her ebook here.

The Hard Moments

I am just about 16 weeks pregnant now and, I have to say, this feels like the hardest of all of them. Now, in full disclosure, I do have pretty easy pregnancies. I don't get very sick, I don't require medication for nausea, I'm not bed-ridden (except by choice) and I am not high risk. So, I feel bad complaining at all because I know women in all of those categories and I think they are freaking champions. Truly.

However, I was expecting to get my energy back around 12 weeks like I normally do, but instead what I have is the ever-shrinking will to live. Not really, but it feels like it. It takes everything I have just to get myself ready in the morning, and if it's a morning that I have to get me AND the boys ready to be somewhere (several times a week)....I am pretty much done for the day by the time we reach our destination.

The real issue here is not just that I have zero energy. It's more that I have zero patience. I apologize to my poor boys at least once a day because the daily norm has caused me to lose my pleasing personality over and over.

And can I be honest? I know this is going to reveal some ugly stuff, but when I spend time with the Lord in the morning and it doesn't "fix" me...I feel robbed a little bit. I REALLY want to be gracious, loving and patient to my kids and not get mad at them for being the sinful little creatures that they are. I want to give them the loving, gracious training they need from me....but in the moment, I lose the battle more than I win it.

I guess somewhere I believe that the end result, me being gracious and patient, is the only proof of God's grace to me when it's hard. And if I'm not those things, somehow I missed out on that grace. Wrong, I know. It's just a little harder for me to swallow that sometimes the grace is that I come to the end of myself and cry out desperately to Him. And sometimes the grace is that we got through the day alive...no, it may not have been pretty, but there was (hopefully) confession and forgiveness and Jesus died for it....and tomorrow is a new day.

So, here are some things I'm trying (and plan to try) to implement both before and in the midst of those crazy, rage blackout (as my friend calls it) moments to try to regain some sanity:

--send kids outside to play in the back yard until I can pull it together

--send kids into separate rooms with doors closed until we all calm down

--go Ikea, use the free childcare, get free coffee and sit and read for an hour or so

--pull away (usually locked up in my bathroom) and try to count the gifts of the day that I'm thankful to God for

--confess right there to the boy(s) that Mommy is having a hard time and can we pray together? (pretty much breaks the cycle in my heart immediately)

-- start a pot of water for hot tea and light a yummy scented candle...both very soothing to me

--keep on top of the clutter as much as possible so the house doesn't feel like another stresser

--put on music

--go to the park for awhile and get fresh air

--schedule a coffee date with a friend 1-2 times a month to look forward to

--have verses about God being my help and rest up where I can see them easily

--realize that today is just a particularly hard day and a movie for the boys and pb&j for dinner is ok :)

Got anything to add?

PS...I enjoyed reading this article and I especially love her closing line: "Thank you Lord, for loving my holiness enough to give me kids."

Hi there!

I've been thinking about popping in to write again. Don't worry. I have very low expectations...I don't even expect that this little blog is still on anyone's reader, but lately I've found myself thinking multiple times during the day "I just wish I had an outlet to share this" so I figure...why not?

I probably won't post very regularly and may post in fits and spurts, but sometimes I just need to sort things out or share my heart and I really do love how blogging gives you that opportunity when you need it.

I think it's been close to a year since my last post so here's the quick update:

Isaiah is now 5 (!)and Manny is 3 (!).#3 will arrive in late April. And we're going to find out what we're having this time!

Josh is still teaching 7th grade math and I still have my little jewelry and accessories shop on Etsy. We still live in the same house (more on that later, I'm sure), and are still happily plugging into our church. Lately, my days are filled with attempts at running this house, my shop and being a mom that won't get brought up on a therapist's couch one day. So, other than pregnancy, not a whole lot has changed around here. :)

Some things rolling around in my head a lot lately that I hope to eventually share more about:

--the challenges of being an adult and now relating to adult family members...as an adult

--grace-based parenting

--setting the tone in my home (being the thermostat and not a thermometer, so to speak)

--surrendering people (and their issues) to the Lord (BIG challenge right now)

--surrendering myself (and my issues) to the Lord (also challenging)

--logistically making our little house work with 3 children

--making changes that lead to simpler living

--paying off debt and saving

--small things I'm trying to incorporate into my day that make the day better

--cheap, diy decor projects around the house

Like most women, I don't really sit around and think of all the things I'm doing well. Pretty much everything I listed is something I'm trying, would like to start doing or am really challenged in right now.

I have lots I want to write about so if you're reading, thanks for still being here. :)

The Undoing and a Shift

Have you ever experienced God obviously calling out your sin and bringing you gentle proof after proof of it? And then stringing together conversations and moments and readings about that very sin, and showing them to you one after another?

Here's the thing: I often don't love like a mom when I'm being a mom. I'm not always here when I'm physically here.


I'm distracted. They want to talk. I have an agenda that "needs" to get accomplished. They get in my way. (They need a lot.) Then there's facebook (and blogs). Oh, facebook. He has a dirty diaper and he needs help with his shoes. And the etsy shop. And the messy house. And they want me to build them a fort. And my expectations for the day. And they want to eat ALL the time. (They need a lot.) And sometimes, I want to be anywhere but here.


Some days, I just drift.... and live inside my head....disconnected from the 2 eternal souls at my waist.


Enter this post called "What Housework is Really About." (And this one too. What can I say? The Lord was speaking loudly.)


And then this one called "Life with Little People Part 1" and "Part 2."


Enter tears. Enter sobbing tears. Enter pulling each boy onto my lap and looking into their beautiful blue eyes. Enter tearful confessions to each sweet son. Enter the undoing. Enter precious forgiveness.


I want to want to be here. This. It's where He has graciously put me. I'm afraid I'll miss it.


It won't always be this, you know. The cuddle sessions, boo-boos that need kissing, snacks and juice, boy games and blanket forts, rhyming and opposites, tickles and knee pinchers, first questions about the essence of God and Jesus and us, shoe tying and teeth brushing, training and instruction, chore charts and vivid imaginations, little boy laughter.

Even all the picking up and wiping down and gluing back and putting away.


I feel the undoing happening to me. Acknowledging. Releasing. Letting go.


Coming back to here.


This.

What we do when packed in ice

In no particular order and because I'm a tad bored....


Put the children to work doing manual labor.


Josh has joked before that we should have made Manny's middle name "Labor." Emmanuel Labor. Get it? Yeah, I know.

Josh found my very first trumpet and insisted that I give Isaiah his first trumpet lesson. (We were both music majors and constantly go back and forth about whether or not the boys are talented enough to play our instrument. It's all very mature.)

I think I might frame this one. What a proud moment for me.
(I'm sparing you the video)


I made a few Valentine's Day lovelies!


And finished a few orders...


Josh built a fort for the boys...




I took WAY too many pictures of icicles. But they were really cool!




And finally covered some ugly pillows. I plan to make shams to cover the red ones next.

You can't see the pattern well in the picture, but I love it. AND it's like I got 2 new pillows for $6!


Sweet nap times...


Made the yummy marshmallows I posted about. (Have you made them?!?)


And when I was REALLY bored, I convinced this cutie that he wouldn't look like a girl if he let me put his hair in a ponytail. I don't think he looks like a girl AT ALL...more like a very handsome athlete.
I don't think he or Josh agree with me.


And this may mean that we are near the breaking point and NEED TO GET OUT before I start sewing the boys dresses.

Pillowy Clouds of White Delight (revisited)

Once upon a time last year I made THESE.


(You can read about it and see the pictures here.)


And then a few angels came down from heaven and threatened to beat me up if I didn't give them some. True story. They're THAT good.


(I'm just so glad I've finally overcome my exaggeration tendencies).


So, since the Snowpocalypse of 2011 has descended upon us, I've decided to make them again. (The yummy syrupy mixture is simmering on the stove right now.) And I thought that the most loving thing I could do for you right now was to gently point you into the direction of puffy, soft, sweet goodness.





Now, say you're blind....and you aren't sold on these, allow me to appeal to your pride: you can announce that you are making these FROM SCRATCH on your facebook status (like I just did...it helps to type things in all caps, btw. you'll get more attention) and have all your friends think you are SOOO intimidating.

Also, if your children ever grow up and say to a therapist that you weren't a good mother, you can say, "Shut up. I MADE you marshmallows."


And if you STILL need convincing, I can tell you from experience that making these little squares of euphoria will ensure that:
1) people will like you more,
2) you will become instantly more beautiful,
3) the world will turn into white sugar and
4) heaven will come down and visit you.

(Give them what they want).

Lists

Whew! We made it!


Sorry about the absence of posts last month. Very anti-climatic after a relaunch, huh? I hope you haven't given up on me forever. December came like a hurricane. Etsyians talk a lot about the craziness of the holidays and even gave us a Holiday Boot Camp plan that started back in October. In short, I should have followed that plan.


My little shop that I thought maybe 5 people would be interested in, reached over 150 sales in December (from July). That may not sound like a lot to you but when you consider that each sale takes several hours to complete....that's a lot of hours. Don't get me wrong. I'm so, so grateful. It has been a provision for our family that I never saw coming. God had amazingly blessed us through it and I really, really enjoy it.

But it was crazy.


So, here we are in January. It's only the 3rd day of a fresh, new year. And this is the time of year where I dream big, come up with tons of goals and then work my stomach into knots thinking of all that entails. I'm the type of person who is NOT a natural planner. I am also the type of person that doesn't get much done without a plan.


I have about a million things jumping around in my head right now and so, instead of me just jotting them down on scrap pieces of paper and putting them up on my already-cluttered fridge, I will write a bunch of it down here and share it with you.

Who knows....maybe you have similar goals and ideas and we can inspire one another. I LOVE hearing about other people's goals. It's incredibly inspiring to me so it would tickle me pink if you would share a few of your goals/ideas for this year.


DIY Projects:

--make pillow shams and accent pillows for bed

--cover couch pillows

--finish upholstered, tuffted headboard for our room

--paint frames, fill with cute stuff and arrange over headboard.

--finish painting dresser and armoire in our room.

--hang window treatments in our room

--paint frames and freshen up decor in living room

--paint the guest bathroom and hang wall hooks for boy's towels

--look further into creating a pantry in our kitchen

--spruce up the boy's bedroom and playroom (take down Isaiah's nursery decor....geez)



Personal:

--wake up early enough each morning to have quiet time before the boy's wake up

--have scheduled reading time through the week for books that help me grow

--manage my time with the boys, keeping up with the house and managing my shop better

--have meal plans and, if possible, meals in the freezer each month

--carve out time for exercise


The boys:

--research and try to get a plan for homeschooling next year

--start prepping Isaiah for school more intentionally

--have more structure in our daily routine

--continue to work with Isaiah on his chore chart

--spend time each day ENGAGED and PLAYING with the boys


My Man:


--date night at least 2 times a month

--become more intentional about doing thoughtful, little things for him (notes mailed to work, etc)

--reserve enough energy through the day for when he comes home



Ok, I'm overwhelmed now. I'm sure I'll be revisiting this list and tweaking it into more manageable bite-sized pieces. I know some of these things are things that I will work my whole life to accomplish. I would simply like to GROW in those areas this year. :)


Your turn! What's on YOUR list????

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is thy faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."

Lam 3: 22-24

This is my Christmas present to you :)

Pure. Worship.

I have been so moved by what happens in this food court that I just can't not show you.

(If you've already seen it....watch it again!!!)


It's not just that I'm a music person....it's that we ALL are created to worship and the God of the bible, the Gospel, all these great truths we hold on to is the God of MUSIC, ART, DANCE and all creative expression.


He's artsy and creative and musical and brilliant because He is THE Artist and THE Creator and THE music and all the ideas behind it.


And frankly, it's pretty awesome to see Him show off like this. :)


Enjoy!!!

(actually, just click on the title since my blog wants to cut it in half. :))

Tour De Ornaments!!!

Our tree is fake. It's us-lit...not pre-lit. There are lots of places where you can see the actual pole in the middle. And the ornaments? They are a complete hodge podge of colors, shapes, sizes, styles and ages....no theme whatsoever.

But we love it.


There is MUCH sentimental value in it. And I'm sure most of you would say the same about your tree. I love decorations that have history. A story. I think they should bring up joyful memories that we will treasure in our hearts forever.


So, I thought it would be kinda fun to show you a few of our ornaments that mean so much to us....and get ready cause I want to see yours too!


I have quite a few of these....my great-grandmother crocheted them. She was a spunky, fiesty lady, the mother of one of my most beloved people on earth, and I love having something that came from her hands.



I also have a lot of these cute, retro, wooden, hand-painted ornaments. My Mom painted these for my parents' first Christmas together. I love them!

This one brings tears to my eyes. It's probably my favorite of all our ornaments. Yes, I know it's just a McDonald's straw stapled together, but it's symbolic of God's faithfulness to my parents. When my parents got married, they didn't have money to go buy ornaments for a tree so my mom used straws from McDonald's to make their first ornaments. The Lord has provided in amazing ways for them....and us.

My first ornament. :)

Then, when I was two and my sister had just been born, my mom painted this for me. She also painted us dresses (that she also made) and shirts; had her own wood saw that she used to make and paint goodies that she gave as gifts and sold at a craft store; and sewed, stuffed and painted our own baby dolls.

What do I do? I blog about it. That's what I do. Hope you're proud, Mom.

Made by me at age 11. I'm surprised mom could get me to stop thinking about boys and New Kids on the Block long enough.

This was one of my favorite gifts we received when we got married. I make sure it gets a very prominent spot on the tree each year.

Bought in a street market in Nassau near our cruise ship. An AMAZING honeymoon. I can still hear the steel drums when I look at this.

4 years ago we had a little baby and so we did what every new parent does at Christmas. We stripped him down and stuck his foot in white plaster over and over and over again until we captured that little foot print just right. Today he wears a boys size 13 shoe.

2 years ago we had another little boy with an apparent fondness for Spock. Live long and prosper.


So there you have it. I've showed you mine and now I would like to see yours. :)

I really love hearing other people's stories behind their treasures and since we can't all go to each others' living rooms let's have a virtual peek! Show as few or as many as you like!

Please feel free to leave a comment OR, if you feel so inclined, leave a link to your own post so we can see it!

Let the Tour De Ornaments begin!

How will we die?

I just finished watching this man preach his heart out.

He asks over and over, "Will we die in our religion or will we die in our devotion?"


I can't unpack this sermon for you and it's a time commitment to watch it (35 mins), but every single minute is WORTH IT.

I don't have much to say right now. I feel like God, in one way or another, has been asking me this same question. This blog, though wonderful for many things, can be a huge temptation to write about things and not live them.

I hear a refrain in my head over and over and over asking the question,

"What if no one could see you, Dana?
What if no one was there to give praise and approval?
What if no one was there to hear you and possibly criticize in their hearts?
What if no one had an opinion?
What if no one knew about your sacrifices?
What if they knew you didn't sacrifice?
What if the only people affected were you and the ones you were reaching out to?
How would you live?
Would you still do it?
Would you even start doing it?"

David Platt: SBC Pastors Conference 2009 from Todd Thomas on Vimeo.

A quick announcement of cheer and joy

Hi, there.

How YOU doin'?


I've been on the couch the last 2 days with various mugs of hot tea and a roll of toilet paper because my nose and sinuses hate me, but I'll be back soon with a post and pictures of our Thanksgiving weekend...you won't believe how fierce of a football player I am.



But that's not why I'm here. I wanted to drop by real quick in between nose blows and sinus washes to let you know that my friend Carrie aka

is doing a GIVEAWAY for my shop today over at her blog Little Llamas!!!!


Carrie and I have known each other since college (I think we met in '98) and even spent a summer in South Africa together so it's really cool to me that she's doing my first giveaway. She's got an adorable blog over there so go check her out and enter to win your own lovely and a great discount!

I even made my own button!!!





So, here's your proverbial slap on the behind....go get 'em, girls!!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!