4 years

Sam,

You will always be the person that changed my life. You changed it for the best, you made me better, stronger. I was lost in a sea of being whoever I thought I should be at the moment. Until you came around and showed me I was worthwhile just the way I was.  You taught me I deserved the best in life, even if others told me different. I'm not the best, I make a lot of mistakes, and act a little crazy. But I'm yours, and thank God for that. When I look into our boys eyes, I see the men they will become, and I'm thankful its going to be just like you. 

I love you always.

Look how far we've come.  

 

Holy Hardwood!

I got the notion while I was in Tennessee, that when I got back home, the nasty carpet in our house had to go. I also discovered while in Tennessee I picked up some old habits like using words such as..y'all, notion, yonder, and sweetie pie. And Jude picked up making 1 syllable words into 3 syllable words, such as, "I want dow-wa-na", formally known as "down". I think it's kinda cute. :)

I've been at war with these floors every since we moved in. If any of you hang out at my house, you know how much I hated the endless carpet that is throughout it. It is impossible to keep clean with 3 boys and a dog, and frankly sometimes I felt like we were living on an old dirty sponge. We have 4 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a den/playroom, 1 staircase and 2 hallways...all of which are an endless sea of carpet.

So yesterday after church Sam and I decided to measure out our 2 living rooms to price some nice laminate, just to get rid of the carpet in our main hang out areas.  We couldn't afford much, but we knew we had to do something. As we were measuring Sam decided to cut out a corner in the carpet to see what was underneath...low and behold, HARDWOOD floors. Beautiful oak hardwood floors. Ok, technically they could be beautiful, and hopefully will be. Right now they look a little...sad. So immediately we go to every room in the house to see what all is hardwood. Living room, check. Hallway, check. Bedroom, check. Stairs, check. We were beyond excited. So excited that Sam pulled up the carpet in our main living room...right then. Can't say that was a great idea, but oh well.

We decided to only pull up the living room, hallway and bedroom to refinish the hardwood floors. Hopefully we are sanding, staining and finishing within the next few weeks. I am so excited I had to write a post..and to keep track of our progress. We haven't decided if we are going to take on this project ourselves, or hire out. Here's our starting point, please let me know if you have any good tips/suggestions/ideas!

DIY Rope Containers (use old formula cans!)

Be a dear and check out my latest post on DIY Rope Containers here at Time2SaveWorkshops.com! All you need is some formula cans, rope and a hot glue gun! 

I just wanna brag on some awesome people.

 Being a pastors wife, there are so many opportunities to be blessed by people who want to do something nice for you, give you something, cook for you, etc. Often though, there are less times when we actually witness people being as giving and selfless to the ones around us.

Sunday was not that day. 

I was so overwhelmed with love and appreciation on Sunday as I stare at the mountain of gifts (and food) piled on our social hall stage. 

These gifts weren't for me, they weren't for anyone in our church, they weren't even for anyone in our community. There were for a couple in need, who just had a baby. Our church was there to fill that need. No one knew them, no one had ever met them, they aren't even from this area. But we found out they needed help, and that's all that mattered. 

The people in our church never seize to amaze me. As I stare at the stage I see a car seat/stroller combo brand new in box, I see a baby swing, I see a beautiful sleigh crib and changing table, I see baskets FULL of washes and toys, multiple pack n' plays, a high chair, clothes and endless bags full of gifts. Tables FULL of food, volunteers making sure we have everything we need. All of these things for a couple in need, whom we do not know. Isn't that what its all about? Being the hands and feet of Jesus with no gain in return. We do a lot of things around here that get recognition, egg hunts, dinners, date nights, kids events, etc. But the things that impact people the most are the things done out of pure love, and pure motives, things that have minimal rewards.

On Sunday, I didn't know which made me happier...a beautiful couple getting so blessed, or being part of a church that gives so selflessly. 

We love you Central Church. 

Canister Updo's

 Tired of your kitchen counters? I am. I swear, I have the most random containers on my counters in the world. I decided to buy some long overdue chalkboard paint to spruce them up a bit. 

This DIY is definitely easy, but it comes with a few quirks. No matter how easy you may think taping a straight line around a jar is, it's not. I re-taped these guys about 10 times. But other than that, this DIY is easy and has a great payoff.

The tools: 

Container of your choice

Tape (seriously Frog tape is AMAZING)

 chalkboard paint

foam brush

1. Tape off your containers (this is the part that sounds easier than it is, but after a few attempts, you'll get it almost perfect) I didn't measure anything, just eyeballed it.

2. Paint the lower portion (or upper, or the lid, possibilities are endless!) give it one nice coat. 

You can apply a second coat if needed in 4 hours. Go take a nap or something :)

3. I let mine dry overnight to make sure it was set, then pulled off the tape. There were a few minor spots where the paint bled through the tape, but my nail easily scrapped it off. The can says not to write on it for 4 days, but I wrote on them the next day..shh. You can easily wipe anything you write off with a wet rag..I don't suggest an eraser. 

Here's mine:

 In case you are wondering, the $ means coins, and that thing is FULL. 

(Sam uses it for his secret Hot n' Ready runs!)

Also, I learned from my sister-in-law that there is a chalk board marker you can use instead of real chalk I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds fun!