Schoolroom Progress Pictures

Before

This is what the schoolroom looked like on the day we moved in.  The paint on the walls was a pink tinged color (of course!) and I could not wait to whip out my paint roller.  We put many sample swatches on the wall and finally decided on the color Lemon Ice from the Martha Stewart line.

 After painting one wall I began to have second thoughts. The color looked way too bright almost like a neon yellow. I thought that the terrible lighting in the room was probably the culprit (it was nighttime after all) and decided to press on and paint the rest of the room hoping it would look better in the morning. What a mistake!!  The color looked even worse in the daylight.

 The color looks softer and not as bad in the picture above due to lighting but it was really pretty awful . There was no way I could live with that color on the walls so I decided to repaint the room Salt Glaze also by Martha Stewart.  While I was busy painting away my little men were having a blast making knight's armor out of cardboard and aluminum foil.  At one point I almost fell off my ladder when I turned around and saw these two looking at me!

Ahh second time was a charm! Salt Glaze turned out to be the perfect color for the space....

After all the painting was done we ripped out the carpet and put in new flooring.  I also painted the bookshelves and a red ikea table we had simply white 

(a Benjamin Moore color). You can find a tutorial explaining the process I used to do that here.

BEFORE

Since we are still in the process of finishing this room this is not an after picture but more of a "progress made so far" picture.  I need to put up the roman shade that will hide the gorgeous meter right outside the window.  I also need to arrange the books and other items on the shelves and hang the map and artwork on the walls.

After  so far......

On the other side of the room there is a closet with double doors.

 

We though it would be perfect for stashing books and other homeschooling material. A just close the door on the chaos kinda thing. So hubby made shelves..  

Here they are all painted and filled up....

and lest I discourage any homeschooling mother out there with pictures of pristine homeschooling areas this is what the table looked like tonight!

Ouch! Just keeping it real :)!  After Pics coming soon...

You can see a makeover of  my boy's play area with complete before and afters  here!

He Is Risen!

Don't be alarmed, he said.  You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
Mark 16:6

Three years ago I stopped trusting in my righteous works and started trusting solely in Jesus Christ for my salvation.  Since then there is in me a continual joy that nothing can take away.  Today my life is hidden in Him the author and finisher of my faith and I delight in obeying His commands to give Him glory.  Hallelujah for He made a way!

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.  Galatians 2:16
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.  Romans 4:24,25

Happy Resurrection Day! 

What Sealed The Deal

As the one year anniversary of our current house purchase draws near I am reminded of the journey that led us to where we are today. Choosing a home to purchase is no easy task.  Even though the house structure itself is important,  where the house is located,  your overall lifestyle, pastimes as a family etc., should also be taken into consideration when making a final decision.  After a year of searching (and I mean searching people!!) we ultimately chose this particular house of ours, in a all its 90's pinkness, above countless others because of its proximity to a 100 acre park that sits like an oasis in the midst of endless rows of suburban manicured lawns that surround it. My three boys deem the vast park their very own paradise and  they do not seem to tire of exploring it day after day.  It has been a continuous source of  joy and entertainment for our entire family.

 

This protected piece of land, with its endless trails, trees, wild grasses and streams as well as numerous sports courts scattered throughout, sealed the deal for us and we have never looked back.

Our daily walks through favorite spots are usually slow and leisurely since the boys insist on examining every single discovery most thoroughly and one of them in particular loves wandering off to pick just the right flower for mama :o)

It is an area where nature is preserved and so wildlife thrives. There are, ahem, shall I say 'many a  critter lurking about'.  The latest discovery? A snake's skin dangling from a branch.  A veritable treasure if you ask my three....

It was of course promptly removed and examined from all angles. 

 In their efforts to convince me to let them carry it home so as to add it to their ever growing collection they actually told  me they thought it would look great as a decoration on our entryway table! What mama can resist such convincing?

Just a friendly reminder to look at the big picture when choosing a home for your family. For us it has made all the difference! 

The above photos remind me of this rhyme...

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !

Cottage Style Living Areas

Hope you all have a great weekend!

*Images courtesy of My Home ideas

Painting On My Mind

What originally started out as a simple entryway makeover has spilled over and turned into a bigger "decorate the the entire space" kind of project.  Since our front door opens right into a large area that serves as our front living and dining room,  decorating the entryway also means looking at the rest of the space and making sure it all flows well.  Right now I am tackling our 60" round dining table.

I have it covered with a tablecloth because the table top surface is not in the greatest condition.  This is what is under that tablecloth .....

 Not only is the table scuffed up the stain is also too dark and it does not blend well with the buffet.  I want to paint it creamy white and think that it would look great against the dark floors and buffet. I have been looking at these two images for inspiration.  Any suggestions welcome!!

Surprise!

Friday morning, hubby and Seth left for a two day apologetics conference five hours away.  Zach looked a bit lost without big brother around so while Jacob practiced the piano I took out the Scrabble game and let him play with the letter tiles. I was blown away (floored really :o)) when he began to point at each tile and correctly identify the letters. I never taught them to him, yet somehow, someway he learned them all!  When I asked him how on earth he had learned them he explained that he would listen to the spelling lessons I do with his brothers. This surprised me because while I do spelling with the oldest two he is usually away from our table on the floor putting a puzzle together or building something out of blocks, legos etc so I assumed he was not paying attention to our lessons. I cannot believe I did not find out that he knew them until now! I told him I wanted to record him saying the letters and dashed off to get my camera.  He grew quite impatient when he saw I wanted him to go through the letters again for the cam but complied long enough for me to get this short video below. My baby is growing up people *sniffle * sniffle*