My Life Unscripted

 Moments I Want to Remain Etched in My Mind Forever

Because we all dream of flying.....

This morning I found him standing perfectly still in the blazing Texas heat, arms outstretched, waiting...

Then suddenly "I know why I am not flying Mommy. It's because it is summer and there is no wind. Come Fall Momma I will fly!"

WWYD? To Part With It or Not..

That is the question. 

This little rolltop desk of mine is a constant reminder to our family of the importance of faith. Yes, this one little ol' desk that I bought while living in a tiny two bedroom apartment , is a testament to the fact that resilience is buried deep within us, that hope is the last thing to die.

You see after 10 years of living in a little red 1950's ranch house, where all three of my babies were born, we were forced to sell.  It was necessary, but oh what a trial the trying to sell became. Four weeks into the big housing market crash three years ago our realtor put the sign out on the front lawn, and we prayed for a miracle.  The miracle came exactly one year later.

One whole year of trying to keep an old house in perfect condition for prospective buyers, with three little boys underfoot.  One whole year of hopes dashed time and time again.  There are no words, my friends, to adequately describe that year.

(Blurry picture of the retro kitchen we lovingly remodeled in that little red house)

But finally the much awaited moment arrived, the house was sold and we put all our possessions in a storage unit.  We thought we would surely find a new house in no time at all and so the only things that went into the two bedroom, temporary apartment we rented were our mattresses, on the floor of course, and our clothes.  Little did we know that the wait in that small apartment would stretch into thirteen whole months.

Here are two of my boys Christmas morning in the aforementioned apartment, five months into our house search. Note furniture-less living room and plain tree, devoid of  beloved ornaments and a tree skirt, that were at the time buried somewhere deep in the storage unit. (My eldest with his retainer on, just lovely!)

Around month number six, when frustration levels were mounting and despair was starting to set in I decided that for all our sakes I needed to make an attitude adjustment.  I calmly announced to the four men in my life that I would begin searching for furniture for our new home. Yes, furniture for the new home that was as of yet nowhere in the horizon. It was a leap of faith, a way of holding on to a dream. The furniture would consist of pieces I could transform with a little paint once we had a garage again .  I loaded our three small children in the mini van and  the treasure hunt began.

The first piece I bought was the small desk.  I lugged it up the stairs to our second floor walk up and immediately began searching for items to display on it. Decorating that desk top became for me a much needed creative outlet during those remaining months, it kept me sane.  The children began to look forward to seeing a new arrangement atop it every few days or so and even the mister complimented my efforts regularly.
 Here it is in all its unpainted glory on the eighth month of our apartment stay.

On month number thirteen the time came to say goodbye to that small apartment.  We had a house again!  I promptly  painted the little desk upon moving in and found a place for it between two wing chairs in the formal living area even though I knew a larger piece of furniture was what the space really needed.  I did not want to part with it. 

 

Now I have in my garage, waiting patiently, the perfect large piece for that space.  But what to do with the little desk?  Another good spot for it in the house cannot be found and it is only used nowadays to hold the countless 'treasures' the boys find at the park each day.

Butterflies and bark and other woodsy finds...

and yet to me it serves another purpose.  It serves to tell the story of a particular season in our lives, a season where clinging to faith was all we had, a season that taught me lessons I do not want to soon forget.

Have you had to part with any one piece of furniture that for you had great sentimental value?

Cheap Ikea Art Transformed!

Have you ever bought something even though your insides were screaming WRONG! for the space you had in mind?  I am usually a cautious shopper who thinks and rethinks every purchase but a trip to Ikea on Memorial Day (think throngs of shoppers, long lines, three boys and a Mr. who could think of a million more appealing things to do on a holiday etc.) found me at the front of the checkout line (finally!) with a cart full of Ribba frames and you guessed it, this piece of art, that I knew in my heart of hearts would be totally wrong for our home.  I stood there unsure of what to do as the cashier rung up the frames at lightning speed.  Just as he picked up the item in question I looked at the Mr., who, as if reading my doubt riddled mind, quickly mouthed in my direction "We can return it later.." and calmly proceeded to pay for the purchase. And just like that the deed was done and I became the reluctant owner of a cheap piece of art I knew not what to do with.

The nearest Ikea store is 45 min. away so it did not make sense to return it.  Since I really liked the overall size for the breakfast nook wall and the hanging hardware attached to the back was very sturdy, I decided not to throw it away and coated it with primer instead. After first coat....(I used two coats)

 I am really loving a quote by Albert Camus that really speaks to what our family has discovered while going through a difficult time in our lives (you can read more about that here).  I painted the whole board burnt yellow and used white acrylic paint for the lettering.  I first tried using a stencil but did not like the perfectly uniform look.  I wanted more of a free style so I lightly wrote out the letters myself in pencil and then painted over them with white acrylic paint.

I am by no means experienced when it comes to creating wall art so I was pleasantly surprised when it actually turned out to be something I wanted to display!

another angle...

If you want to see the print in living colah' watch the short video below.  My dear sister was visiting us from New Jersey and so the family gathered at my house for the weekend.  While reminiscing about our childhood my brother and sister decided to try a clapping game we loved as children .  Hilarious I tell you!  The print is in the background...

The primer I used was Olympic's No VOC Primer and the burnt yellow was a sample of Behr's Wild Bamboo with some brown acrylic paint I mixed in.  What items have you dramatically altered lately?
To check out our different makeovers with before and after pictures go here.

I am linking up to Boogie Board Cottage and C.R.A.F.T..  Please visit them for lots of inspiration!

That's Life..

Hello all.  My lack of posts lately can be blamed on LIFE and its refusal to stop happening. The whole of the month of May we ran around trying to do all those things that are impossible to enjoy once that stifling Texas summer heat comes barreling in!  We enjoyed games at the ballpark...Go Rangers!

Trips to the zoo (where we were delighted to find a new baby chimp!)  So cute!

We were also surprised to find dinosaurs lurking behind every corner ha!

Two lovely birds that I caught kissing and the beak of a certain duck made me want to paint something in our house the perfect shade of aqua. Yes, design inspiration can be found anywhere, even at your local zoo!

We also visited the museum quite a few times.

Add to the many outings, almost daily walks to the park, lots of homemade popcorn and I love Lucy viewing marathons in the late evenings and you can see why posting has been scarce!

On Monday I decided enough was enough.  I looked my troops straight in the eye (eyes?) and announced that the fun was over.  It was time to finish all those half done projects, like that dining table I was going to paint but only got as far as filling in the scratches with wood filler.

and that gallery wall-to-be ( for a month just pieces of paper taped to the wall)

all the frames from Ikea waiting patiently under the buffet.

Yup it was definitely time to get moving.  Since putting my foot down I have been walking around with a half tired, slightly harried look on my face which causes my kids to ask me repeatedly throughout the day "Are you o.k. mommy? Are you sad or something?" It's hilarious! I have spent the last few days painting like crazy and reassuring my offspring over and over again that I am o.k. . ha! ha! These projects must. get. done. Today I finished priming the table and will be painting it this weekend. Yahoo!

Since I suffer from decor project ADD I went from priming the table to doing something radical to this piece of Ikea Art.

Yup, I covered it with primer.  Soon after buying it I realized it was totally wrong for the breakfast nook hence the primer fest..

 No worries I have a fantabulous idea that will transform it into something better suited for the space. Pictures of all finished projects and some how-to's coming (hopefully) soon!   If you have made it all the way to the end of this really loong post you deserve a reward.  I leave you with this inspiring image. (I chose it because it reminded me of the windows in your living room sis.)

 Have a great weekend!

*if you have the original source for the above pic. please let me know Thanks!

Of Dreamers and Dreams

We have a little dreamer living among us.  His favorite book for the past few weeks?

He carries it with him wherever he goes and has asked me to read it to him over and over again.  Just last week, as he was flipping through it for the millionth time, two large drops of water fell from the kitchen sink onto one of the pages.  He immediately burst into tears because he was sure the water would permanently damage his beloved book.  After I assured him that the water would dry up and everything would be o.k. he ran off, much consoled, with the book safely tucked under his arm. 

 He spends hours playing/dreaming with a ball his brother made him out of a wad of paper (wrapped with tape) and a plastic rim taped above his playroom door.  He not only tears up the court (a.k.a. hallway) he also gives a play by play broadcast with such enthusiasm! If you listen carefully to the video below you just might hear a crowd of imaginary fans cheering him on.... 

 

Consider The Many Ways of Love

I was thinking just the other day about the myriad of ways we show those around us that we love them.  As a stay at home mom who also home schools I spend most of my time around my children. I tell them things like "I love you from here to the moon and back!" and "You will always be the love of my life" a bazillion times a day while gazing into their eyes. I also hug and kiss them a lot. For me it is as natural as breathing to love on them this way. (Zach had just woken up from a nap and had the grumpies in this pic :o)

The Mister on the other hand is not so touchy, feely. He demonstrates his love in other ways, primarily by giving the boys one on one time where they enjoy his undivided attention.  Even when exhausted, after a full days work, he will take the time to play all kinds of sports with them.  He takes them on long bike rides and sometimes even joins their games of 'hide and seek' and 'It'.


Just a few weeks ago he brought home a huge piece of cardboard and fashioned out of it a puppet show theater so the boys would have something to keep them busy on those endless Saturday afternoons.

As the boys went off excitedly to make puppets and write out scripts,  I could not help but smile at the many ways of love.

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 !

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*

Celebrating a Life

Our house looked quite festive this Sunday as we celebrated Jacob's birthday with family and friends.  We hung paper lanterns in the dining room....

and attached pennants we made out of scrapbook paper throughout.

We also made a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting that turned out quite delicious.

Letter to Jacob from Mommy on March 26, 2011

My dear son,
Eight years ago, on a beautiful spring day, I held you in my arms for the first time and fell in love. Today you are all of eight years old and my heart is still completely and forever yours. You are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day and we cannot imagine our lives without you. I am always amazed at how self assured you are for one so young and I can already see in you glimpses of the great man you will one day become. How I love your witty, slightly sarcastic sense of humor and your great laugh, they light up my days. You are energetic and full of life, and I enjoy watching how you delight in playing sports with your dad for hours on end.  You are so artistic, always creating something, and your knack for finding beauty in the simplest of things is very refreshing.  Above all I admire your great love for God and stand in awe of how powerfully He is working in your heart.  Recently you shared with me how you believe God has called you to be a missionary to China and I know that since then you dream of learning Mandarin and helping the people in that country come to know the One who died so that they could live.  These are all good and noble dreams my love but never forget that it is only through Him alone that all this can be accomplished.  If He is your all in all then there will never be a task too great for you, for nothing is impossible for Him. On this day my greatest wish for you, my sweet Jacoby, is a life filled with His grace and His love.
I love you more than words can express and I hope you have a very Happy Birthday.
Your Mommy