Life as we know it…

Just a few pictures to post from last week and our weekend….

Hope you are having a great one! Coming up this week, I hope to post a Biscuit tutorial, and also a Book Recommendation. I hope you’ll come back for a visit. I love your visits! If you don’t have a blog, I believe you can send me a comment Anonymously. :) I would love to hear from you.

We had a Birthday Girl last week! Erin turned SIX!

Enjoying the chocolate…..

These blocks are at the Dollar Store for $2 or so…they are wooden and my kids love them!

Caught this of my oldest holding my youngest..:) This was in the morning, thus the lack of expressions…

Working on my new HERB GARDEN!!! :)

Taking a water break….

Tilling the ground….

A little closet organization for the children…..

My Garden Tub….:)

See the baby Collards??

We have some new ‘critters’ on our farm and I hope to get some pictures of them today to post soon. I’ll leave you in suspense of what kind of critters they might be. I’ll give you a hint: They are very noisy and unusual looking! :)

God Bless you RICHLY! Glorify Him in everything you do today.

You like Pink?

I recently converted the room where my 3 oldest slept to a girls only room. Yesterday I had it all spruced up (New year De-cluttering, anyone?) so I snapped a shot of it to show you:

Here’s before:

Insert Pink. Lots of Pink.

More?

Need I be corny and say she is tickled pink about her new room? She still prefers to sleep with her brothers, but, oh well, it’s a big adjustment for her.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! :)

Bathroom Sneak Peek

Remember this?

This?

This?

THIS? (Or maybe you haven’t seen this)

After 7567 containers of grout later, 6 trips from my dad, countless hours put in by my Dear Hon, and even an all nighter put in by yours truly (yes, I was in the shower all night till 4am….grouting), we have this sneak peek:

(Ignore the insulation coming out of the future shower closet)

(Ignore the lack of trim around the windows and um, who left the toilet seat up??)

Dec 11, 2010 will be a date that forever goes down in our family’s history. The first shower taken in this house. Ever.

And it was d.e.v.i.n.e!

I am really thankful for my new retreat.

A couple of Do-it-Yourself-ers

When I was growing up, we never went to Yard Sales. Never. It was not that we were ‘better than that’, it was just that my mom thought it was a waste of time and she wasn’t keen on other people’s stuff. I guess that was the reason. I really never asked her?

I absolutely loathe confrontation, so to me, stopping by a Yard Sale of a complete strangers and pilfering through their junk is just too confrontational for my taste.

And then I stopped at my first Yard Sale.

I think it was my town’s annual 7-mile Yard Sale. I knew there would be lots and lots of people there and it wasn’t like I’d be the only one pilfering, ya know?

Yeah, I have issues. Moving along…

At my Queen-of-Yard-Sales-MIL’s persuasion (she volunteered to keep the kids), I decided to give it a try.

At the second or third stop, I found a bag of books for $1, and soon afterwards, I found an adorable Gap skirt and an Old navy skirt for my little girl.

“How much you want for these?”

“Oh, 25 cents.”

And I have loved Yard Sale-ing ever since.

The other morning, I went to my husband’s Aunts’ yard sale (there were 3 sisters, so three Aunts) and saw this coffee table:

(Yeah, I know…try to look past the cutie AND the mess to fix your eyes on the coffee table…circa 1980s)

She had $20 on it (as IF…) but my MIL (her sister) told her I would give her $10 for it (you would LOVE and…um…sometimes dis-love these sisters…lol…right, Amy?). So, I did.

Here it is after a coat of primer and 2 coats of nice white paint (bought at another yard sale of a lady who owns a hardware store…gotta love it) and a few decor items:

and

Yes, I know there are tags still on the birdies…I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put them there or not. They were Dollar Store finds ($6 ea) and they are tooooo cute.

I now have a lantern were those picture frames are and the tags are off the birds….:)

My living room is quite dark so I’m slowly trying to lighten things up and go for a Country Cottage feel. When I say Country, I love old quilts in baskets, old trunks sitting around, etc., not blue and mauve or the primitive look. To each his own…:)

My last project was brought about because of the urgency I feel to create a sense of work ethic in my children, especially my sons. I do want them to have play time, but not idle time. We have rest time, but I want them to be busy.

We have had a schedule before, but I wanted to have one that my son could look at and see what he’s supposed to be doing at certain times. My youngest 2 (2 & 5 yr old) can’t read, but are loosely following the same schedule (w/ different table activities/weekly/daily chores).

Yesterday was his first day following it and I was a bit discouraged. Around 1:30, he saw that it read, “Playtime with Mom”, so he wanted us to play Scrabble. I talked to him and explained that he would have to do the other parts of his schedule as well if he wanted to have playtime with me. So, he has been doing great ever since! We had missed a couple things to day, but I don’t expect it to be rigid or perfect. :o)

I just used card stock and scrapbook paper.

Nothing fancy. I thought you might could get an idea or two from it. :)

Okay, blessings to all!

I’m finally linking up to Marla’s Woo-hoo Wednesday, held every Wednesday. Stop by her site if you get a chance. She’s having a giveaway too!

What a Blessed Weekend!

Good morning, readers friends! I trust that you had a wonderful weekend filled with God’s blessings upon your family. No doubt, you did, because:

Every good and perfect gift is from above. and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

Thursday night was my first ever Piano Recital and it turned out great! The weather was awful and I thought that would surely hinder our crowd, but we had a turnout of about 35 people, I’d presume! My students did splendidly:

my older students…one is missing due to being out of town…

My youngest student, with lil sis admiringly looking on…

one with my only male student :)…and the refreshments

A close-up of the cake….yummy…made by my Aunt :)

Then Saturday night, lo and behold, we were invited to a Sweet 16 fancy-smancy birthday party! I could even bring a date! See who I brought…

He’s been my date for 14 years now! :) Oh, and he was in mid-song during this picture. He is so known for his singing ability and to be able to find an appropriate song for every situation/occasion. :)

Oh, but here is the Birthday Girl (yes, she is pictured in one of the above photos):

Our best friends who sat at the table with us:

My childhood friend married my husband’s childhood friend….:)

Sunday morning found us in front of the opened freezer door, trying to get some relief for my crouping daughter. Ella and I stayed home with her from church. Erin spent lots of time resting (i.e. watching Dora..ha) and I straightened up the house a bit. Before the ‘men’ came home, she and I made a pizza for lunch.

working on the crust….

Puttin’ on the toppings…

More toppings (the peppers are fresh from the garden)…..Bellpeppers, olives, peps, banana peppers, portabella shrooms….

Ready to go in…..

There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of making and eating your own homemade pizza! It was really good, even if I did forget to put the salt and oil in the crust. :)

Before the kids napped, I read to them a little out of our current Read-Aloud,

During their nap, I worked on a project that I will unveil in a separate post tomorrow. I also started to work on organizing the kids’ rooms. I feel like that is a project that I need to revisit every month for it to stay organized! Anyway, I sorted blocks, littlest pet shops, animals, small trucks, baby toys, baby dolls, magnetic toys, etc…into separate bins. I even broke a sweat and I’m not so sure I rested enough for a Lord’s Day. :/

While the men went back to church for Evening Worship, Erin settled back in front of Dora (I never let her watch that much Dora, or anything for that matter, but, I digress…we did swing for awhile). Once I noticed she seemed very lethargic and her cheeks were flushed. I decided I’d better check her temp. It was 101.8. I thought I would wait a little before I gave her medication so the fever could do its work. I made some cookies, Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies (for you, Amy, j/k) and then worked some more on my organizing. Erin’s fever seemed to get worse, so I told her to get in the bathtub and then I would take her temp after her bath. It was 103. I gave her Tylenol and within minutes her fever was completely gone and she was playing. I told my husband that someone was praying for our little girl. I have never seen temperature go down that fast!

Here she is…doing a quiet activity before bed …making a clock…(she loves to sleep in her slip)

Here is Evan playing with the newly organized small trucks:

I’ve got to take more pictures of Emory…he is practicing the guitar and taking lessons from his Dad now. I will have to get a picture of him playing. He really does look like a natural.

Well, today has begun. The children are awake and it’s time to begin our day! May you be blessed. :)

PS. Check out our Garden Tour in the post below!

Thank you for your comments. They are so encouraging to me. Honestly.