Where I am

I've had a few ask where I've gone... Some of you may not have noticed that I've been gone;-) That's okay.

I had a miscarriage a year ago that affected me far deeper than I thought it ever would. I got to see it's sweet little heart beating at 7 weeks and then went back at 9 weeks only to find out it had died shortly after my previous appointment. It took 5 weeks in all for my body to finally let go of it from the time it died and the emotional roller coaster I felt as I lost it was not easy.

I am a Christian. And when I say I'm a Christian then I mean I have asked The Lord into my heart, to save me from my sins and to help me walk with Him every day that I live. Because of that then I believe that I have my fourth son or daughter living in heaven now. Jesus was the first face my little one ever saw! One day I will meet our baby in heaven. What an amazing thought, though it breaks my heart that I never got to meet him or her here on earth.

I am so thankful for the comfort that The Lord gives!

I got pregnant again in late October and we welcomed our 4th son (6th baby. I had another miscarriage in 2010) into the world on July 28th, 2014.

I am realizing how quickly time is going by. How short our time is to raise these boys and show them what it means to love The Lord with all their heart, soul and mind.

 So I stopped. I stopped blogging, I stopped painting, I stopped doing all these things that were taking time away from my boys.

 I'm not saying it's forever. But right now this is where The Lord wants me. 

Holding my children, loving my children and hopefully someday when they are grown and moving on then I will be able to look back and know that even though we didn't do everything perfect, we did the best that we could.

Oh Say Can You See?

I took on some big sign orders this year.

Time consuming-stretch of my "talents" signs.

I enjoyed the challenge but found myself very ready for them to be over.

 

I painted these for the sweetest, most patient women ever.

Both of these signs were HUGE!

The American Flag one was based off of this one that she had seen and loved but wanted painted by an artist.

Artist. Ha.

 

 

The Cycle Shop sign was a copy of one I had done for myself (then sold) a few years back.

It was customized with their family name to make is personal.

 

 

We did some big projects over the summer that I look forward to showing you soon!



A Giveaway From Carolyn Jewels!

I love etsy.

You never know what you'll come across.

Or who will come across you.

A friend from my old home town contacted me a few months back about doing a giveaway.

"Yes" I said.

But summer was underway with a million things going on.

No time to even blog!

School time is here now, and things are winding down.

Time for a giveaway!

As the header states, our lovely bib necklace comes from Carolyn Jewels.

One lucky winner will be receive this necklace, valued at $25~

Plus, if you like what you see in her shop right now then take advantage of a limited time coupon.

Enter SUMMER2013 at checkout to get $5 off your order of $23 or more.

If that's not great enough then she also offers FREE SHIPPING every day!

 

Carolyn Jewels has many more adorable items for you to check out.

Like the colorful rosette bracelet above.

 

Or these bright pops of color for your hair!

Be sure to stop by her shop and see the other items she has to offer!

Giveaway Rules:

1. Leave a comment and let me know that you stepped into her shop for a peak around!

2. Tweet it, Facebook it share it or on your blog - then come back and leave me another comment for an extra chance at winning!

Giveaway open to USA residents only.

Ends Monday, August 26th at 12AM Central Time

Good Luck!

That Beachy Feeling {a new sign} & a Story

My mom is an auction guru.

She picks up some pretty cool stuff now and again.

Whenever I make it to Virginia then I have a blast picking through some of the loot.

(She does sell some of it on her own etsy store here)

One such time I was wondering through the forest beside their house,
(being careful to leave a breadcrumb trail for myself).

when I stumbled upon an old broken table.

I took the top to it and turned it into this lovely sign.

The legs and body of the table I sadly had to leave there.

My mom happens to be a kind and thoughtful lady though and before I know it, a broken down table arrives on my doorstep.

I had plans for it.

I truly did.

My plans got delayed and waylaid until I had no plans at all.

I sadly dismantled the poor, forlorn table and started to haul it to the trash...

But the beautiful old wood called my name and I could not bear to leave any of it behind.

Some of its sturdy legs are now working as a trellis for my soon to be dead cucumber plants. 

(How was I to know the trees would leaf out so much that there would be no sunshine for the poor things?)

Some scraps of it still await my imagination.

Some have come to fruition.

 

 

I happen to love them.

 

 

But the call of the brokendoorslableakdentalworkandmore call me to sell.

Plus, that's why I painted them anyway.

For you.

 

 

 I have two, both different sizes. 

 

 

You can find them in my etsy store.

 

The table is happy again.

I am happy for the table.

Jillian

Summerwood Photography

Beware, this post is picture heavy!

A few months back I had the pleasure of adding a new sponsor to my blog.

Please welcome Summerwood Photography.

 

I had sadly neglected having had any professional photos done of our 3 boys.

So I was more than thrilled to have Ryan and Alisha do their pictures.

 

Ryan and Alisha are a husband and wife team and they work so well together.

I was beyond impressed with how quickly and efficiently they got the shoot done.

Of course it helped that they're our friends and our boys love them;-)

They took so many wonderful pictures that it has been hard to choose our favorites.

I love how they really captured the boys personalities!

I did pick some of the more goofy ones to show, but they are actually some of my favorite.

 

Be sure to stop by their site and see some more of the wonderful shots they've taken.

They do an excellent job of taking wedding photos as well as normal portraits.

 

Thanks you all for capturing some precious moments that we can hold on to!

We Interrupt This Program...

Pictures often speak louder than words.

Yes, that's my kitchen floor.

Oh the mess.

Oh the smell.

It's kinda like buried treasure.

Except it's not at all like that.

We have rotten drain pipes in our kitchen.

Under the concrete.

Do wish us luck.

And if you play the lottery then please stop so I can win.

Heh-heh.

Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Wow! It's been way too long since I've hosted a giveaway.

Lucky for me, the good people at Shabby Apple are letting me host one.

Don't know about Shabby Apple yet?

It's an online dress boutique that specializes in vintage and retro dresses.

You can click here: vintage dresses to see their selection!

 

Sounds great huh?

I didn't mind taking a moment to pick out 1... or 10 for myself.

But lucky for you, Shabby Apple is giving away a $50 gift card to one of you! 

 

I decided I'd take two of each.

One for my fat days.

One for my skinny days.

The one above just shouts, classy spring dress!

Do you hear it?

 



 

I love black dresses.

Love them I say.

A black vintage dress is just about as perfect as you can get!

Right?



 

Wait.

I was wrong.

White.

I love white.

When I think of summer... I think white.

When I think of beaches... I think white.

A white summer dress is just what I need.

Yes indeed.

 

 

I'm a timeless kind of gal too though.

I love dresses that can roll through the ages and still be classy.

A timeless dress is the key.

 

What's your fancy?

 

To be eligable for this giveway then you have to LIKE Shabby Apple on Facebook.

Then leave me a sweet little comment to let me know that you did so!

 

Want to up your chances of winning?

Leave me another comment to let me know what dress you're drooling over!

 

Please make sure you have a way for me to contact you and that you are a USA resident.

 

Giveaway closes May 27, 2013 at 12AM central time.

 

 

Getting In The Groove Again

Have you ever come home from a wonderful vacation and tried to jump back into normal life?

It's not easy.

Especially when you spent a week in Florida with you parents, 5 siblings and their spouses plus 17 grand kids.

In one house.

For one one week.

At the beach.

Am I repeating myself?

 

Anyway, it was great.

 

 

 

Then we came home.....

 

 

I sat in a lounge chair in our back yard trying not to move a muscle.

Trying to hold on to the memories.

Bragging (via text) to my two younger siblings who were still driving back to VA about how wonderful the weather was here and how I wasn't doing anything but relaxing.

 

Yup.

That's what I said.

 

Then a ball got stuck on the roof and our boys tried to get it down.

With rocks.

Life is always interesting.



 

Teacher appreciation week was also last week.

I had fun creating a few things for our wonderful teachers and staff.

Beau specifically asked that I find or make a piece of jewelry for his teacher.

He wanted it to say "I love you".

I had fun making it and thought it was sweet of him to want that for her.

 

 

You know those bloggers that have beautiful homes?

You know.

The ones that show your their home one day and then the next day they post again with the new flooring they installed the evening before.

On a whim.

With only a toothpick and a paint scraper as her tools.

She actually did it all by herself while she took care of her 4 kids and 3 dogs.

Look at her go.

 

Yeah that's not me.

We have started the demolition of our flooring.

We are down to the nasty, gritty concrete that forces me to wear shoes all the time because I can't stand the feel of it on my bare feet.

Yup.

That's the stage we're in.

It's a stage we will remain in for a while.

We're buying a new back door.

Ahhh!

It's good to be back!

Join Me For Coffee? {A New Sign}

Why have they not made an authentic smelling coffee candle?

The kind that fills not only your nose but your whole head with that aroma that makes you want to crunch right into the whole coffee bean.

The aroma that makes non coffee drinkers wish they were coffee drinkers.

Why?

How hard can it be you candle makers?

I am a coffee lover.
Not a connoisseur mind you.
Just a lover of coffee.
I like coffee you can chew.
Yup.
I said chew.

I will admit that I drink a latte every morning.
I'm not ashamed.
You can chew espresso too.

Unfortunately this slice of coffee went off to new lands.
I sold it to my brother-in-law in Virginia.
It will be for sale at his store there.

Bottoms up you coffee fans.
Chew that coffee down!

(and somebody get busy on that candle)

Renewed, Upcycled, Recycled , Cube Footstool

I can't even begin to tell you how long I've wanted to do this sort of project.

Let us hear the story of how it came to be...

 

So Derek and the two older boys went on a men & boys camping trip this last weekend.

Fun for them, fun for me.

Now those of you who have been around for a while will remember I have a third son.

My in laws (who are awesome btw) called and asked if they could keep him for the day.

I may have interrupted them before they finished asking with a hearty yes!

 

I love my kids.

I do.

But in the back of my mind I've been wishing for a trip to HomeGoods.

I wanted it to be the kind of trip that memories are made of.

But not the kind where memories must be paid for because they were accidentally broken.

 

I browsed through HomeGoods at my leisure.

I. looked. At. Everything.

Twice.

At the end of my browsing then I set one measly item on the counter and asked if they could mark it down even more for me since the lid was missing.

They did.

Nice people those HomeGooders.

I rushed home with my burn-your-eyeballs-pink-cube.

I yanked out my burlap coffee bag that I had been hoarding for just such a moment.

(Not sure who I was hoarding it from? Perhaps myself?)

I realized as I lovingly draped my coffee friend over the pink cube that the pink cube was still showing through.

I ran outside with my pink cube and quickly sprayed it down with some black spray paint.

Then I went to stapling....

 

 

 

The lid was next.

Not very exciting.

I cut.

I screwed my planks to another piece of wood.

I stained.

I stuffed.

I stapled.

I banged tacks around it. 

 

And I was happy.

Toothpaste - It's Not Just For Teeth Anymore!

Do you use toothpaste?

I mean really use it?

 

Yes I see you have shiny white teeth, but come on!

We can make it do so much more!

 

Let's take a look...

Sorry about the blur

 

So if you're a mother and if your kids have ever gotten into the markers then you're going to need this one.

My youngest is one of those kinda kids and his brothers are his suppliers.

They leave markers out that just lay there, begging to be used in the naughtiest of ways.

 

On one two three such days he decided to add some decoration to my living room coffee table.

Now luckily this coffee table is very rough and rustic, so they weren't glaringly obvious.

 

Anyway, after staring at them day after day, I remembered...

TOOTHPASTE.

So I went and brushed my teeth.

When I came back I rubbed some onto the marker spots...

Let it marinate...

AND VIOLA!

Okay, so they aren't gone all the way.

In real life though you don't even see them unless you know where to look.

Plus, as I mentioned, this table is very rustic so... ya know.

I could have most likely done it again and gotten them all the way out, but I was happy already.

I will mention that it kinda dries out the finish of your wood.

I simply applied some olive oil to remedy that.

 



 

Now here's another pretty cool one.

Once again, if you have kids then you have scratched DVD's and CD's.

I had many of them.

I did this with CD's that would skip and stall.

VIOLA!

No skipping.

No stalling.

I did this with DVD's that would freeze up due to scratches.

VIOLA!

No freezing.

 

Okay, so this is a miracle worker but it's not a magic wand.

If you've got scratches that you can stick your fingernail in then probably not going to work for ya.

Sorry.

Now I got this handy little tip from this lovely lady's blog.

(via Pinterest)

Now she suggests using Kids CREST toothpaste.

I had no Crest, but I did have Kids Colegate.

Worked great!

As she mentions, you may have to do it more than once on some of them.

Check out her post because she gives you the step-by-step that I am obviously not doing for you.

 

Have anymore toothpaste miracles?

Do share...