tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1219479502360551982024-03-05T15:17:41.785-08:00Our Life's A HootUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-798581149920771802013-09-03T19:17:00.000-07:002013-09-03T19:17:09.614-07:0034 by 34...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9EWLZjV9r-GjD95Bgk9bxR96TbyMttN07CF57cCqlIPDBpCtLni-IzvZuGXV82Ix7XYwl5zNdkQamwpNZm8JESWvn5137W5e_T_cZik2YXOw4I2HaW-AVEBlq2knpNnrI4_M0m2b1A/s1600/Kindness+on+Earth+from+the+Random+Acts+of+Kindness+Foundation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9EWLZjV9r-GjD95Bgk9bxR96TbyMttN07CF57cCqlIPDBpCtLni-IzvZuGXV82Ix7XYwl5zNdkQamwpNZm8JESWvn5137W5e_T_cZik2YXOw4I2HaW-AVEBlq2knpNnrI4_M0m2b1A/s320/Kindness+on+Earth+from+the+Random+Acts+of+Kindness+Foundation.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
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Once again it's that time of year....birthday time. I am party planner through and through, not so much a party person. I don't get real jazzed about the "Big Day" and my idea of a great birthday is low key with great friends and good food! I know for some of you that is unreal, because the hub's as a matter of fact is a huge birthday person (which works out nicely when your married to a party planner :)). I am just not wired that way.<div>
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The danger though is that I can be very negative about my birthday and needless to say the Lord has been challenging my thinking these past few weeks. Lets be honest, I am melancholy by nature and can be pretty negative when I want to be. So I've been asking myself, what is it that makes me dislike my birthday? Perhaps unaccomplished goals or being one year closer to passing the baby birthing age or maybe even another year in a house that is not my own. Whatever the cause, when I dwell on the reasons I am discontent I fail to remember this one thing....I have been given another year of life! Another year to serve Him, with new goals, a roof over my head, a precious baby boy and an amazing man to walk beside me and remind me just how special birthdays are. Looking back on the past year, with all I have been blessed with, I should be overflowing with joy! And that is cause for celebration!</div>
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So here's how I intend to celebrate and I hope you will join me! Since giving and serving others brings me so much joy, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate this past year and start a new one. What better way to do this than to complete 34 Random Acts of Kindness by my 34th birthday, this Saturday! I'm calling it 34 by 34! With only 5 days to go, I am hoping you will help me get there. Just complete a Random Act of Kindness (RAK), take a picture and tag #hj34by34 on Facebook or Instagram. </div>
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Some ideas might be....</div>
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*Tape change to a vending machine</div>
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*Write a thank you note and leave it for your mailman</div>
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*Bring your child's teacher flowers</div>
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*Send a letter to a soldier serving overseas </div>
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*Anonymously pay for someone's dinner at a restaurant</div>
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*Purchase a gift card at the grocery store and hand it to the person behind you in line</div>
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*Pay for the order of the person behind you in the drive through </div>
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*Help an elderly person unload groceries</div>
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*Hand out water bottles at a sporting event</div>
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*Bring lunch to a homeless person</div>
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*Donate food to the local food bank</div>
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It's up to you, no need to get elaborate, it's about blessing others because you have been blessed! I hope you will join me in making this a birthday to remember. </div>
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Many Blessings!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-27339559619041839622013-08-08T09:42:00.005-07:002013-08-08T09:42:59.359-07:00Catching up...It's hard to believe it has been 9 months since the last time I posted to this blog! Needless to say it has been a VERY LONG 9 months and so much has happened/changed. So just like old friends, let me try to catch you up...<div>
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December 2012....Probably will go down in history as the hardest December on record. Between sick baby, sick mommy and choosing to stay in New York for Christmas the Holiday spirit just didn't seem the same. Perhaps the sweetest part in all of it was the mail man coming to our door every day for a week with package deliveries from friends and family. The little man even asked if the mail man was Santa :). Since Christmas consisted of just the 3 of us, we created some new traditions and spent Christmas day with some very precious friends! </div>
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As I said, baby was sick! Poor little man just had one ear infection after another...it was a rough month!</div>
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January 2013....HAPPY NEW YEAR!! To be honest I don't really remember how we rang in the new year, deep down I think 2012 had been a rough year and I was just glad to see it end. January was filled with bible studies, conference planning, trips to the museum with little mans best friend Macy and lots of play dates. I was blessed to have some of the best mommy friends!! The only down side was a continued sick baby :(. We spent the last week of the month moving into our new rental right next to our church!! We loved all the space and the HUGE yard.</div>
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February 2013...Little man had his first Valentines Day Party! We invited all his toddler buddies, along with their mommies, over for a fun and food. It was truly a great time and something we will continue doing. We also started a new tradition of Valentines Day Date as a family. Not to worry, the hubs and I got out for a date that weekend. We continued to struggle with ear infection after ear infection. I praise God for such an amazing doctor who helped us work through this rough time. Little man saw an ear specialist who confirmed tube surgery was necessary. We were not thrilled with the demeanor of the specialist we saw. We continued to pray and God showed up! Our wonderful doctor called to see how it went and was not thrilled. Scheduled us in with a pediatric specialist in March!</div>
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March 2013...Was BUSY!!! We saw God move in great ways in our student ministry through the PINK Conference. The best part was having Grandma come for the week to spend time with little man and also getting to meet a new buddy Noah! The day after we said goodbye to grandma we boarded a plane to Omaha, Nebraska to visit good friends. Not surprising to us, little man ended up with yet another ear infection while on vacation. Thankfully God worked in mighty ways and we were able to get in to an actual pediatrician instead of going to the ER! </div>
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Shortly after returning home we celebrated Easter!! We took the little man to a farm to hunt eggs, meet live bunnies and ride the train. He had a blast!!! We spent Easter Sunday with our dear friends the Fortney's and celebrated with a traditional ham dinner. </div>
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April 2013...Met with the pediatric ENT specialist who confirmed the little man would need surgery for tubes and potentially adenoids. We loved her!! The reality of his sickness hit a low during the hearing test. During the testing it was difficult to see him not respond to any low sounds due to muffled hearing. The results came back and he had little to no hearing in the lower register. Our sweet doctor informed us he had probably been hearing that way since 18 months old. </div>
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April also brought so MAJOR change as the hubs accepted a position as associate pastor at a church in Omaha, NE. We spent a good majority of April packing and preparing for surgery and our big move. </div>
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May 2013...Was nothing short of INSANITY! Right off the bat the little man had surgery to put in tubes and remove his adenoids (which were blocking 70% of his nasal passage). Daddy had strep over mothers days and mommy...well we discovered my sickness was all related to a severe mold allergy and mold in the house we were renting. And all of that in the first 15 days of May!! We began looking for temporary housing until we moved, SO thankful for great friends!!!</div>
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We also visited Thomas the Train with our little mans buddy Andrew. I headed to Nebraska in the middle of the month to find housing. Shortly after I returned we finished packing and the trailer arrived. Little man dubbed it our "Conbraska Truck" and it brought a weekend of toddler fascination!</div>
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June 2013...We said some of the hardest goodbyes to some very special people, loaded up our lives and headed to Nebraska! Along the way we took a much needed family vacation...with a toddler...and a dog...and a packed out van?!?! :) I'm sure we will recap all the fun in our summer bucket list blog, stay tuned! A huge highlight was seeing our very dear friend and prior student Micah! We arrived in Nebraska and stayed with our great friends for 2 weeks while we waited for our rental to be ready. We explored spray grounds, shopping malls and generally just worked on getting settled. We made so great new friends and had play dates at the zoo. </div>
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July 2013...We began doing some major unpacking and enjoyed seeing things we hadn't seen in seven months due to our last rental being furnished. We celebrated fourth of July by walking in a toddler parade, bar-b-que'ing with new friends and MOST insane fireworks display I have ever seen, pretty sure the entire city was lighting them. Our travels took us to Oklahoma for a wedding and to Kansas City for the little ones first experience at an amusement/water park with our students! Much to the joy of the hubs the little man LOVED the roller coaster, but even more exciting was how much he adored the water park :). I have never had so much fun as spending the day just the two of us. We rode rides together and splashed around, it was just to much fun!! </div>
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August 2013...That brings us to the present month! Things have slowed down and we are just enjoying the end of Summer. In just a short month we will be starting a very busy Fall! The little man will taking violin lessons, swim classes and tumbling. We are also attempting this thing called home school. He is not old enough yet for pre-school, but there will be plenty to do at home! No doubt the fall will be filled with pumpkin picking, zoo trips, museum fun, family visits and even a trip for mommies birthday. I can hardly wait!! </div>
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Hope you stick around for all the fun!</div>
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Blessings!!!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-31274577149075618272012-11-05T20:20:00.000-08:002012-11-05T20:20:16.040-08:00Mommy Moments...As our little man is getting older, and more vocal, there are so many little things I don't want to forget. It's the little things that happen on a daily basis that remind me just how blessed I am. I call them my mommy moments. Today was one of the funniest and most precious...<div>
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While getting ready for bed, he made a loud noise and scared me...</div>
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Me: "Jaed*n you scared mommy"</div>
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(Putting his hands on either side of my face)</div>
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Jaedy: "Oh, shhhhh, come here mommy. It's okay mommy" (giving me a big hug :))</div>
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Conversation...</div>
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Jaedy: "Be gentle with mommy"</div>
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Me: "Yes, why are you gentle with mommy?"</div>
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Jaedy: "Mommies a girl. Awe, jaedy gentle (hugging my neck)"</div>
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Me: "That's right, gentle with girls."</div>
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I truly love how he is learning what it means to treat girls gently and I certainly LOVE being the recipient of all the hugs and kisses along the way :).</div>
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Blessings!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-35550545497638798142012-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:002012-10-11T21:11:26.266-07:00A Zoo of a Birthday...<div>
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For the little man's 2nd birthday we decided to hold his party at the zoo. Since the zoo is one of his favorite place, we knew it would be the perfect place to celebrate. The zoo staff was absolutely wonderful and handled everything for us, including decorations, food, crafts and even a demo of 3 live animals! We brought in a cupcake cake complete with "Emmo" and "Big Birdie" (as J would say) and party favors for all the kids. It was a very memorable party...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids all loved their animal sippers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A zoo party isn't complete without Zoo Tatoo's!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing daddy his Zoo Tatoo!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first animal demo was a Tortes! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The party host did a great job telling the kids all about the animals!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYzPaeqZOd6QsrfKVfDOmcxLiUZemBefvodPINNCr271YsY1XM3Y8IOYrSTCtR2NXKhx5flTGXjvOQKZifQk8pqCJINjYjgLK0-6sjOJ0ORc-o3XzGwRMhNyZp_TXiA4UMks58VzNww/s1600/IMG_6613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYzPaeqZOd6QsrfKVfDOmcxLiUZemBefvodPINNCr271YsY1XM3Y8IOYrSTCtR2NXKhx5flTGXjvOQKZifQk8pqCJINjYjgLK0-6sjOJ0ORc-o3XzGwRMhNyZp_TXiA4UMks58VzNww/s400/IMG_6613.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3bqlLRCEd2CknYBbclExP2-t6oHCOQhfSumYRzl4VYU__Lc6sQQRQoYRajB7vgXowibIRMwu5zjfL8DcV2mbsYw6YVx2rwWfmcHMxd-3eHBCnf-kCm7wRMYGmcIS337azYBuJPMYig/s1600/IMG_6618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3bqlLRCEd2CknYBbclExP2-t6oHCOQhfSumYRzl4VYU__Lc6sQQRQoYRajB7vgXowibIRMwu5zjfL8DcV2mbsYw6YVx2rwWfmcHMxd-3eHBCnf-kCm7wRMYGmcIS337azYBuJPMYig/s400/IMG_6618.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the kids got a chance to touch the Tortes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1Ullu9AJ9_0FKz93MOwq1XaRjhx1sorjaRDKAQZGVgATwoPHhymJH7tLqZaAhH664M4A33RcPNufnxiGJT13-DgA_oK2KoHO-5Rx1LOBXi6qXl5wwjgN8L4o-cSj0Y7-pC0VBJBNDg/s1600/IMG_6628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1Ullu9AJ9_0FKz93MOwq1XaRjhx1sorjaRDKAQZGVgATwoPHhymJH7tLqZaAhH664M4A33RcPNufnxiGJT13-DgA_oK2KoHO-5Rx1LOBXi6qXl5wwjgN8L4o-cSj0Y7-pC0VBJBNDg/s400/IMG_6628.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next they brought out a snake. Lets just say mommy stayed on the other side of the room!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryrZOWsSXI7_7Vme-kDaShJphihPkW2EvcYj5DEDiKuqMr46nn33Ku7wJnPC62BQMuGZ0b3pjOUibn-_cDGaYu2H3my3JQ5-sHX934yDkRKXAjcEVoIXPx4aMJbQbaXwuGkm_M3_0EA/s1600/IMG_6630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryrZOWsSXI7_7Vme-kDaShJphihPkW2EvcYj5DEDiKuqMr46nn33Ku7wJnPC62BQMuGZ0b3pjOUibn-_cDGaYu2H3my3JQ5-sHX934yDkRKXAjcEVoIXPx4aMJbQbaXwuGkm_M3_0EA/s400/IMG_6630.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys really liked the snake!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uMFtRh4Vs4iZC7ctn8M-UaCvGbMTq33PsAWgAqI9dg-SMk7OGREOpq_OIWI3dGgfP1iDH3O6nEyrqPczDkInjKVyOJkAteqrd_U_Ca7sM1X0ZiQBmTShpVT_NN5nL0LZ2UV_lhTLZQ/s1600/IMG_6643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uMFtRh4Vs4iZC7ctn8M-UaCvGbMTq33PsAWgAqI9dg-SMk7OGREOpq_OIWI3dGgfP1iDH3O6nEyrqPczDkInjKVyOJkAteqrd_U_Ca7sM1X0ZiQBmTShpVT_NN5nL0LZ2UV_lhTLZQ/s400/IMG_6643.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chinchilla was a hit!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPn7rWMOtaGDE3N2pBn4D2hF9MBjEqe_h0HikTvOtlfG0Rskyh6ltL-r2RfsG7zXMzoCKTMTl_AOKdMkk1hkcV0BTuC8YdXpAQvb4AHsyOWMhshAzAuMPLVxHoeSepkZ7UwQQtE-e8w/s1600/IMG_6648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPn7rWMOtaGDE3N2pBn4D2hF9MBjEqe_h0HikTvOtlfG0Rskyh6ltL-r2RfsG7zXMzoCKTMTl_AOKdMkk1hkcV0BTuC8YdXpAQvb4AHsyOWMhshAzAuMPLVxHoeSepkZ7UwQQtE-e8w/s400/IMG_6648.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJRRr7HclcPqjfT0f2MfWg2grAyXhjgdlQbqtHUwiSpujJD88MliXpyt-W1A5YowWmFKDwcYNUOSHpNl5bHdJykJHPyzu1YBqaBmKc_7svDQOsyn1o41_nPepdJc_grnZWIx2T9SJ1A/s1600/IMG_6656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJRRr7HclcPqjfT0f2MfWg2grAyXhjgdlQbqtHUwiSpujJD88MliXpyt-W1A5YowWmFKDwcYNUOSHpNl5bHdJykJHPyzu1YBqaBmKc_7svDQOsyn1o41_nPepdJc_grnZWIx2T9SJ1A/s400/IMG_6656.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy helped J pet the Chinchilla, he loved it!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS9wQl393mtmEMUALPQnVCnf3xcSrSPNjJiMmCA6eTR2X4Gmc_vz_zkI3SonylnUpyJdCc7aGkmzCWm6bgjpFo0pptJKDA-z8aD4TjYTcCeMyCE4JELwtNlJx7IR9BVVNc_A_NdrDBw/s1600/IMG_6663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwS9wQl393mtmEMUALPQnVCnf3xcSrSPNjJiMmCA6eTR2X4Gmc_vz_zkI3SonylnUpyJdCc7aGkmzCWm6bgjpFo0pptJKDA-z8aD4TjYTcCeMyCE4JELwtNlJx7IR9BVVNc_A_NdrDBw/s400/IMG_6663.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31625iXVKdfjm78xZjdtsnLNX63tRITgYDyTNaYFSzkNNJ3JQmzK_wdHMF9s5qzQ4b5H_EH_dlRgPxtMHQP9hF3U6ad5QNEfOfD9wE0-4md5ooMBxXQzj_iYzdqrp5MmqzIMNeDrfuQ/s1600/IMG_6666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31625iXVKdfjm78xZjdtsnLNX63tRITgYDyTNaYFSzkNNJ3JQmzK_wdHMF9s5qzQ4b5H_EH_dlRgPxtMHQP9hF3U6ad5QNEfOfD9wE0-4md5ooMBxXQzj_iYzdqrp5MmqzIMNeDrfuQ/s400/IMG_6666.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the adults wanted to pet the Chinchilla.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hvwj4tWbXkeFlktM5JJD01MgNawUGwBrUu9c7blpBzJj-TMpB7882038DeExLoyWFyOJc9ufJGxOIJLmdkTSA0fNSAIMQTP8OPikn7CLpQS8KJYuw8hLphQP7ow_4NBZUqIOEegeTw/s1600/IMG_6669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Hvwj4tWbXkeFlktM5JJD01MgNawUGwBrUu9c7blpBzJj-TMpB7882038DeExLoyWFyOJc9ufJGxOIJLmdkTSA0fNSAIMQTP8OPikn7CLpQS8KJYuw8hLphQP7ow_4NBZUqIOEegeTw/s400/IMG_6669.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a cute little animal!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eDSwxI-AIMkbohAID1E4COWXelTAhVg6oJgpK3OKndj0f9FwvqLQdmarQ7auZ63EPpXiNi6KTCUViyN1KxDZHnEdRnzzlE67lm78JjCmTCMkL6bXCYxK8-FSk4LlmQPxKm5vEcfaZg/s1600/IMG_6677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3eDSwxI-AIMkbohAID1E4COWXelTAhVg6oJgpK3OKndj0f9FwvqLQdmarQ7auZ63EPpXiNi6KTCUViyN1KxDZHnEdRnzzlE67lm78JjCmTCMkL6bXCYxK8-FSk4LlmQPxKm5vEcfaZg/s400/IMG_6677.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to sing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadYAEcZD4ocQvbQVKZiqsNwlcZ3YmsJMpXZlTF3FXCrALiyiz1qegydwSVHg6EZ5LLQfN6RFlLxeu6cCHRasBxx9UBtufVhL2zN6hst3J5JqceTyQJVI0RUZF8114Cg2MlH30rYE1eA/s1600/IMG_6680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadYAEcZD4ocQvbQVKZiqsNwlcZ3YmsJMpXZlTF3FXCrALiyiz1qegydwSVHg6EZ5LLQfN6RFlLxeu6cCHRasBxx9UBtufVhL2zN6hst3J5JqceTyQJVI0RUZF8114Cg2MlH30rYE1eA/s400/IMG_6680.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J could hardly wait for cake!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hKvKGVw61ZWyvwE9oW6LVRKFvzqn18jQlrLGsRw6g-y-i8f2wz5QvzzAMAzhc1GrTcldjDM1kOXQYsi23Wejx2xz2GNUsPGcf02AxXVC1wcWd0nSS2fMAfGj8OEAEAAFJFT_KbJnow/s1600/IMG_6690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hKvKGVw61ZWyvwE9oW6LVRKFvzqn18jQlrLGsRw6g-y-i8f2wz5QvzzAMAzhc1GrTcldjDM1kOXQYsi23Wejx2xz2GNUsPGcf02AxXVC1wcWd0nSS2fMAfGj8OEAEAAFJFT_KbJnow/s400/IMG_6690.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presents!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp_d9JncLu4eOhbXyvxxR0XsvMw1QSUOFbXTXyEt2TR5ohm3uQHP3BYjS8PhV3Cgb2LrRctsF5wcvUVaWBmSzLZN1V15pJoHorLlp4q9au2RuffWkALgK36GZS22HtYoshyphenhyphenVImBNqag/s1600/IMG_6707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp_d9JncLu4eOhbXyvxxR0XsvMw1QSUOFbXTXyEt2TR5ohm3uQHP3BYjS8PhV3Cgb2LrRctsF5wcvUVaWBmSzLZN1V15pJoHorLlp4q9au2RuffWkALgK36GZS22HtYoshyphenhyphenVImBNqag/s400/IMG_6707.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the party we spent some time walking around the zoo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJI6LcSeNSkfCt1TJbKJFtgtOsCerg2RPzZc5Nd0XpOzi5DnfYr9vP2s2dPrJcXlTi_jS59e0alXx-f1VBc4cXUT6wg5psiCD6KH_amhUGmfUCfFn2mH8qZ47kdKeKXVU2iOrUcnRqQ/s1600/IMG_6715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJI6LcSeNSkfCt1TJbKJFtgtOsCerg2RPzZc5Nd0XpOzi5DnfYr9vP2s2dPrJcXlTi_jS59e0alXx-f1VBc4cXUT6wg5psiCD6KH_amhUGmfUCfFn2mH8qZ47kdKeKXVU2iOrUcnRqQ/s400/IMG_6715.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J enjoyed finding every puddle to splash in!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-23777220770754504012012-09-12T19:27:00.000-07:002012-09-12T19:28:12.299-07:00Counting Down to 2...It's hard to believe but we are approaching baby J's 2nd birthday! One of the most precious parts of passing my birthday and approaching his is that both days hold such special meaning when it comes to our little guys adoption story. It was on my birthday, just 2 short years ago, that we met the precious young woman who chose to give us the most amazing gift (you can read more about that <a href="http://www.ourlifesahoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/remembering-31.html" target="_blank">here</a>). September 7th, 2010 will forever be far more than just a birthday. That day lead to baby J's birth, the beginning of an amazing relationship and the end of a journey (you can read more about that <a href="http://www.ourlifesahoot.blogspot.com/2011/10/september-15th-2010.html" target="_blank">here</a>). We have seen God's hand's all over this little guys life and we truly believe there are those out there who need to hear his story. <br />
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So in honor of baby J's big day, I am going to try and finish his story this year. Please bear with me as life is a little crazy these days, but I will do my best. <br />
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Blessings!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-57454500629015737372012-08-22T11:33:00.002-07:002012-08-22T11:34:58.842-07:00In A Word Wednesday...Just a few I don't want to forget...<br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Exki-ded = Excited</i></li>
<li><i>Mommy Jaedy dry pants! (every time he goes potty)</i></li>
<li><i>Pee Pee potty, keep pants dry.</i></li>
<li><i>Aww, Roxy girl love you.</i></li>
<li><i>Mommy Janson, Daddy Janson.</i></li>
<li><i>You go od-er der (over there).</i></li>
<li><i>Robbie do's basketball, Hunter do's baseball!</i></li>
<li><i>Very hot! (every time I'm using the stove)</i></li>
<li><i>Love you moon a back.</i></li>
<li><i>1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10...20's....9,10, 40's...yay counting (still not sure where he got 20's and 40's)</i></li>
<li><i>Wochte Dog. Wyan Wochte swimmer. (He named his stuffed dog Lochte Dog after Ryan Lochte. Guess we watched the olympics just a bit :)). </i></li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The little man has started singing and praying on his own now, it does take a little help when he get stuck. I wish I could bottle his little voice and how precious he sounds. We still cannot get him to do it on camera, maybe soon. It sounds like this...</div>
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Bedtime prayer:</div>
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<i>Now way me, down seep, pway woord, sole keep. Jesus watch me, fru night, keep me safe, mornings wight. AMEN!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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Dinner prayer:</div>
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<i>God is great, God is good, and tank Him, for food. AMEN!</i></div>
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He really loves when he gets to the amen, he throws his hands up and yells "AMEN". He loves to sing Jesus Loves me and I am quite surprised at how well he sings it. </div>
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The biggest accomplishment (other than potty training) has been learning to count to 10. He has a hard time with 3 and 4, but gets them eventually. His favorite time to count is going up the stairs. He counts each step. </div>
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Blessings!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-11084048487264448572012-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:002012-08-22T10:59:23.563-07:00Poo at the Zoo...I'm not quite sure what it is about the magical power of the Zoo, but today the little man went the big #2 on the potty! I know it's not a big deal to the average joe, but to this mommy we are ecstatic! What we thought would take months to learn has taken a week. He followed up his big poo at the zoo moment by doing the same at the church later in the afternoon! I am still in shock that I have a 22 month old using the potty and to no credit of my own. He is doing this all on his own and I am so very proud of him!<div>
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Way to go little man!!!</div>
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Blessings!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-41324505564337003482012-08-18T23:30:00.000-07:002012-08-22T11:11:08.110-07:00Potty Time...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4WyUEOg_Rss6-FQX2IFD9nRi69_D-PnL7-TcsnFIXnfN1xAxPs1Nt7kWMwObJ5hS2MciuUfBPZUxZkSEIn7fE9TSnV4aZ8KVczSc9vs0OCq-MsiE75ykElz54rLobc1TboLemGZUpg/s1600/Keep+Calm+and+Potty+On+from+Striking+Keys.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4WyUEOg_Rss6-FQX2IFD9nRi69_D-PnL7-TcsnFIXnfN1xAxPs1Nt7kWMwObJ5hS2MciuUfBPZUxZkSEIn7fE9TSnV4aZ8KVczSc9vs0OCq-MsiE75ykElz54rLobc1TboLemGZUpg/s320/Keep+Calm+and+Potty+On+from+Striking+Keys.png" width="238" /></a></div>
Well it seems I blinked and summer raced by! In the midst of all the business of trips we decided to give potty training a go. This was definitely not something I was looking forward to, but knew it was time. How did I know it was time? Let me back track for a moment...<br />
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In April the little man went for his 18 month check up, which was all fine and good until the pediatrician chose to alter the course of life (okay a bit dramatic I know)! The conversation went something like this...</div>
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<i>Pedi: "He is a very bright little boy"</i></div>
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<i>Me: "Thank you"</i></div>
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<i>Pedi: "I am really shocked, he talks more than most of my girl patients. With an extensive vocabulary it is a good indication you are probably ready to start potty training."</i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>HOLD THE PHONE....POTTY TRAINING...AT 18 MONTHS!!! </b></div>
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Let's just say shock doesn't begin to explain my expression, at one point in time I think I actually grabbed the table for stability. PT had not even begun to cross our minds and starting at the age of 18 months...does this seem abnormal to anyone else??? I agree he is a smart little boy, but potty training? The handsome hubby and I talked it over and decided with a busy summer ahead we would wait until after vacation, thus buying me the time I needed to prepare myself. That may seem a selfish statement, but all the parental advice I had received from family and friends was that we needed to be all in if we were going to do this. And while I do believe at 18 months he was interested, I don't believe he was quite ready, I know now that there is a world of difference between the two. </div>
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So we purchased a potty seat and just let the little man play and explore it. I spent time reading every possible piece of material I could find on potty training a boy, I talked to moms of boys, read little man every storybook I could find on using the potty, watched potty videos and attended a few potty training classes with him at the local library. </div>
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Fast forward to last week. We decided right after vacation we would do it, begin potty training! As soon as we arrived home I spent the weekend preparing for the big day. We talked about it with our little man and pumped it up. By Sunday morning I felt like a broken record. As we were getting ready for church I was about to give the little man a bath. Daddy stripped him down and he ran in the bathroom. The little man looked me square in the eyes and said "pee pee", you can guess what followed. I quickly picked him up and put him on the potty. He finished peeing and was SO proud, that's when we knew it was definitely time. After church we took him to the store to pick out his big boy underpants...I have to say that's when the reality hit me and the disbelief that we were doing this at 22 months!</div>
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We woke up Monday and began the potty process I found in a great blog post by a fellow pastors wife. You can find it <a href="http://www.littlellamas.com/2009/08/potty-training-101.html" target="_blank">here</a>. We chose not to use Pull-Ups at all but rather just start training in big boys underpants. For nap time and bed time we started by using the Bum Genius cloth diapers I had purchased and never used. We called them night time pants to keep from calling them diapers. If you would like all the little details let me know, but I will spare those who don't have little ones with my potty process. </div>
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I wish I could say it was an easy day and he picked it up right away, but let's just say the equation looked more like this...</div>
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<i>Strong willed child + even stronger willed mommy (x) potty training = a barrel of monkeys!</i></div>
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It was an exhausting and frustrating experience for both of us. By Monday night dinnertime we hadn't had a single success. I told daddy perhaps we weren't ready and we talked about holding off a few more months. Feeling completely defeated I took the little man up for a bath and bed time. Out of no where he looked me in the eyes and said "Mommy, go pee pee potty". So on the little potty he went and suddenly he did it...he began to pee!!!!! I jumped up and called out to daddy "He went potty!!!" and we began cheering. All the stress from the day was washed away when his precious little face lit up with a huge smile of accomplishment. We laughed and cheered. But that wasn't it, after bath time he asked to potty and once again he went and he hasn't stopped using the potty since. The next two days were a little rough, but by Thursday he had it down pat, telling me every time he had to use the potty. Thanks to daddy he actually began to use the big potty on Friday and now prefer's it to the little potty. </div>
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Potty training has definitely left me feeling like an unaccomplished individual as funny as that sounds. Teaching another human being how to do something, that you yourself have no recollection of learning you just do it, is an extremely daunting task. But it is SO worth it. Sure not having to purchase diapers is a blessing, but seeing his face light up each and every time he uses the potty on his own is the greatest accomplishment to me. I am not always going to be the one who helps him learn how to do big things, but boy am I one proud momma to have had the chance to do this along side him. </div>
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For more details on how we did it, shoot me a comment below.</div>
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Blessings!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-61355319903587389652012-07-03T22:45:00.000-07:002012-07-03T22:45:08.960-07:00In A Word Wednesday...Well our sentence phase has rapidly turned into the conversation phase! Our little man loves to jabber on and REALLY loves to talk with mommy and daddy. Even when he's in his crib napping you will hear him talking or singing over the monitor until he finally falls asleep. I adore him so much and I love this phase in his little life. <br />
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Here are a few conversations we had just this week...<br />
<br />
<i>Pulling into the garage...</i><br />
<ul>
<ul>
<li>Little Man: "Tennis...Racket"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>Mommy: "Where sweetie?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>Little Man: "Right Dare. Two tennis...racket" (pointing at the rackets on the wall)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i>Getting ready for bathtime...</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>Mommy: "Are you ready to take a bath?" </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li> Little Man: "Yes, yes! Bath disa-bubble bath too, fruog too?" </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li> Mommy: "Yes you may have Mr. Bubble and frog too" </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li> Little Man: "Yeah, disa-bubble, fruog" (laughing and shaking his head)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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<i>Morning Routine (when he wakes up)...</i><br />
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<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Mommy, where are you?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li>Mommy: "Good morning!"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Daddy go?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Mommy: "Where did daddy go?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Daddy go work." (nodding his head)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Mommy: "That's right daddy did go to work and where does daddy work?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Church! Daddy go work, church...yeah."</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i>Story Time...</i><br />
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<ul><ul>
<li>Mommy: "What books do you want to read?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Bible book....baby signs....lama"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Mommy: "Who's in your bible books?"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Noah....Jesus....puppy dog too"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
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<i>One afternoon while I was checking email on my laptop...</i><br />
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<ul><ul>
<li>Little Man: "Pway, Close it!"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Close what sweetie"</li>
<li>Little Man: (walking over and shutting my laptop lid) "No, Close it! Pway, shwizbee"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Where do you want me to go play frizbee?"</li>
<li>Little Man: (Grabbing my hand and pulling me to the hall) "Seet (sit) down, pway shwizbee"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Okay mommy sit.</li>
<li>Little Man: "YAY, shwizbee, can jam it!"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i>More vocab...</i><br />
Lately our little man has been saying some hilariously cute words and with that his current words are changing, which is both exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. Never before have I felt time was going by as fast as it is now. <br />
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Here are a few of his latest:<br />
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<ul><ul>
<li>Disa-bubble = Mr. Bubble</li>
<li>Too-ed = Tooted (thanks to a kids song :-/, he loves to say "Mommy too-ed, daddy too-ed, doggie too-ed. As you can imagine this makes mommy really happy...arg)</li>
<li>Woshie = Lotion</li>
<li>Shwizbee = NEW! Frisbee</li>
<li>No much, no much! = So much, so much</li>
<li>No wike it = No like it</li>
<li>Bee-chu = Beat you (when we race :))</li>
<li>My schuggars = My Sugars (when we give him kisses :))</li>
<li>Can Jam It! (anytime he throws the frisbee)</li>
<li>Mommy baby kwy-in. (anytime he hears a baby cry. sorry that one is hard to spell!)</li>
<li>Drive, cool car. (anytime he wants to go for a ride in the car)</li>
<li>Pee pee in potty (NO, we are not potty training just yet)</li>
<li>Daddy Sing Song</li>
<li>Pucky Dog is now Puppy Doggie</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<i>Learning his name...</i></div>
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We are currently working on teaching our little guy to say his name and learn to recognize the letters. You can imagine my excitement after a week of asking him how to spell his name he actually said "O"! Of course that is the only letter, but it's a reoccurring letter in both his first and middle name, progress baby! He is absolutely obsessed with his middle name so if you ask him what his name is he will most likely respond with "Maaaa-nix" (Maddox). He says it in the CUTEST WAY!!! I love that he is recognizing his own name! </div>
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<i>Current Fav...</i></div>
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This week my favorite part has been hearing him recite his prayers back to me. It goes something like this:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Mommy: "Now I lay me"</li>
<li>LM: "Now way me"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Down to sleep"</li>
<li>LM: "Down seep"</li>
<li>Mommy: "I pray the Lord" </li>
<li>LM: "Pray ward"</li>
<li>Mommy: "My soul to keep"</li>
<li>LM: "Soul keep"</li>
<li>Mommy: "And Jesus watch me"</li>
<li>LM: "Jedus wach"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Through the night"</li>
<li>LM: "Night"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Keep me safe"</li>
<li>LM: "Keep....safe"</li>
<li>Mommy: "Till mornings light"</li>
<li>LM: "A-MEN!"</li>
</ul>
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Did I mention he closes his eyes and folds his hands the entire time! I honestly do not know how it is possible that he is picking this up at 21 months, but paint me a proud mama. He is learning to pray and oh how I love it!</div>
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Blessings!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-58851320395851206852012-06-15T21:33:00.000-07:002012-06-16T21:34:35.001-07:00Melt my heart...Are there things that happen with your kids that just simply melt your heart? For this momma it was just before bedtime:<br />
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Me: <i>"Baby where does Jesus live?"</i><br />
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Little man: <i>"Heaben!"</i> (pointing with both fingers to the sky)<br />
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Me: <i>"That's right, where else does He live?"</i><br />
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Little man: <i>"Heart!"</i> (pointing to his heart)<br />
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Hearing those precious little words come from his lips, it's a little hard to maintain composer. I love that my sweet little man is learning about Jesus at such a young age. Somehow exchanges like this one make me feel like we're doing something right.<br />
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Blessings!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-72026957147517704742012-06-12T21:02:00.000-07:002012-06-16T21:04:48.270-07:00In a word...This week our little one has moved into sentence mode! I have to admit, as hard as it is to hear him sound so grown up, it is stinkin' adorable. Here are just a few of the things he has been saying:<br />
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<ul>
<li>"Where mommy/daddy go?"</li>
<li>"Thank you mommy/daddy"</li>
<li>"Milk please mommy"</li>
<li>"Daddy/Mommy go bye bye"</li>
<li>"Please have it" or "Please have some"</li>
<li>"Go bye bye, cool car" (when he wants to go for a ride in the car)</li>
<li>"Daddy/Mommy read book"</li>
<li>"I you-ya no much" (I love you so much. For some reason it is "no much" instead of "so much")</li>
<li>"Via-min time please" (vitamin time, he loves his vitamins!)</li>
<li>"Go pee-pee/poo-poo on the potty" (we are working on potty training)</li>
<li>"Go down-ner, puwa wif it" (down there and play with it are ADORABLE! going to miss those)</li>
<li>"Ro-sy go ni-night" (when we leave and Roxy "Ro-sy" goes in her box)</li>
</ul>
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I keep forgetting to write down what he says as he says it, somehow I think I will just magically remember but I never do :(. I am sad to say several of the cute little words he would say in his own language are now forming into the proper pronunciation:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Don-on is now Donna</li>
<li>Durama is now Grandma</li>
<li>Basidas is slowly becoming basketball</li>
<li>Bees-bow is now baseball</li>
</ul>
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But even with these changes "I you-ya"(I love you) still remains the same and I LOVE IT! We are frequently told that our little one has a huge vocabulary (not even joking, at least 10 strangers made remarks about it just this week) but to be completely honest we don't know any different. To us he is just a growing little man who talks alot! We have been asked what we have done and I have absolutely no idea, it is truly just the way God designed him. We read ALOT of books and have always made it a point to have conversations with him, but does that make the difference? Like I said we have no idea, he is our first so we have nothing to compare him to. To this mommy and daddy he is just our little boy, growing up WAY to fast and amazing us every step of the way!</div>
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Blessings!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-51582472965252468142012-06-09T20:05:00.001-07:002012-06-09T20:05:52.070-07:00In a word...These days it seems our precious little man just talks non stop! He is saying so many words and seems to be right on the verge of full sentences. Since many of his cute little words are changing from baby j language (as we call it) to the actual word, I thought it would be a good idea to document them before I forget them. So here we go with the first installment of "In a word..."<div>
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<ul>
<li>I lu ya = I Love You (:) by FAR my favorite!)</li>
<li>Bas-i-das or Bas-i-dar = Basketball</li>
<li>Bees-ball geemes = Baseball (for some reason he doesn't ever just say bees-ball, it's always bees-ball games)</li>
<li>Foot-bar = Football</li>
<li>Shwibee or Shrizbee = Frisbee</li>
<li>Sotter-bar = Soccerball</li>
<li>Bob build it = Bob the Builder</li>
<li>Boos Boos = Blues Clues</li>
<li>Bible Book = Bible stories collection</li>
<li>Einstein or Baby Bach = Baby Einstein videos</li>
<li>Durama = Grandma</li>
<li>Rossi = Roxy (our dog)</li>
<li>Fuend = Friend</li>
<li>Cool dude = ANY drummer</li>
<li>Dwums = Drums</li>
<li>Cool-tar = Guitar</li>
<li>Bees = Bass</li>
<li>Hold You = Hold me</li>
<li>Whoa Mam = No mam</li>
</ul>
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He is a funny little man too! He exclaims "FOUR" every time he hits the golf ball and proceeds to say "Oh gosh" if he misses it. He loves music and is very taken with the "Arky Arky" song. It's not long after getting in the car that we hear "Noah Noah, Arky Arky" coming from a little voice in the back seat :). He also LOVES "Oh Happy Day" by Fee, he exclaims "Happy Day! Happy Day!" whenever he hears the intro, not even the lyrics! He is a very smart little man. </div>
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I feel like there is so much more he says that I am missing, these are just the most memorable/common things he says. I love the way he talks and all the little things he says, time just needs to slow down a bit!</div>
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Blessings!</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-30761918776016283182012-06-08T21:22:00.001-07:002012-06-08T21:22:19.715-07:00Chair war, croup and a few changes...Well if your wondering where I have been, let's just say it's been a month! And it's not even half over! <br />
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First off the projects haven't stopped, OH NO, I am deep in the throws of an all out WAR with one wingback chair. Let's just say I WILL NOT be upholstering the second one and a post is coming on the reality of upholstering furniture. It has not been pretty ladies and gents, it has not been fun, but it is almost done (after 2 weeks!). If you haven't caught my disdain for this project, just wait!<br />
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Unfortunately our poor little love came down with croup! For the love of Peet, could we just be well for once! Sick baby/mommy after a while just simply wears you down. I am so grateful he is such a happy baby all the time, even when he doesn't feel well. Thankfully it has been a mild case of croup and we caught it early. When your hubby's job is ministering to a large group of youth, these things are bound to happen.<br />
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And speaking of our wonderful students, we are approaching the busy season of graduation, grad parties and missions trips. It keeps us running, but we wouldn't have it any other way!<br />
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Finally, who doesn't love a little bit of change every now and then :)... <br />
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Over the past few months this blog has focused more on DIY projects than on the life of our family. It seems daily our little love is growing up SO fast, I feel like I forget things he has done or said. The point of this blog was to have a record of our little loves life that I could print out yearly and have bound into a book. At this stage in the game that book would have alot of neat DIY projects, but very little of the everyday. What kid is really jazzed to read about his mom's crazy adventures with stripping furniture or waring with reupholstering a chair. So to help myself out, and give our little one a record of all the fun things we did as he grew up, I have decided to move all DIY projects to a new blog, leaving the content of this blog strictly about our family, our journeys through infertility and our passion for adoption. Stay tuned I promise to let you know when it's ready.<br />
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Now your all caught up, I know it's not the most exciting post, but cheer up and look at some cutie pie pictures of our little man on Mother's Day!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J3h5Ihzf_1sfGX5FbierZM8aZ3zDaNcC3e3F4g7w7hiIIZ3HScnvrd26jCF_t7nxkmrQc_q-0_j4ljJYhuyfe7Ii0tJMNlf22YKGVEnJRv223yhUUHqszjkEhTyz3aORY7IouC8CEA/s1600/IMG_9383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J3h5Ihzf_1sfGX5FbierZM8aZ3zDaNcC3e3F4g7w7hiIIZ3HScnvrd26jCF_t7nxkmrQc_q-0_j4ljJYhuyfe7Ii0tJMNlf22YKGVEnJRv223yhUUHqszjkEhTyz3aORY7IouC8CEA/s320/IMG_9383.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was very proud, he picked mommy a flower all by himself :)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn0LQ6rFBOTHv_MSEqFcKSXSiaqY5E3OJnYyBSnqxhKXOTti9eFLcLZwcpo35UlluYcM2HxoOX1aS5qtQad6S2L7I9Qv2_evY9L7VaD1xxCggSxvHHLX_BXgXy64VAaYjcmcRLLwjsg/s1600/IMG_9384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdn0LQ6rFBOTHv_MSEqFcKSXSiaqY5E3OJnYyBSnqxhKXOTti9eFLcLZwcpo35UlluYcM2HxoOX1aS5qtQad6S2L7I9Qv2_evY9L7VaD1xxCggSxvHHLX_BXgXy64VAaYjcmcRLLwjsg/s320/IMG_9384.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By far the most blessed mama on the planet!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoY6vL32ixrhmnQtCVpha2B58gVh2E26jBUW_CsdfU0GqAFyjrGck7kfjFd35_5_N8uF5I-DbhAh6qb1qYaIA92XKdA6tfyLPqT56wvz0r2X_DY1J2DW84cUiwCUDKlcyt3C0zv-VOg/s1600/IMG_9381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAoY6vL32ixrhmnQtCVpha2B58gVh2E26jBUW_CsdfU0GqAFyjrGck7kfjFd35_5_N8uF5I-DbhAh6qb1qYaIA92XKdA6tfyLPqT56wvz0r2X_DY1J2DW84cUiwCUDKlcyt3C0zv-VOg/s320/IMG_9381.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out those eyelashes! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDONbfeMEoC8RLXCKumxhEu1viVg0YkamEpmeBMrxi9OWfuzcMK0S6CWlWwBvKQY1d0EQLkDB1dOk4z1WDh7FLNfHNxKvUM0Ra4S10_EWL6pjVcL29bdTKfJjLizhdQAFqTD56nDveQ/s1600/IMG_9355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDONbfeMEoC8RLXCKumxhEu1viVg0YkamEpmeBMrxi9OWfuzcMK0S6CWlWwBvKQY1d0EQLkDB1dOk4z1WDh7FLNfHNxKvUM0Ra4S10_EWL6pjVcL29bdTKfJjLizhdQAFqTD56nDveQ/s320/IMG_9355.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love him so stinkin much!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Blessings!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-65571026072012917962012-05-21T20:06:00.001-07:002012-05-21T20:06:23.404-07:00Monday Menu Planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Monday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner with Small Group</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday </span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Italian Roasted Chicken / Sides: Couscous and Steamed Veggies</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Pork Loin Chops / Sides: Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Honey Lime Grilled Chicken / Sides: Whole Grain Rice and Green Breans</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Friday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Date Night! </span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday</span></u></div>
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Youth Leader Dinner</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Bar-b-que Chicken / Sides: Hasselbeck Potatoes, Broccoli Salad and Roasted Corn</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Left Overs</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-43252827387920490112012-05-20T22:26:00.001-07:002012-05-20T22:26:19.307-07:00DIY: Corks-Cork Board<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Recently it seems our fridge has turned into a paper catcher for grocery lists, business cards, coupons, schedules, etc. You name it, it's probably on our refrigerator, and the moment you open the door...down goes the papers! I finally decided it was time to clear this baby up. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPN_YkH5DgAiCqG2Cdpz3My60p7GxDoR9y5Pn1bZ6NcQ5LUfeL1jRlSqd0o0kShWljIq9jROFswoZBsQaV8iR2vfslwRrjivy4yV0dC_rDFjMg-inMriJEzOR_4Z_6xBHDVo3XIFLvVw/s1600/IMG_9300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPN_YkH5DgAiCqG2Cdpz3My60p7GxDoR9y5Pn1bZ6NcQ5LUfeL1jRlSqd0o0kShWljIq9jROFswoZBsQaV8iR2vfslwRrjivy4yV0dC_rDFjMg-inMriJEzOR_4Z_6xBHDVo3XIFLvVw/s320/IMG_9300.JPG" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHyQdBz9-GkOxYMyiSJqgHFRXLG2LjRA1RNpjez3z6iG5r9P4o6xO8cV8xDf72ZhNw7GPfQFCI41YJuTR85lrQ8-ElQpwSDgZxXYiTgS9KJqWYVMiG0Gm3Ee8l2_Y_feHu228feccYA/s1600/IMG_9301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHyQdBz9-GkOxYMyiSJqgHFRXLG2LjRA1RNpjez3z6iG5r9P4o6xO8cV8xDf72ZhNw7GPfQFCI41YJuTR85lrQ8-ElQpwSDgZxXYiTgS9KJqWYVMiG0Gm3Ee8l2_Y_feHu228feccYA/s320/IMG_9301.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a></div>
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I had pulled out an old cork board but that seemed to plain, so after searching the craft room I found three bags of corks I had purchased at a local craft thrift store.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxtZJVlZm0vlx56o0PXZj16he0hPwjHwlieRnLVt5SDC9khnK4OKP2XfrCp8INfOZzdM-iUyMTkVTAlR_lSHniGDbR122Qv2JM7aR9g53-riirpxdQW6nR962FNSkrrWr6CGUVlJU1A/s1600/IMG_9273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxtZJVlZm0vlx56o0PXZj16he0hPwjHwlieRnLVt5SDC9khnK4OKP2XfrCp8INfOZzdM-iUyMTkVTAlR_lSHniGDbR122Qv2JM7aR9g53-riirpxdQW6nR962FNSkrrWr6CGUVlJU1A/s320/IMG_9273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
They were so cheap and I knew eventually I would find the perfect project for them.<br />
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I pulled together supplies from around my house; an old board I had been using in the pantry, a bottle of wood glue from the garage and I a nice sharp knife to cut to corks in half...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVKdag3-mF_ZAWZLYZJxPJCrC3Y8FIk-Aiex0u3G0TENTWfbjbcZKZ8h7UNpZ2ESe1lMoHRN6iUcpaGiKJ8RDJsIf4tPKTm9U1iisuhG4iumUn52WqSaIhFL-eAlwz29d4zOxhn4gLg/s1600/IMG_9279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVKdag3-mF_ZAWZLYZJxPJCrC3Y8FIk-Aiex0u3G0TENTWfbjbcZKZ8h7UNpZ2ESe1lMoHRN6iUcpaGiKJ8RDJsIf4tPKTm9U1iisuhG4iumUn52WqSaIhFL-eAlwz29d4zOxhn4gLg/s320/IMG_9279.JPG" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgZP31aoSwgQEtE2hcyVgf3HMVGnibTwLXQ0C-LSBkNIyCG_uXRzki0-SRJOumxv_AqC7_9vo5kRLYQeHdIBYBTS_LTp7WKoFhhdb_oPWtXdw7TAURkBddMjS0O87R3pKxJMUDwoY5g/s1600/IMG_9285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgZP31aoSwgQEtE2hcyVgf3HMVGnibTwLXQ0C-LSBkNIyCG_uXRzki0-SRJOumxv_AqC7_9vo5kRLYQeHdIBYBTS_LTp7WKoFhhdb_oPWtXdw7TAURkBddMjS0O87R3pKxJMUDwoY5g/s320/IMG_9285.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
Important Note: Real corks are VERY hard to cut through. If I had to do it over again I would purchase a cutting tool from a hardware store. Synthetic corks do cut very easily, however they do not look as nice as real corks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuyAk3klBrNjkR08rdfCpcsCiJxIlXSpDkaW5h_JblM-MhQ2k7cxWHp07VI6bULcoDJ_q4xe1MIw7CMGA8wPwbE3qSzRG54KMBwB88bQ3WGP12c0gqEUoB3E__8EQ33bgxfZVOohPGQ/s1600/IMG_9280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuyAk3klBrNjkR08rdfCpcsCiJxIlXSpDkaW5h_JblM-MhQ2k7cxWHp07VI6bULcoDJ_q4xe1MIw7CMGA8wPwbE3qSzRG54KMBwB88bQ3WGP12c0gqEUoB3E__8EQ33bgxfZVOohPGQ/s320/IMG_9280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here are the easy instructions:<br />
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1. Cut all your corks in half, this is the hardest part...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWB062E4u8yHhrcxkfGkloS7GdUzpOOq9JFEFMPCx5wZCjZLemle1SDGOTeLRtlk6L0ZnrzlHLKTK9fv1oSdaBHsqAoDSXsEqkcagsNnpEzwVHgmXxP_07v93KMxM-ZWI_gze5HZa_yA/s1600/IMG_9284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWB062E4u8yHhrcxkfGkloS7GdUzpOOq9JFEFMPCx5wZCjZLemle1SDGOTeLRtlk6L0ZnrzlHLKTK9fv1oSdaBHsqAoDSXsEqkcagsNnpEzwVHgmXxP_07v93KMxM-ZWI_gze5HZa_yA/s320/IMG_9284.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. Decide on the pattern you want to use on your board. Lay the pattern out to be sure you have enough corks to cover the space and your design will work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-o8FyGD4xZgiuV4NnsD9Pp8JcTtVcIqnJBGrtOz_zUxI1WJJ0Eru6yX-2Gs0fTvEq4oxpHNqGI0w6VxosoFcRA2CWeePqX8CFIrDFhHetkSOhdhCXIAAAk2OQrWPw7la_C-QpFw33w/s1600/IMG_9286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-o8FyGD4xZgiuV4NnsD9Pp8JcTtVcIqnJBGrtOz_zUxI1WJJ0Eru6yX-2Gs0fTvEq4oxpHNqGI0w6VxosoFcRA2CWeePqX8CFIrDFhHetkSOhdhCXIAAAk2OQrWPw7la_C-QpFw33w/s320/IMG_9286.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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3. Once you have your design, measure the center and make a tiny mark. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSh0w9UZEAJvRu9VC5uugQpoBPF9-sBrIw359mS2FHWPOsX_uuuccbxxB-Du8yNez0lf5i8QLePD2gMprMPzzsAoWW-0KnVei6PreZwSf3t0sDO19SogkOu80IZYp1d2IKl9YxSlDo0Q/s1600/IMG_9288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSh0w9UZEAJvRu9VC5uugQpoBPF9-sBrIw359mS2FHWPOsX_uuuccbxxB-Du8yNez0lf5i8QLePD2gMprMPzzsAoWW-0KnVei6PreZwSf3t0sDO19SogkOu80IZYp1d2IKl9YxSlDo0Q/s320/IMG_9288.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
4. Put a small amount of glue on the back of each cork and place it onto your board. You will need to push down hard and hold for a minute to be sure the cork half's adhere to the board.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRH_jfLSrXN8WvrnR7rg8UnqECRNqftNfYFTXRvSASG2IluDVMgGBlG5KxGkhLeyO-CrKIJ_jxiThgw81qkKMa3hibTGQEOAoodz_4981tZpzRz8ExQzTmIoR267aaWipDK0o1OOTBQ/s1600/IMG_9289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRH_jfLSrXN8WvrnR7rg8UnqECRNqftNfYFTXRvSASG2IluDVMgGBlG5KxGkhLeyO-CrKIJ_jxiThgw81qkKMa3hibTGQEOAoodz_4981tZpzRz8ExQzTmIoR267aaWipDK0o1OOTBQ/s320/IMG_9289.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
5. When all your corks have been glued down place a flat heavy object, like a book, on top of the corks and let dry for 24 hours.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkX0ky5ucgXJDtkB_HyxgwoOAaRjgqYbYPk-qAxGb-FFJ3eT_99gILsHu3ToI6bqErvxP0sHS-qw2NAPS60vJylW3DLavVqzGJJzTHkMgw3o1v55TJ4M-B2hIsP5PMFyKmeAXnuroEjw/s1600/IMG_9295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkX0ky5ucgXJDtkB_HyxgwoOAaRjgqYbYPk-qAxGb-FFJ3eT_99gILsHu3ToI6bqErvxP0sHS-qw2NAPS60vJylW3DLavVqzGJJzTHkMgw3o1v55TJ4M-B2hIsP5PMFyKmeAXnuroEjw/s320/IMG_9295.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
5. Drill your board into the wall and viola, instant cork board!<br />
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I love love LOVE how the alternating design on my board turned out...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D0kPHZK63hX5v4zpst2cHnGsu6Gy8OrLj1gij8g7pGhuwueY1ZOtSOMQhtrm_809_ZcIU-UmNn7XPcfQ4ql_aq5qOu4ln99qkfoPzP-svBbHjh19-yFfXkPwsALkkf9-w9wkfLEyuw/s1600/IMG_9299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-D0kPHZK63hX5v4zpst2cHnGsu6Gy8OrLj1gij8g7pGhuwueY1ZOtSOMQhtrm_809_ZcIU-UmNn7XPcfQ4ql_aq5qOu4ln99qkfoPzP-svBbHjh19-yFfXkPwsALkkf9-w9wkfLEyuw/s320/IMG_9299.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
And how does it work....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhom0FF_xJYbg30onph1p1jfy5nKgyBPMW9J33eWvLkNAg8irBQtDC7dcYWY6_VQUYXxM3SriWTPtPvQrTCMnWbEUbZoqbBsPKXoYKtkJMyrKpE8Ktoo8Rzkix86yWRdyOs6PeHQe7jsw/s1600/IMG_9304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhom0FF_xJYbg30onph1p1jfy5nKgyBPMW9J33eWvLkNAg8irBQtDC7dcYWY6_VQUYXxM3SriWTPtPvQrTCMnWbEUbZoqbBsPKXoYKtkJMyrKpE8Ktoo8Rzkix86yWRdyOs6PeHQe7jsw/s320/IMG_9304.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
Beautifully! The corks hold nice and tight, it has become quite the conversation piece and is a great addition to our growing family command center. Since I had everything on hand, this "Cork" board was F-R-E-E!!! I may just need to make another one for my craft room.<br />
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Happy Crafting!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-33260947468687623472012-05-20T21:34:00.001-07:002012-05-20T22:45:31.291-07:00DIY: Easy Vase Makeover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since our living room color scheme is changing to red and teal, I wanted to add some pops of color. To save money I decided to head to good will and pick up a few new vases. I found two that I knew would fit perfectly and with the .25 cent price tag I couldn't beat it. I rounded out the group with a third vase I had on hand. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXEKuk5Yk-O3Ue9-fRX2ZK9rBJbWY_qYmaml1sD9Pihp5w3ekzd7DWUw4A1NXs5SAhh5lgYpECjLo4HjgcsPXopDekjUegTSpy_itIt1m7c8bx1cUpNuqZux4i6J0Gtv-kpa5xPT0lA/s1600/IMG_9233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXEKuk5Yk-O3Ue9-fRX2ZK9rBJbWY_qYmaml1sD9Pihp5w3ekzd7DWUw4A1NXs5SAhh5lgYpECjLo4HjgcsPXopDekjUegTSpy_itIt1m7c8bx1cUpNuqZux4i6J0Gtv-kpa5xPT0lA/s320/IMG_9233.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
I picked up a few bottles of acrylic craft paint in teal from Joann's and I used a bottle of red I had on hand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoss_eWEA2MilJNJBWrFg3SMo0Vk2gN4P3d2kmCS5wNVAz6elH8dJ3s0VUDIuOq4bTY1mI4v8yh7CoZf80y-8t_dH24BvCjmkVqc7VAFLwJ8J-XbElsBiTt1gYtG1EchImJjgWLtE-g/s1600/IMG_9234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoss_eWEA2MilJNJBWrFg3SMo0Vk2gN4P3d2kmCS5wNVAz6elH8dJ3s0VUDIuOq4bTY1mI4v8yh7CoZf80y-8t_dH24BvCjmkVqc7VAFLwJ8J-XbElsBiTt1gYtG1EchImJjgWLtE-g/s320/IMG_9234.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
The process was very easy (I apologize I didn't get process pics). <br />
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Step 1. Clean and dry the vases<br />
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Step 2. Squeeze 3/4 of the bottle of paint into the vase and add about a tablespoon of water to thin it out. <br />
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Step 3. Swirl the paint around in the vase to cover the inside, if the paint is still thick add a small amount of water to continue to thin it out. <br />
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Step 4. Once the paint has covered the vase up to the neck, turn the vase open side down onto a thick rag and allow the excess paint to drain out. As the paint drains it will cover the inside of the vase to the top. <br />
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Step 5. After about 30 minutes turn the vase over and allow it to dry for 2-3 days. <br />
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I love the way they turned out! In total the three vases cost $1.75, not bad for quick and easy decorations. <br />
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Happy Painting!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-31520370135094547592012-05-16T22:59:00.002-07:002012-05-16T23:03:40.488-07:00Things people say...One day very soon I'm sure I will blog about the different things people have said to us over the years in regard to infertility and adoption. Today I leave you with two that have been said to me a few times recently and I'm not going to lie, they hurt...<br />
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<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #45818e;">"So what about his real parents..."</span></span></b> (speaking of our little man)</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #45818e;">"You have a baby it's a little easier for you..."</span></b> (speaking of the fact that we adopted a baby, as if that means our infertility disappears!)</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Suffice it to say, sometimes you just have to practice grace...<br />
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Blessings!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-83407690025451779072012-05-11T07:46:00.000-07:002012-05-16T22:32:24.020-07:00A different kind of Good Friday...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">To every</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">thing there is</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...Ecclesiastes 3:1</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A number of times in the past I've sat down to write this blog and the words never seem to make it from my heart to the page, but this year I feel confident to put down on paper what I feel in my heart. I beg you to read this post in it's entirety...</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As I approach this mothers day, I feel burdened and heartbroken, not the normal course for a mother. I remember feeling this same burden just a year ago, my very first mothers day. Sitting in church service, surrounded by mothers of all ages, I should have been overjoyed. On the contrary, my eyes were filled with tears and my heart ached so deeply I couldn't breath as I recalled so many mothers days before this one. When I should have been feeling joy I was burdened with anguish over those I knew desired so badly to be in the moment I had been given. Seven years I waited, patiently for my time to celebrate, but I felt no sense of celebration. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">See infertility doesn't care if it's Mothers Day. Infertility doesn't care how many times you have attempted and failed to conceive. Infertility doesn't say bravo when you attend a friends baby shower or hold their new born baby in the hospital. And infertility doesn't just go away when they place a baby in your arms. This throne in the flesh is a constant reminder of what you cannot do and what you have no control over. What is so seemingly easy for others is so painfully difficult for you. Mother's Day is a reminder of what you desire, what you long for daily and wait for patiently. And while you put on your best smile, mustering up every bit of strength you have to celebrate with the mothers you are blessed to know, you are quietly crying inside. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I find myself asking the question: why if I have been blessed with a precious son do I still feel such a heavy weight? I truly believe it's because God has called us to carry the weight of one another burdens. By recalling to memory the seven years prior to our little ones adoption, the pain and anguish of infertility along with three failed adoption process', God is helping me to remember their are those who are still struggling. Many of them close friends and family members. That's not to say this burden should take away the celebration of the great blessing God has given me in my son, nor should it diminish the joy I have in being a mother. Rather it is a matter of reverence for me personally. Because I still struggle with the pain of infertility myself, there are parts of Mother's Day that will forever remain a silent painful struggle. It is a thorn in my flesh, however I choose to see this thorn as Paul chose to see his:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;"><span class="text 2Cor-12-7" id="en-NIV-29030"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29030M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)"></sup>a messenger of Satan, <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29030N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)"></sup>to torment me.</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></span></i><span class="text 2Cor-12-8" id="en-NIV-29031"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></span></i></span><span class="text 2Cor-12-9" id="en-NIV-29032"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But he said to me, </span></i><span class="woj"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“My grace <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)"></sup>is sufficient for you, for my power <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)"></sup>is made perfect in weakness. <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)"></sup>” <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29032S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)"></sup></span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b></span></span></i><span class="text 2Cor-12-10" id="en-NIV-29033"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29033T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)"></sup>in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29033U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)"></sup>in persecutions, <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29033V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)"></sup>in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.</span></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Please do not misunderstand me, I </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">DO NOT</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> for a moment believe the thorn of infertility is a messenger from Satan nor do I believe I have even a muster of strength as great as Paul, but I do believe God has put this into our lives personally so that His power, His plan, His purpose and His glory might be displayed in our life. Without this thorn we would not have our beautiful precious son! Without this thorn we would not have met the precious young woman who gave birth to our son. Without this thorn we would not have been able to give a voice to those orphans who cannot speak. Without this thorn we would not have been able to minister to so many other hurting couple's. And most importantly without this thorn we would not be the same believers we are today. Because of this...</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">All the more gladly I WILL delight in this weakness, for when I am WEAK, then I am strong.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So in preparation for this Mother's Day I have decided to observe a "Good Friday" of sorts. Around Easter we observe Good Friday to remember the sacrifice Jesus made when He died on the cross for our sins. This is in </span><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">NO </span></u></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">way to be anything like that, but it is a day I am setting aside to remember and pray for those who share this thorn in the flesh. If you have those in your life who share this struggle I would greatly encourage you to pray along with me. Here are just a few ways I will be praying:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For Couples who struggle with infertility - For peace, comfort and strength to continue on. For a sense of God's presence to know they are not forgotten. For great assurance that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. For confidence that they are nothing less than God designed them to be. For laughter to replace tears, joy to replace heartache and mourning to be turned into dancing. For peaceful guidance to make Godly decisions on the direction they should go. </span></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For understanding and grace for those who don't understand or say the wrong things. For understanding and grace for one another, to grow closer through this journey. </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For the Lord to show Himself in mighty ways. </span></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I pray as we approach Mother's Day that we might be sensitive to all those who struggle with what should be a day of great joy. Not just for those dealing with infertility, but those dealing with miscarriage or the loss of a child, for those who have lost their mothers, for the sacrifice of those PRECIOUS birthmothers and for all the babies just waiting for a Mommy of their own. May our hearts be burdened for one another.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Blessings!</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-59558002516521462032012-05-07T22:29:00.000-07:002012-05-16T22:46:09.997-07:00Monday Menu Planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwTEx8Z9QRTyHX3pQ99BvkaYx3Wo5Yqjzl6EScCCDkhrPnqglyY0OVUlE-12PZYs-6M86wbh2wZfBdqJggtoRo2mulZmsa70dTHg7T4JiuCfMl5jIyA-7SX2ajo_bwdnaj5ODTSn6Pg/s1600/whatsfordinner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwTEx8Z9QRTyHX3pQ99BvkaYx3Wo5Yqjzl6EScCCDkhrPnqglyY0OVUlE-12PZYs-6M86wbh2wZfBdqJggtoRo2mulZmsa70dTHg7T4JiuCfMl5jIyA-7SX2ajo_bwdnaj5ODTSn6Pg/s320/whatsfordinner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Since the pantry is undergoing a facelift, I have dubbed this week </span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"Clear Out Cooking"</span></b></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. This means I am strictly making meals based on what I have on hand. I thought this would be a challenge but surprisingly enough it was easy to come up with 2 weeks worth of menu's. I can't wait to see how small the grocery bill will be this week!</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Monday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner with Small Group</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tuesday </span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Oven Baked Chicken / Sides: Couscous and Steamed Veggies</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Wednesday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Game Night - Dinner with Small Group</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Thursday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Chili Lime Steak Salad</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Friday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Bar-b-que Chicken / Sides: Potatoes and Broccoli</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Date Night (WOOHOO)!</span></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunday</span></u></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Main: Left Overs</span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-77612785169696119452012-05-04T20:45:00.002-07:002012-05-04T20:45:58.375-07:00Fab Refurb: Bedroom Dresser - Progress update 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have to apologize, I keep forgetting to take pictures during the day, so these are a little dark. I promise the next set will be better :).</div>
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The primer is all dry and so I was able to lay down the first coat of paint. I decided to use Rust-Oleum Heirloom White paint. After the first coat the dresser was looking beautiful...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO2UbIFUuIkWhjSI4dQRHdy6tObqKkFnUwuQJqSS2MLss_IeH1gPC-Yt_8yv3XkijT53ho1Y0XU8z0BmegPv06a9ziLauBb6WwCq7jD2Vx2RRUOBSuiHvkvp9Z0QyGkKjn8Dupr4XfQ/s1600/IMG_9211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeO2UbIFUuIkWhjSI4dQRHdy6tObqKkFnUwuQJqSS2MLss_IeH1gPC-Yt_8yv3XkijT53ho1Y0XU8z0BmegPv06a9ziLauBb6WwCq7jD2Vx2RRUOBSuiHvkvp9Z0QyGkKjn8Dupr4XfQ/s320/IMG_9211.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
I adore those drawer fronts...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6oxuSZ4498eFduK8_bP7o7dicjlFz_M4vgh_HUTJ8AkDDKJ8KGwxm3BuSvjxWwmoNd31xbOu7-iPdmTyi6cCTW31857mgbQkwKIVeekOachwbX7k_I_zMrtg8z4entNVkbXNOpkdyw/s1600/IMG_9209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6oxuSZ4498eFduK8_bP7o7dicjlFz_M4vgh_HUTJ8AkDDKJ8KGwxm3BuSvjxWwmoNd31xbOu7-iPdmTyi6cCTW31857mgbQkwKIVeekOachwbX7k_I_zMrtg8z4entNVkbXNOpkdyw/s320/IMG_9209.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
The bottom drawers were looking good...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOzoEPcLuO6QXHO2FZK_4MnoqXwoETUw6J1X61qHwC3sj6cPs2EIB_gdhZZsokqgkBFkRivG3T-f6sv04DEXlLWtlujMxZ1ql4PxVEhdBrKCrZ1f17MEhLx1UGNfSzq-bqArn0LS3sA/s1600/IMG_9212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOzoEPcLuO6QXHO2FZK_4MnoqXwoETUw6J1X61qHwC3sj6cPs2EIB_gdhZZsokqgkBFkRivG3T-f6sv04DEXlLWtlujMxZ1ql4PxVEhdBrKCrZ1f17MEhLx1UGNfSzq-bqArn0LS3sA/s320/IMG_9212.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
The back detailing is beautiful...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEz8uUU1Yoh7VD0L2-5UBR5UHPC5TXUOp83_bu6yYhbQzVbMG_hBFf-2JrSZFviARJ0Y1hyeLF7JPOSZ_pER6pSpl37ntUJnO2Rv0LY2MeKfLq4wMaRmJ1YMljYT0WjnJYvHtWw2g6g/s1600/IMG_9213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEz8uUU1Yoh7VD0L2-5UBR5UHPC5TXUOp83_bu6yYhbQzVbMG_hBFf-2JrSZFviARJ0Y1hyeLF7JPOSZ_pER6pSpl37ntUJnO2Rv0LY2MeKfLq4wMaRmJ1YMljYT0WjnJYvHtWw2g6g/s320/IMG_9213.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxuDEZERvA8NyVZ3Y75SV07dVrBH-iN4xTeRWuqRHi6QHRH9Y05n3x7mjbVfqfc2Q8BuO_UTIVO3CBlRGNqErdfgItlEqJBxWUMK4Ni3eLSJSBtnmJvT_-2q1awNqidYBY1lkh1noLQ/s1600/IMG_9214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxuDEZERvA8NyVZ3Y75SV07dVrBH-iN4xTeRWuqRHi6QHRH9Y05n3x7mjbVfqfc2Q8BuO_UTIVO3CBlRGNqErdfgItlEqJBxWUMK4Ni3eLSJSBtnmJvT_-2q1awNqidYBY1lkh1noLQ/s320/IMG_9214.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
After the first coat I sanded the entire piece down with 220 sand paper to get all the little bumps out, then came a light cleaning to remove all the sanding dust. I decided to do another coat today and the finished product looks AMAZING! Tomorrow I hope to add the clear coat and move this baby in to her new home! Now on to find drawer pulls.<br />
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Blessings!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-770338287128696212012-05-03T20:30:00.000-07:002012-05-04T19:48:36.972-07:00DIY: Makeup Board<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In our rental home we have one full bathroom, unfortunately the vanity is not very large (sorry for the yellow picture). With daddy, mommy and baby plus overnight guests using this same space storage is a huge issue....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAapIlN_ZqLrhnHVFwfXq8CpxwSrq7f8kbLjtOtzebVWRE1kyDd4vgOYAzlPJIGnearRti-b1iQQclvrOn6uohXbVRuPtbewGyCNl9GMfq9VdV5Ur9ej7GxjaPeiIAUKUo6KURVvbfw/s1600/IMG_8289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGAapIlN_ZqLrhnHVFwfXq8CpxwSrq7f8kbLjtOtzebVWRE1kyDd4vgOYAzlPJIGnearRti-b1iQQclvrOn6uohXbVRuPtbewGyCNl9GMfq9VdV5Ur9ej7GxjaPeiIAUKUo6KURVvbfw/s320/IMG_8289.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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In an effort to free up some space I decided to make a magnet board for my makeup. After house hunting I found an old unused cookie sheet and some left over white spray paint. It only took one good coat to cover the back side (sorry I only have the before)... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX_xODDmPw0aNWGVza8DNSPD282hOZoUfSkFPNKz1T8-t6uidaSGb3jBq-APb9LeIOgjMG0VU54xA_7nBMxunf-sX-jwi-V9bS7UwK9e8pRxjTovgvWb7Xd7UpUyO97rB-6nd0AZS2Q/s1600/IMG_9127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX_xODDmPw0aNWGVza8DNSPD282hOZoUfSkFPNKz1T8-t6uidaSGb3jBq-APb9LeIOgjMG0VU54xA_7nBMxunf-sX-jwi-V9bS7UwK9e8pRxjTovgvWb7Xd7UpUyO97rB-6nd0AZS2Q/s320/IMG_9127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Next I purchased some tiny heavy duty magnets for $2 a package at Joann's. I pulled out my trusty glue gun and my already sorted make up and I was ready to get to glueing...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7kxXK2m-yIy40_Z-ngTP30rOZaFCkuUr3r-UvUEcr5xkTkMkyTdxY4ZeZ40IbQXe9dmi0rZuYoKPIDaPs1Uwk2_R0b3mY4FbqsLe46xM0YJQhT7FL0WX4JTonh6nXoaLOy9pbRBpLg/s1600/IMG_9133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7kxXK2m-yIy40_Z-ngTP30rOZaFCkuUr3r-UvUEcr5xkTkMkyTdxY4ZeZ40IbQXe9dmi0rZuYoKPIDaPs1Uwk2_R0b3mY4FbqsLe46xM0YJQhT7FL0WX4JTonh6nXoaLOy9pbRBpLg/s320/IMG_9133.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I glued a magnet to the back of each piece...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gF59EHymN7KEQNKT8hTD3Edu-5-tbVNo_7RodqwxbTCiFUKFZbVgKfd7oGQc9up6INNwR9fZpxc0C9fIXNjcl_fXqEH5fiqTZ8uVzMI-2Gdh8ixpBVL0874fKk_2_poYdxIrgAqEkg/s1600/IMG_9134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gF59EHymN7KEQNKT8hTD3Edu-5-tbVNo_7RodqwxbTCiFUKFZbVgKfd7oGQc9up6INNwR9fZpxc0C9fIXNjcl_fXqEH5fiqTZ8uVzMI-2Gdh8ixpBVL0874fKk_2_poYdxIrgAqEkg/s320/IMG_9134.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
While the glue dried I decided to put lip sticks and brushes in a jar I already owned, but when I looked at it on the counter it just looked disorganized and U-G-L-Y!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEmoC-FcoVDv6fzUTxu-wQbIK8vRkvQYc4pmwHXZrLQ1vusCam7Ci5pAWHCVC_SdsF-0axeJ6-YBaBLh6PotFvgjYNglK-iGDFabeLvGdcT2Ox6mfbz_RARoUFLVUx0h7u4toc2sm7A/s1600/IMG_9136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtEmoC-FcoVDv6fzUTxu-wQbIK8vRkvQYc4pmwHXZrLQ1vusCam7Ci5pAWHCVC_SdsF-0axeJ6-YBaBLh6PotFvgjYNglK-iGDFabeLvGdcT2Ox6mfbz_RARoUFLVUx0h7u4toc2sm7A/s320/IMG_9136.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
So to the pantry I went! I have seen several people use coffee beans, but around here those are a precious commodity, not to mention I wanted something lighter. It only took a moment for me to spot some soup mix that, I'm sad to say, I have had for a LLLOOOONNNGGG time. I knew the beans would be the perfect color in the bathroom (okay did that sound really funny to anyone else :))...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRlNhO3HFeilr0aC8ncap1BeyNiK_EgT4rjEvNM57opdU-eWxuaYU8T-vzmRnPKVuWb8OK-wN-I4igr0dCJLEE8MBGoOyBuA6vETXw6kdts-3_4tH1wMMC9mBEmXwGlh09aeuNVbdlQ/s1600/IMG_9137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRlNhO3HFeilr0aC8ncap1BeyNiK_EgT4rjEvNM57opdU-eWxuaYU8T-vzmRnPKVuWb8OK-wN-I4igr0dCJLEE8MBGoOyBuA6vETXw6kdts-3_4tH1wMMC9mBEmXwGlh09aeuNVbdlQ/s320/IMG_9137.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl9Ka8uladawsdYz5wNPPMJL-u_jV1es5M66HaLEjmqpnlROBOmt-YGlsS2Yzo6XUGPRmIsN0VJd9I_Zy7233S3qUpykVylmxX4IPd241HH3_LLnh8LvTKFa5kMrlHEl0J3yaUwuT5w/s1600/IMG_9138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl9Ka8uladawsdYz5wNPPMJL-u_jV1es5M66HaLEjmqpnlROBOmt-YGlsS2Yzo6XUGPRmIsN0VJd9I_Zy7233S3qUpykVylmxX4IPd241HH3_LLnh8LvTKFa5kMrlHEl0J3yaUwuT5w/s320/IMG_9138.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
After pouring the beans in the jar I added the brushed and lipstick back in and viola! Much better...<br />
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The pan just ended up being the perfect size to squeeze inbetween the counter molding and the medicine cabinet, that's right that baby is just snuggly shoved in there with no screws or adhesive, go figure...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9aDsNRKOrXLKyjjJAXFHAtq-OUN27gwuVGdTxXjefoviOeJ3HkWL4EM7_EDLHpAO4HEPOxgq3kbhPAPZidAKV5qQrH6yt4oOHYt9ktXZ4EGgswcOZxobt8XFgAvhaVMeVBr6Co3cKw/s1600/IMG_9141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9aDsNRKOrXLKyjjJAXFHAtq-OUN27gwuVGdTxXjefoviOeJ3HkWL4EM7_EDLHpAO4HEPOxgq3kbhPAPZidAKV5qQrH6yt4oOHYt9ktXZ4EGgswcOZxobt8XFgAvhaVMeVBr6Co3cKw/s320/IMG_9141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The white was just to plain so I decided to mod podge scrapbook paper over the top. I used paper I had on hand and it was a perfect match for the bathroom. I also made some little labels using stickers... </div>
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I absolutely LOVE my makeup board! It is easy access, out of the reach of little hands and free's up some much needed cabinet space. Oh and the jar of beans ended up being a great addition...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG0X_v6FReFnxLJo8d3iyvA-IqnGBkzFtUhLFXFdi2eO63DLadtdsrpIRuATcbWIccm8oATs9l3CH5cYmyhPA1gHKNXEpM1xgnwY18jTOWPMj0X1zobk1H5yWmXROUjVE0wn-yxNmvQ/s1600/IMG_9143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG0X_v6FReFnxLJo8d3iyvA-IqnGBkzFtUhLFXFdi2eO63DLadtdsrpIRuATcbWIccm8oATs9l3CH5cYmyhPA1gHKNXEpM1xgnwY18jTOWPMj0X1zobk1H5yWmXROUjVE0wn-yxNmvQ/s320/IMG_9143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So what do you think, I would love to hear how you solve storage issues in your house.<br />
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Blessings!<br />
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<i>UPDATE: You will need to use 2 magnets on the back of larger pieces like Bare Minerals containers. </i><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-62539701041077067952012-05-03T19:09:00.000-07:002012-05-04T19:09:44.284-07:00DIY: Menu Board<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I confess I am one of those crazy menu planners and weekly I try to get my menu's up on the blog (that is when we are not dealing with the plague of sickness!). Since I have a terrible memory I decided I needed a menu board in our kitchen. If this were not a rental we would already have a chalkboard painted on the end of one of the cabinets, but since that is not an option I decided to make a hanging one. </div>
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First task was to find something in the house I could use instead of purchasing something new. I found a great piece of wood on one of the pantry shelves. Since the pantry/coat closet (yes it is both, more on that another time) is getting a make over I knew I wouldn't be using it...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylG6W8Xs3g_htpbaO4wXhIlh-J5Vxs3QrS0I9Ka2ZEH5FLU9ZU3I1_GIuBuA9fWkle39JyPaOLYZrDShyphenhyphen0pk5XSACDZXS0YTmzokYcTXg42aTdz0h-GT80SBm9S1eVkUyMsvD9C7l0Q/s1600/IMG_9124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylG6W8Xs3g_htpbaO4wXhIlh-J5Vxs3QrS0I9Ka2ZEH5FLU9ZU3I1_GIuBuA9fWkle39JyPaOLYZrDShyphenhyphen0pk5XSACDZXS0YTmzokYcTXg42aTdz0h-GT80SBm9S1eVkUyMsvD9C7l0Q/s320/IMG_9124.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So out to the garage this cute little board went. Using some chalkboard spray paint I had I hand, I sprayed down one side. I gave the board 2 heavy coats, allowing a day in between each coat. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTOhvRDFnOaRCMy2Xk_AXzSPCridzvF0iYURh-H_K3LVGsCrm5EYq2tv1SiBvRJr1-dIfObTzcmZNr69i3GOWd3tqMhlPZJgwptf2GRoaoF61NbJn2nDVos6pr6c-2Zrpwk-ubQNcQA/s1600/IMG_9125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTOhvRDFnOaRCMy2Xk_AXzSPCridzvF0iYURh-H_K3LVGsCrm5EYq2tv1SiBvRJr1-dIfObTzcmZNr69i3GOWd3tqMhlPZJgwptf2GRoaoF61NbJn2nDVos6pr6c-2Zrpwk-ubQNcQA/s320/IMG_9125.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
After spraying the board I drilled two tiny holes at the top for a ribbon and viola!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTB3Rl3jzDeRI1lAlpKIaG937sqIaLMHrzt_hEYspUtGHVKOdoiJc4xBW3KiNrNmar3HFQBOt91-yPccbN7cEJaAixD1Z01SU9f9RkWFcaJooTL-aQzuIhOMgct80dPrch-xAN5wO9Q/s1600/IMG_9152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTB3Rl3jzDeRI1lAlpKIaG937sqIaLMHrzt_hEYspUtGHVKOdoiJc4xBW3KiNrNmar3HFQBOt91-yPccbN7cEJaAixD1Z01SU9f9RkWFcaJooTL-aQzuIhOMgct80dPrch-xAN5wO9Q/s320/IMG_9152.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
Isn't it cute! I am really surprised how easy this project was. It is so much fun changing out the decor on the board weekly. It is a nice addition to the kitchen (so sorry for the terrible lighting, forgot to get a daytime picture)...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRGt5H9vHJL4iEZrHGfyi2lAPx_Y5zxyW2OTm9DmNwnfJOzSpmSj4vTefs1tAieoDPRYEcSv9xR8yLQRoqFX13cSrq4NVvyxVR3DMu7yB2PAr4HumDF1YuoJajFmNwUCFeyjkIexgrA/s1600/IMG_9155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRGt5H9vHJL4iEZrHGfyi2lAPx_Y5zxyW2OTm9DmNwnfJOzSpmSj4vTefs1tAieoDPRYEcSv9xR8yLQRoqFX13cSrq4NVvyxVR3DMu7yB2PAr4HumDF1YuoJajFmNwUCFeyjkIexgrA/s320/IMG_9155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Eventually I am hoping for a family command center in this area, but for now this is a much needed improvement.<br />
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Blessings!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-88938841213366960212012-05-02T20:34:00.000-07:002012-05-04T20:35:24.199-07:00Fab Refurb: Bedroom Dresser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am SO excited to share this refurb with you! Since moving to NY we have been on the hunt for a dresser to go along with our vintage romantic inspired master bedroom. I have been checking second hand stores and craigslist, but with a budget of only $50 it has not been easy. Well while I was sick and stalking craigslist to pass the time, I spotted this baby for just $40 (yes it does have drawers, I took them out before I took the picture)...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGo_hxpO4VIAk1xaD8SRqIu3DhOEyTKB1Ag5nnReNHvvgMS7MYMtK-svieBumx4FEstyxzClro0CndF8d1BIfSA_IBDMBXrbVU2jq-QCJrvKNt6kaBxp-53NQEM09ScrnQs5_24m2tg/s1600/IMG_9174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGo_hxpO4VIAk1xaD8SRqIu3DhOEyTKB1Ag5nnReNHvvgMS7MYMtK-svieBumx4FEstyxzClro0CndF8d1BIfSA_IBDMBXrbVU2jq-QCJrvKNt6kaBxp-53NQEM09ScrnQs5_24m2tg/s320/IMG_9174.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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I was beside myself when I got the email that I was the first one! So helpful hubby headed out to pick it up for me. He checked over the piece to make sure it was just cosmetic issues and hauled it home. Once I was healthy enough I began the refurb with a good cleaning... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPJlyxaZzkStdjjLh0XwWThTqsen69D3xNPKZ4UoE0-Eh85VW28YFuL9rq32_zizjaIWMsTa6wK8zOF6a5jMo5QO153n2MSp6NWDl_CI3Uy5emdUKJ5BQ15Lvc4RqI4lpWu3HURltoQ/s1600/IMG_9176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPJlyxaZzkStdjjLh0XwWThTqsen69D3xNPKZ4UoE0-Eh85VW28YFuL9rq32_zizjaIWMsTa6wK8zOF6a5jMo5QO153n2MSp6NWDl_CI3Uy5emdUKJ5BQ15Lvc4RqI4lpWu3HURltoQ/s320/IMG_9176.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
I always wonder what a piece of furniture has seen in it's lifetime and I'm guessing this one has seen ALOT! The doors were the worst, but it really just looked like a staining gone bad. The top had water damage but just on the surface, nothing a good cleaning couldn't take care of...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzEM6sVGJZMUJsegIemcVanSw5QmnFvMD-38Nn6iH_-XeSLy8Ff0tAgQ3dPWa0pVoy4WPYsLs7npVvV1FfUWb7YtwMMivxA1umsDBgsu0Ayp-H4yUQtnVYwDPH8x0ZhPNHnDHu0u-9A/s1600/IMG_9177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzEM6sVGJZMUJsegIemcVanSw5QmnFvMD-38Nn6iH_-XeSLy8Ff0tAgQ3dPWa0pVoy4WPYsLs7npVvV1FfUWb7YtwMMivxA1umsDBgsu0Ayp-H4yUQtnVYwDPH8x0ZhPNHnDHu0u-9A/s320/IMG_9177.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The exterior drawers have been stripped and stained and stripped again so I decided they needed to be painted as well. I will be changing the hardware as well, just not a fan of those drawer pulls...<br />
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The interior drawers were the nicest part. I am guessing this is what the original piece looked like. The jury is still out on whether they will be painted or not. I just love the rich tones and with some wood conditioner they would sparkle!<br />
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Upon further inspection of the interior I found the LAYERS of paint and stian this dresser has seen. After seeing this it was settled that this piece would be painted...<br />
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The legs were in great shape with the exception of a few chips. Nothing a hammer, screw driver and a little patients couldn't take care of...<br />
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After a GOOD cleaning and several days of researching painting furniture I decided to use spray paint this time around. I started with Rust-Oleum Primer...</div>
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After the first coat of primer you could really see the true beauty of this piece and all the little intricate details...<br />
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Even the detail on the drawers could be seen a little better...<br />
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I decided to do two coats of primer since I was going from dark to Heirloom White. I am getting so excited to see this piece finished...that will be a few days no doubt!<br />
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Blessings!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-73716322222320647732012-05-02T18:52:00.000-07:002012-05-04T18:52:33.830-07:00A dreadful delay...Well unfortunately for me the fabric I chose for my chairs just happens to be very popular, so today I received word that it is backordered until May 14th! Okay so it's not that bad, but then again I have never been a very patient person :). So sadly folks we have a dreadful delay on the chair recover project. Hopefully soon!<div>
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Blessings!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121947950236055198.post-60251128727910066762012-05-01T18:44:00.000-07:002012-05-04T18:45:44.537-07:00Pinterest Project: A-door-able mat...<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the many projects on my Pinterest list was <a href="http://hifrienddesign.blogspot.com/2012/04/tgidiyfriday-darling-do-it-yourself.html" target="_blank">this</a> front door mat. I absolutely love the nautical look and how it can withstand the elements (since here in NY we get a little of everything). So I headed off to the HD to purchase the needed supplies. </div>
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I was able to pick up the wood in the fencing department for just .85 cents a piece and the gentleman helping me was kind enough to cut them in half. I purchased quarter-inch-thick manila rope, cheap paint brush and 2 quarts of Behr Semi-Transparent Weather Proofing wood stain. </div>
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The first step was lining up my boards and sanding them down...</div>
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Using a ruler I measured and marked each piece for drill holes. I chose to measure three inches in from the end of each piece...<br />
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Using a drill and a 3/8" bit I drilled holes into each piece. This was a really exciting and super fun step for me as I've never actually drilled holes into anything before this project (I may or may not admit to running around the house trying to find others things to drill holes into :))...<br />
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In a matter of moments I had drilled all my holes...<br />
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After sanding down each of the holes, I was ready to stain the wood. This step was not on the blog with the original plan, but I wanted to add some color to our boring rental front door. After researching stains I decided to go with a tinted Semi-Transparent wood stain, this would add color and allow the wood grain to show through...<br />
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It's hard to see but this stain protects against sun, snow, frost, rain, wind and other elements...</div>
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I chose to go with a blue stain, unfortunately the pictures don't do the color justice...<br />
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After three coats of stain my wood pieces were ready to be tied together...<br />
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Unfortunately I didn't get a picture threading the manila rope through the holes. </div>
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Side Note: when threading the rope through the holes it helps to wrap the end with duct tape to keep it from fraying. Thread a good amount of rope through the first piece to ensure you will have enough to knot in between each piece. After threading rope through the hole, make a knot. Continue this process until each side is complete. </div>
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I love how my mat turned out, although I would like if it were a little longer (just an excuse to make another one in the fall :)). I love how the blue plays off of the siding on our rental home and who doesn't love a pair of Wellies to go along with it!</div>
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And of course I had to make a new colorful door hanger. I'm not sold on the orange ribbon or the sign in the middle, but since they were FREE (I had them on hand) they will work for now. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yfeZ2r0FkoSbenMUupHztSpvxV3_OulKtGUzMgCwVVXBdPDO0pbvh_BgwEEaX_apJel7Uj_zLD-R4zIM566NmUaBe-BdpEeLUUIFH2nvraEGIXSQiEoJcpoxypTypGvc8fqy2-6fcQ/s1600/IMG_9268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yfeZ2r0FkoSbenMUupHztSpvxV3_OulKtGUzMgCwVVXBdPDO0pbvh_BgwEEaX_apJel7Uj_zLD-R4zIM566NmUaBe-BdpEeLUUIFH2nvraEGIXSQiEoJcpoxypTypGvc8fqy2-6fcQ/s320/IMG_9268.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
The best part is I just prop this baby up when it rains and it gets a good cleaning.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiHRf-ebhx0mmB6nmFzaCIDBAuLG1Fcd4GUD9z_HuGzpQE-q5cbTYnLV_LjI07WWOSE_Wgxc0-nflwljwE0Pp3JFgK1yXdIX3lT9wfnN_fQRlQIwA2Wtb2ETP_7osSEs1XPfVt6lBDw/s1600/IMG_9272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiHRf-ebhx0mmB6nmFzaCIDBAuLG1Fcd4GUD9z_HuGzpQE-q5cbTYnLV_LjI07WWOSE_Wgxc0-nflwljwE0Pp3JFgK1yXdIX3lT9wfnN_fQRlQIwA2Wtb2ETP_7osSEs1XPfVt6lBDw/s320/IMG_9272.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
So there you have it, an easy A-door-able DIY mat!<br />
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Blessings!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0