How Joseph got a boo boo

I love my willow tree nativity set. So does my sweet two year old, Drew. I don't have the manger for it, so we flipped an old crate from Shaun's grandparents farm on its side, and I actually like that better. Only Joseph doesn't fit, he's just a little too tall. The nativity is in our dining room, and Drew tells me at pretty much every meal "Joseph, don't, fit." (there's a comma between every word because that's the way Drew talks, very precisely, pausing and choosing each word so carefully.) Whenever Drew has been playing with the nativity I can tell because every character who can fit is always in the barn/crate, and there's Joseph standing outside.
Well Drew must have been trying to make Joseph fit or something because he accidentally dropped him and Joseph's arm and staff broke off. My first reaction was to think about telling Drew he can't play with mommy's nativity set anymore. But then I realized something. In 25 years, when we pull out our nativity set and our kids are way past the point of wanting to play with mary and baby Jesus and the wisemen, we're gonna miss that time. I fixed Joseph right up with a little gorilla glue and some hot glue for his staff. He's not perfect anymore, and you can see where his arm broke off. Now when Drew looks at Joseph he says "Joseph, have, boo boo."
But every year from now on I'm gonna smile when I pull him out of the box. I'll remember the way Drew talked, the way he looked so sad when he accidentally broke him, the way he thinks all crates are barns now, and his happy little boy high pitch voice. I'm so happy Joseph has a boo boo :)

Projects

This post is mostly for me, just so I can see all in one place the projects that I've attempted over the past two years. Now that I am staying home I hope to accomplish a lot more of the ideas running through my head, but here's what we've got so far. :)

This is the first piece of furniture we ever re-finished, thanks to help from our friends Nat and Salena :) It was passed down to Shaun from a great aunt when he was young, and just needed a little help being beautiful again :)

And maybe some new hardware too...

So here it is all finished up and serving a purpose. Wish the lighting was better, but I didn't know I would be sharing these photos one day.

I covered the insides of the drawers with a pretty black and white damask fabric. And the knobs were less than a dollar a piece.

Project 2: Chalkboard platter artwork :) These were a gift for two of my friends last christmas. We weren't supposed to spend more than $15 on each other, and I wanted to give them a few things, so I got cute baskets from pier one and filled them with a candle, homemade poppyseed bread, and these chalkboards which I wrote their last names on. (I found the silver trays at a thrift store) Again, bad lighting--sorry.

Project 3: Covered boxes.

 I saw this idea on another blog and made them right before I had Isaiah. They are sitting on our changing table and I keep Drew's diapers in one and Isaiah's in the other. Just hot glue, burlap and twine and they are quite cute :)

Project 4: I spent $0 on this, I think that's my favorite thing about it. 

I used a cardboard lid, sheet music from shaun's mom, and black paint. (I may or may not have accidentally printed out our name and est. 2007 on one of shaun's company checks...)

I love the way it looks hanging with our family photos in the living room :)

Project 5: our second piece of furniture redo. 

Shaun's parents let us have this dresser that they were not using and just keeping in their basement. It has a mirror that goes with it too. We were back and forth between painting it white and staining it. We (and by we I mean Shaun, with some help from Drew) gave it a light sanding and stained it darker to match our crib, since it was going in Isaiah's room. 

There it is stained, it looks beautiful with all the drawers in it. 

There. Now I can feel all accomplished whenever I look at this post. This definitely does not include all the "projects" I've done, but at least a few of my favs are all in one place :)

Jesus, help me

As I type I am praying my words come out correctly, not out of my natural reaction but out of a heart that really is longing to see and say things as Jesus would.
Why must christians criticize each other? This hurts my heart so greatly.
We are made in the image of God. He pronounced us GOOD. We all relate to Him in unique and beautiful ways as he created us to. There are so many facets of God, I doubt we could experience them all in one lifetime. In the court of law, people are "innocent until proven guilty." In the "court of  church" it sometimes seems that people are "guilty until proven innocent." Especially when it comes to experiencing God in signs and wonders. I'm not saying that I don't think some things are far out. I used to think it was all far out. But instead of trying to talk people who say they have experienced such things out of their experience, why don't we go to God, go to the Bible, ask God to show us if it's ok, if it's real or not. God is so gracious, "such a gentlemen," as I heard someone put it before. He graciously allows us to search, to question, to wrestle with things before him and gently leads us to the answers.

Matthew 7:7 ""Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."


I absolutely love these verses. Stay real, look with an open (not critical) heart, and you will find the Lord.  
Jesus will doesn't force himself on us. If something makes us uncomfortable he doesn't usually shove it in our faces. He so lovingly continues to just be in relationship with us, take us by the hand, walk through life with us. 
Me? I want it all. I want all of Jesus. Why not? Why live life any other way? I have learned that most of what I thought was strange and not real is actually very real indeed. But it's not given for scientific analysis and debate and judgment. It's given in intimate moments with the Lord for encouragement, for encounter, to show his glory. 


Jesus, please continue taking me on this journey. Don't leave my side for a second. Please help me feel love always, not anger toward anyone who would try to analyze away the beautiful things you have shown me in the secret place with you. The fact that I even get upset just reminds me of my constant neediness for you. You are GOOD. All the time you are good. 

Nesting Mode, full force

I have just a little over three weeks to go before this baby is due... and nesting mode has taken over. I wish I could be this motivated all the time, except not have the lack of energy/oxygen and large belly to make everything harder. My checklist is quite long, and I'm trying to get at least one thing accomplished from it each day. For one thing I am THOROUGHLY cleaning the house. I started at the front door, and the living room and downstairs bathroom are done. Next up are kitchen and dining room. Thought I'd post the rest of my list on here to help keep myself going...

1. Re-stain dresser for baby's room (go to home depot to buy stain/supplies)
2. Get completely caught up photo wise on facebook/ editing pictures for photo shoots I've done recently.
3. Take some maternity pictures before the end
4. Clean out refridgerator
5. freeze corn, can peaches, can tomato sauce (buy a deep freezer goes along with this)

Then there's the list for after the baby comes while I am on maternity leave. I won't even go there now...

a combination of happy things :)

I am feeling better!! Still so tired and waiting for that burst of energy to arrive anytime, but so, soo thankful to not be throwing up anymore.

Because I am feeling better, our house is semi clean :) My "mantle" and living room are dressed for spring, and I am feeling ready to start a few more of the projects we have on our list around here:
-basement: finding furniture, decorating, painting canvases, etc now that the paint and carpet are all done.
-moving Drew into his own room, which I LOVE the theme I have been collecting things for a while for.
-getting the nursery all ready for baby number 2 :)

those are just a few...

Peonies grow in my yard! A dream come true... can't wait to see them bloom!

cooking.

I'm cooking tonight. First time in a long time. We are having people over. That means the house is clean like it hasn't been in a long time too. Oh the changes that happen in the first trimester of pregnancy. I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow, hopefully that means that a clean house and dinner cooking will become a more regular part of my routine again :)
On the menu for tonight:
Italian Roast Beef Sandwhiches.

possibly the easiest recipe in the world, and so so good. Just get sliced roast beef at the deli, and layer it in the crock pot with a bottle of zesty italian dressing. warm it up for a few hours, then serve on a good crusty roll with provolone cheese. :)

Cheesy Potatoes with crunchy topping.

more ingredients, but still an easy recipe. Frozen hashbrowns, sour cream, white cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, 1/2 stick melted butter, put in 9x13 pan... then crunch up corn flakes mixed with melted butter as the topping. bake one hour @ 350. also so good :)

Salad, with all my favorite toppings.

that means: feta cheese, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, cucumbers, glazed pecans, texas toast croutons, and raspberry vinagrette. :)

And that is the first meal I am making since becoming pregnant. :)

Inspiration!

And the weather I've been longing for is here for a brief little visit, and I'M LOVING IT. We grilled tonight. Oh the loveliness. :)

Winter...

I find winter... un-inspiring to say the least. I've never wanted spring to get here so badly in my whole life. Maybe because I associate the spring with no longer being sick. Maybe because I am craving bruschetta made with tomatoes from the garden, and cucumber sandwiches, and grilled veggies, and corn on the cob... {umm, pregnant? yes.} Maybe because the projects bouncing around in my head involve lots of color, and require me feeling well enough to pull them off. Maybe because I have reached the peak of winter paleness. Maybe because I found some really cute maternity sun dresses online. Maybe because I daydream about eating out on our back porch, or sitting outside reading while the sun goes down. Whatever the reason, I'm slightly obsessed with the change of seasons right now.
Thank goodness for my husband, who finds winter the perfect time to work on projects and has single handedly taken down all the wall paper in our basement, primed the walls, built shelves, is about to paint, and has the carpet people lined up to put extra thick padding down under the carpet to make it the ultimate worship room/family room/play room for our babies :) I love him :)

Accomplishing my first new years resolution

It is January 1 2011. And one of my goals was to start my own blog. Check.