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The Cabin

2011
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The much anticipated and needed weekend arrived and flew by like I knew it would, but yet left me feeling so refreshed, in love, and glad to be a mom!  It’s interesting sometimes how I can get hung up on the fact that I rarely get away, or get a break from my kids…sometimes I even have a pity party for myself, and then when I do, I realize that the grass is not always greener on the other side!  First of all I love my kids with all my heart, and very seldom need a break from them, I more so just desire some time to keep that Allie part of me alive, remembering who I was and what I love besides my beautiful children.  When I do get a break though, Ry and I both found ourselves wondering what our kids were doing, missing their smiles in the morning and their goofiness at night.  It was especially a little bit harder this weekend because after a call home Friday night we found out they were both sick, sorry Grandma and Grandpa!!  Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were able to get that quality time that we so needed.  We just came away from the weekend thinking that it is not a bad thing to be with your kids all the time, life really is great with them:)

As for Ry and I, I will share a little of our weekend, first of all when we arrived up north the temperature was -10 degrees (have I mentioned I don’t like the cold??) and since my husband is an HVAC man the cabin is equipped with a furnace and central air:)  Yay hubby!! But, with temperatures like that it took 3 hours before it reached 60 degrees in the cabin.  While Ry was unloading I quickly found the heating blanket–never used one in my life but fell in love with it!–and stayed perfectly still as to not let out any more cold air from the couch.  It eventually did warm up and we went out to do a little snowmobiling.

I realized fairly quickly that my snow gear did not protect on up to -30 degree wind chills, luckily my husband brought 3 of everything:)

My studly man

So we spent our days snowmobiling, the first day I last 45 min, after getting stuck 5 times and my fingers and toes about to fall off, and then the next day wearing Ry’s gear we snowmobiled about 75  miles.  I must admit, I am not a big outdoors person, but it was beautiful and a great way to connect with my hubby, something I realized I have to put effort into as well.  At night we would go back and cozy up watching a movie and eating snacks in their little cabin.  Here’s some pictures of the little treasure.

The living room.  The cabin just got electricity in the fall of last year, and this is only the 2nd year of working on it.  Considering it is 5 hours away, they have gotten a lot done and it looks great.  Some of the projects yet to come are flooring, tongue and groove on the ceiling, and finishing trim.  So cozy though already!!

The loft up top has 6 twin beds, so it can hold a lot of grand kids when we do big family get-togethers up north!

The antler chandelier was an awesome find by my mother-in-law at a garage sale, perfect for the cabin.

My father-in-laws antelope he shot in Wyoming charms the walls:)

A cozy bedroom for two makes it a great little getaway!

And a kitchen that is lacking cupboards but has a full size refrigerator and stove, perfect for cooking a pizza at night:)

So thank you to all of you who wished us a happy getaway.  It is amazing to be able to getaway and reflect on your marriage and put time into it as well.  I pray that you can all make some time to do it for yourselves…I may know of a cute little cabin in the woods that’s available:)

One more thing I have to say is that my handsome husband turns 29 today!! Happy birthday babe!  I’m so thankful that God graced you on this earth so that I could someday find you and make my life with you, it is an amazing one.  Through thick and thin, side by side we’ll travel together!!  Love you!!

Filed Under: cabin

Time for a Getaway!!

2011
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Let me first start by saying that tomorrow morning, at 6 a.m., Ry and I are getting away by ourselves, to their little cabin in the woods (reminds me of Little House on the Prairie:).  This is the first time that we will have a weekend away by ourselves since Tate was born almost 3 years ago now!  Thank you Tim and Ronelle for watching our kids:)  They are in good hands.  Then I am going to add that we get to stay in an adorable log cabin that Ryan and his dad and a lot of help built all by themselves!  I am so proud of them!! It is a perfect spot for Ry to have, wood, wood, and more wood….something I pretty much demolished in our house:)  But it is actually really cute!   The only complaint I have is that there is no running water..eek, but I think I’ll survive for 1 weekend! Lastly I need to say why this trip is so important.  It actually almost got called off because, surprise…there was a fight (I know…in our perfect marriage) and to be in a small cabin in the middle of no where with someone you might not want to look at might not be a great idea.  Our marriage has been a great one, but has been driven on quite a bumpy road.  We love hard and we fight hard.  Well, about 6 months ago I realized that children had overtaken our lives.  We didn’t know how to communicate anymore if they were not around.  I remember sitting in the car driving to the cities, 1 1/2 hours and not having or being able to come up with a thing to say.  I was heartbroken.  We used to go on a date every week before kids and never ran out of things to say.  We could talk for hours.  So we realized that slowly, we as a couple, were drifting apart…a very hard thing to admit.  We started working on it.  I planned dates, we had the marriage conference, we were spending time together again and it was amazing.  We reconnected in a way that brought us out stronger on the other side.

Then came the argument…one of the hardest ones we’ve had in our marriage, and the most challenging for sure.  I was mad, I was mad because it was going so good and then this came along.  You know how there are some fights that just take a good hour of talking it out to solve and then there are some where you are think…I don’t know where to go from here?? I don’t know how to “fix” this.  This was one of those.  It seemed hopeless.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”  Romans 15:13

It seems hopeless until we turn to our God and creator of hope.  The one who brings life, and joy.  And that’s what Ryan and I did.  We turned to God.  We came together as one unit, confessed with our mouths, and handed the situation over to God.  And it was amazing!  One day I was thinking our marriage was at the lowest point it had been at and the next day I had never felt more close to my spouse.  God is so good!  Through this whole ordeal I have learned that I am so thankful that I have a husband who is willing to go through the hard things so that our marriage can become stronger.  He told me he wants more, and so do I!  I look at so many marriages that “get by”, I don’t want that.  I want our marriage to be more!!  I want the intimacy to never stop growing.  And thank you Jesus that you gave me a man that wants the same.  One of the best ways of growing that intimacy is by praying together, praying for protection of your marriage and a deeper intimacy, covering your marriage in the armor it needs to survive a world that is so sinful!  We are the minority, but we can rise above it and truly look to God to create something that he designed to be beautiful.  Thank you Ry for being a great life-partner, I am so excited to continue on this journey with you and spend a weekend away together in the woods:)

Sorry, there’s no makeover this week, I’ll do one next week, this weekend I am focusing on my marriage:)  And I’ll bring back some fun pictures of this cute little cabin we get to stay at!

Filed Under: Family

Insecurities

2011
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Insecurities…I hate them!  Yet they plague us.  And they especially seem to attack women, understandably so in a world that tells us that beauty is happiness.  In a world that displays half naked pictures everywhere we look, even on the commercials you are not safe.  It’s all around us, we are surrounded by women who only seem to represent sexual pleasure.  Fantasy.  Unreal life.  Fake.  Yet we fall into their trap.  I wish I had bigger boobs, that I didn’t look like a boy when I lay down, my nose is too big, is that cellulite starting on the back of my legs??  Constant.  Unless we take control.  I have had major victories in this area, realizing that I am beautiful in my Lord’s eyes and in my husbands eyes, until some days come along and crash it all down again.  It is a constant battle.  A will to THINK differently.  To not conform to this world.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:2 NLT

And this is what we need to tell ourselves again and again and again and again.  Everyone struggles with different insecurities.  Material possessions, outward beauty, comparing, money, and each one is a trap from Satan.  As I sit here and write this I feel like a hypocrite because I so easily fall into these insecurities. And lately some of them have seem to overtaken me.   It is a constant renewing of the mind, it is a fight, a battle in the unseen world.  Our battle is against the darkness, Satan’s attack of pulling us down in our darkest hours.

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  Ephesians 6:11 NIV

So today I am writing this post more for myself than for anyone else I think.  I needed to remind my self of these truths that I know but so easily get lost.  I needed to find strength today.  I pray that any of you that are dealing with some of these same issues focuses on these verses as well, writes them down and puts them in visible places to remind us that we can overcome, and will.  Let’s battle these insecurities together:)

Some of my sweet friends have read Beth Moore’s new book, So Long Insecurity, You’ve Been a Bad Friend to Us and have had great things to say about it.  It is my next read and am excited to get armed with more ammo to fight off these demons and more wisdom to renew my mind.  The book is in my picks on the right if you want to check it out for yourself.

Filed Under: Faith

Makeover Madness…The Master Bedroom

2011
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Thanks again to my sweet friend Sarah who took a few shots for me.  It’s amazing how the great picture makes the house look more polished, no wonder why I can never achieve the magazine look:)  Anyhow, kinda fun every once and a while, and she was such a sweetie to help me out!!   So today I’m gonna show you the transformation of the master bedroom.  This sadly is one area where a lot of people let go because it is a space that not many people see.  I understand it can be hard to put money into it, but I look at this room as my little haven, a place of solace and rest.  I love being in here and cozying (I think I made that word up but I like it:) up on the bed reading a magazine or a good book.  I think it is important to stick some money into for you and your husband.  So, here is the famous before picture of our bedroom.

Almost every wall in the house was white and in need of a good painting, and the carpet was a dark burgundy.

We started by tearing out the carpet, which was nice, because then we could spray all of the woodwork white without having to cover anything.  Ryan sprayed the woodwork, doors, window, and ceilings.  This is the way to do it:)  Then I picked a nice warm khaki color for the walls.  I was in love with gray, which I had in the birdhouse, but with our light brown carpet I was afraid it would clash.

Now it looks something like this:)  We had purchased the sleigh bed and nightstands when we were first married from Big Lots!!  They have some cute furniture for very reasonable, and I actually also got the bench there as well, as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  We recently just rearranged this room, the bed used to be against the other window, which made the room feel smaller, but we had a large dresser and mirror that went with the set that we recently sold so that I could use this piece that I just redid..

This dresser was a part of a bedroom set we had gotten from Ryan’s parents, it was his great aunts.  We have the bed in our guest bedroom and the desk in Kynlee’s room, and this piece had been in our basement for the last 3 years.  I finally painted it and changed out the knobs and I love how it turned out.  It is the perfect fit in this little spot.

I then found these $3 dollar frames at Walmart and did a little photo collage, added a lamp we already had, and a after Christmas special tray with books on it and this is when I ended up with.

Matching bedside lamps and some small accessories really finish off the look, as well as a basket full of diapers:)  I love adding in pops of green and have different heights to make it more visually appealing.  I also just added a small frame with our initials in for a cheap fix.

So that’s it so far.  I would love to get a big white shag rug for under the end of the bed, but like I always say…gotta wait til the right deal presents itself:) Also, I recently saw this picture of a lady who has the exact same Big Lots bed and painted it white and I fell in love, I think I might try that, after I convince my hubby!!  It bring more of the cottage feel in!  It’s so nice to actually see your exact piece so you have the perfect idea of what it will look like, great find!

Cute huh?  And the gray walls…love it!

Here’s the breakdown:

Bed and Nightstands: $550

New Fan: $75

Lamps from Ikea: $60

Bedding: Wedding Gift, plus extra pillows (of course:) $50

Dresser: Free, Paint and hardware–$20

Bench: $75 (Christmas Gift)

Little White Wire Chair: Free, borrowing from my sister, thanks Mel:)

Accesories: Greens/Picture Frames/Etc–$75

Grand Total: $905

We did put a berber (sp?) carpet throughout the upstairs as well, which cost us $1500 for 4 rooms, hallway, and steps, but was much needed since there was an array of colors in the bedrooms!  And that’s it, not too bad.  Always a work in process but for me that’s the fun part:)

Filed Under: Makeovers

Measuring Furniture for your House

2011
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So, I recently found another Craigslist bargain and wanted to decide if it would work in our home.  I came across a Pottery Barn couch with a chaise lounge.  Now, we already have a couch in our living room that we purchased when we were newly married, but every since we got it Ryan has never liked it.  He always complained of how uncomfortable it was and possibly that I had too many pillows on it:)  I love pillows as accessories.  So I wasn’t actively looking for a couch, but when I came across this one I entertained the thought of buying it, or at least presenting the idea to my husband, since he makes the final call.  A couple other reasons that I liked the idea of this couch was because it would add additional seating to our living room which didn’t have much since we sold the love seat a couple of years back, and no other seating would fit in there.  And lastly, because I love Pottery Barn items, yes I love how they look, but I have come to appreciate the quality of them as well.  Now since we do live on a budget I would never be able to buy Pottery Barn full price…so this is my opportunity to bring some of these items into our home.  I had seen this couch on Craigslist for about a year, it would come on and then off, and then on again.  Most Pottery Barn items move fast so it was a good sign for me that it was back on, because the price was lower!  I quickly emailed to get the measurements, and then that night when Ry got home we talked it over.  Now ladies, I have to tell you that I have learned how to present these ideas to my husband.  First of all I don’t get too excited about it because I know he has to agree before I can rejoice in a fun purchase.  Second of all I don’t ask him for something that I don’t find a need for, I only present items that I know will function well in our home.  Ryan is a good sport and listens to my points and then decides if he thinks we need it as well.  As stated before, Ryan didn’t much like our couch, so he was game for this one.  Plus it had a chaise, how comfy is that!  So the next step for myself was to measure out the room to make sure it would work.

We moved the furniture out and taped out the measurements on the floor.  Tate was loving the free space, and not having pants on:)  Cute chicken legs huh??

Then I moved my other furniture around it to make sure it would still work.

I liked the fit of it and we made the decision to call and see if it was still available.  After being second in line and having the first couple be a no show, we were able to go pick up the couch!!  They had it listed for $500 o.b.o. so we decided to offer $300, they ended up taking $360 and after checking out the Pottery Barn website I found that it is still on there for the small fee of $2200!! What a steal!  I must add it does have discoloration on the back from being too close to a heater, but that didn’t bother us since it was up against a wall anyhow.  So this is how it looks in our home now.

We had to move the lamp to the other side and the pictures around, but it fits quite nicely.  It is a little darker than expected so I am going to “tweek” a few things in this room to help it out, like painting my coffee table all white and eventually fading out the red and bringing in blue/green:)  Always a project, but that’s my hobby and keeps life interesting!

Have you had a great find lately?? I’d love to hear about it!

Filed Under: How-To's

The “Art” of Marriage

2011
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Marriage is all about me, my wants, my needs, my desires met.  When I get married, my life will be perfect.  The happily ever after will have finally arrived.  Wow!  How naive I once was.  You know, in a society that seems to be playing this message to us on repeat, it’s no wonder that we start to fall into that trap.  Even when we read Christian romance novels, which are God centered, we fall into the need to have that “happily ever after” scenario.  Well, let me tell you….that mantra, marriage is all about me, doesn’t get you too far in life.  It doesn’t get you too far with your spouse either. And, most importantly, it doesn’t get you far with your relationship with Christ! This past weekend Ry and I went to a marriage conference that our church was having.  May I suggest everyone take the time to do this in their marriage, and perhaps even yearly.  This was our first conference together and it was great, and how ideal to have it happen right before Valentines Day:)  The message was clear, and mimicked the study we are doing in Sunday school with “The Sacred Marriage.”  The message was this.  The ultimate purpose of marriage is to reflect God’s image. That’s it.  Period.  It’s biblical.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  Ephesians 5:31-32

As we sat through this conference we learned just how spot on that is.  We realized that marriage reflects to the world God’s promise to be with us and to redeem us.  It is a covenant, a permanent promise, not a contract.  Marriage exists for a bigger purpose, it is not to just give us that fairy tale ending. It is interesting, as I was sitting there and listening I realized how much in our marriage I prayed that God would change Ry, that Ry would realize what he was doing.  I always wanted to nudge him throughout the last 4 years when someone was speaking about marriage and say…”did you hear that?”  Because of course I was always right:)  But this last year the Lord is really teaching me that I was missing the mark.  Marriage is not about me being right, or feeling good, or constantly being upset with my husband.  Marriage is about me glorifying God through this act.  God has given me this gift, now how am I going to treat it.  I must admit, I didn’t always treat this gift with respect.   I have messed up, but glory to God for his mercy and grace.  This was another quote I came upon this weekend that stood out to me.

The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.  For I have accepted God’s idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am, and all that He wants me to be.”  –Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be a Woman

We need to shut out what the world is screaming at us, and we need to take a closer look at what the Lord is teaching us.  We are a “different kind of woman,” our standard is Jesus, and that is a great standard to be held up to.  So I encourage you this Valentines day to take a different approach to your marriage.  To look at it from a biblical view, giving glory to God with how you treat your spouse.  Pray to God for direction in your marriage and also perseverance.  Let me challenge you, as I am trying to challenge myself, to not look at our husbands as the enemy, but as God’s gift.  Our life partner that our relationship together should reflect God’s image.  You know–just a small challenge:)  But one that will be blessed and rewarded someday!

Filed Under: Faith, Family

Makeover Madness…The Office

2011
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First of all I need to send a huge shout out to one of my sweet friends Sarah, who willingly came over and took a few shots for me in the house and outside for the blog.  She is such a sweetie and amazing at what she does!!  We have had her take all of our family pictures, as well as newborn pictures, and it is amazing how she captures the children’s expressions–timeless!  You should check Sarah out and give her a big shout out from allie:)

Alright, onto the makeover.  This room started out listed as a 5th bedroom.  We were moving fast in having babies but didn’t think that we need to have 5 bedrooms quite yet, so soon decided it would be the office.  I didn’t take any before pics of the office when we first moved in, but there is already a “before” picture from Allie, suprise!! (what can I say, I love projects!)

This was old faithful oakey desk that Ryan had gotten for free, I begged him to paint it, as you well know I love paint…but he wouldn’t let me.  So we used it for about a year until we came across a pottery barn desk, two book cases, and file cabinet on Craigslist for $475.  A steal!!

Here’s the rest…

Pretty sparse, we didn’t have much leftover money to put into an office and I didn’t have a clear vision for it yet anyway.

When we first moved in, this room had carpet down so we tore that up and ran the wood floors throughout.  Of course we sprayed everything white, and then painted it a cool brown.  I was never in love with the color but it worked for awhile.  Like I said earlier, I had purchased the pottery barn desk set (which I don’t have pictures for anymore) but realizing that I’d like to double the office as a guest room, I decided to try to sell it.  I ended up selling it for $1300, making a profit of $875!!  Ryan told me I could take that money and put it back into the room.  It was the first time ever that I had a chunk of money like that to work with and decorate a room,  how fun! I had fallen in love with this bed from Ikea the moment I first saw it and new I wanted to incorporate it into our office.

The sun wasn’t cooperating with me today but you get the picture.  I was so excited to do a shabby chic room and this was it.  I love the pale yellow walls with the light blue.  I found some bedding on clearance at pottery barn and made the bird pillows myself.

Here’s the birds…love birds!

We added the glass door for a little more character.  My sister actually found these doors at Menards in the clearance section for $30 and I think it made a big difference.

I ended up buying this desk from Pottery Barn, my one splurge, but first I found a gift card on ebay for Pottery barn and paid $415 and the value was $505, so that helped, and then I also bought a 10% off coupon on ebay for $3 and saved over $50 on the desk.  A couple of little tips to lower the price!  I had to get a new chair as well, the wood was $70 cheaper than the white ones at Target so I still plan on painting it someday.

I loved the French Country feel to this fabric with the little bees on it.  I left a little ruffle on top to finish it off, and lined them with white and they really compliment the space well!  ( I think:)

And that’s the finished product!  So here’s the breakdown:

Wood Floors: $200

Desk: $400

Drapes I made:  $60

Bed and Mattress: $210

Bedding: $100

Desk Chair: $125

Accessories: $60 ( I sprayed my lamp pink to go in the room, as well as a paper holder on the desk I had.  Spray paint is a great fix to new accessories!)

Grand Total: $1155

So now we have a office/guest room that is my little getaway.  Ryan is not huge on the color but is a sport to let me try something new!  I am still waiting to find a cute coffee table and the rug is one I had left over, but once again, you can’t always do everything at once!  It comes with time, good finds, and some elbow grease:)

Filed Under: Makeovers

The Art of Cookie Making

2011
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I love sweets, they get me through the day.  I do not claim to be a health nut in any sense, although sometimes I think I should take it a little more seriously…someday.  Anyway, one of my favorite things to do is make cookies.  I love the smell that it emits in the house, I love how delicious they are coming out of the oven, and I love the process.  So, here is Allie’s steps to make delicious cookies.

1.)  First–you need to round up a little bit of help!  Professionals work best:)

These will do for today.

2.)  Make it easy!  Especially when you are working with such qualified help!

I love using cake mixes, they make delicious cookies!  The recipe is usually on the side,  a 1/3 cup oil and 2 eggs…doesn’t get much easier than that!

3.)  Stirring/mixing..many people take this for granted, but this is where you add in the extra love:)

See what I mean…lots of love!

4.)  Into the oven they go!

So easy, just smoosh down with a floured cup.

5.)  Make it festive and fun, especially around holidays!  What a great way to include the kids.  Although I do suggest the adults spread the frosting, a little less messy that way!

Sprinkling…

6.)  The reward…

Happy face #1

Happy face #2

and happy face # 3

Plus…you get a cute decoration for a couple of days…or hours…or however long they last in your house:)

The final product, with lots of love!!

Okay, on a serious note, I really do like to bake homemade cookies…but with kids these are the perfect option.  I think it’s great to get kids in the kitchen at a young age and start teaching them, they are really life skills that they will use for a long time, even if right now it is only dumping the oil or flour:)  They will progress, and they love doing it!! So, set aside your clean kitchen and welcome the mess!  Sometimes the process is just as good as the end result:)

Filed Under: Cooking

My 1st True Love

2011
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February is the month of love, and while we tend to think of our significant others as the most important love in our life, our first true love should go to our amazing Father in heaven who has loved us from the beginning.  He has been there while we were in our mother’s womb and I want to share my love story with Jesus throughout these last 27 years.

And so it began:

Yes, it’s true…this is me!  I had cheeks that lasted for miles:)  Although I didn’t personally know Jesus yet, my family did, and were raising me in a home where that was first priority. Thank you so much mom and dad for instilling these values into us from this age and on!!

Aww…hehe, can you believe these locks!!  Anyway, kindergarten was the time when I verbally committed myself to Jesus and realized that He lived in me and was Lord. Realized that He died on the cross for MY sins so that I may someday have eternal life with Him.   I may not have truly known what it all meant in a mature way, but faith like a child is amazing!  No questions asked!

Ahh, the awkward middle school years.  These can be some really hard years for a lot of kids, thankfully the Lord really protected me and kept me on a narrow path of following him!

And then high-school.  I must admit, I loved Jesus throughout high-school, and didn’t break any of his “rules” or “commandments” but looking back I realize it must have grieved Him that I didn’t spend much quality time with Him.  I thought being a “good girl” was enough!  I remember constantly thinking, oh in college I’ll really put my “time” in with Him.  I’m going to a Christian school, that will be a great place to become serious about Jesus!  I always pushed it back to a later date.  I realize how lucky I am that I was able to have that later date, that God wasn’t done with me yet, because what a shame to never really truly understand the amazing power and presence and love of the one who created me!!

And college did come…and it was AMAZING!!  You all know that I thought I was going for my MRS. and my DR (diamond ring) which didn’t happen, but the biggest blessing that came from college was the friendships!  I had never been surrounded by girls who shared the exact same values as myself and pushed me to be an even better person.  I saw these girls’ relationships with God that were amazing and wanted that in my life.  This is the first time I truly felt the love and presence of God.  I truly decided that I loved Jesus for myself, not my parents or other people…but for me!  What an amazing feeling, to have your own faith.  I believe that these were some of the easiest years to draw close to God, there were very little distractions and we did live in somewhat of a bubble world being at a Christian school.  I so encourage people to seek out Christian schools, even though they are extremely expensive (thanks Dad!) because the experience you can have there, if you choose to surround yourself with the best people, are priceless!  A big shout out to all my lovely ladies that I adore and thank God for every day, even though I don’t get to see or talk to you that often!!

A little side note, when I was in college we had to share our testimony quite frequently, and I was always a little discouraged that I didn’t have an AMAZING testimony that some other people had.  You know, the God called my name out when I was in the depths of darkness, or I was saved from a life of drugs and alcohol, or whatever it might be.  Makes for a great story, but as I matured and lived in this life…and especially once I had kids, I realized what an amazing testimony it is to be boring!  God allowed me to go through my whole k-12 education without harming myself or doing things I regret.  He protected me from a lot of darkness that is in the world.  I believe he instilled in me since I was born a sense of “doing what’s right.”  Even to this day I can not budge in line or do something that I could remotely get caught at, I am too nervous.  Let’s just say I wasn’t a dare devil.   He also instilled in me a little stubborness, (Sorry mom, dad, and Ry) that I realize can be good if I so choose it to be.  I believe that is what got me through my whole high-school career not taking a sip of alcohol, or kissing a boy.  I believe that is what helped me stand up for my values, and the fact that the Lord did bless me with great friends in high-school as well.  They may not have all challenged me spiritually, but they were great girls.  They  had great morals and made it easy to be with!  Thank you Jesus.

Then comes marriage and family, cause let’s be honest, they were about hand-in-hand for me:)

These have been some of the happiest years of my life, but I have to tell you, they have also been some of the hardest years to maintain a close relationship with my Lord.  I love Him and always will, but that close quality time, feel the goosebump love of God has had its ups and downs.  Maybe it’s because of the dishes, diapers, whines, cleaning, serving, playing, holding, disciplining, reading, snuggling, and everything else that calls our attention throughout the day.  I’m sure you can insert your own!  Maybe it’s because our children tend to consume us since our love is so deep, or because we want to put our focus on creating a better marriage…whatever it is, it is distracting.  When I get some time to myself during the day I want to clean the house, or curl up and read my newest Better Homes and Gardens, or do something for myself.  It is so easy to get sidetracked.  So this is where my story still continues.  How I choose to spend my time and efforts is in my hands now.  There are no excuses…there is only Jesus waiting for me to choose Him.  I know that it will continue to be a roller coaster so I continue to pray God’s mercy on me and strength to persevere, and grace when I fail.  I would love to hear your stories…or encouragement!  I pray God is working in your life today!!


Filed Under: Faith, Proverbs 31 Girl

Makeover Madness…The Living Room

2011
9 Comments

Alright, continuing on with my Friday makeover themes, I’m moving into the living room.  I must say that when we first bought this house I was little bummed that it didn’t have the “open concept” that so many people were building.  I liked the idea of being able to see my kids wherever I was.  I still like this idea, but I have really warmed up to our separate rooms as well!  I like the idea of the formal dining room to be a little separate, and sometimes it’s nice to not see the kitchen with a sink full of dishes when I’m in the living room.  I can now appreciate the distinct spaces, and as a decorator, realize that it is easier to decorate rooms that are not wide open.  More walls=more room for furniture placement and decorations!  So, as always…here is the before picture of our living room…

Alright, so here’s the before.  As you can see it is still the oak woodwork with darker drapes and different carpet. This is the only picture we took in here.

And the after…

Sorry for the shadows, again…I wish I was a professional photographer, but you’ll have do deal with shadows and bad lighting from this girl:(

Some of the key things that we did to this room was again, paint the woodwork white, which lightened it up so much.   Also putting in drapes with a punch of color and keeping the walls lighter gives it more of the cottage feel that I love.  I actually did just paint the walls a darker color (some we had left over from a guest room cause I’m too cheap to buy a gallon of paint) ended up hating it…it was a cooler sand color and did not go well with the red.   Ryan liked it (and he doesn’t love the idea of me painting, even though I never ask him to help) but if it bugs, then it bugs…and let me tell you, it was bugging!!  So, Ryan was going out of town the next weekend on an ice fishing trip and I drove myself right to Menards, picked out pretty much the same color it had been before the two coats of guest room paint, and re-did the whole thing  while he was away.  The best part about it was that he NEVER noticed..HA!  Until we were at his sisters one night and she said, “I heard you painted your living room.”  And I said, “Well actually….”  Haha, he was completely surprised, but he really didn’t mind.  So anyhow, the point to that story is that if you really don’t like the color, REDO IT!  It only takes a day and $25 dollars later you have a room you can enjoy:)

Another shot:

And another…

This is a chair my sister and I found at city wide garage sales  for FREE!  Not bad huh?  I think I’m going to attempt a slipcover for it one of these days, I’ll let you know how that goes.  Also the red pedestal table was from Walmart, clearanced out for $15!  You have to keep your eyes open wherever you are ladies, you never know when a deal awaits!

I fell in love with this piece when I saw it at a big swap meet.  I loved the chunkiness of all the molding.  It was blue and I painted it red and roughed it up.  Also, the little chair came from my mom for $2 at a garage sale.  It has been a favorite for my kids.  Functional decorating:)

Lastly, the media center.  My brother-in-law actually made the tv stand, quite impressive.  I am hoping to paint a large armoire we have downstairs to hide the tv in.  I’m not a huge fan of having it sit out for all to see.  Also I don’t love the black in this room..I”ll keep you posted how that turns out as well!

So what did we all spend in our living room.  Well, cosmetically we only painted the wood, walls, and changed the carpet.  The rest comes into play with the accessories and furniture.  Those are the things that make a house a home though.  Well, that and a lot of love:)  So here is the breakdown:

Curtains and Curtain Rods: $170 (I did get the striped curtains for a Christmas present which was $80 of that, thanks mom and dad:)

Floor Lamp (Or as Ryan calls it my street lamp) :$150 on Craigslist…but again, another Christmas present:)

Chair: Free!! Yippee:)

Coffee Table: $100, it was unfinished so I stained and painted it.

Bookshelf: $75 plus cost of paint.

Couch: $350 (one of the cheapest couches we could find when we first got married)

Pedestal Table: $15

Accessories, including pillows, decorations..etc.: Around $200

New Fan:$125

New Carpet: $550

Grand Total: $1,735

It really doesn’t take a fortune to make a room feel cozy.  A few of the key points for doing so are:

  • Window Treatments–this really is a cheap way to decorate and warm up a room.   They take up a big chunk of your wall space (always keep them to the edge of your windows and out so you don’t lose natural light) and they help to enclose the room in a good way!
  • Fun Pillows (which I will show you how to make some for very cheap later)  Pillows give the punch of color that you need and are also comfortable to use while sitting.  True my husband doesn’t love all 6 of them, but he’ll survive:)
  • Accessories– Don’t be too overwhelmed, it doesn’t happen overnight.  Just look for little deals here and there, or get them as presents as I did:)  They are fun to exchange during the seasons and really add to a space.
  • Lighting–Lamps create such ambiance at night.  I never use our overhead lighting because it creates such harsh light.
  • Functionality–Even though you want your space to look nice, it still has to function.  We have books on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf for the kids, there are baskets under the coffee table filled with toys (but at least not sitting out) and the little chair that Tate uses everyday.

I also just wanted to add a little note about my blog post on Wednesday on Faith and Finances that my dad pointed out, thanks dad:)  A huge part of being so blessed by God is by giving back to Him and his work.  We do tithe regularly, it’s the first thing out of our check, and even though sometimes it’s hard to do, it comes back ten-fold.  Whether that is through additional money or through the feeling of blessing someone or some other cause, it is a great thing, and something the Lord calls us to do.  So thanks dad for that great reminder…I believe that is a huge reason why the Lord does choose to bless us as graciously as He does!!

Filed Under: Makeovers

Faith in Finances

2011
10 Comments

I have to tell you, the Lord has really stretched Ryan and I over the past few years and taught us that complete trust in him proves to have miraculous results!  First point in case:  When Ryan and I met he was working for the union in St. Cloud making the most money he’s made since we’ve been married.  We weren’t rich, but it was very comfortable.  On top of that I was working.  We didn’t have many expenses, we lived in the birdhouse where our mortgage was a mere $400 a month and property taxes were $300 a year!  I know, crazy right?  We didn’t realize how good that was:)  6 months after being married we all know what happened, Allie got pregnant with dear sweet Tate.

What a sweetie, the second love of my life at this point.  Ryan and I had always talked about myself staying home to take care of the kids whenever they so chose to come.  This had been my life-long dream, as I came from a family where my mom stayed home with us as well.  Well, it is easy to say and another thing to actually do.  It meant cutting our income by a huge chunk and  putting our trust and faith in the Lord that he would provide.  At this time we also just bought our current home where the mortgage was not $400 dollars a month:)  I had an amazing peace about this decision and knew it was what God wanted us to do, but it is harder  (or was for us at least) for Ryan, since he was now the sole provider.  One more year of work for me could mean a lot more improvements on the house, debt paid off…etc, etc.  There is always something.  We came to the realization that for us it wasn’t worth it.  I wanted to be home everyday to see our little one grow and develop and train his little sweet soul.

Second Point in case:  Allie’s pregnant again!!!  Tate was only 6 months old when we found out we were expecting again.  I’m not going to lie and say there weren’t a few tears at this moment.  I had a hard time even telling people in fear of what they would say, and I myself wanted to be happy when I did!  So once again our family changed, as did Ryan’s work situation.  Ryan decided to take a job working for a friend so that he could be closer to home and have more family time.  The pay was good but still a cut from what he had been making, and we were introducing another precious girl into the world.

Kynlee graced herself in June and it was another leap of faith that God would provide for our family.  He was and continues to be SO faithful!!  I do the finances in our family and I will be the first to say that I don’t know how the numbers worked, I’m pretty sure they didn’t!! But there was always enough money in the bank account to live a pretty comfortable lifestyle.  At this point we don’t even remember what it was like to have 2 incomes and couldn’t even tell you where that money went when we did.  Sometimes I think the more money you have, the more you spend in silly ways.  Needless to say we didn’t think we changed our lifestyle that much…the Lord provided!!

Last point:

In February of last year Ryan changed jobs again!  He got a job working at 3m in Hutchinson and it was where we felt the Lord was calling him.  The hours were great for family life, he would be home at 3:30 everyday (I know fellow moms, please don’t be too jealous:) and the pay was steady, although it was another pay cut.  So within the last three years Ryan had 3 different jobs, each one decreasing in pay a little.  I know, you may be saying most people change jobs to make MORE money….but for us, we just went where we felt God was calling us.  That’s faith, faith that the Lord will provide…and He does!!  Sometimes it’s through miraculous ways, or extra checks, sometimes it’s through side jobs and extra work.  No matter what it is we have learned that He is faithful!  Who am I to tell God he can’t do it, or limit him in my little box.  We put our trust and faith in Him and watch what he does, as long as we are in His will.  Now we do have to watch our finances, be smart with how we spend our money.  Garage sales and thrift stores and major clearances are my friend, but that’s okay.  We have a great life!  I get to spend my days with the loves of my life and train their little hearts in the right direction!  I get to watch how they change and the new tricks they learn, and we have family time…quality family time every day!  (well, most days:)  God is so good!!  He will provide!!  You just have to let  Him show you how!

My precious little joys with undies on their head…only a mother can find adorable:)

Especially this goofball, and I wouldn’t want to miss a minute with him:)

Are you letting God show you how He can provide for you and your family?? There is no limit!

Filed Under: Faith