Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ten on Tuesday…

1.  My sweet Myla turns FIVE this Friday.  I’m in shock over how quickly this has happened.  She is SO excited though and has asked me every day for the past couple of days, “How much longer until my birthday?”  I can’t wait to celebrate her.  We’re going very low key this year. Last year we had a big shindig which was great fun, but this year we decided to do more of a “just family” party, as Myla calls it!

2.  I’m amazed at my mom and how well she has done after her shoulder surgery.  We have been over there twice to “take care of her”, but she hardly needs any help.  She must have the highest pain tolerance.  She also never complains, so it makes her a pretty easy patient to take care of!

3.  My mom gave me some new hangers for my closet as my “thank you for helping take care of me” gift.  Ha!  I think she was just looking for an excuse to give them to me because I don’t feel like I’ve done much to take care of her.  Anyway, the hangers are Joy Mangano hangers, and they really do help give you more space in your closet, and everything looks much more orderly.  Even Michael was impressed, saying the closet “doesn’t even look like the same place that it was before”.  Or, maybe it wasn’t actually the hangers for him or just the fact that I had picked everything up off of the floor in there and found a home for it! 

4.  When we were decorating Myla’s nursery before she was born my mom gave me a big canvas painting with her name on it to go above her bed.  We used it until we moved from our old house, but I decided not to hang it in her room in this house since eventually the girls will be sharing a room.  But, I didn’t want to throw it away because I was hoping I could use it for something. After seeing several tutorials on Pinterest about how to make chalkboard paint, I thought I would give it a try and then I remembered this canvas, and I thought it would be perfect for that project!

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Making the paint was super easy.  I found the white, non-sanded grout at Home Depot.  It was around $5 for this box, and I only had to use 1 Tablespoon.  If anyone needs any grout, please let me know!  You use 2T of grout to every 1 cup of paint.  I didn’t think I would need a whole cup of paint, so I halved the recipe, and I’m glad I did!

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I taped off the canvas because I had planned on making a border around it, but I ended up having so much black paint that I just went ahead and painted the whole canvas black.

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The finished product now hangs in our kitchen!  I really like how it turned out, and I plan on switching out the verse each week.  One thing we are going to do with homeschooling is memorize scripture (as well as a lot of other things…that will have to be its own post one day!), so I thought what better way than to have the verse on our wall so we can talk about it through the week!

4. Myla and Selah have really taken on a whole new level of playing together.  I love to watch them interact and play.  Their conversations are so sweet.  Right now their favorite thing to play is “grocery store”.  They get their little shopping baskets and WalMart sacks and go shopping with all of their toys…filling the baskets to the brim then they “check out”!  They are definitely sisters though because just the moment they are playing beautifully together, a cat fight breaks out. After that is settled they typically go right back and play again.  Too funny!  I hope as the grow, their friendship will grow as well!

5.  I am in a cooking funk!  I feel like I cook the same thing over and over and over and over….  Sweet Michael never complains and is willing to eat those same things over and over, but goodness sometimes I just want something different!  Any ideas would be appreciated!

6.  Sometimes I am amazed at our God.  He is so faithful and compassionate.  I have had a difficult thing happen in my life this week, and as badly as I have wanted to be bitter and hurt over it, God has sweetly provided scripture that perfectly pertains to what I have needed, other people that have greatly encouraged me, and also songs that have spoken straight to my hurting heart.  Just yesterday morning after I had prayed that God would calm my heart and help me take captive every thought, I read in Jesus Calling,

“Stop worrying long enough to hear my voice. I speak softly to you, in the depths of your being. Your mind shuttles back and forth, hither and yon, weaving webs of anxious confusion. As my THOUGHTS rise up within you, they become entangled in those sticky webs of worry. Thus, my voice is muffled, and you hear only “white noise.” Ask my Spirit to quiet your MIND so that you can think MY THOUGHTS….Sit quietly in my presence, letting MY THOUGHTS reprogram your THINKING!”

I was in tears thinking how God was so faithful to give me words that were like a healing balm.  My flesh still struggles with bad thoughts and hurt feelings, but I know God will be faithful to take all of that away as long as I LET Him.

Then last night at choir practice, we practiced a song that had these words:  “Be still my soul, the Lord is ON YOU SIDE.  Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.  Leave to Thy God to order and provide, in every change He FAITHFUL will remain.” Again, my heart felt so peaceful, and I was just reminded of God’s faithfulness, and I sat in my choir chair and thanked Him for that!

7.  After Michael’s grandmother died, and we were going through her house, I asked if I could have some of the old, solid wood, interior doors.  I have seen so many fun things to do with old doors to decorate.  Well, they have been in our garage now for a few months and in a shed at my parent’s house for months before that, so I am finally going to try and do something with them!  We have an idea about how to use several of them as a headboard for our bed, so that is going to be our first project.  I started yesterday stripping the old layers of paint off of them.  I realized it is going to take an eternity long time to do them, so I must be patient…which is not my greatest virtue!!

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8.  A funny Selah story…yesterday morning she asked, “Mommy, where are we going today?”  I told her that we were going “nowhere”.  Obviously in her mind, she thinks “nowhere” is a real place because all day she kept saying, “Mommy, I’m ready to go nowhere” or “What am I going to wear to nowhere?”  I couldn’t get her to understand that we really weren’t going anywhere.  Bless her heart…it was a bit frustrating for her.  Another Selah funny is that she so desperately wants to chew gum like Myla, but after she gets a piece in her mouth she usually swallows it pretty quickly.  Well, not long ago I gave her a piece and after a few minutes I noticed she wasn’t chewing it anymore.  I asked her if she swallowed it, and she quickly replied NO!  So, I asked her where it was, and she said, “I not swallow it, it is in my froat (throat).”  She was adamant that she had not swallowed it!!!

9.  My last crafting project that I’m working on this week is some wooden “frames”.  I absolutely love the large, distressed wood frames at places like the Mustard Seed and Sugar Magnolia, but I do not like the fact that they cost LOTS of money.  The one I really want is $198.  WOW!!  Can’t do that.  So, I got some inspiration on Etsy.

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This was my inspiration….just a piece of wood and hold the glass in with 3 screws and slide the picture in the top.

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This is what I have come up with so far.  I had pictures made of the girls last Thursday, so once I get those in I am going to get the glass cut and finish them.  I called the glass company, and he told me an 8x10 piece of glass is around $7.  I can’t wait to see how they turn out, and I will definitely put pictures up!

10.  Last, but now least, I think it is PAST time for an adoption update.  I am going to work on that tonight!!!  Stay tuned…it’s a lot of new news!

Happy Tuesday…we’re about to be off to the movies!!!!!!!

 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Ten on Tuesday, oops….Wednesday…AKA Major Catch Up

1.  Ever since Father’s Day, Myla has been asking if Michael has worn his pedometer to work.  He finally remembered the other morning.  Myla wasn’t up before he left, so I took a picture of him with it so she could see it when she got up.  She got a big kick out of it!

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2.  The following menagerie of pictures is what you get when your 4 year old confiscates your camera…

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3.  Last Thursday we went to Batesville to help take care of my mom after her surgery.  Bodie had summer league basketball games. He called us to tell us that he would be passing the exit where Mom and Frank live, so he wanted the girls to come out and watch him pass.  Selah wasn’t too interested but Myla watched for him.  If you look closely you can see the bus passing by on the Interstate.

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4.  While we were there taking care of mom, I got caught up on my ironing…it had gotten a little out of control.  I was SO glad to get it done.  It helped to have someone to visit with while I did it!!

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5.  While we were in Batesville the girls got to experience going through a car wash for the first time.  Myla didn’t mind it at all but it scared Selah a little bit once it got kind of dark and loud!

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6.  Saturday night Michael took Myla to see The Sound of Music at The Ford Center.  He and I had gone to see it last Thursday, and we thought Myla would enjoy it.  Myla loved it and has been wanting to watch YouTube videos of all of the songs.  “Do A Deer” is her favorite!

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Little Sis couldn’t miss out on the photo opportunity!

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7.  Last Friday Michael made the decision to take away Selah’s paci.  I can’t say I was super excited about it.  I think I am as dependent on it as she is.  HA!  She did okay Friday and Saturday night, but she still cried for it a good bit during the day.  Well, the girls and I went to see my friend, Tamah, in Jackson on Sunday night.  After TWO hours of her screaming on Sunday night, I finally relented and gave her one of Tamah’s little girl’s pacis.  I’m such a sucker.  When we got home on Tuesday, Dad reinforced the rule…we’re back to no pacis, and she has done fine.  It’s amazing what a difference having Daddy in the house makes!!

8.  We had a fun time at Tamah’s house, and the girls really enjoyed playing together!

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Bath time

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Eating gummies before bed!

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Sweet girls!

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7 year old with the camera

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4 year old steals camera again!

9.  A couple of weeks ago I made my first batch of liquid laundry detergent.  It was okay to make, but kind of a pain.  I decided to make another batch today of powder laundry detergent.  It was much easier to make, and I think I like it a lot better.  It is so much cheaper than buying detergent!!!

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10.  We’ve had a fun and relaxing Fourth of July!  The girls and I slept until almost 9 this morning, so that was nice!!  We went to my Sunday School teacher’s, Mrs. Beth’s house to swim and grill out!  Mrs. Beth asked me to bring a dessert, so we made this fun flag cookie cake!

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Of course, the girls had a blast swimming and playing!!!

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Mrs. Beth gave the girls some glow sticks, so they played with them in the bathtub, and they thought it was the greatest thing ever!!!

Whew….glad I’m caught up!  Happy Fourth everybody!!!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Ten on Tuesday…

Well, after several weeks on hiatus, here is my Ten on Tuesday list…

1.  We have gone to the movies the past 3 Tuesdays.  Selah loved it the first week. The second week she did ok.  But, I think it is safe to say that after today’s movie, the newness has worn off.  She was up and down out of her seat more times that I could count.  I finally dug around in my purse until I scrounged up $4 to buy her a bag of Starburst.  That kept her entertained for awhile, but not quite until the movie was completely over.  Oh well…it was fun while it lasted.

2.  Speaking of the movies, today we saw Shrek.  I was a little surprised by some of the language and innuendos in it.  I know most kid movies have some adult humor, but I don’t think we’ll be watching Shrek again.  I know…call me old fashioned.

3.  Speaking of old fashioned, I have made the decision to homeschool Myla next year.  I am very excited about it (and so is she)!  I would encourage you, if you are a Christian parent, to watch the IndoctriNation Movie. A friend let me borrow it, and I’m so glad she did. (I now have a copy of my own if you would like to borrow it)  It is an honest look into our nation’s public schools.  It is very sobering and scary.  I do not judge anyone who has their children in public school, but I know that I am not ok with sending mine at this point.  I know we are going to be questioned and talked about and maybe even laughed at, but I’m okay with that.  I know that we are considered weird sometimes.

4.  In fact, I think I am going to do a blog post titled, “We’re Weird, and We’re Okay With That”.  It’s been swirling around in my head today.  I need to get on that.

5.  Myla has quit taking naps, but today, she had to take one.  Everyone in our house has had the “grumpies”  today so I’m hoping a good nap will help with that.

6.  The girls have LOVED the pool this summer, which is a welcome change from last summer.  Selah hated everything about the pool last year, so we really didn’t go at all.  This year, she is perfectly content just playing on the steps, which is fine with me!  Myla loves to be in the water but hasn’t totally mastered swimming yet. She doesn’t mind going under, in fact, she can stay under for longer than I thought she could, but she must can’t get the mechanics right.  I’m just thankful they are enjoying it because it is about all we can do outside…..it is so HOT!

7.  Last week we had the best vegetables every night with supper.  A couple from our church lives right down the road from us, and they have a huge garden.  They were so generous!

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YUMMY!

8.  I have a great desire to get organized in my life, and Pinterest is helping me get some great ideas.  Now, just to follow through with them.  I do have the things to make a family binder with calendars, reminders and important documents.  I can’t wait to make it (and hopefully use it) ha!

9.  My mom is having surgery in the morning.  She fell several weeks ago and fractured her shoulder, tore her rotator cuff and tore her labrum.  It is going to be an hard surgery and recovery.  I feel so sorry for her.  If you think about it in the morning, please say a prayer that God would guide the doctor’s hands, and she would have an easy as possible recovery and rehab.

10.  I’m really glad that I like the Bible School songs from this year because I have heard them about 1,000 times!  We listen to them every time we are in the van, and sometimes we have to bring them inside to listen to them!

Happy Tuesday!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Blueberry Pickin’ and Mackensy Turns Two!!

On Friday, we headed over to Pontotoc to pick blueberries.  You can pick them there and buy them for much cheaper than the grocery store, so we thought we would give it a try.  The girls had a good time.  Selah hung with it much longer than Myla…as Myla quickly to hot and tired.  Selah is our child with more endurance for sure!  She did a very good job too…although I think she ate half as many as she picked!  Altogether we picked a gallon! 

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Getting started!  It was a little overcast when we started, but soon the sun came out and it got HOT!

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Both girls finding some on one bush!

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I think Selah was stopping for a  snack break!

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She also had an advantage being shorter that she could just go up under the bushes and find plenty!

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We were so excited that Katie and her kiddos came over from Tupelo to join us.  Selah and Charlie picked some together.  Unfortunately, I didn’t do great with pictures after this.  We did go to a park to eat a sack lunch and play.  Then Katie and I rode out to the Amish country outside of Pontotoc to check it out.  It is definitely fascinating to see how they live.  On each of the mailboxes of the homes, it lists what they sell, then you just drive up in their driveway and shop!  I had an extra booster seat in my car, so Myla rode with Grace and Robbie, and she could not have been happier.  Katie gave them a little pep talk about how the Amish dressed/looked different than we did, and she asked them to not say anything about it in front of them.  They didn’t, thank goodness!  They were fascinated at how they did dress and look differently and how they wore no shoes!

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Then on Saturday afternoon we were excited to go out to our old neighborhood and celebrate sweet Mackensy’s second birthday.  I can’t believe Susan and I now have four year olds and two year olds.  We went through both pregnancies together as neighbors and have depended on each other for support and encouragement during these fun parenting years!   Susan and Ethan had lots of fun water activities in the backyard, and all of the kids has SO much fun!  Then they came in a picnicked in the den!  I love this picture of Selah…she is enjoying her hot dog!

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Sweet girl loves to eat!

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Mackensy especially enjoyed her cake!!

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Happy Birthday, Mackensy!!

Just for fun….2 years ago…

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Mackensy and Selah at the hospital after Mackensy was born!  Time FLIES!!