Friday, June 29, 2012

The Writing Is On the Wall

Or the various chalkboards I've made recently. I think I'm addicted! I'm on a mission to find a use, or a new home, for some of the stuff I've been hanging onto (which is a slow process by the way). It turns out a few of those items make great chalkboards.

It all started with this frame. Mom had the idea of making it a chalkboard, and passed it on to me. It was a gold frame with a piece of cardboard in the back. I painted the cardboard with chalkboard paint and painted the frame.  We used it for our Memorial Day party.



While I was painting that frame, I thought it would be fun to have a large board to use outside. I had this old shelf that no longer had a home. Now it gets to make special announcements outside.




This week I decided to turn this picture into an indoor chalkboard, of course inspired from Pinterest.



 I bought the picture at a yard sale a few years ago for $5. It was perfect in my dining room in Harvest, and there's just something I like about the colors. But, it hasn't had a home in this house and the hubs would like for it to stay that way. Apparently he isn't a fan of fruit, who knew. So I took the board out, painted the back with chalkboard paint (preserving the nice fruit just in case the hubs has a change of heart), sanded and painted the frame with some trim paint, and gave our dining room a little something new.


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Independence Day

How are you planning to celebrate on the 4th? We're still finalizing/deciding our plans.It seems kind of tricky with the big day falling on Wednesday.  I think we are going to keep things a little smaller this year and switch up the menu. There will be some key people missing so I kind of want to change it all. For the past three years, we have done BBQ from Southern Hickory. You can't beat that for a crowd. This year I think we may try a shrimp boil. We actually did one a few weeks ago with our supper club and LOVED it. If the pool isn't boiling by then, I'm sure there will be some splish splashing. Maybe we can make it to a fireworks show before we crash!

I love all things Americana in the summer.




 I've added a new red, white, and blue decoration to my stash this year.


I'm in love with pennants right now, and they are so easy to make. I used scrap fabric I had, cut triangles, folded the top over a piece of jute yarn, and sewed a straight line just under the yarn. You could use fabric glue also I think. I made a short one for this cabinet and a longer one that I hang outside. There's just something about red, white, and blue, and summertime! Happy Summer!







Monday, June 25, 2012

What's In a Name

A blog name that is. I don't know that I've ever explained how our blog got it's name, but this summer if you could read my mind it would be self-explanatory. I'm a planner, I'm a dreamer, I like things my way, I don't particularly like uncertainty. But I have this friend, more like a Father really, who knows me so well. He knows my imperfections, my weaknesses, my greatest desires, and my plans. He also knows my future, my needs before I even express them, and even the number of hairs on my head. He knows where I need to grow and change in my life, and he knows exactly when everything should happen.  Above all, he knows what He has Planned for me.

At the time I started this blog, God was revealing more of his plan in my life. I was married to a godly man I greatly desired but had almost given up on finding, and was expecting a baby that I greatly desired and had so feared I would never get to have. I was preparing to move back to the area where I grew up, something I would have never imagined just a few years earlier. I was moving to the street where I had pretended I lived as a little girl, but hadn't given a second thought since. Soon I found myself with not just a desire, but a need to be a stay at home mom that could not be ignored. I had never even considered staying home before.  It didn't happen in my time, but in God's time that need was met. With each of those life changes, I knew it had to be God's plan because it was more than I could even imagine. Over the last year I've marveled at how much better his plan is than mine ever was.

Of course, I've also continued to try to make my own plans. My plan was to go to a three day technology conference last week while my aunt kept Brennan. My plan has been to stay home until Brennan is at least four and a half. My plan was to keep marking projects off our to do list. My plan was to already have the hall bath redone, the carport painted, the back porch finished, and our bedroom completed. My to do list even had dates next to each project! My plan included a fall vacation again. My plan included seeking His plan for our family. Is one child enough? Should we have one more? And I hoped to have that answer by now because I'm not getting any younger, and spring birthdays seem nice!

God's plan.....a little refining moment, a little test of faith, a little reminder that he is in control. The first thing that comes to mind is a whole lot of uncertainty. I don't know if my aunt will ever be able to keep Brennan again, I don't know if we'll have an income in two months, I don't know if these changes are his answer about another baby for us. In moments of weakness, I fear all of these unknowns. I fear that I should be going back to work to ensure an income,  I fear that I will have to go back to work and miss out on this job at home. Then I remember God's promise to never leave or forsake us. I know he has a plan for us, that his plan will be perfect, and that it will be revealed in his time. He has already answered prayers daily from the smallest to the largest. Some of those answers have been so instant and so exact that any doubt of his power for us I might let creep in is instantly erased. I believe he guides our desires and plans to align with his when we seek him. That's my plan right now, just seek his will and let him do the rest through me. I know it may or may not go as I would like, but This Life He Planned is pretty great!  Even through the storms he reigns!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

If You Need To Find Me.....

I'll probably be sitting out here.




This has become my favorite outdoor spot! It is a porch to the barn. It's behind the house, beside the pool, and a great location to keep an eye on a toddler. There are two high powered fans that keep the air cool and the bugs sparse. The furniture is what Mike bought when he proposed in my backyard in Harvest. The little bench/coffee table, tall bird feeder, and side tables are from my grandparents. I'm loving the white impatiens there this year. I don't usually get to sit for long, but I try to stop and sit a bit every day.

This big guy thinks it's a pretty good hangout as well. He turned nine last week, so he's pretty much a master at hanging out.


And this is what I photographed around to make it look all relaxing. Ha! Ha! Actually there was a toddler on a "cell phone", a dog with a Capri Sun pouch, and numerous toys scattered all around. Got to keep it real!