Trash to treasure

Some of my very favorite past time activities is thrift store shopping and up cycling my treasures. I found these cute wall plaques. I immediately saw there potential and had to have them to hang on my front porch.

I love to dry brush just about anything with texture...so these were perfect. Plus, they were already painted black...bonus!!! I almost always start with a black base.

I just happen to be painting my bedroom and had some paint left over. It it is a dark tan on my walls but, it appears much lighter here on the black. I do this so that my next layer of paint will show up better. Next I start layering different shades of red to give it more depth and dimension. Finally, I lightly brush them with a little bit of gold.

So, about 15 minutes later this is what I have. I really liked these when they were just plain black but, I love the way the color makes them pop.

Here they are on the porch. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I'm not sure about the placement though. I definitely need some plants and furniture on my porch to balance things out. It is all a work in progress but, I'm having so much fun.

Our House

We did it! We finally bought a house. We found this adorable cottage style house. It needs a little updating and a lot of love but, it has a lot of potential! I'm so excited about making this cute house the home of our dreams. Any suggestions would be fabulous. We will be doing all the work ourselves a little bit at a time...unless we become independently wealthy in the near future lol. I will be posting more pics as projects ensue.

In a futile attempt to resuscitate this blog I decided to post an update. I have been so bad. I have a million reasons why I have been neglectful...my graphics card died on my desktop, I didn't have updated pics to post, I lost my camera, I didn't have batteries in my camera, life happened, etc.... The list is endless. However, the painful truth of the matter is....I've been lazy! There you have it! I said it! The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem...right? So fellow bloggers I will do my best to nurture my blog in hopes that it will bloom into something funny, helpful, and beautiful...even if it is only for my enjoyment. If you happen upon my blog and like it too then all the better. I hope you'll leave a comment.

T'was The Wednesday Before Christmas

We've been struggling a bit since we moved abruptly in August. Partly because we were very happy where we were. However, we felt strongly that we were supposed to move. We fought what we wanted to do and did what we were suppose to do. That being said, at times it has felt like we jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. My in-laws have been struggling even more than I could have imagined and we have been trying to help them as much as possible...which hasn't been much since it took Sam several months (yes, months) to find a good job. With the holidays approaching life in general seemed like a cruel joke. We teased that the kids were going to get I.O.U.s for Christmas. The sad part is we really weren't teasing. We tried to focus on the true meaning of Christmas instead of the commercialized materialistic meaning of Christmas that we are all bombarded with. All the while I worried. Sam started his new job the end of November but, the way pay periods fell we didn't know until a few days before Christmas whether we would be able to have gifts for our children. The Wednesday before Christmas my father-in-law finds wrapped Christmas presents on our front porch. I came down stairs that morning to find gifts under the tree for my children and a card for Sam and me. I open the Christmas card made out to Sam and Holly to find a precious handmade card with a beautiful heartfelt Christmas wish and "We love you"; there was no signature. Enclosed was a generous monetary gift that left me humbled, grateful, and emotional. I have NO idea who was responsible for this very thoughtful and loving gift...I like to think of them as angels. I can tell you that I felt the true love of Christ that day. These angels were commissioned by my Heavenly Father to deliver a message to me. The message being that my Savior is aware of my worries and trials. He is mindful of me and He loves me. This too shall pass and I will be stronger for it. If I am faithful everything will work out as He has planned for me in His time. I still don't know who delivered those gifts but, the spiritual gift they gave me was much greater than the tangible gifts. They have strengthened my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for that I am forever grateful.

A mouth full

Ross who is 3 has always snored like a freight train...from day one. His pediatrician said it was normal and he would grow out of it. He has been to the doctor for regular check-ups and immunizations since birth. He has had 2 febrile seizures with complete follow-ups after each to try to determine their cause. He has also been seen for repeated sinus infections. My point is he has been seen by a doctor many times. Well he also had sleep apnea. He would snore, chirp, whistle, wheeze...he made all kinds of crazy sounds while sleeping. A few months ago he got a cold and the apnea got worse. He would stop breathing in his sleep. I could count to 20 or 25 before he would gasp for air. It was exhausting to watch him try to breathe while he slept...not to mention scary to see you child not breathing. He would mouth breathe ALL the time. I just happened to look into his throat one day...I was astonished at what I saw. His tonsils were so large they were touching his uvula (the little hangy down thing in the back of the throat). I immediately made an appointment with the pediatrician so she could give us a referral to the ear, nose, and throat specialist. Within a week we saw two doctors and Ross was scheduled for surgery. He went in on 12/15 for a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. The surgeon said Ross' adenoid tissue was so enlarged his nasal passages were nearly completely blocked...he was getting little to no air through his nose. His tonsils were enormous. On a scale of 1-4...they were a 4. The dr. said when they laid him down not only were his tonsils "gigantic" but, they fell into what little airway he had left to breathe through. This was without him being sick or having any swelling from infection. CRAZY!!! Ross came out of surgery just fine. We stayed overnight just for observation. Everything went great. Ross was so brave and did so good. There was a huge difference in his breathing almost immediately. Now I have to check on him to make sure he is still breathing because he is so quiet. It is amazing. Bless his heart...he is finally getting some REM sleep. I share this story because if your child has sleep apnea, snores loudly, recurring sore throats, ear infections or sinus infections...you might want to check their tonsils...because the pediatrician won't tell you if you don't ask. It never occurred to me his problems were related to his tonsils. I have small tonsils and so does Sammy. However, Sam had large tonsils and clearly Ross had "gigantic" tonsils. It is so funny. Ross' voice changed slightly...it is a little higher. He sounds like a little elf...so cute. He is doing great and almost fully recovered.

Ok, just a little update. I have not fallen off the planet just in case you're wondering. However, our graphics card on our desktop is dead... plus life has been kinda crazy with the holidays and everything. With that being said ... I have totally been slacking on our blog. My New Year's resolutions will include being more diligent in my blogging efforts. Not that everyone is all that interested in every little aspect of my family life...but it is therapeutic for me in a way. It is like my journal and I have been neglecting it.

Guess who's 3!!!

I can't believe my baby just turned 3. Where did the time go? Three years ago today I was going into the hospital for a scheduled c-section. After everything was said and done I had this precious 8lb. 9oz. "chunk of love."

"Before"

(Yes, I know I was pregasourous...and I'm still trying to loose that baby weight...but he's worth it....most of the time.)

"After"

"Now"

Please note: He is wearing his new Spiderman helmet and pads while playing his new "magic flute."

I realize we have a Halloween theme going on here. It really was not intentional. Ross asked for cupcakes...so I thought chocolate of course...then he asked for orange cupcakes. Luckily, Grammy was able to whip up some homemade buttercream frosting on the fly...thank goodness for food coloring. As for Ross' wardrobe choice of the day...he just happened to choose his Halloween t-shirt, which coordinate with his cupcakes perfectly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSS!!!!

We love you!

Earlier in the day we took a ride on the 4-wheeler over to the Jenne's horse farm so Ross could ride Grammy's horse, Mac.