You mean they grow up?

 I won’t go into too many details, but let’s just say I had a moment yesterday.  

When I had kids, I was so excited for all of the firsts.  All of the family trips.  Taking walks.  Bike rides.  Playing games.  Teaching them to cook.  Sew.  Do laundry.  I was well aware that I was raising little people.  Future adults.  And I desired for them to grow up into responsible, respectful and productive members of society.  What I didn’t plan for was the heartache.  The moments when you realize it’s getting real.  Moments you become aware that they are approaching that adult phase of life faster than you are prepared for.   That’s the moment I had yesterday.  A moment where my breath caught a little in my throat.  My heart sped up slightly.  A moment where the tears that wanted so badly to well up in my eyes were forced away only to emerge now as I write this blog post.  

It was a moment that I realized my son was almost a young man.  On the cusp of his teen years.  Have I done all I could to raise him right?  Am I preparing him properly for the challenges, failures, disappointments, trials and setbacks he’ll face as he becomes older.  A moment when I became ultimately aware that I won’t and can’t always be there for him.  A moment when I knew that only prayer would get me through the years that lie ahead.  

I’m sure many parents face this time at some point.  It’s just heart-wrenching to love somebody so much and see them struggle, fail, face things only they can fix.   So I did the only thing I could think to do.  I pointed him to the Bible.  And we prayed.  And oh my goodness.  That feeling of being able to purposefully pray with your child in the moment of trial is AMAZING.  I mean, utterly incredible.  

And so, it’s small moments like this that keep it real for me.  That remind me that each moment matters.  That remind me that the rubber meets the road… now.  They aren’t getting any younger, and while I still have moments that my heart physically hurts knowing I’ll never have them little again, I know that there are amazing times to come.  Fantastic experiences with a few bumps sprinkled in.

If you are in those {early years} of parenting, with the pre-teen years still feeling like they’re eons away, enjoy the repetitive conversations.  The myriad of “why” questions.  The constant chatter of silliness in the car.  Because as those little voices become older, the questions get harder to answer.  And sometimes, you won’t even have an answer.   

2014 Family Mission Statement

I’m not sure exactly when it came to me.  I think it while I was in the shower.  It came suddenly, and clearly.  I knew we had to do it.  I ran the idea past my husband and he was on board.

We woke Sunday and in a hurried frenzy, readied ourselves for church, hopped into the Suburban and off we went!  We no sooner pulled out of the driveway when we found ourselves turning around for home about ¼ mile from home.  Black ice had changed the course of our morning.  We came right back in the house and loaded up an episode of Mark Gungor on the DVR for some spiritual enlightening.  We laughed.  We listened.  It was the perfect, God-ordained, segway into my idea.  

Mark wrapped up his sermon and I introduced my idea to the kids. 

“We are going to write our 2014 Family Mission Statement today!”

Of course I got some confusing looks.  Mostly because they had no idea what a “mission statement” was.  After a brief explanation, I outlined the five areas we were going to focus on.  

In the New Year, how will our family relate to:

GOD

EACH OTHER

OTHERS/FRIENDS

OUR COMMUNITY

OUR CHURCH

In each area, we had a discussion about how God asks us to interact with each area?  What did the Bible say about it?  And what exactly did it look like in real life? 

Some were easier to figure out than others.  Our littlest family member had an elaborate example for most of the suggestions.  But, we powered through, and our list, while still not typed up all neat and pretty to display, has already created teachable moments.

After some minor tweaking, here’s our final draft.

2014 FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT

How do we relate to:

GOD

Attend church regularly

Read our Bibles/have devotions

Pray

EACH OTHER

Put others first

Be respectful

Use kind words

Control our anger

OTHERS/FRIENDS

Talk about God with them / Pray for them

Behave like Jesus / Use appropriate talk

Invite them to church

COMMUNITY

Behave like Jesus / Use appropriate talk

See a need, fill a need

CHURCH

Volunteer

Attend regularly

Now, our children might be a bit older than yours, so you might have to make some adjustments to your family mission statement, should you choose to make one too.  But what a great reference point when things start getting a little less than desirable with attitudes within a family!  We plan to post a copy of this around the house, and the kids have already asked for a copy in each of their rooms!

And while I’m not so naïve as to think that the newness of this will never wear off, if it even makes the slightest change in our behaviors and attitudes in the coming year, it will not be in vain!

Blessings to you as you embark on whatever positive changes you intend to incorporate in your own personal life, or in your family.

Meet my cousin, Stacey London.

Eek!  My 20th class reunion is right around the corner and I haven't a thing to wear!  How does one small town, artsy, farm chick do it up right in the wardrobe department?  She seeks out fashionista help from her always-has-it-together cousin, Aly, of course!  {and to be clear, I have no relation to the actual Stacey London, but oh how I wish that I did}

Aly knows me pretty darn well.  That combined with her trendy fashion sense and she came up with a knock-out game plan for what I should wear.  Via social media.  Yep.  We're hours away from each other, so to schedule a girls shopping day to pick out the magic was out of the question.  We relied on Facebook messages, Pinterest images & picture texts straight from the dressing room!

I gave some of you quite a giggle when I posted this picture of me - critique scribble all over it. 

{meh} maxi dress

{oh so comfy} t-shirt dress
my issue with this one... i hate my legs.  what part do you try to {hide}?

 

80% off taupe halter with gold chain
i will let you in on a secret... i did take this piece home, but not for my reunion.  at under $6 it was a no-brainer.

dress it up or dress it down and another {winner} in the comfy department

ok... so i really liked this top, but was afraid it said {mom on the go}
what do you think?

sweater halter... again, meh.

So, the outfit isn't completely put together yet, but I wanted to share the journey thus far.  I will most definitely post a PART 2 to this saga.  Any guesses as to which outfit won out?  Only accessories left to buy and I'll be ready! 

But a girl can't spend a day at the mall {alooooone} with out shoe shopping, too, right?  I mean, I {had} to look for silver pumps for my sister's upcoming wedding sometime.  *wink*

i found these simply smashing sparkly babies at Aldo.  {love}
my checking account did not, however, like the $80 price tag - ouch.
so, I decided to wait and shop around... and i must have had a serious dose of thrifty mojo that day because...

i scored these silver bad girls for less than $20 on clearance.
{do you hear a choir of angels as well?}

The ever-versitle pallet!

By now, you all know how much I {heart} the pallet.  I've created signs, shelves, organizers & even planters using them.  They are free {most of the time}, and give the weathered rustic look that's so {in} right now.

My latest creation took us the good part of a Saturday, and I will readily admit that my very talented husband did most of the work.  I designed, he built.  His input.  My input.  We work quite well together! 



3 pallets and a little scrap lumber we had laying around, and this is what we have!

The only thing I had to purchase to make the actual frame, was some longer lag screws.  The ones we had on hand weren't long enough.

We built it around the bottom cushion.  I racked my brain trying to think of a thrifty way to make a waterproof bottom cushion when I thought to use a crib mattress.   It's already waterproof, and just the right size.  {admittedly this was one of my finer thrifty moments}  I got the outdoor fabric on sale and I used worn out couch pillows and recovered them with fun outdoor fabric as well.

My thrifty rug, you ask?  I get those scatter rugs when they go on sale for $1 each at our local home improvement store.  I whip stitched 3 together to make a rug for in front of the couch.

   

 

Next up, a rolling pallet ottoman to go in front of it for drinks!  

Finit-O!

I never guessed I'd finish this {quickly}.  And my husband recently confessed he didn't think I'd finish this project at all.  I'm not sure if that's a testament to the tediousness of the project, or to my project-finishing-capabilities.  True, my shop is teetering with projects on my to-do list from days gone by.... but they'll get done.... someday.

But back to {this} project.  My t-shirt rug from my Fox 11 appearance.  You can see from these photos that I wasn't even half way when I went on the air to show the {world} how they could make a rug out of up-cycled tees.  Easy, yes.  Time consuming, double yes.

 


The kids had fun watching it {grow} and come to life.  I had fun watching my bag of dyed shirt scraps dwindle.  Little by little.  Row by row.  The tangerine tide swept over the latch hook mat until I hooked my last piece! 

I sat back and looked at what I had created and I said "It is good."  I gently smoothed my hands over it's plush surface and grinned.  I had finished.  I allowed my fingers to nestle within the deep orange pile, and grinned again.  I took it inside.  Removed the masking tape holding the edges.  And ironed on the binding.

Then I took her upstairs and let her reside where she was destined to be - the new bathroom.  Pure luxury as you step out of the shower! 

Upcycled Tee's - The Pinterest Way!

Thank you for reading along, and if you're a new reader since my Fox 11 appearance this morning, an extra BIG welcome to you!  I hope you'll find the information you need to do these T-shirt projects yourself.  I also hope you'll be inspired to share your completed projects with me on my Facebook Page!

Rather than reinvent the wheel {and because there are some other super fantastic bloggers out there who do phenomenal tutorials} I've decided to just link up to the tute's I used for the projects I showcased on the air this morning.

T-shirt Rug

Ok, so wasn't this one fun??!!!  I've named this piece "50 Shades of Tangerine" LOL  You know the addage, "Never say never."  Well, that does not apply to this project.  While I thoroughly enjoyed creating this piece {and WILL finish it}, I will most likely never make another.  Please don't let that discourage you!  It's easy, just time consuming.  My advice on this one... take your time... do a little at a time... and you will stay sane *wink*

{click image above to see the tutorial}

TIPS I LEARNED:
Make more than you think you'll need as you will find some mis-cut strips as you go to latch hook your rug.

Don't feel like you have to dye it all in one batch.  The ombre effect of the multi-toned strips gives it a nice effect.

Heavy weight cotton shirts will be harder to latch hook, so if possible, choose lighter weight cotton shirts.

If I DID choose to do another, I would probably skip the dying and just cut up shirts in the color I wanted the rug.  {I even imagined a rainbow rug using mult-colored shirts!!}

T-shirt Turned Tank Top
 

How cute is this???!!!!  I figured since I had one very involved project, I would share an easy-peasy one too.  This could take as little as 10 minutes to do after you do one "practice" one to see how it goes.  And the results make any boy cut shirt into a girly top in no time.

{click image above to see the tutorial}

TIPS I LEARNED:
Just one.  Align the seams of the recycled-cuff shoulder strap so that they fall within the gathering of the neckline so it looks seamless.

I always love to see what you're working on, so please please please share your pics on my Facebook page!!  You guys are the best!  Thanks again for reading!

Week... {what week am I on now?}

I set myself up this past week for a 1.5# loss.  I did a lot of things right, but I also made some not-so-fantastic choices along the way that led me to a big fat ZERO pounds lost.  The good news in all of this??  I didn't GAIN anything either.  I stayed exactly the same.  So, I count that as a success, considering my week looked a little like this:

COOKOUT

COOKIE BARS

NEED TO GO SHOPPING

I'll take that zero loss/gain and raise you a 1+ pound loss this week.  Just watch me do it. ;)