Dining room art...

So I think part of my problem is over thinking, but I am totally stuck as to how to decorate our dining room. Now that we FINALLY have it painted (Ill post pictures soon we just need to finish some final touches on the top trim Matt is going to do and then it will be done!) the next step is putting things up on the wall, but I'm stuck!

Our dining room is smaller in size, so I can't pick anything too overwhelming.

It is open to our living room so it has to kind of go with what we have in there.

I could do a mirror I know people often do that, especially for smaller ones, but I have a big mirror on the same wall in the living room so I don't know how that would look.

People sit there eating, so it can't be something that takes away the appetite.

People sit there sometimes for a long time so I want it to be something moving and conversation starting even.

I could do food, but that's too basic and expected  I think...

One thing I do like is this I found online, but its not quite perfect/all Im looking for, for what I have in mind (just dont know what yet)...

Thankfully I have an INCREDIBLY TALENTED younger sister who is an artist and has kindly offered to paint a series of what I want for there. 

I am excited! 

I just have to figure out what... 

What kinds of things do you have in your dining room? Or have you seen in other's dining rooms you really loved? 

ps here is a pic of how it started to give you an idea of the space at least 

(don't worry we took down the 60s blinds and the lovely border!)

(view showing how living room and dining room open up) 

My plan...God's plan - part 1

I've been reflecting a lot this week on God's perfect sovereignty. It's funny how no matter how many times it happens when we look back on life and realize how much greater God's plan was than our original and yet we still try to plan it all our way.

I'm a planner by nature through and through so my instinct is to have my life mapped out (of course leaving opportunities for spontaneous enjoyments since I love that too).

But here are some things I've been thinking of contrasting what my plan was and how it has turned out thus far....

My plan - marry another guy other than Matt (I told him during one of my many rejections in high school I was 99.999% sure that we were not meant to be together).

God's plan - Matt and I got married (after growing into more like the people we were meant to be) and He is such a blessing in my life! I am so glad he never gave up and God knew best!

My plan - since we had to have a December wedding so all family could attend I wanted snow and a carriage to have our pictures taken in a special winter setting, but of course it not being too cold so I could just wear my dress for the photo shoot.

God's plan - He gave us snow! But my plan was a little unrealistic so with that it was VERY cold so pictures had my coat, but it was still special and I'm so glad we got the snow!

My plan - I grow up in London, go to high school become a cheerleader like I was told to and live a fairly fake and unsatisfying life (for me) 

God's plan - move my family to "hick" town Belleville with only one mall not so that my life would be over, but to give me a fresh start to decide who I wanted to be and a chance to finally own my faith and live it out real. Also giving me a chance to meet some lifelong friends and of course Matt.

And this is only the start to the list...

Facing the fear

This month we got the medical clear that it would be safe to try to have another baby again.

Great news that all is okay with me.

Great news that the potential is there for us to get pregnant again and have another little one someday.

But also scary to think of the reality.

I'm not as much scared of getting pregnant. I'm actually more scared of finding out I'm pregnant and not being so confident going into that pregnancy.

Once you have lost a baby it changes how you think -at least it has for me.

I know that if I found out today I was pregnant I would be in utter fear for the next 8+ weeks until I heard that heartbeat and had a little more confidence the baby was doing okay.

The thing is that our emotions effects everything and I really don't want that fear to control me. So acknowledging it is the first step.

The second is the most important- surrendering that fear to God constantly.

I don't know what the future holds for us but deep down I really do believe that God has the best plan for our family and it will all make sense in His perfect timing, but sometimes in the day to day the fear of "what ifs" creep in and its an evil game to play.

So instead of the "what ifs" fear game I'm going to acknowledge my fear and try my hardest to surrender it and enjoy each  moment I am given to the fullest!

Clearance girl

I am not ashamed to say that I am one of those people that breezes right past all the normally marked merchandise in a store right on to my favourite part in the back - the sale racks!

We buy pretty much everything on sale or clearance and that means especially with a little on thinking ahead so you will have what you need when you need it and not have to heaven forbid pay full price for it!

However, this last month I got caught!

Hannah went through a foot growth spurt going straight from size 3-5 in a month! (and 3 started out big on her too!) Which left us in our spring weather without any running shoes (biggest I had was size 4 and much too small now).

Have you seen the regular price for toddler running shoes? Call me cheap, but its INSANE!

I'm not spending $25 for itty bitty running shoes she could grow out of in a month!

So I kept her in boots for a week as a searched and searched determined to find a deal and low and behold I did!

I know, I know these aren't even close to running shoes, but bonus was I got to buy these (size 61/2) for hopefully winter season next year and...

these totally gender neutral everyday shoes in the perfect size 5 

for just $16 after tax! 

Payless is having their BOGO sale on and guess what... It does not exclude clearance! So I searched and found the deals I was looking for. 

For $9 less than the average toddler running shoe I got some cute neutral shoes that are easy to put on and some adorable big girl little girl boots for church for the future! 

I love sales! 

And I'm glad that last summer I got some adorable sandals that fit her perfectly and when she was but 1 month old I did the crazy thing in buying size 5 rain boots that FINALLY she fits and has been stylin well this rainy week for just $3! 

There is no shame in going straight to clearance! 

100% there

One of the best gifts we can give our kids is our time with our love and our attention.

They just crave being around us.

I know for my little girl she a SPONGE and LOVES learning anything new she can from us and LOVES watching us act crazy (especially her dad do silly actions).

So what I've been reflecting on lately is....

 "am I 100% there with Hannah when I'm physically spending time with her?"


Truth is I know that I haven't fully be there 100% all the time lately. I had some big work stuff that I had people calling or needing info at all hours of the day making it hard to keep it to hours that I set aside for work and I have a huge to-do list that I want to get done on our house so I'm constantly doing something or thinking about something for that.

But the other day I finished my work for the day, Hannah and I closed the door to the house and spent the afternoon outside away from the to-do list and all other distractions and just spent time together from snack time to bubbles.

It was glorious! 

Now I'm not saying that to be a good parent we should always give all of our time and attention to our kids. That's just plan unreasonable! 

We all have a lot of things we do that can keep us from spending time with our kids. 

We need to work (most of us)

We need to clean the house 

We need to do groceries

But we also need to spend quality time with our kids

So what I'm committing to is work hard at being 100% there for work and chores so that for some special times each day I can be 100% there with Hannah! 

ps I love that Hannah fell in love with eating cantalope like in the pic! It made me so proud to be her mom! 

Pets...and Children

The list of benefits to having pets with young kids is about as long as the con list could be!

There are definite pros and cons to both.

In all honesty when our cat was missing for almost 3 weeks I started convincing myself how maybe it was for the best...

With our schedules in a ministry that takes us away from home for months at a time, figuring out a plan for an animal can get really difficult


Sometimes Pekoe would be hyper and loud right when I was trying to calm Hannah down to sleep...it would be nice not to worry about that


We would never have to worry about people with allergies staying at our house

etc.

But honestly as annoying and seemingly inconvenient our cat can be for us he is a perfect addition to our family.

\

They have a special relationship!

(This is Hannah trying to get Pekoe to wear her headband, but he wouldn't keep it on his head, 

she is asking please and he is getting up to get out of there!) 

So the benefits for us...

Having a cat around our house has helped Hannah not be afraid of animals, but be excited to meet new ones when we are out! 


I had a theory that her learning how to be gentle with a cat would transfer into her knowing how to be gentle with a baby and aside from a strong desire to point out her cousins eyes to everyone Hannah was gentle. Yes that can be learnt other ways, but it is neat to see that transfer! 


Hannah has a friend. Its not the same, but she does try to play ball with Pekoe or read him books or share her snack with him. It's nice to see her interact even with an animal! I hope that they can be lifelong friends! 


I am glad Hannah gets to grow up with a pet.

Does that mean that I would recommend that to everyone?

No.

It totally depends on the family, what they want (because you do really need to want to have one), their situation, etc. Like I said when I started there are pros and cons to both sides of the debate...but I must admit that I am glad Hannah has a cat or else we wouldn't get laughs like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HYpz7q0nuM

I must admit we are lucky to have such a tolerant and gentle kitty!

Home renovator in the making!

Since its now perfectly healthy for me to paint and do all kinds of home improvement things we have started a couple of projects and Hannah likes to help!

The way our kitchen was when it started...

And this is step 1: how we sand

How to celebrate Easter

There is an ongoing debate out there of how to best celebrate Easter.

Should it only be a religious holiday with no Easter bunnies or the like? Or should you embrace the Easter bunny so much that it takes over the religious roots?

For us we choose both.

We choose going to church to remember the incredible life changing sacrifice Christ made for us and to remember how Christ conquered death and victory was made on this holiday so we can have eternal life!

We choose to have fun and dress up in special fun Easter dresses!  (Okay its more for Hannah than the whole family...)

And although this year we embraced the Easter candy and goodies today when it was all on sale, next year we will make Hannah an Easter basket and start fun traditions with that.

We choose celebrating with family, and when we don't have family close by it's celebrating in spirit with them and in person with our friends that are our family too!

We choose to create special traditions as a family to make this break of a holiday something we will always treasure and use to escape from the busyness of life!

And how do we balance it all?

For us that means going to the Good Friday service at church and then using that day for something fun with family or friends, on Saturday celebrating with a fun Easter basket and special traditions the kids love and on Sunday focusing back on the true meaning of this holiday. For us that's how it makes sense for now. For us that's how we picture making balance and enjoying this awesome holiday to the fullest.

Yet, I'm curious, how do you celebrate?

Choosing Your Emotions

When I was feeling awful and had nothing in me to do anything due to my low hemoglobin after my recent miscarriage I actually watched a couple of seasons of 7th Heaven. I watched the last 2 seasons that I had never seen before and it brought me back!

One theme that kept coming up, and I probably kept noticing more because I benefited from hearing it, was the idea of choosing your emotions.

I don't think people would look down on me or judge me for being bitter, angry, sad, depressed, or any of the like after loosing the baby we were so excited to have.

I don't think it would be completely unjustified to be angry, bitter, sad or depressed when I started seeing others get to do the pregnancy announcements I had planned or when I heard about a couple of unplanned, unexpected pregnancies. I could of even uttered my classic childhood words, "It's not fair!", because it's not.

But, I choose to trust.

I choose to make the most of the life I have been given.

I choose to focus on the good and many blessings God has given me.

I choose to take each new day as it comes and not dwell on the past to the point of it paralyzing me or stopping me from enjoying what the future could hold.

I don't know if it's as much choosing your emotions as choosing your perspective, but I choose to be positive...as positive as I can!

I know that some were worried about the fact that soon after the miscarriage I had a trip planned for myself and Hannah to see my sister have her first baby.

Would that be too hard to see?

Would I loose it, watching my sister hold her new baby knowing that I just lost one that I will not get to hold until heaven?

But it wasn't that hard because I choose to focus instead on the good and the great!

It was wonderful! And I wouldn't exchange it for the world!

Karissa wanted a baby for so long, she will be and is already an amazing mother! It was such a joy to get to be there with her and share in that experience.

I love my niece so much!

I miss her already and can't wait to cuddle her again!

And yes I caught myself, watching my daughter hold and hug and kiss her cousin, dreaming of someday...

someday God willing that will be Hannah's little sister or brother she is holding and loving and what a joy that will be! 

Until then I choose to make the most of what I have been given!