The Best Accessory

For some reason, when I wore this to MOPS yesterday I got a lot of compliments. 

To be honest with you, I felt like a cowboy (I'm weird, ok)

It just didn't seem to flow for me. 

The sock bun, the pearls, the boots..I don't know…I wasn't digging it.

But everybody else did, so I'll take it!

 Sweater: {Victoria's Secret}

Jeans: {William Rast}

The best part about this outfit is that it was entirely FREE for me.

I know, right?

My sister-in-law has impeccable taste in fashion and I just happen to get her hand-me-downs.

Lucky me!

But I thought that it's this little princess who makes my style complete. 

I mean seriously….what would I look like without my beautiful kiddos?

Happy Wednesday…you can find me in sweat pants all day today : }

Home Tour {Family Room}

{play me}

Part III of my home tour (here's the kitchen and playroom) takes us to the room with the most use .

Our family room.

We play in here, watch tv, relax, and just gather as a family.

It might even be my favorite…but then again…I might say that about all the rooms. I guess I'm not biased. I just love my home!

You can find how to make your own family rules canvas here (that is if you have an extra 30 hours to spare). It was worth every second. I kinda like it. 

I usually change out my banner every couple of months.
You can make your own here. Just print and clip!

How awesome is that old barometer? My Dad tried to fix it and couldn't so he was going to throw it away. Sheesh! Good thing I saved it, right?

You can find my twine wrapped bottle tutorial here. 

I am noticing I am a horrible stager. I could have pulled the banner out of the books and moved the outlet cover. But apparently I'm too lazy.  

I need your opinions about this birdcage. I love it, I really do. But I think I might like it in white better…thoughts? Does it need a coat of spray paint?

I found these corbels at Hobby Lobby for $4 a piece. I love them! In fact…I adore them. It makes my home look a bit more "custom" for $8.

Here's the view from the Family Room into the Kitchen and dining area. 

James really loves these chairs. I'm not totally sold (even after 3 years).

I scored this at an antique store as my Christmas gift. I love that it's functional, massive, and mahogany. I kind of have a thing for dark wood antiques. Call me sentimental. 

 And in honor of full disclosure….this is what it looks like this morning. Naturally, of course.

**sorry for the weird exposure on the pics…it makes my green wall look like it's 80 different shades…I have a lot of natural light in the room, but it still casts shadows it odd places**

Thanks for taking the tour. Hope you can stay a while and browse my other posts. Time for me to engage with the kiddos!

I was featured here!

The Beauty in Stress

{play me}

You learn a lot about yourself when your plate is full.

Our lives are full lately. We felt God's calling for us to obey him. We are neck deep in it now.

God never tells us that his way for our lives will be easy. In fact, he says just the opposite. He tells us that when we follow him, it will be difficult.

Luke 9:57-62As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

This passage has always bugged me. He seems so harsh! But from what I have heard it's that Jesus knew these men were making excuses on why "now wasn't a good time" to follow him. He knew that their hearts were not in it fully. And that's exactly what he has called us to do. Put all of our hearts into following him.

No, it isn't supposed to be easy, but it's supposed to be rewarding.
The journey that God has called our family is causing us stress right now.

And I won't lie…I'm not handling it well.
I'm snarky, moody, and eating way too much. Of course I have to be a stress eater, right? Not that I'm already in a bad mood…I have to gain weight while I'm at it.
Apparently this is my motto ; )

via

But God is revealing to me some of these hard character flaws to me.
I need to treat those I love better, despite my circumstances. I need to rely that God's plan is supreme and that my attitude is lame.

I know the reward will be great. He has a pretty amazing way of blessing us.
That is the beauty of stress. The reward of obedience is great.
I just need a new motto...

:::

Pray more. Stress less. 

:::

DIY {I Love You Because...} Frame

Here's another installment of my MOPS craft series. Find my other's here and here and here.

I saw this on Pinterest and knew this would be the perfect MOPS craft.

And you can make it as easy or difficult as you'd like.

Here's the simple steps…

I Love You Because… Frame

1. Remove glass from the frame and gently place on scrapbook paper.
    Trace along your glass edge and then cut out your shape.

2. On your paper write or print I Love You Because...

I've added a photo of my printed document just in case you wanted to use it. I had to make it print this way on the sheet so it would lay right. 

                                             

I spray painted my frame and added a lace flower. 

{Look Jennifer…you made it on the blog!}

And there you have it!

I sure hope the girls at MOPS use it as much as James and I do.

It's a quick and easy (and thrifty) way to give the one you love words of affirmation. 

My Favorite Valentines Day

James is amazing. Truly amazing.
He is romantic. And even though our lives have quickly changed from our very first Valentines Day together they seem to become more and more romantic.

I don't know what it is (That's a lie…it's the 3 kids within 4 years)…but every Feb 14th seems to matter less and less to me.
Don't get me wrong. I love the holiday. I think it's so sweet. But it's not the day that means a lot. It's how James always seems to make it….

He always finds the way to make it perfect…for us.

In Feb 2009 I looked like this just a couple of weeks before Valentines Day.

Comfortable, right?

Obviously, I didn't want to go out in public after my second C-Section.

So this is what James does…

He makes Chicken Parmesan…buys flowers, lights candles, and pulls the babies into the dining room with us. He lets me wear sweats, and no makeup, and look like I just had a baby. 

It's my favorite photo from Valentines Day. 

I love him.

So every year since, he makes me dinner.
Decorates the table, lights the candles, cleans the dishes, and lets me relax.
And now he is teaching the boys how to be romantic.

They set up the house like a restaurant…serve me and Ella. We even had a song and "clown" show. 

I love it.

I love that my romantic husband is showing them what it looks like to demonstrate love. 

That cheese ball grin…

I'm surely a lucky girl to be surrounded by so much love…and romance!

And who knew this girl would love salsa so much….

:Hot Pink:

I suppose I've just been loving color lately.
I think I'm starting to crave Spring.
But how about some hot pink and teal?

Sweater: Target $6

Jeans: Wal-Mart $10

Teal Rose Necklace: Here

I love this infinity bracelet. Find one of your own here!

I was photobombed when i was trying to get a PhotoBooth pic of  my earrings (which I adore). But lets be honest…the kid is way cuter than anything I'm wearing. 

And on another note:
My hair is getting so long. I can't remember the last time (or if I've ever had it) this long.
I need a trim and highlights…but who knows if that will ever actually happen…right?
Like I have an extra hour to sit down in a chair and have somebody else do my hair….but that is sounding pretty nice right about now…

Happy Wednesday…I'm off to peruse some other cute outfits!

Home Tour {The Playroom}

In an effort to show you my home I asked the kids to clean the playroom.
And since they suck at it aren't as particular as I am about cleaning it up, I gave up and decided to take the pics anyway.

After all….let's be real….it's never clean anyway.

But with these cuties…I can't seem to stay perturbed about it.
So here it is….

:: The Playroom ::

 I got this huge frame at Hobby Lobby's 80% off clearance sale for $6. I painted the glass with chalkboard paint (obsessed…I know).
What I especially love about it is that as soon as I hung it…Jo smudged it…of course : )

I found those canvas bins for $3.98 at Wal-Mart.
Is it weird that I want to call them "dope" because they are so inexpensive? Yeah, it is. Sorry.
I still have lofty plans of painting the bookshelf and the "bin" shelf white one day….one day...

I use sting and thumbtacks to hang my kids art up.
I love it.

All the toys don't fit in our boxes.
And the train never stays together.

See…it's messy.
But surely functional.
Having an open loft is one of the BEST things about our home.
It will be the perfect room to transition when they are older.

The kids spend a TON of time in here…so it's usually much messier, but they love it. I also love to be the "hub". Kids never want to leave here (I promise it's not my hospitality). I think our home is perfect for kids to be free thinkers and play with my millions of children.
I like having a fun home for kids to be kids in.

Thanks for taking the messy tour.
Time to play!