The Time I Wanted To Move To Kansas

Do you ever feel the urge to just pack up and move? 

Usually I don't. I adore Colorado and I adore my "little, big town". I adore my family, friends, and relationships I've built here. I love my home, the parks, and the quick access to a variety of outdoor activities.

But as of late, I've been craving a change. I want a small town. I want land, and chickens, and goats (I have no idea why goats sound appealing). I want my kids to run around without fear of cars, or strangers. I am envious of mature trees, and plants, and vegetation. Kansas has all of this, and more….cows….my kids love those cows. 

We have a lot of family in Kansas, and I always love to visit. Small town life. There is nothing like it. We recently traveled there for a wedding (which was gorgeous). The kids played outside all day, stayed late up late, got dirty, played with cousins and had the time of their life. Tire swings, fairy houses, cowboy boots, big wheels, cupcakes, roasting marshmallows, tree stumps….what's not to love? It all made me want to pack it up and relocate.

This was Josiah's first haircut other than what I've butchered done.

Thanks to the groom for doing an awesome job, and giving him racing stripes that made him feel like Captain America. 

Micah stated "I am the Lorax!" 

I loved it all. Well, maybe not it all. There was the issue of the wind, and that dang humidity.
Then… when we arrived home, I had nearly forgotten this is where I live. How could I ever leave this?

Yes, Kansas is nice.
But I'm a Colorado girl through and through.

Dear Ella

Dear Ella,

I can't even begin to tell you what you have done to our family. We made sense before you came along. It was loud, silly, dirty, and crazy. When you joined our family all of that still existed only with a lot more sparkle.

You have brought me so much joy! I love your sweet little voice. It's delicate and high pitch. Just perfect. I love your love for boots, shoes, and necklaces. That makes my heart leap for joy. I love when you wake up you ask for: #1 Food #2 Boys (your brothers). I love the crush you have on your father (even though I get a smidge jealous). Daddy is the best to you.
I love that you are girly, flirty, and sassy. I adore dressing you up and watching your face light up to go show the boys what you are wearing.

You have more personality in you than any two year old should. 

When asked "What ya doing Ella?" You will respond "Just being 'tute' (cute)". 

You sure know how to melt a heart. You are so smart. Smarter than I would have ever imagined. You speak in complete sentences, that nearly everybody can understand. You light up a room and draw attention like no body else. You are living up to your life verse so very well.

Matthew 5:14,16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;…“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

You are truly the light of our home. But with that comes a lot of spark. You are so energetic, you never stop moving and can't bear to be in a car. I have yet to read a book in it's entirety to you. No movie, song, book, or game will keep  you still. This makes road trip super fun with you. You are sassy. oh, so sassy. Because of your "smarts" you have become quite aware of the spell you have cast, and you know how to get at our weak spots. It is truly hard to say "no" to you but we do all right. You have us wrapped, and we're ok with that. 

You are a gift, a true gift. We cherish you, we love you, we adore you. I thank God for giving me a girl. I want to raise you right; to love Jesus, have true self-worth, and selfless character. Girl, you are going to move mountains. I couldn't be more ecstatic to be your mommy.

Smooches,

Mommy 

{Coral & Curls}

{Please note: my photographer is a handsome 5 year old}

This is one of my favorite shirts. I have no idea where it came from. 

But it's so airy and light, and it's the perfect color.

I was also having a good hair day. So it needed documentation. 

Blouse: ? Probably Target

Jeans: WalMart

Shoes: Target (like 6 years ago)

Necklace: ClipClipHooray

Ring: ClipClipHooray

Earrings: ClipClipHooray (do you see a theme here?)

{find it here}

Ok, lets talk skinny jeans.
I have a feeling I am really going to regret wearing skinny jeans in 10 years. 
My kids are going to look back at pics of my fashion choices and laugh at me.
Lets be honest, these pants are not flattering at all.
I love the color, but skinny jeans are just a bad idea.
Oh well….I'll keep squeezing into them for now….after all…they were only $10.

What do you think?
Are you going to regret some of your current fashion choices in the future?
I know this is not my only look I'll regret!

And don't forget to find me on {BlogLovin}

Iron Sharpens Iron

I have had an emotional 4 weeks.
I'm not used to this.

I'm not really an emotional woman, really. I hate to cry in public and I feel like I've been crying all over the place.

I've learned of a lot of tragedy, a lot of drama, and a lot of failed marriages.

God has also been putting me through the ringer. He's been pushing, prodding, and nudging me to guard my big fat mouth words.

I have a tendency to say things for humorous reasons that turn out to be hurtful. I don't think about how others will perceive my "humor". When it comes to relating to women I can really be hurtful. Most recently one of my best girlfriends came to me hurt. I had hurt her, multiple times. I was poking fun at a sensitive area in her life, and didn't even realize it until she told me.

This moment really defined our friendship. I was so upset, crying (again) as she told me how I had hurt her. But God was using her to reveal a part of my life that God wanted to work on. To be honest, this wasn't the first time I felt God telling me to shut my mouth. It had been a theme lately. James was bringing it to my attention, church, MOPS…you name it…I was hearing God loud and clear. I was just ignoring him.

Proverbs 21:23
Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.

When she came to me and told me this I knew God was using her to sharpen my character. It was not fun. It was not pretty. But when iron is being sharpened there's always a few sparks.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

I am so glad that I have friends and family in my life who come to me in love, to call me out on my junk. I am grateful that she didn't just allow our friendship to end.  I can tell you that it was a huge moment for me as well. I learned that I can't just say whatever I want in order to get a laugh. I need to be more considerate. Lets be honest, I need to grow up. I'm not Tina Fey, and I am definitely not a comedian. Just a flawed woman, who God is changing for the better. I am so glad I have grace. What would I do without it?!? Thank God for godly friendships, they can get me through even the most difficult situations!

With that said….
Happy Monday!

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DIY Repurposed Pallet Sign

You guys….I finally got around to making my own pallet sign!

Ok…so this was a work of love, for sure.
It's messy and "splintery" (it's my blog…I can say whatever words I want).
But it was worth all of the blood, sweat, and tears.

But here's how I did it.

First, find a free pallet. Yes, make sure it's free. It makes it all the better.
I just checked on craigslist for a free pallet and found one right away. Woo hoo!

Next, break that bad boy apart.
This sucks! I broke so many of the boards because the nails were rusted and completely indented into the wood. There was no way to get it out without splintering the wood.
Geesh!

So after working up a good sweat doing that….use connectors to put them back together.
I found these at Home Depot in the roofing section.
And because I had split so many boards I had to put the individual boards back together while connecting them all together.
Find shallow screws so that you will not screw though the front of the boards.
Put them together as closely as possible so that there will not be any huge gaps between boards. But be careful not to joint the two boards together where there will be a natural gap, you don't want the connectors showing through. (Sorry if that makes no sense…it makes sense in my head).

After it's all connected together flip it over and paint it.
I really wanted mine to look rustic but uniform, so I chose a white paint and I watered it down. Just to give it a white-washed look.
Color test before you do so, you don't want to have to sand and fix the sign.

Find a good helper.

Next, I really had a specific idea in mind of how I wanted the words to look. I knew I couldn't' just free hand it and make it look good…so….let the work begin!

I used my Silhouette and contact paper to cut out the letters I wanted. I chose to use contact paper instead of vinyl because it comes off of the wood much easier than the vinyl and it's so much cheaper.

I just cut out the correct size to fit on my mat. Found the right fonts, and let the machine do it's thing.

I then put the letters where I wanted them and traced each letter with a pencil. I am sure there is a better solution for this…but this is how I roll….

I even let Jo get in on the action.
He's got such an eye for detail and he was so exited to help me.
Plus…he's cute, and I like cute boys.

 Once it's all traced out, get to painting. I just used white acrylic paint. It's cheap and I had it on hand.

Then hang it. I literally had to drill it into the wall, but I'm ok with that.
Use four hands to get this thing hung. I did it by myself and nearly died in the process. I also measured wrong the first time (surprise, surprise). That's why you can see the "oops" in the photo above. I did use hallow wall anchors to make sure that thing was in nice and sturdy. It's hanging in the playroom and I didn't want it toppling down on anybody!
I don't plan on moving it. Ever. I love it. Love it. Love it.

These kids are hams!

Don't mind the 5 year old in his undies…it's hot here folks.

So there ya have it. This board cost me about $15 total, and I adore it.

Don't forget that I'm moving to BlogLovin. Join me there!