The Blessed Wall

"You have got to be kidding"...This was my response yesterday morning when I awoke to this. In June. Almost July.



So this pretty much sealed the deal for me. Yes, we will indeed still try to move. The only thing that has kept us here this long is our home. With the market so bad, we're not sure if this is an option right now. But we are definately going to try everything in our being to make this move...trusting that the Lord knows the desires of our hearts. But this snow was actually the smallest thing that happened yesterday.

I hit a wall. No, not literally, but emotionally. I hit my all time low yesterday and by the time it was noon and the baby decided to be fussy all day and not wanting to sleep, my husband picked up the kids, loaded them in the car, and said to go sleep and gather myself. I think he seen how serious this had become. I've still been trying to adjust to the thought of having two kiddos instead of one, especially a new one that doesn't like to sleep or nap like my first one did. I don't function when I have no sleep...with no way to catch up. So as I laid in bed crying my eyes out, one because I was so tired, but mostly because I suddenly felt like a failure as a mom. A weak mom. Thinking, "how can i do this, I am failing, I am not being the mother that my kids and my husband need me to be".  So after I caught up on some much needed sleep, then drove over to my brother in laws to pick up my kids, through all of the tears still falling, the Lord revealed this song to me...

I've been ashamed, and I've been put down
Head in my hands, my life on the ground
Left heaven to save, liars and thieves
Sinners like me, your blood sets us free
But who am I, that you would remember me?

Take what I have left my Savior
Take me with you from this cross
When I leave this life completely
Remember Me.

It hit me. Showing me that even though lately I've felt like He was so distant, He was still there. He was still guiding me. I just didn't see Him, because I was too busy looking the other way, being busy. So I laid it at His feet and left it there. Not to continue to dwell on it, but to praise Him for bringing me to my knees.

Then after a blessed night sleep, with my baby sleeping through the night, It reaveled to me this morning, that one big reason I always feel so overwhelmed and out of control, is because for the last 11 years at the office I have been organized. I am no longer organized. I fly by the seat of my pants daily...and in turn it has caused chaos in my home, in my husband, in my kids, and in me. So I decided to do something about it. I'm organizing. No, not just putting things in bins and labeling them. But oraganizing a schedule for myself daily. Carving out time for my quiet time with the Lord, time with my kids, time to clean, time to blog, time to work on home projects, time to develop and brand my design business, time to plan meals. Yes it sounds like an OCD kind of thing, but this I have discovered, is how I roll. I feel better when I know what to do that day, so I don't make my bed, about in tears, thinking..."where do I start" everyday and beating myself down for not getting it all done. And when it doesn't get all done, crawling into bed and feeling blessed for being able to be there for my family. So...this is what is next. The organizing of my life. The life that the Lord has blessed me with as a wife and a mother.

Thank you, Lord for Remembering Me.

Miss Olivia and Her Fight For Cancer

Please keep Olivia and her family in your prayers. She is my husbands stepmom's grandaughter. She is a great example of God's blessings to us!!

 

Shiny, Frizz Free Hair? Yes, Please!

That's what I was up to last week. I made my way to the city to get a Brazilian Blowout. No, not a brazililan keratin treatment that some salons offer, but the actual Brazilian Blowout. Let me tell ya...this stuff is AMAZING! Post shower, my hair is shiny, frizz free, lays almost perfect, including taming my cowlicks (im not sure how you spell that, so i'm going to do the sound it out preschool thing ;)...all while having some great volume. The real test? Today...went to the pool with the kiddos and hubby, then jumped in the truck and went to Grand Lake for the Art Festival...grabbed some lunch...came home and took a nap...and it never really looked any different from when I first combed it...and that's all ive had to do with it so far. Not to mention, no more tangles when I'm out of the shower.  They say the curl will stay nicely too, so that's my next attempt...but so far...I'm.In.Love.

Aged Metal Letters Tutorial

Hi All, Hope your having a great summer so far. It has finally stopped raining (and snowing) for a few days here and I'm starting to get adjusted to having two little ones instead of one.  I've been trying to get Tate's nursery completely finished, and these letters for the wall are part of the last few things. I figured at the rate I'm going, I'll probablly get it done just in time for me to change it again when he needs a big boy room.  These were super easy and I am IN.LOVE. with the finish.

I fell in love with these weathered zinc letters from Restoration Hardware...but at $69 each, it was out of the questions...on to Plan B.

I started off by purchasing these letters at Joann's. 

Painted on a coat of black paint.

Then I broke out some other paint that I had...Ralph Lauren's Metallic Paint and some Acrylic in Burnt Umber. I used the same RL paint in my Sunburst Mirror Tutorial.

Using the RL Metallic, dip your paint brush and in a circular motion, half hazardly put this on top of the black paint. Do only small sections at a time, as this dried almost immediately.  Using a paper towel, rub in a circular motion and rub the paint in further. Then check your OCD at the door.  There is no perfection here.

Then using a sponge brush, I blotted on VERY THINGLY and VERY SPORATICALLY the Burnt Umber Acrylic. This gave it the "worn and weathered" look, like the antique rusted letters you dig for at the flea market.  This is where I started to fall in love with the finish.

He's learning, picking this stuff up as he watches mommy.

Gorilla Glue some hanging hardware on the back and they go up on the wall in the nursery. You can stack these as well if you have ledge shelving, but I wanted them directly above the crib, so this was the option I chose. 

(yes, I still need to paint the cord covers on the wall)  

I love how they turned out. You can see more of the Nusery Here. 

Linking up to these Parties:  The Shabby Chic Cottage, Beach Cottage, Remodelaholic, Funky Junk Interiors, The Shabby Nest