Friday, February 25, 2011

The Finished Project

 It's done!!!  And as I am writing this, two of my children are playing behind me in this room :)Yesterday, my older daughter Stefanie had her quiet time with the Lord, as well as an afternoon nap in this room. Her friend Shelly spend the night and slept peaceful in a very comfy bed.
 It seems like everyone just enjoys this room. And that is exactly what I hoped for.

  

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Almost Done

 Believe it or not this very old armor holds all my fabric and other sewing accessories.

It fits perfect on the little sidewall by the end of the bed.

Room Makeover Continues

This is the sewing/cutting table my husband bought me for my birthday in January. It is perfect for this corner.
 On the other side of the room was enough space to set up a single bed. I want this room to be used not just for my sewing, but also for a guest room.



 My friend Sandy gave me this beautiful picture to hang over the bed because she thought it would look great in this room.....she was right!
This is the view from the doorway.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Office/Sewing in the Closet

 Here we go, I used the closet for my sewing and computer area. My friend Helga helped me with the wallpaper on the back wall of the closet. My sweet husband cut and installed all the shelfs, and I painted them the same color as the walls. I purchased the "simplify picture" to remind me to keep things simple.

 This big mirror gives this little closet area a larger look.

It holds everything I need. The baskets on the shelves are wonderful for storing all sorts of small sewing accessories.

 This is the view from the door way.

Room Make Over

 Here we are, my daughter Melanie, my dear friend Sandy and myself painting away. I chose a light green color to brighten up this little room. Rockcress is the name of the color.
 It was wonderful working on this project together and I discovered something about myself.....I like painting!!

 After two coats of paint with primer, the room is painted  :)
Next, we will move in the "Stuff".

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My Sewing Room/Guest Room

 After all these years talking about how I would have a sewing room some day, it actually is going to become a reality. When my son Timmy moved out 10 days ago my husband said we will make this room your sewing room WOW.  I got very exited and started to think how I could use this room for both purposes, first a sewing area and second a place for a single bed so we could also use this room for a guest.
 This is what it looked like after my son moved out. He was very sweet to patch up all the wholes in the walls.




Watch for the total makeover of this room :)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

What We Came Home To.....

 My daughter Melanie cut out all these little hearts out of colored paper and wrote sweet little notes onto them and spread them all over our bed. On my side of the bed was a peppermint patty (in case you didn't know, peppermint patty's are my favorite chocolate) and for my Stan, a dove dark chocolate bar. Her thoughtfulness touchwd my heart.
 This handmade note was also on our bed :)
  

 My sweet Lilybeth and Tristan made these lovely valentine cards at aunt Judy's house. The had so much fun making them.

My daughter Stephanie surprised me with this little purse. Wow, it was like having my birthday all over again.


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This beautiful bouquet of pink roses greeted me on the way into my kitchen. I love the thoughtful note my son Timmy added to his bouquet for me.

This was quite a surprise for us as we came home. I can't thank God enough for my wonderful children; they are a blessing from the Lord.
A long time ago when I was in my mid-twenty's, a dear friend of mine shared with me the importance of teaching our children to be thoughtful givers (she had eight children at that time). It is so easy to quickly pick up "something" in the last minute just to give "something." Have you ever been the receiver of such a thoughtless gift? I have, but to my shame I have been the thoughtless giver many times in the past and it is meaningless on both ends.


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A Fun Getaway To St. Petersburg

 Stan and I planned this one-on-one getaway for sometime now and we had a wonderful time. Judy, his older sister was so gracious to care for our to little ones Tristan and Lilybeth, and the older ones had fun times at home having friends over and enjoying their freedom without parents :) We needed that time away to renew and recharge. This is St.Petersburg bay; it is breath taking.  And I'm sad to add that this view will soon be gone as the city will tear the pier down because of the high cost of maintenance.


 Here we are on the pier enjoying the view.


 This was our lovely hotel room at the Marriott and were spoiled by the service they provided.  Still, it took us about one whole day to learn to relax and let go of all our normal responsibilities. I think we took more naps then anything else :)  




This trip was absolutely great, but wait till you see what we came home too...

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Looking back on January 2011

I'd like to give a little update on some of the things that God has taught me through my goals for 2010 Change... Live with Less!!!

I think the first thing that God has shown me is the incredible value of waking up with a purpose.  When you get up in the morning purposefully, with a plan for what you want to accomplish that day, it changes everything!  You feel invigorated, filled with meaning, and when you go to bed that night, there is a reward, a strong sense of accomplishment.  In truth, I am not by nature an organized person.  I don't function well under a "do this at 8; do this at 9, and this at 10" kind of mentality.  I am a smell the roses kind of person.  Under a rigid schedule I would just die.  I would wither away, never to be seen again.  But this is not what I'm talking about.  What I'm talking about is thinking about the day, setting a few must-do's, and leaving room for the many unexpected interruptions of living in a house of seven people.  It's about setting realistic goals not rigid goals.

And here is God's sense of humor:  I married a man who flourishes under the "do this at 8, this at 9" kind of schedule.  And we have learned that each other's differences are not wrong; they are just different.  With that knowledge, we can appreciate each other, understand each other, and encourage each other rather than look down on one another saying "what's the matter with you, why don't you just do things like this?"  There is a mentality that is easy to fall into that says that if the other person would just come over to your side and live the way you live, then they wouldn't have so many problems.  That is where problems really start.  What we need to do is realize that God made us individually very different to complete each other.

This leads to another goal that I set, to respect and encourage my husband.  To respect his differences and support him -- but more than that, to value him and his differences.  Perhaps there is nothing more encouraging or supportive than the feeling that you are valued greatly.

In the days to come, I intend to post more nuggets of things that God is teaching me through this set of goals.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Super Awesome Journal -- Part 2

Oops, I forgot to come back and write a part 2 for my Super Awesome Journal.  Well, this is Timmy again (Gabriele's son), and for those still interested, it's still super-awesome.  But it's a lot super-er and awesom-er now that it's finished. :)


This was a fun project that I think I'd like to do again when this journal is through.  I don't think I'm going to be buying them anymore.  The next one I'd like to make will be out of an old pair of denim jeans, just to change things up.  I also had this idea for next time too: rather than use a buckle to close it, I'm going to make it zip shut with a zipper.  I think that will look pretty cool.  Here's a sketch of my design:



Anyway, back to the journal I just finished, to update anyone who didn't know about part 1 and doesn't want to go back through posts to find it, here are a few pictures of the design process:






And here is my mom sewing everything together.  ...I really need to learn how to sew...

I'm very happy with the finished product.  And I learned a few not-to-do's along the way that I think will help me with the next one.

Until next time, keep reading my mom's stuff. ...especially the posts about food (take it from a guy who get's to eat those creations, it's worth learning)

--Timmy
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