Best laid plans

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16: 9

I need to remember that verse more often.  I had the best laid plans.  My plans.  I was going to spend time while Skylar was at school getting stuff ready for her room re-do.  Then, my parents were going to take her for a couple days so we could do the install.  Then, after she got home, she would squeal and shriek and I would write a nice long makeover post! Then we would make lots of homemade goodies for her birthday; have a party at the park with her classmates; I was going to speak at a board meeting for our school; I was going to wrap up my women's book study I was leading; and then I would leave for the weekend so I could bond and learn with my fellow church board members.

It didn't go that way.

Skylar got Croup two and a half weeks ago.  So she was home from school.  She's now had croup twice in her life.  Both in the last couple months.

Then we all 5 got hit with an intestinal bug.  More missed school.  More time spent NOT preparing items for the room.

Then we were all healthy (yay!), only to have Skylar get the full blown flu the day she was supposed to leave and hang out with my mom for a couple days.  My mom took her anyway (rockstar grandma!!), and they just watched movies.  I worked to get the last few errands in and sewing. The next day Brian cleared her room, we painted, and I tried to finish up some sewing.  Then it hit me.  The flu.  The bad, body aching, high fever, coughin up a lung, can't-stand-upright, flu.

I did my best to help Brian finish up her room, but then I was done.  For the next 5 days.  In that time it also hit Brian, and then Bailey.  Reagan has thus far avoided it (and praying she stays immune!), but she did call my mom at one point and BEG her to come over because there was no one to feed them.  Ha! Rest assured we were feeding the children.  But it was easy stuff like cereal and soup, so we were incredibly grateful that my mom answered the call and came to take care of all of us!!

Skylar loves her new room and it was a great surprise, but it certainly wasn't as I imagined it would be.  I didn't get to finish up my book study. I didn't get to speak at a board meeting for our school.  I didn't get to go away for the weekend with my fellow church board members.  We didn't have a party at the park and I didn't make any homemade goodies.  But life went on.  Other people spoke in my place.  My lovely fellow board members went without me.  My middle baby turned 6.

We're all on the road to recovery but this bug is wretched.  I had the best laid plans.  But the Lord has greater plans.  I'm speaking at church on Monday night so maybe He knew I needed to have some extra time to prepare.  Whatever it is, I need to remember that His plans are best.

In the meantime, here are some snaps from my cell phone.  I would still like to do a whole room re-do post in the future.  For now, this is my best. :)

Our sweet Skylar the morning of her birthday (yesterday).  My mom got her a beautiful princess gown.  It was instant love! 

Skylar's first day back to school after being sick.  How fun that it was her birthday! :) Her class is singing to her while she wears the "birthday hat." 

We were blessed with awesome weather for her birthday, so she played outside with the dogs.  This one is my parents dog.  :) She's the most "willing" to go along for a ride.  Notice the sparkly princess shoes.

A "before" shot of Skylar's room.  We had a beach theme beforehand.  I have other pics before it was cleared, but I'll save those for the longer post.  

And AFTER! We did two colors of pink on the walls; I made a fabric banner, tissue pom poms, a rag quilt for her bed, and a new bedskirt.  This is a shot from standing in her doorway looking in.

Another shot from inside her room. 

Most importantly, she loves it.  She had a good birthday and we're all getting healthier.  Thank the Lord for that!

Recycled centerpieces

We have events or barbeques at our house frequently so I'm often in search of ways to dress up our table (or kitchen island).

I've also been spray painting anything in my path lately.

So, when I needed something to put some fairy wands in that I made for a friend, I grabbed a pickle jar from the fridge, convinced Skylar she wanted to eat the last pickle, washed it out, and spray painted it.  I was officially hooked on re-using jars.

So, when I had a ladies event at my house this week, I took a look at all my jars that are "waiting to be painted" and decided to do something with them.

I put a little sand from the sandbox in, added a tealight and some raffia, and voila!

I don't think we'll ever throw away another jar.  :)

More Animals from the Reserve

You may remember that we live on a wildlife reserve.  Here are a few more animals we have seen around here lately:
This yellow bird just blends right in with the yellow flowers on the tree!

Then there's this bird:

and a few other "wild" animals:

Ok, so a few of them "might" actually be from our trip to the zoo....but I'll never tell. :)

I'm not perfect

I know. Shocking. But it's true.

There's a song by Laurie Berkner (who just happens to also be my favorite children's musician), that has a pretty catchy tune. It goes something like this:

I'm not perfect
no I'm not
I'm not perfect but I've got what I've got
I do my very best, do my very best, do my very best each day
but I'm not perfect, and I hope you like me that way.

You're not perfect,
no you're not.
You're not perfect, but you've got what you've got.
You do your very best, do your very best, do your very best each day.
But you're not perfect, and you know I love you that way.

(Or you can click here to hear it yourself)


How nice that children can learn at such an early age that no one is perfect. Nothing is perfect. I've been trying to change my use of the words "that's perfect" around the girls as well.  I realized I was saying it too much when I started hearing THEM say it.  Reagan likes things "just so" and can often be heard telling Skylar that she's not doing something right because it's not perfect.  I'm now trying to teach them that NO ONE is perfect.  Well, except for ONE person, but we'll get back to that.

I've struggled for years with perfection. Even as a child, I wanted things "just so." Now, one of my favorite songs that plays on my playlist is Francesca Battistelli's "Free to be Me." My favorite line is when she says, "Perfection is my enemy." Isn't that the truth?! Perfection IS my enemy. I will never achieve it, so it becomes a vice that destroys me.

When we moved into this house I wanted things "just so" but when my mom had her brain aneurysm and subsequent surgery, my plans took a back seat. So the house wasn't finished when we moved in. I tried to quickly get things in order but it felt like each step I took, I had to take two more backwards. I painted the cabinets. Then the paint peeled. So I painted them again. After sanding and priming again of course. We had a leak in our drain pipe in the garage. So after getting it repaired it took our home warranty company over a month to get someone to come out and seal up the drywall where they had cut into the wall to get to the pipe. Of course in that time, our little mice friends had moved in. So then we had to get rid of those icky creatures. It seems like projects get started but not finished. My bathroom still has wallpaper that I hate (and lots of spots where I got sloppy with the paint). My pantry has new contact paper in it, but it has bubbles in it. And only half of the cabinets have been contact papered at that. My sink has dried paint in it. I haven't cleaned a single window. The girls don't have curtains or pictures on their walls.  My dust ruffle on my bed is torn and 6 inches too short.  I could go on and on.

I found that when people were coming over, I was making excuses about why my house looked the way it did...unfinished. "It's still a work in progress" I would say.

Aren't we all?

I like to do lots of things, but I don't think I'm terribly great at any of them.  Far from an expert, and certainly not perfect.  I was beginning to start each day, feeling defeated.  I would exercise and eat right, but the scale wouldn't move.  I would pick up and pick up and pick up but the house would still look like 3 little girls live here.  I would attempt a new recipe only to have my girls make icky faces and I would end up making quesadillas for everyone.

Then I was driving and a song came on the radio that released me from my drive to perfection (probably not once and for all, but at least for now). I've loaded it to my playlist but wanted to give you the words also.

Natalie Grant-Perfect People

Never let Him see you when you're breaking
Never let Him see you when you fall
That's how we live
and that's how we try

Tell the world you've got it all together
And never let them see what's underneath
You cover it up, with a crooked smile
but it only lasts
for a little while

There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are
Broken and scarred
Lift up your heart
and be amazed, be changed
by a Perfect God.

Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are, and He knows where you've been
and you never have to go there again.

There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are

Broken and scarred

Lift up your heart

and be amazed, be changed

by a Perfect God.

Who lived and died to give you life

to heal our imperfections

so look up

and see love

and let grace be enough

There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are

Broken and scarred

Lift up your heart

and be amazed, be changed

by a Perfect God.

Thank goodness I'm not expected to be perfect.  I'm so thankful for a husband that knows my imperfections and loves me in spite of them; children that know I'm not perfect, but still love me "to the moon and back"; and a God that created me to be imperfect so that I could find perfect peace in His grace and a promise of a perfect eternity in heaven.

A vision....in blue

When we first moved in, I bought a table and six chairs from a second-hand store. I love to re-finish things so they don't go to waste (and because they are cheaper, made better, and last longer). The table is solid oak, with a pedestal and claw feet. Apparently it's an antique. But it was in bad shape on the top and frankly I don't have oak in the house. I wish I had "before" pictures to show you but I did the table during the "my camera is still packed" phase of the move.

I've talked a little bit about my "style" before. It trends toward shabby chic (just light on the shabby). Or Modern Vintage as one lady called it. Either way, I had a vision for my table and chairs. I wanted the table bright white (like our cabinets that I painted) and the chairs blue. Choosing the right blue was the hard part. We have a navy blue couch and cobalt blue glass all over the kitchen, so a darker blue made sense. But, I have plans to incorporate a lot more light blue/aqua into the space so I decided to do a pale aqua blue. Of course, as I was dragging the chairs out to the garage this weekend to paint them, my DH said, "You're painting them WHAT color?" Apparently I hadn't shared my vision with him.

Later in the day I was watching HGTV (I'm a hopeless addict), and Genevieve of "Dear Genevieve" was talking about a couple that she was helping. She said that she was SO SURPRISED to hear that the couple had lived with their bedroom, unhappily, for 13 years but never talked to each other about how they each wanted it to look. In her words, they hadn't "shared their vision." Now, HGTV is probably an unlikely place to find deep relational meaning, but it struck me at that moment. If I haven't shared my vision of how I want our home to look, what else have I not shared my vision with DH about? Where do we see ourselves in five years? What financial goals do we have? Where do we want to retire? How much do we want to help the girls with college? How do we see ourselves dealing with aging parents? I know, they are just chairs. But maybe they will start a conversation that we haven't had yet.

Until then, here are the chairs. My vision...in blue:

An Answered Prayer! And a happy dance!

One of our MAJOR prayers in the last couple weeks has been the offer that we made on the house in Murrieta. After the initial offer was rejected and countered, we felt defeated, to say the least. But we didn't feel like we were supposed to walk away just yet. We re-countered and just found out yesterday that our offer was accepted! After all the jumping up and down and screeching, I still don't think it has set in that we are going to have a home of our own again. We still have a few hurdles to jump over, but the hardest part is over (so we're told).
We will post tons of pictures after we close, but for now, here's one of the outside!



Aint it cute!?
Praise God for answered prayers! Now excuse me while I go do more happy dancing!!