Purpose

For the past 10 years or so, I've had a "word of the year"

Something that God has given me, where He whispers "I'm going to reveal this to you this year, unfold it farther for your heart"

Here are some of the past words

Worship (realizing it's an act of each moment - not just during prayer or singing, but in disciplining my children, in how I speak to my husband, in how I care about my neighbor)

The Fear of the Lord (recognizing His holiness. His authority. His worthiness. Putting life into perspective through that lens. Fearing the Lord causes gratefulness, and wonder, and excitement about such an awesome powerful God loving ME)

Grace (such a deep word. And I learned about accepting grace and recognizing grace and GIVING grace to others)

This years word is "Purpose"

I want to live intentionally, to know why I'm doing things, and what is important.

How is it going? Well, I don't deserve any trophies.

Parenting is a big one. Purpose means continually removing the clutter and going back to the basics. Obedience. Listening. Time. Hugging. Teaching God's word. Investing. Turning interruptions into opportunities.

Marriage is a big one too. We have had more time for "dating" this year - which has been great. But it's so easy to take each other for granted instead of intentionally investing. It's easy to become housemates, or partners, and lose the connection of soul-mate.

Time is a huge area. I find myself so busy all the time. My time filled up. But how much of that time has any lasting usefulness? How much of that time do I even value? And in what ways am I carving my life to "redeem the time" and invest in eternity?

I'm in the middle of a friendship struggle... I'm still asking God about it... but knowing the purpose of relationships. And at what point it is beneficial to "drop" a friendship. I've never found that necessary before, and I've never gone through this sort of a path before. I'm not sure what the answer will be. Maybe it's worth building this relationship, or maybe it's time to separate. God will guide me, but at this moment I really don't understand the answer yet, nor what He expects from me.

And last, but not least, is my home.

I want purpose in my home.

Not just in our family spirit and rhythm and rituals, but in the function of each room. In keeping clutter low. This is SO HUGE for me. To simplify in the home, and not have so much STUFF. I'd like to do this with the wardrobes to, to have high functioning outfits with less clothing in the closets.

I've moved towards this goal by having a rough "plan" for our weeks

Family meetings on Monday nights
Fuse ball games on Tuesday nights
Church on Wednesday nights
Exercise/soccer/biking/walking on Thursday nights
Date night on Friday nights (mom and dad, OR mom or dad with a kid)
Family movie nights on Saturday
Fire nights (roasting marshmallows) on Sunday

But I'm ready to buckle down and start purging clutter.

When we get back from vacation. I'm going to get a grip and simplify.

I've already embraced the feeling of less whenever I've "redone" a room.

When I intentionally remade the family room, I found ONE large photo for the wall, and ONE large sectional and ONE lamp... I've really enjoyed that room because it's just calm. Not stuff everywhere.

No pictures tonight. Just journal.

Couch-Back Bench

When my mom and I recovered this couch (err, mainly mom) I didn't have her bother with the back. I intended to have it up against a wall.

At Christmastime I rearranged the furniture to fit the tree, and my husband announced that he preferred the couches rearranged like this permanently (although he initially chose the placement of the couches). All that to say, my mess of a back of a couch was exposed.

I did paint the peach-pink-floral mess, to try to clam down it's obnoxiousness. But this was as good as that looked:

We were often sitting on the back of the couch too - it just seemed to need seating here. I had a trunk there for a while. But when I moved that it was just bare and strange.

So one day I was fed up with it and I drew out a nice design for a solution. And after staring at it I thought "that will take me a lot of work, and it's so miserably hot outside, I'm going to have two exhausting days building this bench - by the time I drag the three kids through Home Depot and get all the boards cut and then paint them all and then screw everything together... it sounds awful."

I threw the perfect plan into the trash and went for the shortcut. I went to the garage to see what was available. I had a board that was ALMOST long enough. But I had no legs. Then I spotted two tree stumps that had been used to lift the lawnmower while fixing it. I rummaged through the firewood and found another similar sized log. Since they weren't perfectly straight I couldn't have the logs all the way under the board, but I didn't really care. I screwed it in, slapped some deck paint on top, and had my bench. The next day I went and bought a $10 board to attach to the back of the couch, and I used some leftover brats too, and that helped the couch and bench happily team up to give me function - and a better visual too. Here is the end result.

And some detail shots for the fun of it

 

 

And the lentil sprouts I was snacking on while making the bench (I rarely make sprouts, so I feel like it merits bragging rights if I did eat some!)

and some black-eye-pea sprouts too. My sprout mentor informed me that a black-eyed-pea is about as large of a sprout as is tasty to make. Smaller dried things tend to make better tasting sprouts. Like grains, for example. Anyway, here is the other bowl.

And those were the unique aspects of my Tuesday. I've got some housekeeping to catch up on now!

Patio Set

This was the porch when we moved in

This was when Quentin and I painted the peach rug

This is how it looked the first summer, with my little bistro set all alone in the big room

And this is the wicker set I found on craigslist

I painted the wicker a dark brown. It was already painted - but a peachy-tan. So I didn't feel bad about covering it with a new coat and color.

There was a foam that came with the lounge. It was just bare foam. I bought fabric for that, and to cover my old clearance outdoor pillows (which was the handiwork of my mother, of course). But for the existing cushions on the chairs and couch, I just painted right over the slick outdoor fabric. I can't believe how well it worked. Perfect fabric for painting.

Here it is...
(I had a smaller square coffee table, which I liked better, but I needed it for kids to eat at, so got this oval table at goodwill. I'm thinking of painting it yellow for some fun...)

Here are some other shots

I had the picture frame that I made out of $.29 scrap wood. It was in my livingroom, blue, but needed to go elsewhere, so I changed to color and put it out here

It's not actually hung crooked - that's just the shot :)

Chalkboard Wall

 

This long wall is something that I stare at from my kitchen.

And after losing phone numbers scribbled on random scraps of paper (among other things) I decided that this area would make the ideal chalkboard wall.

 

For functional reasons, but also because I wanted to paint the rest of the room white, and would a black wall in a white room make such nice contrast?

 

Here is how it turned out:

 

 

The photo doesn't do it justice. It looks really nice and bright and crisp.

The yellow chair is my "time out" chair.
I honestly believe in appropriate spankings for disobedience.

However, there are many times that my children don't directly disobey, but have an attitude issue.

That is when we use the yellow chair. With the fruits of the spirit written above, the kids can reflect on their lack and as Jesus for some of His. For example, "God I really don't like my brother right now - can you please give me love and patience?"

 

I picked up this frame off the curb. It had fake flowers glued all over it - but I pulled them off and have happily loved the frame ever since. I really do love it. I remember telling Sylvain one night "If our house burned down tonight the only thing I would take with us is that frame. Everything else can be replaced. But not that frame. It's my favorite. It goes in any room."

 

He said I was crazy.

 

He also said I was crazy the day he came home to a half-finished black wall.

"I don't like it at all," he informed me.

 

I wasn't convinced yet. He doesn't imagine the unseen very easily. So I didn't take it personally. The next day once I had added chalk and accessories, he came to me on his own accord. "I guess I do like it after all. It's rather nice actually."

 

I have been pleased with it visually (especially in the big room as a whole... hopefully I'll add another photo soon to show you). But I'm especially pleased with the function. I can write whatever I want, and I'm not going to lose a phone number... nor my menu... nor the topics we need to discuss at family meeting... I can leave a note for the babysitter, and I can write 911 on the wall because Tristan is always nervous that he wont remember it in an emergency if mom falls off her ladder and he needs to get help for me! :)

Dining Room "Hutch"

Not sure the exact word for this built-in. I think it served as a wine cooler and bar area for the previous owner. You can see it in the left side of this photo.

My first step was to remove the glass shelves and add in a wood one. Then, in the door where the wine fridge had been, I created several shelves and we store all of our games here. The kids can get their own games and sit at the table, and I like the convenice of it. But here is a better "before" photo.

 

And this is my original after:

 

 

I used a washable crayola marker and wrote Psalms 1 on the back of the wall.

 

But when I painted the dining room a washed gray, I stuck with a simple solid background

 

 

In the basket is our storage for all the birthday, christmas, wedding invitation, graduation, and other cards that we get in the mail.

 

At meal time we pick a card out of the basket and pray for that person.

 

Then we throw the card away.

 

It gives us a chance to revisit a card at least once before tossing it, and actually connecting with that individual person as a family.

 

I like this tradition :)

 

 

 

Dining Room

Our Realtor was pessimistic about formal dining rooms. He would point out that they were unused the majority of the time, and would function better as an office or a playroom.

But I was fairly confident that I wanted a traditional dining room.  A place for family meals and guests. A place for arts and crafts and board games.

And we use our dining room table continually.

Here is a before photo, of the previous owner:

 

And another view

 

 

In the end, all that was left was the light fixture - which I really disliked. I took apart the sconces on the wall, removed the glass, and painted them black. Those I could live with.

 

 

 

Above is how the shiny gold and green glass sconce looked before

 

You can see in the background of the photo below how it looks when it's black and without the glass.

And yes, changing the overhead light fixture was a splurge. It was about $250. But I justified this expense because the table itself was free.

 

I got it off the curb. It was solid wood, but a little wobbly because one slat was missing from the leg bar. But that was an easy fix, and then it became a sturdy thing.

 

I painted it with a "liquid sandpaper primer" and then a sample paint, and then a sealer.

 

 

 

So this was how the house looked when we moved in. The light fixtures really helped change the room...

But about a year later I painted the family room, and the black chalkboard wall in the living room, and then this gold color just made the house look like a bumble bee.

So it got a paint job too.

I used three shades of gray and kind of wash brushed it on, to give it more of a soft aged restoration hardward feel. I meant to go over it with a glaze in the end, but after painting the whole room with a brush, I had too much life to catch up on, and the glaze has never happened yet. Maybe one day.

 

 

The lighting for this camera lens is rough... hopefully I can add clearer photos one day.

 

 

 

The Paris art on the wall was 80% off at Hobby Lobby. It matched my chairs so well that I felt like it really ties the room together. I still have a few changes to make in the room, but it's serving its purpose happily in the meantime.

Family Room

I hesitated to post because my camera, though I'm good friends with it, simply does not enjoy indoor low-light situations. And I couldn't capture my family room the way it feels in real life. But, unless I get a new camera soon, this is it:

First the Before:
(Previous Owner)

 

And the other side of the room

 

 

When we first moved in, I had white microfiber couches, that I didn't like, but I made the best of it. The black shelf unit was $15 at a garage sale. The coffee table was another garage sale item, and the side table another (that one was $0.25) The quilt, my aunt made as a wedding gift. The throw pillows (blue ones) were sweater pillows that I got with a coupon/sale. $4. I was happy about that purchase, but after a few month decided that sweater pillows got nubby and snagged really quickly in our house. Not a good fit.

 

This worked for some time. I was looking on craigslist for a sectional, right price, right shape, right style, right condition... the biggest issue I had was scale. I wanted something so big that it would be the only furniture needed for the room. Simple and to the point. And I finally found one. So I listed these microfiber couches on craigslist, sold them later that day, got the new sectional, and painted the room. (Unfortunately now I have a low-light situation for the following photos...)

I switched my dinning room and living room rugs, added some paint to my coffee table, and changed the yellow wall paint to a warm gray. It transformed the feel of the room from cozy cottage to more of a contemporary casual, comfortable sophistication.

The dresser was one I had as a little girl. It's had a lot of paint over it's lifetime. The TV was a wall model clearance from Walmart. The photos above are square mirrors, $5 each, so cheaper than frames, with the pictures modpodged on. The side built-in I really do like. I put birch branches in the background, and added shelves (it used to be an open space that housed speakers). However, Im struggling a with how to stage it. Right now the top baskets hold our library books, and it's a functional area. One day I'll find the right shapes and scale to use it properly.

This used to be the hall area when I first moved in (back when it was yellow and country looking and I simply needed to use what I had and make it look good until I could paint)

And this is the more modern look, now that I have gray paint on the walls:

 

Once more my old couch set:

 

 

The bright light and yellow DOES look happy. The gray is actually really happy too - just bad lighting when I took the pictures!!!

Well, I'm very happy with the changes to our family room. I've enjoyed having a gray/brown color palette that carries into the dinning room as well and links the two rooms nicely. And we've really been enjoying family movie nights on the big sectional. And it does help keep the room simple, not too busy and cluttered with a lot of furniture.

Goodnight!

A Bedroom for a Girl

My dad and mom work with exchange students. My mother told me about a special girl who loved the Lord and hoped to be with a family who would be involved in church. I told my mom, "She sounds like a good fit for our family..." and everything fell into place. Since we have such young kids, I didn't plan on having a teen in the mix for a while. But this girl didn't sound like a difficult addition, and indeed, like she will add sunshine to wherever God leads.

Our guest room was functional storage with a bed. I decided it needed to be more welcoming, and that it would be so fun to add some girly touches into a room (for a change!). Here is the before picture (back when it was a home gym for the previous homeowner).

 

Here is when I stuck furniture in it when we first moved in (complete with an extra toddler bed for our guests with friends)

 

 

We added a bed that we had, and a wooden headboard that someone gave us. The headboard was wood, but I had painted it offwhite for our orignial guest area. However, having a teen girl come inspired me to make it a bit more fun, so I added some white stripes and polkadots.

 

 

I still need to make throw pillows that have the green accent color. The art over the bed I've had for a while. Someone had given me the wooden flat trays years ago, and I had painted a tree on them. My quick update for using them here was to repaint the frames gray to tie it into the rest of the area.

 

Here is a closer photo of the white accents (and magic marker) on the bedknob.

 

 

 

A girlfriend gave me this lightswitch plate when I was a teen. I've used it ever since - loving the little fun detail it adds to a room. My motherinlaw gave me the chalkboard cat - which the boys enjoy decorating from time to time.

 

 

 

Can you guess what my bedspread is?

 

A straight-out-of-the-package shower curtian from Target! Much cheaper option than a real coverlette. I might add some edging in the future, we'll see. One day I want a sewing machine.

  

 

 

This is the desk area. I painted a desk and piano bench to match each other. The desk had a crack across the bottom of one drawer. It functioned fine, but made an obvious line. That was my inspiration to make intentional lines, so I added white stripes. Here is a detail photo of the cracked drawer (which looks normal now that it has a stripe!)

 

 

I antiqued everything so that I didn't have to worry about wear and tear. It'll just look natural this way.

 

 

 

The E is for our student's name. I added a cut out bird to and painted the whole thing gray, with a bit of black rubbed edging.

 

 

These frames were on clearance for $2 at Michaels (and cheaper for the smaller sizes!) so I picked up several. I cut an old cork board to fit, and added a ribbon to cover the seam. So here is my bullitan board. I pulled fake flowers off their steams to decorate the pushpins.

 

 

The clipboard got a modgepodge treatment with a typewriter piece of scrapbook paper. It's super hard to see, but I ordered a pen cup that attatches to the wall. Keeps the clutter up, instead of in your way. It's fun. I also painted the mini-dressmaker gray so that it fit more with the room. (It used to be olive green and gold)

 

 

And I printed off a horse off google images to add another personal touch for our exchange girl, since she likes horses.

 

 

These paperclips where so fun, that I bowled them into the room as a little touch of my green.

 

The chairs were a project my mom did with me. I want them in my livingroom eventually, but until then, they work well to "store" here. The verse sign was 90% off at Hobby Lobby, but I want to move it and put a coat and backpack hook there instead (and frame the hooks with my fun cut outs)

 

The rug was an answer to prayer too. It's from Lowes. We had a giftcard from a faulty product and so this was a free rug. It was something I wanted to add into the room (warmth for the floor) but didn't want to spend $ on, so I asked God for one, and He arranged this for free. Nice.

 

Overall, I used mostly what I had, or things that were given to me (like the curtians). The fabric on the chairs I bought, and the shower curtain, and a few details, but the room came together on a small budget. I'm not totally finished, but it's at least a more welcoming teen room!

 

We can't wait to me the person who is going to be living here! Less than one month...