Summer, Senior, and Schooltime!

I need to start taking even FIVE minutes just to record our history, haha!  Things happen so fast around here.

Vacation! At the Liberty Bell..Carter needed to see it again!! : )

Catch up: Clay will be a SENIOR!  We already had senior pictures last week. (!!!)  Mary Claire will be a junior, got her drivers license this week!  We made a quick trip to Kansas City on Monday.  Ethan will be in sixth grade, and he and Ches went to Cleveland last week for a father-son trip to the National Sports Collectors' Convention.  Carter will be in first grade, and he's ready for school to start!  He's been riding his own bike, and he's up to 4-5 mile trips!  Talk about some calves.. : )

The Senior.

We're also inviting an exchange student to live with us through the school year!  Marta will be with us till next summer, and we're excited!  She's from Italy, and she'll probably teach us more than we'll teach her.  She's going to school with Mary Claire, and she will be here Saturday! : )

Gatsby, my great Goldendoodle!

Bulletin board for Marta : )

Our family at the Chicago concert for Father's Day!

Grab a camera!!  They are loving on vacation!! : )

Chestnut Hill, PA.  Lovely.

Bike ride to Chick-Fil-A!  Only 17 miles, and 95 degrees! : O

I have been decorating for a couple families, and we moved some furniture into the youth house at church!  It was fun, I got some stuff for it on Monday at IKEA!! : )  Here is some progress on a budget:

Furniture, and the coolest light from IKEA! : )

She's officially a driver!! : )  Hooray!!

Hope your year is full of fun too!  Hugs and prayers as you send your littles (and bigs!) off to school! : ) Woohoo!

Decorating, Serving, and Pumping!

Finished Natalie's room redo..a few weeks ago!  Such a sweet room for a growing young lady.  

Here are the highlights:

Natalie's Bed-soft pink shabby ruffles, white fur, gray velvet, and a current tapestry from Target.  We used her mom's beautiful white pearl painted iron bed.  A custom chalkboard from @inthepinesco topped it off!

Target wood lamp, brass nailhead linen shade, moss ball, and mirrored frame with a note from her mom.  And a cutesy brass rhino to oversee drinks on the nightstand!

Cleaned off bulletin board to start fresh, a mirror to check before she leaves in the morning, and some fun art.

PomPoms in the corner

Cleaned and calmed her desk.  A new brass lamp, clear chair with faux fur, and storage for pens, books, and folders.

In the opposite corner are her television, art, frame, and wood tray for jewelry and change..and new drapes!

And..the perfect gray chair with velvet pillow.  And of course, she's a Daughter of the King, so I hung it to remind her..when she's dressing for her day.

Here are the before pictures:

She had a great room, she was just growing out of brights.  So..I calmed, cleaned and cleared for her.  Her original budget was $500 for expenses, and I gave her some options-and we ended up at $599 for bedding, drapes, lamps, chair, and decor.  Labor was ten hours (shopping/installation).  It was an honor to create a new space!

Hope you are enjoying your spaces.  I've had a couple more opportunities to decorate..I can share them next time. : )  Here is some of what we've been doing:

Balloon Arch for HarBer's Winter Homecoming!  It only took us about 2 hours..we're getting soo much better, ha!  Wait till you see the one we're working on for a walk..we made an arch so we don't have to use helium!

Clay and Mary Claire have new pumps (Medtronic 670G) with sensors.  This KT Pro tape keeps them on for a WEEK!  (washable, breathable, flexible, and helps move the interstitial fluid around underneath for amazing blood sugar readings!)

Monogrammed treat jars for the priests for Valentine's Day <3 td="">

Ethan earned his Arrow of Light and bridged to Boy Scouts!

We packed meals for Feed My Starving Children sponsored by Tacos4Life-I think our group packed around 30 boxes of 36 meals each!)  We were racing the entire time (and measuring and quality checking!).  Good stuff.

Hope you've had an adventure-filled year, and you're ready for SPRiNG!  Happy Holy Week, we're almost there, friends.  Hugs!

What a Dish!

Whew!  Today was great.  We had our JDRF photo shoot for our gala.  Our theme is Run for the Roses, and it's a Kentucky Derby theme!  All the little (and big) kids were decked out in their derby best.  I mean adorable little boys in seersucker and girls in flowers, flowy dresses, and HATS!

Group Picture outside!

Upstairs inside the Barn

Inside one of the horse stalls : )

Mary Claire went in a mint dress with an ivory cotton lace overlay.  It had a little mint leather bow belt..so cute!  We really looked for an ivory or mint fascinator (since she won't wear a hat!!), and we got a cute ivory one at Dillard's with a tiny bit of pink on it.  I thought she looked darling darby prep in the pink sweater with the mint..but she said no.  And then her daddy backed her up, hmph!  My fashion gurus.

I told her if she kept that sassy face up, I'd use these pictures.  So..I told you so, Sissy!

Pretty. : )  She got her hair highlighted on Monday.  A big girl first.  *Tear*

Happy now that pictures are all done!  And she got the sweetest coke float Friend necklace from Ashley!  Love  her and her sisters!! : )

Anyway, they were all adorable.  They seemed to loosen up a little after the big group shots. I think they all felt Sunday-stiff at first and a little awkward around each other. ; )  We were at Pratt Place Inn and Barn (so beautiful!) (except the horse poop), and did the group shots out by a fence..I totally would've gotten the huge red barn in the shots (but they didn't ask me).  We also did some inside at the end of the barn where there are a couple staircases converging and turning.  Then we did individual shots.  We stayed until some friends got their turn..last.  It was fun, we went to get some lunch while we waited on their turn. ; )  The girls were SO sweet!!  I only wish I'd gotten pictures of them at Chick-Fil-A!

I'm making slow progress on the house.  I'm happy with it, and it is starting to feel like home.  Thank Goodness! : )  We have a lawn!  And landscaping now after several shopping trips to local nurseries, deliveries, and lots and lots and lots of plants.  The first three days were a total of 89 plants and trees.  Talk about a lot of dirt-digging.

The pool is all filled and sparkly.  The fence is finally up! (and the trampoline, hooray!)  We are waiting on the city to come and do our final inspection for the pool, so we can take down the permit and signs out front.  I think that's our last hurdle.  Well..we need to get our seasonal meter hooked up for the irrigation so they can make sure it all works..but that'll be after our last hard freeze.  Which could be a while!  We just had another 2" of snow yesterday!!  Good grief.  We have THE weirdest weather.  Especially for the South.

We went with a four foot fence, and iron.  Ches wanted to see the (scrubby) trees and the view behind us.  Clay got a gate to walk over to the creek way back behind us.  He is keeping it busy!

But all those flowers I planted?  Gorgeous!!  The daffodils are waning, the hyacynths are amazing (albeit strong-smelling), and the tulips are budding.  Love!  (..except when I need to open my front door.  The smell kinda hits, and I get all sneezy.  I have to even tell the Collier's Pharmacy delivery man to step inside since I have to hurry and shut the door!)  (Sorry Fed Ex!!) 

I have been working on the drapes in the dining room.  I think I showed you my fabric a long time ago.  (December, maybe?)  I finally have three of them hanging up.  I then jumped to another little project..plates!  I have been really wanting some plates to hang in there.  I thought the navy would just sing with some white or blue and white plates.  I have been scouring flea markets and even Craigslist!  (and can I say that I'm seeing navy EVERYwhere now?  Magazines, catalogs, and online!  Just got my Traditional Home in the mail yesterday..and yep, you guessed, navy blue!)

This is the layout I decided on..I still have four more to hang!

The white collection : )

First, I planned one huge grouping..but then realized I didn't have a wall big enough!  So..I broke them down into an all-white grouping and a blue/white grouping.  I am using these really cool plate hangers this flea market lady (ok, that sounds bad.  She doesn't have fleas..she works/owns it) told me about!  They stick to the back of the plate (after a good wash, wetting and sticking them, and then letting them shrink-dry all night!)..and they don't chip the plates or show from the front!  Only thing is..they are $4 each.  I think it's kinda steep for a hidden sticky pad.  But that's me.  I guess if the plates don't fall off the wall..and my Johnson Brothers plates don't bust that's worth it!  (ok, I have no knowledge of plates, but this lady kept telling how valuable and important they were!)

And I finally got that beautiful gray rug out of its packaging.  It's open, in place, and I really love it.  I feel like it's finally starting to come together.  I also got a call yesterday, and the furniture I ordered is on a truck headed this way.  (Yippee!!)  It'll be delivered on Wednesday morning.  I hope I'm all ready.  I need to move some stuff out of the way..and decide where things will go!  Green chairs upstairs!  Upstairs chairs gone!  Kitchen table-find a new spot!  Kitchen Chairs-need a new home!  Etc.!)

Did I tell you my barstools finally came too?!  I *love* them!!  But a little too much.  They have white slipcovers..and I don't really want anyone to sit in them.  Except I did once..but I was very careful..and didn't eat.  (Tiny problem for my roudy fam of six.  Maybe I just need a break-in period.)  (As of 3/17, Ethan has now christened them.  With fruit punch.)

Oh..and I should mention that the Apple iPhone 5S is super breakable.  I got a new one last week (thank goodness I bought the insurance!).  And..Friday the new one shattered.  I know..Suck City.  I called them all weepy again.  And/But..get this.  First, I can have it replaced four times in my two year agreement (yay!).  Second.  I can't open a new claim until they receive the phone I returned via Fed Ex and close the last claim.  So..I'm razor slicing my finger.  Again.  I even added *fancy* scotch tape over the broken glass so I don't cut my finger..it seems to be a sucker for shards.  I tell you, I'm stylin' with my tape and chippy case.

And I DiD already order a new case (so this might not happen again).  I know this cutesy one I have obviously isn't doing the trick.  I ordered the new one from Lipstick Shades, which is where I got the last good monogrammed Otter Box.  And that old iPhone 4 is still kickin'.  No shatters or anything.  Here is my new design:

I know, cute, right?!  It's sweet, Southern, and ready for SUMMER!!!

I can't wait to see it.  And hold it!  And put it on my newest (third!) iPhone 5s, haha!!!  Let's pray it's my LAST one.  Seriously.  At $49 a claim..I don't want to waste another penny.  I could be buying FABRIC! ; )
 

Just cause you might want to see what I really like for my entryway..but it's still too much for this piece (IMHO).  And I'm not sure I like the hanging down wood in the middle.  I'd really like to be able to put a little bench/stool underneath.

..because no post is complete without my littlest handsomest man!

Hope you are keeping your fingers un-bloody (unless you are checking blood sugar of course..) and your phone in one piece, ha.  (If not..just use Scotch tape..I've heard great things about it!)

Have a great weekend, hugs!

Decorating for Christmas!

Hey ya'll!  I have been a little sick, but pulling through.  I finally got an antibiotic today (since I was starting to have pain in my sinuses!), so I'm hoping to be all better in a few days.  I've slept a lot (yay!), but still got some stuff done.

I have decorated a little (got at least one room done enough, even though I gave up on ornaments!).  Unboxing and unwrapping each individual ornament got tiring...so I did all the kids' ornaments and easy stuff! : )

Here are some pictures of the hearth room!:

This would be Mama Bear's chair..and Baby Bear's chair!

..and Oh, Oh, Oh!! I got my new ivory slipcovers on!  But..now the windows need drapes. ; )

Oh.  You can't see any Christmas decorations in the dark of the shelves.  haha, oh well! : )

Well, the bottom is heavily decorated..but the top got to be too much for me!  ..And I got a few presents wrapped tonight! ; )

I also got a new tree on Black Friday!  We had given two away last year (one Ches hated putting together-but it was full and gorgeous, and the other was a 12' prelit, but the upper lights didn't work!).  It was an unbelievable deal (7 foot prelit tree for $39 at JoAnn!), and it was crazy how I got it (they were sold out, but it was returned..so Ta-Da!).  But, we got it home, set it up..And.  I knew why they took it back.  It was a Charlie Brown tree.  The small box should have been a huge clue.  Here it is before:

(sorry for the dark..it was just too much with the lights on!) (umm..I mean too Charlie-Brown-see-through-the-branches-like!)

But after layering tons of berry garlands, feather garlands, and ornaments from the inside to outside..it filled out nicely!  I'll keep it. ; )  Ches really wanted a tree in the front window since we really don't do outside Christmas lights, so this fit the bill.  (This will be the baby room in the future!)

And the last bit of decorating I managed?  A new wreath!  I don't know what I'll do with the old ones-it seems our attic is running out of wreath storage (according to the Facility Manager anyway).  The new thing (well, here anyway) is big wide (almost 2 foot!) ribbon/netting stuff to use as ribbon.  In fact, some wreaths are ALL netted ribbon stuff.  But..I had a new wreath, so I just added to it.  A big sign, some big red jingle bells, balls, red poinsettias, and a red bird finished it off.  Easy peasy.  Here it is now:

I prefer the Happy Holly Days spelling, but I love that it sounds like my name. ; )  I *love* Merry Christmas, but love to hear my name too. : )

Ok, that's as far as I've gotten.  I'll keep working..there are still so many Christmas tubs sitting all around.  I have to finish so we can have our floor space back! ; )

ps-Are you getting ready for Christmas?  Have you shopped?  Don't forget to buy for someone you don't know : )  There are families that need help, and food pantries need to be filled up!  There should be drop off locations at your church, and even at radio or tv stations, grocery stores, and your local schools! ; )

pps-And..don't forget to leave a comment for another chance to win the monogrammed kitchen hand towel giveaway!  I'll announce the winner tomorrow night after 9pm!  : ) I want to give something to YOU! ; ) Hugs!