The Heart

Discovery

2011-09-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

I discovered two things today...

The first thing I have discovered is the Children's Clothing Exchange in Cordova, TN. Today is the first public sale day and I wanted to go while there was stuff to get. The first day of a consignment sale is always the best day to get the best clothes, shoes, and toys. (The private sale that is only open to consignors and volunteers is the very best, but you have to consign or volunteer in order to shop on those days.) When you go on the first day, you sacrifice the amazing 1/2 price deals in order to get a better selection. The 1/2 price sales usually happen on the last day of the sale and then you get whatever is left. I recommend, when you're just learning about consignment, that you go on the first day of a sale at least once and on the last day at least once. That way you can see the difference and decide what is best for you. Some people go to the same sale twice to get selection and great deals. (Really, everything is a deal when you are getting unworn or softly worn clothing for 10%-25% of retail prices.)

Back to the specific topic at hand... I have been to quite a few consignment sales, but this one (Children's Clothing Exchange) had the best selection I have seen so far. They had super cute clothes! They also had lots of designers and name brands. The prices are a little higher than your typical consignment sale, but that is because the original retail prices are much higher on this type of clothing, so the percentage stays about the same. I would definitely recommend this consignment sale. Oh, by the way, they have clothes all the way up to juniors sizes. I saw some super cute dresses and other clothes that I totally would have been into if I were a size 0 or 2. =)

My second discovery: This awesome website with tons of hair, makeup, and other beauty tips. I love all the tutorials. Lauren Conrad has many tutorials for hair and makeup on the website. LC is one of the three main contributors for content on the website. Check it out! http://thebeautydepartment.com/

i do

2011-08-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I did my first wedding shoot. It was thrilling... and hot. =) I loved working with the couple (they are so laid back... and in love... and that's the best!). We shot most of the photos (everything except for the ceremony) outside in 100+ degree weather. The bride was such a trooper. Can you imagine trying to look gorgeous... in a wedding dress... in that weather? Not easy. She was so sweet in spite of everything! The photos in the heat brought back memories of my own wedding five years ago (unbelievable that it's been 5 years already... and I'm still so happy) since we were married outdoors at the end of July. HOT! In spite of the heat, they were happy, and in spite of the heat, I had so much fun taking photos. This is something I love doing! So here are some of my favorite photos from the wedding:

Did I forget to mention how beautiful her dress was??? I LOVED it!

My dad also photographed the wedding with me and took some amazing photos. I only have mine posted here, but I need to get everything up online. My lil sis, Hosanna, was also incredible with her assistance and inspiration. She's my little muse. She always gives me the greatest ideas. I loved working with both of them!

Memphis Area Consignment Sales Fall 2011

2011-08-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I did a list of consignment sales in the Memphis area, and it seemed to be helpful. So here is an updated list. My Keeley is outgrowing everything and needs "mover-friendly" clothing since she is crawling everywhere and has even started pulling up to standing position at the couch! Dresses just aren't cutting it since she continually gets her little knees caught in them. I'm going to have to hit up some sales soon! I had a good experience consigning at some of the later sales, but it was a lot of work, so I may skip it this go around and try it again a little later. =)

July 22-24, 2011

Mommy's Secret Consignment

Southaven, MS

http://www.mommyssecret.com/

July 28-30, 2011

KidsTown Kids Consignment

Memphis, TN

http://www.consignkidstown.com/

August 5-6, 2011

Oh Baby! Consignment Event

Southaven, MS

http://www.ohbabysale.com/

August 5-6, 2011

Everything for Kids Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.everythingforkidssale.com/

August 13-September 5, 2011 (see website for details)

Kiddie Land Consignment

Cordova, TN

http://www.kiddielandconsignment.com/

August 17-20, 2011

Emmanuel Children's Clothing Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.emmanuelclothingsale.org/dates.html

August 19-20, 2011

Sycamore View Children's Clothing Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.svccs.com/CurrSale.htm

August 25-27, 2011

Germantown United Methodist Consignment

Germantown, TN

http://www.germantownumc.org/index.php/site/page/241/1/156

August 26-27, 2011

Highland Clothing Sale

Cordova, TN

http://highlandclothingsale.com/

September 9-10, 2011

Faith Baptist Consignment

Memphis, TN

http://www.faithclothingsale.com/curriculum.html

September 15-18, 2011

Children's Clothing Exchange

Memphis, TN

http://glossonchildrensconsignment.com/

Inspiration

2011-07-16T22:50:00.001-07:00

I haven't been feeling very inspired lately. And I have been traveling a lot. So my blog has probably been feeling neglected and I haven't done a lot of crafty projects. I'm sure I'll get into the mood again at some point. But I must warn you that I kind of have ADD when it comes to doing projects. Oh, I'll finish a project, but I will move on to something else as soon as it is done. I like to constantly be trying new things. Creativity doesn't have to be limited to painting and crafting and decorating. Creativity is a way of thinking.

Not that I think I'm super creative. My best creativity happens when I am improving something that someone else started. But I think you can be creative in business management, in writing, in photography, in job searches, in relationships, and much more. Every part of life has a perspective that you have not yet considered. You can even be creative with your mood. When I was traveling recently, I was kinda grumpy because of the wait at the airport. I had to be a little creative to find the good side of things. It helps. You get to be thankful and happy... even when you feel like you have every right to complain.

Mike and I (and baby Keeley) went to Boston and New York last weekend. It was a long and busy trip, but we had a good time and I had some wonderful experiences. I love color, so I decided to look for color through the lens of my camera. Here's a collage of some of the colors I found on my trip.

And here are some other (some less colorful) photos I took.

In Boston:

And New York City:

Now that I'm back home, I'm trying to settle back into normal life. But it's hard. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that my problems are small in comparison to the problems that others have. Some days, the enormous problems of others are all I can think about... and I worry a lot. But I am learning to cast my cares upon the Lord, for He cares for me. (1Peter 5:7)

2011-06-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Before I knew that this little guy would be a boy, I was excited about the prospect of ruffles, bows, lace, and other types of adornment. And when I found out I was going to have a little boy, I also found out that...

there's not much cute stuff out there for little boys.

So now that I have a little girl and have started making things for babies and little children, I am trying to take little boys into consideration (or rather, I'm taking the mommies of little boys into consideration). I recently posted a bunch of new items to my Etsy shop and I'm even giving ebay a try. We'll see how it goes. Here are some photos of my handsome baby boy burp cloths:

Sometimes David feels a little left out with all the Keeley hair bow excitement, so I told him I'd make him something. I'm thinking that bowties are at the top of my list for this reason. So, hopefully I'll have some of those added to the shop before long too. I have already made a bunch more items, but I'm trying to pace myself for posting things to Etsy.

Also, I may have posted a link to this blog once before, but I just checked out the shop associated with the blog today and I LOVE it! Such unique and CUTE stuff! Check it out for yourself: {pretty little things}.

New York and Staying Busy

2011-06-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

So, after that last post, I decided to get busy. I figured out how to make a couple of new types of flowers, and also made some ruffly/appliqued burp cloths. Two of the cloths are for Keeley, and I'm thinking I will use some as gifts, but I also plan to sell some in my shop. I made some for both boys and girls. In the last couple of days, I made 11 of these flowers:

9 burp cloths like this, but 6 still need embellishment:

I finished a bunch of satin flowers and made some headbands like this one:

Also made this type of flower and put them on headbands/clips:

So all in all, a decent amount got done... and I had fun doing it!

We just got back from vacationing in Breckenridge, Colorado this past week and now, I just found out that I get to go to Boston and New York the first part of July!!! Mike has to visit Boston for work stuff, and so we plan to extend the stay and make a mini sight-seeing tour of it. I am super excited because I've never been to either place. Boston is supposed to have a really cool sailing culture, which I love (I think), and New York... do I even have to explain? Food, music, shows, shopping, history, and much, much more. I'm gonna get to see how part of the rest of the world lives, and that always excites me! I hope I come back with inspiration from that part of the world.

More items to be posted to my Etsy shop soon! Over and out for now!

Losing

2011-06-22T20:42:00.001-07:00

Each morning, I look at myself in the mirror and smile a little satisfied smile... But by evening, I am kicking myself. When I got pregnant, I planned to workout constantly during the pregnancy, so I wouldn't have as much to work off this time (second baby). Not so much... pregnancy is hard... and working out while I am pregnant is even harder. So that leaves me with a 50+ pound gain during pregnancy. Granted, I lost some of it in the form of a baby (yay! she is such cute weight loss!), but I still have a lot to go. A couple of months after Keeley was born, I realized (for certain) that the weight wasn't going to go away on its own... at least not on my timetable, so I decided to work out. The problem is, when you have two kids (one breastfeeding), working out isn't very practical (unless you are uber-rich and can afford to have a live-in nanny). I tried Zumba at a local church for a while, but it was just so stressful to try to get there at a certain time and make sure that Mike was home in time to watch the kids. So, instead of the gym, or even jogging, I decided to give the ol' workout video a try. And guess what? It works. I started with a set of four DVD's from Target called "Dancercise" and progressed to this:

I have never loved working out, but I LOVE dancing. This gives me that feel of dancing, along with the sweating and sore muscles (that I don't love). I have also been using a workout on Hulu for some strength training (from Self magazine... something about getting a bikini ready body). I had lost 20+ pounds at my 6 week check-up, and I've lost about 20 since then. I guess it's going.

My method is not quite as dramatic as the HCG diet that a lot of people I know have tried, but I can't do that while I'm breastfeeding anyway. That HCG diet is super effective! I hear it's based on a homeopathic recipe (take some drops along with some method of lowering calories/eating certain types of food), and my friends have lost dozens of pounds each. Crazy! Perhaps I'll give it a try one of these days.

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. We went on vacation for a week (last week), and I haven't been able to get myself into a routine for getting creative things done. Grrr! I have to pull myself together so I can feel like I am using my time well!

Over and out for now. I'll report back again soon with some crafty or creative thing I've worked on (hopefully!).

Autumn & Kevin Engagement Photos

2011-06-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I took engagement photos for some friends. I am still learning, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out. Of course, as soon as I think I'm doing alright, I go look at some other blog (like this one) and see ahh-mazing photos that blow me away. I'll just have to keep in mind that there is always so much higher to aspire. The session was really fun. The couple are super laid back and we just enjoyed the day. The plan was to get out in the morning light, but we got started a bit later than what would have been ideal, so we were battling the *too-bright* sun. Those contrasts between shadow and bright sun are hard to deal with. We just stayed in the shade for the most part and used a reflector to get some light on their faces. Here are some of my favorite photos:

This weekend, we did a garage sale. I failed to take photos, but suffice it to say that I am GLAD it is over. It was worth it, but it was a LOT of work. No more garage sales at our house until at least next year! One of the awesome things about it is that I got to clean out my house. We actually have space to walk now and everything seems bigger. Yay big, clean house!

Over and out for now!

Baby in a Bag

2011-06-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

My mom had this great idea to put my baby girl in her bag and let me take some photos. Here's how they turned out:

I also had the opportunity to make a headband for the birthday of a friend of my sister's. Here it is:

I love it! I think I'm going to do something similar and put it in my shop.

Recently, I also had the opportunity to take some engagement photos for friends. I hope to post a few before long... but have to let the bride take a look first!

Over and out for now.

A Few Favorites

2011-05-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

These are bad because they're SO good. Seriously, don't try them unless you want to be addicted. ;-)

I'm bringing you four of my favorite blog/website finds this past week.

Beautiful photographer's blog

Deanna Green Photography

Tons of tutorials for sewing projects. I am gonna have to try some of these (in my spare time).

Sew, Mama, Sew

Virtual interior designer

Holly Mathis Interiors

Crafty mommy blog

John & Carol Show

And of course, my new favorite... my Etsy shop! I'm so excited that it's open and I made my first sale! Yay!

Thank you to all of our soldiers and their families on this Memorial day. I am so very thankful for the sacrifice of so many that allows us to have the freedoms and the strength in our nation. May the Lord bless those that have sacrificed their lives, their time, and their family members for this cause.

What I've Been Up To

2011-05-28T01:24:00.000-07:00

My Etsy Shop is now open!

Check it out!

My Etsy Shop

Pineapple Boats

2011-05-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

This project is a fun thing I learned from an incredible friend of mine, Irma. Enjoy!

First, here's what you need:

A large pineapple, a medium-sized, serrated knife, a smaller, pointy, serrated knife, and a cutting board.

Cut the pineapple in half, lengthwise.

Be sure to cut the top as well.

It will look like this when you're through with this part:

Then cut each piece in half, lengthwise, like this:

I usually score the top first in order because it's hard to get this cut straight. Remember to continue your cut through the top green part of the pineapple.

When you are finished with that part, you should have four pieces, like this:

Now, use your smaller, pointy knife and insert it under the core (harder center part) of the pineapple like this:

Make your cut down the length of the core.

Now turn your knife so that the blade is pointing the other direction (back where you started that cut)...

and continue to cut so that the fruit is separated from the outside peel

Here's what it will look like when you are done with that part. Now the pineapple fruit (the part you eat) should be completely separated from the core and peel. You could remove it at this point if you wanted... but don't remove it yet!

Now use your pointy knife to cut straight down, starting under the core

It should look like this once you've done the whole piece:

Finally, you just separate the pieces, pushing them out halfway, alternating.

That's it, you're done! You may want to do a test run before you take this to a party so that you can practice your knife skills. And by all means, please be careful and don't cut yourself!!!

Dedication

2011-05-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

ded-i-cate

(-verb, used with object):

to devote wholly and earnestly, as to some person or purpose

On Mother's Day, we dedicated our baby girl, Keeley Summer, to God. As much as I love my children, I know that God gave them to me and they belong to Him. Which also means that He loves them more than I do. Because I know this, I can trust Him with them. I can trust my loving Father to take care of my children. The dedication service is my way of formally sharing with others that I entrust my child to the care of my Heavenly Father. In light of the recent death of two different friends' children, trusting God with my child is hard. Knowing in my head that He loves my child is one thing, but feeling that He loves my child is another. Sometimes I ask him why He lets little children die or why He lets bad things happen. I haven't sorted all of that out, but I know that His thoughts are greater than mine and that I do not have to understand everything in order to trust Him. That is the faith that my friends are living right now. Still, I choose to trust Him for the best in my life and in my child's life.

I believe that God has a plan for Keeley Summer and for David Russell.

My family came to the service, and my friend Shannon came too! I was so happy almost everyone could make it. (My brother had to work.) I am not a formal person, so I didn't really feel the need for a super-long, white christening gown. But I got her a light-pink, smocked dress. She was so pretty. Unfortunately, no one thought to take photos before or after the service, so all I have are these that were taken at church. (Not the best lighting) I did the best I could to edit them nicely.

Keeley slept through the entire ceremony.

Here is the scripture verse we chose for the ceremony for Keeley:

But this is the one I wanted to do.

Song of Solomon 4:7 ESV

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.

We didn't want people to think that we thought our child was perfect... but here's why I wanted this verse:

I struggle with feelings of inadequacy. I can never do enough or be good enough. I want my daughter {and my son too!} to know that she does not have to be good enough. She just has to recognize that she can never be good enough and accept the gift of forgiveness from Jesus Christ. God sees us as perfect and flawless through the blood of Jesus Christ.

I just read this blog post from my favorite blog (Jones Design Company) about this very subject and it was very touching to me:

In retrospect, I probably would have made a bigger fuss about Keeley's dedication if I had more time. It would have been neat to get photos and throw a luncheon at my house afterwards. But you can't do everything (still a lesson I'm learning).

Time for bed!

Favorite Finds This Week

2011-05-23T00:18:00.001-07:00

Again, this week has been busy... and this weekend, even crazier. Though it is after 2am, I am still considering this Sunday... and posting favorite finds for THIS week. ;-)

I am limiting it, this time, to my three favorite finds.

This incredibly creative and innovative blog is likely to become one of my favorite reads.

Ideas, thoughts, and cute photos

Alexandra Rose

Creative crafts and ideas

Born-Again Crafter

I hope you enjoy checking out these great blogs! Hopefully, by limiting it to three, you won't be overwhelmed by too much to read. I ran across some other good blogs, so if you want those links too, just let me know and I'll get you the info.

I am currently working 2-3 days per week (depending on the week), raising two children, starting a little Etsy business (hopefully it will be up soon), and doing photography... that's why I haven't been able to post as much as I would like. As soon as things slow down, I hope to do more projects and have more interesting thoughts to share!

Have a great night everyone... and try not to stay up too late. ;-)

Plotting and Pondering

2011-05-18T22:32:00.001-07:00

As you can see, I have a new header. I figured it was time for something more customized than the standard Blogspot deal, so here is what I designed. It was actually my husband's idea to emphasize the "art" part of heart and I am really happy with how it turned out. =) I also designed a button to go along with it, so if you have a blog, you can add me to your page now! Yay!

I am working to open an Etsy shop soon, but I am getting my products ready and working out all the little details before I get it open. I will post a link just as soon as I get things up and running. I will be selling my little headbands and flowers and hopefully some cute prints as well. Here are a couple of photos:

My adorable baby girl is modeling for me here.

I have also started a Pinterest account and you can check out all the eye candy that I have been collecting for the past week or so. Pinterest is like a visual collection of all your favorite things. Check out my pinboards here.

One thing I noticed as I have been collecting pins is that it seems like there are only 9-12 visual representations of women's interests on Pinterest... in the form of pinboards. Perhaps it is because those are the pinboards suggested to you when you join, but I have a feeling that maybe it is because we all have a lot of the same interests. I see boards for:

home decorating

food/desserts/baking

beautiful places we'd like to be or visit

fashion/clothing

photography

art

words/sayings/quotes

DIY Projects

Parties and celebrations

Perhaps those are just very broad categories or perhaps they are most easily represented visually. Anyway, I mentioned it to my husband as an interesting item and he responded that men also only have a few categories of interest. Those might include:

cars

video games

women

food

and ummm.....

Just kidding. My husband has lots and lots of interests... like sailing, bicycling, learning, dancing, garage sale-ing, and much more.

Over and out for now. I'll ponder the interesting things I come across until next time I can share my pondering with you. =)

Favorite Finds LAST Week

2011-05-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

So last week was kinda crazy and I never got around to posting my online finds for your reading pleasure. So here I am posting them for last week. I'll have more for you later this week.

Designer Blog

Nick Olsen

Artsy Fashion Blog

Kelli Murray

Creative lady who provides lots of inspiration.

Recipes, photos, and crafty ideas

Everyday Lovely

Professional looking inspiration and projects.

Lists and ruffles and everything nice.

Bright textiles and project inspiration.

Originate and Renovate

Parties, projects, and print design.

Homey interior design blog.

My Sweet Savannah

The title of her blog says it all.

I'll stop there in order to avoid overwhelming you. If you like blogs, or if you like projects or design, or cooking/baking, check these out. You'll find some great stuff!

Stash

2011-05-14T20:27:00.001-07:00

Stash: A wonderful store full of unique furniture (with personality) at affordable prices. Also, a new favorite of mine. These kind of finds aren't everyday kind of finds! It's so refreshing to find a store that doesn't sell the same, same, same. Check it out...

A nice little armoire. Almost looks like an antique.

Love this sort of rustic table and linen covered chairs. SOLD... bummer.

My mom loves all things red... she would love this furniture set.

And I do dearly love this combo. The poppies POP off the pillow with their peppy color.

Love this artwork.

And this!

Such an elegant display. See all those white chairs in the background? You can choose the style you like best and have it covered with the fabric you like best.

Here is a better photo of some of the styles that are available.

Here is the sign that hangs over the white gaggle of chairs.

Great color green!

More great artwork for your living room.

Gorgeous painted buffet.

Beautiful chair.

More about Stash.

Cool eye chart.

And a beautiful red chair.

Cool concept for a sitting area.

Nice combo.

Their logo says it all.

Check them out at their website or on Facebook.

Broom Corn Fabrics

2011-05-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite fabric store. I just recently visited Broom Corn Fabrics and LOVED it! The people who work there are very friendly and they have some gorgeous stuff. Just look!!!

A cute little piece for your living room or craft room.

These are some adorable monogrammed pillows. Great colors!

They have another style of monogrammed pillow... you choose your fabric and thread color:

and they look like this:

And then there's the fabric! They have a huge fabric room with rolls and rolls of fabric in stock and gobs of fabric samples (so that you can order the fabric).

I love the texture of this one:

This was one of my favorites. Of course, it also cost $160 a yard. But they have a great price range. Most of the things that are in stock are anywhere from $4 a yard (clearance), to $30 a yard.

Cute ikat chair. This pattern is super in.

A nice display in the store.

This is the rack I liked the most... nothing on here was less than $100 a yard. Why, oh why, do I have such expensive taste?

Here is a cute (and more affordable) fabric.

More whimsical pillows for sale.

I loved the colored sewing machine in their window display.

Check it out if you are local! Broom Corn Fabrics at Park Place Center (Ridgeway and Park) 1227 Ridgeway Road, Memphis, TN 38119. (901) 682-6690 bluffcitybroom@bellsouth.net.

Memphis in May

2011-05-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

Every year, there is a huge festival in Memphis called "Memphis in May." We have a music fest the first week in May, a BBQ contest, a sunset river symphony, art exhibits, and much more. We honor a different country each year. This year it was Belgium. It rains at music fest EVERY year and this year was no exception. As a matter of fact, this year, it started raining towards the end of music fest and DIDN'T stop. It flooded Memphis so that they had to move the BBQ contest to a different part of town. These photos are of Tom Lee Park on Riverside Drive, the area where they originally planned to have the festival.

This is one of the parking lots at Tom Lee Park.

My dad took the top photo, I suppose he found a kind bystander to take the second photo (since he's in it, wearing his bicycling gear). You can view more of his incredibly beautiful photos here.

This year, we went to the Memphis in May gala called "Diamonds & Lace." Here are some of the photos from that evening.

This is our table and a copy of the menu. The food was excellent!

Here we are.

Another of the beautifully decorated tables. And check out the scroll work on the walls. This event was held at the historic Peabody hotel in downtown Memphis.

Another photo of the tables. In this one, you can see one of the grand chandeliers.

We had a lot of fun dancing to a live blues band and we got to hear our Mayor A.C. Wharton speak. We even went up and met him afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him talk. He's a very down-to-earth and intelligent man. When I met him, I told him that I had voted for him and how I was glad that I did. Hearing something about someone is one thing, but meeting them in person, you can decide for yourself. I believe I'll be voting for him again this year.

Here is the Belgian flag:

We got to listen to this beautiful Belgian trio, Lais:

I was not aware of this, but the primary Belgian language is French. Since my husband speaks French, he was great at this event!

This weekend, we made it to BBQ fest on Friday night. We went later than I expected, so we didn't get to see everything and I didn't get the photos I would have liked to get, but here are a couple.

There are hundreds of booths. They have a contest for the best BBQ and a contest for the best booth. Pretty incredible creativity and ingenuity goes into building these.

That's all for Memphis in May so far. I'm kind of hoping that we make it to Sunset Symphony again this year, but since the riverside is flooded out, I'm not sure how that's gonna work. They usually have a great band and an incredible air show. We'll see what happens!

Over and out for now. Stay tuned for posts about some new stores I visited (home decorating stores), some photos of artwork I'm doing, and links to great websites I found this week.

A Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

I still have yet to post photos of Keeley's dedication service, but I do have the photos of the cards I made for Mother's Day. Here is one I gave to a dear friend of mine, Tracy.

I created the print on my computer and then printed it off to make the card. Then I made some flower hair clips (tutorial here) and clipped them through the card. That way, Tracy can also use the flowers on a belt, in her hair, on a scarf, etc.

This is the one I made for my mom:

I stayed up way too late the night before Mother's Day, but I had a lot of fun making them. Unfortunately, I didn't get cards out on time for other relatives. Something I have to do TODAY! (Better late than never, I suppose.)

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful children and such an actively supportive family. My mom is truly a blessing to me now and has always been an excellent and beneficial influence in my life. She taught me (along with my dad) to love the Lord and to love others. The two most important lessons in life. Thank you, Mom!

Satin Flowers and Favorite Finds

2011-05-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

This week has been crazy. I have done projects, worked, taken care of kids, gone out, and much, much more. But it's been a good week! This morning, we dedicated Keeley to the Lord and it was so sweet! I'll post some photos later this week. (My dad took a lot of photos and I have yet to get the photos from him.)

Earlier this week, my little sis had her Freshman Prom. I helped her get ready and took some photos. But what I really wanted to show here is the headband that I made for her after I learned how to make satin flowers from this lovely lady's blog tutorial.

I love how it turned out and I LOVE how the photos of her turned out. It's so easy to take good photos when you have a subject this easy to take photos of!

I'm going to try to post some more photos of projects I did this week later on. For now, I'll leave you with some links to blogs I discovered this week.

Designer blog with super cute photos and ideas.

Parlour

Inspiration and design.

Cute crafts and design ideas.

Crafts, tutorials, and great photos!

Inspiration for cute things to make, food info, good photos, etc.

(Going Home to Roost)

Beautiful paper and stationary blog with lots of ideas.

Paper Crave

Over and out for now!

A Paint Party

2011-05-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Some of the girls in my Sunday school class got together to do a paint party. At a paint party, an art teacher comes in and gives a group of people detailed instructions on how to do a painting. We had a great time and the thing I loved about it was hanging out with the girls and seeing how everyone's painting turned out so different, even though we were all doing the same pattern. Here's how it went:

We all got there and dropped our purses in the entryway.

We chatted for a while and then got started on the project. We were each given a blank canvas (textured with spackle), three paintbrushes, and a styrofoam plate with several paint colors.

The goal was to make it look like this:

Of course, we chatted while we worked...

...but we made some progress anyway

We worked...

and worked...

(and chatted some more)

and worked...

to make it look like this:

Everyone's turned out awesome...

and Jenny's cupcakes were super cute too! I heard (sadly, I didn't get to try them) that they had bavarian chocolate filling. (What a nice surprise!)

And here we are... all done! Grrr... my painting is the only one in the photo that got covered. Oh well! I guess you'll never know whether or not I'm a good artist! ;-)

A Spiderman Pillowcase

2011-05-04T20:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, when we went to Hobby Lobby, my son spied this Spiderman fabric. Even though he is three, he is totally loves by superheroes. Spiderman is one of his favorites (evidenced by his Spiderman birthday party). He has been begging me ever since we bought the fabric yesterday to sew his pillowcase. I don't have a sewing machine at the moment, so I borrowed my mom's. The tension was messed up, but my awesome husband spent a little while looking at it and had it whipped into shape.

I started by laying a regular pillowcase on top of the fabric as a guide to cut out the correct shapes. I made sure to leave seam allowances (usually 5/8").

At the top, I also made allowance for the larger seam allowance that looks like this on a regular pillowcase:

I could have cut one long piece of fabric so that I didn't have to sew the bottom of the pillow (just folded it), but my fabric wasn't long enough. So I just cut two pieces (one for each side of the pillow).

Then I ironed the very top down so that there wouldn't be a raw edge at the top of the pillow case on the hem.

I did a second fold and ironed that down (about 3 1/2 inches). Just like the original pillowcase.

I did that to both pieces of fabric. Then I sewed that down.

Finally, I put the laid the fabric together with the outsides of the fabric facing each other (wrong side out), and sewed the three sides. I started by making sure that the top of the pillowcase (where you insert the pillow) was even and sewed the side seam first.

This is what it looked like when it was done.

And this is what my son looked like (except even happier) when it was finished. Super simple project, super happy kid! Totally worth it!

Reupholstery for Beginners (+ books to read)

2011-05-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I spent most of the day at the DMV helping my lil sis, B, get her driver's permit. Yay! She passed the test! Later that evening, I did the following project.

My friend, Christina, suggested a while back that I could reupholster my piano bench for a simple and cute change to my living room. (She has so many great ideas!) I've considered it for a while, but until yesterday, had not found any fabric that I really loved. Below is the before and after. Scroll down to see how I did it.

Before

After

My sisters and I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday afternoon and I found this fabric that I LOVE!

(You'll see a better photo of it at the end of this project.)

Here are the tools I used to recover the piano bench:

I used a philips head screwdriver to take the top off of the hinges. Then I used a flat head screwdriver to loosen the existing staples that were used to upholster it.

Then I used pliers to remove the staples completely.

After I got the original piece of fabric off, I used it to measure and cut out the new piece of fabric.

(I did a lot of this project in my 3 year old's room since he is recently having trouble going to bed in his own room and is comforted to have my husband or me in his room as he goes to sleep.)

Next, I laid the bench top on the upside-down fabric and pulled the center of the fabric over tightly (but not too tight). It is best to do the long side first. I used a staple gun, but unfortunately, I had the wrong size staples, so I struggled getting that part right. I stapled from the center of the fabric to the outside corner in order to avoid any bumps.

This is how I folded the corners.

Then I stapled them down.

And here is the finished product.

I love it!

If anyone has tips on better ways to do things (Like, get the right size staples for your staple gun!) or about how to do more complicated projects, please feel free to share!

I hope that one of my upcoming projects will be to paint the piano and bench in a glossy white paint. My husband isn't completely on board yet because he loves natural wood. But I don't love natural wood most of the time and I think that the white would really brighten up the room. If he is okay with it (it is his home too!), I plan to knock it out quickly.

I recently finished this book that was recommended by a couple of different sources...

and loved it. I passed it along to my sister to read.

Here's a book that I'm currently reading and enjoying.

All of Malcolm Gladwell's books make me think. So far, this one is about extraordinary people and how they become extraordinary. I am hoping that he will share some secrets so I can find my own way to do extraordinary things. I don't want to be afraid to do things that are out of the ordinary. Perhaps this book will help give me courage... or at least some practical ideas.

Tomorrow, I plan to post my pillowcase project that I did tonight!

One Thing at a Time

2011-04-30T17:38:00.001-07:00

One thing at a time...

This is not a lesson I have learned. It means I have a tendency to wear myself out going and going and going... until I crash. Yesterday was a going day. Tomorrow may be a crash day. This post is about what I did yesterday:

We're trying an experiment growing vegetable plants this year. A few weeks ago, my cousin, Paul, brought us a load of dirt in his truck and helped unload it into our backyard for our garden. Yesterday morning, I planted all of our little plants from Home Depot in our small raised bed. I'm sure that's not the best and most cost effective place to get plants, but it was definitely the most convenient. I planted

tomatoes,

a bell pepper,

squash,

zucchini,

cucumber,

cantaloupe,

honeydew,

and watermelon.

I'm a little concerned that they're not gonna make it. I'm not sure there's enough sunlight, some of the plants are too closely spaced, I'm not sure the bed is deep enough, and I'm not entirely sure I'm going to be awesome at weeding the garden. ;-)

After I finished planting the garden, I sanded and spray painted the patio furniture. The people who lived in this house before us left their old patio furniture and it was pretty rough looking. So I decided to give it a face lift.

Here's how it looked before I painted it.

First, I used a steel brush to knock off some of the paint flecks. I also used the scraper on the end of the brush to knock some of the old paint off.

Then I used an old rag to clean and wipe them down.

I used this to paint it. Each one got a different color.

And this is how it turned out. It's not perfect, but it's better. I got the idea to paint them bright colors from my friend Christina. I think it was a great idea.

I ran out of orange spray paint because I tried to paint the back of the chair as a test run... so then I didn't have enough. Planning ahead worked against me this time. Ugh... another run to Home Depot.

When I was finished painting the patio furniture, I put a coat of polyurethane on the coffee table (so we can actually use it now).

And deboned the turkey that I had turned on earlier in the day.

At the end of my busy day, I got to do one of my favorite activities... I went swing dancing!

And no, this is not a recent photo. But it is a fun photo that my friend Misti took... and I love it! Have a great weekend everyone!

My $6 Coffee Table

2011-04-26T16:14:00.001-07:00

This is my $6 coffee table.

And here is how my coffee table looks now:

Let me tell you the story of my $6 coffee table.

I had finally decided that our little ottoman wasn't cutting it as the spot to put plates and cups on in the middle of the living room. Especially considering the fact that we don't have a dining room or kitchen table in our house. (1100 square feet really pushes you to get the things that you're not using out of the house.) Hoping to find a cheap coffee table for $15-$20 that I could refinish, I was keeping my eyes open on craigslist.com, etc. As I was heading to work one day on a Thursday, I spotted a garage sale on the corner with the ideal coffee table in the yard. I only had $6 cash, but I decided to stop anyway on the off chance they'd take a check or something. When I asked the lady how much she wanted for the coffee table, she said "Mmmm, how about $6?" Seriously?! So I bought it.

I was so excited about this little blessing from the Lord. (These are the type of things that remind me that He loves me personally and knows my every desire.)

As I was trying to decide what to do for the refinish, we went to Home Depot where I looked through the paint selection for inspiration. After pulling together a palette of the colors in the room, I decided to tie the coffee table in with the sectional in our living room since I don't have anything else in the room with navy blue in it. This photo doesn't really do the colors justice. Poor lighting, I know.

Here's how the refinishing went:

I started by sanding the table down. It took me about half an hour to do a light sanding so that the table would hold onto the paint.

The next morning, I pulled out the paintbrush and got to work painting.

Once I had put two coats of paints on the table, I taped the border on the inside of the table for the navy blue.

For the design on the middle of the table, I took a template from this lovely lady's blog and traced it out.

I freehanded the painting of the pattern. (Edit: Apparently this was misleading. I meant to explain that I painted over the traced pattern with a paintbrush... I think that free-handing was the wrong word to use.)

And here is the finished product. It usually takes me a while to process things, so I'm still deciding whether or not I like it. =)

A Celebration of Life

2011-04-24T19:31:00.001-07:00

I decided to be rather ambitious this year and host a sit-down lunch for family and friends in my backyard. I pretty much used every piece of silverware, china, and glassware in my house... and still had to borrow some from my mom. But it turned out to be a very nice time.

As we set off for church this morning in our "Easter Best" I was concerned about the threatening rainclouds, but when we left an inspiring Easter service, it had cleared up a bit and the rest of the day turned out to just benefit from the overcast skies (by being cooler).

My goal this year was to have theme that would celebrate life... the first flowers blooming, the baby birds being born, our own lives and the lives of those we love, and the most important life of all... Jesus! I created little cards that look like this to put on the table:

These are the other two little cards I did:

Here's a close up of the table:

I think lilies are my new favorite flower. Too bad they only bloom for about a month each year. There are so many colors and varieties. These grew awry in a quite pleasant way.

I was so busy running around trying to make sure everything was in order that I didn't have time to take pictures. Here's who took a lot the photos. My dad took the rest (including this one).

I had LOTS of candy left after filling little plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt, so I made these for favors:

I made a pink strawberry cake and lemon icebox pie. I asked my sister, B, to make cookies and she made some bea-U-tiful glazed sugar cookies that tasted as good as they looked. Everything was SO yummy!

After lunch and dessert, everyone sat around and dyed eggs (an Easter tradition with my family).

And my little man went on an egg hunt. Almost every time he found an egg, he said, "Silly Easter Bunny." I must say that my dad found some creative hiding places (as usual). Here's my little guy with his Easter basket:

And here's me and my little gal in her Easter dress:

My little (awesome) family:

My big (also awesome) family:

I could go on and on with the photos, but this blog would be forever long if I did!

I hope that all the eggs and birds and bunnies are reminders to everyone of LIFE! One life matters most- and that is the life of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead and who we celebrate on this Easter day!

Getting Better?

2011-04-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I had planned to have a relaxing evening doing some design work, looking at some magazines, perhaps reading some blogs, making some crafty stuff, and doing similarly enjoyable things... Alas, my job got in the way. I got caught up in learning how to send an HTML email and creating some graphics for said email. Finally, I think Mike made some progress in this learning process and it looks like I'll be able to do it. I am SO thankful for a wonderfully talented and intelligent husband who can figure things out that feel beyond me!

Last night, however, I did some design work and here's what I came up with... one new, one improved.

La Maison

2011-04-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday, we happened upon a little antique shop in East Memphis that was having a sidewalk sale. Suspecting that their prices were a bit out of my price range, I was hesitant to even look, but my husband encouraged me to take a peek. Out of my range it was, but I am glad I took a peek since I got some ideas and found some things that I really like. Perhaps I'll find something similar at an antique store that is within my price range. But for those of you with bigger budgets, I encourage you to check it out. (Here's a link La Maison.) Those of you with budgets more like mine, you can window shop with me here.

I loved this display of lovely flowers (water lilies? cabbages?). Mostly, I loved the color and the shine! Ooooo, shiiiny!!!

And this little display of antique christening gowns caught my eye. How innocent and precious.
These curtains would look great in my living room, but not for $500 a pair!
I would love to do my little boy's room with this little bed and with a sailing theme... especially since my husband loves to sail.
And these lamps are exactly what I'm looking for in my living room, again though, not for $300 a pair.
This display was inspiring. I especially love the ribbons by which the silver platters hang on the wall. Not sure I would have ever thought of hanging my good silver on the wall??? But I must say it has a beautiful effect.
This little table/desk would look beautiful in front of the window in my dining room. I would use it as a little desk for my laptop and printer. So much better than my current monstrosity of a desk!
And finally, this little red nightstand... I love a pop of red. Not sure where I would put it in my house, but it is just too, too cute!

Over and out for now!

Feeling small (& New Prints)

2011-04-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Note: keep scrolling... the prints are at the bottom!

The other day, my husband and I stopped at an estate sale late on a Saturday. Most of the things in the house were overpriced, but we were interested in a couple of things, so we asked if they were going to have a half price sale on Sunday (which is common at estate sales). One of the men working the sale said, with much disdain, that they would not be doing a half price sale, though some things would be discounted. When my husband tried asking for more information about a particular item and whether or not it would be discounted, the man abruptly said, "Thank you for your interest and thank you for stopping by." as if cut off any further discussion of the matter and it was almost like he was asking us to leave. Lucky for him, we were already on our way out. But as we discussed the situation on the way out, I just felt low that we had even asked about a discount. Then my fight instinct kicked in and I realized that I was letting another person's ideas about the world (naive and inconsiderate perception of the world, btw) affect my emotions. I got a bit angry that I continually let myself be intimidated by people like that man. I wanted (and still want) to find a way to stand up to the bullies of the world. Not necessarily in a confrontational manner, but just in a way that will let me stay at peace with myself and my own decisions. I think the first part of the process to not being intimidated is to realize when you are allowing other people to intimidate you... and fight it... not out loud, but on the inside. Confidence is key. And I don't ever, ever want to make other people feel small... like the way that man made me feel small.

I have also continued to think about something I posted earlier about taking credit for things. I still feel like it is good to work hard and have a sense of accomplishment and delight in doing something worthwhile, but I also recently came across this verse in my devotion time that really is powerful:

...Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

It just reminds me that no matter how much we appreciate the things of this earth or how hard we work to do something great, it is just so shallow in comparison to the wonder of being with and knowing the Lord.

Along with this thinking about things, I have also been working on more prints and here are some of them:

The last one is my favorite!

More New Prints

2011-04-13T00:34:00.000-07:00

I have REALLY been enjoying making these prints... but the problem is that I keep staying up so late. It is a time consuming project and since the only quiet time I get is after the kids have gone to bed... I end up getting to bed really late. Oh well... at least I'm still young... or that's what I'm telling myself for a few more days. I am just one year short of the big 3-0 on Friday. Maybe I should make myself a celebratory print. Just one short year left of being in my 20's (breathe, just breathe). Not that 30 is old... if you're someone else...

Baby Jack

2011-04-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

My friend, Susanna, had a baby boy last Monday... and the baby passed away on Saturday. I can't imagine the grief of losing your firstborn child after six days. It was kind of a miracle that he lasted that long, really. And his death, as tragic as it is, has had an incredible impact on so many people. Their FB page for baby Jack currently has over 1700 members. An anonymous donor paid for baby Jack's funeral in full this morning before the family had a chance to pay. With all of the hospital bills, it was a tremendous blessing to them.

The funeral was this morning... I just keep thinking about that tiny baby coffin that was so small that only two men carried it. You know, it normally takes 8 pall bearers to carry an adult coffin. There couldn't have been a dry eye in the room during the funeral ceremony when we watched a video about baby Jack and his family. That baby was precious. The thing that really strikes me is the way the family is handling this situation with such grace and peace. Susanna was talking about the lonely people with babies in the NCCU that didn't have family and friends surrounding them and asking other people about themselves. I know that the reality of the situation hasn't really sunk in for the family, but the consideration of others in a severely traumatic situation is inspirational. My family has been friends with Susanna's family for years and Susanna was my nurse at my OB/GYN office with my first baby. She was amazing... and still is! With love for the family and especially for Susanna, I created this print (above) and gave it to her at the reception after the funeral today.

Beginnings

2011-04-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of new prints I've been working on. I'm sure I'm driving my family nuts with the time I've been putting in on this... but I'm getting better with Gimp (a free image manipulation software application) and I've found something I really enjoy doing. Yay for me! (Can you tell that I like the color yellow?)

I'm working on another one... should be able to post it tomorrow if I'm not too busy with everything else.

A Tree of Inspiration

2011-04-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I got some inspiration from one of the blogs I've been reading and decided to try my hand at creating prints. Check out these:

David Turns 3!!!

2011-04-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

This year, I decided to do a birthday week with David. We did all kinds of fun stuff. On Tuesday, we went to Pump it Up for Preschool Pop-In Time. (Monday and Tuesday mornings from 10am-11:30am. Cost: $7.65 per child. Adults are free.) Berakkah and Hosanna went with us (some of David's favorite people). Unfortunately, neither Berakkah or Hosanna knew you were supposed to wear socks, so we all took turns wearing my socks... EWWW! I know! But what are you gonna do? Good thing I wear clean socks!

David had a blast going down the big slide!

Okay, so get this... he spent an hour and fifteen minutes bouncing and going down the slide without incident. Then, I decided it was time for him to go potty. As we were getting his pants down, he falls forward. Since he couldn't catch himself with his feet, he fell forward, hitting his lip on the toilet. EWWWW! I know, right! He made a big deal about it for 20+ minutes, but I'm sure it won't be the last busted lip my big boy has.

Then, on David's actual birthday, we went to Chick-fil-a where they were having Superhero night. (Wear your superhero costume, get a free chicken sandwich or kids meal.) PERFECT for David!

Web shooters!

Pictures with the cow (who, apparently, doesn't have a name).

There were lots of super heroes to hang out with, but in the absence of super villains, the heroes started fighting each other... and the ones that weren't in on the fight... shouted, "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT" in the kids' play area! LOL!

At David's birthday party, the kids were invited to dress up like super heroes or princesses. This is Batman (Josh) and Spiderman (David) riding around in their... umm... Batmobile? Spidey-car?

They had a blast with the little ball pit balls. They batted them and threw them at each other.

Keeley even got all dressed up as a princess for the party! Isn't she the cutest ladybug princess you ever saw?

We had silly string for web shooters. Silly string war? Let me tell you how much fun THAT is to clean up!

Oh, but my dad figured out a great way to do the clean up!

Batman and Super Levi share lunch and a wagon.

David and his cake. My dad (aka Boom) and I spent 5 or 6 hours building this cake the night before. I got in bed around 4am. Yuck! But I think it was totally worth it! David had a blast at his party and was a good little guy!!! Yay! Happy 3rd Birthday to my David Russell!

Cherry Trees & Photo Editing

2011-03-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

My sister, Berakkah, is gorgeous. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), she can't see it... she just sees the flaws. The cool thing is, she isn't just gorgeous on the outside, she's also one of the most genuinely caring people I've ever met. Animals and children love her in a way that is extraordinary. I guess you could almost call her a baby whisperer. Sometimes, because she's so giving, she gets run over a little bit. She'll do just about anything for the people she cares about... but don't take her for a spineless sissy. She's got guts! She knows what she believes and will stand up for it. Plus, she has a quirky sense of humor that giggles at boogers and farts. I like hanging out with B (that's what we nicknamed her), especially when we sing together. Her specialty is the high harmony in songs. We also have fun doing art and craft stuff together. I'm often afraid of taking advantage of her because she gives so willingly. Being a mother of two small children, I'm inclined to accept any help available and Berakkah certainly makes herself available in an inordinate way. She's turned into an incredible woman... and I'm super proud!

In Memphis, the cherry trees bloom at the beginning of spring for a max of maybe two weeks. It's a sure sign of spring and many Memphians have a long standing tradition of taking family photos each year when the cherry trees bloom. So far, that hasn't really been a Stablein family tradition, but we've always enjoyed the blooming trees. This year, when my Aunt Carol came into town, we went out and had some fun taking photos under the cherry trees. Then tonight, I had fun using Picasa to edit the photos. I think the photos of B are stunning!

Gutsy

2011-03-22T21:12:00.001-07:00

At the moment, I'd describe myself as guarded and overly cautious... not something I'm proud of. Someday, I think it would be amazing for someone to describe me as gutsy (and not just because they read this blog). Gutsy is such a great adjective. It comes directly from "guts" as a description for someone who has them (guts, that is). I admire gutsy people. Like my friend, Emily, for instance, who has a one year old and moved to another city to go to law school. This, after she's already been out of school for a while and had a pretty established life. The problem is, I don't know how to become a gutsy person and there's not exactly an instruction book for people who want to become gutsy... at least not that I know of. So what should I do? How can I become one of those people who GO for it? There are so many things that feel impossible, but I'd like to do them. SO many people fail... but there have to be some who succeed. Maybe one could be me??? I suppose that some people just have more gutsy personalities, but maybe one of the main ingredients for gutsy-ness (is that a word?) is confidence that what you have to offer is valuable and other people will want it.

I still haven't figured out how to even start being gutsy, but I would like to pay tribute to all those who went for it and failed... you're more gutsy than I.

Fight or Flight

2011-03-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to a Toastmaster's meeting for the second time. This is an organization that my husband has been a part of for a while and, as I found out yesterday, he is apparently pretty good at it. He's been learning to give speeches and have clear interpersonal communication through table topics, etc. This organization's meetings really force you to think on the spot and respond quickly. Quite frankly, that scares the heck out of me. I think the reason it scares me is because I'm not good at it. Yesterday, they made me stand up and introduce myself and briefly share about whether I prefer St. Patrick's Day or the Final Four. My son, David, was eager to tell his name and all about himself. In fact, I had to remind him not to speak out of turn (he's almost 3). But I wanted to hide behind David. Oh, I should add that the group has a grammarian that counts how many times you use filler words, including umm's and uh's. I should also add that I was sitting right next to the grammarian... who was my husband. As I tried to introduce myself and find something witty and funny to say, I couldn't think about what to say for fear of saying "umm." Add that to the fact that I was nervous... it was pretty sad. I stammered and struggled for something to say, while laughingly telling Mike to stop counting my umms. It was pretty embarrassing. When I left, I had mixed emotions. I am a hopeless perfectionist, so to stand in front of others without preparation and talk is dreadful. I guess I'm not sure whether to run and hide or stand up and face it head on. The question really is: If you're not good at something, is it better to face it and get better at it? Or just pretend it doesn't exist and hope you never have to use it? I think we all know the answer to that question.

Are you who you say you are?

2011-03-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness but a faithful man who can find? Proverbs 20:6

In this age of social networking, we can all be exactly who we want to be. On Facebook, in our blogs, and in our tweets, we can all say who we are without worrying about anyone finding out the real truth. But what really counts? Is it what you say about yourself or how you actually spend your time and live your life? Is it really about how you treat others?

You've all heard the old adage "Actions speak louder than words." I think it still holds true, but the difference is that we don't really give people the opportunity to see our actions anymore. Our community has changed. Yes, the world is still small... and it seems to be getting smaller since we can all connect with not only our adult friends, but also our elementary school friends through social media. So many people to keep up with and we can do it all... behind the monitor of our computer, using words to describe ourselves. But we don't really let other people in very often. We don't let people see the the good, the bad, and the ugly. People have always been afraid of rejection, but now we have the power to never be rejected unless we say the wrong thing. And even in saying things about ourselves, we have time to really think about what we say before we say it. Is it really a friendship if people only love you for who you think they want you to be? Isn't unconditional love (real love) about loving people in spite of and through their shortcomings?

So, what you say about yourself may fool me into believing you're perfect, but you still know the truth. What really matters? Say what you want about yourself, but be the person that loves your friends and works hard and doesn't give up. Otherwise, all the words in the world don't make a difference.

Joy & Woe

2011-03-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

Often, I think about the reason for our existence. Why are we in a world that is physically separate from God? Why can't we just be with Him in Heaven from the beginning? I believe that this world is a preparation for the face-to-face relationship we will share with Him in Heaven. In this world, He allows circumstances to test and try us to prove that we are His true friends and loves. He teaches us through the things that happen in life. When we know Him, He takes the ordinary and turns it into something extraordinary in our lives. When pain seems overwhelming to dear ones and I know that He can heal them, when I struggle emotionally with raising two little ones, when too many people hurt across the world and I know He sees and cares about every person's sorrow (Matthew 10:29-31), when I'm tired, or afraid... I come to the conclusion that He allows the pain on this earth for the joy of the real relationship that develops through the pain. Sometimes it seems like all of life is a pain when you try to live it in a way that is pleasing to God... but I think I've figured out why.

Living life for Christ is painful because we are used to living for ourselves and when we give up our own desires and right to pleasure and satisfaction for the sake of making the life of others better... it hurts. But what joy waits for us as a reward!!! Every day that I learn to give away my time and energy and love to my children at the cost of my own life is worth it! My beautiful children gain from the time and energy and love... and in addition, I am storing up riches in Heaven. We love Jesus by loving those around us with selfless, unconditional love. At times, the sorrow of giving up myself and my desires seems like it is all consuming. Knowing that my life should be full of joy, it seems confusing... but I have come to a more full realization... joy and sorrow go hand in hand. You can have both at the same time! The sorrow and woe of letting go will never disappear... that's why, in this life, we are constantly sober minded. Yet we also laugh and rejoice at the joy we have in the presence of God. When Heaven comes, all of the selfishness that we have will disappear (that causes the sorrow) and we will only have JOY! What a wonderful day! But the sorrow must be endured for a short time in order to earn all the joy!

Proverbs 13:7

There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

— Mother Teresa

With this in mind, it's easy to become people that are obsessed with our failure to give for others... just remember that we can't change ourselves by dragging up our past. God is the one that does the changing work in us. No need to beat yourself up for not being perfect... just trust that He will finish the work that He started in you (Philippians 1:6). He said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). If we rest in the joy of His presence while we live this life, that becomes true for us.

For those of you that have pain... emotional, physical, etc., find HOPE in Jesus!

I would like to post a few stanzas from a poem by William Blake. A dear friend read this years ago and it struck me so deeply that I still remember...

It is right it should be so:
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

Here is a link to the entire poem: http://www.online-literature.com/blake/612/

Another thing I have been thinking about... a lot of Christians seem to believe that when you come to know Christ that you have to completely change who you are and that if you do anything good that you can't take credit for it... I think I have a little bit of a different perspective on this. The Bible says that people were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)... I think that He put a little bit of who He is into each of us. He gives one person a bit of His creativity and another an understanding of His scientific mind. Some are natural leaders and others are facilitators. Whatever part of the image of God is on you, you are beautiful and wonderful! ...I am fearfully and wonderfully made... (Psalm 139:14). This should NOT be erased or changed. God wants us to carry out the desires, skills, and talents He has placed in us. The problem that needs to be corrected is the sin that came in after God created something perfect. To me, I see God's perfect creation polluted by sin... kind of like cancer. You may have a perfectly functioning liver, pancreas, and kidneys, but when cancer comes, it not only perverts the function of a single body part, but it spreads to the entire body if it is not treated. Jesus Christ is the treatment that removes the cancer from our lives. He doesn't kill us and start over, instead, He heals us and makes us what He meant for us to be in the first place. Because of this, we should be thankful and praise Him for the amazing person He made each of us to be! We can be proud of who we are. Realizing that He created us gives the ultimate humility. (Romans 9:19-21 & pretty much all of Job) We may be happy in this life for our accomplishments and for building on the talents that He gave us in the first place knowing in our heart of hearts that everything we have and everything we are is due in full to our creator! Remember the servant that hid the money that was entrusted to him in the ground. His master was so displeased that he took the little money that had been hiding in the ground and gave it to the servant that had invested and increased the money that was entrusted to him. (Matthew 25:14-28)

We have a lot to be thankful for. In light of that, let's press on (Philippians 3:13-14)!

Pressing on, pressing on

All my distress is going, going, gone

-Relient K

And check out the lyrics to "Less is More" by Relient K:

"Less Is More"

Jesus, I pray
Take all my mistakes
Throw them away
Destroy them for my sake

Jesus, I call out 'cause I'm sorry
Because I fall so short of your glory
To the best of my ability
I'm practicing humility
And I lay myself before
'Cause less is more

All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more

I pour out myself
All that I am
You love me so much
That you fill me again
And may these words on my heart, on my lips
Somehow mean so much more than this

Jesus, I pray
Know what I'm trying to say

All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
'Cause to you less is more
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more

I pour out myself, before you were Lord
I hold nothing back, 'cause to you less is more
And may these words on my heart on my lips,
Somehow mean so much more than this

Jesus, I pray
Just know what I'm tryin' to say

Jesus, I plead
Please purify me
Make my heart clean
Drench me with your mercy
Jesus, I pray
I love you, I need you
For the rest of my days
I swear I will seek you
To the best of my ability
I'm practicing humility
And I lay myself before
'Cause less is more.

VDay

2011-02-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

I often struggle with Valentines day because I want everything to be perfect. Over the years, when people fail to meet my soaring expectations, I get disappointed and frustrated... even angry. This year, I still struggled, but I decided to try to focus on making this day special for others instead of worrying about it being special for me.

Yesterday, my sisters and I made chocolate covered strawberries. Besides the beautiful result (yummy gifts for friends and family), we had lots of fun making them. I wish I had taken pictures. Then today, we went to the homeschool valentines skating party... a Stablein/Tinsley tradition. Okay, so I'm not officially homeschooling yet, but we have connections. ;-) Everyone in my family came to the party except for Russell and my dad. Hooray for flexible schedules! David had so much fun skating, playing skeeball, getting and giving valentines, and eating snacks. I posted photos on Facebook, so be sure to check them out there.

In preparation for the party, we decorated a shoebox with lots of Spiderman stickers (David's favorite superhero). Today, David gave each of my sisters, my mom, and Felicia a rose and a box of candy. My mom got me a gorgeous rose and Mike got me some beautiful roses and candy and made me a really sweet card. After going to Zumba with Shannon, I made a yummy dinner and used my nice china and turned the TV off while we ate.

All in all, it turned out to be a really nice day. Turns out that you can create your own happiness instead of expecting to get it from others. (Imagine that!) =) Taking the time and finding ways to bless others is often the best way to find peace and happiness. I love my family SO much. My mom was so encouraging to me today and I'm so glad to have so many wonderful people in my life who love me! I couldn't ask for more wonderful children, husband, and family. Happy Valentines Day to EVERYONE!!!

To thine own self be true...

2011-02-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

It's hard to do, but to be true to your foundational beliefs, the essence of who you are, is important. It's especially hard when the person you are isn't the same (or even close to the same) as everyone else. It's a challenge not to go on the defense or the offense when other people misunderstand, or even mock and attack the fundamental core of your being. Being true to yourself and allowing the external things to fly past without a reaction from you is almost impossible. But that is true confidence.

Don't be mistaken in what I mean, however. Being true to yourself doesn't mean you have the right to force your beliefs and opinions on others. The same confidence that allows you to be true to you requires you to be harmless to others and to understand that each person comes from a different place. You must allow for perspectives other than your own. Perspective in art is a great example... Depending on where the artist stands in the room, the outcome of the piece of art changes.

The important thing in all of this being true is not to attack or hate each other. Respect others, listen to others, consider others, and do to others what you would want them to do to you. Humility is essential to true confidence.

Memphis Area Consignment Sales

2011-02-07T18:42:00.001-08:00

This year, I'm gonna try to find clothes for my children at consignment sales in Memphis. You can get great, gently used clothing for good prices. These sales have lots of name brand clothes and beautiful smocked dresses. Since I did the research to find the sales myself, I thought I'd share the info about dates, locations and websites for 2011 Spring/Summer sales. Remember that if you volunteer at the sales, you generally get more money for the clothes you sell and you get first pick of the great stuff. Also, if you want to volunteer or sell clothes, you must sign up ahead of time, so check dates for dropping off clothes and volunteer meetings on the website of the sale you're interested in.

February 10-12, 2011

KidsTown Kids Consignment

Memphis, TN

http://www.consignkidstown.com/

February 17-19, 2011

Kiddie Land Consignment

Cordova, TN

http://www.kiddielandconsignment.com/

March 3-6, 2011

Children's Clothing Exchange

Memphis, TN

http://glossonchildrensconsignment.com/

March 4-5, 2011

Sycamore View Children's Clothing Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.svccs.com/CurrSale.htm

March 4-5, 2011

Germantown United Methodist Consignment

Germantown, TN

http://www.germantownumc.org/index.php/site/page/238/1/156

March 10-12, 2011

Oh Baby! Consignment Event

Southaven, MS

http://www.ohbabysale.com/

March 25-26, 2011

Everything for Kids Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.everythingforkidssale.com/

April 1-2, 2011

Faith Baptist Consignment

Memphis, TN

http://www.faithclothingsale.com/curriculum.html

April 1-2, 2011

Highland Clothing Sale

Cordova, TN

http://highlandclothingsale.com/

April 4-9, 2011

Emmanuel Children's Clothing Sale

Memphis, TN

http://www.emmanuelclothingsale.org/dates.html

April 9-11, 2011

Mommy's Secret Consignment

Southaven, MS

http://www.mommyssecret.com/

Adjustment

2011-02-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

As frustrated (and even depressed) as I sometimes get with this adjustment to staying home, I am beginning to find things that I really enjoy about it. There are times when I feel like there is something wrong with me because I haven't been enjoying being a stay-at-home mom. But perhaps I was just looking in the wrong places. With this opportunity I have been given, I really want to find ways to bless others and be productive. I was watching an episode of Extreme Home Makeover recently and one of the guys on there was talking about how (in the middle of his misfortune) he never felt sorry for himself and even kept a list of things he and his family wanted to do for other people. When asked about it, he basically said that life is not about helping ourselves (with entertainment, money, status, power, etc.), it is about helping other people. That keeps coming back to me and I have started to consider how much time I put into just surviving and entertaining myself. I want to find ways to spend my time investing in things that are more important (and eternal)! That doesn't mean that I have to neglect myself and I certainly can't spend so much time doing things for others that I don't have time for my family. But I think that I can start with some small things, like bringing a meal to someone who needs it. When I get to the point where I don't have a baby attached to my breast 24/7, I'd like to find some volunteering opportunities. It would also be good to find ways to just build relationships with other people. I'm happiest when I am in a community of people and just hanging out with others. Mike and the kids and I have had some great times as we have been having friends over more often and developing better relationships with them. I love it!

One of the things I am learning to do is SPEND LESS MONEY! Boy, is that hard! Since my job paid for almost all of the extra things in our life (like entertainment, parties, eating out, etc.), I am learning what a dollar is really worth. At first, I kicked against the idea of limitations and restrictions, but I'm finding that limitations really help your creativity! I have had fun finding ways to save money at the grocery store, finding free or cheap fun things to do, cooking and baking, and learning to budget (for real this time).

I'm also getting to spend more time with my wonderful children. I have been working with David on his colors, counting, shapes, etc. I get to just sit and look at Keeley for a while. She's starting to make sounds I think I'll be able to report her first smile soon! Since my day is filled with children, staying at home all day hasn't afforded me much more time to spend with Mike, but I'm hoping that as Keeley gets more independent, I'll get things done during the day so I can spend more time in the evenings with Mike. Right now, I can't wait for him to get home so he can help out with one kid while I get something done. I have to tell myself that this is just a phase so I don't get too discouraged with my inability to get things done the way that I'm used to getting them done.

Some of the things I'm considering doing as I adjust:
Make a folder of pictures of the way I want to decorate my house
Work more on writing my book about common sense business
Build a website for a business I'm considering starting
Build a blog/website with info about events and things to do around Memphis
Be more creative with cooking and baking
Take photos with the awesome camera Mike got me for Christmas
Do more crafty/artsy projects
Study real estate (maybe go to school to study real estate)
Read more
Plant and maintain a vegetable garden and do some landscaping

This week, I want to:
Find a good book to start
Write more on my book
Take some photos of Keeley and David and edit them
Take some photos at playgroup on Friday
Make a menu and some yummy meals
Find some photos on istockphoto.com for building a website
Put more music on my iPhone

Okay, before I go, I have to tell you what my David did yesterday. Hannah (my sister) asked him how much he loved her and he said "This much!" as he held his arms out. Then, when my sister, Berakkah, asked how much David loved her, he said... "A little less." The funniest part is that Berakkah is his favorite person in the world and he seemed to just be messing with her. When Mike asked him about it that evening, David said "kiddin!" Hilarious! David is so much fun!

Rally Day

2010-03-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

I remember walking through the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, TN with my dad, when I was younger, trying to keep up with his long strides as we visited our representatives on Rally Day. My dad tells the story of us visiting one representative to explain how excellent home education was. My dad told the representative that he was teaching me (nine years old at the time) some New Testament Greek. I sang the Greek alphabet for the Rep. and then he said, "Well, I know some Greek myself. Can you tell me what 'anthropos' means?" I immediately blurted out, "man," leaving the representative a bit dumbfounded (or so my dad says). =)

This year, my dad, who is Greg Stablein (Coordinator for Gateway Christian Schools- Total Home-Education Department), went to Rally Day, along with my sister, Berakkah, my son, David, and me. Here is a photo of my dad holding my son (David calls him "Boom").

Even before home education was legal in Tennessee, brave home educators have been visiting the state capitol to lobby for their right to home educate (since 1985). It's been a while since I went to Rally Day and yesterday was my first time back in years. I must say that it's quite a bit more organized than I remember. The excellent folks at THEA (especially Lana and Claiborne Thornton) do a great job of showcasing the accomplishments of home educators in the War Memorial Building's auditorium, encouraging current home educators with speakers, providing lunch and opportunities to visit with representatives and senators, and much more. This year, we didn't get the chance to walk through the Legislative Plaza to visit our representatives to tell them of our appreciation for their hard work and ask them to continue to support home education as a fundamental right, but it was great to see home educators from across the state come together to rally for the right of parents to raise their children in the way that the Lord has convicted them.

listen & learn

2009-08-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

So one of my friends told me that they really enjoyed reading my blog on myspace and so I went back and read old posts and it wasn't half bad. I remember that I really used to enjoy writing, but I always thought my writing was silly and not very good. I have given up a lot of things that I used to love. I think I still love them, I just don't make time for them anymore. Mostly, I love David, and he takes a lot of my time.

So if I start writing again, it might take a while for things to be interesting, but I'm sure I can come up with one or two interesting things to write... eventually.

I feel like getting older makes you deeper. I don't mean to go on about how deep I've become, but I do feel like it's harder to communicate deeper stuff that you learn as you get more experience and life. I remember my mom telling me all the stuff that I'm learning now and I just didn't understand it then. I guess there are some things that only life can teach you. Life is wonderful and hard.

Here are some things that have made me deeper:

I had a baby
I had a miscarriage
I started seriously considering adoption
I chose a church that I like (instead of someone else choosing it for me)
I run a lot of things at my work
I own a house
I know how to pay bills
I make a budget and am learning to stick to it
I'm getting out of debt
I look at real estate for fun
I think about what's good business
I've seen people for who they really are
I am learning to lead silently

Someone at work mentioned that I had my hands full right now and I was thinking that even though I don't talk to this person a lot, they recognized that my personal life was kinda crazy right now and it made me really appreciate their thoughtfulness. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like I go through life thinking about my life instead of the lives of those around me. I want to see what other people are dealing with and let them know that I care. The more I experience, the more I think about things that other people deal with. I think about what a big deal it must be to have cancer... even if it goes away. I think about what it must be like to lose your mom or what it's like to be afraid of losing your mom. I think about what it must be like to live next door to people like us... with noisy dogs. =) How do I encourage the people that are living these things? Life is tough and we need to encourage each other to get through it right.

Wishing I were happier,
JT

www.gatewaychristianschools.com

My Little Cabbage Patch

2008-11-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

He's such a doll in this photo, I just wanted to post it for the world to see! This was taken on Thanksgiving day. We had a great day! We ate and took photos and went to see a movie and ate pie! We considered going to Florida for Thanksgiving, but decided that the drive was too long and we need to save our money for Christmas right now. We need to head that way to see Mike's family before long though. I wish it didn't cost so much to fly. Life is good! Looking forward to the Christmas and New Years now!

Check out more photos of Thanksgiving day here.

2008-11-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

So I've been staying busy... a little too busy, I think. At work, I've been building a website. I think it's pretty much ready to publish. Yay! It's been a little stressful because I like doing things right the first time and it's somewhat frustrating to have to mess around until I figure out how to do things. This is my first time building a website and I had to learn to use Dreamweaver (which is a great and easy-to-use program, by the way). I got mastitis this past week and it was nasty, but short-lived. Somehow, I must learn to slow down a bit. I get stressed out about trying to get my work done (with my son at work with me), spending quality time with my son, keep my house clean, spend time with my husband, spend time with my family, do swing dance stuff, church stuff, etc., etc. I enjoy these things, it's just that I don't feel like I'm doing them all adequately and that's what stresses me out. On top of that, I'd like to make more friends and spend time with the friends I have and also spend some time on the things I enjoy doing- like painting and playing music and writing songs. But by the time I get finished with all the things in the day, I'm usually too worn out to do these things. Oh well, one day it'll all slow down and I'll have more time! =)

David is cuter than I could have imagined he would ever get and he seems to get cuter every day. (Is that possible?) =) I'm posting a couple of photos here. David is a handful, but he makes my life wonderful! He is worth everything and more.

How To Make a Link

2008-10-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Type text. Highlight text. Click link button. Copy website from your browser window and paste into the box that pops up.

Imitation

2008-07-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

From the time we are infants, we learn to imitate. As we grow older and come into contact with more people, we learn to choose whom we imitate.

Almost everything we do is imitation- speech, movement, thought, etc. The thing that makes the difference in people is who and what we choose to imitate. That choice can be based on many different things. We imitate for acceptance, we imitate what appeals to us (based on our own personality), and we imitate what we learn is the right or wrong thing to do. The combination of our choices makes up who we are and how people perceive us.

I just think it's interesting how many people imitate for acceptance and I wish there were more who would imitate those things that are beautiful and kind and wise.

As we imitate, we become the things that we imitate. If we imitate knowledge, we become knowledgeable. If we imitate wisdom, we become wise. On the other hand, if we imitate popular thought, we begin to think the way everyone else does on our own.

Sad, really, how many never learn to ask, "Why? Why do I imitate? Why do these others do the things that they do?"

Self Government

2008-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, (very occasionally) I find myself wishing there were someone to tell me "No" so that I don't have to tell myself "No."
It's so hard to do what's best for yourself in the long run when it comes to wanting something NOW. This is especially true for me when it comes to food and money. I know that if I don't buy that purse or if I eat a pb&j instead of eating out, then those few dollars I save each time will add up in the long run and make me, if not rich, at least comfortable in my old age. If I could pay off my debt instead of buying more things, then I could use the money I am paying in interest to buy a lot more shoes and fast food later. But I continue to spend the money now... and each time I do, I lose the interest I could be gaining on that money in the future (which ends up being a lot of money).
It's the same with food. If I would eat things that are healthier for me and forgo the donuts, then I would live longer and be thinner and feel better. But I still eat the donuts.
Why is it that we must have things NOW? It was much easier when we had parents to see the big picture for us and to make those decisions. At the same time, there are so many parents who can't do the same for themselves.
It is a sure sign of maturity when a person can let go of what they want now for something better in the future.

Yep, I'm a list maker!

2008-07-24T12:21:00.001-07:00

To start off, I want to make a list of things I want to write about... so I don't forget.

Home education
My baby
If's
Intelligence
Think outside the box
Dance
Creativity
What's important?
Why I hate debt
A big family