Happy Columbus Day

Too Many Projects, Not Enough Time

I have been all about projects lately. In my life I go through stages where my creativity (or lack of sometimes) steps in the way of my already busy life and tries to take over. I have such a long list of projects that I so badly want to do and I am trying to figure out how I can make time for them without taking away from anyone or anything else this is important in my life. I have been finding myself wanting to skip out on my daily walk to work on projects instead. This CANNOT be good! And I've been putting off making Gracie's mermaid costume like crazy. I need to get serious and get it done though because I still have mine and possibly Josh's to make as well. AHH!!! Oh well, knowing me, I'm sure I'll wait until the VERY last minute and be forced to stay up till 2 am trying to get everything done.

Here are some of the projects I've been working on...

{distressed flower pot candles... everything I had on hand except for the ribbon}

{there are a pair of these on both sides of the front door}

{made paper mache pumpkins which I thought the kids would totally be into, but it turned into a majorly messy and involved project that they wanted nothing to do with. they look really cool with contained candles inside} *check out my new chair (well new to me), that it's sitting on!

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{Okay, this is so... cool to me! I was one of those wives who yelled at her hubby while driving "pull over!" I grabbed this chair sitting in a garbage pile and after slapping two coats of black paint on it (which I already had) I recovered the worn out rush seat with this material which cost me about $3. Is that cool or what!?! I absolutely LOVE it and it's more solid than our black table and chairs from crate & barrel.}

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{recovered the cushion of an old chair that was passed down from my mom with the same fabric as the chair above}

{growing basil which the kids plated at church and hoping to make some pesto sauce. not really a project but it is on my "to-do" list ; )}

{made a tree silhouette to put on this awesome green scrapbook paper that I had to occupy an empty frame} {spray painted and added a ribbon to an old tin container that I had to use for misc. sewing storage}

{made silhouette's of colton - gracie - fletcher (and put on that same paper) to hang above our bed}

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{this was about a month ago but we added a chair rail in the "princess's" room and painted the bottom portion bubble gum pink. then I hung some enlarged pictures and made the silhouettes to match. are you noticing that I'm into silhouettes right now?}

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{I replaced the fabric on her armoire to match her room better}

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{and... this is what awaits me! I purchased these three directors chairs for $10. what a bargain! I have some fabric that I love and paint waiting to make these chairs beauties! can't wait to have the time!

Books

I just had to share with you two books that I have nearly finished reading. Breaking Free by Beth Moore and I Love Dirt by Jennifer Ward. I would highly recommend reading them.

I completely love and admire Beth Moore. She has an outstanding ability to guide you along in your journey of faith and I know that I will forever be changed by reading this book. I am trying to hurry and finish so I can begin another book written by her that I have here waiting for me.

I Love Dirt is a great book to give you ideas to help your child explore nature all around us. I checked it out from the library (which is what I would recommend doing if you can) and took notes of things I wanted to do or discuss with my kids as I read it. It really opened my eyes to so much learning that is available right in our own back yard.

Pals, Rats and More Birthdays

Fletch and Lucy continue to be the best of pals. She amazes me at just how patient and gentle she is with him. He hugs on her like this all the time and she just sits still and takes it. "I ride Lulu" is something he also likes to do!



So our sweet, gentle Lulu has become quite the "hunting" dog. A few weeks ago she came back from the woods behind our house with a box turtle. Thankfully it was unharmed but a little frightened I'm sure, and we were able to bring it back to its home safely.

That one wasn't so bad.

But then... she decided to bring this home as her prize catch...



EEK! Yes, I know. GROSS!!! Typically I wouldn't post such a nasty thing on my blog but it is almost Halloween so I found it fitting.

And typically I would NEVER allow any child of mine to hold a dead rat but Colton got to it before we knew what was going on. He opened the back door and said "Mom. Dad. Come look what Lucy caught!" Before I made him toss it into a bag and double seal it and then scrub his hands until the top layer of skin was removed, I took a couple pictures of Lucy's trophy catch for some sweet memories ; )

Hopefully hunting season is over at our home.



We've been talking a lot about fall lately but I've had to resort to the library and Internet to allow my children to get a look at what a fall season looks like. I am craving to be able to experience a true fall with my children. I want to dress my family in sweaters and stroll through an apple orchard with our baskets searching for the perfect apples to bake an apple pie. To go on a hay ride feeling the crisp air blowing through your hair. To return to sip on warm apple cider while watching the children jump and play in a pile of leaves. (I can hear their sweet giggles and squeals now!) To walk through a true pumpkin patch, searching for the perfect one. Or two. Or three. To take a hike through the fall colored forest and hearing the crunch, crunch as you walk across the leaves. Sitting around a camp fire at night listening to some great music being strung on the guitar while occasionally glancing up to see the amazement of the star filled sky. That is what's on my heart right now. I wish I was there.



The kids and I attended a field trip with our homeschooling group to the new Children's Museum. They had so much fun and came home with more knowledge then when they woke up that morning. Success!


{some of the sweet sonshine girls}

Last week we celebrated our dear "daddy's" birthday. He is an amazing man beyond words. He deserves for me to go into a whole speech about how truly wonderful he is but all I'm going to say is I thank God each day for him. That is not said lightly. He is way more than I deserve and I am so grateful that God has chosen for us to be man and wife and raise our little family together.

The kids love to surprise him with a special dinner that they've helped prepare so for his birthday they made sure it was extra special for him. They were such great helpers in cleaning the house so when our special dinner guest arrived, he would be pleased at how nice everything looked. They even took time away from their play time to clean out his closet for him. And that was no easy task! We are really trying to work on RAK's around our house (random acts of kindness) so this was a good day to do one. He surely appreciated it! To make the table look extra delightful, they explored the yard with scissors (carefully) in hand and put together this beautiful centerpiece.



Today we attended two more birthday parties, one at the beach, one at some friends which made for an especially fun day. As soon as I get the photos loaded, I'll be sure to add them and tell more about our fun day.

Happy Birthday Aunt Kelly, Maddie, Ethan and Ian! Thanks for sharing your special day with us : )

My Beach

We have loved the name Fletcher for oh... I don't know how long before I was pregnant with him. But I do know that the name came up during my pregnancy with Gracie. Once we found out she was a girl though, we didn't put any more thought into the name.

Then our little family of four started going to this quiet, sometimes deserted little beach coincidentally named Fletcher Beach. We just so happened to spend a lot of time here during my pregnancy. This of course just happened to be the beach where we took my pregnancy photos just before Fletcher's arrival and is also the beach where we took our Christmas card pictures a few years back.

Well, we haven't stopped loving this beach. Due to the rocks, it's not a safe place to surf, but we love to go here in the early evening hours just to relax as a family, play on the beach, maybe eat some dinner and we always make time for some exploration among the rocks.

The other night was not a night for observing anything but the extremity of the high tide and the waves as they'd come crashing down on the rocks that we usually love to walk along. The tide was so high that the water was coming up over the steps of the stairs.

Here are some pictures of that evening...

{see, the sign says it. this is my beach!}

Colton watching the waves come in...

Fletcher began to get really nervous when the water came up as high as it did. he decided he was safer hanging out up in the beach grass keeping an eye on those sneaky waves.

The evening sunset coming over the bridge on our ride home was definitely worthy of pulling the camera out of the bag. BEAUTIFUL!


Hope you all are having a blessed weekend with your family! I know we sure are and I am grateful for that! : )