Just my luck

I went on a great trip to San Francisco this weekend. It was to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. I don't know what YOU think 70 looks like, but it looks way better than I thought it would!

My in-laws came to take care of my kids so that I could go. I love them so much. It was invaluable time that I got to spend with my sister-friends. Kinda like sister-wives, but not. Time that we get to spend together like this is irreplaceable. I am grateful to call them "friends" as well as sisters. I love them.

Since we don't all live in the same state, traveling together is pretty much the only chance we get to see each other on a personal level, and it is SO much more personal when you aren't juggling kids at the same time. I highly recommend it.

We spent almost all of our time SHOPPING. And EATING. Because that is what Stewart women do.

And hanging out with this guy, and Brigitte. (That is my sis, Hillary with her new bangs. Which has given her an alternative name of Brigitte or Gretchen... take your pick.)

We spent a LOT of time in shoe departments. And those of us who HAVE cash, dropped a load of it.

We walked past this square probably 30 times in three days.

It was just getting the finishing touches of Holiday flare.

Some people leave their heart there... We just left lots of great memories.

And lots of great restaurants.

I would say San Francisco is pretty much the perfect destination for such an event, and it was great to be there with my sister friends... and mom. HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY MOM! WE LOVE YOU!

The Crash

I walked into church today, tired, but okay.

I have gotten a horrible cold, probably due to stress and lack of sleep.

I was going in to church by myself (with the kids), and unless I am at the store, I don't really see Peter at all during the day.

He leaves at 8 a.m. and comes home at 11:30. Works for a few more hours on things he couldn't do during the day, and then does it all again the next day.

Hopefully THAT won't last forever.

I worked at the store on Friday, and Saturday night, so, I felt like I have seen him a bit, but I am sure the kids are wondering what has happened to him.

I felt fine at church, but as soon as the testimonies started, I started crying.

Like inconsolable crying.

I could not stop.

I think it was a mixture of exhaustion and gratitude.

As I looked around the room, I saw face after face after face of people who had been at the store over the weekend.

Even staff members, who had worked all weekend.

I felt overwhelmed by what had happened.

Making the decision to move was completely gut wrenching.

We did not want to move AGAIN.

We did not want to uproot the kids AGAIN.

We did not want to loose all the services and the school that Jaxon was at.

We did not want to uproot Abby, who tends to have the most difficult time with moving.

We did not want to "start over" again.

At the same time, our struggles in Arizona seemed never ending.

I never felt accepted.

And even though I liked Arizona, I never felt "at home."

I never found a niche.

Peter never found a stable work environment.

As much as we tried our best to make it work, it didn't.

And we felt COMPELLED to move.

There was nothing there that made us feel like we were anchored there.

But, it was confirmed to us over and over and over again that we were supposed to "be here".

As I looked around the room today, and realized how many faces I had seen at the store over the weekend, I felt the love.

The love from our ward family, our new environment, and our Heavenly Father.

He knew we would need support. In all sorts of ways, and he gave it to us.

In spades.

Not only did they just physically show up at our store, but they told friends, passed out coupons and continued to share our story with everyone they knew.

It was an amazing outpouring of love.

And as I sat there today, I had it confirmed to me once again, that we were in the right place.

I am overwhelmed by the love and support.

I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity.

And most importantly,

I am grateful.

It's Midnight

On a Friday night, and I am having a hard time winding down.

It is exhilarating at the store on a Friday night.

It was intense.

There were so many people waiting.

Waiting WAY TOO LONG for a pizza.

But our staff is new, and we were slightly under-prepared for such a big crush.

We did 57 pizzas on our first night, and 160 our second.

I was a crazy day.

I went over to the store earlier in the day to "ask Peter a question" and I got caught making dough balls because someone had a whole pile of dough on the counter, but had to go on break.

I put on an apron, and went to work.

I was basically in my pajamas.

I don't think anyone I knew came into the store.

Thank heavens.

Hopefully my apron made me look more official than I was.

I had Kaylie with me, and luckily, I had downloaded an App on my phone for puzzles. She is obsessed with it, and it gets me out of just about any bind I can think of with her.

I know.

Electronics.

Two year old.

But I guess that is how it is going to be for her.

With us starting this business.

I don't ever want to forget the vision of her, perched on two boxes, her bum on one, her feet on the other, playing her puzzles... Every once in a while, she would push the wrong button and someone would have to help her fix the app. Someone without gloves on or washed hands.

All along this is what Peter has wanted to do.

I mean, I wanted him to do what he wanted to do, and I wanted to do it too, but I didn't realize what my hand would be.

I'll be honest.

I love it.

I really love it.

I love the staff.

I love the environment.

I love it when I come home smelling like dough.

(I like dough)

I love that I worked over there for about 8 hours today. Sometimes with a kid, sometimes without.

I love the way Wade says Papa Murphy's.

I love the way my kids talk about it.

I love the pride that comes with being a small business owner.

I love making dough balls.

I love talking to people, and trying to make their wait a little shorter.

I just love it,

More than I thought I would.

I guess, in the end, I didn't realize how much I would be in the store.

And I probably won't be too often.

Because my kids need at least ONE parent.

And right now, I am all they have.

But I love being there.

It's an amazing feeling to know that you have worked so hard, and been through so much to make it happen.

I loved putting a smile on people's faces. People who have waited "10 years" "5 years" or however long to have Papa Murphy's pizza in their home town. And believe me, the stories that we heard today were NUMEROUS.

People were stalking our store until we opened. Just waiting, and waiting and waiting. And I have to say, that if I was in a town, that was waiting for a Papa Murphy's. I would have been stalking the store too to see when it opened.

I know how they feel. And I am so happy to bring them what they want.

Just a few more (okay 100 more) kinks to work out.

But we'll get there.

I just hope all the people who waited WAY too long for their pizza tonight, will be back.

It was Amazing.

Reflection

It was probably the biggest week of my life. In every way. It may have even topped the week I got married.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week we trained our staff everyday and sweated bullets over inspections, and getting minor details completed as we drew closer to our "big day". Planning for VIP night is a complete ramp up of activity in every way. We had three or 4 people from Papa Murphy's corporate every day helping us "get ready".

Everyday I would walk into the store with a sense of aw. I couldn't believe it. I have walked into Papa Murphy's stores a million times. But it was never "ours". When I looked around, it seemed surreal. But it was, and I had the scares to prove it! (So to speak) I had left the store late on Sunday night. There was still a ton of work to be done. Signs that needed to be hung, pipes that needed to be laid, trim that needed to be put up. The list was not small, and I ended up convincing myself that if it didn't all get done, it would be "okay".

Monday morning I walked into the store to Christmas morning. It was all done. Our contractor walked passed me (we were lucky enough to find an LDS contractor who has done business here in Temecula for over 20 years) and I looked at our Papa Murphy's coordinator, and she said, "He stayed here all night." I knew it. I could tell by everything that was done, that was NOT done when I left at 8 p.m. on Sunday night.

I started to cry. Because I felt loved, by him, by Heavenly Father, by everyone who has loved and supported us through everything we have gone through for the past three years. My dreams, OUR dreams had been realized. And it was a miracle. He walked past me, and started to giggle at my mini break down, thinking it was just my stress said, "It's okay! Cry it out! It will make you feel better!" Little did he know it had more to do with his dedication, love, and support than anything else. He, an LDS BISHOP, had stayed all night, on a Sunday night to help us live out our dream. I will love him and his family for sacrificing him forever.

On Tuesday, we realized that there was nothing else we could do to open our store. The fire department had come to a halt with us and told us we could go no further. We came up with our "plan B" and decided to pass out pizzas to all the people who had slated to come that day out of our trailer in the parking lot. We handed out over 600 pizzas. People were kind, supportive, excited, and probably only 10% of the people there had ever even TRIED a Papa Murphy's pizza before. I was amazed by their willingness to 'step outside their comfort zone', but then again, it WAS a free pizza. My facebook page numbers doubled in a night, and when Peter and I went home that night, we were exhausted, but happy. We still had the hurdle of not being able to open ahead of us, but we weren't ready to give up yet. We had the hum of adrenaline still pumping in our veins. I didn't know how I was going to do it again, the next day, but I knew it wouldn't be quite as intense as the first day since our coupon had "technically" expired.

By the end of day two, on Wednesday, we knew we would not be opening permanently due to the issues with the building. We knew we would be losing several hundreds of dollars in produce, meat and cheese because of it, but we had to close the doors anyway. The hardest part is the phone ringing off the hook, and people coming to the door, looking like lost puppies, not knowing why we won't open the door. Peter had to go to the store for a couple hours yesterday to hand out paychecks to employees, and gave out over 20 coupons to people he had to turn away.

It is frustrating, but we still feel blessed. We know that when we will open our doors, people will be standing there, and we are excited about that. And grateful. The support we received from our ward, and surrounding members was astounding. Like nothing I have ever experienced in any other place I have lived. And that, in and of itself, is answer enough that "this is the right place."

ALMOST THERE. . .

Peter told me today that all the equipment for the store is being delivered tomorrow.

It is amazing to get to this point, after months and months, nearly a year, of planning.

To be honest, I don't know all the details of what arrives when etc,

because if I wanted to know, I would have to pester my husband all the time, and I just have no desire to do that.

Both of us worked all week last week.

And it was insane.

I am sure it is even going to be more crazy.

But as crazy as it is,

It is also crazy rewarding.

Sometimes I can't believe what we are doing.

Sometimes it feels like we have hit the jackpot of being able to do what we have always dreamed of doing.

And yes, we have wanted to do Papa Murphy's pizza for a very, very long time.

I know it is definitely not everyone's dream.

But it was ours.

I find myself doing weird things right now,

like trying to find someone to watch my kids for three days so I can go to training.

I can hardly believe it is happening.

I am grateful.

I am excited.

I am worried, but not in a bad way.

In a can I handle this? Sort of way.

In a, can my kids handle this? Sort of way.

In a, what will our "new" life be like? Sort of way.

In all the ways that you can't really predict?

Will it give us more control of our free time?

Will it give us less free time and drive us nuts?

Will our staff be good?

Will they care as much as we do?

Will people come to the store?

I have no doubt they will like the pizza.

But will they come?

My mind rolls around with a million questions, that I am just about going to get the answer to.

It is like climbing a summit, and looking down the mountain that you just climbed.

My heart is full of happiness for what we accomplished, and a little trepidation about climbing down.

I hope your prayers will be with us.

Cuz, we're gonna need them.

It can't be skipped.

I just downloaded 96 pictures from my Camera... I mean, my cell phone. Yes, I am one of those people who have resorted to taking pictures of my family at events on my cell phone because I have forgotten my actual camera. Which makes for really stinky pictures for sure.

However, when I was downloading all those pictures, there were a few events that I could not pass up. One of them happened 5 months ago, but who's counting anyway?

Not me,

I was busy moving.

And starting a new business, but whatever.

You will know what I mean, when you cast your eyes on this first pic.

This is Jaxon applying my make up on Mother's Day. If that doesn't say "make-up artist" I don't know what does.

How about this one, better no? Do you see the passion in his eyes? oh... I do... and if you can see me at all, you can see I am on the verge of giggling hysterics because he was so, "into" it.

My toes, he chose the color. . . . I mean, colorS.

This is probably the most focused I have ever seen him in his life. Bar none.

I hope you think they were worth a 5 month delayed post... I SURE DID!

What's it like?

I am sure some of you are wondering what exactly goes on in those months before opening your own store. I wondered, and now, we are right in the thick of things.

It is mostly good.

And it is mostly done by my husband.

But the responsibilities have gotten to a fever pitch. He has around 20-30 things on his "to-do" list on any given day.

It might look like this.

Rent Truck for trailer,

Pick up trailer,

take trailer to wrap guy,

Wrap guy takes measurements,

take trailer back to storage lot,

call Papa Murphy's marketing dept about wrap,

Call contractor,

Call Marketing People,

Order flyers for wife's marketing event,

Proof flyers,

Call insurance lady about trailer,

Go to DMV,

Register Trailer,

Return more urgent phone calls,

order wares for the store,

order signs for the store,

order more stuff for the store,

return a million phone calls,

field questions from you wife about what is happening and when,

schedule grand opening events,

schedule VIP night events,

order stuff for said events,

clear all of the events your wife is scheduling,

decide whether or not she is crazy,

blah, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, that is all in a day.

I should have had him make this list, because I am sure that is not the 1/2 of it. I just try to stay out of his way.

I think I am doing a semi-good job at that.

I'm not gonna lie. It is exciting. Especially now that we are getting closer. And closer and CLOSER!!!!

I can't wait to see it all come to fruition. Months and months and months of planning and talking, and finding a site, and signing contracts and finding contractors and on and on and on. We are about 30 days out, and I can't wait! I am sure you have questions, if you do, please feel free to ask them!

I will post more pictures as we get closer!

I won a CAMERA, (Not a paid advertisement, just in love)

I went to a Dancing With the Stars taping, and won a camera. Here is how it went down. We asked a guy who had been trolling the line talking to people to take our picture. He said, "Why don't you give me your camera, and I will give you this!" I said, "NO!" Thinking he was going to run off with my phone. Mechelle, (with the black shirt on) said, "OKAY" rather excitedly... She took the pic with his camera, and then he proceeded to tell her he was going to GIVE IT TO HER!

Here is me, green with envy. I just turned down a new camera.

We all stood there while she filled out paper work, they took her picture, took a video blah, blah, blah. We were all jealous.

She asked a few times if her friend could have a new camera too, and they just kind of laughed and smiled, (She wasn't even talking about me!) Then, right before they were going to walk away, they all turned back to us, and said they would give us ALL a FREE CAMERA! I love Hollywood... It is called the PEN READY project, and I was happy to oblige..

I took my new camera to the beach on Friday, and fell in love.

With crystal clear shots,

Fun settings... I think this one is called "Dramatic"

This is a regular shot of Kaylie sitting in our beach chairs,

This is a setting called "pop-art" It really brings out the colors, huh?

This is called "Grainy" I love the pieces of sand in her teeth.

Regular Shots

I love that I don't even need photoshop because it is all in my camera that way, and I love rapid fire so that I can capture everyone looking, because we all know there is only one second to capture that! I am loving it! And can't wait to take more pictures!

Dear Blog, I miss you.

Hi Dear Blog!

I miss you! I am not sure WHAT I miss about you. Maybe it is the whole, "process my thoughts" thing that I miss. I know I am having thoughts. Maybe just not important ones?

I should be telling about things that are going on in my family. Like,

Jaxon was Baptized!

Except, I took no pictures. Not a single one. Weird. I know. The whole day was surreal.

I had so much love and support on that day though. Like, 7-8 families from my new ward showed up.

I felt so blessed.

It was a great day.

I should post things like, My Mom came out for decorator prison!!!! And I am happy to report, I am MOSTLY done with decorating. However, there is lots of sewing, and painting to do, so, I don't "feel" done. Should I post pics anyway? I don't know. Okay, maybe I will do that.

The good news is, when I moved out of my house in AZ, I thought I hated all of my stuff. (Furnishings, decorations, etc.) But when I moved it all in here, I fell in love again! :) I think I was just out of love with our rental. Like, seriously.

I have a new calling... I should write about that. . . I am the Assistant Wolf Den Leader. THERE. That's it. I am going to kinda stink at it because I know nothing of scouting, so, it will probably be good for me. The thing I like about it is that I can still go to Relief Society!

We finished our landscaping! That is good too? Wanna see a picture? I don't know if I should post one, because I don't even know if I have a good "before" picture. So, maybe not.

We have had two visitors already, and one more this week! We like having a revolving door. Who is coming next?

So, that is what has been up with me, dear blog. What has been up with YOU?

Lindsey

Don't Cross Wade

Or he'll cross you...



This is a picture of Daddy. Daddy told Wade no more video games because he was losing it that Abby was watching TV on the Wii TV. The next time we saw Wade, he brought this picture to Peter... it was a picture of him.... with a cross through him.

Just don't cross Wade.

It has finally hit me. . .

For years I have looked at other women, and thought... wow.

They have a LOT to do.

Why are they so busy?

They must over schedule their kids (yes, I judge sometimes... you do too.)

Why doesn't any one have time?

Why are they so harried?

What do they have going on in their lives that I don't?

Well my friends.

After 11 1/2 years of marriage,

and 10 moves,

and 4 children.

I have finally discovered what it is that makes you all so busy.

LIFE.

Today went as such:

Wake Up: 6:30

Walk for 30 mins

Make breakfast: 7:00

Eat breakfast and feed for kids 7:30

Read Scriptures: 8:00

Send kids to school: 8:20

Finish work out: 8:30

Do laundry 9:00 (On going)

Go to Lowes to pick up plants 9-10

Take home plants, get them out of car, do other various things in the garage along with field 3-4 phone calls. 10-11

Talk to landscaper 11:00-11:15

Take Wade to Preschool 11:15 (anyone notice I have yet to take a shower??? ???????? I HAVE!!!!!!!)

Drop off Wade 11:30

Go to Target: 11:45-12:30

Get home and shove a sandwich that my sweet husband made 12:45-1:00.

Respond to more phone calls/e-mails 1:00-1:15

TAKE A SHOWER>...FINALLY! 1:15-1:30

Make a mad dash to pick up Wade: 1:45

Go to Grocery store for Dinner for missionaries that they JUST called to remind me about 2:00-2:35.

Unload groceries and load dishes in dishwasher 2:35-2:50

Go to Scouts (NEW CALLING) 2:50-4:15

Come home and make dinner for Missionaries 4:15-5:00

Make Brownies for missionaries while they are standing in your kitchen and completely forget the sugar in the brownies. 5:10.

Clean up Dinner 6:00

Find pump and needle for basketball pump up: 6:45.

Decide you need to go to yet ANOTHER store 7:00 p.m.

Get home at 8:30

Field more phone calls 8:30-9:00.

Apologize to people for having it take you 4 hours to call them back.

Make a to do list for tomorrow 9:15.

Do something mindless for 45 minutes and decide to write a blog post about how you finally get what those "busy" people were doing all that time.

I get it.

Swiper the _____?

You be the judge.

Birthday Bayblade Blast

(i am almost certain this picture was taken by wade.....)

Jaxon has never had a birthday party. . . I know. It is kind of sad. But we have never had a birthday party for him because he has A) Never had enough friends and B) has never really cared.

But this year, he cared. As a matter of fact, all he ever talked about was HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH FRIENDS!!!

{crickets}

That was an inside joke.. Jaxon says "crickets" all the time if there is a lapse in talking.

Anyway, he picked a BAD time to care, since we just moved in and he still has no friends.


Peter insisted on being in charge of the festivities, which I was completely happy to bag. I have a few other things going on, so, it was fine...

He had a very distinct vision of cupcakes that he would make.. It would be like an Ocean.. with a shark.. eating a smaller fish....





I said, I think you could roll the dough into a circle and cut out a mouth... kinda like Pac Man.... I think you can see who has the REAL creative vision in the family.




I think you can see how he liked it.


My sweet boy had all the patience in the world while he did homework, ate dinner and waited and waited to open those presents!!!

My neighbor came by a few days ago to introduce herself, and I in return said, WILL YOU PLEASE COME BE OUR BIRTHDAY PARTY? She brought her kids (3) and gift and an extension cord so we could try to put some dents in our wall by playing with a PINATA.. Another Jaxon "must-have" item.

Believe me, that was the most exciting Pinata I have ever seen!! I was sweating BULLETS!

But in the end, he had an amazing time, and an amazing birthday...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAXON! WE HOPE 8 IS GREAT!

On a Bender

I went on a painting bender this weekend.

Painting is hard on a body. I wasn't even painting WALLS! I was painting Abby's furniture for her room so that I can GET to my walls, because I promised...

Anyway, I got to work on her desk, and some boxes that I have had in my playroom for... hmmm.. I don't know, 7 years???? They will no longer fit in the play room, and we had designs to get a trunk for the end of Abby's bed to hold her THOUSANDS of stuffed animals, but, why buy a trunk when you have a perfectly good set of box cubes that you can paint and put in her room?

The answer to that why question is, you just don't buy a trunk, you fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without..... Most of the time.

I also have a dresser I need to paint for her, and it is not yet under way... HOWEVER,

I have taken that mirror off the dresser and it is now serving a useful purpose.... Want to see?

I took the corroded mirror off of this little mount that was attached to her dresser. This is a picture of it upside down, but you get the idea.

And I painted it up like this. .




Can you believe those little rosettes? They were fastened on to that antique wood with the oldest rustiest nail... And that is it. They were just simple little pieces of wood. So cute.

I will tell you the paint that I used for BOTH of these projects, was seriously just a sample can of paint for $2.65 at home depot. It has done both jobs, and I am nearly through with it. Can you believe that? As Wade would say, "BOOYA YOU DIE". (Ps- That is Abby's cute desk that is getting primed under that frame. Cute huh? Don't let it fool you, it was a NIGHTMARE!)

Anywho....
I grabbed a few supplies at the store, mainly Michaels, and made Abby a super cute cork board that she can put stuff up on...
Some spray adhesive, cork, and some foam core cut to back your frame. It is nice to use the foam core, because you can punch holes in it, and the cork is thin, so, it will help hold the pins in when the board is up.

Measure you cork. Spray your board generously and voila. . . .


So easy.

Then, you take a look at the handle pulls that you just pulled off Abby's dresser... Unfortunately, you are not going to be able to use them, because there were a few missing.

So you make your kids sand them.



And you take pictures of them, because they are ANCIENT, and look how darn cute they are! You can't even believe how old these puppies are...





Then you prime them, and stick tacks to them with a hot glue gun with your disgusting looking hands that are covered in paint primer, glue and spray adhesive....




And then you paint them that crazy turquoise color and suddenly they look like little candies, and you can't stand how cute they are... or at least I can't anyway.

Can't wait to put it up in her room!

Boxing Out

The other night, I had a dream. It was about boxes... I was frantically searching around for boxes before a big move.

Story of my life right?

I was frantic, and wasn't sure I was going to be able to find enough boxes. I was searching high and low and I am pretty sure I broke into a sweat. . . in my sleep.

I woke up and thought, woah. THAT was a crazy dream.

I am purging boxes out of my house like nobody's business right now. I am tossing them out on the curb, and I hope to NEVER see them again.

I have a little confession, with living in rentals for the last three years, one knows they are going to be moving. Sometime, in the near future.

I kept boxes.

I never unpacked boxes.

I have things in my bedroom currently that I haven't seen for at least two years!

I folded up boxes and lined the walls of my garage with them.

I hid them in my food pantry,

my closets

and my basement.

I hoarded boxes.

And now. . .

I AM GETTING RID OF THEM!!!!!

Almost done.

Sneak Peak

I promised Abby that I would decorate her room FIRST. I have had a hard time keeping to that promise because with unpacking comes some level of decorating. But when I found myself dreaming of painting my dining room and making curtains, I recommitted myself to doing her room FIRST!!!! (I'm easily sidetracked...)

Anyway, since we moved on her ACTUAL birthday this year, her birthday was pretty lackluster. . . as was Peter's, which is a day later. My gift to her was her California room re-do. As I mentioned before, I let her pick out the bedspread, and we built from there. If you want to see my design ideas, you can go HERE.

One of the things that I acquired for her room I had actually bought probably 1 1/2 years ago. I.know. I had EVERY intention of painting it and putting it in her room, but I am SO glad I didn't... Who knows what color I would have painted it.. and since I can't take it apart, it was a COMPLETE beast to paint. And it had this high gloss finish wich I didn't exactly want to take the time to sand off. . . It sat in our garage untouched for that year and a half, and when I was outside painting it this week, I said to Peter, "Why did I not do this before!!?!?" And he said, because you would have died a heat stroke.... True. So. True. (PS- it was $10-- Garage Sale)


SO, I decided to go with a "beachy" feel.

I have been completely amazed by the blog Better After, which features big ol' pieces of wooden junk that people have refinished. I am no where NEAR at the level of ability that most of these people are. . that said, I like to think I can do just about anything. SO, I gave it a whirl.

I wanted to paint it all white, but since I am keeping the walls in her room white (for now) I decided it needed a little punch of color. THat is when things got messy, because when you can't take a shelf apart to paint indiviual pieces, you better believe there was turqoise all over that thing... Oh well, after a quick conversation with a new friend, (HI MARCIE!) she convinced me to just "knock the paint off" and forget about touch ups and antiquing. . .


I did just that, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. . . That nice weathered look makes it feel like I just pulled it out of an old beach house. . .

You can't see them well, but the nobs are old glass antique nobs, and they look just great! You can see the cord hanging down from the shelf. It actually lights up! LOVE!

I can't show you the rest of her room yet, because it isn't finished, and I am hoping that it will motivate me to hurry up! But.. since I can't resist... I will show you her bed. . .

Cute huh? How do you like the disco lamp? Jaxon gave that to me a few years ago for my birthday, because he said it was "sparkly" and "girls like sparkly things..." So true Jaxon, so true. Since I never got a chance to return it (PETER WOULDN'T LET ME!) I kept it.... in a box... and now it has found a very welcome home. :) Ps- Someday, I am going to make Abby a new headboard with black and white polka dots! Can't wait!

Decorate on a Dime

here that I am SUPER excited to be able to decorate a house again. There is nothing like making a house your HOME. I can't wait. Three years was a long time to feel like you are living in someone else's space. I commend those of you who do it all the time.

I didn't realize all of the anxiety that living in that house was giving me... but, not having a working dishwasher for 4 months will do that to a person.. Especially after you are done hand washing dishes for 6 people.

ANYWAY... Our main issues in this house are STORAGE. It is seriously lacking... unless you are in the garage, and then there is plenty. However, if you have kids in your home and run a couple of businesses out of your home you know that you have to have some of your "storage" inside.

One of the things I LOVE doing is finding great decorations on the cheap. I kinda pride myself every time. For example. We needed a couple of new bookcases to store some books. I found one I loved in Pier One.


Behold: The Nicolina Bookcase from Pier One. $349.
Behold: The Montego Bookcase from Home Decorators Collection: $79 plus free shipping yesterday... which I got.

SQUEE!


Now for more storage in the family room. Like the look of this console... Originally $599 from Ballard Designs. Totally my favorite place for design ideas.. I tear page after page after page out of that catalog for ideas... It is on sale right now for $399.


Behold: The Essex console from Home Decorator's Collection. ALMOST the exact same thing.


$209 and Free shipping yesterday! I love it! I can't wait to show you my room re-dos!

Free Bird

Well, hello blog.

I have missed you.

Well, missed is the wrong word.

I have neglected you?

Yeah, that sounds more like it.

Blogging, for a long time, was my only method of processing a difficult time in my life.

Guess what.

Things aren't difficult right now.

As a matter of fact, they are amazing.

And I feel like a free bird.

I knew that eventually we would rise up.

But, three years was going on a long time.

It's not like all of our challenges are over.

We still have LOTS of challenges ahead.

But they seem to be more of a "fun" kind of challenge.

Possible?

Yes.

I feel like I have been a bird, stuffed in a cage, with clipped wings.

My captor grew lazy, and forgot to keep clipping my wings.

And accidentally left the door open for too long one day.

I escaped.

I left my prison.

And, it is absolutely the most wonderful feeling in the world.

I don't ever want to forget it.

I don't ever want to forget what we went through.

Sometimes, I can't believe we made it.

Most of the time, actually.

But we did.

And we are being rewarded beyond our wildest dreams.

It makes me think about this life's end.

Where we will probably stand, completely worn, exhausted, defeated and discouraged.

We will be uncertain if the sacrifice we made was enough. We will be tattered, and torn.

Then, we will be "taken in" and "lifted up" and we will feel His redeeming love, and we will forget the hardship we have been through, because now we have tasted of the good.

And it will be like nothing else we have ever experienced.

And it will be indescribable.

And it will be better than anything that we could have ever imagined.

And we will be home.



I have had a glimmer of what it will be like.