House Blessings

When the walls of our house were being framed, my husband & I snuck inside & wrote scriptures & blessings on the framework of each room.  It's an idea I remember Lisa Whelchel writing about in a Bible study I had done. 

We spent a few hours coming up with scriptures that we felt fit with the purpose of the room & gave tidbits of wisdom or blessing.  Then, we took a sharpie & graffitied the boards that held our walls together with God's words. 

Here's what we came up with:

Entryway (written above the front door)

And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart and you shall teach them...to your children & shall talk of them when you sit in your house & when you walk by the way, & when you lie down & when you rise...& you shall write them on the doorposts of your house & on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Living Room

How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to Your word.

Psalm 119:9

Dining Room

Behold I stand at the door & knock.  If anyone hears my voice & opens the door I will come into him & eat with him & he with me.

Revelations 3:20

Kitchen

Do not neglect to show hospitality to angels for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Hebrews 13:2

Morning Room

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8

Family Room

Find rest, oh my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.

Psalm 62:5

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

Psalm 19:12

But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, & the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from every sin.

1 John 1:7

Laundry Room (has door to outside)

For this world is not our home, we are looking forward to our city in Heaven, which is yet to come.

Hebrews 13:14

Garage

The Lord will watch over your coming & your going both now & forevermore.

Psalm 121:8

Study

By wisdom a house is built & through understanding it is established.  By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious & pleasant riches.

Proverbs 24:3

Steps

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen...

Ecclesiastes 5:1

Bedrooms

Surely goodness & love will follow me all the days of my life & I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:6

Master Bedroom

He who dwells in the shelter of the most high, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty will say to the Lord, "My refuge & my fortress; My God in whom I trust."

Psalms 91:1-2

Bathrooms

Better is one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil & chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:6

It is my hope that all who enter this home will be surrounded by God's eternal love & wisdom.

Have you ever done this during construction or remodeling?  If so, I'd love to hear what scriptures you chose!

Sharing here:

11 Years Ago Tomorrow....

Eleven years ago, I spoke this vow to my husband..."to have & to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love & to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

We have been through so much in the past eleven years...I wouldn't have spent it any other way!

Happy Anniversary!



Kitchen Artwork

When we lived in our old house, I got the idea to frame & hang pictures of my children in the kitchen.  Of course, the pictures had to be theme appropriate, so I found some pictures of my kids eating, printed them in sepia, framed them, & hung them near the kitchen table.  These are some of my favorite pictures & they are again hung on the walls near my kitchen table.

My favorites are of each of my kids eating cake on their first birthdays! 

{Zeke}

{Elie}

I don't know how anyone could look at these without smiling!

Wendy



I Shudder at the Shutters

I mentioned in my project list, that I didn't like the look of these shutters:

{Before}

My husband took them down a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure how I feel about the window now.

I still agree that I don't like the pointy part of the original shutters, but I thought the brick was laid around the window, & upon removing the shutters realized it was not.  Now I'm thinking of having him put the shutters back up, but without the pointy part (it was just clipped on to regular shutters).

What would you do?  Leave it as-is, or try putting the regular shutters up?

Wendy

Eliana's 5th Birthday

It's hard to believe that on this day five years ago, I was on my way to the hospital to be induced.  (To make a long story short, I didn't know I was in labor with my son, so I had to be induced to avoid having this baby at home!)  I recieved Pitocin around 6:30 a.m., and just two hours later, Eliana was ready to enter the world.  Of course, my doctor had just left the hospital, so I had to cross my legs until he got back!  I don't believe there is a birth or adoption story without some element of drama or surprise!  At 8:59 a.m., Eliana Denae entered the world & filled my life with much more surprise & drama than I could have ever imagined!

We celebrated her fifth birthday with friends & family this past Saturday.  I knew what theme would be perfect for Elie's party after seeing Christie's Vintage Paper Doll Party.  I loved all the details & tried to copy as many as possible!

First, I made the invitations by replicating an idea I found on the blog Whimsy Love.

Next, I spent time decorating, baking, planning the games, & cutting lots & lots of paper dolls out of card stock!

{Paper Doll Garland}

{Chips & Salsa, Cheese, Veggies, Strawberries, Licorice, M&Ms, Jelly Beans, & Cake}

{Cupcakes topped with paper doll dresses}

{Pin the Dress on the Doll}

The party activities consisted of coloring paper dolls & clothes, pin the dress on the paper doll, a scavenger hunt to find the goody bags, & a funny photo booth.  It turned out to be a pretty fun party!

{Goody Bags}

{Photo Booth}

Happy birthday Eliana!  I hope all your wishes come true!





Let There Be Light!

For nearly two years, we have been eating in the dark.  When we built our house, we had the builder install a light kit to the morning room (where our kitchen table sits), so that we could add our own fixture.  However, the electrician was out of regular light kits that day, so he added a fan kit.  Unfortunately, that meant we got an extra light switch to control the fan.  It would have been great if I was planning on adding a fan to the room, but I wanted a pretty light above the table, not a fan making my food cold!  At that point, my husband wanted a fan.  He did not want a light switch that was useless.  (I agree that it is kind of annoying!)

Anyway, after much debate, my husband finally gave in & let me make the decision!  Yay!  After much time & deliberation, I finally found the perfect light from Overstock. 

Here is the morning room picture I showed you from my project list:

{Before}

And, here it is with lighting...



I think it turned out great, & it will be so nice to be able to see what we are eating!!

The only thing left for this room is the curtains.  The fabric keeps getting back ordered, so who knows when I will get it!  Here's a sample of the fabric I have chosen:



{Tampico Pool by Magnolia Fabrics}

I love this fabric so much!  It will work perfectly in the space.  It ties the colors from the morning room & family room together beautifully.  I'll be crossing my fingers that it gets here soon!

Wendy

Sharing here...

  

The Deck is DONE!

After weeks & weeks, the deck staining project can finally be crossed off the list!  I mentioned in my project list that my husband spent the entire summer last year building this deck himself!  It was a labor of love that needed to be done, since we had a door that led to a 2-story drop!  The deck looked great, but I knew it would be even better once it was stained.

{Before}

It was recommended that we wait a year to stain it, so the wood could dry out.  I couldn't quite wait a whole year, since it wasn't finished until the end of the summer last year, but figured a few months wouldn't hurt anything!

{After}

{Not a glamour shot!}



Sorry for the ugly scenery in this picture, but I wanted to show the landing & steps.  The concrete for the patio is getting delivered today, so hopefully, it won't be too long before we make this area look pretty!  I would love to try something like this to camouflage the exterior basement wall.  I found the idea on the blog Classic Casual Home.  We'll see!

{After}

It is such a relief to finally have the deck complete.  This project tested my heat-resistance (I started this when the temps were in the upper 90's), pain tolerance (Oh, my aching back!), & patience (Who'll Stop the Rain).  Needless to say, next time we're paying someone to do this!

Have you ever started a project & then realized it would have been much better to have hired help instead?

Wendy

Sharing at these parties:

Show & Share Day at Just a Girl