Song Lyric Sunday

The other day L asked me to 'sing that song about Jesus we sang at church'.  Wow kid, way to narrow it down! Needless to say I had no idea which one she meant.  Then the other day at Messy Church (that was awesome and needs a post all on its own) she was excited to tell me 'This is the song!'

I also really like this one so I decided it was a good choice to write about here. It reminds me of Philippians 3:12 "...but I press on to take hold of that for which Jesus Christ took hold of me."

I know many people are picking a word or theme for the year to help them focus and set goals (grace, joy, trust, etc).  Somehow a year seems like a big commitment to me.  How about a theme for the month, or part of a month remaining?

Take Hold.  Take hold and really live.  Try to get out of the habit of being a spectator in my own life.  Be truly involved in my family, my work, my life.  I will try to take hold, and I will probably hum this song for the next few weeks as I try to meditate on this idea.

My One Comfort

by Dustin Kensrue

My one comfort both in life and death

Is that I am not my own

I was bought with blood and I confess

I belong to you alone

By the Father's good decree

Jesus, you've delivered me

By your Spirit set me free

To follow you

Jesus, you have taken hold of me

And in your grip of grace I'm finally free

Song Lyric Sunday

I had a long day yesterday.  I mean pulling in to work at 7 am and not getting in my car again until 10 at night.  I mean eating one meal but having 2 grande lattes kind of a day.  When parents of the babies I look after start asking "Are you STILL here?" you know it's time to leave.  

I usually find my self with great connection to and sympathy for the babies I work with. I do sometimes wonder about the parents, quite honestly.  Some decisions I see being made don't put the baby first and I struggle with that at times.  I know these thoughts are judgemental and I try hard to serve the families I work with and not think about any other factors.  I know a good connection between parents and their babies is so important for the babies and I try hard to facilitate that.

Yesterday was different.  I still loved the babies in my care and prioritized their needs.  But I was overcome with great compassion for the families.  So many difficult things, so many sad stories.  I was touched today by Pastor Chris' words "This Christmas will be difficult for some people." I thought of the family who have more than one child in the hospital and I spent a good part of my day ensuring they could be together so as to ease the family's stress.  I thought of the parents who received the news that their baby's condition had worsened significantly overnight.  I thought of the many families who have one child in the hospital and one or more at home; siblings separated at Christmas is pretty sad.  I thought of moms who won't see their babies this Christmas for different reasons.

As a Mommy this breaks my heart. I like to think that some of the things I did in my 15 hours at work yesterday helped make things a bit easier for those parents. Some of my running around and repeated phone calls and making arrangements to accommodate them and even bending the rules did something to make them feel cared for at such a stressful time.  

Then talking with an old friend this morning reminded me that many people I love have sad struggles right now and many of my friends may not be where they want to be at Christmas.  

There is a temptation to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of this sadness. But instead I choose to be  thankful that I can be at work with some parents on Christmas who will need encouragement.  Some parents who will feel like their circumstances are a nightmare. I hope I can be the bright spot for them on that difficult day. I hope I can clearly explain to my own kids why missing Christmas parties with them is ok.  How we are blessed to have jobs, and blessed to be together all the other times, and blessed to be healthy.  

Here is the song that touched me today. Especially the part "when the oceans rage...I know that You love me, Your love never fails..."

Your Love Never fails

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

Chorus:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

Verse 2:
The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone here in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

Bridge:
You make all things work together for my good

Playroom/office Demo Mode

Also known as the before pictures, or 'oh that's better already'.  Here the first of a very full load of panelling that went off to the dump.  Buh bye!

This is what my hubby does on his days off!

The west wall as looked when we first moved in and used this as our playroom.  

Built in shelves play now you see me now you don't!

...and here we go in demo mode

playroom now...

 More of the west wall with a peek at the funky panelled window sill and valence. Fancy pants.

More befores. See the pink lump on the floor? She's 5 now.
And R watching Grover there? He read The Hobbit, on his own.

Wow did we have a lot of toys.  We just did all the toy editing and sold stuff on craigslist/ gave stuff away.  The books were especially hard to sort through.  And almost all the Little People are gone.  Ah Fisher Price, those were the good old days.  Now its all Barbie and Skylanders. Sigh.

Particularly hideous close up. Panelled valence and
not one but TWO types of shiny bamboo wallpaper.
But they go together so well!

...looks much better stripped to the studs.

North wall with the pink quilt on it...

Can't wait to move forward and start putting things back.  The wall that faces the carport is already reframed.  He needs to do a few electrical and plumbing things that I don't understand or care about.  Apparently I will care if we can't plug anything in the new room or if the main water pipe breaks behind the drywalled ceiling.  I guess it is a good idea for him to do his plumbing/electrical stuff.  But as soon as it's done I expect to move on to pretty things, ok?

Chalkboard much?

A while back (cough* 3 years *cough) I did a post about chalkboards.  This is my kitchen vinyl chalkboard that we use as a note pad, calendar, and all round organizer.  I love it.

I have had this little (fake) silver tray painted with chalkboard paint in my kitchen for quite a few years as well.  Usually it just says 'Welcome' but here it is being all festive.  I always meant to hang it on the wall but never did.  Lazy you ask?  Yes, yes I am.

I somehow made this framed chalkboard also, quite a while ago.  I can't even remember where I got it.  I definitely painted the frame myself.  I can't quite recall if I painted the chalkboard part myself too, but I think it came that way.  From my mom? Thrifted? Not sure, but boy has it been put to good use.

Behold a few examples of chalkboard usage in my house

Winter fun

A verse in the fall

Same verse different accessories

For a baby shower

Christmas photo prop

Christmas decor

Birthday decor

More birthday decor

For a wedding celebration

For Halloween

Song lyrics at Christmas

Another verse

And here is the most recent version: a saying I read on pinterest that was originally on a t shirt.  It made me laugh so I wrote it up on the chalkboard.  Quite frankly I still laugh to myself every time a pass by and it has been a few weeks.  Easily amused I am.

L's Big Girl Room: Details and Pinspiration

My sister's ballet slippers

inspiration shadowbox

So here we go.  A few little details and the "PINspiration" behind the ideas where applicable.  There is nothing like a bit of visual research during the project planning stage.  

Visit my pinterest board for all links if you're interested, or inspired (pinspired?) as it were.

collection of dress up clothes

inspiration book shelf from YHL house tour

IKEA spice rack as a book shelf

our own collection of vintage quilts and blankets

the captains bed and two dressers

layout inspiration

Built in shelving made by Daddy

our shelving inspiration

Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray (HC 170)

That's it.  The full room tour.  Phew.  Now you've seen it all.  If by chance you want to see the other posts, the bedroom layout is here, and the closet details are here.

Inside the Pink Closet

So here is the (much delayed) view of the inside of her renovated closet.  Keep in mind that these pictures are from before her birthday (in April, I'm such a slacker).  Now there is a giant 3 story Barbie castle in the middle of the closet.  It has a dance floor if your Barbie wants to come over and play sometime. Can you see her collection of fancy dresses hanging in the corner? We made one section of full height hanging going sideways to take advantage of that corner of the closet that is hard to access.

 There is so much shelf space we don't quite know what to do with it all.  A few memory boxes are tucked on the very top shelf, one with baby blankets and clothes and one with crafts and school treasures.  From this angle you can see the hidden shoe storage in the white shelf.  The pink boxes hold smaller toys, jewellery, etc. and the higher ones hold shoes she is growing into.

 When the doors are open during the day it is a fun little hit of colour.  This little girl loves pinky pink and this mommy is so glad the whole room doesn't look like a bottle of pepto.

We have been living with this layout and closet organization for a few months now and it works great!  Lost of room to play, separate bins for all her different toys, easy access to her books, and lots of carpet space to play despite the small square footage of the room.  I am so thankful that A is handy enough to build the things we collectively dream up.  I love sketching my ideas on a scrap paper and then (after a bit of a wait) seeing how he can create them.  This space is a hundred times more useful than it was, and it gives L a special place to play and read and sleep.  Perfect.

AHH! I just found some before pictures I think this highlights how full the closet was before

 and also highlights the particularly useless sections on the sides.

right side is now full height hanging and where doll beds live

Left side is where the white shoe shelf is now

still keep toys here, now Barbies instead of Little People

Butterfly Birthday Details

So tomorrow L turns 5.  It is kind of amazing that our baby girl is now a beautiful, sweet, over-accessorized 5 year old smarty pants.  It was her first real friend party.  Last year she had 2 friends over for a playdate.  This one wasn't much bigger, 4 friends, but it was a 'real party'.  The theme was butterflies, and the colour scheme was... magenta or pink (Fancy Nancy says magenta is a fancy way of saying pink).  Some time was spent on pinterest, and equal time spent in multiple dollar stores.  So here it is!

Sparkly butterfly invitation

Inside the goodie bags...

 Goodie bags with butterfly headbands and pony colouring books.
I made the tiny pennant banner from an idea off pinterest from string and pink duct tape.

I bought her two dozen roses with, you guessed it, more sparkly butterflies!

Streamers, ribbons, and more butterflies for our pink table. 

Butterfly wall decals flying up from the front door came from Nana and Grandad.

The cake was pink inside and out, yummy.  As always made by Uncle G!

The blackboard got a makeover for the occasion.

Fruit caterpillar kabobs

(fruiterpillars?)

Craft time, this girl party was so quiet and they sat for a long time.  

Quietly played a few games- catch the butterflies

TP chrysalis

Present time

Snack time

The party ended with quiet play time in her room.  

They all got along, they played nice, nothing got broken.  

I really could get used to this girl party thing.

 Then we moved on to a little family party.  Starting with a BIG sparkly Barbie castle!

K read her the birthday cards to her, extra cute!

 The rest of the evening was spent playing, visiting and enjoying dessert for the second time!

She is the cutest little 5 year old in this house for sure!