Before & After Dresser

My dresser has been finished for a couple weeks, but one of the knobs was missing so I waited till I got a new one in the mail to take pictures (the knob will probably show up now!). Oh, I did find out from my mom that the dresser was either my dad's or one of his brother's when they were boys. :)

Before

(one of the top knobs had broke, so the two on top are the new knobs)

After

refinishing furniture

I am in the middle of refinishing a dresser that I have had since I was in high school but wasn't new when I got it. My grandmother gave it to me. It had been in their house and is maybe 40 years old. Anyway, it was time for a transformation.

As I was sitting there sanding it down to the bare wood (wow, that takes a long time), I started thinking about how sometimes our lives are like an old piece of furniture. Yes, we do the job we are suppose to do and look "ok" but our Heavenly Father looks at us and sees something so much better for us.

Sometimes all it may take is a light sanding and a new coat of paint. That's not so painful and doesn't take so long. Other times, He may have to sand us down to the bare wood (painful and takes a long time), put a few coats of stain on us (takes even longer), and then a couple clear coats on top of that. Then there are those times that He does all that plus re-purposes us to do something else in our life. That requires a lot more work and time (something we don't really like).

No matter what kind of refinishing God does in our lives, when He gets done our lives are so much better for it. We are more like Him and are doing what we are the most happy doing because God knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us more than we can ever imagine.

When that refinishing is over (well for the time being because I will always need God working on me), He doesn't just put us in some unused closet where no one can see us. He puts us with others, so they can see what God has done in our lives and we can give all the glory to God. If there isn't glory being given to God because of what has happened in our lives, than what was the point of it happening. It's all about God. When I can think like that, I am so much happier.

Well, this pondering of life's lessons was more for my sake, but I hope anyone reading this might have been given something to think about too.

"Let this be your prayer, 'Lord, this is what I desire. Please do it or something better.'" - Priscilla Shirer (from her book "One in a Million")

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." - Isaiah 55:8

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11-13

Kylee's 6th Birthday Party

Kylee decided to have a birthday tea party this year. We had a lot of fun planning it. I got a lot of ideas online from here and here. We ended up having 10 little girls plus Zane who all brought their favorite doll or stuffed animal. A friend from church found tea cups and saucers at a local antique market and then gave Kylee a tea pot that she absolutely loved. Kylee loves pink and hearts, so it was really easy to decorate and very inexpensive. Usually I make the kid's birthday cakes but this year, I decided to spare the stress and have our good friend Dillon make it. It turned out perfect. Kylee was absolutely thrilled.

Individual heart shaped pizzas, strawberries, and watermelon. Berry tea and raspberry lemonade to drink.

Happy Birthday to Kylee!!

We didn't have a table big enough so we ended up using an old door with Rubbermaid tubs to prop it up. (Thank you to my mom for that suggestion)

Bead table (they all made necklaces) and gift table.

Everyone plus a couple little girls who came to pick up their older sisters.

the birthday invitation (the other side had the where and when information

Place cards

Favor bags (they are suppose to look like large tea bags)

Summer 2011

So, since it's been forever since I blogged, I'm just going to post some pictures from our summer. I loved having Kylee home and Zane loved having her to play with all the time.

Church fishing trip at a pond

A visit from Joshua's dad (Zane, Papa, & Kylee)

A visit from Amy (Kylee, Aunt Amy, & Zane)

Lots of time spent with Gracie. This day was at the Children's Museum.

A picnic outside in our yard!

Sonrise Camp (Zane, Taylor, Kylee, & McKenzie)

me and my hubby

Easter Nests

I found this recipe for Easter Nests. They were so easy and turned out super cute. Kylee took them for her Easter party at school.

Easter egg hunt

They had the Easter egg hunt last Sunday afternoon. Zane had so much fun and Kylee found ton of eggs this year.

Gracie, Taylor, & Kylee

Sleeping Beauties

Kylee wanted Gracie to have a sleep over the other night. Gracie wasn't quite ready for that and Kylee ended up going to Gracie's house to spend the night. While they were waiting for Gracie's mom, they ended up going to sleep in my bed. They were so adorable. Best friends even when they are asleep. :-)

Enjoying spring weather

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I found this amazing Guiltless Alfredo Sauce recipe on one of my latest favorite recipe sites.

I used it last week to make Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and was so thrilled with it's taste that I used it on pizza tonight. I also tried this new crust recipe. It's a thinner crust that I made with half wheat and half white and also added italian seasoning to. I layered alfredo sauce, bite size cut up chicken, and tomato, then topped it with mozzarella cheese. Next time red onions might be a yummy addition to the toppings. Anyway, it's defiantly a dinner that I'll be making again.

Doll Bed

Well, I did it! I built my first piece of furniture!! Ok, so it was only a doll bed, but I'm still pretty excited about it. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed building it. I think I may do more of it in the future.

Kylee had been wanting a doll bed for her 18" doll, but they are so expensive to buy. I stumbled across ana-white.com which I absolutely love and made this adorable bed for Kylee's doll Darlene.

I used the tutorials for most of the bedding from here, here, and here.

It was a quick project and only cost a small amount compared to what I could have spent. i think with the bedding, foam for for the mattress, and wood, I spent around $20-$25 dollars.

Happy 2nd Birthday Zane!

Zane just had his 2nd birthday. Such an amazing little guy. There are days I can't seem to catch my breath with him and how active he is. Actually, let me say that's probably most days!

• He is so sweet (well, most of the time)
• loves his big sister
• can't get enough of being outside
• loves balls, books, airplanes, motorcycles, knives (gets frustrated that we won't let him play with real ones), guns, and pretty much anything else that could be remotely dangerous
• His favorite songs to sing are, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"& "ABC's"
• He always wants to help when in turn makes everything take at least twice as long to get done but it makes for a happy little boy.
• tries on everyone's shoes that are sitting around and walks around in them
• thinks that 6am is a good time to come into Daddy & Mommy's room and finish out his sleep in their bed
• gets so excited when I make popcorn
• loves talking on the phone especially to his grandparents
• has figured out that Mommy has a hard time resisting his smile (he learned that from his Daddy)

I found a picture of an airplane cake but there isn't enough artist in me to make it myself, so Joshua stepped it and put it together for me. Zane loved it. I think his favorite part was blowing out the fire (candle) and then everyone clapping for him. We ended up lighting the candle again so he could blow it out for a second time. Joshua's parents were able to come down, his great grandparents came over, and my parents joined us on Skype.

Papa & Zane playing with nerf guns. I'm not sure who was having more fun!

Zane's 2 year pictures

My friend and I took our boys to get their pictures taken today. Her's will be 4 on the 14th, and Zane will be 2 on the 17th. They boys did so well, it made it hard not to come home with pictures of all the poses. Zane's favorite is the one on the motorcycle with a hat on. He keeps on telling me that it is cute.

Family Pictures 2010

We got these taken in December, but never got them posted.

New Couch

We bought this couch used when we got married. I recovered it a few years ago but it was really past time to get a new one. It looks better in the picture than it does in real life.

So, we got a fabulous bargain on this couch. It had a small hole in the material on one of the arms (that can be fixed to be like new) and a small knick in one of the feet (that I can color in with a marker). We love it and think it makes the living room look sooo much better.

No School Day Activities

So we had some unusually cold weather for Louisiana and had some freezing rain which ended up getting school canceled. We enjoyed a nice couple days at home.

We made pancakes...

saw our trees covered a little ice...

played dolls with Kylee...

and sewed some new pajamas for Kylee's doll Darlene.

Guess we will have to get back to our normal routine, but it's been fun while it lasted. We are now having a relaxing Saturday. I love my family and am so blessed.