My Request For This Year..... Graciously Granted Already.

So I know that I already missed posting twice in a week but I have good reason.... the Lord has created a little tiny life inside of me and I am so thrilled that I haven't been able to sit down long enough to write a post! See I told you: good reason.
Jason and I have been ready for children (ready for them, not ready to know exactly what to do with them.. lol) for years now and we have been praying that the Lord would graciously give us the desire of our hearts and as ALWAYS-He is FAITHFUL! His steadfast love towards us is overwhelming and we would love for you to stop for just a second and praise Him for the undeserving grace He has given us. Oh my goodnes.... we are gonna be parents!!!
So for any of you who are interested in how we got the news here is a short summary:
This past Saturday I decided to take a pregnancy test. I have taken several before due to being late but they always came back negative so that's what I was expecting again- this is a mixture of little faith and trying not to get my hopes up.
So I take the test, (fyi- those three minutes waiting seem like FOREVER!)The test shows two lines...WHAT????!!!!!! I freak out very quietly in the bathroom and decide I need to take another one before I tell Jason or get too excited. We had planned to go get some afternoon dessert so I went along with the plan, after we came home I took another one and it was positive as well. This time I almost passed out.
I had decided if the Lord ever let me get pregnant, I wanted to tell Jase in a creative way so I had planned to buy him an arrow (representing a child: psalm 127:3-5 ) and I thought he would get it.
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

So off to Wal-Mart I went- tearfully thanking and praising the Lord as I drove. I went to the toy section- and no arrows.... next I decided to check the hunting section... found some and put them in the cart (you should've seen the men looking at me obviously saying in their heads "Does this woman know what she is buying?").
I brought them home, took one out and yelled to jase that I had found something at Wal-Mart that he had been wanting for a long time. I went into the library where he was studying and gave him the arrow- this was our convo:
Jason: "You got me an arrow?"
Me: "Yep".
Jason: "Is this for a crossbow?"
Me: smiling "Nope.... actually we can take it back if you want."
Jason: "honey, why did you get me an arrow, I don't understand?"
Me: "It represents something- you are smart, you can get this...."
Jason stares at the arrow for a long time, trying to figure it out.... He looks at me and says "I really don't know???"
Me: "You are going to be a daddy!"
Then for the next minute it was a back and forth of "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" "WHAT?????!!!!!!!"
We hugged for a long time and rejoiced together- we were and are so ver very thankful!
I went to the doctor yesterday and it looks like my due date is September 17th. 16 days after our anniversary. The Lord is so good. He has been good to not give us a child for this long and He would've been good had He never given us a child- but we are overwhelmed that He would be this good and entrust a life to us!
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150

That night we went out and bought our baby's first stuffed animal- we agreed on a sweet little giraffee.

Can't wait to keep you updated on this undeserving journey!

For Heaven's Sake... let's try this again!

I know my blog is R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S.! I haven't posted since June??? What in the world. One of my main goals for 2011 is to make this blog inspiring, transparent, encouraging, and most of all - to keep it UPDATED!!! =) I want it to be a collection of posts centering around furniture projects, crafts, recipes, helpful resources, updates on my life and most of all -posts that are used to point to the Great God I serve. So I have proved myself untrustworthy of this goal in the past so I obviously need your help.... (isn't admitting the first step to solving the problem?)
So I think a realistic goal is to post at least twice a week- we'll just see how realistic that is for me. Don't judge- just encourage. =)
So one of my favorite goals I make at the beginning of every new year is a reading goal. I love to read! I hate that this desire only started about 6 years ago- up till then i had zilch desire... but now.... I love to curl up with a book and be inspired, enchanted, and broken over the things I take in....



Every January I pull out all the books I think would benefit and challenge me- realize there are too many- put some back and then rework my list to something realistic. So here are the books I am hoping to finish by this time next year:


In case you can't read all the titles/ authors:
Knowing God: J.I. Packer
The Pastor's Daughter- Hopkins
Let the Nations be Glad- Piper
Salvation in Full Color- Roberts
Jane Eyre- Bronte
Heaven is a Far Better Place- Davies
Redeeming Love- Rivers
Respectable Sins- Bridges
Does Grace Grow Best in Winter- Duncan
The Death of Death- Owen
Memoirs and Remains of R.M.M.- Bonar
Women's Ministry in the Local Church- Duncan & Hunt
Radical- Platt
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands- Tripp
Gospel for Muslims- Anyabwile
A Body of Divinity- Owen
Marks of a Messenger- Stiles
What Jesus Demands of the World- Piper
Worldliness- Mahaney
Lottie Moon- Lawrence
Since taking this picture I've added 5 books to the list =)- two of them are: "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper and an old classic "The Hidden Life of Prayer" by David Mclntyre
The other three will be arriving shortly to my house and I'm planning on doing a separate post of them! So stay tuned!
Here is the good news about my list so far- since the beginning of this month I already have read two and have started 4 others (2 almost finished!) Yay for me! So there.... I posted. Today = success!

Latest client project and more favorite before & afters!

So here was the sad dresser that was brought to me a week ago by a new client. She needed a lot of help... so I loved on her a little bit...and here are the pics to prove it!


So i sanded her down, filled in the handle holes with wood glue, sanded a bit more, painted her a pretty pear green, applied some aged glaze, and bought super cute glass knobs at Hobby Lobby for the drawers. Since HL was having a sale, I was able to get these knobs for $2 a piece, rather than $4. So here is the end result and some close ups.




She has ADORABLE written all over her, doesn't she?

You can see more great projects @ one of my favorite blogs- just click the button below


So this transofrmation made me think back to a few of my favorite other transformations. Here are my top favorites...

This ugly green dresser you saw a while back...





Then here was a simple chair i found a couple years ago on the side of the road... actually there were four of these... how lucky am I?




Another chair... found this at a flea market...I think I paid $25- kind of expensive for me but she turned out worth it.


So I put a little time and $3 worth of materials into her and here's what I got...



The little pillow is actually made out of fabric placemats I found at goodwill (4 for 99 cents!). And I think the fabric was $1.50 a yard at wal-mart.

Here is my very first furniture product... so the pics aren't great... this is an antique linen cabinet (I think) that I picked up from a flea market sale for only $20!!! How I would pay that price again for 3 more!

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It doesn't look like this anymore - because i needed it to match my living room so now it is painted white with some age glaze. It holds our TV inside!

Now for the item I think used to be a feed bin... that I turned into a buffet...


So a little leftover paint, and glaze...


A couple more projects...





And last and definately my favorite of all time- my $200 laundry room makeover...



I'll do a post in the next couple weeks on how i accomplished this makeover for only $200.

Paint, paint and more paint!

So I've been a little on the busy side... sorry blog for neglecting you. Major highlights since I last posted include an enjoyable visit from my dad (who stayed for 5 days!), re-finishing lots of furniture, a fun Saturday morning w/ the hubby at garage sales, meeting my first charming creations client,holding baby Noah Chandler for the first time, a much needed visit from my girl Lizzie, and teaching the junior and senior high girls at the Main Street Mission last Wednesday.


So here are a couple pics of what dad and I did while he was here, my super cheap and encouraging craft project, and then my fabulous garage sale find...

So here are the two items my dad and I found at a flea market- for $30 we got both of them... this baby was pretty darn ugly, but she had potential...


then this traditional rocker was our next find...



So we worked... and worked some more. My dad was such a trooper. It was nice to have a "perfectionist" helping you re-finish furniture- especially since I am NOT!


Jase helped a little too... can you see my poor dad sweating? Gross... but glad he's a hard worker!


such a hard worker that he needed a nap with his BFF for the week...


so here are the finished products...





So we bought her for $20- put $25 in to her for the glass knobs and paint and then sold her in less than 24 hours after posting on craigslist for $100!!! Can you believe that?
now for the rocker... we bought her for $10- had to do some minor work on her, put about $10 in to her for fabric and paint and sold her for $75!
she is so charming!

the best part about her being sold is that a friend of mine bought it for a super close friend from college. I am so excited that little Miller will be rocked in this chair! So of course the chair will come with a matching monogrammed pillow made by yours truly.


So next we have my super cheap, cute, and encouraging craft project...
all you need is a picture frame with mirror, some fabric ( i love burlap, and it's super cheap), some scissors and a dry erase pen. You can get a little more creative, but those are the essentials!
I initially got this idea from this super great blog
So I made an attempt to make an erasable menu picture...

then i decided to try this same technique for some erasable scripture pictures... i LOVE these! I have three different ones now...



I love having scripture up all over my house! Jason and I have been trying to commit to sharing a scripture with one another before he leaves for work- so this one usually ends up being put on the frame right on top of the t.v. armoire.
These are the kind of things I love- projects that end up helping you treasure God!

So next we have the best garage sale find ever!
Jase and I got up early Saturday morning and decided to hit a few yard sales. We did not find much but what we did find, made 5:30 a.m worth the effort!
This is what I got for $10!!! And I didn't even try to talk them down- they had had it for $25 (which was great too) and as I was looking at it, the girl yelled " You can have it for $10"! I yelled back "sold!" =)
A roll top desk for $10- YOU. CAN. NOT. BEAT. THAT.!


So I took her home and refinsihed her with these items which cost around $4 for the amount I used:



This is how she turned out after a lot of effort...

Wouldn't she be adorable with tiny woven baskets up in each slot?



So that's a summary of the highlights of my week! Hope you enjoyed!

Pick Me, Pick Me!!!

I am so embarrassed to post this photo, but I'm more motivated to win this contest so that is helpful in pushing through the embarrassment.
One of my favorite blogs is having an "Ugly Sofa Contest" over at Pink and Polka Dot. And since this is sitting in my living room as my MAIN sofa, I think I can confidently enter this contest! This is what I like to call:

"Southwestern meets the 80'S"...




Notice it is pretty rough along the bottom and the left arm has seen better days.
I have been working on my slip covering skills and I've been wanting to give this "thing" a makeover (hopefully in all white) but as usual my funds are low and so it will be a while before she's beautiful... UNLESS.... you give me your vote....
I have a cheap slipcover on my sofa right now, but all the fabric is getting worn out- and creating little "dots" on the seats so I really can't afford to wash it too many more times.
So please, please, pick me, pick me!!!