Is my life boring?

Is my life boring? I have been thinking about this a lot the past few weeks.  Perhaps it is due in part to the lack of outdoor play/freezing temperatures that has made me ponder my life a bit.  I also, will admit, that looking at Facebook is often a very bad idea.  Seeing other mom's out with their children and involved in fun activities always produces guilt, jealousy, etc...  Am I doing enough with my kids?  Do I provide fun activities for them?  Am I a good mom?  A whole list of questions fill my mind and my thoughts are less than encouraging.  Oh yes, I will also note that Peyton was sick this past weekend and any plans I had to hang out with some friends was cancelled due to some sort of virus moving through her system.  I'm sure this only adds to the boring schedule that is our life...or so I think. 

I am hopeful that when the weather warms up we will be able to get outside a bit more and I won't feel so down on my life.  I'm sure this is the main reason for my low feelings.  Our family often heads to one of the MANY parks St. Louis has to offer when the weather is warm.  Oh yes, did I mention the FREE zoo or museum's?  All are amazing and we love getting out.  Its also a great time to hang out with friends and most of the winter germs have gone away.  Again, I am hopeful that I will get out more with friends and their kids this spring/summer/fall.  I also think it would be good for me to call more people and see if they want to get together and hang out.   

Does anyone else have similar feelings?  Am I just forgetting what is true: Winter is a hard time for families with kids or I'm not really boring but just comparing myself to some unrealistic life I see on Facebook?  For real, why do I have a hard time believing that I am a good mom and friend?  Is my life defined by my activities or my children.  Thankfully, I believe that it is not.  I believe I am defined by God's great love for me in Christ who calls me his child and loves me faithfully and fully.  Perhaps I can begin to have this more in mind as I love my children, spend time with them and help them engage with friends and the big wide world.  

A working wall of art

I have been doing some work in our house to make it look…better.  For so long so many of our walls were bare or just looked bad (or at least I thought they looked bad).  I have also been trying to bring in some personality to our house.  I think adding some unique pieces of art to our house can be fun and display a bit of our history and personality.  Anyway, I decided to start on a bare wall in the kids playroom.  I had a bunch of random frames and pictures that needed a place to live and I decided to make something work.   Here is the finished product.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Let me share some specify details of why I chose these items to hang on our wall.

This hand embroidered item was something my mom made years ago before she got sick.  My dad gave it to me a few weeks ago and I knew immediately that I needed to display it.  I found an old frame in our basement, painted it with some leftover paint and viola - a framed item with some family history. I would like to note that my mom was talented in this area.  She made quite a few items and this one is one of my favorites.  I don't have many items from my mom.  She really didn't have a lot to begin with. She was a simple person who was content to give to others.  I hope I can follow her example.  

 I purchased this item a few weeks ago from a talented lady named Kim.  Check out her work here.  I love this piece because I am proud to be from the Show Me State and have St. Louis as my home.  

 I just purchased this piece last week.  Its from Katie Daisy and I LOVE her stuff.  Check out here site here.  She is another amazingly talented artist and I love all her work.  I chose this piece because I don't think we take enough time to be still in our lives.  I know I could use some extra time to be still and reflect on many things… I hope this print serves as a good reminder.  

 The next three pieces are a special work of art by me and the kids.  I think its important to show of their/our work in our home. I may not be talented in the painting category I still think its important to help make our house a home.  The first painting is from Preston.  There is the sun, sky, mountains and grass.  He is actually a very talented artist. I'll try and post more of his work :) 

 This is my print.  Its a tree :)  Just something simple.  

 Here is Peyton's painting.  She loves the color pink!  

 Here is a print Steven bought me when we were dating.  Its a picture of the trolly cars in San Francisco. Steven went there because he was in a wedding and the print reminds me of our early days together.  He was and is so sweet.  

Finally, I have a Calendar.  This print is from the talented Lindsey of Hello Hue . She is another super talented artist and I just had to buy one of these for the kids room. Its a perfect learning tool and the colors are fabulous!

 I think that is all for now. I have a few random frames to fill with pictures of the kids but that should be finished soon.  I love knowing that this wall is now filled with so many wonderful pieces and wonderful memories. I hope your home is filled with the same.  

Little Peyton

Little Peyton hasn't been feeling 100% the past few days. She has some sort of virus (or a couple of them) that have made her digestive system upset.  Thankfully, she is still eating, drinking, playing and generally in a good mood.  I'm sure this virus will work itself through and be gone in a couple days. While I do not like to see my children sick I am enjoying a few extra cuddles.  This picture was taken on Saturday when it was 60 degrees outside.  I wish this cold weather would go away but that is another story. 

So many little thoughts

I have had so many little thoughts floating through my head the past few weeks.  I keep thinking 'this would make a great blog post'… and then the thought fades away and I can't seem to find them.  In order to prevent the loss of these thoughts I am going to start writing blog posts, even if they are short, as they come to me.  Perhaps this will help me keep my blog updated…I hope.

Here is a highlight from the past few weeks. I took some pictures of the kids as a preview for some Valentine Photo sessions.  They were a delight to photograph and I will always treasure these images.  

More Pictures of Paint Project

Here are a few more pictures that I took of the painting project at our house.  As you can see it has been a big job.  So big that I even had the kids help.  They were very eager to help so I had to find the best place for them to work.  This big wall was the best I could do for them and they LOVED it! 

 Here they go!

 Here is both kids painting away.  It didn't last long but it was worth it to have them participate. 

 Here is my finished work of this wall after the kids went to bed. 

 I had to make sure to paint the rail at the bottom of the stairs.  It was so nice to have this wall finished and move the couth back to its home. 

 This wall was a lot of work.  I had to edge at the ceiling and baseboards.  I then had to re paint the white trim around the window and paint the wall.  I think I watched the state of the union speech that night...and then went to bed. 

 The room is really coming together. 

 Here is the side wall and our NEW TV console. I love the color, the simplicity, the storage space, etc..  Its a wonderful addition to our home.  Sure, our TV isn't that big but it is just what we need. 

 This is the last remaining wall to paint in the house.  I hope to complete the project this weekend.  I'll keep you posted….ok, so this post didn't get posted and the paint project is not finished.  I'll keep you posted yet again.  

GoodBye Santa Fe Pottery

It was time.  Time to say Goodbye to the Santa Fe Pottery color in our living room.  Why?  8 years was more than enough.  While I really liked the color I knew we needed something more clean and simple for our living space and I was very happy to change things up.  I am still finishing a few spots but the room is about 80% complete.  I also re painted all the white trim AND the ceiling.  Wow, it really needed a fresh coat of paint.  Oh yes, I also sold our TV console and purchased a new one at Target online.  This new stand opens up the room so much and I am so glad I made the change.  Here are a few photos. I think everyone can agree that it looks a lot better. 

 

Here is a picture of the red walls just as I was starting to paint. 

I made sure to remove all light covers and replaced the off white ones with white ones.  That was a simple $1.99 fix :) 

Here is the work in process.  That edging around the ceiling was a lot of work but I think you can tell by the picture that it needed to be done. 

Here is the look at the fireplace mantel before and after a fresh coat of white paint.  Wow! 

I made sure to paint all the baseboards.  Again, a lot of work but it needed to be done. 

Here was our old TV console.  It was very nice but just didn't work in our home.  I sold it on Craig's list in 1 day. 

Here is the look of the fresh coat of paint .  So nice!! 

 The windows and mantel look so clean :)

 Here was our first wall complete.  I was eager to move things out, paint and move things back as quickly as possible.  I wanted to minimize the 'crazy house project' look as much as possible. 

 Here is one side of our house all painted and put back together. You can still see the red paint in the mirror :)  I still have to finish one wall on the other side and take some pictures.  Stay tuned. 

 Cost of project:

$50 for a gallon of Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.  (I am borrowing a little bit of the paint from my dad since I still have a half a wall to finish) 

New $1.99 light switch cover. 

Plus or minus $8 for a new brush

$12.99 for a can of pure white paint from Home Depot. 

 

I sold our TV stand for $125 on Craig's List. 

I purchased a new TV stand on Target online for $160 

 

All is all - not bad and not expensive.  I say the late night work was worth it! 

Friends

I am so thankful for the wonderful friends my children have.  From school to church we are indeed very blessed with compassionate, gracious and loving friends.  This is a sweet picture of Peyton and her friend, Cora.  These two are only 2 weeks apart in age and already have such a sweet bond.  I love watching them love each other as they learn and explore life together.  I hope and pray that both my children have such wonderful friends during their lifetime.