Remembering the Blessings During the Trials

"The thief comes only to steal and and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have LIFE and have it to the full."
John 10:10


I know that the key to pushing through the hard times is looking at the blessings. As life has thrown me some major trials in the last two months, I have completely left my list of 1000 gifts behind. This desert that I am in needs reminding of the good around me. This seems obvious, but Ann Voskamps book "One Thousand Gifts: Dare to LIVE FULLY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE" explains it so well when she says "when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me".

So here continues my list
#226-240
....the sound of the tea kettle whistling sends me feelings of comfort through and through
....making cranberry tea with Caroline-sharing in her excitement and joy in juicing the lemons and oranges
....girls up on the hill with a friend for HOURS, just being little girls!
....the little red book, Streams in the Desert by Mrs Chas Cowman given to me on my birthday by a dear, thoughtful friend. This one book besides my Bible has been my pipeline of comfort from God
....the words of Andrew Murray "we have a God who delights in the impossibilities"
....being very sore from a hard workout (below 150lbs)
....good friends who comfort me
....1 Thess 5:16-18 claiming these verses now and for always..."be joyful always, pray continually, give THANKS in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"
....twins mastering no training wheels one day apart, Caroline was not going to be out done by Thomas. Pure joy to watch there joy as they went around and around the driveway!
....making it through Thanksgiving day~I love my kids so much
....a few hours to myself, in my house to clean, put things away, and decorate a bit for Christmas
....red vintage tablecloth, freshly ironed and put on the table in the family room, I see it everytime I walk to the front of the house. Thank you mom for giving me a pop of red to add to the Christmas spirit
....a brother who cares
....kids who tackle a project as a team (lovely job of cleaning the bird cage out, they made it look like new!)
....Ephesians 3:20

November 10 devotion from Streams in the Desert
"....it behooves thee, therefore, to rely with confidence upon the Word of God. And though He delayeth His help, and the evil seemeth to grow worse and worse, be not weak, but rather strong, and rejoice, since the most glorious promises of God are genereally fulfilled in such a wondrous manner that He steps forth to save us at a time when there is the least appearance of it."

My Bedroom

This post has been a long time in coming. Over a year ago we were in the bay area and I was able to go into the Country Store in San Anselmo which happens to be a very sentimental shop for me. I grew up going to it with my mom and when I was to be married both my parents bought us a piece of furniture for our first home in this shop! Anyway, on our trip over a year ago I found some really neat botanical prints unframed. That year for Christmas Eric gave me the framing as my gift. The pictures sat propped up in the study for 6 months! Awful, I know, but I was nervous to hang them, worried about getting them even, would I even like them etc etc etc!

My dear, creative friend Angie helped me hang them and we did it in just over 30 minutes. It wasn't bad for being the opposite of scientific! We laughed and laughed and I mean laughed at how we did it and how awful we were at math! Here Katherine had been working on fractions and I was being faced with a real life fraction kind of dilemma! I had to include the pictures of us hanging them because we had so much fun doing it! See how careful we were, they actually turned out pretty even and straight for how we did it! And by the way I love, love, LOVE them! Also, I am so glad I went ahead and bought the headboard from Ballard Design, what a steal of a price! Love all the white, now if I could just get a dust ruffle made and the love seat reupholstered. Thanks to Pierre Deux going out of business I am going back to square one on what to recover it in! Time will tell on all of that....







I know I have posted some pics of the before and after of our fireplace, but couldn't do a post about the bedroom without putting these pictures in again....Evan worked magic to transform the fireplace, give us bookshelves and more storage and make the fireplace look like new by covering the brass!

~Swords~Thomas~ and the Beginnings of His New Room~

Thomas is such a boy. Tonight he told me that what he really wants is a sword! He asked if I would ever get one for him so he could carry it "all around". He promised he would never use it on his sisters, he said he would just poke them a bit!
I think we'll hold off for a while on the purchase of that one....

Found these awesome ship paintings at an antique store in La Jolla. I thought they would be perfect in Thomas' room, and I think they look grand above his bed, a real "splurge", as they were $125! I plan on getting a pillow sham made for his bed out of the ticking stripe material in the picture, and the little cheery print is a card I bought at the same antique store. I'm going to frame it to hang above the coat rack in his room!(thanks Angie for that idea) I'm still looking for a large map/wallpaper for one wall of his room....all this is exciting!

New Things

Last weekend I enjoyed a whole day of fun with my friend Angie who just happens to be a total kick! I bought way too much fun stuff, but said no to a lot too!!! We went down to La Jolla and poked through 3 antique stores which produced some very great treasures! The pictures at the end of the post are of the pitchers I bought. I love both of them, but that tiny, squaty one is just the cutest little thing one ever did see! Why do I love things like little pitchers, spoons, cups, vases?...there's just one word GENETICS. I love these things because it is in my blood thanks to my mom who also happens to love little things. She has a great eye for unique finds, which makes walking into her home a totally fun experience! Trust me, not very many people truly understand the thrill I get from just looking at her stuff!
Thanks mom for the genes....and thanks for introducing me to hotel silver. I love, love your shelf of it in your kitchen!

The pictures of the kids I just had to put into this post for you mom. Isn't Carolina a character! She picked out her skirt for church so I had to show you what a little cutie patootie she was with her knee-high socks and all. Her eyes always seem to twinkle with a bit of mischief mixed in!

Thanks mom for finding the little cabinet, it looks great in the kitchen in that ugly, weird angled place in front of the sink! And the picture that Lizzy is holding was $42. I love the frame and mat just the way they are and I have to admit that they were the reason I was drawn to the picture in the antique shop. I hadn't really looked at the picture closely, but when I returned home on Sunday and showed the girls my treasures Katherine said "Wow, Mom...that is a picture of that famous island off the coast of France Mont Saint Michael, I have seen beautiful pictures of that!" Glad SHE knows!!!!

I plan on posting more tomorrow about other areas of the house that I am working on. Should be kind of fun to journal the changes that have taken place over time!

Haircuts and Skinny Jeans

All four girls were in need of haircuts! Especially #1 and #2 who didn't want one a-t a-l-l. An appointment was made and I was excited.....they were gloomy. The day arrived and the three of us headed downtown to precious Kathryn who cuts my hair. She knew they weren't thrilled, and talked to them about what they wanted and shared some ideas. To sum up the experience, more was cut off than expected, tears were shed by both girls, but I was thrilled. Within a day both had shared with me that they LIKED their hair.

Also, girls were in major need of jeans...Katherine must have had a huge jump in her heigth because ALL of her pants were too short, pants that fit her in September. So a shopping trip ensued and girls are liking their skinny jeans now! I really wish for one whole month the kids would all have shoes that fit, pants that are long enough, the right color sweater, and matching socks. Of course, looking on the bright side, with the many needs that abound I have definite job security!