Friend

I have this sweet friend, I'm not going to mention her name here. It wouldn't matter though, you wouldn't be able to find her. She kind of avoids social media, like the plague. (Which it kind of can be, right?!?) It sucks you in and takes over (sounds more like a black hole.) Either way I find myself easily falling into that black hole/plagueish pit. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing social media. My introverted self actually loves it. But her.....she doesn't easily fall into that pit. I admire her and am blessed that our paths crossed when they did. She is brave and strong.

I came across this post by one of my favorite bloggers Ashley Ann at Under the Sycamore. (you don't read her blog? well you should!)  She talked about a friend of hers and her struggle with her daily pain with Lyme disease and her beautiful company that bloomed from that pain. Bottle of Tears.

I loved everything about her company. I wish I could say that I was quicker to order a bottle but I procrastinated. I contacted Lindsey through Bottle of Tears on Facebook and she was so gracious and thoughtful to put the bottle I wanted, quickly in the mail.

Now it is in the hands of my sweet friend and I pray she knows God sees her and feels His presence in this next week.

Check out the beautiful bottles and words at Bottle of Tears  you will not be disappointed. Share hope with someone you know.

Old Chair Makeover

Chalk paint:

I had been seeing it all over Pinterest and I just thought that it was chalk(board) paint in colors instead of black. my how I was wrong.  someone told me that the Annie Sloan was a bit pricy and where I had to buy it locally was a bit out of the way for me so I went to Home depot and got the Deco Art American Decor 8oz bottle in Lace.

here is the chair that I wanted to paint.

I originally thought that I would paint it red. (this was at least 4 years ago(or more))

as you can see it never got finished.

the thing that drew me to chalk paint was that I read or heard that you didn't have to do sanding. that  the chalk paint covered up and made up for a lot. I liked that idea.

 

 

so here is what the chair looked like after coat one.

it was a lot of work to get all those spindles painted, but I pressed on

 

here it is after the second coat

i took a close up of the chair to show that it still had a lot of streaks in it. I had a friend of mine tell me that she only did two coats of the Annie Sloan paint on a bakers rack that she painted. after seeing the second coat and all the streaks I went for a third coat. (note to future chalk painting self, buy the Annie Sloan or as another friend told me make my own chalk paint. I saw that on pinterest as well, here and here and here, I decided not to go that route because i thought that it would be just as expensive as buying that Annie Sloan, it may not be i don't know. I didn't price it all.)

 

the saying "third times a charm" worked in this case. here is my cute little chair with its third coat of chalk paint and then waxed. (that was a complete adventure) I used miniwax and I had no clue what to do with it but rub it on the chair. I read the blogs about how to apply and still felt like I was going in blind. I feel like I read something some where about possible putting the mini wax in a bowl or cup or plate and melting in a microwave for a couple of seconds before using.......that may be something that I for sure do if I attempt this chalk painting thing again.

as for the "Believe" sign. that will be another post for another day

STAY TUNED!

Tie Dye

i put in this post, a sneak peak of something that we did while we were camping.

well here it is

we got to do a tie dye shirt.

my mother in law, crazy loves her, some tie dye.

her birthday was the week after our trip so we made a special tie dye shirt for her

the kids picked the colors (I got to pick one too) and we decided on a heart.

one of the ladies got the shirt all folded and rubber banded how it needed to be for the heart.

 

here are the kids with the shirt......ready to be dunked

 

little girl, helping me with her color

 

golden boy helping out with his color

 

after the shirt was dipped in the colors it had to sit in a vinegar and water bath for about 5min

 

the rubber bands are removed

 

and one of the ladies had the kids clothes their eyes while she unwrapped it......

 

here is their reaction to the shirt. i just love it.

next time we go they will be making a shirt for them to wear.

it came out so well and we gave it to her this weekend and she loved it.

#2014andycampingtrip part 3

 our camping trip via instagram

it was so much fun going on this adventure with my family

#2014andycmping part 2

 a few more pictures from our camping weekend. these lovelies were blooming all over the place

the cabin that we called home for the weekend

 a sneak peak of something else that we did while there. more on this in a later post

 this child. she just melts my heart (and sometimes makes it stop, heart attach style, with the things she does)

 golden boy and daddy on a river float (we will all be participating in this in may)

 not sure why she just didn't get all the way in

 enjoying the mud

 who needs a spa when you can just give yourself a mud treatment

 I posted a picture like this on instagram and my sister commented with "America Ninja Warrior" she mastered this wall and fireman's pole this time around.

"him." so much to love  in this tiny bundle of a boy 

 I have a feeling this will be an annual or bi-annual brother/sister photo. YAY!

 a drive through Cades Cove

 daddy told them that he was going to turn the van into a jeep. they had to stay in their seats and buckled in but we would ride through Cades Cove with the doors open and the front windows down.

 couldn't get the best picture of this little guy but we did see a bear while we were in Cade Cove. they kids, and daddy were thrilled. (I was pretty excited to see it too) it was a great BIG blessing

#andycamping2014 part 1

This was our second time camping as a family.

while they were both vastly different.............

1st time                                       2nd time
tent                                              cabin
outside air                                   AC
rushing river                               fan
cooler                                          mini fridge
air mattresses                              beds
bath house                                  our own bathroom

there were still so many things we forgot to bring. somethings that we even remembered the first time but not this time.

one day we will have this camping thing down.

Things from this time around that we wish we remembered

Pam cooking spray

pot holders

 

 

 

bowls

tongs (luckily there were these)

more shoes for kids

water shoes for us

one extra change of clothes more(for the kids)

glow sticks

more flashlights

first aid kit

fire tools

 

 

it was a really good second camping trip. we had a lot of fun. more pictures to come in a later post about the fun that we had. check out our other trip camping earlier this year here and here.