Mud Room Re-do

In our house, we have 4 rooms painted this wonderful shade of red (Mud Room, Foyer, Living Room and Dining Room). Now, I really do like red in houses - we have MANY rugs with this exact shade, but 4 rooms!!!! - I am so sick of seeing red!!!! So, I have begun to paint, one room at a time. I started with what I thought would be the easiest, until I decided halfway through to paint the trim and doors also, and realized that there are 7 doors in this little room (one of which is a bi-fold closet door with all those little slats - YUCK)!!!!

Here are some before pictures:

That door at the end leads out to our garage and this room can become the messiest, dirtiest room in our house in about 30 minutes. This is also the room that is seen by more people - anytime a child is dropped off or picked up.
It's a great color red - not too orange or pink or burgundy, but enough is enough!!!!

Voila!!!!

I am a big fan of walls and trim color/doors being the same color, it just makes the room "flow" a little better.
And I'm so sorry, but I can't give you the name of the paint color - it's a custom color that we've used in Henderson's room and our upstairs hallway. I'm pretty sure it's Sherwin William's Down Home, but I can't be certain.

Here you can catch a glimpse of the next phase of red that will need to go - the staircase/foyer!!!!! It's a 2-story foyer with lots of crown molding and railing and stairs - it will be a HUGE job!!!!

Seven

SEVEN

Perfection.Completeness

Seven wonderful years with the one I love

We've been through a lot in 7 years - 4 houses, 3 children. Will is the most patient, hard-working, selfless man I know. He loves me unconditionally, is gentle, kind, and humble. He prioritizes "our" time together and looks forward to it!!! I am the luckiest woman on earth to be loved by him. He loves Jesus and his mama and that makes a GREAT man, let me tell you!!!!
He loves our 3 children and spends time with them, disciplines them as a loving father should, reads to them at night, wrestles with them, scares them silly, and even lets them ride on his shoulders to see (or be protected from) Big Al!!!!

I love you Will!!!!

Happy 7th Anniversary!!!!

"...I found the one my heart loves."

Song of Solomon 3:4

Weeds

Yesterday I was in the backyard pulling weeds out of the grass while the children were enjoying popsicles!!!! Emma Claire walked up to me and this conversation followed:

EC: "Mommy, what are you doing?"

ME: "Sweetie, I'm pulling the weeds up out of the grass."

EC: "Why are you doing that? They are so pretty!!!!"

ME: "Yes they may look pretty on the outside and have all kinds of pretty flowers on them, but underneath the ground they are stealing all the water from the grass and making it so the grass can't grow!"

EC: "Oh!?"

ME: "It's kind of like sin, sometimes it looks pretty on the outside, but when it gets in your body it's really really bad and can make you sick and feel far from God." (not exactly sound theology, but it got my point across)

EC: "BAD weeds, BAD weeds - I'm going to help you pull them all out so the grass can grow!" "What's all that at the bottom of the weed?"

ME: "Those are the roots, they grow down in the ground and drink all the good water, you must pull all the roots out or they will just continue to grow and grow and grow, even though you cut the flower away"

A little later, I was in my bedroom and I heard Will call for the children and I looked out, Emma Claire had a HUGE handful of flowering weeds in her hands, roots and all. She excitedly exclaimed to her daddy, "Look at all the flowers I found!!!" Will replied, "Emma Claire, those are weeds, not flowers" And ya'll, she threw them down as quickly as she could and said "Bad Weeds" in a mean mean voice.

I hope and pray she's like that with sin in her life, she may not always recognize it as sin at first, but hopefully when she does, she will throw it out of her life without thinking twice.

Water Puddles

As most of the rest of you living in the southeast United States, we got a wonderful rain early Thursday morning. It washed all of that pollen away and SO FAR I haven't seen it re-emerge - but I know it's coming!!!! The rain here ended about 10:00 and the sun came out around 12:00 (noon) - all my hopes for an event free evening at home were dried up (literally). Emma Claire had softball practice at 3:15, which was wonderful - she played first base and did awesome!!!! She only let 2 balls get past her and she made 2 outs!!!!! It's a fun bunch of kindergartners with 2 first graders (we need SOMEONE who can throw the ball from 3rd base to 1st).

Anyhow, after softball practice I loaded my 3 plus 2 other girls up and we ran home to change into soccer clothes and shin guards, headed to McDonald's, then out to the soccer fields. The afternoon was going so smoothly, everyone was in good spirits, I had not even had to raise my voice once, except to yell to Emma Claire: "Get to First, Get to First-she's going to throw the ball to YOU!!!! GREAT JOB!!!" (This was her first time playing 1st base and SOMEONE had to teach her!!!)

SO, we got out to the soccer fields and the first thing I saw was Wilson and the girls running and leaping over the huge water puddles!!!! Now the night was already getting very chilly and we had a good hour and a half ahead of us and that wind wasn't going away any time soon. I knew if someone got wet it was not going to be a pretty night, especially since I was all on my own, with no husband (he had to work late), no grandparents (all out of town), and no sister (she did her soccer duty on Tuesday night). So I told the girls "No Water" and they all scurried away!!! I knelt down and told Wilson, no less than 3 times, that if he got anywhere NEAR that water, he was getting a spanking (yes, I spank) when he got home. I took him to the far side of the field where there was NO water and he began to play soccer with his friends. Emma Claire's game began and I was cheering and holding Henderson (who kept saying "cold, cold" over and over again). I looked up and there was Wilson playing in the water - soaked from the waist down. I walked over to him and told him what would happen when we got home and showed him where he should play and directed him in that direction. About 5 minutes later, another child shows up and is drawn to the water and Wilson is drawn too! Again, I get him out of the water, warn him about what is going to happen and set him off in the other direction. Ten minutes later, you can guess what happened again. --THE WATER!!!!! Bless his heart he just couldn't stay out of it - it was like an addiction. At this point, I handed Henderson off to my friend, Ashley, and took Wilson to the car for a "talk". He did not go back to the water after this, UNTIL his game began and low and behold if there are not mud puddles ON his field and a HUGE water puddle right behind the goal. Ya'll, he could not take 10 steps without being "drawn" to the puddles, anytime he'd run past it, he stop and stomp a few times then head on after the ball. Now I understand he is 3 years old and a little boy and that's just what "boys do", but I also know that when I tell one of my children not to do something, I expect them to comply or have consequences. I try to hold firmly to the verse:

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 (the evil one???? OUCH!!!!)

I'm trying really hard to be consistent and follow through, so there will be no doubt where I stand. Wilson has had somewhat of a rough year at school, not following the rules, being a little "wild" during Bible Time in the sanctuary, etc. So needless, to say, I am very motivated right now to be firm and consistent with him. The problem is, when I got home, I was exhausted, I felt horrible for being "on" him all night long - especially for something as menial as a water puddle, but I feel like I have to stand by my word. What are your thoughts?

Easter Baskets

Aren't these Easter Baskets cute? Thanks for asking about them!!!! See below for more information!

The Easter Baskets are from a local business - here is the link to it on Facebook - you can become a fan!!! She will ship it to you!!!! PinkPeepsPlace

Easter 2010

Happy Easter - we had a wonderful weekend, despite Henderson running 105 degree fever Friday and Saturday - he stayed home with my mom Sunday morning, but I still got him dressed up for pictures!!!!

he obviously didn't want to be hugged.

he wanted his "mama"

Wilson's outfit is extra special - it was his daddy's when he was 3!!!!!

sweet little thing

Sunday afternoon we gathered for a huge Easter Egg hunt with all of my side of the family, Will's side and by brother-in-law, Stan's side. 18 adults and 9 children eight and under!!!!!

My mom, Emma Claire and me!!!

MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!!!

brotherly love

gathered to pray before dinner

Henderson is all better - no more fever, it must have been a fever virus, but WOW it was high!!!!

I'm still enjoying Parenting by the Book by John Rosemond and it seems to be working - I'm being more consistent and the children are learning more responsibilites and being held accountable for their actions.

In other news, Emma Claire auditioned for Oliver and made it!!!! My niece, Chandler and her daddy, Stan, are in the play too - so lots of fun is expected!!!! We are so proud of her! If you are local and want to check it out, it's June 4-6 at the Bama Theatre - contact me for tickets!!!!

A Look Back

Easter Picture March 2009...

Easter Picture March 2010

Obviously last year, the pictures were a little more planned. This year, we were walking into dinner at church tonight and I stopped them and said "Stand there and hold hands! Say cheese!!!"

Same outfits - more hair!!!!!

Happy Easter!!!!!

In this next picture, you can see the "lump" on Henderson's head - this happened last March- you can read more about it here. So thankful that God spared him any complications and he has had no adverse side effects.