Thanksgiving

From Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary (which has more biblical definitions than any other dictionary)

THANKSGIV'ING, n. The act of rendering thanks or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.


Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if received with thanksgiving. 1 Tim.4.

1. A public celebration of divine goodness; also, a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God, either in any remarkable deliverance from calamities or danger, or in the ordinary dispensation of his bounties. The practice of appointing an annual thanksgiving originated in New England.

I hope you all paused for Thanksgiving to celebrate His goodness.

As we celebrated, I tried out a new recipe. Apple pie. Yummmm. Can you get any more American than apple pie? Nope. I found the recipe here. To say it turned out good would be an understatement. It was delicious to everyone that ate it. A few tips to take note of in case you decide to make it... DO double the crust recipe as it suggests. Also, I didn't have cider vinegar on hand so I used white vinegar but only used 2 tsp instead of 1 tbsp.

Now... here it is... along with my sous chef...

It's Fall Y'all

We've been busy around here with tons of Fall festivities. We've been to festivals, to the zoo with friends, trick or treating, and just hanging out here at the house.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the kids over the past few weeks.

Theology Thursday

What an exciting week for us so far! While everyone is scurrying around with Halloween festivities, we've been enjoying Reformation Week. I don't know how many people have asked me "Ooh, what is that? That sounds like fun." Well... yeah... it is fun. And it's exciting. And it's sad that so many people don't know what I mean when I refer to Reformation Day.


From Monergism: Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31st or the last weekend in October in remembrance of the Reformation. Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. While it had profound and lasting impacts on the political, economic, social, literary, and artistic aspects of modern society, the Reformation was at its heart a religious movement. The Reformation was the great rediscovery of the good news of salvation by grace through faith for Christ's sake. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had been plagued by false doctrines, superstition, ignorance, and corruption. Since most ordinary Christians were illiterate and had little knowledge of the Bible, they relied on their clergy for religious instruction and guidance. Tragically however, monks, priests, bishops, and even the popes in Rome taught unbiblical doctrines like purgatory and salvation through good works. Spiritually earnest people tried to justify themselves by charitable works, pilgrimages, and all kinds of religious performances and devotions, but they were left wondering if they had done enough to escape God's anger and punishment. The truth of the gospel -- the good news that God is loving and merciful, that He offers each and every one of us forgiveness and salvation not because of what we do, but because of what Christ has already done for us -- was largely forgotten by both clergy and laity. The Holy Spirit used an Augustinian monk and university professor named Martin Luther to restore the gospel to its rightful place as the cornerstone doctrine of Christianity. Martin Luther and his colleagues came to understand that if we sinners had to earn salvation by our own merits and good works, we would be lost and completely without hope. But through the working of the Holy Spirit, the reformers rediscovered the gospel -- the wonderful news that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again to redeem and justify us. As Luther wrote in his explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles' Creed: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. On Reformation Day, we glorify God for what he accomplished in 16th century Germany through His servant, Dr. Martin Luther -- the recovery of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith for Christ's sake. We also earnestly pray that God would keep all of us faithful to the true gospel and help us to joyfully declare it to the world. This lovely hymn verse encapsulates the theme of our Reformation celebration: By grace God's Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace, and grace alone, It brought Him from His heav'nly throne.


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Luther was ordered to appear before the Diet of Worms. Here is Ella reciting part of Luther's answer to Johann Eck when asked about his writings and if he stood by the contents.

Theology Thursday

So, this week we've been reviewing the Apostle's Creed. We learned this last year and recite it quite often. We've been reviewing it more often this week because Ella is going to audition for the Wetumpka Depot's Red Headed Robbie's Christmas Story. This play is the children's cast and shouldn't be nearly as time consuming as Big River was... wink, wink. In the email for auditions, it says all children auditioning should prepare a short story or poem to recite. So, we decided on The Apostle's Creed. Here is a video that we took last year of her learning it. Bad quality because it's on my phone. But her voice is sooo sweet. I cherish this video.


And what does that little ole Shep do while we are doing school work? Oh... it's stuff like this... umm, yeah.

Roll Tide Roll!

Football has invaded our house... and will be here until January. And I couldn't be happier. Well, I suppose I could. But, nonetheless, I am terribly excited about football season... especially Bama football. Why? Who knows. Southern Roots, maybe? I suppose. I remember my parents listening (YES, I said listening, not watching) to "the game" when I was a kid. That's just what they did. Rarely watching, always listening. In fact, I remember watching Bear Bryant's funeral IN SCHOOL. My mom worked in the lunchroom and she brought a tv to school and plugged it in for us to watch. Or maybe I'm a fan because I was in the band... maybe. Or maybe because at the age of 15, I met my future husband... and he and his 3 brothers are some crazy, serious Alabama fans. Maybe that's it too. Whatever the reason, I'm just a football junkie. I don't care who's playing, I'll watch it. It's just fun. Now, don't get me wrong... as much as I like it, I don't plan my life around it. If I miss a Bama game, I'm okay with that. But if I'm at home during this time of the year, I try to have it on football... I'm just that kinda girl. No complaints from my husband, I tell ya.

So, with that being said... to celebrate the beginning of football season, what better way to get things going than a crafty craft made by yours truly?! There is no better way, you say! So, using my trusty Cricut, and this ever so famous tutorial, I whipped up these for the sweet youngins. Aren't they just the cutest? The kids, of course. Roll Tide Roll!



And as a sidenote... Year before last, Ella's favorite number was 8 (Julio Jones' number, of course. :) Then, for a while, she wanted us to take her to a game so that she could ride on his shoulders. Ummm... yeah. And now she asked me tonight if it would be okay to be Julio Jones for Halloween. She has it all planned. She's gonna use her floaties as pads and get a football jersey with his number on it and have me paint her brown...... I think she may have me beat on this football fever.... ya think?

Theology Thursday

FINALLY, another Theology Thursday. Been awhile, right?
I'd like to summarize the doctrine of perseverance of the saints. This doctrine is held strongly by Southern Baptists and quite often you will hear them say "once saved, always saved." Why yes, this is true. I could go on a rabbit trail here and talk about taking this quote out of context... but I'll save that for a soap box day.
What I do believe perseverance of the saints means is this...
God's elect cannot be lost.

If God enables us and draws us to Him... He will enable us to endure to the end. Of all that He has called, none will be lost.

Joh 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Joh 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
Rom 8:28-31 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Romans 8:28-30, "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his propose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." What is evident from this passage is that those who are effectually called into the hope of salvation will indeed persevere to the end and be glorified.

Seriously?

Has it been over a month since I've blogged? Totally not intentional I tell ya. We've been going full speed this summer with the Are We There Yet? play, Big River rehearsals, horse riding lessons, piano... and that's only for Ella. Add normal day to day life and there you have it. Time got away. But, while I haven't been blogging, I have been reading other blogs. I'm such a blog hog. I love reading other women's blogs. I gain such insight and inspiration to every day life and it makes me think... wow, I'm not the only one that feels like this. I totally related to this blog entry over at Resolved to Worship. It's a must read... actually, I think all of her posts are a must read. And check out her family... are those not some gorgeous kiddos?!

Also, I've been checking out Girl Talk's 52 Home photography project. Girl Talk is a blog consisting of a group of moms and daughters that talk about biblical womanhood and lots of other fun stuff too like recipes, babies and photography. They have a 52Home project that I just adore. Each week a photo is documented of their life. Ordinary life. You may find a picture of over ripened bananas... or car keys. But don't you think ordinary life is where we are most of the time? Reality is not kicked back on vacation with our feet in the sand. Reality isn't bumming around window shopping or antique browsing every day. Reality isn't pedicures and manicures. Reality is the Shep is crying. Reality is Ella spilled juice. Reality is I can't find my car keys. Reality is ordinary, every day life. But in these moments, they should be done “…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10) God's glory is revealed all around us. Yes! Even in our ordinary life! We don't have to be at the beach to enjoy the wonders of God. We don't have to see the wondrous mountain landscape to enjoy the wonders of God. We ARE a wonder of God. Our lives are wonders. We must glorify Him daily! “So teach us to number our days that we will get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

And... to my dear friend Tammy... isn't this a project that would be perfect for us to do together? :) Just sayin'... :)

Theology Thursday

I apologize for not posting last weeks Theology Thursday. I've been busy with carting Ella here there and everywhere the past few weeks. We've had a blast with the rodeo, only one day of VBS (boo hoo... she was bummed about it) the Wetumpka Depot Summer program, horse riding (although it's been too hot this week), piano, and now Big River practice. So, to say summer is in full swing is an understatement. We hope to call down next week... ha. Funny.

So, in thinking about irresistible grace, I thought back on a blog entry that I remember John Piper posting. I remembered the title of it because I thought it was so fitting for the doctrine. I had to go back in the Desiring God archives and look for it, but, AHA! I found it!

It said that Grace is resistible... until it's not. Isn't that so true? We can and we do resist grace. But when God chooses you... there is no win in the resisting.

"The point of irresistible grace is not that we can’t resist. We can and we do. The point is that when God chooses, he overcomes our resistance and restores a submissive spirit. He creates. He says, “Let there be light!” He heals. He leads. He restores. He comforts." John Piper.

My front porch

Well, I think I'm 99% finished with the porch. It's been hot and we haven't done much outside because of the heat. The heat index has been above 100 for multiple days... yowzas! I still have some throw pillows and cushions that I need to work on but that can be done inside... when Shep is napping... which he seems to be having trouble doing lately. Why must he wake up 45 minutes into a perfectly good nap? Would I? No way.

I'm gonna make these images big so you can tell more about the pictures.

Do you see that floor? Ahhh... yes. My husband stained it for me. 8 hours total in 95+ weather. But it was so worth it. I'm so thankful for him!


I bought an end table at a yard sale that I plan on using as a hideaway for my hose. I ---er, Scott--- need to spray paint it.

And I did make a monogram pillow like the one I saw on Traci's blog. I think it turned out ok. Just a little big maybe?



I stuck some greenery in this wreath along with the "G" monogram that I've had a few years. I think I got it at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. Half off of course. And the ribbon? Well, it's Christmas ribbon... but you can't tell unless you get REALLY close. Things like that don't bother me...



I used my cricut machine to put the number 3 on my well bucket. Because numbers are a trend right now, right? Scott is still trying to figure this one out... but I think it looks great! And do you see that white planter? Isn't it yummy? I just put it there a few days ago. 50 cents at a yard sale. I adore it. I'm just not sure where it's going yet.

Cardboard creations

Ella loves cardboard. She can visualize so many things and make the craftiest little gadgets out of plain old cardboard. So, when I see nothing but this



She sees this



A cell phone... like mom's. How cool. I just adore her imagination.

Theology Thursday

When I was reading about what I should write about Limited Atonement, I ran across this from Desiring God. I really like the way it is put so I'm simply using it for my Theology Thursday.

The atonement of Christ is sufficient for all humans and effective for those who trust him. The full, saving effectiveness of the atonement that Jesus accomplished is limited to those for whom that saving effect was prepared. The availability of the total sufficiency of the atonement is for all people. Whosoever will—whoever believes—will be covered by the blood of Christ. And there is a divine design in the death of Christ to accomplish the promises of the new covenant for the chosen bride of Christ. Thus Christ died for all, but not for all in the same way.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16; cf. Revelation 22:17).
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:20)
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesians 5:25)
I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:15)
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. . . . And for their sake I consecrate myself [that is, prepare to die], that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:9, 19)
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Theology Thursday

Our next "step" in Theology Thursday is Unconditional Election... remember last week we looked at Total Depravity? So, what is unconditional election? Are we saying that God's decision in salvation has no bearing on our decision? Even though God makes his choice in us before we are born, he still knows everything about us and our lives before we live them. Right? Does he take that prior knowledge of us into account when he makes his decision regarding election? Certainly not. For Paul says,
"29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:29-30 ESV

We see here the order of salvation... God foreknows, He predestines, He calls, He justifies and He glorifies. The Westminster Confession so clearly spells out what is meant by Unconditional Election:

III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestined unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.

IV. These angels and men, thus predestined, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.

V. Those of mankind that are predestined unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto;[10] and all to the praise of His glorious grace.

So, we see that His sovereign election is nothing based on anything foreseen by God (see also Romans 9:10-16) but rather the good pleasure of his sovereign will. How wonderful to know that all power and glory rests in Him and not in any decision on my part. What security that brings.

Barn Door Tutorial

We made our barn door a few months ago but I'm just now getting to the tutorial. Not because I haven't had time... but because, well yeah. Maybe that is a reason. But more than time, I just haven't figured out how to put the instructions to paper. So, bear with me... I hope this makes some sort of sense. I'll tell you this, though... it made enough sense for us to be able to build it!! It's still hanging!

There are two main parts to the barn door. The assembly of the door and the assembly of the rail. We'll do the door first.

Measure your door opening first to determine how many 1x6s to use. Our door is standard height and we used 12 1x6s going across.

The 1x6s are not glued together... we squared them on the garage floor using boards on each end to level them *real high tech here*. To keep them tight we used a clamp to pull the boards as tight as possible. We then screwed the boards together using the board across the top and bottom of the door. See picture below. There are six screws in each board. Two on top board, two on middle and two on bottom.



Now, I know that photo doesn't tell you very well about what's going on. And I apologize. But it's the best I could do. It's because while they were in the garage working on the barn door, I was doing a little work of my own.



I was working on baby announcements. See? Justified.

Moving on... we stained the door after it was all assembled. You may want to stain boards prior to assembly. Whatever floats your boat. Oh, before we stained the door, we used wood putty to cover the screws, which you actually saw in the picture above. So, that's that to the door assembly. Now, the rail assembly.

The rail was purchased from Tractor Supply and it's simply galvanized rail used for barn doors. Ours is the 10ft. rail. When we were looking at Tractor Supply for what we needed, we were able to find it all in the hardware section. They even had an instruction sheet on how to assemble the rail and exactly what to buy right down to what bolts to buy. We used their instruction guide for that. We did spray paint the rail with Rustoleum Metallic Bronze from Lowe's. I think that made all the difference in the world!

We used 1x6s for the header. Maybe we should have used 2x6s instead, which is recommeneded, but our door isn't heavy and it isn't opened regularly. The 1x6s screw into the studs with 3 inch screws.

Here is the opening before.


And here is the after.



Another view (from the stairs):


So, that's it. I say that's it as if you can do it in 30 minutes. Not the case. No, it didn't take days to do, but it was time consuming considering the screwing, feeding baby, puttying, feeding baby, staining, feeding baby, spray painting... so, yes it took us 2 weekends to do because Shep was a newborn at the time. But all in all, it turned out great and we are very pleased with it. I know the tutorial could be a little bit better, obviously, but if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer!
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Block of Faith

I needed something to put on my flower cart on the porch that would elevate my lantern... so I came up with this idea. Using a 6x6 block of wood (that I took from my brother in law's scrap after building a deck), I created this:



I was able to use my Cricut and vinyl to cut the word "faith" mulitple times. I then applied it to the block of wood so that it looked like this:



I suppose you could go all the way around the block but, nah... that was too much trouble.

Using black spray paint, I spray painted over the letters and covered the block of wood. And it was at this point that I discovered that I stink at spray painting. But luckily, it didn't matter with this project. And I have my wonderful husband to do all the "serious" spray painting for me... whew. So, after it's spray painted, it looks like this: (this wasn't the final coat, but close to it... it didn't matter too much with this block b/c I was gonna distress it anyway.)



Pull off the letters, sand a bit to distress it and that's it!



I wish that I had stained the block first before applying the vinyl... I think that would have given it a more distressed look. Maybe I'll do that next time. I promise to show pictures of my porch soon. We've changed our mind and are going to stain the floor now. We have SO many gallons of stain that my daddy gave us and so we finally decided to go with it and stain it. So... you'll have to wait a bit longer. I know, I know. The suspense is killing you... :)

Head on over to Beneath My Heart for other great Do it Yourself projects!

Graduation gifts

It's that time of year again when I try to figure out what to get all the graduates. There are always so many and my budget is limited. So, this year I did something a little bit different. I got them a cup and a book. A book? Really? Say it ain't so! The last thing they need is a book seeing as how they will be going to college (hopefully) and they will be overwhelmed with books. But I think this is a perfect opportunity to arm them with great Christian classics like Pilgrim's Progress, Fox's Book of Martyrs and maybe even a commentary. I like to scoop up books when they are on clearance or if I find a really good deal on them.

I bought this cup at Target for $6.49. It's usually around $8 so pair this with a book and what a great gift! Hey... Father's Day is coming up and it can easily be made into a "manly" cup. I gave my hubby one of these. It's Camo on the inside. Quite manly indeed.



I then took the paper out and used it as a template and put my own scrapping paper in it.



To add a little "extraness" to it, I added a vinyl initial using my Cricut.



So, that's it... I hope they enjoy it! Oh, and Desiring God has a graduation sale going on that includes John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life. That would make for a great gift set as well.

Theology Thursday

Well, it is late but it is still Thursday. I am going to begin a five part series for the Theology Thursday post with a brief discussion on total depravity. In order to understand why we need a Savior, we must first understand our condition. When I say our condition, I mean the state we are in as sinners apart from God's grace. We are a fallen race. One thing that seems to be a forgotten truth in most churches today is this - as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. (Roman 3:10-11) You see we must understand that since the fall we have no desire to seek God or understand God, and that is because we now are naturally opposed to Him - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14) The natural (or man in his fallen state) does not seek, love or want to know the one true God of the bible... we are actually opposed to Him - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Roman 8:7-8) This is *briefly* total depravity. We are sinners by nature and we will not seek God apart from His grace imparted to us to transform us. Of course, it is not total in the sense that we are as bad as we could be, rather it is total in the sense that we are unable to submit to God and do good in our natural state. We are totally lost apart from the supernatural work of God in our life to change our nature and cause us to seek Him.

However, the glorious truth of the gospel is that Christ came to save sinners, and He will not lose any for whom he died - And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. (John 6:39)

Sidetracked...

I was going to work on my porch this weekend. But I got sidetracked. By this little girl...

and this little boy...


And their wonderful daddy. And the detour was sooo worth it. I'll get to the porch. Tomorrow.

His mercies are new every morning

When I pulled the curtains back on my front door and windows this morning, this is the image I got. How marvelous is our God to show us through His creation that His mercies are new every morning. The green in the trees, the dew on the ground and the suns rays peeking through the woods. Wow. Thank you Lord for refreshment.



I plan to work on my porch this weekend so watch for more before and after pictures!

Theology Thursday

I had all intentions of talking about total depravity this week for Theology Thursday. But it's not gonna happen. Because I didn't start preparing early enough, time got away from me. Add in a couple of bad days with Shep and there you have it. But, all is not lost! My brother in law has been talking for quite some time about the church he attends while he is working at the fire station. It's The Church at Brook Hills and David Platt is the pastor. Check out this video that details his new book Radical. It contrasts the American dream that we've been taught to pursue versus what the Bible says about what we should pursue.

Just a swingin...

We got a little crazy when we decided to redo our front porch. Our budget is $zero dollars$ so we are being quite creative! We went a little wild with the swing but I like the way it's turning out. I've always wanted to do something to my swings but staining them has been the extent of my ideas for them. That is... until we found this in the garage:



Here is the before... it's really bad. I didn't realize how bad it looked until I saw this picture.



We even painted the chains bronze... don't they look yummy?




I'm not quite finished with it. Why not? Well... a momma's life is go, stop, go, stop. The go's are usually doing things like laundry, dinner, school etc. And the stops? The stops are feeding Shep becuause I have no choice but to sit down. I think that's God's way of slowing us down sometimes, ya think? So, during some of my go's, I've been working on finishing the swing. I want to distress it and not make it look so... so... bzzzt. No, that's not a word but if you try to sound it out, you'll get the sound effect I'm going for!

Here is a sneak peek:



I'm working on an idea in my head for some cushions for the swing... and they involve burlap!! So fun! I SO appreciate my husband for braving the hot Alabama weather on Saturday to paint this for me. He knows I prefer not to sweat, being the southern gal I am.

Front Porch redo

This weekend, we worked a little bit on revamping the front porch. We really want to make the redo with things that we already have. We are trying very hard to be resourceful with the things that we have and not buy anything new. And honestly... that's very hard to do! I'll admit, I'm very frugal and thrifty. But it's hard to be resourceful with things I have when I'd love to be finding a good bargain somewhere. But as great as the bargains may be, I'm making myself use the blessings the Lord has given us and not buy STUFF just to be buying. I read a blog post on Life in Grace that calls this "redecoranging"... :)

Here are before pictures of the porch:

I had pretty much cleared everything off when I took these pictures.






I can't wait to show the after pictures to you! We are still working on it... maybe we will be finished by the weekend and I'll reveal it!!

Theology Thursday

While looking through some archived folders on my computer, I came across this that Ella wrote a few years ago. She was five at the time. Only five, but speaking volumes. She's written several things about God but for whatever reason, this one has always been our favorite.



It says:
(added punctuation, etc. for accurate reading)
Thank you. In the heart God you are good. It's nice to be with you Lord. In the heart of you, you are glory. Bless yourself. You are good God. You can save people. You make people die when you want to.

Wow! Bless you all.
For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth. 3 John 3,4 ESV)

Burp cloths

Oh, thank goodness for burp cloths! I can probably count on one hand the number of burp cloths I used with Ella. With Shep... well let's just say that I have about a dozen and we wash them quite regularly. He spits up like nobody's business! At least he's a happy spitter and it doesn't bother him at all. It's just annoying to always have that smell on him and us.
Luckily, before he was born, I found a great tutorial online about making burp cloths. For the life of me, I can't remember the site but if I find it or you know it please let me know. I'll link to it because this was something that I saw as inspiratation and I don't want anyone to think I stole it and made it my idea!!

I simply bought a pack of diapers. I bought Gerber prefold birdseye weave. They don't look the best (in that boutiquey kind of way) but they are ultra absorbent and I'm glad *now* that I bought these. I had no idea then how useful they would be! I also bought some cute ribbon, ric rac and double fold bias quilt binding. NOTE: I did NOT pre-wash mine and they have been just fine.

First, get the diaper. Choose your ribbon and cut 2 strips the length of the burp cloth. Starting at the top of the diaper, sew the ribbon onto the burp cloth. I try to keep the sewing machine in the center of the ribbon. Do this for both strips of ribbon.

Next, measure your quilt binding to the diaper and cut. Do this for the top and the bottom. Fold it over the diaper and sew. Do this for both ends. Zig Zag the stitch for that "extraness"! That's it!









I will definitely be giving these to new mommies in the future. I just hope they don't have a spitter-upper like I have!!

Head on over to Today's Creative Blog for more DIY ideas!

Deal of the week

I actually got this last week but I forgot about it because I took a picture of it on my phone and not my camera. But here is the deal:



loofah sponge
2 Oral B toothbrushes
1 box Fig Newtons
Glade plug ins (2pk)
softsoap
After coupons... I spent a whopping $.96 out of pocket! I love CVS!

Theology Thursday

As I was contemplating what to write about today, the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" kept going through my mind. It could be because we recently planted a small, *tiny* garden in our backyard for Ella. It has tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and blackberries in it. Oh, and some flowers for decoration! So, as I go out to look at the garden each morning, "How does your garden grow?" runs through my mind. Of course we have to maintain the garden. We have to water, feed, weed, and nurture the tiny little box garden. If we don't commit to maintaining it, it simply will die!
Now, what does that have to do with Theology Thursday? Well, I think we can all ask ourselves, "How does our garden grow?" Can our lives as God's children grow, as gardens do, without nurture? Without water? Without food? Without commitment? NO! Therefore, I urge you...and most certainly myself... to nurture ourselves on the word of God. He is our source of life.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)
Here are some images from our garden planting... we had a great time and can't wait to harvest the fresh veggies!