When a Man Loves a Woman

He will move a tree (twice) to center it up *just* right...so that his woman won't drive herself crazy thinking about how the tree is slightly off-center every time she looks out the window.

Thankfully, my man's fully aware and has accepted the fact that I've got issues. :)

This tree is a baby Royal Poinciana...we hope one day it will be fully grown and gloriously red like this one in full bloom :

memory makin'

A big first grader,

this energetic *almost* four year old,

one fuzzy-headed angel baby,

our dern mutt....er, I mean beloved lizard-wranglin' pet,

and many, many house projects

are filling our days....and nights...

time to hang on and enjoy the ride!  :)

Mistreating These Ol' Windows

I realized with this move to NC in April, that in the 7+ years that Dan and I have been married, we have moved SEVEN times! Because most of our moves have been to rentals, limited storage space, and/or realizing that window treatments just don't fit the budget, I've felt very limited in what I could actually do in that department....until now!

I'm not too sure how I came across this blog...but here I found another woman whose family is constantly on the move, lives on a budget, and y'all she works MAGIC with a piece of fabric and a few easy-to-use tools (plus she's insanely creative and stages homes to sell for a living).

This particular post caught my eye while I looked around at our particularly old, ugly windows with mis-matched blinds and rods...and the wheels started turning, I thought "maybe I can do this!" Mom bought me a sewing machine for my last birthday, and while I stare at it longingly most often, and even have a cute cover for it, courtesy of Aunt Cindy, (so that it doesn't collect dust of course!) I still haven't learned how to use that thing! One of the most appealing things about the nesters window mistreatments is that most of the time, there's not a STITCH involved...which means that when we move or if I change my mind *whichever comes first ;)* the fabric can be re-used for anything my heart desires.

The two fabrics in the living/dining room I found after digging around a while at the remnant table of the local fabric store for about 3.99/yard and the fabric for Reecie's room I found at the same fabric store and used my 40% off coupon.

The Nester's got so many ideas for how to mistreat windows (and hers are GORGEOUS!), but here are just a few that I've tried so far. Disclaimer: from far away they look good, but don't examine too closely! But like most things, I'm learning that the more I practice, the better they look. Each treatment took between 30 min. to 1 hour. So, without further ado, I give you window mistreatments:

First, the dining room-I used the upholstery tack technique for this:

Then, the windows on either side of the fireplace, the don't match because they're different sizes (one's a reg. window and one's a door) The rods were already there so I just added the ring clips plus a little pinchin', pulllin' and hotglued some pompom ball trim:

And last, the princess room, upholstery tack technique, again. Except it looks different because this fabric is light-weight (no rods or rings here):

Then I added a glue dot and a little daisy to cover each tack........voila!

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...

Well, here we are! It's Christmas eve, and what a great time to invite you into our home for a little virtual tour (inspired by Boo Mama's Tour of Homes) If the miles must separate...at least we can imagine you're coming for a visit! Please come in, kick your shoes off and stay for a while!

Welcome to our humble abode...what did ya think of the elevator ride up? And did you hang on tight to your children as you "walked the plank" to our condo? We're only about 2 minutes from the church and 5 from the beach...oh I digress...that's a different tour for a different day! Focus, Sarah...
This is our dining/living/play room...the balloons on the cross are left over from our birthday party for Jesus, today...yeah, Hannah Reece'll grab you a cupcake, we saved one just for you!!!

Anyway...we gotta get creative with hanging the stockings here in Florida...not too many places around here with a mantle, or a fireplace for that matter. Graham's tasty lookin' gingerbread house and many crafty projects are proudly displayed here, too. The big shelf is also home to our critters Nemo the hermit crab and Strollie the Beta fish. Oh no! They look a little hungry...I think I forgot to add "feed pets" to the christmas-time to-do list! This is one of our favorite traditions "What God Wants for Christmas" nativity set... each of seven boxes contains a piece of the nativity with a story book to follow along. Day 7 is empty, just a mirror...emphasizing that what God really wants for Christmas is relationship with us, his beloved creation. On Monday, December 22, Graham and I read day 7 together...he was super quiet and then he said, "Mom, I have a new heart!" I said, "What do you mean, Graham?" "Jesus gave me a new heart and I'm gonna follow Jesus every day." Thank you, Lord.

It is a joy to share this happy news with you! Just to our right is the wall-o-loved ones...during the year I keep these boards loaded with photos of friends and family so we can think about you and pray for you all year long. Right now, it's full of Christmas cards that warm our hearts and make us smile!

Our little tree is covered in about three-times it's weight in ornaments, it's kind of hard to see in the photo, but it's got a little lean on. Many of the ornaments are from our (Dan and I) childhood, but the little beaded Candy Cane and the Green felt wreath were some additions that Graham made to the collection this year! I made the garland about five years ago when I was MUCHO PREGO with Graham (man has it been that long ago??) . So many of memories here! My mom and I were after-Christmas sale shopping about 3 years ago...she caught me admiring this nativity, so she bought it and stashed it away for my birthday the next year. It now sits atop our t.v. cabinet...which my children happen to be staring at right this very minute...not usually the case when company comes, so sorry about that! I didn't have the heart to disturb them...they look so cute all snuggled up, dontcha think?

Sweet friends and family, thank you for visiting...please come by anytime and, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Finding Nemo

Ever since we got "Nemo" all he does is bury himself deep in the dirt and sleep! I realize that entertainment should never be the primary motive for pet ownership...they are called "hermit" crabs for a reason...but my people just wanna see this critter move, already!

So last night, I was doing the late-night-tidy-up-before-bed and went over to take a peek and see if Nemo needed food or water....and he was no where to be found!

Looked a little closer...and there he was like a little stunt-crab at the top of the bamboo. Even taped a couple minutes of the action, so that I had some proof for Graham that he does more than just sleep!


This morning he had reached his crabby arms up and taken hold of the grated cover to keep him inside. I'm thinking that this crab's got a plan of escape! He climbed around up there for a long time, and the kids were just tickled.


Finally, he dropped down into the dirt and guess where he was?? Trying to climb back up the bamboo! Seems like our little buddy is finally coming out of his shell...

Friday Flashback

I took this photo one afternoon last summer during rainy season...hurricane/rainy season is here again for these parts. Bring on the rain...and the bugs?!

If you came to our house...

You would see...

some folks who are glad you came! If we know you're coming, you'd see shiny floors and open spaces...if not, (watch your step!) you might have to manuver around some balls, cars, baby dolls, and other various items that tend to "escape" in our little two bedroom condo-just come on in!

We'd probably feed you...

Chef Boyoedy's specialty of the day. And until it's ready, we've usually got some chips and fresh salsa or fruit to share.

We'd undoubtedly ask you if you'd read...

a book to us! (Graham and Hannah Reece) And then Hannah Reece would back her little self up into your lap to listen.

We'd want to play this music for you...

a soundtrack to one of our Wednesday Night/VBS programs at church (which we all have MEMORIZED-especially because Graham can operate the stereo on his own now!) or 95.3 OLZ (oldies) Get ready to boogie!

We'd want to tell you the latest about...

the stuff we've been up to; our latest trip to Disney, Graham would tell you about learning how to play soccer, show you his lego creations and he might tell you that he want's to be a T-Rex for Halloweeen, Dan and I would share about his schooling and new things happening at the church and how we're thinking about homeschooling, Hannah Reece would tell you about her Cinderella "rella" baby and echo (enthusiastically) what big brother's chatting about.

We'd probably suggest a game of ...

the Settlers of Catan! Philip and Amanda introduced us to this game-it is so much fun-but it can be tricky to play when little people are present because there are a bunch of tiny pieces! And if it's Graham and Hannah Reece's choice, a lively game of "Gone Fishin" or "Zingo" Picture Bingo.

We might show off...

Graham's race car bed-a kind hand-me-down from Graham's buddy Nicholas. When the students from youth group come over Graham meets them at the door and says "hey guys! Wanna come check out my race car bed?" The funny thing is they dig it, too!

We might get on the computer and show you...

how to get into this blog to see our daily antics-or Graham might want to show you a monster truck video clip.

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch...

a pick from the library that week...like Blues Clues, Franklin, Charlie and Lola, or Elmo.

What would a visit to your house be like?

Please comment if you read this and wanna do it, too, or just comment so we know you came by for a visit today! Thanks, Kim, for sharing this neat idea for a post!