The Best Christmas Present Ever!!!

I just bought the best Christmas present ever for my daughter. It's a 3 story+attic barbie doll house, 4' tall, and 2 1/2 feet wide, with a complete furniture set for every room, for only $50!!! Yes, only $50. (It retails for $150, plus furniture would be at least $200 for the set)I was so excited to see this for sale on CL, as I had been searching for one like this for a while-and this one is only a year old.(If any of you are searching for one for your own daughter-I found 3 exact same ones for under $75 on CL fyi) I got Grace a sm. 2 story doll house for her b'day for $15, and it's a great deal, but this is the house that I've been dreaming of for her (and me).

When I was 8 years old, I had the best Christmas present ever-a 3 story Barbie Doll Dream House, complete with pull string elevator (see above pic on R-except it was the 1989 version, not the 1974 version)It was what dreams were made of. So of course my parents didn't hold onto it, and I still tease them about that, so I wanted Grace to have that dream Christmas gift at least 1 year of her childhood, while she can still enjoy those fun things.

I have to admit that I got out all my barbie doll stuff today, while organizing all the furniture, that it really did feel like being a kid again. Who wouldn't love this as a Christmas present???


I have never spent this much on our kids for Christmas, EVER, so this year is an exception. And here is my justification: Of all the money I've made selling things on CL, I have sold 6 things of Grace's that has equaled $50. So I figure this is a better use for the same price, she has really upgraded :) I'm also doing the same thing with Braden's toys, so far I've sold $42 worth of his toys, and that money I'm saving up to buy him a train table/set for Christmas-off of CL of course :) This way I'm getting rid of small cluttered toys, and trading them for things that they absolutely love, and focus their time on. *These are total suprises for the kiddos, so please keep it a secret :)* Thanks!

Grace is 7!!!

Here's my sweet birthday girl in her Cinderella costume! She turned 7 on Oct.1st, and had a great time with family and friends. She requested a pink cake, with pink frosting and sprinkles, and that's what she got :)

While out shopping at my favorite place, Turnstyles, I came across 2 Disney Princess costumes for $2 a piece- Here is Grace as Snow White, she wore her Cinderella costume all throughout her b'day party, she was so excited, to have not 1, but 2 halloween costumes/dress-up outfits.

Weston Red Barn Farm

These pics are from when our family went to Weston the 1st weekend in October for the Apple Fest, and to the Red Barn farm. Perfect fall day for fun and pictures!

My loving kids enjoying a brother/sister moment :)

Here are my 2 sweeties hanging out on top of the haybale.

Here is Mr. Adventerous jumping mid air off of a hay bale...

and also wandering through the corn rows of the pumpkin patch...

Here's my sweet hubbie and kids-had to stop for a pic by the pumpkins :)

Me and my hubby! It's not very often that we get a pic together

Another suprise in the mail...

Tuesday must be a special day for me, because this is the 2nd Tuesday in a row, that I have received an unexpected blessing in the mail. This time it was a cash gift, and a note that said:
The Lord will provide! how very true :) Thank you to my anonymous friends out there who have blessed me greatly!!!

I feel so blessed....

When I went out to check the mail today, I found an envelope addressed to me, with the following inside:

Dear A Family,

We hope you can use this. The gift card contains $xxx.

Love,

Some Friends

I feel so blessed that someone cares enough to make this anonymous gift to my family when times have been very stretched financially. My friends from church as well as those at Community Bible Study have all heard my prayer requests and know our families struggles.

And to whoever it might be, I am so very grateful!!!

Along with this in the mail today, came something from City Union Mission as well as the JOCO Christmas Store, which just reminded me that as much as we may be in need, there are many many more people out there who are struggling.

God has truly blessed our family through these anonymous gifts in the last few years. About 4 years ago we received an anonymous $200 in the mail, during the holiday season. A little before that time, some dear friends of ours from church gave us a $100 gift card to Hy-Vee so that we could buy groceries, when finances were tight due to my husband being off work for 2 weeks right after Christmas. Then a few years ago when we were out raking leaves in our backyard, we found a $100 bill buried in the pile. All of these unexpected gifts couldn't have come at a better time, and we know that they were all blessings from God.

I love it when things like that happen, because it reminds me that God hears our prayers, and he will provide, even in the most unexpected ways. It inspires me to give to those in need, through volunteer service, donations to charity, and even to friends in need through the simplest things. There is something about giving that is so freeing to my spirit, that it makes me wish I had more to be able to give away.

It is my hope this holiday season that our family will be able to bless others in return, who are in need, and see things from God's point of view-just as we were blessed today through the kindness of an unknown friend who was helping someone in need.

Master Bedroom Remodel

Update from 10-3-09: I found this beautiful quilt in Weston, and am now debating between which one I would rather use for the master bedroom remodel... decisions, decisions....

With all the change going on in other parts of our house, design wise, it has really made me take note on how much I dislike my bedroom right now. I picked a lavender color for the walls 6 1/2 years ago, and it didn't turn out as gray as I would have liked it to begin with, but am just now in the last few months getting sick of it. Thus begins my quest for a grown up bedroom....

It all started when I was looking on Craigslist the other day for random things, and found this beautiful 7 piece bed set + 4 valances for only $30, what a sweet deal! But it had already sold... So I was very sad, but decided to e-mail the woman to see where she bought it from-she told me, and I found it, and am so excited!!! (I would have been even more excited for getting that good of a bargain, but it wasn't to be) Of course $ is super tight right now, so it might be a month or so until I can actually buy it, but I figure with my $100 b'day $ to use, it makes a huge difference toward making it a reality.

So for the next few months, I'll have to really exercise some major patience, while I have to wait for the bathroom remodel to completely finish; tear out all the trim in our room, and re-paint, put up new pretty trim and crown molding, re-arrange furniture, get new hardware for the furniture, and then I can put up this beautiful new bed set. Blue is my all time favorite color, and when I saw this design, I fell in love. So here's to hoping that I can truly be patient :) When the room is finished, I'll definitely post before and after pics so you can see the difference!

God's perfect timing

As most of you know I had a super crazy schedule of activities through May of this year. One of the things that I changed around was the time that I did babysitting for my free jazzercise. I had been doing Thursday afternoons at 5:40pm for the last year. In July I switched to Thursday mornings, and am now doing Friday mornings from now on. Well. you might say that it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but God has truly blessed my ministry as a counselor at the Crisis Pregnancy Center where I volunteer. Literally as soon as I switched my time away from Thursday afternoons, we immediately had an influx of clients at the center. Well, you may say, that's just a coincidence, or a normal thing that would happen there. Well not in my eyes. You see I'm the only Client Advocate/Counselor there on Thursday afternoons from noon-5pm. We have had some crazy busy weeks in the last 2 months. During this time, I've had the opportunity to counsel at least 4-5 women who were really needing someone to pour their heart and soul out to about their lives. 2-3 of these women I talked with for 2 hours. Something that is practically unheard of-since most of our counseling time is only 30 minutes or less. These women trusted me to tell me their story. God gave me the right words to say, and hearing them out, not judging their circumstances. My heart aches and is so heavy for these women, and I can just imagine how much more God's heart must ache for them as well.

When I tell people that I volunteer there, they often ask if I'm a Social Worker. I reply, "no, but I really wanted to be one." You see before I went to college, my 3 biggest career paths were, Nursing, Social Work, and Veterinary Medicine. How do you ask, I ended up in Interior Design? Well, my then boyfriend, now husband went to the school that had a great Nursing school, but our parents didn't want us to go the same school, so that ruled out that option. I told my dad I wanted to be a Social Worker, and he said oh no, you don't want to do that! Social workers don't make any money, you'd have to get your Masters..... And Vet school, it came down to getting married young and having kids,or going to school for 8 years, and I chose my sweet husband :)

Why I listened to my parents, I really don't know, but I do know that if it hadn't been for all of the life circumstances that I've been through since being in college, that I wouldn't be where I am today. Having experienced an unplanned pregnancy, and being a young mom. Knowing what it's like to live on limited resources, living in a diverse area, having diverse neighbors. It really helps me relate to these women, since I have been in somewhat similar circumstances that they have. I love being a counselor, and I love that God has blessed me with this ministry. I know in my heart that this is what God had planned for me all along. It might not have seemed that way when I was right in the middle of some not very fun circumstances, but God knew the plan for my life. I have a servant's heart, and such a desire to serve these women and help and impower them for better lives. I would have loved to be a social worker, and in a way I kind of am. As for Nursing school, I have seriously been thinking about going to get my Associates degree as an RN. It has always been a passion of mine, and now even more so being a mom, and experiencing all these things in my world, gives me an even better perspective than I would have had as a young immature college student.

I have come to realize, and know that God has perfect timing, and that everything in life happens for a reason. I pray for these women that I talk to and counsel, that God will give me the right words to say, to speak to their heart, and that they might make the best possible choice for themselves and their children. This is the best type of work in my eyes, because it's one that's making an eternal impact-working for God's higher glory!

My dream of small town life

My family and I have spent the last 2 weekends in a row visiting my parents in their small town an hour south of where we live. We went to the demolition derby-which I absolutely love, and hope to be a driver some day :), and then last weekend went to the county fair/rodeo. I get caught up in the moment, wondering what it would be like to grow up, and/or live in a small town. I pretty much grew up in suburbia, but spent a lot of summers of my youth in various small towns-Pinckneyville,IL; Weston,MO; Warner,OK, Lake of the Ozarks. I always had so much fun there, and have the fondest memories. Well, I found myself dreaming this last weekend what would it be like to live in a small town, and live the simple life. From the original town square, to the original hardware store, where they still measure out wires, and rope down the center aisle, over 40' long; the beautiful historic homes; the old bank, now a quaint library; the rolling hills, and open farm land so serene and peaceful.

I convinced my husband to drive me by my dream house there, that I photographed and toured 8 years ago-a beautiful Victorian house, with original gingerbread trim, original windows,stained glass, pressed tin ceiling...the list goes on and on. I LOVE this house, and before we got married, we had our biggest argument we've ever had over this exact house. I'm the creative dreamer, and he's the practical realist. This house is amazing at over 3000 sq ft at 2 stories, plus a full attic, it's my dream house, and was at the perfect price 8 yrs ago, only $85,000! Well, my dream home has been abandoned and neglected, with peeling paint, and tall grass. It looks like one of the old Victorians you see in the movies deserted up on the hill-well maybe not that bad, but getting close. If it weren't for having to worry about his job,and how much gas $ would be, I would move to this house in a heartbeat!

So to make matters worse for myself, I also convinced him to drive me by the Historic Hotel in town that I did photography and historic preservation consulting for. And low and behold, there was a worker there that day that I talked to and got updated on what was going on. So then I got home and contacted the owner to see if I could start helping out on it again :) I also am in love with this beautiful old hotel. It is a 3 story brick Italianate hotel, and it has seen better days, but I LOVE old abandoned buildings! Call me crazy, but this is a huge passion of mine. I literally cry when I see or hear about old buildings being torn down. Well this hotel needs hundreds of thousands of $ put into it to get it going, but I still have hope that it will reach it's former glory some day :)

So if it were me, I would pack everything up and move to my beautiful old Victorian, restore it, or maybe turn it in to a bed and breakfast :) and work full time helping to restore the old hotel. But then my sweet hubby, Mr. Practical says, do you know how much it takes to heat and cool, and what about the nearest hardware store, and what about the school systems, and about commuting to work, and the list goes on and on. I know he's right, but my heart still dreams of how fun it would be to live in this little, and as he would say "dying" small town.

All this reminds me of a book that I read called Steadfast Surrender, where the main character gives up everything they have, all their comforts in life, to respond to the calling to move to a small town. I have felt that way more recently, just wishing that I could give it all away and not have to worry about all these possessions we have here on earth. But then I think there is still so much to do on our own dream house, that it hasn't reached it's full potential either. My parents own 160 acres of land, and there is a perfect scenic spot my husband and I found, and have talked about how it would be awesome to retire down there some day and build our dream house. So maybe there's hope for my dream house, and maybe my other dream house that could be a bed and breakfast? assuming it hasn't fallen apart in the next 30 years. Until then, I'm working away on our 1887 Farmhouse, that still needs lots of love!

Please Pray.....

My husband just found out recently that he and his co-workers would all be going down to 4 day work weeks, which basically means a 20% paycut. It just went into effect yesterday, and it is going to majorly affect our income. Our buffer is pretty much gone, and I'm praying that we can stay strong and budget very wisely, and make it last. More than anything to avoid the trap of credit card debt again, that we are working so hard to get out of. I have to admit that I'm scared. I get really stressed out when we're tight on money, it just changes my attitude. I know that I need to trust God, and that he will provide. Please pray that he we will seek God's will in all of this for our lives.....

Comments

I just wanted to let all my friends know who are reading my blog, that I have the comments set up that they aren't supposed to be hidden, but for some reason, they sometimes don't show up next to my name, or time stamp. So, if you've found this true as well, and would like to leave a comment, just scroll your mouse over just to the right of my name at the bottom of the post, and it should highlight and show comments there. I'm still fairly new to all this, so I'm trying to figure out why it's not cooperating :) Thanks for reading!