today

 

my thoughts and prayers today have been constantly turned towards moore, oklahoma.
so sad and hurting for them.
oftentimes, big tragedies seem so far away and removed.
and honestly, mostly, i'm pretty disconnected with the outside world...don't watch the news and keep up with current events by what my friends tell me.

but today, this is close.
it reminds me of the joplin tornados....we were in the middle of tornado season then as well.
we live in the part of the country that pretty much sits in the middle of the tornado paths every spring.
both times, it has seemed that we narrowly escaped.

tornados are so scary because they are so unpredictable.
they can level one house and leave the next one perfectly sound.
they can change directions and turn and get wider.
that feels very scary.
that feels out of control.

somehow, this time i have felt so much peace.
peace that can only come from Jesus.
Jesus, who is constant.
Jesus who is for us.
even when we don't understand.

last night my neighbor texted me to say that the university {10 min from us} was issuing a warning to go to your safe spot.

we were watching the news, but it wasn't even raining yet.

i texted back, "right now?!! it's not even raining."

then, so fast, i heard it....loud, whistling, howling wind and rain came out of nowhere. 

we looked out the back window and our trampoline is blowing across the yard. 

aj said, "go now."

and we all headed for our little laundry room.

i grabbed ruby out of bed and we huddled together in there until it had past.

the kids were scared at first, but they quickly calmed down. 

thankfully, it did not turn into a tornado...just straight line winds.

many trees down and electricity out, but nothing serious.

that's our trampoline in there....in the woods behind our neighbor's house.
such a bummer, but honestly, it's a trampoline.
i can't begin to understand why there are tornados or why it hit them and not us....but i do know that God is good.
and He has a much bigger lens than we do.
and He hurts right along with us.

so today....it's hard for me to focus on much else.
it's still stormy here and i'm thankful to be inside in a warm house.....holding my babies close.

not taking a moment with them for granted.

so thankful that i get to take care of them, clean up after them, feed them, read to them, play with them and be with them.

praying so much for our friends in oklahoma today.
praying they feel Jesus close.
He is near to the brokenhearted.

**the necklace at the top is from the vintage pearl.
i love her shop.
it's where aj got my layered mother of pearl necklace a couple years ago.

it's called the love for oklahoma necklace and 100% of the proceeds go to the american red cross to help with the relief efforts.**



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thrift store thursday

hey y'all. :)

welp. i missed thrift store thursday last week because it was the boys' last day of school slash field day.
busy day.
i'm not sure how my thrifting schedule will go now that school is out, but rest assured it will get done.
one way or another.  :)

so here are a few of my thrifted finds from the past week . . .

i have a thing for old hymnals.
i grew up singing out of a hymnal and i lovelovelove hymns.
i am so glad that i have 2 hymnals from the church that i grew up in.
i found this pretty vintage hymnal last week for the booth.

vintage moustache mug, was actually my grandpa's. . .  also in the booth.

vintage button collection {another one of my favorites} also in the booth. :)

and now things get weird.
are you wondering what the heck i was thinking?
first of all....i think it's kind sad/weird/creepy when people donate old frames with the photo in them.
surely someone wants to keep that pic???
oh well....to each their own, i guess.

anyhow....i actually paid 50 cents for each of those frames.
i needed an 8X10 piece of glass for a frame that i already had but the glass broke.
and i needed a square frame for another pic....and obviously i spray painted it. ;)

this is a the frame that needed the glass.
the print is from jones design company....and this is also heading to the booth tomorrow. :)

i stopped by an estate sale last week and found these gorgeous vintage pillowcases.
i love the hand detailing.
 they are in perfect condition and were 50 cents each!
such a happy score.
these went to our bed. :)

also at the estate sale, i found this beautiful vintage frame for 50 cents.
love the antique gold. so pretty.
i found this frame in a box of frames...the majority of which were not pretty.
this goes to show you, you have to be willing to dig!
you never know what treasures you'll find. :)

i had this one year pic of ruby printed at sam's and i plan to add it to our gallery wall. :)

okay so those are a few of my finds this week.
yay for thrifting!!!


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mother's day :)

i am loved so well by my sweet family.
they always try hard to make my day really special.
so thankful for them.

breakfast in bed. yummy treats. sweet notes.
perfect.

our best attempt at getting a pic of mama and her kiddos.

sweet finley had the idea to bring flowers to our next door neighbor.
she's a single mom with a son in kindergarten.
we've really enjoyed getting to know them.
finley said her son wouldn't be able to go out and buy her anything so we should get her something.
i love his sweet heart and that he is thinking of others!
the boys delivered them before church. :)

they got me flowers too, but i forgot to take a pic......and i don't want to get out of my chair right now ;) ....a dozen red roses....avery picked out the color. ;)

after church we changed clothes, picked up sandwiches and headed to lake fayetteville.
it's one of our favorite places to hike around and enjoy God's beauty.
i love to be outside on a beautiful day so this was perfect. :)

having some peaceful time in nature is exactly what my soul needed today.


hope all you mamas had a special day today.
and for you sweet friends who are praying that you become a mama...i'm saying a prayer for you right now....that you feel so loved and wrapped in Jesus' arms.  and that He would bless you with the desire of your heart.


have a good night, friends. :)








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home. and a chair re-do.

happily we are settling into this house much faster than we have in past houses.
my antsy pants nature and aj's willingness to go along with my shenanigans have helped.  :)

it feels like home.
which is amazing considering we've only lived here just over a month.
also, it feels so good to know that this is our house.
for some reason, renting was really hard for me.
although we were so thankful for the house we were in, the amazing owners, the pool {oh we will miss that bad this summer} and the yard {already missing that}, it just never felt like home.
do you know what i mean?

this house fits us perfectly.
it's cozy and pretty and i love it. :)

so i wanted to show you my sweet chair that i finally updated for our bedroom.
it's a 1940's chair that i bought at a yard sale a few years ago with the intent to recover it.
it lived briefly in our living room and then was sent to our bedroom.
and i never recovered it the whole 2 years we lived there....possibly bc i was preggers and then had a newborn. . . possibly.


so here's the before {from our last house} . . .

beautiful lines and wood, not the right fabric.
i love the wood, but we already have so much dark furniture in our room, that i wanted to paint it white to lighten it up a bit.
sadly, the pretty wood design on the sides had to go.
it was cardboard thin and didn't make it through 3 boys.

i painted the wood white with some paint i had in the garage.

i recovered the cushions with a linen fabric that i found on the clearance table at hancock's.
i just laid the cushions down on the fabric, and cut around it using the cushion as a guide.
no measuring or anything complicated like that. ;)

okay the after.....

i love how she turned out.
fresh and clean and just so pretty, i think. :)

here's a little peek at this side of our room.

looking at this picture makes me think i need to get new frames for our dresser...too much dark going on up there.
our room typically tends to be on the bottom of the totem pole for decorating so i'm hoping to do better with that.

and because i love a before and after as much as anyone, how about a side by side. . .

oh happy day. :)

linking up with today's creative blog  & yolo mondays & 

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father son retreat

a few weeks ago AJ and avery went on a father and son retreat with a few of our providence friends.

they had the best time and although i so missed them being gone for an entire weekend, i am so glad they went.

they got lots of good father son bonding time and did all kinds of boyish stuff all weekend.

like skeet shooting.

it was avery's first ever time to shoot a "real" gun.
pretty. exciting.

avery is so brave and did a zip line off a thirty foot pole in the pitch dark with no flashlight.
he also did a big swing called the screamer.
that boy has no fear. never has.

i think it was also really nice to have our friends there with them.

slightly jealous and makes me really look forward to family camp coming up in two weeks.
have i said that i love camping? i do. :)

i am so very thankful to have such a good man to be the head of our home.
our children are so blessed.



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instafriday

i like instagram.
it's simple. pretty pictures. not a bunch of junk.
{i don't however understand all the parents letting their pre-teens have their own account...but whatevs....i guess everybody gets to parent their own children how they want..... ;)}

i'm itsgoodtobequeen if you'd like to follow all the exciting times of the queen & her court. :)

so here's a smattering of the last few weeks . . .

spring soccer.
not for the faint of heart.
it's been cold and drizzly every. single. saturday.
also how does my sweet fin look so old?!

this little thing brings us so much joy.
her sweet smile makes my day.
and she is loving her first ever painted toenails.

more ruby.
eating cereal like such a big girl.
oh her little hand kills me!

cozy house on a rainy day.
we are really starting to feel at home here.
we are loving this house and feeling settled. so happy.

also, in typical arkansas fashion, the weather has been nutso.
80's one day, cold and rainy the next.
in fact, it's snowy and cold today.
honestly though, i haven't minded it.
it gives me an excuse to be in my sweats all day and cozy up with my sweet kiddos.
plus i like it that our Maker is so unpredictable.
just a reminder that He's in control, not us. :)

love notes.
13 1/2 years later and we still can't get enough of each other.  :)

last saturday was the first in what seems like forever that we've been able to sleep in & wake up slowly with our kids.
i love snuggling with my girl in the morning.
p.s. by sleeping in, i mean like 7:00. :)

then we got up and at 'em and got some cleaning done.

a productive morning makes this mama happy!

big time saturday night lego building.

that's how we roll.

aunt tonya bought the boys paper mache' kits.
yeah.
okay so yes, it did give them a solid hour of entertainment....but seriously, the mess.

on the bright side, we had a nice day for painting their creations, outside, so alls well that ends well.
still tonya, i'm buying your kids moon sand.

split peas, measuring cups, muffin tins....perfect to keep a busy little girl occupied.....and apparently her big brothers too.

i got the idea from someone else on instagram...except they were using rice.
seriously, it was amazing. she played with it for a solid two hours.
best idea ever.

sweet friends.
meliyah is such a great helper and so so sweet with ruby.
love these two girls to pieces.

well hip hip hooray it's friday.
have a great weekend friends!




linking up with instafriday here.....




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thrift store thursday

today was a great thrifting day. :)

okay first things first, i told you i'd show you the after of the lamp redo i did last week.

she's lovely.
remember her before?

and after . . .

oh man i dig that glossy gray spray paint.

doesn't that just make you happy?
i love it.

okay now for today...first i ran to ph thrift {obviously} and i walked out with this chandelier for . . . wait for it. . .  50 cents.
FIFTY CENTS. 50. half a dollar. 50.

okay not a great picture but it's the same as this:

it's the same kind of fixture that i redid for a chandelier two houses ago and one for ruby's room. 

i actually got it for my friend, erin.
i already took the shades off and we will turn the arms facing up, spray paint it, and add chandy light bulbs.
50 cents is definitely a chandelier record.

next i drove to my hometown to hang out & go thrifting with my sweet friend, jenny.
jenny and i have very similar tastes so it is really fun to go thrifting with her.

okay not the best pic of us {it was cold & drizzly out}, but it's documented. :)

we went to a fun store called the chicken coop.
i had to snap a pic of these sweet scrappy garland.

so cute!
reminds me of the the fabric scrap garland that i made for ruby's first birthday party.
i think i will make something similar for our living room.

jenny spotted this awesome, chippy, metal rack for me!
5.99, yes. please.

i already hung it up in our kitchen. . . by myself.
so it will probably fall down in a week, but i was so antsy to get it up.

i have no idea what i will put on it, but i love it. :)

i also found this solid, wood trunk for the boys dress up clothes.

like . . . it's super nice.
guess how much i paid for it?
$35. yep.  i am the thrifting queen. :)
the lady at the front actually stopped us as we were hauling it out because she thought it was marked for $125.
she made us wait while she called to vendor!
i knew it was a steal, but thankfully $35 was the actual price so hooray for me!

avery and i hauled it up the stairs tonight so all those dress up clothes could finally find a home.
you know other than the beautiful rubbermade tub that they been hanging out in.

right outside the chicken coop was a big yard sale.
mostly it was too cold {hello what happened to spring?} but i did nab this cool old thermos for the booth.

okay, next up we hit vintage accents.
it's my favorite place to hit up...they have amazing vintage finds for really great prices.

look at this cool piece that would be an amazing coffee table......

i wanted to buy about 20 things but i walked away with two long pieces of barn wood.

they're about 5 feet long . . . see i'll prove it with a selfie....in the cold rain....that's how much i love you guys....or how weird i am to be hugging barn wood in the rain......

i plan to use them for shelving in the dining room.
can't wait!

it was such a fun morning, i can't wait to do it again.
jenny and i are dreaming of a much longer thrifting excursion in the future...two hours just isn't enough. :)


happy thrifting, y'all!!
p.s. what have y'all found lately?


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