the no-brainer DIY {infinity scarf}

these are the kinds of crafts i've been doing lately.
the kind that make me say "duh, why didn't i think of that??"

today, it's the infinity scarf.
i was eye-balling them at target last week, even momentarily putting one in my cart.
then it donned on me...i have at least 10 regular old scarves at home. i should just sew the ends together and make myself one. duh.

but when i got home, it was simply too much hassle to pull out the sewing machine. the thread. the scissors. drag it all out to my kitchen table, which was covered in leftover dinner, books, toys, mystery sticky stuff, etc.

so, my dreams of an infinity scarf evaporated. like my dreams of being hip and cool and fitting into my favorite jeans. 

but today...today my brain worked. i double knotted the ends of that old scarf, and voila.
infinity.

i double knotted 9 other old scarves...they, too, are now infinity.

hip and cool? no.
not remotely.
but i am donning infinity today...no shower...but infinity nonetheless.

the cutest little dollhouse you ever did see

this item is one of the gifts i treasure deeply.
it was given to emery by one of my dear friends. she (and a few other friends) worked feverishly to craft and finish it for emery's 2nd birthday.
(they found the idea from Hart + Sew)

i love it so much, i almost don't want the kids to play with it.
almost.

it's one of those gifts that is so special, it must be played with. otherwise, it would just be wrong to withhold such a treasure.

i need to make a few more dolls to give this little lady some company. the boys are requesting one for each of us...including light sabers and a tea set. i've got my work cut out for me.

emery has recently become very attached to "dolly". she carrys her everywhere. snuggles her close when she sleeps. gently rocks her and feeds her bottles. it's downright adorable.

has anyone else made one of these? i'm curious to know if anyone has any tips or patterns for making dolls or clothes.
maybe i just need to hop on it and make one.
i'm lazy, i tell ya. lazy.

a glass of sweet tea {with a side of conviction}

give me a strong southern accent and a glass of sweet tea, and you can tell me just about anything without hurting my feelings.

that's one of the truths i am learning about God as i listen to beth moore.
(we are studying her series on David...i would highly recommend it. i'm learning so much more than i ever realized about the complicated and incredible life story of David.)
God's Word is strong and the conviction in my heart is painful, but like a soft southern accent, He is not looking to shatter me. to destroy my tenderness. in the midst, i can feel God calling to me that my feelings of exhaustion and obvious shortcomings aren't failure.

instead, they are the perfect place for God's supernatural strength...the kind that can't be explained.

it was just yesterday that i was telling myself about all the things i can't handle. the things i can't keep up with no matter how i try. it's the daily things that should be more manageable. after all, i've been doing this mom thing for nearly 7 years. shouldn't i be better at it by now? shouldn't i be better equipped to handle squabbles and sharing and what to make for lunch and dinner? shouldn't i have brilliant cleaning tactics to scrub spilled formula off of new couches and inventive ways for keeping laundry perfectly folded?
what's the matter with me?
so and so blogs every.single.day.
so and so's house looks like a magazine ad.
so and so is always dressed and ready for the day by 7 am.
so and so has a thriving home business and still manages a home and kids and everything else.
so and so is so positive and productive and crafty.

what's the matter with me?
i can't remember the last time i blogged.
the last time my whole house felt moderately orderly.
i have no idea how many months it's been since i woke up and felt rested.
i constantly feel as though the day ahead is already ahead of me.

i don't feel like i'm the right person for this job. this big, important, meaningful, incredibly difficult job.
i'm not what i should be.
my shortcomings are splattering everywhere.
me, me, me.

filling my mind with my failures keeps my focus on the things that i am doing wrong instead of the things that God is trying desperately to do right through me.
do i allow Him?

i was challenged today by this thought:

God has created me for this day. for this life. for these kids and this family. even if i don't realize it, He has given me what it takes to thrive, no matter how unworthy i am of His passion for me.

what areas can i let go of today, so i can allow God to rush in and show His faithfulness?

siblings.

they have a friendship that is unlike all others.
they see each other through life in the best and worst and whiniest days.
they learn everything about life, side by side.
and they will effect each other's lives for the rest of life.
these two have something so special, it can't be explained.
clearly, they are two of a kind.

the oldest dress i own {and equally as ancient teacups}

i found a few items hidden away today.

i couldn't help pulling this one out...

we had a the worst wedding photos of all time.
posed. uncreative. stiff and boring. i disliked them so much that i never had any printed outside of our proofs. looking back, i'd love to have a few...but being that they were shot on 35mm, (yes, 35mm, it was that long ago), i have no access to them. i'm sure the photographer has undoubtedly long since thrown them away.
oh how i wish to go back in time and at least have a few pinterest-ish shots of our special day together.

it's old and getting yellow...but the way i felt with it swirling around me...with a sparkling new wedding band and a sparkling new husband...it's a day i'll always cherish...even if we don't have beautiful photos to remember it by.
(since i never had it "preserved", i'm going to try vacuum sealing in one of these...has anyone done this to a wedding dress before?)


i also found these in my favorite vintage shop.

i have a strange obsession with these little tin tea cups. these are from the 1930's and while the pattern isn't my favorite, for some reason, anything on a tin cup looks lovely.

emery has a set already, so these will soon be gifted to a friend's baby girl. tiny teacups might be my favorite all time little girl gift.


and then there are these...
per usual, i ran out of time last month and never peeked on my camera to see if there were any gems amidst the daily snapshots. 

these capture her so well and make me smile when i see her scrunched up nose, clearly upset about something :)

i also found documentation of a blossoming friendship and caught the tale end of a moment with these two standing together. arms around, content to be together. just standing still. highly unusual.
they are learning to treat each other sweeter and irritate each other less. big news around here.

and then there is this one. big brother washing mud off of her shoes.

good heavens. 

the cuteness.

scantily clad lady {who i adore}

there is something so endearing about this sassy lady.
though she's short on clothes, she's full of vintage style and demure years of well worn fabrics.
i found her years ago at a yard sale, and then she landed in storage when we sold our house 2 years ago.
i unearthed her this weekend while cleaning out our many items still in storage. i'm prepping for a giant barn sale to rid ourselves of said storage...but she is one of the items i just can't quite part with.
poor gal. she seriously needs a few limbs and a place to live.
but i can't do it.
i can't let her go.
so my scantily clad lady and i are sticking together.

anyone out there have one of these? any creative suggestions of ways to use her in order to convince my husband she shouldn't be a sad patron of the barn sale?

the epic moment {they will always remember}

school started monday.
and we have several major summer moments yet unconquered.

day trip to the beach? probably won't happen.
philly please touch museum? too expensive, and, well, i don't have the energy.
go camping? daddy can handle that one.
catch a fish?  why yes, that's one i can manage. though i'm not really a fan of fishing, anything that only requires worms is pretty much as easy as it gets.

i prepped the fishermen that today was about learning to fish. learning to be patient. and if we didn't catch anything, we would try again tomorrow.
and we didn't catch anything.
nada.

 after an hour, the littlest fisherwoman was starting to get irritated from all the standing around.

the bigger fishermen were hungry, and slightly disappointed that we hadn't even seen a fish, let alone caught one.
so, we each hooked one last worm and sent the bobbers flying one last time.

it was like a storybook tale...as soon as we cast our last lines, within moments, rowan hooked a feisty blue gill!

excited doesn't even begin to express how they felt about our catch.

it's a day that will go down in our family history as one of our most epic days.
the day they caught their first fish.

oh and they insisted on touching his eyeball. apparently, little boys think touching fish eyeballs is really awesome. :)

a day of awesome firsts {and my sad misspelled signage}

my oldest son walked into school today for the first time. he was all smiles as if he does this all the time.

{yes. i spelled "kindergarten" wrong. a friend texted me a moment ago, making me aware of my horribly misspelled signage. the secret is out. i can't spell worth a darn. unfortunately, chalkboards don't include a spell checker feature. now i will forever be reminded why i'm glad that i'm not the one teaching my child to spell!! maybe i can find someone who can photoshop it?? yikes!}

as he walked into school, i didn't cry. in fact, i surprised myself by sharing his excitement. for a year i have worried and fretted over what school to send him. public or private or homeschool or co-op or charter or online cyber. at the last moment, i decided to go public and trust his little life to God's protection. after all, that's what i should be doing regardless. and you know what? we went to the meet-and-greet last week and found out his teacher goes to our church. she is artistic and witty and structured. she has a magnetic smile and and has traveled the world and understands things about life that i want my child to know. she loves Jesus, and she's my son's teacher. all this time i was worried and God had this plan worked out the whole time.
it was a happy morning of firsts.

across the globe, a friend was having a day of firsts as well. i could hardly sleep last night, knowing ashley was in china meeting her sweet baby girl for the first time. if you haven't already, stop what you are doing and read her post from this morning. her daughter is so beautiful i can't stop gazing at her!! and her gotcha moment? oh my. breathtaking. her daughter's smile makes me long to kiss emery's sweet cleft. oh how i love fantastically wide smiles!! seriously. you need to see her girl. she's so adorable i want to squeeze my computer :)

oh and i just have to include this shot...it makes me smile because it shows what was really happening while i was snapping foster's first day pics :)

real life is always more interesting :)

the funniest creatures {boys}

little boys are some of the funniest creatures.

creative, inventive, silly and shy.
brave and miraculous, gooey and strong.
tall and lanky, wigglie and busy,
bursting with love.
they have the capacity to run without exhaustion,
protect without thought of self,
create fun out of just about anything,
and bring a mama's soul joy like it has never known before.

little boys.
they put frogs up their shorts...

and make me smile all day long.

water wall {small backyard play solution}

a few years back, we made a pvc pipe building set. one of the cheapest and most fun projects, but also one of the more annoying to store when not in use. 

{you can find lots of other pvc ideas on pinterest} 

this past weekend, clint brought the bin of pvc pipes out and headed outside. before i knew it, he had them strung up in the backyard, with the kids squealing with anticipation. one of the many benefits of being married to a carpenter is that he randomly makes something new, just because.
because he's awesome.

i'll be honest and say i thought they looked really tacky and gave him some grief over not letting me spray paint them before they were attached. after all, a little spray paint works magic in any situation :)
our backyard is small and the pipes stick out like, well, like pipes.
but i quickly got over my paint issue when i saw how much fun they are.

the photos don't do them justice at all. they are so super, i find myself joining the kids every afternoon, becoming fully drenched in fountain awesomeness.

needless to say, water makes us really, really happy :)