You Ain't Neva Gonna Believe Dis!

We hit the thrift store today. I noticed a big bolt of fabric in the back corner and went to check it out. $25. There was a ton of it. While not my first choice, I could definitely see it in the Little Man's room. I let my imagination go...hmmm....the possibilities...

And then I unrolled it further to see if there was a name on it. And there was. Lee Jofa. I know that name. It's in those fancy magazines! So I called a cousin who knows about such things and she let me ramble and was a precious listening ear! I figured, at $25 for the bolt, worst case scenario, I decide I made a mistake and we've made a $25 donation to a thrift store that financially supports a worthy local cause. I think I can handle that.



It took ALL of the strength Sister and I could muster to load it in the buggy and then we feared the buggy might tip.

We struggled to load it in the car. That is a LOT of yardage. My nerves were shot. (Ridiculous - over fabric, right?!) So I rushed home and googled "Lee Jofa Antler Fabric." I mean, for it to be at the thrift store it's got to be from 1980, right?

Wrong.

Compliments of Veranda.

Compliments of House Beautiful.

It's very recent.

Lee Jofa has it listed as part of their 2010 line designed by Eric Cohler. Read a bit about it here.

Inside Fabric offers it for a mere $130/yard - oh wait a minute - it's on sale for only $91/yard! What a bargain! (I am kidding.)

Seriously though, I am so frail and human. I like that fabric a lot more NOW that I know what it's worth. Had that name not been on the fabric, I probably would have walked away.

Once the shock began to wear off, I called a friend who faithfully rejoices over such discoveries with me. And she did me good. She, without even knowing it, knocked me from my high horse when she said, "Jenn, God gave that to you. He gave that to you. It's a gift from Him!" How right you are dear friend. How right you are.

In all my giddy excitement, I'd neglected to thank the one from whom such a blessing came. I'd come to think of such a find as my good fortune.

The reality is, this is a gift from Him. He cares about the details of our lives. He is sovereign over all, even bolts of fabric in the back corners of thrift stores.

And now I must run...a certain Little Man (who is soon to sport some fancy fabric in his room - 'cause he cares about fancy fabric and all) threw a mud ball IN Sister's eye...

Mornin' Blue Eyes

I really don't understand how she managed.

When we went to get her from her crib, she was just chillin. 

It's all good.

Sometimes It's the Simple Things...

that bring the greatest pleasure...

Like a big pile of cheerios spilled on the kitchen table...

Sometimes it's bringing down an evening purse, filled with change...and a foam sword with a broken tip, and a pillow to grab a moment of rest...

Sometimes it's eating your baby sister's cheerios by the handful, in a karate helmet and cowboy vest...

Sometimes it's eating cereal with kid-friendly chop-sticks...

Sometimes it's using lots of baby spoons and being pushed up to the table like a "big girl"(and yanking your bib off again and again and again)...

Sometimes it's having your very own set of chop-sticks...even if you don't eat with them...

Sometimes it's lining up your cereal, end to end...

And sometimes it's pouring your cup of milk into your bowl of milk and then declaring you're "done" and then insisting on walking your bowl to the sink, only to be intercepted by a rather large dog who somehow managed to open the kitchen door and lapped up all the milk your mother was telling you you would drink...score, Little Man! Score!

And sometimes it's riding your bike around and around in circles with your backpack and all your most favorite things stuffed inside on your sister's old pink bike...

Sometimes it's the simple things - the messes they make - that God uses to make me smile and laugh and think how fast these precious days are passing.

Enjoy your bebes! And all their glorious messiness! 

PARTY-PARTY!!!

I mean really, how hilarious is that picture? Little Man in that costume! He had the leotard on over the pants. (I'm just glad he didn't wear the tutu ensemble that went with the penguin hat.) He insisted he was a penguin! I'm not sure what my sister smelled...couldn't have been good.

Of course, the clown getup was pretty good, too. Mama saved EVERY costume we EVER wore. Three girls, a combined total of around 40 years of ballet, plus school project costumes, etc., etc,. etc. - she's got it all. 

My sister, who is much wittier than I, had us rolling as she listed off the possibilities when you open the dress-up armoire! Need an Annie costume? Mom's got it. Martha Washington? Yep, got that one. A nurse or Indian costume? Got those, too. A wedding dress? Or princess dress? Or pumpkin? Yes, she does have the hat and orange tights to match. She's got it all! We never know "who" will appear next!

Every October we (my sisters, our bebes, and sometimes our husbands) gather to celebrate Mama's birthday with her! 

But this year, it was a little different. And I don't have a single photo of Mom (nor of my baby sister...). She was down and out. Sick with what she learned Saturday morning is a sinus infection. She felt so bad. Not like dressing up and going out to dinner. 

So we got take-out and served her birthday dinner in bed...and we each took a corner of the bed, with plates in hand, and had a great dinner. 

After dinner we put every candle we could find in that cake and paraded down the hall to Mom's room...

where she sat up in bed and begged me NOT to take a picture...

and we sang Happy Birthday to her!

And it was crazy! (Check out Little One's abstract in the background!)

And we sang and smiled!

And since she was sick, guess who blew out the candles?

 Happy, Happy Birthday Mama! You are precious to us and we love you so very much! The older I get, the more I appreciate all the ways you have given your life away for me. Thank you!!! I love you! May this year bring precious blessings and an even sweeter nearness to your heavenly Father. Mama, you are LOVED!

Heart Palps, Addictions, & Gettin' Jiggy With It

I went to the Dr. Tuesday morning. I'd had a headache for two weeks straight and what I now know are heart palpitations. The headache that wouldn't go away is what prompted the appointment. Of course, it went away a few days shy of said appointment.

But the heart palpitations did not. They've been happening several times a day. It seems that a deep breath and a pause in activity, and all goes back to normal. So, I mentioned it to my Dr. She offered several possible explanations and told me to AVOID ALL CAFFEINE for a while, and she insisted on an EKG.

Which felt like a death sentence. The caffeine part, that is.

Turns out I have a Bundle Branch Blockage. I've probably had it from birth and have never known about it. She says, "don't worry about it right now. We'll do an echocardiogram and get those results and go from there."

So this morning, thanks to a sweet friend who kept Sister, I had the rare and wonderful experience of thirty minutes in a dark room, in the quiet, tucked beneath warm blankets, while I watched and listened as the radiologist explained to me what I was seeing. (The parts, not the issues...) She was a good teacher.

The heart is AMAZING. 

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

It just kept beating and beating and beating (and I know you're going, "duh! That's what hearts do!") but to see it going like that - it was INCREDIBLE. I could have stared at it all day long. God is quite the engineer! To know He controls every beat...WOW!

The Echo results should be back early to middle of next week.

God has graciously granted me peace in my heart.

My sweet little niece had an Echo done today, too. What are the odds? We're rejoicing and thanking God that she is just fine!

Backing up a bit, Tuesday and Wednesday I crashed from lack of caffeine. Seriously, it was like I was in a haze. When I dropped Little Man off at school Tuesday morning, several people asked me if I was okay. 

I don't think I drank that much caffeine. A double shot of espresso (that's about the same amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee) in the morning and sometimes a single shot in the afternoon. I drink decaf tea. No coke. I mean, really?

But this morning I woke without a headache. I'm only moderately tired this afternoon and I haven't fought taking a nap. I feel better. Who knew?

Hmmm...

This stud muffin (hee hee) has been gettin' jiggy with it! Quite literally.

He's finishing the bookshelves, only we modified the plans. He's building a super cool support system. He cut, I don't know, A LOT of these supports. Each shelf will require four, two on each end. It's old school stuff. He made a jig to cut 'em. He's SO GOOD!! Can't wait to show you!

And there's Little Man. Sporting his batman jammies. But only when his spider man jammies are dirty. 

And Sister...riding, riding, riding! And spelling, spelling, spelling. The Engineer and I have lost a crucial form of communication - spelling to one another mid sentence. It's over. The girl figures it out every time.

Batman gets dirty EVERY TIME.

Sometimes he steps out of uniform. Recently he's learned to ride Sister's bike. The only problem - the bike is so big he can't get on OR OFF without help. Which means he's logged a good bit of time riding circles begging for someone to let him off!!!

And sweet Scout (that's Warrior above) is having issues controlling her bladder. The vet says she's "getting older." I laughed and told The Engineer, "our family's about 50/50 on the potty training if you count the dogs!" Ha!

Hope you have a happy day!

$5.12

I tore this out of a magazine a while back and unfortunately don't remember which magazine.
The article was written by Susan Stiles Dowell and photographed by Jack Thompson.

Last Christmas we had silhouettes cut of each of the children. Mr. Arnold (who my sister told me about) can cut them several pages thick, so it made a perfect gift for both grandmothers and the mama!

But framin' 'em...that was another matter altogether.

With the above page in hand, I made a trip to our local framing OUTLET for a quote on something similar. Here's what he came up with:

Custom Rectangle: $189

Readymade Oval (that I didn't even like): $167

Readymade Square: $167

For a whopping total of $523

I don't think so.

We gave the silhouettes frameless. And mine sat between cardboard as I considered my options. After my experience with this frame, I kept my eyes open for some "good bones."

God is in the details.

I found this.

And this.

And this.

So...a little paint, spray glue, fabric scraps, card stock, and three hours later...

Ta-dah!

Little Bit.

Thanks to my mother-in-law's suggestion, I hit up Michaels and bought a rectangular mat with an oval cut center. I lopped the corners off the mat and painted it a khaki color. Then I pulled the original oval mat out of the frame and used spray glue to attach fabric (from my scraps) to it. I painted the oval gold using paints I had on hand, and then brushed on black in some areas and rubbed a little here and a little there to highlight the vines, etc.

Total invested: $.38 (frame) + $1.49 (mat with 40% off coupon) = $1.87 

Sister.

I took this one apart and scrubbed her down good with a dry toothbrush (I used The Engineer's - kidding!) and painted the original mats, as well as the linen fabric that's glued on the actual frame. I also painted the outer band of the frame black.

Total Invested: $2.25 (frame)

Little Man.

This one was a bit trickier. It had held an athletic certificate and had no mats. I grabbed some card stock and my exacto. I cut about five mats before I was happy with any of 'em. I attached fabric (from scraps) to the mats, used a dollop of hot glue to assemble. Painted the frame black, wiped on some gold and wha-la!

Total Invested: $1 (frame)

Y'all, I am telling you, GOD IS IN THE DETAILS! He knows the desires of our hearts and He loves us. Seeing those framed silhouettes is SUCH a reminder of God's tender mercies and His deep, rich, attention to the seemingly insignificant, kind of love!

Cutie Patootie, Mr. Hottie, & A Great Lunch!

This little cutie patootie has been hitchin' a ride...

Just about the time she wakes from her afternoon nap...

Mr. Hottie comes home from work...

They tag team it. Cutie patootie rides, sips milk, points, and says, "MU! MU!" Mr. Hottie RUNS HARD and comes home real sweaty and I give him a big kiss and tell him, "I am SO PROUD of you!!!" And I feel very loved.




And this, my friends, makes for my new most favorite lunch ever!

Natural PB on a whole wheat tortilla, drizzled with honey, and topped with sunflower seeds.

Slice and serve. Goes perfectly well with greek yogurt, banana chips, a glass of iced tea, and a good book. (Most recently finished When Crickets Cry  - and really enjoyed it! - Like 1:30 am really enjoyed it!)