For those of you who know me... you know what my house looks like on a "normal" basis... so through in the fact that we've been packing for an inevitable move... and wa-la... you've got my house as of this morning! So, my friend is over now with her six children and we are cleaning up a storm... You can stay updated by following my twitter updates on the sidebar to the right...
Please pray for calmness over my home while all this is going on.., I know I haven't posted anymore on the whole church planting thing, but I will soon and get everyone up to date on what's going on. For now, know that our house is still up for sale, and that we're praying to move closer to the place Mike is currently working as the "church planter in residence" (40 minutes away).
This past week I've been attacking my summer project with single-minded determination. Randy and Jesse were gone for the whole week with Group Workcamps, doing amazing things with 350 other teens and adult leaders to help the disadvantaged and needy in a town in rural Ohio. So while they were scraping, painting, digging post holes, hammering, getting blisters, getting wet and muddy, and taking cold showers, I worked tirelessly at home in the air-conditioned kitchen. Duncan and Laurel were absolute angels while I peeled, sanded, spackled and painted, and today we are all enjoying our pretty kitchen.
We added curtains, outlet covers, and a new paper towel holder today. (Who knew it would be so hard to find a wall-mounted paper towel holder in something other than white plastic?) All I really have left is to replace some trim and scrape a lot of paint drippings off the cabinets.
Next project: rip up the vinyl and tile the kitchen floor!
I love pictures! I am sure that comes as no surprise to you if you have ever visited my blog before. But, the thing I really love is decorating my house with pictures. LOTS of them! When we packed our house up in
Las Vegas to move I asked one friend to take down all the pictures and pack them. When she was done she had 9 boxes of pictures! (We had a lot of wall space in that house! LOL) So it has been killing me to be in this house for 2 months now with NO pictures on the walls! This weekend we took care of that!
Here is what we put over the fireplace. (Don't ask me why someone put paneling over brick. Trust me, it wasn't US! LOL) The picture of the kids is my FAVORITE and was take in 2004 when they were 1, 3 and 10. The picture of the old barn in the field of flowers was taken by my husband in the early 1990's. It is a barn in Lompoc, California. Lompoc is where they grow seeds for the Burpee Seed Company. Each year they have Flower Festival when everything is in bloom. It is SO pretty!
This is next to the TV in the Family Room. (Yes, I HATE the paneling! But, for now we are living with it. I hope we can take it down SOON! Can you tell this house was built in the 60's?) The horse collar is the one my grandfather used for farming. My dad had it made into a clock after my grandfather died. After my dad died my oldest son inherited it. He is named after my grandfather. The picture is of my great-great grandparents. It was taken in 1895. Under the picture of my great-great grandparents is the Lord's Prayer.
This is over the dining room table. This is the quilt made in 1904 by my husband's great grandmother. (You can read about it
HERE.) The pictures of the kids were the first studio pics we had of them after our youngest was born.
Entry Hall These are all the "first" family photos we used for the kids birth announcements. These are on a table under their framed birth announcements.
This is the other wall in the entry hall. I told you I like pictures!
Besides pictures I really like to put unexpected things on the wall. Like quilts & horse collars. Some of the other unusual things we have used to decorate with are a boat oar from my paternal grandfather, my father's army shovel, my grandparents headboard, a shelf full of rocks we have collected in our travels, antique
Glass Clorox bottles from my great grandparents old farm and this....
Over our bed. If you haven't figured it out yet that is a cast of ME when I was pregnant with one of my kids. I have several of these that we made when I was pregnant. (This is the only craft my husband has ever showed any interest it! LOL) This is the first house we have hung one of these up in. When we were moving I found out that the cats had gotten the box open I had them all stored in. I found a cat asleep in my stomach! LOL So I decided if I was going to keep them I should at least hang one. I have big plans to decoupage tissue paper and tissue flowers and butterflies on it. But, for now at least the cats can't get in this one! LOL The pictures are of me with each of the kids at one month old.
Here is another wall in our room. I had a baby outfit framed from each of the kids. The sign over it says "All because two people fell in love!" As you can see from the pile under the pictures we have not gotten the master bedroom all put together yet!
I don't have everything hung up yet. Actually I can only hang up a fraction of what we had in the last house here. (More windows and open concept living = less wall space!) So I am having to go through and make hard choices of what stays and what comes out of frames and goes into scrapbooks. (Another project!)
At least we have pictures on the walls now! I am SO happy! It is starting to feel like home finally!
MOVIE MONDAYS will now be a part of my blog that will feature my family from the previous week's events. As they continue to grow, I get more and more sentimental... realizing time goes too fast and these are moments I need to cherish. While these may not pull at your heartstrings like mine, I hope they will capture the essence of who we are and remind you to hug yours a little longer... they truly are a gift from the Lord.
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
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Through the Lens: Assignment 1
Posted By
Amy Verlennich
Through the Lens: Assignment 1 was to read our manual (which I am still going through) and to take a picture of something that inspires us. Well, ever since I got my camera, I've been taking so many pictures of my children... it's crazy. In fact, for the time being anyway, I plan on making Mondays "MOVIE MONDAYS" on my blog which will have a movie slide of our life each week. I've missed so many years of pictures, and I refuse to let that be the case anymore. So... here are some of my favorite shots recently...
Wild Hair
Persistence
Liquid Rainbows
You can click on the following link to see previous posts from THROUGH THE LENS or visit my flickr website, DANDELION DREAMS too! Thanks for stopping to look at my pictures!
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
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Through the Lens: Digital Photography 101 by Hallie
Posted By
Amy Verlennich
When I went to Marsha's blog the other day, I saw that she was starting an online photography "class" anyone could join. Through the Lens is being given by Hallie FROM THE RUBBER ROOM and I'm so excited! I was actually "gifted" a digital camera a few weeks ago and so this class is perfect timing!
Okay... I need to share a little more about that first... Mike and I had been talking about what we'd like to do about a camera and what we should be saving for. Mike had bought me a really nice camera years ago, but we had to drive 30 minutes away to have the film developed and after the battery went bad... well, we just quit using it. It wasn't cost effective anymore. We've been using Mike's digital camera from work which was better than nothing, but nothing compared to the film camera's quality of pictures. Then, one Saturday morning, a dear friend of my husband's (and our family) stopped over to give me his EOS 10D digital camera! He'd bought it a few years back when he was taking professional wedding pictures. With the box it came in, manual, extra battery and CF card, he explained that he wanted me to have it so I wouldn't miss these precious moments of my children... and with tears, I was amazed not only by his generosity... but also how much God loves me to have given me such a gift.
Since then, I've been taking pictures like crazy... and trying to figure "my" camera out, so this class came around when I needed it! Check back over the weeks to see how I'm doing and how it's going... or better yet, join in!
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
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Ragamuffin Top Challenge: WEEK SIX
Posted By
Amy Verlennich
Week six I pretty much fell off the bandwagon. Was still not great with water, and had a few pops during the week. I was better with the treadmill and hula hoop, but still need to improve. I need to get serious and really try for a week solid (I've been good with one thing at a time, but not all of it). I think I need more of an incentive than just to loose weight, and so I'm going to cut the snacks for the week (chips, ice cream sandwiches, etc) and remember to pray for my hubby as he has some big decisions to be making and things to be doing right now (still taking online college courses and fund raising for our church plant)... and since I've been craving sweets, I guess he'll be getting lots of prayer!
So, here's the re-cap: Goal weight: 115 lbs.
Start weight: 131.5
Week One: 132
Week Two: 131
Week Three: 130.5
Week Four: 129
Week Five: 125.5
And (drum roll please) ......................................................
Week Six: Yeah... you're seeing right... it may be blurry, but I've went back to my weight of 2 weeks ago. I'm so disappointed with such a drastic change. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be able to make my "goal" since I'm nursing. It's just proving to be harder while I'm nursing and of course, baby is my first priority. I guess I would be happy to loose the weight around my waist and still be 120-125 lbs. and "toned up". We'll see how this week goes... I may change my goal after this week of "behaving". I don't want to give in, but at the same time, I'm not sure what my body needs while nursing to maintain milk production so I'll pay close attention to that and re-evaluate at the end of the week.
Also, I started keeping track of the waist loss late in the challenge, so here's the re-cap on that: Goal waist: 25"
Start waist: 35.5"
Week One: 34"
Week Two: 34"
Goals for week six:
water, water, WATER (every day)!
Water with ALL meals... NO POP!
No sweets or snacks (other than healthy)!
treadmill - 1 mile 5 times for the week (instead of 3)
my husband gained 3 lbs. after this week too, so he's "cracking down" as well. I think it will help to have each other to keep accountable...
So tell me, RagamuffinTops... do you have anyone keeping you accountable/helping you? I'm also going to ask my kids to help me and make sure that I stay away from the things I shouldn't be eating and see if it makes a difference this week.
Would you like to join us in the RagamuffinTop Challenge to get in shape? Click the link to find out how... and to see how I've been doing, you can go to my Weight Loss Challenge.
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Jul. 8, 2008
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Kit Kittredge - American Girl Movie
Posted By
jaminacema
I am sure you all knew that we were going to go see the new American Girl movie! My daughter and I have been planning to see it since we saw the first trailer for the movie nearly a year ago. I must tell you we were not disappointed!
First I must tell you that we had not read the Kit books yet. The night before we went to see the movie we read ALL of the first book! But, other than that I we went to the movie just knowing that it was about Kit and took place during the Depression. I was wondering how a topic as hard to swallow as the Great Depression of the 1930's would translate into a kids movie. But I have to tell you they found a good answer! Tell it from a kid’s perspective!
I think my kids related to it more than most might. Many of the kids in the movie went through the experience of having their father's go away to look for work. Since our family spent all of 2007 apart from dad because of his new job and our house not selling. My kids really could empathize with what was happening. We talked a lot after the movie about how lucky we were when we were separated from Dad that we had cell phones so we could call him at a moments notice and airplanes so he could come home a few days each month. We all know how hard it still was for us! I can't even imagine what these families went through in the 1930's.
As much as I enjoyed the movie it was also a little scary to watch as a parent. I mean with gas hovering around $4.00 a gallon the economy seems to be spinning out of control! While I pray that our family has been through the worst of the hard financial times we will experience, I could not help but feel the burden the parents 1930's must have gone through.
All in all, it made me feel more than ever that all we can do is have faith in God to get us through the hard times. God provided for us in so many ways when my husband unexpectedly lost his job at the end of 2006. It is awesome and humbling to look back and see the ways His hand was always there. He was always making sure we were provided for, even if sometimes it didn't seem like things were going the way I wanted!
So, if you want to see a good movie about the Depression I would highly recommend Kit Kittredge. Not only was it entertaining but it was also very thought provoking. That is a GOOD movie in my book!
The picture of the kids is my FAVORITE and was take in 2004 when they were 1, 3 and 10. The picture of the old barn in the field of flowers was taken by my husband in the early 1990's. It is a barn in Lompoc, California. Lompoc is where they grow seeds for the Burpee Seed Company. Each year they have Flower Festival when everything is in bloom. It is SO pretty! 
The horse collar is the one my grandfather used for farming. My dad had it made into a clock after my grandfather died. After my dad died my oldest son inherited it. He is named after my grandfather. The picture is of my great-great grandparents. It was taken in 1895. Under the picture of my great-great grandparents is the Lord's Prayer.
This is the quilt made in 1904 by my husband's great grandmother. (You can read about it
These are all the "first" family photos we used for the kids birth announcements. These are on a table under their framed birth announcements.
I told you I like pictures!
If you haven't figured it out yet that is a cast of ME when I was pregnant with one of my kids. I have several of these that we made when I was pregnant. (This is the only craft my husband has ever showed any interest it! LOL) This is the first house we have hung one of these up in. When we were moving I found out that the cats had gotten the box open I had them all stored in. I found a cat asleep in my stomach! LOL So I decided if I was going to keep them I should at least hang one. I have big plans to decoupage tissue paper and tissue flowers and butterflies on it. But, for now at least the cats can't get in this one! LOL The pictures are of me with each of the kids at one month old.
I had a baby outfit framed from each of the kids. The sign over it says "All because two people fell in love!" As you can see from the pile under the pictures we have not gotten the master bedroom all put together yet! 
