An Unplanned Easter

Easter with the family usually entails lots of traditional fun stuff.  The big ole' egg hunt complete with lots of candy and prizes, a great dinner with ham and all the fixings, and time relaxing with the family.

I had planned to host the shin dig this year.  Had the menu planned, the egg hunt ideas in my head, and was even dreaming of the yummy cake I was going to decorate!  But...and I say but, like all well laid plans, there's always a chance things won't go as planned.

Unfortunately this year, we had to scrap all that I had laid out in my head.  Mother in law ended up back in the hospital in Rome and we had to revamp our Easter Day.  Well, let me say, we chose to.  No ham, no egg hunt and no pretty pictures in the backyard swing.  And I really was ok with it all.  Welp, maybe not about getting a decent family picture, but the rest I could take or leave.

God really worked on my heart Saturday night as I thought about how crazy the day would be.  The Hubs would leave at 5:45am to set up since the "so sweet" drama teacher felt the need to move our stage set up during spring break.  The girls and I would awake, do breakfast, give them their treat baskets, and be at church by 9am.  We would worship and serve, tear down and be at Grandma's hopefully by 2pm.  I planned a fabulous lunch at Wendy's (so, not my fave) and then an hour drive to the hospital. We would do dinner out someplace with Dad in law and the grandparents.   I knew we'd be home really late and exhausted.

I started thinking about how we have really tried hard to teach our girls the true meaning of Easter, or Resurrection Day as I call it.  I wanted to put little emphasis on all the fuss and God was helping me do just that.  I mean seriously, Jesus didn't get a fun egg hunt or a ham.  Nor did he get a cute little white cake decorated with peeps and gumballs and a big ribbon.  He lived a glamor free life, died for sins he did not commit, and escaped death just as God had planned.

In retrospect (hey that's a big ole word for this southern girl), I realize we really did have the best Easter ever!  We spent the day worshiping our Savior, thanking God for the sacrifice he made for us, and loving on our family.  While the hospital may not have been the ideal spot, I wouldn't trade our time with Mother in law, playing Mancala with Dad in law and watching my girls be content in what God planned for our day.

Besides, I'd much rather watch Rylie dance on the air vent in a hospital than clean the kitchen!  Just sayin!

copy cat baby gift

Remember my facebook garage sale addiction I mentioned here?  Well, I stole this idea from someone who was selling these cutesy little diaper wipe containers for $13.00.  Yes, I stole it.  I'm sure she's not the only one making them and I did change it up a bit.

Anyhoo, they are super cheap to make and so fun!  When I had Rylie someone made me something similar only it was made with fabric.  I must say, my creations are way cuter!

I bought the travel sized wipe containers at Target in the travel section. Of course they weren't in the baby aisle as one would expect.  Darn Target!  They were a whopping $1.19.  I also picked up these little travel sanitzers and ripped off the label.  They had a cute holder; only I grabbed blue and they didn't match, so off they came! 

I used my Silhouette, my newest love, and cut out the lettering and polka dots then applied them to the containers.  And, wah-la!

Some cute packaging, a laminated tag (that doubles as a diaper bag tag) and some ribbons make it the perfect little gift! 

If I call you friend, and you're having a baby, expect one from me!  Just ignore the price tag...it's the time and thought that count, right?! Oh, and no stealing my ideas!  hee hee!

A Lot of Selfishness

Life around this house has been crazy lately.  Not because I'm happily (well, mostly) home with kiddos all day 7 days a week, or that I have a million spring clean projects to do, or that I've felt icky because of the pollen.  Oh and then there's Chloe's whole fall off the bike, end up in an AirCast incident.  The reason real is that my mother in law had a heart attack over two weeks ago.  And honestly, in the beginning I was an ugly daughter in law who hates to admit her selfishness!

Let me back up to 3 years ago.  "MIL" we'll call her, had a heart problem which required minor surgery and lots of appointments.  Since "DIL" (dad in law) was not in the state (another story for another day), I had to take her to several appointments and the ER which was more than inconvenient with 2 kiddos.  It was serious, yes.  Did she almost die? Well, not really but depending on who you talk to, she did.

Then there was the fact that when my mother had major kidney problems requiring 2 major surgeries and a removal of one kidney and the possibility of cancer, no one seemed to have much sympathy for how I felt. Yes, poor me.  See my selfishness???

So, when we got the call late on a Saturday night that she (MIL) was again in the hospital.  I thought ok, we will just wait and see how bad it really is.  So, we waited while the tests were run and life went on for 2 days.

That Monday we visited, which made me irritated since it was over an hour away and we wouldn't be home till really late.  And, we had to take the grandparents who are over 80 and can't drive such distance.  Upon arrival I was able to speak directly with the nurse who informed me just how serious her heart condition was.  I was speechless. She told me that her heart was at 20% function, she had in fact suffered a major heart attack and they weren't sure why. Her heart rate was through the roof and unstable.  More tests needed to be performed.

All I can say is God was convicting my heart as I had been so selfish and only thought of the inconveniences this had put on MY life.  Very embarrassing to admit.  God was calling me to sacrifice whatever was before me in order to help in whatever he had planned for my  MIL.  Not to mention she was the one lying in the bed and my DIL had been sleeping on a small pull out chair for 7 days and he's not the smallest man on the planet!

God has softened my heart more than he could ever before. As we visited this weekend after her stint surgery, I wept as my dear Chloe cried for her grandmother.  Seeing her sweet tenderness allowed me to see God through my daughter.  It reminded me of the unconditional love that God has for all of us and the compassion that I need to show as well.  I was convicted of how much I do for others, but tend to forget my extended family's needs.

We're praying that she will recover quickly as there are still many unknowns.  She may need more surgery, she may need rehabilitation.  We just don't know.  What I do know is that God is in control and I have peace in that!

What to do with an AirCast

To say our life has been a bit overwhelming lately would be, well, an understatement.  In the midst of the chaos (more on the details later), my dear Chloe fell off her bike!  Let me just say her coordination comes from her mother.  Unfortunately.  I sprained both wrists playing soccer in high school  Yes, both wrists.  And yes, I realize you play soccer with your feet.  Enough said!

Back to Chloe.  We had a sweet friend's Hub come look at her ankle and he suggested an x-ray. Though it wasn't broken, the orthopaedic suggested a cast in order to allow the muscles and the surround "tissue" to heal properly.  Luckily, we were able to get her fitted for an AirCast...a walking boot she can remove for sleeping and showering.  Yipee!  Praise God it wasn't broken since she has a away field trip in 2.5 weeks and we just got insurance coverage for the girls effective March 1st!  So blessed!

Out we walked (bye-bye crutches) with a bad-boy of a grey walking cast that just wasn't very pretty.  So, upon the suggestion of a friend, we decked it out and girlified that bad-boy and turned him into a bad-girl of a cast.  Let me just say that Daddy was NOT impressed.  Chloe loves the result and I'm pretty sure we could start a trend around these parts, what do ya think?

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Five.  Closer to forty than thirty.  That's the age I turned in February and I'm still getting used to it.  My sweet family doted on me all day long and we enjoyed a quiet meal at one of my favorite spots, Big Chow Grill.  It's this cool stir fry place that I absolutely LOVE.  I'm not a huge restaurant fan, so the fact that I have a favorite besides Chik-fil-A and Panera is huge.  Ask my husband!

Anyhoo, instead of a cake, the girls and I made cake pops and that was how we closed the glorious day.

Here is a horrendous picture of me, but hey, it's all I got!

Quick update

I've become a stalker on this great facebook garage sale in our area.  It's amazing and I'm addicted.  Constantly watching what goes up and I've snagged some crazy deals.  I've also sold quite a bit on there.  Let's say I'm no longer going the traditional garage sale route.  I mean seriously, I can post something and literally 30 minutes later it's sold and I've arranged pick-up!  Score!

Since we still have builder grade light fixtures 5years later, I scored 2 of these fixtures for $5 each.

A little bit of frosted spray that I love:

 
and brown spray paint and this is where we're at:

 Not my dream light fixture, but so much better than the ugly Hollywood Light Strips we currently have!

Dasher's New Home

Remember our cute little turtle the girls talked daddy into before Christmas? Well, he has been moved a few times and I have finally found the perfect spot.  Of course, the only problem was that I didn't have a piece of furniture to house him and he was NOT going on the countertop!  No way!

My dear friend who also gave me my newly redone buffet/homeschool storage, gave me an old filing cabinet.  I decided to spruce it up and make it look beautiful!  Out came the paint and a week later (yes, a week), Dasher had a new home.

Sorry I do not have a before picture.  Let me assure you that it was an old laminate ugly, beat up, dark cabinet.  I primed it and painted it the same color as the dining room.  Then sanded the edges and sprayed the handled an brownish bronze color.  So much better!