Welcome to my World

 One of my first projects this summer was transforming a whole bunch of boring black magazine files into something pretty to look at.  I just happened to have this fabric in my cupboards, so I went for it.  A little hot glue and voila!  Here they are in on the kitchen bookshelf (where we do some of our schooling)... Also, you can see the chalkboard that I make out of an old frame from elsewhere in the house.  Another project was to organize the drawers of the kitchen chest of drawers (seen above).  This tends to be a catch-all for all kinds of things.  I went to the Dollar Tree and got some organizing trays and cups...What a great feeling to organize those drawers!  This drawer is the "tool drawer."  The biggest project of the summer (besides VBS) was painting the kitchen.  I really wanted this done before school started.  I happened to find some clearance paint at Home Depot called "Crisp Khaki!"  ...

 Deodorant and I have always had a Love-Hate relationship.  After trying every product known to man, I still get sweaty pits.  That's just how it is, and I have embraced that.  =) But then there is the problem that I can't seem to find one that doesn't react with my skin and cause a funky smell.  I had found one by Dove that I liked reasonably well, but I had been wanting to try one without Aluminum.  So I tried Tom's Aluminum Free.  And I hated it.  No one should ever wear Apricot anything under their arms.  Nasty.   I had to stop wearing that immediately and I had no deodorant in the house so I took a container of body butter and added some peppermint oil to it and rubbed in on.  I loved it!  So then I did some research and decided to try to make my own deodorant.  It's really not as hard as I thought it would be.  Actually it's easy!  And I love it!!!  I dumped out that Tom's stuff and replaced it wi...

  This desk has been sitting in our carport for MONTHS awaiting a fresh coat of paint.  Let's just say it had collected a LOT of grime in that amount of time.  Well, somehow we found the motivation to start sanding it and my husband did a fabulous job with the SPRAY PAINT!  Yes, I said spray paint!  I love it!   Here is another spray painted project that my husband undertook for the boys' room.  I desperately needed more storage since the boys clothes are taking up more room as they get older!  Three boys have a lot of clothes!  This was a hand-me-down from my brother and fits perfectly in the boys' closet! And here is a photo of the boys' new color scheme.  These comforters and curtains were made from $4 sheets from walmart!  I've been meaning to get a photo of their room, but it is rarely clean enough!  This was a rare occasion and is still not perfect!  The boys love to display their artwork as you can ...

To celebrate the FREE GIFT Jesus gave us when he died for our sins and rose again to give us his resurrection power, I am giving away a FREE GIFT as well!  Click here to download a free printable in pink , gray/coral , blue , or gray/yellow   

  I don't know why God made us this way...but we love to be surrounded by beautiful things.  In the midst of the mundane of "everyday life", with all it's ...mundane-ness... it is refreshing for me to walk by something beautiful  in my house.  It's as if I breathe in a breath of fresh air or a new perspective.  Can't quite explain it but it makes me happy.  I think God designed it this way.  Here are some of the things at my house that make me happy...

 Soooo...making cut-out cookies is an adventure at our house that I don't attempt without help (ie. Mother-in-law)!  Thank Goodness for Grandmas!  The kids enjoyed themselves, but mommy had to take DEEP BREATHS every once in a while.        Sorry I don't have pictures of the finished cookies, but they were very cute and very colorful!  Some had so many sprinkles you couldn't see the frosting!   Today I decided to make a Peppermint/White Chocolate Cookie that I was inspired to make after seeing a similar one on Pinterest.  I used my own recipe though (see end of post).  They turned out so pretty and YUMMY!  I love mint and white chocolate!  Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies 5 and 1/2 cup flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp. baking soda  (SIFT or stir together above ingredients) 2 cups shortening 4 eggs 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups white sugar 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp water white chocolate chips Andes...

 I really love how creative my kids are.  It's so great that they can pretend and imagine and entertain themselves, rather than have to be entertained by things like video games, etc.  I am not saying that my kids never watch videos or play video games, but when you don't have TV, CABLE or gaming systems, they don't really have as muc h temptation!  I also am not saying that they never get "bored".  But that is usually remedied by offering to give them chores.  They quickly find something to do!  So here is an example of the creativity of our children...(Yes, I am bragging)...   Ben is using our closet to work on his "car." Just like Daddy and Grandpa Miller.  He's got his tools, his light and his Mountain Dew.  What more could he need?   Just tonight, Sam and Joanna were pretending to be a "Chinese King and Queen".  Where do they come up with this stuff?  They play so great together...hope it ...