Project #3: Make A Wreath For the Door {March}

This is the first time I've tried to make a wreath.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I suspect it's tacky, but I stared at it for so long, wiring and gluing and snipping, that I can't be sure whether it turned out or not.  Maybe in a few days I will gain perspective and be able to tell how successful I was...or wasn't.  Either way, it's not the last time I'll make one, because I found it quite enjoyable.

( Fourteen hours later: The word "hideous" comes to mind!!  Must find a how-to guide. =P )

Project #2: Cross-Stitch {February}

Still in the making....

Project #1: Make My Own Notebooks {January}

Ironically, this was NOT a Pinterest-inspired project after all my browsing and filing away of homemade goodies, but I found the idea for these notebooks here several years ago.  Stamping the pages was my favourite little detail, and I've since been stamping everything made of paper, including shopping and to-do lists.  It's just so fun.  I know, serious thrill issues here.  I can admit it.

The page dividers before I assembled the first notebook:

Notebook #1 (also happens to be my favourite):

I only stamped every third page in this one, and I used the same "Life Is Good" stamp in each one.  FYI the stamps came from Michael's for a dollar a piece.

Notebook #2:

I sent them to my mom, but I think I'm going to have to make a few more, because they are simply lovely.  And thanks to the binder rings, they are refillable.  

Happy Birthday Joshua

This little man can't wait to wake up in just a few short hours and start celebrating his birthday.  And this mama can't believe he's four years old.

My Little Man-Child

Joshua likes to shave with John.  John slathers shaving cream on Joshua's face, caps his razor, and 'shaves.'  When he's done, Joshua runs to me, excited.  "Mommy, Mommy!!  Smell me!!"  I smell his soft, chubby cheeks.  Then he lifts his chin and I smell there, too.  "Did you shave?" I exclaim.  "You smell so handsome, just like Daddy."  He glows with pride.

Now Joshua has his own child-razor.  And he keeps those cheeks, and his chin...and his nose...smelling fresh and clean.

He takes this part of personal grooming very seriously.

KITCHEN: before & after

It's finally done.  And we are happy.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I'd be remiss if I didn't make room for my new clock.  It was love at first sight:

The dining room got some love, too.

BEFORE: (not a recent picture, but if you try to envision all the trim-work painted white, it's close enough I think)

AFTER:

We owe BIG thanks to Derek, who did the majority of the work.  And to my parents who put down the floor and the backsplash.  It was a huge undertaking but so worth it. 

January the First. Happy New Year!

When I was a little girl, I used to take the calendar in my hands and flip through all the crisp, clean pages and wonder what the future held for all those blank squares that represented the days of another year.  A new year.  If I had known, I would have run to the nearest store for a journal and kept a pristine record of those moments....or maybe not, since I never managed to follow through with journal-keeping, even with the best of intentions.  Nonetheless, I deeply regret it.

Those years were full and beautiful and crazy and devastating and exciting.  My mundane life changed forever the year I turned 14 and as I whirled and twirled my way to 27, I encountered a life I could never have imagined.  Sometimes things I would never have dared to imagine...other things I wouldn't have wanted to imagine.  I've seen dreams become reality and reality sometimes become more than I could bear.

Life has been beautiful.  Even in the midst of pain.

The coming year intimidates me a more than any other.  I'm a little excited.  But mostly scared.  I'm not used to fearing change.  It's all new.  But I'm learning that it's when I'm fearful that I am forced to depend wholly on a strength that is not my own.

So...here's to a year of loving God more, learning to trust Him, embracing the changes, developing greater discipline while working towards my goals and never ceasing to learn.  Welcome 2012.