Before and Afters

So, what do you call 11:26 am?  It's not really morning.  It's not really afternoon.  I'll just say, "Good day to you."  Henry is in his room playing with his cars, being content in his pre-lunch, no-older-siblings-schedule.  I have been straitening the house because I have a couple of projects I'd like to work on this afternoon.  1) I can't "play" in a messy house.  Well, I guess I should say, "my messy house."  I could come to your house and if it were messy, it wouldn't bother me at all.  2) I feel guilty playing when there's work to be done.  It's a happy balance:  work in the morning =  play in the afternoon.  And sometimes work turns into play.  I love a good project.  Here are some before and after shots of our living space desk/library area and our master bedroom closet.  Keep in mind the before shots are taken with the before camera and the after shots are taken with the after camera.

Before:

Desk Library Area.  3 Bookshelves in a L-shaped pattern.  Before yellow wall color, too.  Crowded and dark.

Here is our messy closet "before".  We kept waiting for the money to do a "real" closet renovation, but the money never came and we got tired of looking at this mess and decided it was time to design on a dime.

I, first, have to share with you the inspiration for my living room design.  It's still a work in progress, but I have read/heard that you are so suppose to start with one focus piece you love and build on it.  I love this afghan from Pier One Imports.  However, it sheds and snags, so I have to keep it in a protected area on the back of the loveseat.  My opinion is that you shouldn't skimp on your "focus" piece, but it could be something as simple as borrowing a book you love from a friend and keeping it in the room you're designing until the process is done.  I blew my clothing budget for 1 &1/2 months on this but it really brought me into "focus" on the decorating direction I wanted to go.  My true inspiration for the area came from two other object that aren't present in the room right now:  1) The paper chain that hangs on our Christmas tree and a book about Chilhuly's works that isn't in the book budget right now. 

After:

New paint color on walls:  Wool Skein and Perfect Khaki

 

 

We love the craftsmen built-in look but can't afford the craftsmen built-in price.  I found these bookcases at IKEA.  The price for the three of them was what I paid for one of the old bookcases just 5 years prior.  I was able to re-purpose two of the tall cases in the boys room for toys and two cases in my closet for added storage.   A little brain power, some fresh paint, and my mad organizing skills and the closet is not my "dream closet" but a lot better without the buyers remorse.  Time for lunch.
smooch

Saturday Morning Sentiments

Rails...and Snails...and Kitty Cat Tails...

This what I should be doing:  
Paying the bills, making my doctor's appointment, washing the dishes, making a grocery list, heading out the door to buy those groceries, finishing the closet organization project I started...


This is what I'm actually doing:
Calla, Molly, Teige, and Katie are visiting that place they visit for 5 long weeks in the the summer and Henry has been bored out of his mind and a little confused. (And I miss them like crazy, so pray for my heart)  I have been keeping the little guy busy as much as possible and that has taken a lot of time and energy, but it has been fun, as well. Jeff has been working evenings for the past several weeks.  

So what's new...the newest member of our family, Peeta Blue.  We have refrained from having a cat for the past few years because Jeff had allergies when he was a boy and we just weren't sure how he would react to one now.  After much begging from the kids (okay maybe a little from me), he said we could try when this free little cutie was offered.  Calla seems to be the only one suffering from cat allergies thus far, but not enough to send Peeta packing.  And you can probably guess what we've been reading this spring/summer.

Kitty Cat Tails

 New camera taken with the old camera.  I think it's hilarious that the old camera finally decided to open it's lens and take a half way decent picture today...

Old camera taken with the new camera... I'm going to be slow as snails learning how to use it though.  I've read 32 pages of 202 in the owner's manual... Here are some shots of Henry (who is ALWAYS ready to pose) I took in auto mode.

For 2 days we have been putting the Geo Trax together and taking the Geo Trax apart, putting them together, taking them apart, putting...you get the idea...

It is so funny that Henry went and got the Zhu Zhu Pets out on his own and put them on the track while I was making lunch...it looks like it's rather enjoying riding the rails...

Which brings me to what else is new...my diet.  After 2 months of being pregnant, losing the baby, and then another 2 months of drowning my sorrows in bacon I have put on about 13 pounds (lost 4 of it already this week!).  Blueberries are the new bacon...One can pretend...

Smooch,

Nicky

Wordless Wednesday - Henry

smooch

My Children Are My Memorial Stones

Today is my Katie's fourth birthday. How did we get here? This is our first official photograph together. I always say that Katie is my hug from God. And that is what she truly is. This girl is such a blessing to everyone who crosses her path. She smiles and gives a thumbs up to strangers in the grocery store. She tells those who visit our home, "I love you!" and means it. At such a young age, I can see God using her to love on others and encourage them!

This is the most memorable snap I took of her in the hospital. At one day old she was already engaging with those around her.
First bath...She knows what she likes...and what she DOESN'T like! She still makes this exact face!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Katie. It shows her independence and spunk!

Our most recent photo together. Just an hour after giving birth to Henry. She wasn't too sure of the situation. Mostly, she wanted to make sure that she and I were okay...We are okay!

Katie represents to me a time that was filled with God's love and miracles in my life. Just thinking about this today, made me realize that God has moved in defining ways in each arrival of all of my children. To me it seems as though the people around me took the time to get it together before having kids. God used my kids to force me to get it together and marked each "space" in my time with His grace. With Calla's arrival I was eventually marked Maturity and Responsibility (or at least the beginnings of the process). With Molly-Contentment. With Teige-Brokenness, then Boldness. Katie-Joy and Faith. Henry-Peace, Love, and Obedience.

About a month ago, Molly and I were reading through the book of Joshua. Each time I read it I am particularly draw to the passage in chapters 3 and 4 about how the Children of Israel placed markers in the Jordan as a testimony to what the Lord their God had done for them. So, that the generations that would come after them would not forget. Whenever I read this I think, "It would be neat if I could have some sort of monument to the Lord that would testify what He has done in my life." This morning when I was thinking about Katie's birth and the circumstances surrounding her arrival, it dawned on me the sovereignty of the Lord with each child's appearance in my life. Praise God! He is Good! When I look at them I know I will never forget what He has done for me. What He has brought me out of and through. Where He has placed my feet now.

I love you, my children. Happy Birthday, Katie...my hug from God.

smooch

MQM real quick before the baby wakes up...ssshhhh!

So, you know by now that there are actually more like 20-30 titles in my top ten list. The following makes the cut and I watch it EVERY fall. It's a highly relational, emotional, chick-flick that the sensitive male could enjoy if you made the right snacks and told him how good-looking you think he looks about every 20 minutes...

ONE TRUE THING

“It's so much easier to be happy. It's so much easier to choose to love the things that you have, instead of always yearning for what you're missing, or what it is that you're imagining you're missing. It is so much more peaceful.”

“More is more. You know, your dad always says less is more…To me, more is more.”

“You hear that?…You know, Langhorne kind of, I don't know, hums…It's... Even in the summertime you can hear...Maybe it's the air conditioners...crickets, or the bees…No, I think it's something more. You hear it?…You can feel it.”

“I love your mother. I don't suppose I'm ever going to stop loving her. But because she can do anything...run the house, run our lives...keep everything so beautiful and so warm...I only thought of what she meant to me. My... muse. My... lovely wife. My one true thing.”

smooch

Let it not snow, Let it not snow, Let it not snow

Snow? Are you kidding me? It is actually snowing and I'm not ready for this kind of weather...except for the fact that it may make my decision to put up the Christmas tree on Monday look more rational. But then again, I have never claimed to be completely rational. Actually, there are many reasons to put up the Christmas tree this early. One: The lights help those who have bi-polar disorder to feel more cheerful. Two: It's a reminder that you need to start Christmas shopping and not put it off to the last minute. Three: It takes so much effort to put the tree up, that you might as well enjoy it longer. Four: Just be happy I waited until November. There have been a couple of years I put it up on October.

I can't believe that I now have 5 children. Henry Alan Zike has now joined our family and will be two months old tomorrow. He has just started smiling at me. I had just about forgot how wonderful a toothless, double-dimpled smile could be. Pretty wonderful. I don't think I've ever stopped to appreciate what it is to be a mother of a newborn as much as I have this time. Maybe because I'm about sure he's my last. Maybe because I know how fast they grow up and become mouthy teenagers. Maybe because I see the wonder of the Lord more clearly at this point in my life. Probably all of the above. It's like falling in love all over again and I'm smittened!

The rest of the kids are doing well. Calla is living with her father...We knew she would have to try it out. She is making honor roll this year and working on being responsible in all areas of her life. I couldn't be more proud of her right now! I started homeschooling the younger kids again, this past summer. I feel like I'm back in my element. Molly is determined and list driven, like her mother. Teige and Katie are developing a love for learning, which is exactly my goal for them on this level. Jeff and I are enjoying our marriage and still are very much the newly-weds. We have been attending Southside Bible Church. It has been such a blessing to be involve in our married couples Sunday School class. Outside of hands-on life training, I have grown the most under the teaching here. Jeff still runs four times a week and we still enjoy home do-it-yourself projects. As for Stickers...I'm returning to the trade soon...so keep on the look out for the announcement!

I'll see you back here Monday for MQM...

smooch

Wordless Wednesday (Ultrasound 2-15-2010)

Our house is a very very very fine house

Jodi, I loved your blog post, today. It made me think about how blissfully content I feel in my own home. I keep thinking about the day Jeff said we could all live here and make it work in his two bedroom house. I had a good laugh at his expense. I wouldn't say that he had some visionary plan to make it work but he knows what it's like to work with what you have. I do too. It shouldn't have been a surprise when God said to me, "This is what you have to work with." And I'm sure it was no surprise to God when I said, "Hmmm...I think I have another plan that would work better, God." That was the day that God had a good laugh at my expense.

Eventually, we turned a two bedroom house into a four bedroom house. Jeff has been so gracious to allow me to redecorate and turn his house into our home. He skeptically, allowed me to paint our garage door orange. He help me move the furniture from room to room to back to room each time I changed my mind until I felt it was just right. I look around this home and I see the beginnings of "us" and the plans of the Lord.

Right now, Jeff is taking a nap on our comfy sofa, as he's gearing up for his night shift all week. Laundry piles are all around him on the floor, while I work on folding them and keeping the kids as quiet as possible. Molly is in her room, playing with her American Girl dolls and the mice she got for Christmas. Teige and Katie are in a constant cycle of love and hate, and I'm trying to let them work it out on their own as long as no one gets hurt. Calla is in her room, occasionally popping out to make me listen to a new song she just discovered on her Zune or to tell us a story or to grab a snack. I'm typing this and thinking about a grocery list at the same time. I know, pretty amazing, huh? (shy smile)

Not totally off subject, I wish today, more than anything that my 13-year-old daughter could see how much I love her and how much God loves her. I wish she could see that the plans and dreams I have for her are good and that God's plans are even better. I wish she could see past the "now" and the "what's fun today" and "what is good for ME" and see that the there are so many around her who want what is good for her forever. I can't help but think that the frustrations I feel about Calla are mirrored in the heart of my God when I choose to go on my own understanding. Only he knows how to gently and cleverly bring me back around to His plan. He knows my daughter's heart too and what it will take to gently and cleverly bring her back around to his plan. Peace guards my heart where this is concerned for once in several months.

Well, enough meditation and sorting out for today. After all there's laundry and grocery shopping, my two favorite things!

Emmanuel today and smooch

New Day

Good morning. I have exactly 11 minutes until the kids and I need to be in the van driving Molly to school. The car is warming up, the kids are getting on their coats. Teige just say, "Yay, you are my best friend." to Molly and is now talking about how he wants to eat the snowman that Jeff built in our front yard, yesterday. There is a sink full of dishes and a pile of laundry awaits my return. 3 minutes until I need to be in the van driving Molly to school. "CalTeiMolly, could you zip your sister's coat?" Now Molly and Teige are arguing about what the snowman's name is. Teige says it's Frosty. Molly says it's Bob. Katie's singing "Bob the snowman had a shiny carrot nose."...

Camping in the Living Room and More Home Improvements

Calla and Molly were camping with my parents this weekend (fortunately in a camper). Teige and Katie didn't think that was fair, so Jeff said he they could go camping here at home and we would have a fire in our little fire pit. Well...it rained...

Improvisation Visionary: Doesn't get any better than campin' in the livin' room. Hey Michelle: No mosquitoes!

Me with my coffeeThis was actually Jeff's idea. We were not able to do the fire because of the rain, so I made microwave smores and hotdogs. Strange, but true, we watched the Veggie Tales Christmas special...I'm getting the Christmas itch already and they all humored me...I love my family.

The next few shots are of the kitchen renovations. The first is of the old vinyl. The second of the new flooring. The third of my Goodwill find...a Pottery Barn wool rug for $12. Woo Hoo. The trim isn't up yet, but it sure is shaping up.



Here are a few pics of the new Uppercase Living I put up in our bathroom and Jeff cleaning the outside of the window:

Nothing much to report...Getting ready for our trip to Gull Lake...Looking forward to getting away for the week with my family!