Front door project

So, earlier this year, we moved to Madison and bought a dream house. Granted, it is 16 years old and style-wise is not what we typically like. However, I've slowly been working on updating it in our trademark eccentric/modern style. The old faux oak front door had long since seen it's best moments, with the (also) faux brass door hardware starting to peel and discolor. Yuck. You can see it in it's old life behind the Dane-bug below. In October, right after we had Knox, I decided it needed a new look, ie, new coat of paint and hardware to update it and move toward the more modern style we like.

 Step 1: Remove the hardware. This is easily accomplished with just a Phillips screwdriver. Super fast if you use a power drill. For a door like this, made of fiberglass, all I had to do was wash it down with soap and water and let it dry completely.

 Step 2: Paint! I used this paint by Glidden, specifically made for trim, etc. It was awesome! It has a gel-like consistency that self-levels. No lines were left except for the grain. There are a number of tutorials about how to paint a door, as in which sections/directions to paint and in what order, but I just did what seemed logical and had no issues at all.

 Step 3: Let dry for 24 hours and recoat. Again, this was super fast and easy. Love how glossy it turned out. I also did the outer windows that flank the door.

Step 4: Install new hardware. I just followed the instructions and got this done in about  25 minutes. Overall, this is one of the easiest projects that gave the most impact to our house. Now for all the rooms inside:)

HAIR

Time for the annual winter antsy-about-my-hair moment. And this time, I went big. 6 inches off, bangs for the first time since I was in elementary school. And I love it:) I'm so lucky to have such a talented friend, Bianca, who gave me the push in this direction. Maybe more like a shove and drag, but whatever, she was right:)

 Before (a lady I'd just met at a party said my hair had no style...point taken)

Love the change! (and keep in mind, this is unshowered at like 6 am on Thanksgiving morning; not bad!)

It is well with my soul

Well, it hasn't been the last couple days. It's been the kind of thing where I slept okay, kids were behaving normally, nothing was that out of whack except for my attitude. Yesterday was rough. I prayed throughout the day for release from the feelings of frustration, resentment, sadness that I just couldn't shake, despite not really having a reason for them. It didn't come. Until this morning, when I came downstairs to a double batch of crock-pot soup that I had forgotten to freeze before bed. Ruined. Totally unsafe, according to my food-safety-inspector-dad. I was so tempted to just freeze it up and cross my fingers that no one got sick.

But, at Mark's urging, we tossed it. Sadly. Angrily. And then realized that things needed to start over. I vowed not to let this thing force me along the path of the last few days. Then we headed to church, and childcare was full of sobbing kids. Including Ari, whom no one was able to console because of the overloaded room. Again, as we carried her to the "Family Room", trying to comfort her, I prayed that it wouldn't push us over the edge again today. And praise God, during the great sermon from Pastor Chris and then communion, we received the peace and energy to continue on, despite crying kids, Ari's constant digging through my purse, and the lack of caffeine because I forgot my typical (as of late) morning Coke.

It made it all the more meaningful today to finish an art piece for the living room with the words, "It is well with my soul".

When Peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 

when sorrows like sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Redemption in all its forms

So, today was a hard day. To catch up on where I'm at after the last couple weeks, things are good. We are starting to really feel at home when we're here. The kids seem to be settling well; we're finding things/people that make life here seem less overwhelming and new. We got to spend a partial week at the lake with Andersons after a weekend with my sister and parents, celebrating my mom's and my birthday. While tiring, it was super encouraging to know that things like this are no longer hugely time-consuming and stressful to plan. We live so much closer now and I think we'll continue to find all the ways that this is a blessing as we move on to our third kiddo.

Speaking of, he's huge, constantly moving, and wreaking havoc on my normal body function. I've been SO tired lately and am very ready to meet this little person. Which leads to one of the hard things about today. We bought carseats. For a total of three in the second row. Seeing them there, combined with how tired I am, and just the rapidly decreasing amount of time until we'll have to USE all three, was stressful, to say the least. Big reality check. Then, on the trip to purchase said seats, I pulled another wonder of pregnancy brain. I had used the SLR camera earlier in the day to take a couple shots of the kids playing. Then, I set the camera on top of the Highlander to keep it safely out of reach until we went in the house. And completely forgot that I had. Fast forward to dinner time...I'm eating outside on the kid picnic table with Ari and think, "I should take a couple pictures of this, she's being so cute." And then, "Oh, my gosh. I left the camera on the car, and have used the car since then." Fast forward again (through a lot of tears, an extensive search of the path I took with the car, and basically deciding I was the biggest idiot on earth) to putting the kids down. I had just put Ari down, when the doorbell rang. Someone from the neighborhood had seen the whole thing, and identified which house we lived in from the photos I took earlier. They returned our expensive camera (that we'd have no way of replacing right now). Which still works perfectly. After falling off the roof of a moving SUV onto pavement. Literally, without a scratch.

God gave me a taste of redemption today, in something that seemed large, but was comparatively small in the scale of my life. How much more should I feel peace in knowing that if he's concerned about my life on this scale, He is most definitely watching my big picture cares and worries with the same attention.

Moving On

This morning marks almost two weeks that we've been in our new house in WI. Mark and I will be heading to IL today, for the weekend, for him to wrap up his residency, and for a much-needed date alone. I was buzzing with all that needed to be done yesterday to prepare, and fell into bed exhausted after a late arrival by my parents at 11 last night. Then, at 4:15, I was AWAKE. The kind of awake where you try to make your mind blank, but then 10 minutes later realize you're going over the list of things you need to pack, the directions you need to leave, the zucchini bread you're excited to try...basically everything BUT being blank for sleep. So, I gave in and got up.

I haven't had much time yet to reflect on everything that's changed/changing in these weeks, but while catching up on some blogs from my Bible Study women in Wheaton, I was struck by the sovereignty of God's decisions for my life. When I moved to IL after Mark and I got married, I was lonely with a capital L. By the time we moved to Wheaton a year later, I was bitter. I hated everything about IL. At that time, I was working at Tyndale House Publishers, another of God's chosen blessings for me, even though I didn't necessarily realize how much then. After I had Dane, and decided to stay home, my good friend and past coworker, Kendra, introduced me to the women's Bible study at Wheaton Bible Church. It changed my life.

God allowed me to meet women there who supported me through countless struggles with Dane's health, through my own sadness and the loneliness of being married to a med student, then resident, and truly became examples and encouragers in my journey of becoming a mom. The love that I received from God through them washed my inner bitterness away like nothing else could have.

I will always think of Wheaton as the nest where God taught me to parent before I had to go out on my own. I'm learning new things about what being a parent means every day, but the base that I built alongside the women of that small group is something integral to who I am now, and will be for many years to come. Thankful.

Color Week: Green

Day 2: Green

This is one of the most plentiful colors in our house; I was able to find some more fun things to photograph today. But again, what I wouldn't do for a brighter house!

Color Week: Yellow

My dear (adopted from my husband) friend, Annie, who is a phenomenal mom, wife and blogger is doing Color Week on her blog this week. Hence, I get to do something a little creative in between all the packing/graduation craziness that is our life right now! 

Day 1: Yellow

I found that I have very little yellow in the house that's not in some way with orange. I'm okay with it. But I am sure looking forward to a house that has better lighting soon:)