Busy Bee's

Labor Day weekend started out with an....air horn. Yes, the dollar tree has them and they entertained all the banshee's for a short stint in the afternoon. Glad they don't last long.

Owen can't wait.

Waiting on the ark. Seriously, it rained and rained and is still raining.
Thankfully, their daddybear shuttled them off to the movies, and I got to be cozy in my slippers all day while it rained. I love rainy days once in a while.

One of my cooking club gals, dropped dinner off in the monsoon and
she is from Seattle. She reminded me this is how I would be living if we had moved there...in a raincoat.

I am so thankful for sunny days and Tink's cottage. God has provided in ways that I couldn't have planned better and our first church plant meeting HERE is this Tuesday.

New Paint and our mini island.

I painted all morning. Our friend had leftover paint and we gladly accepted his generosity in offering it to us. I am doing the "mud room" part in 1/4 of the strength of the kitchen walls. It updated it so much, and I am still in the process of getting all the pulls off the cabinets and looking for new ones.

Our mini island is from IKEA. It has two shelves that go under it as well. I am RE-staining
 the top soon and painting the legs... white?
I am hoping to find some bar stools and put the shelves hung with brackets on the wall to the right.

Caught trying to climb through the window. Lovely.

Fall here we come.
 A lot of our windows can open wide like this and I am doing my best into talking the hubby into making me a dutch door like this. I am hopeful. Then we will officially be a little tree house.

Boys, boys. Stir-crazy boys.

Cozy.
The weather is delightful and their are no bugs thanks to our Cutter Lawn Spray.
We have lived outside without getting eaten up. It's been fantastic.

Working on our people.
(pls note the passed out man in the background, my sweet hubs. I think the rain lulled him to sleep.)

Meet the Tubes.
Mine and MH's original creations with mammoth eyes.
We had craft night which is so fun with a creative soul like hers.
She thought of how to create their crazy hair.
The Tube babes are swaddled in blankets, while MamaTube sports two bows (and ruffles) two things that are a MUST when you are a MamaTube in the south :)!

Old PJ's...since I had all MH's clothes I was cutting up and "up cycling" I decided to see if I could make an American girl doll outfit out of her favorite old PJ's....while we watched the AU game(thank goodness they pulled it off).War EAGLE!

Back to sewing ,I cut one leg from size 4 or 5 pajama shorts and basically sewed it up,
I had elastic and a hem.
I cut the shirt in several different pieces
and revamped it to fit a doll.
 I added the pink from an old pink tee.

 Really and truly it is not a great outfit and I am not really a sewer, I just like to be crafty.
Sweet MH thinks it is the PERFECT outfit for the creamery
and is just thrilled it is out of her favorite pj's....
And that is what matters.

Free shelf. I pulled this off the road. Got Hubby to take off the legs and secure it to the wall.

Not bad for a freebie.

So, the bathroom was a major problem here at Tink's cottage and although it has a long ways to go, it has come leaps and bounds. A curved curtain rod always helps and the height adds a dramatic feel that helps draw attention away from the less desirable things. I got the curtains from IKEA for $30. I was going to cut one in two and sew it to the side of the other
but decided I like them how they are...and want to avoid extra work at all cost!!

Now for a Jute rug and a new sink and it will be done!!

Retreat, Beauty and Reality

"But we were more in love: for love must grow or die." A Severe Mercy
Thankful to be growing in love!

Reminded of God's beauty and grateful for a break and refreshment for the soul.

Farmlinks

We enjoyed our stay (and spades) and laughs and long talks with the other couples....to learn with others, through others. God speaks to me through good community. I am thankful for each, honest, hungry after truth and their marriage and God couple I get to experience life with. It is soul-giving.

And reality....The "bark cabin" that the eldest banshee spent time in the Viney Woods constructing. We are loving the woods and a break from city life, him especially. Every boy needs woods to build and dream and explore. He comes in dirty for dinner and nails black, but full of life
 in ways that bring joy to a mama.

Little sister, always wanting him to leave her alone, but when he does she can't stand it.
 It makes me happy....and crazy.

Posing, can't stand to let Hud get all the attention.

I think she's done, for now. Tink's cottage wall, which thanks to handy dandy google for telling me {with one click} the best options to decorate around a flat screen. I threw them up one night with an impulsive need to get them off my floor and it somehow worked out.

Moved some furniture...brought in my Grandmother's antique piece in the corner and threw a couple of pillows around. Now to get all updated pillows, eventually...not at the top of my list. Two more panels to be hung with the other curtains to give them fullness and then it's done. Finally more settled.

I think I have come to the conclusion of my style. I like a mixture of contemporary classic mixed with antiques and elegance. Comfy and sophisticated. Not sure what that's called.
I will have to google it! Someone emailed me asking to help them decorate,
so that is always encouraging and fun!!

Goosey Gal and Daddy Day!

Daddy's little girl... 6 years ago CJ was clueless about the power a little girl can have over their Daddy, and I am pretty sure he knows now. What a way to celebrate Father's Day once again...
CJ, I have watched your own growth in the Lord spur on your love for our daughter in a Godly, protective, nurturing way. You constantly seek out her heart and love her well. You are the best "Nancy Drew" reader I've been told, you make the best silly songs on the guitar up at bedtime, you long to really know her heart and to guide her along the paths of righteousness. You have a connection with her that is rare and have her heart as her daddy. I am thankful that she has you in her life, shepherding, leading and loving her well. Happy Father's Day from us all.

 6 years ago at 11:06 we welcomed a baby girl into the world and our lives, once again, were forever changed. Mary Holland Jones became the apple of our eye and we all adored her, especially her 1 1/2 year old brother, who from the very start has had a love/hate relationship with her, as most siblings do. As she grew and we got to know her a little better, she became known as "bird" because of her loud little noises that mimicked a little bird. As time went by "Goosey Gal" became her nickname and stuck. When she was old enough to communicate she told me "My name not Goosey Gal, my name Mury Huwand." Now you don't mind it, but we did try and respect your wishes when you were little. You now call yourself Goose a lot, and Hudson's buddy's do too.  SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOSE! We love you so much and had a fabulous day celebrating your life.

Tink's overgrown, big bushes are now little twigs. Our dear landlord thought he would trim them and he sure did. Here is our little retreat and we should be unpacking, but instead we are relaxing and grilling out for Father's Day. After dinner we all took a stroll around the block to the future community garden site and the bridge in our woods that leads to the Jr. High that we can see from the front of our house. It is enchanting...next time I will take my camera.

Slip n Slide

A little celebration.

Headed to Chicago this summer to go to the AG store,

with our cousin, in lieu of a party.

Welcome to the family.... Emily!

And Samantha.... who MH described as "Delicable", elegant and delicate.

Dolls, dolls, dolls, apparently a couple need to go to the AG spa.

Their hair seems to have seen better days.

Investing in OFF!!

Lovely flowers.

Thanks to Laura, they've brightened up my room from all these drab boxes.

Window Treatment help!!

Mary Holland sees her room for the first time!!

 We went round and round about paint colors. She insisted on a color from the rainbow, and her first choice being purple with red stenciled hearts. My grandmother suggested we look at decorating magazines together to help her with her taste in decorating, but I had already done that. She obviously got tired of talking about it, woke up one day and said "paint it pink. That is fine."

Any idea's appreciated for all these windows? I will remove the blinds, of course, and am thinking panels to the ground pushed all the way right and then all the way left. Idea's?!

The paint is Benjamin Moore, Elephant Pink, half strength. I think it is the prettiest pink for a little girl.

The decoraters. I am not kidding when I say these men are well rounded and care more about art, furniture, etc than their wives....and I thought CJ was too opinionated. They also do tough things like marathons, triathlons and bike for an ungodly number of miles. They are well rounded and I thought I might kill them by the time I left, but they did lay out my furniture well!! Thanks small group guys!

Before pictures of Tink's Cottage

So, here is a glimpse into our new {little} abode. "Location is everything" (in the Real Estate world) and I am experiencing it firsthand. The lot is amazing and the location ideal. The house feels like it should be on a lake and is cozy and soothing. I think God knew we needed this. We feel like we are on a long vacation and although we are painting and giving "Tink" some loving, we are not doing a full overhaul of the whole house which we have done to our past two...and we can't cause it is a rental and there is freedom in that.

I am thrilled about life here and the ease of things. People are out all the time, everything is so close, you go to the pool and there is no need to call friends because someone you know will be there. No more rushing about making the dreaded Hwy 280 drive to sit in carpool line and drop-off and back again for pick-up. We are 4 blocks from our elementary school. Can I get an AMEN! They say it is like a flood of children as everyone walks to school. Bring on the flood. I am so excited about not wasting my life in the car, and my children's time as well. We can walk to ballet, piano, food, ect. Can you hear my excitement?! Now onto before...

Living Room

Master bedroom (a far cry from my hardwoods, vaulted ceiling and antique chandelier).

Now we have carpet and ceiling fans.

Hello, ugly kitchen...and the mini dishwasher. NOW that is a sacrifice people. Thankfully, my husband is a helper and his pet peeve is dishes, so he will be very helpful in scrubbing or very annoyed of my lack of.... I loathe dishes.

"Cleaning" windows. This window is one of my favorite features of the house. I love it's size and shape. Thank goodness for lots of windows. It helps.

More windows that open. Can't wait for fall.

Memories, creating memories. I had to keep this in mind as we were racing the clock trying to get everything ready for our move. I loosened up though and they had a ball painting!

Meeting friends! Here is one, out of what feels like a hundred, kids on our block.

I managed at midnight one night to grab a pen and write this above the boys door before I painted. I wanted to do it to every door frame in our home, but forgot until the last room. At least I got one in.

It is Biblical. Deut 6

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.[a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

We don't bind them on our foreheads though, but maybe we should. :)

Excitement about the bunk beds

I have made this statement so much I dreamt about it. "The bunk beds are not playground equipment. They are not to be jumped from, swung on, nor climbed on" but somehow no one SEEMS to remember me saying that. 

Taking a break

Surprise!!! Star Wars sheets, he must have thanked me 100 times. Typically I try to avoid these "types" of things dressing up our room, but I am getting over that. Plus, they are hidden most of the time.

All three banshee's laying in the bed...

Our sanctuary

"Tinks" After pictures coming soon....

Only 99 loads left at our old house. Got to go move. Praying for sanity.