Fresh Coffee Filter Bouquet

My Christmas decorations are still up on our front porch/windows.
Does that make me a redneck? Oh well. That's ok if it does.

Thought you might like this little ditty I made,
I found the idea here and made my own version of it.

foam ball from the dollar store.

Grande pack of coffee filters from Costco.

straight pins.
If I'd do this again I would buy longer pins, (do they make longer pins)?

While I crafted the boys played UNO, (NEVER-stinkin'-ENDING-UNO). Sometimes I think I play 30 times I day, but I try to say yes most of the time, (not all the time by any means) because someday I'll be old and want my children to play card games with me....so hopefully they'll remember their younger days and how I always played with them.

Probably not, but maybe.
Plus, my Mom always said yes to playing UNO with me and I remember that.

And there's my laundry pile in the background.

It's very important when running a household to have your priorites in line!!

Craft first.
Laundry second,
(that would be a great bumper sticker)!

It's going to be a busy week.
I'm gearing up for it by staying up late on a Sunday night.

The gas man, (I'm sure he has a name) is coming tomorrow to hook up the gas to the carriage house.
The flooring is in....LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.
The painting is done, needs a bit more touch ups here and there.
The cabinets are in, (SOOO JELLO OF HER KITCHEN).
And you should see that place when it's snowing outside, it's so peaceful. When you stand in the middle of the room you have 8 windows surrounding you and yet it's completely silent. It's stunning. We're so excited for Mama to move in,
SHE'S SO EXCITED TOO! Looks like it might be in time for her Birthday next Sunday!!!
I love my husband and the way he GIVES so selflessly to his Mom! It's an HONOR to watch their relationship. It's precious really.


"It is only possible to live happily-ever-after
on a day-to-day basis."
~Margaret Bonnano~

Spring Ideas

This is what it's doing outside.....

Tonight our friends Josh and Nellie came for a drive by in his rip-roarin' Jeep!!

He gave the boys a little ride down the BLIZZARD ROADS....they loved it.
I got them out of bed when she called and said they'll be coming by! *cool Mom award* :) And yes, Tyler has shorts on because our living room is practically a sauna at a steady 87*-90*. Our woodstove isn't messin' around tonight....the wood we're using is super dry so it burns like MAD!!
Well, it may doing all that snow/blizzard stuff outside, but in my head it's doing this.....

Kohls.com
In my attic sits this new "bed in a bag". I cannot wait to wash this thing,

hang it out to dry so it smells like sunshine and grace our bedroom with it!!
I would like to call it shabby-vintage! And the minty green!!!

PotteryBarn.com

And this pretty little bird from Pottery Barn will be my new jewelry holder.....or perhaps my candy holder or....here's an idea, my candy necklace holder! Perfecto!!

PotteryBarn.com

And see that little blue darling....I'm keeping my eyes open for something similar that I can paint that color....or maybe I'll just paint the one I already have.

Reduce~Reuse~Recycle!

PotteryBarn.com

And while I'm at it I'm going to buy some silver/metallic spray paint and go for it at my existing brown lamp bases. The shades are already very similar to the above picture.

Cool. Crisp. Clean. Shiny. Hopefully. INTRODUCING OUR NEW BATHROOM SINK for the upstairs of the carriage house, otherwise known as Jake's place.....it's going to be AMAZING!!

We will pretty much live there.

And hopefully she, (the sink) will sit atop something like this....inspired by Pottery Barn. I love the old, weathered look and we have a leftover random piece of granite to use and then the bowl will sit on top. LOVE! And that glass shelf. love that too!
And this is the back splash that we're using for the kitchen of the upstairs, (not for Grammie's house~which by the way is looking sooooo darling. Hope to be completed in less then 3 weeks)!!!

And I want this shirt.

"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world
are the most useless;
peacocks and lilies for instance.
~John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice, 1851~

Communication and underwear

In contrast to this picture, the snow is gently falling and it's so beautiful outside right now. All the kids are sleeping, not soundly though, they all have fevers ! Nothing else along with it, except Paisley sounds a little croupy, so I rubbed Vick's on her chest and after warming a burp cloth over the woodstove, placed that on her chest as well. I can't tell you why I do that EXCEPT IT'S WHAT MY MOTHER DID!! And I remember that warm feeling of being cared for.

I got a lot done today because of everyone being so down and out. Much TV was watched and much fruit was eaten by the children. Annie and I painted her cabinets today, just the primer. Tomorrow the final coat will go on......"Antique White", (doesn't that sound pretty)? On Saturday we painted her home the most peaceful CELERY GREEN color....it's lovely. My friend Angie posted this on my facebook wall tonight and it cracked me up:

"Did she tell you i stopped in on Saturday? she is sooo adorable!! she insisted on taking me on a tour (even though we had never met before. =)) she was so proud & happy & excited! telling me why she choose "green paint & not tan...heavens..not tan!" =) such a sweet sweet lady. i'm sure you ALL cannot wait until she is moved in!"

And that about sums it up!! She and we are so excited for MOVE IN DAY!! It's been a long time coming and the date has been pushed back so many times, (as often happens with extensive renovations)! WE HOPE THAT ON HER 72ND BIRTHDAY she will be in there, that would be February 6th!

Found a beautiful brand new kitchen sink for her today, (from craigslist) it's beige porcelain and will go so nicely with everything else. I have to drive to Philadelphia to get it, but it's a steal of a deal.

Tonight we talked about churning our own butter and looked for a butter churner on ebay. This makes me happy. I'm weird.

I am not foolish enough to believe it will always be easy with her here. On the contrary, I am foolish enough to TRUST AND BELIEVE that we WILL HAVE GRACE for whatever may come our way. Just tonight as we were painting side by side I told her that she doesn't have to be afraid of getting sick, that God will help us deal with that if it happens. She said that all her life she has prayed that if she gets sick she would "go in the wink of an eye" and not be on a sick bed for years. I pray too that God would grant her humble request. And up until then I pray her days will be SO FULL OF JOY that she will forget the pain and suffering that has been hers so much of her life. Someday I will do an interview with her and you will know more the BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHE IS.

And yes, she is my Mother-in-Law, but WHO AM I to not extend love to her and welcome her onto our property? THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR MANY AND THAT IS FINE. If you cannot stand your Mother-in-law, at least THANK GOD that she birthed & raised your husband, (and if you can't stand your husband, well, I can't help you there)!!!!

COMMUNICATION WILL BE THE KEY, (AND IS THE KEY) TO ANY HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP!!

Tonight I told her that I don't want to feel like she is watching me to see if I'm working or not, (working hard is highly valued in the Amish culture). There may be days that we all stay in our pj's and the dishes don't get done and the boys have no underwear or socks and I don't do laundry even because of that. I will probably sunbathe more in one Summer then she ever did in her entire life and my garden will have weeds in it. Three days a week I will probably have a friend here and that's just the way we roll.

She so graciously told me how it use to be when she took care of, (lived with) her Mother-in-law. She told me stories of the way it was, (lack of privacy, trying to gain approval, gossip and slander, etc.) and promised to me that it will never be that way. The thing that is different here is I respectfully say it how it is....I hope I can continue that when things come up with sharing this property and such.

We have concluded that RULE #1: no just walking into one another's home. CALL FIRST and if they don't answer then that means it's not a good time. The children too will know Grammie's phone number an WILL CALL BEFORE VISITING. "I don't want to feel like I can't walk around in my underwear for fear that you'll walk right in" I said to her, (and for the record I don't walk around like that, BUT IF I WANTED TO I could do so freely). "Oh, Amen to that" she replied!!!

So, we start there and pray for GRACE TO FACE whatever may come our way! I can honestly say to you that I don't really care about myself, (at this moment) truly I WANT HER HAPPINESS!!!! Now, ask me this 3 years, (or 3 months) from now and I'll let you know how we're doin' on that one!!!

"He will also send you rain
for the seed you sow in the ground,
and the food that comes from the land will be
rich and plentiful.
In that day your cattle
will graze in broad meadows."
Isaiah 30:23

*pictures taken from last October....a double rainbow over the carriage house!*

Doors and Windows

(the front)

(the back)

Slowly, but surely the carriage house renovations are coming together. The doors and windows are in! The past 2 weeks we've had SOME AMAZING HELPERS, come our way and we couldn't be more GRATEFUL!!!! (especially Jake)!!!! It seems to me that the *closer* we get to the finished product, the *more* that needs to be done. I think it's because now the details are upclose and personal, whereas before it was just ONE BIG project.....now it feels like 7,329 projects!!!

Bless my husbands heart. He works like crazy all week long and then again all day Saturdays. He's taking a lovely, long Sunday nap right now. I couldn't be happier for him!! I love when he sleeps!!!! However, I've had to go to the attitude chiropractor for more then one adjustment along this journey. I miss my husband. I miss *lazy* Saturdays together. Not that we really have them around here though, my. husband. loves. to. work. He is practically an Amish man, (he was Amish until he was 16). I don't know what drives him; the vision, the goal, the sense of great accomplishment. There's something *greater* behind this project,
a home, a haven, a place of refuge for his Mom.

And Winter is coming. I feel like some prairie woman when I say that....but we think about it alot. Especially since the nights are starting to get cooler and the leaves are starting to change. There's no turning back now....she's on her way!!!

(MY MAN)

(Annie's living room~so many windows and such beautiful light.
And radiant floor heat, her feet will never be cold again when she's in this house)!!

"Goals are dreams with deadlines."
~Diana Scharf Hunt~

Carriage House Renovations

It seems a pity to just post a couple pics and be on our way. MY HUSBAND WORKS SO HARD IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!!!! These pictures hardly do him justice!! He's doing his very best at this balancing act....and that's surely what it is. With spending time with his family, running his own business during BUSY SEASON, keeping our friendships strong and taking care of the property here, he's a busy man! Last year around this time is when we started. He ripped off that huge tin roof and had it recycled. One early morning around 4am my husband climbed up onto the roof and started ripping off 100 year old cedar shakes. With this machine from my brother-in-laws business, (Sam S. Smucker & Sons), a lot was done in one day!!! Thank you Marlin!

There atop the roof sits another brother-in-law, (or as Jake calls them the "out laws")!! Thanks Lin for your hard work on a hot Saturday!!

Marlin taking wheelbarrow loads of the cedar shakes to the pile.

My brother Mel, (a former roofer) stayed late into the night working by the moon to get the new roof on! Thank you Melvin, (that's him with the thumbs up)!!!
The beautiful new roof. In the first picture of this post you'll see the carriage house flanked by two massive evergreens. As you may remember my husband went ahead & cut them down, threw them into the pile o' cedar shakes and poured some lighter fluid around it and lit the match......all by himself. You can see the rest of the story here!!!!! *sorry if you're a regular reader and I'm talking about this AGAIN, it's just so darn funny!*

Some new landscaping was done around the side after the yard was all dug up to put new
water and sewer lines. That was quite the scene.....3 foot ditches weaving all over our yard!!

See that dirt area? That will be our new garage.

The sod cutter. It cuts up the good grass and so it can be properly rolled and removed then placed where it's needed. *You'll see a little boy in most of these pictures, Luke LOVES to "help" his Daddy. He'll spend hours by his side, I've never seen anything like it before!

Don't let those rolls deceive you. THEY ARE CRAZY HEAVY!! On another Saturday he got the jackhammer out and cracked the old floor to bits. I was in pain just watching him bounce around all day with that thing. HE'S A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and I'll be the first and last to say that again and again and again and again and.......
Then he took the mother of all saws and cut the concrete to prepare for the new foundation.
He breaks out these crazy tools all the time, I never know what will be next!!!!

precious excitement!!!!

During another Saturday our nephew Reuben came to help. This was a very sweet thing because it warms Mama's, (Annie) heart to see her son and grandson working on her behalf.
I can only imagine.

All her boys working hard to get the floor insulated. Prior to this day Jake had dug down one foot into the dirt foundation, leveled it out and placed 8 TON of stone in it. Eight Ton. Oh. my. word. On this particular day Jake & Reuben were placing plastic on top of the stone and then large sheets of insulation on top of that. Next will be the radiant flooring.

The radiant floors were put in next, (Mama always has cold feet....we thought this might help, plus it's a great efficient source of heat). You'll see the far wall has been knocked out so as to extend her living area.

Another "visitor" one early morning.
A boys dream come true!

Our Amish neighbor worked hard all day long to get the concrete looking just perfect.

A few weeks later Marlin & Mel graciously joined Jake in the pouring rain!
They removed those beautiful black doors and I mean that....they were distressed to perfection!
They will be re-purposed one way or another!
They framed up the front and side and got ready to cut the windows out. Teamwork!!!!

Luke, Tyler and Chase watching their Daddy's work hard!!

Now it's really starting to come together!!

The Man. My Man.

I think I'll treat those two windows as one, meaning there will be shutters on either side of the sets of windows. And can't you just see large flower boxes under the windows? I can!!

The view from her living room.

Her kitchen window to the left and the patio door to the right.
There are lots of windows all around, beautiful light.
Her entrance is to the far right.

It's going to be lovely once it's all finished.

Bless Jake's heart for honoring his Mother like this.
And to all of you who selflessly share your "day off" with us! THANK YOU!!!

I told her the other day that if she doesn't leave for 3 months once she's all moved in,
I wouldn't blame her. To FINALLY have a place to call HOME, there's no feeling like it.

Imagine being 72 and saying that!!
I pray she has many, many healthy & happy years here.

"It takes hands to build a house,
but only hearts can build a home."
~Author Unknown~