I get the green swing!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2012-01-23T21:58:00.003-05:00

#536-545

536. Kyle and Lindsey having another snow day from school

537. Homework completed

538. Having a lick of the brownie batter

539. Chad taking the kids sledding

540. Hearing the kids tell me all about the fun time they had sledding

541. The cute little wicker chair for Lillian

542. My international customers

543. The kids getting their teeth cleaned at the dentist

544. Taking the kids to the store after their dentist appointment instead of right back to school

545. The cute little mail boxes we bought at Target from the dollar section

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you. Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2012-01-16T21:22:00.002-05:00

#525-535

525. Chad watching the kids while I go for a walk or run

526. Jacob wanting to vacuum the floors for me

527. Watching Lillian scribble on the magna doodle

528. Chad cooking steak for dinner

529. Homemade mashed potato's and gravy

530. Signing up for a half marathon

531. The kids having their first snow day of 2012

532. Playing out in the snow with the kids

533. A huge snow pile to play in

534. Not having to drive in the snowy weather

535. Lindsey feeling better after having a stomach ache

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2012-01-09T21:50:00.003-05:00

#516-525

516. Much warmer than normal January days

517. Sewing Lillian a cute Valentines day dress

518. The boys excited about being able to play outside

519. Our water bill being just under one hundred dollars this month

520. Kyle and Lindsey excited to go back to school after Christmas break

521. Long phone conversations

522. Writing down all the important dates on our new 2012 calender

523. Listening to Jacob play his preschool computer games while I sew, Lillian naps and Kyle and Lindsey are at school

524. Growing my Little Green Swing facebook fan page

525. Lillian only waking up two times during the night and getting closer to someday having a whole nights sleep

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!! Blessings, Lisa

A Year in Review 2011!

2012-01-03T21:08:00.010-05:00

I am just a little late with putting together a review of last year! 2011 was the year of many firsts so it seems! Jacob learned to ride a bike all by himself with out training wheels, Kyle learned to jump off the diving board all by himself, Lindsey learned to play a few songs on the piano by herself ,Lillian learned to take her first few steps and Chad and I learned that we are NOT city people! Are you ready for some major picture overload! Here goes:

We had lots of snow this time last year!

Lindsey loved cheer leading camp and performing in front of everyone

Kyle and Lindsey both played basketball

Jacob learned to paint the walls, he did such a fine job!

Chad was wonderful at helping me to create the pictures I wanted of him and Lillian

I will cherish them always

Lindsey loves her new room

Kyle and Lindsey learned to fence

Kyle didn't really want to wear the outfit that went with fencing

The kids spent lots of time outside on the blanket

Kyle learned the ins and outs of baseball and did a really good job!

Kyle learned to jump off the diving board without any fear

Lillian wore the dress that Lindsey wore when she was about that same age for pictures

A picture of all the kids is usually easier said than done

We had many hot summer days spent outside

Lillian enjoyed her first of many fairs (along with extremely hot weather that week)

Jacob helped to farm, one of his favorite things to do

Lillian had her one year pictures at the farm in her big fluffy tutu I made for her

Kyle helped to take pictures of Lillian and I (Lillian wasn't thrilled with the whole idea)

Lillian turned ONE!

The kids enjoyed a beautiful fall day at the park over fall break

I even joined them in playing on the equipment

Lindsey loves her baby sister

Chad and I have the most beautiful kids and feel so blessed to call them ours!

Lillian learned that driving tractors is fun!

2011 is gone and now we look forward to what 2012 will us, we have so much planned this year! We have big plans this year Jacob will go off to kindergarten for the first time this fall, the kids will keep me busy with sports and other activity's, we even a family vacation in the works! Lots will happen this year I'm sure and we are ready for whatever comes our way. Bring on 2012, we wish you a very blessed New Year!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2012-01-01T22:29:00.005-05:00

#506-515

506. Finding the most important part of our Little People Nativity set under the couch (baby Jesus) before putting it all away until next year

507. Going shopping with all the kids to spend their Christmas money

508. Watching the boys pick out which toy tractors they want

509. Shopping for clothes for myself and finding lots of bargains

510. Lindsey buying a hula hoop that we can actually do, with a little practice

511. Watching Cars 2 with the kids

512. Filling 3 bags and counting with things to donate to the Goodwill store

513. Pulling the kids in the sled with what little bit of snow we had

514. Having almost all the Christmas decorations put away

515. Making plans for 2012

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

One Thousand Blessings 500 and Counting!

2011-12-26T21:51:00.004-05:00

#496-505

496. A manger filled with love long long ago

497. Baking snicker doodle cookies to take to the school

498. Watching Lillian take her first few steps, all by herself, on Christmas Eve

499. Spending time with family during the holidays

500.Reading out of our bibles before opening up Christmas presents

501. Spending our 'first' Christmas in our new house

502. The living room a mess of wrapping paper and cardboard

503. Starting new Christmas traditions this year

504. Seeing Jacob's face light up when we gave him a new pedal tractor

505. Driving to see Christmas lights and eating Christmas cookies in the car

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Christmas 2011!

2011-12-25T22:13:00.011-05:00

Once again Christmas is here and gone! This year I really enjoyed myself as we celebrated Christmas in our new house! We spent Christmas Eve with family, all 17 cousins together! For me when we all get together it doesn't seem like their are 17 kids, it seems more like half that! They all get along so well and I know they will have these memories of being together to cherish when they get older. On Christmas day we spent the morning at home opening presents then went to see Chad's grandparents and then his other grandpa. After all that we came home to play all the new things the kids got! This picture was from Christmas Eve when Lillian took some of her first steps all by herself!

Here is three generations, Chad, his dad and Jacob!

Here are 15 of the 17 kids in the family, next Christmas we will have 18! (Who knows maybe even 19!)

Here are some pictures of the kids opening up their presents!

Lindsey being silly with her new American Girl puppy! (Which Lillian loves to play with!)

Jacob finally got his own story bible, he wanted a big kid bible like Kyle and Lindsey but he is still to little for one like theirs.

Lillian enjoys playing with the Nerf gun bullets and even tries to put them in the gun! Look out boys!

Of course Barbie had to make her way home!

And of course more Lego's, we can never have too many Lego's at our house!

After all that excitement Chad went out to the garage and brought this in the house!

And boy was he excited!

This tractor didn't stay long in my house! (One of the tires were wet and got my rug wet a bit!)

Lillian could not wait to get on herself!

She knew just what to do on it, I think she has watched the boys a little too much!

Oh how she loved riding on the tractor, next summer will be fun with this in the yard.

After supper went on a trip which required golden tickets that the kids got! We baked cookies then loaded up in the van to leave on our excursion to see Christmas lights! The kids had to get their tickets punched in order to go on our trip and then once we got back home. Oh dear this post just reminded me that I forgot to wrap and give the boys another Lego thing that I got for each of them! Yikes! I guess they will have a surprise waiting for them tomorrow. We had a wonderful Christmas and really enjoyed ourselves! Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!!!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-12-19T22:54:00.003-05:00

#486-495

486. Really big white snow flakes

487. Getting over the stomach bug that we had

488. Getting a really good start on my Christmas shopping

489. Finding what I wanted to buy the boys on sale Target

490. Listening to all the children sing beautifully at Kyle and Lindsey's school Christmas program

491. Kyle and Lindsey go to a school that still sing Silent Night and read the story of Jesus being born

492. Lindsey's solo and Kyle's really cute song during the program

493. Having some presents wrapped

494. Being almost finished with my Christmas shopping

495. Knowing that I have almost five hundred blessings to be so thankful for

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!!

Christmas Program 2011!

2011-12-16T22:56:00.013-05:00

Kyle and Lindsey had their school Christmas program the Last week and they both did great! Lindsey was super excited about a solo that she had with a few of her classmates, it was short and sweet. Lindsey loves that kind of attention, if it has anything to do with singing and being in front of an audience she is all for it! Kyle on the other hand could really do with out performing in a Christmas program, which I can completely relate to I don't like to be in front of a crowd either. Here is Lindsey singing her part of the solo she with her classmates, they all did a great job!

Oh how she loves to sing!

Kyle's class did the cutest song ever! Really it was soooo cute, I loved every bit of it, the song was 'Santa's Getting Fit For Christmas' and the with the words and motions it was Adorable!Even though Kyle doesn't normally like that sort of thing, I could tell he did have fun with it! Of course maybe being in the front row he felt he had to do it really well, either way he did a great job and looked so cute! At the end of the program Kyle's class sang 'Silent Night' in the dark with just their candles lit and of course I didn't take picture of that because I had a brain fart! (I think it was that I was all alone, nobody came with me not even Jacob or Lillian, they had a stomach thing going on. I guess I can't function well being out all by myself.) So I just sat their and watched my little boy and his classmates sing and didn't even think to get a picture of them with their candles lit! This of course was his last elementary school Christmas program too! When it was over and the lights came back on I kicked myself for not getting a picture of him! Lesson learned!

I also wanted to share a few picture of the kids when they went to our local fire station to see Santa on Saturday. Of course Kyle thinks he is to old and too cool for Santa! (I think Kyle may know something!)

Jacob likes him because he gives you presents if your good, and I remind him of that daily!

Lindsey likes him because she has a long list of things she wants him to bring!

Lillian on the other hand didn't want anything to with that crazy looking man presents or no presents!

Christmas is almost here and I am finally done with my Christmas shopping, I even have some things wrapped! How crazy is that, this may be the first! I am super excited about Christmas this year because we get to spend it in our new home!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-12-12T22:24:00.003-05:00

#476-485

476. The kids excited to see Santa

477. Watching Kyle and Lindsey at basketball practice

478. Watching Lillian push her baby doll stroller with her baby doll in it

479. Letting the kids stay up later than usual to watch a Christmas show

480. The orders I get from my online shop

481. The sweet comments I get from my customers

482. Watching Lindsey try on new Christmas dress for her program

483. Being able to park in our garage

484. Not having to wait in line at the fabric cutting counter

485. Finding the Christmas book in the store that I have had a hard time finding anywhere

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!!

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2011-12-12T14:37:00.007-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house, we even have a little dusting of snow on the ground outside! Today I am linking up over at The Inspired Room's Holiday Christmas tour, thank you so much for stopping by! This will be the first real Christmas that we will celebrate in this home since we moved in this past year in May. Last year we did own this home but we weren't moved into it yet due to all the renovation we did. Our home was built in 1886 and is considered an Queen Victorian, we have a brand new kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. We also kept the original hardwood floors which look so pretty and not to mention the kids love to slide on the wood floors with there socks on! Alright enough talking here is my home!

This is our front door, the original door that the house was built.

Our foyer

I put up some lighted garland and I love the way the stairs looks at night!

I found our rather ugly tree that we have had for years and put it up in the loft area upstairs.

This is our larger tree that we have down stairs, the kids decorated it for me, maybe not the way I wanted it but the were so proud of themselves I didn't dare fix it for my liking!

I love the old Victorian Santa's, they look so much cuter!

I also love to decorating with lanterns, you can put so much in them!

I put this lantern on top of our refrigerator in the kitchen, along with the stars

On my kitchen counter I used some Christmas ornaments to decorate with.

Lillian insisted on helping with the ribbon, she is such a big helper!

Some people may have a fancy nativity set that nobody can touch or maybe even breath on, we have one that we can play with!

I bought this wreath last year after Christmas and I love how simple it is, and the fact that i probably only paid a few dollars for it!

I love little trees isn't this one cute!

Help yourself to some homemade chocolate banana bread!

I hope you enjoyed my home tour! With as busy as we have been this past month I am surprised at what Christmas I have had time to put up! I do have huge plans to hit the stores once they mark all their Christmas stuff down, I made a rather lengthy list of things I am on the hunt for! (More little trees is on that list too!) Thank you so much for stopping by! From my house to yours, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-12-05T21:05:00.002-05:00

#466-475

466. Being able to start working on Christmas crafts for Jacob's preschool time

467. Putting the tree up

468. Going through all the Hallmark ornaments we have recieved over the years

469. Seeing the kids' ornaments that they have made in years past

470. Buying myself a new winter jacket

471. The extra money I have made for babysitting

472. The way the stairs in foyer look with the lighted garland on it

473. Pumpkin spice instant pudding

474. Coloring Christmas pictures with the kids

475. Watching the kids play with the Little People Nativity set

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-11-28T21:34:00.002-05:00

#456-466

456. The kids not having school the day before Thanksgiving

457. Getting together with family

458. Watching cousins play together

459. Going shopping on Black Friday during the afternoon time with my girls

460. Using coupons at the bookstore

461. Lindsey excited to pick out her own big girl bible at the bookstore

462. Trying on silly Christmas headbands at Target with my two girls

463. Watching Lindsey spend her own birthday money at the store

464. Celebrating Lindsey's 9th

465. Jacob and Lillian feeling so much better after having upset bellies

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!!

A Birthday Party!

2011-11-23T21:09:00.015-05:00

On Saturday Lindsey had a birthday party with her friends. She was really excited to have her friends come over and see her pretty bedroom, she even cleaned it by herself! (Not there was much to clean!) Lindsey had a few friends from her school come over along with some out of town friends she was excited to see. The party was only two hours long, at first I thought that was plenty of time, but towards the end I felt really rushed! I had an agenda to follow, with lots to do a little time! I think the girls would have enjoyed playing upstairs in Lindsey's room, but there just wasn't time for that!

Here is what our agenda looked like, once the girls came we started a really cute farm craft, then it was time to play a few games. We also played pin the tail on the horse with a really funny looking horse that I had drawn out on poster board.Then we did a ring toss with some little ropes that I made into circles, then we played musical chairs. And finally we went outside and had a pony race! Then we went back inside for some cake and ice cream, yum yum! Lastly, we all got our coats on and went on a hay ride around town singing farming songs such as 'The Farmer in The Dell', 'BINGO' and 'Old Mc Donald Had a Farm' to name a few!We ran a little behind schedule with the tractor ride but thankfully the parents didn't mind. I think the girls had fun, I know I did and most importantly Lindsey did! Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl, Lindsey we love you so much!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-11-21T21:39:00.003-05:00

#446-455

446. Chad finally getting around to putting the screen door on the house we bought this past summer

447. The cute little Christmas tree in the living room plugged in at night

448. Getting the shelves in the bathroom finished

449. Hanging streamers on the front porch for Lindsey's party

450. Lindsey helping with the dishes

451. Dishwasher soap that actually works really well

452. Lindsey excited about her birthday party

453. Going on a hay ride during Lindsey's party

454. Having a successful birthday party

455. Remembering Lindsey's swimming stuff for school

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

13 Months Old!

2011-11-16T21:37:00.006-05:00

Oh my, I almost forgot that Lillian is now 13 months old! I feel as if ever since last month she is really starting to act her age! Let me explain, before this month she wouldn't really become upset if someone took something from her that she probably shouldn't have but now she will throw a fit! Oh yes, she will lay her pretty little head on the floor to cry and pout! I only hope this last for a short while!

She may not be walking yet, but the girl can sure move and climb 15 out of the 16 steps on stairs! (Don't worry I was with her the whole time!) We have had to purchase a baby gate to keep her from climbing Mount Everest, I mean the stairs.

I have complied a list of things that I found Lillian doing!

~ Loves to eat and drinks from her sippy cup

~ Still doesn't want to sleep through the night for some reason

~ Really dislikes her crib even though she is hardly in it

~ Still takes two naps some days

~ Will not watch TV at all no matter what

~ Loves to flip through her books

~ Will climb all over you if your on the floor laying

~ Likes to play Little People and dolls

~ Gives her baby dolls hugs and kisses

~ Loves to play peek a boo and crawl around being chased

~ Will go potty on her potty chair

~ Loves to splash in the bath

~ Tries to put her shoes (and Lindsey's sparkly shoes) on by herself

~ Tries to put her jacket on

~ Loves to empty things out and put things in

~ Will stand for a few moments all by herself

~ Understands the word no

~ Loves to sing and dance

~ Does a really good job marking all over Lindsey's homework paper with a pencil

~ Has figured out where we keep the food in the cabinet

Lillian has really started to become brave lately and let go of the table, chair or other piece of furniture she is leaning against. She will also let go of my hands when she is standing with me, all by herself like a big girl! We think that you may be walking by the end of the year! Lillian also seems to enjoy sitting in the bouncy seat that we bought last year when she was a baby. She didn't seem to care about the seat until I put a little baby that I babysit for in it!

We love how much fun you are becoming our little Lillie bug, your personality is really starting to show and we love it! Even though you may throw a fit, it is the cutest thing ever! I also noticed that your hair is getting just a little longer too!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-11-14T21:12:00.002-05:00

#446-455

446. The weather still being somewhat warm so that we can go on a walk after supper

447. Lillian's cute pink hat that was once Lindsey's

448. Planning Lindsey's birthday party

449. Helping Lindsey make her invitations for her friends

450. Planning what classes to take in the spring

451. The purple and pink colors in the sky as the sunsets

452. Chocolate covered cherries

453. Chad starting to work on the shelves in the bathroom

454. Watching Lillian mark on a piece of paper with a pencil

455. Buying a baby gate so Lillian won't crawl up the stairs when I'm not looking

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-11-07T21:34:00.002-05:00

#436-445

436. A beautiful fall day spent outside with the kids

437. Fall break for Kyle and Lindsey

438. Watching the Canadian geese fly over top of us

439. New tennis shoes for me

440. Raking leaves in yard with Jacob

441. Huge leaf piles to jump in

442. Listening to Jacob read his little book to me

443. Playing tag with Lindsey and her friend in the yard

444. Helping a friend out with a Christmas open house

445. Getting out a few Christmas things that I bought after Christmas last year

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Fall Break 2011!

2011-11-01T22:50:00.012-04:00

The kids had fall break last Friday and this past Monday on Halloween, and the weather was perfect for it! We had planned to go to a local Celery Bog and had everything ready to go, nature journals colored pencils and binoculars for our nature trip. The unfortunate part was that once we got close to the Celery Bog we found out that the road was closed due to construction. So instead we went to the zoo near by that has a really fun park for the kids to play at. (After wards we did make a trip to Target!)

Jacob wasn't sure about riding on this, but he liked watching!

Lillian enjoyed watching us!

The kids pushed me on it too!

Lillian loves to try and climb up slides, she does it at home all the time, she doesn't care to much about going down them!

Of course before we left the kids had to roll down the big hill!

I think it made Jacob a bit dizzy! He wasn't sure about rolling down the hill at first!

The kids and I had lots of fun that day and thankful the weather was beautiful! It's hard to believe that the next break that the kids will have will be Thanksgiving break! Where did the time go! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 31 Christmas Decor

2011-10-31T22:08:00.007-04:00

I decided to end my 31 Days of Decorating Inspiration with Christmas decor! I know for some it seems way to early to start decorating but for some reason this year I cant wait to dig out my Christmas stuff. I think the reason may have to do with this being our 'first' Christmas we will celebrate at our new house. I also bought lots of Christmas stuff last year after Christmas and I didn't even get any of it out of the packages, I just put them in totes in the attic! Oh I wonder what I got last year, I can't remember all the things I bought! Anyway, here are some great decorating pictures to get you ready for Christmas!

Image via tipjunkie.com

Image via countryliving.com

Image via deckthehallschristmas.blogspot.com

Image via hgtv.com

Image via houzz.com

Image via google

Image via southernliving

Image via frontporchideasandmore.com

Image via fleurfiona.blogspot.com

Image via google

I must say that I really enjoyed this 31 Days.. series and with doing Decorating Inspiration has really been fun and inspiring for me! I now have so many ideas on how I want my home to look and the style I want to bring into my home. It seems that my 'to do' list has really grown along with my 'junk to treasure' list this past month. Ending with one of my favorite holidays was a great way to end this series, I cant wait to join up next year! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you gained some Decorating Inspiration for your own home! Be sure to visit The Nester for more 31 Day...! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-10-31T21:40:00.003-04:00

#426-435

426. A yard without any leaves in it and knowing that it will only last a day two

427. Talking with the kids' teachers at parent teacher conferences

428. Helping Kyle with a school project

429. Baking cupcakes for Lindsey's fall party at school

430. Taking the kids trick-or-treating for the first time in about 4 years

431. Not getting a ticket

432. Jamming to Jacobs favorite song in the car with kids (International Harvester)

433. Taking the kids to park at the zoo to play

434. Finding puzzles on sale at Target

435. Taking the all four kids to Target and looking at the toys they want for Christmas

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to find as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 30 Fall Decor

2011-10-31T21:22:00.008-04:00

With fall in full force right now I have found some great fall pictures to inspire some fall decorating. Although for me by the time I really get around to decorating for fall I may as well put it all away and start to decorate for Christmas! I don't generally do much for fall, maybe some pumpkins here or there and thats about it! I do however, love to decorate for Christmas, is it to early to start decorating for that!

Image via bhg.com

Image via arborhouselane.blogspot.com

Image via sugarpiefarmhouse.com

Image via familyfun.go.com

Image via decorate.tipjunkie.com

Image via whitewhimsy.com

Can you believe that October is almost over and soon the fall decorations will be replaced with Christmas decorations! Where did the time go!? Be sure to stop by The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 29 Porches

2011-10-31T20:58:00.007-04:00

I love the front porch we have on our house, I just never know how to decorate it. I found some pictures of some porches I love and hope to find some decorating inspiration from them for my own porch!

Image via suzziebuzzie.tumblr.com

Image via google

Image via bhg.com

Image via houseofturquoise.com

Image via google

Oh I love the green shutters on that porch! For more 31 Days, visit The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 28 Doors

2011-10-28T23:01:00.009-04:00

I love a pretty door, I am so glad that our house came with a really old and pretty door. Although it does needs a fresh paint of coat! Speaking of painting doors, I have three other new doors that we put in our house that need to painted too! Check out these pretty doors in so many pretty colors!

Image via 346living.com

Image via hollymathisinterior.com

Image via thedesignfiles.net

Image via awelldressedhome.com

image via nestegg.typepad.com

Image via marieclairemansion.com

I think the hardest thing for me is choose a color for our doors, with so many pretty colors to choose from which one do I choose! Be sure to visit The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 27 Chairs

2011-10-28T22:24:00.006-04:00

I think accent chairs are so much fun, check out these fun chairs!

Image via brookegiannetti.typepad.com

Image via tumblr

Image via parishotelboutique.com

Image via tobifairley.com

Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 26 Craft Space

2011-10-27T21:01:00.012-04:00

Don't you love to have a fun to place to do work and do crafts, I know I do! Here are some fun craft spaces that I found and would like to incorporate some of these fun ideas into my own craft space.

Image via potterybarn

Image via lavenderandlilies.blogspot.com

Image via completely-coastal.com

Image via HeatherBailey

Not only do I love Heather Bailey's fabric, but I love her workspace too!

Image via Potterybarn

I love this craft table, I have very very similar that my handy dandy husband made just for me! I need to get my own workspace finished so that I can show you! Be sure to visit The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 25 Lights

2011-10-26T22:41:00.008-04:00

I love pretty lights in a home, check out these pretty light I found!

Image via countryliving.com

Image via twoellie.com

Image via google

Image via scandinavianretreat.blogspot.com

Image via thepursuitaesthetic.tumblr.com

Image via rhbabyandchild.com

See, even babies like to look at pretty chandeliers, a great twist to the usual mobile for over the crib! Be sure to check out more 31 Days... at The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 24 Stenciled Walls

2011-10-26T21:36:00.008-04:00

I love these stenciled walls that seem to be popular right now. Of course I'm not sure where I would put one, but they do look pretty and possibly time consuming, but the end result would be worth it!

Image via goodgirlgoneglad.com

Image via hgtv.com

Image via knottinghill.com

Image via decorpad

Image via prettyhaus.com

I think that with most of the stenciled walls that I found they only focused on one wall. I think I could do that, a whole room may never get done if I did it myself, but one wall is doable for me! For more 31 Days... check out The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-10-24T22:25:00.003-04:00

416-425

416. Lindsey excited about Dino club after school

417. Learning more about right-brain teaching

418. Talking about sewing

419. Starting the Christmas lists

420. The warmth the sunshine brings into our windows on a sunny day

421. The furnace going out now rather than in the middle of winter

422. Getting a new furnace

423. Chad being able to help the guy put in our new furnace to save on the installation fee

424. Lindsey loving her new black pea coat from the clearance section last year

425. Watching and listening to the birds fly in the sky on a beautiful fall day

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 23 Mantels

2011-10-24T21:57:00.008-04:00

Our furnace went out last week on some of the coldest days yet this fall, what luck! I guess it was better to replace it now than when it is really cold out. Unfortunately, we don't have a fireplace in our house or at least not anymore, this house used to have one because we still have a chimney in our attic. I love mantels and in our next house a fireplace might be a must! Check out these pretty mantels and fireplaces!

Image via bhg.com

Image via hgtv.com

Here are some mantels ready for fall and Christmas!

Image via tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com

Image via thefrugalhomemaker.com

Image via google

Image via sweetteadandlemon.wordpress.com

Seeing these images decorated for Christmas make me somewhat anxious to get my Christmas decor out and decorate! (Just a little!) Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 22 Stripes

2011-10-24T21:25:00.009-04:00

Is it just me or are Stripes becoming more popular these days with decorating, you can find them many places in the home. Check out these pictures of strips that I found!

Image via bellemansion23.com

Image via housetohome.co.uk

Image via archprofile.com

Image via blogstylizimo.com

Image via vi.sualize.us

Image via younghouselove.com

Image via eclecticrevisited.wordpress.com

Doesn't that chair look so comfy!

Seeing these images I think I may have to add some stripes somewhere in my home! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 21 Mirrors

2011-10-21T23:44:00.008-04:00

I like to decorate with mirrors, I think they can make a room appear bigger. So mirror, mirror on the wall, which one is the prettiest! Look at these pretty mirrors I found.

Image via apartment therapy

Image via 1stfloorflat.blogspot.com

Image via google

Image via moredesignplease.com

Image via potterybarn.com

Image via blueroofcabin.blogspot.com

Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 20 Colors

2011-10-21T22:54:00.011-04:00

I have had the urge to bring in more colors into my somewhat boring home for a while now, the only problem is it kinda scares me! I know this sounds crazy, I mean really how hard is to paint or bring in some colored pieces. I will admit all of my walls in my home are neutral colors so now I need to bring in some colorful pieces. These photos are some of my favorites that I would like to try, if I'm not to scared, in my own home.

Image via housebeautiful

Image via yourdecoratinghotline.com

image via homeinteriorszone.com

Image via laylagrace.com

Image via housebeautiful

Image via google

Image via marthastewart.com

Hello yellow, where have been all my life, aren't you pretty!

Image via flickr

I love that turquoise cabinet, in fact we have a cabinet almost identical to it in my kitchen right now except it's not turquoise. I would love to paint mine to look like this, I wonder if Chad would notice if I painted it bright turquoise!? I'm also loving that yellow chair!

Image via addicted2decorating.com

In case you were wondering, yes I do have this thing for turquoise right now. Hello turquoise, I love you but I just don't know where to use you! Oh dear, where to put color first! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 19 Table scapes

2011-10-20T23:43:00.010-04:00

I have always loved a pretty table scape, here are some pretty pictures to give you some decorating inspiration for your table!

Image via theletteredcottage.com

I love the simple burlap on this table!

Image via google

Image via inspired-design.tumbler.com

Image via thepapermullberry.com

I don't think you can go wrong with ruffles!

Image via countyliving.com

Image via google

These photos make me want to decorate my table everyday for dinner! But then again with four kids maybe not, or at least not anytime soon! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 18 Headboards

2011-10-18T22:58:00.008-04:00

Today I am posting about headboards, simply because I have been contemplating a new headboard for my bed! Thankfully my husband doesn't mind what I choose, or so he says, wait until he sees these pictures! He may rethink that! I love these headboards and the fact they are so different yet creative and beautiful!

Image via diyideas.com

Image via google

Image via shelterness.com

Image houzz.com

Image via examiner.com

Image via annawhite.com

We had planned on building something like this last picture of the farmhouse bed, using Anna-White's pattern, but now after seeing all of the other headboards on here I'm not sure what I want! They are all so pretty! Be sure to check out more 31 Days over at The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 17 Wood Floors

2011-10-17T22:47:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I showed you some pretty rugs and today I will show you some beautiful wood floors! I am lover of hard wood floors now that we have them in almost every room in our home! Here are some pretty floors for you to look at!

Image via google

Image via designsponge.com

Image via vitaverandan-anna.blogspot.com

Image via ohdeedoh.com

Image via houseofturquoise.com

These next two pictures look very familiar to me, oh what those are my floors! Aren't they pretty! I love how pretty my floors are I think we used 11 gallons of polyurethane on our floors, but the end result was fabulous! Although I have to admit, my wood floors don't like big bulky metal toys tractors very well! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-10-17T22:03:00.003-04:00

# 406-415

406. Watching Lillian walk with her pushcart

407. Finally getting around to having my eyes examined

408. New contacts

409. Jacob excited about having some corn in a bucket to play with

410. Cleaning out the laundry room

411. Watching Kyle give Lillian kisses

412. Making little pumpkins with kids using toilet paper holders

413. Listening to Lindsey and her two friends play upstairs

414. The kids that come over and play at our house

415. How warm and cozy the laundry room is with the furnace being on in there

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to find as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 16 Rugs

2011-10-17T21:37:00.006-04:00

I think a pretty rug can really make a room feel cozy and complete, check out these pretty rugs that I have found!

Image via trendir.com

Image via potterybarn.com

Image via elledecor

I love rugs layered in this living room!

Image via rusticroosterinteriors.blogspot.com

For me, I love having an area rug on our living rooms hardwood floors, I think it makes the room feel cozy and the kids enjoy playing it so much more! Be sure to visit The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 15 Buckets and Barrels

2011-10-15T23:52:00.007-04:00

It's buckets and barrels of fun today! I hope you enjoy, or at least find some decorating inspiration!

Image via designshuffle.com

Image via centsationalgirl.com

Image via marthastwart.com

Image via delish.com

Image via webecoist.com

Image via 100layercake.com

I think that using buckets and barrels is a fun way to decorate, I use buckets for my children's toys too, I will need to take a picture of them and add that to my post! Be sure to visit The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 14 Books

2011-10-15T23:26:00.008-04:00

I have always loved books and have always loved going to the bookstore and library, not to mention we tend to have an abundance of books in our house. Today I am finding decorating inspiration using books! I love how these books are used for decorating with, I'm sure some are for reading too! Check out this book bling, my daughter would love something like this, how pretty!

Image via ornamentedbeing.tumblr.com

Image via blaneccoco.com

They can be used as a centerpiece!

Image via ruffledblog.com

Image via 2bp.blogspot.com

Image via prettystuff.tumblr.com

So you see, books are not just reading, you can decorate with them too! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 13 Cans

2011-10-13T22:26:00.009-04:00

Today I am finding decorating inspiration with cans, sounds crazy but wait until you see these ideas! After seeing these pictures I have decided that I really need to start saving the cans that I use.

Image via shabbychicinspired.blogspot.com

Image via google

Look at these cute little pumpkin lanterns!

Image via bystephanielynn.com

Image via honeybearlane.com

Image via budgetwisehome.com

I love these ideas and can't wait to start saving up some of my own cans to decorate with! I hope you found some decorating inspiration too! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 12 Jars

2011-10-12T22:08:00.012-04:00

Oh the many things you can do with jars! Decorating with jars seems to be a very popular thing right now, just look at the many things I have found! It seems that jars are just not for canning anymore!

Image via blog.fiftyflowers.com

Image via vineyarddreams.tumbler.com

Image via google

Image via flickr

Image via acuratedlifestyle.blogspot.com

Image via marthastewart.com

These are cute little pumpkins for fall treats!

Image via mensvita.blogspot.com

Not that I am wanting to start decorating for Christmas, but these are really cute candle holders for the holidays! Be sure to visit The Nester to see more 31 Days...! Blessings Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 11 Watering Cans

2011-10-11T21:42:00.010-04:00

I think that watering cans are fun to decorate with, they can be used in so many places in the home. I love vintage watering cans as opposed to newer ones, their shapes seem to be much more interesting. Here is some decorating inspiration using watering cans.

Image via conspicuousstyle.com

Image via tinywhitedaisies.tumbler.com

Image via google

Image via craftberrybush.blogspot.com I love the aqua color of these watering cans.

Image via BHG

Image via littleemmaenglish.blogspot.com

I love this picture above with the three watering cans and the iris growing in front of the iron gate. Is it spring yet, so that my iris can bloom!

Image via pilgirmandpie.blogspot.com

What a neat idea, a watering can waterfall! These are just some of the many things you can do with watering cans! Oh the possibilities are endless, be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 10 Shelves

2011-10-10T21:34:00.008-04:00

Oh I am in need of shelves in my house! Once Chad gets some free time I have a long list of shelves that he needs to build and put up for me. I love these vintage shelves with the iron brackets, not to mention the wire baskets.

Image via mamiejanes.blogspot.com

Image via google

I love the shelf in the window this is something that I want in my kitchen window above our sink.

Image via kristendukephotography.com

Image via google

I really like how these last two photos have the shelves one above the other, this is very creative, I think I may need to find a wall to do this with! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-10-10T21:07:00.002-04:00

#396-405

396. Planning a birthday party

397. Watching Lillian turn the pages in her books

398. Lillian turning one

399. Pretty bundt cake birthday cakes

400. Lindsey and her friends helping to decorate the house for our party

401. Pork burgers on the grill

402. Big pink fluffy tutus

403. Taking Lillian's One Year pictures

404. Watching the leaves fall from the trees

405. The sounds of leaves crunching

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!

Lillian is One Year Old!

2011-10-09T21:57:00.009-04:00

So my little Lillian turned one year old on Friday, I can't believe how fast that first year went! Gosh it seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. On Friday I had to go to the store and get a few things and Lillian wore her cute pink tutu into the store and the people were gushing all over her. I can't help it she is sooo cute! I also took her pictures that night over at the farm, she wasn't as into it as I had hoped she would be. I had everything all planned out for as far as how I wanted her to pose but nope nothing really happened on her part! She could care less that I wanted her to sit and look cute in the chair or stand up against the chair for just a picture or two. She was more interested in watching the other kids play and picking at the weeds than to look at my camera!

Awwww, look at her picture from last year, she was so tiny!

On Saturday we had a party for her and I like to think she had a blast, which I am sure she did! Unfortunately I think she had a little to much cake because at two in the morning she was wound up ready to play! Lindsey and her friend wanted to decorate for her party so we put up some streamers on the front porch and decorated a table for her gifts and pictures. I think the girls had fun helping out! Here is the pom pom we made from tissue paper, Lillian liked looking at, she thinks it pretty!

The table with her magic wands in a water pitcher for all the little girls that came.

Then we let her eat cake!

Of course she started out very lady like!

Next she decide she didn't need a plate anymore!

We baked two birthday cakes one was a vanilla and chocolate chip bundt cake and the other one was a pumpkin bundt cake, Lillian ate the pumpkin bundt cake! (I am not a fan of store bought cakes so we usually make our own, it's yummier that way!) We all had a fun time at her party and we get to have another party next month for Lindsey's birthday! Our littlest baby girl is growing so fast and learning so much we love you pretty baby Happy First Birthday Lillian! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 9 Benches

2011-10-09T21:10:00.007-04:00

I love a good bench to sit on and one that looks pretty! We will be needing a small bench before this winter for the kids to sit on while putting their snow boots on and off. Of course I want to have Chad build me one that is custom to the spot I want to put it. So for now I am in the planning stage since it will be custom and I really don't know exactly what I want yet.

Image via intheloop.com

I love this bench that was made from a baby crib, now I know exactly what to do with the crib when Lillian gets done with it! Although, sometimes it seems that she doesn't really sleep in her crib she would rather sleep with me!

Image via google, pattern from Ana-white.com

Image via BHG

Image via inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com

I like the way they stacked a smaller bench atop a longer bench to add height. I also like the buckets to store things in, I will be needing to get me a few for all the hats, gloves and scarfs that I am really not ready for! For more 31 Days... visit The Nester, blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 8 Party Time!

2011-10-08T21:55:00.006-04:00

Today I am showing off some great decorating inspiration party style! Since yesterday was my baby girls 1st birthday and today we had a party for her I thought party decorating would be perfect thing to write about! I completely forgot to take pictures of the decorations we did, I made a tissue pompom and hung it from the light above our table, Lillian loved looking at it! Lindsey and her friend wanted to put some pink streamers on the front porch and we had pretty pink wands for the girls that I put in a small tin water pitcher. I think they all had fun!

Image via laurenconrad

Image via google

I love how this table is set up with the pretty center piece with fresh flowers and the crisp linen on the table. This looks like it would be such a pretty summer party!

Image via katelandersevents.blogspot.com

I love the pendents and pompoms hanging from the trees, this looks like a fun party!

Image via theduboseframe.blogspot.com

I love this table scape, it would be prefect for a fall harvest party. I love the long table and pumpkins around the table, I of course love the barn in the background too! I love entertaining and having people over but oh the work that is involved, making all the food, decorating and making sure the house is spotless, is somewhat exhausting! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 7 Pretty In Pink!

2011-10-07T20:54:00.006-04:00

Pink has been one of my favorite colors for a very long time! I am so glad my girls like pink too, at least I like to think Lillian likes pink, speaking of Lillian she turned ONE today! I can't believe she is a year old already, wow how time flies when your having fun! Anyway, I am finding inspiration in pink today for Lillian's birthday!

Image via 4.bp.blogspot.com

I love pink the kitchen!

Image via canadianfamily.ca

I love the pink armoire in this room.

Image via fourseasons.jab.de

Hello pink curtains! I love all the little details in this dinning room, such as the buttons on the slipcovers.

Image via thedesignersattic.blogspot.com

I love this girly bedroom with the pretty pink dress hanging up and the pink flowers by the bed!

Image via weheartit.com

Image via BHG.com

I love the hints of pink in this bathroom and the use of green and orange! I think when decorating with pink, it can look over done if every surface was pink. As much I like pink I wouldn't want everything to pink in a room! I love the small hints of pink in a room, I think that is what really makes a room shine! I am so glad my husband doesn't mind if I decorate with pink in our house, although, I don't think he really has a choose! Be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 Days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 6 Pallet Sheds

2011-10-06T21:06:00.005-04:00

I decided to do somewhat of an extension of my pallet inspiration from yesterday! Today I have found some pretty cute sheds made using pallets, how creative is that! It seems that reusing old pallets is becoming more popular.

Image via instructables.com

This cute little shed looks so easy to make, it would perfect for kids to play in.

Image via google

Image via funkyjunkinteriors

This shed seems more of the size I would want, I love the roof on it and how they used a simple pallet for the tiny porch! Wouldn't these be a fun summer project to work on! Be sure to check out more 31 Days... over at The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 5 Pallets

2011-10-05T21:30:00.010-04:00

Today I am finding decorating inspiration from pallets, yes those somewhat ugly things that most of our products are shipped on! I am so amazed at how people have found such neat ways to reuse things. Creativity where are you and could please visit me, thanks!

Image via shelterness.com

A desk using pallets, what a great work space that is!

Image via Frenchbydesign

Bookshelf's, I love these and need a few for our playroom! They look so easy to build, I could probably do it myself!

Image via funkyjunkinteriors

Image via re-nest

Hello pallet wall, how cool are you! I love it!

Image via funkyjunkinteriors

Image via AshleyAnnPhotography

I seen this pallet bed over at Ashley's blog and think it such a neat idea!

Image via amandacarverdesigns.com

Oh the things you can do with a simple pallet, who would have thought! Now I need to find myself some pallets and build something fun! I hope you found some decorating inspiration, be sure to check out The Nester for more 31 days...! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 4 Barn Doors

2011-10-04T21:20:00.006-04:00

Today I wanted to post about another farm related decorating idea, barn doors! The more I see barn doors used in decorating the home the more I want one! Actually, I would rather have a big red barn all to myself but I would be content with just a barn door in my house!

Image via dobel-id.com

Is it just me or is the mustard color becoming more popular these days!

Image via atticmag.com

Image via West Elm

This one is one of my favorite barn doors, I love the blue color of the doors and how they put up pictures on the door. It seems that barn doors can be used in pretty much any room in the house or barn. I guess I can add barn door to my list of things for our "next house"!

Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-10-03T21:55:00.002-04:00

#386-396

386. Finishing our preschool song book

387. Coloring with Jacob

388. Checking things off Jacob's preschool assessment

389. The video we made of Lillian crawling up one of the steps on our stairs

390. Kyles Indian tepee project for school

391. Kyle having a good time on his class field trip

392. Combine rides

393. The kids excited to ride in the semi to the elevator

394. The pine cones the kids wanted to bring home

395. Clean windows

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 3 Down on The Farm

2011-10-03T20:45:00.008-04:00

Today I am finding inspiration down on the farm! Yesterday I took the kids to help Chad combine corn, they love riding in the combine, or at least the boys always do! With having farming in our family I have started to see the beauty in some old 'junk'. When I seen this windmill below it was love at first sight! Oh my how I love this, I think Chad would like it too if he seen it!

Image via absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com

Image via shadesoflight.com

I also love this bar stool made from a tractor seat, this is right up our ally since my husband collects antique tractors.

Image via decorology.blogspot.com

I love this modern farm kitchen and how they used re purposed barn wood for the island.

Image via freshbump.com

I love these cabinet doors made to resemble barn doors! How neat is that!?

Image via blog.forrent.com

A farmhouse wouldn't be complete without a farmhouse table! I love this table and the pattern can be found via Ann-White.com! I need to add this farmhouse table to my honey do list for my kitchen! Be sure to check out more 31 Days... over at The Nester! Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration: Day 2 Beyond The Sea

2011-10-02T21:14:00.007-04:00

With the weather here changing and becoming much cooler I can't help but think about the beach! Over the years I have grown a love for the beach and all things beachy. It's a shame we don't live closer, but then again maybe that's a good thing for my super fair skin! Okay so I have to admit I even like beach songs one of my favorites is 'Beyond the Sea' by Kevin Spacey, oh how I love to dance to that song! Anyway, getting completely off track now, here are some beachy decorating ideas that I like!

Image from Coastal Living

Dreamy whites are a must for any beach cottage, I especially love how they paired the soft blues and a hint of coral in the bedroom.

Image from nauticalcottageblog.com

I think this table is the prettiest shade of aqua, I always seem to have trouble finding the perfect aqua shade of paint.

Image via iloveswmag.com

Image via louboosandshoes.blogspot.com

I love the natural colored sisal rug and the contrast of paint colors from wall to ceiling, I think it adds an illusion of height not to mention it is very pretty to look at! Oh I can almost hear the waves crashing! Be sure to check of The Nester for more 31 days...

Blessings, Lisa

31 Days of Decorating Inspiration!

2011-10-01T21:39:00.010-04:00

Day 2 Beyond the sea

Day 3 Down of the farm

Day 4 Barn doors

Day 5 Pallets

Day 6 Pallet Sheds

Day 7 Pretty in Pink

Day 8 Party Time

Day 9 Benches

Day 10 Shelves

Day 11 Watering cans

Day 12 Jars

Day 13 Cans

Day 14 Books

Day 15 Buckets

Day 16 Rugs

Day 17 Wood Floors

Day 18 Headboards

Day 19 Tablescapes

Day 20 Color

Day 21 Mirrors

Day 22 Stripes

Day 23 Mantels

Day 24 Stenciled Walls

Day 25 Lights

Day 26 Craft Spaces

Day 27 Chairs

Day 28 Doors

Day 29 Porches

Day 30 Fall Decor

Day 31 Christmas Decor

I decided at the spure of the moment to join in at the Nester's 31 Days of... link party this month! Yikes, what have I gotten myself into, this means that for the whole month of October I will be posting everyday about decorating things that I like and that inspire me. Because I couldn't narrow things down to one specific topic the things that I will be posting will be inspiration that I have found in all areas of the home. For me the big challenge is going to be blogging everyday, this not something that I am used to, but I always love a good challenge. Oh my how my head is spinning with ideas not only to blog about but for decorating my own home the way I want it.

Since we have moved into our current house back in May of this year I still have things that are not up yet and/or not the way I want it. We still have many projects that need to be taken care of, so I hope this series will help bring in the motivation and inspiration that is much needed for me (and hopefully you too)! Be sure to check back everyday the rest of this month for lots of decorating inspiration, lets get decorating!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-09-26T21:11:00.003-04:00

#376-385

376. School being cancelled for the day because of fog

377. Walking with the kids to the library for story time

378. The pictures the kids colored for me

379. Lindsey excited about a Cinderella party

380. Watching Lillian crawl up onto one step

381. Chicken salad sandwich

382. Finding new jeans that actually fit

383. Making plans for a preschool field trip

384. Jacob excited about his new shoes

385. Lillian's little socks that look like mary jane shoes

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-09-19T21:56:00.003-04:00

366-375

366. Hearing Lillian say mama

367. Dancing with kids in the kitchen

368. Sliding down the slide with the kids at the park

369. Watching Lillian try to climb up the slide

370. Jacob excited about ordering him some Stride rite shoes that tie

371. Making a really easy casserole for dinner

372. Making mini apple pies with the kids

373. The taste of McIntosh apples

374. Jacob learning to blow bubbles under the water in the bath

375. Wrinkly toes after a bath

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

Busy Weekends!

2011-09-13T22:43:00.008-04:00

The past two weekends have been super busy and fun for us! Over Labor day weekend we took the kids to a demolition derby, this was Jacob and Lindsey's (and Lillian's) first time ever seeing one! Jacob loved watching it and was completely engrossed into what was going on, Lindsey and Lillian on the other hand, not so much.

Lillian wasn't to thrilled to watch the cars bashing into each other!

This past weekend we went to a festival in the town we used to live in. They had a kiddie tractor pull which our three older kids participated in and Jacob and Lindsey both one a small tractor and Chad and I participated in an adult tractor pull!

We both got full pulls and won hats, mine was a pretty pink fleece winter hat and Chad's was a bright red and black, both International hats. (I would have preferred John Deere!)

I really liked the tractor they had for the adults it was so cute, I told Chad he should make one for us to ride on at home, the kids would have a blast on it. I forgot to bring my camera so I had to use my camera on my phone.

The kids played in the bounce houses, watched a small circus perform, go on pony rides for the first time. We then went out to eat and came back in time to watch the band get ready to perform. Lindsey was talking to the band members and was completely excited about it. She of course danced her heart out when the band did start, we didn't really have to worry about where she was! Lindsey and her friends from her old school were dancing and having a great time until it was dark and time for the fireworks to start! The kids sure slept great that night! It seems that our calendar is booked full for the next few weekends too! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-09-12T22:34:00.003-04:00

#356-366

356. Making Lillian a pair of cute denim ruffle pants

357. Planning out our weekend

358. Fresh tomato's from our garden

359. Getting strawberry plants

360. The boys helping to plant our strawberry plants and the excitement of what we will have next year

361. Making plans for the weekend

362. Going to a small town festival in the town we used to live in

363. Chad and I getting to do a pedal tractor pull after watching the kids (they had a bigger tractor for us to pull with!)

364. The prizes that we won at the tractor pull, the kids got tractors, Chad a red hat and myself a pink hat

365. Watching Lindsey dance and having the time of her life

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

Eleven Months Old!

2011-09-07T21:27:00.009-04:00

Lillian is one month away from being one year old! Our little Lillie bug has accomplished so much within the past few weeks, a major one is pulling herself up! Just last week I caught her pulling herself up in her crib (which is rarely in) like a big girl! Now she seems to enjoy pulling herself up on me and thinking about pulling herself up on the furniture. She hasn't quite figured out how to get down once she gets up.

She can even knock down her own kitchen set!

Those little hands are always so busy!

She has becoming quite a jabber box, and I love listening to her jabber away. She loves to dance and watch me dance, which is kinda scary, she tries to sing along with me when we do nursery rhymes and does twinkle twinkle little star wonderfully, she loves to wave hi and bye and loves to eat, read stories, play with Little People, work on her puzzles, splash in the bath tub, watch the kids play, put things in her mouth that she probably shouldn't such as dirt, love to put things in and out of her small containers, drink from a sippy cup with out making a mess, drink from my cup but sometimes make a mess, play with baby dolls and give them hugs, play with tractors, loves to play on the swings, climb up the slide while I hold on to her, still does not sleep through the night, usually takes two naps during the day and is learning how to blow kisses!

Doing yoga!

Developing her love for tractors!

Relaxing in my lap as she plays.

How we all love watching our sweet Lillian grow day by day and week by week you are growing and learning so much! We love you to the moon and back Lillian!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-09-05T22:28:00.004-04:00

#346-350

346. Using my new craft table

347. Creating a one of a kind dress

348. Going on a golf cart ride with the kids

349. Watching Lillian pull herself up in her crib for the first time

350. Watching Lillian crawling on her hands and knees instead of army crawling

351. Going to a small festival

352. Watching the boys watch the tractor pull

353. Taking the whole family to watch a demolition car derby

354. Watching how excited Jacob was to watch a demolition car derby for the first time

355. A chill in the air and knowing that it won't be long and fall will be here

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's Blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-08-29T22:49:00.002-04:00

#336-345.

336. Lillian getting another tooth (even with all her sweet crankiness!)

337. Painting my new craft table

338. Having a list of new projects to start

339. Getting all of the trim put up in my office

340. Clearing off my desk to just a computer and lamp

341. Seeing family members we haven't seen in awhile

342. Watching the kids and their cousins play together

343. Knowing that we got our money out of the power wheel tractor we bought for Jacob three years ago

344. The boys finding the power wheel tractor smoking and knowing what to do

345. Making plans to buy a new power wheel tractor for the kids

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-08-22T22:31:00.003-04:00

326-335

326. Walking/biking with Kyle and Lindsey to school to meet their teachers and drop off school supplies

327. Kyle and Lindsey telling me about their first day of school

328. Anxiously waiting for Kyle and Lindsey to come from school

329. Jacob riding his bike without training wheels for the first time!

330. Jacob learning how to pump his legs and swing himself on the swings

331. Going to the local lumber yard with Chad and the kids to get some wood to build a craft table

332. Getting back into our school routine

333. Saving lots of money by buying Lillian's Stride Rite shoes on EBay

334. Using a wood cutting saw for the first time

335. Chad building me a craft table that looks just like the one in the Pottery Barn catalog, if not better!

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-08-15T22:38:00.004-04:00

316-325.

316. School supply shopping with the kids

317. My new Thermal Laminating machine for Jacobs preschool stuff

318. Hearing kids sing part of the Fifty Nifty song

319. Watching Lillian take a small interest in pulling herself up

320. Chad starting to work on putting the trim up

321. All six of us going out to eat at a local restaurant

322. Taking the kids to the school park to play during our bike ride

323. The kids excited to start school

324. Not having to buy new back packs this year (The ones they had from last year are still in really good condition, which is good considering the price I paid for them!)

325. My tomato's are starting to turn red! (I was afraid that maybe we had planted green tomatoes!)

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

10 Months Old!

2011-08-09T22:12:00.007-04:00

Yikes, I almost forgot to post Lillian's 10 month update! Over the past month you seem to have really grown! You have gotten really fast at army crawling and started to get up your hands and knees and rock yourself back and forth, but for you army crawling is faster! For the first time the other day you got yourself into a sitting position from your belly! You haven't started to pull yourself up yet, why bother you know someone will come along to help you stand!

You seem to be using your left hand just a little more than your right, you love to sing songs like the itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus and twinkle twinkle little star to name a few, its so cute to watch you try to do the motions! You could care less about the TV which is a good thing, Jacob wanted nothing to do with TV and still doesn't watch it! You love music and I caught you dancing while Lindsey was playing the piano the other day. You love Elizabeth Mitchell's music so much that you seem to recognize it when it plays. You have started to fall asleep on your own with the help of music from the O' Neill Brothers piano music.

Everything goes into mouth, even the dirt and grass outside which is kinda gross. You have started to point to things when we read and love to point to at your baby dolls eyes and move them open and shut (you tried to do that with Jacob the other day when he was laying beside you, he sure didn't like that!) You are starting to show your temper a bit, you sure know what you want and don't want! Your personality is really starting to show and we love watching you grow!!!!

Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-08-08T22:34:00.002-04:00

#306-315

306. Lindsey meeting a new neighbor friend

307. The yummy purple peppers growing in the garden

308. Helping Lindsey's friend ride her bike without training wheels

309. Watching how excited Lindsey's friend was to ride her bike without training wheels

310. Going on a bike ride with Lindsey and her friends

311. Stopping by the gas station for a candy bar with Lindsey on our way home from a bike ride

312. Receiving an acceptance letter in the mail

313. Making a final decision on going to private school rather than a large big ten school

314. Swinging on the swings with the kids at night

315. Registering Kyle and Lindsey up for school

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-08-01T22:43:00.003-04:00

#296-305

296. The way the sunlight shines on the staircase through the front door as the sunsets

297. Hearing Jacob talk to himself as he plays with his tractors

298. Lindsey helping me wash and dry the dishes that I don't put in the dishwasher

299. Braiding Lindsey's hair

300. Lillian army crawling to the book shelf for the first time

301. Remembering to use coupons at the store

302. Picking up a free desk and chairs at Kyle and Lindsey's old school

303. Lindsey telling me that she can't wait to go back to school

304. Pandora radio on my phone, which gets used almost daily

305. How excited Lillian gets when we go upstairs

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

Back To School Shopping!

2011-07-27T22:12:00.003-04:00

On Monday the kids and I took a trip to Target for some school supplies. I really only bought school supplies for Jacob's preschool and Lillian's Tot school since I didn't have a list of supplies for Kyle and Lindsey with me! I have decided to save myself around $70 a month plus gas by not sending Jacob to preschool this year. Although the preschool he would have gone to is much cheaper than what I shelled out for Kyle and Lindsey's preschool! I went to the dollar section at Target and managed to get lots of things that I was looking for! I also went to the dollar store and got a few more things. I am thinking of doing more of a Montessori type preschool/tot school for the kids.

Here is a run down of what I found in the dollar section at Target:

Foam Clock

Foam shapes

Small letter stamps (I have larger ones already)

Number stamps

ABC flash cards

Dry erase boards with lines

Sidewalk chalk

Wall pocket holder

Weather charts (I like these because they are much larger than the ones I already had)

Wooden pencil pointer (to use with the wall pockets)

Three containers for sensory boxes and/or work to be done. I'm thinking about getting more!

From the local dollar store I found maps, a two sided map puzzle, Cars alphabet book and number cards, cute foam letters and numbers and cute little bins to put things in and out of.

I also bought a Crayola dry erase crayon set which I really like! I only bought one since I wasn't sure how well I would like it, I need to buy two or three more! So far I think I have spent around $30 on those supplies listed above, I also ordered a laminating machine that I am so excited to get in the mail and start laminating everything! This summer I have been doing summer school with the kids and they don't seem to mind doing the things I have for them! At first I was the mean mom, but now they like seeing what things we will be doing next. There are so many websites with such neat things that I have found for them to do, not sure I really want to send that back to school so soon. At least I will still have Jacob and Lillian to make lesson plans for and then one day my own classroom full of kids! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-07-25T22:31:00.003-04:00

#286-295

286. Eating elephant ears with the kids at the fair

287. Pork burgers on the grill

288. Not having to be outside when it's 100° out

289. Having a slight breeze on 98° day

290. Planning preschool for Jacob in the fall

291. Lillian going potty for the first time on her little pink potty

292. Watching Lillian try to use a bowl and spoon by herself with not much success

293. Going to Target with four kids

294. The dollar section at Target

295. Knowing that I'm not the only mom that thinks Target should have a drop off center for the kids!

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings, visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

Fair Time!

2011-07-19T22:25:00.007-04:00

Our county has started on one of the hottest weeks so far this summer, what perfect timing! Kyle had his tractor driving on Saturday, the first day of the fair. He did a great job as usual, he only hit two stakes, I would have hit every stake! I didn't get very good pictures of him this year since someone coincidentally needed to use the potty once it was Kyle's turn and someone else was ready to leave so she could eat and take her nap! Kyle was the last driver when they drew out numbers!

Chad is in an antique tractor club which gets together every year during the fair to show off their tractors. Usually every night during the fair we have a carry-in dinner for all of the members to eat. I made a home aid blueberry pie the other day with fresh blueberries that I had picked myself, with a little help from Lindsey! Lillian was a little less-enthused watching me bake my pie! She even fell asleep with the spatula I gave her!

Lindsey liked holding the little baby chicks!

Lillian liked playing with daddy's hat!

Jacob liked driving his tractor!

He even gave Lindsey a ride!

We've had the little tractor since Kyle was Jacob's age!

That little tractor has been driven many miles by them boys! We still have a few days left of the fair, we didn't make to the fair tonight since Chad worked late and it was way to hot out! I think it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-07-18T23:03:00.002-04:00

#276-285

276. The fair starting

277. Watching Kyle at his tractor driving contest

278. An antique tractor club

279. Being in an antique tractor parade

280. Seeing Lindsey's exhibits at the fair

281. Catching up with people that I haven't seen in awhile

282. Jacob being in his first kiddie tractor pull

283. Watching Kyle and Lindsey in the kiddie tractor pull

284. Picking blueberries at the blueberry patch

285. Making a blueberry pie with fresh blueberries

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings, visit Ann's Blog A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has blessed you with!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-07-11T22:40:00.003-04:00

#266-275

266. 4-H projects completed and ready to go

267. Watching Lindsey use a glue gun

268. The kids finishing up their summer reading program

269. Kyle determined to read more so that he could get the prize he really wanted

270. Taking pictures of Lillian in a pretty white dress that Lindsey wore at about the same age

271. Getting a really good deal on a table and chair set for my front porch

272. Meeting and talking to a nice lady while on a bike ride

273. Helping a little girl find her glasses, then finding out they were only sunglasses not prescription glasses

274. Going on a bike ride with Lindsey

275. Bright pinkish colored clouds as the sun sets

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!! Blessings, Lisa

Nine Months!

2011-07-07T22:20:00.008-04:00

Where did June go?! It's July already! Lillian is now nine months old and growing like a lily flower. Oh the things you can do, you have the Ms. America wave down, you wiggle or find your toes when I ask "wheres your toes?", wrinkle your nose up which is really cute, clap your hands, you really don't use your pacifier anymore which is a good thing since I would typically have to look for it under your bed at 2:00 in the morning and then have to stubble to the bathroom to wash it, you like to read your favorite books, eating is another one of your favorite things to do, you really don't like to wear cute headbands and not to fond of wearing a sun hat, you still love your music, you like to stand up with help, crawling is so not your thing, instead you roll around and scoot to get something! I have been lifting your little bum up to the crawling position and rock you back and forth which you like to do. Someday you will do that all by yourself and then get into everything!

Obviously you are teething and like to chew on anything you can get a hold of! (You need to learn to keep your dress down dear, your bloomers are showing!) You love to watch the other kids play, they are a great source of entertainment, you like to be outside and love love love to swing on the swing with me! You laugh and laugh when we swing together and you even hold onto the swing chains like a big girl!

You sure know how to pose for the camera! You have not one, but two teeth in now and working on two more! One on top and one on bottom, your smile is so cute. People always gush all over you when we go somewhere because you are so stinkin cute! You still do not sleep through the night, and get up at least once every early morning around two or three. One of these you will sleep through the night all by yourself! You are such a doll baby and we love you to pieces!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-07-05T22:56:00.003-04:00

#246-260

246. Finding Lillian's other shoe in the lost in found

247. Taking the kids out for a swim

248. Lindsey being somewhat back to her normal self

249. The way Lillian wrinkles up her little nose

250. Lillian getting her second tooth in

251. Baseball being completely done

252. Watching Lindsey jump off the diving board for the first time (with a life jacket on!)

253. Jacob warming up to the idea of getting in the water

254. Tractors in my front yard

255. Watching Chad with his antique tractors

256. The kids excited to watch the parade

257. Kyle having his friends sleep over

258. Watching the fireworks

259. Going out on a late night cruise on the tractor

260. Chad finally getting around to building another book shelf for the playroom

261. Living in America

261. The people that fought for our freedom

262. A small town Sesquicentennial

263. The Declaration of Independence

264. Taking the kids on a nature walk through the park

265. Spending quite time at the library with the kids

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Out For A Swim!

2011-06-29T22:41:00.011-04:00

Yesterday I took the kids out for a swim at the pool! Jacob and Lindsey thought we were going to the beach and even put on some sunscreen! Jacob was gathering some toys to what he thought was the beach, he was confused for awhile, since we only really go swimming at the beach. Lindsey was excited to be able to swim and Jacob didn't want anything to do with getting in the water! I was surprised since he loves being in the water at the beach and at home!

Kyle could finally practice some of the things he learned at swimming lessons!

Jacob liked watching the other kids jumping off the diving board and even wanted to jump off the diving board himself! Not sure how he is going to jump off the diving board if he doesn't like being in the water!

Lindsey even jumped off the diving board, with a life vest on! (Really bad picture taken with the camera on my phone!)

Even Lillian wore her bathing suit! I put her toes in the water and she didn't seem to mind!

I am glad we went because I found Lillian's other shoe in the lost in found!

I have been looking everywhere for her little shoe! I had a feeling that I had left it there when Kyle was at swimming lessons! Although they are getting to small for her I still wanted the other one because they were her first pair of shoes! The kids loved swimming and I am just glad Jacob finally got in the water! Blessings, Lisa

Done With Baseball!

2011-06-28T23:19:00.008-04:00

We are now officially done with baseball for the summer! Also, Lindsey no longer has to wear her cast! She can now begin to walk on her foot again, although her muscles need to stretch out some before she can walk normal! Bath time will much easier for us now! I'm sure by next week she will be running and jumping off the swings like nothing happened! With Kyle done with baseball and Lindsey done with having to wear her cast our summer seems to have started!

I thought that last week Kyle was done with baseball, but the boys had tournament games to play before they could call it quits. Last Saturday Kyle did AWESOME at his game! He didn't get any outs the whole game and he scored three points for his team, that's three times across home plate! His team won I think it was 15-1, those boys were rockin!

Kyle running into home plate!

I am so very proud of Kyle for his hard work, he improved so much over the past few months! He hasn't played baseball since he was in tee-ball! His coaches did a wonderful job and the other players on his team were great, we could not have asked for anything better! I was suprised that at a few of the games I knew some people from the other team! It was great to catch up with these ladies that I haven't seen in years and meet some new moms at the game. Kyle said he had fun, but he is glad to be done, in a way I am too! Let the summer fun begin!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-06-27T22:39:00.002-04:00

#236-245

236. That God made each one of us unique in our own way

237. Kyle not getting any outs at his baseball game and scoring three points

238. Walking to the edge of town to watch the sunset

239. Lindsey getting her cast off tomorrow! (four long weeks later!)

240. Not having to run the air conditioner for a whole week

241. Making my own ruffle capri pants

242. Grocery shopping with the boys

243. Knowing that baseball is almost over

244. Starting the Smart Summer Challenge

245. Knowing that the weather the next few days is going to be awesome, sunny in the low 80°'s

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

A Week in Review!

2011-06-20T23:10:00.010-04:00

This past week seemed to fly by so fast! Of course we were busy as usual with swimming lessons, 4H meeting, baseball and going to the farm nursery to get more flowers! First off, Kyle loved swimming and I did see an improvement from when he first started. I was impressed that he jumped off the diving board since he told me he wouldn't do that! Baseball is almost over for us so then hopefully things will slow down a bit! And it wont be long and the 4H fair will be starting!

I did manage to score a really great deal on some flowers at a small farm not to far from home! I bought two nice sized hydrangeas for only $6 each, had I bought them at a big box store they would have cost at least $20 each! Now they just need to be planted. Actually we need to rotertill the flower bed, again, and lay mulch down. We have been way too busy and let things go in the flower beds. The kids were hot, hot, hot!!!!

One more week and Lindsey gets her cast off! We are counting down the days, I can't wait!!!!

She's a happy baby alright!

The little shed that was at the small farm was so cute!

Jacob and Lindsey wanted to paint their faces!

Goodness, summer break is going by way to fast for the kids! I still have lots of things planned, but we really need to wait until after next week when Lindsey goes back to the doctors office!

Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-06-20T22:23:00.003-04:00

226-235

226. Kyle enjoying his swimming lessons

227. The great parents I met at swimming lessons

228. The pretty pictures the kids made for fathers day

229. Going to Kyle's last traveling baseball game

230. Watching how excited Lillian was while I was showing her the wind chime

231. Having quiet reading time

232. Sharing another anniversary with Chad

233. Going out to dinner with Chad (and Lillian!)

234. Not having to cut up any food but my own

235. Lillian always being so good during the baseball games

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Little Green Swing Clothing!

2011-06-16T23:19:00.008-04:00

This week over at Kelly's Korner Blog she is hosting "show us what you make", so today I am linking up! I design and sew children's boutique style clothing, I started my business up in the summer of 2008 and have loved it ever since. The reason I started was not only my love of fabrics and sewing but to make cute little comfy pants for my little chunky baby boy and I wanted some cute duds for my daughter Lindsey without paying way to much money. I started my business just for the fun of and not thinking that anything would ever become of it. I was surprised that it has grown as much as it has over the years and I am so thankful to all of my amazing customers from literally around the world!

The name Little Green Swing came from us having only one little green swing on our playhouse in the backyard. When ever the kids would go outside to play they always "called" the green swing way before they would get to it! Now, of course we have more than one green swing and that phrase doesn't get said as often, but it will always be remembered at our house! Also, Little Green Swing is meant to be fun, I like for my designs to be fun and for all of the little people to have fun wearing them!!!!

You can find my clothing at my online shop through my Etsy shop found HERE, my website found HERE, I also have a facebook fanpage found HERE

Thanks for swinging by!!!! Blessings, Lisa

Pinterest, My New Favorite Website!

2011-06-15T22:49:00.005-04:00

I have come across an awesome website a few weeks ago while searching online for some inspiration for the playroom! pinterest is my new favorite way to bookmark things that I love! I will admit it can be addictive to keep pinning things that I find and creating more boards to pin these things on. I have created boards for recipes that I want to try to crafting, decorating my home and places that someday I would love to go! I even added the "pin it" button on my web browser bar so I can pin things that find other places on the Internet. (OK, don't laugh at my horrible screenshots, I just figured out how to do them!)

I have pinned some of my own things, I'm not sure if that's proper etiquette, but I did it anyway! I'm so bad! I'm also not sure if they have a limit as to how many pins or boards you can have! (I probably should have looked into that a little more!)

If you want to follow me and/or see my pins and boards check it out at pinterest.com/lisarosemarie

Now I need to go pin some more inspiration!!!! Blessings, Lisa

Lillian 8 Months Old!

2011-06-14T22:19:00.010-04:00

I almost forgot Lillian is 8 months old now, my how time flies! Some excitement has happened to little Lillie, her first tooth is starting to come in! She looks so cute when she smiles with her one little itty bitty tooth in there! She is chewing on things like crazy, when I read to her she wants to chew on the book so I have to give her the pacifier to chew on instead. She has also found out that she can make sounds somewhat like the rest of us! She sure lets us know what she thinks, it is beyond the cutest little thing I've heard!

She also likes to pat things, usually her leg, she still does not sleep through the night, she loves to swing on the swings, go for walks in the stroller, a breeze blowing on her face, bath time, listening to her favorite music, when we sing her Lily Lily Golden Bell, makes for a great dance partner! I think she likes having Kyle and Lindsey around more often now that school is out, she loves to watch them and enjoys the attention they give her, for the most part! She lets them know when she's had enough. She also likes to try and eat the grass when outside, silly girl! She has the cutest little laugh and is ticklish under her little chin.

She really does like the swing, it looks like she is crying in the picture below!

Crawling is really not happening right now, although she sure can scoot herself around a room!

I'm not sure I am ready for her to start crawling just yet. She has also become really good at being my new model. I have been making her some really cute new things for summer!

This is how I found Lillian and Chad when I came back from dropping Kyle off at baseball practice today! Chad had just gotten home from work and Lillian had just finished eating her supper before I left. Apparently they were both tired! The nap was short lived after I got home, Chad had work to do and Lillian had more playing to do! Oh Lillie dear, you are such a cutie pie and we love you!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-06-13T22:43:00.004-04:00

#216-225

216. Hearing Lillian giggle as swing together on our little green swing

217. Designing a new pattern all on my own

218. Reading outside on the blanket

219. Having to wear a sweatshirt in the middle of June

220. Cool evenings

221. The kids excited about going to pick out things for the garden

222. Having someone to help me pick out things for my garden and explain how to plant them

223. Finally getting the garden planted

224. Knowing that we will have lots of yummy things to eat in a few months

225. Watching Kyle jump off the diving board at swimming lessons

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-06-06T22:23:00.003-04:00

#201-215

201. Kyle and Lindsey's last day of school

202. Making plans for the summer

203. Going on a long bike ride with Kyle

204. A pretty pink bike

205. Remembering to reapply suntan lotion

206. Sitting on a park bench, somewhat secluded, watching Kyle play baseball while I feed Lillian

207. The girl, who I didn't even know, giving me pretty pink peony's at the baseball park

208. The smell of peony's

209. The way Jacob always says "I love you" at unexpected times

210. Kyle and Lindsey writing in their summer journals

211. Eating waffle cones dipped in chocolate after two really hot baseball games

212. Watching an older lady go on an after noon walk and her stopping by to see Lillian

213. The boys making brownies almost all by themselves

214. Lindsey's determination to still get around even with a broken foot

215. Kyle excited about swimming lessons

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Last Day Of School!

2011-06-03T22:44:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Kyle and Lindsey's last day of school! Unfortunately our summer break has started off with Lindsey having a broken foot! Last Saturday Lindsey was out by the garage with the boys and went to lay her bike up against a piece of metal when it then all came toppling down on her foot! Ouch! After putting ice on it for a few hours we decided to take her to the hospital and they said she had three small hair line fractures on the top of her foot, her metatarsals, and that it needed to be in a cast! Not the way I was planning to spend the next four weeks of our summer break! (24 more days, not that I'm counting or anything!)

Lindsey didn't go the last three of the four days of school, I was reluctant to send her only because she wasn't doing the greatest with her crutches. She missed seeing her friends while she was home and could not wait to go to school Friday! Her friends were all so helpful at school, she told me she was worried that they might make fun of her. Some of the kids told their story about when they had to use crutches or had a cast which help put Lindsey at ease. She felt as if she was the only person that had every been through something like this!

Today Kyle, Lillian and I spent the day basking in the 90° sunshine☀ at the baseball game! We did treat ourselves to a really yummy ice cream in a chocolate dipped waffle cone after the game. I had reapplied suntan lotion on Lillian about four or five times during the day and thankfully she didn't get sun burnt. Lillian and I sat under a shade tree in the breeze for both of the games and oh my those boys were exhausted by the end of the last game!

Oh yes and one last thing, I did finally manage to get a few pictures of the kids about two weeks ago! Last time I took their pictures together was right before Christmas! Why is it so hard to get everyone looking at me at the same time!!!!

Ha! They crack me up!!!!

As you can see, Jacob is not a huge fan of getting his picture taken!

I may have to bribe the kids and Chad to get a whole family picture! The last time we had a family picture taken was when Jacob was two!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-05-30T22:05:00.003-04:00

191. Really cheap water guns

192. The sun shinning while it's raining

193. Sitting in the rain at a baseball game

194. Not having to go anywhere

195. The sound of our dog barking

196. Pretty white peony's all in bloom

197. A helpful hand

198. The children's friends

199. Planting flowers with Jacob

200. Sharing big goals and dreams with Chad

To learn more about One Thousand Gifts visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-05-23T22:33:00.003-04:00

181. Helping at Kyles school for field day

182. Watching Kyle run into home plate

183. The little girls that coo all over Lillian at Kyle's baseball games

184. Watching Jacob watch the older kids play baseball

185. A cute little lawnmower made out of Lego's

186.The calm before a storm

187. Shelter during a storm

189. Knowing that all most all of the little helicopters have fallen off the trees

190. Little denim shorts on cute little baby chunky legs

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's Blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings in which the Lord has given you!!!!

Field Day!

2011-05-19T22:46:00.003-04:00

Well the title should say Exhausted instead of Field Day because that pretty much sums up how I felt this afternoon after running around with a bunch of pretty cool fourth graders! Oh but it was fun! Today I helped out at Kyle's school for field day which is were the kids bring a sack lunch and then have fun playing all different types of physical activities. I even joined in on some of the activities with the kids, probably made a fool of myself trying to walk with a foam noodle between my legs but that's alright, it was fun! I can remember field day way back when I was in elementary school, although it didn't seem as fun as it did today, we never had a bounce house or an obstacle course to play in!

Lillian went with me and thankfully she did great, except she did throw a little fit at the last event we were at. She knew it was time to go. The weather turned out to be a beautiful day and I learned a lesson today! RE-APPLY SUNSCREEN! My face is bright red and poor Lillian's cheek were rosy again! I took sunscreen with me and applied once but that was it. Kyle's cheeks were a little rosy but not as rosy as us girls!

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my big old camera which means absolutely no pictures! Yikes! Way to go! I didn't help out at Lindsey's school yesterday because the weather was kinda iffy and I wasn't sure about Lillian being outside since it was a bit cooler out. I guess this means that next year I will have to help out again so that I can get some pictures of them both! Kyle and I were both exhausted when we got home, but that wasn't enough to stop us from our nightly bike ride/walk after supper! Kyle has another big day tomorrow and then two games on Saturday! Poor boy is going to be exhausted!!!! Blessings, Lisa

Happy Birthday Kyle!

2011-05-16T22:49:00.012-04:00

Today is Kyle's birthday and I can't believe how old he is getting! We decided to celebrate his birthday yesterday since I thought he had practice today. He normally has practice on Monday's but this week he has it tomorrow instead! He wanted to celebrate yesterday too since we were home all day yesterday. My little Kyle!

Kyle is such a sweetheart and one of the best big brothers anyone could ask for! He is caring, fun to be with, smart, funny, he can be shy at times but also very outgoing at times, he loves to take things apart and make them better and could possibly be a future engineer making things work better for all us!

He loves to work on tractors with Chad and stay out late in the garage, likes to ride his bike, play Lego's, would rather be outside than inside, adventurous, competitive and loves to ask me if I want to race! Sometimes that's just not a good question to ask me because I don't hold back, I know exactly were he got his competitiveness from!

Jacob loves having Kyle as a big brother!

He is adventurous and loves to see and discover new things, lets me know that I can really stop taking pictures of him but I won't and I know someday he will appreciate all of them. He is very good at cleaning up his room in fact I should really have him clean more of the house! Kyle you are growing up way to fast and we love having you with us! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kyle!!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-05-16T22:09:00.003-04:00

#161-180

161. Lillian being able to wear Lindsey's cute little clothes

162. Pretty bright pink curtains in Lindsey's room

163. Watching Jacob and Lindsey play in the mud

164. Mud on my kitchen floor in the shape of little foot prints

165. Rolled up jeans

166. Lillian wearing a cute little jacket that was Lindsey's

167. Snuggling with my girls

168. My three boys staying out late in the garage to work on a little tractor

169. The sound of a little tractor running late at night

170. Two excited little boys and one excited big boy about a little tractor running

171. Finding out what the next (in)courage book club book is

172. Watching Kyle score a point at his baseball game

173. Kyle being excited about hitting the ball at the game

174. Walking with the kids at the park

175. Sparkly shoes at the ballpark

176. Watching Jacob pay for own sucker at the concession stand

177. Kyle being excited about his birthday

178. Celebrating Kyle's birthday

179. Watching Kyle blow his birthday candles out

180. Eating a really yummy birthday cake

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessings that the Lord has given you!!!!

Lets Play Ball!

2011-05-14T23:20:00.009-04:00

The past two Saturdays have been filled with spending time at baseball games! Kyle decided to play this year, the last time he played was back when he was in first grade! That was before the other school decided to become picky about players and we didn't want to deal with all that drama! He never wanted to play again until we came to the new school and Kyle was excited to want to play again! I love the amount support the team gives to each other, they are all a wonderful group of kids!

Kyle watching and waiting for his turn to bat in the half made dug out! (It was mostly finshed when we went back on Monday)

Last Saturday Kyle, Lillian and I went to his away game, it was a double header and we all three were tired when we got home! Kyle said he had fun and thankfully the rain that was forecasted stayed away, in fact we even got a little sunburn through the clouds! Then on Monday, Kyle had another away game at the same place and did AWESOME! Oh yes he did, he smashed the ball into the outfield like it was nothing! He was so proud of himself, I was proud him! His team ended up winning that game!

Today he had a game here at home and didn't seem to have his game face on. Not sure what was up with him today it was much colder out than it has been the past few days and the crowd was a lot bigger than at the other games. Chad and the kids stayed in the truck for the most part of both his games because it was chilly out or at least for Lillian!

Below Jacob was paying for his sucker at the game.

It looks like our Saturdays are filled up for the most part from now until the middle of summer! That's alright with us, it's not like we were really busy anyway, this gives us something to do!!!! Blessings, Lisa

Lillian 7 Months Old!

2011-05-13T21:50:00.007-04:00

Gosh by golly, I had forgotten all about posting Lillian turning 7 months old! So I have been just a tad on the busy side lately with moving, baseball and trying to get the house how I want it. Who knew six people could accumulate so much stuff! My sweet littlest girl turned seven months on the 7th and had her check up earlier this Monday and weighs a whooping 19 pounds 4 ounces and is 27 inches long! Lillian most certainly weighs ever bit of 19 pounds and oh dear, are my muscles getting bigger from carrying her around! (That's a good thing!)

You are such a happy little girl when we go on walks and love to be outside, swing in your swing, watch the other kids play, and sitting on your blanket in the grass. You have started waving, although not all the time, it is cute when you do it! As far as sleeping through the night, HA!, do I even go there! Really I can't quite figure out why in the world you still feel the need to get up a few times during the night. I do have to applaud you in that the past few nights you have only got up one time each night, that is a lot more manageable than two or three!

As far as crawling, who needs to when you have two older sibling that love to get their hands on you and carry you around. The other sibling isn't supposed to pick you up, and thankfully he hasn't really that I know of! Believe me this house is not ready for you to start crawling yet, so don't worry about it! You don't mind sitting in your stroller outside watching the boys play baseball, you reach for things like crazy, especially if I am walking through a store, you seem to be more right hand dominant, you also started to shake your head no which is cute, at least for now and you love to listen to music and have become a very good dance partner!

Enjoying a nice warm breeze!

Still no signs of any teeth coming in that sweet little mouth of yours, I think you look so cute with your toothless grins! Your about the only one that loves my singing and like your mama, you love to eat! You really could care less about a sippy cup to drink from you do like to chew on it and still no bottles for you, only because I don't have any! I only feed you foods at supper time and I am thinking about feeding you breakfast, but then again it's nice for you to nurse instead! Oh Lillian, you are such a sweetheart and we love you to pieces!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-05-09T22:39:00.002-04:00

#151-160

151. Sewing my own curtains

152. Finding something to do with the junk bowling ball Kyle found

153. Spray painting an old bowling ball pink to look like a gazing ball

154. Being a mom

155. My amazing children

156. Taking Kyle to his first baseball game

157. Sunshine on a cloudy day

158. Eating popcorn at a baseball game

159. The support Kyle's baseball team has for each other

160. Kyle enjoying himself at his baseball game

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience, and take the dare to count as many blessing as the Lord has given you!!!!

Mothers Day

2011-05-08T22:49:00.002-04:00

I had a wonderful Mothers Day, for the most part anyway! This weekend was super busy for us, Kyle had an away baseball game, actually he had two games back to back, thankfully the rain stayed away! We even got a little sunburn through the clouds, poor Lillian's cheeks were rosy! I have baby sunscreen on the top of my list! On a whim we had a yard sale or I shall Chad had a yard sale since I wasn't really there much. Between feeding Lillian, Kyle's baseball pictures and games, Chad did it all himself! He had a really good turn out and was nice and gave me the money from it! :)

Today all of us went over to our other house to get some more things that we still had over there. We have lived in our house for a week now and all that I can say is that I want to move back out to the countryside! I even looked online for houses close by in the country, but nothing that is big enough or anything that I like, I guess we are stuck here for awhile! It wouldn't be so bad living in town if we didn't have neighbors! Ha! Isn't that funny! But I can say this, at least our children are in a good school district!

Also,Big Mama bear just about came out today to rear her ugly head. Not to worry, I kept calm and carried on! GRRR When we came back home today we were amazed at how our backyard has become a playground for the neighbors! Um, first of all we weren't home, and second of all if a child got hurt it would fall back on us! Don't stand there with a beer in hand watching your kids play on our property! How rude! Grrrr I was so honked off, I would never let my kids play on someones stuff unless they had permission first. Chad was honked off too and said that we will be putting up a fence within the next week or so! For the most part I don't mind if the other kids want to play here, but I am not going to be a babysitter right now!

My current stress level is just about to blow! The house is not put together, my stove is still not working we bought all new appliances except for the stove since it was only two years old. We need to figure out how to convert the stove from LP gas to Natural gas, which is what we are on now. Someone must have threw the paperwork away. Oops! Hopefully tomorrow the guy will show up so that I can make supper and an apple pie! Things in the house are still not done I have trim that needs to be put up, a dishwasher and garbage disposal that needs hooked up, doors that need to be put on my closet and the list can go on and on! Hopefully I will get lots done this week in the house and bring my stress level down just a bit!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-05-02T17:02:00.003-04:00

# 141-150

141. A pretty thorn less rose bush

142. Going to library with the kids after school

143. Rocking on the back porch swing one last time before we move it to our other house

144. Saying goodbye to the countryside and knowing that we will be back (sometime)

145. Moving to town

146. The kids helping to move their things to the other house

147. Spending the night at our other house for the first time

148. Walking to school to pick up the kids for the first of many, many more times

149. Watching the kids help Chad take the playhouse down so that we can move it

150. Chad's friends helping to put the playhouse back together into the later night hours

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings, visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience and take the dare to count as many blessings that the Lord has given you!!!!

Moving!

2011-04-27T21:35:00.003-04:00

We are finally getting ready to move into our second home, this weekend! (Wait, didn't I say that I while back!) For real this time, the house is almost done. The hold up seems to be the plumbing for the washer and dryer hook ups. Since I do laundry everyday, it's kind of important to have washer and dryer hook ups! We have officially owned our other home for only one year and twelve days, but who's really counting right! Ha! We said we would move in soooo many different times it's really hard to believe we are actually going to move in it at all!

We do have some really pretty floors there, here is just a small peek at them!!!!

A part of me doesn't really want to move to the city, I kinda like living out in the middle of the countryside. I can play on the swing set with the kids and not have neighbors looking at me kinda funny, I can run down the road and not have people wondering why in the world I am running. I don't have to worry about curtains or window blinds, I can play soccer in the yard with the kids and not have them win every time, I don't have to worry about looking kinda funny climbing up the slide, I can wear junky clothes and not have anyone say anything about them! Gosh, do we really want to move to town! A privacy fence will need to go up as soon as possible!

I think we still have a house for sale sign in the garage that came with the house when we bought it, maybe I should look for it and put in the front yard! Just kidding, or am I! Ha! Ha! I do know that I am so glad we bought the house because our children don't have to worry about their old school district and the many changes they are facing. I feel for those children and their parents, closing a school is not always the answer! On a completley diffent note, Chad and I have already talked about our "next" house and what we would like. Let's just say that it won't be in town!

I like to think that since we have had a year to get used to the idea of moving, it will much easier on all of us. Although change is sometimes hard for me, and leaving a place that we have lived for the past nine years is going to be a big one! Having a year to plan where I want furniture and things has helped, but has it been enough for me?! I suppose only time will tell. Also, the kids have never really moved before are they prepared enough too!? Yikes, the stress! Just a tad overwhelming at times!

With moving means that I have had to go through literally everything that we own! I have bags of stuff for Goodwill and probably could have paper mache the whole house with the amount of papers I got rid of! (Seriously!) I also found things that I didn't know we still had! Such as a bank statement from 2002, the paper work from a 1997 Ford Mustang I got when I was 18, clothes that still had the price tag on them, hair from Kyle's first hair cut in a plastic bag dated back to 2001, a state board test from after I finished beauty school, paper work from a tractor Chad had sold years ago, pictures of the kids from before the digital camera, tons of birthday cards from over the years!

I have been organizing everything and plan on going with the less is more idea for now on! Really, we don't paper work from vehicles or tractors we don't have anymore! I am also planning on getting rid of some furniture that I just don't want anymore, really I kinda of like having an empty house! Now, if only I can convince myself that I really don't need three sets of pots and pans!!!! Blessings, Lisa

One Thousand Blessings

2011-04-25T21:53:00.004-04:00

#131-140

131. Knowing that we will finally be moving this weekend!

132. Trying to organize everything that we have

133. Watching the kids at the Easter Egg hunt

134. Moving some furniture to the other house

135. Sitting on the back porch swing rocking Lillian to sleep

136. Eucharist

137. Having a great conversation with one of new neighbors

138. Showing off all the hard work we have done to the house to others who had seen it before the renovation

139. Watching Kyle play baseball in the rain

140. Going on a walk/run with Jacob and Lindsey while Kyle is at baseball practice

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings, visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience and take the dare to count as many blessings that the Lord has given you!!!!

One Thousand Blessings

2011-04-18T22:04:00.003-04:00

121-130

121. The grass getting greener

122. The sound of the lawn mower

123. Having a snack outside on the blanket for the first time this spring

124. Our little green swings that the kids love to play on

125. Swinging on the swings with the kids

126. Loosing track of time

127. Not watching TV for a few days

128. The kids running through the house

129. Listening to Kyle play his recorder and playing it myself

130. Hersey Kisses with almonds:)

To learn more about One Thousand Blessings, visit Ann's blog, A Holy Experience and take the dare to count as many blessings that God has given you!!!!

Spring Fest

2011-04-12T22:32:00.008-04:00

I am just a little late at posting this from our weekend! On Saturday I took Kyle, Lindsey, Lillian and my nephew to the Spring Fest down at Purdue. We went last year and the kids' really enjoyed themselves. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to go since it was raining really hard early that morning. It had stopped and we looked at the weather radar and showed that the rain done! We took a chance and ventured down that way and thankfully the sun did come out later that afternoon!

One of the first things that we did was try their hand at Fencing! They all three loved it! I was slightly jealous that I didn't get to try, but I'm glad they did! They had to get all suited up!

Kyle wasn't quite so sure about having the zipper in the back, not sure I would have wanted to wear the jacket either!

Lindsey wasn't afraid to fight!

They boys fencing each other!

Then we went over to eat some bugs dipped in chocolate! Yum! Yum!

Lindsey, my nephew and I just couldn't eat one, we just didn't have the guts too! I know I have ate my fair share of bugs in my life, just not dipped in chocolate! Ever ride your bike or go on a run late in the evening in the countryside, I'm sure you have too!

Kyle was the only brave one and went for it! He said it had more chocolate than anything!

Then they tried a hand at stacking cups, Kyle had a real advantage at this since he did this after school for awhile and we have a basic set. Lindsey wasn't quite as good as Kyle. Then they learned about earthquakes and ways to keep our buildings capable of withstanding such catastrophes. This was right up Kyle's alley, he loves anything that has to do with engineering and making things work better.

Of course I made the children pose for a picture, they always get so excited when the mamarazzi comes out!

Poor kids with the bright sunshine in their face and Lillian has her pacifier in front of her face, she must be trying to hide from me!

The kids had fun and I am so glad the weather turned out to be such a beautiful day! Chad and Jacob stayed home and worked on getting the fence down at our current house to take and put up at the new house. They also went to the farm store together and Jacob was so proud of the new hat he got there! He called it his new hunting hat because it a picture of a deer on it and it says "Cute as a button buck"! Leave it to his father to buy him something like that!!!! Blessings, Lisa