seriously.

Can I just take a moment to point out how incredibly blessed I am? Yes? Thanks. It doesn't always feel that way, but look at those faces. It is undeniable.  

keepin' it real.

"Create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside."

My husband just posted this on facebook, and I'm not sure where it came from, but I decided to steal it. The truth friends, is that we have a lot of ugly in our lives at times. And I'm not sure how my life has looked on the outside in the past, but I do know that here on this little corner of the interwebs, I've tried to only show the best parts of mine. I decided that this blog would be a "focus on the positive" sort of thing, not even realizing the false front it puts up. A few (very few) who know me well know that my life has actually been pretty darn ugly recently. And even though we have had plenty of positive to focus on lately, it almost didn't get to that point. But it has come to my attention that when I pretend to have it all together, and that everything is perfect, I can't be used. I can't be molded, shaped. There is no room for growth. It turns out that gets stale pretty quickly. Without going in to details, I can tell you this,

 "The Lord is near the the brokenhearted, and He saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalms 34:18)

Never in my life have I felt more broken than I did just a few short months ago, yet never in my life have I felt the presence of God more than I do now. Never in my life have I cared less what my life looks like on the outside, rather I am focused on the love and togetherness that we share inside our home. And never in my life have I put my trust so completely into the Lord to be used, shaped, and molded than I have right now, in this moment. And that, my friends, feels good. So basically what I'm trying to say is, expect a lot more "real" from me. Because real life is too beautiful to try to hide it behind false fronts. 

patchwork walls

Before you get the crazy idea that I've done something cool with actual patchwork, I need to warn you: I'm talking paint colors. Turns out, guys, that picking paint colors really is this hard. I never thought I'd be the person holding up two of basically the same color telling my husband to choose his favorite. 

We have chosen 6 different paint samples (two at a time in three different trips to the paint store), and I'm not sure if any if these are making the cut. I have to say it wouldn't feel like so much pressure if this wasn't such a HUGE paint job. Literally, every wall in this house needs paint, thanks to the last four year old inhabitant who apparently favored sharpies.

And it's weird. I knew lighting mattered, but I didn't think it mattered this much. The photo above and the photo below are of the SAME paint color. In the living room, the color makes me feel like we'll be sitting in an Easter egg, but I thought I'd like it in the kitchen.

Turns out though, that since there is so much more natural light in the kitchen you can barely tell the color has any blue. It just looks like not-quite-white. Disappointing in both rooms, since in the store it was my favorite color card. (The color is Glidden's Barely Jade, if anyone is wondering).

avoidance

So... I'm not going to be posting any more house photos anytime soon. We have been getting out of the house now that Karl is getting home from work at a decent hour (yay for a shorter commute!!) and enjoying the daylight together as a family. Just recently we walked down to our local library to see a magician in the park, and later that day we found a frozen yogurt shop just blocks away from our house (dangerous knowledge!). We are LOVING the fact that we can basically walk to everything here. Now enjoy some shots of ice cream (ok.. yogurt) in action. ;)

Progress... Sorta.

So far these boxes aren't unpacking themselves, and the right paint color for the majority if the house isn't revealing itself to me, but the kids rooms did get painted (colors of their choosing, which I love), the banister did get built (thanks to my awesome step-dad. Thank you again!!) half of the old and stinky kitchen cupboards have been lined, and we finally chose a color for our bedroom (not to mention all the scrubbing we did before bringing any boxes in). On the agenda for the weekend, before we peace out to attend an out of town wedding: stain the banister, sand down all the splotches of spackle (how were there that many holes?!), and paint the master bedroom. I'm dreaming pretty big right now...

moving weekend!

Some of us recovered from the late night firework show better than others, but we are pretty much into our new place now. The rest of the weekend will be full of unpacking, stocking up our pantry, and re-prioritizing our list of to-dos.

I hope everyone had a safe and lovely Fourth! Here's to a great weekend. ;)

Whew! Posts are going to be a bit sporadic for the next I-don't-know-how-long. Look what we are up to! We FINALLY closed on our new home!! We are feeling super blessed and super busy, as our 100+ year old house has lots of work to be done before we move, after we move, and well, probably forever. But we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Here's to wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend!!! 

:)