Wednesday, August 25, 2010

“”Old Blue”…now glazed and waxed…

When we refloored and repainted our downstairs and switched over to a more beach cottage look I sanded this old blue dresser to distress it.  I liked it, but something wasn’t quite right.  I knew it didn’t look like other distressed furniture I had seen on decor blogs or while out shopping, but with my lack of furniture finishing experience I didn’t know what was missing.

 

Before:

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Then I read on several blogs about adding a glaze over painted furniture and then finishing it with a paste wax finish.  I know nothing about glazing, but I read on someone’s blog, (and if it’s yours please comment me so I can give you credit), that you can make a simple glaze with Burnt Umber acrylic craft paint thinned down with water.   So, I hauled “old blue” out onto the deck, brushed on the watered down paint, wiped it off with paper towels, and repeated until I achieved the right look.  When it was dry, I wiped on paste wax, and when that was dry, buffed it with a soft cotton sock.  Now, I think “old blue” is perfectly imperfect!

 

After:

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My husband, who is normally pretty uninterested in decor and therefore frequently doesn’t notice changes, noticed the change in “Old Blue” right away.  He said, “I really like it now!”…and so do I!

Still following,

Elizabeth

Today I’m linking here~







Night and day…

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First born daughter was born with lots of dark hair and was well over eight pounds.  Her birth was surprisingly easy.  She slept through the night at two weeks old.  She nursed easily, readily.  She was an easy baby, and me in all of my twenty year old wisdom and arrogance thought, “I’m a good mom!”, and inwardly judged those with “unruly” babies.

 

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Three years later her little sister was born.  It was a traumatic emergency caesarian birth.  She was 6 pound 6 ounces of blond, blue eyed energy.  She cried non-stop.  She painfully snacked, pulled away to look around, and came back for a few more sips every time I fed her.  I once recorded in her baby book the day she was content for 45 minutes straight.  She was, and at age 30 still is, a night owl.  I agonized over what was wrong…was it her difficult birth, had I not bonded with her due to that?…didn’t  I  love her enough?… maybe I didn’t know how to be a good mom after all.  My pride and arrogance came crashing down.

 

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By God’s grace, one day I bought the book The Strong Willed Child  by James Dobson.  In it he explains that some children are born with a strong will, and that usually they are the ones that God has a unique purpose for, one that will take a strong willed person to fulfill.  He writes practically, Biblically, how to deal with a strong willed child.  That book changed my life, and my relationship with my second born.  I began to pray for her in a whole new way.  I began to speak aloud to her, every time she asserted her strong will to disobey, “God gave you a strong will to do something great for Him.  Satan wants you to use it to disobey.  You must choose to obey Jesus, and you learn that by obeying Mommy and Daddy.”  These words became my mantra to her before she was old enough to understand…but I wanted them to sink into her spirit. 

 

At age five, my second born announced that she was going to be a missionary to Africa.  At age 16 she took her first trip to west Africa.  At age 30, she has never wavered from what she believes to be God’s call on her life.

 

It’s been 33 years since that arrogant young mom held her first born and thought she had it all together as a mother.  I had a third daughter, three years after my strong willed one was born.  If possible, she was even more compliant than her oldest sister.  But by this time I had come to realize that anything right I had done as a parent was pure grace and mercy from God.

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

Today we are blogging about Prayerful Parenting.  Join us here~


holy experience

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Savoring summer’s end…

Summer is winding down…

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and autumn is knocking at the door.

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I am unwrappping and savoring the last of summer’s gifts…

…barbecues

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…granddaughter sleepovers

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…open windows

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What are you unwrapping today?

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

linking to Tuesday Unwrapped

at

chatting at the sky

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Wrapped up in love…

I am wrapped up in love.  Thursday as my daughter, son in law, and grandbabies pulled their loaded to the brim mini-van out of Portland and left for missions training on the other side of the country, friends and family far and near knew this Mom and Dad, this Papa and Nana, would need prayer…and we did… and they prayed, and you prayed, and though the tears fell, and still do at times, God has wrapped me, (us),  up in His love, in their love, in your love.  I am so grateful.  Thank you kind friends.

 

My continuing gratitude list #567-577

 

-one last sleepover before they left town

 

- a hot sunny day at the river

 

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-dinner with people who always cause me to remember what it means to live a laid down life for Jesus

 

-snuggling my grandson and praying over him

 

-facebook and email and cell phones and Skype to communicate with far away daughters and grandbabies

 

-friends who knew I would need them this week and made time for me

 

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-those who prayed for us  (please keep it up!)

 

-sisters, brothers, cousins…family reunion on my dad’s side of the family

 

-a phone call from my daughter and grandbabies catching me up on the day’s adventures

 

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-youngest granddaughter still lives near and is coming to spend the day tomorrow!

 

-a camera that has helped me have eyes to see the beauty in the ordinary

 

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Very gratefully yours,

Elizabeth

Consider joining the gratitude community here~

holy experience

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Birds don’t have barns…

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Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.

Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

 

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  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.

And how much more valuable you are than birds!

 

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Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Luke 12:22-25

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Still following,

Elizabeth

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I simply remember my favorite things…Friday’s favs…I’m lovin’ my new bag!

I was ready for a new “Jesus date” bag.
(You must click and read or that term will make no sense.)
I saw a bag I loved here…
I found out it was purchased years ago at a small boutique, and I couldn’t find one exactly like it anywhere online.
However, I think I came very close here.
So, that is what I got for my birthday from my hubs who spoils me.
It’s a great bag, and big enough to hold, not only my books, but my camera too!
I’m lovin’ it…and I can’t wait to “go on a date”…the beach?, down by the river?
The possibilities are endless!
 
 
 
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HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!
Elizabeth

 
Today I’m linking here~



Simple summer pleasures…

Watermelon…

 

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Sundresses…


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Going to the river on a hot day…


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Playing ball in the cool of the evening…

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Fields of “flowers”…


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Thanking God for this season. 
Elizabeth
Today I’m linking here~


Project Simple Pleasures2