Just a little family update...

I just realized it's been awhile since I've posted anything, so I'll give y'all a quick update on our summer so far. And boy, it's been a busy one!

The little guys have enjoyed lots of pool time. The 2 bigger boys are doing great, swimming like little fish!

 We had a HUGE yardsale, which was lots of work and prep time, but a big success! It felt so good to get rid of a bunch of stuff, free up some room, and make some extra cash. My man even got in on it and cleared out tons of his techy stash - Yay! I helped the little guys set up a lemonade stand the day of the sale - they made lots of money too. As it turns out, LOTS of folks around here love lemonade and homemade brownies :) 

I had a lovely Mother's Day with all my favorite guys. My sweetie cooked the entire dinner and cleaned it all up, too! And I might add, it was all absolutely delicious - grilled steak, baked sweet potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, and cake for dessert. I'm thinkin' I got myself a keeper :)

My Mother's Day roses were so beautiful, I just had to share a piccy of those, too.

And here's my sweetheart with all his little guys on Father's Day - he's a great Daddy!

It's been quite a summer for Carson. He lost his 2 front teeth...

And then got glasses, too!

And this little guy has kept us hopping. He's chock full of life and personality and is, as they say, 100% boy. Here, he was *supposed* to be sleeping, but every time I would tippy toe past his door he would make a silly face at me. You just can't help but love him  to pieces! 

We've been doing lots of little projects here and there, so I'll be sharing some more with y'all later. But right now, I need to drag some soaking wet little guys out of the pool and feed them some supper.

 We're LOVING summertime!!

Vintage Cupboard Redo

A dear friend of ours recently gave me the sweetest little china cabinet! It had been in her family for years, it belonged to her grandmother. I pretty much did a happy dance when I saw it and realized it is very similar to the one my own granny had. (I've always loved granny's cabinet and wished I could have gotten it!) 

 Forgive me, but the only before pic I took was from my iPhone, so it's not real stellar. At least you can get an idea...

Somebody put some country decals on it - I'm guessing in the 80's, when country blue and ducks were all the rage. And they didn't get them all exactly straight...  This pic was taken after we'd already scraped some decals off the glass. 

 I had a grand ole time painting her up in a pretty aqua blue! 

I just love it! 

Happy happy happy =) 

The paint color is "Watery" from Sherwin Williams. After I painted it, I distressed it a touch and rubbed some coffee colored glaze all over it. 

It was during the glazing process that I had to explain to my 7 year old, just exactly why I *wanted* it to look old and dirty. And that I only liked certain things to look slightly worn and dirty, and that no, his room was not one of those things... He still doesn't get it. He wandered off shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Huh. And I thought you wanted to make our house look *nice*." Bless his little heart...

I knew as soon as I brought it home that I wanted to paint it blue and fill it with white dishes - I think they're just perfect for each other ;)  I put them in there pretty quick and willy nilly, so they may get rearranged a few times before it's all said and done. 

It's such a bright spot in the dining room!

The little guys have finished their last day of school, so we're only too happy to get our summer started!
Linking up with Chari's Finished Object Friday!

I just stocked up the etsy shop - lots of pretty new spring colors! 

Living Room Refresh

So it's not *totally* there yet, but it's veeery close. 

I'll show you what we've done so far on the living room project.

Here is the before...

And this is where we are now!

The only 2 things we would like to do is swap out the (very abused and scratched up) coffee table for a large comfy square ottoman. Still looking for a deal...

And replace the carpet.  I'm SOOO wanting to rip it out and refinish the hardwoods that are under it, but we're a little nervous about what we might find under there - it may be too far gone. It will probably be a while before we get to that part of the project!

I sold my old living room suit on craigslist (Good ole Craig!) and then we found this neutral sectional here at a local furniture shop. I recovered all of the hideous throw pillows that came with the sofa in fun bright colors. (The floral one on the left was from Hobby Lobby.)

So much brighter! I really like the cottage/coastal feel. 

The white curtain panels I made from plain white flat sheets from Walmart ($4.88 apiece!), and the yellow ottoman was a clearance purchase from Target - well worth the $24 I paid for it!

The mantel looks all bright and springy, too. Love those free printables!

I got this sweet little recliner for Christmas last year, as well as the cable knit throw. It's cozy!

We also moved Weston's nursery rocker to the living room - it matches the sofa perfectly! 

The yellow chevron throw was a gift from my sis in law - I call it my happy blanket! It's so cheery. 

So that's it - our living room refresh, on a shoestring budget! It's much more family friendly and casual now - the gang hangs out in here all the time. And now we have more seating for our church get-togethers that we have here, so everybody's happy!

I'm linking up with Chari's Finished Object Friday! Ok, so it's not exactly Friday. Lets' just say I've been very busy  =)

Spring Touches

Yay for SPRING!! My favorite time of year! We've had some beautiful warm sunshiney days lately, and it's like taking a happy pill. Love it! 

And yep, I've already brought out the flip flops :)

 Here's a peak at some springiness in the old parsonage...

The bedroom mantel pretty much stays the same all year, I just added a few little spring things.

 I love pops of yellow in the bedroom, too!

 And you can't decorate for spring without TULIPS! Love 'em love 'em. 

 This was our table centerpiece for Easter. Quick and easy.

But wait.......

there's more!

I've got lots of spring goodies in the living room, and I'm working on a post right now to show you the living room makeover so far. Stay tuned, I'll have it up in a jif!

Happy Spring!!

New Goodies in the Shop!

I just listed some new goodies in my Etsy Shop! I made one of these bags for myself, and I liked it so much I decided to make some more to share :) I love this bag - it's a great size, and it's just so cute =)  I think I'll be making some more colors to list this week.

Fun Times!

I just love it when God sends a kindred spirit my way :) Heather Dickinson and I met through our blogs some time ago, but we never thought we would actually get to meet sometime, especially since they live in South America!

  I'm so happy it worked out that they could come see us while they were here in the states. We'd never met them before in our lives, but we just chatted away like we'd known them forever. (I feel like I have known them forever, just from reading their blog!) 

Can you believe we got a pic with everybody looking at the camera??

 I usually can't do that with just my 3 boys ;)

(You'll have to excuse Weston's casual attire - he threw up all over his cute little church outfit. He seems to be feeling better now though, in case you were wondering...) 

Poor Dave was smitten. It took little Mary about 5 minutes to have him wrapped completely and hopelessly around her little finger. You know it's bad when he'd rather hold a sleeping baby than go through the lunch line! He thinks he needs a little girl. I'm not so sure - she'd be too spoiled rotten! :)

All the littles had a great time together. It just ended too soon! We decided we need a longer visit sometime, so the kids can play while Heather and I do some thrift shopping and crafting! 

Thank you, Dickinsons, for coming to our neck of the woods - you've been a Blessing to us, and you're welcome here at the old parsonage anytime! 

Share some Etsy love!

I am so thankful for all the plugs I've had for my little etsy shop, and all the lovely ladies (and a few guys!) that have actually bought things from me and supported my business :)  So...I'd love to pay it forward and put in a plug for some other etsy shops! 

These gals do AMAZING work. You really owe it to yourself to check 'em out!

My bloggy friend, Jenny, makes fantastic handmade cards - I have some of them myself, and they are simply breathtaking. You can visit her shop at... 

Handmade by Jenn

 I just love this one...

 And this one is so sweet for Easter!

She also makes hand painted signs that are super cute!

Another shop I love is 

Created by Trish

She also makes handmade cards that are just awesome.

See what I mean?? This is beautiful. Who wouldn't love to get a card like that?!

This one is precious.

Good grief, these girls have some serious photography skills, too. Love their photos!

Pay these shops a visit, and give 'em some love. I promise - you'll love the eye candy!