master update.

Okay.. so I sorta have a mild fetish with frenchy prints.  I've been collecting them for years.  Some are from tag sales or Goodwill.  Others are from my sweet husband who goes on searches when I tell him "I saw a print today that would look amazing with the others on a gallery wall."... So I FINALLY got them up.  And.. I adore them!  They are just scenes from all around Paris, but they are tranquil water colors and I LOVE them in the master.

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Which brings me to this beauty!

  A friend of mine gave her to me and I love her!!  She's very 1950's glam and just the sorta thing that makes my heart swoon...  She is much more to scale and so glitzy and feminine!!!

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But.. when I get a new light... another must be moved :(

and that means- my sweet husband {who incidentally once worked in a lighting store while in college} must move lights all over the house.  I he moved this light from the master {which was really too small for there, but perfect for here} to the work room

  So are you keeping track?  That's so far taking 2 lights down...

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Then that light in the workroom {which again was too small scale but had to do in a pinch} had to be moved... to the master closet. 

 Oh how I love it!!  {That's 3 lights total- THANK YOU sweet Joey!}


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Then I turned the little bookshelf in here into a jewelry chest.


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Heaven knows if Joey and I are competing with collecting books and bracelets... I'm ahead!


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I love how it turned out & how all my pretties are all together.

It's the little things that do it for me :) 

doing the next thing that blesses the next person in front of me.

That's my heart right now.  I get anxious.  A LOT.  I even feel it as I mention it.  I want to "measure up" or "fit in" or even at times "stand out".  Then I hear about a young father dying or a child being be-headed, and I sorta lose myself.  Why?  Then I think about here... in my house. What am I doing?  I'm doing the same things I do every Wednesday.  I get up and turn on the iron, then I start some laundry, then I get breakfast out and wake up the kiddos..... I get out uniforms, fill water bottles, make lunches....  the same things.  Almost effortlessly I can do these things...  I pray for these people- the mommas that have things they do every wednesday.  Only today is different for them.  I cannot fix what's happening around me, or over there.  But I can do the next thing that blesses the next person in front of me.  That's fixing a meal or braiding hair, or ironing a shirt today.  It sounds small and meaningless to most, but it is something.  It's a blessing.  That's what we are here to do.. to bless!  

fall house tour...

I don't know about y'all, but we are ready for Fall around here.  We love all things pumpkin & everything single thing about sweaters and tights {speaking for Prissy & I that is}.  So... I gussied up the house a bit for Fall this week.  Now we must set back and patiently await the chilly air and pretty leaves.

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Our ghosts are up!  Cooner are yours up yet?

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A-man photo bombed me... but I don't mind :)

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The porch got some orange touches...

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Mr. Grumpy Gills got a stash!

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David got an eye patch!

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The pumpkins got some paint and thumb tacks :)

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It didn't hurt a bit!

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little touches..

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here...

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and there...

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... and there!

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... and there ;)

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and because we are after all "EYE" people!


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Over all... I'd say we are ready!  

Happy Fall Ya'll!!

Our little Princess Anna...

This year our ballet company is performing "Frozen" for their winter show.  Prissy was SO excited! We all know every word to every song so it just seems natural to us that they would do it :) Tryouts are always on saturdays- which means Joey brings her to the hospital where I fix her hair in near frantics.  All the while- I'm trying to bestow wisdom through osmosis of a hairbrush.  "Prissy don't forget to smile pretty.  Ballet feet at all time.  If you forget a part... smile!  Oh and have fun."  I was in pure hysterics to hear all about it, only to hear from a very small voice on the other end of the phone "Momma I was a solid 4."  "On a scale from 1-5?" I asked.  "No ma'm on a scale from 1-10" crying a little now.  I reassured her that I'm sure she did better than a 4 and that she would still in fact be in the show {even if she wasn't cast as little Princess Anna}.  Joey made the motion that we buy her a little prize "just in case".  I seconded that and the motion passed- So I did!  That made me even more anxious.  So we battened down the hatches, ate ice cream, and waited.  Now at this point in the story I need to tell y'all... I didn't have any cell phone for a WEEK- long story.  It was a tad inconvenient to say the least.  Long story short I found out through another mom that she got it!  PRINCESS ANNA y'all.  Can you tell I'm a smidgen excited??  We lost our minds on the car ride home that night.  A-man even joined in on a chorus or 6 of "Do You Want To Build A Snow Man".  

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We celebrated!
{to say the least and I may or may not be planning a stellar cast party}

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The boys mostly played Legos. Although I hear from A-man's teacher that he's invited the entire 1st grade to see his sister in Frozen "she's the best dancer there!"
He makes my heart smile- PRECIOUS!!!

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but... Prissy is little Anna and we are over the moon.
  Rehearsals begin tonight-
Bring on the 5 days a week practices, the holes in tights and worn out ballet shoes!  

a home...

So yesterday I got a call from our realtor {from 3 yrs ago- when we had decided to try to sell}, asking if she could show our house.  I was shocked at first, especially since our house isn't even on the market, but listened as she explained how clients had loved it when touring the neighborhood.  She had some old photos on hand- that made them even more interested.  I agreed - since it was my usual cleaning day, but OH how I had forgotten the magnitude that I take with a "showing".

drains bleached

pantry gutted

master closet overhauled

fresh cut flowers all around

garage manicured

floor re-stained {don't ask}

dirty laundry moved to an undisclosed location

But.. as I cleaned my beautiful home and I mean that.  It is to me!  I remembered bringing home my babies.  I saw all of their firsts again in the living room.  I cherished the wall dings and the baseboard nicks, and suddenly I had this contentment come over me.  Then as suddenly as that melted away- I had another rushing flood of emotions come all over me.   There were the same old thoughts of wanting what my friends have- bigger houses, more rooms, more porches, more guest rooms.  more. more . more.  I finished up, they came and went... I held my breath.  All the while, I looked online at what we could buy after selling.  But... nothing looked like a home to me.  I must be getting wiser {my wisdom is definitely showing through my hair these days} because bigger is not better to me anymore.  More square footage and extra car garages don't do a thing for me.  I do so love my dishwasher, but I'm content with just one.  And mostly I know that "things" -they are fleeting & don't make you happy. 

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So when she called saying that they wanted it, I could hardly speak.  We hadn't even thought of an asking price.  I told her that I would have to speak with Joey then call her back.  My stomach pitted.  I wondered what he would say? What would he think was a fair price.  It was like one of those commercials- new home $$$$$, new car $$$, new furniture $$, new pillows $, getting to grow old with the one you love in the home you built= priceless.  When he got home we looked online together at a few houses in our price range.  Nothing!  We agreed that our home is worth more to us than it is probably worth market value wise.  Now here I am at the age that I am... and I'm happy with where I am.  AMEN!!!

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These are the things....

I want to hold on to.