Lots Going On

In my effort to be present in my day to day moments

I realized I needed to step back a little from feeling like

my blog was an assignment that had to be completed

like a deadline.

It was feeling like another thing I was staying up late

to finish and that was keeping me from being

present in the now. 

So I apologize for my absence.

But oh so much has been going on here.

Lots and lots of hammering and sawing.

Which means lots and lots of dust and messes.

And that has given me lots  of opportunities

to practice breathing and letting it roll off my shoulders.

Nothing seems to be where it should be

and there are workers coming and going.

We had our heat disconnected for several days

in the midst of a cold spell here in Southern California.

But it's all good.  

I just bundled up A LOT and wore my jacket all day long. 

And it has made me think a lot about the Compassion International

child we adopted from Guatemala.  

And how this is her reality all the time.  

We are so privileged and I count my blessings.

I will not complain.

The girls being goofy dressed up the lamb a neighbor gave us.

So here are some highlights from my absence here.

My sister visited from New York.

We celebrated her and her baby to be at a shower in Orange County with mostly friends from college.

I made a fun finger print tree wall hanging to represent the many

women showering her and her baby with love.  

She'll bring it with her to New York where more fingerprints

will be added and then it'll be a great addition to her nursery decor.

It was a night before the shower idea I got after stumbling upon this on etsy.  

It was too late for me to place an order

so I decided to try to make one out of cardstock.

We celebrated a friend at a girly princess tea party.

And had lots of Valentine's Day celebrations.  Gosh.. I've been away too long haven't I?

Audrey and I both got haircuts.  

I had to bring her with me and she was so excited about mommy's bangs (yes.. I finally got them again.. and am so glad I did) that she begged to get them too and to get short hair as well.

I didn't bring a camera because this was totally an on the spot decision.  But I'm so glad I had my phone.

I think the cut is perfect for her little spunky personality.  I love it! :)

And it led me to actually blow dry my girl's hair.  

Can you believe I actually never had.  Really, truly, never.  I had always let their hair air dry.  They absolutely loved it.  Ava thinks she's miss Rapunzel.  

And I love seeing them love on each other.

OH and I'm so so so excited.

Plans for one of these is in the works.  

I woke up one morning and though I was joking at first, I realized this really could happen.

And it is!

It has been a dream of mine to have a creative space that I could work in and be able to have

everything handy and organized.  I didn't think we had room.

But in doing the built in, it opened up the closet on the other side of the wall.  

Since they back up to one another we figured out we can salvage quite a bit of wasted space.

Oh I'm so excited about the possibilities

and the fact that I can go crazy creating and then shut

the doors when I'm not yet ready to put everything away.

Half the battle for me is not wanting to get everything out

and put it all away.  That alone can take so long I'll run

out of steam to create... I know you know what I mean. :)

We've also had lots of time to do this

Lots of mommy practicing saying no to commitments that take away from family time.

And lots more moments where I'm present.  Present.  

Gosh I forgot to tell you I planned for everyone at my sister's shower to bring a photo of them with their kids or with my sister to send her well wishes or advice for her new role as a mom.  I brought papers and embellishments and we created a book for her right there.  In doing my page for her, I was brought to tears.  

March 2002

December 2004

January 2007

I searched out photos of me with each of my newborn babies and I realized even though it wasn't that long ago those days feel so far away.  I did soak them in, but I also was very much in survival mode with each of them.  One had colic for eight months, two had food allergies, one had reflux, and with one life issues interrupted my newborn bliss.  Now I'm realizing just how fast that time really did speed by.  I know so often in the middle of it, it didn't feel like it.  And I loved having babies, so don't get me wrong.  If it was the Lord's will I'd probably have another if my health weren't compromised.  It all just made me so, so, so sentimental.  

Between saying goodbye to our beloved Bella and realizing I'm saying goodbye to the days of babyhood my husband said, "Maybe there's something the Lord wants you to learn from this." Instead of feeling sad over what is over, I can completely and whole-heartedly soak in today.  I know it's no coincidence that my word for the year, the theme throughout 1,000 gifts and the things life has thrown me so far this year are all echoing the same thing.  Slow down, and treasure today.

Instead of feeling sad over what is gone, what is fleeting, I can hold onto these moments and soak them in all the more strongly.  I know my kids will feel my presence more and I know I won't look back with any regrets. 

In theme with saying 'goodbye' I said goodbye to this today.  

It was a mural I did for my daughter's nursery

Side Note:  I found this chandelier on ebay for 50 dollars back then.  It was my first ebay purchase.  I was SO excited.

back in 2004 when I was pregnant with her.  The whole area by the ceiling and window suffered water damage and it was really unable to be salvaged.  I was surprisingly ok with saying goodbye to it.

I guess because it has been six years and now I get to work on making their room a big girl room.. maybe with a new mural one day.  

I discovered the color I had on the walls is no longer made by Martha Stewart.  I loved it.  It was called pale naples yellow.  I was going to just keep it the same, that's how much I loved it.  But today after finding out it's no longer made, I decided to change it up a bit.  

I guess the whole point of this post is just to say that we've had a lot going on around here.  In the midst of all of this we've had two kids sick off and on and managed to sqeeze in a work/date night because I was hired to cover the Battle: LA junket.  It was fun.  Not necessarily the kind of movie I would have paid to go see.  But I definitely was drawn into the storyline and it was nice to have my husband next to me to grab onto when it got scary.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  I'm looking forward to having slow family mornings around here.  And I'm hoping to stay dry!

An Adorable Carnival

I wanted to share my friend's most adorable carnival party yesterday.  She is super gifted at throwing the cutest parties... and is especially good at making her cakes so detailed and special.  I loved this one and the day was so much fun all around.

My kids loved it, including my 8 year old son.  She was worried he'd think it was too babyish.  He said it was the best party ever. 

They loved the friendship.

The games.

The tickets.

The prizes.

The jumpy.

And most of all the cupcakes at the end.

Happy 5th Birthday A.

A Place To Call My Own

This little haven of mine has been a long time in the making.

First it was a dream... for well, a few years.

But finally, it was time to build that window box seat
I had been dreaming about.  

The building happened somewhere in December of last year if I remember correctly.

It sat bare for months.

While we still had a round table that didn't fit our family of five anymore.

Typically we'd eat in stations or one of the adults would wind up at the little red kid table because the kids no longer would eat there.  That just didn't seem right.

Then it took me awhile to find just the right fabric.  I went to just about every store I knew of here in Los Angeles, including downtown to the fabric district.  Nothing was just right.

I don't like settling when it comes to these things and I'll be patient enough until I find the thing that makes my heart sing.

Tanya Whelan's fabric was the the thing that did it.  Oh I fell in love!  I envisioned this little french country bistro... and it's just how I imagined.  I'm leaving room to add some pillows for when something catches my eye.  I'm hoping to find one with a cute bird on it.

Oh and I almost forgot... the whole reason I'm posting this now is that our farm table is finally in.

I dreamed of a rustic looking farm table.

I tore pictures out of magazines.  I drew up my idea.

But nowhere and I mean NO WHERE did they have a table that was small enough to fit our space.

Then I was told about Oasis in Malibu.  And do you know when I walked in they had a table that was the perfect combination of the three I was putting together to make the one I really wanted.

I didn't even need to ask for a change.  Other than the fact that the dimensions needed to be smaller and we had to lose a diagonal feature because it wasn't long enough to keep them.

It's a trestle farm table made with re-purposed wood.  The top is a natural wood color, but the bottom has a shabby chic white wash.

Oh and the other real reason I wanted to write about this is that this is where I go early in the morning before the kids rise to read my devotionals and my bible. 

To drink my tea.

To look at the birds out the window.

To journal to God.  To listen to God.  To dream.  To Hear.  To feel filled and inspired.

I walk away from this spot feeling ready for my day.

It's also where I squeeze in moments to draw. 

I don't have a craft room.  Perhaps one day.

But for now this is absolutely perfect to me.