Projects...

It's hard to believe that the days have turned into weeks, and the weeks into months since we have been waiting to meet our sweet baby. Every morning when I wake up my very first thought is "Will today be the day that the phone rings and our lives change forever?" The only thing that is keeping me sane in this whole process is knowing that God walked this journey long before we did and knows the exact moment when our child will come into our lives. Please pray for us as we try to wait patiently...

Since I have "nested" my way through all the closets and cabinets here, I have now turned my focus onto home projects!! I'm terrible at remembering to take "before" pictures so you just get to see the "afters"...

Project #1- Re-Paint Emily's dresser...no before picture...just picture solid white and badly scratched and worn... I found leftover paint in the garage from her room and the kids bath so it didn't cost me a penny!

Project # 2- Re-cover the old deck furniture... no before picture but if you have been here, just try to remember the pink & brown flowered awful cushions! This was a huge project and I couldn't have done it without my Mom's help with the sewing machine. She is a sewing queen!

Dave bought me the fabric for Valentine's Day... Aren't we romantic???

Project # 3- I like to decorate our fireplace mantel for the seasons, when I took down the Valentine's Day stuff I knew I wanted to do something spring-like & refreshing (but not Easter bunnies!). I bought these flowers with 50% off coupons at Michael's, and the frames are from the Target Dollar Spot, I painted them white and printed portions of verses from my favorite chapter (Psalm 37) on colored card stock, added a few candles and got something that will last all spring and summer that I really love!

Last, but definitely not least... the last piece of furniture I have wanted for the nursery is a glider rocker & ottoman. I have been looking on Craigslist almost every day for a few months now for one that is nice and inexpensive. I found one over the weekend, exactly what I was looking for with the ottoman for $ 25! However, the cushions were badly faded and torn...I bought $ 3 a yard green & white gingham fabric and the "sewing queen" and I set out to re-cover them! It turned out so nice!! I am thrilled with it!!

Please pray with us that we hear some news soon...

Global Outreach Weekend & Moday's Paintings

Our church had its "Global Outreach Weekend" this past weekend and on Saturday there was an International Family Festival & Taste of the World Food Fair. We spent the afternoon there and had a great time visiting each country, making crafts, tasting food from around the world, and learning more about our missionaries and what they do.

A Passport photo...
Learning to write the Chinese Characters for the words "Lamb" and "Me" and the character for "righteousness". You make the word righteousness by drawing the "lamb" over the word "me". The Lamb covers me- Righteousness!

Drinking Coke out of a plastic bag with a flimsy straw...how it is served on the street in Latin America.

The kids got to play some African Drums. It was a fun and educational afternoon!

This week's paintings... it's called "Grey Winter"...they are a little dark and depressing to me... they promised something colorful and light next week!

New Guitar...

Nathan started taking guitar lessons a few weeks ago, the lessons were actually part of his birthday gift from September, we just had to wait for the new semester to start in January. He loves it and is convinced this is the instrument he was meant to play, we did some piano lessons last year and he enjoyed it but didn't love it like he does the guitar. He has been learning on a $ 3 yard sale clunker that has been fine for a beginner, but now that he is getting serious about this he started saving his money for a new guitar. We noticed some on clearance at Target last week and him and Dave stopped in after this weeks lesson to see if they had been marked down any further, he scored this Fender Guitar... regularly $ 200 for $ 50!! He has just enough to buy and it is very excited!! I'm so proud of him for saving, working hard, and finding a great deal!!

love is in the air...

Emily gets so excited about Valentine's Day...she seems to think it should be a national holiday. All week she has been saying "4 more days until Valentine's Day, 3 more days, 2 more days..." At breakfast the other morning she said "Can we pleeeeease take off school for Valentine's Day?" (before she realized it was on a Saturday this year) She almost fell off the chair when I said "Sure, we can take off for Valentine's Day!" Nathan always asks her why she makes such a big deal out of this day...he says "It's just a day for lovin' and we love each other every day!"

Making sugar cookies and candy to take to homeschool co-op...

I hung up my trusty white sheet to take some new pictures, it has been a while since we have taken any...

For our weekly Friday night tradition of Pizza/Movie/Game night we made a heart shaped pizza, and tomorrow's plans include a trip to the $ 1.50 movies and a candlelight dinner at home! Have a great day with the ones you love!!

Updates...

Someone just reminded me it has been over 2 weeks since I last posted anything..honestly, we have just been wrapped up in the day-to-day routine of life. We have been working very hard and diligently in school... up to our eyeballs in freezing bugs, discovering fossils, polygons, fractions, Abraham Lincoln and Buffalo Bill. We know that once "the call" comes and our baby is here that we will need a few weeks off to bond and adjust with our sweet little one!

No official baby news yet...we heard some snippets of good things a few weeks ago, but nothing official yet. I must admit the journey is getting hard and some days it is very discouraging that we are still waiting, but we know that God is behind the scenes working everything out to His perfect plan. I've been nesting like a crazy pregnant woman cleaning out every closet, drawer and cabinet in this house and officially have nothing left to do. I made a joke the other day that if we don't hear something soon, I'll have to start nesting at strangers houses!!

The weather has been glorious for the past few days and we have been spending lots of time outside. It's refreshing to have the windows open and the heat turned off! We spent all day Saturday outside cleaning out out planters, trimming bushes, spreading 2 yards of mulch, and cleaning out the sandbox. It feels like spring will be here before we know it!

I'll leave you with a picture from this week's art class...