Lovely Little Logs

I never meant to post every day one month and then only twice the following month! I've even sat down to post a few times and the words just wouldn't quite form themselves into sentences.  This month has been so full! I'm in a new apartment and my new work schedule is in full swing. I've also been working through some deep and some old emotional stuff.  So I'm sure you can all understand if the excess of ideas jumbled up in my brain has been even less organized here lately!  However, life seems to be settling down to a dull roar, and my aunt gave me some wonderful encouragement about my writing recently, so here I am rambling away on this ol' blog again. :-) 

And now I'm sure you are dying with curiosity to know why I have little trees all over my new home. Partially because my sister is an amazingly good sport with my decorating whimsy (I let her claim full ownership of the kitchen so it's a win-win).  Mostly because a friend from church posted a picture on Facebook of her fantastic collection of little stumps (stumps seems to be the more commonly used term. For reasons unknown, I continue to call them little logs....).   Her father had made them for her and she asked if anyone would like to order any.  At the speed of the Internet, ladies flocked to the post saying "Yes! Me please!" And the rest is history. :-) when I collected my logs from my friend before I ever moved, she asked me to post pictures of how I use them. :-) Well I intend to keep them around most of the year and just change out who keeps them company, but it's Fall for now, so the berries and pinecones and leaves and moss will probably hang around until we put up Christmas decorations next week! Ahh. Can't believe December is almost upon us! 

Soon I'll be posting pics and instructions on my "new" bookshelves! But I've want to be able to include a final "after" shot and I haven't finished putting all the books back on yet. (You'll understand why when you see them in their full glory.)

Until then, a few more pics, including the view from my balcony. :-) 

This is my new happy place. :-)

Have a fantabulous Thanksgiving people! Drive safe, eat more pie than you should, and enjoy your families. 

Hugs and kisses all around. 

Chelsea

Today I'm thankful for....

Today I am so thankful for my local church body. 

It started looking up at the worship team. Of the 9 people singing and playing instruments at the front of the church, one is a former Sunday school teacher and now his son is in my preschool nursery class.  One is my current Sunday school teacher, I graduated with his daughter and his granddaughter was in my pre k class last year. 10 years ago his family and my family took financial peace university together. One guy is the dad of one of the little boys in my class and his wife helps lead the special needs ministry where I get to volunteer.  One of the ladies is the youth pastor's wife and she is also a homeschool mom in my family's co-op!  Three others are all in my new Sunday school class or home group.  That's a lot of connection with 7 of the 9 people on the stage in a church of 700+ people.  The man sitting next to me is part of a family that is truly an extension of my own family. One row up and to the left is the man who was my youth leader when I was in 6th grade at a different church!  Behind me and to the right is a lady who stood up and spoke and blessed me at my high school graduation.  This is truly my family. They've known me and loved on me and supported for the last decade across 4 different countries and back.  I am so blessed. 

(And then the icing on the cake when the intro video starts for the series and it tells us to spend less on presents so that we can give more of our presence and then we have extra money to give to those who are actually hurting and in need! I love this church!)

THIS is the day....

So I woke up earlier than I wanted on my day off.  Early, and in pain.  Early and with allergies having spring break in my sinuses.  And I thought, "looks like it's going to be one of those days."  But then mercies of mercies, I had a second thought, "and what kind of day is that?"

"This is still the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it." 

(Shout out to my parents who thought singing that to us with lots of enthusiasm first thing in the morning was a great way to wake us up when we were little. Their other favorite was "Rise, and Shine, and Give God the glory glory.... yah. we were definitely one of those families. ;-D) 

So what if I woke up early? I got to hug my parents goodbye before they left for vacation.

So what if my throat hurts? I have a little cupboard full of yummy teas to help me feel better.

So what if my nose is pretending it's a see-saw going back and forth between stuffy and runny every few seconds? My mom buys us "Puff's+lotion" in bulk for days exactly like this.

So what if my shoulder is stiff? I slept on a mattress with not one but two pillows in a climate controlled room under a fluffy comforter. (me and my bed. not the whole room. ;-D)  I'm still living in luxury most of the world can't even imagine.

And the sun is still rising through the trees. and the microwave dings that the water for my tea is hot, and yes. This IS the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

TNT Day 31 - Worth more than the sum of all my tries.

This is the last post in a 31 day series about Learning New Things. 

Day 31

I was sipping my tea this morning trying to wake up and feeling extremely grateful that baby P was taking a nap, and I suddenly had a thought that I felt like I should keep.  My notebook was on the other side of the room and I couldn't be bothered to stand up and get it, so I opened my handy dandy notes app and typed the following...

My worth is not dependent on where I live, who I know, what I weigh, how often I blog, how many comments I get, or anything else related to what I do.  My worth does not fluctuate with my emotional stability or lack thereof. There is no correlation between my past or future ministry and my inherent value.  Nothing that anyone else says, does, or thinks can alter my worth. 

My value comes from God who calls me by name. He calls me His beloved child. His friend. His bride.  He made me unique, and He delights in me and rejoices over me with singing.  He declares that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He says I am worthy. 

And He says the exact same thing about each and every one of you my friends.  How different would our lives be if we walked in this truth minute by minute? I wish I did! But I know I forget this eternal truth more often than I remember. But I'm learning. :-)

This month has been such an amazing journey. I've learned so much about myself! I've learned lots of things to do differently next year! ;-)  But I think I want to have a TNT post a few times a month. Either Tuesday's New Thing or Thursday's New Thing maybe? ;-)

November will probably be mostly focused on getting ready to move and then moving and then setting up my new apartment! We get our keys 2 weeks from today!  (scroll down for a sneak peek of an idea I had to turn a lovely limitation into a beautiful imperfection. :-D )

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And here is are some inspiration photos I collected for ideas of what to do with this sad little mini wall in my new apartment. I'm thinking of putting a frame around the thermostat and using command strips to layer frames on top of the door. :-)

I was being lazy and taking screen shots on my phone when I made this collage. But according to google, the bottom left photo was taken from housetohomeblog.com. I don't know where the others came from. my screen shots don't tell me. :-(

Look at her go!

This post is part of a 31 day series about learning to try. 

Day 30

This is the second to last day! This month has been such an incredible adventure! Thanks for putting up with me and my only-out-there-to-me shenanigans. ;-D

  I had so many things I could have written about tonight. A follow up to the rug painting saga.  The new things I tried today.  But I want to keep it simple and just share what the amazing Miss K did today.  Miss K is 4 going on 40 and I have been her babysitter for almost exactly a year now.  In that whole time she has never been willing to go outside by herself, despite having had permission to do so for a little while now. Until today. 

Today she and I and her little sister A were all playing outside on the swings and I needed to go inside to start cooking dinner.  Miss K had been doing a great job of swinging by herself tonight with only occasional help from me for an extra boost or to get started.  I didn't want to throw off her momentum so I instead of saying it was time to go inside, I asked K if she wanted to stay outside by herself and keep swinging like a big girl. She paused only a moment, and declared she was big and she would keep swinging. But she did want one last big push ;-).  And so Little A and I went inside and waved through the window and K kept lifting herself above the trees and into the sky.  I pray she never becomes afraid of trying to fly! 

Day 29 - I decided to try not posting anything.

This post is part of a 31 day series about Trying New Things.  Except that I'm too tired physically, mentally, and emotionally to post anything meaningful tonight. So all you lovely readers will have to wait until tomorrow!  Which is also when I'll add links to future and past posts.

A million times better is better than perfect. :-)

This post is part of a 31 day series about trying new things. 

Day 28

First a reminder of the sad pitiful thing I ended yesterday with...

Tragic right?

Well look at it now!

Isn't that gorgeous? I'd hoped to stage it all fancy with a fern and a chair but it was still drying and I was already running late for work. 

I may or may not give it another coat later. It was still drying when it started to rain so I had to move everything in lickity split.  :-P

I'm really happy with how it turned out in the end. After two trips each to two different stores and spending nearly 100 on paint and supplies, I finally have something I'll be happy to have in my dining room and it coordinates perfectly with the giant rug going in the "living room" two feet to the right ;-).

Lessons learned: The upholstery fabric spray paint does not work well on patterns with high contrast or on anything dark.  I imagine it's best on very light solid fabric with low absorbency. 

Also. A quart of paint doesn't go very far. 

Sometimes it is better to get the good stuff instead of being cheap. 

I know it is kind of hard to tell, but the left side I did with a quart of mid grade paint. The right side I did with the top of the line stuff and I really could tell a pretty dramatic difference in how well it covered. It is also supposed to be highly durable which I'm glad of since it is going under a dining room table that will be used by a baker, a klutz, and lots of younger people. ;-D It is going to end up a little crunchy because I didn't want to mess with fabric medium, but it wasn't a super soft and squishy rug to start with. :-)

And one last before and after...

And with its new best friend instead of very very distant cousin...

Compared to the rug, my bookshelves should be a piece of cake right? Right. ;-)

This post was made possible by the generosity of kind friends who heard we were moving and offered us a gorgeous coffee table, an adorable old rocking chair, and the rug featured in this post. Thanks friends! You know who you are. :-)