long time, no...type?

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. We have had so much going on between our chaotic lives and church/work schedules, to get anything done. Busy, busy!

Spring has ALMOST sprung. We get a little peak every day of what the summer will bring us. It feels like Christmas for me. I LOVE summer! I'm a total beach bum :)

So anywho, lately I've been chanting 'Less is More!' because well, it IS! We have been doing some major cleaning around here. Started with the garage; I didn't know the garage could look that good! It's just a garage, but it looks fan-tas-tic! Then I moved on to the Office which was basically storing random stuff and things I didn't know what to do with when we moved. It's not finished but it looks WAY better than before. Yesterday, I worked on Adelyn's room. She is growing up so fast, she plays with a toy for 2 months and then she's outgrown it...I'm running out of room to put outgrown toys! We attempted to put flooring in the attic yesterday. It didn't work out AT all. Justin got up there and said it's a crazy mess. I hope we can get it figured out so we can use it for storage. I'd hate to let the '3rd level' go to waste like that.

SO, I wanted to hit some yard sales saturday morning but that didn't happen, maybe this saturday? I need a solid wood bench and an old trunk. I've already got a cute little bookshelf. The plan is to sand it down and paint it for Adelyn's room. Never done anything like that before so wish me luck! I'll post pictures and such-as tomorrow.

Happy Thursday!!

Please Pray

I know I haven't blogged since Tuesday. It's just been so darn busy around here! I don't have much going on today. No fun art and craft ideas.  No fun baby pictures. No news about painting a tree on the wall of the loft (don't ask...). Just a couple of humble prayer requests.

First I would ask for prayer for the Janes family. Their 14 year-old son Garren is in the hospital fighting for his life (you can read more here). We knew the Janes family from when we were serving at Southbrook Church in Weddington. They are such a sweet family and are going through a very tough time right now. I told Justin the other day, 'If we were in this same situation, I have NO idea what I would do...I would just crumble.' The Janes are standing firm to what Christ has promised us. They are a prime example of Christ. When I pray for the family, for their situation, for the mom who feels helpless, I cant help but see Geoffrey standing with his arms up to part the red sea as Moses did. I see friend and family and people he doesn't even know coming around him and holding his arms up because he is starting to get weary. And I believe that is exactly what we need to do. Its what Christ has CALLED us to do. I lift them up daily and will continue to do so, please join me.

The other family I would ask you to pray for is the Mosley family. My friend Audrey and her husband have been trying to conceive their first child for over a year. She found out 6 wks ago that she was pregnant! It has been a hard 6 weeks filled with terrifying complications. They found out last night that they lost their sweet baby. I can't imagine what that must be like. I don't want to. When I found out what happened I just cried out for them. 'Why?'. This simple, one-word questions seems unanswerable. I know that God has plans for Audrey and her husband. I know he wants nothing more than the best for them. I also know that they will be re-united with their sweet baby boy (just a prediction!) on the other side of eternity. But it doesn't make it any easier. It wont make the days go by any faster. And it wont make the heart hurt any less. Please be in prayer for this family.

When you go about your life today and tomorrow, please pray for these families and the situations that they are going through. Both are firm believers in Christ and want His plans for them. Thank you.

Hang on tight!

I've wanted to do something with the inside of this 'builder' home for a while. Well, since we moved in. BUT, being 9mos preggers, and then having a child to take care of, things got put on hold. Adelyn is starting to be able to do her own thing while mommy cleans, writes, cleans some more, ect. SO, thus begins Project Make-This-House-Look-Cute. I'm so excited!

I ran a few ideas by Justin last night and his head was spinning. 'You wanna paint a tree on what wall?' 'You want to do what with the kitchen cabinets?'. Yeah, it was an interesting night. He reminded me a few too many times about our money situation (which I am VERY aware about...). So I quickly asked him who has been saving so much money on things lately and picking up extra 'little jobs' here and there. Yep. Thats me. Back to the Project, I'm doing this on little to NO money budget. Which is all the more fun!

So I'm writing this to say a few things. 1-We are going for the classic/country/cottage feel. It's very inviting and cozy and makes you feel at home. Which is good, because this is our home. Anywho. 2-You can do almost ANYTHING with no money (I know it sounds crazy but its true!). 3-If you have any ideas you want to throw my way, be my guest! I am open to trying anything! 4-If you are at a yard sale, flea market, auction, or in your attic and you see something that you think I might like, PLEASE call me or text me a picture. It just might be the thing I need :)

Not so bad!

This weekend was very busy for us. My parents went to Florida again and I watched their dogs. My sister was staying with us as well so we had a full house!

Not sure how I found time to do a few crafty things that I've seen online, but we made it work.

I made this 'thing' (not sure what to call it) and it didn't quite turn out how I wanted, BUT not bad for my first time...

I'll start from the beginning. I went to my sister-in-laws paint shop and got some mis-tinted paint for next to NOTHING as well as a few one of every paint chip sample . Then I headed to Lowe's where I did the same thing with the paint chip samples (my sister was with me and she was MORE than embarrassed!), while we were there we picked up a couple pieces of plywood. I already had the other supplies that were needed (Mod Podge, Spray Adhesive, paint brushes ect.)

So! I started by painting the edges of the plywood dark brown. Then I cut the samples into 3inch squares and picked the colors that I wanted to use. I started glueing them on the board (I randomly started in the middle of the wood because I thought it would be fun to work my way out and cut the squares on the perimeter to fit. Bad idea). By the time I got to the perimeter, it was late and I was tired. So I skipped the part where I was going to cut them to fit.


And decided to paint it brown and pretend it was supposed to have a 'border'. Whatever. It was late.




After that, I threw some Mod Podge on it (which I thought would be the easiest part) and I guess it was too thick because it didn't dry correctly and some of the squares started to come up and bubble! I was getting upset so I went to bed. Next step was to put another coat on. So I did. I decided to dab it with a rag to get the 'textured look' that I thought would look better. Surprisingly it did!

The finished product!

I guess this was more of a practice one so I can't be THAT upset. It's kinda cute. I will use it in the baby's room or if we ever get the 'play room' going, I'll use it in there. 

Time for Adelyn's nap! I'll post tomorrow...maybe.

February? What?

I have NO idea where January went but Hello February! I know most of the country is under piles of snow, but we are enjoying sunny, 65* weather today. I absolutely LOVE it. Adelyn and I just got back from walking dogs and while she is napping I thought I would show you what all is going on!

With it being February and all, I wanted to do something cute (but cheap) to make our house Valentines Day-ish. I found a few fun little craft ideas (from some very creative blogs online) to make the house feel 'in-love'. I'm not even sure what that means, but I feel it!

This banner is so cute and simple. I couldn't pass up replicating it. I printed some piano sheet music off-line and stained it with tea. After letting it dry and taking a scissor to the edges, I painted the letter on. Finally, I punches holes in the top and strung the yarn through. Simple as THAT!

You can hang this one from light fixtures, fans, the ceiling, whatever. Also very simple! Take red card stock and cut it into strips. Create a document with the word 'love' in a few different fonts alternating black and red. Print it off and also cut it into strips. Fold those strips in half (to make the crease at the bottom of the heart) and then bring the outer ends together and staple! You can layer the red and white or you can alternate them. Make it your own! I'm going to wait and do this one when Adelyn wakes up. I'm sure she will be a HUGE help!

Anywho, I thought these were adorable and wanted to share them with you. Put a little love in your home. Hope you enjoy!

What a Week!

This week has been a little crazy at the Wallace Ranch. Justin has been sick, Adelyn has been kinda sick (I cant decide if she is or not!). Mommy has been fine (fingers crossed, knock on wood)!

Justin and I are also planning a weekend-long conference for our students at the church. Planning is always fun and argument-free for us. We would never get stressed about event planning. We would never argue over menu's and housing for our students. Never. Really...

My parents are in Florida this week. I am watching their dogs. Sweet dogs. Good dogs. They love Mylie. They love Adelyn. It's been a fun week.

Just a few side notes. I like structure. I like happiness. I like cleanliness. I'm not a big fan of chaos, dirt, anger, and other things that aren't my idea of 'right'. So a sick family, arguments over ministry, dogs and baby going crazy everywhere, it's been quite and adventure AND a learning experience.

Adelyn wanted to wear a t-shirt from the Smoky Mountains gift-store matched with Santa Clause pajama bottoms. So instead of having everything be perfect and 'right', I let her. Gotta choose your battles.

And when she wanted to feed the dogs her Cheerios, I just let her. Everyone ended up happier in the end and that made Mommy happy :) 

(P.S.- Sorry mom! They didn't eat TOOO many!)

I'm learning that it's life. It's a little messy and pretty chaotic but it's ok. It isn't anything that will hurt anyone. It's just CRAZY! God is funny though, I feel like he wants me to go crazy once in a while. It's healthy? Maybe....

Don't laugh, I'm excited!

Lately, we have had a little struggle with money (who hasn't?). Being a stay at home momma with one income has been a little adjustment.  I absolutely LOVE staying at home with our sweet baby girl and 'running the home' (trying to keep things in order is impossible!) but regardless, this is life and money is tight.

SO, I've been going down every avenue trying to save a buck or two. At first it was borderline stupid. I didn't want to spend my days trying to save a few dollars. My time is worth more than that. BUT WAIT. I started reading friends blogs about how they started saving money and I realized, it wont happen overnight.

I have got to start with the little things. Being a little more green, making smart decisions instead of spur-of-the-moment decisions. So now, its fun. I never thought I would say that saving money is 'fun', but I love it. I can't remember the last time I paid full price for something. Being conscious of how much money is going where is a VERY good feeling.

Justin is on board. Who wouldn't be? He is slowly understanding the method to my madness. He is VERY patient with me and seems confident in my spending decisions. Adelyn loves going to consignment stores and checking things out. She thinks EVERYTHING is hers. Mylie is the only one not loving it, her toys have gone from 1 per week (yes, she was spoiled worse than most children), to a handful a year.

It's an adjustment for everyone but nothing is lost. We have more fun hanging out with one another, going on scavenger hunts for the best price, doing things that don't cost an arm and a leg.

'Less is more' is my new motto and for good reasons. It IS more.

Next on the agenda is to plant a small vegetable garden and put up a clothes line. Don't laugh. I'm excited :)