Miss Millie

Here's a few pictures of our little honey in a quick shoot I did a
few weeks ago after a bath. She's changed so much even from then,
it's unbelievable.

The flood

I can't believe that I only posted once in April. Yes, we were busy,
but it's just shameful.
Here's some pics of an early morning jaunt on a four wheeler when it
was flooded.
The river's gone down now, and to give you some perspective, the
bridge that's flooded here, now has a 15-20 foot drop to the river
below.

Kids Club

Tuesday nights are the highlight of my week. We go to a kids club at
the local presbyterian church in town, where a group of moms bring
their kiddos for storytime/crafts/dinner, and pretty much pre-school
with the beloved, very patient, Miss Dana. Dana goes over the sounds
that letters make, counting, and always reads a fun story too. Today
everyone was having melt-downs, us included, and I almost asked Miss
Dana to just skip crafts, sing a song and let us all go home for
baths and bed. But one song turned into three, and before you know
it, an hour and a half had passed and we were happy we stayed for the
whole thing.

I've met a few really great moms to connect with through kids club,
and I'm very thankful that it's now part of our weekly routine.
Millie has fun tooting around while the other kids sit quietly. She's
a little young for it, but a great distraction for the rest of the
kids...

Photos of our new house

Yes, we've been promising and not delivering. Here's some photos of
our new house. The kitchen is going to be coming together in big ways
over the next two days. They finished the electric today, drywall and
taping are happening tonight, and cabinets are going in later this
week. The rest of it is in great shape. They finished the replacement
windows in the livingroom and bathroom today, and the livingroom will
be trimmed/painted by tomorrow. The goal is to get out of that room
so the hardwood can be finished along with the rest of the house. The
upstairs is final sanded, the downstairs is rough sanded, and they're
going to be tinting/poly-ing it next week while I'm in chi-land, and
Sam's on a "Staycation" with the girls.

Here's a quick recap of the house for you, room by room.

Upstairs - pink room is Lydia/Amelia's room. There's a linen closet
and a bathroom in the hallway; we're ignoring the bathroom for now
and will deal with it another day once we're moved in!
The green room is our playroom/craft room/multi-purpose room
(including guest room) until the office is finished downstairs (off
of the kitchen), and the current office can be turned into a guest room.

Downstairs - (don't you love the staircase? I think it's beautiful.
Livingroom is right off of the staircase, with an opening into the
kitchen/diningroom, and to the hallway where the bedrooms live.
The blue room is our bedroom
The very light green room is the current office until the one off the
kitchen is completed.
The bathroom is in really rough shape right now, but will all start
coming together when we put the beadboard up and get the tile
grouted. The vanity is a stand-alone, currently in our upstairs
"storage bathroom", so we just need to pull it out and hook it up.

The windows throughout the house are metal and in pretty bad shape,
but we're replacing them as we can - we started with the worst ones,
and any walls that we'd be re-drywalling before we moved in. The rest
will be a few a season until they're done. At least they open and
have screens!

The future office you can slightly see off of the kitchen. It's an
old porch that was converted into an inside room, which we then
proceeded to tear apart since it was done incorrectly and had a bunch
of water damage. The good news is that there's beautiful rafters
(think 2/3 inch wide planks) and a cathedral ceiling in it. We're
going to paint it all white, and finish it up to be a loft-like
little oasis, in a perfect location right off the kitchen so I can
take breaks in the afternoon and throw dinner together.

Enjoy the pics!

Easter and drama.

A big long truck with a flatbed trailer carrying a backhoe got stuck
at the bridge at the bottom of our driveway/road today. Everyone was
out on their porches and on 4-wheelers checking out the action. It
felt like community. Hah.

So you cross the bridge and the road immediately t's left and right.
Well, the truck was too long, and the radius of the curve, too tight.
So the took the backhoe off of the trailer, and attempted to lift the
trailer up with the backhoe hook, then pulling the truck around the
corner. I don't think they succeeded, but instead just found a way to
back it onto the bridge. It was a lot of ado about not very much, but
it was pretty exciting nonetheless. (smile!)

We had a great Easter with family in from Chicago- Mike and Lisa and
Sonya got in on Wednesday evening and stayed until this morning! A
great long visit that included late nights playing 3 person Mario on
the Wii, starting the process of painting the interior of our house,
getting all the plumbing completed, lots of meals together, a movie
night in the church with UP on the big-screen with bose sound, an
easter egg hunt, celebrating Christ's resurrection together in
church, and lots of cousin time. Lizzie actually came back with Sam
last Sunday and stayed with us until her parents came on Wed. So for
a few nights we had a glimpse of what our life COULD look like in a
few years, should things go that way. Lizzie is 5, so we could very
realistically at some point have a 5 year old, 3 year old, and one
year old... It's busy! But we loved it.

The weather couldn't have cooperated more. We had multiple days in
the high 80s with cool evenings. Beautiful! Although I must admit
that I'm a little nervous about how hot this summer could look!

Over and out for tonight, but wanted to give you a tiny glimpse of
our holiday together.

our happy rooms.

So, I chose something so like me, and so unlike me, all at the same
time. In our last home, we chose what we liked for colors, but also
with the lurking thought of resale in the back of our heads. This
time around, it's what we want and how we want our home to function.

We have three rooms upstairs - a big big bedroom, a medium bedroom,
and a bathroom. The large bedroom is going to be a guest room slash
project room slash music room. I want it to be fun and creative. I
want it to be green. Lydia's, I want to be sweet like sorbet. So
here's what we're doing.

The hallway leading downstairs will be a neutral that transitions the
colors into the more muted naturals of our main living areas.

What do you think?

thanks for our new house.

Here's a page from another great book from my Mom. It's called Thanks
for Thanksgiving, and this page and the feel of the illustrations
reminds me of the feel of our new house we're working on. In fact,
there's actually a window to the left of the fireplace exactly like
the "cuddling" page. And a staircase just like this one.

Today we spent the morning at Lowes, finalizing our kitchen pieces.
We're doing a combination of custom built-ins thanks to Sam, and pre-
constructed cabinets from Lowes. They have bead board fronts, and
look very charming. We're doing white cabinets with wood butcher
block counters. And lots and lots of open shelving. Lots. It's going
to be great. I'm so thankful. After a few months of living in a
kitchen with about 36 inches of counter space and no dishwasher,
we're going to feel like kings to even just have a dishwasher, let
alone four bedrooms and a new kitchen. Wowsers.

Real pictures of the house to come soon. I promise it's not just in
my imagination.
Actually, here's two to tickle your brains.

decorating for Easter.

I'm helping get the church decked out for Easter, and I turned to Nettleton Hollow to get some fresh ideas. I ended up with some twisted willow, myrtle, and craspedia. My inspiration is the photo here that shows the myrtle mixed in with the willow. The yellow is to give a little pop. I'm tired of silk flowers and fake things, so here's some of the real deal to make spring come alive in our church - and since I believe that everything is somehow connected - in our lives and hearts as well. Beauty affects so much.

I was reminded of that while reading the book that I posted about last. Beauty can speak volumes as it touches a tender chord in our hearts. Especially as women. We are put together in such a way to want to be beautiful and create beauty out of our lives and the things that we touch. Whatever your style of beautiful - modern or folksy, whatever it be, each of us has something that moves us and makes us feel like we've created loveliness. And hopefully that's what we're going to create here in the church this Easter when we're celebrating the resurrection of our Jesus. He deserves lovely. And a whole lot more.

The dude behind Nettleton is very nice to work with. I'll update this post after I get the actual product, but Justin was super helpful, responded immediately to my email (which lamented the fact that they were out of myrtle, asking if they had any sad seconds in stock), and immediately replied that he did think they had a sad leftover that they would pop in the order as a freebie. Sure, I might need to hot glue a few pieces on here and there, but I'm confident that it will work, one way or the other, even if it's just the willow and the craspedia. Their blog is fabulous with so many decorating ideas for weddings and events! You can visit it through their website.

How are you decorating for spring?

sorry my images didn't post first time around! Here they are!

a day.

My Samuel is out of town this weekend, up in Chicago helping our
friends the Bozzay's put their house back together after some
construction projects uncovered more problems that extended their
projects unexpectedly. These things happen. And I'm stoked that he
can be around another good man pal who helps build him up. But today
was just a bit of a day. Millie was up for an hour in the middle of
the night last night teething, Lydia woke up whiny and proceeded to
make it her theme for the day; I don't have a car so was feeling a
bit fenced in; and Millie also continued to be fussy throughout the
day. A big box came in the mail from my mom today, since they
cancelled their trip to visit (which also made me sulk today). It
contained the girls' birthday gifts (oh my, mugs and bowls with their
pictures on them! They were thrilled.), and two fabulous books for
them. I read the one and just sat and cried. There was wrapping all
over the livingroom, Millie was tearing it to bits, Lydia was trying
to comfort me, and I was literally sitting in the middle of it,
crying, realizing that these are the moments that life is made up of,
and I don't want to wish any of them away, even the rough ones. The
book is titled "someday", and I'll completely spoil it for you by
putting all of it right here. The illustrations are charming, and
completely "make" the book. If you are the mother of a girl, you must
get this book.

One day, I counted your fingers and kissed each one.
One day, the first snowflakes fell, and I help you up and watched
them melt on your baby skin.
One day, we crossed the street, and you help my hand tight.
Then, you were my baby, and now you are my child.

Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too...
That someday you will dive into the cool, clear water of a lake.
Someday you will walk into a deep wood.
Someday your eyes will be filled with a joy so deep that they shine.
Someday you will run so fast and so far your heart will feel like fire.
Someday you will swing high - so high, higher than you ever dared to
swing.
Someday you will hear something so sad that you will fold up with
sorrow. (amazing illustration of a teenager with her legs pulled up
to her in an armchair, with a letter on the floor)
Someday you will call a song to the wind, and the wind will carry
your song away.
Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me
until I no longer see you.
Someday you will look at this house and wonder how something that
feels so large can look so small.

Someday you will feel a weight against your strong back. (shows a
young mother giving a piggyback ride)
Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair.
Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the
sun. (lovely illustration of the back view of an older woman sitting
in an adirondack chair on a porch, watching the sunset)
And when that day comes, love, you will remember me. (And it shows a
framed photo sitting on an end-table - the photo that was the
illustration from the first page where the mom was counting her
fingers).

Completely full circle. It made today seem very tiny in the big
picture of things.

And made me in a strange way, much more cognizant of the future of
the memories we are creating. I'm getting ready to order some large
prints of photos, and now I'm thinking - what would my children want
to look at someday when they're grown and want to post cherished
photos on their walls? Will they want just a cute photo of them? Or
would they want a photo of them flashing a big smile to sam or I, us
in the picture, smiling back at them. It just made me think.

sewing for ruthie.

Lydia's birthday is coming up on Friday, and part of her gift is the "naked no more" gift of love for her babydoll, Ruthie. Naked babydolls really bug me. I'm not sure why - they just look so sad and undone. Ruthie's current outfits are oh-so-fun for Lydia to take off, and oh-so-difficult for her to get back on. So most of the times, Ruthie is a sad babydoll with no clothes. I got out the tupperware of fabric last night and burrowed through until I found something just right. Then I went back to my days as a twelve year old, sewing for my American Doll, Kirsten, and I made a pattern for little Ruthie. I vaguely remembered how to do the bodice, and then the rest came along pretty easily. Here's the result. All you sewing geniuses, do you have any ideas for making the bodice a little neater on the inside? I did a full-lined front, and two fully-lined back pieces, but left the sides open since I'd be sewing the front to the back, and so those seams are really messy on the inside, since I don't have a serger. Any ideas? I'm thinking I should have closed up the sides when I sewed the rest of it, then when I reversed it, just hand slip-stitched the front and back of the bodice together.

I can't wait to see her face when she opens it!

update - well, I wrote this about two weeks ago, and then didn't download the photos from the camera until yesterday. She loved the dress!

birthday number one.

I can't believe Millie is one tomorrow.
What a year it's been for all of us, her included.

Here's a quick picture of her birthday party - she ate almost her
whole cupcake - double-fisted, going at it with a big grin the whole
time. What a different experience from Lydia, who gingerly poked at
it like it would bite her!

getting to know our community.

We've delved full-force into community events and our mission for coming to Kentucky! Many paths are converging all at once, started by a friend sending me a grant application that we can create a qualifying program for. Tonight we went to the drug awareness council meeting, a monthly meeting to discuss activities that will prevent and stop drug use in our county. UNITE is a program that contributes financially toward many of our council's activities, and we briefly met the community coordinator, who encouraged us to develop activities and then present them to UNITE for approval and funding. The contingency is that we provide some type of drug prevention into it - which can be as simple as having a trained anti-drug counselor conduct a presentation for a few minutes at the start of a community game night.

We have lots of ideas, and now, timelines for implementation. Time to name our organization, apply for a few grants, and work with our city drug council to partner in projects that can help our youth here in Leslie county build a strong foundation in Christ on which they can base their big life decisions.

Lydia's 3 year pictures - a peek.

This morning when the temperature jumped over ten degrees in an hour,
I decided it was a good day to get outside and take some pictures for
the girls' yearly shoots. Here's a sneak peek of Lydia's group of
pictures. I was so sold on having her wear this jacket, and I'm glad
I did as I really like the contrast it creates with her blond hair
against it. But, I had to cut about 3 inches off the end of the arms
to make it work. It's the most adorable denim jacket ever, but It's
never fit her correctly - she couldn't even get her hands through the
ends of the sleeves this morning - they cinch really tightly at the
ends. But seeing as it was a hand me down and we wouldn't get any
wear out of it anyhow, out came the scissors. I think it was worth it.

I can't believe our baby is three. What great joy she's brought to us!

an inspiring read.

This article here kind of describes the work/life partnership that Sam and I are attempting to achieve. Ironically, Gabrielle is a designer, so there are some definite parallels. I am inspired daily by her blog, which discusses the intersection of design and motherhood - everything from fabulous birthday party ideas to new design trends. 

Zumba-ing.

It's time for me to venture out of my comfort zone here. I've been
tucked in a warm house all winter, and not been as active as I'd have
liked. So tonight, I'm going to zumba class in Hazard. Hopefully I'll
have a buddy in the future, but tonight I'm on my own - a little bit
daunting in a new town, but I'll be fine. Zumba looks fun and catchy
- like I might actually stick with it. ;) It's a latin dance/fitness
class that's supposed to be fun as well as calorie-burning.

Our traditions.

Have you seen the old tasha tudor book "A time to keep"?
I love this book.

I remember seeing old Tasha Tudor books in the past-as my mom is a
big fan and we had several growing up-but I read this book to Lydia
this weekend at the retreat, and fell in love with Tasha Tudor all
over again. Beautiful illustrations and simple stories of times past.

This book especially, as it focuses on a holiday for each month of
the year. And I'm a sucker for holidays!

I bought an old copy on Amazon for $10, and I plan on getting a
matted frame that will fit the pages, and rotate a page each month,
depending on what holiday is it. To remind me to celebrate even those
"minor" holidays with our girls. (It kind of feels weird buying a
book to take it apart, but I was inspired by Dayna's wall art in her
nursery, consisting of pages taken out of a beautiful children's
book!) There are so many things in life to celebrate, and I want to
get in the habit of celebrating on each and every occasion possible.
My mom was great at that. There was always something on the fridge or
the back door that acknowledged a holiday. Our holiday traditions
were often food-related too (imagine that, food being important to
the Horvath's!), and we celebrated with a special cake, meal, or
dessert that recognized the holiday. Even on voting day! Mom would
wrap a nickel and a quarter (I think) in tin foil, and bake into a
cake. As the story goes, whoever got the quarter would be guaranteed
victory for whomever they voted for.

I read a few pages out of another book this morning that happens to
be along the same line - treasuring God in our traditions, by Noel
Piper. I especially like the forward by her husband John, where he
talks about how their family sees God in everyday happenings. "Woven
into our family life is the conviction that God is most glorified in
us when we are most satisfied in him. His glory and our joy are not
at odds. He gets the glory. We get the joy." What a great outlook.
For so long I believed that by sacrificing things that I enjoyed, by
"giving up", that in my lack of happiness, He would at least be
glorified. And that's just so opposite of what it really is. Those
moments in life when we feel that all is well, that everything is
"right with the world", that we want to bottle up and keep forever -
that is what our hearts respond to.

Wow, what a rabbit trail.

We got some more of the house cleaned out last night - almost to the
point where we can take some pictures to share! (yes, let this be an
indication of how much stuff the previous owners left!) And in the
midst of the junk are treasures - I'm very excited about the old
wringer washer in the basement - I think it's going to be fabulous
for keeping bottled soda cold for outdoor parties in the summertime!

Truth is stranger than fiction.

At a recent wal-mart shopping trip recently, we bought an insulated
bag since we live far enough away from the grocery store that we want
to make sure our frozen food is still cold by the time we get home.
The cashier pointed to it and started a conversation, "so, would you
believe a guy brought one of these back the other day and said it was
defective since his ice cream melted in it? I asked him what he had
in it, and he said 'ice cream and fried chicken. It says it's
supposed to keep things both hot and cold'." OH DEAR! I was sure he
was joking, but he assured us he wasn't, and that he sees the
strangest things working there. I have no doubt!

Today.

Was a banner day, and it's only a little after noon.

We heard that the camp retreat this past weekend was a success and blessing to the kids who attended, we closed on our new house (hooray), and I have a hot date with my lovely Sammy tonight.

And, it was 62 here yesterday, and word on the streets is that winter is coming to an end and we can look for many more 60 and 70 degree days in the next few weeks. 

The speaker this weekend talked a lot about Thanksgiving, and how being thankful in tough circumstances is actually a sacrifice that we're commanded to make. Ps. 50:14 - "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High." And with that, I'll share that it's tough right now to be thankful for my silly "eye injury". I burned the top layer of cells off of my right eye this weekend at the retreat by accidentally using the wrong contact lens solution (it was a contact cleaner with peroxide, not solution). Let's just say it was right up there with childbirth, and I'm glad that it's better than it was at first. But it was a very "in-my-face" opportunity to be thankful for something that's...well...not pleasant.  Not "compare myself with someone less fortunate" to make myself feel better, but truly be thankful.

And so - I am filled with thanks today. For all the good things in our lives. And those not-so-pleasant things as well. 

Pictures on the house to come. The previous homeowner was still packing her stuff up this morning, so we're going to give her a few days before we barge in. The pictures from before we bought it still have all her stuff in it, and it will be easier for ya'll to "see" the house without all the "stuff" in the pictures!

word clouds.

I made this word cloud of this blog at the end of last year. I love
that home is the center. It's very fitting, since that's where my
heart is too.

What a will.

One of the (many) off limits places in this house, and the first
place Millie makes a beeline for whenever she can sneak away. The
bathroom. The door closes by itself, so she'll crawl up to it, and
bat at the door to see if she can open it. If she can't, she whines
and hits the door. But isn't she so darn cute?

Feel free to note the luxurious linoleum flooring and electric wall
heaters. Two of the things that have been an adjustment. However - if
that's as worse as it gets, we're doing great. We're very thankful
for a place to call home that came out of the woodwork right before
we moved.