pray for casen.

i checked with crystal, and she said it was OK to post a request to ask everyone who is reading this blog -- whether you know him or not -- to PLEASE pray for casen. last night around 9 p.m., jerry and crystal took casen to the emergency room because he was wheezing terribly and having trouble breathing. they tested for rsv, flu and swine flu, which all came back negative, but ended up determining casen has pneumonia. he was admitted to the hospital last night, and doctors are saying he'll be there for at least 2 or 3 days. he's receiving oxygen and has a breathing treatment every hour. poor baby casen has had a string of pesky health issues over the past few months, and i believe that God wants to perform a miracle in his body. let's pray for that, OK? also pray for jerry and crystal who i am pretty sure did not sleep at all last night and are, understandably, very worried about their son. i'll post more information as crystal updates me.

good stuff.

linky rabbit trail led me to this post yesterday.

it's good. and it's loooong. fyi.

my favorite nugget:

"the man who taught me to think says this about two different kinds of rewards:  when the Lord promises a reward, He first reveals the cost to be incurred, and, if we comply with the requirements, then we receive the reward.  with satan, he gives you the reward first, and then the cost is revealed and paid."

new (old) treasures.

photos of recently acquired goodies that make me a happy girl.

i've been searching for something to put in my entry hall for months now. i'm on a very limited budget, and things within it included wobbly hobby lobby and assemble-it-yourself pier 1 tables. bleh. the other trick is my entry hall is pretty narrow. gray woke me up around 8:15 saturday morning, landon and ellie were still asleep, so we decided to go antiquing. first stop was yellow rose, a little vintage shop that happens to, sadly, be closing. the sweet owner is tired of sitting in the shop all day so she's packing it up. lucky for me, she had all her beautiful stuff marked down. the first thing she said to me was, "we're at the please-make-us-an-offer stage." she had lots of very, very old, very, very expensive things that were lovely to look at but not quite my style and definitely not quite my budget. then i saw these two things. the chair is from the 1920s or 1930s, and was marked $50. i asked about it, and she said she'd give it to me for $20. when the sale finally went through, i ended up getting it for $10. score! the green cabinet is not necessarily that old, but SO cute. she bought it a few years ago at an estate sale, and doesn't know much about it. it was marked at $285. when i asked about it, she said she's sell it to me for $95. um, can you say sold? i can! "sold!!" i went home and OK'd it with landon, a deal i believe was sealed when i told him the owner's husband would deliver the stuff for free. and i am now the very happy owner of a very cool green cabinet that fits perfectly in my entry. solid, quality, useful, beautiful and a super good price. makes the $160, cheaply made, wobbly hobby lobby table i was contemplating look ridiculous. now to accessorize...

this sweet thing is a retro diner creamer that delana gave me for easter. it was tied on the handle of a reusable shopping bag that held a tomato plant. she's such a good gift-giver.

the only thing i know about this is it's a tin that was made in england in a popular color called jadite. and i think it's awesome. i bought it at the british-american antique place over easter weekend when delana, kylah, mandy and i went shopping.

also bought this at british-american antique place over easter weekend. only know that it's from england. and it's yellow. which rocks.

i...love...these. delana scored these at the antique place over behind henry's a few days ago. "gh" for "grayson henry." i don't know how old they are, but they are carved wood baby blocks, and i think they are so stinkin' cool!!

this is a bauer pitcher i bought from the lady at yellow rose. bauer is apparently a very collectible pottery that was made in california in the 30s and 40s. this one, which is way cool shade of green, is cracked in several places and probably worth nothing. but for the $4 i paid for it, it pleases me greatly.

there are a few more things i've rounded up the past couple of weeks from antique shops and thrift shops that aren't pictured. a couple tablecloths, lots of tea cups and saucers, some vintage books, a funky teapot and an old, ugly vanity chair that is gonna make a way cool before & after post when i get the time.

i wish i could spend all day hunting for awesome things with which to feather my nest on the cheap. so gratifying.

do you have any favorite places to hunt for new (old) treasures?

sunday night.

it's thundering. i love thunder. it's 10:45. i should go to bed. taks tests are this week. not sure if i'll be less tired or more tired. less planning, but 4 hours of "monitoring?" sounds tiring. i need to pack my lunch. i need to pack the kids' lunch and stuff for tomorrow. i have a really cool post developing. it'll be another month before i post it. sorry. i never posted for gray's 8 month birthday. we're on the way to 9 months. there's a surgery gray may have to have if something doesn't adjust in his sweet little body before his 9-month checkup. so far it's not adjusting. pray for him? my to-do list is phenomenally long. ela cert test is saturday. please, oh, please, let me pass. the tea is saturday too. yay! i need to find just the right teapot. so far said pot is elluding me. i laid two tiny pieces of paper on the altar this morning. i laid the complication at His feet. i'll probably have to lay it at His feet again tomorrow. such is my weak and confused soul. i want to eat blackberries and whipped cream. i also want to eat toast with cinnamon & sugar. weird combo. i think i'm allergic to aspartame, the sweetner in my beloved diet coke. not good. found diet coke with splenda. *smiles.* i need to do a post about the vintage treasures i've aquired the past couple weeks. they make me happy. i bought a piece of furniture today. a nice piece. it'll be delivered tomorrow. will post pics. is this making you nauseous? sorry. the fact that, this summer, one of my sisters is getting married and another is having a baby keeps making me cry. the built-ins in my living room are ever-evolving. i don't think i'll ever love them. landon is cute. i did 1 million loads of laundry yesterday. i have 1 million left. i think i have enough stuff for a full-blown garage sale. how is that possible? i am endlessly jealous that kylah is going to hawaii. i am endlessly jealous of jenny's flower-photographing ability. i need to buy some of those photos. i need to buy some of the photos of my family. i already have another shoot scheduled, and haven't ordered enough from the last two. i need to do something on the big, blank wall in my living room. a wall of jenny photos is a good idea. i was trying to be firm with ellie earlier tonight. against my will, i broke into hysterical laughter. grayson, who was in my arms, started cracking up because i was. which made me laugh more. which made him laugh more. ellie escaped. man, i love my kids. life is hard, but it's so good. tough times and insecurity roll steady in the background as the foreground is punctuated with snapshots of what really counts. amazing grace and sweet, sweet love abound.

the shelf project. finally.

awhile back i moved the big, black, ikea corner bookshelf from our living room to the kitchen. i rearranged the living room, and the bookshelf was weighing it down on one end. i had been trying to come up with a good way to store my etsy/craft supplies, bills, things to-be-filed, etc. through a collaboration with delana, it was determined that the shelf in the kitchen with baskets would be a good idea.

i moved the shelf to the kitchen where it was immediately covered in piles and piles of junk. it has remained that way for some time. i purchased the baskets a few weeks ago half off at hobby lobby. they sat in my car for awhile.

finally, today, i bit the bullet.

before:

after:

there was no question that the baskets had to have lids. having baskets designated for specific things and actually putting those things in said baskets is a big step for me. having OPEN baskets is too much. that means what's inside would have to be presentable. not gonna happen. with the exception of my projects-in-progress basket, which usually contains pretty things, lids abound. my nine baskets are: 1.) things to be filed, 2.) things to be dealt with (bills, etc.), 3.) inspiration/to-do projects, 4.) rubber stamps, 5.) paper/cards/envelopes, 6.) ink & writing utensils, 7.) miscellaneous craft supplies (spray paint, mod podge, sponge brushes, acrylic paints), 8.) projects-in-progress and 9.) ribbon & string.

i accessorized with some random stuff i already had. a gold ikea lantern, some retro fire king pottery, a hand painted japanese bowl and jadite-colored tin that i purchased at antique stores and a little house plant in an ikea planter.

the card sets are a couple of etsy orders i MUST finish soon. not shown is poor jenny's set of thank yous that is 1 million years overdue.

i don't think it's perfect. i'm sure some tweaking will go on with the presentation. in fact, i think i may move the basket off the very top of the shelf as soon as i publish this post. it looks weird. please comment with suggestions and thoughts. don't be shy. i know your decorating skills rock.

regardless, the after is light years better than the before!

now, i'm inspired to straighten the rest of my kitchen.

sweetness.

***

edited later: see? changed the top already. kylah said the basket on top would be better with some other stuff added. i tried something with a teapot and a cake stand, but it looked sorta weird. this is a glass ikea (can you tell i like ikea?) pitcher with black river rocks and pink flowers cut from the bushes in my front yard. what do you think? better?

can you beat 18 easter pictures?

saturday, church easter egg hunt.

yes, we are lady-like.

happy until we let the balloons go. tears ensued. many tears.







easter morning, loving goodies mamo easter bunny left on the front porch.

easter afternoon, coloring eggs and checkin' out easter baskets from mama easter bunny and mush easter bunny.




grayson with his cousin! (in his mama's tummy. see?)



i know her eyes are closed. i'll take what i can get when it comes to mama&babies shots.

thursday: chicken, lemon & leek pot pie.

tonight was chicken, lemon & leek pot pie. an amazing, hearty, comfort-food concept with a surprisingly light and appropriate-for-spring flavor combination. the link shows it with a traditional pie crust topping. i used phyllo dough. landon didn't love the leeks. delana and i devoured it. it was more labor-intensive than any other recipe i've made so far on this venture, but it was worth it. super good.

i baked and shredded my own chicken, and ellie helped quite a bit by counting lemons. at one point, i turned to grab something and turned back to see her spitting out a mouthful of raw leek. heh.

i will say my motivation to do dishes tonight is about in the negative.

must do dishes...must do dishes...must do dishes...

i want...

• to figure out and stick to, for the love of all that is holy, a method of home cleaning and upkeep.
• to run my vertical blinds through a really big, violent shredder. vertical blinds should be illegal.
• God's will for the teaching situation in the fall.
• God to quickly reveal His will for the teaching situation in the fall. please.
• to kiss my husband for offering to go to the grocery store friday night so i didn't have to go tonight. sunday nights at heb are madness.
• to kiss my husband again for actually going even after he saw the list i made.
  
• to keep the menu plan that i have for this week. you know, since my husband bought all the groceries.
• to take 12 baths a day with soap from sun basil garden. peony is my current bar. mmm.
• to figure out a way to teleport to ballinger.
• to do a happy dance because i put on (and fit into!) a size 6...SIX!!!...while shopping yesterday.
• to rewind lunch today and not eat so much bread and pasta.
• to fast forward to the upcoming 4.5-day weekend. woohoo!
• to cry because i have thrush again.
• to go flea market/garage sale/antiquing and find treasures. (got any donations, gramma?)
  
• to be able to assemble those treasures into something that resembles this. seriously so cool. i think this house looks a lot like ours. same time period. i love how she's made it cool without gutting it. she's highlighted the out-of-date stuff and somehow made it look up-to-date. genius!
  
• to quit stalling and dive into developing an organization system for my big corner bookshelf that i've moved to the kitchen. i bought a bunch of baskets (with..very important..lids) half off at hobby lobby. i think it'll look really good when i just do it.
• to believe that they studied.
• to designate one day this weekend to working in the yard. the grass needs cut (ahem, dh?) and my empty pots are begging for colorful annuals.
• to remember to take our overflowing change jar to coinstar.
• to keep my kids from getting so stinkin big. i think we're about to start buying 3t clothes for ellie.
• to hang out with friends more. like we did saturday night. dinner at jerry and crystal's was glorious.
• to believe the test i'm taking next month is as easy angela says. she's smart, so..
• to see my stinkin nephew! or at least his mama's belly where he's hangin out these days.
  
• to see some serious-as-a-heart-attack prayer requests answered for several family members.
  
• to figure out how it's possible to be so incredibly blessed and stressed and busy and joyful and apprehensive and thankful and excited and worried all at one time.
  

mama's girl.

i knew grayson would miss me. at least, i knew he would miss parts of me. what i didn't realize is how much ellie would miss me. she runs to the door squealing when i get home. she's fussy most of the night unless i'm holding her. "maaah-mee hold-a yooouu!" we tickle and giggle and play and give kisses. my heart isn't sure whether to be warmed or to be broken. conflicted doesn't begin to describe it. all i know for sure is i'm full of overflowing love for my sweet e claire.

(does it mean something that i had to edit the black out from under my eyes in this photo? not sure it helped much...)