this girl..

..makes me so proud and surprised every day.
..stretches and adds perspective to areas in my life that would otherwise most likely remain untouched.
..brings an ease to days that would normally seem hard, long, and lonely.
..made daniel and i parents, and teaches us more about what that means everyday.
..makes time seem to go by so fast, and so slow, simultaneously.
..helps me not to take myself so seriously
..consistently helps change for the better how i see other people, myself, my purpose, my attitude, my marriage, her daddy, my worries, my joy, and my God.
..can, somehow, make me feel every extreme emotion on a daily (and even hourly) basis.
..on a day like today, when i found myself questioning and doubting myself as a wife and stay-at-home mama, spoke truth in an honest and intentional way just by putting her little hand on my back and saying, "you're a good mommy".
..is the best surprise and biggest blessing i've ever been given.



ruby girl,
i'll love you forever
i'll like you for always
as long as i'm living
my baby you'll be.

ready, set, sew..

i know, my corniest post title yet. but seriously, i'm ready to get this sewing show on the road after this uh-mazing goodwill find yesterday. i finally have a little enough space in this apartment to have a small sewing table, but it's been hard finding one. i didn't want to just get something quick and new that was most likely going to be more expensive and less quality than i wanted, so i kept holding out. i've been scanning local craigslist and thrift stores as i've had time, but nothing's really shown up. 

but, during a few errands with rubes yesterday, something compelled me to stop into goodwill to look for some more cold weather clothes for all of us.. needless to say, i feel completely unprepared for the winter weather that's right around the corner in our new state. anyway, right before we left i thought to walk down the "furniture aisle" (that was mainly composed of a few broken/dirty chairs and a light-up snowman), and then i saw this..

a twenty dollar sewing table. for realio?! i literally couldn't believe it. a couple kind ladies stopped to give a little assistance when they saw me trying to both figure this thing out and corral rubes, and they kept going on and on about what a great find it was. it's nice wood that will someday get a good sanding and fresh coat of some cute-colored paint, but for now, it's just what i need.. small, plenty of storage, and doesn't break the bank. the top opens to form a long, flat tabletop extension, and it's made for the machine to fold down inside.. at some point i'd love to have it adjusted so mine will fit in there, but for now it'll stay on top (on the bright side, i get to use the sewing machine cover again that i made while we were in cali).

when the right side is opened, it exposes this nifty and awesome thread holder that raises and lowers out of the desk.

and the top drawer has a fun little bobbin/thread holder.

in case you can't tell, i am so so thankful for this find.. and i have the bruises on my upper arms and thighs from carrying it up two flights of stairs on my own to prove it. i know, i'm out of my mind.

now to find a sweet little chair, and we're in business.

apart from sharing the details of the desk, i do want to encourage you that it almost always pays off to hold out and do a little leg work to find something you'd really like to have, rather than taking the "easy route" and buying something new and more expensive. it's harder, because there's not that rush of instant gratification, but i'd wager that the rush of an awesome and well earned deal is a much better feeling. 

ok, thanks for listening to my ramblings. enjoy your thursday, and three cheers to buying second-hand! :)

cover up..

i finally broke out my sewing machine from its hiding place to do a little recovering of our couch pillows. i felt like there was wayyy to much brown/tan/formal-ish-ness (can you tell i made that word up??) going on for my taste.

before.

after.

you can't totally tell because of the lighting, but the front pillows are a coral, slightly ribbed fabric and the back pillows are navy and a very (i just accidentally typed "vally" instead of "very" there.. sister on the brain :)) light cream. i had all of the fabric on hand, and i'm constantly amazed by how much goodness there is in my fabric stash. a lot of that is thanks to my mama, so, "thanks mama!". :)

 i like the change a lot. i think it fits our homey and eclectic style.. the floral was just not cuttin' it.

and, yes, i am aware that our couch is crazy tiny. it's very comfy and structured though (not to mention, it was an awesomely priced craigslist find!), so we're hoping that at some point, when we have a bigger place, it will act as a "love seat" of sorts and we'll have a full-sized couch. work in progress, baby!

so, there you have it. here's hoping that this crafting streak continues... i'm thinking it will since there was a fun and total blessing of an addition to our home today that should help more sewing take place. i'll share the details of that soon!

photo challenge part two..

day two: what you wore today.

luckily this was a combo d-is-off-work and church day."real" clothes like this are not my norm, but sometimes there's nothing that lifts your spirit quite like fall colors and looking cute for your man.

day three: clouds.

it's hard to photograph clouds when there are literally none in the sky for three days straight.. and i am not complaining.

day four: something green.



one of my favorite things.. a clock from my mama.

day five: from a high angle.

a print hanging in our kitchen that rubes and i are working on memorizing during mealtime.. i can't even tell you how cute it is to hear her try and say "admirable" and "praiseworthy".


ok, still at it, as you can see. here's to the next twenty-five.
also, i just read up a little online and learned how to get bigger pictures on the blog. feel free to give feedback if you think they look a little too "comin' atcha", but until i hear otherwise, i think i like it!

spilled milk..

i'm sure you all know the saying, "don't cry over spilled milk". well, it sounds like kind of a silly and perhaps unrelateable figure of speech unless you're like me and actually do cry over spilled milk.

i went to something called mom2mom today at a church here in indiana that we've visited a couple of times. it was great, and i'm super thankful for the way that even things falling into place for me to find that ministry shows provision from the Lord.. during the group time, the "mentor mom" talked some about this verse:

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

we talked about whether or not we really believe that we're made in God's image and reflect His glory. i shared that i definitely think that i believe it in my head, but that my hearts needs to catch up with that. that a lot of times "knowing" that i'm made in His image just tends to make me more hard on myself when i really botch things. that on a day when daniel is gone for more than fourteen hours working, the kitchen is literally a disaster area from dinner the night before, ruby only takes a thirty minute nap and breaks my favorite necklace, and at the end of it all, when i literally cry over the entire cup of milk she spills onto the kitchen floor, walls, rug (you get the picture), i start thinking, "i definitely don't feel so 'made in His image' right now and maybe that saying isn't so hard to relate to after all." 

but then i hope that just recognizing my fallen-ness, taking a deep breath, apologizing to rubes for getting so worked up over a mess, and asking Him for help with reacting better the next time means that maybe i'm becoming more like Him than i give myself credit for.. and i start to think that spilled milk must be a bigger deal than we give it credit for if somebody sometime thought it was worth mentioning.

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taking the challenge..

i got an idea from my fun friend, becky, who got an idea from the addictive site, pinterest. so, i'm taking the challenge.. the photo challenge, that is. i'll post the daily pictures on here at least once a week, if not a little more often. fun fun.

here's a little listy-poo to keep track of what's coming up.

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day one: self-portrait.

a little late night important paper filing. this is how everyone spends their saturday nights, right??