Thankfulness - Gratefulness - For All That Is Today...

I read Ann Voskamp's Book One Thousand Gifts a year ago and absolutely fell in love with it.(You can find it here...One Thousand Gifts ) I really love her style of writing and her way of making me see things in a different, more grateful light. I followed her blog for quite some time and have even given her book as a gift because I loved it so very much.

Then came the "Lull". That time in my life where all things spiritual, internal and good ceased or were put on hold and I went into pure survival mode. I lost my way, I lost my footing and I lost my essence. It is now that I am trying to find my way back. I am looking to find the person that I once was, full of those things I once treasured, spirituality, creativity, patience, thankfulness and gratefulness.

I need to learn to be Thankful and Grateful again. There was a time when I looked at everything with a grateful heart and could feel the Lover of my soul moving in me, in my heart, turning it, molding it and making it into what He wanted me to be. I want to be there again.

So during this, my "Revival", I have turned back to Ann (and other Sisters in Faith) for guidence, uplifting and prayer, to remind me to be Thankful and to be Grateful for what is, this very moment. This moment in time when things may not seem to be what I want, but are moving more in a direction of where they need to go to get me there.

So while I started one a while ago, I am revisiting my own One Thousand Gifts list...Starting back at one, at the beginning, I've come back to where I need to be...

#1 The Lord blesses me every day with breathe to live and food to survive and shelter to stay warm and dry.

#2  I have been given the two greatest gifts that could ever be placed on my heart, my Cookie Monster and my Princess Pea

#3  The sky is a beautiful robin's egg blue and I have wonderous eyes to see it with.

#4  A beatuiful paperweight filled with deep red blown glass, ever spiraling, reaching for the peak, a birthday gift, humbly given by the hand of the oldest child

#5  Moving to the home of my childhood, memories rushing in, soul settling down. I am home.....

#6  While I may not forget, I am able to forgive

#7  Sticky counters, the aftermath of a baking frenzy of Princess Pea

#8  A family separated by miles, connected by souls

#9  A chance to continue my education, in a way that is most beneficial and convenient for me.

#10  An employer who sees the big picture and accepts me for who I am and the talents I bring.

A start, to count my blessings, to be grateful for the things taken for granted. May God Bless and Keep each and every one of you....

Love
Sheila

New Addiction

OK, so I have to 'fess up to my latest addiction.....Pintrest....I wasn't going to go there...I really wasn't. I don't have time for purusing the web, looking at all these adorable crafts / home decorations / photography ideas floating out there for anyone to see. I'm moving, I'm painting, I'm packing, I'm working, kids are going back to school and so is Honey. I don't have TIME for this, BUT....

I have found the absolute sweetest / cutest /adorable-est ideas for the new house. I can't WAIT to get started! The best part is I will finally have the room to indulge in my passion to create / reuse / repurpose! I have a basement, a crafting space, a HUGE closet to store things in, a garage AND a shed! I can paint, repurpose furniture, scrapbook, sew, knit, crochet, bake, to my heart's content!

So, back to Pintrest, I have found the cutest furniture to make from other's cast offs and I am so excited because it is stuff I can do! When Dad moved out, he left some furniture behind for me, including chairs, a dresser, an old high chair, shelving units, picture frames, glass jars and an old wooden bed frame. Also, he gave my daughter my old bed and dresser (which are in much better condition than hers are) but that means I get to repurpose her old stuff! Look for some benches, ottomans, and other things coming soon! I am so incredibly excited!

I also found adorable aprons, curtains, and holiday decorating ideas that are perfect for my style! Ugh, so many projects running through my mind!! Can't wait to get settled so I can get started on some of these!

Have any of you been sucked in by Pintrest? How about Etsy? I haven't been on that site much but I am thinking of making some stuff and trying to sell it for some extra cash...how has it worked for you?

Better run here...lots to do!
May the Lord Bless you and Keep you this and every day!

Sheila...

Monday Morning...

Good Monday Morning my Lovlies....

What a gorgeous shout of summer we are having here in the midwest! It is a beautiful sunny day, with temps in the mid to upper 80s! While I love my job, it's days like today that I wish I could be home. I have this big beautiful yard that is crying out for a loving touch. It has been neglected and had only the bare minimum done for so long. My dad isn't able to do much yardwork these days other than ride the lawn mower. I'm looking forward to cleaning out some flower beds and updating and prepping them for planting now or in the spring! I have crocus and lilies and daffodils and irises and tulips to put in this fall! I love flowers and can't wait for the gardens to spring to life again!

I am also anxious to get my veggie garden planned (and the fruit that I want to put in). I have to get the location prepped and staked and then have someone come down and till it for me! Honey has been working hard on getting the compost bin up and running and discovered a rhubarb plant and asparagus too! Woot woot! And my Daddy left me all of my Mama's canning jars in the basement so you know what I will be doing next time at this year! Corn, green beans, peas, carrots, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins, beets, and more. Planning on dill, chives,  peppermint, and other herbs as well. Putting in grapes, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries as I am able! And eventually apple and pear trees!! So many plans! What are your favorite fruits or veggies to plant and grow???

I am also working hard priming/painting at the new house. So far we have used 8 1/2 gallons of primer on 3 bedrooms and a hall! The colors were so dark! I would paint everything white or cream if I could! And I just might! LOL! I just painted my bedroom Marshmellow White yesterday, but I am thinking it is a bit too bright and may have to tone it down a bit! 

My mind is just flying with ideas in the craft department as well. It's like now that I know I will have my own place again, I am waking up! The trailer I live in now is so dark and depressing! It sucks all the energy out of me the minute I step foot through the door! My Dad's house (now MY house) is just the opposite. I worked for 10 hours straight both Sat. and Sun. painting and felt TERRIFIC! I have so many ideas!

The front porch will be red, white, and blue Americana, and the back porch will be pink, green and cream, antique-y flowery, lacey, girlie for sitting and having tea with my girlfriends! I can't WAIT! I have ideas to make, my creativity has been unleashed! Decorating ideas...Craft ideas....Happy ideas...I'm so glad to be home!

Well back to work here! Planning on posting the "before" pictures later tonight!

God Bless!

Testing...

So here is a picture of Princess Pea's new room...I am trying to learn how to post from my smart phone and put in pictures.
Maybe it will help me post more often.

In other news, I broke my left pinkie toe last night on a box of books! Imagine that...me with a box of books. More like 10 boxes (or more).

Well time for Friday night football. Cookie Monster's first pepband as a Senior! The first of the lasts!

God Bless!

I'm back...

Oh my gosh, so much has happened in my life and I have been so busy that my blogging fell by the wayside. You know, you get to the point that you just get SO incredibly busy that something has to give. For me it was this. Things here are still busy, but I have been visiting a few of my favorite blogs and have realized how very much I have missed this! The sense of community, of sharing, of togetherness.

So, to catch you all up a bit...In February, my Honey retired from 23 years of service to our country. In May, he retired from his position with the National Guard. His job depended on him being a soldier and once he retired from that, he had to retire from the other.  He has moved up to my house. While the original plan was for him to stay with me until he could find his own place, circumstances have changed and we will now be moving in together, which I will go into in a little while.

Then in March, I was let go from my job. While it was an actual blessing, due to severely stressful working conditions, it did extremely limit my lifestyle and my income. I took a couple of months to regroup, taking photos where I could to make some extra money, and then blessedly found a job in mid-June. It is a much less stressful job, with more pay and better benefits. Farther from home, but worth the trade off.

In the meantime, during my time off, I ended up moving several people, besides my Honey. One of them being my father. He and his new wife decided that their 2 story, full basement, 2 lot home was simply too much for them to care for any more and they needed to downsize. Thankfully, they allowed us 4 kids to come in and lay claim to a few things that were especially treasured. Quilts from my grandmother! Pictures! Beautiful china! I was so excited to have the items, yet so incredibly sad to see my childhood home being prepared for new owners, strangers, to come and live within the walls. The day they moved out was a heart wrenching ordeal for all of us!

A few weeks later, my two older brothers came to me seperately and suggested that I buy dad's house. I told them that I was not in a place to buy a house yet because I had just started my job and was still on a probabationary period. They kept pressing the issue. So I talked to my Honey and he mentioned that maybe my dad would be willing to rent the house to me until such time as I could get a mortgage. I mulled the thought for several days and decided that maybe it was just what I needed. So I approached my dad with my plan and of course right away he was full of excuses why it wouldn't work. But after a week of him checking things out and mulling it over, he came to me and said he would let me. I tell you, I could have just about jumped to Heaven! I was going to be living in my house, my mom's house, the family home! I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't hold back the tears!

So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of packing, painting, priming, cleaning, moving. Ugh...such a mess! But so very worth it! The house is 3 bedrooms with 1 bathroom.It has a front screened in porch with a porch swing perfect for sultry summer nights listening to crickets and watching fireflies. It also has a 3 season porch on back, perfect for my sewing/craft/reading room! It is 100 years old and sits on 2 lots! So much room! There is a garden, compost bin and lots of room for flowers. I want to put in raspberries, rhubarb, and some apple trees! Not only are my kids and I ecstatic over this, my brothers and neices and nephews are as well. In fact, 2 of my nephews came to the house last weekend for the first time in over 6 months. They were there 2 out of 3 days and just couldn't stop smiling! I will be posting pictures soon!

While Honey and I are trying to make it our home together, there have been some MAJOR speed bumps along the way and it may not work after all. We have been together for 7 years and there has been more arguing since he moved in with me than in all the years prior combined! I hate it! I miss what we had and wish it hadn't changed. I keep praying to God to show me my path and continue to trust in Him.

So, with all that being said, I also feeling a bit down. I turned 43 a week or so ago and I look at where my life is as opposed to where I wanted it to be. For so many years, I have wanted to live a more simple, self sufficient lifestyle and yet, where am I? Stuck where I was 10 years ago. :-( So I have renewed my efforts to become debt-free and self sufficient. I am also refraining from buying anything new, instead resorting to thrift/second hand stores. The only thing being undergarments, shoes and food (maybe a couple of other personal items as well). If I am going to live the life I have always dreamed and now have the house to do it in, now is the time to start. And if, God forbid, Honey and I's relationship falls apart and I have to go it alone, I need to be in a place financially so that I do not lose the family home.

Enough for now....I will try very hard to keep posting more, including pictures so you all can see progress! Wait till you see!! Such gloriously exciting times! Praise God for his abundance!