A Good Evening at Goodwill

While visiting many of your blogs, I've seen all the wonderful thrift store finds that you've come home with and I have to admit that you really got me in the mood to see what I could find. I must have been having TS withdrawals as I hadn't been in one since right after Christmas. So...Tuesday night while Joy was in dance, my friend, Tonya, and I stopped in Goodwill. While Tonya did really well on finding her daughter several dresses for church, I didn't find anything except a couple of books for Joy.

I did pass by a shelf that had a couple of the brown cheese crocks. On the other side of the store, I happened upon a third one. With the three put together, they were graduating sizes. I couldn't make up my mind. They had $2.99 on the big one, and $1.99 on each of the smaller ones. I just didn't know if I really wanted them for that and couldn't process in my mind what I would do with them, at the moment. Then lo and behold, I click over to Tammy's blog, The Olde Hollow Crow, and she had three of the very same cheese crocks in graduating sizes that she had redone by adding some of the old farmhouse crock and jar labels that alot of you have used (and I have loved). So then, of course, all I could do was think about the crocks I passed up. It really bugged me! So last night, I asked Tonya if we could stop by again while the girls were in dance (again) for just a minute because if by chance those crocks were there, I wanted them! Not only were they there, but I got all three for $2.99 (instead of the $6.97 they were on Tuesday).
I also picked up the frame with a golfing picture (which will be removed of course) for .99. It will be used for a stitchery and primmed up.

And then I thought while I was there, I would at least stop by the furniture section and see if there might be a chair for Joy's desk. There wasn't one on Tuesday. As I got closer, I could see IT......I wanted to run to beat anyone else to IT.... THE chair!

Not only was it nice and sturdy (and I loved the shape), but it was $9.99! I must have been grinning from ear to ear and I'm sure Tonya was a little surprised when I came out of the store hauling a chair over my shoulder! I'm glad we were in her Suburban! Boy, was I happy we stopped by last night and Joy is SO excited. Of course, it will get a coat of the buttermilk paint and I'm not sure if I'll do any stenciling on the back of it....we'll see. It's a simple thing, I know, but this good evening at Goodwill just made my whole day! It felt like it was "just meant to be". :)

**********************************************************************************

On another note, I have to say thank you to all of you that commented on Colt's bedroom, but I have to tell you that it's not ALWAYS like that. I took that picture on a clean day. Of course, he has days where he left his quilt out on his futon, has drinks sitting in there and clothes lying over his guitar stand. And like I said, he might have a pile of clothes in there waiting to be folded on any given day, but for the most part, I really can't complain about him, because for a guy, he is fairly neat. But in all fairness, you had to know that I took the picture on his best day! On those "other type of days", I just close the door! :)

**********************************************************************************

And I want to thank Amber and Joy for giving me this award. That was sweet of both of them. Thank you girls!


**********************************************************************************

I would also like to introduce you all to a new blog. A new friend, Gigi, that I met through an email has just started her own blog, Happily Ever After, and made her first post. I bet she would love it if you would stop by and say hi!

Have a great weekend, everybody! :)

Where Our 19 Year Old Son "Lives"

A few posts back, you saw the upstairs loft hangout spot for Colt and his friends when they're playing music. Now would you like to see where he lives when he's home and not either eating, watching a movie with us or playing the Wii in the living room?

This is his bedroom. It's located downstairs, right across from ours. The way our home is designed, we have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths downstairs. The upstairs is pretty much an extra for us. It has the open loft area that serves the multi purposes that I shared on a post below when they were playing music. There is also a guest bedroom and a bathroom upstairs. I did think that one day, Colt would decide to move up to that bedroom, just for a little more privacy, but it's never interested him. He's been content to be right down here with us, right across the hall.



He has a futon which serves him well. He sits in there and strums on his guitar, does homework for his college classes, talks on the phone, or plays/works on the computer. (And remember he does most of our laundry, so there's usually a pile of clothes in there that he's working on in between this...multi-tasking, I guess).

See that corner entertainment center? Jason made that....many years ago. It has a cabinet that closes off the small TV that he has in there.



As tempted as I get to go in there and put decorating touches on it, I try to restrain myself and let him have it how he wants it...which is not anything country style. I have a feeling when he has his own place, it will be very modern decor....something like loft style.

The dresser over by the futon is an antique that I bought before he came home to us and it was in his nursery, then later in Joy's nursery, and then returned back to Colt. I have always loved that piece.

And that is where our 19 (soon to be 20) year old son, Colt, "lives" when he's not working or in school. So where does your teenager "live"?

A Desk for a Budding Writer (and Blogger)

Right after Christmas I showed you the unfinished desk that Joy received for Christmas. I promised to show you the finished project. I haven't forgotten. It was just completely finished on Saturday morning, the morning of her birthday party.


It's been so cold out in the shop where Jason works that he just couldn't work and it wasn't the best conditions for painting, staining or polyurethaning. But alas, Joy's desk is finished and in place in her room. She's enjoyed doing some of her schoolwork, letter writing, and blogging already at her desk. Unfortunately right now, she's having to pull a chair from our kitchen table to use. I'm on the lookout for the perfect chair. I hope to find something at Goodwill or a thrift store to redo and customize for her. Jason can always build something if necessary, but I think the perfect chair will turn up, if we can be patient enough.


Having a bulletin board was very important to her, as you can imagine all little girls need a bulletin board to put their beloved "stuff". Jason made the bulletin board to look like a window, which Joy and I asked him to do. We thought that style would really go in her shabby chic cottage style bedroom. What I didn't know he was going to add was the "window box" below it. I love that touch. It is actually little bins where she can keep even more "stuff" if she wants.


The color of the desk is not exactly the white that is on everything else in the room. This is a little more of a creamy or buttermilk color. However, I like the variation of the whites in there. And it's funny that the color on the walls in these pictures appear blue. It is actually called Spanish Moss and is a greenish/blue, the color that looks great with touches of pink, if you can imagine. I would show you more of that room, but I think Joy has plans to do so a little later.

And there you have it....a desk for our budding little writer and blogger. And she sure is enjoying it.

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Ten years ago today our little princess, Joy, was born.

I could have hugged (actually I think I might have) my Dr.'s neck the day before when he asked me if "we" wanted to have a baby tomorrow! I was absolutely miserable...swollen ankles...well...swelling everywhere! And to make matters worse, I had four kidney stones that were moving around in one of my kidneys. They would bother me from time to time, but not always...right at the end of the pregnancy. Of course, there was nothing they could do about them or for the pain until after Joy was born. On top of that, I spent pretty much all nine months with "all day sickness". I don't think there was a place in town (restaurant wise) that I didn't get sick after eating! lol! So, I welcomed this day! However, I have to say that the delivery was a breeze, as if she knew she'd better make this part easy for her dear ole mom! Kidney stones are worse than child birth anyday!

We welcomed our little bundle of "Joy" at 9:18 p.m. - all 6 lbs. 9 oz, 20 inches of her! Here she is the next morning. (Call me vain but I had to get up that morning...take a shower, and put on makeup before visitors started coming)! It just made me feel better! And I was so relieved that so much of my swelling was gone!


On Joy's first birthday (A Barney theme) She was overwhelmed by everything!


This was on her 2nd birthday with her proud brother, Colt. I made this doll cake. I had one like it when I was 3 years old that my Aunt Jo made and I wanted to make one for her. One day I'll show you the two pictures side by side....me at 3, and her at 2.


This was her 3rd birthday. This was an old-fashioned birthday party at our church...you know the drop the clothespins in the jar, pin-the-tail on the donkey games like I used to have when I was little.


And one of my favorites...her 4th birthday. We kind of went all out on this one..a princess party. We made the castle and drawbridge. The boys became knights and the girls princesses. They feasted inside the castle at a table set for royalty of course.


This was Joy's 5th birthday. It was a baby doll party. The kids all brought their favorite dolls. They paired up and then had a race to feed their partner a bottle. This was a fun one too!


On her 6th birthday, we had a scrapbooking party at the local scrapbook store. The lady that owned the store led them through the process. The kids brought their favorite pictures and scrapbooked a page. I had a pre-made scrapbook with the kids names and pictures on front. They added their page and took it home to continue scrapbooking. Joy has kept her love of scrapbooking alive and has added to hers often.


This one was her 7th birthday....a skating party. What can I say? It was easy for me, just show up and the kids skate! (But it was noisy!)


I also loved her 8th birthday party. This one was a 50's party. We had adults and kids alike here. We had a full house too. The kids (and some of the adults) were dressed 50's style. My mom came over and taught the kids several 50's dances. Whew! We were tired, but it was SO fun! They all went home with a CD of the 50's songs and doing the hand jive!


On her 9th birthday...I had the flu. Bless her heart, we had to postpone the celebrating a week. For this one, she had her friend, Katie Beth, over for a sleep over. We did a little bit of everything.... pampering, crafts, playing on the computer, and movie-watching.


And this year, her 10th birthday,....well, you can click over to her blog and check out this year's party. It was all day Saturday. I think it just might be one of my favorites too! The girls were lots of fun and it was a laid back party. There was plenty of time to do everything and I loved visiting the Nursing Home! Yep, she wanted to go to the nursing home for part of her party. But I won't tell you anymore about the day, because Joy wanted to do that. I'll just leave you with this one photo of her 10th birthday.


And now our little princess is in her double digits (as she loves to say). I can't say that I like it. She's growing up a little too quickly on us! But that's how it goes! I'm so thankful that the Lord blessed us with her. I'll tell you another day about the faith it took to get her here. (I consider both of our kids miracles and.. well I'll tell you more on both on another post another day).


Happy Birthday, Joy! We love you!

~ Mom and Dad ~

Country (Romantic But Not Primitive) Master Bedroom

Today I thought I'd show you a couple of pictures of our master bedroom. I took these around Christmas time and never got around to showing them on here. So, I hope you don't mind a little Christmas decor in January (and believe me it IS only a little...our two little trees beside the loveseat).



There's not anything primitive about this room, but more what I call romantic country. We haven't worked on putting primitive touches to the bedrooms or bathrooms, although I'd like to do so in at least my guest bedroom for starters. But honestly, I've always loved our bedroom. It's a soothing, calming place to unwind. I also know blue is not "the in thing" now, but I still really do enjoy this blue. It just has a romantic feel to me.



And remember the iron wood burning stove that we got from my aunt? We use it every night and alot even during the day. She ended up giving me the iron tea kettle on top. I think that's just what it needed.

And somewhere....and I apologize but I just don't remember on which blog I read it, but there was a tag that involved looking in your sixth folder and finding the sixth picture. If you remember awhile back, I did this with the fourth folder, fourth picture and it was fun seeing what turned up. I decided to give it a go this time and this is what I found and I wanted to share it with you.



This is my brother, Richie, and his wife, Missy, on the day that he left to go to Iraq. I think this candid shot with the expressions on their faces says it all.
And for the record, he's now home safe and sound with his family after serving four months there. I'd like to say again, thank you, to all our men and women that serve in our military. And a big thank you to their families for the sacrifice they make everyday so they can. I truly admire you! Thank you!

I hope you all have a great weekend! :)

It Snowed! Yay!

We've been doing a little pouting around here because we wanted snow! It seems like it goes all around us and like we're in a little hole that just never gets the snow! Sometimes, we get the freezing rain or sleet, and even worse, ice, but rarely snow. We're lucky if we get one light dusting of snow a year....well I would rather say, blessed. :)

Last night it was predicted, but we've come to not put too much stock into those predictions! But I know many a public school child (yes, our local schools close down for this) that was very happy this morning! It started off as rain last night, turned to some freezing rain, then a little ice, and then we had snow on top of that this morning. Now, I know all of you that have so much snow are going to laugh at my pictures, but I assure you it made us very happy! It's a dusting of snow; However, we had accumulations in places.



Of course, we HAD to go out and play this morning...even homeschooled kids get a snow day! :) Colt opted to stay in his warm bed (he didn't have college classes either).

I thought the snow looked so pretty dusting everything! You can see here in the background where there was alot of rain first (over near my mom and dad's house):


And over at my mom and dad's house on their old lawnmower.


The trees looked so pretty too, but unfortunately, the power lines looked like this too. I'm afraid some folks a little north of us lost power. I'm thankful we didn't. As a matter of fact, our friends, Betty and Richard, in the foothills of the Ozarks, are without electricity and they're saying they may be for a couple of weeks.


Out in the fields behind the house is where we usually go 4-wheeler riding when it snows, but when Jason got home to take Joy out for a ride, the battery was dead, so they didn't get to go.


I did manage to get Joy to pose for a couple of pictures.


...but I had to put the camera away pretty quickly because she found a giant pile of snow up on my dad's pontoon and it was ON!


After this, she reasoned that there would be drifts of snow up on the pool deck, so we had to climb over the gate to get up there (the gate was frozen shut). Our snowball fight got the attention of a little furry visitor that came wandering over from next door and....well you know Joy (and I) were suckered!


I thought, "Oh no, we've just acquired another dog, but after "Jack" (so Joy called him) got his lovin', he trotted back off into the field toward the house below. The neighbors have several dogs, but I had never seen this one.


We enjoyed his little visit though and we really enjoyed our little snow. Thanks for indulging our excitement! :)

A Giveaway, Things I Love, and Where I Blog

Crazy Ladies Primitives is having a giveaway for Valentines Day. A winner will be drawn on February 1st. Click on over and sign up! It's a really cute giveaway!


I was visiting Zaroga's blog the other night and she had a post about the letter G and things she loved that began with that letter. I'm almost always up to a writing assignment (if time permits), so I told her I'd like to play along. She assigned me the letter H. I'm supposed to name ten things that I love that begin with the letter H. It was a little more challenging than I thought, but this is what I came up with:

1) Heavenly Father - First and foremost, I love the Lord and I can't imagine living a day without his guidance in my life.

2) Husband - There's no doubt in my mind that he was created for me....I love him with all my heart and he's so good to me!



3) Home - You can probably all tell that my heart is at home....my favorite place to be.



4) Homeschooling - I love having my kids here with me everyday and sharing in all those learning moments. I really do love it!

5) Hanging out with my family - Well you know I had to get my family in there! I love spending time with them!

6) Hugs - I love hugs....they can just make my day!

7) Holy Bible - I love having God's Word to guide me through life.

8) Heirlooms - I loved things that are passed down from the past....treasures that are sentimental.

9) History - I love history...reading about our past. It's something I never really learned in school, but am really enjoying it since we've homeschooled these 14 years!

10) Hills - Actually the mountains, but that didn't start with H! :) I love the mountains...that's my ideal dream home spot!

And here's a few more just because I'm on a roll now! lol!

11) Hoosier Cabinets - I've always loved them. I don't have one, but would love one! (I love yours Rondell!)

12) Hardwood Floors - I love my hardwood floors....and wouldn't trade them for anything (please take all my carpet!)!!!

13) Having a blog - I really love having a blog and visiting all of yours!

14) Health - I love the fact that my family is healthy and I'm so thankful for it!

So what about you...do you want to play along? If so, just say so in your comment and I'll assign you a letter. If not, that's okay too, I still love hearing from you in the comments!

Linda showed us where she blogged (which I love by the way) and challenged us to show where we blog. Well I do have a computer nook, with a desktop, but rarely ever blog there because it's up in the loft away from the family and I prefer to be near them. So most of the time, you can find me either here:

Sitting at the dining room table (in that end chair closest to you)

Or here:

In the recliner on the right...that one is mine...Jason's is on the left!

I know it's not very interesting, but that's where I blog 99% of the time! Every once in awhile when I need to use the scanner, I do go upstairs. (I'll show you that another time.)

I hope everyone's safe and warm! As I type this (and schedule it to post), we're expected to have ice through the night and in the morning....we'll see!

Have a great Wednesday!
~ Tammy ~