Scripted In Glory Religious Christmas Card
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Monday, December 10, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
It's time, Rachel.
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
A tattered homemade burlap and felt banner bearing these words graced the door knob of your grandma's guest bedroom.
I don't know how old you were, but young enough to be confused by those words and young enough to require rereading for understanding. Old enough for it to have made a lasting impression on you.
Life. It's beginning now, Rachel. You're starting over. Tomorrow. Or incidentally, today, since you stayed up too late.
Irregardless, the time is now. The time to begin anew.
Time to run. Time to love and to love recklessly. Time to step out of your comfort zone. Time to get up ten minutes earlier and not be late. Time to forgive. Time to make new friends and foster old friendships. Time to hold the baby and read to the five year old and cuddle the three year old and pet the cat. Time to think about how someone else is feeling. Time to make the phone call. Time to catch up. Time to forgive yourself. Time to remember and to learn from the past. Time to turn off the TV and pick up a book. Time to laugh and even be silly occasionally. Time to read your Bible and reflect on His word. Time to eat your vegetables, but some cookies too. Time to trust and to open your heart. Time to let others in. Time to give. Time to give a second chance. Time to stop yelling. Time to let the anger go. Time to see the other side of the issue. It's time, Rachel.
Time to do the things you love, the things on your heart. Time to appreciate the gifts that others have. Time to vaccuum. Time to not worry so much when your kids spill on vacuumed floors or your husband doesn't notice you vacuumed them. Time to notice when your husband goes out of his way to help you. Time to jump in the leaves. Time to go for a walk. Time to see the beauty rising from the ashes. Time to turn up the music. Time to wait patiently for the three year old to finish his sentence. Time to stop complaining. Time to stop making excuses. Time to stop sighing. It's time, Rachel.
Time to remember birthdays. Time to surprise others. Time to listen to your body. Time to appreciate your body for what it has done and what it can do. Time to install a gate at the bottom of the steps. Time to pray with your kids. Time to pray for your kids. Time to file the paperwork. Time to take a deep breath. Time to make a mess painting and cooking with the boys. Time to try something new. Time to say thank you. Time to realize that it's not all about you. Time to take the first step. Time to commit. Time to open up. Time to be thankful. Time to admit where you are weak to the One who is strong. It's time, Rachel.
And now, it's time to go to sleep.
Because soon it will be time to start again.
A tattered homemade burlap and felt banner bearing these words graced the door knob of your grandma's guest bedroom.
I don't know how old you were, but young enough to be confused by those words and young enough to require rereading for understanding. Old enough for it to have made a lasting impression on you.
Life. It's beginning now, Rachel. You're starting over. Tomorrow. Or incidentally, today, since you stayed up too late.
Irregardless, the time is now. The time to begin anew.
Time to run. Time to love and to love recklessly. Time to step out of your comfort zone. Time to get up ten minutes earlier and not be late. Time to forgive. Time to make new friends and foster old friendships. Time to hold the baby and read to the five year old and cuddle the three year old and pet the cat. Time to think about how someone else is feeling. Time to make the phone call. Time to catch up. Time to forgive yourself. Time to remember and to learn from the past. Time to turn off the TV and pick up a book. Time to laugh and even be silly occasionally. Time to read your Bible and reflect on His word. Time to eat your vegetables, but some cookies too. Time to trust and to open your heart. Time to let others in. Time to give. Time to give a second chance. Time to stop yelling. Time to let the anger go. Time to see the other side of the issue. It's time, Rachel.
Time to do the things you love, the things on your heart. Time to appreciate the gifts that others have. Time to vaccuum. Time to not worry so much when your kids spill on vacuumed floors or your husband doesn't notice you vacuumed them. Time to notice when your husband goes out of his way to help you. Time to jump in the leaves. Time to go for a walk. Time to see the beauty rising from the ashes. Time to turn up the music. Time to wait patiently for the three year old to finish his sentence. Time to stop complaining. Time to stop making excuses. Time to stop sighing. It's time, Rachel.
Time to remember birthdays. Time to surprise others. Time to listen to your body. Time to appreciate your body for what it has done and what it can do. Time to install a gate at the bottom of the steps. Time to pray with your kids. Time to pray for your kids. Time to file the paperwork. Time to take a deep breath. Time to make a mess painting and cooking with the boys. Time to try something new. Time to say thank you. Time to realize that it's not all about you. Time to take the first step. Time to commit. Time to open up. Time to be thankful. Time to admit where you are weak to the One who is strong. It's time, Rachel.
And now, it's time to go to sleep.
Because soon it will be time to start again.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
A Tour of Nyla's Nursery
When we found out we were having a girl, ideas for her nursery started swirling in my head. The problem was we had a perfectly acceptable playroom with a unisex jungle theme and green paint color that could be easily converted into a nursery. My husband was convinced this is what we should do, but then again, he's never too sure about any of my "projects" I take on beforehand :)
So despite the fact that I had grand schemes for her nursery in my head, the reality is that we were SO busy this fall with two kids, Matt's teaching and coaching, and my busiest fall to date for my photography business. Christmas break came and went with nothing getting accomplished either because our family was sick most of the time. It was not until I was 35 weeks pregnant that we even touched this room! My dad and I painted the room that week. I finally got around to decorating it about a week before I was due and it would never have gotten it done without the help of my cousin Rebekah and the fact that Nyla was 5 days overdue...I'm convinced she was staying in there until her room was done! :)
The result: a nursery for Nyla that I love! It was completely worth the effort to customize the room for our little girl!
Let me start with the inspiration for the room! My sister-in-law Jamie is an AWESOME quilter and has made so many adorable quilts and gifts for my boys over the years. She knows me so well and had been saving this fabric that she knew I would like...just in case I would have a girl someday! The fabric I believe came out in 2009 and she had been saving it ever since! The name of the fabric is Wonderland by designer Momo for Moda. Jamie and I were discussing the design of Nyla's quilt and since I've always loved sock monkeys, we decided that the border fabric for the quilt would be fabric mimicking the texture of sock moneys! Appropriately, the first thing you see when you walk in the room is Jamie's quilt which become the inspiration for the color scheme and the entire rest of the room.
Here is the link to Jamie's blog post about Nyla's quilt! The quilt rack/shelf that the quilt is hanging from was a gift from my sister-in-law Katie and came from etsy.
On top of the shelf is a family picture taken by my friend Jennifer when I was about 7 months pregnant with Nyla. I added a verse from Psalm 139 and the frame is a thrifted one that I spray painted.
Next is a yarn wrapped N. I saw some of these I liked on Etsy, but decided to try to make my own instead. I bought a wooden L from Michaels and covered it in red felt (to prevent the wood from showing through), and wrapped it in yarn using a glue to secure it, both vertically and then horizontally. This took a little longer than I expected, but I like the result anyway...
Rebekah made the cute "Grow" embroidery hoop! We spray painted the hoop brown. I love the cute button flowers and stitching she did!
This is the view as you look to the left...
I think one of my favorite things in her nursery is her name above the crib, which Rebekah and I made together. I had seen a similar one on pinterest, but on that one the name was painted on. I really wanted to have the texture of fabric instead, so we cut the letters from felt (font is clementine) and stitched them on. The hoops area all spray painted different colors...of course I chose to do this on one of the colder days of February!
A close up view...
Another project that I love is the photo blocks hanging in the corners of the room. The wood blocks are 8x8 plaques that I found at the thrift store for less than a dollar. At the time they had lovely farm scenes painted on them :) I tried to spray paint these, but the spray paint didn't cover very well, so I ended up painting them with acrylics instead. The pictures are some of my favorites of Nyla's newborn photos, printed as 6x6 squares mounted on a 2 mm styrene board from my pro photo lab. I attached them to the blocks using Command photo strips. I like the three dimensional quality this gave and it was a very economical way to display photos!
The quilt hanging over her crib is another beautiful gift! This one is from Jamie's mom, Jill.
Nyla's room is really a sun room and has eight windows. I chose not to put up curtains, because I didn't want to block the beautiful light that comes in...but I wanted some way to decorate the windows and settled on a fabric bunting. This project did not get done until the night before I went into labor and Rebekah and I stayed up pretty late that night getting this made! The fabric is the leftover 5 inch squares from the Momo Wonderland charm pack fabric from Jamie. We cut them down to triangles with pinking shears and backed them with the sock monkey fabric. They are sewn into a brown bias tape.
On the shelf under the window is a cute frame we made at a recent MOPS meeting:
The bunting is on the windows facing north and south. On the west facing windows, I used a ribbon clothesline and covered the clothespins with ribbon too using a glue gun. On the clothesline is photographs and paintings that the boys made for Nyla. I plan to switch the photographs from time to time. For now, some of the ones up are from my baby shower, Nyla meeting her great grandma, and Daddy and Nyla shortly after she was born...
As you look to the right, this is what you see:
We kept a twin bed in her room for when she is older and also for when we have guests. The quilt is one we already had, brought back from India years ago. I think all the colors blend in fine with the rest of the room.
I printed one of her newborn photos as a 12x18 with a frame around it (also mounted on a 2 mm styrene board) and secured it to the closet door using Command photo strips again.
The words are from the song that was playing when she was born, "Little Light" by Audrey Assad and Matt Hammitt:
Next to the door is her dresser and we have one of those baby book calendars that you can put stickers on...hoping I can keep it caught up. Notice the picture has March showing still. Hmmm...
And on top of the dresser are pink antique booties that were a gift from my aunt Gayle and a frame from Nyla's grandma that reads "Baptized in Christ"...still need to switch the picture to one from her baptism day though. The blue Mason jars are old ones from my grandparents' farm.
I used the walls of Nyla's nursery as the background for her birth announcement:
I guess that is about the complete tour! We didn't have much money to spend on it...actually none of the furniture is new, all repurposed, and we basically just bought paint, bedding, and craft supplies. It's a space that I really enjoy being in and I hope Nyla will love it too as she gets older!
Special thanks to my cousin Rebekah and my sister-in-law Jamie for their help and inspiration! :)
So despite the fact that I had grand schemes for her nursery in my head, the reality is that we were SO busy this fall with two kids, Matt's teaching and coaching, and my busiest fall to date for my photography business. Christmas break came and went with nothing getting accomplished either because our family was sick most of the time. It was not until I was 35 weeks pregnant that we even touched this room! My dad and I painted the room that week. I finally got around to decorating it about a week before I was due and it would never have gotten it done without the help of my cousin Rebekah and the fact that Nyla was 5 days overdue...I'm convinced she was staying in there until her room was done! :)
The result: a nursery for Nyla that I love! It was completely worth the effort to customize the room for our little girl!
Let me start with the inspiration for the room! My sister-in-law Jamie is an AWESOME quilter and has made so many adorable quilts and gifts for my boys over the years. She knows me so well and had been saving this fabric that she knew I would like...just in case I would have a girl someday! The fabric I believe came out in 2009 and she had been saving it ever since! The name of the fabric is Wonderland by designer Momo for Moda. Jamie and I were discussing the design of Nyla's quilt and since I've always loved sock monkeys, we decided that the border fabric for the quilt would be fabric mimicking the texture of sock moneys! Appropriately, the first thing you see when you walk in the room is Jamie's quilt which become the inspiration for the color scheme and the entire rest of the room.
Here is the link to Jamie's blog post about Nyla's quilt! The quilt rack/shelf that the quilt is hanging from was a gift from my sister-in-law Katie and came from etsy.
On top of the shelf is a family picture taken by my friend Jennifer when I was about 7 months pregnant with Nyla. I added a verse from Psalm 139 and the frame is a thrifted one that I spray painted.
Next is a yarn wrapped N. I saw some of these I liked on Etsy, but decided to try to make my own instead. I bought a wooden L from Michaels and covered it in red felt (to prevent the wood from showing through), and wrapped it in yarn using a glue to secure it, both vertically and then horizontally. This took a little longer than I expected, but I like the result anyway...
Rebekah made the cute "Grow" embroidery hoop! We spray painted the hoop brown. I love the cute button flowers and stitching she did!
This is the view as you look to the left...
I think one of my favorite things in her nursery is her name above the crib, which Rebekah and I made together. I had seen a similar one on pinterest, but on that one the name was painted on. I really wanted to have the texture of fabric instead, so we cut the letters from felt (font is clementine) and stitched them on. The hoops area all spray painted different colors...of course I chose to do this on one of the colder days of February!
A close up view...
Another project that I love is the photo blocks hanging in the corners of the room. The wood blocks are 8x8 plaques that I found at the thrift store for less than a dollar. At the time they had lovely farm scenes painted on them :) I tried to spray paint these, but the spray paint didn't cover very well, so I ended up painting them with acrylics instead. The pictures are some of my favorites of Nyla's newborn photos, printed as 6x6 squares mounted on a 2 mm styrene board from my pro photo lab. I attached them to the blocks using Command photo strips. I like the three dimensional quality this gave and it was a very economical way to display photos!
The quilt hanging over her crib is another beautiful gift! This one is from Jamie's mom, Jill.
Nyla's room is really a sun room and has eight windows. I chose not to put up curtains, because I didn't want to block the beautiful light that comes in...but I wanted some way to decorate the windows and settled on a fabric bunting. This project did not get done until the night before I went into labor and Rebekah and I stayed up pretty late that night getting this made! The fabric is the leftover 5 inch squares from the Momo Wonderland charm pack fabric from Jamie. We cut them down to triangles with pinking shears and backed them with the sock monkey fabric. They are sewn into a brown bias tape.
On the shelf under the window is a cute frame we made at a recent MOPS meeting:
The bunting is on the windows facing north and south. On the west facing windows, I used a ribbon clothesline and covered the clothespins with ribbon too using a glue gun. On the clothesline is photographs and paintings that the boys made for Nyla. I plan to switch the photographs from time to time. For now, some of the ones up are from my baby shower, Nyla meeting her great grandma, and Daddy and Nyla shortly after she was born...
As you look to the right, this is what you see:
We kept a twin bed in her room for when she is older and also for when we have guests. The quilt is one we already had, brought back from India years ago. I think all the colors blend in fine with the rest of the room.
I printed one of her newborn photos as a 12x18 with a frame around it (also mounted on a 2 mm styrene board) and secured it to the closet door using Command photo strips again.
The words are from the song that was playing when she was born, "Little Light" by Audrey Assad and Matt Hammitt:
Next to the door is her dresser and we have one of those baby book calendars that you can put stickers on...hoping I can keep it caught up. Notice the picture has March showing still. Hmmm...
And on top of the dresser are pink antique booties that were a gift from my aunt Gayle and a frame from Nyla's grandma that reads "Baptized in Christ"...still need to switch the picture to one from her baptism day though. The blue Mason jars are old ones from my grandparents' farm.
I used the walls of Nyla's nursery as the background for her birth announcement:
I guess that is about the complete tour! We didn't have much money to spend on it...actually none of the furniture is new, all repurposed, and we basically just bought paint, bedding, and craft supplies. It's a space that I really enjoy being in and I hope Nyla will love it too as she gets older!
Special thanks to my cousin Rebekah and my sister-in-law Jamie for their help and inspiration! :)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Art Class with Aunt Jamie
We headed over to Aunt Jamie's new house today for a fun day of crafting, playing at the park, and eating ice cream after lunch!
Jamie put together this cute craft for my boys...button art on animal silhouettes on 12x12 scrapbook paper. We also ran over to Michael's and picked up some cheap 12x12 frames for 40% off that I'm going to spray paint white to hang these up in their animal-themed playroom.
Concentrating...
Working together with Aunt Jamie
Proud of their art!
The almost finished product (I'll add a picture once I get them in frames)...
Thanks, Aunt Jamie!
Jamie put together this cute craft for my boys...button art on animal silhouettes on 12x12 scrapbook paper. We also ran over to Michael's and picked up some cheap 12x12 frames for 40% off that I'm going to spray paint white to hang these up in their animal-themed playroom.
Concentrating...
Working together with Aunt Jamie
Proud of their art!
The almost finished product (I'll add a picture once I get them in frames)...
Thanks, Aunt Jamie!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Lent Day 12
I am worn out. My husband is out of town. Jordan had two allergic reactions in four days. Single parenting (even for a couple of days) and working at home don't seem to really go together. Worn out.
But that was all erased when I watched my two boys lay down together in bed tonight with their pajamas and blankies and big "brubba" read his Bible to little "brubba." With surprising accuracy.
Thank you, Lord, that for all the things that I mess up and all the noise that I create Every.Single.Day. they are still hearing Your voice over it all.
But that was all erased when I watched my two boys lay down together in bed tonight with their pajamas and blankies and big "brubba" read his Bible to little "brubba." With surprising accuracy.
Thank you, Lord, that for all the things that I mess up and all the noise that I create Every.Single.Day. they are still hearing Your voice over it all.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Lent Day 11
I've been putting in quite a few strollerless miles lately thanks to some early mornings and my helpful husband. But now he is starting track season and it was time to face pushing the double stroller again today.
Just four miles. No problem. Except for the hills. And the somewhat flat tires on the stroller. And the 84 degree weather. And the eighty pounds to push.
A simple four mile run was suddenly not so easy after all. I felt sluggish and tired as I slogged up the hills with my stroller. Weighed down. Weary. Burdened.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." Psalm 55:22
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Let's be truthful. It's not just the hills and the heat and the weight of the stroller that were weighing me down. Allergic reactions and time constraints and dirty floors and taxes and laundry and relationships. Worries and stress and guilt.
How much more pleasant are my runs without the extra eighty pounds?
How much more pleasant would life be if I would truly lay my burdens down at the cross?
Just four miles. No problem. Except for the hills. And the somewhat flat tires on the stroller. And the 84 degree weather. And the eighty pounds to push.
A simple four mile run was suddenly not so easy after all. I felt sluggish and tired as I slogged up the hills with my stroller. Weighed down. Weary. Burdened.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." Psalm 55:22
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Let's be truthful. It's not just the hills and the heat and the weight of the stroller that were weighing me down. Allergic reactions and time constraints and dirty floors and taxes and laundry and relationships. Worries and stress and guilt.
How much more pleasant are my runs without the extra eighty pounds?
How much more pleasant would life be if I would truly lay my burdens down at the cross?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Lent Day 10
Lord Jesus who dost love me,
Oh spread thy wings above me,
and shield me from all harm.
Though evil would assail me,
thy mercy will not fail me.
I rest in thy protecting arms.
I sing this to my boys every night. My mom sang it to me every night. Her dad sang it to her and her siblings.
Jordan refers to it as the "me" song (see the end of the lines) and demands it immediately when it's time to go to bed.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the comfort of knowing you are always there protecting me. And thank you for loving grandparents and parents who daily instilled this in me. Help me to do the same for my own boys. Amen.
Oh spread thy wings above me,
and shield me from all harm.
Though evil would assail me,
thy mercy will not fail me.
I rest in thy protecting arms.
I sing this to my boys every night. My mom sang it to me every night. Her dad sang it to her and her siblings.
Jordan refers to it as the "me" song (see the end of the lines) and demands it immediately when it's time to go to bed.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the comfort of knowing you are always there protecting me. And thank you for loving grandparents and parents who daily instilled this in me. Help me to do the same for my own boys. Amen.
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