Who every heard of Modpoudge?

Since I have never dabbled in the world of crafts I was intrigued with the idea of decoupage. You can past any photo or fabric to any object! I got this photo idea from a site called Do-it-yourself: Ideas for your home and Garden. The possibilities are endless!!

I turned some of our family photos into an intriguing wall display by showing them off in vintage silver pieces.

First I found some old silver trays at the Goodwill Store.

Then I printed off some photos in black and white and cut them to the size of the tray. You could also scan original photos into your computer and then use image-editing software to resize, crop, and change the color. Then I mounted the prints onto these plates by putting a coat of Mod Podge, which is a all-in-one glue, sealer and finish, on the bottom of the plate. I did this using a sponge brush. After securing the photo and letting it dry, I added another thin coat to seal the photo. I found that the sponge brush did show brush strokes when looking closely but once they were on the wall you could hardly notice.

If you would like a more descriptive explanation of how to decoupage check out this site. http://www.doityourself.com/stry/decoupage

Now onto our latest home renovation! We found this little door in the bathroom to be quite interesting. And we found the little closet that it led to, to be even more interesting. It's an oddly shaped room that you have to duck to get into and you can only stand at one end since the celling slopes down. (I can't count the times I hit my head already) We were puzzled as to how we were going to utilize this tiny cubbyhole. Many of our family and friends joked that we could use it as a prayer room since kneeling was the best option when enjoying its modest square footage.

We finally decided to turn this tiny prayer room into a linen closet. Not that I am against praying but I really needed the closet space. Nat even had a shelf built for his work clothes so he could get ready for work in the morning without having to wake me. Plus I get more dresser space for my things!! What a sweet husband I have :) Thanks goes out to our good friend Larry Mast who helped us install these shelves and the ones in Alexia's room. I never though I would say that shelves could improve my quality of life. Oh the things we take for granted.

I have recently had the joy of taking up a new baby sitting job. This is Rabecca, the daughter to one of Nat's cousins. She is with us for three days out of the week and she has given Alexia and I a good taste of what it will be like to have another little one around. We have both adjusted well to these hectic days which makes me all the more excited for the arrival of Zook Jr.

I can already tell that Alexia is going to be my big helper in the house when the new baby comes. She is always trying to give Rebecca her soother or bottle. And when cousin Zane is over Alexia is sure to comfort him when he cries and tries to give him his sippy-cup.

And might I add she is very persistent!

I was floored..... just floored! I know every mother says she was bigger in the belly with the second child than she was with the first but ....... no, not me! At 28 weeks in photo #1 I had a cute little bump and I could still fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans! Not bad considering my favorite food was potatoes smothered in butter and sour cream, candy, ice cream and lots of chocolate! Photo #2..... humph! I eat lots of veggies and fruits, I have no desire for chocolate, and I exercise every day... and that doesn't include running around after a one year old all day. Yet, some how, at 28 weeks I am measuring 30 weeks in the belly and I already weigh the same as I did with Alexia just before I delivered her. It's a mystery!

And this would be the sweet little thing that is causing all my grief!

Life is Changing..... again!

Welcome to our new home!! A place to rest and rejuvenate..... or so I thought! This newly remolded home is beautiful however underneath it's stunning construction lies many hidden projects. Some are a necessity like shelves in the closet, some devised by my husbands need improve, improve, improve! I can't complain too much, I am getting a bigger pantry out of the deal! But that will come later.... my first project was to paint the ugly yellowish-tan looking walls. Not a terrible color really, but on every wall?? yuck.

My biggest challenge was the kitchen walls.

Who am I kidding.... every wall was a challenge. Except one wall in the kitchen.

The dark green was easy. Picked the color. Painted. Loved it instantly!

The lighter color..... that's a different story. I went through three different colors before I found one I liked. One color I chose looked like a aqua blue when I put it on the wall. How I went from green to blue I will never understand. I don't know much about tones in paint colors. I had to do this all by trial and error.

Some errors worked in my benefit. The cream I chose for the living room wall was too light but it ended up being perfect for our bedroom. I found another color for the living room in a darker cream but I was a little skeptical when holding up the color swatch. However, once it was on the walls I actually liked it. It also took me two tries to get the red I wanted..... Like I said, choosing paint colors in not my forte!

But in the end I was very pleased with my colors!

My advice...... buy EVERY color in quart size and try it on the wall first.

A big THANK YOU to these three ladies as well as

Jessi Kauffman for helping me with this big job!

FINALLY!! My dream has come true. I got to through a birthday party for my first child! If you didn't know already, I love to plan parties and when I do I like to make them BIG. When I was setting up for Alexia's party my husband said these words "You'd think this was Lexi's wedding!" My response was "You don't want to see me at her wedding!" What can I say, I love to cook (especially cakes for children) , make decorations, and I love to entertain and see people having a good time :) Now, I'm no Martha Stewart...... as you can see from my struggles with choosing a paint color for my walls! I really don't have an eye for color combinations but that is not going to stop me from trying. You just learn. For instance, I originally had candy bowls with different colored candies to match the pink, yellow and teal pom-poms I made. Once I set it all out, a few days before the party of course, I realized that with the pom-poms and the cake there was way too much color involved. So I opted for just red candies instead.

I think these pom-poms were the funniest and easiest decorations I have ever made. I got the idea from a friend who had a party and had white pom-pom's from a Martha Stewart kit. I looked on line and found a site that explained how you could make them from tissue paper. It was supper cheep and took me no time at all! If you would like to give it a try click here to learn how.

I must say I had high hopes for this cake. It was a lot harder than I though it would be and it nearly took me all day to make it.... but it sure tasted good!!

I'll never forget the moment we all sang to the birthday girl. Her eyes light up and she smiled real big.... she just new this was all for her!!!

Alexia's three little buddies who joined her for her celebration. Us ladies must have spent 20 minutes taking photo after photo of these precious faces!

Alexia trying out her new sippy cup.... I can't believe it has been a year already.

We ended the nigh off with some fireworks! What a show :)

A Forty Day Fast- A week late!

Our home church here in Quarryville, Pa is doing a 40 day fast for the month of January. Nat and I were in Ohio when the service was given so we found out about it a week late. We could fast from anything, whether it be food, entertainment, or simply the internet, the idea was to find something we really love and chose to give it up for 40 day in order to align your heart with Gods. Not that we have to permanently remove these things in order to be loved by God but rather as a way to say "God, I want to sacrifice this so that I can hear your voice better". It is our way of showing how much we WANT to hear God. Having said that I am not much for fasting, mostly because I love food too much, but for some reason I had a desire to jump on board with the rest of the congregation. And since I often go without internet and T.V because of my demanding, yet beautiful, daughter I felt these two choices wouldn't be much of a sacrifice. humph, I guess it's food then. Only one meal a day though.....common! It has only been two days and I feel like God is going to do some big things. God's love is meant to be shared so that is why, agents all my comforts of keeping my spiritual live private, I am going to publicly share what God is doing in my heart during these days of fasting. I just hope and pray that you will somehow be blessed through it.

JAN 10th- Giving In

Sunday was my first day to fast and I chose breakfast to be my meal to sacrifice. That morning during the service I was thinking about how my husband has been spending so much time ice skating and not enough time with me..... well, at least in my opinion! Nat was trying to show love to me because he knew I needed it. I was rejecting it because of my negative thoughts toward how I felt he should be spending more time at home. I felt God whisper in my ear that when I refuse to receive love from my husband I am really refusing to be loved by HIM because He wants to love my through my husband.

JAN 11th- Are we Loved?

This morning I put on my fav song by the David Crowder Band call "How He loves Us". I found myself overcome with the realization that God loves me! And not because of who I am or what I have done but simply just because. And I started thinking of how all of us as humans want to be loved just because we are who we are. I believe this is what God wants all of us to know. HOW MUCH HE LOVES US!! No matter what we did wrong or how bad we messed up He just loves us. And we don't have to try to earn His love. We don't have to try to be good parents, or a good wife or be kind to our neighbor. Although it's good to try, yet if we don't or we miss the mark there is No condemnation. No "you gotta do better next time". No "close, but that wasn't quite good enough. And no "I'll start loving YOU when YOU love Me back".

JAN 12th- You Never Let Go.

As I sat to spend time with God this day I put on yet another David Crowder song. This time it was "You never let go" that struck me. Realizing that God truly never lets go of us I couldn't help but think of all the times when it didn't FEEL like God was hanging onto me. I also though of many of you who might be feeling like God is gone and not holding onto you. I asked God how He would answer that question. Not that I can give a perfect translation of God's voice but I felt like He said that if even just ONE person is praying for you than He is still holding onto you.

JAN 13th- Silence

I am struggling to hear form God today. Maybe it is because I am dreadfully tired or maybe it is because I have a terrible attitude. My thoughts today have revolved around a hurtful act done by a friend of mine some time ago. As I dwelt on my feelings of self pity I though of how God must feel when we hurt Him. We can shake our fists at Him, blame Him for every thing, even though it was most likely the result of our own stupid choices, and we can out right curse His name yet He is ready and waiting to forgive us and restore our anger for joy. What amazing love that I can't not fathom.

Jan 14th- Help me!

This morning I was praying for random people. I felt that the people I was praying for need some sort of help from above. It brought brought me to the passage in Daniel 3:8-27 where Daniel's friends were thrown into the fiery furnace yet instead of being consumed by the fire, Jesus came and was with them and protected them..... even the hairs on their heads! How amazing is God that when we are going through hard times He is always there for us. And being there for us does not always mean He will put the fire out, for it is IN the fire that He makes us stronger, but He does promise to protect us.

Jan 17th- Getting ready

In church this morning someone shared an encouragement they got from watching the movie "Facing the Giants". There is a part in the movie where an elderly man comes into the school to pray for all the students as he passes each of their lockers. At one point he is challenging the head football coach who was currently struggling to get his team to win a game for the last six seasons. The man told a story of two farmers who asked God to bring some rain but only one farmer went out and plowed and got the fields ready for the rain. The man asked the coach which farmer did he think had more faith that God was going to bring the rain. The coach answered "the man who got his field ready". He then asked the coach "which farmer are you?"

Jan 17th- Surrendering

This evening we were back at church to see a YWAM team that was visiting our church. During the worship I was asking God how I can get closer to Him. He asked where does my happiness come from? My thoughts went to Alexia. If ever I am down or upset with my husband all I have to do is pick her up and look into her eyes of innocence and my heart melts. It is good to find happiness in people. God did create relationships so that we could love one another and feel loved through that but it is not healthy to place ALL your happiness in any relationship. If everyone we loved was taken from us where would we be? Could we still love and worship the same God that we worship when our family is with us?

Jan 20th- Here Comes the Rain!

This morning I was praying and my mind kept wondering to a video that I am working on. You see, the local radio station out here is having a contest. You have to send in a video telling them how you got engaged. Names will be drawn for a week and the winers will get to go to A Weekend to Remember conference at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA. Since the Lord loves to give us the desires of our hearts, and I REALLY desire to go to this conference, I asked that God would bless us with this trip if He wanted to....... I stopped there. How many times to I say "If you want Lord... do this"? I mean, it is good to say "Your will be done and I will except that" but so many times I don't just out right ask God for what I want because I am too afraid that He will say no. And if I get a no then I feel as though God has forgotten about me or does not wish to give me good things. Oh how I need to remember that God has only GOOD things for me and just because I want to go to this conference does not mean that it is best for me. So if I give it to God and trust that He knows what I need then I can be happy and feel loved no matter what happens. But I will chose to do what the man said in "Facing the Giants". I will get my field ready for the rain!!

Jan 26th- Pressing On

I am finding it hard to continue with this venture. Every time my tummy grumbles with discomfort I wonder why I signed up for this? Don't get me wrong, there is no doubt in my mind that God has been speaking to me, it just hasn't been exactly earth shattering. But I have decided that this is o.k with me for I know a little about God's character. When we willingly do as He is asking us to do He WILL bless us; a blessing, however, that may not be immediate or tangible. Jesus often talked about storing up treasures in Heaven. Perhaps it is true that when we obey God He stores up our reward in Heaven rather than giving it to us right away. But I have also experienced that God does bless us in the here and now. The only thing left for us to do is to choose to continue even when we don't see immediate results or blessings. So I will press on even when I feel like giving up.

Jan 31st

I have been struggling to understand why fasting is beneficial and why we do it. As I was talking with friends I realized that I am not the only one who had these questions running though my mind. Some times it is hard to believe that God is there and listening to us when we don't feel Him or see Him moving in our lives. It is so hard at this time to keep going and keep doing what He is asking us to do. I had a good conversation with Nat and a friend of ours in the car on the way to church about what it means to fast. They were trying to get me to see that it is not about what you fast or how you do it, but rather it is more about your heart and making the intention to spend time with God and listen to His voice. The fasting part is just your reminder to press in harder than you usually do. The idea is that if you are more alert you will pick up on more of what God is doing. He is always there we just don't always see Him because we are not looking.

Feb 1st

This evening I was having trouble sleeping and my mind kept going back to my high school days when I experienced a lot of hurt from a friend. I remember the day I decided I wasn't going to let myself get hurt anymore so I put up a wall. I think we all have a wall or two or three that we know is there. I realized last night that even though I put up that wall and tried not to get hurt I still managed to get myself into a few situations that caused me a great deal of heartache; even more heartache than the initial act that caused me to put up a wall. Who then, are we protecting ourselves or blocking ourselves from. It occurred to me that the only person I managed to successfully block out was God; the very person who Loves me more than anyone else. When I let my guard down and let God in He makes me feel loved and wanted. AND He helps me forgive those who hurt me therefore relieving me of the pain they caused me. So we let down our wall- let God in- He trades our sorrow for joy- eliminating the need to put up a wall!