My Story

I recently was blessed to be given the opportunity to speak at a moms group I go to and as I prepared my heart and my words to open up my journey with women that I am still getting to know past fears and Satan's lies tried to fill my head. That I would be judged, that grace would not be given and I would be looked down on.

Now, these women have never done or said anything that would make me think that this would be their reaction but Satan works in a way to make us throw out ration and plant seeds, in my case it was fear of rejection. He doesn't want me telling my story. He knows the Glory it brings to God every time I share it. I overcame the power he and this world had on me and I turned to a Savior.

He(God) saved me time after time after time. I made some very poor choices in my past that were far from safe or healthy and I cant help but think that I should have turned out a whole lot different but He saved me. I was the wondering sheep in his flock of 100, He chased after me. He blessed me with a church, with a man who would love me unconditionally through my garbage, who would respect me when I needed to see what it was like for a man to actually respect me, who would love my daughter as his own. Who would lead our family spiritually and who would challenge me.  He blessed me with His love, His grace, His mercy and His redemption.

I have a story, a sin filled messy story. We are all sinners in need of forgiveness, In need of His grace and His mercy. Im thankful I heard His whispers..... although by the time I payed any attention to them I think it was more of a shouting.

***I thought about writing out my story for everyone but it is a long story and it is a part of not only me but my family and I hold it dear to my heart. I am sure there will be a time where it is all out there on the internet for whomever to see (if that is on Gods plan) but right now I dont feel that is what God is calling me to do. If you genuinely want to know I would love to email you privately and share my journey with you.

Prayer and Praise board

This next item I cant take too much credit for. My husband came up with the concept, design, made it and I just assisted in purchasing the chicken wire, stapling it onto the frame and providing the small cute little paper clips but I wanted to share because this is one of my favorite additions to our house.
We used old pallet wood, chicken wire and some nails and voila!!

We will use the board to put up prayers we have for ourselves and those around us and also use it for praises to the Lord. I am still working on deciding on a template for how I want to do the cards but I am thinking of having the same cards but on the back of each have some with Prayer and some with Praise.

It can be multipurpose you could put up pictures, Christmas cards, kids artwork, etc....the possibilities are endless

I was even suggesting to J that we throw these bad boys up on Etsy.

Christmas DIY Part 3

NOEL NOEL NOEL.....

Love this fun new addition to my mantel in our basement......















Thanks to some wood letters from Hobby Lobby, some spray paint, acrylic paint, yarn and berries and the idea and motivation from J's cousin (Shout out to Carolyn Munday ) I have this fun and festive Decor.

Psst.... you can even see the fun Glittered reindeer I posted about in Part 2 of my Christmas DIY

Christmas DIY Part 2

I had seen this adorable little glittered reindeer on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it.

Here is my step by step

• I searched Reinder Silhouette images on google and printed out the one I liked best.
• After printing I cut out the image and traced it onto a 12x12 canvas I had
• Then I got the goldest glitter I could find at Hobby Lobby and some elmers glue and one small section at a time I painted on the glue
• I shook on the glitter then off the excess until I had glued and glittered the whole thing 
• I then brushed off any excess glittered that was anywhere it shouldnt be with a foam paint brush
• Then I sprayed the heck out it with extra strength hairspray and let it dry for a couple hours. 

I couldnt be happier with the results. I even got inspired to do something similar for new decor for my daughters room (which I will show later)

Christmas DIY part 1

I love anything I can save a buck on and DIY myself so as I started to decorate our new house for Christmas I realized I had a lot more space to decorate and not as many decorations so I decided to get creative. Luckily I (like everyone else) has Pinterest for inspiration along with lots of fun shops locally that I can window shop for ideas.

So I started with some pallet boards we have had in our garage for forever and some white paint that the painters left when we moved into our house.

I took an older brissely paint brush and lightly brushed the un sanded pallet boards with the white paint to give it a distressed look.

Then I had my husband cut down the boards to the size I wanted and decided on the phrase for it.

Once that was done I took a stencil I have had in my craft room and after trying acrylic paint and getting beyond frustrated I got advice from a friends in a moms group I go to (Shout out to Amy Langhans) and she suggested a sharpie.

Turns out sharpie was the way to go! After stenciling and coloring in everything I took some sandpaper and rubbed it over the letters to distress them a bit too.

My husband attached the boards with a couple of small strips of wood we had on hand and voila.... I had this 

I love love love the way it all came together

Goals, dreams and the unknown

If you know my husband well you know that he is a Goal person. He makes goals, works towards them and reaches them every year. From his career goals, to our marriage and family, his spiritual, physical and everything in between.

I on the other hand am not.......

I never really knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a mom, a wife and that was pretty much the extent of my dreams for my future. I didnt go to College for many reasons, one of which I didnt know what I would want to go to school for so I made the decision at first not to go and then being a single mom pretty young I decided it was not in the cards for me.

Fastforward to present day..... I am a mom and a wife and I love it. I am content and satisfied in that, or so I thought.

My husband and I recently had a conversation about what my hopes, dreams and goals were for myself and our family. I sat there with a blank stare and tears in my eyes because I was embarressed. Not one thing could come to mind. Sure there were things in my far off wild dreams that I would love to do but I dont think I have ever had the confidence instilled in me to believe any of that was actually possible. I have done one thing ever (other than my family) that I have loved and that was ministry.
Since that conversation with my husband and many other after that and as I have begun to dialouge with God and realizing that while I love being a mom and a wife one day my kids will grow up and they will move out and I will be lost.... and then what?

My husband had the confidence instilled in him from a very young age that he could do what he put his mind to. He has tried many things and while  he may not always have succeeded the way he wanted to he tried it. I cant say the same for myself.

I read an article written recently by a man who was recently divorced and was giving marriage advice and something he said hit me like a ton of bricks

One piece of advice he gave to husbands was to allow your wife to have time for herself especially after she has kids because she will need to get re-centered and find herself after she gets lost in serving the husband and the kids

It dawned on me I never had a chance to find myself. I became pregnant at 20 and a mom at 21. I didnt know who I was, what I stood for or what I wanted out of life. So I went into parenthood not knowing those things and not really having the time to figure it out. When I did get married and have a husband who does give me time for myself I didnt know what to do. I was lost. He always joked with me that I needed to get a hobby and I would laugh it off saying I had some but it turns out I didnt.

I still dont know what I want to do. I have lots of things that I love to do and I am praying where God may lead me but I know now I have to atleast try. Even if I have to try a 100 things and fail at 99 of them to find where my passions lie and where God is calling me.

I love to write, craft, decorate, speak to women, speak to highschoolers and young adults, I love ministry, and children so who knows what avenues I will be able to put my energy into but I am going to start here. Have something for myself.
 I have said it before and I am sure I will fall off the blogging bandwagon again but I am at least going to try and be more consistent and see where this takes me....
So stay tuned and help to hold me accountable.

Sooooooo we bought a house

As many of you know J and I just (well a couple weeks ago) bought a house here in Spokane. After living in Spokane for just about 10 months we found a house that we can make a home.
We walked through numerous houses and drove by even more. We had an awesome Realtor who was willing to put up with all of my emails and inquiries and helped us find a house we loved!

I am so excited to continue to establish some roots here in Spokane and I know that this home will be a great way to do that. God totally had this house hunt in His hands and I feel so blessed by knowing this.
We went and looked at our house the first day it was on the market, put an offer in the very next day and someone else had put an offer in as well. I was pretty stressed out knowing that this house that I knew was meant to be ours could possibly slip through our hands. But with prayers from some friends an unexpected email from our Realtor to the sellers Realtor they accepted our offer. Wahoo!!!!
One thing I love about our house is that the seller was the original owner from 1976 and raised his family here. When his wife had passed away and he had remarried he came in and totally remodeled and updated the house before he put it on the market which we were lucky enough to snag. It turned out that the other offer that was put in with ours was a little stronger but because the seller knew that we were a younger family with two kids and wanted to raise them in this house he went with our offer. I love knowing that this house was filled with love and family and memories and I cant wait to create our own. So thankful that our Realtor sent an email unbeknownst to us telling the Realtor about our family and how we wanted to raise our children here. Love how God works and moves through situations even when we don't see it right away.

We are still getting settled and have some empty rooms awaiting furniture but it is still feeling more and more like home. I look forward to tackling some small projects, DIY'ing and making this our home one room at a time. Stay tuned for a little house tour :)

Chevron stripe fun

I found this fun and funky brass picture at the goodwill for a woppin $2 so I had to snatch it up.
Not sure what I was going to do with it but I knew I could somehow make it cute












My original thought was to paint the glass with chalkboard paint, spray paint the frame a fun color and put it in Maddys room.













Which was a great plan until the glass broke, So i redirected to turn it into a cork board with fun fabric and since I already had some cork laying around all I needed was fabric which I found at Hobby Lobby

Here is the finished product. 

Pinterest Challenge #1

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

So I mentioned this yummy Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai in my previous post so I had to make it the other night and I must say it was sooo yummy.

What was in it ?

1 large spaghetti squash

1 cup bok choy (diced)

1 cup carrots (thinly sliced)

1 large bell pepper (thinly sliced)

 2 cooked chicken breast, shredded (the original recipe was chunks but I decided to shred it)

 1 clove garlic, minced

 1/4 cup chicken broth

 2 tbsp peanut butter

 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp red chili sauce

Garnishes

 2 tbsp dry roasted peanuts, chopped

green onions (chopped)

 cilantro

 lime wedges

I was making a bigger serving so I tripled the recipe for the whole family

Here is how I made it

Preheat oven to 350

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil

Cut Spaghetti squash in half lenghwise scoop out seeds and season with salt and pepper on lined cookie sheet

Bake spaghetti squash in preheated over for 40-60 minutes or until tender (you should be able to flake it with your fork)

 Boil chicken breasts until cooked through

Shred chicken in a separate bowl once cooked

Heat Large skillet on medium add a Tablespoon EVOO and garlic

Saute bell pepper, carrots and bok choy until tender

In a small saucepan mix the chicken broth. rice wine vinegar. peanut butter. soy sauce and red chili sauce until smooth

When Spaghetti squash is cooked removed from oven and shred the squash with a fork and discard the skin

Add the chicken, spaghetti squash and sauce to the large skillet with the veggies until everything is coated with the sauce and cook until heated through

Top with green onions, cilantro and peanuts and ENJOY!!!!

Hope you love this recipe as much as I do.

Here is the original link that I found the recipe

http://stuffweate.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-pad-thai-made-with-spaghetti.html

Summer Bucket List

Summer is right around the corner in our house. Just under a week left and I am so excited to say goodbye to hurrying Maddy to get ready for school and stopping mid-day to lug Zeke out of the house to get her from school.
I saw an idea for a Summer Bucket list so I decided to make my own to help keep the boredom away this summer
Here are some fun things we will be crossing off this summer

 Summer  Bucket  List 

o   Camp out in the backyard   

o   Lemonade stand

o   Water park

o   Roller skating

o   Library

o   Water balloon fight

o   Make popscicles

o   Fireworks

o   Ice cream sundaes for lunch or dinner

o   Paint day

o   Craft day

o   Do a random act of kindness

o   Go out to breakfast

o   Smores

o   Family game night in backyard

o   Craft day

o   Cooking day

o   Go on a hike

o   Sleepover

o   Go Camping

o   Make homemade slime

o   Go to Mobius for the afternoon

o   River front park fun

o   Nature Scavengur Hunt

o   Swim Lessons

o   Wii Afternoon

o   Go to the movies

o   Bowling

o   Sewing time

o   Tea Party with your dolls

o   Beach fun

o   Sponge Bullseye

o   Shaving Cream Fight

o   Sno Cones

Pinteret Challenge

I am sure many of you are as obsessed with Pinterest as I am so I know I am not alone when I say that the percentage of projects/recipes/decor/ things to do with the kids etc that I pin verses how many I actually do is...um...well pretty low.
I have every intention of one day getting around to them so I am here making a public proclamation that I am going to start DOING some of them.
This will become a weekly blog post where I will tackle a new "Pin" off of my list.
Here are some that I am already itching at getting started on:

 These fun wine glasses. Great for parties when you cant find those stinkin wine glass charms in   your drawer.

Spaghetti squash Pad Thai.... I love Pad Thai
but could do without all of the carbs that come along with the noodles so hopefully this will be a     keeper
















How fun are these spray painted folding chairs??? Would be great in a play room or at a kids desk. Now I just need to get my hands on some cheap via garage sales or craigslist

These are just a few that I want to try. Some others will be:

Some sort of fun end of the year gift for Maddisons teachers

Fun summer activities for the kids to keep busy
Chalk board paint World Globe
Chalk paint experiment with some piece of small furniture

Quinoa Stuffed peppers

What are some of your favorite Pinterest recipes or DIY projects? Would love to get some inspiration from you guys

Lets try this again.........

I started this blog awhile ago and have had every intention to keep it up to date. Blogging about my life, fun DIY projects, yummy recipes, challenges I am facing and what God is teaching me.
While my intentions were good with this I have not met my own goals to keep this fresh and have not done it on a regular basis.

As we all know life happens and with two littles running around this was not at the top of my "to do" list. Life and seasons change and I feel I am in a VERY different season of life than I was when I first started this.

Since we have moved to Washington I have felt lost. We changed our lives drastically and while we totally feel that this is Gods plan we still sit feeling unsettled, not having found a church to call home, not having our same routine, the same friends that we would see on a regular basis, the same ministries to serve in and so on. It is an exciting adventure and I am thankful for all of the new things we get to have here but while I am excited for this new adventure our family is on I feel like I have lost a little part of my identity. I am not doing anything for just me and that is just mine. I am not working, not serving (outside of the home) and not doing anything for me and it has me feelin a little lost.
So this is where my renewed sense to blog about "Life as I know it" comes from.
This is something I feel I actually have the time to pour into now. DIY'ing, writing about life and doing this for me.
I am going to give this another try and I am really excited about the possibilities to be able to force myself to do some of the fun projects I have been wanting to do and having an excuse to do it.
So join me on this ride and hold me accountable to keep this goin!

Crutches

One of my closest friends had the best advice and encouragement for me as our move was approaching. As we were discussing the move, my fears and sadness she challenged me with the idea that Maybe God was doing this to give me a fresh start. That maybe everything I had in Roseville, our community, church, friends, experiences, trials, good times and bad was a crutch for me and that maybe God needed to remove me from my safety bubble to really grow me and use me.
I literally go back to this conversation on a daily basis, I think about it, pray about it, contemplate it and challenge myself with it.

My husband and I always joke about how some people are just stuck in their own little bubbles and I think we pride ourselves that we don't fit into that category...or at least I didn't think we did until I started thinking about this concept and realizing that we may not be stuck in a bubble in the same sense that we tease (lovingly of course) about that I can easily say that I was safe and happy and content in a bubble before we moved. We loved our community, our church, family, friends and while I would have never admitted it we were in a safety bubble.

I never expected for God to move so swiftly in changing our hearts, putting pieces into place and moving us to Washington. While it was something we had always wanted in the long term I think we were so focused on our bubble and the comforts inside of it that we didn't see God working around us as He got ready to pop that bubble.
We are out of that bubble now. We just recently found a church that we think can call home, we aren't serving in any major capacity at this point, we don't get to see some of our best friends on a regular basis, I don't have several playdate/ coffee dates set up every week, I am away from my family, Im not working.....and so many other aspects of our life are completely different than they were 4 months ago.

It is a really hard thing to admit to yourself that you have crutches. We all have them and in the light of day when you are going about your routine and have your smile on it is very easy to hide them.
To think that maybe my crutches (while they weren't necessarily bad things) defined me in a way that God didn't want makes me thankful that He blessed our family with a fresh start.
A fresh start that could take us anywhere He wants as long as we are listening and responding to His voice.

My prayer today is that as I look at this fresh start that I would carve out the time necessary and deserved to spend with Him so that I can hear Him, so that I am close to Him. So that when He says go or as He opens doors I am able to hear Him and see the path He has for me.

Life as a Washitonian so far

It seems surreal that we have been in Washington for just over two months now. They have gone by in a blur and have been filled with so many new adventures, experiences and family time.
Here is a review of the past two months of us being Washitonians. I am hoping to update this more often and share our lives with you all.......

• Maddy is in Kindergarten at the same school that Jason and his sibling went to which I think is so fun! She is loving it and I am really loving her teacher and her time there.
• Jason has been working with Greenstone Homes and he is loving it. We feel so blessed that he was able to find a job so quickly especially one that he is enjoying.
• We still have not found a church to call home yet. Now that the holidays are over we are going to be checking out some more churches this coming weekend. We are both very anxious to find a church to call home and get plugged in. Neither one of us do well idling for to long without being involved in something.
• Zeke is turning into quite the entertainer. I cant believe that he will be two in just over two months. He loves having so many people to give him attention.
• It is cold here and I feel like we live in the forest. I LOVE IT!!!! The pine trees are beautiful and everywhere. We are growing accustomed to the cold, Maddy has a hard time with unfashionable winter clothes but luckily my sister got her a bedazzler for her birthday so we can start bedazzling her boring winter clothes :).
• I just learned how to make a snowman.......this cali girl was snow deprived...... obviously.
• Spokane is feeling more and more like home. I am finding my way around without my GPS and I love the pace of life here. It is hard to explain but things just move slower here.
• There is so much more to Spokane than I first thought when we moved here. A lot of history, a very cool downtown, nature all around and an over all very cool place to call home.
• I am learning to sew and I love it! My Mother in law and sister in law are pros and are patiently teaching me
• Maddy rides the bus to school in the morning (and loves it), I was so nervous at first but my niece rides it with her and we walk them down and wait with them.
• Zeke LOVES the movies Brave and Rio
• The whole family (sans Jason and Zeke) went to The Nutcracker and Maddy and my niece Jaiden LOVED it. They got all dressed up and were the bells of the ball
• We have done some exploring around Coure De Alene, ID (which is only approx. 20 minutes from us) and it is oh so pretty.
• We went on a Journey to the North Pole boat cruise on Lake Coure De Alene with all of Jasons family up here and it was so much fun
• We got a HUGE blessing when our really good friends came up from Cali and we got to spend some time with them and make great memories with them here in the Pacific Northwest.
• We got to see a ton of Bald Eagles on the Coure De Alene lake. They come once a year for about a week when the salmon are spawning and they estimated that over 150 were at the lake.
• We had a Moose in our front yard last week! We weren't home but Jasons dad and brothers were and got some pictures
• There are more drive up coffee bars than starbucks around here which is weird considering how many Starbucks there were in our old neighborhood alone.
• We got to celebrate one of J's best friends (since high school) birthday for the first time I think since J moved to California 10 years ago so that was pretty cool.
• We went Ice skating and I got knocked on my FACE by some random out of control skater
• We have Fiesta Friday every Friday with the whole fam!
• We joined the YMCA today, they have an indoor pool which will be wonderful to let the kids get some energy out
• Maddy asks about her friends and family all of the time which can get pretty sad sometimes
• We are looking forward to this year and what God has in store.
• Jason is in the process of getting his photography business up and going which he will do on the side. I am so excited for him because this is something he really loves.
• We miss our family and friends so much!

So there it is, a little glimpse into our life since we have been in Washington. Looking forward to sharing more experiences with you guys!