Harper's Awake!

Hopefully ya'll are keeping up with Kelly's blog and updates on Harper, but if you aren't...

SHE'S AWAKE!!!

God is so good and merciful and wonderful and sovereign...
I'm overwhelmed and crying such happy tears for this family. I cannot imagine the feeling they must have had to finally see their baby's beautiful eyes.

Kelly has had several people email her to say that they received Christ since following Harper's story. Hallelujah!

What a bright spot on such a dreary day!!!

Love to you all...

You Tell Me

Is it bad that Nick and I are teaching our children dog tricks?

I mean she was having fun. I cross my heart.

Don't judge me.

By the way, Ellie has a mohawk.

P.S. It is my sincere hope that Kelly will someday be teaching Harper to do doggie tricks. Please continue to pray for this family and sweet, sweet Harper...it's working!

Pray...

Good morning, friends. I have a very special request. I need for ya'll to get on your knees in prayer for a precious little baby named Harper. I don't know Harper or her parents, but I have been periodically checking in on her mom's blog for the past several months. Harper's parents, Kelly and Scott, struggled with infertility for several years and then by the grace of God, conceived this little girl. Now Harper is very sick and they don't know exactly what is wrong with her yet. This family has been on my mind for the past several days, so I went to Kelly's blog this morning to check on them and this is what I found. I am heartbroken for them. They are the cutest little couple and all of Kelly's posts center around the excitement they experienced waiting for Harper's arrival.

Our God is a big and mighty God. I know that he can heal Harper and give Kelly and Scott the dream they have dreamt for years. Please pray.

Visit Kelly's blog so you can go back and follow their journey from the beginning.

Have a blessed day!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Fight Night

Here are some pics from our recent Ugly Christmas Sweater themed UFC Fight Night. I think these speak for themselves, but just in case they don't...

Nick picked out my sweater. It was pretty hideous. You can't really see it, but I was wearing a thin headband and blue eyeshadow, too. Nick is always over the top. You give him a theme and he will run with it. He was not satisfied with the tackiness of his original choice, so he tasked our friend Glenn with choosing another UCS from the wide world of Goodwill. This is what he got. It is a woman's shirt and has shoulder pads...enough said.

Here are our friends Adam and Alycia. Alycia was really in the spirit. She actually paid full price for her new UCS. (Note to the sweater industry: Shame on you! There is no excuse for continuing to manufacture such offensive holiday wear.)

This is Glenn. If we were giving awards, Glenn would win in every category. Not able to find the perfect UCS, Glenn (an engineer, I should note) set out to create his own. He actually sewed that Santa onto a Bill Cosby-esqe sweater he found at Goodwill. And please, please note the socks. Everyone that saw Glenn said, "Dude, the socks make it!" (That little guy is Glenn's mini-me, Cole.)

It was an entertaining night to say the least. Thanks to our fun friends that participated - we had some slackers that didn't.

P.S. My hubby wants me to tell ya'll that the only thing better than the sweaters was Rampage Jackson's knockout punch...yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Toodle-loo!

A Look Back

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is having a soiree! What? You don't know Rhoda? What rock have you been hiding under? Rhoda is fabulous. She reminds me of Paula Deen, but instead of cooking up delicious food, she cooks up scrumptious decor. Rhoda's party is an opportunity for us to look back at the projects we completed in 2008. Before and after. There's just one teensy little problem...I don't have before pics for most of my projects. I wasn't in full blogging mindset yet, people! I'll do better in 2009...promise. Hopefully, Rhoda won't mind if I crash the before and after party with just my afters!

I'll start with the couple of projects I do have befores for. First up is the ornament topiary that was featured on Kimba's Favorite Things roundup post following the Open House. I am still blushing! So flattering to be recognized by the Kimba...you know from A Soft Place To Land...go there at once. But hurry back for my other projects!

This junk...

...became this. (Ugh, this pic is dark...see the pic over at Kimba's)

This next project was for Beanie's nursery. I found this lovely lady on Good Friday at the flea market. It was a good Friday indeed! I was on a mission to find a dresser/changing table and this sweetie fit the bill perfectly. She's long and deep. Perfect for all that changing table paraphenalia...you mama's know what I'm sayin'. There was just one issue...she was blue. And since Beanie was missing some, um, equipment that would have called for a blue dresser, I set to work on the makeover...

I liked her sexy legs!

Here she is, all fresh and white and nursery-ish! See her? There...behind the little people. (I tried to take a pic tonight without the munchkins, but the lighting is terrible and you can't see how fresh she really looks. So this not-at-all-recent one will have to do.)

Here's a look at her pretty glass knobs. (See the crap-o lighting.)

And here are those gorgeous gams...

Staying in the nursery, here is a peek at the window "mistreatment" in there. Ala the Nester, I found two complementary fabrics and some kicky trim to tie it together, busted out the glue gun (that's right), and whipped up some deliciousness while watching an episode of Real Housewives of New York (I'm hanging my head in shame).

In the nursery we have a monogrammed lamp shade. I love having a lamp in the nursery, so we don't have to use the overhead lighting. If I could, I would only use lamps! I found a lamp that wasn't being used and went to work. I'll try to tap out a tutorial on this project in the coming weeks.

Big sister got a mono-shade too!

Again in the nursery...wow, it's so true that babies really take over your world! I wanted something over the crib that was a little different. I got a large letter from JoAnn's and duplicated the dust ruffle stripe on it. This was a tedious and time consuming project because of the size of the stripes. But it really turned out so great and I think it makes the room.

Truthfully, the nursery, in and of itself, is a 2008 completed project. Before it became a nursery, it was being used for overflow storage and Ansley's large toys. When we got pregnant (we meaning me) and determined that we (we meaning I) didn't want to give up the guestroom, this room became the nursery by default. I don't have before pics because...well, frankly it was scary. The walls were plain-jane, cream. No offense to anyone named Jane. There was a mess of junk scattered all around. I don't need photos of things like that lurking around to remind me of darker days! So I chose a color (that is pretty scary when it's going on the wall) and we painted. Then my sweet husband and my sweet FIL put up the beadboard and chair rail (that's not really a chair rail). The result is pretty dramatic, but that's what I was going for.

I created personalized plaques for the girls' doors as well. This is a pic of Ansley's but Ellie has one that is almost identical...well, except for the letter, of course!

Well, I think that about does it. I hope to complete so many more projects in 2009. I feel fulfilled and productive when I am creating things. I hope that you will make it a point to create a beautiful life for yourself and your family in the coming year!

Until we meet again~

Can you believe it?

I ran.

I am not even kidding.

Ask Jill. She was there.

And no, Mom, no one was chasing me.

I am weak. I gave into the hype. I'm a sucker for peer pressure.

Beautiful Life

Ok, ya'll. Now I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions. I mean, let's face it, I have very little will-power and usually no real motivation to keep them. But this year at The Inspired Room, Melissa is setting some "key word goals" that describe the kind of life she wants to lead in 2009. Since I like the idea, and certainly don't have a better one, I decided to follow suit. I hope that you will join me, but if you don't, why don't you resolve to help me be accountable. Alright, here we go...

How it works: I've set twelve goals - one for each month. These are very general...nothing too restricting. I don't like to be restricted. It's so...restricting. So each day I will try to incorporate as many of these goals as possible into my activities, focusing mainly on the current monthly goal. I know it sounds confusing - I was confused after reading Melissa's post and she has a much better way with words. I think it will become more clear after seeing the goals - here are mine:

January: Healthy Living (such a cliche, I know, but I've gotta do it!)

February: Organization

March: Enrichment - learning something new

April: Solitude/Faith - regular quiet times

May: Family

June: Friends

July: Finances

August: Contentment

September: Routines/Anti-Procrastination

October: Hospitality

November: Gratitude

December: Giving

Occasionally I will post about how I am incorporating these into my everyday life. But don't worry, I will still be regaling ya'll with tales of hands that smell like poop, wildly inappropriate baby wear and other magical moments from our little life!

Love to love ya'll!

Happy New Year!!!

2008 was amazing for our little family. We were blessed with sweet Ellie's arrival, health, and prosperity. I pray for each of you a 2009 full of abundant blessings. Whether the economy turns around or not, whether the new administration is better or worse, if your hope is in Jesus Christ and the peace he brings, you will never be disappointed!

Celebrate each day!!!

Love,
dana