Words on my Wall

I had a space I wanted (okay, needed) to fill up above the "pass-through" window between our kitchen and living room.  I checked out custom ordered vinyl lettering but decided it was a bit pricey.  So like any good do-it-yourselfer, I searched Pinterest and came up with what I thought might be a good solution. (here's a link to one of the tutorials I found.)

So I went to work at my computer and found just the right font and figured out the height to make the letters look right in my space.  Then I printed out what I wanted to say and cut/spliced my paper to put it all together.  This is what it looked like when I taped it up on my wall and tried it out for a few days...

Then I took it down and scribbled on the back side of the whole thing...each letter.

After that, I taped it back up in place and traced around each letter, which left a faint outline of the words.

I just now noticed that the word I focused on for the outlining picture is "love".  I think that is perfect.  It makes me smile.

I used an ink jet printer, regular printer paper, transparent tape (of course you could use about any tape), a regular #2 pencil, black acrylic paint, and a small slanted/angled artist paint brush.

I am really happy I gave it a try...now where else do I need to put words on the walls?

The Old Homestead

I am incredibly blessed to have both my mom and my dad still with us...pictured here with Pretty Princess and Romeo. They are in good health and I'm thankful they shared their hardy genetic makeup with their children, grandchildren, great grandkids, etc.

Earlier this month I was blessed to go to my childhood home for a reunion of sorts...only one brother and his wife were missing. Some of the next generation were there as well which added to the blessing. Pretty Princess, Romeo, The Unconventional Doctor's Wife, and The Unconventional Kids were all there!

There are many families who fuss and fight and refuse to be together and I count my blessings regularly! An extra treat was to have a special first cousin and her hubby there as well. Since her dad (my dad's brother) died some years ago, I hope we were able to give her a sense of connection to her Dad’s family while she was with us.

I am so thankful that Dad and Mom partnered to provide their family (and many others) with a stable and loving home. I know that doing so meant sacrifices on their part; but it has blessed so many. As Pop and I work on our “dream” here at Four Sisters Farm, our parents are the model we base many things on. We see the value of a homestead for our family and know that God gave us a home base with our parents in our old home town; and because of that, we had the luxury of moving our family to accomplish many goals and still have a model for our daughters of the value of putting down roots.

Ultimately, our roots are in our relationship with God…without Him there would be no good reason to place a high priority on family. Once again, I count my blessings.

It’s good stuff to have my children and grandchildren play in the same places I played as a child. It is awesome to watch them climb the same old cottonwood tree that their Great Uncle caught on fire with his "tree house fireplace" and their Great Aunt breaking her arm in that very creek bed and about my part in that. It is fun to retell the stories once again.

I loved being able to watch my niece pull out the yard games and play with the kids like we used to do with her and her cousins when we all gathered there.

I thank God for my Dad and Mom and for so many blessings that I lose count. It seems like we all say that we don’t often enough say “I love you.” Or “Thank you.” And I suppose that is true; but I try to make certain that they hear it from me often enough to have it echo in their minds and hearts when they think about me and about my family. I thank them on behalf of my family and our extended family who long for what they have created there with God as their foundation and love as their motivation.

The big 'ol table

I have always wanted a huge dinning room table.  I love to have friends and family over for dinner.  When we have our big family gatherings there are 10 adults and 10 children (so far).  That is just Pop and Grammy's bunch.  Not to mention our large extended families on both sides. 

Combine my love for cooking with my love for people and you have a fantastic reason for a big table.

Our new place will allow room for my dream table.  EJ talked to a local furniture maker and it looks like my dream is going to come true!  I'm not sure yet what it will look like.  (I still need to look at ideas)  However, I do know that it will seat at least 14...maybe up to 18.

I am thinking something like this...

Now for the chairs...I really want to purchase mismatched chairs second hand.  Then I want to paint them the same color and recover the seats with the same material.  Here are some ideas:

It will take forever to do that many chairs but it will be worth it!

The one about the house

I cannot explain how this happened.  It just did.  The night I knew the twins were gone it came over me so strong.  I looked at EJ and said, "It's time.  Buy me a house."

You see we have been on the Four Sisters Farm adventure for almost 3 years now.  The first year we were here by ourselves and then God blessed us by bringing Pop and Grammy here for the past two years. 

The plan was for us to live in a multi-generational home for a couple more years until we were ready to build a place on EJ's family land.  With the housing market so low we can buy a heck of a house for much less than what we can build it.

The timing seemed a little crazy to those around me.  Everyone wanted to be sure that I wasn't acting out of grief.  I asked that everyone would give me grace if I freaked out and changed my mind in a week.  EJ contacted our realtor but told her that he wasn't sure if I would be able to go through with it.

But the feeling didn't go away.  It got stronger.  I felt like we needed to get in position to receive the blessing of more children.  (a strange emotion when you have just lost two)

At the time there was literally NOTHING right for us on the market.  I kept checking realtor.com to see if just the right place would appear.  I figured God was going to make the process take a long time so we could all come to grips with this big change.  I was perfectly okay with that.

You see, I have loved being here.  This place is special.  The land is beautiful.  The pond is peaceful.  The home is warm.  My folks are here.  My family comes here often.

Don't get me wrong.  Multi-generational living has its challenges.  But the benefits have certainly outweighed the challenges and the time together has been so sweet.   

Two weeks into our search we found what we thought was just the right house.  It was in distressed condition but we were looking forward to restoring it.  It was going to be over 5,000 square feet when it was completed.  It had so much potential.  Long story short...the deal fell apart.

We were so sad but knew that God must have something else for us.  Again I checked online for more homes.  I was sure this was going to take forever.  When were we going to find another home that size for a decent price?  What a bummer.

Then I found it.

I had heard that this home would be going on the market but I had no idea how BEAUTIFUL it was.

EJ was out of state on business when the house came on the market.  I e-mailed him the link to the house.  He encouraged me to go see it.  I wasn't sure I wanted to do that without him.  I took Grammy and the boys and we checked the place out. 

I LOVED IT.

It has a very open floor plan.  I can have those big family gatherings I love to host.  Not to mention the size of the bedrooms, the wood floors, the vaulted ceiling, the sun room, the huge family room, the fireplaces, the built in book shelves, the storage space, etc.

So I told EJ all about it.  He encouraged me to go ahead an make an offer.  We knew what we were looking for.  This home has over 5,000 square feet and it is move in ready.  All I need to do is buy some furniture to fill it.

We literally bought this house while EJ was in another state! 

He just went with me to see it this morning and sign the paperwork. 

What an exciting time!

This is one of the pictures from the listing.  It just makes me happy...

(The sign says, "Christ is the head of this house.  He is the unseen guest in every room.")

You want to know something special?  Not only is there a heritage of faith in this home, there is also a heritage of adoption.  This home has always been owned by an adoptive family.

What does God have planned for us in this next chapter?

I believe He is bringing more children. 

This house will be ready to give them shelter and a place to call home.  Bring them home, Lord, in your perfect timing.  We are here with open arms.

No clothes in our closet

At a recent play date, I overheard Bubba announce to his friends that, "We don't have any clothes in our closet."  It sounds like a sad tale but alas it is just another one of Mommy's attempts at organization.

Grammy has always said that the laundry room should contain dressers for everyones' clothes.  That way clothes go straight from the dryer to the dresser.  I always thought that sounded a little weird.

Fast forward a bunch of years, I now have 3 busy little men who all expect to wear clothes.

I decided to to do 2 things.

1. Donate excess clothes

2. Place Bubba and Wubba's dressers in the laundry room

It is currently a pilot program but I think it is going very well.  I don't feel so overwhelmed when it comes to putting up all their clothes. 

Also, I can better manage what comes out of the dressers.  Anyone who has had pre-schoolers knows that emptying their dressers is considered an Olympic Sport.  Even the coolest of gals want to blow their top when they see every last clothing item their child owns strewn on the floor of their closet/bedroom.

I may have to move a set of these in for baby Q.

Stuff

Okay, I am tired of stuff.  We have too much of it.  I hate feeling suffocated by it.  I am trying to systematically organize, donate and throw away the excess stuff.

So if you are part of the plethora of unwanted stuff around my house...I am about to go all Fly Lady on your behind.

The Perfect Birthday Gift

I'm not into the material stuff but as we've made progress at the farm and I've dreamed about what it will someday look like I've thought about gatherings at Four Sisters Farm - these gatherings include food (of course) and family and friends and I started thinking about the perfect farm dishes...I sent a link to the website to my girls to get their opinion so long ago that I had forgotten about it for now and they, along with Pop, surprised me for my birthday...it will be a long time before the upstairs is renovated and we have the kind of country kitchen I'm dreaming of...but for now, we have started on the collection of dishes. I'm a happy camper, er, farmer's wife and Grammy. I'm happy.

Pop's and Grammy's Living Space Update

Here's our new welcome mat...come see us soon!

Here is our entrance - it isn't finished yet but will be soon. Pop picked out a great door and I love it! He had good taste!
This is what you see beyond the door...we've picked out some cabinets but haven't ordered them just yet. Farm Chick is such a good cook and she and EJ such good hosts and the cowboys so much fun that we are not hurrying. :-)

This is a view of the living space from the kitchen area. We're really pleased...and when our furniture finally arrives we will like it better so we can sit somewhere!

This is our bathroom...the vanity is my favorite thing so far and the inspiration piece for our kitchen cabinetry...I can't wait until it is all done!!

We still have several phases of construction before we are "done" with the basement but we'll get there...watch for updates as we go.

Demo Day

We had a demolition party at our place last Saturday. We needed to tear out everything in an area of the basement so Pop can remodel. Oh, I didn't mention? He and Grammy are not only moving back home but they are moving into the farmhouse basement. With us...the farm hands.

I can tell this will require some back story. Here goes...

December 2007 - Pop and Grammy are living in South Carolina. They have been there since the summer of 2005 (Pretty Princess was with them too. She was in High School when they moved). However, they were in town for Christmas. EJ, Grammy, Pop and I were chatting one night and Pop casually mentioned that he and Grammy would like to find some land to purchase when they returned in 5-7 years (when Pop would retire from that position). Out of curiosity EJ fired up the laptop and asked Pop for the details on this land/property he wanted to find. Badabing Badaboom...Four Sisters Farm popped up on the screen. Hmmm...Pop was interested. Very interested. I believe I said, "What would you do with it? You aren't moving back for some time." Pop replied, "Well, I guess I'd have you kids move into it."

While it was true that EJ, the cowboys and I were quickly outgrowing our little house, I wasn't so sure about this living in the country thing. I think I probably kind of laughed assuming that wouldn't work out anyway. For starters EJ and I owned our home so we would have to sell it. That seemed daunting on it's own.

If memory serves we tried to look at the property over Christmas but couldn't get in. Pop and Grammy flew back home to SC. EJ and I went to look at the place the next week. We took a video and sent it to them. To say this place was going to need a lot of work was an understatement. It smelled AWFUL. The folks living here had multiple cats indoors as well as 2 big dogs. The smell of animal pee was more than one could stand. I can't even begin to list the upkeep and repair that needed to be done on the rest of the place. As I am writing this I am realizing just how much of a miracle it was that I LOVED it here. I called Pop and said, "there is just something magical here." It just felt right.

February 2008 - Pop and Grammy make a trip back here and check out the property along with multiple other country places. You have heard what happened when Pop saw the pond. This place was sold!

We kept looking at one another going, "This is crazy. Is it really going to work?" We just kept praying that if it was the Lord's will he would work out the details. Step by step he did just that. Our home was on the market for about 30 days and shown around 30 times. Can you imagine how awful that was for a stay at home momma with a baby and a toddler. I was starting to lose my good mind. God sold our home just in time to save my sanity!

May 2008 - EJ, the cowboys and I moved out of our place and into my in-laws place for a couple of weeks. During that time a problem with the financing on the farm came out of no where. The appraisers made a mistake and Pop was trying to correct it from a distance. For a few moments we all wondered if it was going to happen. We realized that we were in fact homeless. God intervened through an incredible lady at the bank Pop was working with. All systems were go again.

June 2008 - A major cleaning followed. We ripped up carpet, treated the floor, painted all the walls, had the duct work cleaned, etc. Carpet was replaced and next thing we knew we moved in. I'm sure EJ has a laundry list of things he did outside as well.

Moving in was like a big party! Pop and Grammy flew back and tons of friends and family pitched in. It was amazing. We were trying to get settled in when relentless rain storms started rolling through. There was a snugly night in the basement hiding from a tornado. If I remember right it included my in laws, all of us, my folks and a friend and her son. It was crazy! The storms just kept coming and pouring buckets of rain on us. We quickly discovered that the basement was leaking...bad. Pop and EJ's new project became repairing the problems that caused the water in the basement. Another example of God's plan. We never would have discovered the problems without that wild rain.

So...that's how it all began. We live in the farm and care for it. In the past year we have fallen in love with the place. We have chickens, dogs, cats and a huge garden. Needless to say we are attached. We have started dreaming about building out here on the land.

So when Pop called and said to EJ, "I want you to discuss with Farm Chick the idea of Grammy and I living in the basement" It didn't take long for us to decide. Let's do it! We can work together to accomplish all our goals. Sure we will have our ups and downs. We know having four adults and two pre-schoolers in one house will be an adjustment. Once the renovations are finished downstairs Pop and Grammy will have their own apartment with a separate entrance. We are all excited and can't wait to make the transition.

These are the next steps...complete the basement renovation, sell the house in SC and move Grammy and Pop in. We are trusting that God will go before us in this transition. Our biggest prayer request right now is that the house will sell quickly. Grammy will be staying in SC in order to work and get the house sold. As you can imagine it's not much fun for them to be apart.

Here are some pics from demo day. Thank you to our friends that helped! Pop, the place is ready for you. See you soon!

There's No Place Like Home

Grammy’s Perspective: Historically, when God has moved us we have had to WAIT to see what He is doing through that move…through the pain of telling family and friends “Goodbye” and leaving church families who have loved, helped, and supported us through a variety of trials in our lives.

This has been no exception. Leaving Kansas after putting down roots was – well – it was painful. We had NO doubt that we were supposed to go – the “handwriting was on the wall.” (Daniel 5:5 gives a biblical reference for this old saying.) It was evident to everyone that God had been preparing Pop for the job he had been offered in South Carolina…it was a dream job. The only drawbacks were moving one teenage daughter (Pretty Princess, who only remembered Kansas), leaving behind three married daughters, three sons-in-law, two grandchildren, Pop’s Mom, my parents, and a WHOLE BUNCH of family and friends. Like I said – it was painful… Our married daughters were stoic when I wanted to just fall apart. Of course, Pretty Princess and I held it together for the good of all on that last day as we kissed our family goodbye. I remember sensing that Lou Lou was not fooled by Grammy’s pretending that it was okay to live that far away from people you love.
…and it didn’t become less painful to be so far away as six more “grandblessings” came.

So...here we are near the end of this chapter. Listing our house to sell and making our lists of things to do before we each leave our work in SC has been bittersweet. We will never forget the things God has brought about during our time here. He moved us for our good – to teach us things we needed to know in an environment where we had only each other to lean on. He has accomplished much in our hearts that we may never be able to convey in words. We are grateful.

I don’t have real ruby red slippers to wear as I click my heels together and say, “There’s no place like home…” but I do have the cutest pair of pink and navy muck boots waiting for me in the mud room of the farmhouse…I think they will do.

Pop's Perspective: I can't express how excited I was when I landed the job in South Carolina. It was and is a dream job for someone like me. I have been so blessed to get to do what I love. It is meaningful work with interesting people and just simply fun. I've had the privilege of training committed young federal officers and helping equip them with the skills to survive in a dangerous world. I recognize how blessed I've been to enjoy such fulfilling and rewarding work.

There are only two jobs I would be more interested in than the one I have in South Carolina. Both are in Kansas and one is right where we would choose to be because of the close proximity to Four Sisters Farm and our precious family. The odds of this job coming open were remote and it was even more unlikely I would be able to secure the position. In my business these type of jobs are few and far between but God is good and always ahead of us. We have again experienced the unlikely and we are not foolish enough to call it luck. God is always ahead, always making a way. We are headed back to Kansas and we are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving. It would be more than enough to return to those we love, but God threw in the bonus of a great job. In these hard economic times, it is so much more than we could have imagined.

I am truly excited to start a new career challenge and spend some time on the farm. We have missed too many birthdays, Easter egg hunts, soccer games, recitals, smooches, hugs, crayon pictures, talks with our children and walks with our grandchildren. I look forward to just being in the presence of those I love without counting the days until we have to get on an airplane and leave. We still have much to do and trying to sell a house in this market is scary. But, shame on us if we don't proceed with faith. It looks like that old barn at Four Sisters might get a face lift a little sooner than originally planned. Why not, you know we're going to be living very close to lots of family and friends.....(you can't see, but trust me, I'm smiling).

I go shopping in my basement

After 8 months of living here, I have finally filled the pantry. I kept meaning to do it but other things always got in the way. I love the prices I find at Aldi but the closest Aldi is not close at all. I hardly ever get there. One recent Friday afternoon I talked my "anti-shopping" husband into going with me. Pretty Princess came over to watch the cowboys and away we went. We filled two carts to overflowing. It was awesome to get it all organized and finally have a plan. Both fridges/freezers are full as well. The only thing I will need to purchase at the grocery store is fresh fruit, veggies & milk. If the chickens kick it in gear I won't have to buy eggs either. Do you notice all the boxes of diapers? I hit the sale of the century at Target. Those boxes are normally priced at $25 each. Well, I happened upon a clearance and purchased them for $12.50 each. And I had coupons! I ended up paying $11 per box. That is unheard of when it comes to name brand diapers. (I am not a diaper snob...Wubba can't wear anything else because of his super sensitive skin)

I can't wait until my pantry is full of my own canned products...salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc. How exciting! I guess I better make sure my whole family is planning to help "put up" the garden this year. There is going to be a lot of food!