The Good Life-Learning, Loving, & Living Now

One of the most challenging, yet rewarding things that I have ever done is teaching my children. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my children and teach them.
Some days, I just want to stay in bed, curl up in my covers, and sleep for just 15 more minutes before the house comes alive. Some days, I seriously feel like pulling my hair out in the midst of our school lesson. But everyday, I am thankful and give praise to God for my four children and for the incredible opportunity that I have to teach them, train them and watch them grow, love and learn.

Some days, I find myself just watching them as they play their games of pretend. I watch as their little minds wander and create.
I watch Baby Girl as she works so hard on her drawing at the kitchen table. I look at the curves of her face, those beaming blue eyes, and that sweet smile. I listen to the "klip-klop" of her dress up heels across the house.

I will miss these someday. I wonder how it is that almost five years have passed since I held her little body so close in that hospital bed, welcoming her into this world and into our family.
I listen to Stone Man as he strums on his guitar and sings a worship song that he has made up. I listen to the voice inside of him that wants so badly to be grown up. I watch as he strums and sings and the look on his face makes me smile; those lips pressed hard together, trying to be serious, pressed so hard to keep himself from smiling.

And yet that same boy, that thinks he wants to be grown up, still comes to curl up in my lap to cuddle. I am so thankful for that.
I watch A. Vox  as he digs in the dirt outside and listen as he calls my name with great excitement; he has found a worm. He loves nature and is so compassionate toward others; bugs included. I listen as he so sweetly plays with his little brother and I remember when he was the littlest brother.

I recall his amazing giggles when he was baby. Can that really be six years ago? Thankfully, he still giggles like that today.
And Baby Boy.....sweet baby boy. He knows that he is the baby. He tells us so at random times of the day with a big smile on his face, "Mommy, daddy, I the baby", as he points to himself.

 And he is, in all ways. He is two years old now. It seems like yesterday that we were introducing him to his older brothers and sister. I love watching him grow and his big personality emerge. I watch as he dances to the music and falls to the ground pretending to be hurt after a vicious sword fight between his hand and the invisible man. I watch as he grows tired from the day and begins sucking on his lip and playing with his shirt sleeve and I wonder how long he will do these things. I watch and soak it up.

My children are getting older. They are going to grow up and no longer need me as much. But isn't that part of my job, to ensure that they are fully equipped to live without my help one day? They are going to get their feelings hurt and as a parent, that is hard to watch. But if they don't get hurt, then have they truly learned what it means to love others. Isn't that also my job?

I absolutely cherish these days. I am not always the best mom, the best teacher, the most gracious or the most patient, but I am their mommy and God has blessed me with an incredible job and purpose in my life; loving my children, sharing the love of Jesus Christ with them, teaching them to love others, showing them what grace and mercy looks like, training them in His ways, teaching them practically how to live, praying for their hearts, and being there when they do get hurt to remind them of Jesus and forgiveness.
I want my children to truly learn what it is to be loved and to love others, as Christ first loved us. I am the person they see the most in their little lives right now.

To be honest, many days, this is very overwhelming to me. I feel the weight of it all because of my immense love for them and my acute awareness of my own sin and failures. Some days, I feel like the worst parent, worst teacher in the world.
In those moments, I pray. I pray, thanking God for my children, thanking God that I get to be their mommy and be home with them and mostly, thanking God for Jesus and the sacrifice He made so that I don't have to carry the weight of my sin on my shoulders.
And the Lord God so very graciously reminds me of His word.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
2 Corinthians 12:9

Oh, how I am weak. But my God is strong.

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
-2 Corinthians 5:17

"Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
-Romans 5:8

On my own, I absolutely cannot do this and do it well. But I am not on my own. Sometimes, I lose sight of this when the days are crazy and full and I go into survival mode, just trying to get everything done and everyone taken care of. I am doing it on my own....
...and I am missing all of the joy because of it.

My hearts cry is that I would be present at all times; my heart and my mind; that I would live fully in the moment; that I would have joy in all things and at all times.
I realize that this is no easy task, but I truly long for it and I know that it is possible.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

Where there is thanksgiving to the Lord, there is joy and peace.
-Jenny

I Heart Vintage Clothing

I really do, I absolutely love (heart) vintage clothing....and vintage fabric, vintage sheets, vintage curtains, vintage dishes, vintage furniture, vintage books, vintage buttons.....
you see where this is going.

Daspri and I got to spend a fabulous Saturday morning last weekend looking through some lovely vintage pieces at a vintage trunk show.

 Rockin some awesome vintage sunglasses

Looking tough in some vintage hats

And we're back....that was really hard not to smile in that last shot!

Isn't this so cute!
My friend Tina of Curio630 does an amazing job finding super cool vintage pieces. She really has an eye for these things. And I think she did a great job with her display too!

Oh, she's totally bringing out more vintage shoes. Time to put the camera down for a minute.

And I'm back because apparently women back in the day had freakishly small feet! Or I could be a tad bit bitter because the shoes were so stinkin cute and.....SMALL! 

Daspri tried on this really cute dress complete with matching "hot pants" to wear underneath. Then we realized why it came with matching hot pants.....HELLO large SLIT!

Me: "Daspri, you could totally wear leggings with this dress and even the hot pants too. It's really cute!"
Daspri: "Jenny, you can see my butt."
Me: "But it's really cute and you can wear leggings."
Daspri: "Jenny, you can see my butt."

Needless to say, the dress didn't make the cut.

Lovely vintage scarves...we may or may not have purchased a few of these for a fun little DiY in the near future. :)

 

I love everything about this little nook; the orange chair, the cool light, and the big map on the wall. Not to mention the adorable vintage pillows. I really love those pillows.

Ah, I love this little nook even more now.

Thank you Tina for a lovely morning out, for your fab vintage "eye" and for our lovely vintage finds!

Check out Curio630.

Have a great weekend!

-Jenny

DiY Wire Wrapped Rings

Wire wrapping jewelry can be a lot of fun and add so much character to your pieces. A simple place to start with wire wrapping is rings.

For this you’ll need about 12 inches of 22 gauge dead soft wire, a bead(s) or brad, a mandrel (or something round slightly larger than your finger, and some pliers.

1.If you are using a bead(s) feed them into the center of your wire.

2.Place the beads and wire on the mandrel just below the size you are wanting the finished product to be (i.e. if you are going to make a 7 push it back a bit toward the 8, as you wrap it will get a bit smaller and you don’t want it to be too small). If you are using a brad simply place the wire on the mandrel.

3.Wrap the wire around the mandrel (under the beads) 1, 2, or 3 times. The more you wrap the wider the band. Standard is one pass.

4.Then beginning wrapping the wire around the bead(s). Or if you are using a brad, place the brad in the center and loop each end of wire around each side and wrap.

5.Wrap around the bead/brad until you have the look you want using pliers to pull the wire tight.

6.Wrap the remaining wire down the sides of the ring, if you are using a brad this will actually cover the prongs (make sure to use your pliers to pull each wrap tight).

7.Once you’ve wrapped the sides to satisfaction clip the excess and use your pliers to tuck around the edge and make sure it isn’t poking out. Finished! or
 8.You can add other colors and gauges of wire to add interest. 

When you’ve gotten the hang of the process each one gets a little easier. Don’t worry if your wire isn’t perfectly smooth or you bend it wrong, that just gives it character. And if you like working with wire start wrapping it on beads for necklaces, earrings, anything!

Here are a couple fun tutorials to try, no beads or brads required.

Wire wrapped rose  

Wire wrapped love 

Happy wrapping!
Daspri

DiY- Homemade Pure Vanilla Extract

A couple of years ago, my good friend Kim gave me some homemade pure vanilla extract for my birthday. I had no idea that you could make your own!
I mean, most things you can make yourself, but I just never thought about making this myself. Instead, I either bought the super expensive pure vanilla from the store or the cheap, fake stuff (depending on our finances at the time).
When I had finally used all of the batch that she made for me, even then, I still bought the expensive stuff from the store because one of the main ingredients in this recipe is something that we don't typically have on hand.

You can either use vodka (which is what my first batch was made from) or Bourbon. I ran out of vanilla recently and remembered that my husband had won a bottle of Bourbon at a company Christmas party. Woo Hoo, homemade vanilla here I come!

You literally just need these items:
Homemade Pure Vanilla Extract
Vodka or Bourbon
3-6 vanilla beans
glass bottle with tight fitting lid

**UPDATE**
I had an inquiry about how much vodka/bourbon to use. Great question! It really isn't as much about how much vodka/bourbon to use as it is about how many vanilla beans to use.
For the bottle I used, which is probably about 8oz, I used 4 vanilla beans. After placing the vanilla beans in the bottle, you simply pour your vodka/bourbon over them, into the bottle, either almost filling up your bottle or at least covering the the tops of your vanilla beans.
If you want to use a larger bottle and make lots of vanilla, then you will need to use more vanilla beans. Hope this helps!

Pour your vodka or bourbon in your bottle and then place your vanilla beans inside.
The next stop is the hardest one.

Then WAIT!
You will need to set your bottle in a cool, dark place and let us sit for about 2 months before using it. After 2 months, you will have some delicious pure vanilla for all your baking needs, that you made yourself!
And it will last a LONG time, unless you bake a lot. ;)

Most recipes call for using vodka, but I thought I would give Bourbon a try. I think it will give it a really nice, rich flavor. I can't wait to try it.
I'll let you know how it turns out in about 2 months. :)

*I recently read that once your vanilla is done and you begin using it, that you can pour more vodka/bourbon into your bottle as you use it. Not sure, because I have not done this, but I might give it a try this time.

Enjoy!
-Jenny

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins-Gluten, Sugar & Dairy Free

I recently made this recipe and it was a hit. My head was swimming with different ways that we could adjust this recipe to make lots of different yummy muffins.
So, Sunday morning, I tried out strawberry.

And they were delicious!
Check out the link for the original recipe I posted about above or here. Simply follow that recipe and add about a cup of fresh, diced strawberries instead of chocolate chips.
I kept the same additional add-ins as before: unsweetened shredded coconut and chia seeds.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins

3	mashed bananas (ripe!)
1	cup vanilla almond milk,
2	eggs,
1	tbsp baking powder,
3	cups oats,
1	tsp vanilla extract,

*I added 2tsp chia seeds, 1/3 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut, 1 tsp cinnamon, and about a cup of fresh, diced strawberries.
Bake at 380 degrees for about 21 minutes.

Next, I think I'll try an apple crisp version of these!
Enjoy!
-Jenny

DiY Bulletin Board

I love having a spot to quickly tack up things that I want to have an eye on. My desk sits in a tiny hallway between the living room and two of the bedrooms. So, I have to make the most of the space. I’ll probably add a frame or do something to dress mine up later, but I needed to get it back up on the wall with a new coat. For now it’s just plain and functional.

What you’ll need:
Cardboard
Duct Tape
Material
Staple Gun
Nails

1. Cut your cardboard to size (this can be whatever size you would like). Two pieces of the same size layered (this makes it thick enough to keep the tacks out of the wall).

2. Duct tape them together.

3. Lay your cardboard on top of your material and staple it to the back (I found this curtain panel for $0.50 at a flea market but didn’t want to cut it so I just wrapped it up like a present).

4. Flip it pretty side out and nail to the wall.

This project cost me 50 cents!!! I had this bulletin board previously in the same space twice the size. I decided to half it and recover it so reusing all my supplies all I needed was a new piece of material. Of course it goes nicely with my reusable calendar (instructions here).

Daspri

New Finds, New Pieces & New Inspiration

So, Daspri and I got to rummage through some cool vintage clothing and accessories this weekend at a Vintage Clothing Trunk Show. I'll share more details on that later.
However, while we were out, we also got to hit a few flea markets too. Seriously, my kind of Saturday morning!

 I scored this adorable mirrored tray. I fell in love with it right away. I love the delicate detail on the metal but more than anything, it reminds of me of the tray that my grandmother kept in her bathroom. I remember it vividly. She would keep her perfume, lotion and jewelry on this tray.
I have very precious memories of time spent with my grandmother.

 I also went home with these cute little juice glasses. I got 20 of them for $5! I was pretty excited about these because my husband and I just decided to ditch some of the plastic cups and dishes that we had and go glass and porcelain all the way. I much prefer this but when you have small children, you just seem to accumulate all manner of plastic ware.

I have been meaning to share a few glimpses of the new pieces that I made for the local store that sells my handmade jewelry.

A little steam punk love.....

A little vintage velvet love...

A LOT of love.....

I was really happy with this batch of jewelry. I had a blast creating it and I especially had a great time making the packaging this time around too!

Each piece was paired with a unique hand sewn card.

A few pieces were paired with tags like these.
If you are local, you can find all of these pieces at Branch Out.

And now onto the new inspiration....

 Inspiring?

Uh, that's a big fat NO!
This is my "craft studio!"  HA! More like, my craft closet, the kid's art supply closet, old files and tax documents closet and random items that my husband wants to keep closet.
This closet has driven me CRA-ZY for some time now. Mainly, because.....well, look at it!
I have reorganized it several times but because it houses so many different things, it gets messy so fast.
When I create, I usually only have a block of time while the kids are napping or sleeping at night. So, I need my supplies to be very well organized and easy to grab and transfer to the dining room table where everything takes place.
For this to happen, I really need the whole closet for just my supplies.
So, finally....my creative space is in the works! Seriously, I know it's just a closet, but I am super excited about it!

Now that you've seen my "studio"in all it's glory, I am even more inspired to get this project moving and share my finished space with you!
Bring on the new inspiration!!!!

What are you working on right now? What is your inspiration?
I'd love to hear about it.
-Jenny