Softly Sunday

 ---Kindness toward yourself. Think of yourself like this: There's a universal intelligence subsisting throughout nature inherent in every one of it's creations.  You are one of those creations.  You are a piece of this universal intelligence -- a slice of God, if you will.  Be good to God, since all that God created is good.  Be good to yourself.  You are a slice of God manifested, and that's reason enough to treat yourself kindly.  Remind yourself that you want to be kind to yourself in all choices that you make about your daily life.  Treat yourself with kindness when you eat, exercise, play, work, love and everything else.  Treating yourself kindly will hasten your ability to connect to Divine intelligence and Eternal love.

adapted from The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer, pg.44

Don't miss it...

After being married to my man for over 12 years there are a few things that I am still not completely adapted to... 

Things like;
socks on the bedroom floor,
nonstop Sports Center on game days,
empty cereal boxes put back in the pantry...
Nothing too big, nothing life threatening... just silly stuff.

But the truth is when I stop and think there are so many more wonderful things my man has brought into my life.

Things that I love...
I love that if he wants to do something new like play the guitar, plant a garden, or run in the Tulsa Run he studies it, he prepares for it, and he REALLY does it.

I love that he can pick up the house in 5 minutes, even with NO company expected.

I love that he will eat anything I cook no matter the smell, texture, or taste.

I love that he brings a calm assurance to our family that is unspoken and so refreshing.

But the thing I LOVE the most about my man is how well he loves me and our children. 

He takes time for each of us. He knows us and knows what is important to us. He encourages us to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

He is my best friend. He is the best role model my children could ever have. 
He keeps a special journal where he writes the fun things our kids do as they are growing up so we don't forget. I LOVE THIS.  He takes time to capture the moments that go way to fast.

He also makes the best movies  that celebrate our kids growing up... I LOVE THIS TOO...

Here is an small sample of the memories he records.  To view it click on the link below.  (I apologize for the poor link system, but my computer is not cooperating)

Eli ABC's.m4v

I will take socks on the floor, Sport Center on the television, and empty cereal boxes in the pantry... because it means he is here with me!

He teaches me to celebrate life and enjoy the skin I am in.... I need my man!!!

Cindy

Growing Up

Sunshine got money from her Yaya and Poppa for Christmas. She really didn't know what she wanted at first. We talked about it and she decided to save her money. 

That all changed when some of her friends at school got shoes/wedges. We went to Payless. Yes Payless!!! The best store in town for a mommy of four. Cool, cheap, fun shoes. 

 When we walked in a lady approached us and asked if she could size Sunshine's foot (SIZE 8 in women's).  Somewhere in the store I hear Sunshine yell, "Mom, oh my gosh, here they are!"

There they were - black little wedges in a size 8. I really wanted to pick out some cute pink hello kitty shoes for her and put a bow in her hair.  But that's not going to happen.  She's past that. 

She tried the black shoes on and she was smiling so big. She took a couple of steps and yelled, "YES, they make that sound!" 

I said, "What sound?"

She said, "They sound like a teacher when I walk." 

But all I could hear was the sound of my daughter growing up. 

Have you ever heard one thing but knew it meant something else instead? 

Have you ever wanted to freeze time for just a minute?? 

Have you ever wanted to stop your daughter from growing? (just kidding).

Why does my heart ache just a tinch when my kids grow?  I guess its because they were/are little for only so long. 

I enjoyed our trip to Payless where Sunshine bought her first pair of wedges.  And when she and Dreamer were cleaning the kitchen after dinner, that night, she had them on with her pajamas. So that tells me I still have a little more time until she's all grown up. 

HAVE THE BEST DAY!!!! 

Tara

What's The Same? What's Different?

 


Remember the slip covered sofa; the one that needed a more feminine touch for the new dining area?   




Well.... how about a small tour of the dining room and the face lift she received?

Before they changed, the walls were mellow yellow and the table shiny black.  It looked pretty, huh?
But because I have nothing better to do than paint and rearrange my house (seriously?),  I painted the chairs, table legs, and table edge white and the table top charcoal.  I glazed (antiqued) over the white with a water based walnut stain.

Can you find the differences in the picture on the right?

                                 1. Walls are different color

                                 2. Rug is different

                                 3. Table is white

                                 4. Chairs are white

                                 5. Chair cushions are different

                                 6. Chairs at the head of the table are different

                                 7. Chalkboard moved to different wall

                                 8. Wall art changed

                                 9. Shelves have been re-staged

                                10. Table runner is gone 

                                11. Centerpiece is different

I didn't stop there (of course, I didn't).  The dining room is clad in a trio of neutrals; white, charcoal and beige.  I wanted to add a touch of fun so.....

I painted the bent wood chairs pink.  Yes, I said pink.   How's that for a touch of the feminine?  I turned the rug over so there is no longer a pattern, only neutral texture.

I got the currently-pink chairs at a neighborhood garage sale.  They are over 50 years old and while cute, not high on the comfort list.  I wanted to comfy up the seats a bit, so I dug in my sewing cabinet to find something to make it happen.

I found a matboard (you know - what framers cut to showcase a picture) which I cut in a circle the size of the chair seat.  I topped it with four doubled layers of quilt batting and then wrapped the entire thing in burlap.  I attached it with duct tape on the back side.

I attached it to the wooden chair seat with upholstery tacks and called it good.

But it still needed a little something.  Hummm.... what about the stamp Miss J gave me a couple years back?

I painted the Flores de lis stamp with primer since I wanted a chalky paint effect. Then I pressed it in the center of the burlap covered seat.

 Woh-lah!   A little French touch makes burlap look happy.

There she is, Miss Neutral with a splash of fun.  

What's different is the color.  What's the same is it's still the space we gather to break bread, make confession and be with each other.  I wonder who will call the pink chairs at the next family dinner?

55. I am grateful for imagination.

I hope your Thursday shines a little bit of out-of-the-ordinary on your normal.  I hope you use something someone gave you a while back.  I hope you have a place to spend time with each other.

 Yaya

Wordy Wednesday

Here we are at the middle of the work week, or as some refer to as, Hump Day.  Familychicks like to think of it as "Wordy Wednesday" - the day when we focus on a specific quote or phrase or idea.

Today's theme is centered around  creativity.  If you don't think of yourself as a creative person, please don't limit yourself.  Using one of the expressions below, imagine your goals/tasks/responsibilities of this day being accomplished.  Picture them in your mind from the end.... not the beginning.  

If a difficult meeting or conversation is on today's schedule, take a few minutes right now to relax, draw a deep breath and choose one of the phrases or a word from one of the phrases below and bring it into focus during those difficult moments.

Good luck and God Bless

54. I am grateful for second chances.

I hope your Wednesday is more joy than challenge.  I hope you can imagine yourself possessing what you desire.  I hope you feel the love we send.

 Yaya

Why I Call Him Clone

  He-man has a little shadow that goes in and out with him.    

He's follows him where ere he goes, enacting all his whims.

He looks very, very like him from his feet up to his head;

And copies all his movements and most of what is said.

 The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to work - 

He carries heavy tools and shovels loads of dirt.

Much like all the other children, he loves to swing or play;

But most of all he'd rather work with He-man every day.

Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's poem, MY SHADOW 

53. I am grateful for the heritage of my elders.

I hope the sun warms you gently this day.  I hope you have someone helping you accomplish a task.  As you reflect on the day, I hope a big smile forms inside your heart.  

Yaya

The Familychick Shuffle

Tara, Cindy and I play this little game.  It's called the Familychick Shuffle.  

When I take inventory of my crafting/sewing closet and decide it's time to reduce, I often give Cindy fabric or ribbon or pillows.  Or I might load her up with Christmas China or picture frames or candlesticks.  Sometimes I give her something a bit more meaningful like, the hand carved rocking chair that traveled across the ocean to come to America years ago.  

Many times I call her and say, "Heh, do you still have the back and blue print fabric I gave you last year?  Can I use it?"

When Tara and JD moved into their new home I gave them two accent chairs and two leather ottomans that were slowly inching their way closer to ye old storage closet at our house. 

They took up residence in JD's and Tara's living room until she moved them to a spot in the dining room.  They stayed there for a brief while before being carried into the game room.... then back to the dining room and then separated.  One went back to the living room and one went to the upstairs attic.

I called Tara and asked if she would trade me the two roving chairs for one I had in my bedroom..... and .... could I have the leather ottomans too?  

She said that Tornado had preformed surgery on the ottomans by removing a leg from one and the buttons from both.  Not a problem for me since I had some cosmetic alterations I was planning on preforming myself.

I loaded He-man's truck with my trade-offs to make the exchange at Tara's; emptied and filled the truck bed with furniture and returned home in little over thirty minutes.  And all within five o'clock rush hour traffic.   

Nothing stands in the way of a motivated decor diva, a free chair and the thrill of the game (familychick shuffle, that is)!

This is what one of the chairs looked like when I got it home.

This is what it looked like after surgery.

 Just needed a little detail to jazz it up a bit.  Hum. What could it be?

Ahah!  Nothing a tour through the old button box won't cure.

To make the back cushion, I cut down a bed pillow.

Nothing fancy, as you can see.  I cut away the casing from one side, pulled out the stuffing (you should see what we sleep on - looks something like a rat's nest). I then pulled the empty casing up to form a smaller pillow and basted it in place.  Not a pretty job, by any means.  But it was going to be covered up anyway, right?

I sewed a envelope style cover (opens from the back for easy removal)

I tucked and stuffed and wiggled the the cut-down pillow....

...until it fit nice and neatly inside. I turned the salvage edge to the outside for a bit of flare.  Every added detail makes a difference.

I turned my newly covered pillow to the right side, marked the center....

threaded a darning needle with embroidery floss and pulled the floss through from back to front.

I pulled the thread through one hole of a button and looped it into another hole before pushing the pin back into the pillow to the back side where...

I pulled it through a second button.

I tied off the threads...

 and trimmed them with my sewing scissors.

I thought that embellishing both sides with a button would keep the cover neatly in place and allow the pillow to be reversible.  Removing the cover for cleaning could be done with a few clips of the scissors.

We'll see how the white holds up against family dance parties and television snacking.

52. I am grateful for sharing.

I hope your Monday unites you with people you enjoy.  I hope someone gives you something from the home of their heart.  I hope you make it through rush hour traffic safely and in record time.

Yaya