A tour

I have been a bad blogger lately. I have been busy this week and trying to stay off the computer to get things done. One thing I have been doing is some cleaning. Not quite spring cleaning, but kind of. When I clean I move things around-decorations and furniture. I use any excuse to move furniture. It is a sickness, just ask Luke.

I take pictures when I move things. So I can remember what I like and don't like. And because I am weird. And since none of you get to come to my house I thought I would use this as a chance to give you another tour. I did it when we first moved and at Christmas. But this time I am going to show some rooms I have not shown before. I will have to make this into several posts to get the pictures to work the way I want. As always, you can click on the picture to make it bigger for a better look.

I love to read decorating blogs. I am so nosy, I just love to look into other people's homes. I do not consider myself a decorator at all though. I break very big decorating rules--like the number one being fake flowers. I can't grow anything. And I like my fake tree and my fake sunflowers--they make me happy and it is MY house :)

So come on in!!! Here we are at the front door. Sorry, every time I take pictures the light is so bright the lighting looks terrible. I don't know anything about the fancy camera except how to work it on automatic.


I moved my furniture on an angle. Now it faces the fireplace which is in the corner. I like it this way. It is different.

Well I thought I had more of the living room, but I messed one up. This is good enough. Now on to another post and the dining room!

Dining room

Okay, more bad lighting in the dining room. It was late afternoon and this window faces west. In real life this is my favorite room because of the lighting, so these pictures are weird.

In here I moved all kinds of things out. I got rid of a bunch of old things that did not make me happy any more--I was only using them to fill the shelves. I was afraid it would seem too empty, but it isn't empty at all. Oh yeah, I still have not taken down the vine thing on the light fixture that I put up at Christmas. It is not a Christmas decoration, it is one of those twig-berry-vine thingys and I still like it there.


This one has better lighting since I was in front of the window. See, I like my fake sunflowers. HGTV can just stay out of my house. Who cares if it is the number one decorating mistake--not me!

I love this corner barn wood shelf so much.

The three baskets really need to go but right now it is all I have to put there. And yes, the willow tree nativity stays out all year.

This barn shelf was much more cluttered before. I like the jars on top. I just found a new one at the "junk store" for 2 dollars.

I am not sure why, but this is my favorite room. I love the light in here and my old barn pieces and my polish pottery. We hardly ever use the room but it is open into the living room so that I can see it all the time and I like looking at it.

Kitchen

Okay time for the kitchen with more west windows and bad light. Still, very pretty light in real life. I put these new blinds up over the sink yesterday. What a job!! I hate doing stuff like that. Another reason to really appreciate my husband and miss him even more!

I love the blinds. Not sure about the plate in the corner. I love the plate and like it here where I notice it though. I also love the sign with my favorite bible verse on it. I may keep this this way just because I like these things, even if they don't fill the space right. With that view out the window though, who cares?

Never showed this view before. That is because it is my junk corner. The kids papers always go here beside the fridge. There are also some cookbooks (because the cabinet right above them that hold the cookbooks is too full to fit any more in!). Also the ipod hides here. I got the thing hanging on the pantry door from Southern Living at Home, I don't know if I like it or not. It has artwork from K and pictures of Wendy and family.

All done here. I added a rug under the table a month or so ago but you probably could not see that in the bad lighting. That may seem dumb, but it is wonderful! It protects the tile from kids scrapping chairs constantly and it is an outdoor rug! If it gets really messy I can take it out and hose it off. It has actually been easier keeping the floor clean. Of course that may be mostly because the kids would rather eat at the bar--there are constant fights because only two can fit there.

Come on let's keep going! Next a little peek at the kids' rooms.

Kids' hallway

Well I can't say kids' rooms because I stuck this picture of their bathroom in here. Newer stuff in here to lighten it up since there is no window. E doesn't even mind the girly look and flowers. I took down the useless towel bar and tried to put up hooks for the towels but I could not find a stud and all I did was make too many holes in the wall. I have to fix that. I did not do any of this this week.

K's room. Nothing different here. I love this room. It is the smallest bedroom but always the cutest.

B's room. Different bedding and more hobby lobby flowers. Both of us finally like this room.

E's room. No changes. A little messy and lots of legos parked around the floor.

Now off to my room.

Master

I usually like this room least of any in my house. So I cleaned it really good (even the blinds and windows) and bought new bedding and curtains this week. I had to get something new since we have decided that Luke is allergic to my down comforter and nothing else is big enough to fit this mattress. It is a queen but it is a tempurpedic and so thick that I have to use king to cover it the way I want. And I know these curtains look exactly like my old curtains but they are new. The old ones were so faded and I have had them for so many houses I forgot how old they are. These ones are fancy fake suede from Walmart (yes I am FANCY). The new quilt was Walmart too--BUT the new Better Homes and Garden brand (see!). I like quilts, not comforters (I even covered the down with a quilt)--I have to match the old quilts on my quilt rack!

That is a pink stuffed star hanging from the ceiling fan (ceiling fans are decorating no nos too). It has a story from when we first started dating and it has been in every bedroom we have ever had.

This is my favorite new thing in here. I had something totally different here before. I found these shutters in my favorite junk store for 4 dollars (already painted). Now I finally figured out what to do with them. I found them at the end of November.

And the master bath. I never showed this room before. I finally found that metal tile thing and like it so much better than the old shelf I put there before. I also added sponges in a glass vase from an idea Wendy had. And to use something else black (like the tile) I used the metal southern living flower pot to put more bath stuff in. You can only see one door but each side of the tub are doors and those are our closets. The potty is inside another door to the left.

There is a vase of sticks on this counter but I can't even see them in this picture. Luke will probably hate that and I may have to get rid of them when he comes home. I also leave out the toothpaste and toothbrushes--that is another big decorating no no. I do not have a medicine cabinet and I hate digging through my drawers for a toothbrush--I don't want to lay a wet toothbrush in a drawer. Since my potty is in it's own room with a door I don't care about the germ issue.

Okay one more room and confession time coming up next.

End of the tour

And we end at the laundry room, another room I never showed before. Beside the sink is the door to the garage. One reason I have not showed this room before is the dirty laundry (yes one hamper is full) and the ironing I need to do--it is only hems Amy (I told her I do not iron--and I don't, it lays on the dryer). Even when the laundry is clean this room is still usually messy.

The other reason I never shared this room is because it was not decorated. Well, I took some of that junk that I took out of the dining room and used some of my favorites here that I still liked even if is was clutter.

I have had the blue shelf for years and have been meaning to put it in E's room. I decided to use it here with that favorite junk. See, I like my sunflowers. You probably can't see but the old country heart shelf that I just can't get rid of has a jar of buttons and a pail of clothespins on it and my laundry sign hanging from it.

And now for the confession time. I just wanted to share how crazy I am. Some people already know I am crazy--mostly for having a blog and putting pictures of my house on it (my mom thinks it is crazy for one). But just in case you don't think that is crazy, or the fact that I move furniture as a hobby, let me show you these.

This picture I took of the bed and shutters is driving me nuts. any idea why?? Because the bed is off center from the shutters, that is why. The bed and the pillows do not line up perfectly with the crack between the shutters. It HAS to line up. I did not see it until I was putting the pictures on the computer. So tomorrow I have to move the bed. And make sure the pillows are centered. I will probably get a tape measure to check the bed. Seriously.

And so you know what this is? I bought this table--which I totally should have taken a good picture of because I got it last week from the junk store for 5 dollars--it is all wood, already red and has little stars painted on the top. I may have to show that soon. Anyway, because this is the first thing you see from the doorway--being directly across from the entry and in front of the windows, I had to hide the cords. I hate cords. I took a twist tie for the top and a rubber band on the bottom.

I am insane. At least I know it. Right??? Does that make it okay??

Anyway I decorate for me. No one else comes over and the kids don't care. I love it all. I hope you enjoyed getting to be nosy and looking around!!

The Word

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just

and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Hair

I took the kids to get haircuts this morning. I always fight with B about her hair. It never looks good and healthy. I like it when we cut it short. She wants it long. She grew out her bangs--all the way past her chin but she still kept them in her face like bangs, so we cut them off. She is talking now about growing them out again. Her hair is very wavy but she likes to dry it or iron it straight.

The hairdresser washed B's hair and cut it and dried it and ironed it. B said she has never been so happy with her hair. It does look so pretty and healthy. Now we both want a 100$ hair dryer like the pros. Is it worth it Debi?? Actually I don't think Debi reads the blog...

So we had a photo shoot.

She loves how this one shows how straight it is.

K had to get in on the action too. Her pictures did not come out so good. This one is my favorite. It is her.


We still want the hair dryer.

Sunday Song and Prayer

Lord, I give you my heart,
I give you my soul.
I live for you alone.
Every breath that I take,
Every moment I'm awake, Lord, have Your way in me.
-Reuben Morgan

Blessed are they that keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Psalm 119:2

B

This is another of the old pictures I scanned a few days ago. This is B when she was 4. She was so cute and so crazy and so happy all the time! That is what this picture makes me remember.

She is still cute. Just growing up too fast. She is still crazy. Just not as spontaneous as she used to be. And I don't think she is that happy all the time now! Part of the growing up, maybe?

I miss this little girl. I am anxious to see what she will grow to be like, but sometimes I wish they stayed like this forever.

Yes Mom, I still have your pictures

I promise I am still planning to return these pictures. Sometime. I forgot I had them. I found these today and scanned them in. I have some other older pictures too that I may stick on here later.

This is Mom and Daddy bringing me home from the hospital. How sweet. (You can click on them and make them bigger.)

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. Ever! Mom, you are SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

And me and my daddy. I loved posing for the camera back then. Not now though!!

I love you guys!!!

The cheerleader has risen

Well I have to correct myself. When K got home from school today, I had to ask her about the funeral. She said that was before. The scene pictured below is now of her in the hospital. She is not dead anymore. These are doctors. I asked if they are going to fix her. She said yes, if we have any superglue.

I do not have any superglue. I must get that on my next trip to Walmart. It sounds like something very necessary for the first aid kit.

You never know what you will find in my kids' rooms

This is what I found in K's room this morning. This cheerleader became headless this weekend. Some freak accident. Poor girl.


From the conversations I heard coming from her room this weekend, this must be her casket.

I am not sure if they are praying over her or crying for her here. But obviously, this is the funeral I heard going on.

The poor girl must nor have been a popular cheerleader since there are only three people in attendance. I could be wrong, maybe all the others went home yesterday.

I hope this is normal. Or is this just more evidence that my kids are crazy like in this is post!

Sunday Song

You are my strength when I am weak,
You are the treasure that I seek,
You are my All in All.
Seeking You as a precious jewel,
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool,
You are my All in All.
by Dennis Jernigan


The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7

Just playing with the new camera

I was just playing with the new camera this evening. The sun was going down and E was far away from me. These were the best I could get. He was bird hunting. It is a BB gun. I only allow him to do that because I do not think he could actually get one. If he killed a bird I would feel very very bad...

K was posing for me. I did not ignore B--she was at a friend's house.