Over the past few weeks I have been fixing up our living room.  Here is a little peek at one of the tables.

Before it was red and looked like this.

Now it’s in another part of the room and looks like this.

Almost finished with the entire room…just taking it a day at a time as I have so little time to get it done.

Blue Eyes.

Red Hair.

Six Teeth.

Fair Skin.

Roll upon Roll.

She is to me…

Perfection.

As you can tell by the title, this post may be a little long.  There have been quite a few things I have wanted to share but unfortunately we left our camera charger in Virginia…yesterday our new charger finally arrived.  I did not realize how lost I would feel without a working camera!  The pictures of the tin table were taken with an ancient digital camera I still have…those are the only pictures I took all week as I discovered that technology has come very far!

I have blogged before about my drop cloth curtains. I got the idea from http://theletteredcottage.net. Because the curtains were so long I had plenty of extra fabric.  Some I used to make a table runner…but I still had a lot of fabric left over.  I decided to use some of it to hang this wreathe over our laundry room door.

Wishful thinking that I might hide all the junk that is “hidden” within.

I also mentioned we changed our entire house (not really but seems that way) around. The TV is in the side room so I had a whole empty wall to decorate.  I bought this buffet table from a local antique store.  It was slathered in the most disgusting brown paint you have ever seen with swirly, retro pulls.  Justin compared it to a pirate ship…I don’t think he had any hope for this piece.  I took it on the back porch and I sanded, painted…sanded some more…added coat after coat of paint.  It looks beautiful.

I finally printed pictures from Cora’s little photo shoot.  I hung them over the buffet and they just didn’t look right.  I started thinking and remembered my drop cloth material.  I took it out, cut some pieces and make hangers for the frames.  My sister gave me these beautiful hooks she picked up in Brooklyn.

Now when you walk into our front door…instead of a huge flat screen TV, this is what you see.

Huge improvement.

The chair needs to be worked on but that is a long time in coming.  I can’t bring myself to work on it right now!  Justin and I both don’t like the  yellow frame around the chalk board and the lamp should be smaller…but again, if that changes it won’t be any time soon. Oh…and little baby loves it too.  The pulls are not properly screwed in…so she is constantly pulling them off.

The whole living room has been rearranged and worked on but I’ll share that some other time because I need to talk about our Mac mini.   I am not some technology guru…far from it.  I’m one of those people who touches a computer and everything starts going wrong.  My husband however is quite informed in all things technological.  He is just smart with this sort of thing.  Saturday he was working on some computer related projects and hit a point of major frustration.  He never (I mean never) buys himself anything.  Suddenly he said ” I am buying a Mac mini…I can’t stand this!”  I told him he should…our dinosaur of a computer is always freezing up…always frustrating him.  He could fix it all but he does not have the time.  However, I did not think he would actually buy it because he is very frugal and never buys a thing without doing tons of research and careful budgeting.  Well, before I new it he was ordering it from Best Buy…he walked out the door and picked it up.  Can I just say I LOVE IT!  Yes, I love a computer…love, love, love…my brother Tim will only use Apple.  He is a self proclaimed Apple snob.  I can see why.  I am a computer idiot and this “thing” is so easy to understand…so fast…so well laid out.  It’s also teeny tiny and can be hidden away.  Justin laughs at me…but I can tell he’s just as in love with it.

A few months ago the very talented Sam Griffin ( http://samgriffin.zenfolio.com) took some pictures of Cora.  I thought I would share some of my favorites with you…although there are so many I love, it’s hard to choose!

Well, this post was going to be just pictures.  But I have to write…I have to get some thoughts out of my system.  Bare with me…

Lately I have been feeling tired.  I know I say this a lot.  I don’t mean to complain.  I have come to realize this is motherhood.  It’s tiring.  I see pictures of myself a few years ago and I think, “who is that girl?”  I look so young and carefree.  No dark circles under my eyes, no stress…a more youthful body.  I look like a girl not a woman.

I always wanted to be a wife and then a mother…no dreams of being anything else.  When God brought Justin into my life these dreams became a reality.  I became his wife in less then a year…two years later we had a baby.  We are a family.

I look at pictures of myself a couple years ago…I might have  looked better but I can honestly say  I did not feel better.  I see a very selfish 22  year old.  I did not love my husband like I do today…and I certainly had not learned to live daily serving a little person. I served myself.  When God brought Cora into my world there was a time when everything seemed to come crashing down around me.  All of the sudden my easy little life ended.  In one day I became a mother…the one to feed, comfort, change, clean, stay up for hours at night, love and care for my baby.  Inside I was fighting the breaking of many bad habits…it hurt too much to have to grow up. My plan was to be a mom…but it was not my plan to have to change!  It humors me now to realize how clueless I was.  But God is good…he works wonders…miracles in our hearts.  In no time I had adjusted to being a wife and mother.  There were and still are days where I want to throw up my hands, admit defeat…but my love for Cora grows every day as does my patience.  I thank God for her…I was not owed her.  She is a gift.  My love and respect  for Justin has grown.  I loved him when we met…but now?  There is not a better man in the world.  He is a gift as well.  Yes, God is good!

I look forward to seeing how much growth there is 10, 20 years down the road…I have full confidence that God will continue to mold me and work in this little family.  The breaking and the maturing is always hard but the reward is worth it.

Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite Christian artists.  He may have a nasal voice…but the passion with which he sings!  Many nights in college I fell asleep listening to his music.  When my brother Tim became a daddy, I remember thinking this song was perfect for him.  Now I think it’s perfect for Justin and I…and will only ring more true as our family grows.

Family Man

I am a family man
I traded in my mustang for a minivan
This is not what I was headed for when I began
This was not my plan
I am a family man

But everything I had to lose
Came back a thousand times in you
And you fill me up with love
Fill me up with love
And you help me stand
’cause I am a family man

And life is good
That’s something I always knew
But I just never understood
If you’d asked me then you know I’d say I never would
Settle down in a neighborhood
I never thought I could

But I don’t remember anymore
Who I even was before
You filled me up with love
Filled me up with love
And you help me stand

So come on with the thunder clouds
Let the cold wind rail against us, let the rain come down
We can build a roof above us with the love we’ve found
We can stand our ground
So let the rain come down

Because love binds up what breaks in two
So keep my heart so close to you
And I’ll fill you up with love
Fill you up with love
And I’ll help you stand
‘Cause I am a family man

I’m saving my vacation time
For Disneyland
This is not what I was headed for when I began
This was not my plan
It’s so much better than

Everywhere she goes she leaves a trail of toys.  Every basket is emptied out, every toy turned upside down…everything is meant to be tossed and scattered about.

She’s also not the prettiest eater…guess she loves spaghetti just like her mommy.

But no matter how much time I spend cleaning up after her, cleaning her face while the wiggles and screams.  (what is it with all kids detesting a wash cloth?) she is still pretty darn cute.

Especially when she lifts her hands in praise.

I had mentioned in my post on Virginia that I bought a tin table for Cora’s room.  I have always known I wanted child sized furniture in her room but have not been able to find the right thing.  I have her little white rocking chair but had always hoped to find a table as well.

While driving by an antique  store in Cumberland,VA, I yelled “STOP!” to Justin.  There was a tiny table and chairs on the front porch of the store.  We stopped, I asked how much it cost.   The lady told me it was only $20.00.  I decided to wait til the end of the week…Justin convinced me I might find something I liked more.   Every time  we passed the store I would look out the window hoping my little table and chairs were still there.  The day before we left Bear Creek Lake Justin picked them up for me.

I wish I had a before picture.  They were pretty ugly…dirty, dingy and covered in 70’s press paper.  Here is what the little seat cushions looked like:

I removed the table top and chair cushions.  I hosed  down and cleaned the table.  After it was dry I spray painted  the table and chairs white.

I picked up some red polka dot fabric to cover over the ugly press paper.  All I had to do was cut it to size and staple it.  In no time the table was done.

She already loves it.

Her room is still in transition as we moved out the double bed.  I’m hoping to finish it soon…I really want it to be a fun and pretty space for her to play.

15 minutes from where we stayed was a small town called Cumberland…it’s barely a town.  There are four junk shops, a restaurant and a tiny grocery store.  Of course I loved all the junk stores…I bought Cora the most adorable tin table for her bedroom.

Thirty minutes from the cabins we stayed in was a town called Farmville. (like the Facebook game) Justin and I ended up going there three times…if we needed anything Farmville was the closest town.  The town was made up entirely of furniture stores, cafes and restaurants.  In the downtown area was a church founded and visited by Martin Luther King Jr.

There was a delicious little cafe on the main street.

We continued to walk the downtown streets and  went into a couple stores.

I wanted to go into this store which sold only wicker…but the “sale” prices were ridiculous.  I walked in and walked right back out.

On one trip to Farmville Justin and I decided to stop by Jack’s Junk Shop.  He was for once more intrigued then me. I stayed in the car…I felt like any second a man was going to come out wielding a chainsaw.

There was just stuff piled up in building after building…Fortunately Jack was not there to show us his shop. Is it not something straight out of a horror movie?

Virginia is rich with Civil War History.  Many of the buildings, churches and homes still stand.  Here are two of the most beautiful churches we passed…

Wednesday we drove into Charlottesville to see Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home.  The house and surrounding property is beautiful.  It is living, breathing history. Much of Jefferson’s furniture remains, his books, his grandchildren’s games, art…even the chess game he and John Adams played.  However, poor baby was running a fever that started to get worse during the tour.  As the guide talked on and on I watched Cora growing more impatient and fussy…finally she had enough and threw up on Justin.  Oops.  We tried to sneak out…and I must admit we laughed and laughed when we left.  Our baby just threw up in a national treasure.

Here we tried to rejoin the tour.  We are both so distracted because we know our guide hates us…the couple with the sick baby.  We may have to tour Monticello again.

It’s Monday and it’s back to reality.  Justin is on his way to work and I hear baby waking up.  We desperately needed this vacation.  Although there was major sleep deprivation and a very sick baby we made the most of it and now have dear and precious memories of beautiful Virginia.

We are back!  We survived and enjoyed an entire week in the backwoods of Virginia.  No cell coverage or internet service for miles…no phones, no TV…nothing.  I must admit, it was lovely.  Apparently the world does keep turning without email, blogs, and facebook!

We left early Friday morning.  Cora was riding facing forward for the first time and she loved it!  It was a 10 hour trip and she did not cry one time.  At one point the air conditioning decided to quit working.  I was worried Cora would melt in the heat but our baby is a trooper.  What could be more fun then wind blowing in your face?

We arrived at Bear Creek Lake State Park around 5.  The rest of the family was already there.  A swarm of cousins ran to greet us.

The cabins were lovely…big, clean and well maintained.  They all had huge wrap around porches with rocking chairs.  Much time was spent sitting on these chairs…rocking back and forth and catching up.

The kids spent a lot of time scaling the rails or playing on them.  They were finally caught by Aileen about 12 feet in the air…on the wrong side of the rail.  I snapped this picture of them right before she found them.  They were not pleased to have to pose for this picture.

We went to the beach the second day we were there.  Cora loved the water.

We had a fire for marshmellows and smores.  These two pyros especially enjoyed it.

I kept seeing them burning stuff…What better use for a grill then to melt plastic soldiers?

Now for many, many pictures.  I took hundreds..these are the favorites.

Dad reading his bible.

Babies.

Children.

Family.

Friends. (Our very dear Ashley came all the way from Canada to see all 25 of us!)

And finally.  Two of the funniest pictures from the trip.  Will and Cora…they are two peas in a pod.  She steals all his toys and he beats her up.  Look at the grin of satisfaction as he pulls her over!

More on Virginia still to come.

“A vacation is having nothing to do, and all day to do it in.” -Robert Orben

Bright and early tomorrow morning we leave for beautiful Virginia and Bear Creek Lake State Park.  We cannot wait!  The only part I am dreading is leaving and coming back to a dishevelled house.  (we are still in the process of moving furniture around)  At the park we’ll have no TV, cell coverage or internet so I won’t be blogging for a week.  This family needs some fun and relaxation.  My poor husband has not taken time off in almost a year!

And because I have been a little apprehensive to stay in a lodge that is not a family home…and has been slept in by many people.  I found this quote amusing.

“Oh why can’t we break away from this, just you and I, and lodge with my fleas in the hills?  I mean, flee to my lodge in the hills?”-S.J. Perelman

I plan on coming back with lots of pictures…Cora’s first experience on a beach and swimming in a lake…our first experience as a family of three going on vacation.  Have a wonderful week!

The other day I was standing in my kitchen and I noticed something I often overlook.  It is a vintage recipe box that I inherited when our cottage was sold.  It’s something I love because it reminds me of childhood.  It was always sitting in the cottage but I do not know that it was used very often.  It goes unnoticed at my house…it’s a bookend to hold up Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart cookbooks.

I decided to take a peek  and see what might be hidden inside.  There are dozens of recipes that my grandmother had hand written or typed with a typewriter.  The Grandma who met me once but died when I was a week old.  The Grandma I am told I resemble…and apparently have her same bossy and determined nature.   The Grandma who was busy taking her grandchildren to the theater, buying them fancy dresses…the grandmother that grew up in New York and married a Canadian.  The grandmother I wish I could have known.

Here she is with my dad’s three older siblings.

I learned a little something about my Grandma through looking at these recipes.  She must have like to cook…and I am assuming she was good at it?  There were recipes for scones, apricot chicken, cheese drop biscuits, pies, cakes, Sangria…and all sorts of other delicious sounding food!  I am determined to try some of her recipes.  Isn’t it strange how you can just stumble across something or overlook it but inside there is such treasure to be found?