Dreaming...

What is it about sleeping children that just gets us?
It doesn't matter what they've done...what has happened...how often they've been in trouble...or even how much of a failure they've caused us to feel like, when we see them sleeping we just melt.


We melt, and I know that I for one and ALWAYS reminded of how very blessed I am to have them.


From the Scrap-tastic Vanilla Frosting kit.

Vanilla Frosting

Yup, not gonna lie. I'm a vanilla girl. Always have been, always will be. So obviously this kit was totally for me! This is the first time I've worked with any Webster's Pages products and let me tell you what...WOW! Umm...yea, love them. Like, drooling love them. LURVE. (as a certain home decor blogger likes to say.)

So, enough about how much I LOVED the papers...wanna see the rest of the kit?
Yup, it's pretty yummy!!! I've got one project I'm still working on that my whole family is excited about, but for now, how about some cards? (I am SOOO not a card maker, so just smile and nod and pretend like you love them!)

(In case you couldn't tell, I'm rather addicted to my new Stampin Up "Modern Label" punch these days..)

and a little 2 pager I did for a circle journal about my "style."

(isn't that lamp post just amazing?!?!)

Enough for today..but I do have more to share!

Valley Of Vision

A prayer to Him whom my heart loves and to Him who has given all that I am and will ever be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

O God of the Highest heaven,
occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine forever.

Thou art worthy to be praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.
Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a new creature,
has given me spiritual perception,
has opened to me they Word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, HOURLY.
O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;
Protect me that no evil befall me;
Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;
Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,
hold converse with thee,
That henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

(from the Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan prayers)

Under the Misteltoe

There is sooo much to gush about in this kit. I mean, look at that musical fabric!

The full reveal will be Nov. 30th on Color Me Daisy.


Don't those flowers look divine?! and let me tell you...the add ons are great as always too!

and last but not least..this is my week to host the Color Me Daisy blog so stop by and say hi! :)

Paper Flowers

This was my week for Tips and Techniques at Scrap-Tastic. I posted a tutorial on how to make this flower.
You can click here for the complete tutorial.

The List

If you remember this post I gave you a little sneak of this LO that I made with the Scrap-Tastic Flirtatious kit (and there are only 1 or 2 left I think!) and I also linked up my inspiration for making this list.

The black and white card is actually an Urban Lily Secret Keeper that I'm planning on jotting notes in as I mark things off my list.

So what's on my list you ask? here it is!

27 Things to do Before I'm 27

1. Memorize a new Bible verse each week.
2. Start hiking with the kids (we've already been twice since I made this LO!)
3. Run a half marathon.
4. Go outside everyday.
5. Get (and use! lol) a bike trailer. (not sure how this will work with 3...but I'll figure something out. *snicker*)
6. Lose baby weight and then some.
7. Go on a scrap retreat weekend.
8. Plant a garden.
9. Spend less time on the computer. (I think I'm already doing better with this one!)
10. Know God better by studying His Word more deeply.
11. Monthly "dates" with each child (well...just the two older ones for now.)
12. Weekends away with Tim.
13. Redecorate/paint/move kids rooms (partially done...half to wait till Grace is older to finish.)
14. Be more BOLD.
15. Get ears pierced.
16. Go rock climbing.
17. Go to Garden of the Gods.
18. Have a birthday party.
19. Learn more about prayer.
20. Foster a love of the outdoors in the kids.
21. Make our home a fun place to be.
22. Write love notes.
23. Call an old friend. (done!)
24. Write letters.
25. Enjoy my kids toddlerhood...without stressing over stuff as much!
26. Try new recipes.
and finally...
27. Run a faster mile.

Just a Little Tease

I took some family pictures for some dear friends last Sunday and I'm having a horrible time getting them all finished up. I know they're very anxious to see them though, so here's a little sneak peek for you Windes Family! :) Enjoy!!!

The First Gift

Water. More talk about water. Why? Because we need water to survive. Water is life giving. Jesus compares himself to water because He is the ultimate source of life.

But what if you don't have water?
Every day 4500 children DIE due to contaminated drinking water.
It DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

Today, November 13, 2009, is the day people all over bloggerland are joining together asking you to give. I'm not asking you to do something I haven't done. I have. What moved me more than simply the fact that sooo many people are DYING because they don't have something we take for granted was this thought...how many of them don't have LIVING WATER? How many of them have never heard of Christ? Maybe if we give...just $10...maybe they'll get a chance to hear about the TRUE source of life. Maybe Christ will save them.

$10 will buy clean drinking water for one person for 10 years.

So, I'm asking...let the first give you buy this year (or the last, or one somewhere in the middle) be water.

1/3 of the amount the world spends on presents EVERY year could provide clean drinking water for the ENTIRE WORLD. How selfish does that make you feel?

but remember, God tells us to not give "reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a CHEERFUL giver."

Click the link below to donate. 100% of the proceeds go straight to buying water in Liberia, West Africa. They are tax deductible and the site is secure.



or click here for more info.

all images from the lovely lady at Whatever. Be sure to check out her amazing blog.

I'm sure giving the gift of water is one of the most best ways to have a Beautiful Life I can think of!

Fall Cleaning - Day 2 {Grace's Room}

All right!!!! I feel like it's been forever since I originally posted about the Office/Nursery Makeover. However...it is FINALLY done!!! WOOHOO!!!!! (well...it still needs a few finishing touches, like stuff on the walls, but...in the big picture...it's DONE!!!!) Anyway, I thought I'd show you the before, during and after shots all together...I just LOVE before and after shots that are this different! (on a side note, not sure why my after shots are such poor quality. Sorry.)


Ok, the two photos above are the room looking to the right when you walk in the door. We had the crib, rocking chair, changing table, and two speakers all jammed in there...along with misc. other things!

And below is the top of that same wall....with the weird paneling and nasty sponge painting and not so girly boarder.


Now ready for the after?



Here it is! The walls are white and we just have the crib, a trashcan and changing table there now. (and a way cute little girly chillin' in the crib!)


This is the before looking straight into the room from the door. Yup, it was crazy cluttered and crammed.




Above and below are during shots. I thought I was just going to be taking down boarder and painting...but when I got the boarder down I discovered a huge gap between the boards at the top and drywall....so I ended up having to mud and sand a TON of the room...and probably should have done even more of it!


and finally....




The after!!! I just LOVE walking into her room now. (and really the pictures are a FAR cry from how good it looks IRL.) I've got some canvases and things I'm working on for the walls...I'll show you those once they're done, but all in all I LOVE how this turned out!!!

Fall Cleaning- Day 1 {Scrappy Area}

I'm finally getting this posted! Monday night at like 9 (or some similarly absurd time to start a project of this magnitude) I decided to tackle my scappy stuff.

This is before. The desk and wicker shelves weren't that bad, but I wanted to purge and also try a new set up for my scrapping.


This corner was a nightmare!! Everything just kinda got thrown in here after the original clean and there were very few things in that cabinet that I actually used.


This was around midnight or so...right in the middle of the purging.


And here's the final work! I wanted to be able to move my scrappy stuff more easily (like if I wanted to scrap and watch a movie or something) and I also wanted the desk to be all cleaned off so that the kids could sit there and do their artwork too. I've still got to get their markers and crayons and stuff in cute little containers on there for them. My essential scrap supplies are in the top drawer along with the kit I'm currently working with. That way I can just pull out the drawer and go if I want to scrap somewhere else.



The cabinet that was in the corner I completely emptied and moved to a different room and put the stereo back in it (which is what it was actually made for.) You'll see a picture of that if I actually get to the living room! lol

I'm Fall Cleaning!

My friend Virginia is hosting fall cleaning week. She's already got her day1 post up here with some great before and after pictures. Be sure and check it out and why not play along?! If you don't have a blog, just leave your plans and progress in the comments.

My plan for tonight is to clean scrappy stuff...we'll get pictures of that tomorrow.

And tomorrow...my plan is to BUY PAINT!!!! So I can get the last coat on Grace's room. woohoo!!

Three Months

That's how long she's been with us. It's crazy how I can't believe she's already three months old and how at the same time it seems like she's always been part of our family. She's such a joy and blessing to all of us!! Every single person in our family is head over heels in love with her.

She has this totally cute and hilarious habit. She'll coo and if you coo back she'll respond even louder..and if you get a little louder she'll get even louder...and she'll just keep going. I've really got to get it on video because it totally cracks me up everytime she does it.

She smiles at just about everyone but Kessa and Zeke don't even have to talk to her, if she just sees them she's beaming....and they love her just as much.

She's starting to be awake more, but she's so contented (as long as she's doesn't have an upset tummy) that it's still going smoothly. Her fussiest times are usually when the other two are down for their naps...which I suppose it good although I do hate giving up my "me" time! lol. Oh well...God is continually sanctifying me and I praise him for it.

Twins....or not?

I've had this LO in my mind for quite a while...I was just waiting for the perfect pictures. And I may do another one when i get the perfect pictures with them FACING the camera too! lol.

Anyway...people are CONSTANTLY asking if Kessa and Zeke are twins. I bet 9 times out of 10 when we go out we're asked at least once if they're twins. It's such a common occurance I knew it needed to be documents. I mean...it PROBABLY won't be like that forever! lol (although who knows!)

A few weeks ago I was at the grocery store with all three of the kids and Zeke and Kessa were both riding in the back of the cart. While we were standing in line a woman asked if they were twins and I laughed and said no. Her response was..."oook..." (and you totally have to get this really sarcastic voice when you read that.) I'm PRETTY SURE she thought I was LYING to her!!!! lol!!!

I used Julie's exclusive CMD sketch and the November Autumn Splendor kit for this LO. By sure to check it out and play along for your chance at some prizes! :)

Autumn Splendor

This super cute kit is now shipping from Color Me Daisy! All the little extras this month really send this kit over the top. I LOVE the tiny Maya Road chipboard houses and the transparencies are amazing! Here is one of the LOs that I've done so far.


Kessa's growing up so quickly...sometimes it catches me off guard. I'll be watching her and all of a sudden I'll see a glimpse of the woman that she is turning into. This picture made me catch my breathe. It was visible proof that she wasn't my baby anymore.

No more chubby cheeks, no more baby curls...just that slender neck and tiny wisps of hair that whispered to me that my baby was growing up.

But I'm choosing to not cry that my baby is growing up. I'm choosing to be excited about the times to come...about watching who God is growing her into...about the new things she's learning. I'm going to be thankful for the time we had and savor the time to come!