Back Patio fix up..on the cheap

We moved into this house 2 years ago. 

When we first walked in we absolutely loved the sliding 

glass door that 

disappeared into the wall and the tiled back patio.

 What we didn't realize though is that the tile becomes a skating rink when it is wet!

Really, it is dangerous. When my sister was visiting, she suggested indoor/outdoor carpet. I imagined the green plastic stuff and wasn't wild about the idea. Then I went to Home Depot and saw all the different choices! That was the solution!

My kitties love the new floor.

 My sister and my parents gave me a gift card to Home Depot for my birthday...

definitely my favorite store...for real.

Dave and I cleaned and dried the tile and started to lay it out.

 So much better! Now we can walk to and from the pool 

with no worries. 

 I added a table top torch to use at night to ward off mosquitos. I'm also in the process of recovering some pillows to match the red ones I already have. 

 These two adirondack chairs were old, gray and dirty from 2 years ago. Clay and I broke out the s.o.s pads and gave them a major scrubbing. Then I spray painted them this nice bright color. These are 2 of the pillows I've recovered.  I still need to sew up one of them and we need to put the carpet tape down to hold together these seems.

 I absolutely love it back there now! Ive got a few more 

things on my list..

curtains, more plants and perhaps a decorative rug.

 We also painted the deck of the gazebo and added flower boxes. 

Such a relaxing place now...Stop by for a visit!

Family Photo shoot...sort of :-)

The following pictures are proof that there is always a born "organizer" in every family.

My mother, father, Aunt Betty, Uncle Larry, Aunt Katherine, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Izelle and Uncle Jerry!

Yes, I realize I could have written that in an easier way, but I wanted you to know which names went together.

These are all my mom's sisters. 

The only sibling missing is her brother Lowell.

The Organizer? Aunt Katherine.

I could go on to tell you that the reason for her leadership and organizational skills were due to the fact that she is highly educated { true }...But, I believe the real reason is...she's the youngest. Imagine living in a home with 4 girls and one boy...and being the youngest. She probably had to fight just to be heard!

The sad part? These aren't even all the pictures that went 

with this "photo shoot."

My daughter was also taking pictures with another camera...

Aunt Izelle and Uncle Jimmy are on the far right..and apparently correctly positioned. ;-) 

My Aunt Betty and Uncle Larry are now being set up.

My parents are on the far left. It appears that they've done this before because they needed no realignment.

not quite ready

Now I'm adding my 2 cents...

The final product! I think it looks great! Although,

I wish I had brought our really nice camera..

Very nice picture.

Now we are attempting to get just a sister photo...

My mother taking a shot at the lead.

Seriously? We were all laughing at this point.

Do you think that's a forced smile?

Back at it.. :-)

Both smiling..love it

My parents. :-)

Samaritan's Village

My family is involved with a wonderful ministry here in town. 

It is called Samaritans Village. 

A woman from the church we attend used to be 

a chaplain in a women's prison. 

She was always troubled that when the ladies 

would be released from prison, 

they had no place left to go. 

So she created 

Samaritans village.

It is a ministry designed to teach women that they are special, and in God's eyes, they are worthy of love, respect, dignity etc..

The ministry has two components.  

Ruth's house. 

Four women live in this house and are involved in an 

intensive rehab program.

We've had the privilege of getting to know them and we love them dearly. Clay has a special relationship with them too.

Transitions

This is a resale shop near downtown Orlando. We LOVE this store and work there quite a bit. It is a donation-based store and all the proceeds help fund Ruth's house.

These women are no different from you and I. They need the same love and support as we do. Homelessness, prostitution and even drug addiction affects us all. Do any of us really know what we would be like if we were born into different circumstances?

This event was our 2nd annual 5k. 

It's main purpose, aside from being a fundraiser, 

is community awareness.

Poor Dave, He thought he was just dropping off Clay.

Mikaela and I needed to be there at 6 am to help set up and 

get her ready to sing The National Anthem.

So when Dave arrived, 

he sorta got roped into running with Clay :-)

                 Clay placed 1st in the 14 and under category,
                              not bad considering he's 10!

                                             Love him

Before and afters...

I started with pink walls, painted them this awesome tan ,

and now they are blue.

I've yet to figure out what this room is exactly, but I think it's starting to shape up. I want to hang maps on the giant mirror wall to the right of this picture and add a set of electric drums for my youngest...So, a music, library sort of room..I did rearrange my shelves to be more library ish..so I'm off to a good start. The dogs will be moved in here as of this weekend...I'll post pictures of that next week :-/

My dining room was also painted blue.

This is how it looked when we first moved in. Awful light, Awful curtains, ugly chair fabric with plastic coating..

Then I recovered the chairs, brought in my grandmothers hutch, took down the curtains, painted the table and switched out the light...It still wasn't working for me.

 Then I brought back in the corner hutch {will be white}, added "stuff" to the wall and still wasn't content...too busy.

Here's the latest.. Blue walls, old window, and simpler..It looks out of proportion in this picture, but it works.

These are my curtains..How is she comfortable??

I'll swap out the wreath according to season's and holidays.

I'll also change the shells out.

My youngest son and daughter share this bathroom. It started with a hideous linoleum floor, pink counter tops..{true!}, and a pink painted vanity.

I painted the counter with Rustoluems counter top paint, painted the cabinet white and distressed it {I am going to paint it a bright white}, put down a thick durable peel and stick tile and added a new shower curtain.

It was fine for awhile, but it was just too dark.

After a few changes it brightened right up!

The shower mat and floor rug match each other even though it doesn't look like it in the picture.

We added some of the peel and stick mirrors. Nice and simple. I am still looking for something to go over the toilet...

Thats what I've been doing lately..actually, a whole lot more, but that's another post. Thanks!

Our youngest

I was reading a memoir a few months back about a woman reflecting on her kids growing up.

I think I cried everyday. 

Seriously. 

My poor daughter and husband had to 

listen to every single part of the book that made me cry...

and then I would cry again as I was reading it to them..

pitiful.

What does that have to do with my son's Star Wars room? 

I'll tell you.

He LOVES Star Wars. More so The Clone Wars...

but all the same to me :-/

Anyway, at some point in the book she talked about how she used to sit on the side of the tub and 

chat with her son while he was bathing...

and how quickly they go from boy's to teenagers..

It made me stop and realize that he needs a boy's room. 

Not a fancy, put together room that makes me feel good..

but one where he can have the things that 

he loves all around him.

I've been reading blogs and looking on Pinterest for months and I started to feel like my house always needed to be

 put together in order to have peace.

 Well, I decided to stop buying into the lie. 

Every picture on those sites has been staged. 

They don't live like their pictures either. 

Honestly, it's why I didn't post anything for so long..

I just couldn't get any room clean enough to take pictures. 

Not kidding!

Life has gotten hard lately. 

I've got children trying to figure out who God wants them to be, 

one stuck between childhood and adulthood, 

one mature beyond their years and 

one who is just a little boy..now.

So, I was at Target with my 10 year old and saw that the sheets and comforters were on sale. 

I looked right at him and said, 

"Do you want a Clone Wars comforter?" 

He thought it was a joke, 

wondered how much it would cost him etc...

He was so excited. It made my day..week..maybe even my year.

He won't always want a character bedroom, 

but I'm going to enjoy every single second that he does.

I'm not a photographer and don't claim to be one..these were taken with my phone..I know, they're awful..but it's what I got :-)

I wrapped a canvas in a Star Wars sheet.

He loves guns and swords..and he's almost a black belt

My dad made the trophy holder, it has been moved all over his room

We tore up the carpet months ago and painted the floor. So much better, for now. 

Now all that little boy junk has a place to go!