One of My Other Projects

In addition to getting our new house ready, getting our current home ready to sell, taking care of a family, taking care of myself, and decorating for a wedding, I have been also helping with the set design for a play my oldest two children were in this weekend.  The play was amazing and the kids all did great.  

In the past I have done the set all by myself.  This year I got someone to help me and I could not have done it without her.  I can't tell you how less stressful it was having a helping hand and how much faster things went.  A true example of how many hands make light work.

The play was "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  Kidlet #1 played Helena, one of the quarreling lovers, and kidlet #2 played a sprite/boy fairy.  They both did great and looked so cute in their individual costumes.  I was very proud of them.

Here is the set my friend and I worked on.  I think it turned out great!

Here is the beautiful "Helena".  She amazed me with how much she improved this year.  I didn't here her say one time how nervous she was.  She loved her part and did it well.

A closeup of that beautiful face.  She looks so much older.  It made her daddy sad.

Sprite #1!  His hair rocked it.  You really can't get much better.  

Closeup of the eye makeup.

He even had clumps of moss in his hair!

It was a great year and I think everyone had a great time and all the moms who helped with every aspect of the play did A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!  It was a collective effort.  I know my kids are looking forward to next year.

Since I was a bit busy this weekend and didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked for house posts.  I hope to get over there today and get a few and get some good posts written for you.  So much is happening so I am not at a shortage of things to write about.  Stay tuned for next weeks reveal of the wedding I'm finally helping decorate for this weekend.  It's going to look amazing and I can't wait to share photos with you.  Here's a sneak peak!

Hope you are all having as beautiful of weather as we are.  Happy Monday!

Body Beautiful

Earlier this week, I attended an early morning Tabata class at our local YMCA.  Have you ever taken Tabata?  It's DEATH!!  Basically you do an exercise for 20 seconds and then have 10 seconds off.  You repeat the same exercise for 8 rounds, then you rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then do the whole thing again with a new exercise.  I hadn't done it in a while so I was a little nervous.  But all my running paid off and I didn't feel as out of shape as I thought I would, but I was definitely sore the next few days.

In the exercise room where the class is held are huge mirrors that line 3 walls.  There is no getting away from yourself as you wiggle and jiggle, it's all right there front and center.  There are days I don't mind it and days I just try and not look too hard at myself.  It is good for helping you with keeping proper form, thus helping you prevent injury.

With having had 4 kids, 2 miscarriages, and just getting older in general, everything is not so high and tight as it used to be or how I may ideally like it to be.  I'm not the lightest I've ever been and I'm also not the heaviest.  But guess what, I'm the happiest I've been in a long time.

A few hours after I got home from class that day, I was overcome with the most profound gratefulness for my body and how amazing it is.  For the first time in a long time I really loved my body.  It moves, it's strong, it serves, it feels, it allows my spirit to enjoy and participate in so many things that would be impossible without it.  

Perhaps this insight is a gift of age.  Age does that to us.  It helps us sift out all the things we once thought were important for the things that really are important.  

Now I'm not saying that you should totally not care about what you look like or completely let yourself go because part of caring for your body is what allows you to experience and do all the things you need to.  You just don't need to be a supermodel for your body to be useful and attractive.  

When kidlet #1 was just under a year old, my husband and I embarked on a trip we still talk about to this day.  With baby in tow, we boarded a plane to Paris for a 10 day trip with some good friends who had family that lived in France.  It was an amazing trip which I will expound upon at some future date.  One of the many things we did while there was go to the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa.  I don't know if anyone else is like me, but I do not find Ms. Lisa Gherardini to be a stick nor may I say very attractive.  But guess what, she is one of the most looked at faces in the world!  The worth of her portrait transcends what mortal imperfections she may have possessed.  Her beauty has mesmerized humanity for centuries.   Leonardo was her God.  He created a masterpiece so precise and exquisite for his time that even today it still confounds the greatest of artists.

We are each a lot like the Mona Lisa.  We may not hang in a marbled hall or be admiringly gazed at by millions a year, but we are each a masterpiece.  We each are molded and sculpted just as we should be.  Just as the Artist of our souls and bodies intended.  What a gift and a privilege.  What an example of His love for us.  I hope we all remember that, as hard as it may be at times, and use our bodies for what He intends for us to do with them.  Because unlike a stationary portrait, we can be a living one and bless countless among us.

Happy Weekend Everyone!  Make it AMAZING!!

Go HERE to see one of the most beautiful paintings I have ever seen.  It took my breath away when I saw it in this months issue of our church's monthly magazine.  I will be saving my pennies for a print to hang in my home.

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*Did you know the Mona Lisa was a commissioned portrait by a husband of his wife to celebrate the completion of the couple's home.  Maybe I should tell Greg he should commission a large portrait of me when our new house is complete.  Who would come see it?  

**I know I said I'd be sharing the basement floor choice today, but I like to share things a bit deeper on Fridays.  Come back Monday!

Observations from My 38th Year of Life

Yesterday I turned 39.  Wow, one more year til 40!  It's hard to imagine people.  Truly it is.  It was a great day and I was showered with many notes, gifts, and chocolate to celebrate the day.  I thank you all.

The breakfast table when I came down in the morning.

Last year I came across a tradition another blogger did on her birthday and decided to follow her lead.  This year I took careful notes throughout the year so I'd be ready.  So without further a do, here are some of the things I learned during my 38th year of life.  They are in no particular order and are totally random.

1.  Prayer is an essential component of my self-esteem.

2.  Truth is not for man to determine.  It is for us to discover and then live by.

3.  Individual worth is constant.  It can never be added to or taken away.

4.  I am not the only one who still has complete meltdowns on occasion.

5.  Don't be afraid of hard work.

6.  The youth of today (and especially inside my church) need to have a higher standard of personal conduct set for them and the leaders/adults need to not be afraid to hold them to it.

7.  You need to go on vacation.  It revitalizes you and gives you a new perspective on your life.

8.  Have a designated bowl for vomit!  When children feel the need to throw-up, it doesn't matter how many times you've instructed them to run to the bathroom because in that moment, they will be frozen to the place where they are and vomit everywhere in said place which will most likely be on your couch or new carpet.

9.  If you need something from someone, don't ever directly question someone's professional opinion even if you think it's a fair and just opinion.

10.  I'm not a sugar cookie fan.  I've made them so many times and they just don't do anything for me.  I'm going to stick to chocolate chip.

11.  Why is "Charlotte's Web" all about the pig?  Shouldn't it be about the spider who can spell?

12.  I HATE fruit flies!!!!

12.  Medicine is God's tool for helping us with many of our problems.

13.  Unless a man has AWESOME decor taste, he should only have about 10%-25% say on the decor in a home.  The home is a woman's "desk".  How many men have their wife come decorate their office at work?  Why are some so insistent on decorating their wives?

14.  I stand corrected on the sugar cookies.  I will eat Lynn H's sugar cookies and I will never try another recipe.

Nothing to overly profound, but all true beliefs or observations from this last year of life.  I'm excited to see what I come up with this next year.  Hopefully less wisdom on vomit and more wisdom on sugar cookies.

Kidlets #3 and #4 "took me out to lunch" for my birthday 

at one of our favorite places, St. Louis Bubble Tea.  

Taro Root Snow with Boba!  It's the best!!

Have a great weekend!!  Come back Monday for the kid's bathroom tile choice reveal.  It's awesome!!!