Color Their World

You might remember we decided not to drywall Shimmer's and Shine's bedrooms, instead we had them paneled with primed, tongue-and-groove poplar (a little more vintage and a lot more durable). This weekend we broke open our interior paint choices and started with Shimmer's room, brushing it with Beach Plum by Benjamin Moore. Mommy's choice would have been a nice muted shade of green, but Shimmer had her heart set on "pinkish-purple". And, my original thought for Shine's room was a warm earthy tan, but his favorite color is green, so how could I give his sister green and not him??? In the end, I decided that they should be able to choose the color of their rooms, but Mommy did ultimately choose the exact shades. By Sunday afternoon, we had both rooms painted. Shine's was done in Fernwood Green also by Benjamin Moore. I think we made the perfect choices...

By the way, I'm all about sharing our color choices and other sources. I know when I see something I love on the web or in a magazine, I'm so appreciative when it's not a mystery or secret where I can find it. If you ever have a question, just ask... I'm flattered.

Knowing Your Limits

So... we decided that if we want to keep this house moving ahead, priming the interior is a job that is just beyond us. At this point we still have exterior priming and painting to finish on the garage (our crew just completed the siding on it earlier this week); not to mention, all the interior painting. It really is a daunting task and subbing out the priming is one of the smartest things we could have done. Stress has been pretty high lately and seeing the primer and ceilings sprayed professionally has lifted a weight and even brought a smile.

Road Trip

After dropping Shimmer and Shine at school today, I made the 75 minute drive to one of our key suppliers to pick up our kitchen sink and some of our slate tile for the mudroom. The heavy cargo meant I had to take Love's truck. This was my second attempt to pick up our sink. It arrived in white (the wrong color) the first time and I was so thankful to have discovered it before getting it back to our house. Today it's right though, and my precious farmhouse sink is perched on top of a pallet of our tile awaiting a long and winding road to make it back home. Praying and trying to trust that the guys have it safe and secure, and talking to Jesus the whole way home... white knuckles and all! I had to snap a picture once I made it into our development, so you could appreciate my journey.

Memories

Nine years ago today, my husband and I moved into the first home we built. We were newly married and full of hopes to build a life and family together there. Leaving that home was emotionally very hard for me. Tears well even now as I look back at this favorite photo taken just a few days before Shine's birth. You pour your heart into building a home, improve it over the years, and most of all envision your children growing up there and marking their own milestones in it.

It's hard to believe that anyone else would ever appreciate all the decisions you make when building a home, and I don't think it would be fair to expect that they possibly could. Do they know that Shimmer stood by the limelight hydrangea with Daddy for a picture on her first day of kindergarten; that Shine's chair at our kitchen island was the one on the end by the refrigerator; that the reading light in the living room was given to me by husband on my birthday while we were building the house; or, that the scratches on the hardwood maple floors are from our faithful black lab who we know will soon be leaving this world? No. No more than I know now all the things they've found meaning in as they make it their own.

Now my husband is giving life to a home more beautiful than I ever could have dreamed of to replace the heartache of leaving our first family home. I pray that it will bring happiness and warm memories to our family for generations to come. More than this though, I pray that we'll remember rooms are also being prepared for us in our heavenly home, and how much more will we realize then, how even this beautiful home will pale in comparison...

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

Save the Frogs

Shimmer and Shine recently learned that the frogs that have entertained them all summer will be buried soon by our excavator. It's inevitable in the name of progress.

After searching for a new home for them on our lot and having no luck (it's been a dry summer); we decided the best spot may be the pond a few lots down. Shine was really hoping to find a closer spot so he could visit them more often, but he's willing to sacrifice his wishes for their safety. He wants to save his endangered little green friends in the worst way; but, both he and Shimmer have been a little leary of touching them. Today they finally caught some... and on our way home they released those four lucky frogs.

The Reveal... so far

Labor Day... more like Labor Week and then some. So much more to face; but, we press on, and find hope in the beautiful view of the front of our new old house and in the word of God.

Matthew 11:28
James 1:12

Keeping a Promise

After school today, Daddy made good on his promise to give Shimmer and Shine the ride they've been wanting on the equipment we rented to help paint the house. They held on tight and made a lap around the house, before we packed it in for the day.

On the inside, our drywall finisher didn't quite get done as planned so he'll be putting in some time tomorrow morning to wrap things up. That means we won't really be able to start priming the interior yet like we thought; but, I have plenty of windows left to finish and the garage needs to be tackled while we still have the lift (at least the hard to reach spots). Actually, the siding on the end still needs to be completed before we can totally finish our exterior work.