So Much Good

March has been a fantastic month! We welcomed Spring, celebrated Easter, got a lot of projects done, and I am still enjoying the last few days of my Spring Break! Plus when I go back to work, there is are only like, 50 work days left of school until the Summer!

March has also brought a few really hard experiences, ones that I am not quite ready to talk about, but maybe with the Lord's strength, sometime in the future. The point is, we all go through really hard stuff, but we get to choose what we focus on. I want to focus on the positive and remember that God is good no matter what! I could choose to get angry when the tough stuff comes along and ask, Why God?!, but I won't, because I know that God has an awesome plan for my life and He always works things out for the good!

There are times though, when I do get angry about certain things, and while that's ok, I have to make sure that I don't let that anger affect my attitude or my actions. I want to work on fostering gentleness, so that there is no place for anger. For the month of April I will be studying the topic of  anger/gentleness in the bible. I have several verses selected that I will be focusing on. One that is so simple, but holds so much power, is Proverbs 15:1.

'A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger'

I want this to be my motto and center focus as I study this topic over the month of April.

If you would like to join along, check back on Sunday for the packet to download.

I have also been super busy this week, working on several projects around the house and a few from Pinterest. 

I used my letter to make a Spring wreath for the door

11. Monogram twine letter

I save all my baskets and reuse them for all different things (future post).

12. Recycle baskets

This isn't a mood board, but it's my space, and it fits my mood most of the time. I'm definitely adding more to my wall.

13. Mood board

Took a little time to organize and make it look pretty, until we officially redo it.

14. Laundry Room Redo

I have also been working on doing a fun video chat once a month, with all of my monthly must haves. My first one will be this Sunday, be sure to check it out!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Many Blessings,

Weekly Truth

So, I didn't get a chance yesterday to do my weekend update. It was Easter, and between church, brunch with friends, an egg hunt and then dinner at our house with family, I just didn't have the time. I don't mind when we have busy days, as long as we are busy doing fun things with friends and family. More importantly, it's what we were celebrating together.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, rose from the grave!! He conquered death! He is alive and we are made free! Thinking about this today, made me realize that no matter what burdens I bare or crosses I have to carry, the tomb is empty. He conquered it all, and I can give it to Him and know that the victory is His! I will overcome these trials through Him! Amen!!

May this truth be an encouragement to you this week and for the weeks to come!!

Many Blessings,

Easter Attire

I am so excited about Spring! Even though Summer is my favorite season, Spring lets you know that longer, warmer days are right around the corner. I love hearing the birds early in morning, seeing the trees start to blossom with pretty white and pink flowers, and I love celebrating Easter with family, knowing I have the whole entire week off after!

I also love to go shopping for new spring/summer clothes! I was on the fence about what to wear for Easter this year, but I think I finally decided on a dress! In the process I picked three different outfits that are perfect for Easter! Whether you love to get dressed up or stay casual, these three outfits are perfect!

OUTFIT ONE

Dress // Shoes

This outfit is for those who love to get really dressed up. That's me! Probably because I don't get to do it that often, but I love wearing dresses! This is my choice for Easter. I have a nice peach fashion necklace that will dress it up just a little more too.

OUTFIT TWO

Shirt // Pants // Shoes

This outfit is for those of you who still love to get dressed up, but are not huge fans of wearing a dress unless you have to. I love this outfit! This was my second choice, and I had a hard time choosing between the two, but I really love the dress. I can't wait to wear this outfit out somewhere. 

OUTFIT THREE

Shirt // Pants // Shoes // Scarf (gift)

This outfit is for those of us who really don't like to get dressed up, but still want to look nice. Believe me, as much as I love to get dressed up, I also love to be comfortable and dress casual. I love this look, because it is still a little dressy, but very comfortable. I plan on changing into this for dinner at our house. There is no way I'm cooking in that dress! 

Whatever you decide to wear on Easter,  even if you stay in your pajamas, I am sure you will look fabulous!

Many Blessings,

Quick Kitchen Remodel

I was a total slacker all last week. Long pause and sigh. It was just one of those weeks where I wasn't really motivated to do much, unless I had to. For the most part, it was a good week, just not very productive.

That's life, I guess and here we are the start of a new week with lots to look forward to and hopefully we are done with this cold weather and I can get back to checking things off the list.

One of the things I had written down to do, was wash all of our windows. We hadn't cleaned them since we first moved in, back in October, and something tells me they weren't cleaned that often before we got there. The outsides were pretty bad. I planned to do a full cleaning over break, but a fews ago when it was about 70 outside, my husband and I just decided to get out there and do it!

What a difference some clean windows make! Everything looks so much brighter now. When it came time to do the inside, we had to pull all of the slats out of the windows to make it easier to clean. I wasn't about to clean each little square one by one. Too much work! If you don't know what I mean see the picture below.

While we were cleaning the windows with the slats out, I realized how much better I liked the look of them. The windows looked newer, it made my kitchen so much brighter, and the whole room just looked cleaner! My husband is still on the fence about it, but I'm confident he will come around, or he''ll probably just forget about it. I'm thinking about doing the same in the family room and dining room, just to see what that looks like.

I love walking into my kitchen now. It makes me smile! I love having lots of windows! This was something we did not have at our old place. I welcome the openness and natural light. This was definitely one of the easiest fixer uppers/kitchen remodel, if you even consider it that. All I know is that, it was a good change, that was quick and easy, and didn't cost anything!

Triple win for me!

What are some of your projects or ideas for spring?!!

Many Blessings,

Weekend Update

Weekly Truth

My weekly truth was inspired by one of my favorite authors, Jen Hatmaker. Her book, For the Love has so much goodness in it, if you haven't read it yet, you need to.

In light of all that has transpired over the past few weeks with these presidential debates, I thought this message was appropriate. Her words are filled with so much wisdom and written so well. She is so on point with this issue. I want to share with you another part of her book, because it's exactly what I am feeling, but couldn't get out into words. She does it beautifully.


"I hope our community is marked by grace and affirmation instead of defensiveness and exclusivity. Sure, some wander down paths we don't understand, but there is room in the neighborhood for all of us.

I want to be ever for you, and you for me. Let's lay down our junk, our wonky junk that messes up relationships and community and togetherness."

                                                                                                                                 For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Basically, lets agree to disagree and respect that we all have our own beliefs and opinions about things in life. Let's stop pushing our own agendas and love one another for who we are, not for what we believe or the decisions we make. We need to learn to come together more and build relationships filled with love. Let's stop tearing each other down and start cheering each other on!

Pinterest Projects

9. Resurrection Garden: This turned out better than I expected and it was so easy to make.

10. Wooden Chalkboard Tray:  I have mine in my bathroom right now


Many Blessings,

The Joy Jar

I wanted to share a quick post with you on this fabulous Friday! A few months ago I had an idea to create something called the joy jar for work. I am a speech language pathologist in a school district, so I work with a lot of teachers. I really love my job and I know a lot of teachers really love their jobs too, but not everyday is easy. In fact, there are probably more tough, bad days, than easy, good ones. Working in the education field can be hard. I wanted to find a way to bring back that joy that we sometimes lose, when we put so much effort in day after day without any results or thanks.

I know for me personally I can get so frustrated when I don't see my students making progress. It also  hurts even more, when I know a student doesn't really want to come to speech and therefore doesn't really put forth any effort.

What am I doing wrong? I thought I was a fun speech teacher. Why can't I reach this child?

A few months went by and I had forgotten about the joy jar. Then my principal sent an email with this video to all of the staff.

What an amazing speech!! I was once ago inspired and finally created the joy jar!!

I realized like Dalton says in his speech, you may not reach every student, but you will reach at least one!!! Actually, I am sure you will probably reach most! You can't let those small (sometimes big) negative moments in teaching ruin the positives ones.  Don't let them steal from you that passion that you once had. Never lose your joy!

Here are some of the items I have in my joy jar at work.

The joy jar doesn't have to be just for teachers either. It can be for whatever profession you are in. I'm  sure that there are many people out there who, when they first started their job had a huge passion for what they do, but now after many hard times, have probably lost some of that joy. Let's encourage them to get it back and remember all the good things about what they do!

Many Blessings,