Friday, November 13, 2009

Answered Prayer

Many years ago in church, the pastor was discussing gifts that God has given people. I went down to the front during prayer and prayed to myself. I asked God what my gift was. I asked this silently, where no one could hear me. A minute or so later, someone came up to me, put their hand on me and told me, "You are to heal those who have been wounded by life". I have kept that with me ever since but never knew what it was I should do. Is that it? Heal those who have been wounded by life? Isn't that everyone, in a way? What did that mean? Maybe this man was cooky and just saying whatever he wanted to say? Although, he couldn't have known what I was praying about, he still answered my question. I've never healed anyone.

About a year ago, I realized I have a talent for taking pictures. Sure, it's nothing important enough to grant anyone eternal life, it's something material and we won't be taking pictures with us to the grave. But I enjoy it and I'm good at it. Especially child photography. So one evening, I began to pray, asking God how I could use this talent for Him. I went to bed and woke up to an email message from someone I didn't know. I had been a member of a message board for photographers and I suppose she saw my pics and wanted to tell me something. In this message she told me about The Littlest Heroes Project.
Quoted from their website
"Our mission at The Littlest Heroes Project is to help provide and capture memories for families who are dealing with hectic schedules due to having a child who is suffering from a serious illness or life altering disability."

Was that an answer to the prayer I prayed the night before? At the time, I was overwhelmed. Wondering if it was a coincidence? Could it be that God answered me through that email? Was I to join this project and help those little children and their families by capturing special moments that they were too busy or too sad to think of capturing? Could pictures help heal people? I know that when I look at pictures of my children from years ago, it makes my heart feel good. Not quite "healing" but it does bring me joy.
I looked into the project and thought it was a wonderful thing. Then doubt really crept in. Maybe I'm not good enough. Maybe I'm seeing things that aren't really there. At the time I wasn't charging for my services but spent a lot of time out taking pictures and editing and sitting in front of the computer learning more about what I loved to do. This kept me away from my family and my husband didn't understand why I was doing this for free. I thought, surely I can't sign up for something that would take me away from my family even more and I would not be paid. My husband wants me to start charging people, and this just couldn't work out. I'd be out taking pictures for families in need on top of doing it for free for friends. Over time, I completely forgot about The Littlest Heroes Project.

Fast forward to the present...
My husband and I were driving down some back roads, I'm scoping out new locations cause now I'm charging people and booking sessions. It's a real business for me. I remembered The Littlest Heroes Project. I had told my husband about it before but I think he completely forgot about it. So, I told him again. "Remember when I prayed and got that email about the project where you take pictures of sick children and you do it for free to help the families out? Maybe I should do that." He thought it sounded good. I told him about praying one night and waking up to the email message. He told me, "God answered your prayer.". He told me I should get involved. And we talked a little more about it and that was it. I still wasn't sure. I knew I wanted to, but I don't know if I'd be good enough. Later that evening we had our last football gathering for one of my son's football team. We were cooking hot dogs and chit chatting. A dad of one of the boys had seen my website because I had taken some pictures of the football games. He came up to me and said, "Have you ever thought about taking pictures of terminally ill children?" I about fell out! Chills went all over me. My husband jumped up from his seat and said, "That's how you know!!". There's no way it is a coincidence. I know this now. A man I had never spoken to, had only seen at games and a practice here and there, gave me conformation. I know without a doubt that God has given me this talent to help those who are hurting. I would love to be a part of something so great. I want to do this.
Another quote from their site...
"We understand that in the midst of being thrown a diagnosis and having to switch from a “normal” life to a life that is totally different, and often scary, things like getting photos taken is sometimes a huge challenge and is one of the last things families are thinking about. But when everything is done, and either the child has reached the end of their battle, or has proven the odds against it many wish they had more time to stop, and capture the journey that they lived through for so long."

Please pray for me in this journey. I know without a doubt that there is a God and He does answer prayers. Even if your stubborn and don't listen the first time, He will continue to give you conformation until you stop and listen to Him.

For more information on The Littlest Heroes Project visit their website.

http://www.littlestheroesproject.org/

I hope to be a part of this very soon.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Already missing Summer

She wanted to go swimming so bad today.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

What I've been up to....

Yup, that's it. Mostly cleaning. Why can't I keep my floors clean? I haven't had time for any crafts lately. :(

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Rushing Fall

I'm usually not too happy about fall, because I know winter is right around the corner. (can't stand cold) Maybe I'm getting old and things are changing? I'm SO ready for fall. I've already started decorating my front porch. I do have a pumpkin I want to put out but I'm holding back. For now.

So, what do you think? Does it look ok? I've never really had a decent porch to decorate.

Oh, I made my wreath out of two store bought wreaths. I liked them both so I put them together. :D

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

First Wreath

I've always wanted a wreath but they cost SO much money! When I checked the price to make one, even then, it was too much. I'm cheap I tell ya! So while walking through The Dollar Tree, I saw a hula hoop and a noodle and got the idea to cut the noodle in half, long ways and attach it to the hula hoop for my base. I spent a total of $18 on this thing and I'm so not pleased. Now I know why they cost so much. haha!

I wrapped the noodle in burlap that I got on clearance. Burned myself a few times with the hot glue gun. OUCH!
The darn thing is too big for my door. Not that I want anyone to see it, anyway.
Have you made a wreath? Got pics or tips on how to make one look good?

DIY Day @ ASPTL


Monday, August 31, 2009

New Armoire and a Sign

Finally found an Armoire for the tv in our living room. I found it on Craigslist for $75. It was in my town which is RARE so I got it. Saved on gas and spent less that I intended. So it worked out. Now that I got it home, I wish I had offered a little less. It looks handmade, maybe? Anyway, it'll work and it looks much better than what I had.

I made this little sign for a friend of mine. Hope she likes it. No, I'm not saying she is Moody. haha! That's her last name.

Friday, August 28, 2009

For $5.41

I got all of these goodies.
I'm not sure what I'll do with this, but the whole family is coming here for Thanksgiving so I'm sure I'll find some decorative use for it. Link me ideas if you feel like it. :D
My first yard stick for my ruler/yard stick table. Yes, I'm SO doing that!
When I saw these, I thought they were cool. Then walked away. Then thought, maybe I could use them for something. Anyone have ideas for these?
I found one of these at a garage sale a few weeks ago, painted it black and sat it on a shelf. Well, now I have a smaller one too!
And these. Oh my. Love these.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Pricing My Living Room

I am curious how much we've spent trying to make our house look like a home. I've seen people do price my space before. I'm not sure all of the details of what they are doing but I got the idea from them to do this my way. It may be the same way they do it, don't know. After looking at this room and taking pictures I realized there's only a few retail purchased items in here. Everything else was garage sale items. The surprising thing is that I LOVE this room. There are a few things that I'd like to change but overall I'm happy with it.

Got this mirror and some candle thingies (seen in the reflection) at an Estate Sale. Don't know where that candy wrapper came from but I have an idea. lol

When we pulled up to this garage sale, I knew I had to have this sofa! After talking to the lady, I found out it was practically NEW! She bought it and a few months later got married and had new furniture. Yippee!!
Got this chair with the couch. It folds out into a twin size bed. I love the colors!!!
There's my stool! It's dark. Sorry.
I'm not sure what to do with that candle stick or the bird cage. For now they just sit there on the fireplace.
Got this coffee table at Soul's Harbor (kind of like Goodwill). The rug and tray from garage sales.
I do not know what to do to get the wrinkles out of the curtains. Help? The vacuum, curtains and blanket are a couple of store bought items. I do plan to move the vacuum. I only have it out cause I'm about to use it. lol
Jarrett picked these up. They were just sitting outside somewhere.
My first purchase for the living room was the bar stools. Can't believe they were so cheap!
I've been searching craigslist for an armoire that my tv will fit in. I'm determined to get one on the cheap! Then my living room will be complete.

Total: $576.25

Not bad for a whole living room, huh?

Homemade Gift Card & Holder

I was asked to donate a free session to a benefit auction. I don't know all of the details of the cause for the auction but what I do know is very sad and hopefully this gift card will help out. I added a free 8x10 just for the heck of it. If you have a moment, say a prayer for the young girl this benefit is for.

Don't laugh. I'm just not as crafty as I wanna be. I used scrapbook paper. The kind that is like a sticker. And some ribbon. I printed out a copy of my new business cards cause I haven't ordered them yet. Then I threw it all together as best I could.



Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Just a few rules

I wish I could think of a cute way to display the rules I made. This will have to do for now.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Another Project

I stole this idea too. One day I'll come up with something on my own. haha!! I bought two of these bottles at a garage sale. I'm almost positive I didn't pay $1 a piece. Must have been for the pair. Then I bought some hemp stringy stuff from Wal Mart. That stuff costs more than I'd like to spend, but I had to try this project. I got the idea from here.

This is my bedside table. After I finish getting things for the rest of the house, I'll start on my bedroom furniture. I hate my tables.
This is the first one I made with a different type of hemp. It's super skinny so I had to go over it twice to make it look good. Now I wish I had covered the whole bottle. Live and learn. For now, it's sitting on my mantle.
Update on my Pottery Barn Copy Cat:

Mixing mod podge with stain totally worked! It dried over night. I was SHOCKED! But pleased! We still need a frame for it. I wonder how long I'll have to wait? Maybe I'll come across an easy way to make frames and do it myself.

I have it hanging above the bookshelf in our school area. I think it will look better when it has a frame and I finish my bookshelf. Thinking of painting it black and mod podging dictionary pages on the shelves. What do ya think?

No idea why the pics look blurry. :/

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Pottery Barn Copy Cat

When I got my Pottery Barn catalog, I saw this and LOVED it! I thought it would be perfect in our little school area. But you know, Pottery Barn isn't in my price range.

Today, I was checking out all of the blogs I love and I saw this. Couldn't believe it! So I had to try it. I ran out to Lowe's to get what I needed. I decided to scale it down a little. I bought a 2x2 piece of wood. I have no idea what kind of wood it is, but it's nice and smooth and only cost around $3.50 (give or take a few cents).

I painted it ivory and drew my squares.
And instead of painting the letters, because I'm a lazy bum... I printed them out and cut the circles as best I could. (FREE FONT)
I used an all purpose glue that I had laying around to glue the letters to the wood. It's made by Elmers but it's in the garage and yes, I'm still a lazy bum and not going to get it to tell you the exact name. Doesn't matter though, does it?
It's not exactly like the Pottery Barn one but I still LOVE it!
Next, I mixed a little stain with my Mod Podge. I tested this out on a piece of paper before hand and it didn't do anything crazy so I went with it.
I used the mixture on the letters and went around the circles. And dripped a little stain onto the board by accident. :X
THEN, I used a paint brush to trace my squares with Golden Oak stain. I let that sit a minute and used the brush again to stain the whole piece.
I'm hoping to wake up with it still looking like this, but dry. I really hope that mixing Mod Podge with stain was an OKAY idea. LOL

Jarrett is going to make me a frame soon too. I'm not in any hurry for it though. It looks super cool like it is.

When I get my school area done I'll take a pic of this on the wall. If you decide to make one, send me a link!! I want to see. :D

I'm adding this to Make Your Monday. I've been checking out this blog for 3 or 4 weeks. I'm loving it. You've gotta check it out!!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Good idea?

I've been wondering what to do with these hemingray insulators that we got from Jarrett's grandma. She has hundreds of them. I may need to go back and get some with more color.

I bought a candle holder from a garage sale and put it in the fireplace and sat the old insulators on it. What do you think? I think it's fitting since Jarrett is an electrician. lol And it keeps me from having to buy candles for now. :D

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Library

I think this room is 'done enough' to show you. I need something on the walls. Maybe paint? But it's a rent house so I can't go too dark. I'd like to NOT paint at all but the white bothers me.





So what do you think? Got any suggestions to make the room better?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Question about shower curtains

I have a cute vinyl shower curtain that I found in storage. I love it! But a few holes are ripped out. How can I fix it? Is there a way? Can I take the top off of another shower curtain and repair it? Or am I going to have to say goodbye to my cute little shower curtain?? I can't find another like it. So depressing. Any tips would be appreciated.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Why I haven't showed you more of the house...

I just can't seem to finish anything.

Kyndal's room is far from being finished.

The boys room is always messy. We don't really have a them here except, well, boy stuff.




Countup Timers at WishAFriend.com