Living Room Projects

This is our living room:

 We live in the church's parsonage, and it is newly (& very beautifully) remodeled.

Unfortunately, our furniture we purchased 8 years ago when we got married has had a long life and is used up.  

 And I've been so bothered by the fact that everything is a shade of brown - sooooo blah.

After much discussion, prayer, and advice from others we decided to take the plunge: we purchased new living room furniture during Slumberland's Leap Year Sale in February.  It's due to arrive in two weeks so I've been working like crazy in my free time trying to get ready for it.

Our new couches are a steel gray and I'll be painting the walls next week a light gray (Aidan's going to Grammie's house so I'll be able to paint paint paint without interruption!).  My contrasting colors will be yellow and white.  This is the fabric I ordered from Fabric.com.

 Each of the fabrics will be used to cover the couch pillows - so I'll have a total of 8 pillows.

The yellow fabric on the left will be used to recover this chair from Grandpa Lund.

 I pulled the cushions and binding off.

 Then my favorite helper washed it with me.

After spray painting it with Kilz, I sprayed it white.

Next, I added a black glaze to make the detail pop.

I learned to glaze from All Things Thrifty - what an awesome site!

And from my sweet friend, Bethany, who just glazed all of her kitchen cabinets and they look awesome!

I also painted and glazed endtables after being inspired by this. 

Before:

 After Krylon Sun Yellow:

 Way too bright!

So I purchased Rust-o-leum's Marigold.

Much better - especially after it's glazed.

Love.

This oval mirror was an exceptional find at Salvation Army.  $8!

I spray painted it gray and glazed it black.  This is the before picture.  Once the mirror is put back in, I'll show you the final pic.

My mom gave me this window and while I was in Brainerd last week, I painted it white.

Now Mom is having the windows taken out and mirrors put in - great idea, Mom.  Thank you so much!

This guy was my #1 helper while the other helper was napping.

I also found an awesome picture collage on Pinterest that I'm trying to copy.

(Sorry it's sideways.)

I've painted the frames so they are all white, silver, gray, or yellow:

Today Aidan and I are clearing the living room.

Tomorrow I'll clean walls and tape.

Monday & Tuesday I paint!

Yay!

I hope it all comes together as well as I think it will in my head.  :)

You just never know...

Weekend Project

I painted this old endtable marigold and then glazed it in black.  More details to come!

Mission for Redemption

I found a quote I really like by George MacDonald in Elisabeth Elliot's The Shaping of a Christian Family regarding how Christian parents should see their enforcement of rules and principles in the home:

"What if God does not want me to have what I need at this moment?"

"If He does not want you to have something you value, it is to give you instead something He values."

"And if I do not want what He has given me?"

"If you are not willing that God should have His way with you, then, in the name of God, be miserable - until your misery drive you to the arms of the Father."

"Oh, but this is only about a mundane matter. I do trust Him in spiritual matters."

"Everything is an affair of the spirit.  If God has a  way of dealing with you in your life, it is the only way.  Every little thing in which you would have your own way has a mission for your redemption. And He will treat you as a willful little child until you take your Father's way for your own," (pg 136).

Just like Daddy...

Aidan is just like Daddy.

He wears his shoes.

 And he loves Westminster Cali.

Spring up North

Aidan, Leo, and I took a trip to my parent's house in Minnesota for spring break last week.

We had a blast.

I got to shop shop shop uninterrupted.

Aidan got to play play play outside.

Leo got to run run run with Jackson and Savvy (golden retrievers).

Aidan was also able to do things he isn't allowed to at home!

For example,

he was "helping" me with the dishes through the window!

Aidan loves water and will do anything to be near it.

He'd also try to climb off the dock and onto the watery ice. " WaaaTer," he'd say.

Aidan is loving animals so it was especially fun to take him to my aunt's hobby farm.

His favorite was the "Mooo".

My aunt was so sweet - she did everything she could to try to get her cow to talk (I wanted Aidan to hear a real "Mooo"), but even feeding Wild Thang didn't work.

Aidan wasn't too sure about the horses.

They are BIG!

Auntie Callie came for a visit too!

Unfortunately, the horses didn't talk either!

Yum - carrots!

Aidan was able to feed the goats too.

Aidan says, "Goak".

Thanks, Aunt Judy, for all the fun at your farm!

Aidan also has developed a love for machinery - everything is a "tractor".

He had fun exploring the four-wheeler.

He'd cry when it was running so he just spent a lot of time sitting on it and checking out all the buttons.

So big!

Grandma & Aidan

Grandpa, Aidan & Grandma

Thanks for all you did for us this weekend, Mom & Dad!  We love you!

We also got to spend time with my grandparents and aunt and uncle.  I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures of Aidan with them. Hopefully next time...

1980s

What are girls to do on cold, wintery Iowa nights?

dAnCe!

to 80s music.

Victoria organized an 80s ladies dance party!

We all dressed up.

The ladies.

Minus a few.

Our fabulous hostess, Vic, bustin' some moves.

She's so cute!

She lives on a rural farm with cows outside the window.

We gave those cows a fun show.

We even had a disco ball.

Megs & Jenn

They can really dance.

Megs showed us her Zumba moves; what a hip shaker she is!

I can never let loose enough to dance, but they convinced me to get on the dance floor by asking me to show them my aerobics moves.  Ha!

Here we're doing alternating knees forward. 

Not sure which aerobics move this is...

After that, I had no problem letting loose...

Thanks, Vic, for hosting such a fun evening!

I think we all went home totally sweaty and tired!

It was a good night.