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Don’t you love when you fall in love with a new toy and that toy happens to be super affordable.

Like under $5.

I am so in love with my new stamping set. I got it yesterday for $4.99 at Harbor Freight Tools.

Pretty soon I’ll be stamping every wood and soft metal surface in our house. It’s so easy! You just pick a letter, put the stamp on the surface and smack it a few times with a rubber hammer.

I’m so excited about all the possibilities!

jewelry, personalized furniture, stamped spoons, toys…

I’m pretty sure I can go on forever.

For now I’ll just show you my first project.

It’s not quite finished yet because I need Eddie to cut it down to size before I stain it. (I’m banned from the miter saw. I think I need a little hand saw so that I can do quick, easy little cuts like this by myself.)

Today is Abby’s 2nd birthday already!! She already received all of her gifts at the party we had last weekend, but I still wanted to do something to commemorate the day, so I am making her a little plaque with one of my favorite quotes of all time. It comes from the children’s book The Runaway Bunny.

The book version says: “If you become a bird and fly away from me,” said his mother, “I will be a tree that you come home to.”

All I have to do is stain it and add a picture hanger to the back and I have all that stuff already, so all this cost me was the price of the stamps, which I will use over, and over, and over again.

I think it would be really cute to do this to a picture frame with any quote you want as a baby shower or wedding gift. Or maybe just the names or a special phrase that’s important to the couple. Or, you know, Mother’s day is right around the corner.

You could also make really cute wooden coasters…

Or add hooks and make a really cool coat rack…

I’m a little bit excited about these stamps, can you tell?

We are having the kids’ birthday party this Saturday. While they are young, we usually just invite family and grill hamburgers. We don’t go all out with themes and games and friends, but the rain and mud all over our yard today got me thinking that farm animals would be a cute theme for a kid’s party. Actually, I was thinking of a mud party, where the kids could pretend to be the farm animals.

And what better party favor than for the kids to be able to make their own mud (chocolate pudding) when they get home?

If you want to use this idea, just mix 3 teaspoons of cornstarch and 1 cup of Nesquick powder or Ovaltine and put in in a plastic sandwich bag. Attach this label I made:

You might want to mix up your own batch from my pudding recipe and add a few plastic farm animals either as a decoration on the buffet table or, if you are brave, mix up a bunch and put it in a baby pool outside for the kids to play in.

Tell each child to bring an old swimsuit and hose them off well afterward.

Make a dirt cake and serve carrots (for the horses) and other animal-themed
foods. Set a buffet out on a bunch of broken dry spaghetti so that it looks like straw.

The See n Say and Little People Barn you already have would be cute decorations.

Ok…now my wheels are turning. Maybe we’ll be having a theme this year after all.

Even though we are not practicing Catholics any more (long story, if you care to you can read more about it here) I still recognize December 8th as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The recognition of this day is more important to me now in my life as a mother, especially as an adoptive mother, than it was as a student in Catholic school attending mass out of “obligation.”

In the Catholic church Mary is prayed to frequently, statues of her are everywhere. That is fine, it’s wonderful to recognize her contribution, but I think it also robs her a bit of her humanity and makes her less relatable to us.

My friend Mary Joy is doing a Wednesday bible study today she calling “The Yes That Changed the World” over on her blog Seeds of Encouragement Sewn With Grace. I strongly encourage you to check it out because she does a great job relating Mary’s calling to our every day lives. Today I wanted to share a little more specifically on my blog how December 8th is an important day for me.

While I obviously was not immaculately conceived and I in no way intend to imply that our situation is nearly as significant, I do know what it feels like to be called to raise a child who is not “yours” and to have to explain that calling to friends & family & even your own husband.

I love the concept of this day because I think that it’s important to recognize that, despite being chosen & immaculately conceived, her life & the decisions were not easy. “Mary was greatly troubled at his words.” (Luke 1:29) She was human. It was hard, it was painful, and she had doubts. Obviously mothering Jesus was the right decision despite all of those things because, as Mary Joy is saying today, that “yes” changed the entire world.

Thinking about that gives me strength in my situation. Sometimes it is very, very difficult to be Nicholas’ mother. There are physical attacks, emotional problems, educational barriers, and social issues to deal with. Yes, I chose to do it, but it is still hard. Difficult, but worth it, just as raising any child.

Mary’s “yes” changed the whole world, I don’t know what my “yes” will do, but I know who does know the answer to that question, and even though I don’t know the answer yet, I know the effort is worth it.

And that’s why I will be forever grateful to our friends Emily & Bryce, music ministers at our church, for introducing me to the concept that Mary was indeed just as human as I am by sharing Andrew Peterson’s song Labor of Love. (I know I’ve shared this video before, but I think today’s the perfect time to share it again.)

“It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold…

…But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move..”

I like the idea of this Mary much more than the glowing statues with outstretched hands. Unshowered, uncomfortable, in a dirty house and screaming. Yep, that’s definitely more relatable to my life as a mom. 😉

update:

** Mary Joy and my mom both pointed out after reading my post, and were right in doing so, that I should clarify that the Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being born without original sin & therefore able to conceive & deliver Jesus, not to the fact that Jesus was conceived immaculately, although He was also. The Annunciation & is when Mary actually said “yes.” Still, I think it’s important to use today to celebrate & recognize her life & decisions. Thanks for participating in the discussion ladies!

We are really coming along on our kitchen remodel!!! (Can you hear angels singing?) The next big project is our downstairs bathroom. It is currently in the middle of demo and has been moved up on the priority list since Eddie has gotten word that he will be able to work from home on a more permanent basis. His “office” is basically our entire lower level.

We live in a split foyer house, so when you enter our front door you can either walk up or down about half a flight of steps. If you go up to our top floor you will get to the living room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, and main bath. Downstairs there is a large den, an unfinished laundry area, and a powder room. Eddie basically locks himself away down there all day when he is working at home. Poor guy. That space is oooogly. At the moment there is brown shag carpet, brown wall paneling, a faux-painted brick & brass fireplace & a half-bath that we we tore half of the paneling off, but still sports the same brown shag carpet as the rest of the living space.

Yes, you read that correctly. There is 40 year old brown shag carpet in our bathroom. It’s as gross as it sounds. I’ll spare you pictures, just take my word for it.

So, I’ve been looking for inspiration as that is the next room on our list once the kitchen/dining area is finished.

Here’s what I’ve found:

My dream bathroom (obviously not going to fit in our tiny space)

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and last but not least, Gina’s great new farmhouse bathroom. Can you believe she and her husband built that vanity out of fence posts?

I am so ready to ditch shag carpet and ugly brown laminate paneling! Plus, there is a pretty brand new pedestal sink we scored for just $30 (Craigslist for the win!) sitting in the garage just begging to be installed. 🙂