Dear Avery

Dear Avery,
    Oh baby girl your mama is sad tonight.....
I almost feel like you're slipping away from me and  I don' t know what to do....
You will have a new brother or sister in a few months and this baby will need to use your little bed  and someday share your room.... and that feels wrong to me right now, but I'm pretty sure it will be ok when the time comes. It will still be your things too, just sharing them.....and sharing is good.
  But I need you to know that I love you still...
just as much now as i did the minute I knew you existed, and I never for a minute stop thinking about you.  You are my beautiful little angel girl and  I still miss you so much.
Mama's heart is big enough to love you both, I promise.
Love you forever,
your mama

Ruffle shower curtain before and after

I know I've said this before but I am totally

loving ruffles right now,

 so when I saw THIS ruffle shower curtain at Anthro I wanted needed it...

and then I saw how much it was!!  118 bucks!  

seriously??  

So I decided to make my own.... 

 I absolutely LOVE it!

Here is the before....

it looks so .... ugly now.

 It actually is a nicer blue than it looks in the picture

 but,  wow,  what a difference the new one makes!

 This is what it looked like when I ran out of fabric

and I had to put it up anyway because I was using the original shower curtain

to make the new one.....

I added that little blue ruffle because I thought about leaving it like this,

 but I wasn't satisfied, it just looked unfinished.

So back to the store I went and was happy they had

the exact colors I was looking for.

Here is the finished product again

not gonna lie and tell you this was  a quick project.

It took quite a while to cut the strips of fabric, ruffle each strip,

pin and then sew it on.... making sure it was straight...etc...

Then the unfortunate running out of fabric, running back to the store

ripping off the little joke 

of a ruffle that I sewed on trying to make it look finished, and 

starting all over again with the added fabric.

All that work was totally worth it....

It makes me happy every time I see it 

and best of all it only cost me $20

whew!! Glad that project is done ... 
Now to paint those black "relax" and "enjoy" words  a
color that matches....

P.S.   There are already quite

a few tutorials out there for this and although I did mine a little different 

than they did.... it's all pretty much the same idea.

And if you do give it a go.... I recommend Elastic thread! 

It made the ruffles that much easier

Hope, second chances and God's love

 I have been thinking a lot about Hope, Second Chances and God's unending love for us.
Even when life looks dark and  there is nothing right in the world, God is there for and
with us, encouraging us to keep going.  There IS a light at the end of the tunnel,  we just have to choose faith and MOVE FORWARD towards that light.  There is no standing still in life, it may feel like a  maze, sometimes making wrong turns, mistakes, but we are learning and growing along the way.

I was at a place in my life where there didn't seem to be a light, I was done here, but when you reach bottom you finally start looking up.... and that's where hope is, that's where God is just waiting for you to reach out to Him, to just place your life in His hands.  He can change everything, He can give second chances and that is where hope starts.   He knows what He is doing, what is best for us.


Here is a song that I have been listening to often....

  Rend Collective Experiment- Second Chance

I am holding on to  hope, praying for faith and thanking God for second chances

God is in control....

2012 "more" list

I know it's  January 9th and I'm just 

now getting around to telling you all.... but here goes anyway

Happy New Year!

Just doesn't have the same fun ring to it now....

so anyway

I've been seeing everyone all over blog land pick their "word" for  2012

 and I really think thats cool and all, 

but I just couldn't come up with

 one word that sums up everything I'm hoping

for this year

So here is my list of "words" for 2012

An old door to fill in a "blank wall"

Yes I'm a little embarrassed to admit

I did get an old door out of the trash.

But it was the perfect size,  shape and color!

How often does exactly what you've been looking

for drop in your lap like that?

If you're anything like me your saying "never" .

 

So I looked around to make sure no one was looking 

and grabbed that door right up.

and when I say "grabbed" I actually mean "lugged

That thing was heavy!

And after a lot of scrubbing 

it was perfect...

Looking at this now I'm thinking the birdcage has 

got to go... but otherwise I'm loving

the shabby chic look

3 Miles is getting easier!

Yes I have officially run a 5K !

and I could still breathe when I was done

Quite the accomplishment for me.

I guess I should say I jogged a 5k...

I don't think a 10 minute mile is considered running, 

Actually I might look that up.....

It was so much easier today and it felt so good!

I took a week off last week and I'm wondering if 

the people at the gas station and the playground missed me.

Ha ha  just kidding, but seriously people are starting

to wave as I go by now.  

Maybe I need to change my route a little bit.

O and I forgot to mention...

I got an early Christmas present that I am totally loving...

new running shoes!

I am a happy girl.