Joyfully Weary

These past couple weeks have been busy ones. Lots & lots of time spent with people. Which can get a bit overwhelming and exhausting for my introverted personality. I have had to take time to refuel but in those times I've also reflected on how incredibly blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. Friends that despite my bent toward introversion I hunger to spend time with - they are people who speak truth to my soul and leave me feeling encouraged.  Early in the week we had a dear family over for dinner and s-mores. After the excitement of fire and marshmallows died down the dads pulled out there guitars and then pretty soon the kids were all carrying out their own instruments. It was one of those amazing moments when the beauty of life fills your heart so full it starts to ache.  Watching Jeremy be a dad fills my heart in a similar way. He's so good with our kids: patient, encouraging, quick to laugh. He makes me a better mom! Las...

A lot of the pieces in this outfit are thrifted. One of may favorite things about thrifting is that it gives me the freedom to mix in pieces that are a little outside my comfort zone. I wouldn't of paid retail for this shirt or skirt. The print on the skirt is a little too much on the bold side for me and while some may consider plaid button-ups a staple I (for some odd reason, probably my rural roots)  can find them to be a bit costume-y. When an item costs less than $5 though I'm much more willing to give it a try. This is my 1st time wearing the skirt but I've had the shirt for over a year and much to my surprise it's become one of my favorite tops. Here are some of the other ways I've worn it: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , & 5 . shirt + skirt + belt: thrift, boots: target , necklace: f21  

This past week we to welcomed Autumn by reading a few or our favorite fall themed books * and by making our own autumn trees.  Our Supplies: paper towel tube, scissors, brown marker, glue, green, red, orange, and brown tissue squares Step 1 : Cut strips 1/2 to 2/3 down your paper towel tube. These will become your branches. You can also cut the tops of the strips in to smaller sections to create more (smaller) branches Step 2 : Separate and twist your "branches" to form a tree shape Step 3 : Use the brown marker to draw bark on your tree trunk and branches. Step 4 : Apply small glue dots to a branch. if the glue comes out in lines that's ok too :)  Step 5 : Crumble tissue paper and place it over glue Step 6 :   Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you are satisfied with the amount of foliage on your tree. That's it, you now have darling miniature trees packed full of autumn leaves! * Here are the a...

When I saw this on Pinterest I knew I wanted to create my own version. It took me over a year to actually do it and when I did I made two (or six?) different ones for our home.  The first was of our family values (read more about them  here ) to hang in our bathroom.

I picked this skirt up at Goodwill a couple weeks ago. I was drawn to the color but it was the high waist and extra length that sold me.  shirt: h&m (old), belt + shoes: gift, skirt: thrift The light Jeremy captured made going through these pictures extra fun.  The simple beauty of sunlight through tree branches never ceases to amaze me. necklace: f21, shirt: gap, pants: loft, shoes: payless (old) Want more? Check out these link parties to see lots of other ladies having fun with their clothes:  Watch What I'm Wearing ,  Sunday Style ,   Monday Mingle ,  Style Sessions,   and  What I Wore Wednesday .   Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Last weekend our local library hosted a Star Wars event. The boys wanted to dress up and since Yoda (who they insist on calling "Master Yoga") is their favorite character, we whipped up some green pointy ears. pouty lips and dimples! seriously, my heart could explode! Our Supplies: an old orange juice carton, scissors/x-acto knife, green acrylic paint, paint brush, pipe cleaners, & hot glue

A few worthwhile things I've stumbled upon while wandering the internets. This poster  pretty much sums up my daily goals. Speaking of making things these mini tassels are the perfect "I don't have much time or money" craft.  A little worthless but fun fashion knowledge -  The Strange Origins of 5 Iconic Fashions . Check out this map to see where your state rates in terms of  wealth and happiness. 25 impactful pieces of advice ; number 5 made me laugh out loud and then ache with sadness because it's not completely untrue.  We did a bit of painting this past weekend and laughed about our "spruce green" being no where near the shade of a spruce. These paint names are far more bizarre and bit funny.  A beautiful, beautiful song . Very excited for the release of these ladies' album ! An octopus's camouflaging abilities - amazing! This commercial from Thailand will pull on your heart strings and leave you with t...

Jeremy and I are lovers of books and thankfully all our children seem to be following suit - I am constantly being asked to read! Most of the time it's picture books and sometimes Big Buddy will beg me to read a few pages of whatever animal encyclopedia he's in to at the moment. I cherish these times but picture book after picture book can get exhausting! So about two years ago we started reading chapter books to our kids. I wasn't sure how it would go at first; Big Buddy, our oldest, was only four at the time. The kids, however, eat them up and their ability to follow the story and recall information (sometimes even months later!) has amazed me.  In August we read a favorite series, Riverbank Stories , from Jeremy's childhood. I had never read the books before and got so into the stories that I actually cheated and read ahead. The author, Stephen R. Lawhead, does a fantastic job of creating an engaging  community of  river bank creatures. The stories...

This past week was a hard one. Despite everyone being healthy again, the kids are still not sleeping well; Jer and I are starting to suspect they are taking 2 hours shifts. We also had to deal with some sneaky, defiant behavior. Jeremy and I had a few arguments  heated discussions. And to top it all off, it's that "special time"; which for some reason is much more intense post 30 and after three babies.  I've struggled this week. Struggled to find joy when all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers. Struggled to act with grace when I felt my frustrations were very justified. I've had to pray for strength often and I have been incredibly grateful for these sections of scripture I memorized last month.  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ~James 1: 19-20~ Very few people would describe me as  animated  or emotional...

I'd been wanting to pair this skirt and ice blue tank for awhile, so I'm glad I got around to it before the weather turned cooler. I, however, also liked how they looked paired with the black polka dot cardigan  so I'll most likely wear the combination again this fall - maybe add some black tights.  cardigan: target , shirt: jcpenny, skirt: gap , shoes: anthropologie I threw this on at the last minute for a date with Jeremy. It had been a rough week so he surprised me with a trip to Hobby Lobby followed by drinks and dessert. The man's a keeper!  necklace + earrings: f21 , top: gift/ jcrew , jeans: target , shoes: gift/ dsw, purse: gift This is another date outfit. Mini Man and I went out to dinner and then to a local production of Singing In The Rain. He's been a fan of the movie for awhile so it was a treat to get to see it live with him. Mini Man's favorite color is green and he thinks this belt is the coolest. I never tho...

This past weekend we traveled to Indiana to to meet the newest addition to our family - Baby Flint. I know I've said it before but when I married Jeremy I not only snagged a great husband but I got three amazing new sisters. *Since I already had three extraordinary sisters, I'm very spoiled.  It was great to catch up in person with one of them and spend time with her two precious babes. All of my children delight in their role as "big" cousins. My heart swells to the point of almost bursting watching their sweet, simple outpourings of love.  maca made sure all the cousins had skeleton pajamas

shirt: modcloth, pants: gap , shoes; thrift, bracelet: target I threw the plaid shirt on last minute before heading to small group; it's starting to get chilly in the evenings. When I got there someone pointed out that I'd forgotten to remove the tags - oops! earrings: target, button up: old navy , shirt: f21, pants: gap , shoes: anthropologie ,  I've worn some mix of  black, white, and green at least once a week for the last month or so; - it definitely become my new favorite color combination.  Judging from the outfits in this post I also might be developing a slight addiction to ankle length skinny pants.  necklace + shirt : f21 , pants: old navy , shoes: dsw Want more? Check out these link parties to see lots of other ladies having fun with their clothes:  Watch What I'm Wearing ,  Sunday Style ,   Monday Mingle ,  Style Sessions,   and  What I Wore Wednesday .   ...