a day in my life

today I had a long list of errands to complete during my three hours without children. as SOR gets older, his patience for "running errands" has diminished. the only thing he wants to do after school is crash with a snack.

I woke up in a "mood" today. not sure what caused it, but I wanted to get out of it. so before I left for my errand running, I decided to take my camera with me. I thought I'd try that awesome "photo a day" idea I keep seeing on flickr. then I decided to add a twist...get a photo but find a blessing in each stop. I didn't end up with a photo from every stop (I kept forgetting to take a picture!), but I did end up with a blessing at each stop.

the pictures first:

{E errand/ B blessing}

E- a to do list in the making

B- my good health to run the errands that bless my family

E- Guitar Hero lunch request

B- a son who can focus like a laser beam, when it's important

E- a stop at KFC

B- my smaller son who is always ready to help mom

E- off to the bank

B- a business that generates money to put into the bank {and take it out as well}

E- pick up more pumpkins

B- a big pumpkin patch to choose from

E- off to find a frame for autumnology

B- finding this beautiful tree to admire instead

E- come back home and regroup before school is out

B- time for my devotions; Philippians 4:8 {sidebar}; just what I needed to clear my mood

E- toys-r-us

B- blessing my boys with a surprise trip "just to look"

just a day in my life.

family fun by giving back

saturday was a big day for our family. our walk for the American Cancer Society in honor of kris had finally arrived. finishing this homemade t-shirt started our day of with a right purpose. mark was able to paint a perfect pink ribbon and connor was able to write the perfect name to walk in honor of.

we were out the door before the sun woke up as we had to drive to ann arbor to meet up with kris' team. mark reminded all of us that no matter what discomfort or pain we might experience during this day, it in no way compared to the discomfort and pain mrs. koveleski had already endured. so when we were uncomfortable we should pray for comfort for mrs. koveleski.team koveleski:

our reason for walking:miss michigan {who's platform is breast cancer early detection and education} was a member of our team! she spoke during the opening ceremonies and posed for numerous pictures-one with our own cer. we walked around this lake. see that bright red tree? when we arrived at registration, we walked around to "check out" our surroundings. I immediately spotted this red tree. Of all the fall tree colors, the bright red trees always grab my eye. in this photo the red tree stands. it isn't the largest tree. it isn't the tallest tree. it is mostly hidden by other trees. but it stands tall.

in this photo at this moment this tree stood out. I have a hand full of best friends, and kris is one of them. as much as I was looking forward to walking on saturday, I have to admit my apprehension about the day arriving as well. I feared crying too much, feared not having kris well enough to be there with us, feared feeling sad, feared breast cancer. instead of these fears becoming reality, my day was filled with hope. hope that a cure will be found. hope that treatments are now so advanced that more and more women {and men} are surviving breast cancer. hope for my friend. the personal stories shared from the podium were inspiring, honest, and hopeful. I saw kris in these women! with each treatment she takes, she inspires me even more! she is one of the strongest women I know. Thank You Kris, for giving me the opportunity to help end breast cancer! I love you!

knit knit knit

I was blessed with a few good hours of knitting time this past weekend. and had fun completing and starting a couple projects.

my "my so called scarf" is complete! and I love it! it is so soft, and it will be the perfect warm scarf for our cold winters. I especially love the pattern.

and of course, I wanted to try leslie's toast and toasty. I started with toast. these are intended for my handmade christmas gifts for those people in our life who bless us with their hands {so you'll see more of these}. in addition to my gifts, the boys decided they would each like a pair "with the thumb mom ." so I'll be starting the boys' projects this week. most of you will find these to be a simple knit. they are understated and practical. thanks for sharing your patterns with us leslie!

acorn for acorns

I forgot to show you the adorable gift I received from aunt linda! after reading my post on acorns, she found me this cute, cute, cute acorn dish! I immediately poured my homemade acorns into their new home. thanks for thinking of me in this way aunt linda.

family fun weekend

last weekend, mark's aunt linda, uncle rich, and cousin andelyn traveled out from pennsylvania to visit our home for the first time. since mark's parents moved to florida five years ago, we as a family have only made it out to mark's birthplace to visit his grandma and aunt & uncle two or three times. we talk to rich & linda frequently throughout the year, but we don't get the opportunity to spend a lot of time with them. so we were anticipating a fun family weekend, and it didn't disappoint. these are a few of the photos from our weekend {we spent the majority of our time at Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum}, but also enjoyed a few walks, our ice cream shop, and just being together.

the Martha-Mary Chapel:

copper pot yarn dying: dyed by hand yarn:

taking a few minutes rest:

family moments:

thanks for making the long trip out to visit us uncle rich and aunt linda! we so enjoyed having you at our home. you're welcome anytime! you too andelyn!

simplify & savor #3

let's go to the kitchen and try to save some money!

I'll be the first to admit I am NOT an expert in this area. I am only a student of a few wonderful teachers in this area of my life. so I share from my student seat the observations I've made, the lessons I've learned, the tips I've found helpful. take what you can use.

mark and I have been trying to reduce the amount of times, thus the amount of money, we spend eating outside of our home. my main hero in this area is lisa. she is the queen of meal planning, preparation, and execution each and every day. I can vividly remember going to the grocery with lisa on a visit when she was newly married. she did a few things I'll never forget- 1. she started with a meal plan for the week 2. she shopped with a detailed list 3. she purchased items on sale 4. she had a calculator with her to keep a running total of her purchases 5. she paid in cash

so here are the items {in no particular order} I'm trying to implement:

• after seeing lisa's recipe organization binder {she has one for each of her recipe categories}, I created a binder for recipes I use frequently and are loved by everyone.


• I created a Master Grocery List to ease my shopping time. I organized it by category and based on how I travel through the grocery store. under each grocery category are the staple items we purchase consistently. after we create our meal plan, I write in the items we may not have and mark the items necessary for our plan.


• post the master grocery list on the refrigerator so you can easily add to your grocery list as a food item is used up.


• we're creating weekly meal plans, which I keep for future planning ease.


• some of our meal plan categories are breakfast for dinner night, pizza night, soup & sandwich night, potluck-you pick your own dinner.


• love this new idea {haven't tried it yet} purchase a store gift card with your food budget. it will help keep you within your budget, and you may receive additional store rebates through your preferred buyer card.


• stock up on staple items when they are on sale- watch for this in the coming weeks as we get closer to the holidays.


• make a double recipe of a family favorite and freeze for a future week. making cookies? pull out some of the cookie dough, form it into cookies, freeze the individual cookies on cookie sheets and pop them into the freezer for a future treat night. making banana/pumpkin bread? freeze a few loaves for a dessert or a surprise gift for a neighbor.


• have a best friend living next door? see if you can meal share one night a week.

go confidently

"look ahead; envision the beautiful blessings waiting on your distant shores. If you follow your personal stepping stones with joy, love, faith, and gratitude, the swiftest currents will not impede your journey."

-Steve Brunkhorst

don't worry about what lies ahead. instead, go as far as you can see. when you get there, you will see farther.

extreme room makeover

so, poor connor has been a traveler of sorts over the past few months, while we have been making slow progress in his room makeover. I purchased the bedding and rug several months ago. mark removed the window {that the previous owners left after an addition was put on the back of the house}, and we patched it the best we could. then the progress slowed. painting the ceiling and repainting the walls was just too much for me to tackle without mark. every so often I would get really inspired and clean out connor's room as to motivate myself to continue making progress. he would then sleep in either spencer's room or ours, while I decided what I was going to do. poor little guy. no bed for his little head.

if you're anything like mark and I, you get some extra gumption when you know family or friends are coming to visit. we have this happen each time someone comes to stay. some are small unnoticeable changes, some are large obvious changes, but all are on our list of house projects needing a little push in the right direction.

so uncle rich, aunt linda, and andelyn came to stay for this past weekend. guess what had to be finished? yep...connor's room HAD to be done before they arrived friday night. I'm happy to say it was!! but only because mark and I worked together as a team to complete the work.

here are a few photos of our semi completed room- I say semi only because I want to order a saying from Uppercase Living for his large wall beside his bed and need to find a poster frame large enough for clone wars to be hung up. enjoy...

on thursday after we completed our work, mark made this sign to post on connor's door:

when connor realized he couldn't go into his room until after school, he made this sign for mark:

connor pre-reveal:

we got a thumbs up of approval:

I learned a few things during this process.

1. mark is the starter; I am the finisher.
2. mark cuts in; I roll.
3. I don't have to do everything by myself.
4. it's fun to have a partner working with you.
5. little changes mean a lot to a five year old.
6. be prepared for your older child to envy your younger child.
7. be sure to have documentation of older child's previous room makeover at the ready.
8. have lots of pain medicine on hand for body aches.
9. simple is best.
10. I find joy, joy, joy in a little boy's smile!

think pink

october is breast cancer awareness month. many of you know one of my best friends, kris, is in the midst of battling this disease. kris is a wonderful wife to Al and a young mother of three children and one dog. she was diagnosed in may, has had two surgeries and is now going through chemo treatments. next weekend our family will walk in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. we do this in honor of kris and her courageous battle against breast cancer.

if you'd like to learn more about kris and this fund-raising opportunity, you can visit my ACS page here. the ACS widget in the sidebar doesn't show my total amount of donations... I'm at $330 of my $500 goal. if you can help, please click the widget. I thank you in advance!

lisa has created a beautiful breast cancer bracelet called kris' hope. you can see it and purchase it here. it is beautifully simple and inspiring! thanks lease!

and don't forget to click the ribbon in my sidebar to help give free mammograms to those in need through the breast cancer site.com.

I wasn't aware, but did you know that not all pink breast cancer items donate to cancer causes? how shameful of those taking advantage of other's generosity. I learned about this over at spruce hill's post on think before you pink. she is a sahm battling breast cancer, who I found through mommy coddle.

there is so much I don't know about breast cancer, but what I do know is:

it's terrifying to hear "you have breast cancer"

it can be a lonely road making medical decisions

breast cancer takes a toll on an entire family not just the patient

prayer can make all the difference

it is killing way too many beautiful people

I can make a small difference.

project updates

this weekend mark and uncle tom went to mn to the season premiere of Garrison Keillor at the Fitzgerald Theatre. you'll remember this as the 40th birthday present I gave him this year. this was a "before 40" goal for mark...we were only a few months late. want to hear all the details? visit mark and uncle tom on the podcast.

this weekend, with just the young boys at home. I was able to stay up late {later than I should have} and complete two great projects and work on another. so here are the project updates!

I finally completed my autumnology cross-stitch. I just couldn't finish the pumpkin! it was a continual change of colors. now I search for a frame {to save money} or get it framed as an indulgence. I'll keep you updated on the framed product.

I also finally finished my rosebud baby hat. this is a gift for my church friends' mr. and mrs. fite's new adopted granddaughter from overseas. knitting the hat was easy...finishing all the rosebuds and petals was the challenge. but so worth all the effort. I love how it turned out!

wip remember my list of goals? knitting myself something wonderful is on that list. I found this yarn at yarnia while in ohio. once I found this pattern, I knew my just purchased yarn was perfect for it!

thanks for making it to the bottom. I'm loving my new finished projects and hope you have something you love in progress!

just say NO to perfection

thanks for all your nice and supportive comments! they mean a lot to me.

looking back, I'm thinking perfectionism was rearing it's ugly head last week. I kept hearing a voice saying "if you can't do it 'right' don't do it at all"-should have recognized perfection's face when I heard that and run the other way. But I believed that false thinking and stayed immobile.

Aby wrote a great post about this in relation to organization, but I believe perfectionism can impact any area of your life. so last week, these were some of the things I was unable to do 'perfectly', so they just didn't get done and thus made me feel overwhelmed and yucky- painting connor's bedroom {didn't think I had enough time}; completing the rosebud baby hat {wanted to complete it all at one time}; blogging {just didn't think I had anything creative to say}; and starting a new knitting project {just can't keep up with other knitters}.

so thanks to Aby's reminder, I'm giving myself permission to be less than perfect, actually totally imperfect. I'm allowed to start a project and work for as long as I can without feeling guilty. I'm allowed to work in small pieces on large projects. I'm allowed to post without creativity and without pictures. I'm allowed to start a project and not finish it for awhile.

the tasks that make up my daily docket is my life. there will never be a day that I have absolutely nothing to do. I will probably never complete every project I'd love to do.

what can I do? with God's help and guidance, I can find joy in the journey of each day! I can be totally present in my family moments. I can concentrate on the blessings. I can bring kindness, hope, and a smile to the world around me. Those things I can do.

what a difference a day makes

Friday's Feelings

I'd love to be showing you pictures of completed projects or wip, beautiful autumn photos, exciting destinations, or inspiring organizational tips, but this week I've had a hard time finding both the inspiration and the time to visit this little place of mine. I've been doing a lot of thinking about how I'd like to share my life, myself, just 'things' with you, but just haven't had the time to be creative with this space. I guess I should be honest and say just haven't had the time to post something as wonderful as the other blogs I visit. like: lisa knitting up a storm {knitting about as fast as leslie}; leslie is, well you know how I feel about leslie; erin is just plain too creative; molly is finding the time to listen to the birds around her home and bake up wonderful autumn treats; stacy is challenging everyone to enjoy their life just as it is by making a mini scrapbook; tsh is...well every post from her is one I devour; rachel is writing great posts on topics I enjoy; nicole is being thankful for her beautiful family; molly is celebrating and creating owls!; and I've, well I've been stuck.

what are the lessons learned?

don't compare myself to others. celebrate each individuals' uniqueness.

I don't have to earn love. I am lovable just for being a creation of God.

trust that feelings are feelings. they can change.

take one day at a time, one experience at a time, one moment at a time, for that is all we are guaranteed.

Saturday

so feelings are feelings. they come and go. lucky for me, those feelings of not measuring up have subsided. I chose to spend the day celebrating fall with my boys. hope you enjoy the summary pictures of our week together.

I chose white this year.

pumpkins are ready to be carved.gourds to bring the outside in.

thursday was "walk to school day", so we did.

a surprise package from a best friend.

the cookies were delicious!

friday was spirit day for homecoming.

saturday is flag football day...the organizer on the team. he gets it honestly.

my little guy enjoyed playing at the playground with friends.

saturday afternoon we went to a fall festival and apple orchard.

this guy was part of the "adopt a pet" both. the picture was the only thing we took. :)

last stop-apple orchard.