Our 4 Year Houseiversary: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our 4 Year Houseiversary!  Last time we looked outside; today we're going to take a gander inside around our 1st floor and some of the changes that have happened over the past 4 years.  Two of our big projects early on were installing recessed lighting in three of the rooms (living room, master bedroom, and one of the upstairs bedrooms) and getting replacement windows.  I don't really have any pictures of these projects, but trust me, they were needed.  Our yard is shaded, and our rooms without ceiling lights were sooo dark.  And our windows...some were painted shut, others let a draft in...it was definitely time for some new windows.  Our heating and air conditioning bills are quite happy about that decision also.

I've already given a living room tour, talked about our hideous kitchen, and early on in the life of this blog I posted about our "dog room" turned laundry & mud room, so we'll skip those for today, but feel free to go check them out!

Our dining room served as an office for our home's previous owners.  Here it was back then:

And here it is now (you can also see another view here):

The previous owners had their dining room where we now have a toy room.  Then:

Now.....hello there, clutter:

You can also see more toy room pictures here and here.

Our Master Bed & Bath are also on the first floor.  Here's a bedroom before (yep, it's small for a master bedroom!):

It's looking like this nowadays (wishing I would have fixed the curtains before I took the picture):

We haven't done much to the master bath yet, but just for kicks here's a "before"....

(Nope.  It clearly wasn't enough that nearly all the trim in the entire house was painted blue.  The toilet paper had to match).  We have gotten a new toilet since the "before" picture was taken during our home inspection.  There's just something that wasn't working with the faux wood look....plus I kept thinking I could get a splinter on my....well, you know!

Disclaimer:  I'm sure the previous owners probably loved their home, and this post isn't meant to diss their style (is "diss" still a word?)  Everyone likes different things, and some of you might be thinking I'm crazy!  That's okay!  Life would be boring if we all did everything exactly the same.  I just enjoy seeing the changes and progress we have made in making our house ~ our home.

*********

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about my 31-gifts fundraiser, with all proceeds going toward our adoption??  The good news is:  I'm sooo excited about how well it's been going!  The even better news is:  we've decided to extend the fundraiser until Wednesday!!!  Need some great Christmas gifts?  Head on over and check out the fundraiser....click here for a direct link.  This month's special:  For each $31 you spend, get 50% off specified items.  

Looking for a great deal?  Zipper pouches (9"Hx7.5"Wx1.5"D; available in 8 different patterns) are normally $12.  Buy 3 and get the 4th one for only $6!  Stuff them with some treats and they would make a great gift!  Think....school supplies for teachers, makeup for your sister, a manicure kit for your babysitter, or maybe it's just a really great way to give a gift card!

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Our 4 Year Houseiversary: Part 1

Yay!  It's our 4 Year Houseiversary!!!  We moved into our 1961 Cape Cod four years ago, knowing our home would be a work in progress for quite awhile.  Sometimes I forget that was the plan all along, and get frustrated thinking of all the projects that still haven't been completed.  We are committed to not going into debt (unless there would be an emergency) for house renovations, so the "big projects" take some time to save for (especially now with an adoption and two trips to Ethiopia in the not too distant future!)  Anyway, when I sit back and think about it, we actually have done quite a bit in the four years we have lived here.  Interested?  Keep reading.....and stay tuned for our "inside" updates, coming soon!

Today we'll start with the outside.  Here's what it looked like when we moved in...sorry for the poor quality pictures....they were taken with an old camera in a rainstorm....

We started by pulling out lots and lots and lots of ivy.  I wish we would have kept track of the number of hours spent ivy-pulling....it was insane.  We also took out all the shrubs in front of the house - we wanted to be able to see our cute house, not have it covered up by a hedge!  We reseeded the lawn and took out some of the trees (and the fountain/birdbath).  Just this summer we painted the shutters from the country blue color to "Lincoln Cottage Black" and redid the porch swing.  Here's what our house looks like currently....

Still a work in progress....I'm still wishing for that new red front door and we need some landscaping on the left side, but it's improved, don't you think?

Here's the front porch before....

and currently....

Woohoo for being able to see past hedges!

Moving around back...picture life deep in the Amazon jungle.  Add some chainlink fence in random places, and you've got our backyard.  Seriously, it was bad.  I even entered it in an "Ugliest Yard" contest and I'm pretty sure I didn't win because whoever was choosing the winners probably thought it was just a joke.  Here's some "before" pictures (although most of the random chainlink was gone by this point, and we have kept what was around the perimeter)....

 

Pretty, huh?  Yeah, I was scared to walk back there because of all the creatures I knew were lurking in the weeds.  Our little dog actually caught a mouse in the backyard the first week after we moved in.  Not cool.  Well, it was a little cool that our dog caught a mouse, but not cool at all that I had certain proof of rodent life.  And the shed?  I pretty much feared for my husband's life every time he walked in.  On the brighter side, demolition was quite easy - a few kicks and it was down!

Lots more weed & ivy pulling, a landscaping crew, a firepit (blocked in the following picture by trees), a swingset, and a new shed later....

We do still plan on putting pavers or stamped concrete in the firepit, but again, much better, don't you think?  Come back later this week to see some of the changes that have happened inside the house!

Click here for a list of parties I may have linked up to!

Family Blessing Tree

I'm so excited about my latest project ~ even if it purposely won't be completed for many months.  It's our "Family Blessing Tree" and it serves 3 purposes....
1:  To remind our family of how God is always faithful ~ we know we have been called to adopt, even though it's been a sometimes overwhelming process of "how are we going to afford this?", we know God will provide.
2:  Someday when our boys are home and old enough to understand, they can look at this and know how loved and wanted they were by so many people.....even before they knew them.
3:  To have a fun new piece of artwork in my house :)

How does it work?  Basically, when someone helps out towards our adoption, they get a "leaf" with their name on it for our tree.  Of course, this doesn't include only financial donations, but also donations of time (babysitting our kids while we go get fingerprints) and services (like our friend who notarized stacks of papers for free!)

Here's what I'm envisioning our tree will look like someday...

How does it get to that point?  First I gathered all my supplies...a canvas, some scrapbooking papers, a circle punch, Krylon spraypaint (pebble), ModPodge (not pictured) and some Americana paints by DecoArt ~ Burnt Orange and Dark Chocolate.

First I spraypainted my canvas.  Then I realized it was the exact same color as our living room walls.  So I re-spraypainted it an off-white creamy color. 
The next step was to draw an outline of a tree (my husband actually did this for me) and paint it.  I also stenciled the word "blessed" and painted that in as well.

The canvas was looking a little blah, so I added a stripe around the edge for a more "finished" look.

Now comes the fun part!  Each time someone donates something - their time, finances, etc. towards our adoption, I get to punch out a circle, write their name on it (or they can write a message), and modpodge it right on!  An instant way to remember the generosity of our friends and family!

Here's what our Blessing Tree is looking like currently...

And again, what it may look like someday...

You could take this basic idea and change it to suit your needs ~ it could be an actual family tree, or what about a Thankfulness Tree to work on for Thanksgiving this year?

Want to see your name in the lights.....er, on a leaf?  You can check out Our Adoption Journey for a list of our current fundraisers!

Linking this up to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!!

I'm also entering this project in "Crafting With The Stars" ~ hope over and visit me there, because who knows, the number times my project is viewed might help me in the competition!

10 Years Ago

Today I'm remembering the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives ten years ago and praying for the ones they left behind.

We will never forget.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Here in South Central PA, we've had quite the weather pattern lately....an earthquake, a hurricane, and now some major flooding.  It's estimated that we had 10-15 inches of rain yesterday....with another 1-3 supposed to come today.....our already saturated ground can't handle all this rain, so it's been pretty crazy around here.  Yesterday, Jackson's school closed early and by that time, many of the roads in our town were already flooded and closed.  So many of our friends and family have flooded basements and lots of property damage.  We had a little water in our basement and needed to move some things around and stack things up, but no flooding.  We currently can't use our water because our well is overwhelmed and sediment is mixing in.  It's pretty gross to turn on the bathtub faucet and have dirt come out.  That being said, I am so thankful things aren't worse and I'm praying for all of my dear friends and family who are having a rough time of it....and for those living close to the river who have barely begun their adventure. 

Here's a few pictures from around our town, all taken by Epic Photography's Facebook page.  If you get a chance, go check out Epic Photography....they do some amazing work!  In the meantime, please pray for South Central PA and all other areas affected by this flooding.

Crock Pot Cooking

Crock pots (I believe slow cooker would be the correct term, since Crock Pot is a brand name?) have to be one of my favorite inventions ever.  Right after indoor plumbing and internet (thanks again for that one, Al Gore!).

Crock Pots have evolved over the years, from the basic on/off model to the programmable version, to a slow cooker trio, to the small little dipper (perfect for warm dips like queso!)  I personally have the one pictured above - nothing fancy, but it serves it's purpose.


New to cooking with your crock pot?  Here's a few hints....
1)  Find a good cookbook.  I use the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook - it has over 700 recipes!  Of course there are plenty of good recipes available by searching online too.
2)  Can't spend time in the morning getting everything ready to go in the slow cooker?  This may seem like a really simple idea, but get everything ready the night before and keep it in the refrigerator.  That way all you need to do in the morning is push a few buttons.
3)  Sometimes the worst part about slow cooker cooking is the clean-up.  There are liners available that work really well, but if you don't want to spend the money, spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray!


Want to know my latest favorite crock pot recipe?  BBQ Pork Sandwiches!  Besides being super easy, it's also really frugal, and also counts as a freezer meal, which I love.  I wait until pork loin goes on sale for around $1.69/lb.  Where I shop, this sale is typically good for only the big cuts of meat - around 10 or so pounds, but the butcher will cut it at no charge!  So here's what I do...buy about 10 pounds and have the butcher cut it in thirds.  I then take it home and put each third in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer.  To make the BBQ Pork, first thaw the pork loin.  Put it in the crock pot and pour a can of root beer over it.  Cook on low for 5 - 5 1/2 hours.  Shred with forks, scooping off any fat.  Mix with your favorite BBQ sauce and cook for another half hour.  Serve on rolls.  That's it!  It feeds a crowd, so if I'm making it for just my family, I can freeze the leftovers for another meal.

Do you love your crock pot too?  What is your favorite slow cooker recipe?

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

So FUN to be featured ~ THANKS!

Thirty-One Gifts Fundraiser!

Have you heard of Thirty-One Gifts?  It's an amazing home business opportunity ~ similar to a Pampered Chef or Tupperware type business ~ but they sell the cutest totes, purses, wallets, etc....anything you need or could possibly think of to help keep you organized!  I would personally like to have one of each of their products....although even then I would still have a hard time narrowing down the patterns I would choose!  And you can even get most of the products monogrammed!

Why am I mentioning all this?  Enter Jenn ~ we went to Bible College together many moons ago....actually one of the first memories I have with her is the time I was laughing so hard I spit soda all over her floor.  :)  (Maybe I shouldn't be reminding her!)  She is a consultant for this great company, and has volunteered to help me have a Thirty-One party, with all proceeds going towards our adoption fund!  Yep, she is donating her profit to help us bring our boy(s) home!  Amazing, right?!  Thank you, Jenn!!!!

Demi Purse, Organizing Utility Bag, and Mini Zipper Pouch in Onyx Medallion

So I'm inviting you....check out the catalog, wipe the drool off your chin, and maybe even place an order!  There's even a great special going on right now:  For every $31 you spend, you get 50% off a celebrate card set, zipper pouch, or select wallets.  (In case you were wondering, this deal makes the zipper pouch only $6!)

Wow!  Lots of different products shown in Painted Floral, Painted Floral Plaid, Brown Parisian Pop, Sandy Swirl, Brown Quilted Poppy and Dark Denim.

Christmas is right around the corner....you could find something for everyone on your list.....or maybe you should make a list of things you want and leave it out where your hubby can't miss it :)

Large Utility Tote in Pink Circle Spirals; Market Thermal, Organizing Utility Tote, and Flat Iron Case shown in Circle Spirals.

Locals who order....I would be happy to deliver your items to you!  Out-of-towners, there will be a box you can check to have the items delivered directly to your door - it will be an additional $4 shipping.

Thermal Tote, Picnic Thermal, and All-in-One Organizer (Shown in Windsor Argyle & Windsor Bouquet)

And of course I want to mention....if you are interested in finding out more about becoming a consultant for this faith-based company (the name is taken from the Proverbs 31 woman), would like to host an online or catalog party, or live in the Sarasota, Florida area and would like to host an in-person home party.....please contact Jenn directly through her website!

Skirt purse - you pick black or brown, and can change the look by using a different "skirt!" (Shown in Black Parisian Pop)

Again, if you'd like to place an order...you can click this link (now expired), which will take you directly to our fundraising site.  Thanks for checking out our fundraiser and considering helping our family in this way ~ please feel free to pass on this information to anyone who may be interested!!  This party will be open until September 16!  (Do you have a favorite 31 product?  Let me know....I'm still narrowing my choices down!)

***UPDATE:  OUR FUNDRAISER RAISED $363.25.....WOW!  I HAD SO MUCH FUN I DECIDED TO BECOME A CONSULTANT MYSELF!  YOU CAN VISIT MY THIRTY-ONE GIFTS WEBSITE HERE OR CONTACT ME FOR MORE INFO!!!***