Mrs. Gateley

It's days like today that I really miss her. Mrs. Gateley. Rainy days when we could spend our entire day in the sewing room.

I was busy rummaging around my kitchen gathering all the recipes I needed to spend a day baking when I stumbled across her very first letter to me. It was what kept us connected after she was discharged from the hospital. She wanted to send me a recipe and on the back she wrote a little note asking me to stop by sometime. The last paragraph read:

"I thank God for meeting you. You are a blessing to me for sharing-which I love to do. Give me a call or drop in for a visit. You would be surely welcome."

You would be surely welcome.

I imagine she received the same welcome when she got to heaven. You are surely welcome! Well done! I aspire to be like her in the way she allowed God to use her, even into her eighties! She knew that sewing was her God-given purpose and she used that to to draw people into a relationship with her and then she would show them Jesus by the way she lived & loved.

We often try to think of talents God gave us and ways we can use them to glorify Him. If you're like me, sometimes I struggle to come up with how the two coincide. Know this-God is about RELATIONSHIPS. And whatever it is he put in you to do well, or just to love doing, He desires you to build relationships with others so that you can show them Jesus.

Hope you find that as encouraging as I do. You don't have to try to be anyone else, but yourself. And when you get to heaven, I hope you hear "Well done! You are surely welcome here."

The in-between

Going from a Med/Surg nurse to a Labor & Delivery nurse is like changing high schools in the middle of your Senior year.

Maybe I'm a bit dramatic, but it's how I feel.

In Med/Surg I had my friends who became family & had been by my side for the past 5 years. I knew them, trusted them & loved them. I had my system down & was pretty confident in my assessment skills. Now I feel like I'm fresh out of school again. I know no one, but everyone has known each other for years. I barely know that Braxton Hicks is not the name of a baby boy just born down the hall. I can carry on a conversation with an 80 year old man much easier than I can a girl my own age. I have a long ways to go, but I'm getting there. It can be a frustrating and overwhelming process.

The night shift starts next week. This is what I'm dreading most. Not so much because of the hours, but because I'm gonna miss my husband! It's so hard to get on in Labor & Delivery because no one leaves. There is a list in the break room of nurses anxiously awaiting their call to go to day shift... I'm number 14. 14!! I'm praying it doesn't last long and that I can move to the day shift quickly. God can do anything-He is fully capable. This might sound silly to say, but Chad & I really enjoy our time together! You're supposed to as husband & wife but we really have fun. We laugh a lot. It makes me sad to think that there will be days I won't even see him. For example, my first week on nights I will see him Thursday, then not again until Sunday night because of the time he leaves and I get home. We won't get to talk on the phone & tell each other about our days while he's on his way home. I won't get to beg him to go to bed at the same time as me. We won't get to watch any of our evening shows together (Bachelor Pad... Don't tell him I told you!). I know a lot of people have it worse than me. I can't imagine being in a different country than my husband for months & years at a time-props to you military wives!

"For our light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. What is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal." 

 -2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Your daily troubles are an investment in eternity. Fix your eyes on the unseen, the eternal.

My heart feels a little weighted down. Had to to type it out. I continue to be thankful for the way the Lord has lead my life. I may plan my course but He determines my steps. And His ideas are always way better than mine. I'll be patient & will get through it (the night shift, the new friends, new processes, new assessment skills, etc). I just pray that it's quickly.

(Can I just be a farmer?!)

Project: Remodel {Kitchen!}

It's what you've been waiting for!!!

BEFORE:

{ALMOST} AFTER:

AFTER:

What's the difference?

• Completely removed old cabinets
• Dad & Chad built new cabinets and rearranged them to make more room (pantry on side of fridge, cabinets go all the way to ceiling, lazy susan, new drawers, etc)
• New tile floor (not pictured)
• New backsplash
• Granite countertops
• New appliances (dishwasher, microwave & oven)
• New sink
• Bar added
• Can lights instead of light fixture
• Under counter lights added
• Crown molding and door casing added

If you've been following my blog I hope you can

make it to the Open House tomorrow (Sunday, July 10th) from 2-4, come & go.

Free food and free 'stuff' just for showing up!

Would love it if you came!

Also thanks to everyone for their wonderful compliments throughout

this reveal! Really means a lot to know our hard work has been noticed!

Project:Remodel {Outside + Bathroom}

Outside Updates:

• Bushes removed
• Concrete flower bed borders added
• Tree planted
• New guttering and paint
• Rails removed on porch and replaced with 3 columns
• Weed killer and fertilizer ;)
• New fence

  

Bathroom Update:

As I said in my last post, most of our house has been remodeled

at least twice! The bathroom is one of those places.

So here are some before, after and after-after pics. :)

• New countertops (formica then granite)
• New mirror
• New towel racks/toilet paper rolls
• Texture and paint
• Tub replaced
• Tile added to floor and shower wall
• Glass shower doors
• Removed the old vanity and replaced with a completely new one-made by dad & Chad of course. :)
• New "head knocker" above toilet (no pic)-also made my dad.

 

 This a pic of how our bathroom looked... for quite a long time! Furdown was removed and light fixtures hanging. All worth it though. :)

Project: Remodel

I bought this house in March of 08. It was outdated, but it was cozy, close to home and I liked it! I envisioned painting the walls and getting new furniture. Never in a million years did I think it would turn out to look like it does today! I love it.

When Chad & I started dating our first great amount of quality time together was spent painting kitchen cabinets. That should have been a sign of what was to come-ha! (Kitchen remodel pics coming soon) A little later on, I was gone one weekend and he surprised me & completely re-modeled both bathrooms. Most everything has been remodeled at least twice in this house. So therefore, there are some "before", "after" and "after-after" pics. :)

I am THRILLED to say that our home remodel is completely finished!!! Until Chad thinks of something else to do...

There are several pics, so I'm planning on splitting them between different blog posts. Here's the first batch.

The day I moved in:
Here's a pic of the living room:

And a pic of the dining area:

The fireplace had one of those stove inserts that burns the wood chips. It didn't fit quite right. And only worked for a short while. Chad would want me to point out the fan. (I've never been one to notice light fixtures or ceiling fans.... he does.)

Here I am! All moved in! Perfectly content. It looks funny to me now.

My mother-in-law helped me get stuff up on the walls. Improvement.

 Decorations. Is it funny that I had an 8-point rack above my fireplace UNTIL my husband moved in and moved it to the garage? I don't even know where it's at now.

One of the first things we (ok.. Chad) did was get rid of the popcorn ceiling. What.a.mess!

Texture followed.

See the wires hanging from the ceiling?

Chad put that assortment together at midnight the night before

I had Mary's personal shower at our house. Still embarrassed about that.

I think I took this picture because

I was proud that the tv was above the mantle.

Wires are still in place. New ceiling fan though! :)

My awesome dad did all of the woodwork in our house.

Chad helped too. I love my dad & he's incredible when it comes to

woodwork and making the most out of the space you have.

(wait until I get to the kitchen!)

 Dad created this china hutch! It added so much more room for kitchen things!

The mantle! Coming together.

The dining area with stained china hutch, textured ceilings & walls,

white baseboards, crown molding.... not finished yet though!

Stained mantle.

Dogs are exhausted.

We now have curtains! And paint on the walls.

New fireplace!!!

And marble tile around it.

Still not finished.

Cozy!

Ta-da!

Wood floor.

Tile wood floor to be specific.

And a new backdoor that lets more light in.

 Chad just put the glass shelves and lighting

in the china hutch this week, so I don't have

pictures of it yet, but you get the idea!

How about a quick recap:

Before:

 After:

Before:

After!:

If you're interested in coming to see it, we'd love to have you!

I'm having an open house Sunday, July 10 from 2-4

for a Renovation Reveal + Scentsy Open House.