all wrapped up ...

wrapping 101 ...

think outside the box when wrapping your holiday gifts

this year ...

some of my wrapping favorites are ...

old brown bags

newspaper

twine

greenery off the tree

an old pillow case tied at the top

yes ... think outside the box!

stay warm today my friends

xo



eight ...

8 days ...

in just eight days i will be ...

standing in the airport waiting to run into the arms

of my husband

in just eight days ...

i will finally take a break from hearing

mama when is dad coming home

in just eight days ...

i will stand before the love of my life

and i will ...

exhale

yes ... my husband gets to come to Iowa for 4 days

for Christmas

we are celebrating at my parent's house

so he actually won't be home as in our house

but ...

i'm okay with that

*ahem*

because you see then ... he won't notice the half started projects

*gulp*

the half painted bedroom furniture

or

the half painted walls

or

 the white slip covers on not only the couch

( which we already had)

but now they are also on the chairs ...

or

 the white painted steps ...

yes... it will be just fine at my parent's house

just fine

xo

p.s ... honey if you are reading this i love you! reallllllly love you!



a project ...

the ball wreath

it is amazing how with a little time

you can make the perfect gift

i had vintage old ornaments that i had found at local

thrift store ...

and i attached them to a bended wire hanger

you can get step by step directions here

it takes a little time ..

but it is ...

the perfect project while watching that horrible reality t.v

that you love ... but hate to admit to loving

*ahem*

you will be thrilled when you are done

have a great day keeping warm

xo



The first day of the rest of our lives ...

today

i take a step and a big ole' deep breath

today

after days of waiting and flight times getting put off

my husband will finally fly out of Davenport

yes today ...

this deployment begins

and for that I am thankful!

p.s ... tomorrow i will have beautiful photos of

my home and what i did for Christmas decor

p.s.s ... i appreciate you all

xo

Psalm 62:1 ... My soul finds rest in God alone



it is Time ...

the time has come ...

tonight after the kids say goodbye and goodnight

to their dad

i will drive him to Davenport

and

this whole deployment cloud that we have been living

under since last year will finally ...

be moving along

we have had this whole last week together ...

playing, doing family things, laughing, crying

and now ...

well we both agree

now it is just time... and we are *gulp* ready

we have had our talks with the kids...

i have been instructed on how to manage the bills...

we have our skype ready

let it begin ...

but my heart ... well now my heart that is awhole other thing

my heart aches already

i will miss my best friend

i will miss getting lost in his arms

i will miss him walking through the door

i will just simply ... miss him

but

i know this ...

it is what it is and today... i am choosing to TRUST

choosing to OBEY

choosing to keep running forward in FAITH

without knowing ...

I TRUST

one day at a time

yes

one day at a time

Joshua 1:19

have i not commanded you ...

be courageous... do not be terrified ... do not be discouraged

for the Lord you God will be with you

wherever you go!

yes ... my soul finds rest in God alone ... Psalm 62:1

xo

Thankful ...

 i am thankful ...

for HIS grace that has saved me through faith ...

my husband ... who makes me see life in rosy hues

my children

my father ... who always speaks words of truth

my mama ... who just always ' knows '... without me using many words

what my soul needs

my sisters ... my bff's

my brother ... for moving home so we can all be surrounded by him

my besties ... who just 'get it'

our home

white paint

coffee

and it could go on and on ...

xo



I'm dreaming ...

ooo

 let the ideas begin ...



this year i am dreaming of a white Christmas

i can't wait to dig in to decorating this week ...

xo

love ...

Happy Veterans Day ...

 xo



dreaming ...

 

i am in that transition phase ...

i am

over the gourds and pumpkins

and ready to decorate for the holidays

but ...

we haven't even celebrated thanksgiving yet ...

so ... instead i have been cleaning

and sorting and organizing

and planning

on what projects i want to tackle inside the house

this winter

like painting my bedroom and painting my bedroom furniture

and this morning i was inspired by these beautiful

faded soft blues and grays ...

ooo and the crisp white of course ...

the perfect combination for a bedroom

have a great day

xo

Cleaning House ...

i have been spending my days organizing ...

everything

too much maybe...

it is seriously as if i am 8 months pregnant

i think it is the whole deployment thing ...

and knowing that i need to have all my ducks in a row

yep

between daily things with the kids

i have been sorting, tossing, donating

and to be honest

it feels great

xo

( photos courtesy of Martha Stewart)

My Club ...

tonight i am hosting my Cooking Club

it is anywhere from 6 to 12 women who get together

once a month

we pick a theme ...

tonight is

squash

we take turns at each other's homes

each one of us getting a chance to host

we each bring a dish that includes our theme

we talk about our dish

we laugh

we eat

we drink wine

we top off the night with coffee

so many different women ...

a writer, one who loves to bake, one who just went through a divorce,

one who has a child with cancer, one who just lost her sister, one who

just had a baby, one who is about to have a baby, one who always brings pizza

no matter the theme, one who only brings wine because she can

not cook , one who just moved to California

 ... yes this is my group.

and i love them

it is something that i look forward to every month

and tonight i get to host

so excited ...

photos tomorrow!

xo



Choices ...

yesterday i made a decision ...

and let me tell you it was a tough one

you see i got offered an amazing opportunity ...

a fabulous decorating opportunity

one that i have been waiting for

one that some perhaps maybe dream of

but the thing is

is that it also was time consuming

and needed to be done within the next month or so

and even though

i so wanted this

it just isn't the right time

so i made a decision ...

after days of going back and forth

and praying

it became so clear ...

now is not the time

now is the time to focus on my family

now is the time to spend every moment i can with my husband

now is the time to get me together before

i am on my own

yes ... i have made a decision

one of my favorite scriptures is ...

... let your yes be yes and your no be no

Matthew 5.37

you see i knew in my heart way back when i was asked to

do this ... that i should say no

there is just way to much going on now

my husband's deployment, projects we need to do around the house

before he goes, spend time with the kids

but i got excited

i got really excited at the thought of this opportunity

and what it may lead to ...

but deep down ... i knew

and now this morning i realized

you see that is God

that tugging inside... that feeling deep down...

he is attempting to make my path straight

and yet i am trying to do my own thing

not HIS

because when it is HIS plan ... i always know... there is no tugging

there is no hesitation

when it is HIS plan i am amazed at how doors open

yes... this morning i made a decision

xo

Chalk it up ...

i am

a lover of chalkboard paint

ooooo yes ...

i love me some chalkboard painted things

walls ... tables ...

actually a couple of years ago my husband

had to pull the plug on the whole chalkboard thing ...

yep

he thought... ahem...

that i was getting a wee bit carried away

you see i became a bit addicted to the whole chalkboard look

at one point we had our kitchen done... hallway done...

a wall in Sib's room done... basement wall done ...

and i was about to paint the wall next to the toilet in the bathroom

when the ax came down

i know right? how fun would have that been ...

soooo ... i gave in and over the past few years

i have slowly weened myself

now we just have the hallway upstairs

but i love these photos ...

oooo and if you want to have the fun of chalkboard paint

but not the black or green color ...

go here and check out Martha's recipe for

chalkboard paint using any wall color you have laying around

(scroll down to bottom )

it is a good thing!

xo

just a little time ...

i love this chandelier

and how simple ...

just a grapevine wreath that you can pick up at any

wal-mart for a few dollars

decorated with leaves etc ...

a few tea lights tucked into some hollowed out

mini pumpkins ...

and run a sturdy twine or wire through to hang

perfect from a low tree branch or  from a hook on your

porch ceiling

even the tea lights in the window ... love love love

ooh fall ... i am so glad you have arrived!

xo



Mama said there would be days like this...

it has been awhile ...

actually it has been so long that this morning

when i tried to log on to my blogger account it asked me for my password

and ...

those of you who know me

know i am not a write things down type of gal

so to be honest

i could not remember it

nope

not.at.all

i was trying everything i could think of

and then... finally...

it opened up

and now i still do not remember what i put in

*sigh*

i have been catching up on things

around here these past couple weeks

housework

friendships

bills

decorating the house

decorating other people's houses

lots going on here in the Ford house

but i promise to be back tomorrow ...

have i said this before?

i m feeling a little bit like i have posted this before ...

yes

most likely i have

*sigh*

until tomorrow my friends ...

xo



Coming down from the high ...

a look at this past weekend ...

Sunday night was my fall show ...

the porch was packed full ...

and

it was the most perfect night 

a huge THANK YOU to all of you who stopped by

next week i will post some things that i have left over ...

just a few things that are too pretty to be packed away

have a great weekend everyone!

xo







only days left ...

we are entering the final countdown ...

it is a bit crazy here today ...

lots to get done before my fall show on Sunday

and

i have ...

a child who did not sleep well at all last night

another child who is getting in some molars

a child who insisted on wearing yellow snow boots to school today

again ...

a dishwasher that will not drain ...

and

to be honest ...

there is a bit of excitement in the air in this house

because only 4 days left til my husband gets back

from being gone for two weeks

yes

as you can imagine ... the kids are beyond ready

to not only get a break from mama ... i'm sure ...

but to see their dad

and me?

 yes ... i am beyond ready to get a little tiny break

from them as well

hope you have a great Wednesday!

xo

p.s  ... i am so excited about the things at the show this year

p.s.s ... i have decided to have it on the porch ... my show

 is a bit smaller than i usually do but it will packed full with

amazing things!

p.s.s.s ... be sure and swing by!

Come on over ...

only 5 more days ....

til gatherings fall show...

sunday September 26th

6-8 pm

1824 bever ave se

spread the word!

xo



We are family ...

today ...

i am spending the day getting the house ready

because tomorrow ...

my favorite ladies are coming to stay

yep...

they are funny

they are creative

they are the kind that just make you feel loved

we will sit and chat

look at magazines

re-arrange

have some wine

eat yummy naughty foods

play with the kids

go hit up the thrift stores

and just simply

be together ...

a perfect weekend .

hope yours is just as great!

xo

My Love ...

this morning ...

i am missing my husband

you see he is at a two week training camp

with the national guard ...

and it hasn't even been a week yet

*sigh*

and to be honest ...

the whole deployment thing is really starting to set in

yes

November 27th he will be deployed

to southern Iraq

and i know without a doubt that we will be fine

i trust that God is in control

i know that no matter what may come

he will see us through

i believe that all of this is not even about us ... but about glorifying him

in some way

but the hard part...

the part that makes my heart ache ...

is the missing of him

i just simply miss him

already

and he has not even gone yet...

well he is gone...

but you know

not gone as in gone deployed gone

and it's not just me

but the kids ...

the kids who ask everyday ... usually three times a day

when is dad coming home?

and yesterday morning when i told Sib in 10 days

he said...

mama that is FOREVER.

*sigh*

and i just kept thinking

he hasn't even been deployed yet

i'm sorry... i'm having a moment

you probably logged on here to here the music or see some

beautiful inspiring photos

and here you find me venting...

so this morning i find myself repeating the words

of my dad...

one day at a time

yes

one day at a time

and today ... i just miss him.

xo

1 peter 5:7 cast all your anxieties onto me for i will give them rest

*

Nothing says fall like ...

today ...

 there is only a half day of school

so i am thinking ...

that today ...

yep today just might be

a

Carmel apple making kind of day!

enjoy your day!

xo

( photo from suzie breeze)