Developments in the Gel's Room and Smiling Feet =)

We're not quite finished; but, since you've been most patient, here are some pictures of what we do have ...

~Finishing Touches~

~Not Immensely Inviting ... Yet~

Naturally, repainting a room inspires one to just sort of redo the entire thing (at least, that's what it inspires me to do ;)! So, I have been playing around with spray paint - oolala! and what fun I have been having.

The newly rearranged room now has space for a ... reading nook! I am elated. =D Howevah, the new prospect presented a slight dilemma - in that we had no chair to put there. =/ Not wanting to spend heaps of money (and endeavoring to put into practice what I wrote about in my 'doing' post last week ;), I thought of a chair that we had in the attic ... the hideous, ancient, green-velvet covering wasn't exactly a feast for the eyes, to be sure, but why not try my hand at re-covering (er, rather, Evy's hand, since she was coming up for the weekend any way ;)?

And underneath the 'hideous-ancient-green-velvet covering' ...

I breathed a quite literally audible sigh of relief when Evy agreed to take on my whim. =)

~The Pro-cess~

Another thrifty thing, was that the fabric came from our stash. =) Oh, and did I mention the chair was formerly my great-grandmother's? Vintage furniture = happiness!

~My New Favorite Chair!~

~In Awe Over My Sister's Amazingness~

This whole room decorating thing is too much jolly fun! =D Again, a big hug and 'thank you' to Evy, for inspiration and helping me find good deals. =)

The white baskets were 50% off at Hobby Lobby ... =D!

Ah, a part of organizing and cleaning - reliving memories. <3

~My Nevy - sorry ... couldn't resist putting up more pictures of him ;)~

{pom-pom hat from the very talented Polly }

The Little Man getting all dressed up for his baby-shower

(which I was incredibly disappointed that I was unable to attend ='( - )

~One of the amazing gifts from the shower~

(my wee camera does not portray it as beautiful as it is in real-live-ness =/-)

{by Brooke - whose very name evokes inpiration =)}

~Baby-man~

~I'm his Ahnt!~

*sigh* Sometimes it just hits me - like that 16lb. hunk of beef did the other day (that was strange) =P

~I had to stay home by myself on Sunday because of under-the-weather-ness, so I was trying to cheer myself up by: smiling and wearing my favorite Land's End scarf~

(btw I got the scarf as a gift last year, and I still do not know who it was from! So, if you're reading this, wonderful-person-who-gave-it-to-me, thank you! You really do have excellent taste, and know me quite well - green, scarf & Land's End =} - )

Because it was so deliciously Autumn outside, and I had to remain so disappointingly inside, I felt the yen to make Pumpkin Spice muffins so that I could still bask in one of the many smells of my favor-ite seasons. =)

(and maybe perhaps, because Mum requested that I make them so we could utilize some of the abundant squash produce we have enjoyed this year - Ephesians 6:2)

~This caused me oodles of smiles!~

{free shipping - immensely large plus in my book!}

I have been delightfully anticipating these super-iferous slippers for the past three weeks or so

(not that it took that long to arrive - I simply couldn't make up my mind as to which colors I wished ;), and now I have them ... on my smiling feet. =D

~Can't you see the Smiles?!~

And so that my very-loved-GAP slippers

(from my big brother <3)

would not feel excluded, here are their lovingly-worn, smiling soles as well. ;)

As I type this, with my trusty cup of tea beside me; sitting on my new favorite chair; in my new favorite nook; wearing my new L.L.Bean slipper-ers; using my faithful laptop - Edmond; I gratefully ponder the undeserved-goodness so lovingly bestowed upon me by the Good and Perfect Gift-Giver; yet, because He, ultimately, is the Good and Perfect, His Grace enables me to see a cup of mud, an old ugly chair in an inconvenient house, made of cardboard, with no laptop (or any other electrical device) as a Good and Perfect Gift. Why? Because He is good; not only in the peace and plenty, but also in trials and famines. To be sure, the 'trials and famines' of my life could not hold a wick next to the numerous sufferings which others have endured and are yet experiencing; however, the anguish of spirit they have caused; nights of beseeching Him to remove the suffering, and the times when I felt like the tears would never cease ... He is and has been teaching me, ever so lovingly, how to call Him good all the time - all the time, He is good. A verse of comfort that a dear friend reminded me of this week:

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

~Psalm 30:5

So let God hit you like a 16lb. hunk of beef - sometimes that's what it takes for those of us made of the more stub---, er, determined stuff - and remember to thank Him for it. <3

Ta-ta,

Phia

Opportunity & Dreams Realized

I love starting my week off with a visit from him =)

...

{making new fashion statements}

{birthday picnic! hah I'm still working on improving my self-portrait skills =P sometimes it takes ten pictures (or more) to find one where someones head is not cut off ... ah, the joys}

It has been my express wish, this past Summer, to repaint the gel's room! For those of you who are familiar with the DISC personality test, I am a rather high SI (C is balanced, and D is ... basically not on the chart =P) So, this causes me dilemmas sometimes; because, I get all of these inspirations and dreams of fun amazing things to do! Alas, my poor microscopic D is unable to perform. =( Howev-ah! This week I was resolved. I told myself that I must do this week.

{excellent book on doing}

And thus we began ...

{definitely before}

Again, being a high SI, I love being around people and such; however, stepping out of my comfort zone is, regrettably, not my cup of tea. =( Yet, God in His mercy, has seen fit to place me in many situations where I had/have the opportunity to do that. Something that is stepping outside of my comfort zone is doing things spontaneously ... such as serving at an event with one day to spare. =) My initial thought was, "schoo, okay...it's kind of spur of the moment, but why not!" And I am immensely glad that I did do it. =)

{such a lovely time to work with friends, meet new people, and learn things}

{the grounds were g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.}

{some of the team}

I will be sure to keep you updated with the room pro-gress. =D

{even while painting she's cute!}

{somewhat after; but, not quite there}

Don't give Procrastination and Indecision the time of day ...

do something!

Ta-ta,

Phia

If I were a Bird

I just recently found this poem-type-saying, and I am smitten!

"Delicious Autumn!

My soul is wedded to it &

if I were a bird

I would fly about seeking

successive Autumns."

~ Innermost Aspirations

So, you get the idear how I feel about Autumn ... =D

{I have discovered something that is making my life easier - collages. Please bear with me, as I am still experimenting with them. =)}

Here are some things that Autumn has been/means to me ...

it means: wearing Summery outfits for as long as you can before you have to rotate your wardrobe

it means: putting up inspiring Autumn decor that reminds you of your married-and-gone sister who made the wreaths from scratch!

it means: thinking cozy thoughts about L.L.Bean slippers that will soon be yours =D

it means: attending happy end-of-Summer picnics with great friends and squeezing in as much recreational pursuits as possible before the ground is thoroughly hidden in 22 inches of snow

it means: cousins coming and having a happy time for a bit ... until ...

... it means: saying goodbye to your cousin who's stayed with you for the past 2 1/2 months

(then it is less happy)

but before he leaves ...

... it means: having cousin lifting competitions amongst 11 and 10 year old cousins to see who's the mightiest ... until 18 year old cousin joins the competition and then we all see that he's the superlative

it means: being sneaky and telling your sister to try to blow into the tire-pressure-gauge and move the needle =P

it means: cramming 7 cousins in a three-person-backseat because you do not like to see them leave

... I wish I had more pictures to show you what Autumn means to me ... perhaps I'll have a sequel post. =)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, there is yet more ... it's just so important that I couldn't wait until next week. =}

Someone who is incredibly special to me will be celebrating a Birth Day soon, and I would like to dedicate this last half of the post to her ...

Our Heidi-girl is turning 11!

Her name means Noble Spirit, and it is beautiful to observe how well that suits her. <3

She's a hard-worker, creative mastermind, competitive sports-player, comic relief, kindred spirit, generous benefactress, and more than these ...

we have grand times!

She is an expert face-maker

and also has a delightful 'normal face' =)

The 'twins' - ten years apart =)

Instead of: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy it's ...

Ev, O, Soph, and Heidi <3

She is now almost as tall as me, and once she does pass me up *sigh of resignation* I will be the shortest member of the family (except for Evin! buuut that won't last long ;P)

It's immensely amusing to me that so many people this year have told us that we look alike ...

not really seeing it =P

She's gotten even taller since this picture from April!

{photo credit: Evangeline Renee }

I love you, Heidi-kinz ... Happerly Birthday! <3

Autumn means: me smiling. really hard. +D!

Ta-ta,

Phia

Post Script - I apologize for the appalling grammar =P

Firsts - To Name a Few =)

I had the happy privilege of welcoming in the delightful month of September, at ... the DLH - Dear Little House!

{what I call Tim and Evy's place}

Yes, it was bliss; doing things I love, being with Tim and Evy, and getting to hold my nevvy every.single.day! =D

It was a week of 'firsts' for Evin. And so this post will be dedicated to, The Adventures of Little Man, & co.! ;)

First Target experience - he loved it, I just know ...

First hair-doos ...

Mohawk or Comb-over? ;P

Hannah and Elizabeth came over for an afternoon! =)

And, Evin had his first 'official' shoot with Mommy =)

{my favorite responsibility down there was folding baby clothes!}

Smiling for Mommy <3

He was a trooper

It's one of the weirdest/happiest/strangest/grandest things to watch your sister become a wife and mother...! =')

Making Yummies in the DLK

{guess what that stands for! ;}

A hint that you are in Tim & Evy's House ...

First visit from 'Aunt Jessica'!

It.was.fun.

Errr! Every time I would put him down, I immediately wanted to pick him back up! I'm hopeless, I know. =P

And we ended our time together by attending our first wedding held on Labor Day

My cousin's, to be exact =)

{the groom}

Everything was gorgeous: weather; location; refreshments; settings, etc.

I missed her so much while I was gone! Because we're close like that <3

Their first year anniversary is coming up! =)

First time seeing second cousin, Bear, who was born six days (I think) before him =)

The cousins and their sons <3

It was a grand week of doing fun stuff: having company, experimenting with recipes, being the recipient of surprises-planned-by-awesome-sister, changing diapers {not exactly what I would term fun ;P}, cleaning {truly fun!}, playing with nephew, learning new games, being around lovely/amazing/jolly people, and experiencing many Firsts ...

Ta-ta,

Phia