Three Oh Three

This is gonna get real.  Like, I have to let it all out.  The tears have hit, and probably not for the last time.  Say goodbye to 303 Saddlebridge Lane.  Moving around a lot as a child, it was actually house number 5 and I was only 7.  However, this house is what I will always remember as "home".  It belonged to our family for 20 whole years!  We moved to Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day, stayed in The Landings apartments, and then moved into this house on my mom's birthday, February 5, 1994.  The memories range all the way from the joys of childhood to the sadness of a broken family.  I would not take back any of those moments.  They brought us to today.  Made us the people we are.  Set us on the path to who we will become.

But now 303 is going to tell the stories of a new family.  A young couple with a toddler and a baby on the way.  As I stood in the house for the last time, alone, I took a moment in each room and prayed over the family who will now be filling this home with brand new memories.  I prayed that the children would laugh like we laughed, play like we played, create like we created.  I prayed they would become children of God who share His love with others.  I prayed that the mother would love her husband and serve him with humility.  I prayed the father would lead the household and fight for them.  But most of all, I prayed that God would bring them joy, joy that can only come from Christ.

Over the next little bit, I am going to be sharing some memories and pictures from the place I will remember has home.  If you were ever at my house throughout the years we lived there, I would love for you to share some of your favorite memories in the comments.  The reminiscing is primarily for me, but it would be fun to hear from you as well.

Down Time Craft Time

  

Spending all day, every day at home has been great, except that I have so many ideas and goals (and so little self-discipline to accomplish them all!).  I have come to consider myself somewhat of a "Jack of all trades".  I dabble in a lot of areas, but am not GREAT at any one thing.  I guess I will consider this time a 'make it until you find it' moment of my life... Meaning, I will do a lot of things until I find the thing that really gets me going, and I will work on becoming really good at that.

This started as a piece of artwork I had gotten for our TN house, but now that we have moved, the colors didn't really fit with our new scheme, so I decided to paint the 'G' white to maybe match my office.  But...... I felt like the white was TOO white next to the vintage yellow, and so I didn't like it, really.

THEN, I saw this thing on Pinterest about "quilling".  It's a paper technique that is super easy and looks really cool!  I pretty much just looked at one instruction page and created this.  It is definitely not the greatest, and it is DEFINITELY not gonna last considering I used the wet paint and a glue stick to apply the paper.  

Result: The technique is really cool and I loved it... But... I still don't really love this piece itself.  Needless to say, I ended up throwing it away.  *GASP*  It was fun, but I wasn't about to be hanging it up anywhere, so....

On the other hand, I DO love this craft project that D helped me bring to life!  I saw something like this on Pinterest, and I decided to make it my own.  I originally thought I could use scrapbook paper in the frames, but I couldn't find any that fit my color scheme, so I resorted to fabric.  I found some great pieces that I loved and put them in 5x5 frames.  The OCD side of me could not handle the stress of actually hanging them up on the wall.  Fortunately, I have a way more patient husband who was sweet enough to let me leave the room and put my mind at ease while he plotted out the grid and hung them!  This is my favorite part of the room!

This is my second favorite, though it is not at all what I will want it to be eventually.  For now, it holds all my treasures and it's functional, so.... yeah.  The best thing is that I created this entertainment center-like structure from two black shelves, a TV stand, and a black board on top to connect them all!

P.S. Does anyone notice my stack of Harry Potter books with an owl and the Elder Wand?!

(*love*)

This project was my favorite!  I LOVE how it turned out :)  My mom will appreciate this (I hope) because this was her shirt that I took forever ago when she didn't want it anymore.  I loved how it was incredibly soft, and I used it as a night shirt.  Well, I still love the shirt, but I never wear it because, well,  it's too big for a T-shirt, and it's not... ya know... shmexy enough to wear to bed!  (Is that too awkward to say?  Well, too late.)  So anyway, I looked up tutorials on how to turn it into a racerback tank.  

1: Cut off sleeves, neck, and bottom seam.  Create the shape you want with the scoop neck and how thick you want the straps.  Make a V on the back.

2: Take the bottom seam you cut off and STREEEEEEETCH it out!

3: Tie a double knot towards the top of the V and wrap, wrap, wrap it around and knot at the bottom.

4: Create high-low effect by turning shirt to the side and cutting at an angle.  Start and end the cut in more of a straight line than an angle or else you end up with arrows... and that's always awkward.  (Found that out the hard way!)

5: Put it on!  (With something underneath, duh... Otherwise, that's inappropriate, young lady!)

6: Get your husband to take a picture of the back since you can't quite stretch that way on your own!

Basically, I love it, and I can totally wear my mom's old shirt way more often!  D said it looks "dancery".  I'll take it =)

D's Official Office Project

You would think that with all this extra room in our new home, we would have an easy time putting everything away in a nice little place.  Notthecase.  Instead, we have found that it's more exciting to recreate our home into something new and our own.  Well, that takes time... and money... one of which we have.  And that's money.  Ha, just kidding, folks.  The problem is, we have plenty of time, but I want it all to be done already!!! 

Oh well...

The first project we have fully completed is D's new office which occupies the "loft" space we got as a bonus in our new home.  As a reminder... here is the space I'm talking about:

Walk up the stairs and look to the right.

Blank canvas.

Well, D has taken advantage of my Pinterest obsession and came across a picture that I pinned about loft offices.  (See below)

Found here

D got it into his mind and has been working toward a VERY SPECIFIC idea to bring his office to life. And let me tell you... this specific idea was not the easiest to put together.

He wanted: 

• One Turquoise wall
• CLEAN white desk
• Burnt orange chairs (MUST be comfy, MUST be cool-looking)
• Plants
• Gigantic picture of the Miami skyline

We got the turquoise wall.  We got the CLEAN white desk.

We got the comfy burnt orange chairs.  We got the plants.

AND.  We got the painting.  Originally, D wanted a black and white photo, but since he couldn't find it, I offered to paint it.  Then, of course, he wanted color.  I have NEVER taken on such a humongous painting; Nor have I ever painted such a detailed painting based on a real object.  I like abstract... words, design, shapes...  Like this painting I did for my mom a few years back:

Not buildings.  Alas, I finished the project.  Voila!

Step One: Sketch

Step Two: Water and Bridge

Step Three: Sky
 

Step Four: Buildings

Step Five: Put on wall

So there you have it, people!  One room done!  

Angels and Ghosts

"I believe there are angels among us,

Sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me

In our darkest hour,

To show us how to live,

To teach us how to give,

And guide us with a light of love."

-Alabama

Did you know that you can hear me singing on that song?  Okay so it's not actually that song.  I was with a few other children on an earlier recording on the song, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was.  I do have the music video somewhere, though... on VHS... Anyway, thanks to Ms. Dawson, our Children's Choir Director who got me and a few friends from our church into the recording studios at age 8.  I remember feeling so cool with our headphones on one ear and slightly off the other.  How many kids got to do this?!  Not many, and it definitely impacted my future in the music industry.  Not that I'm doing anything with it now... But I do have a college degree in it!

But all of that is beside the point.  It just provided a nice little entrance into the goodness I'm about to share.  I have two stories.  One involves angels.  The other involves ghosts.  

Curious now, aren't ya?

So, for Desire Church right now, we are meeting on Sunday evenings with the core team until we launch officially in January.  Jerel has challenged us to be seeking opportunities to talk with people we meet and be purposeful in our conversation that we might be able to share about Christ.  Not every conversation is going to lend to that topic, but the point is to be aware of the opportunities that are in our lives every day.  We may discover a fellow believer and have a chance to encourage each other.  We may find someone who has a missing piece to their life and is looking for answers.  Either way, we are keeping our eyes open, and that has brought some really amazing conversations.

Last week, D was looking for a new car (surprise), and we pulled into a Chevy dealership.  Those of you that know him, you will understand that it's a big deal that he was looking into the purchase of a car and not just trading.  That's because he is used to White House.  He knows how people trade there. He doesn't feel comfortable with it here, so to the dealership we went.  The salesman was definitely doing his job, checking on us every few minutes and asking us if we wanted to test drive every car.  We came to the conclusion that there was nothing there that he LOVED, so the guy took us into his office to show us how to look at their cars on-line.  When he handed us his card, it said "Engels".  I asked him how he pronounced it, and he said "Angels," though people just call him "Angel."  

We thought that was neat but didn't say anything further.  On our way out, Engels said, "I hope God gives you opportunities down here."

SAY WHAT?!

Immediately, I turned around and said, "You know, God is exactly why we are here.  We are planting a church in Pines!"  We proceeded to have a brief chat about that and walked back to our car.  Right before we left, Engels waved us down and came to get Dwayne's number so he could talk to him further about our church.  

One hour later, D and I were at El Dorado looking to get my office chair that I had been eyeing for weeks, and we had some nice conversation with that salesman about why we had moved to SoFlo.  You could tell that he was not so invested in the church aspect as he kept referencing how everyone down here "has a religion".  As we were heading out the door I asked him what his name was to thank him for his help.  Guess what he said.  

Angel.

HOLLA!  I about busted at the seams.  I said, "We just spoke with another angel about an hour ago!  You see, this was meant to be!  God sent us our angels to help us get what we need!"

He smiled and was probably thinking... Chica is crazy!

But I was too bubbly with excitement to care about that.

So there you have it.  Angels in South Florida.

Say hello to my comfy new office chair!

Say hello to Dwayne's car #20.  He now drives a Rabbit.  Yes, you read correctly.

Story number two is less exciting and more ridiculous.

So, I was at Bed Bath & Beyond getting some money back with coupons.  (Win.)  And I head out to the parking lot when all of the sudden a shopping cart rolls off of the sidewalk and into the parking lot.  At first, I just thought someone was behind it, but I looked, and I was the only one out there.  Feeling odd, but not wanting to leave the cart in the middle of the road, I grabbed it and pushed it back up to the cart rack in front of the store.  I made sure it locked in between the bars.  

Then, I proceed back to my car when I hear a whirring sound and then CRASH CRASH!  I turned around to see that ANOTHER CART was rolling into the parking lot... with no one behind or around it.  At this time, two ladies had also walked out, but didn't notice the cart.  Here I am standing in the middle of the road laughing hysterically.  They looked at me and then in the direction of the cart where I was staring... giggled... and then continued on their way.  I... feeling like I was on candid camera... once again took the cart and pushed it back up onto the sidewalk where the other carts go.  (Did I even mention that I hadn't even used a cart IN the store?!)  It was at this time that I figured out the ghost behind the carts.  Apparently, the sidewalk is not so level.  When I put the cart next to the bars, it started rolling back out.  I had to push it in really far and angle it to get it to stay.  I'm pretty sure that when I put the first cart away, it knocked the other one off balance and sent it barreling away to drive me mad.

I don't think I really am crazy.  And I don't think there really was a ghost.  But I sure did have a moment of doubt.

This Is How We Do

What is life like as a Floridian?  Well, that is certainly what I am finding out.

I sure don't have all of the answers yet, but I am quickly picking up on small things, like:

• You better put your foot on the gas before the light turns green... unless you want to be honked at
• You must be on the offense as a driver... and shopper... even the workers will run you over
• You only get tan if you go to the beach... and I've only spent about 1 and a half hours there so far
• It rains.  Every day.  Randomly.  While the sun is still shining.
• When talking about moving from Tennessee, most Floridians will tell you that the people here are not that nice... but just about everyone I've talked to HAS been nice
• By the end of the year, I should be bilingual.

This is just the beginning, and I like it.

Dwayne is on his second job since moving down here.  We were pretty grateful that a job opportunity had appeared so quickly, and the details seemed perfect.  He was working for a door-to-door business sales company selling office supplies.  Now, the job itself didn't sound so spectacular, but it was going to pay the bills... so we thought.  Unfortunately, the company wasn't really following through with the guarantees they had made when he decided to sign on with the team.

Here's the great part... on his daily route, he kept stopping by a business looking to speak with the one in charge of purchases.  Since he had been there so many times, the owner began to talk with D and he soon realized that he was being offered a job.  She sympathized with the frustrations of cold sales door-to-door and had really grown to like him as a person.  She knew his greater goal in church planting and saw that as an extra boost of trustworthiness.  Dwayne discussed the offer with me, and the next day (Friday) he quit AMI.  He started at Horace Mann on Monday.  Boom.  Just like that.

So now, my husband is becoming an insurance agent!  Woohoo!  This week he is in school and has a GIGANTIC book of info that he has to memorize.  However, he is so much happier when he comes home every day than before, and I am entirely thankful for that.  

As for my day-to-day, I am learning what it's like to be a stay-at-home wife.  It's weird.  It takes self-discipline.  That I totally don't have.  

I am working on getting this house together.  And let me just tell ya that this is a lotta house compared to what I'm used to!  I am enjoying working each room like a puzzle and figuring out the best place for each piece.  Unfortunately, moving into a bigger home means buying lots of new stuff to fill it... and though we were blessed to have some extra from the sale of our Tennessee home, we are quickly watching that disappear.  So now I am left to figure out how to make it work with what we've got!  

Two major projects will be completed for your viewing pleasure soon!  

Stay tuned for more updates on life in SoFlo!

Sayin goodbye to Coco pup

Makin the 16 hour drive with the momz (Thanks for being my travel companion!)

Droppin Daddy off at the airport to say "See you later!"

Home Sweet Home

We are here!  D and I are officially living in Southern Florida!

I have been anxious to get this post up because I want to share our new home with everyone!  We are so very excited to have a new place of our own down here in Pembroke Pines, Florida.  The homes here are quite a bit different than in Tennessee, primarily because everything is designed to withstand hurricanes (yikes!).  D and I were concerned for awhile that we might not find a place that really reflected what we considered to be "home".  No matter where you look, you tend to find only stucco homes with spanish tile roofing.  The inside is typically WHITE.  White tile floors, white walls, white cabinets.  WHITE.  The layout and inner structure is, what I like to call, thick.  Big chunky walls jutting out into the middle of the room close off space that could make the home more open and inviting.

Having seen house after house that looked pretty much the same on earlier visits, I believed it would take 20+ homes to find the one that I could say was "right".  Wrong.  Day one of the search, home #3, done.  We walked in and found a place that was just right for us, for what we need right now.  I would like to take you on a tour of the empty space.  As we recreate each room, I will post a before and after, so you can get a better idea.  For now, however, I just want you to be able to get a glimpse of our new residence!

So this is us.  We are in a townhouse, so there are shared walls, but we don't mind.  The neighborhood is gated, which means you have to show an ID to enter as a guest, and if you aren't on our "list", they call us to make sure you can come in!  

Come on in!  You have entered through the front door!  To the right is the living room/dining room.  You can't really tell how big it is from this picture, but it is a great space!  P.S.  We didn't have a dining room in our little cottage, so we actually got to buy a dining table!  (Pictures when we finish the space!)

Kitchen and pantry.  The kitchen was fully upgraded with new appliances, cabinets, and granite countertops!  The space is still small, but it's roomy enough for both of us to stand in at the same time!  (Improvement!)  And the pantry is huge!  Our old pantry was spacious, but deep.  So, we could never see what all we had.  Now we have plenty of room to store and SEE our food!

 

Our guest room and full bath.  (One of THREE full baths!)  All of the bathrooms were also updated with granite countertops and new tile like the rest of the house.

This is one of my favorite parts of the whole house.  When I was a kid living in Texas, the house we lived in had a balcony above the staircase, and I have always loved that look.  This house had a bonus. Not only does it have three bedrooms, it also has a loft.  The loft opened up the opportunity for Dwayne and I to each have our own office spaces plus a guest room and our master.

This is D's favorite part of the house... the loft/his office.  This has been his #1 priority in the house, so it will probably be the first space that I will be able to show fully designed.  Currently the wall is painted, and he has his desk... He just wants some chairs... but he is being VERY specific.  

 

This is MY space.

It's hard to really tell what is what, but all you need to know for now is that it is perfect and it is mine.  Boom.  More to come.

Second full bath.  Currently, Caroline's precious Lolly cat is residing in this room until they move into their own house this week!!!

Master bedroom with walk-in closet.  For those of you who saw our last house... you will understand why I am so excited to be able to access my clothes from my own room!!!  Aaaaand those of you who know me will understand how I'm still tryin to figure out where all my clothes are actually gonna fit.  Errr.... *shopaholic*

Master Bath!  So exciting to have a bathroom of our own!  Our old house had only one bathroom for everybody... and it was not attached to our room...  So this is extra wonderful.  And hello dual sinks!  No more looking at nasty little facial hairs all over when I'm tryin tuh brush mah teefs!!!  WIN.

Tah-dah!  Welcome to our house!  God is faithful to provide!

(NOT PICTURED: Patio space that leads to the two car garage.  Kinda forgot about that. Don't you worry, you'll see it in the future.  Promise.)

Endings.

I realize I have let the Blog World down for awhile, so I am making up for it by posting BACK-TO-BACK!  You are pumped.  I know it.  I just have some memories I want to treasure, so I am going to take this time to share a few stories from recent days that have a common theme: endings.  They say "All good things must come to an end!"  Who are "they", anyway?  Well I disagree with that statement because Jesus promised everlasting life, and everlasting is the opposite of an ending, and life with Jesus is a good thing.  So, BOOYAH "they" people!  BOOYAH!

At the same time, some good things do come to an end sometimes, but that only means a new beginning, and that's not such a bad deal.

Enough rambling, get on with the content.

Ending #1: Graduation

These most beautiful ladies are some of my favorite people of all time.  God blessed me with the opportunity to mentor these girls through some of their middle and high school years.  It's a shame I did not start this blog sooner.  We have so many funny memories that I wish I could list them all... but that would be lengthy, and not as funny to anyone else but us.

I intended to stay with them all the way through senior year, but God put a certain someone in my life who whisked me away to another land far, far away.  However, I kept my promise to them that I would come back for One Weekends and their graduation.  AND I DID.  I just think it's dumb that I was like the only one who cried as they stood in front of the church for Senior Sunday, and they were all about to walk away without getting a picture.  Umm, not acceptable.  I did not drive all the way to the Boro to not have a picture for the monumental occasion! 

Elizabeth, Sarah, Audrey, Ellie, Rachel, Madison, Sara, Natalie, Jenny, and Bayleigh

I was also super excited to go to my precious Audrey's graduation ceremony.  I wish they all were at the same school... or at least had different graduation times.  Alas, I had to make a tough choice.  But Audrey was going to be giving a speech and singing a duet.  There was no way I could miss it.  Just look at her grownup self!

I can't wait to see what God does with each and every one of their lives!

Ending #2: Dwayne's last Ignite

I'm so overjoyed to have a husband who loves to impact lives for Christ.  I know it was very difficult for him to leave this youth group that he has been pastoring for 5 years.  I tried to make it special for him by asking the students and leaders to write encouraging notes and by providing Florida themed treats.  Wavy Lays, Goldfish, Oreo Beach Balls, and Florida shaped sugar cookies thanks to my father-in-law who whipped out a cookie cutter for me in a matter of minutes!

One of D's closest students who is now in college... Taylor "The General"

Ending #3: Leaving Watt Hardison

These are my Firstie Friends!  We rocked in teaching our kiddos to read!  Most of our first graders were reading at 4th and 5th grade levels by the end of the year!!!

These ladies not only kept me sane at school, but in life as well.

This was my elementary principal who I adored.  By God's design, I was able to reunite unexpectedly with her, and she offered me a job only 20 minutes from where I would be moving as a married woman!  So thankful for the two years we were able to spend together creating a new friendship!

This is Dwayne helping me pack up the rest of my room.  I don't think he realized how much stuff I had until this moment.  Almost every tub you see in this picture is filled with picture books.  This doesn't even touch my chapter book collection which currently resides at my mom's home.

I cried as we pulled away from the school and it hit me that this room no longer belongs to me.  So much happened in those two years.  So many lives were changed... mine included.  

There it is.  All my school stuff that I felt I needed to keep.  Sitting in a storage room.  Wondering when  it will all be used again.

Ending #4: Last Senior Trip (which also included juniors and graduates)

We enjoyed our trip to Destin with such an amazing group of students.  Our stay was amazing and the room was gorgeous!

Poor kids have no idea how to put on sunscreen.  The FIRST DAY they all came back with the most ridiculous burns.  I had to capture the silliness.

These guys are so goofy.  There was so much testosterone, and I had to remind my husband at times that he was an adult!  It was great to see D in his element with his boys.  He is going to miss them tremendously.

Fun at the beach.  Did you know that sand helps you grow?  From top to bottom there is Nathan, Sloan, Brock, and Taylor.  They stayed that way for awhile and had many people taking their picture.

Jordan, Nathan, Niki, Brock, Taylor, Sloan, and Austin.  This trip will be implanted in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives.

Ending #5: Loss

The most challenging ending we had to deal with recently involved the loss of life taken too soon.  Just two short weeks after we returned from the trip, we received news that 17 year old, Sloan Dailey, had passed.  Dwayne obviously had a hard time taking it in because we had just spent a week with him having fun and relaxing.  Did we miss the signs?  Could we have prevented this?  It just seemed so surreal.

Obviously, we cannot put his passing on ourselves.  We can't live with the worry that we could have done something to change the outcome.  The true blessing is to see what God has done in the midst of this tragedy.  Sloan's mom is a living testimony of faith in a time of struggle.  She wants more than anything for people to find hope in the knowledge that he is now rejoicing in the arms of his Savior.  He is no longer in pain.  His funeral brought more people to our church than I had ever seen there.  Every seat was full, and the walls were lined with loved ones.  The service was not meant for mourning the loss, but for the celebration of the life he lived and the people he impacted.  Four people made decisions to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.  AMEN.  The Lord brings ALL things together for the good of those who love and serve him.  We will miss Sloan's unique sense of humor, but we will remember and cherish the laughter we shared.  Our prayers continue to go out to his family and friends.

I know that some of these endings are harder to swallow than others.  However, the focus should not be on grieving for the doors that have been closed, but on glorious anticipation for the doors that are about to open.  

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." 

-Seneca