I really love child like wonder…the kind of wonder that makes you ponder, hmm, what would it be like to crawl in that tiny little space where baskets would normally sit. I pulled out a basket the other day turning my back for a moment and upon turning back around I found this.

I definitely was not excited about it as the shelves are from Target and are probably not the sturdiest thing known to mankind (did I mention that I helped put them together) but I also definitely took the time to grab the camera and snap some pictures because what wonder this child has…head first as well! Wow!

At last brother has a big boy bed. Technically we have owned the bed since October but painting outside in the cold garage just was not super appealing to me so when we finally hit the 50′s with sunshine this last week (it is just a memory now…surely spring will come sometime…maybe) it was out to paint! I found the bed at an antique store buried under some other items. I had been searching high and low for the bed that I had concocted in my head and at last I had found it! It appeared to be really old or maybe it had an intensely hard life. I just know that it needed some loving! After cleaning it up and applying many a coat of paint it is finally together and in his room and his bed is officially up off the floor! We have one ecstatic little boy in this house!!!

“An invalid lady procured once the cocoon of a very beautiful butterfly with unusually magnificent wings, hoping to have the pleasure of seeing it emerge from its cocoon in her sick-chamber. She watched it eagerly as spring drew on, and finally was delighted to see the butterfly beginning to emerge. But it seemed to have great difficulty. It pushed and strained, and struggled, and seemed to make so little headway, that she concluded it must need some help, and with a pair of delicate scissors she finally clipped the tight cord that seemed to bind in the opening of the cocoon. Immediately that cocoon opened wide, and the butterfly escaped without any further struggle. She congratulated herself on the success of her experiment, but found in a moment that something was the matter with the butterfly. It was all out of the cocoon it is true, but its great wings were lifeless and colorless, and dragged after it as a useless burden. For a few days it lived a miserable sickly life, and then died, without having once lifted its powerless wings. The lady was sorely disappointed and could not understand it. But when she related the circumstance to a naturalist, he told her that it had all been her own fault. That it required just that pushing and struggling to send the life fluid into the veins of the wings, and that her mistaken kindness in shortening the struggle, had left the wings lifeless and colorless.”
“The Christian Secret of a Happy Life”
(If you are interested in reading the book, it is really and incredible book that makes you dig down deep and think, you can find used copies but make sure that you do not get a newer abridged version because you will really miss out.)
By: Hannah W. Smith
1875

I feel like this is where I stand…with scissors in hand. Will I cut the cocoon open because it is easier, faster and it is what the world accepts as timely and good? Or will I lay the scissors aside being patient and allowing the butterfly to struggle and fight that its wings might fly full of color in its own unique time?

Some friends and I had the honor of hosting a shower this weekend for a Mama to be. My friend who often says that she is not crafty came with these little happy pom poms to hang and place around the table. I had seen them before but decidedly classified them in my head as way to hard and time consuming to make, after watching her put them together though I have declassified them and decided that they are doable. They just seem to make you so happy. They are still hanging up at our house and show no sign of coming down any time soon because they just make you smile!

Thank you for the dollar section and thank you most of all for carrying 4 orange construction cones for a dollar in that section! We have played with these bright orange cones all day. The orange cones have been acquainted with all of our trucks, they have made obstacle courses and they have been set up as road blocks all around the house! It was hard to tell them goodnight but rest assured that we will be up and playing with them first thing in the morning!
Sincerely,
One Thankful Mama and One Happy Boy

We have some really creative friends who come up with really FUN ideas! Just for instance last night we gathered for our small group Christmas party and as dinner winded down and we moved to the family room to be more comfortable this large stack of pictures appears as if from nowhere. We notice some shuffling of the pictures and there are many confused glances and smiles. Next thing you know we are playing the worlds largest game of Memory with almost 200 pictures. The fun part was that they were all pictures of us together. It was really sweet to play a fun and crazy game and relive some really fun times that we have had together over the past four years.
I confessed from the beginning of the game that I am really good at Memory games that are made for ages 2-5 but over that not so much. We played with two teams last night and it was really helpful as you need a lot of minds to remember a board that large. It was also a little tricky as some pictures were the same people but at a little different angle. Very FUN! Definitely give gigantic Memory a try you will have a blast!

When celebrating a baby girl it is so hard not to make a fun little outfit, so that is exactly what I did last week. While staring at fabric in the stash it was again so hard not to pull out the Alexander Henry Pears and Apples, so that is exactly what I did. It is just way to cute for a little girl. I used an Amy Butler pattern for the pants and found a new quick little tutorial for matching shoes which I will definitely use again. Now, back to that Christmas sewing!

Well, it is official! There are no longer any cribs in our house! I thought that this moment might be a sad one but I am really good with it. I kind of even think that it is exciting! I don’t think that makes me a bad Mommy, just an excited Mommy! It is amazing how quickly the kiddos are growing but it is so much fun at the same time to explore new stages! Brother is all settled in his big boy bed. We thought that this might be a hard process but he has done really well with it. I must admit that his mattress and box spring are sitting on the floor because someone (that would be me) has not finished painting his bed. I love the bed and cannot wait to finish painting it but it is so cold outside right now that I cannot brave the temps to finish the bed (I know, that is really sad). I came across the bed at an antique store and it is o-l-d and loved. It was wood but since it was so loved it needed some sprucing, thus the coat or 5 of paint. Anyways, back to the story…We found bedding for brother when he was a wee little one and snatched it up as it was a cute quilt with fishies on it. After pulling it out of the closet the task of curtains began for him. I wanted cute and fun so I ended up with fish curtains! I grabbed cheap solid curtain panels at Target. I found an outline that I liked online that matched the fish on the quilt and cut out the fabric and a bit of Heat-n-Bond added a little sewing and voila! Very FUN and fairly simple! Now if we can just get some warmer weather to finish up that bed!!!

Guess what has been going on at our house???
Hint…

Okay, how about this…

Yep! New windows! It was a bit chilly in our house and we looked kind of funny with our winter hats and scarfs on inside but, it was COLD! Our work men were fabulous! They weren’t afraid of me and my craziness which is always a plus in my book. The kiddos struggled a little bit with the chaos of it all but they survived! I guess they are a bit young to appreciate the better utility bills, no more wood rot and no more drafts but hopefully someday they will understand.

While out and about this morning I saw this…

and God brought this to mind.