:: I Like ::

:: If I were American, which I'm not. But if I were, I would choose her ::

:: I could be mistaken for an American, and I wouldn't mind. I find they are loyal to God & their country. I love that they are not afraid to stand up and state what they believe. That country has such amazing pride {sometimes a good thing, sometimes not} ::


:: Not that I'm a political person {cause I'm not}, but I do my due dillegence to vote and stand up for who I believe will make the best choices for my country and for the future of my family ::


:: Again, if I were American, I would choose Palin -- I like her. A lot ::

:: Tune in later for another post today - wow, two posts in one day...hoo ha! ::

:: Pictures courtesy of Time.com ::

:: Bigger Things ::

:: As I sit here in the comfort of my home reflecting on what this day means, I'll leave you with a few photos ::

:: I remember where I was at when I heard that this had happened, it was a terrible day. Horrible. I still get pains in my chest when I see these pictures. I can't even begin to comprehend. I pray for all still affected, especially today :: :: It's always hard to try and wrap your mind around what we would do if a hurricane were to rush through our part of the world. How would I pick up and leave my comfort, my home? There are thousands doing this right now in Texas. I pray you find safety with your family and I pray God turns the hurricane and the weatherman is wrong {why can't he be wrong for a good reason this time?} ::


:: Praying for the major & minor things in life tonight. Good Night ::

:: Itching for it to be here ::

:: Seriously, is any body else got the itch to break out all the fun fall decor and get the freezer filled with yummy comfort foods??? ::

:: I'm excited, and yet, Paul says it's too early to put up my decor! Ah shucks! ::

:: Can you tell I'm stalling...I have to work, don't feel like working. So I'm here. Stalling ::

:: There was a comment left on this post asking what room I'm going to do next in my house? I'm going to pick apart my laundry room...I heart my laundry room. I don't love it, it's a postage stamp of a room, but I've done the best I could with it and it's turned out just perfect for me ::

:: So stay tuned for that feature, and FYI I just might {might} being the operative word have a ASAQD next week, so be prepared people! ::

:: General Update ::

:: I've been drowning {in a good way} in work of all sorts, that is my reason for not being around these parts ::

:: Here's a quick update before I change the sheets on Jacob's bed {he wet through last night} and before I pull out dinner for tonight, have my morning java and get ready head to the office ::

:: COLE ::
:: On the baby front; Cole has finally broken skin on his new bottom teeth {praise the Lord!}. He is also almost walking...he'll take 3 - 6 steps by himself from place to place. It's a whole new world for him and he's trying desperately to keep up with big brother Jacob ::

:: JACOB ::
:: Jacob is starting to use words more and has found a new love for reading, especially before bed. We had started having a really tough time getting him down to sleep last week and this had never been a problem. So we thought about it one night after it took him 2 hours to fall asleep and I figured that he just needed to have more of a "cool down" time after a long afternoon of playing. We were right. Some cuddles on the couch and then a bible story prior to bed was just the thing. He settles right into bed and reads the story with Daddy {Mama doesn't cut it for reading stories apparently!}. It is delightful to see him so interested in books and what they have to say. He is really growing up in front of our eyes, and it brings us such joy ::

:: Website Recommendation ::
:: I have tapped into a resource of many very dependable recipes from another blog I read and I thought that ya'll might be able to use this resource as well....they are amazingly dependable recipes and oh so yummy! Here is the link to "Mennonite Girls Can Cook". Let me know if you try any of the recipes out and what ones you liked best! Although I'm sure they are all AMAZING! It's kinda like having an old church recipe book at your fingertips. Gotta love it! ::

:: WORK ::
:: Currently I'm occupying my time during the day @ Cranberry Creek getting ready for the new season of shows and samples. During this time my kids come with me to the office {aka Grammie & Grampie's} and surprisingly I get a lot of work accomplished! In the evening I'm working on our kick-off event for Women's Wednesday coming up on September 17th. I am also committing to a new exciting chapter of my life and work life...stay tuned for more details on this in the next few weeks ::

:: Guest Post ::
:: I may have a guest come and drop by my blog, stay tuned to see what that is all about! ::

:: Have a wonderful day, the weatherman says it's going to be crazy warm here today. Yay - Three cheers for September weather! ::

:: Old House New Look ~ Part One Explained ::

:: So as previously stated in this post our living room & dining room is pretty much completed {only after a whole year of living here!} ::

:: I also said that I would be back to break down the cost of everything in the room so you could see that I actually didn't break the bank on decorating it ::

:: So here goes ::

:: Twigs in galvanized pot w/ Lantern - Twigs $20/Pot $10/Lantern $7 = $37 @ Ikea ::

:: China Cabinet - Free! There is a story that goes along with this one...My Grandpa died and we were moving my Grandma into assisted living home, so she had to get rid of her dining room table and china cabinet. My younger brother said he would take the table & I said that we would take the cabinet. I told Paul to go pick it up with our truck. He headed over to my Grandma's place and called me from the garage. The conversation went something like this:

S :: Hello
P :: Hey it's me
S :: Hey you, are you at Grandma's
P :: Yeah, I'm in the garage.
S :: Is there a problem with the cabinet?
P :: Yeah.
S :: Oh, what's wrong???
P :: Have you actually seen this thing? And you still want it?!?!
S :: Yes, yes I do!
P :: You are sure?
S :: Yes, I'm positive.
P :: Okay, as long as your sure!

:: So Paul came home with the wood veneer & plastic china cabinet that was once my Grandparents and we placed it in our garage. One quick trip to Revy and one can of black paint and some primer quickly fixed the ugly cabinet into a fabulous piece of furniture that I love to have in our home and call my own :::: Okay, so it wasn't technically free, it was $40 for the black paint and $10 for the primer plus a bit of elbow grease. Total = $50 @ Rona
:: Coffee Tables - $300 @ Ikea. These tables were originally a maple colour which I had never really LOVED but I did love the shape of the tables, so when we found these tables @ Ikea when we were engaged we couldn't pass up the deal. We got a sofa table, large coffee table and two large side tables for $300. A couple years ago after I finished painting the china cabinet there was tons of paint left over so I decided to paint two out of the 4 pieces of furniture that we use. The sofa table is currently in our entrance way and I have yet to paint it {probably won't be black} and the second side table is in our crawl space as we currently don't have space for it! Total = $300 @ Ikea & some elbow grease ::

:: This picture also features our area rug - We purchased this rug @ Home Sense {even though it was quite a fiasco...read more here}. Rug = $179 @ Home Sense ::
:: Accent Chairs - $129 @ Superstore x 2 = $260 {and they have yet to fall apart, ha ha ha} ::

:: The Drapes & Rods - JYSK {In our family we call this store "J"unk "Y"ou "S"houldn't "K"eep, but sometimes they've got GREAT junk!}, okay I digress...back to the drapes. Drapes $12/panel x 4 panels = $50 + $8 for the two rod packets {including the hardware - Ikea sells each piece separate so it end up being about double or triple the price of JYSK's deals} So all in all....Total = $70


:: If you come into my house you will probably be able to find at least one thing in each room from my Grandma Rosie {My dad's Mom - the same Grandma that gave us the cabinet} - Here are a few of her items that I have inherited. So in essence they were all - FREE! ::

:: Mirror {was originally gold, I spray painted it w/ Paul's car spray paint (it's actually a primer but you can't tell). Mirror Total = Elbow Grease ::

:: Antique chest {This is probably my most cherished item of furniture in my house}, this too is from my Grandma. It was my Great Grandma Cooks and I inherited it from my family. So you want to know what I keep in it? My purses, yep...you got it, my purse collection fills up that whole thing! You thought it would be journals, photo albums or something like a keepsake in there..no, no wedding dress in this chest, just purses! Antique chest Total = FREE ::

:: Lamp - We received this lamp as part of the a three lamp kit that we got from some of my family members for a shower gift prior to getting married - it's broken partially but still works. I love it cause it's such a simple design and doesn't take away from anything else in the room. Lamp Total = Gift, so it was free ::

:: Pear, Clock & Fern filled Pot - Pear I got from my SIL Jenn for my birthday last year and I just love it, Clock I got from my Kindergarten teacher for a wedding gift {it has a stand that it sits in but I'm currently using that as a recipe book stand in my kitchen}, Fern filled pot I have had this since I was a single girl living in my parents house, I got the pot from Ikea for $5 and I think I stole the ferns from my Mom's place, I probably took apart an old arrangement she had condemned to the basement {thanks Mom!} . Decorative Items Total - $5 @ Ikea :::: Coffee table decor - This Bible is Paul's Grandpa's bible from Boys Brigade, as well as a dictionary from my Nanny's place and a Bible that was my Mom's when she was little, is it bad that three of the four things in this dish are just taken without asking and two of the three things are bibles!?!?!? Hmmmmm...anyway, my point being, I love things that others have well loved ::

:: The other items on the coffee table are a vase filled with rocks {free from my bro's wedding} and our family photo album from 2006 ::

:: Coffee table decor = Pretty much free ::

:: Wall Collage - Frames $40 @ Costco, prints $24 @ Costco. Total = $64 ::

:: Other coffee table decor - Lamp again gift from family for wedding shower, books taken from my parent's place and Grandma's {I know, I know...I'll pay for it!}, fake flowers I bought these prior to getting married from Winners for $5, frame from Kevin & Steph and filled with old photo's of Paul and I when we were babes {little kids = we're still babes, just for the record!}. Coffee Table Decor = $5 ::

:: Dining Room Table/Paintin & Chandelier - Table -$300 on Craigslist/Painting - $90 @ Ikea/Chandelier - $60 @ Costco. Total for dining room set up = $450 ::

:: Mirror - I inherited this from my parents, if you read my Mom's blog you will remember this post of them re-doing their powder room. They had a bit of an oops and this mirror dropped. It got cracked on two corners and some of the glass was damaged and it has some etching in the middle of it. However, my dad fixed it up real nice and so they offered it to us and it was free so we took it and hung it in our dining room. Mirror = FREE ::

:: So there ya go, that's the verdict on the living/dining room - oh and as for the couch, we have a couch set that we have divided between the family room & the living room - we paid $1500 for both delivered & scotchguarded prior to getting married. We bought them @ MJM furniture during one of their tent sales ::

:: I would tell you what colour paint we painted this room, but for the life of me I can't remember! ::

:: Well I hope you have enjoyed my explanation of how I decorate and do not fear if you invite me over I will leave your old books, chests and flower arrangements alone! ::

:: Have a great one everyone, I'm off to bake cookies, pay some bills and fold some laundry - Oh joy! ::

xoxo,
Shawna

:: September is HERE! ::

:: Well it's finally here; September! ::


:: I was thinking it this morning and I think that if I had a favorite month it would be September, I love the crispness in the air, the sun that is out most days, the low fog that creeps through the neighborhood, the dew that falls on the lush green plants, the smell of vanilla candles as I have a tendency to light more candles once September arrives. Let alone the fabulous occasion of celebrating our wedding anniversary, September makes for just a very wonderful month in my books! ::


:: We have pulled almost all of our flowers out of the flowerbeds and cleaned up the edges ready for most of the plants to go dormant for the Fall and Winter. I love the end result: clean and tidy - It does my heart good (I know I should be on some kind of medication!) ::


:: I love the shadows that the sun casts across the yard through the trees, for some reason the sun in September is more romantic and somewhat more refreshing than it is during the summer. It must be the crisp air that makes it so, no matter what does it...I love it ::

:: I have started putting away summer clothes, to pull out the jeans and turtle necks, not that they are necessity yet..but oh I love them so ::


:: For some reason September feels more like the start of a new year than January does. It just seems that everything gets re-set after the summer, schedules return to normal, the sun fades away earlier and life seems much more settled. It isn't more settled, it just seems that way. Isn't it funny how the seasons can make you feel a certain way? ::

:: I'm sure that is the way God intended it to be. Hope you are enjoying this month as much as
I am ::

:: Kekuli Bay ::

:: So we took it upon ourselves to plan a camping {yep, you heard right, camping...tents and all} with our two kids and our friends M&L and their two little girls ::

:: So off we go @ 6:00 am Thursday morning to hit Starbucks just to meet up outside of Abbotsford @ Tims for breaky and off we go on the great adventure! ::

:: We left rain and came upon lovely blue sky just before the tolls ::

:: And more blue just after the tolls, isn't it a beautiful thing!??! ::

:: Here are M&L trailing behind us ::

:: Then we hit the lakes, look at that water! ::

:: We landed at the campsite around 11:00 am and started setting up camp, all the kids were so patient while we set up the tents and unloaded for an hour or so ::

:: After we finished @ the campsite we were off to the park to fly the kit and play on the Playground ::

:: Here's Madelyne helping Uncle Paul ::

:: Here's Emma waiting for the kite to fly ::

:: There goes Jacob down to the railroad tracks, he is a lover of trains right now ::

:: Madelyne decided to join him ::

:: We headed down to the water to give our feet a rinse - it was beautiful water, so clear and clean...just my kind! ::

:: The babes loved playing with the rocks and splashing in and out of the water ::

:: What a beautiful view huh!?!!? ::

:: All of us got a lot of use out of the Playground ::

:: We had some clouds, some rain & some sun, but it was all worth the beautiful rainbows that appeared ::

:: More playing @ the Playground ::

:: I even got in on the slide action {& yes, I let Paul play around with my camera - just kidding;) }::

:: We hiked up to the look out and I caught this shot of the "B" Girls ::

:: A shot of the railroad tracks ::

:: Jacob goofing off by the water ::

:: See Cole's two little teeth buds on the bottom...they still have yet to break the skin! ::

:: Jacob & Paul enjoying the campfire ::

:: Jacob's first taste of S'mores ::

:: Jacob & I toasting a marshmallow ::

:: Madelyne climbing the fence at the back of our campsite ::

:: Madelyne getting some love from Jacob. Sometimes it looks like hugs other times it looks like a tackle...we never really know! ::

:: Cole in his trusty playpen. Thank the Lord for Playpens! ::

:: Cole playing in the pool Paul made for the kids - pretty much he just tried to eat the rocks ::

:: All the kids got baths in the lake, as did we but this is the only shot I got of Cole just after he was bathed. It wasn't a pretty site! ::

:: The hot stuff I was camping with...sans Matt, I don't know where he was at when this delish shot was taken ::

:: Paul & Freckles...um, I mean Me ::

:: Our site, look at that view! ::

:: Coley & Paul playing in the food tent ::

:: Matt & Emma enjoying some nacho chips after dinner - look at those baby blues! ::

:: Paul & I at our last campfire ::

:: Cole & Paul on our last day @ the lake ::

:: Jacob fast asleep on my lap @ the lake on the last day ::

:: Until next year we wave good by to the lake, the sun, the railroad tracks, and the great memories ::

:: I can't say that it was all rosy, we had our fair share of drama, it's tough to camp in tents with 4 kids under 4, especially when the weather doesn't always cooperate and I thought I read on the Kekuli Bay website that there was running water & electricity to each site. There wasn't. But all in all it was a wonderful vacation with great memories for us and our kids - Thanks M&L, if your up to it we'll see you up there next year! ::