{Dollhouse}

this dollhouse was cricket and bitty's christmas gift.

it started out

as a {hideous} teal, pink, and tacky barbie wallpaper mess.

and i turned it into this.

with a whole lot of {love} and a whole lot of {mod podge}.

this is the beginning.

some

nasty mouse pooped on carpet was on the floor

casey was really helpful. he helped scrape up the {nasty} 80's linoleum.

and as you will see later on, he added walls.

It turned out really {fantastic} if you ask me!!!

All of the walls are mod podged scrapbook paper. The entire thing cost me about $15 (the cost of 2 bottles of mod podge). The furniture was given as christmas gifts.

this is the {kids} bedroom.

the daddy and mommy bedroom is {empty} right now, a bed is on it's way in the mail...

This is the completed kitchen.

I spray painted {craft sticks} and put them up as "hardwood" flooring and "wainscoting" on the walls.

In the dining room i {mod podged} down some paper that looked like "ceramic" tile and

then cut strips of paper for "grout".

For the living room, we

had extra carpet just laying around in the garage. I "framed" the art on the walls using ribbed cardboard paper. This is the Egger Family in doll form according to Delaney. Plus a creepy cat {which would NEVER actually exist in our home}

The bathroom has "tile flooring" aka scrapbook paper that looked like tiles. The mirror on the wall is real. I just ripped it out of an {old wallet}, took off the fabric, and framed it w/ paper.

And these are the 2 cute and very excited little girls who have

already spent {hours} playing in it.

wanna come over and play too?!?!?!

{Junior}

There is an {incredibly} sweet little boy named, Junior.

He is pretty sick right now and his family could use support in any manner

{Prayer}

{Monetary donations}

{Cards of encouragement}

{Anything, anything}

This is Junior's story.

{Junior is 17 months old and in October was diagnosed with Scimitar

Syndrome, lung, and heart problems. He underwent open heart surgery in mid November.

He is currently at The Children’s Hospital receiving the best care in the nation, and is

expected to be there for an extended period of time. All proceeds will go to the Wright

Family to help with expenses.}

A benefit spaghetti dinner is being held for Junior.

DECEMBER 9TH

5-8PM

OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL CHURCH

PARISH HALL

3549 NAVAJO ST

DENVER, CO 80211

ANY DONATION TO HELP THE WRIGHT FAMILY IS MUCH APPRECIATED

an account has been opened up that you can make a deposit into: if you are interested in making a donation, please contact me, or

Bill or Alexis O'Neill

303-257-6648

If you are able to come and support him and his family that would be amazing.

If you are unable to come, but can donate, that would be amazing.

If you can do neither, but you can offer a petition to the Lord on his behalf, that would be amazing.

This is Junior with his mama, Marie and his Daddy Matt

Junior, playing peek-a-boo before his open heart surgery

Matt, seeing Junior after surgery

Since his surgery, Junior has been keep sedated. He's been intubated and on a ventilator. The doctors determined that he has a narrowing in his esophagus above the vocal cords and when they tried to extubate him his oxygen rate dropped drastically. The problem with his esophagus is possibly from the extended time he has been intubated. Therefore, they felt it was in Junior's best interest to have a tracheotomy. It is not know at this time how long he will need the tracheotomy. He is a tough little cookie, but still in pretty serious condition.

Please pray for him. And if you are able, please support his family with a donation.

{sometimes}

{sometimes}, i really suck at posting frequent blogs.

i have lot's of idea's in my brain, and i think, i should post that. i should post that. then i forget.

not like i have much going on around me with a husband, kids, business, friends, christmas shopping, etc.

anyhoo,

i will try and be better at posting. in case anyone in this whole wide blogging world cares.

however, i am today going to post something {VERY} important.

if you do nothing else, please take the time to view my next post.

{Please}

peace out.

{sometimes}

{sometimes} i wonder why God reveals to a woman that she is pregnant, if she is then going to miscarry.
i mean, technically, i know {why} miscarriage can happen...but on the {spiritual} side i wonder why God reveals a pregnancy that's not going to progress.
i believe and trust that God knows each of my children, those here on earth, and those who never made it out of my womb.
i believe that God is intentional and purposeful.
but what is the point of finding out that you even were pregnant if the pregnancy isn't going to make it?
i mean, if God know's that a pregnancy is going to fail, that He's never going to place that baby on earth, in my arms, why allow the pregnancy {in the first place}?

{sometimes} i just wonder what's the point in knowing.
what's God's intentions in that?

sorry to be so redundant. just working through it.

{can you believe it?}

Last week, my Itty Bitty turned {1 year old}.
This year absolutely flew by.
As cliche as it may sound, {they grow so fast}.
So fast.
She was so tiny, and i loved her instantly.
Her newborn smell.
Her newborn sounds.
Her tiny newborn chicken legs (which are most definitely NOT chicken legs any more....more like nice meaty drumsticks!)

Awww.

I love this girl.
I love who she is.
I love that she is a {drama queen}.
I love that she thinks her big sister is the funniest person in the world.
I love that her first word was {mama} and is still her dominant word.
I love that she is all at the same time, tough...and delicate....and snuggley...and explorative.
Mostly, I love that she is my daughter.
I have the {privileged} and {honor} of getting to be her mama .
What a precious gift my generous Father has given me in her.

{Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Psalm 127:3}

Enjoy the video of her first year of life.

{sometimes}

do you ever:

look at
or
think about

someone you love, and all of the sudden
you feel this {overwhelming emotional} response?
i call these
{waves of love}
i get these
{sometimes}.

{sometimes} it even feels like my heart is gonna burst.
i can't stop this feeling,
deep inside of me.
ugachaka ugachaka
{i digress}.

side note:
often times i read people blogs and when they go off subject they bring themselves (and their readers) back by saying, i digress.
i've always wanted to be cool enough to say that.

anyway,
i digress.
:O)

these waves of love,
that i {sometimes} feel.
i look forward to them. and it makes me thankful that i have such {amazing} people in my life to be able to feel this way about.

in fact,
i'm having one for {you} right now.

click here for a throwback to those lovely 90's for ya.

{where can you get}

One of these {fabulous} Rag-a-Muffins?

at { Cherish Boutique}.
That's where.


217 Linden St # B
Fort Collins, CO
Just across the street from Old Town Square.

Go buy one now!

{sometimes}

{sometimes} casey makes me laugh so hard....
i {snort}.
then, when i remember that moment....say a day or so later,
i laugh so hard i snort {again}.
i l.o.v.e. this.
i love laughing so hard that i can't breath. and i nearly pee my pants.
the very first time i did it was when were were {freshly} dating.
can you say...embarrassing?
he just thought it was {ridiculously} funny.

i love hearing people laugh.
like the other night on a date with casey, there was a woman who's laugh was so bizarre...i nearly snorted right then and there.....but i mean, come on, i was at rodizios...no snorting allowed.
and i had a friend in high school, amanda, who has one of the best laughs i've e.v.e.r. heard.
so did our wedding photographer.
and so does my sister in law.
and do you know what is {great} about my husband?
he's a comedic genius and can imitate these people's laughs whenever i ask him.
which will likely cause me to fall into a fit of
{snorting}

have you ever made me snort?
do share.

{sometimes}

{sometimes} i feel fat.
{sometimes} i don't.

nuff said.






also, please remember that i am only posting as an insight to my brain,
i'm {not} fishing for compliments.
this is not a {fix it} moment.

{the gloves are off...i mean braces}

in march of 2007 i ventured into the world of
{adult braces.}
my teeth weren't super crooked....but they weren't super straight either.
and my jaw popped when i would eat. or yawn. and that wasn't the most comfy.
so casey and i talked it over and decided that i would get braces.
as it turned out, i was headed down the road to some serious tmj issues and my overbite was slowly wearing down my bottom teeth.
{yikes.}
so though the initial idea behind getting braces was purely vanity, it turned out to really be a need.
they told me it would take {18months.}
not too bad, huh?
well the 18 month period {came} and {went.}
so did the 2 year mark.
uuck.
however, i pushed through and my {darling} husband can no longer say that i have a
tin grin.
nope. i have pearly {straight} whites.
here's a before and an after for your viewing pleasure.

a new venture {sometimes}

so.
what's up?
sorry, i don't really know how to start this. i've nothing witty and enticing to say.
{sometimes} i can struggle to be vulnerable...
i think this is because i used to allow myself to be vulnerable to the extreme.
and there needs to be {balance}.
this is going to be a little experiment that i will run via my blog.
i don't really know how many people read this, but i figured it's going to be good for me, even if {no one} ever reads it.
i'm going to try my darnedest to post {once a week}
a new {sometimes} that will reveal something about me that you may not have know.
feel free to comment.
or not.

here goes.

{sometimes} i need to remember that it's ok to let out my emotions.
again, in my past, along with being TOO vulnerable with people...well with the wrong people maybe, i used to be {freakishly} emotional. really i would let my emotions rule me.
i would cry at the drop of a hat.
i would let how i was {feeling} drive the actions i would take.
i would emotionally wrap my heart around a person *ahem* boy and then get hurt when it didn't work out.

so i stopped being so emotional.
for a {long} time casey was the only person really would could elicit tears.
ahhh....the early days of marriage.
i think i became so set on not letting my emotions rule me, that i forgot that it's {ok} to cry.
it's ok.
the exception to this was when i was preggers and {ridiculously} hormonal.
once i cried over cantelope.
seriously.

so i'm learning that {sometimes} it's ok to feel emotional.
when i watch that touching video about a family getting to take their adoptive baby daughter home for the first time or when i think of the incredible blessings that the Lord has heaped upon casey's business or when i think of my sister, sam, and how our friendship has grown and blossomed over the years, and i feel the tears well up, i don't have to staunch them at the edges of my eyelids. i can allow them to spill over and run down my cheeks.
i want my daughters to see the beauty of being feminine, of feeling compassion for others, of having a tender heart.
and one way to show them that is to {sometimes} show them my tears.

Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

*gasp* i heart this bracelet...right up my fashion alley.


Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

{Manga, this one's for you}

amelia sure likes to "talk".
her very first (and dominant) word was
{mama}
ahhh, *melt*
then of course,
{dada}
her manga (a mixed up way of saying grandma)
worked hard to teach her
{uh oh}



isn't she just the {cutest} chubby thing you've ever seen?

{what's happening at our house?}

{A lot}

I tell you.
It's warm outside, which is great. So there has been lot's of playing around outside.
Delaney thinks she is a {ballerina} and is constantly walking on her toes saying, "Look, I'm a pretty ballerina." To which I reply, "Yes, yes you are." {so cute!}
I started "homeschooling" if you will, Laney a few months ago, and she {loves} it.
My business is still going strong and I'm enjoying the pace of it.
Not too much to do, not to little.
{Finally} Millie is what you might call "crawling". Really her legs have nothing to do with it, she just {drags} herself with her arms.
And she loves to babble.
note video below.

Our next door neighbors tree produces {apples} which i hate.
i don't hate apples, per say, it's the squirrels that knock the apples into our yard.
and the squirrels that drive the dogs crazy.
That is a 6 foot fence that Toby the silver dog is peeking over...
note video below.

We are taking a little road trip to Manhattan, KS to visit some {old} friend who've planted a {new} church there.
And the {biggest} news of all:
Casey is no longer employed by
Markley Motors as a body mechanic.
nope.
He's a business man, my man is. :O)
After much{ prayer and petition} to the Lord.
After much {counsel} from wise friends and family.
After much {crazy hail}.
Casey is now pursuing {Fine Edge} his Paintless Dent Repair business
{full time}
{Praise God}. Seriously, praise Him!
Praise God, the work is already flowing in.

And that's about it.

{so so so....}

so very {cute}! check out these aprons!

{Material Things}

As you probably already know...
My {man} is awe.some.

He is generous...
humble...
handsome...
insightful....
brave....
strong.........

and not {materialistic}.

Casey is the most incredible example to me, of a man who treasures things that are meaningful.....not just stuff.

He is a hobby guy.
He loves getting a piece of crap, and fixing it up.

His fixed up this Dodge Dart before he even had a license, then when he moved to ft. collins he needed money. So he sold it. Really without hesitation.













The first taste i had of it began in our dating relationship with this bmx bike.
It started out in pretty rough shape, but he invested time, energy, and money into it to fix it up. He took it out for a few spins, and then decided to sell it. (we probably needed the money).
He did this without hesitation. Without being sad that he was selling this bike that he had worked so hard on. He said, "it's just a bike".















Next up, he bought this old dirt bike. Let me tell you, this truly was a piece of crap. Again, he spent time, money, effort into fixing it up. He took it out for a few (maybe more then a few) good rides, and then decided to sell it because we needed the money. One day he just told me, i'm gonna post my dirt bike on craigslist. I was a little taken back. Really? Just like that? I mean you LOVE this dirt bike and you're just gonna sell it? He said, "it's just a bike."














Back to cars. He bought this Eagle Talon for REALLY cheap from a friend of his. Really didn't put a whole lot of money or work into it.......because this car already had what he liked. It was fast. And fun to drive. Yep, we needed money. He sold it. Again, like an idiot, i said to him.....but you LOVE this car! "it's only a car." he said.















Since we moved into our house, we have wanted to paint it and do something new with our back yard patio. We've lived here for nearly 4 years now and have never had the money just lying around to be able to do it. So guess what? Last summer, to save on the cost of gas, he decided to buy a motorcycle to ride to and from work. So he purchased this motorcycle for cheap. It wasn't in nearly as rough of shape as the yellow one, but it sure wasn't this pretty. Again, time, money, effort....a few good rides. He sold his motorcycle, without hesitation. I said, well, don't you want to ride the bike to and from work this summer and save gas? "sure," he said. "i'll ride my pedal bike." yeah but, you LOVE this motorcycle won't you be sad to sell it? can't we save money elsewhere to paint the house? "robin, it's just a bike."



















It's just a bike. It's just a car. As Eccleesiastes 1:2 says, "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity."

But let me tell you what he {does} treasure.

He treasures, God. He puts time and energy and money and effort into obeying God's calling on his life. He treasures and looks forward to heaven.

He treasures, me. Second to God, i can say with confidence that i am the most important to him. He pursues me with intention, and tenderness.

He treasures, his daughters. He prays for them, he disciplines them (or will in the case of Amelia), he works hard to provide for them....even if it means stepping out into rough seas.

He treasures, his brothers and sisters in Christ.
He treasures, his friends.


I am blessed to be able to have such a profound example of a man tight fistedly holding onto things that matter.....and not cars and bikes and motorcycles and jobs and houses and clothes and money and status and........

{sleep overs}

Once a month we do and overnight date night swap with our good friends, The Knechts.
We take their girls overnight once a month, and they ours.
Delaney LOVES Gentry. Every single time we leave the house she asks if we can go to Gigi's house.
And Amelia is beginning to get to know, Harlow....though Millie is a little bit of a naughty friend and likes to take toys away from poor defenseless Harlow.....
Here are some fun photo's from our night with all the girls.
And Hannah posted some sweet and fun ones on her blog....go check it out!



Amelia and Harlow having their bottles.














And no slumber party is complete without fixing your best friends hair!!!

{bedrooms}

Once upon a time,
i blogged about a certain chalk board green wall.

i didn't love it.
i didn't love my new duvet comforter with it.

i've finally found something i love.

the blue in this quilt is much softer then the other one, and the shade matches well with the greens on the wall.














and Delaney has a new big {BIG} girl bed. we moved her into a toddler bed before Amelia was born, and she was excited about that. she's really excited about this one!














and of course, Amelia is still enjoying her crib.

{catching up}

i have been what i like to call
{lazy}
about blogging.
my bad.

here are several fun new {blogs}

enjoy.

{Bad Mamma Jamma}

I have the coolest 4 year old nephew, {Rourke}. He walked into my house today with a
{mow hawk}, i commented to him that it was {awe.some.} and he told me, and i quote,
" I'm a bad mamma jamma for Jesus Christ."
{Seriously, he rocks.}

{Sitting Pretty}

Just a quick little funsie for you all! The first video is of Delaney after she learned to sit and getting to know the baby in the mirror. Amelia is the second video.


{disclaimer}
As you watch this video, don't be horrified....she's a {tough} kid who bounced (ahahahaha) right back. Sorry it's so dark...



Amelia seems to be a little more {skilled} at the mirror play....

{my birthday}

{in review}

casey, my beloved husband, has been working since he's know me to break my birthday {curse}.
he began the year he asked me to be his {wife}.
each year keeps getting better.
this year was no exception.
{i had a great birthday weekend}
and a fun time celebrating my bday the weekend before.

i'll start in {chronological} order.
on friday march 13, my dear friends Jessica and Jen planned to kidnap me.
{casey was in on it}
i was swept away friday afternoon to denver.
we went to a {tasty} dinner at an asian food place.
went to a {ritzy old rich person} bar in our hotel where we watched a whole slew of intoxicated, wealthy, {elderly} men and women play the piano and sing their falsetto hearts out. one woman was even wearing a large white fur hat.
{awe.some.}
we continued {after the singing was done} up to our room in the
{brown palace hotel}
to stay in our
{celebrity suite}.
I slept in a giant absolutely incredible bed, sprawled out all by myself.
we slept in then went to breakfast at
{crepes n crepes}.
yum.
did a little shopping and chatting.
it was a great weekend!

{then}
this friday, march 20th
i enjoyed lunch at rhasta pasta with my lovely {mom e} and friend tonia.
watched a movie while the girls napped.
my handsome husband took me out on a date to
{the rustic oven}
i enjoyed some ok raviolis, a delicious glass of wine, and the incredible company and conversation of the man i love.
then we headed over to millenium.
what's {millenium} you ask?
a tattoo parlor.
i got new ink. it didn't hurt too bad.
on saturday, the girls and i lounged around until about 10am. nice.
i went and got my hair cut. did a little strolling in old town. enjoyed some {me} time.
casey grilled up some braught's for dinner.
he gave me the {twilight} dvd....which i proceded to watch.
twice.
and we had a low key relaxing (after church) day on sunday.

{sigh}

i had a great birthday.
not to mention the {loads} of sweet birthday cards that littered my mail box all week. thanks everyone!

{it's happening}

what's {it} you ask?
gray.
hair.
i'm turning {26} on friday...and i was already having a mini meltdown that i will now be closer to age 30 then age 20....and then it happened.
i was doing the obligatory eye brow plucking when i noticed them.
gray hairs.
when delaney was about a year old, i noticed a significant decrees of hair on the crown of my head. I told casey about it and he tried to tell me my hair had always been that thin and you could always see my scalp so clearly.....
yeah right.
So i tried not to think about it.
{then}
when i was heavy with child {amelia to be exact} i went to my brutally honest turkish stylest.
he proceeded to tell me, i was balding.
{gasp}.
i started using some special shampoo and conditioner.
{nothing}
then, when amelia was about 5 months old my hair {really} started to fall out.
it was all i could do to not cry every time i took a shower and saw the {clump} of hair in my hand.
i went to the dr. we tested my thyroid. nothing. it {could} have been that after pregnancy i had a hyper-active thyroid that regulated itself...but we're not sure.
i started taking a {special} medication to hopefully gain some re-growth.
before long, i started to see these little feathers peeking out from my scalp.
i was {so} happy! my hair is growing back!
then there was today.
when i found them.
i've always been a hair coloring kinda gal. i just like to change things up, and i did that by coloring my hair. however, because my hair was growing back, i've not colored my hair in {many} months.
it's official. though i'm growing hair back there is a {significant} amount growing in
{gray}.
what to do, what to do, what to do?!?!?!?!
I think that women who have a head full of silver look {indeering} and {beautiful} and {wise}.
So what do i do? Let my silver grown in? Cover it up with Dark Chocolate 204 from the box?

What would {you} do?

{He cannot lie}

In my one year bible reading plan, i'm currently going through Hebrews.
It's refreshing and incredible to me how, though i can read something before, God can bring it into a {new light} for me each time i read it.
This is how it's been for me reading {Hebrews}.
I'm not going to claim to be an incredibly {insightful} person, though each time i read the {Word} i pray with eager anticipation and expectation that God would give me understanding and wisdom in what i read, and i feel blessed and rejoice that He has so {intimately} spoken to my heart these last few days. and i just wanted to share that with {you}!

{Hebrews 2: 8-9}
-Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone-

Sometimes i feel so {out of control}. I feel helpless.
BUT! I'm not supposed to be in control! According to the Word, {everything} is in {subjection} to God, and i don't see it all. Yet, what i do see is {Jesus}, who IS in control. And i can live peacefully in the truth that Jesus came down from the heavens, suffered, and tasted death, by the {grace of God} for me and everyone else.
I {praise} Jesus, crowed with glory and honor!
I need to release all things, {husband}, {children}, {home}, {finances}, {fear}, {insecurities}, to be in {subjection} to God.

Then, i read this.

{Hebrews 6: 18-19}
-so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.-

i {struggle} with my past. i do.
i have trouble leaving behind who i {was} and moving forward with who i now {am}. i am ridiculously {insecure}. seriously.
i praise God for my patient and gentle husband who has helped me wade through so much of the {muck} from my past.
because of this insecurity, it's only {too} easy for satan to whisper those choice morsels, those lies into my ear. and it's only too easy for me to swallow them down and believe them.
But, as God is {faithful} to do, He spoke His word directly to my heart. His words spoke {richly} to me and was like sweeting {singing} to my ears.
Again, i {praise} God for his written Word, available at any time, speaking {truth} to my foolish heart.
Like i said, i've read it before, but it was new to me as i read it {this} time.
You've no idea what it does for me to realize and hear the words that it is impossible for God to lie.
{impossible}.
Every word that God has spoken is true. And since i know i can trust God's word, my heart exhalts! I know that when i hear the whisper of satan's destructive lies, i can {flee} to God, my refuge, and i can hear God not whisper, but boldly, loudly, and clearly speak His truth over me, and that this will be a {sure and steadfast} anchor to my soul.
It will anchor me to God's steady and trustworthy side.
My heart rejoices!
I don't have to believe the lies of my past. I can trust in God's unfailing, unshakable, {truth}!.
I feel {free}.
I feel {lighter}.
I feel {jubilious}.
This needs to be {burned} on my heart, it needs to be {always} on my tongue...
...{God is truthful, He cannot lie}!
Cannot.

Believe Him.
Period.

{My little rocker}

Amelia started doing this {phenomenally} adorable thing last night. In and attempt to turn from her back to her tummy (at least i think this is what she is doing) she just starts rocking her whole body. It's too cute for words.
So here, have a look!
p.s. sorry the video is so dark!

{Nicknames}

i've been a slacker on updating this thing, sorry!

I've just been trying to find the time between my 2year old who's {potty training} (and doing great i might add!) and my 6 month old {gasp, really!?!?!} who is just so darn cute i can hardly peel my eyes off of her, catching up on {Rag-a-Muffin} orders thanks to my website's grand-reopening sale (i'm not complaining here), having a romantic valentines weekend with my man, and you know, spending needless time absorbed on facebook. Well, i've had a lot going on. All good things, though.

During one of my quite times i was reading through Mark ch. 3.
I was struck by the {intimacy} that Jesus displayed towards his diciples by giving them nicknames. It says in Ch.3 vs. 16-17:

-He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whome he gave the name Peter); to James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the names of Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder).-

Peter, meaning The Rock...Jesus knew what kind of man Simon was and gave him a new name or a nickname that reflected what/who that man would become.

Sons of Thunder. This just makes me laugh. What were they like together, that Jesus gave them that nickname!?!?!

I {love} nicknames. My dad called me, {stinkey winkey}. My brother calls me, {Robo}. My man calls me {babe}. I had nicknames (and gave them) to several friends growing up.
My man i call {my love}.

Delaney is {cricket} amelia is {itty bitty}. Each of these nicknames have a meaning, a story behind them. I gave them because i know them {intimately} and love them.
I pray that I would have such a close relationship with Jesus, that He would hold such a great affection for me that He would give me a nickname. I can't wait to find out what it is!

What nicknames do others have for you? What ones have you given to others?