Happy Wednesday!

I have a lot to write about! A little house updating, a little blog advertising and a little bit of fun!  We have been quite busy over the last two weeks.
I will begin with all the house updates.

We FINALLY have TWO fully functioning bathrooms in our home! Yippee!
To be completely honest we haven't had that since April 8th, the day we got the keys!
We are so excited to be able to choose which bathroom we are going to use.
Let us take a little look back to where it all began.

       

Yeah, it was pretty scary when we first viewed our home, but we saw so much potential in it. 

Was the wallpaper hideous? YES!

Was it scary that there was matching wallpaper on the ceiling, walls, cabinets? YES!

Was it creepy that the curtains and shower curtain matched the pattern on the wallpaper? Yes, yes, yes!

Was the floor carpet? YES!

However, it was so big! There was so much storage. So much potential!

Here was the scene on April 8th.

Brittany and Alice enjoying their demo job!












A few days weeks later. We had ripped all the carpet out and installed tile. 

We still had a long way to go.        

Next came the long and tedious process of sanding, scraping, mudding, and spackling over and over and over again. Once it was finally done it was well worth all the hard work. We had a freshly painted bathroom.

 ...and then we installed the toilet...and trim...

Then I removed all the doors and trim from the linen closet beside the shower. 

I wanted it to be a little more open.

Next came the vanity.  We probably looked at a million different bathroom vanities. We even bought one and I made Patrick return it because it just wasn't what I wanted. All the vanities I wanted were ridiculously priced. So after going quite awhile without a vanity I made up my mind to build one (meaning my husband would build me one). I still was hesitant to start building because 1) I had no idea where to begin when it came to building something and 2) I figured the wood must be pretty pricey since all those vanities online were so expensive. Then one Saturday two weeks ago I was tired of living without a vanity in the main bathroom of our house. So we headed to Menards. After spending about 3-4 hours at Menards we had all our wood and screws to at least get started. We called up some favors from friends and family asking for  tools, saws and advice and we were on our way. By the end of that night we had a pretty good frame built. All I had to do was start staining. After staining we started putting pieces together and before we knew it, we had a pretty awesome looking vanity. It's exactly what I wanted. It is the $1200 vanity I salivated over on the internet and best yet...my hubby built it for me. I love it!

We went ahead and used the same counter that was on the old vanity. It was the right size, in great condition and best of all FREE! Bringing the grand total for this vanity under $50!!! We are going to be purchasing a new faucet causing the price of the vanity to rise significantly but nothing close to $1200!
We still have a few areas that still need work. We need to frame out the mirror, purchase an above the mirror light, hang some decor and figure out what we are going to do with this ugly area.

This area is right under the bottom shelf that use to be the linen closet. We did not put tile down because at one point in time we discussed putting a laundry shoot down there. After discussing the pros and cons we decided to just tile it. When we went to Lowe's to purchase the 9 whole tiles we needed to finish the project we learned they had been discontinued. For the time being I am going to put a little curtain over it but I am hoping we can figure something else out for this area. If you have any suggestions we will gladly consider any and all.

Once we have a completed bathroom I will share many more photos.

On to some smaller updates that have taken place in our home.

You may or may not have seen this light fixture in our dining room. 

It use to look like this...gold.

It now looks like this...after being spray painted with ORB (that is for you Sherry).

Yes, I along with Brittany pretend that Sherry, Brittany and I are blog BFF's!

Our master closet use to look like this (imagine closet doors, I forgot to snap a photo with the doors attached)...

It now looks like this...

I plan on painting the shelves and walls in the closet and hanging a pretty fabric instead of doors. I am sure I will post pics once the project is complete. We decided to place shelves in our closet for a number of reasons: 1) we do not have many hanging clothes, and the hanging clothes we do have can go in another closet in another room for the time being. 2) We never put our clothes in a dresser anyway. They end up all over the floor or a mess in a basket. I am great at folding laundry. I am horrible at putting the laundry away once it is folded. This way I can just put the folded piles of clothes right on the shelves. 

Genius if you ask me!

Eventually, we plan on purchasing some sort of armoire that will probably have a hanging rack in it and a few drawers. That should be enough to hold all of our hanging clothes. Something along these lines, maybe a little less fancy.

For now we love having the extra space with no dressers!

Here is a photo of Matthew's CLEAN room! 

It doesn't happen often and I thought I should snap a photo and record it before the moment is gone.

Other than bathroom remodeling and updating I have been babysitting again. I took some cute photos the last time Matthew and I were there and I thought I would share them with you.

Fighting bubbles is a hard job but someones got to do it!

I have another blog to add to the list. Last time I added Brittany's and this time I am endorsing my cousin, Kristen's blog. She has been through a lot during her short life, and unbelievably lived to tell about it, and that is exactly what she will be doing over at her blog. I am excited to hear how she has overcame the obstacles that have been placed in her way and what the future holds for her. 

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Be the Church Sunday

Last August, our church tried something new by the name of "Be the Church Sunday." Instead of having a normal Sunday, with three services and Sunday School, we had one short service and were sent into the community to be the hands and feet of Christ. It was a huge success! So this year we wanted bigger! Instead of one day it has turned into an entire week. We have committed to re-roofing 5 different houses in our community. We were also encouraged to do something else. Once again, we didn't have the (now four) morning services. There was one short service and then we were sent into the community. Our adult small group also wanted to do something a little bigger than last year.
Last year, we went to Dunkin Donuts, bought coffee and donuts, and took them to the local animal shelter, a hospital ER, and a crisis nursery. Did we do something nice? Did it take time and money? Yes and yes, but it wasn't as big as we wanted it to be. We were determined to do something this year that took a little more effort and impacted a bigger group of people.
We decided we were going to prepare dinners for a local homeless shelter. We all went to the grocery store (Aldi, our groups personal favorite!) and purchased all of the items needed. We then went to Brittany and Jeremy's house to prepare the meals. We made four baked spaghetti's and four chicken pot pies. Each entree feeding at least 30 people. Even better, it was less expensive to buy the items and feed more people than it cost each couple last year just to pass out donuts and coffee. Still even better, we had a great time doing it! We all agreed this was more up our ally. We even decided we were going to start preparing meals for homeless shelters once a month! I love our small group! We all want to do more for our church, our community and most importantly our awesome God!
Here are a few photos I took to document our "Be the Church Sunday."
Some of the ingredients we started with.

Chopping, dicing, browning...
   
Stirring and posing (of course!)
  
My job was un-canning and dumping.

Preparing all the food.
   
                                                Chicken Pot Pie              Baked Spaghetti

Group photo of our small group, minus one couple, but they were there in spirit!

Jeremy and Brittany were so nice to let us come in and mess up their kitchen. 

They are a pretty awesome couple and the reason our small group gets anything done! 

Speaking of awesome! Brittany recently started her own blog! 

I am very excited to see what goes on in that wonderful, crafty, intelligent, Jesus-loving head of hers! 

To end on a different, more awkward note. Here is a photo of our husbands being themselves...

Many Good Changes

I have been in a bit of a rut lately. You know, the usual female emotions--"I'm not a good enough mom, I'm not even close to a respectful wife, my home is never clean enough, we are never going to pay off all our debt, etc...." I hate these feelings. They are so paralyzing. The more these thoughts consume you the less you do and the worse you feel. Well, yesterday I was listening to WGN 1120 (I don't normally listen to this radio station but my hubby does and apparently he changed my radio station). They had a guest speaker discussing whether or not our bodies are built to deal with the types of stress we deal with today.  I honestly don't remember what her response was but I do remember this one little bit of info that I thought was very clever.  She used an ATM as an example.  If you go to an ATM and try to take out $100 without $100 being in your account you won't magically get $100. Wouldn't that be nice if you didn't have the money but the ATM gave you it anyway...ha! The same goes for us.  If we continue to be hit by everyday stresses without having the small joys and happiness in our everyday we will be overdrawn (so punny!).  So, in an attempt to balance out my life I have decided to make a few adjustments in my everyday. Here is a little list for starters.
1. Make our bed every morning.
2. Read the Bible for at least 30 minutes everyday. I hate that I do not do this already.
3. Sit down in Matthew's room every day for at least 30 minutes and just play in his world. Hopefully, it lasts longer than 30 minutes but it's a start.
4. Make dinner 5 out of 7 evenings (6 evenings if I am really on top of things). This was hard with our work schedules before, but it should be do-able now, not to mention cost-effective!
5. Start doing some sort of workout routine, DAILY. Not sure what this will be but figuring it out. Lately, it has been nightly bike rides with Matthew, hubby and Geo. I love this time with my family. We are always smiling and laughing. I wish I was coordinated enough to take photos while riding my bicycle.
6. Do at least one thing every day that shows my husband I respect him.
*Unfortunetly, this is a struggle for me. So if you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate any and all.
7. Do at least one load of laundry every day.
8. GO and DO something FREE and FUN once a week with Matthew and Patrick.
9. Read a book.
10. Don't sweat the small stuff. I get so upset about the smallest of things. One wrong word from my husband can send me off the deep end and ruin the rest of my day. It's so not worth it and I hate it when I see it coming.
Some of these things listed I already do but I want to make a conscience effort to continue doing them and maybe even improve upon them.

To back up a little, I have recently decided to become a full-time stay at home mom. I have worked at a pizza place in Tolono 2-3 times a week, for the last 3 years. My last day at Tolono Monical's will be August 31st. I am both excited and a little scared.  For the first time ever we will really be a one income family. Hopefully some of these items I have listed help to make that adjustment a little smoother.
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On to other news, we have been super busy. The weekend after I came home from Belize we packed back up and headed to the Dells in Wisconsin to enjoy a long weekend with Patrick's college friends.  It was a great time and everyone LOVED Matthew.  Even if he was uber loud in the mornings and wouldn't stop singing "who let the dogs out!" We stayed in a really nice cabin and there was a perfect pool for Matthew on the property.
We have also started back up with home improvements/updating. We are still working on the bathroom and a new little project for our bedroom closet. I should be able to post photos soonish.

P.S. I have made dinner the last two nights!
P.S.S. I have never been a list person but I feel I am turning into one. Probably not a bad thing. :)

Romans 12:10-13

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:10-13

We were asked to memorize these verses before going on our trip to Belize. Although I did not make a point to do so, I will now. My prayer is that I can live these verses out everyday. With my family, friends, co-workers and strangers.

I have so many stories to share about Belize. Stories of miracles, heartbreak, love, poverty, sickness, Jesus, children and friendship. But when I sit down to collect my thoughts, stories, memories and photos I draw a blank.

Here goes...
Belize is a third world country. Poverty is everywhere. You are always surrounded by it. Yet they are some of the richest people I know. The smallest gesture of kindness makes their faces light up. They are never disappointed because they have no other option. They are happy with one change of clothes and being fed once a day. They know the meaning of family and are willing to be a helping hand without being asked. They are the definition of hard working. They are are the ones Jesus is speaking of in Mark 10:31 "...many who are first will be last, and the last first."

There are so many still there that need to be cured of their sicknesses and told about the love, 

our savior, Jesus Christ has for us.  

These 60 people became the quickest best friends I have ever acquired.  We came from all over the country for one common goal, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we succeeded! I miss each and every one of them. I miss worshiping with them every morning and enjoying dinner with them every night. 

I am happy to be home with my beautiful son and wonderful husband, but my heart longs to be back in Belize.

I will go again. And I hope to take more people with me. 

Rich and poor have this in common: the LORD is the MAKER of them ALL. Proverbs 22:2

On Sunday, I am boarding a plane that is headed to Dallas, Texas only to board another plane headed to the Stann Creek District of Belize.

(I am probably suppose to give credit for posting this map of Belize but I don't know how so here is how I found it. I went to google, typed Belize map in the search bar and it appeared. I hope that's enough credit....)

I will be helping with a VBS for some of the village children of Belize. I have so many thoughts and emotions running through me right now. I feel excitement yet at times I am paralyzed with fear. Excitement because I have wanted to go on another mission trip since I came home from one in Juarez, Mexico, 8-years-ago. Fear because 1) I HATE flying and 2) I don't want anything to ruin this trip (i.e. my attitude). If nothing else comes from this experience I pray that the love and patience Jesus shows us everyday is shown through me, and the other 60+ in our group, to the Belizean people. I don't want my own selfish motives or spoiled American views to get in the way. I want to show these people they are just as important (if not more) to our Heavenly Father than some girl that never wonders where her next meal will come from or which of the 100 outfits in my closet I am going to wear today. I want them to know the Almighty Lord loves them more than comprehensible.

To be 100% honest I have some very selfish reasons for going on this trip as well. I want to come home with a renewed appreciation for my life, my family and my relationship with the Lord. I want to realize the things I stress about on a daily basis are taking the precious joys of life away. I want to be encouraged that I can make a difference in the Lord's kingdom just by loving others. On a lighter note, I am looking forward to a week without my phone or computer!

How it all came to be:

My friend, Carrie Webb, first found out about International Servants from a friend of hers that traveled with them before. She asked if I would like to join her on her first mission trip and it didn't take long for me to make a decision. My biggest concern was the expenses that went along with a trip like this. Of course, no amount of money will keep Gods message of salvation a secret. I sent out many fundraising letters with only 3-4 return donations, leaving a wide gap between what I had and what I needed to go on such a trip. I quickly realized I was going to have to put a little more effort into this. Luckily, I have a wonderful group of supportive friends and family. We rallied together and decided a garage sale would be our next plan. I received many wonderful items for our sale, very little of it junk. I think I had set a goal of about $500 over the three day sale. When the first day of our sale came to an end we were just shy of that goal by $100! By the end of Saturday, the last day, we had raised almost $1400!!! I still cannot believe that I was dumb enough to put a limit on what God does and will do for His message to be heard.

I will say that the garage sale wasn't that much more of an effort on my part. I had a great group of woman (and my husband) right beside me the whole time. I am so grateful to my mom, Aunt Ann, Aunt Sara, Ruth Ann, Mary Ann, Rebekah and our Claire Bear for being so helpful and willing to to do anything to get me to Belize. Thank you so much for all of your time, money and love.

I don't want the week to go by too fast, but I look forward to sharing stories and photos from my trip to Belize. I also want to thank everyone that has donated to this trip and please continue to pray for our group and the hearts of the Belize people.

If you want more information on the mission I am traveling with, it is International Servants.

Anniversary Trip - STL

We had an awesome time in St. Louis celebrating our anniversary. It was a spare of the moment trip, but we are so glad we went through with it. We needed the time together and had so much fun. We left Monday morning, of course, it was a little later than we had scheduled and of course there were many stops involved. Especially, when you leave without Matthew's shoes! The first place we hit up was the City Museum.

Arriving at the museum! Happy to be out of the car.

This museum is so much fun! I highly recommend it! Patrick put it best "it's a life size game of shoots and ladders!" If you haven't been GO and if you have been I know you agree with me! It would even be fun for a group of adults...hmmm...small group trip...I think so!

Matthew had a blast and so did we!

The entire museum is an old deserted building

and all of the building materials inside are recycled.

(Sorry for the not-so-great picture quality. The lighting inside wasn't ideal.)

Yes, this is an old plane and firetruck just literally hanging out!

Yes, this is wayyyyy past Matthew's nap!
There were several walls covered with old stamps.

There must of been 1,000,000 metal restaurant containers lining the walls.

Matthew on the train, of course!
Going down the slide!

Apparently, there is an entire roof to the museum with more things to do, like a Ferris Wheel. We did not venture out on the roof or see the World Aquarium but I have a feeling we will be going back soon.

We then went to check into our hotel. To be completely honest I was scared to death because we had booked it on Hotwire. I guess Patrick has always booked hotels through Hotwire but it is a little scary. When you search for hotels it doesn't actually tell you the name of the hotel you are looking at. Apparently, that is how they can get them for cheap, because you aren't buying the name. I was for sure we were going to end up at some dirty, scary place but it wasn't at all! We stayed at the Crown Plaza, downtown St. Louis, right across from the arch, and the pool was on the roof! I couldn't of asked for a better place to spend the night.

Our room was huge and had a great view.

We were on the 22nd floor and Matthew loved pushing all of the buttons on the elevator!

View out our window.

We enjoyed a great dinner with one of Patrick's good friends from Valpo, Al Clark.

She took us to an Irish Pub not too far from our hotel and we had a great time catching up with her. We will be seeing her, and many more Valpo friends very soon, when we take a long weekend vacation to the Dells in the beginning of August.

We went back to the hotel and enjoyed the rest of the night in the pool.

We were planning on hitting the Arch Tuesday morning before we headed back but it was just too hot. It was 105 with a heat advisory of 115. TOO HOT! So we went back to the pool and then got home just in time to eat dinner and take Matthew to VBS.

A little photo collage!