St Patricks Day decor for $5!

So since I no longer have a fireplace and now the kids toys are no longer in my antique pie safe, I have started using the top of the pie safe as a place to decorate for each holiday. I just finished my one for March. The best part is I did it for about $5!! (Sorry I forgot to take pics of my valentine one and it was cheap too!)
The basket, candle and glass container I already owned. The gift bag, "grass", bow on the basket and small bucket were from Target and all $1 or less. I used scrapbook paper from the sets I bought for organizing closets to decorate the inside of the glass container, the candle holder, and the banner. All the ribbon I already had as well. I literally used the last of each one I had and these were ones I bought on sale on Black Friday!
So here is my ode to St Patricks Day. I plan on getting some gold coins to place around too but since its been snowing here all morning I think I will leave it as is for now. Happy Decorating!

Operation Family: Part 1

As many of you know we have been planning a surprise for the kids! Well it started Thursday! We left at o-dark-thirty for the airport and had a pretty decent flight to the most magically place on Earth. So far my only complaint has been the cheer moms. Oh yeah, its UCA National HS cheer competition down here this weekend. But let me tell you my 5yo is loving it. He has already been grinning about the cheerleaders! ;-)

yesterday we spent the ENTIRE day at Magic Kingdom. It was a really long day but full of wonderful memories. Seeing B get to light up to see her favorite princesses was priceless! i think j's favorite was space mountain. he has had so much fun being able to ride all the roller coasters. and seeing them both just in awe and happy was exactly what we needed. I was in tears for sure during the nighttime show with the fireworls. They actually cover the castle with pictures from the day from around the park. The projections onto the castle were so beautiful and it ended with the lantern scene from Tangled. It looked like the castle was covered in the lanterns going up. SO beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was spent at Hollywood studios. trying to fit everything in was really tough but we got the main points done that we wanted to hit. i doubt i will get j back on tower of terror but thats ok. poor kid is never ready for the first drop. he LOVED the aerosmith coaster though. B had a blast doing the shows. she got to see beauty and the beast and her favorite friends at disney jr live on stage. the worst moment for me though was at lunch. when jeremy was getting food inside pizza planet a girl from a table next to us ran off. i spent the next 10 agonozing minutes trying to help this mom find her daughter who had gone inside pizza planet to try and find her dad. the cast members were great but it was still very very scary. we had just all been sitting there while the hubbies went to grab the food (it was very busy), and then she was gone. i was so proud of my kids who when i suggested praying for her they were all for it. she was found safe and sound but not without giving her mother a heart attack first. it reminded me that i need to take of a pic of the kids every morning so if they get lost i can pull out my phone and say "they look like THIS, in THIS outfit". ok its time to go grab the clothes out of the dryer downstairs ( i know, i should stay down there....). There is just something about this place that is so magical. And even though we are so tired and sore and actually COLD its been amazing so far.

(ps: more pics after we get home! and yes the house is being watched......  ;)  )

Operation Organize this house!

About a week ago I made a command decision that we had to invest some money to get the house organized. I did spend a bit more than planned (hey Target had great deals!!) but its been so worth it. Best part has been the closets. I found the easiest, cheapest way to get them organized AND look awesome! 12x12x10" cardboard boxes from wally-world with a piece of 12x12" scrapbook paper on the front. My laundry room is so bright and colorful now! I dont mind being in there nearly as much as I used to! ;) And the ones in here cost me a whopping $8.60! That includes the 42 extra pages of scrapbook paper I have from the pack I bought!

I also did the kids' closets. My kids are SPOILED!!!!! This is after getting rid of quite a bit of stuff! Its been great though because now it takes all of 5 minutes to get their rooms clean.

Oh yeah thats a LOT of dress-up and baby dolls! The shelves are the only big addition. I put in the dressup clothes hooks at Christmas after I figured out she needed a better place to put ALL her dress-up stuff.

The best part is the boxes on the top shelf match their rooms. his room is baseball and hers is becoming pink/purple butterflies. I was shocked to see how well the shelves fit in his closet. All three shelves are the $15 ones from wally-world.

Im sorry I dont have before pictures but lets just say it was a HOT mess before I redid it! I have also redone our linen closet based off a blog on Delightful Order

Here is the link to the post about linen closet.

I will post pics of it after I finish the tags for baskets.

I just wanted to share what we have been up to while getting ready for our big trip to DISNEY! Trust me there will lots to blog about during that trip!

 'Til then enjoy the journey!!!!!!!

New year, new start

I cant believe its been so long since I have posted anything!!! IM SORRY! I would love to say its been because I am so busy sipping mimosas and eating bon-bons but alas its been the exact opposite. Holidays, Jacksons school, Brooklyn starting school,  everyone getting sick, doctor appts, laundry, dog(s), and of course the never ending dishes and and and and and....... my list could go on forever.  I am pleased to say though that we are finally starting to feel some kind of normalcy in this house again.

Jeremy is (finally) with an actual company at WTU and has started more intense physical therapy. He has a new goal of running a half-marathon (no time frame yet). The doctors originally told him he would NEVER run again due to the nerve damage in his legs. When I reminded him of this fact he told me "have faith...". That I have, especially in what abilities God has given him. I am constantly amazed by the fact that he is even here, walking, breathing....   The excitement is building here as we prepare for his unit to come home from Afg. I cant wait to welcome them. I cant wait to have extra soldiers to feed again.

With all of this "new stuff" going on for us this year, I hve decided to expand this blog. More family stuff, crafts, more of our LIFE now that Jeremy is doing so well. I am forever grateful for the prayers and help the last 5 months as we have gone through this journey of his recovery. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family supporting us. So I hope you enjoy the "new" blog and its a little late but HAPPY NEW YEAR!

the roller coaster continues....

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times...He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." ~Micah 5:2, 4-5.

These are the verses God laid on my heart this morning. That even though we are going through a difficult time right now, soon we will be celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and rejoicing in what his birth means for us.

The last few days have been a roller coaster. There was the ER visit on the 29th, and then a couple days of recovery, then jeremy had a few more good days and the throwing up started all over again. It not just 2 steps forward and one back its like 4 steps forward and 3 back. He is currently at sick call trying to figure out why he was getting sick every hour. so help me God if they tell him its a stomach bug i may explode. The doc he saw monday thinks it has something to do with the bacteria in his intestines, maybe a bad one. quite possible after all the trauma to his system. so they are running some labs on that already but he CANT keep throwing up like this. dehydration is not really an option with only 1 kidney.

so i am asking once again for prayers. for healing and strength for jeremy and for patience and understanding for us both. the patience thing is getting harder and harder for us. we are so blessed that the recovery he has made so far has been so amazing, but there is still a long way to go before he is back to his "normal" pre-injury self.  thanks everyone!!!!!!

At the ER

Well things were going so well we decided we needed a visit to the ER to shake things up! Jeremy has been throwing up for the past 3 nights, just as night. But its happened enough that what we first thought was a flu bug is now making him dehydrated. Which is kind of a no-no when you just had a kidney removed! So he is getting fluids, they have drawn labs and done a CT of his abdomen. Thank God for awesome friends, one who has taken the kids and one who may end up going to Syracuse for me to go pick up my dad at the airport.  Agh!

I have been reading my Faith Deployed Again devotional and have really been reminded of a couple things. 1) we can't forget what God has already done for us. Rather than worry about the future and what we are going through today, we have to be faithful and remember just how amazing Gods promises are. 2)
We have a choice to make in whether serving the Lord is our hearts desire.

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" -Joshua 24:15.

Thank you to Joyce, Bettina, and Jessica for this amazing reminder. And a huge thanks to Marie for taking the monkeys off my hands so I can care for Jeremy.

Just talked to doc and everything is coming back good! Which means we get to go home soon. Thinking meds or stomach bug but no blockages or infections! Thank you Lord for answered prayers.

things at home

i am still amazed at how much progress jeremy has made in the last few days since being home. its killing him though that he cant pick up the kids yet. he tried to pick up b today and just didnt have the strength to hold her up. :( took him with us to church last night and this morning. so glad i could finally introduce him to so many of people who have been praying for him and us. tomorrow he is suppose to start his con leave, 2 weeks of NADA! woohoo! he is also scheduled to finally get the last of his stitches out on friday. he is walking better, and has more energy than when i came home a week ago. abs are still sore and doc started him on a new med for the nerve pain/numbness in his right leg. will probably need to increase the dosage (had to start at lowest dose, doc expects to increase) but at least its getting worked on. its seriously amazing HOW far he has come in the last 3.5 weeks.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to everyone who has been praying for his healing and for strength for our family. I can't say thank you enough to our friends and family for their physical, spiritual, and even financial support. God has truley blessed us with amazing people in our lives, even some new ones thanks to this ordeal. We are so very blessed. THANK YOU ALL!