Shades in the Great Room

Because we have such a beautiful view out our great room windows, I wasn't planning on ever having any window treatments on them. However, they are west facing windows, and in the Summer you can feel all the heat coming in during the afternoon. So, to save on air conditioning costs I decided to put some roman shades up.

 That way we can still pull them almost all the way up (see below) most of the day. :-)

 They have a little more of a pronounced pattern than I had in mind, but they were the closest I could find to what I wanted in the price range I was looking for. They were fairly inexpensive from the JcPenney's catalog. The fabric is very nice, but the construction leaves somewhat to be desired.

Ben had quite a bit of trouble installing them, and he is very good at these things. I would have failed altogether. Ha Also, you have to use something pointed, like a pen, to get the string mechanism things into the right place to hold the curtain up. Other than that, they are great. ;-)

Ruffles, etc.

May was such a busy month! But very enjoyable. :-) I can't believe it's already June!

I thought I would show you some little touches I've added to our master bath lately. I love this ruffley, pink hand towel I found at Target the other day!

                                    And this cute bath tub print I found at Lowe's. Love that store! ;-)

 My birthday is in May, so that is probably one of the reasons I have always loved this time of year.
This birthday was extra special because I got to meet some "blogging friends" in person!

 We had such a lovely tea party together. Very sweet ladies! And kids, of course. ;-) They had a great time playing together.
It was a blessing getting to fellowship with these new friends. :-)

                                                            
                                                           ~ Jessica ~

Home Again :-)

We just returned from a great trip to beautiful North Carolina! Where all the roads look like this:

 I thought Missouri was beautiful, until I saw NC. Haha

 This is a view of part of Lake Norman. It is huge. And the State Park is practically right in town. Nathanael thought it was the beach. Hehe As in the beach at the coast. So, he was happy. He misses going to the coast in Australia.

 Teddy had to be held the whole time, as he was a little afraid of all that water. Ha

 I am so blessed to be Mommy to my two sweet, adorable boys.  I just love being a stay at home wife and mother! As a young girl, that was always my dream for the future. :-)
Happy Mother's Day!!

Laundry Room Mini Makeover

                                                         Before:
I didn't like all my laundry and cleaning supplies, etc. to be on display like this, since the laundry room is right next to the kitchen, in plain sight. It looked way too cluttered.

                                                       After:
So, I decided to use some curtains that we had in our bedroom last year in the laundry room to hide the mess. I turned one of the panels sideways and hung it using curtain ring clips, so that it would be the right length and width to hang over the open shelf, from wall to wall. After some trial and error, I found a thinner than usual shower rod that works great! I tried a tension rod first, and it was so flimsy that it bent right away, plus it was always falling down. This rod is very sturdy. :-)

 I had hung some cafe curtains across the middle of the window last year, so I just moved the rod up to the top of the window instead and hung the matching curtain panel using the clips. Way more privacy at night, and it looks so pretty, too! :-)

                                          Nathanael clearly approves of the changes. ;-)

Happy Easter!

I recently added these words to our master bathroom, and they are so appropriate for Resurrection Sunday! I love seeing this quote every time I walk into our bathroom.

It is so wonderful to know that our Redeemer liveth!

"I serve a risen Savior He's in the world today.

I know that He is living, whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy; I hear His voice of cheer;

And just the time I need Him He's always near.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives?

He lives within my heart.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In all the world around me I see His loving care,

And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair;

I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast;

The day of His appearing will come at last.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, Lift up your voice and sing

Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!

The Hope of all who seek Him, The Help of all who find,

None other is so loving, so good and kind."

(By Alfred Henry Ackley)

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/503#ixzz1rGn8SpvI

Spring Has Arrived Early! :-)

It has been so warm this March! I remember last year it was still looking like Winter, so I am very happy it has been so nice. Everything is blooming and getting beautiful and green again. :-)
My "Bleeding Heart" plant is already flowering, thanks to all the lovely rain we have had.


Bleeding Heart flowers...

With all of this nice weather, came bugs and also the need to let the cooling breezes into the house and get some cross ventilation. So, we bought a pretty Victorian/Farmhouse style screen door for the back entrance onto the deck. I love it!!! Ben and the boys (hehe) did a great job installing it while a was out a couple Saturdays ago. :-)

Our baby cherry tree has a few flowers this year. :-)

Hopefully this trellis will have fragrant honeysuckle climbing all over it this Summer! I ordered some along with other plants, from an online nursery. They will probably arrive in April.

From our backyard, looking towards the neighbor's yard. It starts on the other side of the creek....

The boys like to help bring the trash bins back up. :-) It's so cute.

The Reading Room

We use our "formal dining room" as a reading room. :-) It is where I have my desk and (new pink) laptop, a bookshelf and now a little seating area.

I recently added words from a wonderful old hymn to the wall above the window. I love having inspirational words scattered in our house here and there. ;-)

I had been looking for a while for a nice upholstered chair to put into this room, to replace the rocking chair that just wasn't working in here. It kept banging the banister behind it, and leaving white marks.

I found the perfect chair at Homegoods! I saw it the minute I entered the store, and bought it right away. It was a good price, too, a lot less than others I had been looking at.But since it is more reddish than the usual pinks in our house, it began to dictate the things that could be near it. Ha The floral lamp shade on the white wicker lamp had to give way to this new tan lamp shade.

(You can see the old lamp shade in the pic below.)

As you can see, the boys love to read on the new chair, and it is where I sit for the songs and sounds part of our kindergarten each day. ;-)

I put an extra dining chair in here as the new chair's companion. ;-)