Latest Projects

I have been busy the last month or so finally finishing up some projects that I had sitting around!  I bought this set of night stands at the auction for a dollar.

One was missing a shelf and one had a string for a handle and the other had no handle.

The tops were moldy and gross!

So I got out my trusty sander and cleaning bucket and got to work.  Then, there they sat.  Month after month waiting on me to finish what I started.  Soon they made the journey to the basment from the shop.  I think my poor patient hubby was hoping they would soon disappear!  All of a sudden one day I got the urge and went to work.  After a coat of primer (2 on the tops), I painted them and then distressed them.  We went to Home Depot where we finally found handles that would work.  Love the finished look!

One sits in my kids room, the other was sold to a friend.

This window/mirror/shelf was going to get tossed to the junk pile at the auction until I rescued it.  Nice of me right?!  It was a blueish color.  I took the mirror panes out before I remembered to get a picture of it!

After a few coats of paint, it has the look that I love.  Alas, if I were to keep all of my treasures, my house would be overflowing.  I sold it at the yard sale for $10.00!

Then there's this table.  I had never done a project quite this size, so it sat alongside the nightstands!  This table also cost me only one buckaroo!

It was in bad shape.  The top was awful and it was missing a piece along the back.

Every now and then I would chip away at the top but never really got anywhere.  Finally Brad took pity on me and stripped it for me.  He also made it a lot more sturdy and made a nice custom piece to go along the back.  See how he even made it curvy to compliment the bottom of the drawer?!  He sure is handy!  I loved that we could keep the original drawer pulls on it.  I sold this one at my yard sale and it went off to a good home!

Along with these pieces, I also did another end table, and a few other pieces.  All were either free or a dollar at the auction.  Now that these are all gone, it's time to restock and get back to work.  I love doing this.  It's almost therapeutic for me and the money I make from it is a blessing too!

Catching Up

It's a quiet morning....

The birds are filling the air with praises and my washer is humming away.  Buses are pulling into the school across the street and I hear the sounds of kids talking on their way to school.  I typically am not a "morning person", but lately, have found a beauty in it.   I got up at 5:30 to use the restroom and had every intention of going back to bed till at least 8 or 9 but thought I would take advantage of the cool morning air and get my cleaning done and laundry started.  Maybe I'll take time for a forenoon nap!

Brad has been gone this past week to Alabama.  He is helping to clean up the damage that fierce tornadoes have left behind.  He's been on quite a few work trips in his day and he says he has never seen anything worse.  The devastation is so widespread.  He said it feels like they didn't even make a dent in the damage around them.  How much we have to be thankful for.  Last night there was a tornado watch in our area and as the dark clouds rolled in and then passed us by with only a shower, I thought about how it would feel to lose everything.  Sure, a house, pictures, heirlooms, etc are all "things" but it still would bring such a sense of loss, let alone if you lost your spouse, siblings, children or other family members.

With Brad gone, I've been kept busy.  I thought it would be great to be at home a few days with nothing to do and nowhere to go but it has not happened!  It's made my week fly by though.  On Wednesday, I got a call from our agency asking if we would take a little boy and girl.  They are currently with foster parents but the family they are with, already have a few other adopted children and with summer coming on, feel busy with these young ones.  I'm told they are an older couple and that the boy (J) "asks a lot of questions and has lots of energy".  I really don't know what we're in for but we're up to the challenge!  They told me the children would come next week or possibly Friday.  After finding out Brad was away, much to my relief,  they decided to go for next week.   Since Monday is a holiday and the offices are closed, we will be picking them up on Tuesday.  I would've been ok with getting them Friday (today) but it is just so much better if Brad can be there the first day they are here. 

I love having this time to prepare and get ready for the adjustments sure to come.  I know it's pretty rare to have such notice ahead of time.  Often, the children get placed within a few hours or a day or 2 at the latest.  Having a week, feels to me, like being pregnant!  Minus the bloating, hormones, cravings etc!  I told my sister it's almost like we had an ultrasound now and can start preparing more extensively.  There were some things we were waiting to buy and get ready until we knew the ages, and sex of the children we will be getting.  Now I could go out and buy bedding, toys, etc.  I'm hoping to get lucky at some yard sales this weekend.  We have pretty much everything, but would like to have some more toys for outside since it's warmer now.

It's weird how I love these kids already and have never met them.  Yes, I know it will have it's days and I know that raising foster children has it's own set of unique challenges, but at the same time, we are so ready for this.  There's a pretty good chance that we could eventually adopt the girl (A), but her 1/2 brother (J) will probably be going to live with his father in a few months.  I know we are in for sleepless nights, no more quiet times around the house, etc, but this house has been quiet for so long.  I'm ready for the sound of little feet running around even though it means I'll be sweeping the floor every day instead of once a week or so like I do now!   Brad is so excited too and can't wait to get home.  We plan on spending Saturday and Monday putting up beds, finishing our toybox and garden shed, and doing our mulching and lots of other outside stuff so it's done and we can concentrate on the kids and their needs.

This week I also met with a specialist to talk about possible testing because of all these miscarriages.  Our meeting was about an hour and after discussing it with Brad, we're going to pursue at least some testing to see if we can get answers.  Yesterday they did bloodwork.  There was a long row of vials of my blood on the counter when they were finished!  Next week on Wednesday they will be doing some kind of test where they put a catheter in my uterus and fill it with saline to see if there are any abnormalities there.  I am soo not looking forward to it especially since it will be the day after we get the children.  The test has to be done that day (a certain number of days into your cycle).  My mom or sister or both will be here to be with the children or Brad will take off of work.  We're waiting to see what the children are like before we decide for sure.  The whole testing process looks overwhelming to me and yet at the same time, it will be nice to hopefully know what is causing the miscarriages.

So, knowing all the changes about to descend upon me, I'm going to enjoy these quiet mornings and days while I can.  And yet, I can't wait for this phase of life headed our way!