Christmas Morphing!

I love Christmas! Who doesn't love to transform their home into a flurry of color and greenery. There is nothing more peaceful than a roaring fire and the soft glow of fading Christmas tree lights, while listening to Nat King Cole.

Here is the beautiful stocking my mother made with loving care for my daughter, Rebekah.

I usually use quite a bit of ribbon in my decorations and this year was no exception.

Here is a look at my finished mantle. I am looking for the perfect large candles to hang beside the picture. I am also searching for a beautiful picture of the Nativity to hang during Christmas.

I started collecting Dickens village pieces several years ago and quickly ran out of room. My husband made me a table to display the village on. However, now I don't have any more room so I have had to stop collecting. The new pieces are adorable but I don't have enough house for all my wants!

Here is my small display. One day I will have a porch like Susan's to fill with all my pretty things!

My bannister is short but that has not stopped me from glamming it up! My poor family can't even hold on anymore. The Christmas season doesn't last that long, right? I tell them it is all for the cause of Christmas!

Here is the most beautiful decoration in my home. It also happens to be the most precious to me and the one that brings me the most joy!

Please visit other exciting blogs with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch!

Merry Christmas

First Day Goodies!

I love to give little gifts. I enjoy surprising people with fun, yummy treats. I always try to pull a little something together to give to my daughters teachers the first week of school. My friends call this my "kiss-up" gift but the teachers seem to appreciate the gesture so I continue to do something small all throughout the year. It is never expensive and just takes a few minutes to put together.

I found these really cute tins at Michaels on clearance for $2.00. I then went to the dollar bin that was 40% off that day and found a few Crayola note pads and task clips. I already had the popcorn at home and found a candy bar with a little girl on the front for 2/$1.00.

I was making chocolate covered pretzels for my oldest daughters teachers so I put a few of them in to boot. Of course, the Juicy Fruit was a steal at .25. I just printed their names on card stock and glued the card to a popsicle stick and Voila.

How fun is that!

Hereditary Creativity!

I have always considered myself creative. I come from a very long line of creative women, who have more ideas and energy, than time. I love to think outside the box and come up with new ways of doing things. However, I think there may be a new Creative Diva in the house!


As many of you know me daughter, Rebekah, suffered a stroke in utero. She is a subsequent left Hemiparesis child and has many challenges with everyday living. She does not use her left hand and only minimally uses her arm as an assistive tool. It has become very important that she start lifting her arm up due to shoulder weakness. If she continues to ignore her left arm it could potentially fall out of socket at her shoulder. Therefore, we have been trying to come up with a solution for this all summer. I have discussed modifications that could be added to desks and tables with her father. During one of these lengthy and complicated discussions my brilliant, creative, brain-injured child suggested we Velcro her hand to the desk. I was blown away by her insight and quickly realized that simple solutions are sometimes the best solutions.

So, here she is with her new fancy Velcro strap working away on her homework! It has worked so well that she has one in both her classrooms at school and I can really tell the difference with her arm.

And here I thought God gave this miracle child to me so I could teach HER things!

I love Fall! I love the weather, the fall colors, the trip to the pumpkin patch, mums and the slight cool in the air in the morning. I took a trip to Michael's today and was so inspired by the fall displays that I knew I must create something for my front door.

I used a fun ribbon that I taped to the top of the door to hand this precious basket full of fall flowers!

I had seen a similar arrangement in a magazine and thought I coul pull it off okay!

My next fall purchase will be a camera! Then I will be a better blogger with great vibrant pics for all my friends to enjoy. Happy Fall Decorating!

First Day of School!

Is there anything more exciting than the first day of school? Don't answer that, we all know there is, but for children it is a monumental day. Rebekah was more than ready to go back to school after spending the summer with her 3 year old sister. Here she is wearing her new Justice bookbag. I looked and looked for a sling bag until I realized that a messenger bag would work out perfect for her special needs! It wasn't a hard sell, seeing as how it is bright pink and has alot of silver bling to boot!

The first morning she jumped out of bed like a bunny! Not so quick now that she has been back for a few days.

Now, Emma was not so excited about going back to school. She spent most of the summer complaining about a boy in her last year class that apparently terrorized her frequently. I was relieved to find out that he no longer goes to her school and will not be an issue this year. Luckily, Emma has several friends from her church that are in her class!


Emma is going to be my fashionista child. She wanted to pick out all her new school clothes and insisted that she wear a skirt for the first day. "Don't I look pretty mom?" was the morning song.


As a mom, I was so excited about the first day back. I planned to eat breakfast with some friends and then do a little light shopping for the first day back. I did not, however, plan on getting upset and crying. When I dropped Emma off at the entrance (as I was instructed to do by the teacher instead of walking her into her classroom) she didn't hesitate to get out of the car. She was excited to be carrying her big girl bookbag with her new mermaid blanket tucked safely inside. She started to walk off and then turned to me and said " Wait, I need to give you a hug mommy." Of course, I grabbed her and insisted that a hug would not do without a kiss and then she was GONE. I watched her take the hand of her assistant and walk right out of my grasp. I spent the next few minutes crying and wondering how 3 years could move so quickly. Children are such a wonderful gift to us. I wish I could hold them forever! I pray that God will give me the strength to let them go when they are ready to fly on their own!


For now, I will cherish each kiss, each hug, each laugh, each tear, each bedtime story, each bath, each dress up, and each first day of school!

Tassel Fun!

I was so inspired by the tassels I saw on Metamorphosis Monday (several Mondays ago) at Between Naps on the Porch that I had to try it for myself. I cheated and used a pre-made tassle and added the ribbon and accent piece.
I bought the flower at Michaels for $1.00 and clipped the rod off the bottom. I then placed it down inside the tassel. I am off to the beach today and will be looking for small pieces to top off future projects. I think ornaments would work perfectly!

I got the ribbon in the bargain box at Michaels as well for $1.00 a spool.

I was tickled with the finished product and have it hanging on my Television cabinet in the living room.

I can't wait to make more and give as gifts. Think house-warming!

Tablescaping - Not just for grown-ups!

I had the most delightful time Tablescaping today with my 3 year old daughter, Emma. She decided we needed to have a Tea Party in her room and I thought "Hey, it's Tablescape Thursday", hosted by Susan at Between Naps on The Porch. Please stop by and visit all the fabulous tablescapes there today.




I found this little silver tray at a yard sale for $1.00. I fell in love with it and knew I would be able to use it for something one day. I always encourage my friends that if they see something that whispers sweet nothings to them, BUY IT!

Emma has a wonderful playhouse bed her father built for her 2nd Birthday. We started out with a Toddler bed in the downstairs and it was a very easy transition from crib to bed. She has since graduated to the loft bed and now has the perfect kitchen for all her entertaining.

Bear Bear and Bitty Baby were excited to receive an invitation to such a lovely Tea.

No Tea Party would be complete without a Silver Bell to ring, when running low on Tea and Crumpets!

"Would you like 1 lump or 2, my dear?"

Please note the Target birds that were a gift to me from my fabulous friend and blogging buddy at Sharons Chickens In The Mist.

Thanks for having Tea with us, have a blessed day!

Jill & Emma

Outdoor Wednesday!

It has been so long since I have posted but I decided to try Outdoor Wednesday. I have been following A Southern Daydreamer and love to check out all the beautiful posts there. Of course, I realized that I didn't have any fabulous pics to post this week. So I am just posting a few pics of my outdoor spaces. This is a picture of my home in the country. The picture is about 2 years old so I have made many changes and will post a new pic next week of my updated exterior.
I have added alot of black to the porch and it looks much better.

We have alot of azalea bushes around the house and I just love when they bloom in the spring.



Here is an outdoor space for my two girls. It was a birthday gift my husband built for our now 8 year old daughter. My second daughter seems to spend more time there now.

Finally, this is a pic of the only hydragnea bloom we had on a bush out front. I have done alot of investigating as to the reason why we only had one bloom and hope to have a bush full in the next few years. However, it is still a beautiful bloom.

Have a beautiful summer!

Old Glory!

I was so impressed with the post from Alisa at Carolina Panache about Flag Day that I had to go out and take a picture of our flag. Old Glory is displayed proudly for most of the summer but I am ashamed to say that I was not up on the appropriate etiquette. I am planning to purchase a spotlight this weekend. I also liked the idea of small flags place in planters around the house.

I plan to find a few small flags to place in my hanging baskets around the house! I am so enjoying stealing ideas from all the creative ladies out there in the blogger world.

Jill

New Laundry Closet!

What a wonderful way to start the day!
Everyday holds a possibility of a Miracle - like I will get my Laundry done today!
I had finally had it with the disaster that was my Laundry room so I thought I would spruce it up a bit.

I found a plate hanger on sale at Michaels and used that for the ironing board holder. Then I just placed a cute Love sign over the unsightly screws.

My husband was kind enough to hang some inexpensive cabinets we found at Home Depot. It is so nice to have all the soap and trash bags hidden. I finished the cabinets off with baskets I found at Michaels for $20.00/3. If that wasn't enough of a steal I added a 40% off coupon to make them even more affordable. I am hoping that the washer and dryer will soon die and I can upgrade to the H5. Yahoo!

I had to show you the before nightmare that existed in my home. I put wallpaper in this closet shortly after we built the house. Needless to say, after many years of heat, the paper did not want to come off. The Dif you see on the dryer was a joke and after 3 days of pulling off paper I realized that I still had another layer of paper to go. That layer took the wall down to the sheetrock in many places. So after spackling, priming and painting I have vowed to never, never, never hang another scrap of wallpaper in my home. (Unfortunately, I have a bedroom with wallpaper that is in serious need of attention. But that is a project for the fall when the kids are in school)

Do you not just love the organization I had going on here. I am so embarrased to even post these pics but you couldn't appreciate the change without this nightmare viewing.
I can't believe I thought wallpapering flower sayings was a good idea for a laundry closet. I am so thankful for home decorating shows and friends who still love you even when you exhibit really bad taste.

Many thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her Metamorphosis Monday. Please visit all the wonderful blogs there.

Jill West

Tagged!

Okay, I have been an awful blogger! I have been busy with projects I just haven't blogged about any of them. I got tagged by my wonderful friend at Sharons Chickens In the Mist so I am posting my 6th picture in my 6th file. Of course, I couldn't just post 1 picture. My sweet little girls are too cute not to let you enjoy seeing their faces a few times. Emma is the accessory queen and will put anything on her head. This is an old picture as she is now 3 1/2 years! Wow, where has the time gone? Rebekah is now 8 and getting ready to be home for the summer. I am looking forward to sleeping in, time by the sea, late summer nights cooking out with friends, and lots and lots of ice cream!!!!!!