What I've Learned

The last 17 days I've been a part of an online Bible Study over the book of Hosea. Now that we have come to the end of the study, we were asked to share what we have learned over the last 17 days. I have learned a lot and wanted to share a small portion of how this study has impacted me.

The book of Hosea has always just been a story, a sad one, to me. Before this study I had never related it to my own life. When I read the chapters not just as a story, but a revelation of how God views our sin and how in spite of turning away from Him; He never stops loving us, I was changed.  I was humbled by this study. My perspective was shifted. I became even more grateful for the amazing grace of our loving Father. 

There have been times in my life I’ve been so far from God. I’ve run the opposite direction. I’ve tried to do my own thing and push God to a far corner of my heart. I’ve let other things take precedence in my life. I’ve had idols that became more important to me than God. I’ve ignored His commands. I’m guilty, just as the Israelites were in Hosea. 
In Hosea I became more aware than ever, how much our sin grieves our Father. I could see the pain he felt as the children of Israel disobeyed Him time and time again. It made my heart ache knowing all the pain and grief I’ve caused the Lord. 

But, praise Jesus, for He waits for our return. He never leaves us. He never gives up on us. He is there, waiting. Waiting for our return to His open arms. And, what is more beautiful than that? We are so underserving of this love. Yet, despite all we have done, He wants us. He wants to redeem us, to redeem our story. He wants to make us new and whole again. 

I am so glad that I participated in this study. It challenged me. It changed me. It opened my eyes to so much more. 

If you also took part in this study, I encourage to share what you learned at #shesharestruth

If you would like to participate in the next online study you can go to http://shereadstruth.com/ I have been so blessed by the studies on she reads truth, and I know you will be too! 

Chalkboard Mirror DIY

I found this huge mirror and just knew the moment I saw it, that it would make the perfect chalkboard.

My husband spray painted it with chalkboard paint. We didn't worry about getting the paint all over the rest of the mirror, because I planned on painting the frame. Who wants a boring brown frame for a chalkboard anyway?

Once we finished spray painting we let it dry overnight. The next day it was ready for the rest of it's makeover. To protect the chalkboard/mirror portion I wedged scrap paper in between the frame and mirror to completely cover it. 

DO NOT DO THIS....I repeat...DO NOT DO THIS. I learned the hard way. What I didn't take into account was that it would be impossible to get the paper back out after I painted all over it. I spent an hour with an exacto knife trying to wedge all of the little bits of paper underneath the frame. It all worked out in the end, but it was such a pain. So cover your chalkboard, but don't wedge paper underneath the frame. It's a bad idea...just sayin'.

Now it's painting time!

Isn't this the prettiest color ever?

Really it's that simple. You just paint the frame. It took two coats. After it's dry you remove whatever you use to protect the chalkboard. (this was the part where I got discouraged, but since I've already made the BIG mistake and told you about it, it should be smooth sailing.) 

Now this is important. Don't skip this step. After the paint is dry and you remove all the chalkboard protection, take a piece of chalk and rub it all over the chalkboard and then erase it. I don't really know why you have to do this, but that's what the directions on the can of spray paint said to do. I'm assuming it's pretty important. Once, you do that, you will have a beautiful and completely usable chalkboard. :)

My wall is so happy to have something so beautiful to hold!

I hung this right next to my new chalkboard. Isn't this the cutest? I found these fabric letter squares at a small shop on our vacation in Colorado. I wanted to buy some for every room of the house. They are so fun and friendly. 

Vail Vacation Part 3: The Wedding

The whole reason we went to Colorado was so that we could go to my dear friend's wedding. After a fun five days of adventuring, it was time for the big shin-dig.

Me and the lovely bride Courtney the night before her big day!

We all met at the mountain trail. Brian and I had babies strapped to our backs. I decided to hike in a dress. The bride started the hike off singing a beautiful song. And up the mountain we climbed. 

The beautiful Courtney singing at the start of the trail. She wore that gorgeous wedding dress all the way to the top of the mountain, along with some hiking boots :)

Some of my favorites right here. The bride and her brothers.

The Bride and Groom

The hike up was beautiful. There were flowers covering the mountainside. The day couldn't have been more perfect. 

The boys both fell asleep on the way up.

Nothing like a mountain nap.

After hiking for about 2 hours we finally made it to the top. Talk about amazing. I was overjoyed to finally get there, because I'll honestly admit that I was one worn out momma. Even though the hike was hard and tiring and I really didn't know if I would actually make it, IT WAS SO WORTH IT. 

After the long climb, we sat on the side of the mountain to witness the wedding. Here they are saying the sweetest vows I've ever heard. I'm so happy for these two! The boys did so great. It's like they knew they needed to be really quiet, because they barely made a peep. So proud of them. :) After the wedding we hiked back down the mountain and for some reason that seemed harder than climbing up. Maybe it was because I was already so exhausted. But, I made it and that is the important part. 

Courtney and Justin, thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your special day. It was such an honor to be there. 

Vail Vacation Part 2: Date Day

My parents watched the boys for an entire day, so that Brian and I could spend it together. We decided to go on a Polaris Rzr Mountain Tour. I was excited, but a little skeptical if it was really worth all $300.
Well, folks, IT WAS! We had an absolute blast and God really blessed us. We just happened to be the only couple that day taking a tour, so we got to follow the tour guide around the mountains all by ourselves. No waiting on other people. We also got to do a whole lot more than a usual tour because it was just us.

We started out by going through ginormous muddy puddle. And when I say ginormous I mean it was more like a small muddy lake, because the muddy water covered the floor of our Rzr. I had my eyes shut and my feet up on the dash trying to keep myself as clean as possible (we didn't plan what all we were going to do in Colorado until after we got there and I had not anticipated needing clothes that I could get covered in dirt, so I did not pack any). 

The thing that makes me laugh is that Brian was totally into the whole driving through a mud pit thing, so we did about 5 times (while our tour guide videoed us). 

After we got away from the ginormous mud puddle, our tour guide took us to a trail and we then hiked a short distance to a waterfall. 

Our tour guide took our picture in front of the waterfall and life was good. Then he suggested that we climb a little further so that we could see the top of the waterfall. Once we got to the top he suggested that we slide over a huge boulder and climb over some slippery rocks and take yet another picture. So that's what we did. It was not easy. In fact I actually accidentally stuck my foot in the water. 

Oh My Toes! They were freezing. 

But, that's not even that best part of the story.

After we got our picture, the guide was showing me how I should climb back over this boulder. I was sure I was going to slip and fall to my death, so I was pretty nervous. 

Then right as this guide is assuring me it will be fine, he slips and FALLS DOWN THE WATERFALL. 

I looked at Brian and asked, "Did we just kill our tour guide?"

Brian calls down the waterfall, "Are you okay?"

The guide jumps out of the water fists in the air and yells, "That was awesome!"

I was so thankful we didn't have to go explain to the tour guide place how our tour guide fell down a waterfall and died. PHEW! 

We all made it back to the safety of our Rzr's. I consistently reminded Brian as we were driving to be careful because we had two baby boys at home that desperately needed us to live. :)

The views were absolutely stunning. 

What a day! It couldn't have been a more perfect plan. Love that I get to call this man Husband and that we get to go on crazy fun adventures. 

We ate lunch on the mountaintop. As you can see in this picture I was freezing! So was Brian and he was in short sleeves, but pretended the whole day that he wasn't even chilly.

This was me after the long ride. I was literally covered in dirt from head to toe. I had mud caked to my lips like lipstick. It was pretty hilarious. 

After getting all cleaned up and pretty again, we went to Minturn, a little town near Vail, to check out a farmer's market they had going on. It was so fun. We drank some of the best lemonade I've ever had and I got to buy a few souvenirs.

The next day everyone went out to the Vail farmer's market. It is the biggest farmer's market in Colorado. It was pretty impressive. There were people everywhere. I could have spent hours looking around, except when you have babies that have to eat and nap that isn't really possible. I wish I had a good picture of what this farmer's market was like, but I was so busy I forgot all about taking pictures. 

Family Vacation: Vail Colorado Part 1

My dear friend Courtney decided to get married on a mountaintop and I couldn't miss her wedding. What better excuse than to just turn it into a vacation?

On the way there we started our trip in the early evening, drove 9 hours, and arrived in the early morning. It was pretty tough keeping our eyes open, but we filled our bodies with lots of caffeine while our dear babies slept. (This was actually my preferred method of travel, after we experienced traveling with the boys on the way home during the day)

I bought these really cool snack cups that let your child eat snacks, but aren't supposed to spill anywhere. They were absolutely enthralled with them and were entertained for awhile. I was beginning to think that I was a mommy genius, until Eli figured out how to take the top off and spilled HUNDREDS of cheerios all over the vehicle. Way to go, son, you win the baby genius prize.

Now let's talk about Colorado. Oh my goodness, it was beautiful, and the weather was perfect, and I never ever wanted to leave. 

Yep, I'll just build my cabin right over there please!

We met my parents there and we all had a wonderful time. I'm so thankful we went with my parents because they helped with the boys and Brian and I actually got to do some activities without babies. It was like a dream.

We did a lot of hiking. The boys were thrilled to get so much time to spend outdoors. Every morning as soon as they woke up they asked to doh doh (which is the equivalent of go). They loved hiking and really enjoyed the hiking backpacks we had for them. I really surprised myself on this trip and was able to actually carry them all over the place. I was sure that after 5 mins. I would be toast. Hooray, for determination.

Love my little family!

Vail is such a cute little town with cute big buildings :)

On our first day out, we took a ride up the mountain on the gondola, ate a delicious lunch while staring at mountains, and hiked along a trail. 

Vail from the Gondola 

Gondola riding with Mimi and Papa

Um, yeah, this makes my heart melt.

The view at the top. Let's all take a moment and soak it in.

Ready to hike!

Hiking selfie with a baby on my back...talented!

So glad I married an outdoorsman.

How did I get this blessed? 3 boys, hiking, mountains!

Me and my beautiful Momma, oh and Eli too ;)

Snacking on the trail

I miss this so much!

We went hiking the next day too! Surprise, Surprise. It was just as fun minus the fact that I got a sunburn on my scalp, but it was oh, so worth it!

Hand-Painted Sign DIY

I looked through a bunch of different pins on Pinterest and kinda combined them all together to make my very own sign. I'm so excited, because it was easy as pie.

Step 1: Find or cut a piece of wood to the size you want for your sign

Step 2: Pick out a cool font and the size of letters you want and print them out.

Step 3: Place the words where you want them on your sign and trace the outline with a ballpoint pen.

I used a ruler to make sure I kept the words straight. Would hate to have them all lop-sided. When you are tracing the outline of the words make sure you are pressing hard enough. It will make little ridges in the wood that you can follow along when you paint. 

Step 4: Fill in your traced outlines with paint. 

Step 5: Lightly sand the words to give your sign a more worn feeling and then stain the sign (this is really an optional step, you get to decide). When you stain your sign don't be afraid to put the stain over your painted words just make sure you quickly wipe it off. 

Can you believe that was only a 5 step process? See, I told you it was easy as pie. 

I currently have this in my bedroom until I can find a better place to display it. But, until then it is a really great sign to wake up to. Because, Lord knows, I need grace. You need grace. We all need grace. 

Making signs is addicting and I have hundreds more that I want to make. If only I had hundreds of places on my walls to hang signs. 

So, get to crafting. You won't regret it.