Nursery Projects: Heirloom Artwork

My dad's mother, Betty, spent a year or so in Design School, back when she was about 19 years old (between 1939 and 1940). After she passed away, we found a box of dozens of her beautiful sketches, tracings, and newspaper clippings of her favorite clothing designs. I have always been a fan of vintage anything and for most of my high school years, my bedroom walls were decorated with her sketches. 

As we have been planning and designing Jane's nursery, in the back of my mind has been 4-5 sketches my grandmother did of little girl clothing. Though it had been years since I had actually seen them, I could still picture them.  A few weekends ago I was able to get to my parents house and go through the box of grandma's artwork. I was THRILLED to find the little girl sketches and even more excited that they were even cuter then I remembered. 

 I can not wait to get the art matted and framed for Jane's nursery. These pieces are such a gift from my Grandma.

 

Nursery Projects: Paint and Bookcase Re-do

It has been so very fun to start on our baby girl nursery! When Sawyer was born we were living in a very small, upstairs apartment and were very limited on what we could do decor wise. Getting to paint and design both Sawyer and baby Jane's rooms is such a treat!

A couple of weekends ago we began working on Jane's nursery. We started with painting the walls an adorable, super soft, shell pink. I'm so happy with how the paint turned out and how it pairs with the ceiling and carpet colors.

My awesome husband is a fantastic painter!

So eager to help!

Proud big brother

Once the paint was on the walls it was time to think about how to arrange the furniture. Sawyer has recently transitioned to a "big boy" bed, thus freeing up his crib for sister. We moved the crib into the nursery and got the changing table out of storage.

The next step was to re-do an old oak bookshelf someone had given us when we got married.

First we sanded

Then came a couple coats of primer

Then came the super cute yellow paint

 

We primed the back of the bookshelf

 We used our bedding fabric to line the back of the bookshelf and the result...SUPER CUTE!

 

We are so happy with how things are turning out! Can't wait to meet our baby Jane!

To Lent or Not To Lent

This is actually a post from a year ago...I don't know how re-posting blog excerpts fits into blog etiquette but rather than re-invent the wheel, I figured I'd share what my thoughts were on the observation of Lent this time last year. We are excited to participate in Lent again this year and are, once again, saying "adios" to sweet treats until Easter. It has been such a blessing to investigate this tradition. My prayer is that as we approach the Easter season, God would begin to prepare our hearts to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.


From Feb. 26, 2010
"Last year Tim and I were blessed to attend a presentation of the symbolism and significance behind the Jewish tradition of the Passover meal. We were both fascinated by what we learned and discussed the beauty of ancient cultural and religious traditions and how so much of that Old Testament reverence is lost in our "what ever works for you" Christian culture. At the end of the presentation, the Jewish missionary who spoke, ended his time talking about the tradition of Lent. Having grown up in non-denominational and Southern Baptist churches, Lent was not something we observed or really spoke about. This novel idea excited Tim and I and last year we decided to fast away desserts and sweet treats for Lent. 

This year we have again given up all things sweet and delicious. Lent started last Wednesday, Feb. 17th and continues until April 3rd, the day before Easter. Though giving up sweets may not seem too big a deal, let me tell you, it is tough. Its not so much the big treats (pies, cakes, cookies, etc.) because we don't eat a lot of those foods. Its the things we eat without thinking about it (a chocolate covered strawberry at Bible Study, a handful of M&Ms at the office, a mocha from Starbucks) that are hard to say no to. 

I was reading about Lent earlier this week and really liked the following description from churchyear.net:

The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him. Thus it is fitting that the season of Lent begin with a symbol of repentance: placing ashes mixed with oil on one's head or forehead. However, we must remember that our Lenten disciplines are supposed to ultimately transform our entire person: body, soul, and spirit. Our Lenten disciplines are supposed to help us become more like Christ. Eastern Christians call this process theosis, which St. Athanasius aptly describes as "becoming by grace what God is by nature."

(That last quote from St. Anthanasius makes me so excited and fills me with hope!) 

Observing Lent has become a new tradition for our little family and I am very excited to incorporate it into our Easter celebration. Though giving up chocolate donuts does not seem like a spiritually transforming act, our decision to remove yummy things from our menu for the 46 days until we celebrate Christ's resurrection, allows us to be reminded of the huge act of self-denial our Savior made on our behalf. Thinking about His ultimate sacrifice makes putting down that cookie much easier."