Moving In-Sawyer's Room and Living Room

So in Part One I showed photos of our developing bedroom and dining room. Here are some pictures of what we've done, so far, in Sawyer's room and the living room...

Sawyer's room is now an adorable robin's egg blue with fun surfer posters Tim ordered from one of his favorite tee-shirt designers. We are still planning on hanging Tim's red surfboard over the crib.

Our living room is slowly coming together as well. We'll fill up the shelves as we unpack more boxes but for now I'm kinda enjoying all the empty space.

I found this cute tray at Z-Gallery for $4.00. I love it!!

My dad grew up with this chair in his parents home. For the last 10 years it has been in my parents basement. We cleaned up the wood and found an outdoor cushion that fit the frame perfectly (and matched our pillows quite well). Its a great retro addition to the room!

More photos coming soon!!

Our House- Part One

We've officially moved into our new home!! Thanks to my "get-er-done" father-in-law, we actually moved in a couple days earlier then planned and have had a blast slowly piecing everything back together. Since we've only been here three days, I don't have a whole lot to write about yet but I did want to put some pictures up to show the progress we've made thus far...

Here is our Master Bedroom with the headboard Tim and his dad made out of reclaimed wood. The cream colored duvet from West Elm adds amazing texture to the room. So happy with how it turned out!

After searching for in-expensive curtains, we found these beauties at the fabulous Ikea...LOVE THEM!

Here is my "mint green" dining room. I love the color and can't wait to get all my milk glass and black shelving up to really give the color contrast I'm going for...

Here are a few of my milk glass pieces and a tiered plate stand I made with thrift store and clearance treasures (it looks a bit lopsided in this photo...it really is quite cute :)).

I'll post more picts of Sawyer's room (surfer themed) and the living room once we are a bit further along in the unpacking process. 

Thank you Jesus for your blessings!!

Family Prayer Box

⁵ and Joshua said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:5-7

This last month has been full of blessings. I have lived a very blessed life but I cannot remember a time where I felt like I was being overloaded with such unmerited and unexplainable gifts from God in such quantity. As we prepare to move into our new home next weekend, I am more and more convinced that God has given us that home to be a memorial for our family to remind us of God's provision and blessings.

A few years ago, Tim and I wanted to create something tangible that could help us remember the many ways God has answered our prayers and provided for our family. We talked about journaling but wanted to have something that could be set out in our living room and be noticed. Our desire was that whatever we used would be a conversation piece for those who came to our home so that when we were asked, "hey, what's that?" we could share the many ways God has blessed our family.

We decided on this cool photo box I found online, and had "The Kanallakan Family Prayer Box" engraved on the top. We filled the box with index cards and periodically fill them out with our family prayer requests and praises of God's provision.

As I was filling out new cards filled with the many blessings of this month, I was so encouraged and filled as I read through the many cards we had written throughout the last 3 years. Answered prayers for a new (and free) car when ours was totaled, finding out I was pregnant the same day Tim was offered a job, God leading us out of a unhealthy church situation into a place where we could heal. God's provision and blessings again and again, written in our own hand writing for our children and their children to read and be encouraged.


Here are a few of the things that went into the box today:

•  New, beautiful home
•  Incredibly low interest rate
•  Escrow closing a week early
•  Keys handed to us on our Anniversary
•  $3000 gift from builder for window treatments
•  Our Realtor gifting us one of the garage door opener units ($300.00)
•  Notary finding mistake in our paperwork and, as a result, our monthly mortgage payment dropped   $60 a month
•  Mortgage is now less than our rent in Ventura
•  Tankless water heater was stolen off our house the night after we took ownership. The lead contractor worked it out to replace the heater at no cost to us
•  Apartment Manager allowed us to break our lease with no penalty fees

Thank you Jesus!!!


                  

The Beauty of New and the Joys of Old.

Since entering the world of home ownership, both Tim and I have been able to think of little else but how blessed we are. We are incredibly overwhelmed by this gift of a home and have been trying to enjoy the adventure of buying the needed appliances and furnishings. I say "trying" because it is not natural for either of us to spend money. We have lived on a very tight budget since getting married and have always tried to be frugal with our purchases. This whole "go to Sears and buy a new fridge" deal is new territory.

The idea of "buying new" is also tough to wrap my brain around because I have always been happy to fix up old things. Actually, I LOVE to fix up old things. So, though we are blessed to have so wonderful new things in our new home, I am thrilled about a few of the old things we are working on fixing up as well.

Here is last weekends project...

My in-laws have had a pile of old wood in their back yard since they built their home 20 years ago. The wood pieces varied in size and were left over from the beautiful beams they used to decorate their house. Tim and I have had our eye on the wood for a few years now and always imagined using the wood for a reclaimed coffee table like this lovely piece from Restoration Hardware:

After thinking it through, however, we decided a rough wood coffee table was an unsafe option for small children and that at this point in our lives, the stuffed ottoman was still the way to go.

We began to dream up new ideas for the cool, weathered wood and settled on making a headboard for our new bedroom. Though we saw a few ideas that were inspiring, we had our own vision for what we wanted and began working on it this past weekend. 

First my very talented husband and father-in-law cut the boards and arranged them into 2x4s. 

Sawyer helped draw up the plans :).

 

Then they put in the big black bolts, first- to hold up the beams, and second- to make it look cool.

We thought we were done once the bolts were in but then my father-in-law brought out these beauties from his shed...

My in-laws bought these antique door hinges at a garage sale over 25 years ago. We cleaned them up, painted them,  roughed them up again and set them on the headboard to see what they would look like...

Now we have the option of making the headboard look like an old door. We haven't bolted the hinges on yet because we ran out of the right sized bolts. What do you think??? Should we go plain and just have the wooden planks or do we add the bolts and make our own door-like headboard?

Either way, I am in love with this headboard and thankful to my husband and father-in-law for putting it together. 

Here is the bedspread from Anthropologie that I think would pair well with the headboard:

Of course I would never pay the $300 dollars to purchase this beauty so here is the affordable alternative from West Elm that I am seriously considering: 

What do you think???

Blessings in the Central Valley

(A very photo-shopped  image of Visalia)

I know, I know. This blog post is way over due. I've been meaning to sit and fill in the details of our recent move to the Central Valley but I feel like so much is going on I don't know where to begin. But I know a few of our friends and family are interested in the details so I will do my best to present the condensed version of this past month...

We moved to Visalia just over a month ago and, to be completely honest, came dragging our feet a bit. Though we were excited about making a fresh start, Tim beginning a new job, and the housing market possibilities, we LOVE living by the ocean. We were not one of those families who live by the beach but never go. We played at the beach all the time.

Plus, we had just started to settle it at a new church, I had just found an amazing new group of mommy friends and was enjoying amazing weekly fellowship with the mentors in my women's Bible study. We were not ready to move. Especially not to the Central Valley. 

But we came. We packed up our little beach bungalow and headed North. After a bit of a hiccup with which apartment unit we would actually be living in, we unpacked and began to settle in.

After about two weeks of figuring out where the nearest grocery store was and the easiest way to get to our bank, I began to feel myself going insane. First of all, its flippin' hot in Visalia. Monday we enjoyed a lovely day of 106 degrees. Oh my. Since we are currently living in a second story apartment and know very few people in our new town, it did not take long before the boredom set in. My initial solution was to hang out in air-conditioned stores. That got expensive quickly. Then I tried getting back into crafting/sewing. This was a good solution for a few days but the end result was still me with no friends, in hot Visalia. At least I now had a cute pillow to talk to.

Two weeks ago, a friend of a friend, who heard we were new to the area, sent me a facebook message inviting me to a ladies evening Bible Study she was involved in. What a God-send that invite was. I (all to eagerly) agreed to come and spent the entire day anxious to meet new people. I was thrilled to discover the ladies were all around my age and are all seeking to be more like Christ. I had a wonderful time that first night and am leaving for my third evening with them in a couple of hours. Thank you Jesus for providing sisters to share my burdens with and pray over me!

As far as the church search goes, we have some really good options on the table. We have been attending a fairly large church for the last couple weeks but I'm not sure it is where God will have us end up. After our experience in Ventura at the beginning of this year, I am having to deal with some fears that I am afraid will keep me from being able to settle in anywhere. My prayer is that God will make it abundantly clear to us where He wants us to get involved and that we will feel... "safe" among that body of believers very quickly.

Ok so now for the house stuff.

So we weren't planning on moving forward with any home purchasing decisions until September ish. Our goal was to be in a new house by Christmas. Because of some less than ideal things that have happened at our apartment complex, we called our Realtor and spent our second weekend in Visalia looking at homes. The first house hunt outing was primarily to get to know our Realtor and for her to get to know us and what we were looking for. We had an interesting afternoon discovering what our price range looked like in the form of homes and attempting to keep Sawyer from driving the nice Realtor crazy. The following weekend my lovely in-laws came up and watched Sawyer so we could get a bit more looking done. Our Realtor took us to a neighborhood I had fallen in love with when we drove through Visalia for the first time. The homes are amazing and so right up my alley as far as color and style go. At the time, we were all sure they were way out of our price range but decided to ask about incentives and deals anyways. We met with the seller and crunched numbers and were amazed that with the builders incentives, we could afford to buy my dream house. We took the information and went home totally overwhelmed and trying not to be too excited. Saturday night we talked and prayed until late and Sunday morning we called my parents to see if they could come up and look at the house. They hopped in their car and made it to Visalia by dinner time that same day.

My parents, like my in-laws, loved the home. Tim and I spent the next couple days praying and seeking council from a few other people and on Friday, signed papers to begin escrow. Today, almost a week later, we had our initial walk through with the builder to ensure all structural and cosmetic aspects of the home are perfect and move-in ready. It looks like escrow will close on July 30th and we will be home-owners!!

The house is so much more than anything we could have ever imagined we would buy. We both know it is a gift from God and are so thankful. I was struggling last week with feeling guilty about living in such a nice home while so many people live in poverty. I shared my heart with my new Bible study sisters and one of them spoke straight into my heart when she said, "Amber, stop asking God how it is that you get to live in such a beautiful home and start asking Him why He has given it to you. What is it He wants you to do with it?"

Her words came straight from God and since then I have been asking God what it is He wants us to do with our new home. I am excited to hear His answer. I look forward to hosting Bible Studies and Christmas parties and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in our new home.

So thats our update as of July 1st. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been praying for us during this transition. Greater things are yet to come...

Monogram Pillow

This weekend I will work on a blog post regarding our recent transition from the lovely Ventura to the lovely Visalia.It's been an interesting journey so far and I know many of my family and friends who read my blog are curious to know how it is all going. Until then, however, here is a project I started and finished yesterday.

It is hot in Visalia and, though it is a cute town, there is not a lot to do that doesn't require being out in the sun. As a result, I am finding that I need to have indoor projects to think about and work on in order to maintain sanity.

I saw this idea for monogrammed pillows on one of my most favorite blogs, Lemon Tree Creations, and decided to give it a try...

Sawyer and I ventured out to Joann's (thankfully Visalia's is still in business) and found, of course, some baseball material for the letter "S." This was the only baseball themed material that couldn't double as 4th of July fabric so I went for it. I found some red felt and made my way to the cutting station.

Now let me step away from the pillow for a moment and share my cutting station experience...

So I walk up to the young girl with the scissors. No one is around. No one. I place my material in front of her and say "hello." She looks at me, smiles, and says, "Did you take a number?" "A number?" I asked. "Yes," she replied, "you must take a number and wait for your number to be called." I looked around the store. Again, there was NO ONE around. I walked over to the other side of the counter and pulled number 91 out of the dispenser. I watched the young Joann's employee walk over to the loudspeaker and say, "Number 91."

It was like a bad movie.

I wish someone could have taken a picture of my face as I walked back to the counter to face the girl with the scissors. I'm sure my expression exuded compassion and grace and understanding. Uh huh.

So anyways, once my material was cut, we headed home, put Sawyer down for a nap and began to work.

First I found the size and font of "S" I wanted on the computer and printed out my stencil.

I cut the "S" out of the red fabric and placed the baseball material behind the cut out.

Next, I stitched around the "S" with doubled up white thread. Please don't look too closely at my stitching skills. They are far from impressive...

Once I was done with the stitching, I sewed up three and half sides and starting stuffing the pillow. Some of my edges are a bit rough but I have some ideas for next time.

The red and green is a bit "Christmasy" but I liked the idea of adding color other than blue and khaki to Sawyer's room.

Anyways, I am happy that I was able to do it in one afternoon. Thanks Lemon Tree Creations for the inspiration!

Organic or not organic...That is the question.

My dad asked me to write an article for his newsletter on the new research regarding pesticides and ADHD. I thought I'd share my first draft.


Enjoy...

As a young mom, attempting to figure out “parenthood” in the 21^st century, I am constantly bombarded with the challenge of raising healthy children. It starts at pregnancy with the print-out of what is and is not safe to eat, drink, wear, etc. No soft cheeses, no caffeine, no herbal teas, no nitrates, no sun-tanning, no hair dying, no hot tubbing, no, no, no. After wrapping my brain around the small but significant life changes I would have to make, I then had to maintain my sanity. “Is this ok to eat?” “Am I gaining too much weight?” “Does standing by a microwave damage my baby’s ability to do multiplication?” I was constantly grappling with new (and usually ridiculous) fears and unanswered questions. Half way through my second trimester, I was over it. I avoided the foods my doctor warned against (most of the time) and I was smart about my activities and energy levels. I refused to allow every little thing to cause me fear or make me question my ability to be a good mom. I felt liberated and empowered.

Then the baby came…

There are 50 billion books on how to care for a baby. All of them say something different. One book says to feed on demand, another says to schedule. This one says let them cry, that one says hold them at all times. After my baby was three weeks old, I put the books down and decided to make decisions based on our lifestyle, my child’s developing temperament, and how I could get the most sleep.

Now my little dude is 18 months old and we have entered a whole new level in the game of parenting. Climbing has become a favorite activity along with throwing all objects (food included) and discovering what will and will not float in the toilet bowl. Everything about being a mom has become more complicated. One nap or two? Pacifier or no pacifier? Barney or Thomas? So many choices to make every minute of every day.

The most recent dilemma I have found myself grappling with is the choice between organic and non-organic foods.  I have watched all the documentaries and youtube videos on the reality of where most main-stream foods come from and the process by which they get to our local grocery store. They all make me want to move to my own farm and grow my own dinner. Since that is not a realistic solution, I have had to step back and decide how I am going to let this new information on food affect my family.

The first goal I made was to begin to meal plan in order to save money and be intentional about the food I bought at the store. My next goal was to buy most of our produce at a local farmer’s market or fruit/veggie stand. I am currently working on my third goal of serving my family only organic produce. After reading a recent article on pesticides in Time Magazine, I can assure you I will begin to work much harder on goal number three.

Last week, Time Magazine featured an article on the relation between ADHD and organophosphates (a type of toxic pesticides found on grocery store fruits and veggies).  The more I read and re-read the article, the more uncomfortable I became. Not only is it disturbing to think about pesticides being traceable in a child’s urine, but the thought of my child ingesting the same chemicals used to kill bugs by “causing damage to the nerve connections in the brain” is pretty upsetting as well.

Though there is further research to be done, the study described in Time Magazine is not the first of its kind. Apparently the possible link between pesticides and ADHD has been up for debate for some time. It sounds to me like Dr. Bouchard, the leading researcher on the project, is pretty convinced…

Bouchard suggests that concerned parents try to avoid using bug sprays in the home and to feed their children organically grown fruits and vegetables, if possible. (Otherwise, parents should be careful to scrub all produce to reduce residue.) While pesticide-free fruits and greens may be more costly, Bouchard says they may be worth the price in terms of future health. (Time Magazine)

So for all the moms reading this, sorry for adding to the list of things to worry about. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.