DIY projects

I made this last week out of a ramen noodle box. I was really needing something to hold and organize paperwork, and what do you know...a ramen noodle box is the perfect size. I actually made this during our 46 1/2 stretch of NO POWER!! We had a really bad rain and wind storm and it knocked down a whole bunch of huge trees in our area (3 in our neighborhood alone). Thankfully, the weather was really nice for those 2 days and 2 nights. The girls didn't have school for one of the days (it was the day after Labor Day) because of all of the flash flooding and power outage. The girls couldn't play outside because of the rain, so most of the day I heard the following, "I'm bored. What can I do?". In fact, Cloey said that to me WHILE I was giving her a pedicure!! It was a very L.O.N.G day. When the power came back on, I was happy and yet kindof sad. I rather enjoyed the excuse of no power. "Sandwiches for dinner AGAIN?" "Yes, there's no power." "No clean laundry?" "Nope, there's no power." You see why I was kindof sad? :) But at the same time, no power for 46 1/2 hours is probably the longest I would want to go. Electricity is just one of those things that we majorly take for gran it. (Is that how you spell "gran it"? That's what spell check said but it just seems so weird. Shouldn't it be one word?)



All of these beautiful kitchen accessories (curtains and table runner for kitchen table and China Buffet) were all made by my mom. Have I told you how incredible she is?!? Well, she is. Also, notice the kitchen chairs that we upholstered and spray painted the two end ones. Cory and I actually bought our kitchen table without chairs like 6 years ago because it was majorly discounted. Once we started looking around for chairs, we realized how crazy expensive they are to buy separately. So we have just used black folding chairs for all those years. UNTIL, we found these chairs last year at an estate sale for $30. Yep, all 6 of them for $60. I had originally intended on sanding them all down and repainting them black. But after spending HOURS upon HOURS just sanding two of them, I decided to just have two black and leave the rest as is. I actually really like the way it looks. When my mom was here helping after Makayla was born, I told her how much I wanted to reupholster my chairs. That was all I needed to say. She was totally all for helping with it while she was here. We had a lot of fun doing it, and I learned how incredibly easy it is. The hardest part is picking out the fabric. Next house project for me....curtains for my library. Who knows, maybe I'll actually do this one within the next year. :)

I have a new calling. I am the visiting teaching coordinator. I LOVE it!!! First of all, I love visiting teaching (I didn't always). And secondly, I love thinking of fun things to do to help inspire the sisters in our ward to be good visiting teachers (like the gum posted above). Right now I'm planning a VT conference for next month. I'm really excited about it. Although I REALLY miss teaching the youth, I know that this calling is inspired. It has really opened my eyes and heart to the need for good visiting teachers. Sister Beck recently said that, "A sister in this Church has no other responsibility outside of her family that has the potential to do as much good as visiting teaching." I don't know about you, but that totally puts the fire in me.

The last thing I made last week was for a bridal shower. I wasn't sure what to get and I was trying to keep things small since she is going to be moving across the country. I ended up getting her a metal cookie spatula (the one I really want) and I made a cute little cookie recipe book to go with it (thanks to Amber for the recipes). Then I gave her those really cute cleaning gloves you can get at Walmart. I printed off some fun house cleaning tips and tricks that I found online to go with it. Then I wrote the following poem to tie it all together....

With every toilet you scrub and sink that you’ll clean,
May these gloves protect you against germs unseen.

For your role as a woman, will soon be made clear,
To clean up disasters of those you hold dear.

With the spatula in hand, many cookies will await,
As your family will gather and memories you’ll create.

Cleaning and baking are just two of many things,
For your hands will stay busy with the duties life brings.

But in the monotony of the chores, may you always find,
Your hands as a reminder of promises that bind.

For as you kneel at the altar in just a few days,
Your hands clasped together, your hearts set ablaze,

You will covenant with the Lord and then united you’ll stand,
Living worthy of promises for those who have clean hands.