Dirty hands, Beautiful life

Coffee table charm: Farmhouse style outdoor dining

The addiction begin at seventeen....when I bought my first dining room table.

Tables are my weakness. I love the symbolism.

The idea of gathering around and sharing decadent food and good company.

You might remember this little haul of rescued junk from a burn pile on a nearby farm.

What looked to be around five feet tall from the road turned out to be around eight feet tall.

My cowboys were not intimidated though. They showed off their muscles and brought it back to R7.

Where it sat shamefully in the driveway for too long...

Until last night when we made the call and cut it in half.

As soon as we put it on end I was in L-O-ve!!!

So much farmhouse charm and the oversized tabletop is just imply inviting.

It would make an incredible coffee table in a large great room.

It's also a great place for a casual picnic.

Such a unique piece.

It would have kept birds or small animals at one time.

Eventually I might do a little touch up work on it, but for now I'm having fun with it!

Tomorrow we are having a group visit the vintage studio and R7 ranch, and I hope this makes their visit just a little more fun!

I like to welcome each group in a unique way, so that no two experiences are the same.

I just know if each of you could join me at the table that we would visit for hours sharing stories, laughs, and making my table dreams come true!

From R7 to you --

Be a blessing!

Do you follow me on Instagram?

I'm having a book giveaway...

Linking to:

The Scoop
Make It Pretty Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Stroll Through Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Talk of the Town
Beyond the Picket Fence

Grace at Home

Simple and Sweet Friday

Fridays Unfolded
Do It Yourself: NW Pleasures

Whispers and truth

In 2015 I set a goal.

That's right probably just one goal:

to attend She Speaks in 2016.

Cowboy was so supportive in helping me pray and work and step out in faith toward this goal.

I was determined to have a book proposal ready and two completed chapters.

I fell just short of the goal and in the weeks before the conference the enemy was on the prowl.

First he whispered "You're not good enough..."

I fired back with "My God is greater...My God is stronger...

Then he distracted me with "Look at how many are already out there..."

I stumbled and then fired back "Many are the plans of a man, but the Lord's purpose will stand..."

And then, he hit my people.

My seven. I was completely discouraged.

I opened my 5 minute speech about family and parenting and clicked that satisfying little trash can.

I'm not a quitter, so I stared at a blank screen. I sifted through files for ideas, and there it was.

I found a file where I had simply typed the words of 2 Corinthians 4 a year before.

"We do not lose heart."

I wept tears of relief. Truth.

The enemy doesn't just want my schedule, my marriage, my kids, or my writing.

The enemy wants me to lose heart.

Well I wasn't giving in that easily. I set my pride aside, typed out a humble one sheet, packed my cutest clothes (hey I don't get off the 'farm' very often), kissed my family and headed out.

"Fix your eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen"

The scene was set for a beautiful weekend.

The designer in me was delighted at the beautiful flowers and vignettes.

And just as expected, I met God in worship and learned from each session.

But...the real beauty was happening deep inside of me.

Each doubt that existed inside of me was being chipped away and chiseled at by TRUTH.

Truth #1

God has given me gifts and words. BUT...those come without pressure to perform.

He will use them. In His time. I simply follow His lead loving Him and loving others.

Truth #2

God has allowed me a unique set of disappointments and hurts.

BUT...others are hurting and so need "good girls" like me t

o show that we've been through inner hell and came out still praising HEAVEN!!

Truth #3

My world is a loud and crazy place. BUT every single time I meet Him in quiet I will find rest.

Physic rest. Emotional rest. Mental rest.

And best of all...rest for my soul.

With those truths I was ready to live out another part of that message from 2 Corinthians 4

"I believed, therefore I have spoken"

So many other great things happened too!!

I won jewelry!!

I never win anything.

I had the perfect roommate (also from little old Iowa)

and no doubt a soul sister!!

(Those are embroidery hoops painted gold and letters added. My design heart went pitter-patter!)

I got to meet and spend time with some of Proverbs 31 OBS gals that I volunteer with!

(Our next study starts September 6th -- join us!)

Oh and that little humble one sheet didn't matter because I sat down with a publisher and professionally spoke from my heart and I'll be moving forward!!!

But seriously...that is SO small compared to what God did in ME.

I am loved. So are you.

Do you follow me on Instagram?

I'm having a book giveaway...

Don't forget to check out all the posts on the She Speaks Blog Hop and leave some love!!

(Photo credits by link in the photo.)

From R7 to you --

Be a blessing.

Linking to:

The Scoop
Make It Pretty Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Stroll Through Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Talk of the Town
Beyond the Picket Fence

Grace at Home

Simple and Sweet Friday

Fridays Unfolded
Do It Yourself: NW Pleasures

Why I traded in a garden for a trampoline

I’m finding new words falling out of my mouth on a regular basis.I’ll be chatting away with friend or stranger and they just slip out. Sometimes it’s not even on topic, but here they come spewing out and into the universe. I’m certainly no therapist, but I am savvy enough to see that I’m like a little child who first learns a new phrase trying it out on each person they can toddle up to and gauging their response. So, if you stood in line by me recently or have been “fortunate” enough to share life over an overpriced beverage then you’ve heard me say it, and I’m sorry. Think of it as my coping mechanism.

It began innocently. A simple question with a simple answer. “How old are your children?” To save the liturgy of answering such a question in detaiI, I responded “our youngest is nine and they go up from there.” Wait. “Our youngest is nine…” I only vaguely remember the person’s response, and the rest of the conversation was lost on me.

“Our youngest is nine…”

In the last few years we’ve recounted over and over “how big they are getting” and “how they are growing up too fast,” but something about this was different. “Our youngest is nine…”

This wasn’t just a statement of age. This was the definition of an era.

When our nine year old triumphantly declared this to be his last year of single digits, I knew why this statement lingered with me. Just a few blinks ago we were celebrating making it through dinner without spilled milk and enjoying a road trip without booster seats. We could go into a restaurant without traumatizing a waitress. We were still rotating shifts to ensure clean ears, armpits, and bottoms were achieved at bath time; but we were thankful everyone could pour themselves a drink and find their own shoes….wait maybe that one’s still a problem….

But, our celebrations have changed drastically. We think nothing of them feeding themselves, riding their bikes or even fixing a meal. We celebrate instead them hurling themselves into the air and onto the ground defying gravity with flips, twists and turns from diving boards, trampolines, scooters, dirt bikes, cheer pyramids. We celebrate Mother’s day and Father’s day by showing off their sweet IG posts. We remain firm that we will not SnapChat but show our affection by celebrating #SelfieSunday. We look on feeling helpless when we can’t mend broken hearts with a bandaid and a kiss. We use Google as our best friend when answering questions and helping with homework because their awareness of the world is growing beyond what we ever imagined. A messy food once banned to being eaten outside is now a welcome sight just to have them all crowded into the kitchen.

As I realize the weight of “our youngest is nine…” my season of life becomes more clear.

For those of you still pondering the food ban -- crushed up Ramen noodles eaten from the bag is 100 times worse than a 2 year old with Cheerios.

We encourage new moms to nap when the baby is napping. When she’s wrangling toddlers and in the throes of potty training we encourage her to let the toys scatter on the floor and to sit down cross legged on the floor. When she’s wiping tears as they enter preschool we encourage her to hold their hands, read books with them and explore nature. But now what?

What is the sage advice given when one awkwardly drops the line “our youngest is nine”?

Time is more scarce and imminent than ever before. So, we scale back; make room for unexpected moments that can turn into memories. We give up some volunteer positions everyone thought we would always do. We realize that we may have crumbs on the table and backpacks and sports gear tossed on every surface in sight. We no longer look at car trips as a chance to pop in a DVD and instead we take them for a drive so we can engage them in conversation. Gone are the “playdates” when we get to sit back with some java and adult conversation. Instead, we sit poolside for three hours for the thirteen minutes of conversation we can sneak in with our teenage daughter. We hike, splash, kayak, and climb until we collapse. We learn more about skateboards, video games, and music and sports we’ve never heard of, so that we can connect. We stay up later not for alone time, but for that moment when they still want to talk.

We skip planting a garden, and instead we jump on the trampoline while the weeds grow.

We pray more than ever before and treasure each moment because we realize what it means when we say “our youngest is nine…”

From R7 to you --
Be a blessing.

I would love to hear from you. What is your season?

Reclaimed Family: Encouragment for Blended Families

You don't have to hang out around R7 for very long before you start to sniff it out...

Not the compost pile. Although we do have one of those, what you will catch on to pretty quickly is our attraction to second chances. Sometimes it's junk piles turned into functional furniture.

Other times it's animals that need a little extra TLC. In our most ambitious moments, homes that need a new life. We enjoy all of this, but the one thing we love most is what reclaimed living does for people.

Our family is what you could call a reclaimed family -- saved by grace and put together through a second chance. Second chance at love, commitment, grace and family.

Cowboy and I put our life before you here and on social media not for any glory to ourself, because most of the time we eat humble pie right here in front of y'all, but in hopes that we can encourage others and point you to the One who holds all this crazy broken mess together!

While nourishing our own family, Cowboy and I would also love to become more vocal about encouraging others who (no matter what their stories) live with and love a reclaimed family.

A big step in launching this is to attend the Summit on Stepfamily Ministry.

So...to try to support the cost of us attending this conference...ALL of our sales made through R7 Reclaimed Vintage Studio in the month of August will be used toward expenses for us beginning this adventure at the Summit!

If you are interested in shopping with us I will be posting on our FB page and Instagram. If you see something you like comment with your email and we will send you an invoice.