{When Life Hands You a Lemon, Make Memories}

Don’t you hate the 24-hour bug?   Especially when it falls on a really important day, like ChRiStmAs!  Well, that was the case with my husband this past Christmas.  I felt so bad for him because I know how much he enjoys spending time with family, as well as being with our kids on Christmas morning to see their excitement and delight as they come down the stairs to discover what surprises SaNtA has left for them.

I was determined that I would spend that day doing something my girls and I would remember for years to come.  Early that morning, my brother had sent me an e-Christmas card.  When I opened it, it had elves DaNciNg with his family’s individual faces superimposed on each elf.  It was hystical!  So, I began to make my family’s Christmas card using these cute elf dances and pics from my computer of each person in my family.  I’m not all that computer-savvy, however, it only took a few minutes and was super-easy.  Then I called the girls and they were able to watch our family do a variety of elf dances, from country to HiP-HoP, to disco.  My girls lauged hysterically for hours {well, not exactly hours, but defintely many minutes}.

Then we got out their new chairs that Santa had brought them, sat down and played BeAuTy SaLoN as I gave them each {and Walter, our chocolate lab} a manicure and pedicure.  I have always enjoyed our Christmas’ but to be honest, because we basically always do the same thing {I love tradition}, they all kinda run together.  But not this year.

Later on that day when my husband was feeling a tad bit better, we took the labtop to “sick bay” and let him watch the videos we had created.  He had heard all the laugher earlier that day and said he wondered what was so funny.  Although he still wasn’t feeling  all that great, he was well enough to get to enjoy the videos as once again our girls began laughing HyStEriCallY.

I learned a good LeSsOn that day.  Sometimes life’s most funny moments are those spontaneous times when life hands you the lemon.  You didn’t expect it.  You really didn’t even initially like it, but you roll with it and as a result you just got some pretty good MeMoRiEs.

:)

Robynn~

When All Else Fails…Tell The Truth

Since school started in September we’ve been driving past the same crossing guard four mornings a week on our way to my son’s school.  About a month ago my son decided he was going to start waving good morning to this man on our way to nursery school.  So I’m driving my bright-eyed, excited, 4 1/2 year old waving and shouting “Good morning” through my mini-van window and to my surprise he received absolutely NO response.  Nicholas turned to me and grumbled, “Mommy he didn’t wave back to me.”  I thought fast and replied, “Well maybe he didn’t see you today, you can try again tomorrow.”

After days and weeks went by with no waves being returned I was out of diplomatic responses.  I had already used up…

“Maybe his glasses are so dark that he couldn’t see you.”

“Maybe he was too cold to lift his arm.”

“Maybe he was too busy talking on his phone.”

What I ReAlLy wanted to say was, “Maybe he’s just not a nice person and can’t take two seconds to wave back to a 4 year old!”

OK Robyn…deep breath and pull it together!

I finally decided that instead of making up silly excuses for this man who I don’t even know, I was going to be honest with Nicholas.  On the next drive to school when the crossing guard didn’t wave back to Nicholas, I didn’t make up my usual white lie.  Instead I explained that there are all different kinds of people in the world with lots of different personalities just like the seven dwarfs in Snow White.  I told him that he was like the dwarf named Happy and the crossing guard was like the dwarf name Grumpy.  Nicholas started naming all of the other dwarfs and we talked more about different kinds of people.  I told Nicholas that it made me happy that he wanted to wave good morning to a stranger even if that person didn’t wave back in return and that I hope he stays as friendly as he is now….AlWaYs.

Front Door Facelift

I keep saying that 2012 is a year for cHaNge.  One of the first things I’ve changed is my front door!  When we bought our home it was a country blue.  I painted it red a few years ago, but this year I have been wanting a new look.  Here it is before…

Door Before

And now…the after picture!  What do you think?

Door After

I bought some vinyl and cut out “Welcome” with my stencil machine.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.  To think–Leanne and I were able to tRaNsForm the door in less than an hour (during Garrett’s nap)!

The weather is going to be awesome this week.  Is there something you can do to take advantage of the warmer days and make a change around the house?

~Lara

{The Puzzle}

One thing I really like to do, but don’t do very often is put together a puzzle.  From time to time my extended family will put one together during the HoLiDaYs.  It’s a great time to visit with them and enjoy their company.  Depending on the size of the puzzle it may take us hours or even days to finally put all the pieces together.  And when we are finished there is a sense of satisfaction seeing the end ReSuLt.

I think life is a lot like that puzzle.  When you take it out of the box the pieces are random, nothing fits together and unless you have a picture of what the puzzle should look like {which in life we never do}, a MyStErY.  How often do we look at our life when the pieces are piled up, convinced they will never fit together.  But God is a master at putting the puzzle pieces of our life together.  So, the next time you take a look at the puzzle pieces of your life chaotically piled up, remember that PuZzLeS take time and He who started a good work in you will finish it!!  {Philippians 1:6}

:)

Robynn~

And the winner is…

The winner is responsible for emailing us their shipping information at suedesofa@yahoo.com BY Monday March 12!  If not, we will pick and alternate winner and give them the purse!

THANK YOU to all who participated in the Live-It List Challenge!  We hope it helped get you through the winter months and that you have already marked several items off your list!

Why I LOVE Pinterest!

By now you may have heard of the craze called Pinterest, an internet site where you can browse and “pin” all sorts of pictures from food, fashion, home decor, DIY, photography, to name just a few.  In case you are not familiar with this site (www.pinterest.com) here’s basically how it works.  A friend invites you to get an account (don’t worry it’s free).  You then have your own account where you can create different boards such as fashion, DIY, organizing tips & the like.  You then browse and see what pics others have pinned.  (You can also “pin” your own pics).  When you find pins you like you simply “pin” that picture on one of your “boards” and voila!   You then can access that picture whenever you go to your Pinterest account.  Many of the pics are from blogs which is really cool, because let’s say you see a recipe that looks delicious and you “pin” that recipe, if you click on that picture many times you will be directed to someone’s blog where you can access the recipe.  We absolutely LOVE Pinterest, so if you have not already checked it out give it a try!

Robynn Says:  I love Pinterest for MANY reasons:  photography tips, parenting tips, home decor, inspirational sayings, and more.  When it comes to fashion I LOVE Pinterest because it gives me the sense I can shop without spending a dime!!  I just pin away and enjoy looking, but don’t have to buy!!  When it comes to home decor, I love Pinterest because some day I want to flip cottages and Pinterest allows me the opportunity to save all my ideas onto a “board”.  The following photo is what I envision my cottage “flips” to look like.  It was pinned by Chelsea McGee.  Here’s the link:   http://pinterest.com/pin/132082201541218854/

by Chelsea McGee

Lara Says:  I love Pinterest because it gives me so many great iDeAs on how to use everyday items around my house and transform them into something AWESOME!  Check out this wood pallet that was transformed into this amazing picture holder from AmandaCarverDesigns blog!

From AmandaCarverDesigns.com found on Pinterest!

Robyn Says:

Always Give Thanks

If there was one thing my mother made sure my sister and I learned growing up it was that if someone does something nice for you, you need to say ThAnK YoU or write them a thank you note.  Our house growing up was a center hall colonial and at the bottom of the stairs my mom would leave reminder notes for the two of us.  After birthdays or holidays we always knew one of the notes written in dark black sharpie marker would say, “Girls, don’t forget to write thank you notes for Aunt Pat, Uncle Steve, Uncle Cliff, ect.”  Writing the thank you notes drove us crazy and we just couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal to our mom.

It took a long time to admit, but in my twentys I completely understood why my mom had stressed the importance of thanking friends, family, and strangers for gifts big or small.  Not only is it important to show gratitude when someone does something nice for you, but it  also lets that person know how much you ApPrEcIaTe them.  My sister and I still tease our mom about her black sharpie marker notes at the bottom of the staircase, but we will always be grateful that she instilled in us the importance of letting people know when they have made a difference in our lives.

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Disability Etiquette

Disability is a natural experience of life.  At some point we will experience a disability with oneself or someone we love.  With that in mind, remember the golden rule and always try to treat and speak to others in the same manner you would want to be treated.

Don’t Judge

Do you like being told what you can or cannot do?  Have you ever been labeled unfairly?  People with disabilities experience this regularly.  Don’t assume a person with a disability cannot do the same activities or tasks that others can do.  They just might have to do them differently. Give them a chance to try or simply ask them.

Visible vs. Invisible

Just because people don’t have a disability you can see doesn’t mean they aren’t disabled.  For example, in my “I am disABLED” story that I wrote a few months ago on this blog, I shared my story of Usher’s Syndrome.  When people notice I wear hearing aids they will automatically think I am hard of hearing, but what they don’t know unless I share it with them, is that I also have night blindness.  Overall, most people don’t view me as having a disability because they know me as a person and completely forget that I have Usher’s Syndrome.  Remember, just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!

Communication

There is always a small amount of fear or nervousness anytime we experience something new such as interacting with someone who has a disability.  Even people with disabilities may experience the same fears when meeting other people with different disabilities.  When interacting with someone with a disability it is important to relax.  People with disabilities use the same expressions and phrases such as “take a walk” or “see you later.”  Don’t avoid talking to them because you fear saying the wrong thing, using the wrong terms or offending the person you are talking to.  It is also important to show respect and to talk to the person with the disability rather than talking about them to the person they are with.

Disability vs. Handicapped

There is a distinction between the words “disability” and “handicapped.”  Disability is a condition caused by an accident, trauma, genetics or disease, which may limit a person’s mobility, hearing, vision, speech or mental function.  Handicap is a physical or attitudinal constraint that is imposed upon a person, regardless of whether that person has a disability.  Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines handicap as to “put at a disadvantage.”

Additional Etiquette Tips

To learn more about terminology and disability etiquette please refer to the Your Words Our Image poster and this article with more detailed information.

Written by Lara’s Sister, Beth Combes

To read more of Beth’s story, click here

{Bring It!}

LiFe isn’t always EaSy.  Can I just be honest and say that sometimes there are things in life that StiNk.  Yes, I said that 5-letter word. {StiNk!}

But I refuse to Be DeFeAtEd!  I won’t GiVe-Up.  It may seem like the FiGhT of my LiFe, but I will PrEvAiL! 

I’m fighting the GoOd FiGhT of FaiTh!  God is fighting for me, so bring it!!

;)

Robynn~