renovation realities

view of the bathroom from the door

dave's incredible tile work

a view from standing inside the shower

the [teeny] but fabulous master bath!!

the master bedroom...painted a fabulous samovar silver (thanks whit for the color suggestion)

i've been promising renovation pics to my family in lagrange, so here ya go!

and can i just say...i love my husband. he works really, really hard, and is such a good "fixer upper." he has done an incredible job fixing up our little home. in preparation to hopefully put our house on the market soon, we decided to finally update the master bathroom and fix up the master bedroom. i am so mad at myself that i didn't take before shots. but those of you who have been here know the before....

the bathroom had these horribly textured walls, painted lime green, and the tile was a more sherbert green, speckled with black. i'm sure it was the original.
the bedroom was painted chocolate brown, which was okay, but it made it look really small and very dark. the closet also got a makeover (it had 1970's mirrored doors that were broken, and particle board overhead); it's almost done and my clothes will be so happy to be relocated from the basement back into their rightful spot.

so enjoy the pics above. this is where dave has been on the weekends for the past few months. i tried to hold up my end of the bargain by keeping everything else in order, so this is his work. thanks to bob for his help as well!

sweet feet

my favorite pic of the day is cheering me up...love those sweet feet

gives and takes away

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
Matt Redman

I find such comfort in song lyrics. Whenever anything happens to me throughout the day, a song pops into my mind to go with the scenario of the day.

This is the song running through my head right now.

This song that captures the mystery of life and death, and the all-knowing nature of God.

Today, the community of LaGrange experienced a huge loss. One of my sweet childhood friends, Lauren, lost her mother today very unexpectedly. Her father passed away suddenly in January of this year, and how could it be that her mother died as well? Mrs. Debbie was one of the sweetest individuals I've ever known. She was one of the first to rush to the hospital to check on my parents after their car accident. She was always so thoughtful, full of love, sweetness and hope. Her beauty and love shines through her daughters, and I can't imagine what they must be going through tonight. I don't understand why He gives and takes away. I won't understand on this earth. I do know that I must learn to praise Him no matter what. I do know that I am reminded to live life to the fullest, making the most of each opportunity. I am reminded to say, "I love you." I remember to never let the sun go down when I am angry at someone...to forgive and be forgiven daily. I remember to cherish this life I've been blessed with...my precious husband and family, my amazing daughter, my sweet friends.

A friend at work had a dream that I died last week. She told me about it because it was so real and upsetting to her. I don't mind that she told me. It is amazing how much more I have taken in each moment since she shared her dream with me...because the truth is, we never know what day could be our last. So I go to sleep tonight with a heart full of sorrow as Mrs. Debbie has been taken away. I go to sleep praising Him because He will give peace and comfort to Lauren and her family. I go to sleep knowing that our lives are held firmly in His grasp.

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Blessed be Your name, Lord.

sweetness

my precious friend whitney took these pictures of natalie back in april 2009 in birmingham...what a sweet surprise to see these proofs in my inbox tonight. i am telling you what...i am a very lucky girl to have such photographically talented friends! thanks whit! check out her website here.

nancy's pictures

my sweet friend nancy took some pictures of natalie last weekend. she did an incredible job, and i love the images she captured...check out nancy's blog for more pics from last saturday morning! thank you so much, nancy!!

the aftermath of the miracle

grateful

Today, mom and dad were in a bad car accident on their way home from dropping Natalie off in Atlanta. It seems that a driver who was traveling northbound lost control of his car, which crossed the median and hit my parents car. My dad's jeep cherokee rolled over several times before landing upside down in the ditch.
Today, I praise God for His protection over their lives.
Today, I am grateful for the passerby's who came to help them get out of their vehicle, which was upside down.
I am grateful for the drivers who stopped to pray for them.
I am grateful that, of all people, the physician who is in charge of all EMT's (emergency medical technicians) in the state of Georgia was driving down I-85 South to a meeting in LaGrange, and just happened to pull up upon the scene right after the accident occurred.
I am grateful to my precious family in LaGrange who saw them through every step of their journey today.
It is terrifying to think of what 'could have' happened. I have had a lump in my throat all evening, and I am just grateful for their survival and relieved that they are okay.
But like mama told me tonight, "no matter what would have happened...either way, God would have taken care of us."
And He does take care of us.
And I have to trust that and be grateful for His sovereignty and provision.
Today, I am beyond grateful for my most amazing parents, and so glad that they are home, [hopefully] resting and recovering from this ordeal.
We love you, Gam and Pappy, and we are praying for you...

Love, us

"The Lord is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in times of trouble."
Psalm 46:1

happy 4th!

we started the morning at the dunwoody 4th of july parade. my bold little girl immediately wanders across the street to start exploring the crowd. she walks up to everyone and says, "hi", in her sweet little voice!

laying on daddy's shoulder and waving to the firetruck!

"i found a chair!"

we were so excited to discover that cosette and harper were at the parade as well! natalie and harper had some fun together...

later that day, we headed over to tyler's house to visit. tyler is natalie's best friend at daycare. they were born one day apart and they really love each other...it is so sweet!

fixing his collar :)

then we were off to the hipp house for the annual affair...we had so much fun! and natalie LOVED flannery's toys...see john deere tractor above.

she went down the slide about 25 times!

natalie and flannery chilling in the chairs...

sweet liam (and kate and billy) came too! i tried to get a picture of them together, but they were both on the go!

thanks to michelle for pushing nat nat around and cosette for sharing!

show me your teeth...

giving miss ashley a hug after the slide!

we set up shop in the hipp's front yard for the fabulous fireworks show. i couldn't believe natalie made it up that late, but she did great.

she found a buddy just before the fireworks started in miss julia!

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so there we were, my precious family, cuddled up to watch the fireworks on the front yard. it was so fun to see natalie so "grown up" and enjoying the [boom, boom, boom OR boo, boo, boo-as she called it] of the fireworks. i was so thankful for that moment...and for a wonderful day to celebrate our freedom!

the other neat part of the evening was the man who sat just in front of me...one lawn chair up. his story (linked here) is one of a true miracle. and as i watched those fireworks explode, i thanked my God for the miracle and fragility of life and for the simple joys of each day that make this life i live so amazing.