A while back I saw these pictures on a blog and I loved the look of it.
I decided that was something that I could do myself, so I started hunting for all the supplies I needed.
I found these frames on Amazon and bought them with a gift card I got last Christmas and some birthday money.
For the mats, I purchased some poster board from a craft store along with an X-acto knife and a cutting mat. I measured out how big they needed to be and how big I wanted the hole to be and cut away. They aren't perfect, so someday I'll redo them to make them better, but they are good for now.
I created the prints using Page Maker, printed them out, and then assembled them.
The top one says:
"There is an endless song, echoes in my soul. I hear the music ring.
And though the storms may come, I am holding on. To the rock I cling
I know I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing."
They are some words from the song "How Can I Keep From Singing"
The bottom one says "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
Ignore the sad looking plant. It was just thirsty. Don't worry - It is doing awesome now!
I am quite happy with the way they turned out and am looking forward to changing out what's in the frames at different times. I am working on changing them out for Christmas and am currently making something inspired by these stars in the picture below. I hope they turn out how I want them to!
Last night, our Christmas tree took it's place in the corner of our living room, where it will sit for the next six weeks or so. We are officially "those people" who put their tree up before Thanksgiving... Sorry!
I guess our reasoning was that since Thanksgiving is later this year, and since we would be busy all next weekend, we wanted our tree and decorations to be up right when we got back from Thanksgiving so we could enjoy them for the whole month of December. So the tree went up last night and the decorations will go on it this weekend along with all the rest of the Christmas decorations in and outside the house. It all makes me very excited for all the fun stuff that goes along with this holiday season!
When we started talking about putting the tree up, I realized that I never took any pictures of our fall decorations that we had up this year. So in true Kendra-style, I took pictures of everything at the very last minute before I took them down and the tree went up. (Trent actually had the tree up in the living room before I was even done taking pictures of the fall stuff in the family room, so I really waited until the VERY last minute. And he wasn't kidding around about getting that tree up!)
Since I waited until last night to take pictures, they really aren't that great since it was completely dark outside and my phone doesn't take the best pictures with all the lamps and lights on to light the room. I did the best I could, though, and hopefully I've learned my lesson and will take Christmas pictures sometime during the day light before it's time to take them down.
Although I didn't take any pictures of what the house looked like last fall (because it really wasn't much to look at, I'm sure) I know that this year was a big step up just because I had a lot more to work with in terms of decorations. We just happened to be at Trent's parents house earlier this fall right before Trent's mom was preparing to bring some fall decor that she didn't want anymore to a consignment shop. She let me look through it and pick out anything that I wanted, and I think I ended up taking about 90% of it. It was very exciting! She has a beautiful house so I was very happy to be able to decorate our house with all the things that she no longer needed!
So here are some pictures. Again, not the best quality (I think that every one is blurry...), and it's nothing fancy, but it's something to look back on next year and check out how things have changed!
Trent thought he'd be funny and try to stand in all of my pictures for a while.
Thankfully he got bored with that very quickly!
And THIS picture.
This is from right when I was sitting down to have supper last night. Trent made chicken and noodles.
He really likes chicken and noodles if you couldn't tell by the mound of it on his plate.
He is very serious about it...
Despite him being a super dork, supper was great! (Just kidding, I love that he's a dork!) I'm very grateful to have a husband who has supper ready when I get home from work most nights!
Last Saturday was our Birthday Bash CJD Fundraiser in memory of my dad. It was one of the best and most amazing things that I have ever had a chance to be a part of. I have never felt so supported and loved and I am so grateful for those people who took the time out of their busy lives to come from near and far to support us!
The night never would have been as successful as it was if it wasn't for all of the time and effort that my mom and her absolutely amazing friends put in. Everything was just perfect!
From the beginning of all the planning, it just seemed like people have been coming out of the woodwork to volunteer their time or make a salad or serve food or donate money or donate an item to auction off... or to do all of the above. People are just amazing!
There were some absolutely awesome items donated to be auctioned off. It was hard to even choose the items that I would like to have for my own. A few of the items were just too great and I knew that they were going to bring more money than I could shell out, but I think that's a good problem to have!
Some of the items donated:
I am happy to say that one of the items I purchased was the one that I was determined to get.
It was this purple afghan:
First off, I think it is beautiful and, secondly, my hope is that some day, if God blesses me with a daughter, I will put it in her room and tell her all about her Grandpa and how that afghan was made in his honor for this big fundraiser we did in his memory. And then I'll tell her all about how amazing he was and about all the people who were there to show how much they love and miss him!
(And if I only have sons, I'll just tell them all the good stuff but I won't make them have a purple afghan in their room (unless they want one)... and if I don't have any kids, I'll tell my nieces and nephews about him... you get the point)
I can't name them all, but here are some of my favorite parts of the night:
Seeing all the people who filled the Five Mile House all night
Having friends and family come from all over to support us!
Having everyone sing happy birthday to my mom before the live auction started!
Having the first item on the live auction be a bouquet of purple irises which my mom was fully planning on buying. Someone outbid her, buying the bouquet for $500, which obviously bummed her out, but they immediately turned around and gave them to her. Definitely an awesome way to start the auction!
Having 12 dozen farm fresh eggs go for $50 a dozen!
Having these pictures of Ed Podolak that were signed over 40 years ago be sold for $1,800 and then were donated right back and sold again for $1,000.
Hearing people rave about the food and the salad bar!
Having the AWV girls' basketball team donate a signed basketball from state last year in honor of my dad, their coach!
And having my Grandpa buy it!
Having Doreen and Nick bid on several things they wanted from the live auction and being outbid for all of it and then watching them bid on some etched mugs and win them, only to find out they were bidding against Jared for a while and then, after he dropped out, they were bidding against no one... Dan (who was spotting bids) was just pretending that there was someone behind them bidding and bidding them up. (Okay, so maybe that wasn't a good thing for them, but it made me smile. They sure got some nice mugs, though!)
They still look pretty happy :)
Having items being donated for the live auction all the way up until the end of the auction! We started the day with 68 items or so, and ended up auctioning off at least 72!
Having my BFF be there! She is awesome!
Seeing the running total halfway through the live auction top $17,000 and then seeing our total with everything on Sunday exceed $45,000!!! (And see that total keep growing!)
Our total on Sunday, but more donations
have kept coming in since then!
Hearing Rukkus play! (even though they had to start over an hour late because we had so many auction items! Again, a good problem to have!)
A Templeton Rye toast to my dad happening in the basement.
Spending the night with these awesome people! They are just a small few of those that made this all possible!
And last but not least, remembering my dad throughout the night and seeing the evidence of how many lives he has touched.
I miss my dad so much and even though that event was in memory of him, it was still strange to think that he wasn't going to be there helping where he could, talking it up with all his friends and family that were there, and hearing him laugh and joke from across the room. I still thought that I'd turn around and he'd be standing there and I'd be able to walk up to him at the end of the night, slide into his one armed hug with my shoulder under his arm and just stand there, admiring all the work that had gone into putting on the event. An event that I know he would have been proud of!
I thank God for blessing us with the awesome family and friends that carried us through the preparations for the fundraiser and through the actual event. I completely give Him all the glory in this! Some people have made comments about how they don't know how my mom does this all or rave about how strong she is or they ask how our family can be so strong through this. I just read a devotional yesterday that I think answers it perfectly. The 10-day devotional is about giving thanks and this specific one basically says that no matter what is going on in our lives, no matter how uncertain it may seem, we have certainty in Jesus Christ. Our family knows that whatever comes our way and whatever the outcome of the season we're going through is, we will survive. We have a hope and a future. That is something to live for, something to be strong for, and something to look forward to! It's a lot easier to deal with everything in life when you know that you can lean on God and He will take care of you. We truly are blessed and are so grateful to bless others by giving them hope with the money that we raised that there will be a treatment or a cure for CJD. Not only that, but we can show them that we believe there is hope in Jesus Christ!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who took the time out of their busy lives to be there in the weeks and days before to prepare and organize and set everything up. Thank you to everyone for using your gifts and talents to provide food for the event and items to be auctioned off. Thank you to those who were there on Saturday to support our cause and thank you to all those who have given generously in my dad's honor. This awesome night couldn't have happened without all the man power behind it! And like my mom stated in the paper, my dad was 100% right when he said "If it is to be, it's up to WE!"
Alone, we are rare, but together, we are strong!
Today is the birthday of the most special lady in the world,
my mother!
I always knew she was a superwoman, but more than ever in
this past year, it has been undeniable. Regardless of how she’s feeling, she is
always there for anyone who needs it, and she does it with a smile on her face.
She is a shining example of someone who takes a bad situation and uses it for
the good of others. Her faith in God is amazing as she leads us all in trusting
God’s plan, even when we aren't sure what the end result will be.
I am blessed to call this woman my mother!
Even
though there’s no way my mom is going to get much relaxing done on her birthday
today as we prepare for the CJD Fundraiser tomorrow, there is no one that
deserves a chance to take a day off more than her! I’m happy that I at least
get to be with her on her birthday to help with the final preparations for what
I know will be an amazing event tomorrow! If I had to guess, I would think that
everyone’s generosity is a pretty good birthday present for her.
I am so happy that I am able to experience so many fun things with my mom. They are truly memories that I will cherish forever!
