{::White Wednesdays # 14::}

{Silhouette pillows}

I*d like to make some of these next year for our back porch

{A New Chapter}

I posted earlier this week, that our family is going through some big changes. After reaching out to a couple of friends/fellow bloggers for prayer, they each spoke truth to me & encouraged me to reach out to my readers for support.

Last week my husband Justin lost his job.

We are so grateful to God for providing Justin with the opportunity to be a light at his company for 13 years. We know that God fully knows what His plans for Justin's life & for our family are.

{Please join me in this prayer}

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Heavenly Father, fill his heart with hope as he grieves the loss of his job.

I pray & ask for your love, guidance & support in helping Justin to find meaningful work that will make good use of the skills & abilities YOU have given him. Help him to stay positive, hopeful & awake to new employment possibilities. Give friends & family the words to encourage him. Give him strength, courage, faith & trust that everything is unfolding perfectly for his highest good. Help Justin to receive into his life all the resources that he needs - mentally, physically, spiritually,& financially - so that he may experience sufficiency, ease & grace. May he be free from fear of lack & limitation. We surrender this to you & trust that all our needs are always met. Thank you for the blessings you have given Justin, for your light, your love & your protection on his life, our family & our home on Earth. We consider it done, & so it is. Amen.

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As Christians, we are called to be people of peace. I*m reminded of Hebrews 10:23. It says, “Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

We'll face this change with nothing less than than that; positive attitudes & prayer.

It may lead us on a new journey, or even to a new city

but we are certain it will lead us to greatness.

Locks of Tomzie

All I can say is....

HAIR!

My bf's baby has tons of it!

The fun-loving Finks came to visit a couple of weekends ago

& I got to see my sweet, sweet little Tomzie again!

Look at this face!

Both girls are totally unimpressed

"Hey mom, how come you never put shoes on my feet?"

Tomzie & her sweet daddy, Nathan

Momma/Lo*s Aunt Tauna & her Aunt Josie

Ch-Ch-Changes & Cookies

The Finley fam is facing some big changes this week.

For now, we thank you for your prayers & encouragement & we'll keep you posted.

::On a lighter, yummy side::

We're throwing our 1st annual Hallo-wieners party next weekend & this weekend I wanted to do a test run of the favors I'll be handing out...

A twist on Bakerella*s Cowgirl Cookies

Here*s how they turned out

Why We Celebrate Halloween

I strive to keep my posts on opinions relating to social, political & sometimes religious issues at a minimum- if at all-because well, this is a light-hearted blog based on my passion for God*s people, decorating my home, supporting my family & funny things.My intentions are good. My tongue is not always. In case this ruffles feathers, I apologize in advance.

Folks in blog-land have been posting their annual posts about why they don*t celebrate Halloween & how they will hand out bible tracts instead of candy. Instead, inspired by my friend Karen, I*m choosing to post describing why we celebrate Halloween by letting you in on the Finley family thought process behind the coming holiday. So grab a bucket if you need it.

I will not be making my house a haunted home. My child will not be a ghost, witch, or devil. Though as a child, I'm positive I was some kind of scary monster-if not in real life- & my sister was a witch & neither of us has been zapped up by the evil one yet. We will not attempt magic.
We will however, put pumpkins out on the porch, illuminate them with a black candle, leave our natural cob webs hanging & welcome the neighbors.

(I decided against the ghost-cheese cloth-craft I featured in a previous post)

This is the one night of the year the neighbors will be coming to knock at our door. We will take our little stinker dressed as a kitten, door to door for as long as she*ll last. It*s also the one night of the year the neighbors will for sure be welcoming us to their door. We will use this night to enjoy community with the friends we know & make a point to get to know the ones we don*t so we can see them again soon after.

We will eat candy. Lots of it.

We won*t be handing out Bible tracts. We will be handing out hot cocoa & candy.Now I know that someone who is reading this has a sister, who has a cousin, who*s roommate once went on a mission trip during Spring Break & handed a Bible tract to some scantily dressed, alcohol ingesting teen on the beach (probably me) who dedicated her life to Christ right then & there. That*s awesome! But I*m also thinking someone*s Grandma is 90 years old & has cooked with lard everyday of her life & hasn*t gained a pound. That doesn*t mean I*m going to start using Crisco & expect the same.

So, as my secular neighbors swing by the house with their tots in tow ready for ooo*s & ahh*s & candy, I*m not going to greet them with a non-celebratory child & a Bible tract. I think that just puts a big *ole boring, party killing, restrictive feel to a loving, forgiving, graceful Heavenly Father. Instead we*ll try our best to meet them where they are, relate to them, find a way to connect, & of course oooo & ahh at their kiddos while dropping candy in their pails.

We won*t do it perfectly because we definitely aren*t perfect.

But this is Halloween people.The Funny, Friendly, Finley Family is celebrating because the opportunity for new friendships with our neighbors is worth a celebration!

I*ll try to only be on a soap box once a year. Promise.

{::White Wednesdays # 13::}

For The Love of Milk Glass

I know I said I didn*t want anything for Christmas but...

It*s October & I*m thinking about Christmas.

{Light fixtures for the house}

A pendant school house light

from School House Electric

& a Barn light

from Barn Light Electric

I*ve done a little research & found that the shades & the fixtures are cheaper on these sites than the ones I*ve seen at Marburger & cheaper than buying a light kit & re-creating them.

I*ve been really good.

Weekend

Lo & I kicked off the weekend with our "Laid Back Mama*s" mom*s group,

(Gulp. Yes, I'm in a mom*s group)

by visiting a local petting zoo & farm.

We saw 1 donkey, 2 sheep, 2 pigs (her favorite) some goats & a snake that was not part of the tour.

Then we drove to Austin to meet up with Sugar (Justin*s mom) at St. David*s Episcopal church's fabulous Next To New shop. A resale shop & outreach ministry. We ate one of our favorite lunches: The Mini Burger Sampler plate at Phil*s Ice House in Austin.

Saturday

We loaded up the truck & headed South for a photo session & a hill country day trip to Gruene,Texas with the sweet Rouse family.

Spent 2 hours in Cabela*s & shopped for campers on our way home.

We were wiped!

Sunday

We picnicked out a Lake Travis with Hammy the Hamster,

Mimi, (My mom) Paw-Paw, ( step-father) & Auntie M (Morgen/step-sister)

I brought some wine, but forgot cups so we borrowed a few of Lo*s stacking cups.

Punkins

I found this Lite-Brite pumpkin decorating idea in my

Country Living magazine

& tried to re-create it.

I shopped around & found these carve-able pumpkins at Dollar Tree for a $1 each

Busted out the Makita & drilled some holes in the shape of letters

Bought a mini light set from Target for $2.19

Poked the lights through the back of the pumpkins

Found some wire in the garage

Snaked it through each of the pumpkins

& then tied them together in 3 rows

Bought a few hay bales & some fun black crows totaling $6

&

Here*s what I got

ALRIGHT!

Lo*s Pink & Gray Nursery

My favorite person in the whole world lives here.

Right in this very room.

I plan to change the small rectangular rug to a larger circular one soon.

{For Stephanie}

My favorite piece in the room is the armoire.

In 1996, this piece was given to me by one of my best friends in middle school Stephanie, just before her family moved away to California.

I have such fond memories of her & all her brothers.

It has never left my sight, as I*ve drug it from apartment to apartment & now into my home & into my daughter*s nursery.

When I decided to use it in Lo*s room, I began prepping its surfaces to be painted & on the inside of one of the drawers-in pencil- it reads,

"Stephanie + Kristy = BFF!"

HOW SWEET!

We lost touch over the years, then finally, we were able to reconnect through a mutual childhood friend on Facebook. As Stephanie & I described our lives from1996 up to now, I learned that she was expecting her 2nd baby girl, just weeks after Lo was due to arrive!

It was such a cool moment & I*m so happy to have reconnected with her all of this time later.

I love this piece & I plan to keep it around for a long time.

Lo*s white Jenny Lind crib is from my friend Jacqueline

The lamp, shade & the folk art wooden horse were all purchased from Austin Goodwill stores. The Potterybarn side table was purchased from Lil' Ones Consignment Boutique in Austin

& the pink reproduction 1930*s clock I found at Hobby Lobby on the clearance aisle.

French alphabet letters off of Etsy strung on twine.

I*m not one for faux floral, but I decided to improvise.

The large metal vase was left over from a set design at the church.

It*s galvanized, but I spray painted it gray.

I had the green vine/twig left over from a baby shower I threw a while back &

the pink hydrangeas were left over from an attempted project.

This is an original 1940*s Little Bo Peep print that my mother-in-law gave me from a nursery rhyme book she had as a child.

The custom mats & barn wood frame are from Hobby Lobby.

Yes, we have one of those old-school-barrette/hair bow-ribbon-holder thingys.

There are 2 more in the bathroom.

If there*s a better way to display them, I*m all ears.

But until then, we bought a yard of wide, delicate lace from Hobby Lobby & I think

it*s working out nicely.

I found these character-filled, poly resin wall ornaments from Goodwill

I found this basket for $.99 from Goodwill & spray painted it gray.

I know, I know, for someone who hates decorating with fake flowers they seem to be everywhere...

The art on this adorable Clabber Girl baking powder can hasn*t changed in years &

is still sold in stores today.

My friend Jacqueline made this "L" pillow for Lo with some pink & gray fabric we found at

Joann fabrics & it lives on top of the toy chest my husband Justin had as a child.

I won these tiny, sweet antique plates at an auction this Summer.

They live above the closet doors.

I found this pink toile French memo board & a matching tissue holder (not pictured)

at Lil' Ones Consignment Boutique in Austin, Texas.

I pray that this may be her sanctuary.

I pray that it will be a place for possibility, a place to laugh, to cry, to dream, to create, to imagine, to inspire, to illuminate, to find joy in & to be a Holy place.

Here are some other pink & gray nurseries.