a butterfly morning

It's humbling being their Mama and having quiet mornings to create sweet little crafts out of basically nothing. It has been a hard winter for my heart in so many ways but I see such brightness and light when I allow myself to enter into their world and engage their imaginations for a few hours. I see life and joy and beauty in a whole new way.

I suddenly have the biggest urge to decorate my entire space with preschool crafts. It won't be long and they will be gone from under my wing but I soaked them in today and that feels so good.

rainy day sunshine aka my niece elliot ann

You come over here in rainbow leggings on a dreary rainy day and you're bound to make the world so much brighter. Such a cutie pie miss elle, we love you!

4/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

a kitchen corner :: before and after

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my new years resolution had to do with sprucing up our rental home after living here for over a year "on pause" grieving the loss of our own home in 2011. I haven't really let this house in to my heart or the reality that this is our new life. I realized after the holidays that it was time to dig in a bit more and create some spaces around here that reflected me and my love for decorating on a tight budget.

The built in desk was the first thing that came to mind. A true mark of a house built in the nineties this built in desk/cabinets in white washed oak had become a sort of catchall dumping ground in our well used kitchen space and truthfully it was dismally embarrassing and rarely ever organized.

We asked Jeff and Jenny (the homeowners and our brother and sister) if they would mind us ripping it out and after confessing that they had also considered ripping it out a time or two were eager to let us have a go at it. We knew that the wall behind and the floor would need to be repaired but decided to go for it anyways because of the potential to transform this kitchen corner into a much more peaceful and beautiful space.

This is what it looked like beforehand on most days. A bunch of random stuff, basket of diapers and our bills. Mismatched outlet covers and cords. It was bogging me down big time. When we tore it out the wall was in pretty good shape just some putty and sanding and a coat of paint and new outlet covers brought it back to life.

The flooring was a bit more labor intensive since the brand and size is no longer made (at least we couldn't find it). Chris went to about a dozen stores and settled on one that was a great color match but not the same width. He was able to puzzle piece it together though in an afternoon - I was so SO impressed with him fixing the floor so fast sacrificing a rare pocket of free time to bless me!

I also swapped out our oval dining table for a round 50's set a $40 Craigslist find. It needed a TON of scrubbing. My knees have not been happy with me after the three hour date I had with this baby but she cleaned up nice!

Here it is again - I just love a good before and after photo and love how this little corner turned out. This hutch was my favorite in our old dining room with the beautiful Orla Kiely wallpaper (see it here) so each time I come into the kitchen and catch a glimpse of it my heart lightens and I feel such joy and comfort. It's really starting to feel more and more like home and I love investing time and energy into what makes my heart sing.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10

And here is a kitchen before/after view...really considering getting down and dirty with the white paint on those cabinets...we shall see...

a tea party for Josie and Gigi

Each of these sweeties are number three in a family of four kids. They both have baby brothers and they were due on the same day! It was such a treat this afternoon to have a little tea party while their older siblings were off adventuring with Gigi's mommy. After lunching for about an hour, a couple of books and coloring butterflies they headed up to Josie's room to play quietly with the door shut. Girls can be so different than boys sometimes, it was a rare and wonderful girly afternoon for us. Hoping to make these little tea parties more of a regular thing around here Josie just loved having her very own friend over all by her big girl self!

PS. I couldn't help but be reminded of a post I wrote almost five years ago to the day (HERE) about their oldest siblings Simon and Sylvia - they were both under two at the time and Levi was just three months old...I can NOT believe how fast and how much our families have grown!

3/52

I have decided to try a new photo project this year, jumping in a bit late but feeling inspired and excited to join the 52 project with my friend Andi as she joins Che and Fidel. My children change so quickly I thought it would be a fun challenge to take a portrait of each of them each week in 2013. Of course I will still be doing the Ten on Ten project but really love the heart behind this one too...not that I don't already take way to many photos of these munchkins. So what about you, are you challenging yourself to any new photo projects this year?