Entry way ideas

Entryway

Photo Wall

Stairway to the Master Suite

The Nook

Stencil Us In

Chalk It Up

Organized Entry

Tile Like You Mean It

Bench Warmer

Heirlooms and Original Art

Welcoming Home

Accented Entryway

Hallway Helper

Natural Living

Lemon Zest

Seating Arrangements

Golden Arches

Well-Read Walls

Lemon Zest

Color & Texture

Decorating with Random Favorites

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Vacation Photos

All those pictures you took deserve a little more attention than they’re getting tucked away in your iPhoto Library. Take a few of your favorites from one setting (like three different shots of a beach scene) and make canvas prints with CanvasPop (http://www.canvaspop.com). Then hang them above your bed for personalized bedroom art.

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Books

The key to making sure your massive book collection doesn’t overwhelm a room is to display your tomes on the right bookshelf. A clean, white color palette like this one looks airy and modern. Also, try using the shelf as a room divider instead of just standing it against a wall -- the bookcase in this pic separates the couple’s living room from their bedroom.

Photo credit: Douglas Friedman

Cute Ideas

Make It Pop!

Chase those winter blues away with these bright and cheerful pieces -- all under $100.

Cozy Throw

Punch up a neutral chair or couch with a bright throw. It’ll add texture and another layer to your living room’s decor.

Argo Citron Throw, $95,BlissLivingHome.com

More ways to make your living room fabulous!

The Car Guy

Remember how my car got backed into and we had to get it fixed and I've been without one for a week?

Well, it actually turned out to be a blessing:

1. The kids family paid for it and insureance didn't have to be involved :)

2. Nate and I are both BIG fans of the guy he sent us to - they grew up together. He's very honest, nice, personable and a Christian!

3. He fixed my windshield wipers, window, and lock for nothing. He said Nate and I were "good people" and that he wanted to help us out.

God, You run us over with blessings! You are truly good to those who seek Your face. May I say this when it seems everything's going wrong too ; )

Thank You, Pops!

An Eventful Weekend

Wow today should be craZy fun!

I'm about to head out to Thompson for knitting with Aunt Debby and Amy :) I made cookies!

Then, it's time to head over to Sara's to meet up with my High School friends whom I haven't seen in FOREVER. We're supposed to go to Legacy Village to see the lights and have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I've never been to either. Then come back to her house for spoons!!!! A card game we used to play every day after lunch.

Then I'm going to my Mom's to spend the night with Casey so I can take her to see her friends at the mall 2m. I'm also going to hang out with Hannah, and I haven't seen her since my wedding so we're both disgusted at how long it's been :)

Then after taking them both home, I get to come back to Nate. I'm very excited.

I'm going to write about how they all went later, but I wanted to add my goals so I can see how they go too:

1. Don't spend a lot of Mula $$
2. Don't eat something I know is bad for me.
3. Cummune with God as much as I can
4 Let His light shine through me and His love be evident in all I say and do so that it's contagious (Song of Songs 6:1)

Later!

One Marriage Under God - Breaking the Silence

Nate and I read the first chapter and we both think the book is going to be promising. Wright really laid out the current situation of marriage in our culture and I have to say - it's heartbreaking.

There was way too much good in it for me to write it all, but I will definitely be using it in my future papers :)

He made a huge point that marriage is God's idea. It only matters what HE thinks. Simple, but I think we ignore it too much.

Overall, I think the worst part was when he talked about how we act when confronted with something that erodes the insitution of marriage: living-together, divorce.

I don't have to deal with Divorce to much but I have quite a few friends who live together. Quite honestly, I don't want to confront them because I feel it's not my place unless they ask me and I also feel like they won't talk with me anymore :( Still, -- God did not give me a spirit of timidity --

Jesus, help me through this!

O and I liked this quote by Dr. WIlliam Doherty:

Marriage with the long view comes with the conviction that nothing will break us up and that we will fight through whatever obstacles get in our way. It means we will re calibrate our individual goals if they get out of alignment and that we will share leadership for maintaining and renewing our marriage. We will renovate our marriage if the current version gets stale, and if we fight too much or too poorly we will learn to fight better.

We will develop good communication skills and constructive ways to argue and deal with conflict. If sex is no longer good we'll find a way to make it good again.

We need to acknowledge that our core strengths and core weaknesses will always be with us. The trick is to build on the strengths and to contain and soften the impact of the weaknesses when they show themselves, especially in times of stress. We will accept the weaknesses that can't be fixed and we will take care of each other in our old age.

This kind of commitment is not made just once, but over and over through the course of a lifetime. We cling to it during the dark nights of the soul that come to nearly every marriage and in those times when the love is hard to feel, knowing all the time that the promise we made keeps us together till the end.

 God, I love the marriage we share with Nathan, but help me to uphold it with other couples too. And help me to do it in a kind, loving way. It's kinda scarey!