Creatively Afflicted

Country Living
Brad has frequently asked me during the course of our twenty-three years together (Yes, we started dating during our infancy), "Don't you ever get tired of talking about house stuff?" To which I've always, emphatically replied, "No!"
Never, actually. 

Not only that, but I never tire of just looking at pictures of practical, inviting spaces either. Whether they're from magazines or virtual ones on my computer screen, I "move into" every one of them. I think it's their clutter-free appeal that makes my heart skip a beat. Just classic designs that are completely and utterly d-o-n-e, done. Now, there's a concept! 

Country Living
Maybe that's why I've yet to see an inspiring photo layout with stacks of mail on the counter, dishes to wash, laundry to fold, or a tent made with sofa cushions as they collect dust and pet hair on the floor. Wait! That's because that's my house. No photographers today, please! 

How I do desire order to my chaos though. Is it too much for a girl to ask?

If I can't always have my home magazine-worthy, at least I can achieve a certain level of therapy through the process of decorating and collecting. 

 Did you know that not everyone's pulse rate and salivary glands increase while strolling through 
paint samples? 

Fabric stores? 
Piles of rusty, vintage junk? 
 Yard sales on the side of the road? 
Or flea markets sporting everything from Elvis rugs to fried pork rinds? 

Home.comcast.net

As hard as it is to believe y'all, it's true! It's a real gift, this decorating stuff. Don't you feel blessed now, to have been afflicted with the chronic need to beautify things and see potential in cast offs? I sure do, and I don't wish to be cured anytime soon!

Just think though, if we all had the knack for it, there would be no need to summons help once in a while. And I so enjoy being called in as back-up. I do! I'm honored when asked to give a fresh perspective to someone's home, space, or special event. It truly makes me swell with pride, and I even feel guilty for charging for my services. Rather, sometimes I do. 

A change of seasons is decorating inspiration like none other, too. As hard as it is for a "Summer Addict" like myself to have her days at the beach come to a close, this mini-season in between has started to prepare my heart for fall. Temperatures are dropping, a few leaves have fallen, and football games are everywhere you look! And I don't know about you, but that gets even this beach bum excited! Not to endure a televised football game in its entirety, thank you very much, but to pull out every warm, harvest-like thing I can get my decorating hands on. 

Country Living

That is, of course, after I've vacuumed the fur off this makeshift tent and tackled these crusty dishes. It's not a glamorous life, but then again, glamour has never appealed to me much.


Cottage-ly yours,
Tricia

Beautiful Birthday Butterflies

Two, beautiful butterflies, 

with wings outstretched,

 

Hold each other tightly, 

around the neck.

At very first glance, they look the same,

  And make you play The Guessing Game.

Are you this one, or are you that?

Now, who prefers dogs, and who likes cats?  

One likes dressing up and zebra print, galore!

The other is Princess Leia, from the movie, Star Wars!

Oh, so different, and yet the same,

Each with her very own talents and name.

One thing's for sure, they're equally GREAT!

And I still can't believe, that our twin girls are EIGHT!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day after Kathryn and Juliana's actual birthday (and the day after I turned thirty-nine, but that's another story entirely), we threw a great, big, butterfly party in their honor!

We played, "How many silly, female children can you fit onto a trampoline at once?"

And they jumped! 

And jumped some more!

And they wanted this old birthday girl to join in the fun, but my bladder tone regretfully declined for me.

I prefer taking pictures, to having my inward parts jarred, anyway!

Pictures of pretty, painted, butterfly faces...

Of a rainbow of plates, all in a row...

And zebra print napkins made into butterfly wings...

But in all of the wing-fluttering fury of the party, I missed a few! 

Like one of all the girls' final cupcake creations, so Martha's version will have to suffice.


Martha Stewart

And, I didn't even get to do these like I'd planned! 

 
 Martha Stewart

Obviously, Martha and her team have countless more creative hours on their hands than I do. 

And if Martha shared a birthday with her twin girls, she'd insist on getting a picture of the three of them together. 


I missed that too!

This one's from last year.

And this one, well, it's before I developed a second chin!

This goes back to when our little butterflies emerged from their cocoons and their sweet, little wings were still wet.

But oh, how they've learned to fly,


And make wishes that are sure to come true,

Because they wished them with all of their might,

and eyes closed tight!

They must have wished for candy!

Lots of great presents!

And to have LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, all around them!

For that's surely what they got!

I cannot wait to celebrate number NINE with you next year, girls.

I'll be turning 40 then, but that's another story...

A Key to Everywhere

What's an ideal surprise when you're sixteen, have just earned your license, and have been driving around in your parents' cars?

Why, it's to come home after work to find this parked in your driveway, of course!

A used, but new to you, 2001 Ford Explorer!

And these happy girls in the backseat with a bagful of car goodies they helped to pick out!

I mean, what vehicle is complete without a pink, flip flop-shaped air freshener, right?

 And just when you think you've seen it all, 

you pull out your very own, 

sure to occasionally misplace, 

key to everywhere!

 

Smile included.

Letting Go

 Hi, my name is Tricia, and I have a problem with letting go. I just feel better when I hold on to things. Anything really. Vintage things, fabric things, furniture things, artsy things, food things, junk things. Oh, and people things too. I like to hold onto those more tightly than all the above. 

Letting go just isn't my thing. If you've ever seen my basement, no further explanation is needed. I'm more of a holder on-er myself. All of this was true, until now, that is!

Life has a way of changing who you thought you'd always be. It often takes you on to the next level, whether you're ready, or in my case, not. 

On Monday, our local DMV approved this baby to get her driver's license. Not just any baby mind you, but our firstborn, brown-eyed, introduced us to Barney the purple dinosaur, baby girl! 

  You can imagine my horror when they said she was ready to drive without her mama in the car! I held up the line asking the officer if she was absolutely sure. It was the same feeling I'd had when she was born, and we were released to take her home. How could they know everything would be fine? "Yes M'am", the female officer in DMV blue said. "Just be sure she looks over her shoulder while backing so she gets the whole view. Next!"


That's it? That's all? That's what I have to reassure me that she'll be fine and it's okay to let go? We left, only because there were others waiting, but Mama's heart was broken. I guess I thought we'd go in, she'd take the road test and fail, and we could console her with ice cream and put all of this on the back burner until much, much later. 



 When I looked back at Payton, I didn't see a tiny, vulnerable baby though. Instead, I was reminded that she's now a beautiful, Godly, confident, sixteen year-old, who'd just accomplished a major milestone. And I needed to let go and celebrate.

She's since driven to and from work by herself and did a great job. My tear ducts have been overstimulated and my prayer life has increased greatly because of it. 

Talk about a step of faith.This is hard stuff, this letting go, but it's much easier knowing the One who's had her in the shelter of His wings all along. After all, she was His, before she was ever ours.

That applies to everything I find myself turning all white-knuckled about and trying to keep a tight grasp on. I can now say that I've taken the first of at least a million steps in my "Letting Go Recovery Intervention", or LGRI for short. 

You never know, I just might turn loose of some of my treasures junk if I'm not careful.

 Baby steps though. Baby steps.

Letting go and letting God,
Tricia

Sharing Hope, Bologna, and Wide Open Spaces

Alright y'all! I'm taking a detour away from cottage talk, and will now begin to pour myself into endless accounts of the goings on around here. The mere thought of having to read it might have already caused sickness and internal uneasiness to ensue, but bear with me, please. 

This is way cheaper than therapy, and frankly, I need to share this stuff. Besides, the baby daddy (we'll call him Brad) is at a car race, the children are occupied, and mama's ready to ramble!

Recently, we had the opportunity to join other families from our church for a mission trip to Manchester, Kentucky. And let me just say, what a beautiful place to have had the chance to serve! 

Then there was the dark, winding tunnel carved right out of the mountain. 

Such a claustrophobic treat for all of us!

Some of our youngest missionaries wore themselves slap out trying to pass the time.

And after six hours of playing "I Spy" nearly everything on the open road, Kathryn and Marissa had to close their peepers for a while.

And missed seeing London - Kentucky, of course!

After much anticipation and snack consumption, we reached our destination! Manchester Baptist Church

This is our whole crew doing some myth bustin' of sorts. The locals said this convenient store served THE BEST peanut butter milkshakes and we had to put our taste buds to the test. The results were soon in. They passed! I could just about set out on foot from NC to KY for one of those tasty milkshakes - stopping for frequent rests, of course.

We did settle down to the business at hand, of sharing HOPE. 
And FAITH. 
And LOVE.

So we suited up...

Hooked up with two of the most passionate people for Jesus we'd ever met...

Made sure every hair was in place...

 
Turned up the bottle...

In this case, it was leftover VBS punch.


And got ready to get our JOY ON!


 From the very least... 

to these...

whose eyes instantly stole our hearts...

and whose stories we hope to NEVER forget...

we
simply
LOVED.


And played a little, rather, a LOT of Upward too!

And we ATE.


And some were brave enough to try the area delicacy, 
pickled bologna and crackers. 

Um, I'm good, thanks.

And just when we thought we were there TO BLESS,
we WERE BLESSED TOO!

Have you ever been HOPE for someone? 
Have you ever served as the hands and feet of Jesus?

What an awesome, humbling, life-changing honor it was indeed.

And in the words of my Emma, "When we goin' back?"