this precious life.

{Disclaimer: i hope i don't sound self-rightous in saying any of this. it is simply me. simply my thoughts. in no way would i ever think it makes me better than anyone of you. i am full of weaknesses. i think one of the things i love so much about people is that we are all *so* diverse and all have our own strengths and weaknesses. and just because we are stronger in an area than someone else does not make us better-- for we are probably quite weak in an area they are strong. but God made us like this for a purpose. so we could work together and build one another up. sometimes we are encouraged and built up by others weaknesses. sometimes by their strengths. yet all the time we are who God made us to be. made to be different in strengths and weaknesses, yet to be all like Him.} During my sickness, there were a few days where my headache and fever were so bad that I couldn't do anything-- not even lay and watch a movie. So I would lay and think. I had an awful lot of time to th...

Petoskey Michigan. Such a marvelous place! Yet I had no idea it even existed until a few days before we went. You see, it went like this.  Once upon a time, Daddy really needed a vacation. And since there are 12 of us, it's cheaper these days to rent a house than to get hotel rooms or anything else. And camping for a week with that many people is, to put it frankly, *not* relaxing. So Mama got online and started searching rental houses. Well this was in May or so and by that time most places are completely booked up for the summer. But in June she finally found one house in Boyne City, MI that looked like it'd work well, and though the owners were new to renting and very antsy about renting to a family with 10 kids, they said yes! Mama put the deposit in the mail and we all headed to Ohio to spend 10 days with family. Little did we know that Mrs. Antsy-Owner hadn't received our deposit and was calling our *home* number about it... not reaching us... and getting even more an...

I found this little 50's cocktail dress at a thrift shop in Ohio with my Grandma this summer. The price tag? $5!! Oh, I was so excited about it I practically squealed right there in the store!! But then when I tried it on, it wouldn't completely zip up in the back! boohoo!!  Well, no matter.  I was not going to leave that baby on the rack for just $5 so I bought it anyway.   There was very little excess fabric near the seams that could be "let out" to give just the two inches of space I needed up the back... but I thought something could be done somehow to alter it.  As I got thinking about it though, I realized that if I tried to alter it, I'd be certain to ruin it! So when Daddy left for TN the day after I got back from Ohio, I sent it with him to pass along to Eleanna. Thankfully she was totally okay with a dress coming at her out of the blue! {She mailed it back in time for me to wear to the Indy Roof Dance!!} When I unrolled the dress and took a peek at ...

edit: Somehow I completely missed posting this and it's been sitting in my drafts for weeks now!! So sorry! Have you seen those upcycled string t-shirt scarves in boutiques and such?! Well I kept seeing them and each time they were priced at $25+ which automatically made me think, "I can make one myself!". Funny how certain price tags automatically make me think that;) Eleanna was in town for our grad party and one Sunday afternoon while watching Psych with Ellyn and Mary we tried our hand at making them. 'Course, being who we are, we didn't exactly look up directions first so our first attempts  had quirks... her's turning out much better than mine. But we learned as we went and it was fun to see what we could come up with:) And I'm sure y'alls will turn out much better than my first attempt since you're obviously smarter than me and look up directions! haha I'm sorry I don't have photos to go with the instructions so if you're havin...