family pic

family pic

Monday, June 24, 2013

Getting Organized...

...or trying to!! I had found another plan on here that I have been wanting to do.  For Mother's Day I got a gift card that I used to buy the lumber (among other things) and we got it done. Last week I finally finished getting the last little details finished. So here it is!!

Before!!
I had a wicker basket for shoes in the "front room"/entry area. BUT with kids growing, getting bigger shoes, and the basket falling apart we always had a mess of shoes everywhere!! As you can clearly see.
So I decided I wanted to do something about it and the following is what I came up with:

AFTER!!!
I am so pleased with how it turned out, how about you?
The original plan only had three cubbies, but I wanted one for each of the boys. (Kirsten has her own basket in her room) Tim ended up with a cubby and Konner just shares as his shoes are so little! :)

The shoe boxes made with pallet wood. Pretty cheap and easy to build. The handles are made from rope from Lowes..

This sign I made with pallet wood and the knobs I picked up from Hobby Lobby waaaay back in February before life changed... I had this idea in my head since then too..

The pillows are the only thing I/we didn't make. These are from TJMaxx.They add some color and are comfy to sit/lay on while watching a movie or playing video games... I am so happy with how this project turned out!!  And of course I still have more projects/reorganizing I want to do.. Someday!!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend...

Memorial Day weekend we just stayed home instead of going out of town like most people. We ended up having a nice time anyway! :) We worked on some projects that I have been wanting to do (that will be another post), had a bonfire, went fishing, and relaxed. So I would say we did something different!! Some pictures of our fun:


Bonfire, I like how the camera captured the sparks.

Brandt

My Man playing his guitar by the fire..

Little Man fishing..

My little towhead!! Love this boy!!

My favorite picture from the weekend, Laban and Brandt

My oldest and youngest

Momma helping baby fish.. Shiloh in the back

Some of my men!!

Papa and Konner!

Where are the pictures of Kirsten? She doesn't like the camera, can you tell?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Dining Room Set Redo

Being a family of 8 and having a dining room table with only 6 chairs was a bit of a problem.. Unless of course we are like a good many people nowadays and don't eat together.. BUT we aren't, we sit down to supper together every evening. So the seating situation wasn't working well even though Konner sits in a highchair.. We still were missing one seat! After learning about this website I had all kinds of fun finding different plans for things. One being a bench for my dining room table. So while I was in NH for Jimmy's funeral my darling hubby built a bench for us. I hadn't the heart to paint it for awhile, but as I said in my previous post, I have been on a project frenzy. I decided to repaint everything and put new material on the chair cushions.. Well got that done and here you go:



The table and chairs before...

And after!! The two extra chairs fit perfectly at the counter in the background..

New chair covers.. It is actually laminated fabric. How cool is that? Just wipe off the food and spills!

And the bench! Made from five 2x4s. It ended up costing about $20.. The paint I got from Lowes for $5 as it was an "oops" paint. I also used it for my bird picture in my previous post.

Overall I am very happy with how it all turned out. Now on to more projects, this time with old pallets!! :)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Another Project Post

I have been tired of looking at the same things on my walls for awhile now so have been getting ideas from Pinterest of DIY decor... Life kind of stopped for awhile with all that has happened in the family, but lately I have been wanting to redo EVERYTHING!! A few weeks ago Sonja asked me to do a yard sale with her so I did and got rid of some of my decor (some of which was 10 years old).. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some stuff to try my hand at DIY.. Here are the results:


I bought three canvases and painted them gray

On Pinterest it said to buy a vinyl silhouette or stencil.. Well I wanted more than one color and plus it was cheaper. Soooo... I just freehanded it! The finished product!!

Knowing me, I can't do anything exactly how they say to.. For this project you are supposed to make it into a chalkboard, but I liked this idea better. I had bought this frame at a garage sale years ago and never used it. So I thought it would be perfect for this, and it was!! I glued fabric onto the frame back and Kirsten printed out the words. I put that in the frame and we made the fabric flowers. All we have to do now is every week clean off the glass and write a new verse with a dry erase marker!! I love how this turned out!!

And just to show you that I am still taking care of my babies and not neglecting them for my projects, here we are!! :)

Next up: My dining table and bench redo (hopefully anyway!)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Brandt Turns 3!

 Uncle Mike went on to glory on April 8th and his funeral was on the 13th which is Little Man's birthday. I had flown out for the funeral so we postponed the party for a week. Here are a few pictures of his celebration!


Our firetruck theme... We had been planning it forever, but with all that happened didn't end up doing everything. It still turned out cute tho!

Flaming cupcakes!

I tried a new punch recipe, but wasn't too impressed.

The birthday boy with two of his cousins!

Opening gifts, he got his fireman rubber boots. I had been eyeing them for about a year now!!
I didn't feel up to doing favors and found this cute pinata so decided to do that instead! Plus kids love that so it all worked out..

Pinata!!


Thursday, April 4, 2013

A Broken Windshield

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, whether that is good or bad, I do not know.. One of the things I have going on in my head is how what our family (Seppala) is going through right now is like a broken windshield.. See the point of impact? That is Peggy and her family.. the other cracks are all of the rest of us.. We are all hurting at the loss of Uncle Jimmy, some maybe more than others, but each and every one of us has been affected in some way. Whether it be we are shattered, broken, or just weakened, we hurt!! He was such a huge part of the Seppala's and even farther than that. He made an impression on each person he met!! The one thing that we can cling to is, that God will help us through this even if sometimes He feels far away.. He isn't, He is here carrying us through!

And now we are bracing ourselves for the next hit as Uncle Mike is ready to cross over to Heaven's shores.. Please keep our family in your prayers!! I will share a poem with you that I wrote. I know most have seen it already, but I thought I would share it again!

The Faces of Grief


Grief has many faces, this we know ‘tis true
Many feelings and emotions deep inside of you
There’s shock and there’s denial making you want to hide
And pretend that there is no loss way down deep inside

Anger is in there, it simmers and it stews
Bubbling up to the surface in fearsome brews
It makes you want to kick and scream then give in to despair
But God is bigger than this pain and He will meet you there

There’s gut-wrenching aching sorrow that feels it’s here to stay
A broken, shattered, bleeding heart that rips your breath away
And you feel you can’t go on, anymore like this
Until God’s comfort comes in little ways with a soft caress

Then you smile or maybe laugh and guilt comes crashing in
Back to all the other feelings, and it’s ‘round and ‘round again
There is no right way to grieve, this is oh so true
But the one thing you can be sure of is, that God will see you through




Amanda West
2013

Friday, February 22, 2013

A DIY Project

So I have been on Pinterest lately and have found all kinds of great projects to do (plus meals, things for the kiddos, etc) Well when I was in NH we decided to do a craft day...I ended up being the only one to do a project, but we still had fun visiting. :) Anyway, I have been wanting to get a necklace holder so I could keep my neclaces from getting too tangled. So after looking on Pinterest and running to Hobby Lobby I was able to make one! Here is what I did:

I found a shadow box at Hobby Lobby on clearance because the glass was missing..


Painted it with Annie Sloan chalk paint


Distressed it and then waxed it to seal it...


Added material to the back, made fabric flowers and added them. Then screwed in some cup hooks that I had spray painted to get rid of the brassy look...
Voila.. a necklace holder (I could use some more color in my choice of necklaces, haha)
It cost me about $10 to complete this project..  If you don't wear jewelry, this would be great for keys.. I have found some projects for hubby to do, BUT that's another story for another day!! 


Monday, February 18, 2013

NH Trip...

Konner and I made a quick trip to NH with Anya to see her dad and also our Uncle Paul. We ended up being gone 12 days which was a little longer than we had planned. Our flight home got delayed a day due to the blizzard we experienced. It was a little harder than I thought since I was the only one Konner knew, so going to the bathroom and showering were not as relaxing as at home. I am thankful I went tho, my Uncle Mike (Anya's dad) is home on hospice. The strongest chemo did not work for him, so he is home until he goes Home! I ask you all to pray, or continue to pray for their family! I was also able to see my grandparents as they had flown up from Florida to see their boys and I am so happy for that! A few (or more) pictures:


Konner in the Denver airport

At the Cheshire Children's Museum.. My sister, Mary is the cashier, Breein is buying some groceries!

I think he likes peppers..

Valerie, Konner, and I "camping"

Chocolate Angel Food cake and strawberry roses!!

At the hospital visiting outside

My goofy brother, Marlon with Rowan

A sick baby (notice the bowl!)

I guess we had a blizzard.. that is my dad's car you see poking out..

the snow on my parent's side deck

The snow.. crazy thing is, the morning before there was not ANY!!

My Grandma, with her baby Jennie , my cousins Melissa and Christie, Konner and I!

The sweetest and most adorable grandparents, EVER!!




Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Celebrating Konner's 1st Year

On Sunday we celebrated Konner's 1st Birthday with a farm animal themed party.. He loves chickens, horses, and all animals so that's why I decided to do that. It was a fun day with family and we all enjoyed it. Now for a few pictures!



Goodies

Chicken head candy pops

Cupcakes!!

Time to sing!!

He loves the cupcake

and more food...

Present time

He loves books, especially ones with animals!! :)