It's The Little Things!

Just found out that N*tflix has FINALLY started offering M*gnum PI streaming.

161 episodes of 80's detective show goodness makes Staci a happy girl! :)

Dining Room Before & After

Before

During

After

Work done:  

1. Ceiling scraped, patched, and painted
2. Laminate, baseboards, and bottom 2" of drywall removed, and subfloor treated (cat pee removal)
3. Trim and walls repainted
4. Had hardwood floors installed
5. New chandelier installed

Living Room Before & During

I say during and not after because we still have some work to do on the fireplace/mantel.  But we've come SO FAR from where we were that I wanted to document it while I am still having flashbacks  can still remember what all we did :)

This picture was taking in late 2010 for our FSBO website (we briefly considered selling and moving out to the sticks).

Once we shelved the idea of moving, we decided to that we wanted to update the space and make the Living Room more than our formal sitting area (at the time we used our Bonus Room as our primary living area).

Here are some pictures of the process...

New couch, rug, and primed fireplace

Updating the ceiling fan (I'm pretty sure we bought the one with the most little pieces...that thing to FOREVER to put up)

But thankfully J had good helpers!  MUST...POP... BUBBLE-WRAP! :)

Ceiling Fan Installed...isn't she pretty??? :)

And that was JUST about the time that we realized the fan didn't come with any pull chains.  It can only be operated by remote control.  SWEET!  Just what a family with two young kiddos needs is a fan that only works when you can find the remote control.  Yeah, that's never gonna be a problem :)

Then we decided to scrape and paint the ceilings, and repaint the trim and walls.

And finally, we ripped up the laminate and had hardwoods put down.

And 'cause I hang out with G a lot, I'm gonna use one of her favorite phrases...

TA-DA! :)

More Birthday Weekend Pics

Our second day we spent some time sign-seeing and taking an Alligator Boat Tour.

Who wouldn't want to spend her birthday here...

We were able to see some "babies" this guy is about 8 months old

We ended the day at a really neat "lowcountry" restaurant. I really dig drinking sweet tea out of a Mason Jar!

Happy Birthday to G...And Me!

G and I were VERY blessed birthday girls!  J and C took us to our all-time favorite vacation destination.....the BEACH!

Just look at the joy on these sweet faces...

I sure do love this sweet man :)

Birthday Bike

To commemorate G's newly mastered bike riding skillz, J and I decided to get G a bike for her birthday.

After looking around in stores and online, we decided to go with a higher-end bike we found on Cr**gsL*st.

J and C went on a Secret Mission to go pick up the bike one Saturday afternoon.  We spent G's naptime outside cleaning it up.

C took great care and pride in his work...it was actually pretty sweet...he really wanted G to LOVE her new  bike.

After we got it all spiffed up, we woke G up and let her take a spin.

Her new bike looks so big compared to her old one :)

She's been riding her new bike for about 3 weeks now.  She's a big fan! I wouldn't say she's exactly mastered it though...right now her idea of braking is to stick her legs out and coast to a stop.  :)

What I LOVE about this bike is that it isn't 100 different shades of PINK :) 

My Story of Grace

Ephesians 1: 17-20

17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might20that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

At age 23, recently graduated and newly married, I would have told you with confidence that I was a Christian.  I’d been raised in a church-going family, heard the Gospel more times than I could count, and believed that Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that I might be saved.  But despite all of my Christian knowledge and background, I wasn’t living in a way that was honoring to the Lord.  My life was marked with anxiety, selfishness, and pride.  I appreciated that Jesus had secured my eternity, but my daily existence was lived entirely in my own strength (or so I thought).  I had no concept of the hope to which I was called, the riches of his glorious inheritance, or the immeasurable greatness of his power toward those who believe (v.18, paraphrased).  I did not possess the peace that comes from knowing these truths.  My God was in a very small box!

Thankfully, God did not leave me there. He busted my small box WIDE open when he brought my husband, who at the time was highly skeptical of the claims of the Gospel, to saving faith through a workplace Bible study.  I witnessed, up close and personal, the transforming power of the Gospel change my husband in some very profound ways.  There was no doubt about it.  This did not come about by human will or desire.  This was a working of the Holy Spirit. It was at that time that I began to suspect that my understanding of the Gospel was lacking.

We began attending a church where we received biblically sound teaching and were encouraged to read the Bible for ourselves.  As I studied the Scriptures, the breadth of God’s character, specifically His sovereignty and power, hit me like a ton of bricks.  For the first time, I realized that my circumstances were not just the sum of my efforts.  My life here on this earth did not rest entirely on my intellect, my decisions, my will power, or my strength and perseverance.  God’s purpose for me would be fulfilled (Prov. 138:8)!  The eyes of my heart were enlightened so that I knew (in some small measure) the hope I’d been called to (v.18).  This was tremendously freeing and brought about a peace that I had never experienced before.

That was 10 years ago.  Thankfully, by God’s grace, I’ve continued to grow in my faith.  One of the primary tools God has used to bring about this growth has been His church, the body of Christ.  God-centered worship on the Lord’s Day puts the Lord’s glory before me reminding me of the awesome God I serve.  Solid biblical teaching from the pulpit keeps me grounded in the Word and all of its promises therein.  Taking part in multi-generational small groups sets before me examples of lives characterized by faithful service to the Lord and an abundant testimony of His faithfulness to His children.  As I look to those that have gone before me, I realize that I want to look back on my life in 30 years (Lord willing) and have that same witness to a sovereign, faithful, BIG God.