A Thankful Table

 

This morning I thought I would share our Thanksgiving Table with you.

 

We made a Thankful Tree again this year.  It is a super simple project to make.

 

All you need are some braches from the yard, I spray painted mine white.

Cut some simple leaf shapes from scrapbook paper, gather twine to hang them with and markers to write on them and you are set.

 

I put my braches into floral foam and covered it with moss but it work in a vase like I did last year just as well.

 

We each write what we are thankful for everyday on a leaf and then hang the leaves on the tree.  I can not wait to see the tree full on

 Thanksgiving Day

I save the leaves from year to year so we can look back on them and see what was on our hearts in the years before.

Our tablecloth this year is one I started working on Thanksgiving Day last year.  I had each person at Thanksgiving dinner sign the tablecloth and then I hand embroidered over each name, you can see where I got my idea here.  For the to smallest kids we traced around their hands.  Imagine my shock when I opened my Country Living Magazine this month to find a story of a mother who had done this for years.  I can’t wait to see mine all full of names and years of love and memories of time spent together with family and friends.  My heart aches and my eyes are full of tears just thinking of this.  One day this will be a gift for generations of family to come that I am intentionally making today.  My hope is that they will see it as a legacy of love and thankfulness and be proud to be apart of this family God has placed them in.

 

This corner is a beautiful start.

 

 

So do you do anything special with your Thanksgiving Table?

Cha Cha

Between Naps on the Porch
Home Stories A to Z
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
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Sentimental Sunday #41, Vintage Suitcases

Welcome to Sentimental Sunday, my favorite day of the week. The day we all gather together and share what we are sentimental about. It can be anything from an item in your home passed down by a special someone or just a few sweet words about something that has touched your heart this week, the goal is to take a moment and reflect.

This week I am sentimental about my vintage suitcases.

When I revealed out School Room last year I got tons of questions about where I found them and the answer is …

I do not remember a time without them in my life (because they have always been there, ha).  Growing up my family used these and a blue set each time we traveled.  Then at some point as an adult I took ownership of them.  Now they store extra books and craft supplies.  I love that something that has served me my entire life is still working hard.

What are you Sentimental about this week?

Feel free to link up.

Cha Cha

Funky Junk Interiors

Fall Mantel

I am finally getting around to showing off my Fall mantel.  I have to say it is my favorite ever….but I say that every time I change the mantel.  I think I might just like change and that is why the next one is always my favorite, ha.

This mantel update is more that just a switch of décor so be sure to scroll down to the end so you can see the before and after and a little how to.

Fall is the best time of year for this mantel because the room is decorated in green and orange already.  You can see it on the drapes.

This sweet little carnival glass dish was a gift from client years ago.  I love it’s orange shimmeriness (yes I made up that word, at least I think I did, I am definitely taking credit for it).

I made the corn husk wreath last year and it is still the star of the show.

I am head over heels for my extra large lantern.  What do you think of it?

The small lantern is pretty sassy herself.

Yes, I love brass and I know most of you will tell me it is outdated but I am going with ….

I am ahead of the design curve.

Our fireplace is one we use everyday during the winter and I am so thankful to have it and the wood to burn.  So not only is pretty but it is functional.

Here is a picture of the before, I loved the wood part of the mantel but the dark wood just gets lost on the bricks.

The wood piece also causes problems, it wasn’t deep enough to set stuff on and there was not enough room for the mirror (see how it is resting on the trim).  So I sweet talked my Hubby and we got busy making a new piece of wood.

We cut a rough sawn piece of lumber to size. BTW this a piece we had so no dollars spent is NICE.

I got busy sanding it just enough to knock of the roughest edges and then painted it. We love the way it turned out and the extra width and height it gave us.

Did you recognize what my lanterns are?

Yeah, that is right they are 80’s rejected light fixtures.

All you have to do is screw the lighting part out and pull the cord through and you are done.

So for $3.00 I have cool lanterns, much better than paying the $80 for the the Moroccan style one I originally wanted.

And After!  Much better right?

Okay that is all for now, hope you are having a blessed Fall day.

Cha Cha

Between Naps on the Porch
Beneath My Heart
Home Stories A to Z
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style
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Thrifty Decor Chick

Pride and Jealousy

Testing ….

1 ….

2 ….

3 ….

anybody still out there?

Sorry I haven’t been here in awhile.  I have had a few things I needed to work out in my heart and head.  Have you ever been there?  I started the 31 days series fully confident that I could write for all 31 days, I even have most of the post written (in my head, ha!) and the other days I know what I was going to write about just not the approach I was going to take.  I am sure most - if not all - of it will end up here in time.  I still believe in what I had to say.

For today though I am going to try and give you a glimpse of what I have been struggling with. 

So here it goes….

Pride and Jealousy

Two ugly words that can do a number on a girls heart and head.

Have you been there?

My story starts from a struggle of insecurity, this has been a life long struggle for me and one I have to give to God over and over again to be free.  The past 8 months or so I have mostly struggled with insecurity over my online shop ( I am purposefully not including a link here, this post is not about getting a sell).  It is very hard to move forward with an idea that you believe God planted in your heart/mind and it not be successful, monetarily speaking.  I have prayed about it over the months, moved the shop to where I thought it would do better, paid for advertising, given away countless amounts of product, and even participated in craft fairs.  All for nothing or what seemed like nothing to me.  So I had become frustrated and  defeated.  This story would be bad enough if it ended there but unfortunately it did not!  I let it get uglier, I played the comparison game – yuck I know.  I would look at other peoples products and put theirs down so I could feel better about myself (pride is NOT pretty) and I would be jealous of their success.

I felt hurt and forgotten by God.

Stick with me here, I know at this point I am not very likable.  I am not sharing all of this so you will not like me or for you to feel sorry for me.  I am sharing it because if there is anyone else out there struggling with this and they can find their way back to God and  hope because of my honesty…. then it is worth it to me to show my less that perfect self.

First you should know I have spent much time in Bible study over the years and have overcome many areas of insecurity (so I know God to be faithful in this area) but there are times when it has snuck back in.  This is one of those times, once I realized what it was I did the only thing I know to do.

I turned to God, I prayed for forgiveness for my pride and jealousy and confessed all the ugly thoughts and words I had about others.  Then I spent time in the Bible studying

-Again-

Who I Am In Christ Jesus

and that His plan and timing are perfect.

Today, I write this from a new place.  I am happy for others success and I know that God has a plan for me and that I just need to lean in close to Him and He will take care of the rest.  I am excited for whatever He has for me and no longer wishing for what others have.  That is their story NOT mine.

Source: None via Romi on Pinterest

Now you know the good the bad and the ugly!

If I didn’t scare you off and you want to talk about it more leave me a comment or send me an email

TheHeartfeltHome@gmail.com

I would love to hear from you.

Day 9 of 31 Days to a Heartfelt Home, Sentimental Sunday #40 Time Goes By Too Fast

Welcome to Sentimental Sunday, my favorite day of the week. The day we all gather together and share what we are sentimental about. It can be anything from an item in your home passed down by a special someone or just a few sweet words about something that has touched your heart this week, the goal is to take a moment and reflect.

Today I am sentimental about how fast time is passing by.  See those two girls up there.  Somewhere in my head they are still little girls.  Not 1/2 an inch shorter than me like Grace is.   And how is it that I am only a head taller then Faith.  Where has the time gone.  I miss little girls giggles and the toddler run. When I saw this picture I was shocked at how Big they are.  It made me start thinking about how soon they will really be grown.  At 12 Grace is over half way to an adult and Faith is already 8.  This makes me want to slow things down and be more intentional about spending time with them.  I want to enjoy every day I have left with them in our house.  I am so honored to be their mother. 

Today I plan to spend the day loving on these two.

So what are you sentimental about this week?

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Day 8 of 31 Days, Service

Why do we not service one another?

Can we see the homeless person and only feel their pain if we have been homeless?

Can we see the mother struggling through the store with three small kids and feel her exhaustion only if we have been there?

Can we notice the confused/lost older lady and feel compassion for her forgetfulness and lack of understanding only if we have been there?

I think NOT!

It helps to have gone through the same things that someone else has and there is a wisdom that having walked that path brings.  But there are plenty of people who have been through things and never look back to help others.  So, I ask again, why don’t we serve others?

I have a feeling that it comes most of the time from a brokenness inside of us.  A lie we continue to believe.  We choose to believe that we are not fully and extravagantly loved and so we have nothing left to give.  I am talking about a heart belief here not a head belief.  The type of heart belief that causes you to continually need to eat too much, buy too much, date the wrong guy, pick the wrong friends, hide in social settings, or need to always be the center of attention.  The type of belief that has become so much a part of who you are that you do not even recognize it as wrong.  This lie stops us from understanding God’s full and complete love for us.  That we are His chosen creation, His daughter that he heaps gifts onto out of His adoration for us.  His favored child.  Until we are full aware of that love He has for us we are left with a gapping hole that we are constantly trying to fill.  Which leaves no room for overflow to spill over to others.  If we are not actively loving others I think we have to stop and ask ourselves what area am I still empty of God in.  Where are you still holding onto words or actions from your past that are keeping you from being whole today?  What man means for harm, God means for profit.  Bring those hurts and disappointments to Him, find healing in Him, know His extravagant love in a way that is so overwhelming that it can’t help but flow out of you onto others.  You will not be able to stop yourself from naturally serving in your daily life because you are whole and you want that so desperately for everyone you come into contact with.

I desperately want that for each of you.  Please let me know if there is an area I can pray for you.

Day 7 of 31 Day to a Heartfelt Home, Hands on Homeschool Day #1

My idea for Hands On Homeschool Day is to spend time learning with my kids not at the school desk.  I have a goal for doing at least one thing per week.  It could be a craft, a nature walk, a science experiment, a trip to a museum, learning a new skill.  I want to create memories and to let them learn about things that interest them.  I hope to continue posting about this once a week even after the 31 days are over.  I was even thinking of turning it into a link party.  Would you join in?

This week for Hands On Homeschool I am going to share some pictures from our trip to the beach.  Faith has wanted to be a vet since she was 3 year's old and loves all creatures.  The beach was the perfect place for her to observe new animal life.  She had me taking pictures or every creature she could find and now wants copies of all the pictures so she can put them in her book and write about them.  I love this kid, and if she does become a vet I plan to give her all these books she is putting things in on her graduation day. 

What have you done with you kids to created memories recently?

Day 5 of 31 Days to a Heartfelt Home, Spend Time with Each Child

Something that is key to having a Heartfelt Home is really knowing the people in it.  A great way to learn about each member of the family is to spend time one on one doing things they enjoy.  This can be a night out to get a pedicure (I have girls) or as simple as reading a book out loud while snuggled up on the sofa. It is not the where or the amount of money spent, it is the time and effort invested.  I know with busy schedules things like this can fall through the cracks and be left undone.  This happens at our home far more than I care to admit.  My solution is to put it on the calendar.  Decide how often you want to do this and how much money, if any, you want to spent.  Once you have made those decisions put it on the calendar because you know as well as I do that once the kids see it they will not let you forget.  Our goal is once a month to do something out of the house with money spent.  We rotate monthly which child is with the parent.  Also we want to make time to do something small once a week.  These will be the times we play pretend or cards, download music, read a book or teach a sewing lesson.  Things that require no money and can be done from home.  This small step to knowing your child better will grow your relationship in beautiful ways.  They get all of your attention and have an assurance of your love and that you are available to them.  My love and availability are two of the things I want my children to never doubt so they can be secure of their place in our family.

Do you have special "dates" with your kids?

I would love to hear about them. 

31 Days to a Hearfelt Home - Day 4, Marriage

Today is the first day I am going to talk about having a good marriage and it's importance to having a Heartfelt Home.  I have an amazing marriage!  Don't get me wrong we still fuss from time to time but ultimately we want the same things so we can get over it.  We have not always been in this place in our marriage (I tell you this only to give you hope if you are struggling also), we will both tell you that there have been times when it seemed that we might not make it.  So what changed?  The most important thing that changed was becoming intentional about putting God first in our lives and becoming active members in church, not just Sunday morning pew warmers.  Please know I am not saying you have to work to come to God, we were/are secure in our salvation, you must start there - if you have any questions about this please email me, I would love to talk with you.  I believe anytime you are serving God, from the right place in your heart, with someone you can not help but become closer.  I saw this illustration years ago and it has always been such a powerful visual aid for me.

Source: stugray.com via Cha Cha on Pinterest

The closer we each become to God the closer we become to each other.  So by putting God first in my life my marriage is now better.  God's desire is for families isfor them  to stay together and will plant like visions in both hearts if they will come to Him. 

If you are struggling in your marriage take that hurt and pain to God, he can heal it and give you a new love for your husband---a love that is strong and endless.

A husband and wife who love God and but Him first are the best way to a Heartfelt Home.

If you would like to see all of the series you can click here to see day one and then click on each following day at the bottom of day 1's post

31 Days to a Heartfelt Home - Day 3, Quiet Time

I can not imagine where my life or home would be without God.  My desire is for Him to come first in my life.  Let's be honest though, in this crazy busy world that is an easy desire to lose sight of. For me the only way to make sure that does not happen is to be very intentional about having a daily quiet time with God.  I set my alarm each morning for somewhere between 4 and 5am.  I know that is scary early to some of you, that doesn't have to be your time.  You just need A TIME!  I get up while my house is still quiet and before my brain is fully aware of the demands of the day.  I pour a cup of coffee, curl up in my favorite spot and I meet God.  I have been intentional about this time for over 8 years now and I know because of that I am changed.  I think back to the person I was and I can honestly tell you I would not have the family, friends, and life that I have without it.  The person I was did not deserve the husband mine has become or the friends that I have made.  Because I chose to put God first He has first changed me and after the people around me started to change.  My prayer is always Lord change me (or almost always, I still mess up).

During much of my morning quiet time I sit in awe of all my Savior has done for me.  He did everything by dying on the cross so all that I have to do is say yes to Him.  Reflecting on and feeling that kind  love cannot help but change a person.  I am still so struck by the fact that He loved me, my selfish self, enough to die.  That there was or is nothing that I can do to make Him love me more.  I hope you know His love and that you will be intentional about spending time with the One Who Truly Loves You.

To follow along with all of this series click here to start with day 1 and then follow the links at the bottom of the post for the other days.

31 Days to a Heartfelt Home, Day 2, Sentimental Sunday #39 Dime Toss Dish

Welcome to Sentimental Sunday, my favorite day of the week. The day we all gather together and share what we are sentimental about. It can be anything from an item in your home passed down by a special someone or just a few sweet words about something that has touched your heart this week, the goal is to take a moment and reflect.

This week I am sentimental about that cute little glass dish, yeah the one in the middle there.  It is not an expensive piece but one that has great value to me.  My sweet little Grandmother (my Dad's Mom) won it when she was a kid.  She was at the carnival and played the dime toss game.  She threw her dime and it landed in this cute dish.  She kept it in her hope chest until she met and married my Grandfather and she has used  for all the years since.  Recently she gave it to me and I am so honored to have it to use and to tell the story behind it.  It is important to know the stories of our past and to pass them on to the next generations.

So what are you sentimental about this week?

Grab the button below and link up.

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To follow all of this series click here to start at day 1 and then follow the other days at the bottom of the post.

31 Days To A Heartfelt Home, Day 1

Good Morning!

I am so glad to get this day and this month started.  A few months ago when I first started feeling that I wanted to start changing the direction of my blog (you can read more about it here) I knew it would be a slow process and that I would be changing as well.  The biggest change was happening in my heart and what I wanted it to be invested in.  Thus the name change for the blog to The Heartfelt Home.  I want this blog to be an overflow of the things in my heart and how I approach them.  My goal is to approach all things from a simple, intentional or sentimental thought process.  During the next 31 days I am going to blog about ways to have a heartfelt home.Do not think I have it all figured out, many of the things I will be writing about I will just be starting.  But they are things that I feel are important to the lifestyle we as a family desire to have.

A lifestyle that will allow us to be content, full and overflowing to others.

Each day of the week I plan to write on a different subject that is important to having a heartfelt home.

Sunday's will be Sentimental

(Sentimental Sunday link party will still be happening)

Monday's will be about God

Tuesday's will be about Marriage

Wednesdays will be about Kids

Thursday's will be about Friendship

Friday's will be about Learning

Saturday's will be about Others

I hope you will join me in becoming more simple, intentional and sentimental.

The first place I plan to start today is with prayer.  A prayer to be teachable and to be open and prepared for change.

God is going to move BIG.

I am writing for the next 31 Days with many others,

be sure to see what they are writing about.

To follow along with the rest of the series just click on each day

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 7