Happy Birthday Justus!

It has been five years since giving birth to our sixth child, Justus. I'm sure many of you know that we had no prior clue that Justus would be born with a heart condition or Down syndrome. We were totally oblivious to the blessings that laid ahead.

Having Justus has changed our family dynamic for the best possible way. His presence in our life has enriched both his siblings and parents. We are eternally blessed to have been entrusted to his care and upbringing and love him to pieces. 

Today also marks Mother's Day. Fitting that Justus would celebrate such a milestone birthday on Mother's Day. After all, he was due on Mother's Day and crawled on Mother's Day.

Earlier today I posted the following on Facebook, and want to extend the same sentiment here:  

To every woman who has invested, loved, cared for, prayed for, wept over, worried after, mourned the loss of, mentored, or yearned for a child: Happy Mother's Day. 

More than just labor & delivery creates a mom. It's often the labor of hands and sometimes turmoil of heart that creates Motherhood. 

Enjoy your day! May it be blessed!

As today comes to a close - I will leave you with just a few pictures of Justus, and at the end is a link to a video montage that my sweet husband and children worked so hard on to surprise me with today. I hope you had a blessed day.

Justus, I pray your smile never fades, your spirit continues to venture, your laugh resonate, your presence inspire, and that you are always blessed of God. Thank you son, for just being you and touching this mommy's heart in a way that cannot be described. 

Thank you Lord for the gift of Justus, and for every child you have gifted to us. We are eternally blessed.

Click on the link below to view video:

Justus & Mother's Day Meet

Old Buffet, New Look

I have many passions - one of which is taking older furniture, painting it, and giving it a new look. I love the thrill of finding a piece with "good bones" and imagining it with a fresh coat of paint - or shabbied up a bit. 

I have been doing this for years, and have really enjoyed it when I have the time, money and space to rework a piece and put it in my home.

There has been much talk of a newish paint called chalk paint, so I looked into it. Many people love it and claim that it can coat any surface without prepping the piece. I might try it in the future, but for now I was turned off at the price of the paint which can be as steep as $40 for a small quart of paint. I have always used a flat latex (the cheapest I can find) and it has always worked well for me. So, for this project I stuck with what I knew.

A friend had given me a can of Annie Sloan's clear coat wax (a line of a popular chalk paint). The wax acts as a top coat, a sealant to the paint as well as a nice finisher in bringing out luster.

So ... this is what I did:

We had recently purchased an old Craftsman style home (108 years old), and I found myself wanting to add some funky pieces. My problem? I didn't have a ton of space, but needed a place to serve from within my dining space. I started to look through online ads for a smaller buffet, that was on the cheap. 

I found these two contenders. The top one was a bit more than the bottom, so naturally I went to take a peak at the bottom one - and felt it was too small - almost like a coffee table. It was the right color, as I was wanting to go turquoise, but in the end - I decided to spend just a tad more and get the top buffet. I think I spent $75 for the piece. Not too bad ...

When I get furniture to rework, I get excited and started right away. I had recently purchased a new chandelier from some of my favorite furniture friends who take my hobby of reworking pieces, and then sell them (you can find them on Facebook under My Sister's Stuff). This chandelier is awesome, and lends a fun and funky focal point to my dining area - anyway, I digress. I wanted my buffet to help anchor that chandelier by echoing the color scheme. So, I matched the paint at my local hardware store and also picked up some cheap flat white paint. 

I first painted my piece with the blue paint, and then after that dried, applied the white.

I wanted the blue to pop through, but not steal the show from the chandelier. So, my answer to that was to have the white coat help offset the blue. So I sanded down in spots to reveal the blue, and in other spots sanded further to reveal the wood grain - giving the piece a true shabby feel.

The outcome was exactly what I had envisioned. I then used that free wax to finish. Man, that stuff stinks. So, after opening some windows - I applied the wax a couple of different times, being sure to buff in between applications.

The outcome of applying the wax was a deeper, more saturated look. I LOVE IT!

A fun, funky, yet not to overstated piece. 

Perfect!

Total cost: 

$75 for buffet

$15 for a gallon of blue paint that I still have tons of 

$10 for the cheap white paint that I will certainly use again - white is so versatile, especially for the shabby chic look. 

Mission accomplished.

Seeking Joy this Holiday Season

I am critical. No - not of you. (although I can also do that from time to time) I am critical of myself. Extremely so. My house is not clean enough. My weight is not where I would like it. I lack in homeschooling my children. I am not stimulating my special needs children in the areas they need it most. I need to be more consistent. I'm too negative at times. I need to be more organized. blah blah blah blah ...

Perfectionism. Blech.

I don't think I am the only Mom that suffers in this area. I know that others do as well. I think it's a human nature thing - and more specifically - it's a Mom kinda thing.

But. It's not ok.

Well maybe it is ... in moderation? I mean, perhaps it helps motivate. But that's not where I want to focus.

I know that scripture uses the story of Martha & Mary to illustrate to us how it is not the "doing" of serving others that we should be focused on, but rather our heart. Our admiration of Christ in the doing. In that you can find joy. Contentment of heart feels good and doesn't bode well of being self critical.

And yet we read in the last proverb of what is referred to as the 'Virtuous Woman' proverb, that this portion is focused on her doings. Even the last verse states 'Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.' Her works praise her. They are a testament to her virtue.

Does this contradict the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10 - where Martha (the doer) is reminded that " ... Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her"? (Luke 10:42b)

No. The "doing" and the "heart focus" come together in a way that can make the woman ... or anyone ... complete in their faith.

We read in James 2:26 'For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead'. Meaning that works is the manifestation of your faith in Christ.

So what's my point? How does this pertain to me, as a mother, and my zealousness in self criticism?

I need to stop.

I am focused on my inefficiencies and this is an indicator that my heart is not where it ought to be. I am focused on self. On my works - and it is bringing me to a point of frustration and stealing my joy. Really. This is my struggle right now. I am a very busy mom. I'm busy with appointments, school, housework, etc. So I tend to focus on the doings. My heart has drifted away from just seeking Christ and starting there.

My 'works' - is my service. Yes, to my family - but ultimately in serving my family - I am serving Christ. I need to let off on the being self critical and know that I am offering my best (and do that) while maintaining my joy, peace, and contentment all along the way.

Christ is reminding me that my children are watching. What am I teaching them?

So as I head into the rush of this holiday season, I am resolving to daily seek Him - be joyful, take everything in stride and offer a warning:

My home may not be in crazy clean condition if you stop by, but I have tea - and I promise I will clean a spot off my sofa for you to sit awhile and visit.

Have a joyful Thanksgiving.

Family Pictures 2013

Hi there. Yes. I'm alive. 

Sorry for the lag in blogging. It has truly been one of the busiest seasons in Browning existence. 

There has been MUCH that has taken place - and I promise to recap soon, but for now I will post pictures, because if your like me - that's all you really care about anyway.

We normally have our friend Jenny Savage take our yearly family pictures. She has done so since Ellie was a baby. She has always done such a fantastic job that we never sought out anyone else. However, this year we needed to seek another photographer simply because we now live about three hours away from Jenny. 

We decided to go with another friend who has also been blessed with the talent of photography.  Jamie Fuller of Fultography took our pictures this year. She was a champ - as taking our pictures is no easy task. After having to reschedule due to an epic storm, move to another park, and battle impending rains - I can honestly say we are so pleased and love the results. 

Here are just a few:

We ended up in Gas Works park in Seattle - which is located looking at the city's skyline. If you look you can see the Space Needle in the background. I love that. This city has my heart. It's beautiful and fun to be in. 

Sometimes you just gotta 'pick'. 

This last picture is my favorite. All of my kiddos with their 'sassy faces' on. And all of them looking at the camera - that is incredible! You should have seen Phillip running in and out of the pillars just to get Asher to chill out and look forward. It was hilarious and I'm sure with all the noise and crazy running we were doing to get their attention - that we drew some looks! ;)