Making This Apartment a Home: Boys Room

Hey Everyone! I realized recently that I haven't quite finished the apartment tour. Welcome to the boys room:

 Obviously, their room is always this neat and perfect.

 They make their beds every day.

No they don't, and neither do I. 

This is actually the first time their beds have ever been made here...ever.

 Here is where we shove all of the toys every night.

 I recently sold my black IKEA dresser and was able to buy this super sweet mid-century modern dresser for the boys room AND the matching longer one for our room for the price of the IKEA one I sold. Needless to say, I was super stoked.

Love these triangle wall decals from Walls by MUR. They are super easy to put up and take down. People always ask me if I measure out the spaces as I put them up. The answer is definitely NO. I am SO not a perfectionist.

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

This has been my prayer for several months now. Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. But help me to go beyond that. I have always had a tender heart. I cry when I see suffering- sometimes for days. As a child, I remember telling God, "Why did you have to give me a heart of compassion?(something my parents had obviously told me I had) It hurts too much God. I don't like hurting for every sad thing I see." 

But I quickly learned to have a good cry, and then put the "thing" far out of my mind so that I didn't have to deal with it. For a lot of us, it's easy to be moved when we see suffering or injustice, but it's also easy to move on with our lives and forget about it when it's not in our face every day. 

I've had my eye on the Ebola epidemic for a while now- reading the articles, praying for the people of West Africa, praying for our missionary friends who are over there serving, in the midst of this crisis. We even have a close connection with the third America doctor who contracted Ebola recently- his son, Max was in the boys dorm downstairs from us when we served as boarding parents in Dakar, Senegal. But nothing moved me like the documentary on Ebola that John and I watched together several days ago. Maybe some of you saw it, too.

I watched from my comfortable bed as people in Liberia battled this terrible illness. I watched as an entire community was quarantined in fear behind rusty gates and makeshift lines. And I watched as a little boy lay dying in an empty, concrete room. His parents were already gone and he was with his Aunt and her four children. He lay on the floor, sucking his fingers just looking...so sick. So so sick. And no one wanted to touch him, which of course I understand, but my heart just shattered. He was about five, the age of my oldest son. And he just lay there, suffering...untouched. At one point the cameras captured hospital workers carrying the sick and dying little boy to the back of a truck. He had only a t-shirt on and his body was so limp...so sick. At that point I heard myself cry out, "Oh Lord Jesus!" 

I lost it. I cried myself to sleep that night. I cried for most of the next day in the car on our way home from Florida. And I have cried every day since then. I've also done something that I have never had the courage to do. I have asked the Lord not to remove this image from my mind. I don't just want to forget this time. I'm tired of the Lord breaking my heart for what breaks His, and then not doing a darn thing about it. But what can I do, really? This has been my question.

Well, as a believer in an all-powerful, all-loving God, I can pray. I can pray for the people of West Africa. I can pray for the brave doctors, nurses, and volunteers who are risking their own lives to "touch" the untouchable. 

The other thing I can do, is give what I can to the organizations who are on the ground in these suffering countries. I don't have much in the eyes of the world, but I have a heck of a lot more than the little boy who lay dying on the concrete floor in Liberia. I have had my little Etsy shop for a couple of years now, and what started as a fun hobby, has actually been a (very small) source of income for us. I have used the money to buy things for our house, clothes for the kids, and of course, lots of stuff for myself that I really don't need. I started out giving 10% of my earnings to Compassion International, which if you don't know, is a wonderful organization that helps millions of children and their families receive medical care, education, and supplies every year. I told the Lord that I would like to give more someday and to bless my business how He wanted to. The moment I did that, my business literally doubled within months. But sadly, it has taken me a while to give more. Recently, I felt like I should give more, so I began also giving another 10% to our local Crisis Pregnancy Center here in Brunswick, GA. Since I am strongly pro-life, I realized that I needed to be part of the solution. And now, in light of recent events, I have felt God asking me to give even more. I will be giving another 20% to special needs, like the Ebola crisis, etc. A total of 40% of my Etsy earnings.

Can I be honest with you? I was excited at first, and then it got real. My selfish heart sometimes wants to keep my money and buy all of the things that my selfish heart wants to buy. Clothes I don't need. More things for my house that I don't need. Coffee that I don't need. Please hear me when I say that I don't think that buying any of these things is bad. I know that God delights in giving us good things. But I also know, that in my life, I have taken WAY more than I have given. And it's easy to give when it doesn't hurt, but wow...it stretches me to give beyond what's comfortable. You know what's even more sad? This isn't even a necessary income for our family!!!! It's just extra! And it's STILL hard! But all I have to do is look at things in perspective, and my heart melts again. New shirt that I don't need vs. medicine for a child who could die if he doesn't get it. Hmmmm.....

The truth is that millions of kids die every year (many under the age of 5) from preventable diseases like malaria and the measles. Sometimes all it would take is a mosquito net or a vaccine to save a life, but they simply cannot afford it. I read on the Compassion site that in 2010 alone, 655,000 kids died from Malaria. It's just not ok! If we can do something to help, to even make a dent, let's do it!

If you aren't donating to the Ebola crisis or any of the many disasters that are taking place around the world right now, I urge you to pray about doing so. You can read about where/how to donate on many Aid Organizations websites. If you haven't checked out Compassion International, it's a great place to start.

Sorry for dumping all of this on you, I just wanted to share a little bit of my journey as I struggle to go beyond myself and help where I can. 

And feel free to check out my Etsy shop: Free Spirit Jenny

I am by no means trying to promote my shop in any way. In fact, I would rather people just donate 100% to a cause, but I'm sharing with you how I feel I am supposed to play my part- just to be clear =0)

Making this Apartment a Home: Craft Room

So, for the past several years, I have stuffed my felt, fabric, glue, headbands, half-glued flowers, jewelry supplies, scissors, glue guns, scrabble pieces, picture frames, banners, candles, chain rolls, etc, etc, etc into any available drawer or kitchen cabinet I could find. 
Drove my husband bonkers. 

So when we moved into the apartment and put the boys together in a room, we were faced with a dilemma: guest room or craft space? 

When the guest bed wouldn't fit into the extra room, it was like duh. I really love the natural light and I can't wait to get a few more plants up in here.

I think I may paint the filing cabinet, but I may just leave it all nat-ur-al. 

 Happy reminders of my peeps.

 The natural light in this room is phenom.

I 

I picked up this plant stand for $15 the last time I visited my parents in Alabama- it's awesome.

Happy colors.

Thanks for taking a peek into my world!

Making This Apartment Our Home: Master Bedroom

Here are some pics of our master bedroom (which is pretty tiny) and bathroom. I don't think this room is anything great, but there is something really peaceful about it. Every night when I curl up in my bed, I try and remember to thank God for a warm place to sleep, for electricity, for the hot shower that I just had...so many things to be thankful for!

 Our motto.

 Scored this side table at a flea market for $15. Painted it mustard (of course). Love it.

 Not gonna lie, I love these double sinks!

The Courage to Be You

For most of my life, I've been pretty content with myself, my life, and my circumstances. Lucky for me, I never really went through any major periods of wishing I was somebody else, or more like somebody else, even in high school. I was safe in high school. It was a very small, Christian boarding school. We were all foreign kids living in a foreign country, and we all had at least that in common. It was easy to connect, to make friends, and to find my niche. 

College wasn't too bad either, although I was exposed to a much bigger sea of kids from many more social classes and backgrounds, and of course, many more other girls to compare myself to. Even still, I managed to not let anything consume me- I was still happy to be me. I went through college, got married, started a family, and...discovered...Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, blogs, etc. Boom! All of a sudden I get a small (or not so small) peek into hundreds, even thousands of other people's lives! Not just my close circle of friends and a few randos, but lots of people...all happily sharing their highlight reels on a regular basis. 

And all of a sudden, my house doesn't look so pretty anymore. My kids can't do what her kids can do. They took another vacation???!!!! She only buys organic everything for her family. I bet that couple never fights- they always look like it's the best day ever! Ugh...has she ever looked bad....ever???!!!!!

And the list goes on. 

It's not something that is an everyday struggle for me, but man...when I'm having a bad day. Or when my kids are driving me bonkers. Or when I'm just plain bored with my circumstances...it's so easy to flip that lap top open and compare away! It's a dangerous thing, I tell you...that comparison thing. I love this quote by Teddy Roosevelt: 

Short and sweet. There it is. I used to tell this to my dorm girls all the time. When we compare our lives or ourselves to others, we become absolutely consumed with what we don't have, and forget about what we do have.

Let me also clarify and say, that I absolutely think it's ok to get inspiration from other people. Personally, I love to look at fashion blogs and mommy blogs and Pinterest, etc. I love getting inspiration and ideas for different things. And I especially love people that are real about their life- the ones that don't just show the highlight reel. (Side note- I also get super irritated with the people who only complain about all of the negative things happening in their life on social media...all the time....ugh!) 

But at the end of the day, I have to be myself, and so do you. 

I love decorating...but there's no way I can always keep up with the constantly changing trends. I would love to make my family the most healthy, delicious, sprawling meals every night- like that's going to happen. I want to be the perfect wife and Mom who never loses her temper and does everything right...yeah. 

We all have our faults, but we all have our good stuff, too. Here's another quote that I am so in love with right now. I totally want this up in my house somewhere:

In my life, I am drawn to people who are not afraid to be themselves. Whether they are charismatic or quiet, large or small, funky or plain, old or young- no one shines like someone who happy to be themselves. 

And whether you know this or not, you were made unique. You were made special. You were made with a purpose.

Hoop available at: Free Spirit Jenny

Making This Apartment Our Home: Living Room and Kitchen

Hey Everyone! I've had a few friends ask to see pics of our new home in Brunswick, GA. The thing is, we aren't in a house at this time. We are in the process of selling our home back in NC, so we moved into a nice, little apartment in the mean time. At first, I was not excited at all. I mean, where was I going to put all of my stuff? But, I won't lie, it's actually kind of grown on me (minus a few things). I like the low-maintenance aspect of living in an apt., and I LOVE our pool! Don't know how we would be handling everything right now without the pool. 

Anyway, I'm starting a new, little series as I decorate and update each room in our new place. I've had to scale down, and also tone it down a little, because obviously I don't have as much control over colors and carpet and kitchen counters, etc. The first room we'll look at is the living room and kitchen.

 So, this is the only before shot I got...sorry. This wall just felt so blah to me, and I didn't want to hang stuff around the TV, so I purchased my new favorite thing right now: wall decals. I've already put some up in the boys room (that will be another post), and I wanted something a little different. Totally obsessed with triangles right now. I also wanted it to be a little subtle because it would be behind the TV, so I went with white.

I love these wall decals because they are way more affordable than wall paper AND they are removable and re-usable! I love Walls by MUR, which is where I got the boys' decals, but these are from Happy Valley Goods on Etsy. I really love how they turned out, and it took me about 30 mins to put them up.

This are is a little weird, because there is a built in desk, which I kind of like, and kind of don't like. 

It's not usually like me to narrow down to only a few colors, and I think I'll probably add at least one more color to the mix...maybe like an orangey-red. Anyway, I am trying to keep it more calm feeling just because we are in such a small space.

I would not have chosen this paint color for the walls. If it were up to me, I would do stark white walls, BUT, at least it's neutral. I'm not used to so much tan...

I've been really excited about getting some new plants. Love these guys.

The kitchen is way nice for an apt., but it's not my colors at all. I feel so fancy and formal =0) I miss my mint back splash and butcher block counter tops =0( Oh well, I seriously can't complain. The kitchen doesn't feel like me at all, though...I may have to funk it up a little in the future.

The Move

Hey Everyone! I realize that I have been totally M.I.A. just like I promised I wouldn't be...whoops. We have had so much going on in the past few months- I can hardly believe that I'm still functioning. I do not handle stress well, so when my husband told me that we were officially moving from Charlotte, NC to Brunswick, GA, I knew I needed to prepare myself so that I wouldn't get overwhelmed. I stopped blogging, closed down my Etsy shop, and focused on saying goodbye to friends and helping my family make a big transition.

We learned the hard way when we moved three years ago from West Africa back to the states, that we needed to prepare our kids as best we could for all of the upcoming changes. When we moved three years ago, it was a HUGE life-change for everyone. We went from living in a third world country, surrounded 24/7 by an awesome support system/community to a country where we could get anything we wanted at any time...and no community around us (at least for a little while). John and I had worked together in Africa, so Levi had spent his first two years of life surrounded by us and countless other people to pay him lots of attention. After moving to Charlotte, my husband had a normal 8 hour job and all of a sudden it was just Levi and me in a tiny apartment all day long. Ugh. Talk about an adjustment. He was used to roaming a huge campus at his leisure, spending six or more hours a day outside playing in the dirt to being cooped up in a very small, very sterile apartment. John and I get a big, fat "F" for not recognizing sooner that Levi was struggling big time with all of the changes. We spent way too much time buying new things for our new home, painting, etc. and not enough time just focusing on him. So needless to say, we this most recent move, we were a little more prepared.

It was hard to say goodbye. We literally moved to NC knowing one person (a friend from high school). I remember driving into Gastonia for the first time and just crying. What had we gotten ourselves into? This was not what I was picturing at all. I wanted a city...not some run-down Mill Town. But man, did I underestimate what God had planned for us there! Looking back, we can see God's hand ALL over our time there. He provided every single thing we needed, and then went further and gave us so much of what we wanted. We prayed for a great church. Boom. Exodus Church was by far the biggest blessing we experienced in NC.

We prayed for community. Boom. Not only did we experience true community through our friends at church, but God surrounded us with wonderful, caring neighbors who loved on us and did life with us every day.

We prayed for a little home to call our own, and even though we didn't get the first home that we had really wanted, we got one that was even better. The location (and as I mentioned, neighbors) were EXACTLY what we needed. I can't imagine missing out on them.

We prayed for a good preschool for the boys. Boom. Not only was it a wonderful, nurturing, Christ-centered school, it was close to our house and only cost $15 for both boys for a half-day! God also provided an amazing counseling center for me when I began struggling hard-core with anxiety after Elliot was born. It was exactly what I needed and I know that was a big part of us moving to NC. God healed me from some major junk over the past couple of years.

So yeah, to say that it was hard to leave is an understatement. I cried driving in to NC, and I cried even harder driving away. I would say that that's a pretty good sign that we lived life to the fullest while we were there. We dove in and trusted that God knew what He was doing, and that's exactly what we're going to do here in Georgia.