Let Love Be Louder

I can't stand reading or watching the news anymore. So much of it is scary, depressing, gross, disturbing, etc, etc, etc. And I'm not one of those people who just wants to live in my own, comfortable bubble and not think about people who are suffering. I just feel like our culture jumps on anything drama worthy and anything negative, because it's interesting. For me, I can get caught up in this "the world is going to pot and everyone is messed up" mentality. It feels hopeless sometimes. I feel useless to help. But the truth is, there is hope. Hope in Jesus Christ.

This world IS messed up, and always has been...but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. And oh, also...there are people, many people, trying to make a positive difference. There are people doing good things, selfless things, brave things, compassionate things...and sadly, we hardly ever get to see them on the news or on the front page of a magazine. My point is, there are lots of bad things happening all around us every single day, but we can let love be louder. Louder than evil, louder than corruption, louder than greed. One thing God has really taught me in the past couple of years is that He can use ANYTHING for good. He takes our brokenness and makes good out of it. He uses our creativity, our talent, our mistakes, our passions, our stories for good. Let's let love be louder than hate. Let's live our lives with the knowledge that God can use even the smallest things to touch someones life and to make an impact.

Routine

I've had a lot of people lately ask me how I have the time to craft and make stuff for my Etsy shop, so I decided to write a little about it. When I first got married 7 1/2 years ago, my Mom gave me the best piece of advice. She told me to do a little housework each day so that you didn't have to try and tackle it all in one, tiring, overwhelming sweep. Now, I'm typically not a schedule lover, but I have discovered that I do like a bit of routine in my life to keep me sane. Don't get me wrong- I'm spontaneous and I love trying new things and exploring and being adventurous, but when it comes to day to day things, I like to have an idea of what's going to happen when. That said, I took my Mom's advice and have lived by a little cleaning schedule that has been awesome for our family. It's simple, but it keeps me on track. Here it is:

Monday: Clean downstairs bathroom
Tuesday: Laundry
Wednesday: Dust/Clean glass doors and windows (when needed...this does not happen every week)
Thursday: Clean upstairs bathroom
Friday: Laundry
Saturday: Vacuum/Sweep (mop twice a year...basically =0)
Sunday: Lay on the couch =0)

I stick to the schedule and rarely skip doing the job for the day...BUT, if I do (things come up, I get it), it's not a big deal. I just try and make it up the next day, and if I don't....oh, well...it can go another week without a cleaning. We won't die.

I try and do my daily chore in the morning, but if not in the morning, as soon as Elliot goes down for his nap around 1:00. I've found that if my chore isn't done, it's just sitting in the back of my head, irritating me until I do it. If I just get it done and over with as soon as possible, then when Elliot goes down for his nap, I can rest too. This leads to the other part of my routine- I set aside time everyday to rest, relax, and do things that I want to do, i.e. craft =0) This is the time when Levi gets to play on the computer or watch cartoons or color or whatever, and it's my time to chill. I can't tell you how awesome this works for me. I take care of my responsibilities around the house without getting overwhelmed, things get cleaned regularly, and I set aside me time.

I also plan my meals at the beginning of each week, before I go to the store. This helps me buy only what we need for the week (which keeps us on budget) and keeps me from stressing at 5:00 about what to make for dinner. I wake up, take any meat that needs to thaw out, out of the freezer, and prepare accordingly. 

I realize that this kind of thing doesn't work for everyone, nor do some people thrive off of it, but for me, it works. I've had a lot of friends try the cleaning schedule after hearing about it from me and like it a lot. So, this is how I do it folks! I also work on my Etsy stuff after the kids go to bed and John and I are chllin' in front of the TV. But yeah. That's that! I hope this can help some of you who are feeling overwhelmed and have a lot that you want or need to get done.

A Few of My Favorite Things

It's time to talk about a few of my favorite things again! Like I said in my previous post on this, I am inspired daily by so many creative and crafty ladies and gents who either have an Etsy shop, make handmade items, or express their creativity in other forms, like photography and decorating. Instigram, FB, and Pinterest have opened up so many doors to "meet" some of these people and be exposed to their work.

Recently, I stumbled on these ADORABLE embroidery necklaces by the very talented Rachel Pruett of Poppy and Fern.

 Her necklaces are so whimsical and unique...and those pendant frames! Gahhhh!!!! I saved up for one and was giddy when it came in the mail the other day!

 

 Isn't she adorable? And she also loves Jesus, which makes my heart happy!

 I have my eye on this one for my anniversary gift this year (I pick out my own gifts 93% of the time. I mean, it insures I get what I want, right?) because for our first year anniversary I surprised John and took him on a hot air balloon ride in Vegas. Plus, I just think it's CUTE!

Check out her shop, ya'll and follower her on IG. She has cute style and her house is super cute, too!

Guilt

If you're a Mom, you've probably felt it. If you're anyone, you've probably felt it. But for some reason for me, it's quadrupled since I became a Mom. GUILT. False or otherwise, it creeps up almost daily.

I feed my kids too many hot dogs. Guilt.

My oldest ignores adults that talk to him when we're out in public. Guilt.

I don't play with my boys enough. Guilt.

I don't sing with my kids enough. Guilt.

I don't pray for my kids enough. Guilt.

I haven't worked with Levi enough on his ABC's and some other kids his age are already writing and learning to read. Guilt.

By the time my husband comes home, I have no energy left to pour into him. Guilt.

I never send a birthday card out on time, if at all. Guilt.

And the list goes on...and on...and on. It's silly, really, when we choose to focus on all of the things we aren't doing, or aren't doing right. The truth is, I have to cut myself a break. We all do. Despite what Pinterest tells us, we CAN'T DO IT ALL. And when I think about it, I don't totally screw it up all the time.  I'm a pretty fun Mom. I do silly dances for my kids while they eat their lunch or take their bath. I tickle them and wrestle with them. I play Lego Minecraft  with my four year old and want to die of boredom, but I do it anyway. My kids are ALIVE and healthy. I manage to feed them three square meals a day, even if it is hotdogs a lot of the time. I tell them I love them 100 times a day and I give them more kisses than they care for. And most importantly, I tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them. I have to cut myself a break. We all do. Despite what you think, you're doing more good than you realize. You're in their lives, and you're trying. So take a deep breath, and let go of all that FALSE guilt.

 My friend Dani Byham wrote about this beautifully in her blog today, you guys should check it out: The Mom Season. She writes truth about Momhood, ya'll.

A Few of My Favorite Things

One of my goals this year is to be more intentional about buying handmade/local. I've had my own Etsy shop, Free Spirit Jenny, for a couple of years, but honestly, I never really purchased much for myself off of Etsy. Part of the reason is because in the past two years I had our second son, Elliot and was also busy setting up our new home. We had just moved from West Africa, where we had spent the previous four years working at a school for missionary kids, and we had almost nothing to set up house with! So, a lot of our money was going to furnish our new home- and dang, it takes a lot! I thrift and re-purpose almost everything we own, and it still added up quickly! All that to say, I didn't exactly have a lot of extra cash lying around to buy cool, handmade stuff. Now that my shop is taking off a little more, I can afford to pick up a few new things here and there. I'm going to start featuring some of my favorites on my blog, so you guys can get to know a few of the very creative artists behind them! Let's do this thing!

Check out this sweet, book letter monogram by the talented, Simply Vintage GA. Seriously, some people are just so creative. I would never look at an old, Reader's Digest book and think, "Yeah, I think I'll carve that into a letter." Anyway, I think they are super cute. She does ampersands, too. I had to hold back and just order one for now.

Wouldn't this be super cute if you spelled out L.O.V.E or you and your hubbies initials? She has all different kinds of colors and patterns. Fun. Anyway, if you get a chance, check out Krystal's Etsy shop!

Home Tour

I am so honored and excited to have our home featured on the wonderful Life Made Lovely blog this week! I have been a huge fan of Heather's Home Made Lovely series for a long time, and I am thrilled to join the club! If you are looking for decorating inspiration, check our her blog- it is awesome. I am re-posting my home tour below. Enjoy!

I may look like your typical American girl, but I actually grew up overseas as a missionary kid. I was raised in Hong Kong and started going to boarding school in Malaysia when I was just 10 years old! Since then, I lived in Europe for a while doing missions work, and my husband and I spent four years working at a missionary school in West Africa, where our oldest son was born. I've lived in a ton of different places and a ton of different houses, but no matter where we were growing up, my Mom always made our house a home. She always decorated so beautifully and no matter what ugly, cold building we lived in, the inside always felt so warm and cozy and wonderful! I guess it just rubbed off on me, because it is so important to me to make our home, wherever it is, a warm, lovely, cozy, vibrant, creative place to be! Come on in and take a peek!

I'm a sucker for thrifty art and flowers! The two combined equal my entryway. Bright, happy, eclectic- this is what you get when you first walk into our home. 

The living room for me, has always been the heart of the home. I put the most effort into this space. It's where we spend time learning, laughing, talking, entertaining...just living! It's where we spend most of our time and I wanted it to be cozy, but reflect my style...which is vintage meets modern meets eclectic...something like that!

When I shop for items and furniture to fill our home, I really don't over think it. I just buy things that I like and that make me happy and find a place for it! I don't worry too much about color schemes and matching. Although, there are certain colors I'm definitely drawn to: can you see all the mustard?

We thrifted these vintage lamps  for a few bucks when we first got married, and I love them!

The mantle is kind of the focal point of the room, and I'm always changing it up depending on the season or holiday or whatever. It's so important to me to surround our home with pictures of loved ones- it just makes it personal.

I 

 I have to give a shout out to my sweet hubby for sanding and painting this dresser for me! So many people ask me about it, and I have to give him all the credit because there is no way I could have done it this nicely. He's pretty proud of it, too =0)

I decided when we moved into this home (our first purchased home), that I wanted to surround us with truth. That's why I love my chalkboards! I am constantly writing Bible verses and inspirational quotes that breath truth into our home and encourage us. 

I collecting unusual, quirky, fun, and inexpensive items to fill my home, which is why a lot of the decor and furniture is thrifted or handmade. We got this awesome hutch for $125 at a little antique store in our town, and I think it was a steal!

We obviously spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I wanted it to be cheerful, fun, and fresh feeling. We just re-did our backsplash and countertops, and we love how they turned out.

 As in all of my decorating, I love mixing vintage and modern patterns. I thrift almost all of the material I use in my projects.

 I'm always trying to find the balance of making the downstairs bathroom functional for my boys, and pretty for my guests!

My oldest son, Levi, has a room downstairs. We moved him down after our other son was born to give them each some space. It's worked out so well, because it functions as a play room for both of them throughout the day. I love all the pops of bright colors- it's just a happy room =0)

I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest, and this ABC wall was super fun to put together. I bought every letter on sale, so it took a few months to gather and paint them all!

I scored these vintage flash cards at the Charlotte flea market. They are one of my favorite things, for sure.

My husband recently built this book box because we were so tired of all the books sliding off and falling onto each other. Plus, they are (mostly) out of little brother.

I kept the stairway simple, because it's right across from crazyland: i.e. the wall of flower pictures in the entryway.

We really wanted to make our room a peaceful retreat, and I actually focused on sticking to just a few colors (for me, this is just a few colors). I love the mint walls and pops of mustard. And of course, I still have to have my fun vintage mixed with modern- like the Chevron rug and big lamps.

 

 Our youngest son, Elliot sleeps is this cozy, little space. We don't spend a lot of time up here, so really all he does is sleep here. I really wanted it to have a vintage feel and I believe almost everything in here is second hand.

My home is such an expression of the creativity inside me. As cheesy as it sounds, sometimes I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't have a project to work on, or something to make. I just LOVE decorating and making our home unique and warm and us. I hope I've been able to inspire some of you to do the same with your homes- to make them expressions of you!

Thanks for stopping by,
Jenny

Checking In

Every year I make New Year's Resolutions, and every year it's the same old story... I either don't even touch them, or I make a small dent and then give up. I'm not beating myself up about it, because I'm guessing that's what happens to almost everyone! The past few days I've been thinking, though- I think I've actually succeeded in a couple of things (so far...I mean, we're a month into it, people). Let's review a few of mine:

1.Buy more handmade/shop local: I get a 10/10 on this one. Let's just say my Etsy shop supports my Etsy habit. Ok, that's not entirely true, but I have made several purchases from some wonderful Etsy shops, as well as trying out new local restaurants for our date nights, etc. At this point, I feel pretty good about this one.

2.Exercise. Like, period. Like, get off my bum and do something (besides chase after my boys all day, which should count!) So...yeah. I "danced" one morning for about 20 mins (jumping around in my dining room to fun music). My boys were like, "What the heck is Mom doing?" I didn't even sweat, but I got hot enough to take off my hoodie. FAIL. I really need to get back on this. When it's warm, I run and walk almost every day, but the cold just does me in. I also struggle with finding the right time to exercise. I need a good video or something. Open for suggestions, friends.

3.Work harder at my Etsy business. Yes. I have been. And it's been really good. I've had the best sales of any month so far. Still learning to balance this and being a Mom and wife, etc. etc. I'm happy with where I'm at. It's a creative outlet for me and I really enjoy it. I never want to get so stressed out with it, that it takes away from my most important job. So yeah, pretty happy with that one.

4.Start a new blog. Done and done. Now, just need to learn how to navigate it and all that jazz. Oh, and also, keep up with it. I really am going to try, I promise!

5.PLAY with my boys more. SIGH. Tears. Guilt. This is a huge battle for me, and I think I have a whole other blog post already lined up in my head revolving around this (and other things). First of all, let me say, that it has been better. I have left projects I'm working on to go play with my boys. I've taken more time to tickle and laugh and enjoy them, but like many Moms, I always feel like I could be doing more. And I totally have those super selfish days, as well, where I WAS on my phone way to much and too preoccupied bee bopping around the house to really take time and love on my boys. I beat myself up, but I give myself grace, as well. I think I'm probably the hardest on myself in this area, but I also know I want to be better at giving selflessly of my time and energy, especially to my family.

6.Last one: TRUST GOD MORE. I'm learning...I'm learning. I have great days, and I have horrible days, but I'm moving forward. Again, a whole other blog post, and there will be many on this, I'm sure of it. One thing I've been chewing on the past few days: Why is it SO hard to just let go...to let go of the control and let God work? It's such a simple act if you think about it, but so much harder to put into play.

I'm a work in progress, and I have to accept God's grace for me everyday. I'm thankful that it never runs out on me.