And in case you haven't seen enough pictures of them, here are a few more. :)

It was a little surreal having these four stay at our house. It seems like just last year that my sister and I were staying at their house in Texas with a toddler and a baby crawling around.

These girls - my cousins - are now 11 and 12, taller than I am, and beautiful as ever.

And somehow, their mom and dad don't age. I hope I get those genes.

Love you, Ware family!

DIY "Simplify" sign.

I have only 5 days left before school starts, so I'm cramming in as many DIY projects as possible!

Today on the House of Smiths blog, I saw this project and just loved it. I remembered I had a similar piece of wood in our garage that was left over from another project, and I loved the sentiment of "simplify" in your home. Always a good reminder.

So I mixed up a little grayish blue paint and painted my board. The board was 8 inches tall by 34 inches wide.

Since I didn't have a vinyl decal and wanted it to look a little more rustic, I went out painting the words on in a different way. I first printed off the word "SIMPLIFY" through Photoshop so it would be big enough to fit my sign.

Here comes the tedious part. Make sure you're in a good mood before you start this step. :) Tape the words onto a large piece of drawer liner. Yep - it was leftover from when we lined our kitchen cabinets and drawers. Then start cutting around each and every letter with an x-acto knife on a cutting make so you don't gouge the counters. This seems super tedious (and it is) but it actually only took about 15 minutes.

Once you've gotten your letters trimmed out, you're left with one giant sticker! Position it on your board where you want it, then peel the backing off so it sticks to your wood. This can also be a tricky step, so be patient.

Once it's positioned, paint inside the letters. I find it's easier to paint a couple thin layers so it doesn't bleed too much near the outside of the letters. Wait for it to dry (unlike me) then peel off the sticker to reveal your work!

As you can see, mine isn't perfect, but because I was going to weather it with a sander anyway, it didn't matter a lot. I did fix up some of the edges with some leftover gray paint I had mixed. When the letters are completely dry, it's time to sand. You can do this by hand, but it takes a lot less time with a sander. I sanded the edges as well as across my letters. You can do as much or as little as you want on this step. Finally, wipe away any sawdust with a damp rag, then finish it off with polyurethane and you're done!




Now off to find the perfect place for it... :)

A little before and after.

This used to be my nightstand:

That's not my photo of it, but because I forgot to take a "before" picture, I had to find one online. My parents purchased it as part of a set when I was in 5th grade, so it's had a good long life already. It was currently being used as a printer stand, and it was looking a little... well... frumpy.

It needed a facelift, and here's what it got!

For Christmas, I got a sander (and a jigsaw and a soldering iron - yippee!) and this was my first project with it.

I sanded the whole thing down, then painted it with several coats of Olympic Colonial White paint. I then took the sander to it again and sanded down the edges. I then used Early American stain by Minwax to add a little stain to some of the sanded edges. It gives it an even more worn look. I just applied it with one rag then wiped most of it up with another clean rag. I finished it off with a coat of water-based polyurethane, changed the knobs, and that's it!

More projects coming soon. :)

To my dear gluten-intolerant friends,

This bread...

is life changing.
I mean it.

For this gluten-free dairy-free girl, a good (and easy) homemade bread recipe is so hard to find. But this lady has done it:

I can't recommend her book highly enough. (She has a blog, too!)

This bread takes less than an hour from start to finish, is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside, and just perfect. Shawn even said it was the best bread I've ever made - gluten-free or not. That's saying a lot if you've ever tasted gluten-free bread. I added rosemary, minced garlic, and a little sea salt and it tasted just like focaccia from Macaroni Grill. I've also made a delicious chicken tetrazzini casserole and black bean lime soup from Silvana's book.



So to all my gluten-intolerant friends, this cookbook has two thumbs up from me! Just thought you should know. :)

Love,
Whitney

My uncle Jeff.

I want you to meet someone really special.
This is my uncle, Jeffrey Shea.

Until a few days ago when my family took a quick trip to North Carolina where Jeff lives, it had been 17 years since I'd seen him last.

When Jeff was born, doctors told his parents that he would certainly not live past the age of 9. That he would never walk, talk, hear, or see. At the age of 48, Jeff has done all of those things: he has walked, talked, heard, and seen. He is a miracle. He has the mind of a 16-month-old child and it is fascinating to watch him. It is more fascinating to think what he must be thinking at any given time. And it will be a joy someday in Heaven - when Jeff is whole - to hear all about what his years on earth were like.

At one point in the day, I sat by Jeff on the couch. He laid his head on my lap and looked up at me.


And then he fell asleep.

It's a wonder what being around someone who is mentally and physically disabled can do to you. You feel so thankful for how God has blessed you with a healthy mind and body. But even more, you feel deep gratitude for simple joys. Jeff doesn't worry about bills or what he'll wear. He doesn't have the capacity to. And yet, God has cared for him so tenderly since day 1. 

At one point in our visit, Jeff started rocking back and forth, uttering one of two words he knows: "Fuuuuun! Fuuuuuunnnn!!!" He knew he was with family and it was precious to hear him utter his joy in the moment.

I also want you to meet Curtis and Jackie.



They are Jeff's caregivers at the O'Berry Center and they are Jeff's favorites (and mine, too, though I haven't met any of the other staff.) :)



Curtis has cared for Jeff for the past 18 years and we could not ask for more incredible people to be with him. You can feel their love and compassion for him.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 

Matthew 19:14