A New Perspective

Last Friday I invited my friend Michalle and her boys to come over for a play date. Michalle is a very talented artist and designer, and I love the way her home is decorated. Dave and I have been debating paint colors for our downstairs for quite a while, so Michalle agreed to give her opinion. Well, we did look at paint colors and then I started asking her some other questions.

One thing led to another, and six hours later she had re-arranged all of the pictures and accents in my living room and dining room and given me an action plan so these would be two completely re-decorated rooms. Wow! Michalle specializes in using what you already have, so I pulled out all of our abandoned old frames and art we had purchased over the years but have never framed. She was able to use a lot of the things I loved but had tucked away, because I could never figure out where to put them. Michalle even framed one of our prints using an old frame and mat I had tried unsuccessfully to sell at a garage sale. It now looks fabulous!

I will post some pictures of the re-do in a few days (I still need to buy a few more frames so all of our previously hidden art will be on display). Dave loved the improvements- it was a great surprise for him after a long day of travel. Isn't that how our lives are- we really don't need a bunch of new things, we just need a fresh perspective on what we already have. Sometimes God brings along someone to help you see it.

Double the Fun

On Saturday we went to two fall festivals. Pumpkinfest, which is in downtown Franklin, is fun but gets super crowded. We love the free kids activities and the chili cookoff. It's our third year in a row to enjoy this tradition. In the afternoon, we went to the boy's school (which is a church) for their fall festival. It's our second year to join in the fun there. They also have lots of games, free food, music and a chili cookoff. It was almost too much fun for one day!

Another Energy Saver

Gotta start young- we're really into battery powered cars around here. Lots of re-charging but no gas bills!

Down on the Farm

Last weekend we were invited to visit Josh's grandparents' farm in Kentucky. It was a wonderful little escape to a slower pace of life and a beautiful setting. The boys loved it!

Dino World

There's really not much that can make a 4 year old boy happier than a bunch of life-size fake dinosaurs. We're glad we could make it happen.

Roommates?

Wesley is ready to move into his big brother's room. He runs in there every night instead of his own room, but it will be at least another year before we consider letting him move in. We want him in the crib as long as possible! I'm actually surprised he hasn't climbed out of his crib yet.

The funny thing is he only wants to sleep in Daniel's bed. He has not even noticed there is another bed in there he could have to himself. Everything is more fun with "Brothers" (that is what Wesley calls Daniel- "Brothers").

Train Travel

They say train travel has exploded lately because of high fuel costs. Well, it's been popular at our house for a few years now. Our latest route has been built around my new t-shirt quilt.

Farmer's Market Day at School

Unfortunately, the rain came and most of the planned fun had to be moved indoors. But the farmers still brought a few animals for a visit with the kids. As you can see, Wesley was more friendly to them than Daniel. By the way, the chicken Wesley is touching is named "Cruella de Ville". How cute!

Watch out for Worshipping Drivers

I have a confession to make: When I am alone in the car, I am a hand waving, loud singing worshipper. I don't think I'm the only one who enjoys authentic worship in solitude. You may be secretly nodding along with me here.

The only glitch is I'm usually never alone in the car, so I'm turning our kids into mini-pentecostals. Which is probably not a bad thing. Daniel loves to sing and Wesley is starting to chime in. The other night in the car I enjoyed hearing Daniel sing at the top of his lungs:

Savior, He can move the mountains, Our God is Mighty to Save, He is Mighty to Save. Forever, Author of Salvation, You rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.

It touches my heart to hear his worship of God, who I pray will also be his Savior also.

I've confessed all of this to Dave so he knows why Daniel is raising his hands and singing so loudly, and now all of you know it too. Don't look so strangely at me when you see me driving around town. Maybe you should get on itunes and download some Hillsong and Passion music yourself.

The End of the Grand Marquis Era

Dave Ramsey often defines financial maturity as "delayed gratification". If this is the case, my husband is one of the most mature people I know. I don't know many adults who have not succumbed to "car fever" at one time or another- you know, when you stand in a car dealership and act like a kid in a grocery store, "I want it and I want it NOW!". Even though Dave loves cars, he feeds his interest through lifetime subscriptions to "Car and Driver and "Motor Trend". He honestly does not really care what he drives. And he has saved thousands of dollars.

Thanks to some car generosity from his parents, in his driving lifetime, he has purchased from them a Dodge Spirit and two different Grand Marquis models. And now he has a Lexus, so it's the end of the Grand Marquis era for us. I am kind of going to miss it. I could fit a lot of stuff in that trunk and it even came in handy a few weeks ago when I needed Grandpa Galloway's jumper cables from the trunk to help a friend out.

At the car registration office the other day, the clerk handed me the license and said "Here's the plates for your Lexus". That sounded kind of pretentious to me, which we're not (I hope). But sometimes we get better than we deserve. I got Dave and he finally gets an impressive car (even though he would still be happy driving a Grand Marquis).

Wesley can build it.... HD can help

One of our family traditions is the Home Depot kids workshop the first Saturday of the month. It's free, it's fun and we can also take care of some shopping if needed. This Saturday we built firetrucks, and they had a real firetruck visiting at the store also. This was the first time we let Wesley build something, and he really got into it!

Pumpkin Farm

We made our annual trip with friends to the Walden pumpkin farm on Friday afternoon. It's our third year to go together, and we were laughing about how previous years involved a parade of strollers and this year we don't need any. The kids are growing up fast! We did miss having our dear friend Missy along, but are continuing to lift Cooper and their family up in prayer. Daddy surprised us by leaving work early and going with us (we made him drive the van with all of the boys in it, and we girls all rode in another car). Previously in the morning, I caught Daniel looking out the window at the trees, and he informed me "it's not fall until the trees are colorful". I think the visit to the farm changed his mind.

Florida!

Florida

The only reason I have gotten to download pictures and blog today is because of Mother's Day Out. You gotta love having school the day after you come back from a trip. I forgot to mention in my travel notes that Southwest has added a cool kids' table in the waiting area which the boys loved (first picture). We enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa Stewart and spending some time in Ft Myers. As you can see in the pictures, their pool is always a big hit. Daniel is already talking about how much he misses them.

Our stay in Destin was at the Hilton Sandestin, which was almost completely deserted and had three beautiful pools and a private beachfront. The boys had their own sleeping area and Daniel loved sleeping in the top bunk bed. Dave and I had fun re-living our last visit Destin, which was over 10 years ago, in our pre-engagement days. We were so glad to go back to one of our favorite restaurants, The Back Porch, and sat at a table right next to the ocean. We also visited some beach areas we had never seen before, like the quaint town of Seaside. We have plenty of options to choose from next time we vacation in Destin!

Travel Notes

We made it back from our Florida adventure tonight around dinner time (flew to Florida, drove back)! I promise to post more pictures and details of the actual trip later, but here are a few notes from the travel logistics:

The first leg: Nashville to Ft. Myers, FL

After a self-imposed ban on air travel since last November, we felt we were ready to take the plunge with the kiddos. This was a great trial run for Thanksgiving since this trip included just one direct flight.

I am still on the TSA watch list and cannot check in online!! Dave flies under his middle name with success, since he has been on the "we are going to hassle you until you miss your flight" terrorist list for a few years now. There are some bad Stewarts out there and I'm tired of taking the heat for them! In the future, I am considering flying under my middle name as "Burden Stewart".

This was our first trip ever without a stroller! Wesley won't stay in it and it's such a hassle to carry on and everywhere else. We ended up carrying him a few times, but it worked.

I was thrilled with the new security area at the airport and the "family line". No more business travelers giving me dirty looks as I unload 15 things on the x ray belt as I am pulling off kids shoes everywhere. Oh wait, we're now down to about 4 things! Hooray!

Daniel on the view: "I can see everything from up here. I can see the whole world. I see Jesus."

Wesley. Well, what can we say. He only threw one tantrum lying down on the aisle of the plane during the flight, and we consider that to be a successful trip. He loved the bathroom and I considered staying there for the last 30 minutes of the flight, but that probably would keep me on the TSA watch list forever.


The second leg of our trip, Ft. Myers to Destin:

Daniel: "Are we going to put the car in the airplane to get it home?"

The boys did great, considering they have never been in the car for a 9 hour trip before. We had finally bought a portable DVD player and it is pure gold (along with all of our favorite PBS shows I had burned to DVDs).

The third leg of our trip, Destin to Franklin:

We made awesome time today, 7-1/2 hours, including two short stops. Daniel seemed a little car sick towards the end. I was prepared to entertain Daniel all day because Wesley usually naps in the car, but today Daniel took a nap and Wesley wanted to just throw things and yell. Finally he got to watch "Elmo" for awhile and then he conked out for the last 1-1/2 hours of our trip.

The verdict: Success on the flight and road trip. We feel like we are up to air travel at Thanksgiving, although Wesley will still be a wiggly challenge. Next time he will have his own seat, so we can buckle him in and strap him down in his own space with a DVD of his hero, Elmo.