A Baseball Bed

We chose a vintage baseball theme for our son's bedroom.  Vintage meaning old hand-me-down balls and bats from our families.  My mom was thrilled to clear out the old balls and bats from her garage!  And Ryan dug out a glove that was his grandfathers.  We started making over the room last year but, honestly, didn't get very far.  {You can see my plans and inspiration in this post.}  We did, however, work on personalizing the headboard!

Before:

After:

Ryan cut the knobs off the top and drilled a pilot hole.

I picked up these dowel screws from Lowes.  One end went into the ball and the other end into the pilot hole.

Here's a close up of the final results.  We think it adds some character to an otherwise boring headboard.

What do you think?

2012 Year in Review

I hadn't planned on writing a post on all the events of 2012 or making resolutions for 2013.  However, I spent the morning browsing Flipboard (my go-to iPad app for keeping current on the blogs I follow) and I was inspired by all of the 2012 wrap-ups and 2013 resolutions.  Some of my favorite bloggers spoke very honestly about their triumphs and failures and plans for the new year.  I sat on the couch for a long time drinking my morning coffee, reading, and reflecting while my five year old daughter brushed my hair and filled it with bows and colorful braided extensions.  Its hard for me to believe how many changes we went through in this past year alone!

This is the New Year's card we sent out instead of a Christmas card.  Partly because I didn't get my act together in time to send out a Christmas card.  And partly because I like the idea of updating distant relatives and friends on the highlights of our year.

2012 Year in Review (The Long Version)

January
24th-  Ryan and I celebrated my 30th birthday by having dinner at a fancy restaurant in Tulsa.  We enjoyed a quiet evening without our two daughters in tow (a rare treat!) and were completely unaware of the life changing phone call we would receive the next day.
25th-  Our DHS adoption case worker called with the news that we were chosen to adopt a young child who was waiting for a forever home.  Life stood still as I tried to comprehend what she was saying.  You can read more about that here.

February
The adoption process progressed and at the end of the month our little guy moved in and began his new life with us.  I wrote a little about that here.

March
We adjusted to life with three little kids (two two-year-olds and a four year old!) and remodeled the kids' bathroom.

April
Little Bean turned three!  We celebrated with a rainbow birthday cake.

May-June-July
My memories of summer are a blur.  We went on a big family vacation in Florida and took the kids to Disney World.

August
V turned 5!  We went away for the weekend and celebrated at a fun arcade called Andy Alligator's.
Another big change; I switched schools and teaching positions.  I left first grade after 7 years to teach second through fifth graders in a gifted and talented program.  This was a scary leap but I've settled in and I absolutely love my job!

September-October
Where did those months go???  We spent our "free time" chasing kids and running.

November
Little R is officially ours!  We went to court and finalized!
Ryan ran his first marathon and I added another 5K to my list.

December
Little R turned 3!  Between his birthday celebration and preparations for Christmas the month was busy and flew by in a blur.


2013 Resolutions
I'm not really one to make new year's resolutions.  The first of January feels like a regular old day to me.   I'm more the type that randomly sets goals as the inspiration hits.  Ryan says, "Life is short.  If you want to do something, do it."  Then he'll give me a gentle shove in the right direction to help me get out of my comfort zone.  So, with all that said, I'm going to share some of the goals that have been swimming around my head lately.

Run a 10K.  I've run a handful of 5Ks, finished a sprint triathlon, and even completed a 50 mile charity bike ride.  Why am I so intimidated by races longer than a 5K?  I have no idea.  Maybe its because I know how much time I'll need to spend training.  Maybe its because I don't really like running.  But regardless of my hang ups I know running is so worth it physically and emotionally.  So come March I'm going to check this one off the list.

Improve my photography.  I got a fancy new DSLR camera for Christmas.  I'm only just beginning to learn how to use it.  I love taking pictures and my goal is to practice more often and get better at it.

Blog more often.  This past year was so crazy that I took an unintentional break from blogging.  I continued to do crafty stuff around the house and with the kids but I was horrible about sharing online.  As my photography improves I'd like to share more of my daily life on the blog.  I have a list of projects (some items almost a year old) that I'd like to finally finish and share.


I have more goals I'm still turning over in my brain but this is a good start for now!  Thanks for following me on my journey!