St. Patrick's Day Craftiness

So its that time of year again where everything is turning green...my favorite color! The weather is warming up, the flowers are starting to bloom and St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. I LOVE this holiday because its a time to celebrate being a red-head and my love of the color green. Well that's what the holiday means to me anyway. This year, Daniel and I are hosting a party at our house to celebrate with our friends, and to give me an excuse to get crafty again and show off my wears to my friends.

Last night I started by making a new recipe...Shepherds Pie. I got the recipe from Pinterest and both Daniel and I were pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. This may become one of our new favorite meals.

 

Basically, you brown hamburger, add frozen assorted veggies, some onion and garlic and season to taste. You add mashed potatoes to the top and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Delicious comfort food!

After cleaning up from dinner I started thinking about how we could use up some of the "grape juice" bottles that we have collected over the past few months. I thought about another craft project I have been meaning to work on and thought I could incorporate Irish colors to make them part of the St. Patrick's Day party.

 

The bottles pictured here are beer bottles, but just imagine them bigger, and with yarn instead of twine. I made one bright orange bottle last night and added some button flowers for embellishments. I plan to do three more in brown, green, and tan colors. This project was pretty easy as well, just took some patience. I began by hot gluing the first part of the yarn to the bottom of the bottle all the way around once. From there it was just a matter of wrapping the yarn tightly around until it was completely covered. Then finding some buttons to match and layering them with hot glue to create a flower design. These will be cute flower vases for the table. I am using 4 different sized bottles instead of all one size like in the picture.

I look forward to creating more items for the party and sharing my results. I will post photos of the finished results soon.

Burn Notice

It can all change in the blink of an eye. This is the lesson learned this past Saturday as Daniel and I were at home, being lazy, watching tv in the afternoon, in our pajamas. Everything seemed normal, the neighbor kids were outside playing and squealing in delight. Our puppies were curled up with us on the couches, snuggling. It was unusually warm for a January afternoon, so there was a lot of hussle and bussle outside in our neighborhood. Daniel and I were just about to finish up the show we were watching and start getting ready to head to the TNU vs. Cumberland game at 4pm. We kept seeing the sunlight from our bedroom window get dim and then brighten but we thought nothing of it. We figured it was the tree outside our window blowing around. Then we heard sirens...again nothing unusual for our neighborhood; they come with the territory in Nashville. But they kept getting louder and louder. I got a sick feeling in my stomach and told Daniel I thought they were close. I opened the front blinds to check it out and saw the smoke billowing from our neighbors house. The flames came next into my view and I began to feel really sick. I yelled to Daniel that it was next door and we both ran to get dressed. In a panic I threw on some clothes, trying to figure out in my head what I needed to have on...was it cold out...would I need boots? Would I need a sweater? Then Daniel yelled and told me to pack a bag...I didnt really comprehend at first what he meant...then it hit me. What if it spread to our house? I mean the neighbors house is only about 15 feet from our home. A flying ember could easily fly over and catch our roof on fire. Then the panic set it. I hate to admit it, but I was not so good under this kind of pressure, and as much as I would like to think I am prepared for an emergency, I'M NOT! I had no idea what I needed to pack. I was having crazy conversations with myself, like "Do I need work clothes? I should pack a hoodie because its cold, wait...I need my make-up, do I bring extra shoes? What about toothbrushes? Wait! I need to rescue my photos and our important documents. I need a phone charger. Where did I put our documents when we moved? I need to get the dogs put in their crate.  I'm not exaggerating when I say it was panicked. Daniel on the other hand was cool, calm, and collected. Or at least that how it seemed to me. Maybe I was just too focused on my panicked state to see that he was panicked too. He was able to get the documents, the photos, the computer, and the valuables while I got the dogs, the clothes, and toiletries. We ran out the backdoor with our stuff and took everything to the back fence. As we were leaving the house we heard the firefighters breaking the windows on the side of the house and we saw the flames shooting out the attic in the back. It was surreal. We ran around to the front of the house and moved our cars to the back of the house so the firefighters could get closer and so our cars didnt get damaged as well. A few minutes later our landlord showed up and then the reality set it. I was able to stop for a few minutes and take it in. We went to the front of the house and watched as they pulled a firefighter out of the rubble that was once the front porch. It had collapsed on him. Then I saw the two kids that lived in the house sitting in a car. I went over to check on them and they were both crying and visibly upset. I asked if everyone got out of the house ok, and they said yes, but their mother was taken to the hospital because she collapsed from the smoke. I got them something to drink and a snack to eat. There wasnt much more we could do. I felt so helpless, so saddened, and so thankful that no one was seriously injured, and that our property had been spared.

As the firefighters finished their work, the paramedics left, the news reporters packed up, and the family was taken to a friends home for the night, the magnitude of the day weighed on me greatly. It is still weighing on me. I keep replaying the day over and over in my head. How did we not know what was going on earlier? What would have happened if we were not at home that day? What would we do if this would have happened to us? Am I prepared? These are all questions that I am still trying to process. All I know is that I am extremely thankful and blessed that it was not much worse. Daniel and I are collecting donations for the family and I pray that God will work through us to minister to this family. We have only known them for a couple of months, but I hope through this tragic event, we can become good friends.

Our house on the left, the duplex on the right.

The fire started on the left side of the duplex and quickly spread.

You can see the damage well here.

Christmas craftiness

So to follow along the same lines as my Pinterest Thanksgiving, I decided that this year was the year to make homemade Christmas gifts. Not only did it save us a lot of money, it made our gifts more unique to the people receiving them. Here are some of gifts we gave (I made, Daniel helped)...

Each of Daniel's nephews has a nickname given by Granddad that is an animal name, so we decided it would be cute to make hats for each one that corresponded to their nicknames. Here we have Wolfie, Tigger, Tadpole.

And this Squirrly Squirrel

And let's not forget Butterfly 

 

 

 

Elijah

Gavin

Haddie

Caleb

Luke

For my coworkers I made personalized Post-It note holders out of picture frames and scrapbook paper

For our parents we made dry erase boards out of picture frames and scrapbook paper.

And because I am a glutton for punishment I decided to make Grandma Foster a throw ( I started it the Thursday before Christmas)

Overall, I think all the gifts went over well and I had a lot of fun making them. Keep checking  back for more craftiness to come.

Thanksgiving craftiness

So this year Daniel and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house for Daniel's family. Since we are living in a bigger house, and it was my first time hosting TG dinner, I wanted to make it special. I have been introduced to Pinterest website in the past couple of months, and have been bitten by the crafty bug. Here are some of the things I have made so far...

Our Family Tree

My first wreath

Centerpiece for Table

Paper pumpkins

Flowers on the China hutch

Great is Thy Faithfulness

I sit here this morning writing this and its hard to explain the feeling I am experiencing. The best way I know to describe it is "overflowing with grace and love." The past couple of months have been probably the hardest and most trying months in Daniel and my marriage. But as I write this I can say that we are coming out of that darkness and into the light of God's grace in our lives. I want to take a few minutes and just brag on God and how much he has been a blessing to us over the past couple of weeks.

Let's start with the weekend of October 7-9th. We were scheduled to have our annual Summit Conference in Louisville, KY that weekend with our business team. This is the one conference a year that new Diamonds are celebrated and its always a spectacular event. Well, leading up to this weekend Daniel and I had been going through some challenges with money since D was out of work. We had been having to pinch pennies and really watch our finances. The tickets to the conference for both of us would cost roughly $280 plus the cost of gas to get there, food, and lodging for the weekend. We really struggled with the decision to go or not. We decided literally Thursday evening that Daniel would go and I would stay home this time. He would be able to bum a room with some of the other guys and he could live off PB&J for one weekend. Well, we decided to post a few pieces of furniture and other household items on Craigslist that week to make room in our house and hopefully make a few extra bucks to pay some bills. Literally Friday evening we get calls from people asking to buy both pieces of furniture for a grand total of $150, the exact cost of my ticket to the conference. We took this as a sign that we should go and so we packed up and left to go to Louisville. We were blessed even further when we got there by some friends of ours from Wisconsin who graciously let us stay with them in their hotel room free of charge. It was a very humbling experience for us and we were so thankful for the extra measure of grace and friendship that weekend.

From that weekend, the blessings have kept rolling in one after another. Daniel and I have been looking to move closer to Nashville to help save gas money and headaches from the morning commute. Also, Daniel is going to start substitute teaching in Nashville and we both wanted to be closer to work. Right after we got back from Louisville, that Sunday evening, I was browsing Facebook before bed and came across a post about a house for rent right behind Trevecca. I thought it was a long shot, but I emailed the property manager who happened to go to school with me at TNU. He said the place was still available and we set up a time to go look at it. The PM, Ryan, was even gracious enough to lower the rent for us to meet our budget. So we found a house that is literally 3 miles from work and it will save us hundreds of dollars a month in gas. That's not all, Ryan and his wife have two doxies too, so Cooper and Sophie will have new friends to play with!

In the process of getting ready to move on November 1st, we have been packing and selling more furniture on Craigslist and Ebay. We have been blessed to sell enough to replace our dining table for a smaller version, buy a washer and dryer and hopefully have enough left over to buy a new couch and lawnmower. And last but not least...this morning I left chapel to find an email from PayPal saying we had another $90 purchase go through! Just more confirmation that Daniel and I are on the right path and that God is blessing our every step and meeting our every need! I stand in awe of his mercies every day.

So as we start this new journey in our lives with a new house, new job, and new ministry opportunities, I ask that you continue to pray for God's blessings in our lives and for continued guidance as we walk out his calling on our lives.

Women of influence

This weekend I was able to meet on of the women that influences me along with thousands of other girls and women throughout the world. Nancy Alcorn is an amazing woman of faith that heard God speaking to her about helping young women who were hurting and sharing God's love with them. Nancy founded Mercy Ministries. Please take a moment and look up this ministry at www.mercyministries.com. Research Nancy's testimony. She is amazing and Daniel and I are proud to be partners with her.

It's been a long time; I shouldn't have left you...

As I sit here typing out this blog, I smile because I know that as soon as Daniel reads that title he is going to know how to finish the sentence. It's another one of our many inside jokes. Anyways, I shouldn't have left you so long without an update on life at the Perry Playground. I realize its been months since I last updated my blog, and as always its because life happened.

Let's see, where to start....

My last post was at the end of July. At that point I was struggling with my role as a wife. I was utterly discouraged about what seemed to be the constant arguing that was taking place with Daniel and I. We were arguing over the dumbest things, and needless to say I wasn't feeling too "super wifey for lifey." Over the month of August Daniel and I talked with our mentors and started taking a course on marriage...and each other. George recommended a few books for Daniel to study, and Renee did the same for me. She gave me The Power of a Praying Wife, and Fascinating Womanhood. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm still not through either of these books, because again life got in the way, I've been lazy, and frankly...those books make me very angry when I read them. The reason they make me angry are:

1. they are written from a 1950's housewife mentality (which flies in the face of every ounce of independence I have)

2. they reveal areas about my marriage that I have to fix...not Daniel...ME! 

 So long story short, I read a little and throw the book, pick it up again, read a little more, throw it again....you get the drift. On a good note though, our marriage is getting back on track and we are both learning to communicate better.

So, that brings me to late August, early September. School started back for Daniel again, this time with all his classes being online. School started back for me as well, with a fresh group of Freshman in my LEAP group. We are known as "Starr and the Giant Peaches." I am having so much fun with this group of students and they continually stretch me and help me to become a better instructor. Daniel has decided that since he is taking online classes this fall, then he will have time to pursue substitute teaching in the Metro school system. He has completed all the paperwork and background check and all that jazz...and is waiting patiently for the orientation. I think he is going to be an amazing teacher and that the students will absolutely love him.

Work has been pretty crazy the past couple of months and I have been working ALOT! But we did have a chance to slip in a couple of mini vacations with family this late summer/early fall. We were able to go camping with the Perry's in Missouri, and we celebrated Grandma Perry's 80th birthday in Indiana in September. We are planning a trip to Grandma Foster's cabin in Virginia with my parents and Kyle and Micha at the end of October. I'm looking forward to the quiet mountains and cool crisp air.

That pretty much sums up our beginning of Fall, and we eagerly anticipate the upcoming holidays. Be looking out for my next blog about the joys of house hunting! Blessings, and check out my photos on Facebook from our mini vacations this year.