Living and Playing to Please a King
Half of the roof is gone.
Half of the new, steeper roof is up.
But it took until the late hours of evening.
And there were only a few minor bumps in the road.
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Y’all, I know it’s cliche, but we really need to stop already with this addition and build an ark instead. The rain will just not stop. Then irony of it all has become comical. Our little part of the world has been in a drought for months now, right up until part of our roof came off. We now have a moat around our home, which I kind of find charming because it feels a little “castle-like”, but my carpenter husband is not amused. He is actually the exact opposite of amused. The man has spent far too much time these past few days on top of our roof in the middle of the night catching water. The rain is taunting him.
And so we fight the rain. We catch it with tarps, buckets, and prayers; and we syphon and sweep it away from the house as fast as we can. We also work our little people pretty hard, it’s character building. We’re not raising wimps around here. Ella told me last week “my cast smells like sushi, and I don’t even eat sushi”. How is that for keeping it real around here?!?! Is that not the grossest thing you have ever heard. I can’t believe I just wrote that, but you should know that she had been shoveling wet leaves and it really wasn’t that bad. And you should also know that her cast is now removable, and I threw it in the washing machine before she could finish the sentence.
Hard work reaps a reward though, and it’s coming soon. And yes it’s work, but we really do have fun working together. Even in the rain. My husband sings songs and makes us laugh, the girls pretend to be annoyed but really they love it, the dog runs around having puppy fits getting filthy muddy, and Thomas’ three mothers chase him around and keep him away from the edges. It’s just how we roll.
The big roof comes off tomorrow (assuming the rain stops). This should be entertaining, see you then.
Love, Amy
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I have been thinking a lot about Moses recently. Remember Moses? I learned so much about myself through reading about his life during that study. And yes, I know it’s not about me; but in the way that I relate to the One that created me, it kind of is indirectly about me…and you. Because we have been created for a purpose, it is totally His purpose and for His glory, but nonetheless I know I have significance. Though sometimes my writing here can be deceiving, I don’t think my purpose has anything to do with chalk paint. Oh Lord please don’t let my purpose be related to chalk paint! It is very easy for things to start looking all cute and pretty and superficial like around here; and then that just kind of makes me want to stick my head in a toilet…if you know what I mean. Because there is a lot of real life living that goes on under this roof, and the heart of it all has nothing to do with remodeling. Actually, it has everything to do with remodeling, but not in the way of 2×4’s and paint.
God is at work reconstructing lives in my house, and I always want things to be real around here. It’s why I love this sign pictured above. I have such a beautiful life, but the only thing that makes it beautiful is all that has risen from the ashes of what was broken. The only things in my life that are beautiful, are the scars that I bear that are no longer bleeding. That is real. That is beautiful. This past month has been so difficult. Tragedy does that. It has a way of gripping your throat and daring you to try and breathe. It plays dirty and keeps you awake at night with fear. I’ve been there before in my life, and oh how this Foe has been circling here recently. He preys on the weak. Have you ever noticed that? Where there is tragedy, He seizes His opportunity and births fear. And there you are, staring at this monster wondering how in the world you got here.
But then I remember Moses. Simple, defeated, broken Moses. The author of Hebrews would later say of Moses that he persevered because he saw Him who was invisible”. Saw Him who was invisible…faith. Plain and simple. Faith, for without it, it is impossible to please God. We are called to faith, to believe in Him who is able. We are to sit in great expectation for the One who is working out all things for the good of those who love Him. It’s easy to have faith and expect great things when the sun is shining; but when the thunder rolls and the clouds move in, that’s a different kind of faith all together. That’s real, and raw, and true, and that’s where I am today under this roof. I am begging a very able God, to strengthen my very weak faith, to defeat a very real fear, so that I can persevere to my promise land…just like Moses. I can’t wait to meet him one day. That is just me being real and honest, and none of it has anything to do with chalk paint.
Love, Amy
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Are you so over me talking about chalk paint? I can’t help it. It’s changing the way this decorative artist looks at furniture refinishing. Remember this picture above from last week? This dining area is serving as my inspiration for our new outdoor porch. Where you see a grill above, we will have a fireplace. More on that later.
Here is our space:
So I started looking around town for some inspiration (forgive the phone pictures). This is certainly the look I was going for:
But this is certainly not the price range I am in:
Especially because I like to prove that you do not need to pay top dollar to get a great, authentic look; and especially since I know that Annie Sloan makes a chalk paint color called “Graphite”; and especially since I bought this solid wood gem of a table over a year ago for $25 and it has been stacked in my guest bedroom just waiting for the right place (it’s found it’s new place):
And especially since my carpenter husband owns every tool known to mankind, and I’m not afraid to use them.
Tell me this $25 table isn’t a fantastic alternative to the $1,500 table pictured above.
It has great details:
Finishing this table has me all excited, as does the outdoor fireplace that should go in soon:
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