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Project patio.

When we first moved to Florida we realized you can’t really enjoy being outdoors. The bugs are TERRIBLE year round! In our first home we constantly talked about how we would love to have a Florida Room (that’s what they call screened in porches here). When we decided to move it was the top thing on our list along with a large backyard. We hit the jackpot with our new home because it has BOTH! The minute I knew we would finally be getting our Florida Room my mind started spinning with plans! We waited until we were completely moved in, and the last box was unpacked, and then we started the building of our patio set.

I will admit, I was maybe a little optimistic on how easy it would be…nope…so.much.work. I first spent DAYS searching the internet for the cushions that would fit the dimensions of the chairs. The cushions also served as a great motivator to finish the project, because we kept staring at a huge pile of pillows knowing they needed a place. We then spent every weekend for two months building this together! Scott cut and sanded, and I brought him the wood and organized it. Then we built each chair during Royal’s nap-times.

Once they were all completely built we stained and used top coat on each. I’m so glad we did the sanding before we built them because it made the staining process that much easier. We started with a darker stain and we HATED it. We lost a chair to that but we figured it was better to rebuild one chair than to hate all of them. We finally found the perfect stain and busted them out! Phew!

The building plan we used also had a table plan, but at that point we were so over the project and I had the idea to get a statement piece for the coffee table. I got my mind set on an antique trunk and the search began!! We spent a full day antiquing and couldn’t find one that we loved. All I found was an antique peacock that matched the pillows I had purchased. I laughed because I got something to go on top of the trunk but we didn’t have one yet. I felt defeated and it looked like we would have to build the table after all. I then jumped on craigslist and there it was…the perfect antique steamer trunk!! I loved it and immediately had Scott go pick it up! The trunk was just what the patio needed to really “pop!” It’s my most adored part of the whole set.

This is my favorite place in the whole house now. I spend the mornings out there reading my Bible and drinking coffee while Royal and the dog play in the yard. It’s like a piece of heaven to me. One of the best things is lounging on the patio set and watching the rain during a storm. It’s also the perfect entertaining space. You can find us out there most nights, with our friends, just laughing and enjoying great conversation. Best part…no bugs!!!

I’m so glad we never gave up on this project because it’s the room that makes me love my home the most!

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” -Isaiah 32:8

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Categories Blogging, DIY, Family, Friends, Home, Moving, Parties

First Birthday.

12 Aug

I first of all can’t even deal with the fact that I now have a one year old!! What a year! It’s been wonderful but such a blur!! I’m really at a loss for words and the emotional aspect chokes me up so I’m just going to write about his wonderful birthday experiences instead of blubbering on about how my baby is no longer a baby! (Haha.)We found out a few months ago that Scott would be deploying right before Royal’s first birthday, so we decided to fly home to Colorado for a big party with all the grandparents, friends, and family who live there. It was our way of making up for the fact that Scott would be missing the end cap of Royal’s first year.I’ve always loved the “Hungry Caterpillar” and have read the book to Royal on numerous occasions, so I set that as the theme of his party. I had a blast finding cute things on Etsy and crafting the rest myself. My friend Danielle was such a help with decorating as well, and did a wonderful “First Birthday Board” for me. I had so much help with this party that I felt overwhelmed by all the love!!It was raining on the day of the party but thankfully the rain passed just in time! Sadly, in place of the rain came such strong wind! We never have days like that but of course it had to be windy!! I’m not going to lie to you and say that I stayed calm and collected when the wind started foiling literally every plan I had for decorating. I was getting more and more frustrated as each thing I placed went flying across the park! I was barely holding it together when suddenly all the plates went soaring!! I lost it…I sat down on the bench near me and cried. I had such vision for this party and I wanted it to be perfect for my boy. After a good pep talk and a good hug from Danielle I was ready to take on this party again. I reminded myself that it wasn’t about the decorations, Royal wouldn’t even notice them or remember them! It was about the cake smashing and everyone celebrating his first year!Finally everything got put together!! (In other words we taped everything down so it couldn’t move!!) Just as the last details were being finished people started showing up! It was so great to see everyone! We feel so very blessed to have all the friends that we do! It made me realize just how much I miss our little Junction community. Hopefully someday it will be home to us again.My dad said a sweet prayer over Royal and then everyone started eating and visiting. Royal was happy to sit near whoever would feed him watermelon or goldfish. He was in such a “mommy phase” at the point of the party that I was truly worried that he wouldn’t let me put him down the whole time, but as long as he stayed distracted he was a social butterfly!Then came time for the cake!! He wasn’t so sure about it at first but once he got a taste of that icing he was hooked!! He was so gentle as he ate the cake. I expected him to rip right through it but as always…he surprised me. I finally had to smash his hand through the center just so he could get the full experience. He wasn’t a fan of the cake but the icing kept him eating! It was such a sweet moment for us as a family watching our guy eat his cake and listening to our close friends sing him Happy Birthday! I will always hold that memory close to my heart.

He loved opening his presents too! At one point I took a pause in helping him open them and he started signing “more”! He cracks me up. He quite enjoyed the whole experience of birthdays! A few days before his actual birthday we went to have his cake-smash shoot! I’ve been looking forward to this shoot since his newborn pictures! It just looked like such a blast and the pictures are always so fun!! Tiffany has been taking Royal’s pictures since he was 2 weeks old so we were very excited for her to take these milestone photos for him! She’s so wonderful with Royal and I love visiting with her! Royal made us WORK for those shots though! He was more enjoying to explore the studio than to eat cake, but we just kept putting him back and finally he took a taste of that icing and he was all about it! Again, I had to smash his hand through it because he was being so gentle. He’s so funny. As always the pictures turned out spectacular!! On Royal’s real day of birth, July 31st, I woke him up singing “Happy Birthday” and we immediately opened a few of his presents and played with them until nap-time. When he got up from his nap we watched “The Jungle Book” (his first Disney movie experience) and opened the next round of presents and played with them until we left the house to meet up with friends for frozen yogurt. Royal loves ice cream and frozen yogurt was an immediate love! I couldn’t spoon it in fast enough! He was spoiled by lots of love from our lovely friends and even got a few more presents! After yogurt I got Jimmy John’s for dinner (out of remembrance for the first meal I ate after labor) then we spent a quiet evening at home enjoying all of his new toys and I flipped through the pictures I’d taken over the last year. It was a sweet day made even sweeter by a Skype date with Scott. So there you have it! Royal’s birthday that kept on giving!