Four Things For Friday 2.7.14

Happy Friday, Everyone!

It's time another edition of Four Things....Friday style!

1.) This morning when we woke up the temperature was -1 and the wind chill was -14. No snow day. No two hour delay. Nothing. I think this winter is making us hardier. We don't need no stinkin' snow day!! Ha!

2.) I'm excited for the start of the Olympics. How about you? Winter is my favorite. The kids have been looking forward to it too. I'm only disappointed that so much is shown on the cable channels these days. We only have basic cable.....bummer. And with it being half-way across the world, most of it that is on the network is on long after the kids are in bed. But we will see what we can tune in over the weekend. Go Team USA!

3.) I'm looking forward to sharing a little project with you that I've been working on for the last couple days. Next week. Tune in!

4.) And finally.....tomorrow we will be celebrating the 11th Gotcha Day of this guy....

Eleven years! Yikes!

I knew he was "ours" from the moment I saw his picture. But I didn't fall in love with him until I heard his sweet giggle in person for the first time.



He's come such a long way in those eleven years and he's becoming such a wonderful young man! His intelligence, sense of humor, and positive outlook on life never cease to amaze me.

I am proud and humbled that he has been entrusted to our care.





Have a great weekend everybody!

Project: Birth Country Pride Print

Today I have a little project to share with you.

You've probably seen all the "state pride" projects all over the web lately. Framed prints, pillows....even pumpkins....all sporting a favorite state. I decided to do my own little spin on that idea and make a birth country pride print.

As you know, we adopted our three kiddos and they were all born in India. Teaching our children about their Indian heritage is important to us, but with our kids, the understanding comes more difficultly it seems. This little print is meant to be a small, subtle reminder of where they've come from. And you know my theme is "letting your home tell your story"(see the About Me section at the top), so this project fits the bill.

I started with a very simple craft frame. This frame doesn't have any glass. It just has a cardboard insert that is held in with metal tabs on the back. I could've bought a frame to put my print in, but I was really trying to just use what I had on hand. Plus, what's the fun in that? :)

To create my image I did a Google search for maps of India. I found one that would work and saved it to my desktop. Then I used Photoshop Elements to create my image. The opening in the frame was 3 1/2 inches square so I made my image just slightly bigger. For the chevron background, I used a digital paper created by my friend Heather Nay (same paper as used in my blog header.) When I was done I saved it and printed it out.

Well, first I had to make a run to WalMart to get colored ink for my printer. AHHHHH!!!!!

Next, I painted my frame black using some leftover chalkboard paint. I don't intend to do any chalking on the frame, but again, I was just trying to use what I already had. I wound up doing three coats of paint.

Since there was not going to be a lot holding my image in place in the frame, I decided to Modge Podge my cut out image to the cardboard insert that came with the frame. It gives it a little protection since there's no glass also. I like the way this turned out because it also gave it a little texture.

I let everything dry well overnight and then I put the print in the frame.

And....VOILA!!



I think it fits in nicely with this little gallery wall I've done that includes the silhouettes I showed you last week.

Just another little personalization in our home.

Today's Thankfulness....

* For a rainy day with nowhere to go.

* For beauty in simple things.

* For raisins (my latest craving)

* For a roof over my head.

Have a great day everybody!

A Season Of Celebration

In case you're looking for September, it's gone....outta here! And October has already made it's appearance. Our chalkboard says so.



In our house, the arrival of October means the beginning of a season of celebration for our family. And I'm not talking about the number of shopping days until Christmas. Well, maybe a little.

At the beginning of October we celebrate my middle son's Gotcha Day. What is Gotcha Day, you ask? Well, our kids are adopted and that is the day we celebrate that they became part of our family. Gotcha Day.....because we are the blessed ones that "gotcha."  Some adoptive families call it Family Day or Adoption Day. And some celebrate the day when the adoption papers were officially signed. For our kids, we've chosen the date when we were finally all together. For one son, that means the day when Hubster and I finally met him in Kolkata, India. For the other two, it's the day they arrived home on the airplane and were finally united with their new Mom and Dad and siblings.

Of course October also brings Halloween. We've never been HUGE into Halloween. Mostly we've just done the trick-or-treating thing. Because it's really just about the candy for us. Ha! I've been known to slave over a costume or two though. But the kids are getting older and I am WAY over the whole costume thing. So hopefully we are starting to move on.

November brings my daughter's Gotcha Day, our wedding anniversary, and one son's birthday. And of course, Thanksgiving. (I think Abraham Lincoln knew what he was doing when he put Thanksgiving smack dab in the middle of our Season Of Celebration.)

We start December by celebrating my other son's birthday as well as the Hubster's. And by then we are in full-blown Christmas mode...getting ready to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. In between all of this there is also a sprinkling of extended family member's birthdays. And we end the Season of Celebration by welcoming in the New Year.

And then we take a deep breath.

Because all this celebrating can wear a mama out!

But it's good. I love that we give these days importance in our lives. It shows our kids that we honor them and that it's of value to set aside and remember days that are significant and meaningful in the life of our family. And we create even more memories along the way.

Today's THANKFULNESS.....

* For wonderful and caring teacher's at our kid's school.

* For a quiet house to myself on school day mornings.

* For God's mercies to me that are new each morning.

What are YOU thankful for today?

What's This All About?

Welcome!

If you've stumbled upon this blog, you're just in time! 

"For what?" you may ask. 

For my very FIRST post!

So now maybe you're asking, "What's this all about, this 'Still Keeping On The Narrow Way' blog thingy?" (Yes, "thingy" is a word. At least in my world it is!)

Welllllll.....Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. I am a wife and mother of three kids. All three of our children came to us through foreign adoption and have special needs. Plus, we have a dog who is the biggest "Mama's boy" ever! So things around our place can get pretty crazy.

Also, since I was young, I've loved houses and home decor. But now that I've grown up and have my own family and home, it's become more about making a comfortable, secure home for my family as well as a welcoming place for friends and family. Sure, I still want to have a home that looks nice, but it is more about the feeling you get when you're there.

I love simple projects and touches that make my home feel special. I love decorating to celebrate the seasons. I love creating memories for my children.

So, I guess this is what you can expect here. Posts about family and making home special.

I read recently that if you write a blog, you have to be an expert at something. Well, I am NOT an expert at marriage, or parenting, or organization, or decorating, or DIY, or crafts. (You get the picture) But, I AM good at trying.

Since, I'm no expert, my real hope that this blog will be a conversation....where I share a little and you share a little too.

The subtitle of Still Keeping On The Narrow Way is

 Living - Loving - Laughing - Learning - Dreaming - Daring - Doing. 


I hope to do all of that along the way.

a75478a4486e25902096a54af7dcc8923f00f7f7b25d69994f