A Child's Outlook on Success

Nancy is a 62 year old woman who most people would not consider a financial success. She has never married, is still working full time, renting in a lower income area of town, and mostly lives paycheck to paycheck. My six year old daughter, however, has perceived this woman as being a success of sorts. You see, Nancy invites a couple of children from our church to spend each Sunday afternoon in her humble home. At what financial cost? A dollar or two extra for the meal and maybe a couple more for the icecream she always seems to have in her freezer that is just for these special times! She chooses to give. Giving doesn't have to be flashy or expensive. The children entertain themselves with free activities throughout the afternoon and are simply making memories and building this precious relationship with an older woman who loves God. Nancy understands that serving God and others isn't about dollars, but time and words and love.
What does Nancy have to do with success? The average person may not see a connection, but I admire the simple understanding of my daughter, who, at age six, saw that Nancy's success is true inner success. My daughter can be very outspoken around friends she is comfortable talking to and this led to the following conversation. Nancy shared with my daughter that she, at age 62, is considering purchasing a home. My daughter's response: "Nancy, maybe you can help my grandma. Grandma and Papa can't afford to buy a house, so maybe you can help them." Just to lay out a few facts, Grandma and Papa are both about ten years younger than Nancy and both could hold full time jobs or even earn money through entrepreneural work if desired. So, why would this child with her simple understanding suggest for Nancy to help others? Because Nancy is already serving others in a genuine way. Nancy doesn't complain about the cost of the icecream as she scoops it into the bowls for the children. Nancy provides a nice meal without pointing out the cost of the cheese on top of the lasagna. It isn't about the money, but the relationship. Is the meal frugal? Yes! Does my daughter realize that the meal is low cost? No! It is served with love and joy. My conclusion: A person's words can determine how others perceive that person and her success.

Shutterfly FREE Christmas Cards

My blogger friend, Christy, told me about this awesome offer from Shutterfly!

I am so excited. I have wanted to try Shutterfly for a few years. We have been living on less and cutting out most optional things including really great Christmas cards. Go get yours by the 10th!

Living Room Make Over

Before

This is a solid wood table that I am very thankful to have been give and I am thankful to be painting it with my Oops paint that said black and turned out to be a dark gray-blue and that's okay too!

You can see my helpers are taking a bike break!

After Pics

Coffee table turned tv stand

in a small-ish living room that definitely gets lived in.

Soon I'll show you the decorated mantle and new-to-me $2 lamp in this room!

Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day 2010

Gotta love some free food. And some fun while we're at it!

My Princess

My Puddle Duck

My cute (rotten) nephew!

Elephant Garlic

It's an alien!!! Ha!

But really, those are some tall stems!

These are pictures from our yard.

We have lived here just over two years.

We got a good price on this home in part because the yard was overgrown and will take time and energy to tame.

The great thing is all the surprise plants like this one that pop up on their own.

A work in progress as always!

I had no idea what these crazy things were for months

so I began taking pictures to compare to online photos.

 I even sweetly asked my hubbie to mow around them.

And he did!

Gotta shout out my love for that eucalyptus tree peeking at me in the right corner.

The "skin" came off and revealed these tiny blooms.

I still had no idea what this was, but it was a fun flower to have around.

Then, I tuned in to an episode of Making It Grow.

MIG is a local gardening program here in South Carolina.

There on the screen was my flower!

Elephant garlic, they called it.

So, after some research, I decided to find out first hand about this plant.

We cut off the pretty part to put in the vase and enjoy.

Then we dug up the bulb.

And...

Cleaned it.

And...

Counted 'em, and measured 'em, and spelled it, and pretty much applied it to all the learning areas for the day as a good little homeschool Mommy would do!

Oh, and chopped it...

Special thanks to my nephew, Ironman.
He loved taking something from nature and using it in a meal.

He spends most days in a public classroom and loved this hands-on way of learning.

The kids decided it would be fun to make soup.

Ironman chopped the chicken and carrots.

Princess chopped the potatoes.

Puddle Duck chopped the turnips.
Note: My girls are young so I cut the potatoes and turnips into pieces that would allow them to finish using just a butter knife.
Safety first!

Voila! Lunch is served.

Hey, can I count that as a homeschool French lesson? ha!

101 Easy Makeovers

If you wanna try to win a new kitchen, go here.

Note that they are hoping you will subscribe to the magazine too.

Also, House Beautiful has these 101 ideas for how to make instant changes to our rooms. Enjoy!

House Love

Am I the only person who looks at the MLS just for fun? I should seriously become a real estate agent when the economy improves, my kids grow up, or I finally decide to just go for it. I fell in love with this house the second I saw it. Get your napkins ready, you're gonna need to wipe some drool off your chin too!

Love this church pew.

This kitchen makes me speechless.

Okay, now I've recovered. 

Love the open shelves painted that punch of green. 

Even my husband would get a bit giddy if I'd really have a deer head on my kitchen wall.

Check out the lighting over the island. Love.

What do you think of the table against the wall?

Nice display area.
Not sure if we'd really sit there much but it gives balance to the space.

All that character plus updated appliances.

Wish I could win this place in a drawing!

If I lived here I'd definitely include
this washroom in the home tour.

Every bathroom needs something really great to look at, right?

This light is it!

It's great to dream.

For now I'm enjoying my lovely little home.

Making memories and loving the ones I share this home with.