It Was Her Time

Great Grandma Sweetie passed away this morning.

My family is headed up to Illinois tomorrow morning.

Please be in prayer for the entire family for understanding, coping, and for safe travels.

PLEASE rejoice over her life with us and PRAISE God that such an AMAZING, WONDERFUL, LOVING, KIND, and AWESOME lady ever lived! 

If you never had the chance to meet her, you truly missed out...and no...I'm not being bias. It's just a true fact of life. Grandma Sweetie truly lived up to her nickname of "Sweetie." (Her given name is Juanita, but she hated that name.) 

Grandma Sweetie, we love and miss you already! I know I am a better person because I knew you. Thank you for all those years of swinging on the porch. Thanks for letting us swim in your pond. Thanks for all the RC Cola. Thanks for letting us sleep in the heart room with you when we visited at your old house. Thanks for always ALWAYS singing a song...especially Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which I love the best. Thanks for always being full of life, even when you were in pain, tired, or not feeling well. Thanks for ALWAYS giving me a reason to laugh. Thank you for the wisdom you've bestowed on me. Thanks for calling my husband Ryan. We crack up about that often...most recently as of last night. Thanks for always listening, always being patient, and most of all, always being an example of Christ. I love you infinity! 

xo,

A

Organizing The Apartment Pt. 1

It's been a while, but I promise we've just been super busy getting ready for the whole foster care thing! (So exciting!!!) I plan on sharing some before and after pictures as we get things accomplished, but they may be slow-coming as it requires money to keep things going! :-) For now, take a gander of an easy project I tackled in 30ish minutes...and $5!

The Guest/Vance's Bathroom Linen Closet

Before:

Everything's thrown/stuffed in there from when we moved in. It seriously needed a makeover and some organization! Even though people wouldn't see it...unless they're nosey...it still makes me feel better! Wanna see the changes? Check them out below!

After:

Isn't that SO much better? All it cost me was $5! I bought the top shelf basket, the two pack of small baskets, each level of the staking shelves, and the third shelf basket to make this project a success! $5 + tax! An easy, inexpensive project made possible by Dollar Tree! (These items also come in hot pink and lime green at my Dollar Tree.)

Top Shelf (L to R): Heating pad, basket w/light bulbs, extra wallflower room freshener bulbs, etc., cosmetic bag with extra hair product, seasonal soap, lotion, and body wash.

2nd Shelf from Top (L to R): Bubble bath/nail polish remover/aloe/Vance's hair trimming kit, 1st small basket w/nail polish, 2nd small basket with razors/waxing kit, stackable shelves have first aid items (bandaids, neosporin, anti-itch cream, bandages, burn gel, ace bandage, etc.) in bottom shelf and medicinal (ibuprofen, excedrine migraine, thermometers, nyquil, nettie pot, nasal spray, etc.) in the top basket.

Middle Shelf (L to R): Vance's towels (some were in dirty laundry), hand towels, basket w/wash cloths.

2nd Shelf from Bottom (L to R): Beach towels, guest towels, extra towels.

Bottom Shelf (L to R): Extra pillow cases/shams, flannel sheet set (one more sheet set will go on top of them once they are washed.)

So there you have it! My much better organized linen closet!

All it took was 30 minutes, motivation and around $5!

What do ya think??

xo,
A

I know. I suck.

I know! I KNOW! It's been too long since I've posted. I've just been so busy! Between working both jobs, organizing our apartment, taking care of foster care stuff, and budgeting/meal planning/trying to sleep more than 5 hours a night, I've just been too drained to blog.

I honestly don't have a ton to say right now...except that I have a whole lot to say. I just don't know how to say most of it. There's just...so...much! Here's my attempt...

1. My great grandma, Sweetie, has been ill and progressing more and more so. Hospice has been called in. Please pray for her situation. She told my grandparents (when they were in IL visiting a few weeks ago) that she's ready to meet Jesus. While I admire her faith and her peace, I am having such selfish thoughts of not wanting to let her go and also about the timing when she does die! Foster care classes start September 11th and are every Tues/Thurs until October 11. If she dies at the "wrong" time, I probably won't get to go to Illinois for her funeral...which would crush my heart. See? I'm being totally selfish in this regard.


Update: Please continue to keep Great Grandma Sweetie in your thoughts and prayers. The end is near. Please pray that her pain is minimal, her spirits remain high, and that those of us who know and love her remember to mourn like those who have faith and not like those who have no hope! 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (The Message) "And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don't want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus."


2. Foster care stuff has my mind CONSUMED and swarming!!!! We applied, but are STILL waiting to hear from our social worker about our "interview" home visit. Vance has called several times and she is so kind, but there isn't anything they can do to make the background check people move faster. FRUSTRATING, but understandable. I have no doubt that it will all work out, though. I have a million and two questions about things though! Some things, I ask one of my managers at work since she and her husband adopted three kids through foster care last year. Some things we ask Vance's mom since his siblings are all adopted through foster care. Some questions, neither know the answer to, since they didn't apply to their situations. I trust God has all of this in his hands. We've been praying for all of this. Can't wait to get rolling!

Update: We should hear from her tomorrow. She's not in the office today, Monday, so if our background checks are back today, like she was expecting them to be, we should hear from her tomorrow!

3. We have been super busy organizing and cleaning the apartment! We've gotten a lot done, but haven't gotten everything that needs to get done, finished! We've been working hard, but it's a work in progress! Stay tuned this week to see some of our project progress! (Tomorrow's post is about our linen closet! I know, right??? Exciting stuff!!)

Stick with me folks. I promise I won't disappear forever. Thanks to those who have stuck by me for so long and have been faithful readers/pray-ers! Keep it up!!

xo,
A