New Home... New Wreath!

I'm BAA-AACK!!

I've missed you!  We are in our new home.  And all the boxes are unpacked!  I told myself that I would not take my computer out of its bag until everything was unpacked.  :)  DONE!

We live in a cute little home with four rooms.  That means we can have a playroom that can convert into a guest room when needed!  YAY!!!  Guests no longer have to feel like they are in the way as they sleep in a room filled with action figures and cars and little boy stuff.  Actually, I guess they are sleeping in the playroom... so still surrounded by toys and therefore they still may feel like that... but they can KNOW that they aren't.  :)  Both kids will be sleeping in their own beds rather than one sleeping on the floor somewhere.  And that makes for a perfect compromise to me!  

The night we finished unpacking, I ran to Hobby Lobby (I am so excited to live near a Hobby Lobby!!) and purchased materials to make a new wreath for the front door.  I was itching to do something crafty, but like blogging, was waiting until everything was unpacked first.   I had a coffee filter wreath at our last home, but I was having issues with how I was going to transport it safely to the new home.  Then, the night before we left, a friend was dropping me off after a farewell dinner and inquired about it.  So... I gave it to her!  Problem solved!  

At Hobby Lobby, I purchased a foam round wreath, aqua colored yarn, 4 different colors of felt (red, pink, ivory, and white), and a large chipboard letter.  It wasn't much, but I spent about an hour slowly walking around the store looking at all the goodies!  Missy would absolutely love this store!!  :)

Anyway, that night while catching up on Grey's Anatomy, I wrapped the wreath with the yarn.  It took FOR-EVER!!  It was glued on one side with tacky glue so that it stayed put.

This is what it looked like about 2 hours in.  See!  F. O. R. E. V. E. R.  The next two nights, I worked with the felt.  I found this tutorial on Pinterest.  It was super easy, but also a little time consuming.  I measured and cut mutiple squares in different sizes in the colors I chose.  Then each square was rounded on the corners, then cut into a spiral.  Then the spiral was rolled from the outside in, and then glued with tacky glue.  I hope I'm explaining it well.  If not, the tutorial contained more pictures than I thought to take.  :)

Once all the rosettes were made, I painted the letter.  

As I was putting the wreath together and playing with placements, I changed my mind on having a plain solid black letter and added polka dots. :)  Then I hot glued it all together, added a weight to the back of one side (anything small and heavy will do) so that it hung more evenly.  As you can see in the pics, it still doesn't hang perfectly straight... I have to find another thing to add a little more weight.  Finally, I added some ribbon to hang it from! 

I love it!  Its bright and cute.  :)  And easy!!  Although very time consuming.  :)  

Until next time!

~Monica

Movement

It has been 6 months since "The Accident."

Sometimes it seems as though it hasn't been that long. There is still an emptiness inside, but the pain is dulling. I catch myself often, not knowing whether to say "my sis has" or rather "my sis had." Sometimes I feel that it does a disservice to speak about them in the past because it feels as if they are still very much all around me. But at the same time, they aren't presently with us.

I have to remind myself everyday to just keep going. It would be so easy to just mourn the passing of my sister and her family everyday; to sit there and look at all the pictures that are out there; to reminisce on all the memories. But is that healthy? I don't know. I feel that I have an obligation and a responsibility to keep going. I am not forgetting about her or the memories I have. But I am not standing still either. God did not take me from this earth. I still have a purpose here, and I need to remember that and keep moving forward.

Forward. Moving forward is hard when one holds on to what is behind. But in order to grow and to be productive, movement is necessary. Moving forward can be scary when devastation has happened. But God calls us to be strong and courageous.

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9 NLT)

God spoke those words to Joshua right after He told him that Moses had died. Joshua did not see Moses die nor did he get to say his good-byes. He simply heard from God that his leader, his friend, his mentor had died. After a period of mourning, Joshua had to move forward. He had to lead people. He had to move so that God could use him.

I am trying to do the same without forgetting the legacy they left behind.  I have to move forward so that I may leave behind my own legacy.

Are you creating a legacy?

Until next time!
~Monica