How Great is Our God.... and Kiss Chase!

I feel like I need to shout from the rooftop my praises to God today. Several months ago, my friend, Daranda who is a 34 year old mom of 3 boys, was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. She started some very aggressive, and difficult, treatments very shortly after her diagnoses. I have watched our church and community gather around her and lift her up. But while so many people were trying to be a blessing to her family, it was really the other way around. Countless people have commented on her faith and peace during this trying time. When people were in contact with her they were encouraged by her strength and her faith in God. There have been so many times that my heart has ached for her husband and her sweet boys.... and as a mom, how difficult this really must have been on her. Well today, Daranda went back for a report from her doctors. She was told that her MRI and CT scan both came back clear, showing no cancer!

Today has been a day I don't ever want to forget. Just like God told Joshua to have his 12 stones of remembrance, I feel like this is one of my stones I will carry with me for the rest of my life! God Answers prayers! He is faithful! His plan is bigger than ours! For the last few months, every night at bedtime we would make our requests known to God and without fail, Macey (5) or Barrett (2.5) would bring up Mrs. A-WaNN-a (that's how Barrett says Daranda). I have heard their sweet prayers and the faith of a child when they brought this need to God. When I was tucking them in tonight, we got to talk about Praise reports.... and when God answers our prayers. What a precious moment! Thank you, God, for the plans you have for Daranda and all the lives that have been impacted by her walk with you! Thank you for letting our family pray for her and witness her miracle!!!!

And now onto other things.... like kindergarten recess. I have to share this because I laughed my face off after picking Mace up from school today. I asked her who she played with at recess, just like every other day when I pick her up, and she told me the names of two boys. This was the first bit that was shocking because she always tells me girls. Anyway, I asked her what they played. She told me it was a game called tag and that boy #2 kissed her today. I squeaked out a "WHAT?" and then a "WHERE?" She said he 'just sneaked up on her and surprised her and kissed her on her cheek!!!' By this time, I am cracking up thinking that my sweet baby has been kissed by a boy!.... and not just a boy she has known forever and all that, but a sweet boy that might think my sassy girl is a sweet girl!!!!! She has been in

kindergarten for a mere 40 days!!!! I'm not sure I'm ready for this kind of stuff! So the rest of the way home, I am grinning from ear to ear because I am thinking that this is soooo sweet and yet shocking at the same time! Please don't be shocked when I tell you that Macey quickly lined me out and told me, "This is not something that is funny! I do not like it when you laugh at me!" Well.... you can imagine that I tried really hard to bite my cheeks! After a few hours of reflection I have come to grips with kiss chase and still have a giant grin on my face! How sweet it is that she shared that tid-bit of info with me within the first 30 seconds after getting in the car with me today. If I can only be so lucky to have that kind of communication when she is 16! I love you Macey Clayton, and if I were a 5 year old boy, I'd wanna kiss your cheek too! :)

I am crazy about this rotten boy, too! This pic was by his request, " Mommy, ooo take picta me whi oooo?" (Translation: "Mommy, you take a picture of me with you?") Who could pass up a photo op like that?!?

Well... It's Fall at the Claytons!

This was our yummy dessert tonight! Pumpkin Bread!!!!! I think I could eat the entire loaf by myself.... but I won't! Happy Fall!!! :)

Here is a lil' shout out to my three favorites! There are days when I have this huge knot in my throat when I think about how much I love them. I really never had any idea I could love someone (all three of them) as much as I do. David - you are amazing! I fall more in love with you every single day! Thanks for being my BFF and my baby daddy! ... And Mace and Bear! You will never, ever, ever know how crazy I am about you! My favorite job in the entire world is being your mommy!!!

Look at that hunky daddy reading to my sweet boy.....

And the sassy sister!!!! This pic truly captures her..... hand on hip, eyebrows raised, .... and being a little bossy! I love you Mae-Mae!!!

Ok. Next, I am documenting the fall transformation that has taken place on my front porch...... and hold your breath! Drumroll, please................................

This is my fall wreath that I have used for the last two years and I was thinking that it needed a little sprucing up! So, after I fluffed it and brought it back to life after spending the last 10 months in the attic ..... I got these supplies.......

** I have no idea why this picture is rotated, but I have tried to fix it a gazillion times. Anyway, I bought a cardboard C and 1 piece of festive scrapbook paper. I traced the C onto the scrapbook paper and used the Mod Podge to put it together......

Super close up view.....

And the finished product..... I hot glued at coke tab on the back of the C and used floral wire to attach it to my wreath! :) Love how this little project turned out!

For my second project, I updated my pillow with my HOUSE NUMBER!!!! I found this cute patterned felt for $0.59!!!!! I found a font I liked, enlarged it to really big and used it as my pattern. Then I hot glued on!

TA-DA! The Front Porch.... Fall Style! :) These little touches cost me a total of $2.61! So there ya go, fall has finally arrived at the Clayton house.... and for just a few pennies! :)

Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

Welcome to the heart of our home! This week at kellyskornerblog.com, we are giving kitchen tours. I love, love, love that my cooking has improved so drastically in the 8 years I have been married to David! In our first house, I really couldn't have cared less if we even had a kitchen. I was so like a bachelor.... just give me one of those dorm fridges and a microwave and I was SET! ... There was a time when I really disliked cooking because I was so bad at it. I mean, who wants to eat 5,419 casseroles and rubbery, dry chicken? That was all I could cook!

We used to have this Monday night fear factor, spaghetti tradition when Katie, my sis, was going to school at Tech. She would come over and hang out with us and watch it. My spaghetti tasted sooooo good, back then.... but you should taste it now! :) I have really learned to love cooking and have become pretty good. The cooking standard in my family has always been my Grandma Hartshorn. When Macey tells me that a meal is as good as Grandma's, I know it is Goo.ooo.oood!

Ok. So now for the tour where the magic happens! :)

This is the view walking in from the garage. David picked out our wood floors and I must admit that I was a tad sceptical.... but I love them now!

This is the counter on the left side. I have had the cute "C" for maybe a year. Every time I try to hang it, it falls off the wall because there are two holes on the back.... and for the life of me, I can't get my nails to line up to hang it! I started threatening Dave that I was going to glue it on with my hot glue gun if he wouldn't hang it for me.... Well, he got all of the stuff out and was really going to hang it, until he realized that the electrical box (with 9 trillion hot wires) was exactly in the same spot I wanted my "C".... so needless to say, another failed attempt. Finally, I had this brilliant idea.... 3M command strips! That's all I'm gonna say! Worked liked a charm.

This is counter to the right. The bar looks into the living room and breakfast nook. I love my beefy, cream cabinets but I am trying to bring some more color into the kitchen. I found these super cute paintings at TJ Maxx for .... um, $12.99 each! And they have been worth every cent!

Breakfast area. We said we didn't want a glass table.... and sure enough this was on sale and now we have a .... you guessed it, .... glass table! I would love to replace the glass with wood either stained or painted to match.... we'll see! The door leads out to the deck.

Living room view from breakfast area and bar.

I can't really handle a ton of things on my refrigerator, so my friend Sara helped me come up with this brilliant idea. She had a frame she had gotten on sale for super cheap and I had a piece of sheet metal cut to fit it. It hangs in the little hallway that leads to the pantry and the master bedroom right off the kitchen. We have lots of Christmas pictures and art work on display!

Last, but not least.... my two assistants! Macey and Barrett were lots of help.... when they weren't eating the lettuce plain!

Thanks for coming over! Check back often this week.... I have lots to blog about! :)

Dining Room Details and Decor....

Well, welcome back to Kelly's Korner Tour of Homes. My baby sis, Erin, got married last weekend so I am doubling up with my master bedroom pics at the bottom of this post. Cause I was a tad too busy to blog! :)

Ok, I'm just gonna start out with pure honesty! One of my top priorities I had in designing our house before we built 2.5 years ago was for the dining room to be the first thing you see! We are the kind of people who LIVE in our house, so our Living room is very used!.... and sometimes looks like we have children..... or are having a garage sale in there. For me the dining room is the easiest room in the house to keep clean, therefore I needed it to be the first thing seen from my foyer.



This is the arrangement I have on my table. It is a wire candle hurricane that I added some floral foam and moss to build the base. Originally, I just had the yellow flowers and the grass and ivy, but when we moved in I updated it a tad with some 1/2 price Hobby Lobby finds.

This is the view from the corner of the living room (where the carpet starts). We have hardwood floors in the foyer, dining room, kitchen, and breakfast area.

This pic is taken from the right corner of the dining room. I love how we put the slanted cased-opening from the dining room in to the kitchen.

View from opposite corner looking into foyer and living room.

AmAzInG crown, tray ceilings, arches and columns! Compliments of my extremely talented, and rather handsome, husband! :)

That's the grand tour of our dining room. David and I used our income tax return from our first year of marriage to purchase our dining room furniture. We loved it 7 years ago and are still very happy with it. I thought I might want to buy a hutch or buffet to match, but when we got moved in, I really liked just having the table. The only decorations I have in here are the arrangement, and mirror with sconces.

Even though we don't have 3 meals a day in this room, we have some wonderful memories of holidays and special occasions we have shared with family and friends..... and we have plans for lots more!

And now for a little tour of the master..... one week late! :)

I got this bedding at TJ Maxx and found a couple of solid pillows that I liked to go with it. You can't see it, but my absolutely favorite thing about this room, is our memory foam mattress topper that my in-laws got us a few years ago! It has truly changed my life.... forever! :) (I know, I'm kind of dramatic sometimes!) BTW: I HATE our lamps! I got them at Dollar General 100 years ago and am dying for new ones..... but just haven't found the perfect ones yet! Suggestions?

My mom came to stay with me for several days after we moved in, and boy did I put her to work! I had been eyeing this fabric at Hobby Lobby, so I used a 40% off coupon and saved over $100 on it! We made these "LuXuRiOuS" curtains and SHE made the matching pillows for my bed.... Thanks Momma! I will gladly make some curtains and pillows for Macey someday when she grows up..... with my stapler and hot glue gun! haha

And finally, these pics were taken when Barrett was about 3-4 weeks old. I love them! I am so glad I have these sweet pictures of my precious babies frozen in time! We have a matching armoir and chest of drawers that match our bed, but I am so not into the accessories I have on them, that I left them off! But just imagine the most amazingly decorated chest and armoir and we can both pretend that's what my master BR looks like! :)

Thanks for coming over! I have big plans for several posts this week... and to continue showing you my home next Friday!