Christmas Cards!!

I absolutely love Christmas cards. They are so fun! It gives each person a chance to show their style and personality while updating friends on your family status :)  With a baby coming, MR.P and I really excited about our Christmas card this year. Baby Peele is due Feb 6th. I'll be ready for him or her the 3rd and 4th week of January...just in case! 

We are headed to Seaside for Thanksgiving.  We took this picture last year for our Christmas card. 



I'm really not that heavy...he's just being funny.





And here is my whole family...we are adding 3 more babies in the next few months!

Ok, anyway, I used shutterfly to send out Christmas cards and they turned out great! I'll definitely be using them this year.

Here are a few of their Christmas cards I like! 

There are so many choices!!  Photo gifts, calendars, and all!!

This year, MR.P and I are going to somehow incorporate baby Peele into our picture. Maybe using a frame with "Baby Peele" written on the inside? Not sure yet, but he or she needs to be celebrated!! 

If you are a blogger and want to receive 50 free Christmas cards or photos go here!!!

Searching for a new home

Ok, no MR.P and I aren't buying a home. We already have one! I just REALLY like looking at homes. It's like a hobby!  I love to see the different styles and such that each person brings to their home.

When we were searching for a home we looked at lot of different homes for sale. This was a great way to narrow down what we really wanted and the prices we were looking for.  Did we want new construction?  Did we want a house that was loved and lived in well?  Did we want a house that was foreclosed on?  What about a townhouse?  There were so many different types!  Doing your research is really important to do before you start the process. To be well informed is your best friend! 

Ryan Homes has 60 years of building experience and offers beautiful homes!  Visit their site to see if they are building in your area!



Just a little preview of the beautiful homes they offer!





Beautiful kitchens!



Great townhomes!!

I did a little searching around for fun! It gets my creative juices flowing!!



A little extra info

As requested here are a few more details. We will call the drs office on Monday and find out if it's a girl or a boy. Matt thinks its a boy...so does everyone else. I have no clue.  We can't call before then because we won't have the number.

We thought we had our names picked out until this all became a reality. Now we have no clue! Once Monday comes, we will be able to narrow it down, obviously :)  And not sure if I shared this, but the baby is due Feb 6th. 

Whew!!!  Life is coming fast!

Ahh!!!

I'm gonna be a mom :)  Not even going to list out all the things we have to get done because it's just overwhelming.  I'm not going to let it steal my joy because I am ecstatic!!!

February is going to come before we know it and there are lots of things to do...legal stuff as well as preparing for our baby boy or girl!

Here is our clean slate baby room...if you can tell, it used to be the office!

If you can believe it, I scored this crib off of craigslist for $40. It's a traditional Jenny Lind crib.  It came with an awesome mattress too. Just need to clean everything up and we'll be good to go. It was from a sweet family who was just trying to clean stuff out. My sweet friend Katie hopped in her car with her little baby girl and picked it up for me! Easiest craigslist transaction ever!

This dresser is from the Peele family. I think it was in Matt's sister Deborah's room. I LOVE the structure of this piece. I haven't decided if I am going to paint it or not yet. It's been sitting in our guest bedroom, but we need it more in this room :)  I bought the mirror from a garage sale next door for $5. Funny story is that the previous owners of our house sold it in their garage sale to our neighbor. Then the weekend we moved in our neighbors were having a garage sale and I was drawn to it. After I bought it our neighbor filled us in that the mirror was returning to it's original home :)  Haha!

This desk is going to be the changing table. My friend Lauren gave us the desk. At the time we didn't need it, but I am so glad I took it! I normally don't take things I don't need, but felt like it was worth it :)  I am going to paint it. Not sure, but I think yellow.  I am waiting on my drapes. The plan is thick, navy and white stripes.   They'll probably be vertical. I looked for horizontal, but everything was too expensive.  I thought that would compliment the gray walls and white waines cotting. 

The chair in the corner will be replaced by the rocking chair that my mom rocked me in. Seriously special :)  It has a similar look, so I kept the original chair for the picture. We'll keep that chair in the room for extra seating.

We are so excited. I just can't believe we get to be a part of this.

Thanksgiving table ideas

Hop on over to the Boosterthon blog!  I did a little guest posting on how to decorate your Thanksgiving table on a dime!

P.S. If anyone is wondering, Boosterthon is the company that MR.P works for ;)

Hmm...do I have any news to tell y'all??

In fact I DO!!!

MR.P and I received a phone call on Sunday night at 7:29 pm. We've been waiting 5.5 weeks and we finally got it. We are adopting a baby and he or she is due on February 6th.  God is good.  We couldn't be more excited!!!

This is a picture that MR.P snapped of me when we first found out about the possibility of getting a baby. 

I had no idea he was taking a picture - glad he took it though!

I was deep in thought and a million things were running through my head. 

This is a picture of us on Sunday night after the phone call. 



we were really really tired!



We are so excited and so thankful.  In God's perfect timing :)



Wait

A friend sent this to me today. I cried big crocodile tears. It happened to be from a friend who has adopted as well and knows the pain of waiting.


Wait
by Russell Kelfer


Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."


"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

A new niece and nephew!

I have 8 beautiful, precious nieces. A 9th is on the way. Her name will be Charlotte and she is due in December.  Can't wait to snuggle her!  Today I found out that I am having my first nephew! Bumped into my brother-in-law on my way home for lunch. So I got to see this picture of the new nephew :)



Can't tell if he is waving or putting an "L" on his forehead :)



Wish I had a picture of Charlotte to share as well. So excited for the new additions to my family!

Happy Thursday. MR.P and I have had a pretty relaxing week. It's been nice. We honestly didn't really plan anything this week except for a chili night with our Community group...which was lots of fun!  The kids watched Toy Story 3 (because I forgot to take it back) and that was a big hit. The adults talked and laughed and may or may not have planned a really fun night :)  Oh the things I wish I had done as a teenager. I was pretty black and white, so I didn't do many adventurous things ;)

Ok, this post is going to be really random, so be prepared. Since it has started getting dark so early, MR.P and I have started to really enjoy movie nights. We joined netflix because we don't have many tv stations we like. Plus, the cable is only on for football season.  We aren't strict about tv or anything, we just realized that we weren't using it all that much.  Ok, so Netflix. Y'all...Gossip Girl is our new fav! I love that show. I am not a teenager, but for some reason it just grabs my attention. LOVE when I find a tv show that both MR.P and I enjoy.

Us enjoying movie night :)  Also, GO DAWGS! (that was for MR.P)

 

Moving on. Matt really likes these hats.  I tried one on a while ago (see long hair) but it just wasn't right.

Does anyone know where I can find one that isn't too floppy? And fits a smaller head? Target has a couple, but they are all too big.

This last month has been full of babies being born!!  It's been so fun to share in the joys of our friends and their new babies.

1st up is the Baileys!  Sweet, precious friends welcomed their first and it was a boy!

2nd is The Carneal Family! They welcomed their first baby boy :)

(Picture stolen from the talented Jenn Boughey!)

And lastly, our friends the McHughs! They welcomed a precious baby girl :)

Sweet family photo :)

They moved to Nashville and we miss them so much!  Evan is actually an amazing musician. Y'all should definitely check him out. 

The rest of our week will be relaxing until Saturday.  We are NOT ga tech fans, but Matt's cousin plays for them. So we are going to a ga tech game to support him. Other than that, we plan to just relax and have a fun weekend.  I might add a few projects in and some christmas shopping :)

Been busy with these.

And, since we have a great computer now, I have been desiging and creating my own gifts. So fun :) Just wish our printer would stop giving me such a hard time. Us Peeles do not have great luck with printers.

In two weeks we are heading to Seaside for Thanksgiving with my family!!  We can't wait!!

Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze 2

Earlier today I blogged about my favorite DIY accessory. Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze.  It's only $14.99 at your local Home Depot. They should know exactly what you're talking about. They'll mix it right up for ya.

So moving on. I took the tray out to my garage  studio and spray painted it orange. I was just slightly shocked at how bright the orange was.  It was like blindingly orange. So orange that I think construction workers probably use it! It was Rustoleum, so they probably don't use it, but still. I thought about running to the store and getting a different orange. I decided I'd just leave it be and hope for the best. I let it dry for a day.

Then I sanded down all the edges of the super orange tray.  Still crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. Once it was sanded down to my liking, I cleaned all the dust off.  I took a paper towel and dipped it into the Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze. I rubbed it all over the tray. I focused on the sanded down edges at first.  I was hoping that the clean wood would grab the glaze. Surprise!!  It did! Once the edges were perfect, I rubbed more glaze over the entire tray. The once bright, construction, orange turned into the dulled down look I was going for. Thank goodness! Not that I had spent a ton of money, but I don't like wasting money either. I was totally and completely sold on the smoke glaze.

Here is the final product + My living room (as requested).

Before:

After:

I love how the wood cracks grabbed the glaze. The affect is great.

(excited to browse through the pottery barn catalog)

We use the tray on our ottoman to keep magazines and our tv remotes organized.

And here is our living room!

(you can see my purple 2 lbs weights under the couch...that's my place to keep them!)

We recently took our love seat out to make more room. It was starting to feel a little closed off.  We are trying to sell it, if anyone knows someone that needs one.

This is such a great product to use to get the distressed, vintage look you're going for. It is an easy project that anyone can do to any piece of furniture you'd like to change!

Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze

Y'all. I have found my absolute favorite DIY accessory.  Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze (paint)!!! I don't know why, but it took me a year to buy it. You see, I like to price check things before I buy it and in all my research I could never find out the price.  Ok, confession, all of that research did not include going to the actual store to price check. Each time I went to Home Depot I forgot about it.  So a few weeks ago MR.P was out of town. I was looking to get a few projects done around the house so I ran to Home Depot after work.  I just plunged right in and was crossing my fingers the smoke glaze wasn't $30.  I asked the paint guy how much it was and he said $14.99 and that he could mix it right up!  I honestly had to think for a second, but then decided to go for it. I was able to think of about 10 projects off the top of my head where I could use the smoke glaze, so the $14.99 made total sense to me.  We use the cash system, so I think extra hard before I buy anything these days.

I also purchased some orange spray paint. Atrocious sounding, I know.  I heard from someone that every room should have a pop of orange. So I thought I'd go for it!

I purchased this tray from our local thrift store for $1.30.

I can't tell you how many times I was looking for a tray in Target. I passed them up every single time because I didn't feel like paying $30.  Good thing I waited :) I didn't neccessarily love the color or the fact that you could see the wood through the thin paint. But, that never stopped a DIYer from buying something ;) I took it home and it sat on our ottoman for a few months. I just wanted to make sure I knew what color to paint it.

Stop back this afternoon to see how it came out!

Update to projects and some additions

 So I guess it's time for a little update.  The past 4 weeks MR.P and I have been in a waiting period.  There just honestly wasn't anything I wanted to blog about other than what we're waiting on, but I can't just yet.  But, trust me, as soon as I know more info, I'll let you in on the secret!  Waiting patiently is very hard for me to do. I truly trust that God is in control. I truly believe that God has something huge in store for Matt and I. It's just really hard to remember it all on a minute by minute basis.  Thank goodness I have a husband who helps to remind me as well. Thank you Lord that I have friends and family on their knees praying for us and loving us through this season of waiting!

Moving on...

My friend just gave me this beautiful chair!

I cannot wait to change the fabric on this chair or add a cute little pillow. I have the perfect spot for it!  I'm thinking I'll use this great chevron print. 

It's the perfect pop of design and color!