Some beauty - Some crazy.

It's the weekend! And if you live in Iowa it's 55 degrees, sunny, and pure beauty. I read online somewhere that the state of Iowa leaves will peak within the next week - and the sights to behold are stunning! Our big back yard tree is starting to turn yellow and I love how it slowly sheds them. We could probably have leaves for the next month still. Beautiful!

Currently, my favorite thing is to wake up in the morning, grab my hot coffee and walk onto the deck and breathe. The sun is up later, the air is reeeeeally crisp and everything is just giving that last beautiful sigh before winter. Try it!

Today on the blog I'm happy to share some other things in my life that are beautiful, my kids. We had an opportunity a few weeks back to try a new photographer and her location was just perfect for my girls. It was a field of yellow flowers in the middle of nowhere!  They loved it, we loved it, and it went so smoothly. So I'll share them first!

My super sweet 4 year old.

15 months, 6 and 4. :)

This one here is special to my heart and I'm very glad I was "talked" into it. You see, I wasn't planning on being photographed this year. Thus the mom bun, flip flops and baggedy clothes choice. We had planned on just getting pics of the girls. But our photographer wanted to capture the moment and she was right, of course. This is who we are :) Mom bun and all.

15 month old whippersnapper :)

and my biggest girl -

My precious 6 year old

Aren't they incredible? :)
I can't wait to get some printed and on the walls.

Speaking of walls.

Next up in the beauty department is a little diy/crafty type project I'm working on. I'm going to do an entire post about it once I finish - but here's a sneak peek.

I found my idea on Pinterest and after pricing some of what I loved on Etsy, decided to just make my own. I'm all about paying those workers their due for what they create, but if you can make it yourself... I say go for it! We'll see if mine turns out how I see it in my head. :) Stay tuned. I'm sure you aren't surprised that it involves burlap and paint. At this point that's just how I roll.
I also found a real, vintage, black metal rolling cart on the curb this week and I'm trying to redo that thing. It's a crafty time around here. Maybe I'll throw those two into one post. Or maybe I'll tease you with knowing I have them and never get around to finishing either. Chances are 50/50 right now. :)

And now the crazy:
Our yard. Bless it's heart. We are so thankful for the SPACE we have out there. We inherited one of those Rainbow play places so the kids can play, we have a shed for storage, a large deck, great landscaping and flowers... and two years ago it looked fantastic. ;) Time has worn on and it's showing up back there. The play place has rotted boards (sad day!) and I'm almost convinced we'll have to tear it down after this winters snow. I'm surveying my wood saavy friends to find out. The deck will need re-stained in the spring and a few planks here and there need some new screws. The landscaping is just sad - after 1 summer pregnant, and the next with a newborn it has been neglected a bit and taken over by vines and what not. Though I will tell you that I rescued my rose bush! And our lillies faithfully bloom. Before frost I'll toss my mums into a new spot back there and hopefully we'll have those from here on out, too.

Our plan before the snow comes is to create a fire pit/hang out space in the back yard. Back by our shed we have already gone to work ripping out trees and planning. I even drew up a little firepit blueprint. Here's our progress on the clear out. Keep in mind this entire landscaped area was full of weird scrawny trees. Thanks to our neighbor and his chainsaw we are on our way!

I'd like to rip up all the edging pavers you see in this picture, and turn the entire corner into our space.

So, hopefully, when we finish you will look at the corner of the yard from this angle and see the fire pit area. :) We'll more then likely cut down the massive branch above this space so we don't catch our tree on fire. It looks saggier to me anyway. As you can see I'm still trimming and burning. Have I mentioned how great it is to live in a township that allows back yard burning!? Pyro's unite! I kinda wanted to paint the shed to look like a mini-barn...thankfully my husband put the squash on that. One crazy at a time! My MAIN goal is to try and reuse what we already have and spend little to none. I'm realizing we'll already need things like pea gravel, etc. to keep things safe. Worth it! I'm dreaming of making it pretty and having a great space to come together. I've pinned a few ideas on pinterest - here's what I'm envisioning:

The person who thought of this is a genius!

So there you have it. Some beauty and some crazy. We sure keep things busy around here. :) Wishing you a wonderful fall weekend, friends. Until next time... :)

Some Summer: Life updates and summer projects

Helllllloooooo friends! Are you still out there? {grin} This poor little blog is so neglected. I do think of it often, and it seems there is always something to write about...but, the time! The time, my friends, it just isn't there. There is too much life to live right now.

But, all is calm tonight. I have a sleeping baby and two little girls enjoying a new game (together!), and a hubby who is out evangelizing. This unexpected me time caught me off guard, but I'll run with it.

Summer time is moving right along. We've already been through a week of vacation bible school and a week of SOS (students offering service) with our teens. Two major summer events - done! Coming up next is the start of our summer study series on Wednesday nights here at the Pausley home, a trip to Brooklyn for our missions team, and ending the summer with our annual trip to Lake Ann. Ah, it goes too quickly!

We celebrated the life of our beautiful Jane this month as she turned ONE. Yes, I cried. Yes, I still get a little weepy when I realize my last baby (more than likely) is one year old. She was a champ with her first cake - dove in face first and all. :) I love that baby!

She's just about as cute as they come and is into everything. Although she is not walking, she somehow manages to get around this house at the speed of sound. Her favorite locales currently are: the toilet, the fridge, the dishwasher, climbing down off of the deck into the yard, and attempting to get out the front glass door. How have I not found more gray hairs yet?! She's an amazing gift. I'm treasuring these last few weeks of bottle time in the mornings and bedtimes and the fact that she actually snuggles in for them. I am really going to miss having a baby around. {sob} Can't even continue this part of the post. Moving on...

The big girls are in the summer time grove. Sleepovers in the basement, later bedtimes, parks and splash pads, going on walks, etc. We are loving it. I need to admit though - all my planning and structure is GREAT, and helpful, but many days we end up tossing the routine and just doing what works. They are flexible and I'm grateful.

I have two half finished projects sitting around per my usual habit and my husbands dread. The old ugly chair fabric has been stripped and the old desk has been half painted. Ha!

I'm looking for just the right fabric for the chair. This beauty will go up in my bedroom with my newly painted desk, for my own little "office space". Having my main work desk in the front room of our home is not working out. And as much as I love having my bills spill over on the floor as guests walk in... eh, not really.

The color is "Pot of Cream" by Behr - paint and primer, of course. The desk is in good shape structurally speaking, but has all sorts of scratches and flaws (which I like!). The primer fills in the scratches and keeps it looking rustic/shabby, but clean!
I found some drawer lining contact paper at the Dollar Tree and threw that on the insides of drawers. I'm not really a black/white style girl, but it works until I find something I really love.

Also, let's take a minute and appreciate the baby gate suspended from the stair rail in the background, please.

Good grief. Keepin' it real! 

Another coat to go and then I'll rough it up.
I'm looking forward to having my own little place upstairs to journal, pay bills, think. :)


I hope your summers are going well. Maybe I'll get to share more fun things here soon.
Have a great week!

Spring! {amongst other things}

Another season passes and a new one begins. I got a bit spoiled here in Iowa with our 80 {yes, 80!} degree days for a few days. Reality settled back in and the cooler days just make us eager for those warmer temps!

It's a lazy day here and even now my eyes are heavy and making me feel like I need a nap. Still almost 10 months after my last baby was born I need/require/want SO much sleep! The dishwasher is swishing away, my hubby is reading and my two littlest are napping. It's a calm day and for that I am thankful. I feel like we are finally in a good groove and life feels normal now, like we always had three girls. Some new things are on my plate these days and I'm enjoying the added structure. Last month I joined up with the blog, All Things with Purpose, as a contributor. You can see that post here. It was great to jump back into blogging and share some of what's going on in my home! I'm currently working on the next "edition" which will be mostly about hospitality and Good Friday. My fave. :) I'll be sharing something on that site on the first Monday of each month, join me!

In T-minus a few weeks we are heading to Florida to attend The Gospel Coalition in Orlando. Alone. Without kids. Woot Woot! While a big chunk of my heart always, always, aches to leave my babies... the other bigger chunk does a happy dance just thinking about time alone with my beloved guy and some awesome teaching at this conference. Plus, Grandpa and Grandma have a pool - I'm sure my girls will love that bonus time with them! But anyway, yes, I'm so excited for our trip and I'm thrilled as I looked over the 84 names that will be teaching and preaching and leading workshops. I'm sure it'll feel like we are drinking from a fire hose, but I need it. And I need some sun.

Speaking of my children. Ah, I love them. At 6, 3, and 9 months we are loving these ages.
Jane is now crawling and getting into anything she can find. I love this baby! She says Mama and Dada and adores us. She also loves her sisters, it's beautiful. We are so thankful for this easy going, precious, little baby girl.

Ava and August are treasures as well. Ava is quite the reader and is constantly making her own books. I remember doing the same thing, it's cute. August is our peace-loving middle child who just dances and primps her life away. All three girls are so different and we really enjoying our days with them. Gifts!

Projects. A friend of mine sent me a note a few months back that said something along the lines of how she didn't know how I did all my little projects with three kids. After I laughed out loud and reminded her how sometimes social media makes reality a little more... pretty, I just told her it's a little at a time. My current projects list is extensive and ranging from upstairs to the basement and now to our back yard/deck. I'm in WAY over my head but that's one of the blessings of being a homemaker and keeping busy. By the end of spring I hope to have:

- Deck power washed and restained

- New mulch down in all the flower beds

- Small raised salad garden planted (???)

- Finish master bathroom painting that I started in January ;) 

- Plan and organize and MASSIVE yard sale

- Paint the dining room hang up my wall of plates. Eeeee! 

- Paint a small desk in my bedroom

- Make dining room curtains from sheets. Pinterest better be legit on that! 

- Create a REAL laundry room space in the unfinished side of the basement. 

- Find a free or cheap hutch. Paint it. (dining room project)

There is always something to be done and with summer approaching I'm hoping for an energy surge and lots of days to throw open the windows and get busy.

I hope all is well where you are. I'm hoping to hop on here again tomorrow and do a quick post about the yard and some BIG plans I have for our outside space, and a sneak peek at what I'm whipping up to bless our cell group on Good Friday. Join me!