Spirit of Hospitality

Update on computer woes…It seems that I have approximately 2 minutes before my sick computer throws up. So sad for me, but it sure does keep the computer time in check. My hubby can’t get to it till this weekend, so my visits will be few. It won't even let me edit, so I am just posting this without seeing it...have grace.

** A Very Quick, Unedited Family History about Hospitality***

I had the privilege of growing up in a home where hospitality was not something planned,

stressed over or talked about.

It just WAS! It was part of our family tapestry,

woven together into the very fabric of our family DNA.

It still is who my parents are and it oozes out of every little pore in their being. I am sure they have entertained angels unaware (Heb. 13:2), and in doing so they became a channel of His love towards others. As a child, I didn’t realize that was uncommon. They were creating an intentional generational legacy without my knowledge. I thought every family had an open door policy and with that, I grew up next to unwed moms, recovering drug addicts, missionaries, foreign exchange students, and lots of people who just needed to be loved….unconditionally.

If you are reading this and are turned off because the thought of a lasting legacy brings emotions of what you don't have...take heart. A lasting legacy begins today and you have the power to change generations to come. My parents did - they broke the cycle and I am the benefactor or that.

Ok, I am getting down off the soap box for a minute to breathe...especially since I can't edit anything...yikes!!

(As I type this, I realize the spirit of hospitality – not entertaining – there’s a big difference, needs to be a completely separate series since I feel pretty passionately about it…surprise, surprise.)

This is my sil (mom of 10) and my mom...yes, grandmother of 30. Pretty disgusting how great she looks, isn't it? True Proverbs 31 lady. Amazing what healthy eating and exercise will do...:) I need to learn from my mother...hee hee.

The reason I bring up our history is to set the stage for our Sunday evening. We got to meet precious YOUNG for the first time, and she was such a delight. For the last decade my parents have had international students live with them, and recently the focus has been Chinese teachers that come to teach in the US for one year. These teachers become part of our family, and you can imagine the huge cultural curve they have with us.

We always tell them that we are not “typical Americans.” Ha ha…at least we’re honest.

Some of the reasons that just JUMP off the obvious page are the social issues. They may only have one child and then are forced to make that happen. Can you imagine your first interaction being a “family dinner” with all of us on the Harried Homestead? Trust me, many of you may be overwhelmed, not to mention this sweet, “one child policy” teacher. It’s never a time that’s out of control, it’s just organized chaos. She just loved it though, and couldn’t get over the demonstration of affection…typically rare in her culture. My dad always gives “love pats, “ yep – on the touché…as a grown woman you just have to deal with it…lol, and that cracked her up.

Oh, I realize that this post will be WAY TOO LONG If I go over all the differences, so I will jump WAY ahead. We are about to have the most delightful year with her. She is very different that many of the teachers that have stayed with my parents. Many have been staunch supporters of the Communist government which includes no Christian churches etc, so it’s typically a very interesting learning time for the kids, and a great “world view” opportunity. Young wants to experience everything American, including why we believe what we believe. She’s asking…can we really say “no?”

She came in loving on the kids, and gave us all a great tutorial on her perspective of the Olympics.

You always know those “special someones” by how children take to them….and ours sure did.

Here’s just a few peeks at what a typical time when we’re together looks like.

And guess what....the bedlam moments? We only had one broken hurrican lamp, one broken glass, one dropped plate of food and one black eye. The black eye came after repeated warnings about not running on the back deck in the dark, at 11:00pm, with all your cousins or you'll bump heads. You've got to love harmless natural consequences.

My kids are cracking me up…they are thinking blog and my son took the picture of the meat. Trust me, there were about 3 more plates full of those.

BUT NOTE THE AWESOME YARD SALE FIND!! I got this fun summer time dinnerware. I typically just use white dishes and then dress them up with accents but this great aqua set….a COMPLETE MIKASA (OH YEA…that’s expensive stuff!!) place setting for 8…with the serving pieces…in the boxes….$20!

I know HATE ME!

Can you see them nestled under the hamburgers?

My hubby is a true grill master. This is my nephew who treated us with lots of fun foods from Guatemala.
Since each picture is taking forever to load….I can’t finish off the special evening. Come back for our time of blessing…..Here’s a sneak peak!

Computer woes saved by sensational Sunday

My deep question for the day is "can an inadiment object" build my character? How can something like a computer cause such strong emotions like anger, frustration, remorse, sorrow and discontent? Considering that somehow over the weekend this laptop picked up some yucky sickness, it won't allow me to post, comment, load pictures or hang around with friends that do. Can't even edit!!
Ugh!! So, since I have taken 30 minutes just to type this and can't even see it...I will choose joy and remember that there are REAL issues in the world. Marriages are suffering, children are sick and there are important reasons that I should be on my knees in prayer, not just so I can post on my blog. Thus, the harried homestead's events of last evening where China and the US came together under extraordinary circumstances will have to wait, and I will revel in the truth that we serve an unbelievable God who meets us right where we need to be at just the right time. What happened in our home last night is a showing of God's faithfulness...fully devoted, fascinating, fun and forever!

A YARD SALE PARTY....yipee!

One of my most favorite things in the whole world are "thrifty finds," so when Rhoda at Southern Hospitality announced a Yard Sale party, I was all over it (a day late...oops).
She said to pick your favorite thrifty find.
Considering that thrifty finds pretty much define who I am, I realized that would be completely impossible. Almost every single thing that I own is a thrifty find - household, clothing, toys, furniture, dishes...the list goes on and if I didn't tell you that, you would never know.
I am not even going to touch the subject of clothing because I have promised a Designer Wardrobe in under $100, and that will be a fun one. I hope to take all the pics this week. Come back for it...I used to do workshops about building a "core" wardrobe and I will walk you through your most important "finds."
Since Rhoda is a "furniture buff, " I will stick to a few pieces of fun furniture.
Below is a great yard sale chair that I have hopes of changing up a bit. The fabric is in fabulous shape, so it's been pushed to low priority.
The lines and detail are beautiful - the cushion sits on a woven base. That alone is gorgeous...oops...a little dust came through with the flash.
Cost? $15!!!
Right next to it sits another unbelievable find. An antique sewing table for only $10. It folds out and could be used as a buffet.
This isn't how I have it decorated but am showing you a couple items I picked up last week and have busy painting. I never knew that nasty brass candles could look so great with a bit of spray paint. I have gone round and round with decorating the top of this. I am trying out this metal thing. I typically have flowers with candles sticks, but have also had a framed wedding picture with some knick knacks surrounding it. Challenging considering it sits a bit low.
Again, the details are beautiful. Can you believe $10?
One of our big thrift finds and "investments" at a time when money was scarce was this American Drew china cabinet. This is in our kitchen with the matching double pedestal table right across from it (sorry, no picture...kids have crafts and dishes all over it.:)
The table sits 14 comfortably with the leaves in and has been the heart of many wonderful life long discussions and soul searching. After I saw how great my sis's cabinet turned out in the previous post, I am really wanting to tackle this. The challenge is that it has a lots of detail and carvings down below, and makes me a bit nervous being such a novice. The handles are off, and ready to be picked out, but now I want to wait until I decide what color to go with.
It houses all my cherished collected teacups and teapots, many from around the world (minus the 2 plates on the bottom that my daughters did on their birthdays:)
Oh - the price on the china hutch and table with 6 chairs....$400. (The sweet owners took pity on us at a time when we had 4 little ones in 5 years and were so excited that more memories would be passed on at their table.:) The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is a quality piece of furniture (just needs to be painted...oak is so out.:)

And since my ceilings are almost 10 feet, it gives me plenty of room to put other yard sale great finds on top of it.

Yes, it's so obvious that this part of my kitchen needs to be painted anything but white.

And since my china hutch is overflowing with sweet teacups, I picked this cute thing up for $5. It's a spot in our great room that isn't the focal point, but it makes such a cute little accent area. I have two little plates that are going to be hung on each side of the mirror. I just changed the wall up a bit. Everything that you see....total $20 (yep, including the Chabby Chic mirror).

I love to have pretty dishes....
I love offering my guests and kids the choice of special teacups any time that they have beverages.

The hard thing is that these aren't even my very favorite finds....everything that you see is within a 10 foot radius. I realized as I started taking pictures that I could go on and on. I guess I just need to get cleaning, dusting and painting and do a room by room tour.

This one is another of those WOW finds....I just need advise on what to do for the top.
I got this for a mere $20....
it retails for hundreds and hundreds from a top furniture manufacturer.
The top needs help. I thought of fabric with a glass piece, painting it, refinishing it...ideas?

Look at the intricate detail with the carving. It's beautiful, even though the flash makes it look cheesy.

I have so many more things to show, but I realize this is getting really long. I have quite the bedlam moment to share, but just want to know if I have some unconditional readers who will love me anyhow...it involves the crazy dog again...let me know if you're ready for a "EEEWWW" moment.
It's so funny and yet surreal, that at moments like this I ponder aloud, is this really my life?

Mom of 10's "so easy" cabinet redo

Yes, I knew the "Mom of 10" would lure you in.

My poor 'sister in love', I am using the fruit of her sweet loins as a marketing tool.
Some of you have emailed with questions about our happy, but harried homestead. That is definitely something that I want to go into detail about but because it would require me to think and process the good, bad and ugly, it will come...in time. When it does....please read.:)
Let me say that our kids are living a dream....19 cousins growing up together....such memories.
The adults are working HARD to make it a dream,
but it doesn't come with all Beaver Cleaver moments.

That was a long intro to say that the project below is from the home of 12 of these homesteaders (soon to be 13). They are in the process of adopting a special needs boy from Equador, and are praying that they can get him this summer. Since my sis knows me SO well, yes, every little detail about my life, she rolled her eyes at me in a very sweet "I love you" kind of way when I started talking about this blog and the blog world. In fact most of the people who know me did that I do believe. Since it all comes down to balance, blogging is one of those things that can get you out of balance if you're not careful...especially when you're just starting because you want to know that there are people reading what you post and the only way to do that is to let people know that you have a blog. The funny thing is that I still haven't even told my "real friends in real life." Who needs more lectures....heee heee.

I digress.....my sis now loves that I have shared all my new found knowledge of the great decorating tips that I have received because her house is being transformed. This is my first real consulting job in the decor world, and I am so proud. We worked hard at this project and it is FAB-U-LOUS!! I use the term "we" loosely.

I instructed, I inspired, I talked her into how easy this was, I let her know that my hours in blog land were not in vain, I gave her a tutorial (ok, so I showed her other people's blogs), and then....I LEFT...for Dallas...for a long weekend. I said I used the term "we" loosely.

For a long time she has been tired of the hutch they had made for the wall.
Every day I would walk in and show her something else in the house that I think she could do.
This hutch was one of those areas that was really bugging her. When I told her the Nester scrapbook paper trick, she was sold!! The best thing is that we have a lot of kids....a lot of kids who know how to work, and letting them begin with some coats of primer is a great thing for them to do.

This was such an easy job. I hope that anyone who sees this can know that THEY can DO IT! If we can, anyone can. (We had started taking the shelves and knick knacks off already...oops)
Again, so sorry....new camera is on the way. Just put the sunglasses on.
Guess what, there was no sanding involved.
This is one of those "consulting" things that could have gotten me in trouble.
I told her in my ever so experienced HGTV host voice, "Rach, the guy at the yard sale where I bought my china hutch told me that I wouldn't need to sand mine if we put Kilz on it first, so I am sure that would work with yours."
I know short cuts don't equal quality, but when you have that many kids, sanding comes with mothering...they are the sandpaper that refines our rough edges. So why should we have to intentionally buy the square stuff when the real stuff is with us all day long.
Wow, didn't mean to get into parenting there, that's a MOPS talk...so what you've waited for.....
Here's the before...two coats of primer and then the antique white paint.

OH MY HOLY COW....isn't it gorgeous....
didn't WE do a fabulous job...hee hee

The full effect is fabulous. They have a really wonderful cottagey feel in their home. It's SO cozy, and the walls are a soft green...which isn't evident here.

She bought some fabulous "aged" looking paper at the scrapbook store. It's such a bummer because with the Modge Podge over it, it's glaring with my bad camera flash, but in real life.....it's unbelievable. It looks so rich (not as in the money kind, but as in the classy kind). Shame on you camera, you just don't do this justice at all!!

The polka dots on the sides add such a great touch.

Sunglasses of the world....UNITE!!

You can do this at home...in a day.
Buy supplies, then apply primer, paint, tack up scrapbook paper and you're done. She decided to put modge podge just on the middle, open shelves because with so many fingers touching the shelves, she wanted the paper to be "touch proof."
I know you all want to know what a mom of ten looks like. She took off her horns and warts and weird things that stick out of her head to pose for the picture. She is the cutest thing in the world and one of the sweetest, most gracious woman you will ever meet.
We're going to do a post (using that term loosely, she'll will have to be corralled into doing it) of all the things you've ever wanted to know about having lots of children...wouldn't you like to be a fly on their wall? It's never dull!!
And just for starters...yes, they know what causes that.
Yes, they are all there's,
yes, we know some people think we're overpopulating the world (oh, I can't leave that one alone...did you know that if you put every person in the whole world shoulder to shoulder, they would only fill the Atlanta metro area...so how's that for overpopulating the world..:),
oh...too much fun, but must stop....MEET MY BFF!
(I think she would want you to know that...no, she hadn't taken a shower and she wasn't happy that I made her...she let me take a pic of her.

Operation Happy Home

Welcome all my Once Upon a Family friends....This is for you.
Regular posting continued tomorrow.:)

And for those of you wondering...yes, I still can't believe that we broke the bed.
I fessed up with my kids, showed them the pictures and I got a "lecture" about honoring other people's property. That's what I always tell them when they want to jump on beds on vacation.
Yes, it was definitely a "do as I say, not as I do" moment.:)
Getting onto the good stuff.
Here are the great group of newcomers that we had...

We had a fabulous Friday...Lorle started this fun dancing train.

Notice her gorgeous turquoise dress? Oh my, she made it herself during all her free time. The reason behind it? To match the new Happy Home book cover, of course (and I am serious.:)
Some of you may know that in her past life she designed a children's clothing line...she's good with the clothes thing.

Jen, Tara Link and Sally enjoying lunch in the suite.

Friday night we had a fabulous Friday night...talk about mixing some bedlam in...it was a Pajama party, and I mean party. With it being all ladies, huge amounts of chocolate and loud music, you can just let your imagination wander.
Do you have any idea how ecstatic I was to see this of bowl of beauty below?
Do you think it's mash potatoes?
I would have been pretty happy with that too.....it's WHIP CREAM!!
Mounds and mounds of it. HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!
I think we were supposed to dollop it in the home made hot chocolate....ha. Can I have a little liquid with my cup of whip cream please? Also, this was not your ordinary hot chocolate. No stirring the powder stuff...no siree. Liquid Godiva, I tell you.

Girls from Kings Court came with their princess attire.
Here's Michelle starting it off.
Some cuties doing the line dancing. Notice Carrie Ann in the PINK Princess stuff, and she's not even pregnant. She was letting everyone know that she will be in 4 days..."choosing the sex of your baby stuff." Well, it's been four days by now....hmmm....do you know where your child is?
Cutie patootie Bobbie Jo Goodwin smiling at me.:)

The blond Jen S, and the brunette - Jen Smith.
These heart pants are my Vday tradition. I wear them every single Vday all day...
When Vday doesn't fall on a Tuesday, I still wear them to teach because it just wouldn't be Vday if Mrs. S. doesn't wear her pajama pants.
My legs were just hurting watching Kay North do this.
It was amazing, and when my kids saw this picture I heard screaming, "did you see that old lady doing the splits...no way." I was laughing so hard. Don't worry, Kay, they consider me an old lady as well. We're all in it together.:)
Notice the beautiful backdrop...that was as good as the splits.
Go Pamela!
MaryAnne S, Amy G, and Dana B.
Now for the best event of all...the Saturday evening gala. So sorry that I don't have pics from Saturday. I took many more of other people, but the lightening (and camera) were so bad that they didn't come out very well.
Right before the gala, ladies who received Caring Connection and President's Circle went up to Lorle's suite for a few minutes. Everyone looking their loveliest.

Sally, me, and Katie Mills (the cutest pregnant woman in the whole wide world)
MaryAnne and Michelle F.
Weird to be in the pics for once. I better enjoy it because it ends with this post.:)

Preview

Team Leader recognition
They gave us the new tree, but each one had special words of encouragement that people had said about us....such a personal and special gift. I will be doing this in our own family...choosing to bless different family members with encouraging words and hanging them here.
Michelle and Laura
I had so many people come up and share with me that they wanted tips on yard saling because they just don't have the "luck" that I have. As I started talking about it, I realize that there really is a certain technique to it.
I am going to do a whole post on having a designer wardrobe for $100.
You don't think it's possible, do you?
It is....
but this topic is a whole series of post, and it will be really fun, so stayed tuned. Just to let you know how it happens. My gown is from Good will and so is Tara's little black dress.
Mine is an Evan Picone with the tags still on it (over $150). My yard sale jewelry still had the tags on them as well. A woman who owned a boutique was getting rid of extra necklace/earring sets at....$2. They're gorgeous up close.
Our shoes were both unbelievable deals. Tara's black shoes were on clearance for $5, and mine were $1 from a yard sale (yes, you heard it...they match the rhinestones on the dress perfectly).
Some one called them princess shoes...they have little glass heals and do look like Cinderella's. Of course, they are my 5 year old's favorite and she wears them all the time.
Weird lighting..just ignore that.

The highlight of the evening is the presentation of the 7 keys. None of my pictures came out from the poor lighting, but they will be sending out an announcement soon. Last year, it was an honor to receive the Living Proof award, but an even greater honor to pass it onto Holly Ehle this year. She truly deserves it. She lives and breathes everything that this award embodies. The Living Proof award is for someone who truly "walks the talk" of the Once Upon a Family lifestyle, and models intentionality with their family. As much of an honor as it is to receive it, Holly and I both know that we don't do it for OUAF, we do it for Him, and pray that we are planting seeds along the way. I didn't have a camera last year and so I "reenacted" it this year...different dress...10 pounds heavier...:)
Holly - congratulations. We missed you so much, but you again modeled the reason you won....you put family first! Wish it was you and me together in this pic. If I knew how to photoshop it, my friend, I could have been creative and added you right in.
Thanks for a wonderful week Once Upon a Family!