The Shabby Chic-a-dee

My Plan of Happiness

2011-09-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Not to be confused with The Great Plan of Happiness.

I have to put things in categories. My brain gets too confused if I don't. Sooooo, I 'm going to try having 3 blogs instead of one. Do you think that will make me feel organized and happy? Maybe it will be too overwhelming, we'll see.

Here is the plan...

This blog will be a fun place where I can talk about projects I do, raising kids, life lessons, organizing, planning, cooking, books, fun local places, hair, clothes, jewlery, health... you get the idea.

Like this menu board I made

Or this little angel that joined our family

Scatter Sunshine in my soul will be more of an LDS blog. So much of what I have to say is of a spiritual nature which I know everyone doesn't want to read. So here I will blog about visiting teaching, activity days, fhe, raising kids, life lessons, church activities, scriptures, lds books, goals, etc...

Like this cute Book Of Mormon cover we made in activity days

and this cute thought to hand out when I go visiting teaching.

Then last but not least is Decor Adrenaline. I am excited for this blog to be a place where I can show off fun crafts and decorating that I find throughout the community and blogging world.

Oh, I so want to take a nap there tomorrow.

Oh ,how I love that floor!

Oh boy, this is gonna be fun. Join me if you'd like!
(I so wish I knew how to do a smiley face)

I'm back!!!

2011-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met a true perfectionist? I don't know if I am one or not. But I have symptoms
of one. I feel like I have to do something right in order to do it at all. Do you know what that

means in my life? A lot of things don't get done. Because I can't do them the way I have

envisioned in my little perfectionist brain.

Like this blog.

As I started looking at more and more blogs, I realized that I didn't REALLY know what I was

doing, I was not posting regularly, I was unorganized and I didn't have a plan. So I stopped.

But I miss it.

I miss having a little virtual place of my own.

So..... I'm back.

And here's the thing...

So I am just going to blog. I'm going to figure out new things and try them and experement and just be me.
O.K.
Fun.
It's good to be back!

Love to create?

2010-05-24T22:06:00.001-07:00

I would simply be a bad friend if I did not introduce you to one of my favorite places to be in the whole world. U Create. Love it. Have to visit it. Often.
She is the first creative blog I found and through her I found lot's of blogs that I love. But she was my first love.
If it is popular trends in decor you want.....
She's got it.

How cute are these made out of cupboard door frames! I can't stand it. She found these at

Or how about this hallway she found at I sooooo want to do this.

She shares my love of owls. I soooo love owls. Aren't these so cute!

She has totally functional ideas like this towel tote from and how cute are these gloves. Wouldn't you almost feel like a queen scrubbing toilets with these on? Almost?
And my soooo favorite one of all. I actually have this in progress in my laundry room as we speak, the greatest organizing tool ever!

So, go visit her. You'll love her. I know you're going to thank me for introducing you to her. Have fun!!!!!
http://www.u-createcrafts.com/

soap box

2010-05-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

Pardon me while I step up on to my soap box for a minute.
I just had a conversation with my family about politics. I know, talk about opening up a can of worms. It wasn't a contentious conversation. We were just trying to find out the newspaper that was the leased biased. Is there one? Everyone is just trying to push their agenda.
My biggest pet peeve is when celebrities try to tell you how they think it is. Then they make you feel, in a very subtle way that you are ignorant or naive or just plain stupid if you don't have the same opinion as they do.
Anyway, that's my humble opinion. I know, political posts make people uncomfortable, sorry about that. And now I will climb down from my soap box.

A little bit crazy

2010-03-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

So there I was....
My two cute nieces were sleepin over this weekend for my daughters birthday and there were messes everywhere and makeovers and all kinds of fun. I was just being my normal self which is a little bit.. um, I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, my one niece said, "you have just a little bit of crazy in you." THAT is true!!!! Then she said that she wished her mom had a little bit of crazy too. Her mom is super organized and fun to talk to. But not crazy. My daughter says its not so much crazy , as it is, fun.
I think I'm just plain crazy. I have a crazy life, and a crazy family, and crazy friends. Sorry if you are offended by that. It's not meant to be offensive. And being crazy is the only way I stay sane.

Love this girl!!!

2010-03-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

OOOOOHHH!! Tell me you do not love this girl as much as I do.

Haiti's little lost one's

2010-02-01T22:55:00.001-08:00

I can't stand it! I sit in the comfort of my home surrounded by my loved one's and watch the images of little lost and crying babies on the tv. I see their beautiful brown skin and dark brown eyes, so much like my little baby, only they are filled with pain, and confusion, and suffering. There are so many. I overflow with feeling towards them and want to go with hundreds of friends and each scoop up a dozen of them and bring them safely into our life, and hug and snuggle the pain and fear away. There are over 1 million orphaned children in Haiti now, that's what they are estimating. Can that really be true? One million of our brothers and sisters in little bodies wandering the broken streets of Haiti lost and hungry and not knowing who to go to for help. No one to take care of them. And to make matters worse. By night, evil men come and steal these little wandering babies and sell them into the worst imaginable circumstances. I can't stand it!
The brethren have urged us to give to the humanitarian fund all we can to help these little ones. And perhaps, more than anything, we can pray for them. Plead to our Heavenly Father in behalf of these children. That he will surround them with peace and comfort, which we know he can and does.
The hard part for me is that, there were 300,000 orphans before the earthquake. 300,000. And how many in Etheopia, and China, and all over the world. As a mother, my heart reaches out to these little children. I believe with all my heart that I was called to be a mother, long before I ever came to earth, and with all my mother's heart, I will be praying for these little lost one's tonight.

Rewind to Christmas at our house

2010-01-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season was so wonderful. Of course it came and went too fast and like always, I felt like I didn't get to truly enjoy the season because of the busy-ness of life. But I had time to really reflect a couple of times on the blessings I have been given. Last year at this time, we had no idea Emma was on her way to our family. She has brought such joy to this season for all of us. Here are my cute kiddies on Christmas Sunday.

Sydnee is always sooo excited for her new Christmas dress and this year she felt so grown up. And she looked it too. I'm wiping tears.

This picture was taken right after a huge, um, shall we say....tantrum. I'm lucky i got one.

Emma is quite the serious child anytime a camera comes around. And you have to take it really quickly or else she escapes.

We had a great time at Temple Square this year. It was Emma's first time of course, and it was magical to see her fascination with the lights. I attempted to take some pictures but I have a lot to learn about photography.

How can I ever be grateful enough for all that Heavenly Father has blessed us with?

Closet Inspiration

2010-01-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

My closet obsession continues. I have been searching for inspiration and I have found some amazing closets. Now, the question is how to get a great closet on a tiny budget?

This is the absolute coolest way to store jewlery that I have ever seen! I love it! This girl has this armoire mirror looking thing in her bathroom but they have cut it in half and put all kind of jewlery organizers in it. I am drooling!
g
Check out Maria Carey's shoe closet!

I love love love the islands in the middle of the closet. This one's for you Angela

How's that for inspiration!

Fancy Nancy

2010-01-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho! I bet that got your attention! Isn't that an absolutely lovely closet?
I am in the midst of a closet obsession. January does this to me. It makes me think of organization that I never before thought possable. That is my closet. No just kidding. But one can dream.
I think a closet should be a place that makes you feel pretty, even if you're not. I want to go into my closet and feel fancy. Fancy Nancy, that's me.

Who reads my blog?

2010-01-09T08:26:00.001-08:00

I know this is highly unconventional, but, if you don't mind....
Who reads my blog? I am going to start being a better blogger, I promise. And I just wondered if anyone reads it any more. No pressure to read it. Just say hi if you do?

Christmas Ideas

2009-12-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for some good ideas to really bring in the true spirit of Christmas and help our family really enjoy the season. Does anyone have any ideas?
One thing that I found that I am really loving this Christmas is this cute little rhyme that helps my kids know what to expect as far as Christmas presents from me and dad. It also helps planning and shopping go a lot smoother form me.

Something to wear
Something to read
Something you want
Something you need
Something to play with
Something fun indeed

So, 6 presents that cover all the basics. And Santa brings a couple of presents too of course. My kids are loving this and can't wait to see what meets the rhyme on Christmas morning.

HELP!!!!!

2009-09-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how to get these darn tools off my blog? I hate them. I want them gone. Do you think that's why I'm such a bad blogger?

craft addiction

2009-09-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time of season, I get the super crafty bug, I think, breathe and eat crafts. I pull out all my books and magazines and start looking at anything crafty, I get the urge to go to every craft store I have ever been to. It really puts a crimp in my schedule and i am hoping it will pass soon. But until it does, I will enjoy it. By the way did anyone ever guess there was so much craft info. in blogland? Who Knew? Can anyone say addiction?

I'm so stupid

2009-09-05T23:32:00.001-07:00

What in the world am I doing up this late? Will someone call and wake me up for church tomorrow? Angie? Thanks to the fam for providing me with some crafty moments today. love ya!

A new thing

2009-09-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had a ubrilliant idea today, that I want to do a Fabulous Friend Friday on my blog. Doesn't that sound fun? I can talk about some of the totally awesome people that I know and am privledged to call friends. The only catch is that if I feature you as a friend and you actually don't want to be my friend, well now, that puts me in a pretty embarrasing situation, doesn't it? Well, it that is the case, please feel free to comment and let me know. Humiliation is my speacialty it seems. How should I do it? Should I put names in a jar and draw them out? Or maybe whoever comes to mind that week? HMMMmmmmm...

craziness

2009-05-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ok. so, yes I have not been blogging. Life is crazy. I have started a new job working for the adoption agency that we got Emma through. It is really rewarding but there is deffinately a lot to learn. May is crazy with kids. It's as bad as December! Does anyone share this sentiment?
I keep hoping that the summer will slow down life for a little while so I can enjoy it a little better. Does that ever happen? This week at my house there will be dancing, puking, changing diapers, bottle feedings, baseball games, work days, lot's of driving, more dancing, cleaning- but never enough, a 6 year old boy birthday, oh, and we get to be on a live interview on the Primary Childrens KSL telethon on Saturday at like 8:00. It should be a full and fun week. Now to concentrate on the enjoying it part.

Life goes on

2009-04-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Isaac's birthday and of course, the day he died. I was hard. I miss him. I miss what he would have been on his first birthday. It was hard to stop thinking about it, but having 3 other kids sure helps fill up your time and your mind so you can't dwell on it. Isn't it amazing how even when your life is filled with sorrow and pain and you feel like you aren't going to make it, and especially at those times, Father in Heaven blesses you beyond your comprehension. For me this year has been filled with miracles and belssings. Namely, Emma, continued good health for Dallin, Syd's sweet baptism last week. Is there no end to blessings?

Sleep

2009-03-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Emma slept 8 hours last night and 7 the night before. Am I the luckiest mommy right now?

Oh My Goodness!!!

2009-02-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Check out the magic that happens when you get Emma, Angie, and her camera together. I can hardly stop looking at these precious pictures!!!

Emma's Story part 2

2009-02-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

So, for two months, I didn't say anything about it to anyone but I kept remembering the experience I had in church and with my grieving mother heart didn't know what to make of it. Then, in August, I felt like I was constantly thinking of it. You know how when you get a prompting from the spirit and you don't act on it, it kind of just goes away. Well this kept coming and coming and it really left me kind of confused. I got to the point where I started asking Heavenly Father to please bless me to know it I was supposed to act on these feelings. Well.....Just before school started, I had the kids in swimming lessons and on their first day, I was sitting poolside watching them when a woman with 5 little black kids came in. I could not stop myself from looking at them and finally approached her and in hopes that I didn't offend her, I asked her if these were her children.(She was white) She said they were and started tellimg me how each one of them came into her family. Long story short, I told her that I was starting to be very interested in adopting an African American baby, and she got all excited and told me that she actually teaches a class on adoption and all the ins and outs of the process. I couldn't believe it. It seemed like it was a direct answer to my prayers. I scheduled a time to attend her class and went home to tell Jeff. He was not thrilled with the idea. He didn't want to go to a class, it seemed like a giant waste of time to him since we weren't going to adopt. I did go. She tought a very informatinve class about all the different ways you could go about adopting domestic, international, special needs, infants, older children, etc... But more than that, the spirit was so strong as I watched videos of transracial adoptive families. When I left the class I felt sure that the answer to my questions about my experience in church was yes, yes, yes, I was supposed to act on it. Now....how to let Jeff know........

Emma's story part 1

2009-01-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is such a long and amazing story that due to my lack of time at the moment, I am going to write about it in parts.
I don't know how many of our experiences I should share due to the spiritual nature of them but I'll play it by ear...
Those of you who have read my blog know that on March 29, 2008, baby Isaac was born and died leaving a giant hole in our hearts and empty arms. The miracle of it is how the Spirit fills up that hole and helps me go on. In June, I was sitting in Sacrament meeting on fast sunday and there was a lull and I kind of tuned out for a bit. Then all of the sudden as clear as day, I saw two little black babies in my mind. I can't really explain how I SAW them without seeing them with my eyes. But, it made a shocking impression on me and I turned to Jeff and with a look up disbelief told him to remind me to tell him what had just happened to me after the meeting. So when we got to the car, I told him that I think we have two little black babies waiting to come to our family. His reaction was something like, Uh.....no. I didn't even know what MY reaction to this experience was so I just let it go and didn't really talk about it again. I mean, Isaac had just died like two months before. And I was aware that the grieving process takes all kinds of forms and wanting to adopt is one of them. I came to somewhat of a decision to wait and see if this was some out of the ordinary grief thing. To be continued.....

Introducing....

2009-01-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

EMMA MAE WILLIAMS!!!! This is Rachels sister doing the posting... she is tied up at the moment but she wanted to get some pictures up of our sweet Emma! She is so beautiful and such a blessing! We Lover her to peices! More pictures will be coming....

I don't believe it!!!

2009-01-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

You are not going to believe this! I can hardly believe this! Jeff and I are leaving for the hospital any minute now to be there for the birth of our baby girl Emma Mae Williams! Of course we still have 24 hours after the birth to see if the Birth Mother signs the papers. But we are very hopeful. Oh my goodness!!! This is surreal!

worst blogger ever

2009-01-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

I am the worst blogger ever! It's just that everyone elses life seems to be more interesting than mine. But this is for my pour cousins who never get to see me and complained that they need to know about what's going on in my life, boring as it is. This is for you- you know who you are.
We had a wonderful Christmas. We managed to have some spiritual activities that really made us think about the true meaning of Christmas. At the ages my kids are now, it's fun to see them have so much fun. Of course, that's fun at any age right? One of the highlights for me was my little singing groups concert. They did so good and I was so proud of them! I have discovered that I really love teaching music. So, as long as I have kids who want to sing, I'll keep doing it! More later....

update

2008-12-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

Who knew that adoption would be such an emotional roller coaster! But I love Christmas time so that makes it all right. On a light note, we have mice in our attic this year which gives us germaphobes some stress but I can't help laugh because I keep imagining them having this party up there. I think I'm reading too many cutsey Christmas books.

New Hearts Day

2008-10-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a really special day for our family. It's actually a holiday we celebrate called New Hearts Day. Five years ago today, a really special little 3 month old baby girl went back to her Heavenly Father and her amazing family decided to donate her organs. Our little Dallin was on deaths door when we received the news that there was a heart that was a good enough match to try the transplant. First there was Joy and rejoicing. Then there was sorrow for the little one who died. Then there was fear that Dal wouldn't make it through the surgery. Well, he made it through and is doing well, and there hasn't been a day when we haven't prayed for our sweet donor family. I have actually felt her near at special moments over the past years.
So, tomorrow we celebrate Dallin's new heart, a new chance at life. And we also have activities that make us think about how WE can have new hearts. In the scriptures we read of having a change of heart, isn't that a new heart? We will be setting goals and changing our hearts. Celebrate with us!

singing group

2008-09-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, to all of you who have had children in my singing group for the past few Christmas seasons, I wanted to let you know that I am starting up again on Friday, September 19th. If they don't make it to the first lesson, it's ok. I havn't been on the ball enough this year, but I do have some really fun pre recorded music this year. I am also really excited to have 2 groups for younger and older kids. Please tell everyone you know about it and call me to let me know if you're in this year. Thankyou so much!

Our big decision

2008-09-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

If you were to have asked me 15, 10, 5, or even 1 year ago to describe the way I envision my life, I would never never never have descried to you my reality. And that is what makes life such a grand adventure. There have been scary things like Dallin's heart defect and everything that it meant for him and us. Heart Transplant was a very scary thing that happened in random "other people's' lives. Watching my too small baby die was a horrible nightmare that happens to poor other people and I knew there was no way I could handle something like that. There have also been some very very unexpected and joyful experiences that have both happened on their very own and as a result of going through hardships.
And now, out of the blue, the path that I have been prompted to go down right now is one I also never envisioned for myself. Adoption. Jeff and I are getting ready to put our papers in tomorrow. The process may go pretty fast because we are adopting an African American boy and they come fast. I am so excited. I am also nervous because I know that this, like other things, will require me to really think about how to handle future situations. But for right now, I am just full of love and ready to welcome a new baby into our home.

plans

2008-09-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know I need to update this really bad!
How's this for updating....Mr. Jeff and I are in the prossess of filling out adoption papers! aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! I know, pretty crazy, huh? Suffice it to say for right now that it is deffinately something we feel inspired to do. I will give you more details as they come.

2008-08-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

How does time go by so fast? I remember when I was little, it seemed like time dragged on forever! Summer Vacation seemed to be a year. How can summer already be almost over? Not only that but last week I went to reunion with some sisters from my mission and my cute visitor center directors. It has been 10 years since I came home from my mission. How can that be? It's fun to realize that when you get together with old friends, most of the time things just start back up where they left off. I have really been lucky in my life from High School through College and my mission and my "grown up life" to have been blessed with awesome friends. I love you guys!

Mama Mia

2008-08-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last night amidst crazy women dancing and singing in their seats at Mama Mia, I had this happiness bubble swell up inside of me. I was excited about life and when I left the theater I felt ready to take on the world again. It's amazing what good friends, some music and a funny movie can do. Or maybe it was because I was wearing a very bright flowery shirt. Who knows?
I have been singing the songs all day long. I can't get them out of my head!

2008-07-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

To all of you who read my blog, i hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable if I talk a little bit about my grief. I am finding over the last few months that some days, I am really really happy and some are really hard. Especially as I approach my due date this week. I have felt a little bit like I have been in a really wierd haze this last couple of weeks. I know that this is my life I'm living but sometimes I can't believe it. Although that strong feeling of being uplifted and carried by the Lord has subsided a lot, I still feel what an amazing blessing it is to be Isaac's mother as well as Dallin's and Sydnee's. So, time is marching on and I still miss Isaac. I wonder when that starts getting better?

Busted

2008-07-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

So, there I was....... coming back in to my neighborhood from pickin Syd up from a friends house. And there was a cop parked at the top of my street. I said to myself, "Please dont see me, Please don't see me, please don't see me." As I got almost to my Mother in laws house, I looked into the mirror and yep, He'd seen me. He was tearing down my neighborhood road like he was after someone on a high speed chase. He had his lights on too, so I pulled over my old minivan right in front of Kathy's house. I got out of the car and he said," maam please get back inside your vehicle." Then he said "do you know why I pulled you over?" I told him I was aware that my registration had expired and that is why we never drive this car. I explained to him that I was on my way to pick up my son so that we could all go to get the windsheild fixed so we could get the car inspected and registered. He must have thought my story was amusing. He had a smurk on his face. He went back to his car while I waved at all my neighbors as they drove or walked by or just watched from their porches. He had no mercy on me for my good intentions. But I have a question, How am I supposed to get my car registered if I cant drive it to get it registered? Go figure. Anyway, I guess I'm a big time criminal!

Dal won Bingo

2008-07-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

So, Dallin is still at the hospital. For all of you who have been on pins and needles wondering if he is contagious, none of his tests have come back posative even the herpes. So, I think everything is ok that way. But we still don't know what it is. He might even have to stay another night. He won Hospital Bingo this morning and they said his name on TV and he was really really excited about that! He got a cool game of checkers as a prize. Sydnee and I miss him. It's hard for me to not be at the hospital with him this time, but until my cough goes away, they don't want me to be cooped up in a little room with him. Jeff is a trooper!

2008-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I'm waxing sentimental. I've actually been reading a book about Emma Smith. Holy Moly! I can't fathom the great spiritual reserve she had. I'm wishing i had a little more right now. How did she do it? She had to have lived with so much fear. But she always always always just trusted in the Lord. That almost sounds like a tright phrase, we hear it so much. Everyone say it with me...Faith, not fear.....Faith, not fear...
Maybe I'll feel the vibe and not be so scared.

Hospital Boy

2008-07-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that Dallin is in the hospital. Jeff took him to the ER Monday night at 9:00. We were afraid that the really really bad rashy stuff on his arm might possably be shingles or chicken pox after all. But it turns out, it isn't. He's still there as of right now and might have to stay the night again. They think it might be some kind of herpes virus that attacks weak places on the skin like his warts. They've run a whole bunch of tests and we havn't got any results yet. It scares me because the doctor once mentioned to me that any kind of herpes, including cold sores are a very dangerous thing for him to get.
As for Dallin's spirits, when I talked to him last he was watching Monsters Inc. and ordering anything and everything he wanted from the cafeteria including lots and lots of his favorite fruits. He told me he was going to have pancakes for lunch. Yum! He's a little trooper and hopefully he will be back home very soon.
By the way, Antimony was really fun! To any of you who are wondering if he was contagious, I am going to find out and let you know.

Yesterday

2008-06-30T12:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was 3 months since my little Isaac was born and died. Oh, how I miss him! I don't know what it is about this week that has been harder than usual for me, but it has been.
On a happier note, I have not been sick for a few weeks, now that is truley a miracle for me and I am really enjoying it. I have been able to work a ton around my house and yard which takes my mind off of how much I miss my baby. My only wish for this summer is to get my kids to stay home for more than 10 minutes at a time. They keep telling me that it's summer time so they can do whatever they wanna do, because it says that in High School Musical 2. Oh Boy! Is that true for me to? Carribean, here I come.

Hello

2008-06-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

So, I have finally joined the wonderful world of blogging. I hope this is not going to become an addiction but I've heard it might. In any case, at least I'll quit feeling so guilty about never writing in my journal. Please forgive me while i try to figure this out. I am a little bit computer illiterate.