I just had to post something about my wonderful mom -- the most amazing woman I know! Not only is she endlessly loving, faithful, and selfless, she is also brilliant, tenacious, and determined. Once she puts her mind to something she does it and to an extraordinary degree. She is a woman of amazing vision and would go to any lengths to help any of her seven children. She is one of my dearest friends.
My mom is extremely capable. She works miracles. In December, she directed a resoundingly successful production of Scrooge -- as in the musical! -- using the autistic kids she works with (many of whom have difficulty speaking) as the actors -- something people at the school and the parents of the children themselves never believed could happen. This month she put everything on hold to come visit for 10 days to help us fix up our house (she's something of an organizational genious). Armed with books with titles like "Use What You Have Decorating" and paint samples, she helped me transform our house into something that feels more like home. She should seriously work for a show like Design on a Dime! It has given me such a lift and was such a fun project for us to work on together (even though we were working non-stop)!
I'm grateful to have such a mother and cheerleader! Below is a poem I wrote for her last Christmas.
SHE
In answer to a child's prayer
She enters, sits, to comfort there
And sings a lullaby to soothe.
The fears of darkness soon remove
Into a forgotten place.
A teenage girl with hurting heart
Feeling shunned, alone, apart
Shares her pain in running tears.
She listens with a loving ear
And a safe embrace.
In hopes to help a girl achieve
A dream in which she scarce believes,
She works late into the night
To paint the girl's name in flashing lights
To help her win the race.
Once a smiling beauty queen,
She's sacrificed all it seems
To a world who doesn't know
How much it takes to grow
A home that is a sacred space.
Her pure faith and wisdom guide
Each son and daughter sorely tried.
She comforts, counsels, prays, and yearns
And slowly each one grows and learns
From her loving grace.
Front entry (after -- I don't have a before, but we just painted the door white and the walls beige, Shaker Beige to be exact. I love that color -- the picture doesn't do it justice.)
Study (before) -- to the left as you enter the door (supposed to be the dining room, but we needed to use the study as a toy room and so we turned this into the study).
Study (after) -- I never realized that red paint requires so many layers!
Living Room (before) -- and no, the Veggie Tales DVD is no longer one of the accessories we are using in the room.
Living Room (after)
Family Room 1 (before)
Family Room 2 (before)
Family Room 1 (after)
Family Room 2 (after)
Wet Bar (before) -- sorry for the mess! This space thoroughly puzzled me before (many Texas homes have these wet bars, but we haven't really had a use for it). I've been wanting to rip it out and make it a closet or lockers for the kids stuff, but my mom had a more economical solution for how to make it work as it is.
Breakfast bar (after). We brought our bar stools down from the attic and the girls have loved using it as a breakfast/homework/coloring space.
Breakfast nook (before) -- please excuse the laundry and garbage bag.
Breakfast nook (after) -- we were able to find a few of the accessories (like the old-fashioned washboard) at a local consignment store.
Kitchen (before)
Kitchen (after)
