Hearts Full of Joy

touch-ups

we are still making changes around the house, tweaking and re-arranging, painting, hanging things on the walls, etc.
tv nook:

i am finally displaying some of my hong kong tresures - the flower shaped object is a antique silk hand embroidered baby collar, the rectangular hanging is a machine embroidered mass-produced chinese embroidery, the little red shoes on the cabinet are antique silk hand embroidered baby shoes, all found in hong kong.

we have been wanting a large plant to put behind the sofa, but didn't want to spend for a big plant. i found this at aldi for $8.99. i LOVE aldi. i am their fan on facebook. i love them that much. the framed print is an antique japanese wood block print of a kimono pattern from the mid 1800s.

living room:

another $8.99 plant from aldi. and a stack of my online photo books/scrapbooks on our antique chinese chair. i LOVE online scrapbooking.

gracie with our "new" antique piano. we got it for a steal, and love it. lexi has since polished it up and is looks even better. it took 8 grown men to get it itnot the house, and i was afraid they were going to injure themselves. it is that heavy.

another $8.99 plant, a wedding kimono (thank you gloria!) that needs to be steamed, hong kong cabinet, antique water pitcher & basin (gift from brock), and my favorite antique quilt.

noah's room:

all four walls are painted, and thanks to gloria & tracey's input, i have decided to do horizontal striping on one wall rather than vertical as planned.

mia & gracie's room:

i purchased this vinyl lettering in white before i had decided to paint the walls yellow, and hoped it would still show up. it didn't, even if you knew it was there. so i tried coloring it with a pink crayola marker, and love the water color-like results.

we downsized mia's bed (which had been the original plan) and moved her double mattress to the new guest bed that brock built. it is just her size now, and leaves more play space in the room. the cute head board was left behind by a renter who never paid any rent. one good thing came from that experience....

sunny & bright

we are still painting, and painting, and enjoying ourselves around the house. our latest paint job, somehow completed amidst stomach flu, was the upstairs bathroom.

we wanted to do something warm, bright, and bold, and the bathroom is the perfect place. we took the color scheme from my fishy quilt.

the walls are "homestead apricot" and "butterscotch cream". i was looking for a shower curtain liner in the bath department at target (i love target) and realized that our bathroom colors are not at all popular at present. but we like them. i love the the walls glow, especially when the sun lights them up.

i recently unwrapped this "peasant painting", found in hong kong 6 years ago, for the first time since it was wrapped for our move from japan almost 2 years ago (yes, we are still unpacking), and didn't know where i could put it in the house.... it looks great in the fabulously bright bathroom. we noticed that the glass was a little smudgy, so I wiped it off and got black, black pollution soot all over my rag. i don't miss that aspect of life in tokyo at all.

continual improvement?

christmas is over and put away, a new year has begun...
time to get back to home improvement and break out the painting mess again:
after months of waiting & planning, we finally continued the blue paint from the living room into the formal dining room that serves as our T.V. room, and then painted the far wall of the T.V. room red. then we did a big furniture switcheroo, and this is the result: (still needs pictures hung on the wall, etc)

we're still working on the formal living room space....more photos to come.

thanksgiving weekend in quincy, we found the hutch we had been hoping for, and at a price we liked (i even got them to come down from the special sale price) for our dining area at the antiques mall. and yesterday, between (hundreds of) coats of red paint, i filled it up. some of the dishes are new, some are antique, most are from japan. the red & white nine-patch snowball baby quilt is from the late 1800s.

we plan on replacing the knobs (we plan on a lot of things).
the quincy antique mall also had the most adorable nile green hutch from the 1940s that would look just perfect in mia & gracie's room stacked with antique baby quilts and books....but i can't figure out where it could go, unless i got rid of their bookshelf. plus, we really don't need to spend any more money...but it's such a great price, and so adorable!
also in november, i finally had this april 1935 volume of "farmer's wife" framed at "hobby lobby". i found this treasure at "mrs. clemen's" antiques in hannibal, mo. the summer before last. i was antiquing with gloria (just like when i found the hutch). it hangs next to the hutch in our dining area.

and here is a back splash idea i had. the plates & cannisters are also from hannibal - the "hickory stick" quilt shop.

the blue paint is actually the same in all three of the above photos. the hutch photo is probably the most accurate.

when i bought these fun things in hannibal in summer "07, i had no idea i would be using them to decorate my home so nearby. life is funny & unexpected.

before & after

BEFORE:
lexi & tashi's room while stripping wallpaper in july - we had gotten rid of all but the borders. for a reminder of how i feel about wallpaper borders, refer to this post:

 
and the low boy from the dresser & mirror set we found while thrifting with gloria (she had to talk us into it, because she could see the hidden potential that we had yet to grasp):

DURING:
painting the room with the rodenbergs in august (remember this photo... when i promised the "after" photos?) well, it's taken some time, but here they are:

AFTER:
the room & dresser set now:
the framed puzzle is from a modeling job that lexi & tashi did in japan when they were 4 & 5 years old. the hot pink night stand used to be that scary late 60's cream & gold (as seen above).
here's the low boy with it's mirror. the final step in this room make-over project is to get some black & white photos into those darling frames on the dresser. we have some fun ones in mind, like my grandma as a baby with her 5 year old sister gracie, and my grandparents as newlyweds riding a tandem bicycle....and some fluffy white rugs on the floor. the carpet isn't our favorite, but it stays for now. because if we replaced it with the balck & white tiles we would love, our inexpensive thrifty room re-do would no longer be thrifty & inexpensive.

now, here is how lexi's photos essay of her room differs from mine (you choose the version you ike best, and picture their room looking that way):
 

ode to the simple life

i have been blessed with multiple opportunities to learn the serenity of a simple life. but have i learned it?

moving to japan with two wee children and only what we could fit into our suitcases for our flight (which wasn't much at all) was one opportunity. and i loved that phase in our life. eleven years later i still miss the clarity and freedom of that stage. no car. no car insurance. no car repairs. very little of anything. and so everything we had was extra special. everything we did was more enjoyable. my mind was free of clutter. i could see more clearly what i needed to do as a mother. and i was a better mother. there was stress and difficulty too, but honestly it came mostly from living among others who didn't have simple lives, and the expectations that that fact placed on me. we went to japan wanting to live a japanese life.while there we went to church with wonderfully amazing people who were living a different life - the american expatriate life, which as a friend expressed it recently, is like being a rock star - chauffers, maids, nannies, spending allowances, first class airline tickets, etc, etc.  i am not slamming that life style. not at all. it was just such a stark contrast to ours. i am grateful for that. it forced me to face and ponder hings i wouldn't have have otherwise. i learned a lot about myself during that time. i am very different because of it. and i like to think that i have learned to keep my life simple. but i don't do it.

when we first moved to this house eight weeks ago today, it was empty, and for four glorious days, we had only what we brought in our suitcases and cars with us. i loved it. each child's toy was special. we were sleeping on futons again. what was most important in life was clear to me, and that was my family. now, each box i unpack begins to clutter my life again, and each thing i own takes away from the meaning and value of everything else in my life.

and i feel this way even though we gave away more than half of all we owned when we left japan just over a year ago. almost all of our furniture, our food storage, our household items. (we accumulated a lot in the 12 years we lived in japan). now we are in accumulation mode again, and i want it to stop. but where do it draw the line? it's oh, so very complicated. i want life to be comfortable for my family. our first two years in japan, our only comfortable piece of furniture was a glider rocker that we had to take turns with (no sofa, no beds, only futons on the floor). but i want life to be meaningful for my family, and the more we have, the less meaning can be found.

i have a weakness for clothing and textiles of every kind. (my degree is clothing and textiles, and i guess that explains a lot about me). i collect antique quilts, i make quilts, i collect darling children's clothes, and i make children's clothes. and they accumulate. what should/can i do about this? yesterday i sorted through winter & summer clothes (such cool weather lately), too small and too big clothes. mia & gracie each have so many clothes that it feels like going shopping each time you pick out an outfit for them. they need a hannah montana closet. (i'm not endorsing hannah montana here. any reference i make to hannah montana is in a purely negative context). not because i buy a lot (i hope), but because i treasure and hold onto a lot. they have hand-me-downs that lexi & tashi were wearing between 8 and 15 years ago (the really darling ones that hold precious memories). gracie has hand-me-downs from mia.  they have hand-me-downs from cousins. i do love hand-me-downs. and they have some great bargain finds that i couldn't resist buying for the. and there is just so much. but it's hard for me to let go of it. i want to keep it all, just in case we or someone else we know and love needs it someday. or another child joins our family. (noah doesn't have quite as much abundance, being the only boy. but i have boxes of his adorable outgrown clothes that i would love to see another boy wear someday) i love making a cute new outfit out of treasured pieces of clothing from the past mixed with some new found treasure. i love thrift, and so i want to keep things just in case we need them. but i love simplicity and lack of too much stuff. are these two loves compatible? i feel these two concepts (storing for future use, and simplification) tugging me in different, conflicting directions. i am on a quest to reconcile them to each other. but is this possible?

as i typed the word abundance above, it reminded me about how i feel about abundance. it is a popular word these days, especially in new age circles. and i think it is highly over-rated. having abundance can lead to being overwhelmed, over-committed, selfish, and material. i feel i speak from experience. the only things i want in abundance are the intangibles like love, peace, hope, and happiness. is it possible to have an abundance of simplicity? if so, i think that would be a good thing.

settling in

we are here, in our new home, and have been for almost two weeks. we are loving every minute, except for the minutes involving the stomach flu that brock & i are still recovering from. we love the green, the natural beauty here (that doesn't require a sprinkling system), the history of the area, (and the sacredness, to us) and everything about being here so far. we are still unpacking boxes, in the midst of stripping wallpaper, building faux wainscoting, preparing to paint, looking for furniture at thrift stores, hanging with the rodenbergs, visiting with friends who are here on vacation (so fun jeni!), and enjoying the fun attractions in our area. i feel gratitude & amazement at being here. I have felt in these past two weeks, for the first time in my life, a true to desire to "sing praises unto the lord for his merciful blessings", and almost not being able to hold it in. mia sitting on the fence in a corner of our backyard.
 stripping wallpaper - i'll show before & after photos when we're all done. we are enjoying having a house that has some fun projects for us, but not so many projects that we are overwhelmed. and we are really enjoying living in a home we own. we have been landlords for a long time, but haven't lived in a home we own for 13 years. (renting in japan, housesittin).
the temple. so breathtakingly beautiful

the kids in the yard on the evening we arrived. they were baling hay in the field between our yard and the vineyard as we pulled up. you can see the beginning of the vineyard to the left of tashi's head.

the house

i took this photo on may 1st, on our house hunting trip, and i have been waiting until we owned it to post it. as of yesterday, we do. we are in love with the backyard. this was in the spring, when the leaves were just coming out.

this is where we're headed.

moving, and stuff

we are moving. soon. our truck, packed with everything we own, was taken away today. our kids are on our back lawn, having a party with their friends. we have been packing, cleaning, and arranging for days. and amidst it all, my toes are pretty.  a new salon opened in town.  today.  and brock treated me to  a pedicure there.  it turns out that he has been checking it regularly to see if it was open. and today was the day. he made an appointment, gave me the money, and told me to go. he is the best. if i haven't mentioned that before, i definitely should have. and the facts are that i am undeserving of him. but i have him anyway. and i am grateful. the pedicure was heavenly. they had a massage chair/foot spa combo. it was so relaxing that i couldn't get up, and sat there for another 10 minutes after she had finished my toes. she said i could. and normally i wouldn't have. but it felt so good after days of lifting and heaving and dirt and grime. i love brock.

here is the party on the back lawn. maika is here from japan. we picked her up at the airport yesterday.
at 13 months, gracie has decided that she is 2. but that is a subject for another post.

moving on

we're moving. in less than three weeks. and life is disrupted. but disrupted in a fun way. i wake up every morning with an tickle-y feeling of anticipation. it's exciting, it's exhilarating, and just crazy. so much to do, but i'm excited to do it. we're moving halfway across the united states, but it doesn't seem so far after moving four times across the pacific ocean.

i am also involved in planning four reunions before we leave: 2 family reunions, a reunion for our english ward in japan, and my high school reunion - 20 years..... yikes! (i realize that i should be feeling old, but i'm not. i suppose it's denial. or maybe it's having a baby. hmmmm, i like it, whatever it is.) i'm so happy that i get to see and re-connect with people that i love at these reunions before we move.

my "saving grace"

first off, i find it enjoyable, and recommend to all, to have a baby with a name that is also a word, and can be used in so many fun ways. my new niece, baby joy's, parents will discover this.

gracie truly is my "saving grace". her pregnancy came at a time that i had all but given up on it. and i didn't have the stamina for it. my health wasn't good - physically or emotionally, and i was really struggling to keep up with my four kids. really struggling. we had in international move planned, and baby was due right when we had planned it, and right after my parents were planning to be on an international service mission for 18 months - so this would be another time that i couldn't have my mom's help. i hadn't slept through the night for nearly 2 1/2 years because of noah's sleep troubles. and brock had just decided to strike out on his own and start his own business in japan - very brave because we may have lost the lease on our home, and our japanese visas, without an employer to back us up.

in spite of all this, i was grateful to be pregnant, after all, it was an answer to over 9 years of fervent prayer. and although i have severe sickness throughout pregnancy, and threaten pre-term labor, i found myself very blessed. i discovered that so many things that i thought were requirements for life, are actually very dispensable, as i rearranged my priorities and let many, many things go. i had spent 14 years regretting that i hadn't relaxed and enjoyed my previous pregnancies more instead of stressing myself out feeling guilty that i couldn't accomplish as much, or more,  as i did when i wasn't pregnant. i was determined not to make that mistake again. and in fact, i didn't have the energy to make that mistake again. so i slowed down to a snail's pace and savored each moment.

i thought that baby noah had taught me to let go of things (sleep, schedules, timeliness, anything valuable & breakable, etc) but i learned the lesson on a much deeper level during gracie's pregnancy.

i learned how much my husband and children can step up to the bat when they need to, and how the things they don't take care of take care of themselves or fade away into oblivion.

i learned how much more i enjoyed my children (and they enjoyed me) when i slowed down and spent the day on the couch where they could climb on my lap or sit and talk with me whenever they felt like it.

i learned how much joy could be found in life by sitting still and savoring the moment. i learned to be at peace with imperfection, messes, and not having things the way i wanted or planned. and most importantly, i learned to hand everything over to the lord and trust him completely. i am so grateful for that.

brock did have to postpone his business plans, but his business worked out just fine, probably better. our international move worked out better than we could have hoped. and the pregnancy worked out perfectly, with a healthy baby born right on schedule. and my mom was there, because their mission was unexpectedly postponed. gracie even made the international move easier because i focused on keeping her safe during the pregnancy, instead of rushing around japan doing every last minute thing i was afraid i would regret not having done. i didn't over-analyze the move or create unrealistic expectations. i didn't have a tough adjustment back to american life, because i took it slow and easy, and just enjoyed the miracle of my new baby.

as i made it through the first few weeks of the post partum period, i began to realize that some of my heath problems previous to the pregnancy were now gone, and i was 10 pounds lighter than before the pregnancy. and i found that after gracie arrived, my life was actually easier with 5 kids than it had been with 4. some of this is due to having a yard for noah, a simpler lifestyle, family  living in the same state, brock working at home, but ALL of it is because of blessings from the lord. blessings that i know i don't deserve. blessings that are too great to count. blessings that bring me joy.

this is the miracle of a new baby, a new life, a new member of our family.