The biggest nose ever!

I thought I'd stick this on here. A while back a friends and I were trying to think of new games for a carnival. We wanted the kids to stick there hand in one hole and find slime and in another, find a prize. So I thought it would be hilarious to make a huge nose.

First, I found a large piece of partical board. On a huge piece of paper I created the shape of a nose by looking at those goofy glasses with the mustache. Then, I traced it onto the board. I used a saw and cut out the nostrils. Then, I took chicken wire and started forming a nose, stapling the wire on the lines I made on the wood. Here is the chicken wire all stapled on. A view from the front and from below because it's pretty funny.




I cut strips of newspaper and mixed good 'ol fashion flour and water together to create a paste. I paper machéd the whole thing three seperate times, allowing it to dry completely before adding the next layer. Then, I mixed paints creating a skin color and painted the nose. I also painted the board, made cardboard glasses, painted a mustache, and found fur for the eyebrows! Voilá! The greatest nose ever! Well, I guess that depends on what you consider a great nose...

Refinishing Project

Well, a while back I chose a new comforter for Aiden's bed once we knew we were moving to help give me direction on what I would ultimately do to his new room. I am one step closer to a beach room for him. He has had a loft bed for a while but with his small room I really want to make it lighter in color and washed white to look even more beachy. I do have the drawers to finish (and you can see the color comparison from the drawer fragments on the ladder picture.) I am super happy with the results! I will eventually paint his room but the living space is first on the list of things to paint. I will put up new window treatments and turn his loft into a cabana with hanging "walls." I won't try and explain. I'll just post pics once it's done, after the drawers. Stay tuned.

Here we are

Life has been a huge whirlwind. The everyday life mixed with a lot of visiting Ryan and Jess, hosting Andy and his family for a month plus bonus family members, photography, mission trip, more visiting with family and friends, camping with family, Emma's first summer camp, new pta duties, Faith Quest. The list goes on.... All those things are just things until you mix in a whirlwind of emotions with regards to Ryan's health, Jones' health, Jess and the entire families well being and mental state. Then just having all those places to be while laundry continues to pile, dinners have to be thought about and actually prepared... You get the picture. It's been a loaded three months. And now... Now, the kids have all started at new schools. Emma at her new middle school and the other kids at Wildwood Elementary next to our house. No more dropping off and picking up children. Emma rides the bus and the other two walk. But even now, as life seems simpler and the days have routine, the sun begins to disappear. What seems to have brightened my spirits as the birds chirped and the sunny crisp air wafted through the window is now dreary and dark. All of this is such a reminder that nothing is constant save for one. My hope in despair, my light in the darkness, my strength in the storm. I just don't get how people can go through life without the hope of life in Jesus. Life where communities care for each other. Life where the helpless are helped. Life full of mercy and love. Crappy things are going on all around me but I have to have hope that through each curveball, He will hold me and the hope is that others will see a redemption story lived out. Over and over and over. If we can't witness God's redemption and love story to us, the world, amidst all the crap thrown at us, then what is the point of being here? I really think that God's whole plan is to redeem us all, in the midst of our lives. Over and over and over. So, bring on the rest of September. Let's do this.