He Answers Prayers

It was two in the morning, I had been anticipating this moment for nine months, we both had. I didn't want to wake him yet, I just wasn't sure if it was the real thing, but the pain was getting greater, and coming faster than before.  So finally, I woke him up and said, "Honey wake up, it's time." 
My sweet boy was born 4 hours later, right on time♥ Thirteen & a 1/2 years ago...

Have you ever had that sort of "it's time" feeling? 

I've had it so much lately.  I'm not sure what it is, and it doesn't always feel good. In fact, it has made me sort of feel sick to my stomach lately. I know God doesn't want me to feel this way, He wants me to give it to Him.  So, last night I told Steve that I'm going to pray about all this, and I'm going to pray that tomorrow morning we get some sort of an answer.  I laughed and said, "you know my prayers get answered, so prepare yourself."  I was saying it in a joking manner, not mocking the process of course, but in playful banter knowing that God's timing is NOT my timing, and honestly not expecting it to really happen that way.  BUT hey, it could happen:) 

I got a call this morning from my sweet husband, and it brought tears of joy and gratefulness to my eyes and to my heart.  The very thing I told Steve I was going to pray for, actually happened!  I can't even believe it! 
In my last post I wrote about how the Bible teaches us that there is a time for all things under the sun, and our timing isn't always the same as what God has planned for us.  I stand firm on that, and only want God's timing, His will in our lives.  I don't believe in the "name it and claim it" movement. I do believe however, that He wants us to bring our desires, wants, and needs to Him to do with what is best, His will in our lives.  I'm so thankful He doesn't answer all of my prayers, cause hot digity dang I'd be in t-r-o-u-b-l-e! 

I've learned better than to jump the gun, count my chickens, and all that.  My prayer hasn't been completely answered yet.  So, I'm still praying while standing firm and waiting for His direction.  Waiting to hear, "April, it's time." 

To be continued...

P.S. This is the LAST day to enter my {GIVEAWAY}, if you haven't yet you have until midnight tonight!  ♥

A Time For Everything

In Ecclesiastes chapter three it tells us that there is a time for all things.  I ♥ this!  

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace. "

What time in life are you in? 

I'm so thankful for the Lord's timing, it's sometimes hard to wait on, and we don't always understand it but it's always perfect!   

Speaking of TIME, have you entered my {GIVEAWAY} yet?  You'd better get on with your bad self and enter! 

♥

My "A" List & a {GIVEAWAY}

My "A" List

Things I ♥ that start with



APOTHECARY JARS: aren't these beauties just so simple and pretty!  I ♥ them!

ANTHROPOLOGIE HARDWARE:I ♥ how colorful, and vintage looking they are!

Antique Mirrored Province Table: So French & Chic♥

Do you have an "A" list?  I can think of so many more things that start with "A" that I ♥ like: Apple pie, Abbie(my daughter), Austin (my son), A'la mode, America♥, Anything chocolate (what?), & All of you♥ to name a few.
~

Now...Have you entered my {GIVEAWAY} yet?!  Why Not?  Get your booty in gear girls! 

It's a good one, a sampler of some cute stuff that I sell on ETSY...Click the picture and it'll take you to the GIVEAWAY page:

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope."

Psalm 130:5

{GIVEAWAY} Etsy Snack Pack

IT'S A {GIVEAWAY}!

Today I'm giving away what I call an

Etsy snack pack♥ 

A sampler of what I sell on Etsy...

Here's what you will win:

• 4 grunged, coffee/vanilla stained mini envelopes with a vintage skeleton key stamp on the front, with 4 matching grunged tags.  These can fit inside the envelopes as a note, or can be used as tags♥
• 3 vintage music sheet tags with jute twine
• 2 chalkboard tags (one of my best sellers so far!) with jute twine
• 2 burlap covered clothespins

Here's what you have to do to enter:

1. First of all if your not already a "follower" become one;)~Then...
2. Go to my Etsy shop: http:/takintime.etsy.com   &
3. Come back here, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite item is.

To get EXTRA entries you can:

1. Tweet a link to this Giveaway
2. Follow me on Twitter
3. Facebook a link to this Giveaway
4. Follow my blog on Facebook (see side bar)
5. Mention this giveaway with a link, on your blog
6. Put a link to this Giveaway on other Giveaway sites..

(Let me know if you do any of these things, so I can be sure to tally your entries;)

~Giveaway Ends on Monday January 31 @ midnight~

So there you have it, you can get your name in there 7 times!  Good Luck to ya! 

XoXo~April

Marketplace Monday!

I can't believe its been over a week since I blogged last! 

 I was on a roll too!

I've been HAPPILY very busy with Etsy!  I'm very grateful!

Here's an item that has been selling like hotcakes~

 I've actually sold out of them, with people messaging me literally every day asking if they can order one, and if I'm going to get any more soon?!  Well I am currently out of stock, but I plan on hopefully getting more this week so, if you would like to be put on a list, message me on Etsy and when I do get more I can RESERVE a listing for you♥

Welcome to Marketplace Monday, I ♥ this day, because I get to show off my newly listed items! And.  Here.  They.  Are: (click on the picture & it will take you to that item's page)

Check out my Etsy Shop!

Thanks for lookin';) 

Visit Marketplace Monday over at Finding Fabulous, join the fun, and check out all the amazing items!

P.S.  I will be having a {GIVEAWAY} this week, it will be a sampler of some of what I sell in my Etsy shop. So if you're not a "Follower" then become one so you don't miss out! 

XoXo~♥



Shabby Chippy Grungy Message Board

And that's my

Shabby Chippy Grungy Chic Message Board

 hung with a scrap of fabric made from an old cooling rack...

This post is linked to:

 

You Can Call Me Coach

So, my little Miss Abbie Dawn is going to play basketball this year (5th grade), she's very excited.  We went to the "tryouts" where everyone actually makes the team, but they have the girls run some drills and shoot some hoops, and dribble the ball. Anyhow, it was very cute! 
So I'm filling out the paperwork and come across that same ol' question on the bottom of the form, "Are you interested in coaching?"  Steve was joking and said, "hey Ape, you played basketball.  You should coach."  Ha!  Me?  HAHA!  I checked the NO box of course...Hello, me? A coach!?  Oh Mylanta I can't even imagine it...

~A few days later~

I'm in the kitchen, taking to Steve who's in the living room, "So, I haven't heard what team Abbie's going to be on yet.  I think she's really excited..." After a moment of silence I hear him say, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that the guy in charge called me the other day and asked if I could coach." I reply, "Oh yeah?"  He continues, "Yeah, I told him I wasn't able to due to my schedule but that he should call you because you were a basketball player and you'd be a great coach." 

I pause to compose myself...

"Excuse may!?  You told him that I would what!? Do you know how long its been since I've played basketball, besides the time I tried playing for the city league and fouled out of almost every game trying to re-live my glory days!?" 

Well to make a long story shorter, sort of, the guy called, I caved and it looks like I'm coaching Abbie-Dab's team!  *SCREAM* Oh. My. Wordy-bird. What. Have. I. Got. Myself. Into?

I have no idea what I'm doing mind you, I mean do I have to wear like a sweat suit? Will this be me in a couple weeks?!

I guess I need to get a whistle, and a clipboard!  Oh, and a sweatsuit...Bahawhawhaw!

1st practice: "Okay girls, I have a big surprise for all of you.  I went ahead and took the liberty of getting you all the same basketball shoes.  What do ya think?"

Until next time my friends, ya'll come back now!

(Coach April that is♥ or should I go with Coach "A")

Merci Beaucoup!

I'm not sure about you but what usually comes in the mail, can stay there as far as I'm concerned...But eventually I know that if I want the lights to stay on I'd better go and check the mail.  So I mozy'd on down to the post office where we have a P.O. Box, got out my key and to my delight inside my box was another key! 



OOOOO its like a treasure hunt! I took that key, key #2, and unlocked the box it belonged to.   I excitedly pranced back out to the truck shut the door and quickly opened the box.  Like a kid at Christmas!  On top was a sweet note from the giver, Christa, and inside were so many sweet delights like this adorable Junk Queen ornament...

Oh I was so, so, so excited! Do you see the vintage earrings on the vintage #10 card!  And the key, and the lace, and the tray oh my, there was also an adorable vintage sheet music roll sprinkled with glass glitter♥

Thank you again Funky Junk Sisters & 

Christa over @ Chloe Rose-Vintage Style

(she has an Etsy store too!)

I ♥ this one, because I am a Junk Girl indeed! 

There's another great giveaway that I entered today if you want to check it out & enter too,

go to♥ Vintage Style Down Under

I needed to be reminded of the following scripture

Matthew 6:26

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Fabulous Marketplace Monday

Jane over @ Finding Fabulous, this fabulous new-to-me blog that I now follow♥ has a linky party where anyone who creates and sells items online, like on Etsy, can link up their items.  Its a great way to market your item and get to know other crafty gals! 

Click on the link to join the fun♥

Here is what I have in my Etsy shop right now...(clicking on the pic will take you to that item's page:)

Go to My Etsy shop to see more shabby items♥

XoXo~

Drumroll Please...GIVEAWAY WINNER!

I'm happy to announce that the winner is...    

Heather over @ Lovin' My Little Ladies!

Congratulations Heather!

How exciting for you♥

 

Embraced Jewelry is an amazing new company, started by an amazing gal♥ and I want to thank her for sponsoring this giveaway! If you haven't read her story, why she started Embraced Jewelry, and what she can do with your special dried flowers and even fabrics, you have to go to her page now!

 Thanks to everyone who participated in the Giveaway!  I'm having another at the begining of February, so stay tuned! ♥ ♥ ♥

I Didn't Do It

Remember Not Me Monday's!?  I ♥ Not Me Monday's & I miss them somethin' fierce!  In fact I love to go back and read my old Not Me! Monday posts, they bring back hilarious memories.  This is I Didn't Do It Friday...I can do that, right?  For those of you who don't know, I'm basically confessing to things that did happen, but I'm denying them to the end...Shhhh!

• On our way to take Bub to school, I didn’t gas it a little and say, “It looks icy; I think we should test the roads.” Only to stomp the brakes and have Diego and my coffee go flying through the cab! That would be stupid and irresponsible.

• Bubba didn’t then look at me with an, “Are you ok (as in mentally)?” look on his face. He didn’t proceed to say with a nervous chuckle, “Wow.” He knows I’m totally normal, so that wouldn’t have happened…

• While checking on Diego, I didn’t look back and realize that Meme forgot her lunch.  I was wearing no makeup, my workout pants which are carelessly cut into capri’s no less (which were now soiled with coffee as if I’d wet myself), old worn out flip flops and a hoodie with my hair as high as it could go into a pony tail. Not cute at all people. The song from Dora the Explorer, "I'm an ugly old troll ♫ who lives under a bridge ♪..." was running through my head!

• Then I most certainly didn’t decide rather than waste gas I really had no choice but to go to Meme’s school and deliver her lunch…"♪ Why me Lord, ♫ what did I ever do?..." now running through my head.

• I didn’t enter the office of the school and feel the need to explain myself only to make myself look even more like a mother that was going home to eat bon-bon’s and/or possibly even do drugs, and watch soap opera's the entire day. I always look amazing, like I just stepped off the runway, or red carpet...

Am I alone? 

Maybe I should re-title this blog,

"Humbling Moments of my daily life."

I Need Coffee!

No doubt about it, this morning is a coffee morning!  Not that every morning isn't for me, but, at 3’ o’ I don't know when this morning I woke up to Steve getting ready to leave to the airport to fly to a meeting in Portland. He informed me that one of his employees was on his way to our house…my body twitched,"Excuse may? I thought I heard you say OUR house?!" "Wait a minute, this morning!" Yes, this morning, to ride with him to the airport!

The thoughts that were running, no, sprinting through my head went something like this:

What if he has to use the bathroom, it’s not clean. What if he sits in the living room, there’s laundry on the coffee table! What if he needs a drink of water, there’s dishes in the sink. Oh no and if he just walks to the front door there’s muddy rubber boots everywhere! What if when he walks through the front door he looks up into the loft and see’s the sheet that the kids and Steve hung to play XBOX on using the projector! (GRRR)


Oh. My. Word. The garland! The un-decorated garland on the banister! I took off all the decorations, but haven’t taken down that danged garland! The stacks of Christmas decor waiting to be put back into storage...He’ll think Steve has the lamest decorator, worst housekeeper of a wife ever!

~

There I was having a slight panic attack and actually considering getting up and doing a quick cleaning spree at 3’o’ whatever clock in the morning! I realized that since it was a GUY coming over he probably wouldn’t have even noticed any of the things I was thinking of. But I was not in reality, it was 3’o’digity dang I don’t know what clock in the morning afterall…Torn, I rolled over and prayed he didn’t come in the house!


Luckily the guy couldn’t find out house right away which gave Steve time to be ready and meet him outside! Phew, thank you Lord!


Boy do I have some work to do today! Things have gotten a bit out of control…Do you ever let the sun go down on dirty house? Me either, I'm perfect and flawless!
Have an awesome day friends and remember the {GIVEAWAY} ends on Saturday, get your name in there if you haven't already!  Ya'll come back now...♥

Here's to you friends!  Mmmm...I ♥ coffee!

You Wanna Bet!?

When I was little when a kid told a story and we said we didn't believe him he'd say, "Oh yeah, you wanna bet?!" 

~

So years ago, Steve and I were at the bowling alley with some friends.  It was Friday night bowling, where they turn the lights down, strobe lights are goin' and the music's playing loud!  Oh yeah!

I went to the bathroom, on my way out I spotted where everyone was and I DANCED my way over to them.  When I got to them I continued dancing. I was a dancin' machine people!  Oh I was feelin' it! Gettin' funkay, gettin' down and back up again.

Oh Yeah!

 Gettin' Down!

Raise the Roof!

"April!"..."April!" Huh?  My friend Denise was calling me, so I swiftly turned and slowly did my little boogie toward her.  When I got there, she turned me around and pulled out a VERY long piece of TOILET PAPER!  It appeared that I had pulled up my drawers and with them came my HOMEMADE toilet seat!!!  NOOOOOO!

Apparently my dance moves inspired that piece of toilet paper to fly like a kite out of my pants!  It was a-flowin', and I was horrified! 

~

Don't believe me?  Ya wanna bet?!

And that is just one out of the plethora of my most embarrassing moments...Humbling moments♥
Hope you enjoyed laughing at *ehem* with me:)
Don't forget to enter my {GIVEAWAY}, it ends Saturday!

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Matthew 23:12

SO TRUE! 

DIY Topiary

I ♥ topiaries! They're so chic!

I just made this one...

(I played with the picture a bit, because the original wasn't that great:)

All you need to make one of your own is:

• Styrofoam ball
• Terracotta pot
• Piece of Styrofoam to fit inside pot
• Spanish moss
• White Glue
• Chalkboard Paint (optional)
• Paint brush
• A stick

My Styrofoam ball was white, so to avoid any showing through I painted it black with acrylic paint, while that was drying, I painted the pot with one coat of the chalkboard paint. 

Then I took a clean paint brush and painted the ball with glue and then pressed the Spanish moss onto the ball.  I'm sure there are many different ways to do this, this is how I did it:) It was very messy!

After this is complete, I painted another layer of chalkboard paint.

When everything was dry, I took a piece of Styrofoam and put into the pot, then topped it with Spanish moss, stuck the stick (which I cut from my Wisteria)into the foam ball and then into the pot.  Voila! Easy Breezy!

If you haven't entered my {Giveaway} you still have time! 

♥

"29 Many women do noble things,  but you surpass them all.

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. "

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