The Downtown Farmhouse

I like TV.

I especially enjoy a great drama. However I do regularly indulge in The Bachelor, Survivor and of course HGTV and I are great friends.

Has a television show ever impacted you? I can’t say often one does but this week one did. 

This is Us is a new drama that I watch. Oh my word……so many emotions. It makes me laugh out loud and cry, a lot. But this week it made me think. 

Kevin is one of the main characters. He was a television star and has recently been preparing for a roll in a play. 

The play was opening and on opening night, his brother Randall had an emotional breakdown and instead of Kevin staying for the opening night of the play, he went to Randall’s side. He missed the night when critics came to the play. 

As he prepared for the second night opening, he begged The NY Times critic to please come again to see his performance. 

The night of the play came.

The critic was not there. 

But Kevin’s family was there and his new/secret girlfriend/ex-wife stood in the back. They all beemed with pride. Kevin was disappointed that the critic was not there but decided that no matter what, he was supported by the people that loved him the most in the world.

That night Kevin receives a phone call in the middle of the night. Ron Howard has been at his play and wanted to send him a script for his upcoming movie. Wow. 

I say all this to say. Who is your audience?

Who are you expecting to be watching you and who really is? 

When I care for my family, I do it because I love them, not for recognition.

When I am honored enough to be on the worship team at church, I’m grateful for the talents I have been given and am happiest leading others as the sing about Jesus.

When I post things about our big old house renovation, I want others to be brave enough to know that they can do anything they set their minds to. 

I want at the end of my life to not be wondering who my audience was but to be greeted at the gates of heaven and to be told “well done, good and faithful servant, well done.”

Pinterest is a gift and a curse all at the same time. It allows inspiration to flood  your brain and it allows inspiration to consume your brain.

When Courtney and I discussed what she wanted Jacks nursery/room to look like, she didn’t have many specifics so I went to Pinterest and poured through photos. 

His room is not huge but it’s perfect for his bed, a dresser and a rocking chair for many hours of rocking, readings and singing. I have a chair already but more on that later. 

I have known for months that I wanted to paint stripes on one wall in Jacks nursery. Once the ceiling was complete, I was ready tackle the stripes.

I measured out the stripes. Always, always use a pencil. 

I taped.

Hindsight…..use frogtape, not blue tape.

Blue first 

Then a little green

And finally the white 

I’m in love 



Yes it has begun.

Jack William Wissinger will be arriving in less than 2 months so it’s time to get started for goodness sake. His room is the last room in the old house to be touched so here we go.

It was the throw it all in room. If something didn’t have a place, it came here.

Even before it was Jacks room, it was always the nursery. Why? Not sure. We had named all the other rooms in the house. Some names came from the tenants that used to live here and some have gotten names of their own. One day Steve named it the nursery and it stuck. Now it’s really a nursery!

Last week Steve started on the ceiling. It needed repaired, sanded and last night it was painted. The original bead board ceilings good as new. 

I started on the floors. Repairs and more repairs. Then the repairs needed sanded and ready for paint. 

I alread painted the closet and this week starts the accent wall. 

Measure once 

Tape three or four times

I’m finishing up this wall today and I’ll show you tomorrow. 

It’s gorgeous darling, simply gorgeous!

And oh the plans I have for that window!!

Sunday mornings are my favorite. 

I’ve picked out my clothes on Saturday night because I want to be all prepared as I wake before all others in my home. Plus, I want to look cute, I won’t lie. 

Sundays mean, we as a church body huddle up together, get encouraged, learn more about the God we serve and love on our friends. 

I sit in the 4th row. It’s my comfort spot. Why? Not sure but I don’t think I’m the only other person who sits in the same spot every week. My friend Lara sits behind me, my small group usually sits in front of me. I love to see my friends each and every week.

I also enjoy meeting new people. 

Today, as I sit in my same seat, a new person sits in front of me. He comes in during worship. 

I notice he carries a backpack. 

I notice he is not super clean and that he has an odor. 

My mind immediately goes to homelessness. I have many homeless friends. Sometimes I smell too. I work outside so yeah I stink too. 

As my mind wanders to the gentleman in front of me……..Charma really? Why are you fixating on his personal appearance? 

As soon as he turns around I make eye contact and I shake his hand and introduce myself. I am so grateful to meet you. He gives me his name with a smile. 

He sits alone and others notice his odor as well. 

Now I can’t do a thing about his appearance but I can make him feel welcome. 

I can’t make other people accept him but I grab the back of his seat while we sing and pray for him. I pray that he sees Jesus in me. 

I don’t say this to say “look at me, how accepting I am of someone different then me” I say this so maybe you will take a moment and pray for my new friend Shaun. 

Pray for his safety

Pray that he’s sees Jesus and that he feels Jesus’ love in so many other ways today. 

Happy Sunday friends. 

It’s no secret that I’m going to be a Grandmother. I’m not shy or introverted and I post it often for the world to know. My high school  girls small group sometimes counts how many times I mention it in one meeting. Sorry…..not sorry.

Many do not know the soon to be mother. Courtney is introverted and does not like the spotlight. That doesn’t make her wrong, that just makes her different than me. She’s is definitely her daddy’s daughter. 

Courtney strives to live a healthy lifestyle. We, her family sometimes are not the most supportive when it comes to her food choices. It’s not our proudest moments but it’s easy to make fun of green grass swirling in the blender on a given morning. Our refrigerator currently has mason jars lined up in a pretty row. 

There are also jars of green.

I honestly have no idea.

And the counter has many unknowns 

I think I laugh at her potions because I’m ashamed at my food choices. She is not only feeding herself so much better than the rest of the household, she is feeding Jack, our sweet grandbaby.

For those of you who haven’t seen Courney in a while, she allowed me to take this picture a few days ago. She’s so pretty.

Her and I will be spending much time together in the coming months and I think instead of asking what concoction she is brewing up, I will join in.

Courtney thinks she might be the first woman to have her skin split open from all the stretching. 

Happy a Saturday friends. Now if it will just not rain today. This girl has outside work to do. 

This bookshelf has been in my family for a long time .

Steve and I had it in our home for years and when Kyle moved into his own place, we entrusted it to him. The only stipulation upon receiving the gift was that it can never be sold or given away. If Kyle was unable to keep it, then it would be returned to me.

Yeah it’s just a bookshelf, however  it has an autograph on the back side that makes it a family heirloom.

This bookshelf was built by Dad when he was in the 10th grade while in Shop Class. 

1953 built by Vernon Locke. Bob Smith observed. I have no idea who Bob Smith is.

The. Bookshelf  has been stained and painted numerous times.

Kyle asked if we could put the bookshelf in Jacks’s nursery. Um…….yes💜.

Let’s give it a new look and fill it up with sweet books that we hope will make Jack a lover of books like his Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Kyle.

The best thing is, Great grandpa or Papa as we call him worked on the updates on the bookshelf he originally made in 1953. Bob Smith wasn’t there by I was a good fill in. 

We added breadboard to the back, which happens to be old ceiling from the old house renovation. 

A little white paint and a super cute back color and this project is done 

Jacks closet is HUGE and will be home to his bookshelf and a cute chair for him to read in. It’s not beautiful yet. Yet is the word. 

The chair is next.

Also a gift from Uncle Kyle. This is an example of what I’m thinking for paint. What could be better than a little Dr. Suess? 

So far the closet is painted, the carpet is ordered and I have a plan. Of course I have a plan.😉

Love,

The girl excited that today  is Thursday 

Valentine’s Day has never been my favorite day. I’m sure it has some deep rooted meaning and history somewhere but it just feels made up. I don’t like “hallmark” holidays and I won’t make excuses.

However this morning when I woke. The routine begins with letting JR out to go pee and get the newspaper for dad. And what do my wandering eyes do appear but a vase full of beautiful sunflowers and a card. I think to myself that Justin left these for Courtney to find this morning. Ah sweet cause I know they are not from Steve. He knows not to buy me anything for the dreaded Valentines Day. 

So I pick up the vase and the card and bring it inside. The card is to me. Me? Yep me.

My sweet friend, who is my daughters age, on her way to work, at who knows what hour, thought of me enough to get me flowers and a card.

Now I had to rewind in my brain why she would do that. Yes it’s Valentines Day but why me?

Now listen…..I still don’t like Valentines Day. I believe it makes people looking for love another reason to feel bad about themselves. It’s a reason for card companies to make a whole lot of money. It’s kind of like Mothers Day. So many woman would and do anything, including paying thousands and thousands of dollars to be a mother but they can’t. Mothers Day rubs salt in the wounds of those women. Why would we do that? Those of us that are so incredibly blessed to be loved in a couple sort of way should feel loved 365 days a year not 1 day with flowers and chocolates. However I do like chocolate. 

But on this Valentines Day 2017, I will think a little differently  about Valentines Day. I will think of it as today is the day my sweet friend gave me flowers because I am loved. I am extremely blessed to have people “my tribe” that know me, love me, support me and even surprise me sometimes. I don’t surprise easy.

Enjoy this day with people you love and who love you. 

This journal or blog, whatever you call it, started as a renovation time line for family and friends who live out of town and wanted to watch the story unfold. What a story it has and continues to be.

It has become so much more. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy writing.

It has been an outlet. I’m not very good at sharing. Sharing my thoughts. Sharing my feelings. Sharing information. I’m just not very good at those things.

Last week I wrote in the blog about dads hospitalization before I told my brother that he was being admitted. Crap. I hate when I do things like that. Sitting in an hospital ED or room is a lot of just that, sitting,  so writing is a quiet way of keeping myself occupied. 

I write a lot about projects. I write about them because I want others to feel inspired and confident enough to step out of their box and try new things. I sometimes think that I’m being a show off showing all the cool stuff I’ve accomplished but really I’ve failed more than I have succeeded. I love to be an encourager. To fill people with the “want to.” The want to create new things. The want to step outside of their comfort and just do it. The want to that sometimes I still have to make myself do. 

I share details of my dads sickness not because I want everybody to know our business…..hardly. But because I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that the more people proclaiming a miracle, there can’t be enough people that know. I will forever be daddy’s girl

I love to share that I’m going to be a grandmother soon. Courtney DOES not like to be in the spotlight so I will only share the picture she allowed me to take.

Baby Jack will enter the world already loved from the top of his little head to the bottoms of his feet. We anticipate his arrival and his nursery remodel is moving ahead nicely. 

He’s been my little blueberry from the first day we knew he existed. To commemorate our little bond, I am hoping he will call me BB. 

My most favorite thing to write about are these people 

They are my heart. 

Today I had the privilege to make  a new friend over the phone. We shared our love of old houses and gardening. I offered him to check out my blog to look at the house pictures. Social media and technology gets a bad rap most of the time but if used for good, it can create friendships over the miles. It can connect people that might not ever have met or gotten know someone. It allows people to know a little about your life even if to just say a quick prayer for my sweet daddy. 

Blog world is larger than this girl can begin to fathom but tonight it feels like a small little piece of my world. Welcome to the blog Nick. 

Love,

The girl who is feeling mighty blessed tonight