some rambling thoughts / we made ornaments (now you make some too)

One of the first memories I have with my step-mom is making salt dough Christmas ornaments with her and my step-brother the first Christmas she and my Dad were married. He and I were 4 and 5 and we didn't do a perfect job, but they were ours and they were special. Many of those ornaments still hang on their tree today. 

The most mysterious thing about the Christmas season is how memories and feelings are resurrected that otherwise lay dormant. It's a mixed bag of all the intense feelings of awe and wonder and happiness combined with the hurts of life and memories - good and bad - that the sounds, smells and sights of Christmas can bring, and the presence or absence of someone or something is so radically amplified. It's like life goes on steroids for a few weeks. I've said so much in the last few posts, but I am really allowing all that needs to come up and be healed this season to be released. Seems like I am crying at every song that was the soundtrack to the Christmases of my childhood, or those that talk about Jesus and the message of Christmas. Actually just intentionally listening to Christmas music in the car when I am travelling alone leaves me in a mess of tears at some point. The thing is I am not sure what kind of tears these are, they are just tears, so I let them come, and then they're done, and that's it. It's sort of become my therapy for now.

In my last post I shared some of my favorite ornaments and how during one of the worst years of my life (in the quality of my living) I worked a part time second job at Pier One during the Christmas season to fund my drug habit and would have this deep longing in my soul for home - being around all of their incredible stuff, being so broke but daydreaming about being a legitimate grown up decorating my own place and wondering how I would ever have the money to do that kind of thing. The ornament section had so many pretty things and so one day I used my employee discount and spent I think a little over $100 on ornaments. This was a huge splurge for me and I can remember filling my cart and having to put so many back. But, I still bought a bunch. I still have many of those ornaments to this day and putting them on my tree reminded me that there was still some life and humanity and warmth inside of that young woman who was oh-so lost at the time. I have a story to tell about them... if they survive the years. It is something good that happened during something very bad. 

So this year as part of my attempts to make this season memorable, I wanted to make some ornaments with the kids... something that would last, to be remembered as being made during this tumultuous season - hallmarks, if you will. This is such an inexpensive way to decorate your tree, but in reality this is not why I had them do this. Capturing these little artists' work has infinite value. So what could be better?

We did a couple of things. 

First, we collected pine cones from my parents' yard when they were in town last, painted them and glittered them. The kids did the painting and I did the glittering. I ended up using these for the mantle but when I pack things away this year I am going to add wire to them to hang on the tree next season.

Secondly, we made salt dough. It's super easy. You mix up the dough, roll it flat on a floured surface, use cookie cutters to cut shapes for your ornaments, poke holes in them so you can hang them and then bake them for an hour. Once they've cooled you can paint them, glitter them, glue stuff on them, whatevs. 

As you'll see below, the kids (and I) had a ball. We hope you'll make some memories yourself ... take a walk in the woods and get some pine cones together... whip up a batch of salt dough and spend an afternoon making ornaments together. :) Totally free and yet priceless when they're finished.

Google "salt dough" and you'll find a million creative ideas for grown ups as well as kids. I am happy to keep it simple and kid oriented, but if you get a wild hair, follow it!

Salt Dough Recipe

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients and slowly mix in warm water. Once blended, roll into a ball and knead until smooth on a floured surface. Roll flat and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 for one hour. Cool and then decorate as desired!

painting pine cones... and himself.

Noah's mess

I had fun too!

Not sure why Noah was crying except that he probably wanted to run and was covered in paint so I wouldn't let him.

just some of our pine cones 

The finished salt sough ornaments - we painted, glittered, and glued colored glass and stuff to them.

it's about to get political up in here.

Up to about six weeks ago, my vote was decided. I passionately supported and advocated for Ron Paul throughout the primaries and was even a delegate to the Cherokee County convention, and selected to be a delegate to the State and alternate to District. I have a friend who went to the National convention. I saw and heard firsthand accounts (videos, photos, first person updates) of the corruption there. I do believe so very much in everything Ron Paul represents. I respect the momentum that he has gained over the last couple of elections. It saddened me that he was squashed and silenced by the ignorance of the American voter, the media, and even by his own party. I was determined to write him in yesterday, and leave it at that. I thought I would respect myself more in the morning. 

But then the first Obama/Romney debate happened. I didn't want to pay it any attention. And then I watched it later, and saw how Romney really spoke clearly and articulately about the state of the economy versus the state of things in the last four years. It wasn't that he swayed me with his words. He made me do some serious thinking about my life and what it meant to stand for what I had been standing for. That the issues and things that I was passionate about really may have contradicted the way we ACTUALLY live... I had the realization that on one hand I was shouting about how we need less government and a return to the Constitution, and on the other hand, we were on unemployment, food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid all at once. We took advantage of the available government benefits and those benefits seriously floated us through the hardest times...

I began to recognize that my political mentality was extremely disconnected from my actual reality. I was in a sort of political denial about how the last four years had affected our family... 

All the things that had happened to our family since September 2009... somehow those things were not in the forefront of my mind when I considered how I would be voting this election. Why? I don't know. You see, in September 2009, I was laid off from my fancy corporate job. I'd been there for 9 years, had been laid off once and brought back during the 2001/2002 recession. Our income dropped by about 70% after that layoff. After I went on unemployment, our income was still down by about 50%. I started my cake business and took care of my nephew to make a little money. Things were tight, but okay. Then my husband lost his job in late July 2010. I was 7 months pregnant with Noah. He was a contracted worker at that job so he couldn't get unemployment. There was no two week notice. He was simply told not to come back to work. He worked in the health insurance industry. After the Affordable Care Act was passed, the health insurance companies he worked for didn't want to pay the same commissions, so he was laid off. 

So around the time our baby boy was born, we were down to living on just my unemployment, and on food stamps. My kids had been on Medicaid for over a year. Once Noah was born we were on WIC too. We were probably receiving the equivalent of $2K in government benefits each month. My husband was trying his hand in the insurance industry but without salary. I was taking care of very small children during the day and night and couldn't see how I could work and do cakes and take care of my nephew (well, I guess that was working). There was no income outside of these benefits. Eventually, the mortgage stopped getting paid. Eventually, we started getting foreclosure notices. We scrambled to get out of our home into a place where we could live and try to get on our feet and try to sell the house. We were receiving handouts left and right from concerned friends and had an amazingly supportive family. There were many hard times during that period.

The truth is, the benefits we received from the government were a lifesaver. I understand why people want and need government help to get by through hard times. So many benefits... SO wanting to not need them, but so desperate.  It truly saved us and took the edge off of our financial strain. I understand where the need comes in for these benefits AND I also understand how being on them can make it hard to see a way out of poverty and welfare... when you receive $700 a month in food stamps, $1300 in unemployment, $200+ in WIC vouchers and untold medical costs covered by Medicaid, and you sit down and realize that you need to make $40K+ a year just to have enough cash after taxes to cover these expenses WITHOUT the benefits in place, it can be a daunting thing. It can make being on welfare VERY comfortable. It means that neither my husband or I had to work two jobs (even though maybe we should have been), made us available to our children, meant we had time to work on the place we had to move into when foreclosure was imminent... meant that Jason could pursue a commission only job because the unemployment was there... It became -- not comfortable... it was always slightly uncomfortable paying with the EBT card... I was always grocery shopping late at night to cash in all my WIC vouchers so I didn't hold up the line during busy hours...  always a little pride swallowing going on every time I had to drag my kids to the Labor Department or WIC Office... always explaining away to family and friends why things weren't better... It was never comfortable... but inside, we had the safety net and all of those experiences were worth the security of health care for my kids, food on the table, and money to keep the lights on and gas in our cars. 

If we hadn't had the option of being on these benefits, I wonder how we might have handled our desperation differently. Would a greater level of desperation have caused us to fight harder for our family's financial future? Would that pain have been worth it and would we be better off now than we actually are? Part of me thinks we would be, but the other part of me thinks it helped us maintain some sort of dignity. Would having absolutely nothing have triggered a drive within us to do anything and everything to get out of this hole? The answer is obvious. Although I know we would never have been left homeless, I still think that fire would have been hotter under our butts to get the cash flowing and provide for ourselves.

So when I really started thinking about what it would mean for me to write in Ron Paul... what it would mean for our family, for our economy... what it means is that the bailouts and propping up of the economy through TARP that happened in 2008/2009 and further stimulus that has happened since might not have happened... it would have meant that the economy would have been allowed to hit rock bottom... something that many economists say might have been the best thing for this "free market". For the market to have tanked the way it should have and rebuilt itself on its own would have ensured a real robust and stable recovery for the economy. On a micro level, it would have meant the same for our family... I am pretty sure. But that vote literally would contradict the very way we had been living... looking the gift horse in the mouth so to speak... saying "lower taxes! no more government handouts! smaller government!" while being the quintessential recipient of government welfare benefits... again, can we say DENIAL?

So, I stopped certifying for unemployment in August 2011 because of the weight on my conscience even though I was eligible to continue certifying. I stopped getting WIC for that reason too. Honestly, it has been hard to let go of food stamps and Medicaid for my kids. But the thing with us is that WE WANT TO BE OFF OF THEM. We talk about even letting them go... allowing our family to struggle without taking anymore from the government... to rebuilt in a way that means we fight for every penny that we have. Even though it's comfortable, WE DON'T WANT TO CONTINUE RECEIVING HELP FROM THE GOVERNMENT. We want our little micro-economy to thrive and flourish. We want to be done with this season, even though we know that even if nothing ever changes, God is still good, and he still loves us, and is still for us, and we can trust him no matter what the outcome... whether things change or they don't change... he is still so good and that he is ENOUGH. Coming to a place of acceptance of where we are, and not wanting out has been one of the hardest lessons to learn, and one that I continue to learn. 

In order for us to get off food stamps, outside of just telling them we don't want them anymore (VERY hard right now with only $1000 a month income and I am sure very hard for others in the same position, so I DO understand people who want more government and voted for Obama), we need income. We need Jason's efforts as a sort of investment broker for OneCare to continue to be fruitful. We need a stronger economy. We need investors who feel confident enough to invest in the company my husband has been trying to raise capital for... We need corporations - large and small - who feel their futures are bright enough that they want to hire, not freeze hiring or God-forbid, lay people off because they are on the docket for being taxed to death to pay for Obamacare. 

And as I speak, the DOW is down 360 points. The markets are sliding. The confidence level of investors now that Obama has been re-elected is not there. In conjunction with the fact that Obama has plans to tax the hell out of the rich - BTW - the folks that EMPLOY PEOPLE and INVEST in small business and fuel the growth of new business... this also means that the Dodd-Frank bill is here to stay, and the banks are going nuts. 

If this isn't an indication on whether or not the free market feels like they're going to be in a climate for growth in the next four years, I don't know what is. 

And I'm scared.

And it was this fear that led me to change my vote a few weeks ago. A friend of mine said something that really resonated with me when I was on the fence about things. She said, "we have to stop the bleeding". And it really caused me to reflect, not only on where my family is and has been, and the precipice we are currently on that is directly contingent on the confidence of investors, and where we hope to be going in the next year, but on the fact that we are NOT better off than we were four years ago. The Federal Reserve remains unchecked, pumping the economy full of printed money, artificially propping things up... and this will eventually lead to further recession, further struggle for Americans, the devaluing of the dollar and inflation.

This is all that Obama has offered my micro-economy... artificial prop-up and hand-outs. Hear me right - we applied for them and are thankful for them and we understand how hard it is to let them go, but the reality of what this has meant for us on both the micro and macro level is really starting to hit me... and we are realizing decisions need to be made. To do on a smaller level what we hope to achieve on a larger level... 

I voted for Romney yesterday... something I swore up and down that I would never do. But I did. And I am proud that I did. I voted for the future of my family. I am proud that I voted for where I want to be, and not where I am. I am proud that I voted for someone who had the credentials and experience to take something broken and turn it around. Bain Capital is a private equity firm... they took public companies, acquired them and bought out their shareholders, fixed them up to make them profitable and brought them public again. That's capitalism at work. I didn't want to admit it, but he was the lesser of the two options provided ... the current road meant the chances of more struggle were real. The option of Romney meant an increase in confidence for the folks that could directly affect our family's future. That's what I feel that this country needed. That's what I believe the more promising option that would give us the confidence to get off of food stamps and Medicaid and get back on our feet again. Where it would have hurt my pride to admit that I voted for Romney in the past, now I feel like I woke up to the reality that sometimes you have to work the  imperfect system in order to get the best results with the options at hand. Romney was the option at hand to help turn this thing around. But America wanted something different. 

And today, I am reeling from it. The market is reeling from it. This is what America wanted. And this is what they'll get. All of the social issues mean nothing if the basic well being of the people of this nation can't feed and clothe themselves and have the dignity of employment and housing. In which case, they might want the bigger government and all of its benefits. And my fear is that "they've" got us right where they want us. Dependent and stagnant with nowhere to go. 

And that is all I've got to say about that. 

But before I close... please know, I understand why people voted for Obama. I get it. I get why his "plans" appeal to many. I get all the social issues attached to being a Democrat vs a Republican that get people all riled up. I am neither Democrat or Republican. I chose this platform to share my thoughts on the outcome of this election and how I feel it will affect my family's future. And your future. God have mercy on us all. 

Read more posts about this last year here. 

the sweet spot

(no, this is not what I am writing about today, however, this does seem like a pretty sweet set up!)

I've written a lot here about money, our financial struggles, and the seemingly endless transition we seem to have been in over the last few years. You've heard me belly ache about having to walk away from carts full of groceries when the food stamp money didn't come in when I thought it would, almost losing our house to foreclosure, moving, and just about every financially-induced stress I felt inclined to write about. Maybe I've done a lot of complaining. But the truth is, I am seriously looking for God in this situation... this "situation" that has turned into the day to day life... it has become our new normal, dragging on now for so long. Furthermore, there is no proverbial light at the end of this tunnel... We are as stretched thin on time and resources now as we ever have been. But, there is a sort of settling into this place that has occurred. Not because we are content with our circumstances, but because in the striving to GET OUT of this personal economic crisis, my Abba has shown up, and he has been speaking, and showing up, and purging, and keeping us vulnerable in a way that at this moment, as I write, I think I am okay with. And I think I am okay with it ending on his timing... like, if it never ends... I am starting to be okay with it...

Since I last poured out my heart about the uncertainty of this season, I have been trying to find the sweet spot of contentment... My old and dear friend Karen said something to me back in May after hearing me express my frustration with the start/stop, back and forth cash flow into our household. She said that she only found peace and joy in her circumstances when she finally embraced where she was at - that things may never change, and coming to peace with that. She was able to come to that place because Jesus was enough ... enough to meet all of her needs, enough to FULFILL and even EXCEED her needs, even to bless her to overflowing. Since that moment, her words have resonated throughout my mind and spirit... it revealed a great deficit in me of trust in God, a great restlessness that was the result of too much trust in cash flow, job stability, Jason's efforts, and my fear of judgment. It revealed SO MUCH that I have been chewing on that one thing almost exclusively for two months. I have really had to face the fact that I don't want to be happy here. I don't want to be okay with this - I am NOT okay with this, I am NOT okay with NOT eventually having the things that I want in life; having my dreams fulfilled. I mean, after all, I am not asking to be rich. I just want a backyard for my kids to play in, big enough for a garden and some chickens and to be able to go to the beach once a year. I am not asking for much, God! I mean, I believe you want to bless me. Don't you want to bless me? Isn't that your WILL? 

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the "what - ifs"... what if this is all there is for us - what if things never change... there is no golden ticket, no way out, no fulfillment of dreams, no 2 acres, nothing else... what if? Could I accept this and be content? It has challenged me as I analyze the things I'm banking on, and how tied to those things materializing are joy and peace and happiness. The truth is, we have it better than almost anyone in our situation. The truth is, this is not that bad. The truth is, "things never changing" is not bad... We don't have it "that bad", is what I tell myself. Working four or five nights a week and being away from my kids and missing them? There are single moms who work TWO jobs and never see their children. Wanting a better life for my kids and my family and a place to roam free? Yep. There are lots of people that want that that could or would never have the opportunity for that dream to become a reality. It's not that bad, I tell myself. In fact, I've wrestled with the reality that Jesus never promised us a nice, cushy life. In fact in reflecting on the life of Jesus, we're likely to find a wanderer, homeless, rejected, scorned, poor... you get the picture. He was "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief"...

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

...so for me to think that it is my RIGHT to have all of these things I desire... who am I kidding? 

Yet deep in my spirit, there is this heart that wants the resources to be able to radically change someone's circumstances... radically bless them and rescue them...take away the sting of financial struggle for people in a profound way... give them the leg up in society that only a radical heart giving radically because it is compelled by the love of Christ could do... He knows that heart is in this chest... 

So, in this process of becoming okay with life as we know it... our new normal... me working nights and Jason working days split between two jobs - one that pays hourly and one that pays on commission, missing my children, missing my husband, being stretched thin and still struggling to pay our bills, with no real consistency financially, no real idea of when this is going to end... being eight and a half months into our move thinking and hoping that we would "be somewhere" by now... all of these struggles are dredging up a lot of deeper things that I believe Abba has been trying to get at. And somehow with him getting to the root of it all - which for us has been simple: Do you believe I am who I say that I am? Do you believe that I will do what I say I will do? Do you believe that I LOVE YOU? Will you cling to me for dear life... let me hold you when you cry... will you let me be your source of joy and happiness? Will you trust me for the process, even if there is no prize at the end? Am I enough? 

Is Jesus ENOUGH? 

Then comes this devotional from Jason's mentor and dear friend, Gary, last week, on a particularly hard day for us both... 

For me, I think that somehow if I can find out and do exactly what God wants, then I will be in the "sweet spot" of His will, completely blessed in unimaginable ways. Of course I have in my mind and my imagination exactly what those blessings would look like. What if God's intended blessing isn't the same blessing I would like of a happy marriage, a big house, healthy intelligent kids, nice cars, a successful business, freedom from debt, money in the bank, family vacations, and the respect of my peers. What if instead God has a completely different blessing in mind for me? ....we are usually less interested in God's will than we are in His blessing -- it is a subtle but critical distinction. Will is something we have to continue to do; blessing is the goal, the reward, and the end point. We humans and especially men are less process oriented and more focused on the end result -- in this case -- the blessing rather than the road being as much a part of the goal as the goal itself.

Cha-ching. Okay... I get it, I'm getting it... I am not sure I like it yet... but I love being vulnerable in God's hands, and watching him doing all that he's doing in us... I wouldn't change that for a thing. I wouldn't take the five figure commission check in exchange for what he is doing in us... and when I could say that to myself honestly the other day -- I thought maybe I had hit the sweet spot. The money doesn't excite me anymore. In fact, I might have more stress from trying to figure out what to do with a fat commission check than dealing with the process that we're in now, and all the things that I am seeing happen in Jason and the things I believe God is doing in me. 

And then, today, almost as if God was answering the deepest cries of my heart today, our pastor was talking about taking his oldest child to college this past weekend and how undone he was on the drive home. He realized that the culmination of all of his efforts to raise her right and make her complete and ready for the world had just taken place... she had just been released out of his care unto the mercies of adulthood, and as he shared I just became a puddle right there in the sanctuary. As he described how Father God was revealing that just as Tommy's heart was for his daughter to be complete, his heart as Father God is for us to be complete... And BAM... he reaches to the deepest places of my heart and says to me "I'm not finished yet"... meeting my deepest need, in the quietest place of my heart, a place I am ready to surrender to Him, and give back to Him, being okay with whether or not He does anything with it... and somehow he says, "you can have it back, I am not finished with it yet"... 

I feel like I am reaching the sweet spot of this place of learning to be content and okay ... It is only the love of Jesus that brings me hope, peace and comfort. He is enough, and all I need. I'm so in love with what he is is doing with my husband. I am so in love with what he is doing in our children. I am so in love with what he is doing in me, and watching him move is more exciting than anything I could ever be a part of. 

And I am so in love with HIM.

hope for my face

Another exciting something I learned today on the internet came from a post I found over on She Breathes Deeply about the "Oil Cleansing Method" of skin care. Truthfully, I have had horrendous skin off and on since I was about 16 or 17 years old. The only break I have ever had from it has been during pregnancy, nursing, right after my period starts and moments of God's grace. I have tried EVERYTHING. Since I weaned Noah, my skin has gone nuts again. I have been broken out now for the last two months it seems without any kind of break. I know I am seriously stressed out. AND I know I am not eating right, taking any good supplements or drinking enough water - all of which will help. But I've also noticed changes in my skin since I had Noah - weird patches of dry flaky skin and then really broken out areas. It just sucks. In conjunction with my lack of hair which I should never have cut off, my totally shrunken boobs post nursing Shiloh for 21 months, then pregnancy, then nursing another year, then weaning, and my broke out face, I just feel so ugly right now! 

All of this being said I came across this post and got excited, thinking it might be a huge help to my skin. The approach makes total sense - that oil dissolves oil... naturally, water does not dissolve oil, so chemicals and soaps are used in typical facial cleansers to strip it away. Which is really not a good thing, because then your skin over produces the oils that should be there that were stripped away, and this may result in breakouts. You can read more about it here.

I decided to do an experiment and share it with you all. You get to see my broken-outness in all it's glory. And hopefully some improvement. 

You can read more about the recommended ratios here, but basically, you start with a carrier oil, usually EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and castor oil. This Castor oil is leftover from inducing labor with Noah. Glad to have it, because I was able to put the concoction together without delay. Since I am acne prone, I did 50/50 EVOO and castor oil, and about 5 drops of tea tree oil. 

...kinda pretty how the oils separated. I stored mine in an old Ball jelly jar. I may need to grab a teaspoon to keep handy because the oil is messy and drippy when trying to pour it out of the jar. 

The deal is, you basically take a little bit of it (I used about a tablespoon - you can use less or more) and massage it into your skin for 2-5 minutes. Then, you take a hot washcloth, put it over your face until it cools, and repeat a few times. Then just wipe the oil off. You will be surprised how NOT greasy your face feels. In fact I questioned whether or not I needed to moisturize afterwards. I took these before and after photos. I will do my best to keep daily photos posted so you can see the change, provided there is a change. And I hope there will be!

Something I notice in this side-by-side is that the redness in the "after" photo seems to be reduced! I noticed that in the mirror too. I haven't edited these photos in any way, just in case you might be wondering.

I am hopeful that this change will result in clearer skin for me. I took it for granted when I was preggo and nursing, but here I am. Back to reality. Hoping for an improvement... Sure would make me feel a little better.

Thanks for being sweet...

Brooke

Fall Fun with the Hammels! a Followers Fest Post :)

Hey friends! Well, today (October 28th) is the Followers Fest, hosted by the lovely Jess Gatlyn of Boho Baby Bump, Casey Wiegand from Casey Leigh, Illy from Much Love Illy and Danielle from Changing Lanes.

Today we celebrate all things fall, Halloween, whatevs, together on this super neato blog hop that I just happen to be participating in!

If this is your first time ever visiting my blog, WELCOME! I am SO glad you're here! I hope you'll be inspired and stay awhile. We are on a super crazy journey at the moment (well, always), and would love to have you along. 

If you'd like to learn more about me, you can go here. Or if you want to meet my family, head over here. Make yourself comfortable and stay awhile!

Sooo.... on to this "Fall Fun" with the Hammels :)...

Right now, we are seriously limited on fundage, so when this Follower's Fest event snuck up on me, I began brainstorming as to what kind of craft I might be able to put together for the kids, along with some yummy snacks. I needed to keep it simple, because 1) we don't have the money for me to go to the craft store (and I should stay away as much as possible :)  and 2) the only "available" crafter for the afternoon was my three year old daughter... sooo... I stumbled across this fabulous and simple craft, for which I had all the required supplies...

Actually, I had to go digging through the recycle bins to find old spaghetti jars... but I reckon that's even better! Instead of recycling these jars, we repurposed them. And what's more, if we decide to we can always wash the paint off and use the jars for something else. Even better, right? I do love me some glass jars. :)

So, we made JAR O' LANTERNS! :) Here's how!

Supplies:
glass jars
orange paint
masking tape
scissors
tea lights or battery powered tea lights
newspaper
paint brushes

1) Get pretty much ANY glass jar together. We used old spaghetti jars destined for the recycle center.

2) Cut out shapes (eyes, nose, mouth) out of masking tape and apply to the jar. Be creative! And press down so paint doesn't seep underneath (learned the hard way).

3) Get your special helper and have them apply paint to each jar. My daughter LOVED this. I can't tell you how many times she thanked me for letting her do a craft. Made me realize I don't do this enough with her. She is so precious... could paint for hours. She mixed it up from plain old orange to blue and black too. :) It was lots of fun! She painted four of the five jars.

4) Allow the paint to dry. Once dry, peel back the masking tape to reveal the face you created!

5) Drop tea lights down into the jars and enjoy your beautiful creations! One thing I like about these is you can see the different thicknesses of the paint as it was applied, which I think makes it more interesting.

After our dinner, we set a fire in the chiminea and had s'mores outside on the back desk with the kids.

The kids stayed up a bit later than usual to do the s'mores, so they weren't told about the Nutella hot chocolate (inspired from a pic I saw on Pinterest) that I had planned to make. After they were tucked snuggly into their beds, I tried my hand at my first cup of this incredible and delicious (and RICH) delight. Can I just say, YUM!?

Here's how I made it...

I took a 10 oz mug of whole milk, warmed it to very hot on the stove, and dropped 3 rounded teaspoons of Nutella into it...

Whisk it all up until blended...

And voila!

I added some whipped cream and a shot of rum... and man, it was good. Drink slowly though. And I might add, this is NOT low calorie, so be advised!

Finally, I wanted to add a little picture of the simple and easy table centerpiece that I put together for our home. I picked up a $3 bundle of wheat, and a few gourds and mini pumpkins on sale at Publix. I put the wheat into a tall, square vase, and sat it on a large round plate, and arranged the pumpkins and gourds around  it. I kinda think it's pretty! Simple, easy, affordable, and pretty. :) I hope you think so, too.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you'll come back soon!

Much love,

Brooke

get yourself something vintage :) we're having a sale!

Come and get it while it lasts... Effective immediately, I'm running a promotion through the end of October on everything in my shop. Use promo code CHILLY15 to get 15% off! This includes all vintage wares and custom paper collages and scapes (turnaround time before shipping on custom art pieces is up to two weeks).

clementine & nellie

Email me with any questions at clementineandnellie@gmail.com!

Thanks for shopping!

<3 Brooke

more blessings.

I don't really even know how to begin this post. I have already typed and erased about five different starting sentences, in my effort to lead you into a summary of all that God has done for us in the last month. And I mean, what he has done for us both financially and in meeting our basic needs. I have to share it, because every single "doing" has been truly extraordinary: he has used people, he has used things. At a point where we felt the absolute lowest, he has come through for us and met our needs in ways that were otherwise impossible for us to attain on our own. 

There really isn't much else to do, except to just tell you about it. So, here it goes.

October 3rd: Jason runs to make a night deposit of the last major payout from finishing the remodel of his Mom's kitchen. She is paying him for the work and now the work is done. The amount is $320. Overnight $120 in overdraft fees post. Paypal transfer posts. Net balance is $240. 

October 4th: Gotta pay electricity or lights will be shut off. $180. Save the Children sponsorship posts. $28. Do the math. We are down to less than $30 and there's a check out there about to post... Starting to freak out...

My phone and email starts blowing up for stuff we've had on craigslist for OVER A MONTH...

1. We sell a couple baby toys (one that wasn't even listed, it was just visible in the pic) for $50.
2. Sold a stroller for $40.

BAM - $90. 

October 5th: THIS happens. Not good. Not a good day at all. No food stamps means all money earned goes to food, not bills. Stuff is about to get cut off!

October 6th: THIS happens. Food dropped off on our door step anonymously. An incredible blessing. 

October 7th: We've spent that $90 on food and gas and we're back down to $2 and gas flat on empty in both trucks. We sell Jason's bow for $200. It has been up for sale for over a month! Jason also makes connection with another insurance company and is granted an interview for the 10th.

October 8th: My birthday. Blessed with money for groceries from my parents (both sets).

October 9th: Blessed with more food from food pantry at our church. We were able to give some to the pantry and take as we needed and are so grateful. 

October 10th: Jason goes for an interview. Outcome is very positive for the future although not providing immediate work. We are hopeful.

October 12th: I begin my first job with Apron Strings Cakery, making more doing just cake decorating than I would if I did it myself... Jason's pay from previous week's work deposited, and eaten up immediately by bills.

October 14th: Receive my first pay check for the groom's cake from hell, a great profit margin and I really really like my new "boss". :)

Come home exhausted from the venue, to find THIS!!! My counter filled with groceries! There simple are no words, we have been so greatly blessed and provided for!!

October 15th: Rush to the bank to deposit pay from cake, we are back down to nothing ($). Get a call from said boss, last minute bride needs a groom's cake ASAP. We originally thought we were going to do this wedding but bride never confirmed... until the DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING. New boss wants to give me the entire amount for the cake, instead of just for decorating it. I make more on it this way than if I had just decorated it. Comes RIGHT ON TIME... once again, down to nothing, and the opportunity to earn a good pay comes along. 

and then... I receive this message in my inbox:

Hi! So randomly the other night I couldn't sleep and you kept popping up in my mind... Odd I thought! It's weird how random people pop in the mind sometimes... But then it felt different . So strongly I felt god telling me to mail you 300 dollars. I thought .. Hmm weird. The next day I went to your page to just check things out... I began to see you post things about money trouble. Still I felt weird emailing you . Ever since that day I of course lay in bed and pray.. And there you are again in my head! God wants you to have a specific amount.. 300 dollars. It's yours Brooke! Please do not turn me down  I need your address and Monday a money order for 300 will be on it's way to your home. My husband has been blessed to come from a family that owns a somewhat large business. I know you need that money right now and I am not gonna blatantly ignore Jesus! Also I feel like telling you there is a certain song you've been listening to or are going to hear soon that's lyrics are gonna hit home with how your heart feels lately... Not sure what that means, but I have a feeling you do! Much love from Colorado! I expect an address in my inbox soon!!

What can I say? I am floored. I have no words. 

Today is October 17th. Jason JUST walked in the door from a meeting with someone about further opportunities with this insurance company he interviewed with last week. He has another phone interview tomorrow. Nothing is immediate yet. But things SEEM to be moving forward...

This month, total we have been given and legitimately earned as much as we need so far to keep bills paid and come out of pocket some for some supplemental food items and gas. Nothing adds up, but somehow we have made it this far... 

I don't understand it, but I thank God for it. 

God provides.

I cannot even express how tired I am, but I am going to take the time to mention this before I go to bed... I am going to try to be quick, though that is hard for this long winded gal.

I spent hours working on a grooms cake for a wedding that was this evening. Spent some great time in the car with my new "boss"-ish, and her husband, getting to know them... delivered my salvaged cake from hell, added a few embellishments which turned out perfectly, and such.

Got a call earlier today while at my MIL's condo (we are trying to move her this weekend), from the new boss, that the second wedding we thought we weren't doing, suddenly we are, and can I do the groom's cake by 5PM TOMORROW!! I say no, but then my MIL encourages me, we talk $$, and I'll be making a good bit, so I agree. So now I am working on yet another groom's cake, but with it being last minute, I make a good bit more on it than if it had been planned. It's totally stressful, and I am running on no sleep due to Noah's teething and this cake, but God is TOTALLY looking out, because we were once again down to $2 today... Last time we were down to $2, he came thru when we sold Jason's bow. Today, he came thru with a nice payout from the cake I did today, and I will be getting a nice payout from the cake I will finish for tomorrow's wedding...

But that's not all.

Earlier today I received a call from a friend of ours, Tyler, who wanted to drop something off to us... this is not typical... we usually just see her at dog training or during random canoeing trips down the Etowah river. I told her we wouldn't be home, but I left the house open for her to get in... she said she didn't want to leave what she had for us out on the porch....

Long story short, I come home from delivering this cake... three nights of 4 hours of sleep are catching up with me... I realize the night is going to be long... I am weary. Tyler is sitting in my living room when I come in. I walk into the kitchen... and this is what I see:

I am floored. Tons of groceries, on the counter, in the fridge and freezer... a basket with toiletries and the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness", and a vase of pretty mums. What can I say? There are no words. I am beyond thankful. The timing is totally God, using Tyler and friends to bless us. We had just deposited our last bit of what was supposed to be grocery money to cover a check that I had written earlier in the week. And $2 was left.

This is the second time in two weeks that we have had food dropped off to us. This is the third time in two weeks that we have been down to $2 or less to our name and somehow, money comes in. $200 for Jason's bow that we'd been trying to sell for months. $375 in savings bonds Jason had forgotten about for five years, and now the work that I have been given the opportunity to do, at last minute, to help us have a good cushion to pay bills from.

What can I say, except God provides. Like my friend Jessi over at Naptime Diaries said, he brings it, right on time, not too soon, not too late, but right on time, and just what we need.

I thanked Him tonight. My Daddy is good. :)