My Window Frame
12.11.12
I have these 2, big, empty walls in my dining room. The room itself is only large enough for the table and chairs, or I would put a side board or hutch or something there. My sister-in-law got me thinking outside the box last Christmas when we went to her house and she had just hung an old, antique door on the wall of their outside patio. A friend of hers painted the picture above on the door and I thought it was just beautiful! And something like that would be perfect for my dining room.
So I went on a search to find the perfect door. I’m not much of a shopper of antique stores, but I do love to find a good bargain online, so that’s where I started. Unfortunately, most of what I found was out of state, and even if the price was decent, the shipping was crazy! I got a bit discouraged until I was on Instagram one day and saw something else I liked. It was an old window this time. Painted into a chalk board/picture frame. Very cute! And even though it wouldn’t be large enough for the long wall, it would be just the right size for the other one.
As luck would have it, my parents replaced the windows in their garage this summer and they were giving the old ones away. The first thing I did was wash and scrub, wash and scrub, wash and scrub until I felt like all the nasty garage-ness had been removed. Then I sanded them down and hosed them off once more.
I had to decide which side I wanted to paint as the chalk board. Windows are not identical on the front and back. I thought it would be nice to have a little ledge to put the chalk on when it wasn’t being used, so that’s how I made my decision. I had some old chalk board paint from when we painted the kids’ playroom when Savannah was 2 and Emery was still in utero. I wasn’t sure if it had gone bad, but thought it was worth a try. It ended up taking 3 coats to cover, but it turned out just fine, so I’m guessing it’s still good!
Next I painted the frame portion. (I don’t suppose it matters if you paint the chalk board or the frame first, I just know I’m not the neatest painter in the world, so I was able to cover any paint splatter on the frame just once instead of having to go back and touch it up.) I knew I wanted the final product to be a sort of white-wash-blue color, but first I had to give the window a fresh coat of paint. I had some of the dining room trim paint in the basement, so I went with that. After it dried, I applied the blue. But not with a paint brush. I dipped a rag into the paint and rubbed it on. That’s how I got what I call the “white wash” look.
The only thing left to do was take some pictures for the bottom portion. On Thanksgiving, I was taking snapshots of the kids and my sister offered to take a few of the kids and me. Normally I do not put pictures of myself up around the house. I don’t know why. It’s just strange to hang pictures of yourself… and I’m so critical, I rarely have a picture I like well enough anyways!
The picture part of this whole thing was the trickiest. The window panes are not the same size as prints can be ordered in. I had the choice of either ordering 8×10 prints, which would have been too small (this would have been okay… I could have left it where you could see the wall behind it), or the way I ended up doing it was to order 16×20 prints, and crop them down. The original Instagram picture actually didn’t have the prints behind the glass. She had put snapshots in various positions attached to the front. I also saw some ideas that included corkboard over the panes and one lady took a couple of the panes out and put chicken wire in, then she attached little notes and such with tiny clothes pins. Also very cute, but way too much work for me!
Once I finished my project I realized I didn’t have any chalk. A few days later we were out running errands so I picked some up and came home to see how the chalk board worked. And guess what? It does! Yay!!! The last thing I have to do is put something on the back so I can hang it up. I talked to a woman who has framed prints for me in the past and she has offered to do this for me. I’m taking it to her next week, so hopefully I’ll have this thing hung by Christmas! It’s like a gift for myself!
My Thoughts after the 2012 Election
11.07.12
Last night, President Obama was elected to a second term. It was not my vote, but that’s how democracy works. From what I can tell, his supporters feel like he cares about them and understands their needs.
But here’s how I see it:
In 1999 I started working for a local homebuilder. My job was to oversee the contracts, order the correct upgrades, keep the field agents up to date, and make sure the mortgage company and lawyer’s office had everything they needed to close on time. I loved my job! (It is also where I met my husband… so that was like a little bonus!)
About 6 months into my work there, I began getting offers on houses that included a form stating that the builder agreed to pay all closing costs. Not only that, the builder also agreed to pay back a 1% fee to this new government program designed around the idea that “everyone deserves a homeâ€.
Confused… I asked the real estate agents about it. They explained to me that this was a program started under the Clinton administration to make sure every American has a chance to own their own home. And under the program rules, all the builder has to do is increase the cost of the home to cover the expenses of the closing costs and 1% government fee.
It seemed a little strange to me. I mean, doesn’t everyone already have the opportunity to own a home? Get a good job, save enough for a down payment, and maintain a decent credit score. It’s the same rules for everybody.
At first we only received a few of these offers. But once word got out, it seemed like every other contract had a government form attached. There was one subdivision in particular, our most inexpensive homes, and probably 90% of buyers in there wanted to be a part of this program.
I remember one day going into the office next to mine, where the girl did our accounting, and discussing the long term affects of such a thing.
“Janeen, these people are going into new homes that are upside down. They are worth less than the loan amount. I can’t believe the banks are agreeing to this. What is the incentive for the homeowner to maintain the home? Or pay the note on time? They have absolutely nothing invested. I’ll bet you anything that entire subdivision is foreclosed in 5 years.â€
Foreshadowing? Perhaps. But I didn’t realize it at the time. The homebuilding business boomed for the next 7 years. We could barely build them fast enough. “Everyone deserves a home†became the norm and it was rare to accept a contract the old fashioned way. With a down payment.
A few years into my job as construction coordinator, I decided to venture out into the world of home mortgages. It seemed like a natural progression to become a loan officer. Afterall, my husband was building the houses. If I could get the mortgage, we could keep it all in the family. Cha-ching! Right?
Well, after less than 6 months, I quit. I don’t care how much money we could make, it wasn’t worth it. I couldn’t sleep at night. Even after already working with homeowners and mortgage companies in the years prior, I was shocked to see exactly the carelessness being placed on homeownership.
I worked with several potential buyers. I saw their credit reports. And I’m not judging them, but they needed help. It was obvious they had not been taught how to manage their money. Yet, “the rules†stated they were eligible to own a home. And not just any home, because by this time, we were no longer talking about starter homes. They were putting contracts on houses in the $250,000-$300,000 range with all the upgrades! And this was perfectly legit?!?!?!
I felt like I was setting these people up to fail. Sure, maybe they could make their house payment, but what about food and electricity and all the credit card debt they were only making the minimum payment on? How were they supposed to furnish their home? And pay the yearly homeowners association dues? I truly saw the heartless side of the financing industry.
In 2007, we all began to see the effects of greed portrayed in the light of “entitlementâ€. What I projected would happen in a small subdivision in Georgia, happened all over the United States. It’s sickens me to think that if someone like me, with no more than a high school education, could figure it out, certainly those with their Ivy League diplomas knew what was coming. And yet did nothing to stop it.
For the past 4 years I’ve thought it unfair that George W. Bush has been blamed for the economic crash only because it happened during his term. The program that started it all, was approved under Bill Clinton. But up until recently, I did not know who the person was that fought to make “everyone deserves a home†a reality. He was a young ambitious lawyer out of Chicago. None other than Barack Obama.
Hmmmm… now that’s interesting, isn’t it? As he continues to show frustration over the debt he inherited from Bush… he is partly to responsible for it. As he continues give away more entitlements… he again, isn’t solving any problems. What if, instead of concentrating his energy on a program that GAVE everybody a home, Obama would have put about programs to help people manage their money? Then people could have worked hard, bought their house, and had the ability to KEEP it.
How can a person say he cares about people when everything he does keeps them in a constant needy state? Think about Obama’s childhood. Single mother. Poor family. He had to break many barriers to get where he is today. But instead of using that to help others free themselves from the same cycle of poverty, he does everything in his power to keep the ball rolling. And they love him for it.
I just don’t understand.
Retreat Recap
08.04.12
We’ve been home from the Lighthouse Family Retreat for a week now. It was so much fun! We met some amazing people… the other volunteer families as well as the families who are battling cancer. Every day we played, laughed, ate (A LOT), swam, danced, ate (some more), helped, encouraged, loved, and slept like babies.
It was an exhausting week physically and for me, mentally too. You see, midway through our week I got an email from my mom telling me that my aunt Sharon lost her battle with cancer. She was diagnosed earlier this year with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was doing so well in her treatment that her death came as a shock to everyone. It was at that moment that I understood what these retreat families were dealing with. The constant fear of what could be.
The children with cancer all had approval from their doctors to be with us at the beach. They were all healthy enough to play the games and be around lots of other kids. But so was my aunt Sharon. She updated her Facebook page all the time with pictures and things she planned to do on any given day. Occasionally she would post “I HATE CANCER”, but most often she was upbeat and positive about the changes in her life. In her last FB post she told how she had cooled off in her friend’s pool and then gone home to take a nap before dinner. And then it was over.
The reality of what it must be like to have a child with cancer overwhelmed me. I looked at each of them a little differently. Not to pity them, but to truly take in each moment with them. To see life as the gift that it is. And to be thankful for the health of my own kids.
The family we were blessed to serve last week is the Ethridge family. Their 3 year old daughter, Brynlee, was diagnosed with leukemia 5 months ago. I’ve been following them on Facebook since our return and her mom is asking for prayers right now that Brynlee’s bloodwork numbers will improve. They are still too low for her to have another chemo treatment and as of this week, it is putting them 4 weeks behind schedule. Please say a pray for this sweet, precious child and her parents who are enduring the very thing we fear the most. And if you’d like to follow her too, her website is here.
Lighthouse Family Retreat
07.21.12
Tomorrow the kids and I are headed to the Gulf. Unfortunately, Jeremy has to man the store and cannot get away for an entire week. We will be meeting a group of volunteers down there from Lighthouse Family Retreat. I found out about this organization through a friend of mine who attended one of their retreats 2 years ago.
I had been trying to find a way for our family to serve together. To put into action all the things I tell them about caring for other people. Being the hands and feet of Jesus. And just taking time to put others’ needs ahead of our own. Going on an overseas mission trip crossed my mind, but the expense and my irrational fear of flying nipped that in the bud.
This mission trip is only a 6 hour drive. I can definitely handle that! And it involves families just like ours. With one exception. The retreat families have a child who is fighting cancer.
Their lives have been disrupted by hospital stays, sickness and fears none of us can pretend to understand. And once that child is at a point in their treatment where the Dr gives the okay to travel, these families are offered an all expense paid vacation to the white, sandy beaches of Florida. That is where volunteer families, like ours, will be available to serve them meals, do their laundry and clean their condo’s. All so they can just relax and be together. No worries for a while. Just a normal family again.
We’ve been planning this trip since February and I wasn’t sure how much the kids were grasping about what were doing. We have prayed for our future family and asked God to make the little child well enough to go. I’ve also read to them all the literature Lighthouse Family Retreat sent me about preparing for our stay and what will be expected of us while we we’re there. It wasn’t until I saw the email above, written by Savannah to a friend she met at a homeschool event this summer, that I knew she was excited and ready to serve. And that makes me ready to serve!
