one day at a time, one step at a time, one breath at a time. keep breathing, keep loving, keep moving forward. baby steps.

Its been a while. It will probably continue to be a while because I just don't feel like BLOGGING.

After receiving some difficult news concerning us, I found out a good friend of mine had passed away. He was killed in a head on collision. We had known each other for a very long time. He was an incredible person. Absolutely extraordinary. His smile, his laugh, the way he lived life, the way he loved... He was one of the good ones. We didn't always agree on everything but that never affected our friendship. Every night I pray so very hard for his family, his friends, for myself, for anyone and everyone that has been affected by his passing. Its been extremely hard for me to accept that he is in fact, gone. It seems far too long a wait to see him again. Kale is irreplaceable. The love he left in our hearts is small consolation for the gaping hole left in our lives but the plan our Heavenly Father has for us makes up for it. Its hard to feel that way every moment that sadness and sorrow creeps in but it is in fact, the best gift given to us all. I know Kale is in a better, happier place, doing what he has to and what he can to bring smiles and love to all those surrounding him now. Until we meet again my friend, love to you always.

Cody's Post

Cody has been taking care of me lately. I mean he always does, but more than usual. We got some news that is hard to deal with and I just have not been up to my usual wifeliness. He's been helping so much with laundry and cooking and gives me lots of back rubs. He is beyond phenomenal. He cooked rice and orange chicken (from scratch) the other night and took pictures with his new phone and told me to blog them. He hates when I brag about him but he deserves it and so much more. It was delicious and just a small part of everything he has been doing lately. I love you baby!!

My DIY Projects!!

I love love love all of my decor blogs I stalk. They have fantastic ideas and most are so easy for DIY and super cheap. I found this fantastic post on the DIY Show Off with a full tutorial and knew I just had to do it.

This is the post link: http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/2010/01/diy-chair-and-headboard-love.html

I love the look of a tufted headboard and it seemed simple enough for me to pull together. After a couple weeks of dreaming, sketching, planning, and saving, Cody and I went to purchase all of the things I needed. With the wood, foam, batting, glue, yards and yards of black vinyl (leather is scary expensive), a new electric staple gun, wire, screws, a set of upholstery needles, and leather buttons I found online, the grand total came to 117 $$.

Getting ready to start


measuring and drilling the holes took the second longest amount of time on assembling the entire thing.


foam and batting now on it


the vinyl upside down getting ready to be attached


all of the upholstery now done


ta-dah!


buttons, buttons, buttons... the buttons took me a collective four or five hours. for fifteen buttons. it was ridiculously frustrating and my fingers are seriously raw but i love the finished look.




I used a piece of the extra wood, sanded it down, then used extra spray paint I had from the frames.


I used these stencils I got at hobby lobby



It took me a while to detach our current wood planks then attach the new headboard by myself but i did it and it looks amazing!

I love love love the way it turned out. I need to get a gloss spray to finish it off but it goes great with the way I'm redoing our room.


The room will be even more fantastic looking when my new bedding (late birthday from my lovey love) gets here. I can't wait!

Early Morning Cobbler

I got up a few Saturdays ago, long before Cody, and made a wonderful discovery. I found this delicious recipe for oven baked berry cobbler and instantly decided to make it. It was super delicious. I also added some vanilla to the batter and on top sprinkled cinnamon along with the sugar. It really was so good.

I found the recipe here: http://marinscreations.blogspot.com/2010/01/triple-berry-cobbler.html

My Love

I love Cody. So much. He is the sweetest, most caring person ever.

Example: He poured me a bowl of alpha-bits and spelled out love in my spoon.

He is uber smart, a math genius, and extremely clever. He also is the biggest smart alec. When he has these smart alec moments (multiple daily), I try to be mad but I can't keep a straight face long enough. He comes up with the funniest things but when he says them, he is dead serious.

Example: I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. Cody had a big glass of Gatorade. Later I opened the refrigerator and saw his glass of Gatorade. I picked it up to get a drink.... and it was completely empty. E M P T Y. I took it into the living room and asked Cody why the heck he had put an empty glass in the fridge. Was it because he really didn't want to open the dishwasher? His response? "It has the potential to be full Chelle." I couldn't even muster up enough facial muscles to try to scowl.

The second example is just as much reason for my immense love for him as the first.