A Seed....If Planted-

I've been on a bit of a hiatus recently and I thought I should fill you in.

As some of you may know, David and I have been fervently praying for a child for the past couple of years. Month after month we would wonder if our prayer had been answered and time and time again the Lord revealed that that was not part of His plan (at least not yet). Everyone around us assured us we would get pregnant yet after 2 years of trying and still no success we decided to seek counsel in an infertility specialist. We have both undergone test after test and it was recommended to us that to increase our likely hood in having a child we should under go IVF. After prayerful consideration we decided to move forward with the IVF process.

There were some hiccups along the way as the first specialist we were seeing had deceived us as far as our financial obligation. It was a bit of a disappointment at that time, as we were informed on the day we were supposed to begin the treatments that our out of pocket would be upwards of $7,000. Yes, IVF holds a hefty price tag but we have been very Blessed by Davids health plan that we carry- they cover 100% of our infertility treatments up to $25,000. So I'm sure you could imagine our surprise when we were told that despite our insurance that they claimed they accepted we would still owe quite a big chunk of change. We prayed about the challenge we were facing and decided that at that point in time we should seek out another specialist who would indeed accept our health care coverage with no deceptions. After all, when you are dealing with infertility honesty is of up most importance as your emotions are already all over the place.

The next stop on our journey landed us on the doorsteps of ARMS (Arizona Reproductive Medical Specialist). We were assured that our health care coverage would cover all of our cost and quickly scheduled a consult with one of the doctors. After we met with the dr. we left with a much better feeling- although the dr. was brutally honest with us and told us that because of my high FSH level our chances of having a successful IVF cycle went from about 40-50% to 10-15%. We appreciated the doctors honesty because that information was never relayed to us at the office we initially started with (again, another deception from the first specialist). We decided that despite the statistics we would move forward and attempt an IVF cycle- after all, with God all things are possible. He is the creator of ALL life and no task or challenge is to great for Him to complete.

A few weeks ago we started our first attempt at IVF...thus the hiatus from blogging, from crafting, etc. This is what our life has consisted of-

Lot's of meds-
Lot's of shots-
Lot's of bruises, blood test, and ultra sounds-

And mostly- patience, trust in Gods plan for our lives, prayer, and a steadfast FAITH.

Almost 2 weeks to the day was my egg retrieval. The doctors retrieved 8 mature follicles, of the 8 mature follicles, 6 had mature eggs. Of the 6 mature eggs, 5 fertilized. Of the 5 that fertilized, 3 made it to the day 5 blastocyst stage. Of the 3 that made it to the day 5 blastocyst stage, 2 were implanted inside of me and 1 has been frozen (for a future attempt). Now it's the most difficult part- WAITING! We will know shortly if this process through the work of our Lord has answered our prayers- Until then we are praying, trusting in the Lords plan, and growing stronger in our marriage. The Lord is good. We are so Blessed to have so many people praying for us- our families, our church, and our friends- the prayer and support we have been receiving from these individuals is one of the greatest blessings of going through this process.
{David holding pics. of our embryos- Gods gift of life..Amazing}

I pray that I will finally be able to share the precious news that I have a life growing in my womb very soon with you all- I will keep you posted.

PS- I was looking through my previous blog post and I noticed that I have not been crafting for a very long time. That has changed my friends :)- I started this-
A mini book documenting this process. I'll share this with you soon too-
Hope you have all been well.

Blessings-

In my attempt to be a better 'blogger', I thought I would take advantage of these few free minutes I have before my hubby walks in the door and hop on and blog :). Admittedly I don't have anything new or exciting to report....just an ordinary day (wake up, work, come home, cook, walk the dogs, and go to bed just to do it all again tomorrow) I'm not complaining...in fact, today I've been reflecting on what a blessing it is that David and I both have jobs to wake up and go to.

Since I don't have much to share, I thought I would share one of my latest Uppercase Living projects-
I love this expression! We have it hanging in our kitchen nook and it's such a great reminder of the Faith we have in Jesus Christ- a perfect addition to our nook with the Lords Prayer written in the background.

Hope you've been having a Blessed week!

My motto for the week-

Those 3 words live.laugh.love are my motto for this week. As of late, I've been convicted of becoming consumed of 'worldly' matters/things and not taking the time to enjoy the simplest of moments. I pray fervently that the Lord would give me strength and conviction to work on my patience so that I may enjoy this life I have been blessed with. Time seems to move faster and faster- it is then that I'm reminded what life is truly about.

{The project pic. above was a fun & quick Uppercase Living project; I primed and painted some wood blocks, stuck some rub ons on them, and then added some candles- super quick and easy!)

Lifes simple pleasures-

Today I have been reminded on how beautiful life's simple pleasures really are- a true gift from God!

The day started by a trip to Maricopa's farmers market. Yep, Maricopa may be in the boonies but we do have a 'real' farmers market....it was wonderful! David and I had no idea that this little gem was only a few short blocks from home. We hope to make it a weekly trip to go and gather our produce for the week; after all we love a bargain and like to help out the local farmers. Here is a bit of what we gathered-
The afternoon was spent doing chores around home before we went to church. I don't know what it was about today but I had a keen sense of awarness of life's simple treasures. These are a few of them:
*The wonder of life as seen in this mama hummingbird nurturing her young (found her in our TexAsh tree in the front yard)

*The beautiful blooms and sweet smell of flowers
*The gorgeous sunset profiling the desert mountain scape *The sweet sound of my kitties purring *Childrens laughter
*The cold nose of my doggies felt against my skin as they give me a kiss *The familiar sound of a friends voice
*The love of my family *The taste of fresh brewed iced tea (complete with fresh lemon and a dash of Stevia ;)
*A home to call my own *Holding hands with the love of my life *Browsing blogs and getting inspired *a warm bubble bath
*The sweet taste of fresh strawberries-YUM *Walking in to my craft studio (mess and all)
*And most importantly the hope, grace, and redemption I have in my Lord and Savior Christ Jesus

I hope you will be Blessed this week and have some time to reflect on your life's greatest pleasures :)!

A Warm Feeling....

This-
Is one of my favorite areas in our whole home :). When David and I found this home we instantly fell in love...it was perfect, nearly everything we could want in a home. I say 'nearly' everything because one of the only things I would change is that it would have a fireplace. I don't know what it is about fireplaces but they just give me that warm and cozy feeling..yes, I know we live in AZ so why would I need that 'warm' feeling when it's 120+ outside..LOL ;). Not necessarily practical for the AZ desert but never the less I wanted one. Well as things would have it David and I were on one of our many trips to Lowes recently and what did we find- this fireplace mantel that was marked down so much we could not resist (seriously it was marked down from like $500 to $90!) See, you go in to Lowes for lightbulbs and you leave with a fireplace-ha ;).

Now let me ask you, Have you ever found that perfect item for your home that you just had to have but in the interm run into a few challenges? This perfect fireplace was definitly one of 'those' items for us; you see after we purchased it at Lowes we soon found out that it would not fit into our car. Only half of the box would fit into our trunk (oops) somehow my imaginative hubby figured out how to get enough rope around the car and the box that it would hold; hold enough to drive down the street to drop it off at my in-laws who in turn would bring out to our home in their truck- Thank God for in-laws that have a truck :). So that was the first challenge...the next challenge was putting the mantel together- looked easy but turned out to not be that easy. Once that challenge was accomplished of course came the next challenge- where to put it in our home. When we had originally purchased the mantel I had planned to put it in our living room until we got it together and I realized how huge the mantel really was. The next option was in our family room which turned out to be the most perfect spot :)- We had one wall in our family room that was quite large and needed something, the fireplace was the perfect something. OK, that challenge accomplished on to the next=finding the right sized firebox to slip inside. This particular challenge was left up to my hub. He did succeed and finding a great firebox, but once the firebox was delivered that presented yet another challenge- the firebox is a bit to small for the mantel so there is space separating the box from the mantel. We have yet to conquer this particular challenge but we have brain stormed an idea; we purchased some oak molding that is nearly the same color as our mantle. We plan on placing the molding on top of the empty space thus filling in the gap between the box and the mantel..hope it works :).

Whew, I had no idea this post was going to be this long...all this about a fireplace- LOL :). In all seriousness this fireplace has been well worthe all the challnges we have run into. We turn it on every night- you have to love a fireplace you can turn on by simply hitting a switch. One of the greatest things about this fireplace is not only does it give our home that warm cozy feeling I love, but it is perfect for AZ. I say perfect for AZ because when it's hot out in the summer we can still get the ambiance from the flames without the heat, yet when it's cold in the winter we can get the heat. Yep, the firebox that dear hubby got has an awesome heat feature where you can set the internal thermostat of the fireplace and get yourself some heat...gotta love it! Oh, and of course I had to add some Uppercase Living Vinyl, it was the perfect element to finish this area off, I love it :) I think this is my fav. vinyl expression I have in the whole entire home :)
Mission Accomplished!

Coming Up....

LOL...Here is another project that has been a few years in the making (well not the project itself but the actual scheduling of getting a class on the calendar at one of my fav. craft stores Mystic Paper. I have been an avid shopper of this wonderful store for the past few years (if you haven't been here, you must check it out). Anyhow, Jennifer and Kim (the wonderful ladies who own and run this shop) have asked me to teach some classes at the store. They had asked me to teach quite awhile ago and I just had run into some challenges on getting a class scheduled until now :). I'm so excited to be teaching my first class here in just a few weeks. This is what I'll be teaching-
In this class we will be creating a beautiful nest for your fine feathered friends using the gorgeous paper line, Botanicabella from Graphic 45 paper. If you are in the Phoenix area and want to get out of the house for a few hours on the morning of Sat. May 9th. I would love for you to come join us. Here are the details-
Date: Sat. May 9th. Time: 10:30am (the class should be under 2 hours) Cost: $38
HERE is some information. Hope to see you there :)!

3 years in the making....

This project has been 3 years in the making!!!
I purchased these vintage ceiling tiles at a local antique store that was going out of business (If I recall correctly I purchased them for about $15 per tile...a total steal :)).At the time of purchase they were pretty beat up but I knew that a little paint and some creative juice could fix them right up into a beautiful frame. A friend of mine had given me the idea; she had seen vintage tiles used as picture frames at a local boutique so of course I fell in love with the idea and was on a mission to make my own. Well, as things would have it the tiles sat in our garage collecting dust for the past 3 years. Every now and then I would gather a little inspiration to fix them up and get hung but it just never happened. Never happened until I became extremly inspired this past Nov. You see, my birdy friend and I were selling some of our products at a local holiday boutique when I came accross one talented gal who has a business creating these ceiling tile frames. I so badly wish she had a blog or website so I could share because when I say she creates beautiful one of a kind pieces I am not exagerrating...her creations are superb!!! Seeing her work truly inspired me to get my tiles completed so I could display them as part of my homes decor. The only obstacle back in Nov. was the fact that David and I were smack dab in the middle of purchasing our new home so that left no time for me to create :(. Needless to say these frames were on the forefront of mind so I wasted no time in getting them spruced up as soon as we began to settle into our new home.

Last week was a break through in my tile mission....we got them hung up on the family room wall and WOW- that was just what that wall needed. This project cost me less then $80 to complete for all 3 frames; a fraction of the price that one frame would have cost had I purchased one at the boutique (I think the frames at the boutique were selling for $200-$300 per frame). If you have a wall that needs just a little something I urge you to be on the look out for some vintage ceiling tiles...they offer a unique and beautiful way to display your beloved family photos- give it a try :).

PS- It certainly doesn't take 3 years to get these completed- LOL! You could probably complete one frame in under an hour.

Hoppy Easter

Before the day is over, I wanted to hop on and wish you all a very Blessed Easter!

The past few days have been a bit crazy; my mom, dad, and grandma came out from Calif. on Fri, and the rest of the fam. came over today for a Easter brunch. In usual Heather fashion I was a bit behind on all the little touches I had planned for the holiday but never the less it all came together. Most importantly we were together as a family celebrating one of the most joyous events- the resurection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I'll share more pics. in the next few days; I just downloaded my pics. and realized that most of the photos taken this weekend were done so with my parents camera so I have to have them send them my way. In the mean time here is a glimpse of our joyous holiday today-
How was your holiday? I hope it was filled with many blessings shared with those you love.
Happy Easter!

When life gets you down, stay in bed in blog

Yesterday morning I awoke with the most horrible feeling in my tummy; It had me in the bathroom most of the morning. I thought I could deal with it but was wrong :(. I came home from work early yesterday afternoon and have been in bed ever since. While having sometime to rest is always great, it can drive you crazy if you are a busy bee like me. All I can keep thinking of is all these projects I could be completing but I just can't muster up the energy to get out of bed. To be honest, I feel like I've been ran over by a truck...the thought of food makes me want to run to the bathroom and well you know. I am enjoying laying her at the moment with 2 of my girls laying next to me; Dakota and Bella ;). Since I can't get up and 'be productive' I thought I would at least grab the MAC and share some pics. that I"ve been meaning to post.
This was the easiest project I've done in ages...This wreath hangs above the buffet mirror in our dining room. I wanted to add just a little something to it and of course this vinyl monogram was the first thing that I thought of. I love it...it adds just that little something that I was looking for.

And this was...well just one of those moments that I had to grab the camera :). David and I were applying this new vinyl above our fireplace the other evening and Coco and Bella thought they would help-



Well I supposed I better get back to resting because sadly typing this has taken all the energy I can muster. Does anyone have any good remedies for when your sick? Some sorbet is sounding mighty good right now but the only problem is I don't think I can find the energy to get to the store :(Being sick sucks!!!

The race is on....

The race is on to get this house into tip top shape before we host the first (of hopefully many) holiday celebrations with our families. You see, before David and I purchased this home our families were a bit spread out; mine in California and N. Arizona and Davids fam. back in Iowa. We have never hosted a holiday celebration at our home and are thrilled to have everyone come together in just a few days as we celebrate the glorious resurection of Jesus Christ. The only challenge preparing for the get together is overcoming the 'perfection bug' I have inhereted from my mother. For whatever reason I got the wild idea that we should paint the whole downstairs of our new home (why on earth did I think I can paint half of a 3,600 sq. ft home in just 2 weekends)LOL! Needless to say, we've been busy little bees around here...we paint when we get home from work, paint on our days off, and well quite frankly have been covered in paint (literally) for the past few weeks. With much avail, we have successfully painted our kitchen, family room, living room, dining room, and downstairs hall (thank God for my wonderful hubby!!). As if painting everything wasn't bad enough I of course thought it would be a brilliant idea to add molding to our dining room as well as make draperies for our kitchen, nook, front window, and family room (another great idea- LOL!). I'm making progress and will share pics. soon...that is if I still have my sanity-ha.

Oh, one little project I can share with you is this..

If you recall from a few post backs I did a make over on the oak kitchen set we inhereted. This particular chair was one I picked up at Goodwill for $6.99; it was originally oak but with a coat of blk. paint and some vinyl this Goodwill chair has been transformed into a custom piece for the 'Mellstrom' kitchen nook :).

Well, I better get going...I'm spray painting some Easter eggs that I intend on filling with treats and using as place card pieces on our Easter table..I'll share pics. soon.