What's Next?

School starts back today and I am in the process of cutting the umbilical cord, again. This summer was truly majestic. Not because we filled it to the brim doing extraordinary activities, but simply because we just took the time to just be. We had slow mornings and movie nights. We laughed, we read many books, we did even manage to squeeze in a couple days at our favorite place. The most dearest and nearest part of this summer for me was getting my boy back. During the latter trip we felt a shift in him. He smiled easily. He didn't mention his never ending pain but only a few times. He was purely him again. What led to this joy of mine? If you follow me on instagram you may have seen me ask for prayers in March after he went into anaphylaxis due to a medication, which he was taking for salmonella that he got during New Years and could not kick for months. That led to a very mild case of Steven Johnson's syndrome. His case was as minor as they come, but it still did enough damage and left him in enough pain that we had to mostly do schooling from home till years end. He slept the days away and he cried often with damaged eyes that could not produce tears. We were not even sure that he would be going back to school with the rest of his class today, but alas he headed out the door ready to concur 5th grade. This season did lead to further testing, because he wasn't bouncing back like he should have. Some things came up that would not have been found unless we walked this path. His immune system was compromised to say the least. His most recent round of tests came back positive that his body is once again producing antibodies after taking an immune booster. Overall we feel confident he will overcome completely even with his MLB deficiency.  January till the end of June I was with little Kellen pretty much 24/7.  Literally. I slept in his room, he went on every photography job I had once he was mobile, when he did go to school for an hour or so I would wait near by just incase. Then Ellie joined us for summer break and well she is most definitely my best friend to say the least. Now it's my time to figure out how to best spend my days. Durning this season I knew what I was to do. Keep him comfortable the best I could, dr appointments, hospital visits, and in general keep us moving forward in the healing process rather than get lost in it. Now I am here without a daily job to keep me busy and moving forward. I know this time is a gift from above and I don't want to waste an ounce of it. I am taking August to really dig in with the Lord on realigning His will for me for this next season. I am grateful our church takes the first 21 days of every August to focus on prayer. Locally you can go to any of the campuses at 6am or you can join me online. The prayer service is available for 24 hours if the 6am time slot doesn't fit into your schedule. For me it makes a great start to my day before the kiddos wake and I become distracted. 

Online service link can be found here

Would you like specific prayer? I would be honored to pray for you. You can email me at paulacoldiron@gmail.com

The Building of a Teen Girls Room

I am guilty. As much I don't want to be I am. When we moved to this house two years ago I told the kiddos that they could decorate their own rooms. Well according to Ellie I didn't actually let her do that. I was confused at first. I honestly thought I was one of those mom's that let their kiddos creativity flourish in that department. After all that's what my parents did and in the end it landed me in the design business. Alas I think in all reality she picked a couple of things then I "pulled" it all together with the rest. I thought that was giving her free rein. For her it was another room her mama decorated. Another space that didn't feel like her. Her ikea dresser finally broke after moving it too many times so that started the hunt for a new dresser. This one she fell head over heels for and no matter the 100's of others she looked at none lived up the "one", so we bit the bullet. It's neutral enough that it should carry her through high school and beyond. That in turn led to her oh so sweetly asking if she could revamp her whole room for her 13 birthday. I agreed and I quickly learned she would be my hardest client ever. I recommended finding one thing she loved and that would make it easier to build off of and in turn she will get a cohesive look and it help guide her. We found a mongolian pillow locally that she went goggly eyed over, but it was over $200 so I searched online till we came across this one that was similar and although still expensive it was WAY less than the other. It was the piece she built her whole room off of. I wasn't completely hands off throughout the process, but she knew she was in the drivers seat and would ask my opinion on certain elements. I gave ideas and presented things, like the art, that she could whittle down to final choices and she had the liberty of saying no without me trying to barter why it would be oh so good. The only element I did pick was the rug. It was a vintage overdyed teal rug and I had a feeling she would love it and I told her we could sell it if it didn't fit her vision. Once it came in and she saw it paired with the bedding she did love it. We are still waiting on the dresser to come in which we bought during a big sale and we saved money by having it sent to the store where we will pick it up instead of having to pay shipping. The headboard we are DIY'ing and I am sure she will want to add a few more touches. I hope to share the full space by the end of month, but we shall see. 

shop the look: 

duvet cover | velvet shams | teal sheets | mongolian throw pillow | Max Wagner print | dresser | vintage rug {similar, similar, similar} | gold lotus string lights

Summer Loving + A Few Links I Love

image via Jenessa Wait

How can it possibly be the last day of July? I feel like the kiddos just got out of school and now they go back next week. How can that possibly be? This next week will be filled with family, friends and last minute school shopping for a few odds and ends. I just want to soak up every last minute. Yes, I am THAT mother, but let's not forget I am THIS mother too. There are some perks of school starting back though. The Mr and I will have Friday date days back in full swing, topgolf is our go to. I will start tackling home projects once again by painting all our interior doors and installing the hardware I bought before Christmas. Also I have big plans with for this ole blog space and now my attention won't be divided. Hallelujah. 

Thank you all who gave input on this post. Ellie is officially ready to tackle 7th grade. Thank you for all the encouragement! 

My boy is adopting his own style and these tee's are pretty much all he wears. The sharkweek tee he is most excited about currently.

We searched for what seems like forever for a new back back for Ellie that fit her taste and needs. The last few years we bought some from big box stores and although cute they quickly fell apart with the load she had to carry. Hoping this one, in the elwha blue, lasts for the next couple of years at least. I have high hopes! 

This summer I bought new towels for the master. I agonized over which ones to get. I did not want to waste money on towels that did not live up to the price. I came across these and fell in love. They absorb well, but can fold thin enough to where they can fit in our very limited space. Plus the price could not be beat. I finally decided to do the same for the kiddos since most of those are stained or damaged. Although the solid white are no longer available I ended up buying this color way. Hoping they will hide the boy dirt that will inevitable happen. Plus the extra 30% off made it a no brainer for me since new towels were on my list of things to buy anyway. 

Talking about bathrooms, I love this one from my friend Stacy. Have you seen her new blog? It's a good one folks. 

Finally as I am entering another season I am constantly reminding myself of the above quote. Do you follow Jenessa on Instagram? She inspires me daily through beautifully written words. She has a shop too! 

Hope you all have a beautiful start to August!