Rainy Day Snapshots

Rain makes my heart happy. The heat is gone. The skies are a beautiful gray. Rain echos on every surface. Sleep with the windows open. Wet little puppies. I really love rain. :)

PS. How could you not love that sweet little face?

What's In A Name?

I have an all new fascination with looking up the meaning of someone's name. It started with a wedding gift we got that has our names and the meanings with scripture... it's so interesting and it makes me happy to see how simply letters can apply so much.

It has also contributed to my desire to name our children with a strong name. I use to like the name "Berkeley." However, after some research I discovered that "Berkeley" means "birch tree". Kind of lame.

I've come to absolutely love three brand new names- all Hebrew. "Zachariah"(Zach) meaning "God remembers", "Elijah"(Eli) meaning "My God is Lord", and "Malachi"(Mali, pronounced like "Molly") meaning "Messenger of God".

Working in the classrooms of schools for the last few years has made me acutely aware of the strangeness of names, and I'm all for unique, but reasonable. Know what your naming your child. It's a blessing and/or prayer for them every time you whisper their name...

My "Nesting" List

It's kind of like a bucket list, but not.

About 2 months after Casey and I were married I got THE bug. That's right, the baby bug. However, in my mind, I knew we weren't ready, but the bug was still there. Alas, as Tina Fey said on 30 Rock, "My mind controls my body. My body does not control my mind!" so we got a dog. :) Since then I've hit a nesting bug (no more baby!) That resulted in my "nesting" list I have written down by our mail basket. It's so much fun to slowly cross things off the list as we're able to do them. Our apartment is starting to look like a family home rather then two folks crashing in the same digs.

I'm in love with thenest.com and home saving decor magazines- great ideas, some of them actually doable and cheap(er)! I'm willing to put elbow grease into just about anything now, because then I'll have a story and a memory and something one-of-a-kind.

So here's my ever-growing list. :)

1. Paint- dark brown for furniture CHECK!
2. Spray paint- blue, sage, and/or khaki for old picture frames CHECK!
3. Curtains and rods- the good, energy saving kind.
4. A stool- for a bathroom vanity.
5. A real wood desk
6. A real wood bookshelf and cloth baskets for organizing
7. Fake flowers and a planter
8. Throw pillows- Brown, khaki, and blue
9. A new washer- ours is dying :(
10. A real dresser CHECK!
11. A headboard CHECK!
12. Print pictures- wedding and family for frames CHECK!
13. Calla Lily center piece

I love my life. :)