This Beauty that Besets us

These photos were captured Saturday morning from my crafting room
 when my two year old woke up a little too early-but it was worth it
for this gorgeous sunrise I was able to see!

Source: inspiredbyfamilymag.com via Kristina on Pinterest

Hope you enjoyed this gorgeous display of nature!

Diy Spring Pincushion Flowers

I am excited to share this easy and fun spring craft idea I've had brewing in my mind for months with all of you! And now that it is feeling and looking more like spring around here I thought I'd share.

It all started with me loving the look of these exotic pincushion blooms. I thought about how I could make some similar to these to add pops of yellow around the house.

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Kristina on Pinterest

While browsing through a craft store, some bright yellow quilting pins caught my eye. I thought about using those to create my blooms by pushing them into painted foam balls. (This is a great way to repurpose old quilting pins if you have them stored away, though my box of new ones only cost around $3.)

My bag of foam craft balls cost $1 and because I had the my other supplies on hand, this project only cost me $4--cheaper than fake flowers and more unique. Want some of your own?

Here's what I used to make the pincushion blooms: 

First, I painted the sticks green.

Then, I painted the two foam balls yellow and allowed to dry.

Next, I started pushing my pins through each foam ball until the whole ball was covered in pins. 

I finished the flower by pushing a pen into the bottom of the foam ball to make a hole, adding a drop of hot glue, then pushing the stem in,

So easy, right? I switched out my wintery pussy willows for these bright and punchy blooms that look like a combination of the pincushion flowers and dandelions. I think they look great in my bottle vases.

I think these would also make a great DIY wedding table decorations and you could make them in lots of different colors. I think I might experiment some more with different sizes and shapes since they were so fun to make.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope you were inspired!

Until next time, 

Linking up with these parties.

An Unexpected Gift

One week ago today, I received a phone call that I was not expecting at all. I was sitting down to rest while the kids were napping and that familiar caller ID showed up: our county children's services agency.

The worker explained that there was a healthy newborn baby boy waiting to be picked up from the hospital. (In case you don't know, me and my husband have been licensed foster and adoptive parents since 2008.) We had been on the "do not call" list since the birth of our youngest two years ago, meaning, we would keep our license, but hold off on taking in any more kids right now. (We later found out that our worker had asked to call us anyway because they were really in need of a good home. It was worth a try, right?)

But, God has a way of giving you gifts you don't expect. As the worker told me more about the baby, I strangely felt myself wanting to say yes, but I needed to talk to my husband. I asked the worker for "5 minutes" to decide. Usually, you don't even get that. You have to tell the worker yes or no within minutes of hearing about the child.

Ok, so those of you reading this who haven't fostered--can you even imagine?!

 I don't know what it's like to find you're pregnant, wait nine months, then deliver. But, when you say yes to a placement, I compare it emotionally to finding out you're pregnant and delivering the same day.

There is such a flood of emotion and excitement and scrambling around to get things in order--it is a rush like nothing else. And yes, with each placement (this would be our 6th) I find myself doing "deep breathing" like a woman in labor, trying to focus on what needs to be done, trying to stay calm.

So, after a 5 minute life-changing huddle with my husband, we felt a sense of peace to move forward and I called the worker back to say "yes" we have found room in our hearts and home to take in another baby!

Thankfully, we had kept a lot of baby supplies we would need, and we quickly found the infant car seat, called the babysitter to stay with our boys while we rushed to the hospital with excitement to pick up our new little guy.

And he is so sweet! Thankfully, he is healthy and doing great. The boys were really excited to meet him and of course, there is a lot to adjust to--including late night feedings (yawn!) But, overall, the transition has been pretty good. We are glad we said yes and will love him as long as he's with us.

So, when you sign up to foster/adopt, you sign up lots of things--you sign up for your life to be flipped upside down, for an amazing adventure, for incredible opportunities, for a roller coaster of emotions, for being exposed to the sad life situations the kids and mom's are in, also, to be a support to those mom's as much as possible. Of course, it is really hard. And yes, it is worth it! 

I hear so many people say "I couldn't foster. I would be devastated when they left". But, if we never took that risk, we would have never met our two beautiful sons, or the three other kids we were able to help in so many ways and safely send to their permanent homes.

Of course it is sad to say goodbye--we foster parents aren't "super humans", but God really does give us the strength when we need it!

So, with all of that being said, you might guess that ReMadeSimple will be moving at a slower pace than it was before. I'm pretty sure I won't be doing any huge projects over the next few months. I do have some fun and easy spring craft ideas I'll be trying when I can and sharing. And our kitchen remodel on a budget is coming up that I'm so excited about (that we are hiring someone to do and also doing a little bit ourselves.)

And I'm dreaming up how to paint and tweak my upstairs bathroom in the early summer (when baby is sleeping more through the night and I have more energy).
I have some tangerine bathroom inspiration on Pinterest I'll be sharing as I dream up ideas and catch some rest while I can.

Until next time,