Room Makeover

Something that has kept me busy this fall is redoing my bedroom. My house is a two-story, so after I became paralyzed, the living room became my bedroom. I've lived in this room for nearly 16 years now, and have wanted to redo it for many years, but I didn't think it would be a possibility because I knew it would be a lot of work--too much for my mom to tackle (especially since I can't even help with the physical labor!). To make a long story short, I finally got my wish to give my room a new look. I spent hours and hours scouring the internet for just the right paint, furniture, lamps, curtain rod/valance, artwork, and more. After about two months of online shopping, planning, de-cluttering, cleaning out, painting, organizing, etc, things are finished.

I forgot to get good "before" pictures. Shoot! We'd already started taking my room apart when my sister snapped these first few pictures on her cell phone. They'll at least give you an idea of what things looked like before the transformation. You can also consult this post from back in 2010 to see some other pictures of what my room looked like at one time. 

Here is the big reveal. It's definitely not going to make any design magazines, but I like it, and feel like it is a big improvement.

The verse in the middle frame below is Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me). Truer words have never been spoken!

This valance looks more green in person, but it was hard to capture the true color. I love the curtain rod with the marble accents on each end. We put up new trim, as well, which looks really nice. (I don't have any pictures of the trim.)

I have a lot of medical supplies that we need to have close by, so these cubbies and baskets help keep things organized. I also have a closet, hutch, and an area in the basement to keep our stock of other medical supplies. You can also see the Good Shepherd on the wall watching over me. :)

We also replaced the knobs on the cabinet, which had yellowed with age:

I was sitting in my recliner, which is just out of frame, but I didn't want to be included in the pictures. 

This project would not have been possible without two of my very dear friends, Kellie and Jessica, who helped my mom and me with every aspect of my room. They were amazing, and I'm so grateful for their friendship and help. Things wouldn't have gone nearly as well or as quickly without their assistance.

My room definitely isn't high-tech, grand, or like the "afters" you would see on an HGTV program, but it suits my needs. It's sure a lot more than some people in the world have, so I'm just grateful for a comfortable home, and to have a roof over my head. I know if I play my cards right, I will earn a heavenly mansion one day, so I'm holding out for that!

Update

To say I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon would be an understatement, since I haven't made any new posts in months! I just feel like my blog has pretty much run its course, and that I've said everything there is to say. That being said, I know there are a few people out there that still follow my blog, so I just wanted to make a post to assure everyone that I'm alive and well. Still here. Still paralyzed. :) 

I enjoyed several visits from my out-of-town sisters this summer and it's always a treat to spend time with my sisters, nieces and nephews, all of whom I adore so much. I also enjoy having my sister Chandra and her adorable kids, Christian and Ruby, over several times a week. I treasure this time with them, because I know when Christian and Ruby are both in school full-time, I won't be able to see them near as much. 

Here are a couple pictures of Christian's first day of preschool. If you look closely, the sign says that when he grows up, he wants to be a dogcatcher. Christian LOVES the movie The Secret Life of Pets, and he likes to play "dogcatcher." He is also enthralled with the trash truck, and he loves to watch YouTube videos with me of trash men collecting trash. I think you can pretty much find videos of anything on YouTube! Christian also turned four in September.

Christian wanted to be a dinosaur for Halloween, and Ruby was a sweet little wolf (a she-wolf).

Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of my car accident. We celebrated by getting some pizza from Papa John's on Saturday, and my mom made a chocolate cake with the most delicious chocolate whipped buttercream frosting that my sister Kristin told me about. That's a dessert worth being paralyzed for! 16 years later, and I'm still grateful for my accident. It has resulted in a physically challenging life, but it was also a catalyst for spiritual progression, and it was exactly what I needed at that time in my life to add some fuel to my empty gas tank. God is good, and He knew what I needed, I know I'm a better person because of what I've been through. 

Ruby is ONE!

Ruby turned one on March 7. The past year has flown by! We celebrated her birthday by having a little pizza party for lunch, since Ruby really likes pizza (smart girl!). My mom and I also gave Ruby her birthday present.

I don't know what was going on in the picture below, but when I saw it, I thought it was hilarious. Chandra and I thought a perfect caption for it would be "When it's your sister's birthday, and you find out there are no presents for you." Actually, Christian really wasn't upset; he was excited to help Ruby open her gift.

Ruby isn't walking yet, but right before she opened her present, she kept standing up and she'd put her arms out, almost like she was riding a wave on a surf board. She did it multiple times, and it was so funny to see her standing there like that. I kept waiting for her to take a step, but she didn't.

She had two different birthday crowns from the dollar store, and looked adorable in both of them.

Chandra isn't looking in the picture below, but Ruby looked adorable, so I had to include it. The other two pictures turned out too bright, but they're going in the blog post, too!

We tried to get a picture of Christian and Ruby, but kids are hard to photograph! Christian sure loves Ruby, and I hope these two will always be friends. I love it when Christian sweetly says, "Hey little Ruby girl" in a soothing tone, or when he says, "She's just a baby."

Since Chandra's husband couldn't come over for lunch on Ruby's birthday, we had Ruby's birthday dinner this past Sunday. Chandra made bacon-wrapped pulled pork and homemade coleslaw for dinner, which is one of my favorite meals. It's SO delicious! We had "Ruby Red Velvet" cupcakes for dessert. 

Christian was in a funk and he refused to put his shirt back on for the pictures. Oh well.

Ruby mostly just mashed her cake around in her hands, but I think she licked her hands a couple of times, and seemed to like it.

Here are some more pictures from the last few months of Ruby's life:

Here's a cute story about the picture on the left: We got snow in January, and Christian loved playing in it. The next morning the first thing he did after waking up was rush to the window to see if the snow was still on the ground. It was. :)

Ruby loves to play outside and crawl around in the grass:

All dressed up and ready for church! 

We sure love our little Ruby girl!