Unrest

There are certainly times in life where things get too mundane.  If we wake up and do the exact same thing for years at a time, what are we looking forward to?

I'm kind of at that point.

I bought a notebook in TJMaxx about 6 months ago.  It's a hard-cardboard cover notebook, spiral bound, with a quote from Steve Jobs on the front:  "The Only Way to do Great Work is to Love What You Do."

My first sentence in this notebook is actually a question.  Questioning if we're really able to pursue our dream jobs.  Is this even attainable?

My next question (to myself) was, Why Not?

Why can't we pursue our dream jobs?

Some real answers ensued.

• Fear of not being able to "make it" financially. 

• Giving up the comfort of day-to-day routine to pursue something new.

• Fear of failure, and having nothing to fall back on. 

I am in such a rut, right now.  I am unsatisfied and unhappy.  

To change this, I'm making strides towards pursuing my dream job, bit by bit.  I'm going to be smart about it, obviously, so I won't make it my "real" job until I know I can support my family through it.  

This could take years.  

But at least I'm trying. 

If starting my own business and pursuing a dream can make each morning something exciting to wake up to, instead of just go through the motions for, then it's worth it. 

If doing something completely different and new can allow me extra time with my husband and my kids, then it's worth it. 

If taking a leap and not looking back can offer a freedom I didn't know was possible, then it's worth it. 

This is really just a post to ramble and collect some of my thoughts about this, so that I can return to this post later on and gauge how far I've come. 

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba

Lyrical Wednesday: Deeper

Ooooooh, today's song is a good one!  If you need a little pep in your step, PLEASE check out this song!  It is by Meredith Andrews, and it's called Deeper.  I heard it for the first time about a month ago as I was driving in the car with my little boys on our way to get an oil change.  Real life fun. Not.

This song came on the radio and it totally spoke to me on so many levels!  I remembered one line clearly-- Every mountain is making me a climber-- so I looked up that line on Google and found the name of the song.  I totally listened to it on repeat for several days.  It's such an inspirational song and it reminds me that God knows what He's doing in our lives.  We may feel stranded or frustrated or worn out or just plain defeated.  This song reaffirms the promise that He is in control of it all.  His timing is so perfect.  We may not understand it, but that's okay.  All we've got to do is trust.

So, give this song a listen and see if you can keep yourself from doing a dance!

Deeper

I have kicked up the dust and the dirt on the narrow road
I have had to let go of some hurt to hold on to hope
I’ve watched the sunset before the promise came
I have waded through waters wide and walked through the flame
And I can say

CHORUS 1:
Every valley made me lift my eyes up
Every burden only made me stronger
Every sorrow only made Your joy go
Deeper and deeper, deeper, and deeper

I will run like I’m out to win, and finish the race
For every battle that’s sure to come I will be brave
I’ve got my heart set on every word You say
And no matter what lies ahead You’ll make a way
And I will say

CHORUS 2:
Every valley made me lift my eyes up
Every burden only made me stronger
Every sorrow only made Your joy go
Deeper and deeper, deeper, and deeper

Every mountain is making me a climber
Every giant is calling out a fighter
Every heartache only makes Your love go
Deeper and deeper, deeper, and deeper

Thrown down but not defeated
I’m worn out but not giving up
I’ve hit ground but even at rock bottom
I’m just getting started, Yea, I’m just getting started

source

I hope this song speaks to you like it did to me.  Keep your head lifted!  You're a child of the King!

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba

Stranded: Netflix Series

Today, I'm linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Family and Erika at A Little Bit of Everything blog to talk about what three Netflix series we'd like to be able to watch if we were stranded on a desert island.  Any desert island that has TVs and Wifi is okay by me.

My three Netflix series would have to be:

1) Burn Notice
2) Gilmore Girls
3) Royal Pains

 Burn Notice:
If you're going to be stuck on a desert island, you might as well take notes from Michael Westen on how to use ordinary everyday objects to achieve unorthodox uses.  He's pretty much the modern day McGyver.  I've learned lots from his show.  They always seem to make new gadgets and work-arounds from items we'd find lying around any ole place.  Even a desert island.

Gilmore Girls:
Because, who doesn't need some Lorelai humor in their everyday life?  This show would be a nice break from the chaos that I'm sure resonates on a deserted island.  I for one, wouldn't mind daydreaming of the "first snow" as I'm baking under a palm tree.  I could also use the reminder of how wonderful coffee tasted.

Royal Pains:
I consider this show the McGyver of medical necessity.  If you're stranded on a deserted island, you might need to use everyday household objects like a pen, a ziploc bag, and duct tape to perform surgery.  Maybe.  Probably not.  But it's nice to look at all the homes in the Hamptons and dream, right?

So, there you have it.  My top three Netflix series that I would binge-watch if stranded on a desert island.  All educational.  All humorous, yet realistic at the same time.



Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba

The Art of the Gallery Wall

In our new house, it seems I am definitely more drawn to gallery walls than I was in our previous home.  Maybe it's the fact that we have more wall space to play with.  Perhaps it's the taller ceilings in the living room and office.  Maybe it's because I do like the look of clean lines and empty space, so the walls in the master bedroom and the hallway are left untouched, and I tend to group our remaining wall decor into gallery walls instead.

Our wall decor is made up of pictures, sentimental items, family phrases, Bible verses, canvasses, typographic letters, and art by my husband.

Let's start in our living room where I have three spaces set up with gallery walls.

The first is by the window.  A bentwood rocker adds the finishing touch to this corner and makes it a cozy reading nook.

The item farthest left is a painting my husband made for his mom, and she matted it and framed it for my birthday one year.  The top right is our last name, Petersen, crocheted by a friend of my step father-in-law.  It was a wedding gift.  The right bottom picture is a split photo of Toomer's Corner in Auburn.  The left side of the picture is Toomer's Corner in the olden days, and the right side of the picture is Toomer's Corner present day.

The next area of the living room featuring a gallery wall is one of the main walls in the living room.

This is the biggest gallery wall thus far in our home.

I arranged all artwork on the floor and moved pieces around there to find the layout I wanted most.  I played with straight lines, and breaking planes, and mixing up the textures and sizes of objects.  I am very happy with how it turned out.

The top row is made up of a canvas photo of my youngest son, a metal decor sign from Magnolia Market, a multi-opening picture frame from Target (I swap out some pictures in this frame periodically, as the boys grow older.  I keep our wedding pictures in the spots they're in though-- I don't change those out), a watercolor of flowers by my sons for my birthday last year, a Family sign with the Bible Verse "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  The bottom row is another multi-opening frame (JCPenney) with wedding pictures and pictures from our first Christmas together, and from a wedding we attending near the beginning of our marriage), a handprint sun canvas painting from my boys for my birthday this year, a canvas photo of my oldest son (taken right before his Type One Diabetes diagnosis before his 2nd birthday), a HOME sign that says "May you be blessed when you enter, and blessed when you go out," a three-opening frame of my oldest son as a baby (I need to make one for my youngest), and a timeline piece showing the calendar dates of our first date, our engagement date, and our wedding date.

LOVE this wall!

The next gallery wall is in our foyer.

I mixed a wide canvas print that I got from TJMaxx several years ago (it initially hung above our fireplace at our first home), a painting that Aaron made for me to hang at my desk at work (which I got to bring home to enjoy last August once I started working from home), and a wooden typographic P from Hobby Lobby.  Mixing textures, but grouping similar colors together gave this display the look I was going for.

The final gallery wall (for the moment) is in my home office.

My office space is filled with motivational sayings and sentimental pieces.  I'm starting the journey of chasing my dream job, and I made sure my desk space was filled with encouragement.  The ceiling in this room is vaulted, so it left some good height to work with.

I kept the bolder colored artwork for our living area, but I wanted to make sure the office wall was simple and clean.  I chose to focus on blacks and whites, with just a little color thrown in.

My diploma is at the top right, then an Amish star that I got from Pennsylvania Dutch country several years ago, and a metal capital R (originally owned by my Aunt, and I received it since our first names start with the same letter). The second row is made up of a friendship sign that one of my best friends gave to me in 2010 (it says: Good friends are like angels; You don't have to see them to know they are there), a letter of jumbled up letters and numbers that Michael "typed" for us when he was less than a year old (somehow, he pressed the right keys to copy and paste a Seattle Seahawks logo, and I can't bear to throw this away. Ever. So I framed it), a print by Paper Jam Press , and a framed print from Hobby Lobby that says "All I need today is a little bit of coffee & a whole lot of Jesus." #truth

Coming up with ways to display family mementos, photos, and inspirational pieces was a lot of fun!

Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba

Show & Tell Tuesday: What's in My Bag

Today I'm linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday.  The theme today is:  What's in Your Bag?

I found a medium size tote bag at Kohl's on super sale a couple months ago, so I snatched it up as my summer bag.  I used to carry a smaller cognac bag, but I was filling it too full too fast.  So I switched over to this tote bag to give myself some extra carry-space.

I love the laser-cut pattern and the bright color.  Coral seems to be popping up in lots of places in my wardrobe and accessories lately!

The bag has a zipper pocket, and two small pockets inside, with a zipper closure up top.

Since the bag is pretty open, I use a small cosmetic bag to hold my keys, wallet, phone charger, and check book.

The size of this bag, and the openness inside makes it a great size for being a mom, and a D-mom! (Mom to a child with Type One Diabetes).  In my bag you'll find:

• Note cards and prior grocery lists
• A PAW Patrol tattoo 
• Target coupons for frappuccinos and greeting cards
• Expired Kohl's cash (booo!)
• sunglasses
• Blood sugar meter and Glucagon (emergency injection if my son's blood sugar gets too low)

In the two small pockets, I carry a pen, my garage door opener, hand sanitzer, chapstick, a mirror/brush combo, and a SPARK packet.  Not pictured are Smarties candies (a quick item to bring up a low blood sugar, and an easy snack for my other toddler to enjoy), and random receipts and appointment reminder cards.  In my zipper pocket, I keep my work badge and a few other necessities. 

So there you have it!  That's what's in my bag!

What's in yours?

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba

More Sprinkles

This past weekend, I got to have some "me time" where I wandered around Target, Kirkland's, TJ Maxx, and Books-a-Million without an agenda and without a time limit.  It was glorious!

However, while in Target, my heartstrings were pulled just a tad.  As I meandered by the summer dishes and tablecloths, my eyes latched onto a sweet display of placemats and cups, etc, for children.
I can't find a link online, but it was an assortment of plasticware with the words "More Sprinkles!" decorating each item.

Oh, how fun Summertime can be.  How carefree! How joyful!  How spontaneous!

But not for T1s. Spontaneity doesn't exist in our family anymore.  We must. plan. everything.

So, to see this small, materialistic exhibit of carefree moments that I will never get to experience with my oldest is heart-wrenching.  It leaves me longing for Heaven, where I'm sure my son will get to have the biggest ice cream sundae with a million sprinkles on it.  And, where, I'm sure, that sundae will wait patiently as it's left on the streets of gold while my son goes to lay down face first before Jesus in worship.

One can only hope.

So, sprinkles are a reminder to me that our day is coming.  Our day will soon be here where we won't have to count any carbs, and where we won't have to lug around a blood-sugar meter, an insulin pump, a CGM, and Glucagon.  A day is coming.  The perfect, sprinkle-filled, worshipful day.



Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba