this week in pictures

when i got my iphone at the end of last

year one of the first apps i got was instagram.

it's become my favorite way to take pictures. i rarely pick

up my camera anymore.

i thought i would join in with jeannett for instagram friday.

it's been a beautiful week here in SC so we spent a lot of

time outside.

my ferns are out and already the birds have started making them their home.

this is my tension every summer. save my ferns or let the birds build.

a different kind of summer color.

family devotions on the porch.

luke used the magna doodle to capture spring.

my parent's, who are horse owners, bought a pony for the boys.

we named him pancake.

he lasted 4 days and has been  returned to NC. pancake was

a little too rambunctious. he sure was cute, though.

every day for half an hour.

school pick up line.

speaking of which it's time to take my place. and i anticipate some

excited boys, spring break has officially begun!

hApPy weekend!!

~ stacy ~

world down syndrome day

i don't show too many photo's of my family here at green seed

but today i thought i would introduce you to my middle son, wil.

he has down syndrome. if you would like to read more about

our early years with wil you can check out my old blog

blessed chaos. i've been toying around with the idea

of including more family life here at gsc but for now

i'll start with this, in honor of wil and world down

syndrome day.  

this day was chosen to symbolize the third copy

of chromosome 21 in Trisomy 21, the most common form of Down syndrome.

21 facts about down syndrome

1. the life expectancy of people with down syndrome was 25 in 1983, today it is 60!

2. 1 in every 691 babies is born with down syndrome. ethnicity and socioeconomic

group have no bearing on this number.

3. people with down syndrome have individual gifts and talents, just like

everyone else.



4. in the united states, if you want to adopt a child with down syndome you

are added to a waiting list. the secret is out that having a child

with down syndrome is an amazing blessing.

5. many countries do not know this and children with down syndrome

are abandoned and institutionalized. thankfully, there are organizations

like reece's rainbow to help raise awareness and find homes for

these precious kids.

6. 94 % of siblings expressed pride in their brother or sister with down syndrome
and 88% felt they were better people because of them.

7. there are 400,000 people with down syndrome living in the united states.

8. 80% of babies born with down syndrome are born to women under 35.

9. quality educational programs, a stimulating home environment, good health care,

and positive support from family, friends and the community enable people

with down syndrome to develop their full potential and lead fulfilling lives.

10. people with down syndrome have feelings just like everyone else in the population.
they experience the full range of emotions. they respond to positive expressions of friendship and they are hurt and upset by inconsiderate behavior.

11. a few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone,
small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease
across the center of the palm. Every person with Down syndrome is a unique
individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees or not at all.

12. 99% of people with down syndrome like their lives and 97% like who they are.

13. 50% of babies with Down syndrome are also born with a heart defect.

14. In the US, canada, and some other countries, it is down syndrome, not the possessive “down’s syndrome.”

15. while dr. john langdon down first described the common characteristics of people
with down syndrome, it was actually dr jerome lejeune who first
identified it as a chromosome 21 trisomy in 1959.

16. people with down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that
affect them, and contribute to society in many wonderful ways.

17. down syndrome is the most commonly occuring chromosomal condition.

18. caring for and loving a child with down syndrome is NOT a burden.

19. down syndrome is not a disease and people with down syndrome do not

"suffer from down syndrome."

20. people with down syndrome are often subject to unfair stereotypes. right the

wrongs and separate fact from fiction with the ndss

myths and truths guide and celebrate all people with down syndrome!

21. this is the first year that world down syndrome day is officially
recognized by the united nations!  join the global celebration and let

everyone know that people with down syndrome should

be valued, accepted and included!

~ stacy and wil ~



spring simplicity

spring has definitely sprung around south carolina.



in my house that means a couple things.

1. we are all taking claritin.

and

2. the mantel gets tweaked again.

in keeping with my quest for simplicity around here

the mantel was really scaled back this year.

here's what she looked like last spring, just to give you a comparison.

you can check out more of it here. if you do,

you'll notice we have also painted the brick

surround and removed the big black door insert since

last spring.

this year, i moved some of my favorite prints (from here) from our den

 and placed them over the fireplace.

the branches are from a dogwood tree in our backyard.

aaand, that's pretty much it! boring?

 

not to me. not this year. i'm loving

the minimal feel of it. maybe it's the chaos that

swallows the rest of our little house that is 

causing me crave clear spaces right now.

i also removed the screen and all our firepoking tools and

 gave the interior of the fireplace a fresh coat

 of heat proof black paint.

for the summer a fern has replaced the fire grate.

also, those aren't specks on the black paint. i just need to sweep! :)

if you are looking for spring mantel inspiration go check out Layla's

mantel at the lettered cottage, where inspiration abounds, and all

the folks linking up today in honor of the first day of spring!

~ stacy ~

long overdue kitchen update

what's that saying about time flying?

fun or no fun it sure is moving swiftly these days.

we've been busy around here with projects.

some fun, some not so fun.

some diy, some hio (hire it out!)

thought i'd catch up on the kitchen today. we've been working on our

little kitchen (on and off and as we have the funds) since we moved

in september of 2010.

here's how she looked when we looked at the house

in august of 2010 (still occupied by previous owners).

it's a small galley kitchen. this is the view from one end, where they had

a table and chairs. just beyond the counter on the right is a swing door leading

into the dining room. behind the bi-fold door is the washer/dryer and pantry.

and a window that looks into the front yard. light!!

and the view from the bi-fold door. on the other side of the fridge is a

door leading to the side of the house and driveway. on the left,

just beyond the counter is a doorway leading into the living area.

since we moved in we have ripped out upper cabs and put in open shelves,

replaced formica counter tops with butcher block, replaced the shallow

stainless sink with a deep white porcelain sink and new faucet,

replaced some lighting, replaced fridge, painted lower cabs, removed bifold door to

laundry room letting so much more light in and added shelves in the

pantry/laundry room for additional storage and organization.

you can read about some of that here and here and here.

there were two items on our list for the kitchen that we have been

waiting on. replacing the nasty floor and building a banquette where

the previous owners had the table.

because we needed the space we used the breakfast nook for storage until

we had the money to do those projects and could figure out the best way for our

family to function in a space four times smaller than our previous kitchen.

this is what that end of  the kitchen looked like until last month. i sold the dresser-turned-island

and the china cabinet to offset the cost of the next phase.

after a month of research we decided to go with lowes to install our floor.

with a coupon and doing some of the prep work ourselves

(like moving appliances out, removing baseboards, etc.) they

were $1,000 less than any other quote we got.

we went with black and white checkerboard tile set on the diagonal.

love it.

here's the view toward the pantry.

for the banquette, our neighbor and his buddy did the work for us.

here is the finished product. with two hinged lids the amount of storage it

provides is fantastic!

there are still a few things to do at this end, like make bench cushions, find just the right light,

and decide what to do with wall space to the left and right. 

 when i finish up i'll fill you in on some of the details of these projects.

until then, this is where i'll be.

my new favorite spot to run our household.

~ stacy ~

christmas 2011 tour

i've never been one to go over the top with

christmas decor. i'm not that drawn to the idea of

transforming every room and every surface for the holiday's.

maybe it's because i feel  perpetually tired as a mom

to three boys and wife of a church planting pastor.

tired in a good way, but still, TIRED.

also, our home is small and our living space is open so a little bit

goes a long way!

this year i pulled some greens from the yard to make

 a swag for the front door. i see in this picture the holly is starting to curl up so it

may be time to cut some more. :)

our tree is a little guy and this year we opted to block

our back door for the month. we have a side door around

the corner that also leads to the back yard and our wood pile

so it's worked out pretty well.

brown wrapping, a red locker basket to hold some gifts for

out-of-towners, and some red lanterns hang around the tree which sits in a galvanized

bucket and is wrapped in burlap.

the mantle is a mix of silver, natural elements and red and white accents.

the stockings are held up with a bit of twine.

the boys come downstairs each morning to see how many days

remain before christmas.

the above chalkboard, by the way, has had many lives. it was

originally a silver framed mirror.

a simple grouping of candles and a couple of deer on the buffet.



and on the table a few decorative balls and some greenery from the yard.



otherwise, i've just tucked some greenery from the yard around the house.

y'all go check out all the great house tours over at the nester's

tour of homes and thanks for stopping by!

~ stacy ~

adapting a sconce

in my effort to draw out the makeover of the boys'

rooms i accomplished only one more tiny thing this week.

you may remember the wall treatment i finished up

several weeks ago behind bean's bed.

it's a dark little recessed area but a perfect nook

for his bed.

the outlet on that wall is wired to the light switch for the room

so i wanted to put up a plug in sconce.

then i started pricing them. good grief!

since that wasn't in the budget i found an inexpensive

candlelight sconce from lowes that i thought would be

perfect for the space.

only problem, not a plug in.

so, i did what any self respecting diy'er would do.

i adapted it.

all that was needed was a lamp cord set, some

wood screws and a cord mate.



all you do is take the two wires from the light,

that would normally be tied

into the wires from the wall box, and tie them

into the plug. the ground

wire can either be left alone or wrapped around

the screw on the mounting bar.

i picked up some wood screws because the screws

that came with the light

were not meant for wood. and because i was using

metal against wood i grabbed some washers.

the mounting bars would normally screw into the box in the wall or ceiling but

in this case i secured it directly to the wall.

and then i attached the fixture. easy peasy.

sorry, no styling photos around here! what you see is

what you get. :) who spots my nail gun waiting patiently for step 84 of boy room reno?

i have since gone back and put the cord mate on so the

cord is nice and tucked in behind a strip that adheres to the wall.

i spray painted it orb so that it will blend a little better. 

now, everyone keep your fingers crossed that bean doesn't

pull it off the wall!

~ stacy ~