The infamous junk drawer!

I seem to get on these "kicks" sometimes where I will be obsessed with organizing every nook and cranny in my house!  This lasts until it is officially as organized as possible, then within 2-3 months it gets back to it's normal chaotic state.  This is never my fault, of course.  I always blame this on my husband...
So right now we are currently in the organizing phase of this vicious cycle.  So I'm working through the house room by room.  So today I decided to tackle the "infamous junk drawer"!  Well actually more like the junk basket.  At our house, the junk drawer is the first drawer you reach when you enter our kitchen.  It normally holds the flic-a-bic lighters, extra batteries, packs of gum, paint chips of the numerous colors I've painted so far, and so on....  But worse than this is our "junk basket" on top of the microwave.  This is right next to our back door where we come in and out of the house, so a lot of random items seem to make their way into this basket and it drives me crazy.  So today I officially decided to re-purpose the junk basket.  I came to the conclusion that if it's not there, I won't put random things in there anymore.  So time will tell, but for now it's working well!! :)
So next on the agenda, the rest of the kitchen cabinets, the pantry, the laundry closet, Miah's room, the bathroom linen closet, and our Master Bedroom (I'm saving it for last, because it's always the worst....)
By the time I get that massive list done, the junk basket will probably have found a new home and need to be reorganized... but for now it's looking good!!!
Can anyone else relate??  Feel free to share any good organizing tips!!!

Journey with my Best Friend

So I figured since this is the beginning of this blog, I should give a little background info on myself.  In the summer of 2000, my "journey with my best friend" started.  My cousin and I decided to go to the Chambersburg Project that summer, and I'm so glad we did.  That week I met and fell instantly in love with a cute 15 year old boy who's bright blue eyes and mesmerizing grin captivated me and literally made me melt!  I'm not so sure he had that same reaction to me, but I worked my charm throughout the week and must have done something right because a few days after it ended, he called me out of the blue, and the rest is history....

I have had the privilege of spending the last 10 years with a man who still knows how to make me smile and who can still make me melt just by flashing that mischevious grin of his. 

We officially started dating August 7, 2000 (I know it's ridiculous that I remember that!!).  We dated throughout high school and college (well, the few semesters that I attended college anyway...).  In December 2004, he suprised me by proposing at a Hershey Bears game.  Yes, it was on the jumbotron in front of the entire Giant Center.  I wasn't quite sure how to react, and apparently I forgot to actually say yes because I was so stunned.  I'm pretty sure he knew my answer regardless.

We were married August 12, 2006 at Scotland School for Veterans Children and then headed off to Myrtle Beach for our honeymoon.  We had a great time, even though we had our first official fight after I had a small fender bender in our car.  Oops.....

Jerry finished his last year of college and we started learning how to adjust to married life.   Then on May 9, 2009, our life changed again.  Miah Lauren Snyder graced this world with her presence and I learned to love in a way that I didn't know was possible.  Not only did that little girl instantly captivate my heart, but watching my husband fall head-over-heels in love with that little girl opened up a whole new type of love for him as well.  He is the most amazing father and there is nothing I love more than watching her run to him and yell "Daddy!!"

I know I don't tell him often enough, but he means the world to me and I am so blessed to have him in my life.  His hard work and willingness to do whatever is necessary to provide for his girls keeps me falling more in love with him each day.  When I think about what our future together may hold, it leaves me speechless!!

I love you Jerry and I am so thankful for all you do!!! :)
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Turning a House into a Home

Anyone who knows me (or just facebook stalks me) knows that I am ALWAYS doing something around my house. I have painted every room in my house at least twice and feel the need for change quite often. I've definitely been learning a lesson in being content over this last year or so. Although I love my job very much, selling real estate has definitely taken my itch for a new house up a notch (and it was a pretty strong itch before that too...). It's been a struggle to find contentment in my house each day. At first I wasn't even sure if I wanted to pray for it. I would have rather just prayed for a new house, but I know that right now just isn't the right timing for us. So I've finally decided to embrace my house and start to fall in love with it again. I think the key to this is realizing that it's not about the actual house I live in, but instead I need to put my focus on making it the best "home" possible. It's not about the actual walls of my house, but about the love and care we put into it. I am very blessed to have it and I'm sure God has been less than pleased with my ungrateful heart. It definitely is something that won't change overnight, but I am taking a step in the right direction each day when I make a decision to be grateful for the blessings in my life!!

I don't know how long we will be here, but I do know that whether it's six months or six years, I will be thankful that I have a home of my own and I will spend each day making it a place I love to live in.

So with that being said, a lot of people on facebook keep asking me for some updated pics of my latest renovations (like my shutters and my home office)... so here are some pics of the house as it is right now. But every other room in my house is currently in the middle of some project.... literally!  I still have LOTS to do, so stay tuned....

 Okay so here is the before picture of the house....  the previous owner apparently LOVED blue.  Not only was the front of the house blue, but also the kitchen countertops were royal blue laminate, and the back deck was painted light blue.  The counters and deck were both changed a long time ago, we just never seemed to get to the outside.... until now!!!

And the new front of our house!!!  Soooo much classier!!!  (Keep in mind, it's not a good time to take pictures since most of my flowers are not in bloom in the fall.... but it's not too bad!!)

Close up of the front door!  The light and ugly blue numbers still have yet to be changed.  That should hopefully be done soon and I will post new pictures of them once the get replaced!!

So for this picture, I must give a Big shout out to my wonderful Mother-in-law, who heard me say that I wanted a mum for my front porch (if you can consider that a porch...)  Anyway, the very next morning, she got me a mum!!!  :)

And now for the office.......

Here is my beloved workspace!!!

And a close-up of my "inspiration board"!  No matter how bad my day may be, I can always look up and smile when I see this!  The picture at the top is of my grandparents fifty years apart.  And the one on the right was just a few months before my Grandpa passed away so it is very special to me and it reminds me of what true love should look like!!

And then there's Miah's space in my office!  As a work at home mom, I need to have an area for Miah to play in my office, or it just wouldn't be practical.  And yes, I know this chair looks quite silly so low to the ground, but one of the legs broke off of it ew months ago, thanks to one of my husbands friends(we still love you Winsor!!)... so it didn't turn out to be as easy of a fix as we thought... but now it is perfect "Miah-size" and she LOVES it!!  So function wins out over style on this one! :)

And the rest of Miah's play space.... her kitchen set that Jerry's aunt found free along the road last week!  We cleaned it up and now it works perfectly in my office!  I don't handle toys in my living room very well,  unless they can be hidden....

And my cute little window display.  I think it's my favorite part of my office!!  I love the way the blind and curtain turned out!! :)

And my closet may not be real attractive, but it's super organized and I love it!!! I like knowing that everything has a place, it makes me happy!!

Is this blog worth reading????

WHO AM I AND WHY AM I CREATING A BLOG???
- Well... I'm a 25 year old wife and mother who feels completely inadequate and unworthy just about every day. On my own, I know absolutely nothing and would have absolutely no idea how to survive even a single day. I am continuously growing and learning each and every day so I will never claim to be an expert on anything. I am just a girl who's striving for a more passionate relationship with my creator and sharing about it along the way.

WHAT IS THIS BLOG GOING TO BE ABOUT AND WHY SHOULD I READ IT?
-My desire is for this blog to be a place where I can share my daily ups and downs, my joys and my struggles. I am not a savvy writer and I'm not very humorous, but I will try my best to keep it interesting.

WHAT ARE MY INTERESTS AND WHAT WILL I WRITE ABOUT?
-My life consists of diaper changes, reading books, and cleaning up messes ALL day. I have two careers aside from being a mommy and I am completely blessed to have the opportunity to do something I love, while still being able to spend my days with my beautiful daughter. For those who don't know, I sell real estate for Help-U-Sell Keystone Realty and absolutely LOVE working with buyers. Helping people find their dream home is my true passion. Also, I have recently became a health coach with Take Shape for Life and I am so excited about it. I have lost over 35 pounds and started taking charge of my health and now I get to help others do the same.
Although I love working from home, I can sometimes let my work consume me and I am working on making sure I keep my priorities in check.
My posts will be on any random topic that enters my mind.... but primarily my thoughts consist of ways to become a better mother, wife, and follower of Christ. I also love talking about decorating, houses, my daughter, shopping, and any weird things that happen during my day that make me laugh!!

If anyone is paying attention to the time of this post, you will notice that it's definitely time for me to get some zzzzzzzzzzzz's!!! I always seem to get some inspiration and bursts of energy late at night (as you can tell if you follow my facebook posts about painting my front door in the middle of the night, scrubbing my bathroom floor at midnight, and all of the other bizzare things I do)! But I always seem to regret those decisions the next morning when my alarm goes off and I need to literally scrape myself out of bed. So in order to avoid that feeling tomorrow morning, I am going to end this post and try to get some sleep tonight!! :)