My steps were: sanding, priming, first coat, another light sanding, final coat, distressing.

I decided to add an unexpected element by painting one of the inside inset panels with chalkboard paint. On a side note I'm really bothered by that right drawer handle sticking up. Excuse me while I go fix that.

Now I need to figure out what to do on top. The room this is in has two story ceilings. I have always had a hard time knowing what to do there.

The total work time on this project was probably 3.5-4 hours. But I worked on it over a few days. I left it right where it is now and just lifted the legs to scoot a drop cloth underneath. I did remove the drawers and the hardware on the drawers. I had hoped to find a knob for the doors to compliment the hardware on the drawers. Still looking.

Overall I am really happy with it. It is eye-catching, a focal point, it's decorative and I just love the splash of blue in our family room.

In many countries children with Down syndrome are institutionalized at the age of 4 or 5. Reece's Rainbow is a ministry dedicated to locating those children and helping them find a family. Hundred's of kids have been placed and saved from the neglect and abuse found in many institutions. There are many, many more waiting for their families. Maybe you can help. Click the link below to find out. (this is a 12 minute video and well worth the time)


Reece's Rainbow

It is quiet time in the house but all is not quiet. It rarely is, really.

Spinner and Bean share a room upstairs over our guest room. Right outside of the guest room is a short hallway that leads to the garage. There is a small ceiling light in that area that I have always wanted to change. The globe that covers the light has been there since we moved in over two years ago, a builder's choice globe. Milky white and plain.

Here it is.

Boring and ordinary, right? But now, I get to replace it. Spinner and Bean are sooo not quiet during quiet time. While putting Tank down for his nap (thank God he still naps!) I heard the ruckus in the other room and then I heard the crash downstairs.

The good news for me is that I have been vindicated. I tell them repeatedly that one day their upstairs wrestling and jumping off beds will result in the loss of downstairs lighting. I have mostly been worried about my kitchen pendant lights that rattle when they parachute off our bed. They have yet to see the result of their hard work, I'll show them when quiet time is over. But now I have proof and no one gets to roll their eyes at me over this particular issue anymore. :)


This thing is a beast to paint but already I am loving the difference!

After a debatable number of years, dinosaurs have returned. And they have made their way to our Southern City.

Last night, Spinner went Walking with the Dinosaurs. And my Aunt Susan brought home evidence.




Couldn't have been more thrilling for our soon to be seven year old!

I'm getting off my duff and tackling another project. Melissa at The Inspired Room is having a Procrastinator's Party and it is just the push I need to get my armoire done. Nothing like a little blogosphere pressure to get me moving. I have two weeks to finish my project at which time I am to post a picture of the finished piece for all party participants to check out. And you, of course. If you give a rip.

It should be fun. Plus, I am a sucker for before and after pictures. It will be fun to see the transformations posted by all the party participants. You can visit them all through the links on Melissa's blog.

I have mentioned my armoire project before but as a reminder here is the 'before' picture.



My plan? Blue. Shade to be determined but it will be aquaish, or peacockish, and hopefully sufficiently distressed.

Wish me luck. I will need it with three little punks running around looking for trouble. But the shame of not having my 'after' pictures on Oct. 20 will keep me going. I so hate to disappoint.


And this is totally unrelated to anything mentioned above but I just have to share. Yesterday? Tank came running in the house yelling, "help bug. . . .help bug," as he shoved his clinched fist into my face. I instinctively backed away but he would have nothing of it. He grabbed my hand, turned it up and dropped a quartered earthworm into my palm.


I'll be painting in between those sorts of antics. Wish me well!

So you may notice that I have some rather blatant google advertising showing up on my blog now. It is part of their AdSense program and apparantly every time one of their ads receives a click, I get some pocket change.

I read an article about it and thought, why not! It's an impressive article. This woman has clearly gone above and beyond with her ad postings but it did challenge me to give it a go.

We are, afterall, in tough times. So, if you feel so inclined give the ads a click or two when you visit me here at Blessed Chaos. Maybe I will make enough for a tank of gas. Or, just ignore them. That's fine by me too! I'm just glad you come around at all.

And now, I am off to get ready for the very first public service of our church plant.

As I said yesterday I don't feel like I can commit to this years Get it Down: 31 for 21 challenge.

There are many others, however, that are stepping up to the challenge. You can find a complete list over at Unringing the Bell, where Tricia has organized this effort for the third year in a row.
Go take a look. You are sure to meet some of the cutest kids ever!

In previous years, during the month of October, I have blogged daily in honor of Down syndrome awareness.

It's not gonna happen this year. I just can't pull it off. There are all sorts of reasons.

One is that I don't have as much to say about Down syndrome in the sense of how it impacts us daily. It's part of the fabric of our days. It is our normal. Bean is not defined by Ds, though it is very much a part of him. On the one hand I don't think much about it. On the other, it is always with me. Somehow those two things have blended together for me.

Second, we just have a lot going on this month and I am finding it hard to keep up with the pace of our family. First up for the month is the first public service of our church. We have been in SC for more than 2.5 years now with the goal of beginning a new church. We hit some hard spots, made some changes, and started fresh last November. After nearly a year of meeting with our core group for worship, teaching, planning, building relationships, seeing new folks join us, and looking for a building we are ready to begin public services. This Sunday, Oct. 4, is the big day. It's a housewarming of sorts. A celebration of all the Lord has brought our little church through. And it's a way to introduce ourselves to our community in a more formal way. We are excited! We even have our website up and running. Check us out: Riverside Community Church.

So, I'll be in and out. Posting some about Down syndrome as well as other goings on in our family. And for those of you that don't know much about Down syndrome maybe you will learn something new from our family. Next time I check in I will point you toward others that will be blogging about Ds more regularly than myself, in case your interested.

Happy October!