Old Table, New Life

This table came out of an old rent house Bobby and I lived in.  This piece of furniture, along with some other stuff, was left from the previous tenants.  The landlord said we could just keep it all.  It was an ugly thing and would have easily thrown it out, but it sure was sturdy and solid.  I thought, some day I will refinish it.... Almost 2 years later, I did!  

For Christmas, I got 2 sanders.  One was a heavy-duty one and the other is for small spaces.  

I decided to work on this little table as a first tester project.  Reasons: it was free, and SMALL.  I've always dreaded sanding in the past because I've only used a very old palm sander with the paper falling off, or just by hand.

Boy was I in for a treat!

It was like instant gratification seeing the old finish come right off with my new sanders! Needless to say... I want to sand everything now.  lol.

Now on to the actual finsih....

I was asked a while back, what color did I use for this? I never responded cause it wasn't an easy answer.  

Back when we lived in Cleburne, TX Bobby and I went to some rustic furniture stores.  There, I saw an entertainment console with a green finish on it.  I had never seen something like it before, and loved it.  Bobby thought it was weird, but that didn't stop me dreaming of this neat touch to furniture.  

When it came to this table, I thought of many different ways to color it but was undecided.  I went to Lowe's to figure out what I was going to do.  I always like looking at their mark down section of paints because there are some REALLY good deals there.  While I was there, I found a gallon of green paint.  It wasn't a subtle shade of green either.  It was the exact shade of green I needed for only $5!

After painting 2 coats of green, I lightly sanded the edges of the table, exposing the wood.

Next, it was time to stain.

I got some stain from a brand I had never seen before.  The color I wanted was a "dark walnut" and that's what it said on the can.  I painted it on there and soon realized it wasn't working.  I went back to Lowe's and bought the Minwax brand of "dark walnut" along with glossy polyurethane.

I brushed the new stain all over the table, covering up all the green.  Once I was done, I got an old rag and wiped the stain off.  This technique made the green darker, getting into all the grooves and creases of the wood.  Still though, the wood didn't soak the stain in all the places.  I didn't mind cause it added more character.  

After letting it dry, I coated the table in the polyurethane to seal in the paint/stain.  I have found out that I love to brush the glossy polyurethane on furniture.  It tends to bring out all the richness from the colors making the project that much nicer.  

So there you have it.  My new "rustic green" table.

I got Buddy's approval!

I'm back!!

I've decided to start blogging again.  My ambitions are high as to how often I will be posting on here, but I'm for sure going to make more of an effort to do so.  This blog will become more of a hodgepodge of our life. I plan on sharing things created in my craft room, home makeover projects, maybe a few recipes, and life happenings.

So much has happened in the past year and a half.  I'd say 2012 was a very good year for "The Pope Family."  Sure there were bumps here and there, but for the most part things went for the better...  We finally gave birth to our miracle baby (YAY), bought a house, and new car were probably the biggest deals. We feel very blessed.  I don't know of a day that goes by I don't thank my Jesus for everything that has happened. <3 br="br" nbsp="nbsp"> ~*StAy ToOnEd*~ 

The Beginning of a Rainbow....

Okay I'll make this short and sweet...

Bobby and I are expecting again :)

We are calling this one our Rainbow Baby :)
-The sign of hope after a storm.

If you want to join Bobby and I in praying, we would love it.  We are praying for a strong, normal, smart, beautiful, lively healthy baby.

p.s.  Do you have a rainbow quote you would like to share?  A special Bible verse, or quote?  We would love to hear them :)

Back in April I was asked if I would come up to Missouri and help out at a Rodeo Bible Camp.  Without even thinking twice about it I jumped on the opportunity.  Later on I wondered if I should have prayed first, so I did, but I never felt like I shouldn't go.... so away I went.  :)

Early Tuesday morning my inlaws, 3 teens from their youth group, and I headed out to the camp in northern Missouri.  On the way there we stopped off through Joplin, MO to see the devesation of that massive tornado that went through there.  It was aweful, but very humbling and thankful for what we have. 

Trees stripped of all there branches... where houses once were, they were no more.  There was no end in sight it seemed like.

In the middle of all the mess was this church with it's cross still standing.  It was so powerful in all it's massiveness (if that's even a word).  Some people may think, "who cares, why would God let this happen anyways."  You know, I don't know, but I do know that He is there in every situation and He always shows Himself one way or another.  So I thought this was pretty cool.


So on to the camp... One of the main reasons why I was so excited about this camp is that I've never gone out and been on the giving end of God's work.  Most of what I do is from behind the computer screen and so being face to face dealing with what needed to be delt with right then and there was something I had always wanted to experience.

I was also looking forward to all the neat things I was going to experience... after all this was a RODEO Bible Camp I was going to. 

On Wednesday I met my girls.  I had a group of 7 ranging from 11 to 13 year olds.  Some brought horses... some didn't.  The first day I was thinking,"What have I got myself into... there is a lot of okward silence... am I not cool enough to these girls?  Surely I am, I have an 11 year old sister for crying out loud... and these adults... They must think I'm some crazy girl from Texas not knowing what I'm doing."  We played games, had chapel, started coming out of our shells some, and I slowly became really impressed by the young group of girls I had.  They were all from different backgrounds and all had really good attributes.

During the rest of the week we became pretty close relying on eachother.  For several hours of the day each girl would go to what they called Even Instruction.  One girl came to learn Horsemanship, another Trick Roping, another Team Roping, Trick Riding, and 3 of them were in Goat Tying.  I would go around watching each girl and all of them strived to be the best at what they did, but was always willing to help out a fellow camper.  I was so blessed with my group of girls.  I never had to worry about them. 

I was so blessed.  I got to minister to several different people... some in my team, some not, some were even people on staff with me that I became good friends with.  We had lots of laughs and memories.  I wish I could write about everything that happened because it was all so great, but of corse I can't think of it all right now. 

Some pictures from the camp...

Team roping instructor and his dog during Chapel

My father-in-law preaching

Chapel Service

My cousin, Whitney, Trick Riding

My cousin, Libby, in Horsemanship

There was even some bull and bronco riding...

I really enjoyed this trip and I'm so thankful to even be thought of for something like this.  I think I got ministered to way more than I actually ministerd to other people.  The whole Rodeo Bible Camp experience is something I will never forget. :-)

So many thoughts

There are a lot of thoughts bouncing aroud my head right now.  Lots of prayer for sure.  Mainly for one particular young lady and the decisions that she is having to make.  I pray that she is at peace with whatever she decides to do.  I wish I could speak more about it at this time, but it's just not time to.  If you want to join me in prayer for this special lady and for her family that they will be there for her no matter what she chooses, I'm sure it will be greatly appriciated by many people. 

Thank you so much!

Rosemary

He loves us because He loves us because He loves us....

Today was Valentine's Day.  It also marks 2 months to the day when I got to see my beautiful baby girl.  It was also the day that Bobby and I finally had our genetic appointment.  It couldn't have gone any better.  There is nothing wrong with Bobby and I!! We can have perfectly healthy babies, it is possible!  We were told that Enoch, and Mary Alice's reasons for their outcomes were totally random.  We just happen to have 2 random things happen to 2 of our babies.

We also found out the main cause for Mary Alice's conditions.  She had Amniotic Banding happen to her.  If you do the research you will see that it's an aweful thing.  When you do, you may think, well there were sooo many things that went on, how could this be what she had.   :( Well, the banding wraped around her cord just days after her life begain inside me that it cut off most of the nutrients she needed to grow. 




Also, I just wanted to say that Jesus loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because that's what He is... Love. Happy Valentine's Day.

Butterfly

A few months ago a little 3 year old girl said to her daddy and mommy, "Mary Alice is like a butterfly and when she comes out she is going to fly home to Trey (Bobby) and Rosie."  This is from the daughter of one of my very closests friends.  I didn't take what this little girl said lightly because I knew this girl had spoken some very profound things before and I knew that an average 3 year old wouldn't think of something like that on her own.  She spoke truth.  Now I didn't know if Mary Alice was actually going to come home with Bobby and I or if she was going to fly home to heaven and be in our hearts for ever.  Either way, it was truth and I clung to it as a hope, knowing everything is going to be just fine no matter what happened. 

Also, even before I became pregnant with little Mary Alice I knew that I wanted a nursery decorated in a cowboys and indians theme.  Boy or girl I didn't care.  Since that was the case I found myself drawn to horses.

About a week after Mary Alice was born I went to one of my favorite stores, Mardels.  While I was there, I came across a book about a child prodigy name, Akiane.  She is a famous artist that painted things she saw in her Dreams.  Her most famous painting is probably one she did of Jesus when she was 8 years old. 

As I looked through the book I came across a painting that I will never forget. 

"Butterfly Passion"

...Whether in his dream or for real, a horse is running after his love downstream, while the love butterflies surround him. The bubbles represent womb and beginning. I painted this scene to express the search for love and its meaning... - Akiane

 
 
So there is not much to say after looking at the painting and reading what Akiane had to say about it.... All I could say is, "Thank You Jesus!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note: I c&p from Akiane's website, that's why there's a big copyright sign on the picture. lol