A Semblance of Sanity!

I am happy to stay - beyond thrilled, really! - that we are on the home-stretch of the paint fiasco - er, painting "project" - that has taken so much of our time lately. If I do the math correctly (which is dubious, considering I've averaged 5 hours of sleep per night, not including wake-ups!), we've gone through ...

... at least 6 rolls of tape (even after purchasing that lovely $15 "trim brush" that should save you from taping - but after 3 cups of coffee, even a $15 brush can't make it a neat line!!)

... approx. 13 gallons of paint (so far, we're not quite done yet!!!)

... excuse me while I whip out my calculator for this one!! ... 59 hours of painting alone. That does not include prep, sanding, priming, moving furniture (or chasing children off the furniture!!)

However, it was beyond time to repaint. Here's what it was...

Here's what it is in the process of becoming...

And here's the mess of our living room for the last 2 weeks!!

I'm learning a lot of things while repainting the house...

... like the art of cooperation. Nothing says lovin' (or not :P) like painting together! J & I approach such projects very differently, and even after 10 years, we find ourselves growing in the area of Skillful Negotiation Tactics.

... like the reason I've not tackled this before is because I lacked confidence, mostly. I am most tempted to procrastinate when I feel overwhelmed by a project. Give me a room, okay. Give me a whole house (with a rather specific shade of carpet :)....) and it feels a bit big.

... like functioning on little sleep and actually thriving on little sleep are very different things! I can survive on 5 hours a night; I am not my best self on 5 hours a night :)!

... like my mind has a lot of time to think (that is when I wasn't keeping the dog from the paint try or listening to Little M weave together one of her imaginative adventures or chasing Sweet K away from Diggy's food dish - which is totally gross, I know!! - or having two little ones climbing on me - apparently any one on the floor is fair game - and trying to tackle mommy!). Some times those thoughts bring revelation. Some times those thoughts turn sour, and I find myself frustrated or discouraged or just plain gloomy. Time to think can become time to pray, and to find God in the midst of those tangles.

... like this was the color my home was meant to be. At least for now. It's warm and cozy, and much more my style. I look forward to the additional projects I've bookmarked for the fall. Until then, we'll tidy up the mess we've made, repaint the girls room, a few day projects here and there and

ENJOY THE REST OF SUMMER!!