The clasic end of the year post...

Wow,  2013 has been an amazing year! Last night while my sweet husband was putting our precious 2 month old to sleep I started looking through old facebook posts. I am so thankful for where the Lord has brought us this year. 2012 was a very difficult year for us, probably the hardest we've had. It brought Eric and I through looking for new jobs (at the same time), struggling to connect with each other, and going through some difficult refiners fires with our Savior. Then we ended last year yearning for a baby and trying to trust and lean on our Lord for His timing.

Little did we know the Lord wouldn't keep us waiting for long! After only two rounds of clomid we were pregnant. 2013 was full of new pregnant experiences; the joys of getting to know our sweet Luke before we even set eyes on him! The Lord brought Eric and I closer together this year and he began the healing process with relationships that had been distant for years with my family. He taught me to lean on him, and that His plan is ALWAYS the right plan. He gently pushed my heart to rely completely on him and trust him with something so precious, our sweet baby. (Which is continuing now that he is here and I am even more in love with him!)

Here is a little look back on 2013 in pictures.

 Technically it was Dec 2012, but we added this little guy to our family. It was a rough start, Gus wasn't so sure of sharing his family, toys and food with this little wild one, but now they are brothers and friends!

We were able to finish our kitchen remodel early this year. (We have been blessed to be in the middle of a remodel every new years eve since we've been in this house! We're taking the year off.) I feel so spoiled to have such a beautiful kitchen to cook in. My husband rocks!!

 

 So wonderful to finish my first year and start my second in Salado! I get to teach surrounded by such caring and loving people! Thankful the Lord brought me here! (yikes, sorry for the selfie... so not me!)

Our first look at sweet Luke! Oh how we cried seeing that little heart beat flash! The Lord is so good!

Letting our friends and family know we were having a baby BOY!

 We got to watch our sweet niece Addie grow into a beautiful one year old!

I got to share my pregnancy with this sweet friend! So thankful that we could share pregnancy symptoms and that our boys are only two weeks apart! Can't wait for them to meet and become friends!

So excited about getting closer to my sweet momma. I'm excited to watch her be a grandma to little Luke!

Blessed.... that's all I can say about these sweet friends! The Lord blesses me daily through these girls!

This man... he's my best friend, my love, and now the best daddy out there! This year, through pregnancy, a rough delivery and healing, Eric showed me so much care and love! The Lord has truly made us one and I am so blessed to call him mine!

Let's face it... the star of 2013, Luke William! It was such a joy to meet the little one that had been punching, squirming and hiccuping inside me for so long. The Lord continued to use Luke's birth to teach this ex-planer that His ways are best! Now, every day I get to love on this sweet little one and watch him grow! I love him more than I knew I could!

2013 was a busy, fantastic year! Thankful, blessed, joyful.... the only words to describe it! I know that the Lord is with us through good times and bad. So excited to see what 2014 brings!

Introducing... Luke William Bonstead, Part 1

Isn't he amazing! I know every new mother thinks their child is perfect.... but he really is!

It's been almost 4 weeks since our precious new bundle decided to surprise us two weeks early, and we couldn't be happier! The Lord has been teaching me so much since October 17, patience, trust and again.... that his ways are the best, and that he is ALWAYS in control! (You'd think I'd have learned that by now, but thank goodness our Lord is patient with us!)

So for those who are interested, here's our story. The story of how we met our precious baby boy, and what the Lord is still teaching me from it.

October 17th was my 38 week appointment. (Well technically I was 37 weeks and 5 days, which apparently in baby world... matters) It was a late appointment, at 5:30. So after a LONGGGGG day at work, and after an even LONGER few nights of not being able to sleep because I was so miserable, I stopped at sonic to grab a snack, ran to the mall to check something off my "before baby gets here" list and headed to the hospital. Once in the little room, they had two different nurses come in to check my blood pressure, which they had said was a little high. Now the appointment before my doctor actually laughed and said how "boring" my pregnancy had been and how good it was to not have any complications or concerns. So the fact the my blood pressure was a bit high worried me, but I had just had a crazy day with 5 year olds, wasn't sleeping and just hauled my humungous pregnant self across the full Scott and White parking lot. I figured "yeah sounds about right my blood pressure is a bit high." After the two nurses my doctor came in. As you know, I am quite witty (ha! just kidding!) but I was going to joke with my doctor and ask what I would have to pay her to send me over to L&D because I was so miserable. I didn't get the response I expected... "With your blood pressure, you just bought your ticket over there!"

Not exactly what I was prepared to hear!  My doctor told me that she wanted me to stop by and get some blood work done and then go over to L&D so they could observe me and Luke for a while. She reassured me that it was probably nothing, but that she didn't feel comfortable with the way my stats were looking. She told me I would probably need to take off the next day so I could do an at home urine test throughout the day, to check how things were. BUT through our talk, I for sure thought I would be going home that night.

I called Eric and told him what my doctor had said and asked him to bring the labor bag (just in case) and come on up. They checked us in to the room to observe us. We had fun laughing with the nurse and talking about our day while listening to our sweet boy's heartbeat, all the while thinking about going home and getting some dinner. After about an hour and a half the doctor on call came in and asked us if we were ready to have this baby! A feeling of excitment and surprise rushed over us while they told us the induction process. Apparently my blood pressure was just a bit too high and since he was full term they decided it was preclampcia, and to go ahead and get the party started. So we waited for them to clean a room.

A nurse came in with a wheel chair, helped me in and said they had a room ready.  That's when things got crazy. As I'm in the doorway the lead doctor on call came in and told me there was a change of plans. She said that my labs came back and that my platelet count was too low and that we were going to have to do an emergency c-section.

Ok, lets pause right now. I went through so many different things in my head about how Luke would come into the world. But c-section was not one of them! I knew he had been head down for weeks and wasn't likely to turn, so I had completely ruled it out. Another thing you might know about me, I am a recovering control freak. If you've read my entries about when we were trying to get pregnant you know that the Lord really had to work hard on my letting go. I like control; I like to know what's happening, when it's happening and I like to say how it's going to happen. I've been praying and working through this thorn in my flesh, and trusting on the Lord, but I hadn't allowed myself to give up control of how Luke's birth would go. I had the perfect delivery in my mind, and gosh darn it, that's how it was going to be!

Back to our story.... Some of the medical background as to what was going on. The preclampcia had turned into another condition called HELLP syndrome. (PS, what stupid person decided HELLP was a good name for a disorder related to pregnancy! How scarey was it to be signing a paper saying I understood the risks of HELLP. I wanted to scream HELP!!) Your platelets are what helps your blood clot. They want that number to be around 150-200. At the time I went in, my count was 90. So, if they were worried about my blood clotting, they didn't want me to go through a normal delivery. Also, the next big news that the doctor sprung on me, was that because they were worried about my clotting, they were probably not going to be able to do a spinal, they'd have to completely put me under, which would mean Eric could not go with me. So in about 30 minutes, I went from "you're having this baby tonight" to "you have to have an emergency c-section, get put completely under, we are going now to prep you!"

By the way... I cried through all this news, begged the doctor for a different route, asked if they had called my doctor and asked her option of it all..... I was a mess!  A big mess! They wheeled me to the room that they had just cleaned for my "normal" delivery, told me to change and sent in the anesthesiologist to start asking me questions about past operations... blah blah blah. All I could think of was how this wasn't how this was supposed to happen, that this COULDN'T be happening.

The whole time Eric was amazing! He was so strong and by my side.  He helped me think through and answer the questions they were asking me. About 5 minutes later, they wheeled me off. I showed Eric an "I love you" sign and that was it.

Guys, this is the most scared I have ever been in my life. Everything was happening so fast. They made me take out my contacts before I left Eric, so I couldn't see anything, and that made me panic. They got me to the room and started to prep me. I'll spare you the details, but because they didn't want the medicine to get to Luke, they couldn't put me under until right before they were going to operate. We were all waiting for my doctor to arrive but I was already prepped and having a panic attack on the table. It seemed like forever, but it was probably only 20 minutes of waiting on the table. The last thing I remember is hearing my doctor's reassuring voice tell me she was there.

While all this is going on, my sweet husband was left by himself in the labor room. He called my parents, who headed up from Austin and then his who headed over from Belton. My sweet husband prayed for me and Luke and trusted the Lord to take care of us.  Eventually they had delivered Luke but were still finishing with me. So a nurse brought Luke to Eric and gave him about 15 minutes alone with him. Eric told me he held him and told him about me and kept praying. I love that Eric and Luke had that time together. I love that while I wasn't able to hold our son right away, Eric was. After a bit, a nurse came in and helped Eric give Luke his first bath. When they were finishing that up they brought me back in.

 Luke's first picture. I wasn't in the room yet.

Now, this is where things start getting fuzzy. I was still a little woosy from the meds they used to knock me out. As soon as they wheeled me in Eric put my glasses on and showed me Luke, but I was so frustrated because I still couldn't really see him. My eye sight was so blurry for awhile. I tried to feed him (with help) the best I could as soon as they brought me in the room. After a few hours THOSE meds started to wear off, so I could see and kind of comprehend what had just happened. I was able to hold Luke and tell him how much we loved him and were so excited to meet him.

Right after surgery. 

The next three days we were in the hospital waiting for my platelets to come back up. Remember, they want them to be at 150, mine were  90 when they delivered him, by Saturday night they had dropped all the way down to 19. The doctors came and told us that they were trying to decided between waiting just a bit longer to see if they would come up on their own or if they needed to do a "controversial" platelet transfusion. That's when we started praying. The Lord's people are amazing! I think we had people from Austin to Arizona praying for those stupid platelets. Finally, they started coming up, and I was allowed to get out of bed, and attempt to eat real food! The Lord is so good, and by Sunday evening we were released to go home.

I have to say how amazing my Eric was during all of this! He never left my side! He changed all of Luke's diapers, helped me walk, helped me when I was unable to do ordinary things for myself. He prayed for me and watched out for me. He woke up every time a lab guy came in the middle of the night and watched him take my blood. He spoke up for me, when I needed extra pain meds and they weren't coming fast enough. He is my hero through all of this. The Lord does something incredible with marriages. He molds two people into one. I am so thankful to the Lord for Eric's love and care. I just can't explain what it felt like, to be so humbled and dependent and to have someone care for you so lovingly. Thank you love of mine....I would be lost without you!

To close this insanely long entry, I'll show you some more pictures of our amazing bundle. :) 

 So in love!

 Proud Aunt, Uncle and the cutest cousin around!

 Going home as a family of three

 Proud Grandparents

 Proud Grandparents

Halloween Night, with our little football

It's Bonstead Baby Time!

Well it has been Facebook official for awhile now so this isn't news to many, but I wanted to tell our story. The story of how our Lord always has perfect timing, how He blesses those that truly don't deserve it, and how he carries us when we are too worn to move on.

**Disclaimer-  This post references ovulation, and cycles.. if you are a boy and that makes you uncomfortable you may want to skip this one. Also, I know that our struggle was shorter than most and I feel guilty even claiming the pain of infertility, but I wanted to share my heart and the story of what I consider to be our little miracle. My heart aches for those still trying and yearning for a baby. Please know that I pray for your aching hearts.

A few post back, I wrote about Eric and I's difficult summer last year. We were both looking for jobs, and struggling with our walks with the Lord, and with each other. In the midst of all of that I stopped having a cycle. This had never happened to me before, I had always been regular and so I just knew I was pregnant! I took tons of tests, all came back negative. Then after three months of nothing I decided it was time to go in and find out what was going on.  My sweet doctor couldn't find anything obviously wrong so she asked if we were ready to start trying and how serious we were. I told her we were pretty serious so she started talking about how easy this would be to fix; just take a little clomid and that should fix this right up.

Now, if you know me, you know I have control issues and I used to be a planner. (I say used to be because the Lord is working on these issues with me. Teaching me that HE is the ultimate planner and that his plan is perfect!) I had NEVER thought we would have trouble getting pregnant. I have thought and dreamed of being pregnant since we got married and felt it was my turn! I had waited so long and someone owed me this joy that everyone woman is supposed to have... right?

So because I had this "plan" and wonderful idea that had just fallen apart in that doctor's office I went through many emotions when she mentioned taking medication to help us get pregnant. First I felt guilty and ashamed. Ashamed that I couldn't do what any other woman could do, ashamed that I needed help. I felt guilty for thinking about taking the medicine, that I wasn't trusting the Lord, that I was taking matters into my own hands.

I came home and told Eric our options. He too was not ready to jump into this clomid business. We decided to just take the medicine that would force me to have a cycle, but not the clomid that would specifically mature eggs and all that scarey stuff we knew nothing about. I just knew the Lord was going to reward my "trusting" him by not taking the stronger meds and he would allow me to get pregnant on my own. He made my body right, so he could heal whatever was going on. (Oh how I am thankful for His plan and that he has control of all things, not me!)

Well, two months later, two rounds of the meds to force a cycle later and we still weren't pregnant. Not even close, I still was not ovulating on my own. Back to the doctor I went. By this time she had a name for what was going on with me. PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. She also encouraged me again to try the Clomid.

After coming home and doing a bit more research, Eric and I decided to start the Clomid. I was also able to call a friend who had been down this journey. She reassured me that all my emotions and feelings were valid. She was also able to help explain to me the process I would be going through and what all the words and acronyms meant. I can't tell you what a help it was to hear from her that it was ok to feel what I was feeling. Praise the Lord for friends that are willing to share their experiences and hurts to help others struggling with the same battle.

So we started another round of the Provera (to make me have a cycle) and then the counting days, and keeping track of when to take the Clomid and when I would need a booster shot started. It felt like every day/ week was just a number. Every day hoping and praying this would be the round that would work. Well, to keep it a bit less personal I'll rush through the rest of the process. To sum it up on a certain day I had to go in and they were going to check if the Clomid had worked. If there were any eggs that were mature enough to give me the shot that would release them.  Round one, I went in and they found one good egg, but it wasn't big enough. My doctor told me to come back in a few days and we would look again. It as big enough! Praise the Lord! A shot to release the egg and three weeks later... negative pregnancy test. I was crushed. Again, I know for those going through this process expecting it to work the first time was silly of me, but I didn't know the first time doesn't normally work.

That is when I began to really face hard thoughts. I can remember coming home from Christmas with family and just sitting on the counter crying in Eric's arms, just wanting a baby. Thoughts of the expense of all these shots, and how much longer could we afford this. Knowing we couldn't afford the really expensive procedures and what would we do then....

*Can I take a break and say how amazing the men that are standing with their wives struggling with infertility are! Not only do they have to go through the emotions and thoughts of wanting to be a father and the possibility of that not happening one day, they also have to be a support system for their  emotionally unstable wives! Eric was there every time to let me cry and pray with me, and for us! He is a wonderful man and I would be lost without him! *

Ok, back to this quick(ish) summed up story of how this sweet baby Bonstead came to be.  So after the first round did not work, we started the process of round two. We upped the dosage, prayed and started the counting game again. When it was time for me to go in to check the eggs, it was a miracle... I had THREE that were looking good, but again, not good enough. Doctor told me to come in after the weekend and we would check again. Well since my last egg got big enough so I just KNEW these three would take a few days to get nice and plump! Tuesday came, I went in and they were gone. That sweet nurse looked for half an hour, when I'm sure she knew from the beginning they were gone. I couldn't hold back the tears while she searched. It just felt like another failure, more counting, more pills, more shots and more money. I was devastated. The next day my doctor called and said we should take some blood work to see if I ovulated on my own and that's where those eggs went. HOPE! There was a light after all! Well, a few days later the results came back... I didn't ovulate. They just disappeared.

While we mourned round two, we immediately started round three. Another 10 days of counting with the Provera (to make me have a cycle) and then we would do the clomid again. Well the provera, which had always done it's job in the past, didn't work. I just knew it was because the pharmacy gave me the off brand instead of the real stuff and so again, I would have to wait another 10 days before we could start round three. After waiting about a week for the provera to work... I decided to take a test before I called my doctor the next day. I wasn't excited to take the test, I was actually dreading it because after so many negatives it just gets old to be so excited then three minutes later, so sad.

This time, I didn't even need to wait the three minutes to find out! I ran into the bedroom, woke Eric up and asked if he saw what I saw... a second line! I was scared to get too excited, this couldn't be! I didn't ovulate! My body doesn't do that on it's own anymore! So I called my doctor and we got blood work that proved yes, we were pregnant!

I will leave out the emotions that went along with this. It actually took along time for me to truly believe that we were pregnant. We saw the precious little heart beat at 6 and half weeks but even then it was hard to believe this was happening.

I am now almost 16 weeks along and still amazed at our Heavenly Father! He has taught me so much through this journey! Most of all to trust Him and His timing! To rely on him when I'm so tired and worn, when I have no control of anything anymore. THAT is when he shines, when we have nothing else to give or to control. Isn't that so beautiful? That he wants us when we are at our weakest, our most vulnerable, because that is when we see his strength and his glory! I just can't put into words how the Lord has pulled me closer to himself through this experience.  I am so thankful for his love and grace! There just aren't the right words to express it. 

I feel like I have not done this topic justice. There are so many who can write more eloquently on this subject but I just wanted to share our miracle with you guys. I'm praying daily for the health and strength of this sweet little one. We will find out the gender on June 7th and we can not wait!

With another summer coming, I want to do a post on how and where the Lord has brought me and Eric since last year. But I'll save that for another time because this post is just way too long as it is.

For those that knew about our struggles... thank you for praying. Thank you for mourning the failed cycles with us and allowing me to cry with you! I am blessed with the best family and friends a girl could ask for!

-Bon

I just wanna hug it...

Hello All!

We have almost completely finished our kitchen remodel. There are still just a few more things to do, but I couldn't help but be excited to share it. Back up a few months. Ok, how about a year and a half. When we bought this house we fell in love, but one thing we didn't love was the kitchen. It was as if the navy blue fairy had thrown up in there. Blue tile floor, blue counter tops, and blue backslash.... yuck!

This was from the day we did our walk through. See that ugly light on the massive useless bulkhead? Just not our style.

Well we talked and dreamed about changing the kitchen when we bought the house but  we didn't know when and how. About a year ago (New years eve 2011) We (I should really say, Eric and his dad) replaced the blue floor tiles. Man, was that a job!

I was so excited! The tile was amazing and it made the counter tops look less ugly! And less blue actually!

So now, go back to November 2012, our 4 year anniversary. After I presented Eric with his awesome new pajama pants (I know, lame) I opened a strangely heavy box.  I pulled out a beautiful scrap piece of granite. Eric had been scheming the last few months on pricing and picking out some granite. Now he reassured me that if I didn't like that piece I could go pick something else, but I didn't want to. He had picked the perfect piece!

Over this New Year's Eve (apparently we like to do projects to ring in the new year) we officially started demoing the kitchen. There was an ugly bulkhead that divided the kitchen and the dinning room and Eric took that out, added pot lights (ahhh! unexpected dream come true) and repaired the ceiling and wall.

Then it was time to take off the old counter tops and laminate back splash. Oh, who ever created laminate backslashes in the 90's was evil! That stuff was not super easy to get off and the back wall was two layers thick! No clue whose bright idea that was!

The next day the beautiful granite came! I just wanted to hug it... and might have.. many times. ;) Then we went through a few (too many) colors and finally settled on one that was actually Eric's dad's pick. So, after painting, putting up backslash (which my AMAZING husband did all on his own!) and some other little touches and FINALLY some styling. Here are some before and after shots.

Before shot. Standing almost in the living room. Notice the massive, ugly bulkhead. 

  Almost the same shot. No bulkhead! And look at those beautiful lights!

Messy before picture.

After

This is our family verse... got us through some difficult times last summer. Still clinging to it now.

I couldn't get really good lighting to show these off. But I saw a group of white plates and pinterest and I wanted to kind of copy it. But I had these bird plates (from pier one) that I had displayed before the remodel and I liked that they threw a bit of color into the mix.

So that's it. :) I'm madly in love, and cooking is so much more fun!! I'm still looking for some lighting. I think I know what style I want, it's just finding the right ones and pulling the trigger. There will eventually be two pendant lights hanging over the peninsula, a matching one over the sink, and a new chandelier over the table.

Letting it all go

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man, whom you see and know was made strong." -Acts 3:16

This was in the Daily Bread this morning. Peter had just healed a cripple and the onlookers stared at him thinking that he (Peter) did it. I love that Peter automatically turns their focus to Christ, and off himself.

My struggle, my sin is and has been for a long time, pride. I think I can handle it all on my own.  I think I need God, but only so much or he can only come this far. He is softly and gently calling me to surrender that pride. I pray that he will show me true humility and brokenness over this sin. I want everything I do to be for His glory.

BUT.... lets be honest. That sounds good and fluffy. We could leave here and have a good Sunday morning service and be done with it. BUT....to truly think of taking down that pride barrier is scarey.  To feel so naked and weak in my flesh is terrifying. This is when I need to remember his love for me. He's not a ruler or dictator who wants to see me weak to mock me, or hurl insults at me. He loves me. He wants my humility and brokenness so He can redeem it, redeem me.

The song that Eric and I have clung to lately is "Oh, How he loves us." I'm just so reminded of that right now. As people, humans, we find it hard to be vulnerable, open, honest about who we are; about our weaknesses.  But lets think about who we are the most vulnerable with? When we were little it was our parents. We knew from birth that they loved us and we trusted them to take care of us no matter what. Now, as adults it's our spouse. Why are we able to be so vulnerable with them? Because we know they love us. Well how much more does our Savior love us? So why do I find it so difficult to set my defenses, pride, my control and security down? Because of sin. This pride is sin.

I've lived by this for so long. It's been my mask, it's comfortable. I know what this, to live by my pride, feels like. I don't know what it will look like to surrender that to the Lord.

I know that this is a process. I know that I want to be close to the Lord, while at the same time I feel my sinful nature saying "Don't! Hang on, you can do it! Don't trust, don't be weak!" It's like how Paul describes the sinful nature in Romans 7.

^" We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who does it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it"

Wow, confusing, but spoken so well Paul. How this reminds me of how much I need a savior.  So, here I go. I pray for brokenness over my sin.  I pray the Lord will lead me away from this desire to do it all on my own. I take encouragement from the awareness of his love; encouragement from the power of His plan, and knowledge. I know it will be a journey, but that's what we are called to. We are here going through the process of becoming more like Him and that means trusting Him.

Seeing Stripes

Thanks to pinterest I have been dying to add stripes to our house.  I kept thinking that I would wait till we have a little one and do them in a nursery, but well... I couldn't wait. Eric's parents gave him a laser level for his birthday (thanks guys!) and so I couldn't help but ask him to put it to good use.

Here is our bedroom when we first moved in. I found some frames at garage sales and goodwill and spray painted them. The green curtains were up in our rent house and well.. other than the bed that's all that was in there.

 I know... boring... bad... blah!

So once summer got here and I was ready to pull out my hair from boredom, Eric so sweetly agreed to do this with me. Well I guess "with me" doesn't exactly describe what happened.. see I love coming up with the ideas and "vision" (as Eric calls it) but I'm not super patient. Eric is the one who will slow me down and measure and plan and practice so that everything looks really good.

We painted the whole room the lighter color first. After which I FREAKED out thinking it was way too light... again, me not being patient and trusting my instincts. About a week later we were ready to start taping the stripes.  

We started on a Saturday morning and grossly underestimated how much time it would take to tape the stripes. When we started (about 8:30) Eric said "lets plan on taping till lunch then paint after that." HA!!! We didn't start painting till about 8:30 that night and didn't finish till about midnight. (which by the way, when did we get so old? In college I remember hanging out on the mino's talegate till WAY later than midnight!)

So we started from the bottom. We measured, leveled, marked then taped all the way around the room. Until we had all the stripes.

Yeah... Gus wasn't much help. And he couldn't understand why he had to stay in the hall

 We used the new frog tape. They advertise that it creates a "bond" or "seal" on the wall to give you better lines. I really think it did, we barely had any bleeding through.

So... fast forward 16 hours of taping and painting and then a week or so of styling the rest of the room.  Here is our new room. (side note: the stripes look pink or a rose-ish color but they are different tones of gray)

 I'm still looking to add some throw pillows to the bed. But well, I'm cheap and am holding out for a sale, or maybe making my own.

I found the new bedding at Target. Every girls favorite place! Curtains and picture are IKEA and the lamps are Ross.

I was so excited about this chair! I gave myself a certain budget for a chair and just wasn't finding many options in that budget. Everything I was seeing was armless and I wanted something a bit more functional. I headed to IKEA expecting to buy their cheapest slip covered chair in the cheapest color, white. It wasn't very comfy, but I was going to get it, to not go over my budget. As I passed the "as is" room I saw this beauty. It was there because it was a floor model and had a few little spots that were discolored. It was about $200 off and fit just a bit above my set price range. SCORE! Oh, and it barely fit in my car, but we made it work!

This was a pinterest idea. I love it! I know it's pretty cheesy but Eric and I have actually been writing little notes back and forth to each other. And it's so nice since I am normally still asleep when he leaves in the morning right now, so it's nice to wake up to a sweet note from the one I love. We have had a few others use it to write sweet notes to both of us. (thanks Grandma J)

These are either sides of the beds. I didn't want to put too many things up since the stripes are really the focus. I just reused some of the frames and pictures from before, and that mirror was a $2 garage sale find that I repainted. 

 

I'm still searching for a dresser or some sort of bookshelf to put between the bathroom and closet. I'm thinking in the near future we will want to put a tv in our room and I need something to put it on. Plus, I've got an empty wall to fill right now. 

So there it is. I am totally in love! Which is good, because Eric said he's not re-doing this and it's not changing any time soon! 

Hope you guys enjoyed our little project :)

-Bon