A New Venture!

So, you may already know all about our new lil' venture & some of you have already purchased a sign or furniture piece (thank you!)... but in case you haven't heard or have yet to meet us...

Let me introduce ourselves & this new venture... Presenting... Whitehouse Designs!! :)

My husband, Shawn & myself have teamed up to begin Whitehouse Designs. What began as somewhat of a hobby with decorating & repurposing furniture for me (Candi) & building/woodworking for Shawn has blossomed into a local small business!

Picture by Jennifer Jones Photography

While our primary role is with Arizona State Chi Alpha & investing in the lives of college students, (which we LOVE) - we are grateful to have this opportunity to utilize our giftings in another way.

There is something extremely therapeutic about seeing a start & a finish! ( In ministry, most of the time we see only a very small part of someones story & may never know or "see" the full impact.)

We feel blessed to invest our time in a few different things that we enjoy and are life giving!

Although, both roles are different.. they both require vision, creativity and a sense of purpose!

So, if you are in the market for a wood sign, repurposed furniture, something custom- or need someone to help  make your vision a reality - we would love to help!

Feel free to check out  Whitehouse Designs facebook page, follow us on Istagram: thewhitehousedesigns or email: whitehousedesigns5@gmail.com

Oh and here is the rest of our team & some of our creations!

Some other projects!

We would be so thankful if you would help us spread the word!

Thanks for your support!

Fall- spiration!

Happy Fall!!!

 I love Fall!!! Now granted, Arizona Fall may not be the same as some other places but we will take what we can get!

Here are a few recent Fall projects! :)

 A little something for the mantle ...

painted this frame- annie sloan- providence

Used my handy dandy Silhouette Cameo to cut the vinyl lettering

my handy hubby painting the soon to be chalkboard! 

Ta-Da! Love it!!  Bought a bistro chalk pen from Hobby Lobby!

Gold spray painted pumpkins

entryway 

mantle 

mantle - added burlap & lace to candles

craft at recent All Things Fall Party

How adorable are these pumpkins!?

 You can find the instructions to make these adorable No Sew pumpkins here  (Confessions of a Plate Addict Blog)


Hope your Fall is off to a fabulous start!!! :)


Happy Fall!!!

How I Spent My Afternoon

"MOM! Skyler is drawing all over the couch!!!!" 

I'm attempting to get some work done in the office and these are the words I hear being yelled by my four year old daughter.

 I jump up - Preparing myself for what i will see when i round the corner to the living room....

 The culprit:

This cutie wouldn't do such a thing, right!? HA!

The Weapon: An Ink Pen

The Damage! (note: it def looked worse in real life!!)

Ottoman

First step: Have a nice little chat with my 2 year old and put him in his room.

Step two: Freak out a little

Step three: Google

Step four: send husband to the store for rubbing alcohol

Happy to say, after much time I actually got most of it out - not perfect but not noticeable unless you are trying to look for it. 

Life Savers: Rubbing Alcohol, Doterra Essential Oil-Lemon, Cotton Balls, Prayer & Patience. :) 

If this ever happens to you - blot - don't rub.  It may look awful to start- but patience, prayer and perseverance will pay off!

Shameless Plug: I love Doterra products and actually have an online store if you are interested in trying the products! Amazing stuff - from allergies, fevers, stress and apparently to cleaning a couch.. they are great! 

Also, Noteworthy-  I love my white couch and it has been super easy to keep clean with little children - up to this point. Normally, i just wipe it down and my kids are not allowed to eat in the living room .. now we just need to make sure ink pens stay out too! :)

Hope you are enjoying your Friday! 

Lately...

It's been awhile... I won't even try to catch you up on everything, but here are some recent highlights ....more to come!

1. I received a free copy of the book Circle Maker awhile back from something on Twitter. The book has been waiting on my shelf to be read ... I finally cracked it opened and I am really enjoying it! I feel challenged & inspired to up my prayer life - to pray more specific & consistent- to dream BIG God sized dreams! Highly recommend this book! 

"Nothing honors God more than a big dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish. Why? Because there is no way we can take credit for it. And nothing is better for our spiritual development than a big dream because it keeps us on our knees in raw dependence on God." - Mark Batterson

2. Plane ride to Portland! This was a first for Averi & Skyler. Let's just say that Skyler made some friendenemies on the plane. hahah - I mean not everyone enjoys a high pitched screaming that makes your eardrums bleed... especially not the guy sitting in front of such a noise.  Minus the occasional scream it was a great experience! 

3. Oregon - a major shout out to Shawn's parents for making this trip possible! What a blessing to get out of the triple digits of Phoenix and enjoy the beauty of Oregon & spend time with family! We spent the majority of our time in Sunriver ... what a lovely place to stay! Miles and miles of bike trails, an aquatic center, an adorable downtown area with live music, cute stores,  miniature golf, bumper cars & more, beautiful scenery-- golf courses, rivers and lots of green grass! ( i kept thinking that it reminded me of the summer getaway from the movie Dirty Dancing. haha) This is a place that Shawn grew up going to every summer with his family.. so it was very special for his family to revisit a place with so many great memories and to now experience it with grandkids  too! 

4. White river rafting - need I say more?!

5. Visiting friends who are pastors of Terrebone Assembly of God - It was so fun to just show up for church and surprise our friends! These are friends that we met many years ago in Prescott. Scott was the youth pastor at the church we attended in college. I love that even though years may go by - when God connects your hearts with others those relationships stay intact! 

6. Sadi is our escape artist dog and she was up to her tricks while we were gone! A terrible feeling to find out your dog is missing when you are a vacation & you cannot do much about it...  she was missing for four days... but thank goodness she was found!!! 

Make-over Monday- A White House Design

Not sure what other families do at 11pm on a Sunday night... but around here we decide it's a good time to work on a house project! I mean the kids are all asleep and you can finally have a quiet moment to think & create.
(For all you morning people - this may not work for you... maybe you can wake up at like 4:30am..? :)

 Also, it definitely works to our advantage that our kids can sleep through a compressor going on & off and a nail gun.

So, typically the way it works .. I have the vision, my husband has the skills!

A good combination! Go Team White!

I have a small wall in my living room that I have stared at many times- feeling like we should do something with it..  wallpaper..? a cool stencil..? Both of which I was in favor of, but the one with the skills - not so much. And a good thing to consider is that the wall has texture on it- so both wallpaper & a stencil would be quite a nightmare to execute.

So my new inspiration - A wood wall! I guess you could call it an updated version of wood panelling. (we did at one point have an entire room in our house that was nothing but wood panelling! Ugh.)
:)

After checking out a couple different types of wood, we decided to go with redwood bender board because it is thin- easy to manipulate, cost effective & has nice variations in the wood. We purchased it at Lowes for $2.50/ 8ft board.

Started with the vertical boards first- used this to created a border. We decided to put two vertical boards on one side and one on the other side. 

We decided what colors and length sizes to put in as we went.  For the colors I chose silver, white, & aqua. We left the majority of the wood natural. (unpainted) 

                     

And at 2am it is all done!  (I have been in & out of consciousness on the couch, waking up every so often to comment on the color placement. 

And Ta-Da!!! We are lovin our new wall! Something different that brings in some fun colors & texture.

Major props to my husband! Thank you Shawn for your patience & your creativity!

So if you are in the market for a wood wall - I know someone who might be able to help you out! :) 

A Tip from Shawn: Not all the boards are the same widths, so check widths when you are purchasing, to avoid unsightly gaps.

*Stay tuned form more White House Designs!

Make Over Monday

Going through my clothes to find several pair of jeans that I have not worn for quite some time - Bootleg & Flare jeans - not sure if  those jeans would be making an appearance again or not...

Sooooo...

 Time to grab a  pair of scissors and make some cut offs!! Cut offs have been around since the 70's (maybe before?!)  and I think they are here to stay! 

You can pay anywhere from $19.99 at Target - $49.95 at the Gap or upwards of $200 for designer 

OR 

you can repurpose some jeans that you already own for FREE!!!

And who doesn't love Free?!

Happy DIY-ing :) ! Hope your summer is off to a great start! 

Morning Glory: Overcoming Disappointment

Doesn't matter who you are, we have all experienced disappointment. It's definitely not a great feeling.

Unmet expectations - unfulfilled dreams/hopes - being let down by a person or ourselves - frustration -

disillusionment... sadness...

It happens. It hurts.

This last season of my life was met with several personal disappointments...situations I had no control over and no matter how hard I tried, they were not going to be "fixed"...

Life was not going to stop because I felt disappointed & hurt. I had to keep moving. One step at a time, one day at a time. One prayer at a time.

What do we do with our disappointments?

Will we allow our disappointments to define us?  Will we allow them to overcome us?

Or will we overcome our disappointments?

A few things that help me.

1. God is the God who sees. He sees me & He sees you! He knows every single detail of my heart,my thoughts, my life AND He deeply cares. He is for me & you!!  This song by Kari Jobe super blesses me & ministers to my heart!

2. Perspective is everything. It's healthy for us to acknowledge our feelings & emotions but we can't fixate on them. Where is our focus?

"Set your mind of things above, not on earthly matters." Colossians 3:2

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right whatever it is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  -Philippians 4:8

3. Prayer. God loves it when we come to Him. We can tell Him anything. We can be raw, honest & we don't have to get ourselves together first - He wants us to come to Him just as we are ... even a hot mess! :) He can handle our disappointments! 

4. Praise. The bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. His presence in our lives changes everything!! It only takes a moment in His presence. We have so much to praise Him for. We can praise Him in the midst of pain & difficult circumstance. 

"Fig trees may no longer bloom, or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless, and harvest time a failure; sheep pens may be empty and cattle stalls vacant-- but I will still celebrate because the Lord God saves me." Habakkuk 3:17-18

5. Declare Truth. What we speak from our mouth is powerful. Our words can either speak life or death. Speak Life! Speak God's Truth! 

"Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." - Psalm 73: 23-26


God will give us the grace we need to navigate any situation in our life!

My prayer is that we will lay down our disappointments to the Lord - there is nothing that we will experience that Jesus cannot relate with.

If we choose to hang on to our disappointments they will eventually lead to defeat in our lives! And this will become such a distraction to the purposes the Lord has called us to!

Today is a new day! There is an abundance of Grace available for us! His Grace is Sufficient for us!!

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I pray that you will find what you need from a loving God today! He is our Comforter, our Healer and our Friend!

Not sure what you are walking through right now.. perhaps you are on the mountain top right now or perhaps you are in a valley... wherever you find yourself today - I pray that these things will be a help to you today or when you need them! :)

Family Matters: School Year Complete!

 

 Hard to believe a school year is complete! The time sure does fly by!!! Averi had the privilege to attend Grace Community Preschool.  We were super impressed with the school.. they did such a fantastic job and paid such great attention to detail. I am continually amazed by the scripture that will come out of Averi's mouth or the songs that she will spontaneously sing.. those she learned and those that she makes up!!

Averi's Favs: the playground, playing outside, the swings, drawing, art projects, singing, sportsball & twinkle toes dance.

Fav Friends: Kaylee, Lilly & Reese

Most excited for summer:  To go to the beach ( hmmm.. i hope she knows something that i do not!)

Trenton had a great first year of Kindergarten at Broadmor Elementary School. His teacher Mrs. Kilby is a fabulous teacher and she made such a great investment in Trenton!

I am amazing at all Trenton learned! He has become a great reader and writer. 

Trenton's Favs:  End of the school day (lol)

                             Field days

                             Fun days

He said he liked learning how to write, paint, do art & math. 

"I learned to count & write all the way to 100!"

Fav Friends: "A lot of friends... Boys!" 

"No girls.. but sometimes we would play tag or a zombie game." 

Most Excited for Summer: to swim & eat popsicles 

Feels Excited about being a first grader!!

Make over Monday- White House Designs

 Sometimes it's just fun to do something creative!

I have found that in ministry, often times it feels as if the "job" is never done and you do not always get to see the "finished project" ... so I find it very life giving & satisfying to complete a project.

A before & an after!

Here are some recent completed projects.

I was very fortunate and had some help on one of the projects! :)

found this cute chair in Prescott, Az at a thrift store.  It is painted in Annie Sloan Paris Grey

Loved this chair. Found on craiglist

Painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Providence

Sorry for the not so great before pic. found this desk on craigslist. Paint-Annie Sloan Paris Grey

 

Left the top of desk in it's original. Added Gedeo Silver Gilding wax to the hardware

                             Had some great little helpers who helped do some distressing on my bathroom cabinets                                                                                             

Not sure what I would even call the original color- pretty bad! Repainted with Paris Grey, Silver Gilding & Providence. Hope to find some more of the original knobs to put in the middle. :)


Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day!

More White House Designs to come! :)

Nine Awesome Qualities in a Spouse!

Celebrating 9 years of marriage today! Couldn't be more blessed! I thank God for the amazing husband that He gave me!

In honor of our 9th anniversary I would like to shout out 9 awesome qualities in a spouse! :) 

1. Servant Minded - willing to put the needs of others before himself. Goes out of his way to bless others - not expecting anything in return. 

2. Humble - is willing to admit when he is wrong and can say those sometimes difficult words... "I'm sorry!' 

3. Man of Prayer - values prayer! Takes time to pray with me, with our kids & with whomever the Lord puts on His heart to pray for (aka: the cashier at Wal-Mart at midnight!) 

4. Risk Taker - although this definitely applies in the natural sense, what I love most is his willingness to take risks in following Jesus and advancing His kingdom. He would rather live a faith-filled adventurous walk with God than a comfortable status quo one.

5. Active parent - loves his kids and is super involved in their lives- from changing diapers, bath time,  taking them to Chick-fil-A, to playing soccer, to disciplining when necessary, to tucking them in at night & praying over them... there is not a job he wouldn't do for his kids! :)

6. Team player - He values our marriage as a partnership. We are a team in all we do. He is my greatest encourager & support! He speaks life over me, believes in me & sees God's best in me! He inspires me to chase after the dreams God has placed in me. 

7. Fun & Funny - doesn't take himself too seriously. Can laugh and find the good- even in the crazy difficult times.. 

8. Super Generous - has a heart of sacrificial giving... the kind of giving that requires faith to do so! 

9. Loves Jesus more than me or anyone or anything else! 

And the list truly could go on and on.. but for the the sake of the number 9, i will stop. :) 

Happy Anniversary Shawn! I love you and I am so proud to call you my husband! You are a great example of an outstanding husband. I am thankful for the example you set for our own children, our college "kids" and many others! 

Morning Glory: Struggle

Happy Sunday! Praying that wherever you are today you have a blessed day - knowing that you are deeply loved by a Heavenly Father with a specific purpose for YOU!

Something on my mind and heart today is this-

Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Prior to this verse Paul goes through several different types of relationships- read more here

Husbands & Wives

Children & Parents

Slaves & Masters ( aka: employee and employer) 

After speaking on these important relationships - He instructs us - 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God,so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes"

Then v6  reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh & blood! 

We must be aware that there is a very real spiritual battle going on all around us- all of the time-- it's not just an action movie sort of thing! It's real! It's happening!

It is interesting that Paul goes through some of the most important relationships in our lives and then makes it clear that our struggle is not against flesh & blood. 

Maybe he understood that at times we will struggle in these relationships with these people...that at times we may engage in the wrong battle.

We all experience conflict - it's normal, it's going to happen.. with God's help and His wisdom we can resolve these issues. At other times, it truly is not a people problem- it is a spiritual problem! 

The enemy would love to get us distracted, for us to lash out on people and fight it out in the natural and not fight in out in the the Spirit by prayer.

Sometimes it is just not personal! Yes, it may feel very personal and your flesh may want to react & say things you may regret... but it's not personal!! 

Only with God's help & His Holy Spirit can we navigate relationships in our lives. God created us for relationship - they can be such a blessing to us! 

Relationships can be messy sometimes, we can put ourselves out there and experience rejection, abandonment, abuse, neglect  and many other hurtful things. 

Saying that it's not a people problem does not excuse the wrongdoing of another person & does not negate the pain & wounds. It also does not mean that we need to subject ourselves to people that are not safe in our lives. 

But God is the God who sees and we can be sure that Justice is His! 

Today may we put on the Full Armor of God & be aware of the devils schemes. Remember, our adversary is sneaky and sly. He is an opportunist and if he can get us to focus our attention on conflict with others and holding onto offense- then we will not be aware of much else. The bible says to

"See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." -Hebrews 12:15

 We must keep our hearts soft! 

May we walk by the Spirit and not our flesh. 

I pray for eyes to see and ears to hear.. for a greater revelation to understand the things around us. May  we react in prayer and "...be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."(James 1:19)

God can & will give us the courage to forgive! Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a choice and it is ongoing.

Aren't you thankful that God sees us & knows us?  He knows what we need and only He can truly satisfy us! 

We are loved. He is our Comforter, our Counselor and our Healer.