Family – Page 3 – Love My DIY Home

Non-funeral Pepper Party {Love My DIY Home}

The Pepper Party – A {DIY} Non-Traditional Funeral

The Pepper Party – a Funeral Alternative Pepper Party: pep·per /ˈpepər/ par·ty /ˈpärdē/ n. 1. a. A ceremony or group of ceremonies held in honor of Pepper, a mom, grams, and meemaw. A non-funeral in celebration of life for the benefit of those left behind. Be a rebel with a cause – do things your way, do it yourself and thumb your nose at tradition – change the rules for your family. Sometimes DIYing is the best way to care for your family. Let me show you what we did, but first… Choose which photo warms your heart and gives you hope. This one… Or this one? Do you know anyone who found comfort in a traditional funeral? The thought of three days of standing around in a funeral parlor greeting visitors and then sitting through a funeral wasn't very appealing to our family. Have you … Read more

Caring for an Elderly Parent {Love My DIY Home}

12 Ways to Support a Failing Parent + Free Psalm 91 Word Art

It’s Coming – Get Prepared {scroll to the end for the free Psalm 91 Word Art} Most will experience one or more parent’s decline in health, whether it be mental, physical or both. You can’t be 100% prepared, but perhaps my 12 tips borne from personal experience can help make your journey easier. When it comes your turn, I hope you will be able to say, “I got this.” I’ll wait while you go grab some coffee – this is a long one… {1} When Things Get Tough… Watch and wait for the moment you must step in and reverse roles with your mother. She has taken care of you her whole life but will eventually need you to start taking care of her. You both will know when the time is right, though you should expect some resistance. Independence is a hard thing to lose and once we lose … Read more

Do It Yourself Photo Session – NEWBORN BABY!

Madison My daughter Jillian and I recently did a newborn baby girl photo shoot for my new granddaughter, Madison Grace. Have you priced photo shoots lately? I have and it’s not pretty. There is no reason you can’t do your own and do it well. The background in the above picture was the Jones’ living room curtains. Maddie is laying on her crib quilt atop my DVD basket from my living room propped on my bigger basket that we use to store winter gloves and scarves that sits in my entry way.> There is nothing more fun than taking pictures of our new baby and being able to say, “I took that.” Our oldest daughter, April, had Madison a week ago. It’s her home that I followed during their remodel in my series, “Keeping Up With the Joneses.” See their posts below: The Kitchen Before; Kitchen Demolition; Preparing the Walls; … Read more

Grow lettuce and celery on your windowsill from table scraps {Love My DIY Home}

Celery on Your Windowsill – Lettuce Rejoice!

Do you throw away the bottom part of your lettuce stalk? I used to, but not any more. Once you learn to scrap, you will never go back. As a matter of fact I beg for everyone else’s table scraps now. Make yourself a little vegi garden on your windowsill and have reproducing vegis at your fingertips. When I decided to give this a whirl, I looked back on a guest post from my early days: Cut the stalks off as you normally would, and place the root end in a shallow bowl of water – enough to cover the roots but not the top of your cutting. Place it in a sunny window position, occasionally spraying your cutting with water to keep the top moist. After a few days, you should start to see roots and new leaves appear. After a week or so, transplant it into soil with … Read more

Building a Balcony Garden – Guest Post by Dane O’Leary

A Step-By-Step Guide Even the urban dwellers among us should know the joys of gardening. In fact, balconies are a wonderful opportunity for you to unleash your inner botanist while utilizing your outdoor space in a functional, beautiful way. You may not see that limited outdoor space as being capable of sustaining a miniature Garden of Eden of your very own, but just about any balcony can become an urban oasis with a little planning and these simple steps. Step One: Planning Before diving into gardening therapy, you need to plan your balcony garden with the help of experts from www.choosegreenergrass.com. This is a very important step that will determine how your space will be organized and what you’ll need to pull it all together. It’s a good idea to measure the space so you can figure out what size pots and planters will work best for your individual space. … Read more

Life After Loss – Is Closure Possible?

Is Closure Possible? Is Closure Necessary? When you’re charged with carrying out someone’s wishes, sometimes you need to throw tradition out the window. My last DIY for my mom was to throw a Pepper Party and lay her to rest in a way contrary to tradition. (See links to this series below if you’re a newbie here – it would probably be a good idea to start from the very beginning, it’s a very nice place to start…) My mom had always told me that when it was her time to go, to… dig a hole out back and bury her in a pine box. It was the family joke. I found a way, or rather, my son found a way to do just that. But you’ll have to read all the way to the end to find out how. Here is what we did and will do: December 25: … Read more

5 Ways to Survive a Loss – With No Regrets

Now What? How do we survive a loss with no regrets? The days sitting at the hospital and hospice house are past. The preparations to lay my mother to rest are done. We’ve had our friend and family get-togethers. My last child has left to go back home. We’re back to work and life goes on. When your world stops, everyone else’s keeps spinning. It’s hard to jump back on. December 23, 2014, a little over two weeks ago, My mom joined my Dad after a nearly 30 year separation. When my Dad passed I was only 26 with a husband and two children. I have so many more to care for now through this loss at age 55, with 15 children, 5 sons-in-law and 13 grandchildren. We became empty nesters just a couple of years ago…well, sort of. It’s been 33 years since my DH and I lived alone … Read more

Free Printables by Eliza Ellis

I found some really nicely desiged free printables on the Eliza Ellis blog and want to share them with you. Take a moment to visit her site. She has printables for: CALENDARS & DIARY PLANNERS TO DO LISTS NOTES CONTACTS GOALS RECIPES MENU PLANS KITCHEN LISTS KIDS CHORES HOME LISTS FINANCES BACK TO SCHOOL KNITTING & CROCHET SEWING I’m all for using what others have created if it fits our needs. Save time by benefiting from the efforts of others. Happy New Year and thanks for visiting. Permission to reprint granted by Eliza Ellis 11.18.14.

Mother-in-law Apartment Reveal

Today was graduation day for my mom. She stepped through the gates of heaven at 12:23 this morning. God is good. Can I say that again? God is good. His grace is sufficient. I thought it fitting that on this day, on this my DIY blog, that I share with you the before and after pictures of her apartment. This one is for you mom… We bought our quad level home two years ago after nearly 2 years of searching for a home in the country with a yard for our grandkids and a MIL apartment for my mom. It was in rough shape, but we knew we could make it ours (and hers). Here are the before pictures. What do you think of that black flowery wallpaper? B.L.E.C.K. The carpet had been…uh…let’s just say, the animals graced the carpet with their presence. When we first walked into the house, … Read more

No Christmas Home Tour Here

This Christmas season is different for our family this year. We are a family in crisis. There will be no chestnuts roasting on our open fire this year. Normally I would be writing a post about our Christmas Home Tour complete with staged pictures of my home in the middle of Christmas celebration. (Last year’s Christmas Home Tour) It’s what we do as DIY bloggers. We decorate and then share it. I had it all planned. I did manage to get my tree up and most of our gifts wrapped. Then crisis walked through our front door and wouldn’t leave. (The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom) There will be no last minute holly jolly Christmas shopping running around town in the midst of all the hustle bustle that I love so much. I did manage to hang a little Christmas tree ornament my DH brought … Read more