God is in control...

Let me just start this post out by saying God knows what He is doing, His timing is perfect, and He is provider.

Last Thursday my husband lost his job.
Let me tell you that this has been one of my greatest fears, especially with me being a stay at home mom.
And even though it has only been a little over a week. God has graciously shown us how He provides and how putting all our faith and trust in Him is the only way to go.

God has placed an amazing peace on us. As many times as I have stressed and worried about things, there have been more moments of pure joy and trusting God. I can't even describe it.

When Justin called me to tell me the news, I had just arrived at the camp grounds where I was attending a 48 hr scrap retreat with a bunch of ladies from church. Even though I wasn't able to concentrate 100% on scrapbooking. I can't tell you how blessed I was to be with several ladies who
kept my spirits high, talked things out with me, and even giving some suggestions on employment.

God knows what He is doing.

That Sunday the sermon at church was about God being a provider. One of the songs we sang that morning was 'What A Friend We Have In Jesus'

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.
what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer
Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.

I LOVE our church. I am so proud to call them family! It's a blessing to have such a great support system and how many out there have already shown us love and support through this.
I love our families who have already helped us, and have offered help.

 God's timing is perfect.


This weekend we were able to file our taxes because we finally had all the necessary paper work to do so. All I can say to that is God is provider!


Justin has put in over 20 applications over the past week. He has had 1 phone interview and taken a test for that same job.
He is actually on the phone right now with a headhunter, and he has an interview on Thursday.

I have taken the advice of a friend who has been through this a couple times, and she said she wishes she would have enjoyed the time she had with her husband while he was home and out of work.
That is what I am doing. Even though we can't go out and spend money. We have been having date night in with movies, and just enjoying the time we have right now as a family.

Even though we don't know what is ahead, or how long it will take him to be placed at another job. We know that God is in control. He knows what he is doing, His timing is perfect, and He is provider.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

If I could ask that you keep us in your prayers...Here are some specifics.


1. Pray that Justin finds a good job that he enjoys (praying he gets a job offer in the next week or 2)
2. That we stay healthy (our insurance runs out tomorrow)
3. That no out of the ordinary, huge expenses come up.

God has shown us several times how he provides. He has never let us down. He will see us through this rocky time. Thank you for praying for us!!

-Nicole Wiese

Girls weekend!

I have to confess that I accomplished 0 organizing yesterday or today...Oh well..I take that back..
I organized my scrapbooking stuff so I could pack it for this weekend.

 {My scrap stuff all ready to go! yes...including the office chair. It's important to be comfy while scrapping...And I haven't even packed my clothes yet...I have my priorities in order!!}

Every year the ladies at church have a 48 hour scrapbooking retreat at a local camp grounds. I look forward to this weekend every year, and am very blessed that my Aunt, Mom, and Dad have graciously offered to keep my kids the past couple years since my husband works odd hours.

I wish I could say that I am one of those people who gets 100+ pages done, completing the past year entire scrapbooks for both children, and the family album...But I am not. Not even close. But honetly. I don't care. I am not just there to scrapbook. I am there to laugh, to relax, to recharge, to laugh again, to fellowship, to catch my breath, and did I say laugh??

I love the group of ladies that attend this every year! We always have such a great time..I wish I could say more...but what happens at retreat, stays at retreat.

In the short 3 years I have been a mother, I have learned that you need to make time for yourself...maybe not a whole weekend {though I highly recommend it if you can, at least once a year!} but getting away from the house for a couple hours, going to get your hair or nails done, grabbing dinner with some friends, whatever you can manage!

I will, however, miss my kiddos!!

 {Mr T is 3 years old, and Miss A will be 9 months on the 26th}

I love, love, LOVE my babies!! They make me smile on a daily basis :)

So tonight will be my last post for a few days..Sunday at least. The retreat ends Saturday afternoon, but the kids will be away an extra night so the hubby and I are taking advantage of a date night!! {Another very important thing to make time for!}

I hope to be back to organizing my home on Monday.

I hope you all have a great weekend!! I know I will :)

<3 Nicole

I'm back!!

I decided to get back into the blogging world again. Some of you may not even know I had a blog...actually I had 2..One was for family, who live out of state, but facebook has pretty much taken that over. The other blog I had was a photo of the day. I kept up with it really well for the first year. The second year I did ok. The 3rd year...yeah..I pretty much dropped the ball. I hope this blog will last a little longer....I hope.

With this blog I hope to post photos and talk about different projects I am working on, life as a stay at home mom, and whatever else I feel like blogging about :)

For this first post I am going to talk about organizing...ok..it will probably turn into a few posts.

We have lived in this house for a little over 3 years. In those years I have not been 100% happy with the way my home looks. I know that might not be very important to some people, but if you are in your home all the time, shouldn't you enjoy how it looks and feels!? The home is a descent size house {about 1450 sq ft.} but one thing this house lacks...storage. We have no garage. The garage was turned into an extra bedroom {aka the toy room} and a family room.
I have been inspired in the last month to reorganize my life, not just my home, but also spiritually, mentally, and physically.
I want to clean my life of all the clutter! From building good relationships, eating healthier, getting into shape, and to having a deeper and more intimate relationship with my heavenly Father.

SO..back to the subject tonight...organizing.
This first post is about the toy room.
We have one room devoted to toys. {some days I don't know why, because most of the toys end up in the living room} It's nice to be able to send the kids in there to play, and if I can't stand to look at the mess in the evening, I can shut the door!

 {BEFORE: View of the room from the doorway}

 {BEFORE: another view in the opposite corner}

 {BEFORE: The corner of the room right next to the door}


And here is the After.

I got rid of the metal bookcase and purchased this 9 cube storage system and fabric boxes from Target {Oh the money I could spend in that store!}

 I organized all the toys by categories. {this cube is home to the dishes and play food}

 Train table

 Never waste any space! Underneath the train table are storage containers of puzzles, blocks, and legos.

I am not finished decorating..but here is what I accomplished today.

 I used my Cricut machine to cut the entire alphabet out.{uppercase and lowercase} Using Vinyl I can stick them on the wall to create easy, fun, and educational art!

We bought the table and stools at Ikea about a year ago. {again..another store I could do some serious damage in!} I am going to make something to keep all of the books in, but it will probably be another week or so until I get that done. I also want to add a little more to the walls, and make curtains. One.thing.at.a.time.

That is it for tonight. Hopefully I have more for you tomorrow!