Praying Over The Cowboy And I...

When I was in junior high I remember prayer feeling like a one way conversation with a wall. Over the years it has become my life line. Prayer has become, over time, a life-giving, continual conversation with the One who loves me perfectly. And the truth is that I am an emotional woman who is married to a steadfast man and we have five little people running around, and four goats, and two kittens, and one dog, and quite frankly I'm not lacking in things to pray about. :)

There are times in my marriage when that man of mine makes my insides all giddy. There are times when I feel so close to him that I find myself breathing out smiles. There are times when he gets me and I get him and we mesh and all is well with the world.

And then there are times when him and I can't seem to say a single thing without erking each other. Times when I find myself begging the Lord to keep my mouth shut so that I don't say something lame that I'll regret  minutes later. Times when I have to choose truth over what I feel is happening between my man and I.

This summer has been a beautiful mix of both seasons for the Cowboy and I. The days that have been sweet, have been truly SWEEEEEET. They have been a kaleidoscope of moments that will forever be etched in my mind. And the days that are sour, well those days, they have brought me to my knees... they have brought me to the Word... they have reminded me that this marriage thing is a continual opportunity to die to myself, to practice the fruits of the Spirit, to pray the richness of the Word of God over my man and I and our union.

And last week the Lord gave me a morning. It was quiet here at the farmhouse, which NEVER happens and I sat at the farm table and opened my Bible and something so tender happened to me as I sought the Lord about my marriage.

Over the years I have memorized different scriptures but in the times that I was memorizing them they often felt inapplicable in the moment. And then, on this quiet morning in late July, the Lord took the scriptures that He had been writing on my heart throughout all these years and so kindly brought them to the forefront of my mind. And I realized as I wrote down all that was coming to mind that all the words were ways that I could ask the Lord to pour into my marriage. They were specific things that I want Him to mold in to the way that I love on my man. They were things that are impossible with man, but a delightful privilege for the Lord to pour into His children. :)

I long for a marriage that reflects Christ's extravagant love...

I long for a marriage that honors, builds up, and cherishes the man that was given to me...

And when I don't feel loved on the way that I want to feel loved on, I want to choose to love anyway.

These are some of the things I pray over my Cowboy and I...

"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3

__May there always be a dying to self in  this marriage. Open my eyes to his needs.

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." James 3

__I know that so often I, as the wife and Mama, set the tone in this home. Help me to be a peacemaker... so that a harvest of righteousness might be sown in this place.

__And how do we sow in peace?? Isaiah 2:3 

You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.

__ Lord, Keep my mind on you.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4

__It is so true that our quarrels are most often an out pour of our natural tendencies to want the desires of our flesh to be satisfied. Lord, I need you to put to death the desires of my flesh and help me to choose to wash my man's feet even when everything in me wants to dump the bucket of soapy water on his head. :)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4 

__Plain and simple, my words can destroy my man's soul or they can make his soul stronger. Please place words on my tongue that will make his soul stronger. 

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1

__Help me to trust your Word, even when the world tells me otherwise.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13

__Fill me Lord with God-size love towards my man... with patience and kindness, tear down my pride and help me to die to myself. Help me to delight in the truth that Joey speaks to me and to be willingly and in gentleness speak truth to him because true love delights in truth and doesn't shy away from the hard conversations. Help me to be a woman who protects what is ours with crazy boundaries. Help me to honor my man by allowing me to trust him, trust his leadership, even when I don't always see clearly what he sees. Help me to hope always, and keep on keeping on until the day I get to go home to you.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2

__I see a pattern Lord... a theme of serving joyfully, a theme of dying to self, a theme of loving extravagantly. Help me to serve my man with great joy. Help me to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1

And this....

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2

__YES PLEASE LORD, these very things in my marriage... work these very qualities out in my me and my man.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3

WE do what we do towards our spouses because of what Christ has done towards us, not because our spouses are perfect but because we are God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. When I serve my man, I am really serving the Lord.

And finally Lord, help me to give thanks for my Joey. Everyday help me to speak out loud at least one thing that I appreciate about the boy... even on the hard days, especially on the hard days, may I speak gratitude and may my eyes be opened to all that I have to be thankful for being married to a man who loves you. :)

Yes Please Lord, These Traits In Our Boys...

One of the great privileges of parenting is our opportunity to help our children establish their worldview. The crazy, sometimes scary thing is that they will establish a worldview whether we influence it or not. Our children are poured into daily by someone somewhere and often times rather unintentionally they are gaining thoughts and answers to such questions as who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose in this life? Their worldview also encompasses the ideas they have as men and women, answering questions like, What does it mean to be a man? a woman? How do I as a man, view women? How do I as a woman, view man?

And for the Cowboy and I, we believe that their worldview is key to how they will one day function in society. How they view themselves has a great impact on how they will treat others, how they will come up under authority and exert authority in their work place, in the church, in their homes. And so we are very intentional to speak into them what the Word says about them and this world and their place in this world.




The following is a powerful list that any passionate, Christ following couple would be honored to pray over their sons. There is a whole other list to pray over our daughters, but this post is about our sons. And truthfully, it's not enough to simply pray over these things, (although the Lord is able to do in our children all that pleases Him despite what we do or don't do) but it is necessary and beneficial for us as parents to strive to live these things out in our homes, to exemplify these things to our children in our day to day.

And although our actions often speak louder than our words, our words are still incredibly powerful and worthy of our time. So the Cowboy and I will sit down and read these with each of our sons when the time is right. (We're going through them currently with our oldest). We read through each one and chat about it. (at this stage our goal is simply to exemplify it in our lives and put it out there for him to ponder. As our boys grow we will be able to talk more deeply about each of these things.)

And the conversations we have put these traits at the forefront of our minds and enable us to converse about such qualities in our day to day lives because I guarantee you that every single day in this farmhouse there are moments, interactions with one another, where we can pursue these things or we can pursue ourselves. I long for the former and I pray for it without ceasing because the character of our boys is what will bless or burden the people with whom our boys interact with throughout their lives.

It is such a privilege for me and the Cowboy to pour these truths into these boys that they might become godly, selfless, strong men who are willing to serve others the way Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many.

This is an extremely LONG post, but I promise you that it will be time well spent... Each sentence, in my humble opinion, is RICH, and I pray that it soaks into the marrow of all who live under this roof... for my boys that they would be confident in what it means to be a godly man, and for my girls that they would know what to look for in a godly husband and that they would settle for nothing less...

So here it goes...
Seven desires I have for my boys as they grow into
mature manhood." by Joe Rigney...


"1. I want my sons to grow up to be true men 
of God—first in, last out, laughing loudest. 
Around my house, this is our way of expressing the glad
assumption of sacrificial responsibility. It’s a summary of
King Lune of Archenland’s words about kingship in The
Horse and His Boy.
For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in 
every desperate attack and last in every desperate 
retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as 
must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer 
clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than 
any man in your land.
Kingship (and by extension true masculinity) means being
the first into the battle. If there’s a danger to be faced, a
true man will face it first. If there’s a burden to be borne,
a man will bear it first. A man will see to it that pain and
hardship fall in his lap before they ever fall upon those
under his care. Too many men think that male headship
means making demands, getting their way, and riding
around on a high horse. But godly leadership doesn’t give
us the right to lord our authority over others; it means, as
my friend Toby Sumpter says, that it is our glory to die first.
While many of us will never be called upon to fight in
a physical battle to protect our families, all of us are called
to look for opportunities to be first in, last out, laughing
loudest. “But the Son of Man came not be served but to
serve” (Mark 10:45). Therefore, a man of God comes home
not to be served, but to serve. After a hard day’s work, a
godly man enters his home, not with a list of demands, but
with an eagerness to give. He comes to relieve the burdens
of his wife, not add to them. He comes to play with his kids,
not shunt them off to their rooms while he puts his feet up.
serve” (Mark 10:45). I want my sons to aspire to be men who give until it
hurts, and whistle the while. I want them to lean into
sacrifice with unconquerable laughter in their hearts. “I
will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls", Paul
says to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12:15). Godly
masculinity ought to be the happiest thing you ever saw.
A twinkle in the eyes, a brightness in the smile, a laughter
in the bones__ these are the qualities of a man who has planted
his feet upon the ROCK and will not be shaken when the
earth gives way and the waters foam (Psalms 4:1-3).



2. I want my sons to embrace their calling as 
protectors of the weak.
One of my central responsibilities as a father to my sons
is to train their hands for war. At our house, sword-play
is practice for life. When we don our plastic armor and
foam swords, we are getting ready for real sacrifices. I want
them to see that the primary burden of defense—whether
of home, family, church, or country—lies with them. The
world is filled with gardens, and, as one pastor says, gardens
always attract serpents. Therefore, my prayer is that they put
on their armor, keep their swords sharp, and play the man.
What’s more, part of their training is learning to fall
down and get up again. I want my boys to fall down. I want
them to get skinned knees, bumped heads, and bruised
arms. I want them to experience pain (in small doses) so
that they learn to laugh it off. “What do we do when we
fall down?” I ask. “Laugh and keep playing,” they answer.
Masculinity is about taking responsibility for the
physical, emotional, and spiritual safety of those in our
care. For me, this means, among other things, locking the
doors at night, giving hugs and kisses away as if fatherly
affection was snow in a Minnesota winter, and praying
for mighty angels with swords of flame to guard the bedrooms
while we sleep. It means identifying threats and
enemies of whatever kind and taking steps to guard and
keep those entrusted to me. Most importantly, it means
killing the dragon that lurks in my own heart. The greatest
threat to those in my care is my own sin and rebellion.
Therefore, protecting others demands a single-minded
and glad-hearted pursuit of holiness.



3. I want my sons to gladly submit to lawful authority.
The prerequisite for being in authority is recognizing that
one is always under authority. Many men think that leadership
is about being “the boss,” when in fact it’s first and
fundamentally about recognizing that God is the Boss
(Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1). Masculinity welcomes
accountability, authority, and oversight. The foundation of
godly manhood is cheerful obedience to lawful authority.
A man is in no position to expect obedience from others
if he is not first eager to render it to those over him in
the Lord. I want my boys to grow up with a deep awareness
that their father is a man under authority. I want to
model for them glad submission to God in his word, to
the elders of our church, to my boss at work. God is calling
them to honor, respect, and obey me; therefore, I want to
show them how.
The flip side of submission to lawful authority is resistance
to unlawful authority. Part of teaching my sons
godly obedience is helping them to grasp the differences
between authority that is established by God and that
which is usurped by ungodly men. And I want them to
defy the latter precisely because they desire to obey the former.
This means celebrating the examples of men like the
apostle Peter (“We must obey God rather than men”), Martin
Luther King, Jr. (“An unjust law is no law at all”), and
Robin Hood (“If an outlaw is the last available occupation
for an honest man in England, then I will be an outlaw”).

4. I want my sons to practice self-control for the
joy in it.
Paul singles out self-control as one of the fundamental
callings for young men (Titus 2:6) and old (2:2). This selfcontrol
is the result of the grace of God in the gospel (Titus
2:11–12). It is grace that trains us to renounce ungodliness
and live self-controlled lives in this present age. Paul identifies
self-control as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23),
which means that it is more than mere willpower. One
of the fundamental aims of the Spirit of God is to restore
control of me to me, so that I work out what God is working
in (Philippians 2:12–13).

The Bible teaches that the glory of young men is their
strength. But inactive strength is idleness and passivity,
and therefore strength must be directed to some end. On
the other hand, unbridled strength is reckless and dangerous,
and soon causes harm and destruction. Strength
governed by wisdom, strength guided by the Spirit of God,
strength aimed at the good of others—this is what God is
after.

For my sons, this means controlling their angers and
outbursts, not collapsing into whining and fussing when
they don’t get their way, and learning the time and place
to be silly, loud, and crazy. As they grow, self-control will
be necessary in getting out of bed for school, completing
so that joy can be unleashed. A godly man respects and
delights in the fences built by God, and then rides bareback
across the bounded plain, wind whipping in his hair.



5. I want my sons to celebrate the wonders
of femininity.
Too often magnifying the virtues of one sex leads to the
denigration of the other. But God designed masculinity
and femininity to complement one another. Men and
women were made to dance. And the whole point of men
leading in the dance is to showcase the beauty of women.
Therefore, there can be no godly masculinity where
feminine virtue is not celebrated. Godly men love the glory
of women, because her glory is his glory (1 Corinthians
11:7). This means that in general we can measure the faithfulness
of men by the flourishing of women. In a Christian
family, the fruitfulness of the wife and children is the evidence
of God’s blessing on the husband. If you want to see
whether biblical masculinity is present in a congregation,
look to the women and children. Are they thriving? Are
they cared for? Are they holy and happy and hopeful?
I want my sons to be awed by the bright strength and
life-giving wisdom of women. I want them to hear their
mother’s praises sung by their father, in season and out of
season. When I bless them at night, I want them to eagerly
hope that my prayers for them come true: “May the Lord
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, and
some day a wife like your Mommy.” I want there to be no
hint of male superiority or dominance, but only gratitude
to God for the tremendous blessing of women.



6. I want my sons to put to death any vestige of
false masculinity.
My boys were born as sons of Adam, which is “honor
enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame
enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on
earth.”8 Adam was called to keep and guard the garden
(just as the Levites kept and guarded the tabernacle), but
instead, when the Dragon approached his wife with his
lying words, he stood there in passivity and silence. He
was commanded not to eat from the forbidden tree, but
when his wife offered it to him, he chose to defy his Father,
to listen to her voice, and to worship the creature rather
than the Creator. He was expected to take responsibility
for her protection and provision, but when God called
him to account for his sin, he blamed his wife, effectively
demanding that God put her to death for their sin.
Passivity, idolatry, abuse. These are the hallmarks of
Adamic masculinity. It is the opposite of the glad assumption
of sacrificial responsibility. Instead of first in, last out,
laughing loudest, we find last in, first out, and sulking all
the way. I want to train my boys to recognize the Old Man
who lives in their hearts and to take up their cross and put
him to death daily.
I’m under no illusions that Adamic masculinity will
be utterly destroyed in this life. But there can be progress,
and we must begin where the first Adam last failed: with
responsibility and repentance. When I counsel newly-married
men, I remind them that in a marriage of sinners, conflict
is inevitable. Some say that love means never having
to say that you’re sorry. For a godly husband, love means
that you have the privilege of saying you’re sorry first.



7. I want my sons to see Jesus Christ as the ground
and goal of their masculinity.
Christ is the ground of our masculinity. He took Adamic
humanity into the grave with him, and emerged with
a new way to be human, and a renewed way of being a
man. Unlike Adam, Christ killed the dragon to get the
girl. And he killed the dragon by dying himself. When he
saw his bride heading down the broad road to destruction,
what did he do? He didn’t blame, he bled. He didn’t damn,
he died. He didn’t gripe and grumble and groan. Instead
he gladly and graciously gave himself up for her, that he
might purify and beautify his bride.
Christ died for the sins of Adam and all the sons who
follow in his steps, that he might make a way for us to
return to our Father and recover our royal calling. The
gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for failed and fallen
men, and it is a living and abiding hope.
My prayer for my boys (and for myself, and for the men
who read this chapter) is that we would embrace this gospel
and answer Christ’s call to be his little brothers, following
him into the breach, laying down our lives for
others, and doing so for the joy set before us. First in, last
out, laughing loudest."



Yes, Yes, Yes! May our boys grow to know that the Lord gave them a great privilege to grow up and be like Jesus... to serve joyfully, to love extravagantly and utterly selflessly, to provide and protect and be men of The Word, and to express the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility. I'm soaking these seven qualities up and praying them fervently over my boys.

Yes please Lord... these traits in our boys... all_day_long! :)

{These seven traits are an exert from a wonderful ebook entitled Good. You can find it here at desiringgod.org.}

Movie In The Barn...

Her and I were walking down the dirt road  when she said something sweet about the fabric strips hanging in that little white room in our 100-year-old barn. And I tried to tell her without any tears that these birthday days for our treasures really have very little to do with the decor, or the food, or the presents, but really it's about the days in the hospital when I pulled each of those treasures out myself and those once quiet rooms filled with the sound of that first cry.







I choked out the words on that dirt road with my friend, "I put those fabric strips on the twine and strewn them around the barn not to have the perfect party, but simply to bless their amazing hearts... It's really this seemingly insignificant way to say to these three little ones how much them being in this life-filled farmhouse, them being in this family, them being our treasures, it's sheer gift I tell ya, cuz sometimes The Lord asks us to give our kids back and that hospital room is painfully quiet." And this sweet friend who knows my story, smiled and listened and I was thankful. And when my little Charmer, who also happens to be my little encourager, walked into the barn, he belted it out, "OH MY GOODNESS MAMA, this is the most beautifulest thing ever! You's a good Mama." Ya, he doesn't always speak the best English, but he sure does get fired up about life and I LOVE that about him! :)

So once a year, we have a party for each of them. We sing LOUD, and we eat popcorn and Popsicles, and we decorate the barn, and we invite friends to jump into the fun, and every year their birthdays remind me of the Lord's unfathomable kindness in giving me these precious souls and a lifetime of us all growing up together.



This year the Cowboy set up a movie in the barn.

It was a good Saturday.

I just love these kiddos.

They bless me.

The Charmer Is 4...

Our little Charmer turned four yesterday.

When I tucked him into bed last night he told me that yesterday was the best day of his whole life.

He woke up to a birthday breakfast in a kitchen decorated in Camo.

He got some Cowboy boots and some planes and some money to buy whatever he wants.

And then he played. He played ALL DAY LONG.

And that night we had some friends over and my sweet friend Jenna made this AWESOME pinata cake. Yep, a pinata INSIDE of the cake. And my Jeddy LOVED IT! 

Oh Charmer of mine... You bless my little socks off.

You point at everything using your middle finger instead of your pointer finger... it makes me chuckle every time I see you doing that.

You are in love with your "redneck hat", at least that's what you call it. 

I love it when you wear your cowboy boots with your truck pajamas.

I  know you wanna be brave, but you're still afraid of a few things... like, the tractor, aaand the go-cart, aaand cows, aaand pretty much anything big that moves. :)

Right before your birthday you told me that when you turn four, you're going to be a big Papa. I tried to explain to you that you had a few more birthdays to go before becoming a big Papa. But Mr. Charmer of mine, I just know you're going to an amazing big Papa someday. Your mouth is full of encouraging words and whoever gets the privilege of being your wife is going to feel so loved on and blessed.

You're a tender soul, little boy, and your sweet little face softens my heart and reminds me to choose kindness when I'm correcting you. 

 I love you little man!

Happy fourth birthday! :)

One Seriously Huge Ice Cream Sundae... And Some Seriously Cute Kids

Sweet Joy from church set up the most gigantic, the most hugest (not a word, I know, but it was HUGE), the most DELICIOUS, ice cream sundae anyone has ever seen.

And the kids... well... they were in kid heaven.

They all marked off their portions of the sundae... and put their own toppings on... 

This little guy had his own little feast...

And these two cuties stuck around LONG after everyone else was done...

Hooray for Summer & ice cream & fun & friends.

The Newest Addition To The One Room School House; A Cozy Book Nook For The Treasures

In the winter the farmhouse sun room is by far the warmest room in the house.

Often times the treasures and I end up doing school in there simply because it's warm, but until yesterday there was nowhere to sit except on the brick floor.

I saw a fun pallet bed on pinterest and thought I'd create my own farmhouse version. 

My Mama's old sewing machine always gives me a bit of trouble when I first fire her up, but after a while she remembers what she's supposed to do and she did a great job turning my plain white pillows into something lovely. 

The Cowboy was my wood man on this project. The base of the couch bed is the easiest thing on the planet to put together. All it is, is two pallets screwed together and a wheel on each corner.The pallets are a bit wider than the mattress which created a little "step" for the littlest ones to use to climb on up. We found an old door out in the stable and used it as a head board. As for the Chevron pattern blanket I just bought some material at Joann's and sewed it onto the front of an old white blanket that I already had.  

I bought the lantern at Ikea last night. I'm thinking that the step might not be the best place for it with our newly crawling little man who seems to be finding everything these days. :)

I'm looking forward to many long winter days curled up on this lovely couch with our many small treasures reading for hours and soaking up the warmth of that Colorado sunshine.