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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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Winter Decorating
Can This Be My Word of the Year?
How to Make a Custom Mug
Valentine’s Day Hand Pies

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It’s Not the Same

Out of all of the stages of motherhood so far, never have I felt the need for a support system more than during this season of raising tweens and teens. And I am incredibly grateful for a tribe of friends who are in the same stage because this is HARD! Recently I met one of these amazing friends of mine for lunch and we were both unburdening ourselves as we shared some of the struggles our kids ... continue reading...

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It’s Not the Same

Can This Be My Word of the Year?

The Imprint

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Welcome to Autumn

My Most Simple Fall Home Tour Ever

Copper and Feathers Fall Mantel

Five Minute Fall Decorating

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It’s Not the Same February 4, 2020
Winter Decorating January 23, 2020
Can This Be My Word of the Year? January 14, 2020
The Imprint December 20, 2019
Christmas Home Tour December 13, 2019

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Happy Friday friends!! Valentines Day is super low

Happy Friday friends!! Valentines Day is super low key around our house. I picked up everyone’s favorite foods from Trader Joe’s and we’re going to eat in the family room while we watch a movie. There’s no other way that I’d rather spend this day than with my three loves. Now I’m off to make chocolate lava cakes and hopefully they’ll turn out ok since I’ve never made them before. Good thing we have plenty of candy as a backup!

What are you up to tonight?

Anyone else doing a happy dance that it’s stayin

Anyone else doing a happy dance that it’s staying light until past 5 o’clock now?! 💃🏻🙌🏻 It seems like such a small thing and yet it makes such an impact on my soul since I know it means that spring is right around the corner.

What’s a seemingly small thing that made you happy today?

Not sure how it’s possible that we’ve reached

Not sure how it’s possible that we’ve reached this point in life but today...this kid bought his first car!

And out of all of our ‘proud parents’ moments this one definitely ranks pretty high!

He’s worked hard, saved his money (we matched some of his earnings), did a ton of research, read reviews and did ALL of the communication with the seller himself. He also did all of the negotiations on the price by himself and drove a hard bargain! (The sellers were a wonderful couple in their 60’s who were very impressed by our young man.)
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I can’t believe we’ve reached this milestone and if I’m honest I’m being much braver and more excited on the outside than I’m feeling on the inside. 😭 I stand in solidarity with all of you who are either currently in this stage or who survived it and are on the other side now. This isn’t for the faint of heart!!

There is a huge difference between being unintenti

There is a huge difference between being unintentionally exclusive and being intentionally inclusive.

In other words, just because you aren’t being intentionally unkind doesn’t mean you are being intentionally kind.

You see, I think that somewhere along the line we’ve started making excuses. We make them for ourselves and we make them for our children. We convince ourselves that as long as we (or anyone else) aren’t being outright mean that it’s pretty much the equivalent of being kind. But, it isn’t.

Let’s say, for example, that there was a class bully. And one day that bully decided that they weren’t going to torment anyone. They might claim that day as a victory and pat themselves on the back for showing so much restraint. But, is that the same as them reaching out a hand to help someone up? Is that the same as the bully inviting the loner to sit at the table with them? Of course not. Simply being ambivalent, being neither here nor there, doesn’t equate to showing kindness. Choosing to be kind requires more from us. It involves us getting out of our own heads for a moment in order to put ourselves in the shoes of another.

Recently I had the incredible opportunity to watch as my daughter put this into practice. You can read the full story over on my blog. And as we lay in her bed that night (she likes to talk with me or my husband before she falls asleep), I told her that I saw what she had done and affirmed her choice before praying over her. As I left her room, I reminded her that it’s never going to be the easiest way to do this life. But, it’s also never going to leave you with a life filled with regrets.

Just think what might happen if we all took this to heart. If we gave up passivity for proactivity. If we approached each day, each interaction with intentionality and a desire to leave people feeling better for having been around us.

I can imagine schools, churches and communities where the investment we pour into others, whether it’s one drop or a bucket full, overflows in such a way that it so deeply reflects the character and heart of God that they will be drawn to Him through us.

I pray it will be so.

We did it you guys!! We made it to FEBRUARY!!! 😅 That means Spring is right around the corner which fills me with hope as the Pacific NW has been living up to its reputation lately with a ridiculously long stretch of rainy days. 😩 In the meantime, I’ll just look at photos from Springs past to remind me that we WILL have sunny days again!

What are you most looking forward to about spring?

I think that for some time now, I’ve assumed tha

I think that for some time now, I’ve assumed that there is a hierarchy within the world of insecurity. Obviously having your insecurities manifest themselves in the form of trying too hard to please is MUCH nicer than having them manifest in not offering a smile to someone. But, who am I kidding? It’s all damaging. It’s all destructive. It’s all ugly. And when your insecurity meets my insecurity, we have two choices. We can either let them duke it out knowing there will be no winners. Or we can overwhelm them with grace and understanding knowing that then there is no way we can lose.

Because it might start about being about their issue and not mine. But how I process those feelings becomes about ME not about THEM.

Are you tracking with me here? I can’t control other people. I can’t change them. But I can change me. I can decide how I will evaluate and internalize those emotions. I can decide whether I will retaliate by being the one to not smile or say ‘hi’ the next time since they didn’t say ‘hi’ to me. I can decide if I will be willing to extend grace and forgiveness. I can decide if I will allow my insecurities to function as a cloud over every encounter in my life.

So, lately I’ve been playing the ‘what if’ game.

What if it didn’t have to be this way?

What if ALL of us realized that while we can’t change THEM we can change US?

What if we made peace with our insecurities?

What if when our insecurities met their insecurities there was sympathy and understanding instead of hurt and confusion?

What if we (gulp) actually acknowledged and even apologized for how our insecurities have wounded others? How they’ve tripped up relationships and made situations more complicated than they needed to be.

Just think what might happen!

I can imagine…

Healing

Reconciliation

Sympathy

Empathy

Peace

Joy

Does this have to exist only in my imagination?

I don’t know…you tell me!

I remember learning in school how many days were i

I remember learning in school how many days were in each month... “Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except for February.” But I think they lied. I’m pretty sure January actually has at least 74 days.

Raise your hand if it feels like this to you too! 🙋🏻‍♀️😂🤪

For the first time in a long time (or maybe ever!)

For the first time in a long time (or maybe ever!) I'm apart of a prayer group. It's organized in a way that is really unique and specific to the calling God has placed on the lives of all the members. And I shared something with them this week that I wanted to share with you as well.

I'm currently reading through the book of Psalms. I honestly don't think I've ever read the entire book straight through from start to finish and it has been SO good for me in my current season of life. I've been following a reading plan and the other day I was supposed to read Psalm 23 and I honestly came 'this' close to just skimming it or even skipping over it entirely. It's the 'Good Shepherd' passage so I feel like I've read it or heard it read out loud so many times that there couldn't possibly have been anything new for me to glean from the words. But my 'good student' mentality won out and I dutifully began reading. And after the first two lines I stopped. Because what I read was worded differently in my new Bible (CSB version) than I had ever read before. It said, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I have what I need." I'd memorized it as "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." And obviously it has the same meaning. But there was just something about this new way of phrasing it that caught my attention.

I have what I need.

Friends, YOU have what you need. When we have Him, we have what we need. And my prayer for you is that in every situation and every encounter you will remember that you have what you need in light of eternity even if you struggle to see how your needs will be met here on earth. Our cups are filled to overflowing with plenty because His love and grace are so infinite that they can never be emptied. We don't control whether they are filled up or emptied out. They are always overflowing because He is our portion, our plenty. What an amazing thing it is to know that we have a never-ending fountain of love available to us when we trust in Him. And what a comfort it is to know that we already have what we need.

Ok friends, so far today my mantra has been "It's

Ok friends, so far today my mantra has been "It's Tuesday, it's Tuesday, it's Tuesday." Raise your hand if you can relate to how thrown off you are when Monday is a holiday! 🙋🏻‍♀️ My kids also had Friday off so I'm feeling all out of whack and I have to repeat that mantra over and over to myself this week (changing the day obviously 🤪) so that I don't show up to things on the wrong day or miss appointments or forget to put the trash out on the curb. So, let's all agree to give ourselves and those around us some extra grace this week mmkay? I know I'll need it! 🙏🏻

Have you ever had one of those weeks that felt bot

Have you ever had one of those weeks that felt both long and short at the same time? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m SO happy that Friday is here because there has been a lot jammed into one week and yet, at the same time, I can’t believe how quickly the days have gone by!

I’m so excited for the long weekend and that I’ll be getting some quality time with my people starting with a girls night tonight with my favorite 12 year old. Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

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