A Painted Dresser-- ' I ' Am The Work In Progress!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!” – Psalm 139:14 NIV

These are the words that comfort me when I:  a) feel stupid, b) feel awkward or c) feel disorganized and incomplete.  Well, I am still incomplete in the sense that God is still working on me.  That being said, lately it seems that choice “c” is the front runner.

Like many women, I struggle with balancing things in life.  You have to juggle so many things when you are a wife or mother or both!  I don’t work outside the home for a ‘paid’ job at this point so kudos to the ladies that do that and still get tons of balancing done!!!  I sure don’t know how you do it.  We all have our struggles, no matter how put-together we may seem.  After all, no one is perfect.


One of my struggles is completing tasks that are long in duration while continuing with all of my other life duties.  I yearn to be creative and try to make things as an outlet for that.  I love the process and love to have a finished project.  Usually, I have a finished product and it sits nestled in a huge mess of a household.  I am trying to find that balance of keeping up with everything else while creating!!! 

Enter my first real project in months and months.  A dresser for my girls’ room.  I found this dresser at an estate sale in November.  It was the last hours of the sale and I scored it for a really good deal.  Of course, it was right before Thanksgiving break so it sat in my garage until last week.  My garage is a whole project for another day….or week.   Thank goodness, I had the sense to think about what was coming up and made no plan to touch it until after Christmas Break. 

Here is the before picture:

I have become addicted to Pinterest; it is one web that suits me well.  I can think of any project that has been looming in the back of my brain and search for ideas.  This site turned me onto a product called, ‘chalk paint’.  It is designed to be used on furniture, and it is very easy to distress.  Then through that, I learned about waxing a painted piece.  Let me tell you I did A LOT of research.


I picked out a minty green color a few shades lighter than the small area rug in girls’ room.  I decided to paint it a few coats and do a white-wash on the hand-painted flower panels on the dresser front.  The paint looked white at first but it was a true pale green with two coats.  Here is a picture of one coat on:

(The beauty of the chalk paint is you do not need to prime.  I also read that the brush strokes will fade a bit as it dries.  Keep in mind, this is not a finish is you want an ultra-smooth look. Spray paint may be better for that!)

I used a small sander and then used a paste wax.  I was surprised by the finish—I really liked it.  So here is the final result…I do think I kinda like it!

(My girls' room is still WIP-Work In Progress.  I will hopefully get the walls 'done' and arranged soon!  See, always a project.)

My next project is my old coffee table.  We shall see how that turns out.  I can always paint over it.  Now, I think I have laundry to do.  I have a kitchen towel a friend gave me (thanks Mel) and I love the quote:   “A clean house is a sign of a wasted life”.  Well, maybe not a TOTAL waste but if my house was clean all the time, I would not have any projects!!! 


-- Tracey

It’s Like a Box of Chocolates—You Never Know What You Are Gonna Get.

Spray paint metallic silver, on street, house, mailbox and play jeep.

Take a ballpoint pen and write his name on the back of the headrest in my car.

Put clear tape all over the bathroom toilet ad write ‘button labels’ on them with a Sharpie.

Use a Sharpie and write on his hand-painted corkboard.

Stuff a half-eaten bag of popcorn in the bottom of his closet (inside a backpack)

And the classic, swallow a dime—I think twice, in his younger days.

 I am in the process of reading a book called, “What’s He Really Thinking?” by Paula Rinehart.  It is a book by a Christian Author that gives you a peek into a Man’s psyche, how they think, why they do what they do, and what they struggle with.   I have been married for over 15 years to a wonderful man and I also have a son.  When considering this book I thought, “Why not?”

The book is very interesting and I host a small group of women in my home every few weeks to discuss a chapter in the book.  We all seem to bring something to the discussion of either an epiphany or a fun story.  It has been amazing to read what Rinehart unfolds from her days as a counselor and how she explains how God intended a man to work.  Then she throws in the role of a woman.  I love what she says, “We are better able to love what we understand.  And loving and being loved is the main way we reflect the glory of God.”

This brings me to my oldest child, my son Walker.  This book does give me some insight on my little man.  The statements at the beginning of this post are just some of his shenanigans.  One of the first things Rinehart says in her book confirms what I was thinking but could not verbalize:

Why do they do things?  Because they can…

Well, I just love that.  As annoying as it can be, it is how he is made.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I get uber frustrated with my little man.  We do butt heads….often.  I love that child with a love that I could not understand before he came.  It is a love that reflects Our Father’s love for us, as imperfect as we are.  How creative God must be that he gave us children that are not exact copies of us! 

So our challenge as parents is to guide our kids and teach our kids.  We are commanded to do so (Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Prov. 22:6)!  I do feel like my work is cut out for me.  I keep thinking, “God, you must have something really special in store if I survive parenting them!”   Truth is, we all have our challenges, our trials, our problems.  Our job is how we handle and persevere through them.  We were not promised an easy life, but help with it. 

With our children, everyday seems to bring something new.  All three have totally different personalities.  That is so weird when you really think about it.  You would think two out of three would be similar.  But no, distinct differences.  Nothing is boring at our house.  Always something stirring….somewhere.  It may be a project, it may be some sibling drama, it may be a sneaky child, it may be laughter-soon-to-be-fighting sounds.  The list goes on.

Today is a special day, because we have it.  Today is Walker’s 11^th birthday.  He is my own little Honey Badger…he just wants to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it.  Walker is full of life, full of funnies, full of ideas….full of all sorts of sounds and sound-effects.   He is Walker.  He marches to his own beat, and I love that.  I love him.  He does make us laugh.  Walker brings something new to the table all the time.  I know that Forrest Gump was talking about life in his famous line but I like to think he was talking about my little man….

“….It’s like a box of chocolates….you never know what you’re gonna get.”