Oh, I love today.

I’m so honored for you to meet our next contributor here at pi.  Not only is Lisa a gifted writer, rockin’ homeschooler, amazing mama (of nine!), child trainer extraordinaire, cottage-style crafter/blogger/maven, but she’s also one of my blogger-turned-real-life friends.

She’s been to my house and everything.  She helped me get little Ava to stay in her bed every night–by the way, Lisa, Ava still says, “we never get out of our bed unless sumping is wrong.”  Well done, my friend.

Without further adoration expressed, I’ll turn it over to Lisa…

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The world seems to be spinning too fast these days. Just last week one of my boys turned 13 and I wanted to shout, “Stop the clocks!” The poor kid, his mom keeps trying to press on his head to stop him from growing. Yep, he’ll need therapy for sure.

For my own therapy, it helps when I am able to stop and create something for my home. Money and space are both an issue for me, so it is really helpful if I can get it cheap and get several uses from one piece. Unlike my 13 year old son, who’s usefulness is limited.

Something I have always wanted is a grandfather clock. My grandmother had one that she cherished and I guess that gave me a love for them. But my little house doesn’t have much room for unnecessaries, so I’ve let that dream go. I’m not sad about it. I’ve got new dreams that are better.

Anyway, last week at the flea market I saw an old frame for what I think is supposed to hold a birdcage. I saw it and instantly thought to myself, “That could be used a dozen different ways and it won’t take up much room!”

I tried not to show my excitement as I made the deal.  The vendor kept saying, “I’m sorry I don’t have the birdcage anymore.”  DUDE!  Who cares about the birdcage?!  But I didn’t say that.  I just smiled and acted sad about the loss.

On the drive home I kept thinking about my new frame-stand thingy and thought of several uses…..a plant on the front porch, a chalkboard in the center, some clips on the top to hold kids’ artwork, maybe fill the opening with a cool black and white picture of the family? Then it hit me like a lightening bolt….a grandfather clock! I could make my own version. A reference to my grandmother, my wish for time to slow down, my dedication to doing things frugally. Win-win-win.

I gathered some supplies and in a few of hours I had a new clock. OK, not really. It wasn’t as easy as that.

I rarely just wave my magic wand over anything and *poof*, it’s adorable. This project had problem after problem coming to a head when I went to slide the little clock shaft through the hole and realized that the wooden circle was about 3/4″ too thick, so the clock wouldn’t fit. Holy measuring tape, Batman. I almost gave up. I was about to have a moment of silence and small burial when I got an idea. I could bribe my oldest son (the one that has the nerve to get way past 13 without my permission) to get out his old tools. Thank God he went through a woodworking phase in his teens. He gauged out a square in the back of the wood for me while I baked him a cake and considered building a monument in his honor.

After he finished I was back on track and I am really happy with the final product. And you know what? The little mishaps actually gave oldest son and I some time together. We rarely have that anymore.

What I love about this project is that it reminds me of how special time is. We may all different amounts of money, popularity, talents….but we all have the same amount of time in a day. It levels the playing field.

So today, why not make some time to think of a way to make your own special version of something you’ve always wanted? Think outside of the box and listen to your instincts. Then spend a few minutes with your kids and pat them on the head and maybe give it an extra little push (I’m never going to stop trying to slow down the growing).

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Isn’t her style one of a kind and downright breathtaking?  Did anyone notice her lockers?!?  I hope you’ll pay Lisa a visit, and tell her her bud said hello!

Besides blogging at The Pennington Point, Lisa lives in the Texas Hill Country with her husband and 9 kids in an old farmhouse they have spent years remodeling and will, likely, never finish.