I am finally posting Before and After photos of my kitchen cabinet makeover. I can't help but laugh at myself. When I was researching Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Kitchen Cabinet projects I noticed that many people made good progress on their kitchens and then life got in the way. Most people didn't complete their projects until weeks and weeks after they began. I was determined that I was going to start and finish my kitchen project in about two and a half or three weeks. I was going to push through until. Reached the finish line. Well, that didn't happen. I started the project in January and only finished a few days ago, just in time for Easter. Life didn't just happen, it ran me over.

The cupboards themselves took many more coats of paint than was suggested, so that probably doubled the time I actually needed to complete the project. As you can see, my cupboards were fairly dark before, and I was using Old White paint. It actually took between 4 and 5 coats to completely cover everything. I did both sides of the cupboard doors, so those were brutal. I was making really good progress, though, until I got sick. I came down with a cold/flu that put me in bed for a week or two. Just as I was beginning to feel like myself again, and was looking forward to finishing everything up, we joined my sister and her family on a short weekend trip to Great Wolf Lodge (a hotel with an indoor water park) in Ground Mound, Washington to celebrate my sweet nephew's 13th birthday. We had a fabulous time with a lot of laughter until the morning we were leaving. My youngest son had tried unsuccessfully to get any of us adults to join the kids in the pool. So that morning, I borrowed my sister's swim suit and headed in with them for their last swim. I figured that since he was almost 10 years old, there might not be many more occasions when he would really want me to join in. I secretly thought it was incredibly sweet, and so I made a spontaneous decision to join in the water fun with my boys and nephew. I had been having lower back pain on and off since Christmas, so I opted not to go down the waterside, and decided to play it safe and stick to the kids' wave pool. This was a decision I very quickly came to regret. Within 10 or 20 minutes of getting out, my back muscles had seized and I could barely move. To make things even worse, I scraped the top of my foot quite badly on the bottom of the pool (I think...I'm not totally sure) and soon developed a nasty and deep infection. And so began a 9 week (and counting) recovery. I was in an unprecedented amount of pain which meant I was out of commission for weeks. Not only was I unable to finish my kitchen makeover, I couldn't cook, clean, do laundry, drive my kids to their activities or even stand or walk for more than a minute or two. I was completely dependent on my family and friends for everything I needed. It was a vulnerable and frustrating season, but God blessed me immensely through the people in my life.

My daughter, who can very competently manage our home, has been away doing an internship this year, and she wasn't around. So, it was really up to my hubby and my boys (who are 16, 12 and 10) to keep things going. I was so blown away by the love and grace they showed me. I don't think any of them complained once about all the extra chores they had to do. Curtis had to take over grocery shopping and all errands that involved driving. He also had to do absolutely everything business related. He fulfilled all HeartwoodGifts orders, and made all the signs from beginning to end on his own, on top of his day time job. (He is a busy guy even with my help, so this was a lot of work for him.) My boys took care of all of the meals, all the cleaning and all the laundry. They played piano to keep me entertained, and just sat with me when I couldn't move. They took such great care of me, and the house. My 12 year old gave me a jar of "Mom Tickets". Any time I needed something done all I had to do was give him a ticket. The sweet thing was that when I ran out of tickets, he just made me some more. ❤️ I honestly don't know if I would have shown as much grace as I received. (Holder Boys, you guys are awesome!) I am also so very grateful to all my friends who called, sent texts and emails, dropped off food and flowers, drove my kids around, took me to appointments and prayed for me! Thank you so much!

So, back to the kitchen cupboards... Even up to a couple of weeks ago, I was completely unsure how I was ever going to get the rest of the cupboards painted. My sweet neighbour, seeing my dilemma, offered to come and help me. She did all of the bending and more difficult tasks, while I finished the cupboard doors on craft paper on top of the counter, so I could do it without any bending. It is now officially completed and I really love how it turned out! My kitchen is so much brighter than it was. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but so worth it. My hubby likes it, too. The real blessing, though, is that whenever I think about my cupboards, I will remember how blessed I am by the people God has surrounded me with.