Thanks for your love and enthusiasm! I too was really happy with how it came together, and it makes me happy (if a little heartsick for my husband) every time I look at it. (10 days down...8 to go.) So I thought I'd share a little more about it.
Nate's job with WDA will have him traveling to Africa (and possibly other continents) multiple times a year. So far it's only been once a year, but as our support grows to sustain it, he would love to have it be more like 4 times a year. (I am coming around to this idea...and glad that it's not happening QUITE yet. :D) Our ministry has more open doors and invitations to teach right now than we're able to logistically respond to, so I know the day is not long in coming when Daddy's trips are a regular part of our life.
So basically what that means, is that we have to get used to Daddy being gone. One thing that's really important to us as he begins traveling more often is to keep our kids connected to what he's doing. We really don't want to have a family culture where the kids' impression is that "Daddy is gone a lot." We want to do our best to give them a stake in what he's doing, and feel a part of the adventure.
I remember some friends whose daughter was in Africa for a year, and they had a clock on their wall showing what time it was for her. I loved that idea - what a tangible, constant reminder of the missing piece of your family. A reminder to pray for him, talk to the kids about what he's doing at a certain time, an acknowledgement that we here at home are just as much a part of his ministry as he is, because without us "keeping the fires burning," as it were, he couldn't be doing what he's doing. (Though I would not dare to use our wood-burning fireplace without him. No thanks.) So, I started imagining these clocks in my head.
Once I had the idea it was pretty easy to pull together, and fairly cheap. Which is one of the reasons I'm sharing - because this is something that someone could so easily do themselves, if they have a partner or loved one who travels a lot, or is somewhere far away for an extended time. Or, if there's just another place in the world that they care about a lot. Many, many families are in this position for lots of different reasons. Maybe this idea can inspire them. So here's the picture again:
The clocks are from Target, here.
This was the only thing I had to pay for, and at $10 they were more than I wanted to pay, but I love how they look in my kitchen/dining room. It was worth it to me because of the love and time-sensitivity behind this project. I would have loved to thrift them, but the odds of finding two matching (or coordinating) clocks that I liked were pretty slim. I bought three pairs of Target's cheapest clocks and brought them home to see what would look the best on my wall. These were the clear winners. I'll return the others.
The glass 5x7 picture frames were the "clips" line from Ikea, which I don't think they sell anymore (which is SO SAD because I love them). They used to be super cheap, and I've had these for years. If you poke around online I'm sure you could find something similar. I love these for this project because we can easily switch out the country inset.
The country/state names, I just printed out on my printer using this free font. (No, you don't have to have awesome handwriting to do this project.)
And that's it. Truly, a simple, cheap, easy, pretty, and (I think) awesome way to stay a little more connected with Nate while he's gone on his African adventures. Win/win/win.
And, just for fun, another moment of coolness validation:
A timezone wall clock from Urban Outfitters, on clearance for $49. Just in case you were nervous about not being on-trend, or something. Who knows. (This one, of course, isn't customizable and has generic locations of LA, London, Paris, and "Local.") But just like my twined chandelier and its West Elm counterpart...it's nice to feel validated in my decorating style. :)
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