At Long Last

So I finally have a few photos for you! All of the work was finished today, so I don't have it all the finishing touches in place yet, but yay for no more installation! Here are photos of the kitchen, living room, and yard.

The old kitchen: We painted the cabinets white when we moved in, but the counters were all stained and needed a facelift.










...as did the nast-ola sink. Ew.









And the finished product (still have to put outlet covers on as well as cabinet hardware). The wood floors extend throughout the kitchen as well.









Here's the view of the living room from upstairs. We did the wood floors, the paint, the lighting and fans, and shelving. If anyone wants a brass fan with enormous banana-leaf blades, I think I might have just the one for you!










We love our backyard view with a nature walk and beautiful sunsets every night:










But needed a little shade from the western Texas sun on the patio:

What do the kids think? Hip, Hip, Hooray!

From the Lips of Children

Two nights ago I tucked Noah in. He sat on the potty and got two M&Ms for peeing like 4 drops. He brushed his teeth and washed his hands. We read three stories from his Children's Bible. He turned on his music and turned off his lamp. He climbed up on my lap and it was time to pray; he wanted to pray himself.

"Dear Je-yus, fanks for today.

Fanks for momma and daddy, fanks for Noah and Yo-wen (Lauren). Fanks for gramma and grandpa, papa and mimi. Bob-builder, Thomas (the tank engine), Zaboo.

Je-yus, help Noah haff good night sweep.

Help momma mow grass. Daddy mow grass. Noah mow grass.

Help momma pick weeds. Daddy pick weeds. Daddy pick up Kona's poopies. Momma change Noah's diapers.

I love you, Je-yus. AAAAAAAA-MEN!"

At this point my heart melted--I was trying not to laugh and cry at the same time as I realized this was absolutely my favorite instance to date in the verbal life of my son! Hearing your child pray for the weeds in the garden, the dog's poop, and proclaim his love for Jesus in the same breaths is priceless and makes you realize that everything we do is being watched and analyzed by these little people we are so blessed to have as our own!

Thanks for Shopping

So Greg calls on his way home from work and offers to run to the store to pick up some ground meat for tacos. What does he show up with? Gourmet olives and imported cheeses, you ask? Nope. A bottle of wine to share with his lovely wife after the kids go to bed? Nope. Ruffles potato chips, Coco-Dynobites cereal, and a 6 pack of Shiner.

At least the ground beef was cooking on the skillet...

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Wow. My friend Lindsay sent me to http://renz-o.blogspot.com/ which is a fabulous mantage of dare-we-say sexy Olan Mills photos from the 80s. This was my favorite and is simply entitled "Cousins."

Sniffle, Sniffle

Big Girl caught her first cold and it's just about the saddest thing ever! We had a cold front come through earlier this week, and, although I loved the 70 degree weather, it claimed my poor baby Lauren. Is it horrible that I love the few extra minutes of cuddle time with those sweet cheeks that I get at night when I tuck her in? Time to stock up on multivitamins and decongestants!