handiwork

When I asked boo what she wanted for Christmas she often replied with a a skateboard, a rocking horse and a kitchen because the one she had was too small and that little miss could have it. I already had the notion to change an old entertainment center into a kitchen. I researched, planned and gathered supplies pretty much since thanksgiving. However nothing happened until a few days before Christmas when gg had time. I'm super impressed how it turned out.

 The faucet was $12 from wally world.
Contact paper for the Formica look was $1 from the dollar store.
 The burners are old cds painted.
The knobs are old ones from Schaefer...free!
The sink is a dog bowl from menards $6.
The handles are old ones from old doors of the work table in our basement. And the paint
$1 for each of the colors ( clearance at menards, who knew?)..well the black was more ..gg and dad bought that. Then I bought primer for $13ish
Curtain rod from wally world $2
Fabric $6
There is also the plexiglass glass for the oven and something similar that we were going to put on top of the burners to give it more of a smooth stove top look and feel....that probably cost us $10
Then hinges, chain for oven door, and who knows what else gg bought to get the project done.

Gee, all the cheap supplies made me think we did this on the cheap but eek, guess not! But I love it and so does boo and gosh darn it, WE DID IT! It may have taken a couple off days and nights till 2am but we did it!

I searched all over, for like a month, for good dishes, pots and pans, utensils etc. And I love what we got.  Most of it. Is Just Like Home from toys r us. I love the colors...not girly but not the boring primary colors either. Then I bought a dish set from target for$9. That are great. Great sizes for everything and durable.

It was so much fun watching her open presents. Every thing she got that morning "this is the exactly what I wanted...even hand sanitizer. But when it came to the kitchen she was jumping up and down trying to take it all in. I'm so glad we go that on video.

fight, Fight, FIGHT!

Why does my baby fight naps so much? How exhausting it is. She got only 15 minutes of napping, maybe, between lots of crying for her nap before church yesterday. Once we got home from church she fought her subsequent naps as well.

And this morning, I laid her down 50 minutes ago. She quieted down for a few minutes and then started crying again. And now, 50 minutes after I first laid her down she has quieted down again. I hope she sleeps. It's like she catches herself falling asleep and she gets mad at herself (and probably me) for falling asleep.

She is such a happy baby with sleep, and even without it she isn't terrible but just harder to handle. I need her naps too, so I can get some stuff done or just relax.

I wish kids could cherish naps like adults do but if that was the case all we would do in this house is sleep. :)

are we alike?

This is Boo at 5 months:

And this is Little Miss at 8 months -not sure why Boo was wearing a 12 month old dress so young.

Here's both of them at around 8 month-ish.

I thought these girls looked alike but I'm not so sure anymore, especially as you compare the two. I wonder what miss Little Miss is going to grow up looking like. What fun the future holds.

blessings

In our church we are assigned congregations based off where we live, well they are changing those boundaries tomorrow. In talking with someone today, they said that a previous plan proposed they were going to eliminate one of the wards and GG would no longer be bishop. Sounds lovely, right? I think so too but oddly I found myself fearing the day he is no longer bishop. Not that I like him being gone or him having to have those responsibilities but I'm afraid the day he is no longer bishop I will no longer feel so abundantly blessed. We have had great blessings come to us this last year that we had been desiring for sometime and I truly feel the Lord has blessed us because of the service and sacrifice that has come with him being bishop. And I wonder, how does anyone ever make it this world without the Lord and his blessings? Would GG still be a teacher and us living in an apartment still, just getting by? Would we still be longing for Little Miss's arrival to our family?  I feel that sometimes he call us to serve not because we are necessarily qualified or the best for the job but because he wants to bless us.

When I think of Little Miss as a blessing of GG serving as bishop, I get a small (and I mean small) glimpse of Hannah from the bible who plead for a son, so much she would give him up to the Lord after he was weaned.  It was difficult for me as a 20-something to say, "yes, I will support my husband in this calling", knowing he would be gone a lot and that I would have to do a lot on my own. And having already known what it was like to be alone a lot because of football I didn't answer blindly. But as I sat in the stake president's office, I knew that we would be blessed with another child as I said "yes".  Sacrifice and commitment brings blessings. 

flappers

I LOVE that little miss flaps her arms and legs like crazy when she is excited. Especially in the morning when I go to wake her up. She seems so excited she is just about ready to burst. I guess this mommy interprets that to say, "mom, I love you sooo much I just can't hold it in". Really it's probably "alright! the food has arrived! I'm starving!"

something new

I'm going to try something new. I don't do Twitter, although I actually have an account so I can follow the high school games and get an idea of when gg will be home from the game.  I often think about writing something down or posting on fb but then think better of it because I don't necessarily want it on fb. Somehow I think I'm okay with it here. So I'll start posting little snippets..kinda like a quick thought journal that gets to be shared with you if you desire.

33 degrees it's a heat wave! I opened my Windows to air out my house since I sprayed disinfectant spray all over (i was sick earlier in the week and have used the wipes but I swear I still smell sickness but really it's probably just my fear the girls will get it). Anyway, I heard a beautiful bird chirping loudly. I found it perched on a branch outside my window singing it's song. It brought a smile to my face. I am thoroughly looking forward to spring in our home...minus the stupid tornadoes that threaten the perfect enjoyment and happiness of spring.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

I blame Snapfish for not having enough Christmas cards to send to everyone. Their shipping fees are ridiculous and they only let you order your cards in sets of 20, which I think is a bit stinky. Anyway, in light of the fact that I do not have enough cards to send beyond my immediate family, here is an online Christmas card and a "letter" that was not included in the ones I sent my family (see you are special) :)

Merry Christmas Friends!

We are so excited for the Christmas season this year. Boo is old enough to remember Christmas past enough to anticipate and be thoroughly excited for it to come this year. This  is such a fun age. Sometimes, I forget that she is still little because she acts like she is 5+ but then there are other times I think she is older than she is and expect too much out of her.  She is loving that we have a new house and a basement- and she is sure to tell everyone that comes to our home that it has a basement. 

Little Miss is growing in a blink of an eye. It seems like yesterday that she came to us and I know that the next thing I know she will be one. She thankfully has not learned to crawl or even roll over yet but I suspect it won't be long before so learns to do one or both.  I say  I'm thankful because 1) I don't have to guard the Christmas tree, and 2) once they become mobile my sanity goes out the window. :)  Little Miss is generally a very happy delightful baby that fills my heart with joy.

GG is busy, busy, busy. He is now an assistant athletic director at a high school here and is gone to a lot of sporting events. The only thing about him being gone late at night so much is that he can be late to work in the morning and we actually get to see him before he leaves in the morning. 

And then there is me, trying to figure out how to keep a house clean (amazingly a bigger space takes more time to clean and keep clean).  ps. we bought a house..BIG step for us this year. I love that I don't need quarters for laundry, I don't have to drag groceries up a flight of stairs and I love that we have a fenced in back yard for Boo to play in. I do miss, however, a handyman to call to fix things and neighbors to blame for the noises I hear in the night.  I would say the thing that GG loves most about our home is the water dispenser on the fridge, seriously. He would often say to me, "Hun, we are living the dream!" And I began to realize that every time he would say this he would say it with a glass of water in his hand. :)  I'm glad all that he needs to feel fulfilled in life is a fridge with a water dispenser. 

We feel so very blessed this year and many prayers have been answered. We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas!