New house ~ part I

~607~ Home sweet home

Finally the pictures for those that have asked. Dining room : to left when facing the house. Can't wait to paint!

Entryway

Playroom

Living room ~ will be painting soon, I hope.

Living room again ;) from a different angle. I took the picture from the kitchen.

Kitchen eating area. French doors beside ( to right) are the doors to the playroom.

The Kitchen ~ I'm planning on getting rid of the black fruit border and painting a soothing grey. :P

Hopefully, that gave you a good picture of the house and you were able to visualize. :)

House photos ~ part II

Mya's room ~ pretty in pink! Princess/Fairy theme Mya has been begging me for a pink room and finally has it! The 2nd pic is more true to the color. We put up some Tink and Fairies (glow in the dark ) :) wall stickers above her little table in the corner. As with the rest of the house, her room is still a work in progress.

Audrey's room ~ Bird theme

Audrey's room was already painted green, which works well with her bedding. She is very happy to have her space.

The kids bathroom ~ Beach theme

When I first saw the plaid wall paper in this room, I hated it. But then it occured to me that I could encorporate all my beach decor easily and now I love it!

Slaeter's room ~ no theme :)

I had planned on a sports theme, but the previous owner left these really cool safari animal wall stickers. Slaeter absolutely loves 'em! He loves to smile and touch them ~ so cute! So I'm think'in I'll stick with the animal theme for now before he outgrows it.

Our bedroom was a wreck today ( because I was getting the other rooms photo ready) and I will take a picture another day. :)

We have a finished basement with a cozy bed awaiting its first visitors... ;) Come visit!

I <3 Picnik !

I have been playing around with Picnik and love it! Sorry Picasa! Super easy and fun - check it out!

Thank you Jenkins!

Thank you Jenkins family! Even though, we have never met in person Carrie, you and your family are so dear to our hearts! Your story never fails to touch our hearts!

I found Carrie via our church's mom's connection group... her blog www.braydenandmommy.blogspot is a must read! I think everyone should read her latest post "waiting". Please take a few moments to read it and say a little prayer for her, her precious son brayden, and her family!

Thanks Carrie ~ you are in our prayers! ~Liz S.

All in a days work...

... in the life of a mommy! All you moms out there understand. Life is busy with washing (clothes, dishes...), cleaning (messes of all sorts), changing (sheets, diapers, clothes), running here and there, wishing you had 8 arms to keep up with it all! :) Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself to put all the duties aside and just have fun! Yesterday was such a day.

We went on a walk (we are having gorgeous, breezy days) and had fun making a HOMEADE (Mya and I were inspired by Paula Dean) cake + frosting. We threw all constraints aside and made a huge mess in the kitchen.

Below: the final product. Yes, I know, I decorate on a 4 yr. old level. Check out my cake -ahaha. Sandy, I cannot compete with you here!

Mya was so proud of her cupcakes. She loves to watch the Food Network ,takes after aunt Sandy I believe. ;)

Enjoying the spoils!

We also spent some time caring for our family of 5 ...

bunnies that is.

Pictured above are 2 of them. Nate discovered them in their little den in our backyard. We put them in a box, but after talking with the lady at the wildlife assoc. realized we must let them go. So we put them back in their hole. However, since they had scattered, I had to search a and gather them from the far corners of our yard before putting them back in their cute little home. :) I'm sure my neighbors thought I was crazy.

Oh yes... a couple other things, "if there's one thing you must not do, do not hold the bunny! Hands off! Very important! They die of fright easily!" or so the lady from BRWA told me - oops! We were just trying to cuddle them. Good news is they are all still alive and kicking (or jumping I should say - hardeeharhar).


Uuuuuuh...And the Cottontails box in the background was not a photo prop... but seriously, doesn't the bunny look happy and cozy in my hand? And I'm just remembering how we seem to attract bunnies. We found bunnies last year around this time too! www.sullymoments.blogspot.com - the April 2,2008 post.

We had quite the day yesterday and do not regret one single moment of it. Being a mom is way more work and way more fun and much more rewarding than I ever could have imagined!

Mother's day 2009

Now for the loads of laundry that await me....

Love you Mom!

I love you mom!

I absolutely adore and admire my mom with all my heart! Now that I am a mom of 3 little ones, I have a whole new appreciation for all the love, tender care, and PATIENCE she showed me daily. She never complained about not having time for herself, willingly shared my dad's attention, always listened to our thoughts, fears, and my corny jokes. :) She never hesistated to care for every hurt - the smallest booboo that absolutely needed a bandaid :) to the heartaches experienced during the tumultuous teenage years. No question was ever too long, no request was too great, or insignificant. Her unconditional love gave me a sense of security and calmness in a hectic world. If I am half as good a mom as she, I know I will have blessed my children.

Thanks mom, for caring enough to read stories until your eyes refused to remain open, for sacrificing sleep to sew our costumes, for patiently showing your girls how to decorate confetti eggs EVERY Easter, letting us help you make cookies, for tenderly caring for us when sick, for letting us laugh at your corny jokes, for taking time to give us the warmest of hugs, teaching us even on the days we drove you crazy, and for making us learn how to make bread -hahaha... You have showered us with loving words from the day we were born and now it is our turn to cover you with words of love and praise. We "rise up" and call you blessed!

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her" Prov. 31:28

We've moved!

We are finally in our house -yay! And I never want to move again!! :) We have been here for almost 2 weeks or is it 3 weeks now... I'm not sure? Life has been crazier than usual. 3 little 4 and under always makes for busy and a little crazy. There were days we felt like we were going crazy in our little apartment this past winter (it is actually a real winter up here), which reminds me to be grateful for the immediate craziness!!! :) I have been busy packing, unpacking, deciding what stays, what goes into the basement storage area, cleaning... all the meanwhile dealing with runny noses, strepthroat (myself), and another ear infection for Slaeter ~sigh~
The only thing resting in the "sitting room" is a large mound of empty boxes, a dollie, random furniture that I have no idea where to put. Despite the disorder, the chaos of the last couple weeks it is good to be home and to have room for the kids.
More than anything, it has been a wonderful experience to see the faithfulness of the Lord these last couple months. He provided help right at the moments I needed it most. In S.A. I always had my fam and my few good friends. But here, no family, new friends, I just wasn't sure if I would have help and wondered how I would do it with all the kiddos. Thank you! To all the dear friends that helped us move and helped me with everything, anytime these last couple weeks!!! Praise be to God for bringing people alongside me that would know just how to bless me and my family. People who came into all the craziness with ease. No words needed or instructions needed to be given , they just knew what to do and how to help. Words cannot express my gratitude and thankfulness. Coming from a family that loves to bless others and always lovingly welcomes people into their home, it has been a new experience for me to be on the receiving end, rather than the giving. I am humbled and get emotional just thinking about it all. It is my desire to use my home, just as my parents have used theirs for so many years, as a place of love, refuge, where Christ is the cornerstone.

For those that have asked for pics. of the new house, I will try to post some soon.
Please keep us in your prayers as we settle into our house and new community. ~liz