Notes from the Newlyweds

We're Moving!

2013-02-12T09:40:00.002-08:00

It's time for this blog to be moved to a different site! From now on, I'll be posting at www.ournestisbest.wordpress.com I hope you'll be following us there regularly!

How To Survive A Home Remodel (While Living In The Mess)

2012-11-27T07:26:00.001-08:00

Leah: Adopt an "It's Okay" attitude. "Turtle living in the basement? Can hear a herd of mice running around in the kitchen ceiling?" "It's okay!" "Water from the upstairs bathroom is pouring through the pendant lights in the kitchen?" "It's okay!" "It's a 5-foot jump into dirt out the front door?" "It's okay!" "I spent my whole morning hurrying around to clean the house before I left, and when I came home this evening, the teeny-tiny piece of drywall you cut out left a thin coating of white dust on EVERYTHING?!?" "It's okay!"

Nathan: Don't let your wife overwhelm you. She will talk through ten projects in two minutes. Those ten projects will take thirty days to finish. Start to tune her out when she talks about the house. Only take note of her ideas if she repeats them everyday. That means she actually wants them.

Leah: Offer your husband a helping hand with his projects. Watch him cut the 9-foot opening for the triple window in the kitchen. Help him out when the header (a heavy, 9-foot beam) for the window needs to be installed. As you hold the heavy beam up, be sure not to mention that you can't hold it much longer. Instead, scream as your arms give out and drop the beam on his head.

Leah: Take advantage of your sister-in-law's offer to help out on the house. Unload heavy items you purchased together into the old garage on the property. Let her shut the old, manual, single-panel garage door. Watch and laugh as she somehow shuts herself into the garage. Pull really hard on the garage door, the only exit, trying to open it up. Go get other sister-in-law to help open the garage door. When that doesn't work, call uncle to help. Call other relatives to come look at her through the stationary windows as she is locked in the garage. Take lots of pictures in 100 degree weather until her uncle can get her out of the garage.

Nathan: We didn't have a working shower for a month when we moved into our house. We had to go to our relative's houses to take showers. During that time I made a scientific discovery. Well, it's more like a formula: angriness = dirtiness^3 + C where C is a constant = how much time Leah had to spend at the house on that day. What it boils down to is this: "Clean wife, happy life."

Nathan: Listen to your wife when she finds a cute puppy online and tells you that it would be a great idea to get a puppy. Everyone knows the best time to get a new pet, especially a 7-week-old puppy, is two days after you move into a house without a bathroom, running water and basic kitchen appliances.

Leah: DO NOT think through what it means when your husband tells you the bathroom might not be finished when you move in the house. DO NOT be shocked when you realize that since the new toilet is not working yet, you will need to use a bucket. DO NOT check the bucket you choose for cracks or holes. DO NOT be surprised the next morning when you wake up in your new home, walk into the bathroom and wipe out on your shiny marble tile because your bucket leaked all night.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

2012-11-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

I count down to Christmas (and my birthday) like a little kid...only 29 days to go! This weekend Christmas cards were stuffed, addressed and sealed. I really should make an Excel file with all the addresses because I send them to the same people every year (our families, some friends and all my students), and all three times I've done this since we've been married, I've had to use whitepages.com to find the addresses of most people. After that, I'm left with a long list of people our age who only use cell phones and move every year, so Facebook messages are my ally for tracking those people down. Searching for the addresses makes an hour-long job take at least two.

Is it way too early to mail the cards today? I'm going back and forth between getting the project crossed off my list and waiting until December 1st to mail them. It is such a miracle that these are done BEFORE Christmas, and I can actually have the debate with myself if it is too EARLY to send them!

I said I wasn't going to decorate the house this year since we're in such a state of upheaval with the remodel. Knowing all those sparkles and lights are packed away in boxes makes me a little sad though...so I may decorate at least upstairs and pop some pretty wreaths on the outside doors.

Amazon is becoming my Christmas friend! I just ordered this scarf for $12.99, including shipping, found Christmasy flavored K-Cup coffee for cheaper than I can get it anywhere else, and ordered several gifts.

Luxury Diva's Infinity Lightweight Scarf

$12.99 + free shipping!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007L3T370/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

In remodeling news, Nathan and his dad are working away digging out and framing in our new sidewalks. The plan is for the concrete to be poured this Saturday morning. We had some makeshift cement steps pushed up to our front door, but those were taken away to make way for the new half-hexagon shaped brick steps and landing that will be there soon and will look awesome. Then, Nathan used the backhoe to dig out a place for the cement footer that will be the base for the brick. So when I open the front door to leave now, I take a nice 5-foot jump into a pile of dirt! You can imagine how much fun we had hoisting ourselves and our groceries inside the house on Saturday evening!

I saw two mice on Friday...so gross. I did not stay calm! I just can't stand those long, skinny, hair-less tails. How do they make mice look so cute in animated movies?? I ran outside the house and was standing there, barefoot, in my pajamas. After a few seconds, I realized that there was no where to go since I live here and went back inside. But I did spend the rest of the day with socks AND cozy furry boots on my feet (after irrationally checking the inside of the boots for mice), since I just can't stand the thought of the little creatures running over my toes. Yuck!

Thanksgiving!

2012-11-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

Our third Thanksgiving together was so fun and sweet. In the morning, Nathan went hunting with his dad and brother-in-law while I made a giant apple salad and cleaned the house. I went into a panic earlier in the morning that all of his relatives would decide to come over (they didn't, but now I have a clean house!) and see our newly remodeled home, and it pretty much looked like a war zone. How does that happen so fast with only two people living here? I also made some snacks- sausage dip and candied pecans- to bring with for people to eat in the afternoon. What were we thinking?!? We were all way too full to eat snacks just hours after Thanksgiving dinner! My college friend Evelyn joined us since her family lives in Taiwan. It was a loud, happy afternoon with 50 people in one house, just the way holidays should be!

In the late afternoon, we went home for an hour and tried to pass into a food coma on the living room floor. Well, Watson thought we must have wanted to play/wrestle since we were laying on the floor, so no napping ensued. I got up and made Cranberry-Banana-Pumpkin-Walnut Muffins. Yes, that was the combination of about three recipes. I hate bananas and their smell with a passion, but somehow, I do like them baked in breads and muffins. I was in the kitchen mashing them up and gagging, which Nathan found hilarious.

Around 6 pm, we got all bundled up to go stand in line for a TV at Walmart. I was wearing four layers, boots, hat, scarf and mittens. We went to pick up Nathan's mom and we found out that apparently we wait INSIDE the store. Would have been good to know before I dressed for a blizzard! Walmart, in general, was crazy. We got to bypass a lot of that though because we went in for a specific TV. They only had 35 of them so we had to get in line at 7 pm. We sat on a couple cases of Dr. Pepper for three hours doing crossword puzzles and reading magazines across from the refrigerator section. I started to regret shedding all my layers about an hour in. Have YOU ever sat across from the eggs for three hours? It's chilly!

That was probably our first and last Black Friday experience. While we do appreciate a good deal, we already have so much, and for our warm home, family and friends, we spent yesterday being grateful.

What We've Been Up To

2012-11-19T10:42:00.001-08:00

-Considering that my 7-week-old car has 5,800 miles on it, I've been doing a lot of driving!

-Last week started with a studio recital for my cello and piano students on Sunday afternoon. Recitals are a lot of work for all of us- me, the parents, the students- but it is totally worth it! I didn't bring my picture-taker (Nathan) this time, so I don't have pictures and videos to show you this time, but each student did a great job. We had lots of solos as well as a cello quartet and a couple piano duets. I ended the week with a concert with one of the orchestras I play with. Rehearsals meant that I didn't get home until 11:00 each night last week. Nathan and I felt like we didn't see each other at all that week!

-Watson became an outdoor dog yesterday. It breaks my heart to see him looking in the sidelights of the front door, whining and wanting to come in. I know he'll be happy playing on our 3-acre lot and I'll be happy about how much cleaner our floors and furniture will be. I wishfully hope babies are less work than puppies!

-I started P90X two weeks ago. I was really nervous to start because I had heard it was so hard. So, I bought it for $40 on Craigslist, hoping that if I couldn't swing it, I could at least resell it without losing too much. What I found is that some days ARE really hard, but it's not impossible. I cannot do a pull up to save my life, but the video gives you alternative things to do using exercise bands so you can eventually work up to a pull up. The only downside is that it's so LONG! 60, 75 or 90 minutes a day, depending on the video scheduled.

-Thanksgiving this year is going to be at Nathan's paternal grandparents. We live two houses down from them so we can literally walk there. They are having 50 people, so I hope that we have nice weather to hang out outdoors!

-Our house remodel is nearly done. I would guess that in about 6 weeks, we'll be just about done with all our major projects. Right now, there is a backhoe parked in our front yard (classy!) and we have trenches dug where our sidewalks will be, hopefully by next week. But with the big, dusty mess we have now, I think we'll skip cutting a tree and pulling the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the spare bedroom. It makes me sad since I'm the person who put up our tree last year at our rental house two weeks before Thanksgiving. But there's always next year, and this house will be so beautiful all decked out for the holidays.

-And speaking of that, I'm almost done with our Christmas shopping! I need to buy Nathan's gifts, and then we have four more relatives to find gifts for. After that, let the wrapping begin!

Our Weekend + Dessert Recipes

2012-10-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I had a fun, low-key weekend. We saw Taken 2 on Friday night and ran into my brother and his friends at the movie. It was a fun movie and Liam Nieson is always awesome, but the movie was pretty predictable if you've seen the first movie.

Saturday mornings I always have one student from 8:30-9:30 which is great because it forces us to get going early on Saturday, pick up the house and get organized for the day ahead. After my student left, we made the 30 minute drive to Home Depot where we picked out lights for the porch, got a few plumbing supplies and picked out the shower heads/shower handles for the new bathroom. Nathan worked on the plumbing all day, except when we made another trip to the hardware store for plumbing pieces we didn't expect to need and a can of PVC primer to replace the one that a nameless person backed into and dumped over. I painted the porch an orangish shade of red (Georgian Brick by Benjamin Moore), Watson sniffed the walls and got a red nose, and then I painted the hallway between the kitchen and porch.

Sunday was busy, as usual. How does that always happen? Nathan is the worship leader for our church so he is out the door more than two hours before church starts to get set up. I head over there an hour later to practice with him and the rest of our group. After church, it takes about an hour to tear everything down. I did that by myself this week as Nathan had to rush over to the soccer fields and coach two games. He coaches a U-14 club team and they won both of yesterday's games. What a great way to end the season! I usually watch the games, but yesterday I cleaned the house during the first game then headed into town to bring Nathan lunch during the break between games. It was such a beautiful day to eat outside! After that, I got our groceries for the week and headed home to do some baking.

When Nathan got home from his games, he and Watson watched football together. I went into the living room to ask him a question and this was too cute not to photograph. In the evening, we went to our church's fall cookout and hay ride. I brought Almond Joy Cupcakes and Butterfinger Cake, both were recipes I found on Pinterest. Sometimes I can pretend that desserts are healthy. These are not, but so delicious! You should definitely try them this week.

Almond Joy Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake:

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 eggs

2/3 cup oil

1 small pkg. chocolate instant pudding

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Coconut Topping:

1/4 cup butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 cups powdered sugar

2 cups chocolate chips

sliced almonds

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes that you bake for 17-20 minutes. After they cool, generously spread the coconut frosting on them. Dip in a bowl of melted chocolate chips, and while the chocolate is still wet, top with a few sliced almonds. At first I used Nestle chocolate chips and they just weren't dipping well. The chocolate was sticky and lumpy. I switched to melted Ghirardelli chocolate chips and it worked great! The only thing I would change is that next time, I will substitute almond flavoring for the vanilla in the cake and frosting. Maybe I'll even stir some into the chocolate chips!

I did that tile backsplash in this picture all by myself, so feel free to compliment. :-)

I don't have a picture of the butterfinger cake, but it is so easy and you really don't need a recipe. Here's the directions:

Butterfinger Cake

Bake a yellow cake in a 9x13 pan according to the package directions. Cool 5 minutes. Poke 12-15 holes in the cake with the back of a spoon (they will be about 1/4 inch holes). Pour a small can of condensed milk over the cake. Pour a jar of caramel topping (16 oz) over that and spread evenly. Top with an 8 oz. tub of softened Cool Whip. Crunch 3-4 regular size Butterfingers and sprinkle over the top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2012-10-20T12:47:00.001-07:00

If you know me, you know that I love my coffee. When I was in college, I bought a couple coffees a day. Well, that breaks the bank pretty quickly, so I've collected fun kitchen tools to make delicious drinks at home. Yesterday I tried a recipe I found for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. All you need is a blender! I liked the Starbucks version and wanted to be able to make something like that at home, for less money and without the artificial syrups and bucket load of sugar. The following recipe isn't mine, I just altered it slightly by using less milk, more cream and adding the pumpkin puree. I just tasted the milk mixture and tweaked the original recipe until I liked it. This is so good, I just made our third batch since last night!

Well, I'm off to finish painting our front porch and the hallway tot he kitchen. All this caffeine better kick in soon!

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 T. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

12 oz. strong coffee

2 T. canned pumpkin puree

Whipped cream

Heat milk and heavy cream in microwave for 2 minutes. Pour into blender. Add sugar, vanilla, pumpkin spice and pumpkin puree. Blend until frothy, 2-4 minutes. Pour about 1 cup milk mixture into each mug. Add 1/2 cup coffee (4 oz.) to each glass. Garnish with whipped cream.

40% Off Shutterfly Cards + Free Shipping

2012-10-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=2BaNWbVw0ZujA&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

I've never been organized enough to order my Christmas cards before December 20th, but the Shutterfly email in my inbox this morning for 40% off of cards motivated me to order them today. That's right, those of you who know me might get your Christmas cards BEFORE Christmas! Normally I'd want to keep the card a secret, but I get $10.00 off my next order if I post it here. I figure that you will all forget what it looks like and be surprised when it arrives in your mailbox two months from now.

If you want to get your cards 40% off, here's the details:

-Order by Thursday, October 11th

-Enter code GETMYCARDS at checkout

-If your order if over $30.00, like mine was, enter code SHIP30 to get that discount too

The Evolution of a Bedroom

2012-10-08T14:10:00.004-07:00

When we bought our 100-year-old farmhouse in 2010, no one had done anything major to keep the home updated. The walls were cracked and damaged plaster, and the windows, floors, doors and trim were original to the house. Here's what our room looked like back in 2010:

Honestly, the pictures don't do justice to how yucky the room was. It was musty and the walls were in a state of disrepair that doesn't show up in these pictures. The ceilings were only 7 feet tall, too.

We decided to knock out all the plaster in the home. The background of the picture below is what the room looked like after they tore out the plaster and lathe. They had already scooped out about half of the mess by the time I took the picture.

Once that was cleaned up, Nathan installed new windows, rewired the room and insulated. There was no insulation in those old walls!

After that, he rebuilt the closet. We spent our spring break hanging drywall in one bedroom. Yes, it took us the whole week! Don't worry though, things went faster in the remainder of the house once we had some experience. The hardest part was finishing the drywall. Our bedroom was the first room that we did, and while it has some imperfections that bug us occasionally, it turned out pretty well and we learned a lot! We kept the original floors but hired someone to sand them and refinish them. The upstairs floors are pine and the downstairs are pecan.

Here's what our room looks like now. I still have a few pictures to hang, and I need to give the woodwork and doors one more coat of white paint, but it's mostly complete.

I'm always curious where I can buy the things I like when I see photos on Pinterest and blogs. I'll try to keep you updated on all the details as I add pictures of the house.

As you can see, Nathan vaulted the ceiling so that it's a normal 8 foot ceiling. That made such a difference in how the room feels!

Wall paint: Shale by Martha Stewart

(I had them mix this color at Home Depot in a contractor grade paint to keep the costs low.)

White duvet cover: Pottery Ba rn Hadley Duvet Cover

Rug: Clearance at Pottery Barn last summer

Brown pillows: Pier 1

Curtains: Bed Bath and Beyond

Vase/Branches: Pier 1

Black Mirror That Still Needs To Be Hung: Walmart

Silver Candle Holders: Garage sale for $10, but I've seen them at Hobby Lobby

Eventually, I'd like to get a chair that coordinates better with our bedroom colors, but this one works for now. It used to be in our living room when we lived in a bigger place.

Iron Wall Hanging: Clearance at Pier 1 a couple years ago

Baskets: Target (These hold up SO well!)

Brown pillow: Walmart

Lamp: Bed Bath and Beyond

This shelf (Target) used to hold all of my cello and piano music, but it fit perfectly in this space and really helped with clothes storage since our closets in this house are much smaller.

I was thrilled when I found these doors at Home Depot. They are the same style as the doors original to the house. While I was glad to get rid of the old, musty parts of this house, I've tried to keep some of that quaint farmhouse feel the house had when we bought it.

Thursday Catch-Up

2012-10-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

1. Let's start with a disclaimer- this is a really quick post while I have a small break in my teaching schedule. We'll see how much I can catch you all up on in ten minutes.

2. We got our Prius last week and are thrilled with it. I'm consistently getting 53 miles per gallon, but today I averaged 56 miles per gallon on my 60-mile drive. The hatchback is awesome. I officially recall all the jokes I have made about how ugly Prius' are. (I still think they are ugly, for the record.)

3. I always have the day off on Friday (the perk of being your own boss!) and I'm looking forward to a long walk with Watson, baking cookies, hanging more pictures and a mirror. I also need to paint my bathroom walls, and put a couple more hours in on painting the white trim in our whole house. It is amazing how your house seems to grow when you sit down to paint ALL the trim.

4. I try to make Friday my big cleaning day so that I don't have to do any major chores when Nathan's home for the weekend. Especially since ~~we are~~ Nathan is still working like crazy at remodeling our house, I try to be available on the weekend to ~~help him out~~ cheer him on while still managing to not get dirty.

5. We did hire someone to remodel our porch for us, which has been an amazing experience. It's so fun to come home in the evening and see the progress that you did not have to be involved in. The porch is going to be our mudroom with built in lockers and a big L-shaped bench with drawers beneath it. It has lots of windows and I'm planning on painting it an orangy-red color. We haven't decided what to do with half of the room but we really want to replace our boring idea of having a couple of comfy reading chairs in that part with hanging a hammock from the ceiling. We probably won't, but it sounds so much more practical than an outdoor hammock.

6. My mom, Isaac, Eva and I went to the pumpkin patch last week. I got a spaghetti squash and baked it a couple of nights ago. Nathan and I couldn't believe how delicious it was as a replacement for pasta and according to Nathan, it is super fun to scrape the "spaghetti" out of the rind.

7. My time is up, time to head out to my next student. I am being super-teacher today and working until 9:45. But don't feel too bad for me...I only work three days a week. :-)

Easy Chocolate Desserts

2012-09-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

{Brownie Cupcakes}

This one really doesn't need a recipe, but it's a favorite for us to serve to company because it's so easy, pretty and it's the perfect amount of sweet to end a big meal. All you do is bake your usual brownie batter in a mini muffin pan and let those cool. Then, spray Redi-Whip cream on top and crown with a fresh raspberry. Do wait to top with whipped cream and a raspberry until close to serving time. I learned the hard way that the cream sort of disappears if you leave them sitting in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Hmmm....maybe Redi-Whip isn't really whipped cream?

{Brownie Pudding Cake}

I broke the rule of not trying out a new recipe on your friends and experimented with this to bring to a friend's home for dessert Saturday night. It took brownies to a whole new level because when you serve it warm from the oven, you cut the top part (brownie) and serve it in bowls, then scoop the warm chocolate pudding out of the bottom of the baking dish and dollop it on top of the brownies. Plus, it has no butter or eggs, which keeps it inexpensive. And if you are allergic to eggs and dairy, you could just substitute the milk in the recipe with a non-dairy alternative and be good to go! It's not that pretty so I don't have a picture, but it is delicious, and you should definitely make it NOW.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cocoa (dry baking cocoa powder)

1 3/4 cups boiling water

Combine flour, sugar, 2 T cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in walnuts (optional). Pour into greased 8x8 baking dish. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. And the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Pour that mixture slowly on top of the cake batter. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, serve warm.

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I love what I get to do everyday- working with my little cello and piano students doesn't feel like work at all. It is so fun for me to see them improve, progress and learn to love making music. Group lessons are my favorite because I see them enjoy playing together! And it is a fun challenge for me to teach creatively so that I reach each individual student in the most effective way. I commute an hour each way and it flies by as I think about presenting new concepts and techniques to my students for that day. On the way home, I'm often reviewing how somethings just didn't work how I had imagined, and trying to understand how I can teach better next time. I often tell my students when they are about to try something new such as a sitting position, fingering, or possible way to adjust a technique issue, "We are going to do an experiment here. It may not turn out the way we want it to, and that's okay, because we always learn something, even if it is just that we will not try it that way again." Sometimes I have to tell myself that, too!

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And I will leave you with the latest and greatest Watson photo. We love this puppy so much and enjoy having him in our home and playing together. If a puppy is this much fun, we can't imagine how fun it will be to have real kids!

This week.

2012-09-22T06:07:00.001-07:00

1. Nathan took the day off work yesterday so that we could run some errands that we really needed to do together. We were picking out tile for our downstairs bath and researching the walk-in shower that he is going to build. It's going to be awesome...4x6 feet interior, which sounds especially great since we've been using the clawfoot tub in our other bathroom since we moved in June. I can't wait! I'm sure every wife is proud of her husband, but I just have to say I am so proud of Nathan for all the stuff he has learned to do to remodel our house. You will be blown away by the pictures.

2. I'm going to post some before and after pictures of our house this week, I promise!

3. Our other errand yesterday was looking (again) at the new car we are getting. We have been talking about this for a long time, and decided to stop by a different dealership on our way home yesterday to see if we could get a better deal. Our casual conversation in the salesman's office turned into this high pressure push for him to get us in a car TODAY. Nathan loved all the haggling, adrenaline and craziness, but it just made me sweat like crazy and want to cry. Apparently I would be terrible at sales! Oh, and no, the salesman did not send us driving home in the car.

4. I finally caught up on all my picture printing this week from January 2009 to now. 600 pictures are coming in the mail next week for me to sort and put in albums. I love doing that, but I have vowed to never again skip picture printing for nearly four years. If you don't hear from me next week, I'm buried under a pile of pictures. Here's some pictures from early 2009...I guess we haven't changed that much in almost 4 years, which is good?

This is how most of our pictures turn out since Nathan loves having his picture taken.

He is eating cookies in this picture...typical. :-)

5. We have been reading Monster by Frank Peretti together. If you like a good scary thriller that will make you never want to go camping or hiking again, this is a great choice. Neither of us like to drive, but I like to read out loud even less, so when we are in the car together, he reads and I drive. It's cheaper than books on tape and way more entertaining to listen to Nathan try to remember to do his "voices" for the different characters so I can tell who is talking.

6. We have a five or six hour round-trip road trip tomorrow for soccer games. Watson usually goes with us and if I get bored watching multiple soccer games in a row, we just head out for a nice walk. Nathan has been coaching this U14 club team in the fall and spring for a year now, and the best perk is the paid for hotel, gas and food when we have weekend tournaments far away. I usually watch some of the games, go shopping when I get bored, and then Nathan and I usually have a good amount of time in the evenings to do something fun in St. Louis or wherever the tournament is. It's fun and it keeps Nathan super busy! He's a computer programmer for nine hours a day plus a 90-minute round-trip commute, he coaches soccer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings plus weekends and puts in about 20 hours of work on our house each week!

Watson

2012-09-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Back in June, we moved to our new house. It wasn't complete, but it was close enough that it was livable. We were pretty motivated to move so we wouldn't have to pay rent anymore. On top of that, our rental house sold and we had to be out by the second week of June. We moved in and were totally overwhelmed by our piles of boxes and the lack of space to store it all. So, to make things less hectic, we did what most sane people do, and adopted a puppy from the shelter!

This is Watson. We are biased, of course, but we are pretty sure that he is the sweetest, smartest puppy ever. He follows us all over the house. He is totally happy as long as he is right next to us. We were happily innocent when we brought him home that it was going to be somewhat like bringing home a newborn. Good thing I'm great at rolling over and pretending to sleep through all the noise so that Nathan had to get up with him! We'll see if that works out as well when we have kids.

Of course, he had to grow up on us, so this is what he looks like now, 30 pounds later:

I'll try to be better about blogging. I appreciate all your sweet comments and emails letting me know that you had missed this.

House Inspiration

2012-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

My sister Therese came over yesterday and introduced me to Pinterest. I had heard of it and knew what it was, but I hadn't let myself use it because I could envision myself getting addicted. Sure enough, I am hooked!

The downstairs bath, right off the kitchen, is probably going to be the celery green color in the top left. I love the wainscoting too. The cabinets below are like the ones we've ordered, but I like the idea of doing the black mirror with it.

I'm going for a really calm and serene look in the master bedroom. I love the bottom left picture. I tend to think of tan walls as boring walls, but with big white trim, it looks really crisp! I thought the canvas prints below were a great idea too- the girl that made these used the lyrics from her wedding song to make the prints. We have green and brown bedding right now, but *hopefully* I'll work getting an all white set into the budget.

Nathan and I are moving into our house in March and have been renovating it from top to bottom. Nathan actually bought it before we were even engaged, and in the past two years has done some work to it. But we weren't sure that we even wanted to live there (it's pretty far out in the country, and more than an hour from where I teach my students) and we had been continually debating about whether to fix it up and move in, sort-of fix it up and rent it out, or sell it. Well, in December, we decided we were tired of paying rent and two sets of utilities, and we would move in the last week of March. Nathan has been spending all of his extra time there, and things are really starting to come together. I'm so proud of how he isn't overwhelmed by the big project- he's so good at going step-by-step, tackling one small project at a time. For most things, he's learning as he goes, and it's really turning out great!

With the decorating end of the job falling to me (it's a fun job!), Pinterest seems like it's going to be an inspirational help, and maybe a little waste of time. Our home is a century-old farmhouse, and I hope by keeping the furnishings themed around clean lines and simplicity, it will still feel somewhat like a farmhouse when we're done. I'd also like the home to lean towards being modern, but not so much that it feels cold.

In the kitchen, I'm going with cabinets very similar to those below. Most of the top cabinets will have clear glass doors. The actual cabinets are square and simple. The main question for me is what color to paint the kitchen walls. I like the robin egg blue above with red, but wonder if I'd get tired of it. I could also paint it a nice neutral color like in the above right. I was originally thinking of painting it an orangish-red color (not cranberry red), but since Nathan doesn't love dark walls and the kitchen is a part of the house we will both be spending a lot of time in, I nixed that idea. The other question is whether to use a normal table in the kitchen, or build a booth, something like pictured below.

Isaac and Eva driving home with me a few weeks ago. My car was getting worked on, so the dealership had loaned me a 2012 version of my car. The kids were going on about different features they really liked about this car, how nice it was, and how I should buy it. I told them that it would cost a lot of money to buy the car, so I'd just keep driving mine for a few more years. Then they wanted to know how much I meant when I said it would be a lot of money, and I told them probably $25,000. "Oh my!" Isaac said, "For that much money, you could make your house civilized!"

The front porch is going to be our storage/entrance room. I love the color of the bathroom for the porch, and since it has lots of windows, it shouldn't be too dark.

We aren't going to buy cabinets in the laundry room for now, and I thought these were great ideas of shelves and things we could do ourselves.

Yes, our house isn't quite "civilized" yet, but hopefully by the time we move in, we'll be on our way towards that with cabinets, finished drywall and refinished wood floors. The new windows are mostly in, and the siding/guttering/soffeting will be finished in a month or so. The rest of the things won't be such a big deal to do while we live there...and I'll just be glad to have the super dusty projects out of the way. Some of the ideas in these pictures are far into the future, and others are things we can do right away. So tell me what you like and what you don't, and send me links to your own good ideas too!

In the guest bedroom, or "Isaac and Eva's Room" I'm going to paint the walls a neutral color and then accent with bright colors, like lime green (bedding above), bright yellow and some teal blue. The picture just above isn't the right colors, but I love the flower pendant (only $30 at IKEA!) and the white chair.

Peaceful

2012-01-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

Over the past month, I have encountered the idea of bringing peace to my surroundings over and over. I've noticed it in my devotion times, in blog posts....everywhere. So I've decided that it will be my theme for the year- to try to bring peace to my surroundings by eliminating chaos and confusion. It's not that I plan to live in a quiet bubble- I love happiness, talking, music and lots of people- but I want to step away from getting all worked up over stuff, stay organized, and avoid cycles of craziness! I think of cycles of craziness in relation to my house- letting it get super messy, allowing piles to build on busy days, and spending free days cleaning it all up, then letting messes build all over again when busy times strike. I want the words I speak to Nathan to be peaceful words, not fight-picking words, so that our home has a spirit of peacefulness and calm. The following verses have made me further inspired to work towards having a peaceful home and heart:

Colossians 3:15 "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts..."

Matthew 5:19 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

Psalm 34:14 "...seek peace and pursue it."

Psalm 119:165 "Great peace have they who love your law..."

Romans 14:19 "Therefore let us make every effort to do what leads to peace..."

1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace."

Isaiah 9:6 "And He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

There are some really practical ways I'm going to work on this, in three categories:

In Media:

-Turn off the noise. When I'm home doing things like dishes, banking and laundry, turn off the background noise. I tend to turn on music or a TV or news show from Hulu when I do these chores, but it ends up just being distracting background noise. I am finding it healthy and freeing to get rid of the noise and just think and enjoy the quiet time.

-Quit using Facebook as a way to procrastinate from things I really need to get done.

In Relationships:

-Avoid "jabs". There's going to be times in marriage or in close friendships when you have to tell your spouse or friend something they don't want to hear. Just simple stuff, like talking about finding a better way to divide the chores, or getting dirty clothes to find the hamper, can be approached in a nice way, or with a jab. Verbal jabs don't usually happen by accident, and I want to avoid them.

-Sometimes life throws curve balls that stress me out, and there's no way to avoid them- they just happen from time to time. Then, there's things that make me stressed out and a not very pleasant person to be around, and they happen all the time. Like when I wake up and the dishes we didn't do the night before still aren't done (who knew we didn't have magic elves who washed them while we slept?), and there's no time to do them before running out the door. Or when I don't know what to wear, try 15 outfits on before picking one, am running behind because of it AND have a giant pile of clothes on my closet floor. Those things stress me out on a regular basis.

So, to save myself stress, and help me not be a grouch with Nathan, I can take simple steps, like picking out my clothes the night before and taking 20 minutes to tidy the house before I go to sleep.

In the House:

-Keep a good perspective on house cleaning/organizing. Someone posted this on Facebook last weekend and it really encouraged me. "Proclaiming the Prince of Peace as ruler of our home...Which is usually called house cleaning, but is really a simple act of worship to the Creator of true beauty and peace." I like the idea of keeping my home orderly to reflect the beauty and order of creation.

-As we a remodeling the house we'll move into in March, I'm consciously trying to choose things that will make our home environment peaceful. One of those things is making sure there is plenty of storage. Nothing squelches peace and calm like having stuff sprawled (and lost!) all over the house. Storage doesn't have to be expensive, and you don't have to remodel or get a bigger house to find a little spot to keep things organized. Some simple shelves and plastic storage boxes can make a huge difference without costing a lot.

-Divide housework between days. I did this in our apartment, and it worked great. With just 20-30 minutes a day, we could keep the apartment clean and organized. One day was bathroom cleaning, another was washing the kitchen floor, scrubbing the sink and cleaning our the refrigerator. One day was dusting and vacuuming, and so on. It kept everything fresh with just a little time and helped us to avoid total catastrophes.

-Write down on my grocery list the things that I'm out of, when I run out of them. It seems like every time I start to make something, I realize that I'm out of one thing and have to run to the grocery store. It's become a regular thing to go three or four times a week. I honestly don't enjoy grocery shopping and if I will just write things down, I can cut the number of trips down by a lot!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2012-01-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

I'm back after a three-week hiatus from blogging!

Nathan and I had a wonderful second Christmas together. It's hard to believe how quickly life flies by, and that we've already been married for a year and a half. Although, in some ways, it feels like our wedding was at least a decade ago.

We opened our presents from each other on Christmas Eve, between our church's service and the midnight mass I played for at a different church in town. It was nice to have a restful four or five hours together to eat dinner, open gifts and watch a movie. (I honestly can't remember what movie it was, or if it was even a Christmas movie. I slept through most of it, trying to gear up for playing until 1:30 or 2 in the morning!)

I think we will make this a tradition. With both of our extended families close by, we attend five or six celebrations over the holidays, and it can start to feel crazy, even though we have a great time at each gathering. So, we may just have to keep Christmas Eve for our own celebration together. We had Christmas morning together too, but honestly, when you don't have excited kids pouncing on you to wake you up, it's not that fun to drag yourself out of bed to open presents at 6 in the morning! We'll take opening presents the night before instead!

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Nathan and I hosted a New Year's Eve party for our friends this year. We had about 30 people and a lot of fun. We borrowed his parent's foosball table and Nathan used his Christmas money to buy a ping-pong table. Other friends loaned a PS3 and a Wii, and we had all kinds of board and card games. I made too much food, so Nathan and I ate leftover chip dip and cocktail-sized meatballs the following week until we were sick of it!

One of our favorites is sausage dip. It is delicious, easy and so yummy. It is not healthy, at all, but I figure we only eat it a couple times a year.

Sausage Dip

1 Roll Original or Spicy-Flavored Sausage

2 Bricks Cream Cheese

2 Cans of Rotel Tomatoes, drained

Brown sausage in a pan; drain. Add cream cheese to sausage and cook on low until cheese is melted. Stir in tomatoes and heat until thoroughly warmed. Serve with corn chips.

*After cooking, my mom puts the dip in a tiny crock-pot, which is great for parties where people will be snacking for a longer period of time.

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We had a student recital at our house before Christmas and enjoyed hosting about 10 of my students and their families for the afternoon. We love having this big house that can accommodate big groups of people.

We're moving in March to the house that we own, which is almost half the size and doesn't have a usable basement. I don't want that to stop us though from having guests and extending hospitality. Maybe we can't have thirty people in our house at once anymore, but we can have five or ten. There are going to be rooms that are not completely remodeled when we move in, but I don't want that to stop me either. It may bother me that my main-floor bathroom isn't finished, but I doubt that any guests would mind walking upstairs. When I think about going to someone else's house, I know I wouldn't mind. Spending time with friends and family and enjoying each other is the point of hospitality anyway- not a perfectly remodeled house, beautiful decorations and delicious food.

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Holiday decor was even more fun in our second year of marriage, as I could add to what I had leftover from last year and do more decorating.

I got a cheap garland ($5) from Walmart as the base of this fireplace arrangement. Then I used a strand of lights left over from my tree last year and wrapped it around the garland twice to get the maximum "glow". Finally, I added six sprigs of silver sparkly stuff purchased from Walmart for $3 each. I added two stockings ($5 each) stuffed with tissue paper to make them look less flimsy and cheap, held by plain silver stocking holders that were also $5 each. For just $43.00, I got a classic-looking fireplace decoration that I'll use for years to come. In fact, after I took down the stockings, I decided to leave the garland and lights up as a winter decoration.

Favorite Novels for Teen and 20-Something Girls

2011-12-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

It is hard these days to walk into a bookstore and find good fiction for young women around my age. And by "good" I mean literature that supports my worldview and Christian values. Does this mean that I have to agree theologically with every idea in a book to be able to recommend it? No, not at all. (In fact, it is intellectually stimulating when I disagree with an idea and have to work through why I disagree.) But it does mean that I look for books, even fiction books, that give me examples of the character I would like to develop more fully in my own life. And it means that I'm careful about what I choose to spend hours of my life reading, because I know that what I mentally nourish myself with affects me just as much as what I nourish my body with. The following books are just novels, but most are fast-paced and have intricate plots. While they all have some element of romance in them, there isn't anything trashy or cheap. They are influenced by Christian values, even though some of them aren't overtly Christian. When the best the local bookstores have to offer young women are vampires and sorcerers (their message is not even subtle!), I hope you will dig a little deeper and find literature that is consistent with our faith.

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#1- Not My Will by Francena Arnold

(Moody Classic Fiction)

I received this book for Christmas as an early high schooler and have read it four or five times since. It follows the life of a young girl who is orphaned and raised by her aunt who is bitter towards God and men. She is left a large fortune upon the death of her aunt but cannot receive it until her 25th birthday, and only if she remains unmarried. There are several unexpected turns in the plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I've cried through this book every time!

#2- Pearl Maiden by H. Rider Haggard

(Published by Christian Liberty Press)

#3- Lysbeth by H. Rider Haggard

(Published by Christian Liberty Press)

#4- The Brethren by H. Rider Haggard

(Published by Christian Liberty Press)

These three books are historical fiction centered around the Roman Empire in the first century after Christ, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Crusades, respectively. I just finished reading The Brethren last night and really enjoyed the action-filled plot. Of these three, Pearl Maiden was my favorite with Lysbeth coming in at a close second. But all three are adventurous, romantic and action-packed reads.

#5- The Hawk and the Dove Triology (3-in-1 Volume) by Penelope Wilcock

(Available from Amazon)

I read this every summer during high school, and would gladly read it again if I could find my book! I love the character Father Peregrine, who comes to the monastery a proud and difficult man, and through crushing circumstances is humbled and changed. The book summary says, "They belonged to another century, yet their struggles are our own-finding our niche; coping with failure; living with impossible people' and changing when we realize that we are the impossible one. These humble seekers, called to live together in brotherhood, discover in the daily rhythm of their work and worship that the whole of life is a love story about a tender and passionate God. Rich with imagery and emotion, their tales depict love in action, and love given in the most trying of circumstances."

#6- The Hidden Hand by Eden Southworth

(Published by Lamplighter)

It's been a long time since I read this book, but it, and the Lost Clue (below) were so full of mystery and suspense that I could barely put them down. These books were written in the 1800's, but have been updated into modern English. They are more pricey than most of the books I have listed in this post (about $30), but have excellent binding and hard, dimensional covers. That Printer of Udell's (below) is by the same publisher and has a leather cover. With basic care, they should last for many years to come.

#7- The Lost Clue by Mrs. O.F. Walton

(Published by Lamplighter)

#8- That Printer of Udell's by Harold Bell Wright

(Published by Lamplighter)

This was one of President Ronald Reagan's favorite books. His letter is included in the book, and a copy of it is below (click to enlarge). The publisher's webpage contains this summary of the book:

"Has someone crossed your path recently that might have needed your help? Were you paying attention closely enough to have noticed? This wonderful book from Harold Bell Wright is just as alive and relevant in this century as it was to those to whom he was writing over 100 years ago. That tramp printer that ends up working for George Udell has so much to teach us about living by an honor code."

Wedding Crasher

2011-12-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

(Don't you just love the "rubber bands" around his chubby arms and legs?)

You would never know that this cherubic looking little boy was once a wedding crasher. 21 years ago, he was a ring bearer at his mom's sister's wedding. His mom was the maid of honor, his dad performed the ceremony and his older sister was the flower girl.

I had already heard the story of how, at age 2 1/2, he threw the wedding rings (the real ones!) off his little pillow, sending them clattering under the pews at the candle-lit service.

This week, I also found out that he escaped during the ceremony and was found in the church basement eating carrots out of the fridge. Someone brought him back upstairs, where he crawled around his dad's feet while he performed the ceremony and shook the microphone stand. Later, he laid down on his stomach in the church aisle with his head in his hands, looking up at everybody who attended the wedding. He started wandering around the church and went up to his aunt, the bride, and was trying to look under her veil to see if it was her under there. When picture time came, he was totally uncooperative (apparently because of a missed nap), so all the pictures of Nathan show him with a carrot in each hand, mouth wide open, screaming.

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With these ornery genes, the moral of the story for me is to never say "my child would never..."

But still, really, all of that at one wedding? I'm hoping those genes skip a generation!

These are the good old days...

2011-12-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

...my little brother is not always going to want to call me a few times a week and talk to me for 20, 30 or more minutes. Our conversations aren't anything earth shattering- mostly a blow-by-blow of his day, and lately, what I think he should buy different people for Christmas- but it's not always going to be "cool" to call his big sister. I have lots of messages saved on my phone that say, "Leah, this is Isaac....I was just calling to chit-chat, so call me back!" 10 years from now, he'll probably have a different girl on speed dial, so I try to treasure the sweet innocence now.

...Eva's not always going to be a 7-year-old begging me to sit on the floor and play Strawberry Shortcakes. In fact, it doesn't seem like too long ago that I was the one who loved to play with those dolls. Yesterday I helped her organize the toys in her bedroom- seeing the paper dolls, American girl dolls and art projects brought back a lot of memories. She has a lot of mature characteristics, but can be super silly and little girlish at the same time. She came over on Saturday and helped me bake peanut blossoms. She got the giggles as she exaggerated my instructions to make all the cookies uniform in size. I just love these two little guys. Before I know it, they're going to be all grown up.

Is this the right size???

Oh, maybe if I make it a little bigger....

...and bigger...

How's this???

(Yes, she was having a silly afternoon!)

...even though it feels like I haven't quite found the perfect rhythm to keeping my house clean, laundry done and dinner on the table (it seems like once a week our house looks like it "threw up" the contents of its cabinets and closets), I know it's never going to be easier than now. When we have kids and happy chaos someday, I'm sure there will be times that I'll look back fondly on how streamlined my days are now.

...I think one of the things that makes marriage great in the long run is when each spouse works to understand the other more fully, learning something new about the other every day. As much as we loved each other when we got married, almost a year and a half later, our relationship is even closer than it was then. I am so happy to have time with Nathan almost every day to just enjoy our marriage. Whether we're actually working on a project together, hosting friends, or just tackling our individual to-do lists in the evenings, I'm grateful to have these days and years to study Nathan as a person.

This Week's Recipes:

2011-12-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

I realized last week that I was in a cooking rut. I was turning to my two or three quick-dinner standards almost every night, and I was ready for a change! Nathan would never complain- I'm pretty sure I could make spaghetti every night and he would be happy. But, I was ready for something new, so I went to allrecipes.com and found some things to try. Here are some favorites so far.

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Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the bouillon, salt and pepper. (*I used 3 or 4 cups of chicken stock instead of the water and bouillon.)

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

*The only other change I made to this recipe was to saute the chopped onion in a little butter before adding them to the soup. Nathan isn't a big fan of onions, and this seems to make them less strong.

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Spinach and Sausage Quiche

1 pie crust

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 pound sausage, browned (I used maple flavored)

3 cups of fresh spinach, finely chopped

1. Prepare pie crust and place in pan (do not poke holes in the bottom). Bake at 450 for ten minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, cheese, pepper, sausage and spinach.

3. Remove pie crust from oven and fill with egg mixture. Cover edge of pie crust with foil to prevent burning. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until eggs are set.

I served this for dinner with cooked carrots and french bread (I cut slices of french bread, buttered one side and toasted them directly on the oven rack while the quiche was baking). We had leftovers, so for breakfast I warmed it in the oven and served it with fresh fruit. It works well for either breakfast or dinner.

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Mozzarella Chicken

This is a favorite dinner in our house because it is quick, simple, and very yummy!

4 chicken breasts

1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese

4 cups rice

1. Place four thawed chicken breasts in a glass baking dish. Bake at 400 near the top rack for 10 minutes, flip over and bake for 10 more minutes.

2. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from oven and pour spaghetti sauce over chicken (I usually add basil, oregano and pepper to the sauce). Sprinkle cheese over the top.

3. Return to oven for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and spaghetti sauce is bubbly.

4. Serve chicken over white rice. I make ours in a rice cooker- we received it as a wedding gift and love it!

The last week in bullet points.

2011-12-08T06:30:00.000-08:00

I finished my Christmas shopping on Monday evening. What a nice feeling to have everything wrapped and under the tree so that I can enjoy the coming month stress-free. Last year, I finished the semester about ten days before Christmas and hadn't done any of my shopping. I came down with shingles (yes, only old people get that) a few days before Christmas. I didn't know what it was until after Christmas, but I just did not feel good! It was my first Christmas with the Sweeney side, meaning that I had a lot more gifts to pick out than usual, and didn't know some of my in-laws well enough to confidently pick out a gift. I was so thankful for a sister-in-law who asked us to split a couple of bigger gifts.
We took our Christmas card pictures last Saturday. I know we haven't really changed since last year, but it's so fun to send them out. It's practically the only snail-mail I send, besides bills, all year. Plus, I had a $10.00 coupon for Shutterfly and a free shipping code, which helped me to save over $20!
We babysat our 10-month-old nephew, Benjamin on Sunday afternoon while my sister had an orchestra concert. He is the happiest baby! He was content to snuggle with Nathan on the couch watching football, but after a few minutes, he was all about crawling around, checking out the Christmas tree, and scooting along the furniture. He moves fast though, so we created our own baby gates using an ottoman and two of our upholstered chairs. Yes, we were very proud of our contraption!
When I went through graduation ceremonies in May, I still had one class to finish- a music history course. I've been writing my final paper for my final class this week. Even though I don't really like writing papers, it's so much better when I know it's my last one ever. My class is on the music of the Black Caucasus which is a particularly interesting region because of the diversity of influences in that region. The region's Northern border is with Russia; Turkey and Iran are neighboring countries. The region is sandwiched between Europe and Asia. All of these influences add up to a very interesting musical sound coming from this region! My paper is a comparison of duduki dasta and sazandari ensembles in Georgia. If you've gotten to this point in my paragraph without falling asleep, congratulations! Now, time to move on to other things...
I did a little Christmas decorating last weekend. I turned my clothes budget into my decorating budget this month, and I was pretty pleased with what I could do with $50.00 I bought stockings and stocking holders, three ornaments to represent this year, garland for the fireplace mantle, six springs of this silver sparkly stuff to fill out the garland that was $5 for 8 feet (read: sparse!), and a pack of 20 snowflake ornaments. I made a garland out of some of the ornaments for our downstairs bathroom mirror while watching the news Saturday morning. I just tied them together with fishing line. I also hung the same snowflakes from my kitchen window, also with fishing line. Then, of course, we have our tree, which has turned out really well, considering that I did not spend a single penny on it!

Picture Post

2011-12-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

My sister stopped over on Saturday and took some photos of Nathan and I for our Christmas cards this year. Thank you, Therese, for doing a great job!

And The Winner Is....

2011-12-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

I asked Nathan to pick a random number between 1 and 13 (the number of comments), and he picked 7. So the ProActiv giveaway goes to comment number 7, Victora from The Winters. Congratulations, Victoria! Send me a message with your address and I'll send this right out to you!

One Sleepy Nephew....

2011-11-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

We think babies are pretty fun around here...I hope you do too. Happy December, everyone!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend in Pictures

2011-11-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

For the past year, my Grandpa Max has been planning a family trip to Branson with our extended family to celebrate this year's big events- his 80th birthday and he and Grandma Bobbie's 60th wedding anniversary. So, on Thanksgiving morning, almost 60 of us (including 20 kids younger than 15) loaded on to a charter bus for an 8 hour drive. We had such a great time with the whole family over the 4-day weekend. There was plenty of time for relaxing, swimming at the hotel's water park and shopping. We attended several shows- Dixie Stampede was my favorite. They served dinner during the show, and we saw the Christmas portion of the show, plus they did their usual horseback riding "tricks". Here's the whole group before the show:

And here's I-man and I on the way back to the hotel.

We went to an outdoor mall called The Landing one afternoon. The weather was beautiful and perfect for outdoor browsing. The above picture could describe my usual look...I'm digging through my purse trying to find my phone. Someday, I will learn to buy small purses!

I'm not sure if this is a real tree or not, but I still found it impressive.

I loved the unique architecture of the stores.

Sporting my bargain of the day- a $9 scarf from BCBG...a store I would never buy from at full price!

I was happy to see Nathan...he had gone to Bass Pro with the guys in the family that morning while us girls checked out an outlet mall.

Thanksgiving 2011, our second one as a married couple. It's funny to be that we're already doing holidays the second time...it seems like we got married yesterday!

Out for lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. We enjoyed our lunch, but I could have passed on all the servers taking a 5-minute break to dance every 15 minutes.

9-month-old Elliana (and her mom) dropped in for a visit before we left for a show.

Here's her big sister Gracie.

Just so you know, his eyes are closed on purpose!

Sweet Benjamin sleeping on Therese's lap

Madeline and Uncle Nathan

We went to a show with these three hillbilly guys- they provided the silly part of the show, for sure. The boys thought they were the best.

Mom, Dad and Isaac on the bus

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This picture isn't from the trip, but it is too cute not to post. It looks like they are making the same face at each other.

Tomorrow I head back to see my hand surgeon. I'll get my stitches out and hopefully be released from wearing this splint. And just as I was getting fast at typing with one hand....