Tooth Fairies

Nate called me in somewhat of a panic, "Mom, my tooth is gone.  I lost it when Halley kicked me in the mouth on the trampoline, oh it was an accident, but my tooth is in the grass and I can't find it."  I suggested to him that we write the fairy a note and put it under the pillow and see what happens.

When I got home he had me write EXACTLY what he said.  He's more persuasive than am...

In case you can't read it, it says, "Dear Tooth Fairy, I lost my tooth in the grass.  I'm sorry I can't put it under my pillow.  Lift up my lip to see it's gone.   NATE

We didn't remember to place it under his pillow but we will remember tonight for sure.

Mornings

How would you like to wake up to this every morning!!!

Trae-MAN (as we call him) is the most laid back happy little guy we've had yet.   We are having soooo much fun interacting with this little man.  Even with all the holding he gets ('cause he's so cute and squishy) he is already rolling over both ways and scooches across the room.  He's just over 4 1/2 months now.

Decorating Tips

I am having so much fun researching decorating styles and even how to find out what you like and using what you have to accomplish that 'look'.  Soooo, I thought I'd share on here what I find and post photos of what actually comes about in the next few months.  Please though, if there are things you can add that would be awesome.  It has been an interest of mine and I know it is for a lot of you as well. Here is the first tidbit for us all: Describing What You Really Want!

How to find your decorating style and know where to begin... If you are like most people, you know what you want and what you don't want. And that's great! Sometimes, however, we are unable to communicate what it is we want in a way that others are able to understand. When you are shopping for items in your home, this kind of shopping can be extremely frustrating. If you don't know what you are looking for, you wander aimlessly searching for things. Sometimes you see something and it may not be the right selection, but you purchase it anyway because you are just exhausted and need to get something. Once you get it home, you find it doesn't work or you just don't like it and have to return it. What a pain that is!!! So, how do we determine what we like and dislike, what we want, what we may need and what we really desire? The answer is simple, you need to get clear on all of these things through education before you go out shopping.

Shopping 101

Let's begin by having you find out what you like and discovering a way for you to communicate that to others. I want you to go to a bookstore or grocery store and sit with the home and decorating magazines. Begin flipping through them, finding photographs of rooms you really like and appeal to you. Make note of them or set the magazines aside. You can also do this with decorating books but magazines are much less expensive. As you are searching, you will find things that jump out at you and eventually you will see a pattern emerge of rooms you like and styles that represent the kind of home you want. Styles are typically grouped into the following basic categories: Traditional (formal, dressy, rich fabrics, cherry wood) Country (antiques, pine, collectibles, cozy warm feeling) Contemporary (clean lines, dramatic) Romantic (soft, elegant, ruffles, lace) Oriental (antiques, dramatic colors, high style) Southwestern (earth tones, textures, artifacts) Transitional or Eclectic (mixes of any style) Knowing basic style categories will further help define your style preferences. Purchase a couple of magazines that represented your style so you will have them as reference. It will help you when you are looking for furniture, colors, accessories, etc. later on. This exercise will also help you find a definition to your style.

My Family and Home

Do you entertain a lot? Do you like to read? How many people are in your family? Do all the kids in the neighborhood come to you house? Do you have small children? Do you only entertain a few times a year for family and friends? Do you have large dinner parties with business associates? Do you prefer to have a home where jeans and T-shirts are considered formal wear? Who are you and how does your home get used? This is an important part of the process because the answers to those questions will determine where you should begin decorating your home. I have heard designers and decorators say the first room you should always decorate is your master bedroom. The theory is you are in this room the most and therefore it should be a well centered, organized place. If you wake and sleep in a beautiful place, you will be happier. My argument is that I am awake more in the den or kitchen than I am in my bedroom and I like my public spaces (kitchen, family room, living room, and dining room) to appear pulled together first. This, of course, is based on my lifestyle. What is YOUR lifestyle? If you are a person who loves to entertain formally, then you should consider working first on your living room and dining room. If you like to entertain informally with friends and family, work on your family room and kitchen spaces. If you are a cook and everyone congregates to your kitchen, then by all means do that room first. If you are a homebody and just love relaxing in your bedroom, do that room first. If you are a busy professional and are rarely home, then the bedroom theory from above may be the best for you. Typically, you will be in that room more often anyway. Once you define what areas are most important to have completed first, you will be well on your way to a finished home. The answer to the question, "what rooms are most important to be finished first," can not be all the rooms! If you set yourself up for that kind of overwhelm, you will not be able to accomplish anything. If you don't focus on what area first, second and third, you will become very overwhelmed by all the things you need to accomplish. Why do that to yourself? Break it down into smaller pieces and get it done. Figure out with your lifestyle what rooms are most important to finish first while keeping an overall eye on your whole house. If you see bedding that would work for your master bedroom and its on sale, go ahead and purchase it, but don't then switch focus to that room when you are almost finished with the family room. Once you find your style, the rest falls into place.

Girls

We arrived at the house a little earlier than Nate one evening this week.  We usually meet him there after work with the trailer that has all the tools and such so he can get a few hours in before midnight.  The day was unusually beautiful and warm (40 degrees) so we spent some time laying on the grass out in the sun enjoying the field dreaming of when we get to live in this house.  SOON, June will come fast, and just in time for all the summer bar-b-que's we have.

Construction

We have had a fire going most nights and all day on Saturdays to burn all of the trash and leftover wood around the home.  The kids have all pitched in to keep things cleaned up.  Many folks from the church have spent hours cleaning, sweeping, throwing...

Above is our entry which has the highest ceilings in the whole house.  This was all already framed when we purchased the house.

Above is our entry looking from the door inside the house.  The staircase on the right and the living room is directly behind the stairs on the right as well.

Below is looking from our bedroom down the hall way upstairs into the girls and boys rooms.

Right now, unless you actually walk through the house, you can't really tell what things are going to be or look like.  However, I thought I'd give you a couple of photos so you can get the feel for the 'roundness' of the home.  It has many arches, curved stairs, curves in the kitchen (I don't have photos of that yet)...  

We are usually there in the evenings and all day on Saturday if you want to stop by ANYTIME.  We live now only about 2 miles away and would love to give you a tour and hear advice or things you would do with your home to make it more efficient and others focused...  

Stitches (not the laughing kind)

I was upstairs getting a few things done while the kids were out playing.  On the way to the kitchen I glanced out the window just in time to see all the children jumping on the trampoline, which is totally common around here.  However, the UN common thing was that Andi was sitting in our plastic boat in the middle and just got jumped over and smacked in the face with the edge.  I was already out the door getting ready to tell them that the boat was supposed to stay off the trampoline and saw blood spurting out of her cheek.  IT LOOKED AWEFUL.  the kids were all standing around her screaming at the top of their lungs  BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD, AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH and crying...  I grabbed the bottom of my long sweater and held it against her face and carried her to the sink.  One of the kids brought me some ice and the phone and I 'calmly' (you know me and blood) said "Nate, Andi split her cheek open and we are going to go get her stitched up!!!!!!!" I then called my mother-in-law and she came over to confirm that yes, super glue wouldn't do the trick.  Nate made it home in time to drive us to the clinic where she received FIVE stitches.  She did sooo good and held sooo still even though it hurt some.  My father-in-law took the not hurt or nursing kids with him to get some lumber so Nate could then head home and get started on the evening of framing our home.  MaryBeth (mother-in-law) brought over dinner for us and the workers even though she already had a full day.  We got home and she had cleaned my kitchen...  

Anyways, what an afternoon.  So, instead of being over at the house today we are doing the laundry and pick-up that we were going to do early this afternoon when the above happened.  

God so orchestrates our days and it's our job to be FLEXIBLE.  Thank you Jesus for another day to live for you and to fit in with YOUR plan for us.  Thans for all the people that you have brought into our lives to help us in our time of need.

This is our first and only trip (so far) to the clinic.  That's not bad for SIX kids.  Maybe this is the beginning:(.

Above and Beyond

Ever since I have known Nate (my husband) he has wanted to build his own home.  Being a builder and been in the construction industry for more than 13 years he has some definite opinions about how he would build a home, what he would put into a home if...  

For the sake of time (because it's after midnight) I will just give you a photo and a few words to tell you that Nate's DREAM is coming true.  Not without hard work (in the past and now), we are building our OWN home, a place that we plan on living for as long as we can think.  We are having so much fun planning and talking about our home.  

More to come on the progress.  Nate's still at the house tonight smoothing out the concrete slab in the garage.  

I would like to say that NONE of this would be or is possible without the help of so many friends.  Nate and I have spent time, tears (just me on this one) and prayers of gratefulness for the people that have invested in our lives.  We would not/could not do any of this without them (family very much included).