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Thankful

Published by Aubrey

It’s been a wild week over here at our house and I’d love to let you in on all that is going on and what has kept me from updating our blog. Well first my mom from my home state of OHIO came to visit for a week. It was great, splendid, wonderful, helpful, fun, relaxing and any other good word you want to fill in there. I love hanging out with my mom because obviously we know each other well. So well that we often say or doing the same things at the same time. Kinda funny, special and creepy all at the same time. Brian was gone for the majority of the time she was visiting for a work conference. So it was just us girls and the kiddos. When we are together I take advantage of having another set of helping hands and a another creative mind and we usually embark on some sort of project. This time my idea was to redo the kitchen. Because we rent we can’t paint the walls but there’s still plenty of other ways to change things up. My old Americana theme was so old and outdated and something I really didn’t LOVE to begin with. So out with it! I got some fabric from Joann’s to make new curtains. No sewing involved, perfect because I don’t sew. (yet, I would like to learn someday) Our new colors are dark brown, a dark teal and olive green. I decided we should also paint the kitchen table green and the chairs teal. I’ve been wanting to get a new “real” kitchen table because ours now seats 4 and is 3×4 feet! But it remains on “the list of wants”.  We got some cute hand towels, a new rug, place mats and napkins and we were pretty much set. Everything looked really good and I was happy with the final product.  On Saturday my neighbor called and said they got a new kitchen table and offered their old one to us, a large, rectangular, seats up to 8, with a leaf to add in, cute, just our style table. Ummmm did you know I just painted our old one? Could have used this offer about a week ago! But… YES!  We will take it! So starts the kitchen redo #2. Thankfully my mom’s flight got canceled so she got to stay another day to help out with the round 2. Our old table is now our craft table in the playroom off the kitchen. Got a new wall shelf for the kitchen since I moved the other shelf into the playroom to organize toys. Other things were moved around..room to room and back again. But I’m happy to say we’re done for now and I love the new look. I’m so thankful for this whole endeavor…

  • my mom coming to visit,. I love her!
  • having a fun project to work on
  • extra hands to clean puke up and wash clothes and sheets because we all got the flu during this whole process!
  • generous neighbors
  • a real “grown up” style kitchen table!

Enjoy the pics of the process! Oh, and I forgot to take pics of the teal green chairs, but they are now patio chairs.

Old curtains

Old table

New table with curtains

New wall decor

Old table turned into new green craft table in playroom

The new look of the playroom

Big girls

Published by Aubrey

The girls will be 15 months next week. They are changing so much and in such a unique stage right now I wanted to let you all know about it. There are still many similarities but they each have their own things as well. It is fun for us to see what parts of their personalities have continued to stick since day 1 and other things that have changed. They are individuals but very much have the twin thing going on. They talk to each other in their own special way. They laugh and giggle the hardest when it is just the two of them playing. They often sneeze, cough or gesture at the same time. Crazy, huh? But here are some differences.

Miss K– She is still the baby of the two, the princess, the petite Miss Priss, mamma’s girl. She jibber jabbers about everything to anyone and everything. She loves to play in the kitchen with her cups and bowls. For the most part she is content playing alone, talking to herself. She continually is taking off her socks, does not like them or anyone else to have them on for that matter. She is a very fast crawler and climber but has yet to walk alone. She loves any bread and dairy product and brocolli. She is the extrovert, smiling and showing off for everyone she meets.

Miss T- She is the bully, the bulldozer, pushing anyone and everything out of her way, dadda’s girl, Mason’s shadow. She is a very proud walker, and walks like she owns the house. She is all business when it comes to her milk and her food. She loves her “nigh-night”, her little blankie, more than anything I think. She loves books and her babies. She is quite the little mommy. Has a one track mind and grunts or screams if she doesn’t get her away. The introvert and observer. She is a talker, saying almost 10 words now. Loves to go bye bye, and to be outside.

Both girls are in their big girl car seats now (even though I don’t think K is at the 20lb requirement) and they love it! Neither of the girls like barrettes in their hair, even for a second. So the hair-do of necessity is one, maybe two pig tails sticking out of their heads. Otherwise their hair goes in only direction, straight forward, down almost to their noses. They love wagon rides, and swinging, music and dancing, especially in big brothers room. They have a love/hate relationship with sibling rivalry already coming out. Especially when it comes to who is sitting in the “prize seat” of the house,  the center of mamma’s lap.

So that is who our girls are right now. There is not a day that goes by that I am in awe in the blessing we have been in our children. Some days it may only be a fleeting thought, but it is still there :)

Pure enjoyment

Published by Aubrey

We as a family have been enjoying our break (7 weeks!) to the fullest. The first part was all about the holidays. M had Christmas spirit like none other. Still he is asking why the decorations, tree and outside lights are put away. He cried as we took down the tree. From learning the Christmas Story inside and out, which we all played different parts. Like sometimes I was Mary and he was Joseph, T was the Angel and K was Jesus, Daddy was all the 3 wisemen! To opening presents and playing with the new toys, delivering gifts to neighbors and friends, M loved every minute of it. We loved watching M experience Christmas this year.

Then we did some traveling to down to San Diego for our annual Winter Conference with 800 students and staff of Campus Crusade. Pretty amazing. I also got to see one of my best friends from home, Amie. Her and her family live just 10 minutes away from the conference. It was great to get to spend some quality time with her and Matt, and their kiddos. Loved it! M experienced his first sleepover with a friend and did great! And all kids experienced the beach for the first time. Well very first for the girls and first for M that he remembers.

Now we are home and really enjoying being home. We are doing all kinds of things that are hard to get done when real life is happening. We are cleaning, organizing, throwing out old, buying new if needed, getting rid of clutter. We are enjoying not rushing anywhere, staying in our pj’s longer, a date night, extra family play time, extra long quiet times and extra long work outs. We are enjoying preparing  for the next phase of life, Spring Semester, which always so fast and then we are off for the summer. So we are just soaking it all in and enjoying it. Because this time too will soon be gone.

Starting 2009 anew

Published by Aubrey

Well here we are on our new blog. This is definitely a work in progress but I’m excited to figure out this WordPress thing and see where it goes. So bear with me as I figure out all the kinks. Starting a new year is refreshing for me. I know really it is just another day from December 31 to January 1 but I like the thought of starting anew. You’ve got new clothes, new music, new toys and gadgets, a new blog (exciting!) and also the opportunity to start some things maybe you have been wanting to try. Or quit doing some things you’ve been wanting to quit. I’m not a big resolution person but both Brian and like to start the year off taking some time to listen to God to see what he wants us to focus on. So I thought I would share what I’ve been thinking about these past few days. These are words, phrases, ideas I’d like to focus on and grow in.

Joy   Peace   Patience

Wholehearted obedience

Living by Faith not Fear

Giving Him the glory in all I do

Persevering in prayer

Growing in becoming a more well rounded parent

So there it is for the world to see. No pressure or anything, right? Ha ha :) I don’t know where all this will take me or what even growing in these looks like but even if the littlest change comes out of me for the bettter than I’ll be pleased.

How about you? Anything you are looking forward to in growing this year? I’d love to here your thoughts.