A Family Visit :)

Mom and Dad came for a quick visit almost a month ago now. It was very fast. It seems like it always is. Never enough time to visit and talk. Never enough time to sit and laugh together. Never enough time to shop with Mom. ;)

But we did make time for a hike.

... and a picknic at the lake

We cherish every moment of "grandparent" time... since we don't get very much. It was a fun, short visit!

... said Jackson

At supper one day:

Jackson: We saw the ugly thing at Lowe's. It was scary. Do we like ugly things, Mama?

Me: Um... not if they're scary.

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Sitting down to read our Bible story book, Jackson was holding another story book.

Jackson: I'll show you Noah.

Me: Ok

Jackson: Noah's not in here, Sweetie.

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At lunch

Jackson: Mommy, I'm a hebicoptah.

Me: Helicopters finish all their food.

Jackson: Hebicoptahs don't have mouths!

September Sky

We spent the evening outside last night. It was beautiful. I'm so glad it's cooling off. Jackson is loving the leaves! He wants more, and we assured him that we will have PLENTY of leaves off our many large trees. :)

Take a Hike!

Last Friday, Jamin unexpectedly got the day off! So, we decided to make a family day of it! He had taken a hike a couple years ago with our pastor before we moved here. So, we decided to try it out. We had a backpack carrier for the baby (that I found at a thrift store for $8!), and we thought Jackson would be able to walk for a while. We bought some bottled water, packed a picnic and off we went!

The carrier was actually pretty comfortable. But with Timothy, the pack itself, and our waters and camera, it was probably about 24 or 25 pounds. I carried him for the first little bit. The trail itself was a little overgrown. At times I was a little claustrophobic, worried about "critters" just waiting for someone to come along so they could touch me! Ick! But, nothing like that happened, thankfully! J

We crossed the highway, then pretty soon crossed the creek. At that time, I gladly handed my heavy pack over to Jamin. We went on. Jamin said, "It seems like we should be going up by now." We didn't.

In a little while, he said, "I just didn't think it was this far." By this time, Jackson was finished walking. He wouldn't admit to being tired, but he was almost crying. He said his legs hurt. Pretty soon, we did start going up. Really up. Steeply up. UP! We started seriously questioning our sanity, as to why we brought our two really small children on a hike! We were so glad we brought water!

I had been carrying Jackson a lot until this point. Jamin actually put him on his shoulders for part of the time, even though he already had the pack. We had to stop and rest in the middle of UP.

Timothy fell asleep when we were almost to the top. He was so cute! His little arms hanging, his little head bobbing. When we reached the top, we sat the pack down and he kept sleeping until we were about 20 minutes back down the trail!

After UP, it leveled out. It really turned into a nice hike. I'm glad it was challenging. There was a pretty view at the top. Nothing like the mountains where we grew up, but beautiful!

Buzzardsroost Lookout

Down was a lot easier. Although the steep part of DOWN hurt almost as much as UP. J We rested on the bridge when we were almost to the end of the trail.

At this point, the camera died. No pictures of our fun picnic, sitting on a quilt in the shade by the lake. It was such a sweet and precious family day. Those are my favorite kind of days. I think we spent around $3.00 for drinks. Not bad for all those memories, huh?


We finished off our family day with a pizza and a movie.

And the next day, we were sore. J

So, what did we do the next Friday he had off? We went for a hike! J It's becoming a fun hobby for us! And we went for one today too... so...

Take a hike!

What a Sucker!

Room-by-Room ~ Boys' Room

I love my boys' room!! It is finished! Yea! I worked on a lot of projects for this room long before we ever moved.

I just added the polka dots on the wall a couple weeks ago. They really pulled everything together and blended it all in.


After taking this picture, I realized I really need a shelf. There is too much open wall space. :)
This shelf was given to us, after being bought dirt cheap. It is actually two shelves stacked. They were blue, green, red and yellow. I finally painted them and we added the letters, bought at Hobby Lobby, the most awesome store on the planet!


I made these valances (with Hobby Lobby fabric), and used a big panel to make the shades. They tie up...

...or come down to block lots of light at naptime. :)
My boys love their room, and for the most part, it is well-organized so that a quick daily pick-up takes care of the mess. :) Thanks for looking!

Room-by-Room ~ Master Bedroom

Welcome to a tour of my bedroom. It is finished, and so I wanted to share. :) I wanted to post "before" pictures, but there really wasn't much to them. The walls were cream-colored and needed to be patched, the trim was dark, dark wood, and the floors needed work. Now...

tada!
We've had our bedroom furniture since we got married. It was the only thing we bought brand new, and we totally used wedding money to pay for it.

I would like to replace the closet doors someday, and trim it in. That would help. :) I found the mirrored tiles at IKEA for $5! It really brightened up the room.
My tiny side of the bed. I just need enough room for a lamp and a few books.
I got this light fixture at Grandview Weekend Outlet for $10! It was bright gold, so I spray-painted it black to match my curtain rods. I found the curtain rods at Grandview for $2.99! I love them. And the valances were on clearance at Walmart for $5.00! I love the finished look!
The chair we re-finished, and re-upholstered. It's crammed in, but there's nowhere else for it to go. :) I've also had those sheers since we've been married, and the pillows.
A collection of my favorite romantic pictures of us. ;)

I've also had the bedding since we've been married. I think I've only added a few pillows through these six years. We bought the wall art at Walmart a few months ago. It matches perfect!

I just had to get a good picture with the floors. They turned out so nice after we re-stained and polyurethaned them. :)

And there is the finished product! I love our bedroom. I think the colors are so calm and peaceful, and beautiful. I wanted this room to be a place to come and relax at the end of the day. And as of now, it is still totally uncluttered. Just last week, I put some plastic totes of fabric under the bed to store, but even the closet is clean. I'll enjoy it for now. :)

New Quilts

The mood to quilt has hit me HARD this last month... so I have been busy!

This was a sampler quilting kit I had. I pieced together a lap version for our church deacon, who is starting cancer treatments in a few weeks.


This is a baby quilt. :) I found a neat pattern to make these crazy, off-set blocks. I really liked how it turned out!

I love, love, LOVE this one. i found an easier way to make this star block, and it made it go faster. It's so fun. I love white with pastels or brights... definitely my favorite color combination.


I'm also working on another baby quilt for a friend, a huge applique project for a Christmas gift, and repairing Timothy's baby quilt. There just aren't enough hours in the day to sew...

Giving It a Try

I've discovered the down-side of parenting: potty training! We hit it hard for a little bit, but he's not ready. He still wants to go sometimes, mainly nap time and bed time. ;) But until he learns, it's pretty cute!