Kids' Room Paint

In the boys room, Trent wanted a solar system theme and he wanted his wall black. I said no to that lol, but I talked him into a dark grey accent wall and a twilight grey for the rest of the room.

We made the dark grey wall a magnetic wall as well. We have magnetic glow in the dark stars on their wall now but I have more pictures of that on the way.
For the girls room, I had an elaborate idea, but I was worried that it was going to be too much, so we started with the paint and went from there. The top is a light pink. The bottom is a black, magnetic chalkboard. I figured if we were going to paint it black, we should make it functional.

Here is a better picture I hope.

And here it is with the chair rail.

I love these two rooms. They are so fun and great for my kids. Hopefully I will get pictures of the decorations up soon!

Front Living Room

So the third room I painted was not really a whole room, but this wall. From the moment I saw the house, I knew just what color I wanted this wall.

Yeah I know it isn't a great picture, but the wall is like a corally rose pink. I love it!
Here it is all decorated.

This room here is one of my favorites. I have my rocking chair in one corner with a lamp for reading and the piano and memories of our time overseas on this wall. Each time I sit down in there, it feels like a sancuary to me. Its a place to sit, relax, and take a step back from the day to calm my mind. I love it! I know I promised pictures of the kids' rooms but I am still trying to get in there to take pictures of the decorations and finishing touches we did.

Sour Grapes

I know I promised more pictures of the house and happenings over here, but I had to interrupt to document a fond memory. When I was a child, I can distinctly remember my dad sitting down on the couch and playing the guitar. One of the tunes he played most often was Sour Grapes by John Prine. Well, tonight as we sat down to dinner and the kids ate their grapes, their first response was, "These grapes are sour!" And my response was "Say sour grapes, you can laugh and stare, Say sour grapes, I don't care". I don't know how many times over the years I have hummed the chorus of this song. It takes me right back to being a little girl listening to my father sing it while playing out the chords on a guitar. So for all of you our there, I searched high and low to share a piece of my childhood with you and my children. I, for one, feel like my dad sang it better, but here it is anyway.

Now next time you eat a sour grape, you too will think of good ol' John Prine.

Food Storage Space

Ok so here is a space... it is the backside of the bedroom wall which I showed yesterday. And it had a little space between the door frames and it is just "wasted space" so I asked my father in law if he could help me out.

After we finished the above wall, I asked if we could put in a can shelf. The space was just sititng there and it was being wasted, so why not put in a shelf and his dad (who has built these before) was more than happy to do this job. This is the beginning.
Half way done

Almost there. See they are slanted so the cans roll downward

The finished shelves. So put them in from the right and take them out from the left. But thats not all!

So his dad said that since the shelves were in a common room, leaving them open just wouldnt do. So we covered them with sheetrock and trim and now I have a 3D wall instead lol. I LOVE IT!

I am so excited about the wall. I will be painting this inlet soon so when its done, I will post completed pictures, but I wanted to at least post some of the progress. I am loving the changes. Next up, the girls and boys room. You are in for a treat!

House

Well I am FINALLY unveiling pictures of our house. We got the keys and moved in with our air mattress and a few suitcases on May 12th. This is the front of the house. It is way more house than we are used to but we are definately happy in more.

Walking up to the front door.
Right inside the front door... picture of the tile.

The front living room. You see a closet on the right, this leading into another room... take notice

Here is the same closet door on the left of this picture. Now this is the room. It could be a den or formal dining room. Here is what we decided to do. The room has a full sized walk in closet on the right of the picture. We wanted to make it into a multipurpose room lol. Not a bedroom just yet but as our children grow.

So with the help of Dave's dad, his brother Scott and Scott's wife Melissa, we started framing the wall.

We put up sound board. See the same closet that I referenced in the above pictuers on the left. On the right is the laundry room.

And we hung sheetrock.

There will be more pictures to come as we texture and paint the space. We are working on smoothing the sheetrock with sheetrock mud right now and then will be ready to the texture and paint. This was our first improvement... we added a door which I have not yet pictured. So, this took the house from a 3 bedroom to 4 bedroom. I am excited for the changes taking place and can't wait to post more. Check back tomorrow to see what else we have been up to!

House

So I am sure if you follow me on Facebook, you know I have been busily working on the house. Well, so much has changed in just the month that we have been there and I cannot wait to post pictures, but as I said so much has changed. Change takes time and energy. Both of which seem to be lacking these days. So stay tuned, I have some really neat things to show, or at least I think they are neat. We have already taken our 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom home and turned it into a 4.5 bedroom 2.5 (with plans for 3) home. I am so greatful to have a very skilled in law family and a very decorative and imaginative family. Mom has been so much help in offering her services in painting and decorating ideas. And Dave's dad and brother/sister in law have spent countless hours helping me fix the toilet, put up walls, change the dryer outlet, the list goes on. It's been so fun and I cannot wait to show what we have been doing. Hopefully in the next few days I can post some project pictures so stay tuned!!

Rockets

Apparently I went out of order, I found these pictures of right before Dave left. He had one more project he wanted to complete. He had bought a rocket to launch. So we went out with Scott and Miss and the kids and Dave set up the rocket.

We backed the kids up so we would be a safe distance.

The rest of us standing by getting ready.


And it launches!!!

And we all ran after it.

On the ground, it didn't appear to be so windy, but once it reached the air, there was quite a bit of wind. It was a fun activity and a great memory for the kids. It was the perfect time of year because it was just before it got too hot to be outdoors here in Arizona. If you get the chance, you should definately do something fun like this with your kids. We loved it.

Goodbye, Again

Well I just posted yesterday all about the tears shed over our life in the military. Well even without the military, we have said goodbye to Dave once again. In early May, Dave started his new job where he would be working in the middle east. I have posted much over the last few months over this difficult decision, but we feel so blessed. The night before he left, we all received blessings and we all know there is a bigger purpose here than just taking a job. The Lord has a unique plan and we are doing the best and exercising as much faith as possible to make it through. I often think of myself as a pioneer who is left behind with her children while her husband goes forward looking for land, work, a place of refuge, or teaching the gospel. It helps me feel strengthened to think of myself in a similar situation. So we again dropped Dave off at the airport, and the kids said goodbye. Heartbreaking yes, but we all understand the Lord's will. It has been a month since he has left now and we are all doing well. Its amazing how you feel about a choice when it was yours to make instead of the military making you do it. We are happy and all are adjusting as well as possible. Oh we will be happy for the day when we are reunited for good, but for now... We are finding joy in the small moments of life.

The End

A mere 6 years ago, I, with my eyes full of tears, dropped a very scared Dave off to the Military Processing Center in downtown Phoenix. We did not know the amazing ride that was ahead of us, but we were very aware of the 9 month separation (our first one) that awaited. We had been married nearly 4 years and had two amazing children by that point. Oh that separation was difficult, very very difficult. And 9 months later, again with tears in my eyes (after enduring at 14 hr flight with two toddlers) reunited with Dave in Italy. We were greatly blessed in our time there and until we have settled now, I felt like Italy was my home. We welcomed our twins and we were lucky for that assignment. Dave spent much of the time leading up to the twins being born away, but then he spent 12 months home without leaving for as much as a weekend. We were lucky. The Lord knew I needed him home with me. And then, after 3 years, it was time to go. Again with tears in our eyes, we headed to Washington for a whirlwind of life to take us the last 2.5 years in his enlistment. We spend 6 months in Washington and Dave left to the middle east for a year. The kids and I took the 12 months he was gone and went to live with my mom. Oh the second separation was bad, but much better than the first. We headed back to Washington for another grueling 8 months where we debated and struggled over staying in the military or getting out. We eventually decided to get out and Dave's end of service leave started in April. As of yesterday, Dave has officially completed his military service. I cannot describe the difficult feelings related to leaving the military behind, but I can describe the freedom I feel. It is amazing. So yesterday marked the end of a chapter in our life and today started the cover page to another.

Rodeo

The elementary school that the kids will be attending next year was having an end of year rodeo. My nephew goes there also, so we went ahead and enjoyed the fun with him! One of the things I love about living in our current location is the perfect mix of country and city. I LOVE IT. So here are the kids in "jail". Ironic that we had to pay for them to go to "jail", just like we all do as taxpayers!

Dave and Laycee took off at the horse races.
Scott and Dave learned how to lasso.

Haylee and Laycee posed together, aren't they cute?

So fun!

It was a really enjoyable time. Sorry I am absent of any pictures from Trent. I swear he is never around to take pictures. Thanks Scott and Miss for inviting us!!