More Play Room Fun

Yesterday Ron brought out his old childhood blocks for Justin to play with. He "Made big buildings" all morning to his heart's content. Ron's mom saved a lot of his toys, thanks Grandma Janice! We'll use these blocks more than our modern toys I'm sure!

New Craft Goodies

A friend of mine gave me a gift certificate for Jo-Ann's and I finally had a chance to use it today. I felt like a kid in a candy shop! I found these cute fabrics I plan to make pillow cases out of for Sarah, and a really neat book called Pretty Little Patchwork. I can't wait to get some time to make something out of it! I wish I could spend all day crafting.....I think heaven must have a craft corner somewhere.

Tea Drawer

I'm so excited to have a tea drawer! I love tea, and I've never had a place to organize it before. I used to have it heaped into a basket on my counter and I could never find what I needed, ugh. But now, it's all right at my finger tips! It's the little things in life, truly.

Smoothies and Thailand

This is probably the strangest title I've ever come up with so far for a blog! It will make sense, I promise! Last weekend I made the fam my favorite type of smoothie: blackberry, blueberry and banana, (with apple juice.) It was sooo good and I finally felt like all the berry picking from last season paid off! (Including losing my keys at the marsh while picking blackberries, but that's a whole different story.) I've been attempting to eat healthier lately, including eating more veggies and fruit and less sugar and refined carbs. I always feel much better when I eat this way, and it boosts my immune system as well.

With summer approaching I will be drinking many smoothies, enjoying the sunshine, and hopefully traveling to Thailand! My church is taking a team to Chang Mai and Bangkok Thailand this summer, and I'm planning to be part of the team. We'll be there for 2 weeks and will be doing ministry at the Chang Mai University, and may be doing some other work with women, specifically ex-prostitutes. There is a ministry there in Chang Mai that helps give the women skills to make a living, (such as textile skills), since they have a hard time surviving once they leave prostitution. I am so excited about this awesome opportunity to go to another country and help people in such a tangible way. Meanwhile, I'm still taking the Perspectives course and feel like I'm being equipped and prepared to go. More on this topic to come!

Pre-blended yummies. Up above the blender is a little card with a map of Thailand on it, a little prayer reminder I keep in my window.

My lovely family enjoying the smoothie goodness.

The Play Room

We're not completely done with the play room yet, but I had to share some pics of how it's coming along. I love the fact that there's a spot for everyone in this room to create, design, etc. all at once!

My very own sewing/crafting area!! I also get the wall to the right which is still in progress.

The kids' art area. Today when Justin saw it he headed right over and started coloring.

Close up shot. I love the little Ikea organizers!

The office area.

Toy spot. There will also be more room for toys on the other side of the door.

The Yard

One of the main reasons we bought this house was for the yard space. The yard is huge with lots of room for Ron to garden to his heart's delight. He's an avid gardener and has been lugging his plants around in pots for years, (some since 1997!), waiting until the day when he could plant them in the ground. That day has finally come! Here are a few pics of us enjoying our new yard.

Digging one of the first holes for a plant, with a little help from Justin.

Sarah looks on as dad digs a huge hole.

In she goes!

Views of the front yard.

Side yard to the left of the house.

Sarah hanging out in her favorite tree.

Hanging onto the holly tree branch.

You can see the back yard through the fence. It's three times as big as the side yard and will be our veggie garden and eventually our garage will be built there. The shed is there now along with a bunch of boxes, more pics to come.

Our cherry tree on the side of the house.

Cherry tree on the fence that borders the back yard. Ron built the shed you see here.

The pretty pink cherry tree in our front yard.

Justin's Room

I had so much fun designing and decorating Justin's room! Kid's rooms are so much fun, especially since he loves whatever I do, so I get cart blanche to do whatever I want! His room was painted the peachy color and had tons of holes all over it. We had to patch and re-texture the whole thing - big job! It was well worth it though, as the room turned out too cute for words.

Still to come are pictures of our room, Sarah's room, and the "play room." Hopefully those will be done soon! Here is Justin's room, right to left:

His toy bins, Ikea rug, and a painting done by my brother, (which happens to match the bin colors perfectly!)

My $10 Craig's List vintage dresser find! Some new paint and it's
good as new. Ikea shelf with vintage toys from our families and our childhoods, and other mementos.

Another shot of the dresser, and one of his long windows.

View of his room from the door way.

Hi bed covered with the quilt I hand made him. The head board was recycled from Sarah's room and was girly pink before I painted it. A fun animal batik from Niger hangs on the wall.


The pillow and socktopus I made him, finally in their spots.

The other window, and curtains I made him.

Book shelf and the 2 little closets.

The Reading Room

This room has been dubbed "the Reading Room." It is the room directly to your left when you walk in the front door. It could be a bed room or sitting room, but reading room seemed more fitting since we all love to read and we piled it full of books and comfy sitting spots. It's not fully decorated yet, but good enough for pictures.

A cute little mission style bench Ron assembled. I plan to make a comfy cushion for it. This window faces the street, (front of the house.)

Ikea book shelves. This is only about 1/3 of our books - time to get more shelves!

The futon and chair, (brown spot in the front.)

The Dining & Living Rooms

The dining room was painted a peachy orange color, and the living room was a yuck yellow. I love how the paint colors turned out - much improved!! This is the first time we have ever had a dining room. We eat in it all the time and the kids love it. We plan to have big family dinners for the holidays and already enjoyed the space it provided for Justin's party.

View of the dining room into the living room.

View of the table and dish hutch

For those of you who don't know me well I'm obsessed with vintage dishes. I have so many I needed a hutch to put them in. I got this cute hutch from a friend for a great deal and I adore it.

View of dining room from living room. For some reason the walls look alarmingly like the old color in this picture - yuck!

My side antique side board, I got it for $100 on Craig's List.

Our two ton entertainment center Ron almost refused to move again. But it looks great in the room!

Living room through dining room.

What you see when you turn to the right after coming in the front door.

The Kitchen

We're starting to get unpacked in our slow and steady style! Some curtains are hung, and a few rooms are completely finished, but there is still lots to unpack - will it ever end?! We are loving our new house so much. I still can hardly believe we're home owners finally! It's been lots of fun creating each space and making it our own. Here are some pics of the rooms we have mostly finished and presentable.

The Kitchen: This room gets little light, and it was painted brown which made it even darker. The appliances were way old and worn. We brightened it up with white paint and a bold red accent wall and a new stove and fridge. My mom scrubbed the cabinets for days - people even asked if the cabinets had been replaced because they looked so great! I LOVE my new kitchen! It's roomy and has space for a table as well.

(Going counter clock wise) Our new sleek black stove. I'm elated to have drawers! I had one semi functioning drawer at the old house so I'm in heaven!

The cute original window and awesome window cil. I've never had a window cil wide enough to put anything on. I'm loving making it look cute!! I have plans for some cute vintage curtains to add to its cuteness as well.

Our new fridge, and more counter and cabinet space.

The cozy breakfast nook area: Table - Ikea, antique porcelain lamp - from my Grandma's farm house, pie safe is also from her house, (on loan to me from mom!)

Justin's Birthday Party

We had a belated birthday party for Justin about a week and a half after his actual birthday at our new house! With all the moving chaos going on we decided to wait until things were situated, (a bit anyway!) It was fun to have our first "event" here at the house, especially since it was one of the kids' birthday parties! Seven of Justin's little friends came and a great time was had by all! Here are a few pics of the big day:

Hard to believe our "baby" is three now!

The cake I quickly whipped up.

Matchbox cars from Isaac - the kid didn't want to open any other presents after these, and they were the first gift!

Wow, cool Mom! Yes, that's me - evidence I was there.

Cute and stylin' Fiona enjoying some cake.

Bethany with her precious brood.

Fiona and Rowan enjoying the fun.

The shy birthday boy hiding from a present bearer.