Sunday, January 2, 2011

It is about time

It is official. We have a new home...By new, of course, I mean almost 100 years old but we love our home. Not to say it didn't take some work...Every room in the house was plastered with wall paper, not the cute "Oh, how nice" wall paper, but the wall paper that makes you go, "Wow...that's........nice?" Take a look at the "Before" pictures to get a feel for it. Please note that if the pictures give you a head ache just look away for a few minutes and it will subside.
This first picture is of a bedroom. This was the only room that did not have the 70's pea green color in it. As you can see it was toned down with a deep reddish-purple.

Bedroom Before


And then after.


The main color we chose was a conservative tan color. We think it gives the house a very relaxing and comfortable feel. The white trim accents the woodwork that you find only in older homes and adds character to the house. (We will be replacing the curtains soon) 





This next picture is another bedroom. The large windows allow plenty of natural light in. We splashed some paint on the walls and....











We did paint the lower portion of the wall...I just don't get along well with pea green.




This picture is the office area. This was the one area that we left wall paper on...partly out of exhaustion, but partly because it keeps with the time and style of the home. We may end up painting it later...what do you think, should it stay or should it go?


 For the evening entertainment we had some ballet dancers come to the house and put on a show. Here they are dancing in the hallway.


I still haven't figured out why folks on the lower side of five foot have to buy a house with 10 foot ceilings but we love the openness and spacious feeling of the house. We are pretty proud of our paint job and look forward to showing it off.


Living Room Before


Living Room After



Good help doesn't come cheap these days. However, it was worth every cent because she was fun to have around. She was a painter, court jester, and photographer all-in-one. It made an otherwise tedious day a complete "Joy".

Christmas Time has come and gone

However, we enjoyed every minute of it. Dad went up north to spend the holiday with family(mainly my brothers) so we waited to exchange gifts with him until he got back. I think he had fun!!!

Big surprise!!

Getting ready to set it up!!!

Tools of the trade!

Recruiting help wasn't very difficult!

The finished product is beautiful!!
We got a cool new floor puzzle from Jim and Candace. Thank you!

Team work!

Christmas wreaths are a must have. Again!

Christmas Lasagna!

and Bread!

Turtles in a half shell!

Hand-made, personalized gifts are my favorite!



Santa did a great job, and David didn't need any help knowing what to do with his gifts.
Overall, we had a GREAT Christmas. It was just us and very relaxed. We ate the traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast, lasagna for dinner, but the best of all was having the time to just sit down and play, pretend, and squeal in excitement with our sweet little angels.
We hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Savior. As I stop to think of what the season means, it bring tears to my eyes. What a blessing to have a time of year when we can freely express our testimonies without hesitation. I love that the world around us is turning to Christ. My goal is to share my beliefs and testimony more frequently and without a tone of apology throughout the year. I want to do this because I know that Jesus was born to atone for my sins and pains. I know that my Savior loves me and understands my heart, no matter what I am struggling with. I can trust that repentance in possible because I have used it and felt the change in my heart and life. I also know that if I follow Christ's example I will have peace and love. I bear this testimony in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.