Snapshots from time with Poppy and Grandma

We love being outside...




So nice...



Children's Museum...






Zoo...








This is the life...

Yes, I'm positive it's summer...

Does she not understand that because we live in Oregon, there are 9-10 months coming up that she will be able to wear this down vest and watch cartoons! Yes, I'm really sure it's July and super hot...but, Sophie is watching cartoons and wearing an outfit for winter. She truly is my daughter...loves her layers!



There's our boy! He is determined to roll. I wish you could hear him. As I took the picture he was chattering and grunting away as he moved and grooved. Such a boy!

Wednesday...

NO, I know it's not Wednesday yet, but...Wednesday is when our bathroom should be finished! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here are the updated pictures. We're so ready to have our bathroom back and I'm so excited to have the "mess" as Sophie puts it, finished. Can't wait to post the pics when we have the beautiful mirrors and vanity up :-)

Bathroom and close-up of tile (it's a lite taupe color on the walls)...



New light fixtures (there are two of these to go above the two sinks)...

Let's Get a Woo-Woo for Stickers!

Stickers can make anything better for my girl; they are near to her heart! And I do mean stickers, plural. You just can't have one sticker...you need them ALL over. The following is what Sophie was saying while enjoying her "tickers" (stickers).

"Need ticker hand..."



"Ticker on show..."



"More..."

Sick on a Sunday Morning...

The kids and I stayed home this morning from church because Sophie and I are sick. Nothing too serious, but a cough that would really gross you out for sure. What did we do? We read some "Sunday-school" books and prayed for our family, then of course we watched some cartoons, and we finished with some naps...well, the kids did. I organized under the kitchen sink, cleaned the bathroom and our bedroom, organized Josh's closet, and did some laundry. Love those productive nap times!
Here's some pictures of the kids at our home Sunday school. No, we don't normally take pictures at church, but they were looking really cute and they're changing so much!

Sophie running away from "church" and thinking it's so funny...



Aaron is a good boy to pay attention to mommy (oh wait, he can't move)...



Watching a cartoon...

Communication

Shannon Davis from Bless Our Nest, linked on the right hand side of my page, had this idea of painting chalkboard paint in the middle of a silver tray. I love it! My own little, decorative chalkboard! This is mine, but I also made one for my friend Melissa's bridal shower and my friend Melinda's house. Communication is a must, but when it can be pretty...what a bonus!

Some Sibling Love

So, it's been a while since I've posted about Sophie and Aaron. As, you can see AJ is a BIG boy! And, Sophie is just as helpful as ever. We cut Sophie's hair this weekend and those pictures will be coming soon.

Now just hold still...



I will eat, I mean kiss, you...



So I think I know how to do this now...



My mom says I'm fat and I love it...



This is a 3 month outfit that I'm not going to fit much longer than this picture...

Still a Little Girl...

So, the contest to win the purse I posted about ended tonight...she has yet to announce the winner. I actually have butterflies in my stomach and I'm too excited to fall asleep. I know, it's pathetic! I'm still a little girl in some areas of my life. I have only won one contest in my life...I was in 5th grade and it was a box of items from our church's craft bazaar. I was so excited. It became all of my family's Christmas presents that year. I think I gave my dad a potpourri ball for his sock drawer.
I am nervous to look tomorrow, but I am excited too. I am actually, probably, going to be sad if I don't win...even though the chances are so small.
I just had to get that off my chest so I could sleep.

"There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God"
1 Samuel 2:2

As I do my daily activities, I am choosing to slow down and prepare my heart for worshiping in the house of the Lord this morning. I'm really looking forward to going to church and dwelling on God with other believers. I often tend to get caught up in my own busyness and lose sight of taking time to worship. I will pray frantically in a crisis or throw up a quick thank you, but I do not take time enough to worship and wait. When I talk to God, I do the talking rather than wait in silence for what He may want for me. I'm really good at telling Him...this morning, I'm going to try and listen. I'm going to try and remember there is a reason that no one is like the God I serve. He is holy. He knows best. He holds the circumstances I find myself living in.

I'm going to climb the "ROCK" and listen and wait. I'm going to find shelter from the rising waters on the Rock. I'm going to give up and let the Rock protect me.

Adorable Purse...

On the Inspired Room, an adorable blog I follow to get ideas, there is an Elisa Lou Designs bag. It is so so cute. Check out the pictures. OR, click on the link to Inspired Room on the right hand side of my page and look at the post!

I've always loved purses/special bags to hold my items but since becoming a mom...I really don't have any that are just mine rather than having become a family bag with toys and diapers. I would love to win and have an adorable bag on my arm!

A Revealing Wednesday...

So, on this Wednesday, I was going to show you my latest project in my kitchen. Then I realized I've never shown you my kitchen...I only wish you could have seen it before we remodeled it. Maybe someday I'll find those pictures!

Here is my kitchen that we gutted and remodeled. My kitchen now has beautiful burlap curtains (thanks to my dearest friend Melinda who is very creative herself, and she can sew)!



Here is our living room which we repainted and installed new flooring...
(and yes, I got my husband to paint a horizontal stripe the whole perimeter of the room...it's my favorite!)



Here is A.J.'s room...



And Sophie's room...



I've posted our family room in a previous post and I will add pictures of our master bedroom and our bathroom when the bathroom remodel is complete...a lot of our bathroom items are in our bedroom right now (not very attractive).

4th of July Fun...

We had a wonderful day of family time and fun outside. Sophie just loves being outside and running around. Aaron is still getting the hang of it...right now, he's into relaxing! We had our dear friends Micah and Melinda over. Of course we were to busy chasing Sophie and Mason around to take any pictures while they were over! Sophie and Mason just adore each other and now that Mason is walking all over...it's quite the show watching the two of them go back and forth!

Pre-Party...




Post-Party, before bed...
(This girl partied hard!)

Fresh flowers

I had a vase of limes on my counter...pretty, a useful cooking flavor, and a good deodorizer for my garbage disposal. But, I wanted to use the vase for some flowers from the yard. So, I cut up some limes to add interest around the pretty, green stems. A fun, fresh look.

Fourth of July Celebration...PREPARATIONS

Let's be honest...holidays are a wonderful time to remember, yes, but really we like the food and opportunity to blog about our cute ideas the very best! So, it's no different with the 4th. I didn't do our whole house up in red/white/blue, but I did make a cupcake flag and pick out color-appropriate outfits for the kids! I'm trying to perfect these "mom ideas" before Sophie and Aaron are old enough to expect them. I want to be prepared for when they'll care.

Color the frosting...



Let the "firework cupcakes" cool...



Frost and make a cute flag design...

We could have you to dinner...

As our family has grown, our dinning room has too! We sold our set from when we were first married, and replaced it with a bigger set that could seat more than just our immediate family. We found it on Craigslist and have been so pleased. Of course, I was excited for another decorating opportunity! It totally changes the look of the space.

Bathroom Update

Josh is working very hard on our bathroom remodel. He tore out all the flooring today and will repair water damage tomorrow. He has already fixed the electrical and plumbing. Very soon it will be looking very good!

Growing so fast...

I just cannot believe my baby girl is getting to be such a big girl!