Elsie walking
Elsie walking from Becca Groves on Vimeo.
Well, sort of walking. She's really close as you'll see. And really proud and impressed that she can push this little cart on her own. (She's pointing at the chickens when she yells and gets so excited...)
the sunny room: part two
Monday we painted. Tuesday they prepped for tile. Wednesday they laid the tile and we painted the first coat on the base board and casing (starting at 9:45 pm...). Thursday they grouted the tile and installed the trim, base board and casing. And today Elsie put the base boards to good use as she rammed her little blue cart into every wall.
We wanted something nice and light for the walls. I told Rory I wanted a blank canvas when we were done, ready for colorful quilts, bright book shelves, fun throw pillows... The color I first found and liked was called File Cabinet. Seriously?
This color is called Antique White, but if I were naming tape I'd call it Masking Tape. Because if File Cabinet can be a name, so could Masking Tape. And it's that exact color (we know that, unfortunately, because I was too hasty and didn't want to go back to Menards to buy blue paint tape. Big mistake. Lesson learned. Don't do this. Your husband will have to go inch by inch with a razor blade to get the tape off the wall.
Our contractors were awesome. I wish there was a National Contractor Day because I'd send them flowers. They were great with our kids, and would not cut corners. Even when I didn't really care one way or the other they'd say, "we're doing it this way, or it will just look shoddy. And we don't do shoddy." They left today and I'm going to miss them!
Next week we'll paint the door, the insides of the windows, grout the nail holes in the trim and give it another coat. We'll put the ceiling fan up and hook up the outdoor light. We'll change the socket covers and plug them up for safety.
And then we'll wait six months until our funds replenish and we can buy furniture for this lovely, sunny room. :)
lately we've been...
I've always loved Elise Blaha Cripe's posts called Currently. They're a quick and easy way to get a little glimpse into life at that very moment. Here's my version.
Lately we've been...
walking outside again to get from our kitchen to our bedrooms as we wait for the tile to set.
crawling into bed by 9 pm. It's my new self-imposed bedtime and I must be in bed. I can read as late as I want, but I must be in bed.
cheering for Elsie as she walks across the room pushing her grocery cart. She's so, so proud. And we are too!
loving a sweet little 2nd grader as she spends a few nights with us.
finishing Rory's office in the woods: installing a little wood burning stove, finishing the siding.
drinking a morning cup of coffee. This is still pretty new for me. And one of the new joys of my life.
swatting lots of flies when Ivar is out of the room. "No, don't hit him! He is nice! He is a nice fly!"
watching the workers. Ivar is in love with our contractors, Mike and Tom. The rest of us are too. Their work is quality, they are hard workers and easy company to have in our home. I am so grateful for them.
marveling at how our kids sleep through the nail guns, circular saws and hammering.
picking up Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only for the umpteenth time. If you're looking for a personal devotional workbook, I recommend this one with my whole heart. It takes about fifteen minutes and day and always leaves me feeling filled up and grateful I took the time.
comforting Ivar in the night after bad dreams.
planning our trips through Menards so as to avoid the Halloween displays. They are terrifying. When did Halloween become so terrifying? I miss the animated ghosts and happy pumpkins and this new level of scary is really awful.
laughing through season one of Arrested Development. Thank you library for having this dvd set in the mix.
reading How to Cook without a Book. Wish this book had been our home economics text book.
eating fanny farmer chocolate bars I purchased from Mara and Sonna. What a delicious way to support my nieces and their school.
listening to Rory comfort Ivar, "oh Ivar, that is such a scary feeling. you hit your solar plexus. that means you got the wind knocked out of you, and you couldn't breathe. your solar plexus is right here, see?"
eight years
We stayed up late last night talking in bed, walking through the last eight years, talking about the years to come. We had the curtain open and the room was filled with moonlight. Those moments in marriage are so precious. To feel fully heard, fully understood, fully one. To not want to go to sleep, to keep that sweet connection.
It felt like seconds after we fell asleep the roosters started up and Ivar fell out of his bed and just like that it was morning. Time to start a pot of coffee, time to function as if we're fully rested.
But I wouldn't trade the late night and long conversation for anything.
Happy 8th Anniversary, Rory.
I'm glad I picked you. I'm glad you picked me.
Happy 3rd Birthday Svea!
Annika and her family came last night to celebrate Svea's birthday and to drop their girls off for the weekend! Clearly the whole family was so excited to be here that no one had time to close the doors on the van after they got out. We had chili on a borderline chilly night. And chocolate cupcakes with purple frosting that Svea had made with her mama.
Svea got a sleeping bag to match her sisters' and a baby doll. She was super excited about both.
We've been very busy already today: went for a walk with three strollers, built a fort, played with play dough, colored, made pancakes and sausage with helpers, watched Clifford and played in the rock box. And now it's quiet time. Which isn't actually that quiet and seems to involve a lot of tape, string, muffin liners and crayons.
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