Merry Christmas

Our first impulse is not always to laugh when our toddler pees on the unpainted bathroom door. Nor do we cheer when we find crayon or nail polish all over the newly painted walls. We don't smile and wink at our spouse when we realize our wedding ring just scratched the stainless steel fridge. We don't high five when we find a leak in our roof.
But all these experiences make our life more colorful. We get wiser, learn the hard way, and have good stories to share around the table when we get together with family and friends.
We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas this year. We pray you find time to ponder the seriousness of the holiday as well as celebrate the best way you know how. May your families be brought closer together. May your idea of the perfect holiday be thrown out the window and may you just roll with it. May you find assurance that Spray'n Wash will get the stains out of your kids' holiday sweaters/dresses. May the sugar high result in a sugar crash right as you tuck your little ones into bed.
Merry Christmas!

Small project, Big impact

I have not been good at keeping up to date with the small projects that continue to go on in the house.

Here, Sam is continuing the never ending project that is our fireplace.

Sam also dug a trench and placed a plastic barrier between the grass line and the plants. We also added mulch. It looks so good now. The picture below is right after we did this (the big dirt patch is where we had to raise the level of the land since we kept getting a pond forming). It looks so nice now. I just need to get out there and get a picture.

Here's my muddy sneakers. Just to prove that I actually helped!

After dumping most of the concrete from the slab we had out there, Sam got to work building a raised planter. We hope to have a garden there some day!

 Sam up in the attic again. Thank you for fixing all the duct work before the cold weather came!

 Just one of the many things he had to fix up there.

 I've painted two doors. Two more to go. Not sure if it is our paint or what, but this is not an easy process! Takes so many coats and still the streaks! Oh well.

And finally - Christmas has come!

I didn't get a picture of the font door or the yard, but they are decorated too.

Rachel managed to get in both photos:)