we have an ADDITION!!!!

we have not named her yet....the choices today are Belle, Pearl, Nazi (thanks, ben), Lola, Chocolate, or Nikta(Nikto is Russian for "night").

here is victoria holding her....

and, here is Luke ~

Her eyes seem very blue in the picture....they are really a blue-gray-green, but mostly blue...she is very sweet, walks like a princess, and is obsessed with washing herself. she takes a few bites of food, then moves away to lick *everything*!!, then goes back to eat a little more. She weighs about 7 ounces right now, so it is fun having one so tiny!

little girls...

okay- separation anxiety is one thing...but this clever little girl can really tug on a mom's heart strings!!

one night i was feeling a little claustrophobic with my life and told ben i just needed to go out for a little while. to wal mart of all place,s but nevertheless, it was OUT...the boxes were starting to say things to me!!

so, emme hears this, and is quite sad, as she and i have spent a LOT of time together lately, and she is not quite sure what she will do without me. I told her she is staying home with DAD, of all people, lol, and will be fine. as I am getting myself ready, she asks me a number of times which purse I am taking. i tell her "the pink one. final answer." soon, it is time to go, i say good-bye, and reach into my purse for the keys - only to find a carefully folded note, from a sorrowful little five-year-old.

can you say "ohmygosh" ?? i did! (Above the box it says "sign it here") she DID stay home, and ben was very sweet to her, explaining that mom just needs to go out fo a little while...she will be back soon, and THEN...he offered to take the kids all over to the new house. (I know - this is a little out of order - we had not moved yet when this happened - i am catching up, okay) they had a blast...all running around in the open space, and the time went quickly for them. so, thank, honey, you're a peach! and this little girl...WHY did we teach her to read and spell??? it is a lot easier to drive away from crying, I have found! the end.

BOYS' ROOM!!! or WHILE THEY WERE OUT!!

woohoo! take a look at what we did while Christian and gabe were away in Boise, Idaho at a youth conference....here are the first stages..from messy and lived-in, to PAZOW!

then....the finished product. there is a little touching-up to do yet, but the first words we heard were "Holy Snap!" and "this is cool"...they had no idea we were planning this - they though maybe mom would clean their room, but this was a fun surprise. now Luke says he wants to go away for a weekend! the first photo shows some scriptures framed in black...then gabe's sword and mask ben & I made him one year when he was Zorro for halloween. The static line or "livewire" as gabe calls it, is a deep red adding punch to the room, and ben hot glued the "dud" cd's all over the wall for FUN..it adds a lot of reflective light in there!

so..that is our news for the day! more fun improvements are on their way as we are working on the girls' room!

blessed again...

okay. I am (still) on a Salt lake Free Cycle loop. online. it is so cool...i know i have mentioned it before, but it still amazes me that this is what people SHOULD do more often!! i have both been blessed richly, and, have had the chance to brighten the day of others, as I meet needs that they have after they have posted a request...

this fireplace surround is the latest item, and I love it, but am a little stuck now as to what to do with it. The mantle is grey..it is solid plaster, and came in 7 pieces - some of them weighing 200 pounds or more! The walls are a slightly peachy-white. The dining room table is a creamy country white, and the carpet is beige. I am trying to figure out how to make that all come together. i am going to paint the walls...the only question is - do I paint the mantle, as well?!?!? if you have suggestions, please let me know. i want the walls to be a golden, muted yello, with some touches of a sage green. the table will stay white, and the dark shairs will be painted to match the table, eventually, lol. so, please send a remark if you have a great idea for me!! thank you!!!! oh - and there is no fireplace YET...that will come later, but winter is almost done now, and i have a zillion other projects in the works, so for the time being, the surround will probably just have an iron screen placed in front of it. so, on we go....!!!

the VIEW!!

This is what we see from the library/family room/computer hang out... if you look carefully, you can see horses grazing in a nearby field. the view is of one of the top hang gliding locations in the world. I keep telling Ben i want to do that, but he is not too keen on the idea. Someday!!

Updates....

well...project #1 was the pantry...here are some "before" photos...it is panaorama of sorts, but you may have to use your imagination to " 'round the bend"!

plain white walls, and things randomly placed on shelves....ugh! NOT a fun place to be!

THEN....it became a deep, mossy green...very "produc-ey" if you ask me... a friend said I needed a "food" color...this is the best I could come up with, and i LOVE it!!!! What you also see are hte makings of a verse on the wall...the blue is there in the form of painter's tape - marking the straight line on which to write, as well as the general spacing for words to make it all balanced. the paper is a sheet I printed off of the computer, afer i chose a font that seemed to compliment the rest of my "euro" house.

THEN...the end result, although i will have to add one more photos when I get some labels on the shelves, to replace the blue tape marking the whole organization system. for NOW, though, everything has a place, and the verse is done. it is almost my favorite place in the house!!

The verse was chosen, as "taste" seemed very appropriate for a food pantry, AND, we have had many seasons where pantry items were very scarce. I wanted those words there to remind me that it is only because of God that things are "good", and a pantry with full shelves is an amazing testimony to God's faithfulness to us, as well as ours to Him.

House details...

here is a little info on the new house...first pic is the outside...taken at night, sorry. It is not landscaped yet, so in the spring I will post much prettier pictures!! looks very plain, I know...give it time... :o)

This is the master bathroom. behind you in this view are TWO SINKS! It will be so nice! To the right is the "water closet" - with just the stool and toilet paper, and on the right side of you is the master walk-in closet. It could be a nursery! (no, no news, lol...I was just thinking one day, it COULD be!)












Then, the kitchen...behind you here is a bay window area with space for a kitchen table and chairs. to the left is a dining room/great room, and to the right is a walkway to the "front room". It really is in the front of the house, so i suppose we will have to add a "davenport". The main floor also holds a half-bath and a laundry room, oh and the PANTRY!! it is behind the stove. woohoo!

that is all I have for now...more to come!

Where is she?

Where is the nanny when I need her?? we are moving, and therefore PACKING.

and each day i have a few bouts of intense motivation, peppered with sheer exhaustion and loathing of odd questions from children:

"can I take a break yet?"

"Can't we keep our OLD phone number?"

"can i get a TV in my room?"

"how will people find us in a new place?"

"DISH network tv is only $20 a month"

"can we get a dog?"

"can we get a cat?"

"can I get a lizard?"

"DISH network TV is only $20 a month"

"Can you find a way to make this FUN?" (Translation for the above photo: Girls' Room. I forgot what I packed. Emme packed the box) i am not sure what we will find in there, but i am sure some assortment of lip gloss, nail polish, polly pocket shoes, barbie purses, and a stuffed rabbit or two.

"I think we should get DISH network tv. it is only $20 a month"

"do we have to pack TODAY, AGAIN??"

(Then, from the most inquisitive, pyromaniacal, often damage-inflicting child) "Can I get a waterbed?"

OH - and my husband, thrilled with the attached garage, is trying to find a way to NOT have the upright freezer in there, taking up space. it is really the only place for it, unless we put it in the basement. I think the garage is just fine. It is not like poeple stand in front of the freezer with the door open searching for a snack. the latest suggestion...."Did you see an outlet in the pantry?" (the PANTRY is a generous 10 FEET by 6 FEET - roughly the size of my kitchen now - i cannot get over that) SO, concerning the freezer, "how about we put it into the pantry?" NO. thank you, anyhow. i am not giving up ANY space in the pantry. He is not sure how I will fill all of the space, but I have plans, and...who says soup cans need to TOUCH each other? Maybe I want every item in there 1.5" apart. Maybe I have high hopes of being very organized in a new house with more space, and NO one will be allowed to undo my carefully crafted plan of strategically implementing "a place for everything, and everything in its place".

aaauugghhhh! i will be SO glad when this is over. I hope to not move again for at least 10 years, unless it is to a warmer climate, in which case I would do it next week. on we go!