Our Family Getaway

In the true nature of summer, we've had a very busy last few weeks.  We had the wonderful opportunity to go on a family vacation, to visit family, and to be a part of a beautiful wedding!  It was a great time. I'll blog about visiting family and the wedding sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Today I want to share a tidbit on our family getaway.

We began our adventures by renting a cabin at Land Between The Lakes.  Land between the lakes is a recreational area located in Kentucky and Tennessee between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. It is less than an hour from our house.  For being so close to home it has a lot of fun things to offer.  In addition to camping, swimming,hiking, boating, and fishing; they also have a planeterium, a buffalo and bison prairie, an 1850's style farm, and a small zoo of sorts.  We had never been there before and we really enjoyed looking around.  We didn't get to do everything we wanted to while we were there, but we did just enough and enjoyed relaxing in the cabin in the evenings.  It was very restful. 

Playing Checkers With Daddy

Bison and Elk Prarie! We were there at a GREAT time!

The porch we spent many happy morning and evening on. 

Lego Fun

So, I am still pretty behind on this blog.  What I am sharing today happened a couple of months ago but I never got around to blogging about it.  However, time lines aren't a big deal anyways.  This blog is for fun after all. 

If you have a little boy, chances are they have been or will be at some point slightly obsessed with Lego's.  Truthfully,  I didn't really think Jay would but then out came the Lego movie and suddenly Lego was everywhere.  Really, I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me.  The boy LOVES to build and put thing together.  He spends the better part of his days dreaming about turning our car into a flying car. Some of his happiest moments are when he's creating something.  So, armed with the knowledge that Lego's exist and can be made into all sorts of things, the obsession is beginning. 

We started giving Jay an allowance back in February.  He gets three dollars a week and it gets split up between 4 jars.  He puts 10% in his tithe/give jar.  He put 75 cents in a save (for the end of the month) jar and 75 cents in a save for the end of the year jar.  He then gets to put the remainder $1.20 in a spend jar that he can use when he wants.  At the end of April, Jay got his save for the end of the month money. Off we went to the store.  He chose to spend his money on a Lego plane kit.  

We bought it and brought it home.  I put Gunnar to bed and allowed Jay to stay up a little late to build his plane. I was impressed by how easily he followed the directions.  He did need my help for a few parts but was able to get it together pretty quickly on his own.  

We had a wonderful time putting it together.  We also had a few laughs when Jay saw that I had the camera out and began being goofy as a result.  :)  

I am so blessed to get to be this little boy's mommy!

Being Called "Mommy"

I'm sitting in the quiet house right now.  My baby is upstairs asleep and the hubby and Jay are off on Jay's first camp out.  Perhaps its the fact I just watched a sentimental movie, or the fact that I'm sleeping in this house for the first time without Jay sleeping here too, but I'm feeling sentimental.

I just got off the phone with my sweet boy to say goodnight.  First of all, that kid sounds ADORABLE on the phone.  I never really hear him over the phone because well....I'm with him most of the time. "Mommy, I love you."  He was very tired tonight (having stayed up late and doing a lot of activities today).  His voice was a little whiny and sad and it triggered the mommy in me.   Which is what's inspired me to write. 

I am amazed over and over again at how becoming a mom has changed me in so many ways.  I am such a different person today than I was 5 years ago simply because I have 2 precious ones in my life.  Any mom will know exactly what I'm talking about.  Being a mom just does something to you. 

I was never an overly sentimental person before having kids.  I've never been one to even really shed a tear at a sad movie.  Now, however, I tear up at 20 second commercials.   A sad movie has me crying in no time. I love having time to myself or with my husband without the kids, but goodness I miss them like crazy when we aren't with them.  It's like simultaneously loving having a night ( or more ) away and hating it at the same time. Because lets be honest, no one else can care for ( or love ) them the way you do.   Having kids has changed my perspective on the world and what truly matters.  

I would give anything for my boys.  I am not a violent person and the thought of hurting someone else disgusts me.  However, even the idea of someone hurting my babies has me up in arms and ready to do some damage.  I totally understand the mama bear protective instinct!  Fellow mamas, I'm sure you do too. We would do anything and everything to keep them safe without a second thought. 

Being a mom is hard.  I am exhausted at the end of every day. Some days, I feel like I've failed in so many ways.  I didn't have time to do my makeup.  The house is a mess. I lost my temper.  Jay was disobedient over and over. Gunnar was extra grumpy.  I didn't take the time to show my kids or my husband how much they mean to me. 

Other days,  I feel like I've got this mom thing down (as if).  I somehow manage to workout, clean the house, cook dinner, and spend quality time with my husband and my boys!  Those days I feel like super mom.   I wish they were all like that. 

Regardless if the days been ideal or not, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am blessed.  I am blessed to even have the ability to have carried and given birth to my boys. I know not everyone is able to do so and it's a gift I don't take lightly.   They are miracles.  I am blessed by the love they show me every day. I am blessed by how they challenge me to be a better mom...and a better person.  I am blessed to be changed into a person who feels more and cares mores about others. I am blessed to be entrusted by God to care for these babies.  To help raise them up to be the men the need to be.  One day, far too soon I'm afraid, they will be grown and gone.  I cherish each and every moment and am thankful that being called "mommy" has and is changing me! 

What about you?  How has being called "mommy" changed you? 

Strawberry Picking (Wordless)

Look What He Can Do: Part 2

Our Dining Room

The Dining Room is one of those many rooms in our house of which I totally forgot to take a before picture. I managed to crop a kitchen photo down to show through the doorway what the dining room looked like before.  Not a great before picture, but it gives you an idea. 

The dining room was already very pretty, just not quite our style.  We changed it by taking down that wallpaper border, repainting, and adding bead board.  We kept the floor because we think its a beautiful floor. 

We also gifted the chandelier that was in the room and replaced with a more "us" light fixture that we found on Bookoo for $20.  I love it!  

Now, this room has masterpiece #2, that I mentioned in the previous post.  For the last 7 years, we've had the same tall four person dining room table.   We currently have that table in our kitchen breakfast nook. 

It's a nice table but wouldn't be quite right for a dining room.  So, instead of going out and purchasing a dining room table, we decided to let James try his hand at building one. I found a farmhouse style table and plans for building it on pinterest.  James used that as a starting point for the table he built.   

Now, James will tell you the table isn't perfect and didn't turn out exactly how he wanted; but I just love it! I think he did a wonderful job!  Take a look, I'm pretty sure you'll agree. 

I need to get some photos or wall decor for that blank wall!

I love our dining room!  James plans to build a matching farmhouse bench for one side of the table which will add extra seating and look wonderful!  

Oh, I forgot to mention. James purchased lumber from a local guy and planed it down himself to make this table.  It took a lot of work and patience as the result clearly show. 

Thanks for listening to me brag on my hubby! Hope you have a blessed day!

Look What He Can Do! Part 1

So,I told you all I was returning to blogging.  I then posted two new blog posts in one week and....it's been almost 2 months since.  I apologize. Unfortunately, blogging falls pretty close to dead last on my to do list so most of the time I am just too busy to get to it.

Today, Jay is at preschool. Gunnar is napping and I am waiting on laundry to finish so I decided to take a few minutes and go ahead and blog!  I am excited to share this blog post with you because it's all about my amazing, talented, hubby.  Yep, consider this a brag on James post.  :)

Over the last 6 months I've been sharing with you our remodels in our first home.  Most of this wouldn't have gotten done without the skill and know how of my hubby.  Today, I am loving being able to share with you two more rooms in our home.  Both of which has a special piece of my husband craftsmanship in them.

First up,  Jay's room.  Jay's room was pretty basic when we moved in.  Here it is when we first looked at the house.

Good space, filled with large furniture.

To make this room more suited to a (then) 3 year old boy, we painted.  I let Jay pick out the paint colors. He said he wanted blue and red.  So we went to Lowes and chose the two shades.  He decided he wanted to do blue with a red stripe.  So that's what we went with.   Here is his room just before we started painting.

 

Here's what the paint job looks like :)  I love the color we chose together.  They are perfect for a little boy!

I bought new curtains and bedding for him, but everything else is decorations that I made or purchased when we lived in Missouri during James' Afghanistan deployment in 2012.  So it was a relatively inexpensive room to decorate.

The very best part of this room, I've saved for last.  When we moved in we didn't have a bed for Jay.  He'd been in a crib before our stuff got packed into our storage unit in Hawaii in 2011.  Then he slept in a toddler bed in Missouri in 2012, that I sold.  So it was time for him to have a twin bed.  James decided that he could probably build Jay a pretty awesome bed.

However, if you remember, James was fairly busy after we moved into our home in June.  We worked hard on the house for 2 weeks and then he had to leave for the instructor pilot course in Alabama for 2 1/2 months.  Therefore,  Jay slept on a mattress on the floor in his room for the better part of 4 months.  He didn't seem to mind :).

James finished this bed  in October. The night before Gunnar was born, he and I were out in the garage applying a coat of polyurethane to finish it off.  The good thing about that is the day we brought Gunnar home from the hospital Jay came home to his brand new bed.  A wonderful distraction for him.  So far, he loves his bed.  His friends love his bed.  He already wants Gunnar to sleep up there with him :).  It's a great bed that should last for years to come.

I'd say he's pretty happy with it! 

 James still has plans to make a bookshelf on the left side underneath the bed.  Jay's favorite part of this bed is the slide.  My favorite part is the chalkboard :).  I love to draw and write him messages on it.  Such a blast!  

Well, there you have masterpiece #1.  Told you James was talented! :)

I'm gonna go do some cleaning and laundry but I am going to attempt to get to part 2 of this post later today.  So stay posted for our dining room reveal :).