Peanut Butter Rolo Cookies

These cookies are so kid friendly and fun for the whole family to do. Plus they are super yummy! Isabelle and I worked on these this last week! She was such a trooper, by my side the whole time, helping with each cookie! When we finished we had 48 beautiful peanut butter cookies with chewy caramel/chocolate centers. Yum, yum, yum!! You can find the recipe here.

A Simple Gift

This is something Jakob took to school today for his teacher. He wanted to get her some M&Ms, so he gave me money, and I bought some at the store. I found this fun bag awhile ago for $1! With the M&Ms I added a handmade ornament, a package of hot chocolate, and a small bag full of marshmellows with a tag that read XOXO! It was super easy and turned out so cute!

I love my Plumber!

I can't believe this is what the upstairs looked like a few weeks ago. These photos were taken on October 31st!! Steve is putting in the plumbing and I snapped a couple fun photos. As we speak the painters are finishing up the trim and the ceilings. The countertops are scheduled to go in tomorrow and the carpet will be installed on Thursday. There are still a few things that need to happen before it will be completely finished, but I will basically have my kitchen/upstairs back on Friday!! I'm so excitied! It really has turned out quite lovely and I'm completely inspired to work in my new space. I have held off taking pictures because I want you to be surprised/shocked with the completed kitchen.

Christmas feels like it has been put on hold in our home. We have been holding off on getting a tree and decorating, waiting for the insanity of the renovation to be over. I don't even have Christmas music playing. I feel a bit deprived! I'm working on doing all the busy work of the season (aka mailing Christmas Cards, buying gifts, wrapping presents, grocery shopping, etc.) so when we get our house back I relax with family and can focus on the spirit of the season. I plan to take Christmas into this next year, extending it out a couple more weeks then we usually do!

Oh, So Very Messy!

We are going on six weeks of remodeling. What a mess!! Lets start with the good news. We came home from Oregon to new hardwood floors and cabinets. The appliances came the next day. Baseboards and trim were finished being installed on Wednesday. Right now the all the living room furniture is packed into the dining room and the living room carpet has been removed. I'm so excited!!

We also came home to lots and lots (did I say lots???) of dust!! It was all over everything!! They had to level out the floors (lots of sanding) and put in and finish the new hardwood floors (more sanding.) Dust is caked onto everything!

But, I can see the light. It is getting close and it is looking oh so very good!! Worth the inconvenience!

Soft Shoes

These shoes a actually got for Karter this last year. They were a size 18 months and they were on clearance. I got them and he wore them last year and even though they were a bit big, they fit so well. Well, this year I pulled them out and they still fit well.

They go up the leg a bit, like a boot, and that keeps them on. I love how soft and comfy they are and how easy they are to just throw on his feet.

Karter has been playing outside a bit more. He loves to play in the dirt and make a mess. I'm so grateful that we have our big yard! I have been discouraged at times with deciding to get a home that needed a lot of work. Fixing up this house has been frustrating, but it was the only way we could get the big yard. It has been awesome to watch the kids enjoy just being outside and playing. The rest will come, but for now we have a yard to play in and appreciate.

Hardwood Floors

The hardwood floors started to go in this last week. This is what they got done the first day! They are staining them a dark espresso color this week!! Cabinents should be going in this next Monday, appliances coming on Tuesday. They will measure for countertops once the cabinents are in and then it will be 7-10 days before they will be installed!! So long to wait, but we are getting closer to a brand new kitchen!
I really do love the floors. We went with a 5 inch wide board! Our floor installer tried to convince us to go with a 4 inch board, he said it would hold up better, but I decided to go with the 5 inch. I'm glad I did.

Failed Attempts

Since having Karter, just the idea of trying to get a family picture has been overwhelming. Figuring out what to wear, dressing us all, fixing hair, keeping us looking good on the way to the photo shoot, and, when we finally are posed and ready, getting us all to look at the camera at the same time, smiling, without red eye, double chins, goofy looks, etc. It is a challenge!

Well, as you could tell from our previous post, we did it! We probably had about 50 photos to look through and the one that turned out was the very last photo of the group. I was getting discourage and resigning myself to choosing one where we all looked MOSTLY good. So very excited to find the one that turned out!

Here are just a few of our failed attemps. Love how they show our family's personality and spunk! I have an idea for a scrapbook page using a bunch of these photos that didn't turn out, documenting the process, the challenge of getting a good family photo.

Thank you Crystal and Melissa for taking these photos, working with us! We had two cameras going at once and lots of family to help position us, encourage us, and keep us smiling.