Before and After

Here are the first of the before and after series...

This is what our kitchen looked like when we bought it:

After much labor (wallpaper removal and painting) this is what it now looks like:

Here's the other side:

you actually can't get the full taste of what the wallpaper looked like from the pictures, nor can you see that it took 12 hours of steaming to get the wallpaper off, and then an additional I don't know how long to get the wallpaper glue residue off and then it needed to be patched and sanded and primed and then painted. The cabinets also took 5 coats of paint to finally look white without streaks.

We've also changed the way the kitchen table is situated about 4 times. I think we're settled on this way.

The newest change was the addition of drawer pulls. As ridiculous as it may be, I smile each time I use them.

Thanksgiving

I tend to be a little obsessed with all things pumpkin and turkey around this time of year. This morning the kids and I made rice krispy treat turkeys. :)






Daniel being silly with rice krispy treat on his nose.

Favorite Time

Thanksgiving is next week. I spend all year looking forward to this holiday. Probably more than any other holiday. For as long as I can remember, we have gone to our aunts and uncles (and we used to visit my great grandmother) in New Jersey. We still go there only now there are a lot more of us. So, next week, we will cram about forty people from 3 generations (with about half of them being under 13). It's a wonderful insanity.

So, in anticipation of fantastic cousin time, here is a picture of Julia with my sister's daughter, Bekah. They are 8 months apart.

Cherry Street Youth Group, the College Years

We are thrilled to be close to many of the people who were in our youth group at Cherry Street as well as working with us at PMBC. It's great to be able to still get together with them (just in a different living room!)

Kid Zone

We just started a new kids' program at our church. We are praying that many more children come and learn about the Bible and God's love for them. Here is a picture from the very first meeting which was last week.

Follow Up to the Castle Playground

Recently while Hannah and Jay were working on school work and I was helping them and also working on the computer, Daniel and Julia were building with blocks when Julia declared, "Look, I built the castle playground we went to!"

Of course, the camera batteries were dead when I went to take the picture, and then the castle got knocked down, so then Daniel wanted to help her rebuild it, but nonetheless, I was impressed with Julia's original building. So, this reconstruction will have to do as a record of her creativity.

A Visit From Dear Friends

Isn't God good to put people into your lives that you can't imagine life without?

For the Julia Fans Out There

I thought this was a really cute picture of Julia, one that showed her personality as well as her cuteness.

She turns 3 in one month. Though that seems crazy, she has definitely taken on "three-ness." She's silly and a chatterbox and has a long list of her own opinions.

The Coolest Playground I've Ever Seen

This is it...am I correct in labeling it the coolest playground ever???

The boys: Daniel, Zeke, and Jay.
Julia and Ella Kate (who are 364 days apart) playing with chimes and sort-of sharing :)

Posing by the rock with our new friends Zeke and Ella Kate Gift. They are from our church and we love playing with them.

Hannah having a blast on the tire swing.

Julia was being grumpy on our walk to the bathroom, so I threatened to take her picture being a grump. She didn't stop, so here you have it...Julia being "Mrs. Grumpypants"

We were about to go down a gigantic (and very dark) curly slide for the first time.