Finito!

Picture your junk drawer/junk closet. Now imagine that particular drawer/closet and multiply it by 100. That, my friends, was the condition of our basement. One of the great things about our house is the massive amount of storage it has. All behind a closed door. One of the terrible things about our house is the massive amount of storage it has. All behind a closed door. You name it- it got stuck in our basement. I would love to know how we accumulated so much crap over the years but I guess that's just what happens.
And here now is the pictorial for your entertainment....

We had to bring out at least half of the crap into the finished part of our downstairs so we could have some room to work with.

So, so much crap. (I'm going for a record to see how many times I can say "crap" in one post. How am I doin'?)

More cr-, er, stuff.

Check out my handiman hottie. He designed AND built the shelving. Way to go, Man!

Hey, how did they get up there?? 'Cause you know I would never put my children up on shelves just so I could get some quiet time.

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. You probably see this photo and think, "Eh, nothin' special." I see this photo and with tears in my eyes think, "This is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my whole life!" People, notice the floor. You can actually WALK on it without tripping on something!!

Again, floor space! This part is actually not finished. We (totally meaning Seth) have some carpet to lay down and a desk to put up. This will be his new and improved office. I think I will be nice and hang some pictures on the walls. It might reduce the "crazy eye" from his face when he emerges from the deep.

So, that's it, friends. The mountain has been chipped down to a Midwestern plain. Just make sure you don't take a peek into my guest room because you may never return. This room has a door also which shall remain closed until our garage sale on the 5th of September.

Oh, It's On!

Seth finally home? Check.

Full-on nesting mode? Oh yeah.

A basement that needs to be tackled? Bring it on!

So that's my weekend in a nutshell. Update and possible pictures on Monday....

Where Were the Cameras??

I would give anything to see the looks on the faces of these car salesmen when this 70 year old customer walked in to pay for his truck with 16 coffee cans of coins. $8000 in coins, to be exact. Awesome. Just awesome.

I Need Help!

Could someone please come up with affordable robot technology? Are we not living in the future, where everyone should have a robot housekeeper who can actually help get things done?? I would say that I need to be cloned but that could run into all kinds of weird. I try to avoid even looking in the mirror these days. Do I really need to be looking at a person who looks just like me? Umm, no.
So, again, I make the plea. Let's stop concentrating on hovering vehicles or water-powered cars. Let's focus all that energy on we who have gigantic lists to check off and need some dang help!!

If Only...

...I had a perfect memory. One that could remember the 5oo cute moments that are played out by my sons every day. Impromptu conversations between each other brought on by imagination and curiosity. If only I could capture even the mundane like taking them to go potty in the middle of the night. Both personalities blaring even in their sleepy haze. Elijah waking up either totally happy or totally grumpy. Making vain attempts to include you in his dreams, babbling something that only makes sense to him. Sometimes holding an imaginary object in his hand that gets set down on the counter before he uses the potty. So meticulous and thoughtful, even in his sleep. Josiah, who is quite new to this midnight appointment, refusing to open his eyes. Even while he is sitting on the toilet. He can be quite the determined boy. But then the cuddling, oh, the midnight cuddling with this one! Nothing, absolutely nothing, can top his warm, soft body melting into my shoulder as I walk him from bed to potty to bed again.
Things are about to change. Family birth order will shift, causing both joy and pain. I've had moments to reflect recently of what family means. All I know is that I need to enjoy these years as much as I am able to. Because it all changes in one blink of an eye...

Escape to Arkansas

I didn't plan on coming this weekend since Seth won't be coming home with us tomorrow from Arkansas. He will instead drive to Dallas for another show. But the boys and I needed to make the trip.
So I am sitting here in the air conditioned hotel room (hmmmm, imagine that!) and watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I have always loved watching the Olympics. It creates such a sense of awe in me. What an amazing Creator we have!
Sooo, that's the news from Lake Woebegone. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Next Time You Fly...

Just think that somewhere out there, you could be flying like this if you happened to have an extra $10,000.00+.

Your very own first class suite. Don't you just love the golden touches?? Gold obviously=luxury.

Wow.

Last, but not least, the shower. They only get 5 minutes but c'mon! Arriving at the airport fresh? That's almost worth the $10,000 right there!

Just don't think about this article too long as you are scrunched in the middle seat between two complete strangers, trying not to gag from the airplane fumes. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything...

How Crazy Am I?

It is 3am and I just got home. That's right. Your resident party girl just went to see the 12:01 showing of the Sisterhood Pants movie. I don't even know the proper name so we'll just leave it at that. The film was cute. I'm usually not a big fan of the "chick flick" but I can make an exception for this one. What can I say? They film beautiful scenery in Greece...
The theater was PACKED! Every seat taken by a teenage girl. I can't even describe to you the shrill decibel level that pierced my ears when the film began. All I could think of was that I am about to give birth to one of these creatures. A human of the female species (or is it the other way around?). Thankfully, children do begin as cute little newborns. I'll have to give God a high-five on that one. Because if they came out as teenagers, I am almost positive I would ask for a return to sender! (I'm kidding on that one. At least I'm pretty sure I am.)
So on that note, I am going to go to bed now. Praying until I fall asleep that my little girl will at least keep the screaming to a minimum. That's not too much to ask, is it??

Things You Might Need to Know...

Next time it literally feels over 100 degrees outside, you might want to ask for a hotel room that is lower than the 19th floor. Because even though you might try to give it the benefit of the doubt, the older-than-my-grandmother building never cools down. Even after it gets dark. The room will stay uncomfortably warm. Not recommended for a pregnant woman. And don't even bother complaining to the front desk at 5:30am that the room is unbearable because "the room engineers were here until 2am. you should have called sooner". And don't think for a second that you can fall back asleep after waking up fully at 5:30am. HGTV just may become your friend as well...
Oh and when you decide on a nice, fancier-type Italian restaurant, you might want to wait to order your entree after you are served your appetizer. Because the kitchen may mess up your order and send out your entree before you have been served your appetizer. Which brings up the dilemma- which do you eat first? Do you leave your entree to munch on the appetizer, all the while certain that your entree is losing heat? Cappelini with shrimp doesn't taste as well when it's lukewarm. Trust me. Or do you finish your entree while your appetizer becomes too soggy to enjoy? Well you might end up scarfing everything in order for it to taste okay. And then that defeats the purpose of a nice, drawn-out, romantic dinner for two.

I guess it's a good sign that despite all the mishaps over our anniversary weekend, Seth and I still had a wonderful time together. We thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and know that pretty soon we will be able to laugh over the hotel debacle. Right now it's a little too soon. I just might need some therapy...

10+1=11

One year ago exactly, Seth and I were making our way to Estes Park, Colorado to celebrate our 10th anniversary together. This weekend will not be that adventurous but it will still be sweet. We are staying the night in this hotel. And we will be dining here. I think both of us are just looking forward to the quiet of being together. It's been a crazy year so far (Baby #3 just kicked to emphasize my point...).
I am excited to see what this next year will bring. We feel stirrings of change but one just never quite knows what that means.

If You Haven't Already...

Please Read This!

And, when you are finished...

Read This!

They are both fantastic reads. The first is an allegory-type with so much insight into the Lord's heart. And the second is a great follow-up. Because it goes more in depth to the Father. It really speaks to all of us "church kids" who grew up playing mind games. If I am good today, then He loves me more. If I do bad, then He is pretty irritated with me and doesn't really like me. Just read it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Yup

This week has been fairly uneventful, other than our fun-park-day. Oh and the fact that I have had persistent heartburn since yesterday morning and I'm not sleeping very well. I'm only 25 week here. This isn't supposed to happen so soon! I love my sleep!! Anyway, I thought I would dig a little from our recent past and show you some pictures from our Florida vacation in June.

This is Seth's Aunt Susan. She's awesome. Even though I miss her for her company, I gotta be honest. I've been craving her spaghetti for 25 weeks now. She's like the best cook ever!

Brothers are weird. They have this bond that involves a lot of punching and, um, gas. But through it all, they love each other. And talk about weird things.

Aren't they cute?? The cousins. I love all of their expressions. L is being swept away by the winds of life. G has secret thoughts. What is that girl thinking that makes her smile so? Josiah is just happy. "Hiii!" And Elijah? Well, he's the oldest and has the right to be the most impatient.

This is Seth's Grandad. Sitting in the same yard that Seth's dad grew up playing on. Heritage is a very cool thing. Grandad sure loves his grands and the great-grands bring a chuckle every time.

I LOVE this photo. I'm going to have it blown up and printed. It will always be a reminder of how cute the boys' feet used to be. Because then they grow big and their feet, well, I just won't go there.