Painting Perfection

So, after our plumbing disaster, we had to get our basement/family room walls re-done. Since we got some insurance money for the damage, I decided that I would hire out the work! Smart, eh?! It is such a large room, that I could've done it myself, but it would've been a much harder, longer lasting job than paying this neighbor, who is a painter, by the way a mere 200 bucks! I just bought the paint, tape, and caulk, and he did the hard stuff! I did learn a few tricks from him, though, like caulking around all your edges to get a smooth line! Bet you didn't know that, huh?! Well, it works, and it looks super nice.
The color is "mimosa"- whatever that means, but to me it is "creamy". Here are some befores:

This is going down our steps- I painted it a brown color this spring. You can't really see the color, but it was okay- a bit darker than I wanted, but live able.

This is right where the disaster occurred: on these two walls beside the bathroom. I tore down the wall paper myself- it came off so easily, and this was the color behind it. I patched all the holes, and am not rehanging anything.
This is just one of the paneled walls.
This is the last partial wall- the one that leads to our 4th level. Here is Al doing the paneling- you can see how fresh the new color looks. Here is Celeste keeping busy while staying out of the way: She was watching Kung Fu Panda!
They are nuts!
It worked, only Alex got his hand in wet paint, rushing to get upstairs- and practically the whole basement was wet, so that was pretty good!
And here are the finished walls: The one on the left is painted and the one on the right is the original- can you see the difference? It is slight, but so much lighter! This is going down the steps now:
The whole room is just so much more open now that it is uniform in color. I can just feel the difference in it.
I chose eggshell for the first time, and I loved it! It is very durable and washable! Love that it hides a little of the glue residue too!
Well, there you have it. I also cleaned out the toys that we have down there- and put a ton away- the ones they have outgrown. The pile is so condensed and the space is much nicer now. I just loved watching him do all the hard work- a change for sure!!

So What- We are Still Buckeyes!

As tradition, we set up our flag and took some family pics before the big Bowl Game. Though we lost the Fiesta Bowl, we still love our team. Here we are in our Buckeye gear all ready to cheer on guys.

Our kids are getting better at smiling at the camera on the tripod.

I realized that Celeste is the only one not in a red shirt!

Alex loves taking our picture- he is pretty good.

Can you see my cute new Buckeye necklace my dad got me for Christmas?! I love it!

She is so funny- she loves to have her picture taken- can you tell?!

Daddy's Buckeye Girls
We played a really great game, I thought. We just couldn't pull off the win. We were severe underdogs, and we only lost by 3 points. That is pretty good. It truly doesn't matter to me, we will be back next year and will go for it again. I still love our Buckeyes, and we are training our children well, don't you think?!

A New Year, a New You- (or me, however you put it!)

My friend Laura did this questionnaire on her blog, and I thought it was a great way to review 2008, and get set for 2009. Here are the questions and my answers.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’ve never done before? I ran in the Race for the Cure- a 5K in memory of my friend Peggy who died in March and in celebration of my Aunt Lori who is a breast cancer survivor.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? Here are last years resolutions and if I succeeded or not:

- Being nicer to my family...I have come to see myself differently than I ever wanted to be these last few months. I have a shorter temper, less patience, and am quick to react. I don't want to be this way, so, I have resolved to be better.
**I tried, really hard- does that count?! I am still working on this one!

- Not sweating the small stuff...we have all heard it before, I have more than a dozen times, and it sounds simple enough, but sometimes, for me, anyway, I have a really hard time doing this. I let the little things get to me, and they can quickly take over my day. I want this to change as well, so I have resolved to do better.

** I am trying, and will keep trying!

- Keeping this blog up to date and as a journal of the things in my life. I have found great joy through typing up a few thoughts every few days, and I want to continue so that I can see the progress I have made through the year, and my children can see all that we have accomplished. I want to keep a journal, and write more often, so I resolve to do that.

***I did this one!! Whoo hoo!! I actually completed a resolution! That is awesome!

Here are my resolutions for this year:

- Work hard to get our house ready to sell in a few months.
- Run the Race for the Cure again in May and better my time.
- Go to the Temple at least once a month- thanks to my parents, we are scheduled through June!
- Shop less- this one is a toughie!
- Serve selflessly in my calling.
- Pay more attention to the details and not worry so much about the things that don’t need worrying about!
- Be a better friend.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend Ashley had twins that I adore.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My friend from college, Peggy. She was 32 and left behind an adoring husband and 2 little boys. I miss her more than I thought I could.

5. What countries did you visit? Uh, none, but we did visit the beach again!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More love and patience with my husband and kids.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched in your memory and why? The wind storm in September- it was so strong that it nearly knocked me over as I stood outside trying to talk to my neighbor. It was the most bizarre weather occurrence here in Ohio that I have ever felt or witnessed. We lost TV and Internet for nearly a week! I was dying! Sadly, most of our neighbors lost power for that amount of time- school was even closed for three days!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Not losing my mind when things went awry.

9. What was your biggest failure? Nearly losing my mind when things went awry.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I started getting headaches like I have never had in my life. They drive me crazy and nearly leave me debilitated for the time. Meds don’t seem to work, but thankfully they aren’t as often as they had been over the fall- I think they run in line with seasonal allergies, to be honest.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A new washer.

12. Where did most of your money go? Kohl’s- duh!

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Vacation

14. Happier or sadder? Happier.

15. Thinner or fatter? I am pretty much constant with last year- but trying to lose a few and stay in shape with the Wii Fit. I can't give up the treadmill, either.

16. Richer or poorer? Well, our savings say we are richer, but that is because we saved our entire tax return from last year, and our pay checks now are more because we changed our deductions. We need a lot of money if we are going to move this year.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of? Listening

18. What do you wish you’d done less of? Wasting time

19. How did you spend Christmas? With my family and brother- our tradition of Christmas Eve with them and dinner on Christmas- I loved it!

20. Did you fall in love in 2008? I didn’t fall out of love, so I must still be in love! I am one lucky girl.

21. What was your favorite TV show? We love Prison Break, SVU and Life- and this year we started loving The Office.

22. What was the best book you read? I read a lot this year- but the Twilight series are probably the best. I also read The Host, A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Glass Castle, to name a few- they are all wonderful. I joined a book club with some girlfriends and that has been a blast- we are going to read, read, read this year!

23. What was your greatest musical discovery of 2008? MP3 players for my kids and listening to them singing out loud- though it is not in tune, it can be music to my ears!

24. What did you want and get? A vacation- and we took my mom- the best decision for that!

25. What did you want and not get? A new house. Maybe this year!

26. What was your favorite film this year? I saw 2- Indiana Jones and Twilight- neither was that fantastic, but I still would watch them again- and that says something because I rarely re-watch movies.

27. What did you do on your birthday? We had been at the beach the week before, so I went out to Easton with Bonnie, Tiffany from New York and Alexa for dinner and ice cream- it was so fun.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less home repairs.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I bought clothes that actually fit me- and believe it or not- the sizes vary in each item-I won’t tell you the sizes, but I was happy and surprised. My wardrobe expanded and each item I bought I made sure I loved, and didn’t buy just because it was on sale or clearance.

30. What kept you sane? Since I am barely sane, I will say….the scriptures, and my daily routines.

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I try to only read the front page of the magazines at the store, and I only watched E! a few times, so I didn’t really love anyone in the celebrity market.

32. What political issue stirred you the most? I didn’t love anyone running for President this year- I barely wanted to vote at all. I was so disappointed that the two choices this year were who they were- I so thought we could do better than them. I was not shocked when Obama won- whoever ran against McCain stood a better chance than McCain. Sadly I am afraid for our nation now.

33. Who did you miss? Dana’s parents.

34. Who was the best new person you met? I reconnected with many people on Facebook this year, and that has been super fun.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I learned again that things don’t always happen when and how I want them to. I still need to learn patience and accept and love what comes my way.

Basketball Season Has Begun...

Alex's second year of playing Upward Basketball began today! He had his first game, and it is quite clear that this year he is one of the best players. He is still in the 2nd/3rd grade league, but he is the older half this year and it is very obvious. He isn't even that fantastic, but since many of the other boys on his team haven't played before, he looks like the stand-out player. He only made one shot, but attempted 3- they don't keep score, but our team got killed- it wasn't pretty. Oh well, they have 7 more games, so hopefully they will get better- one thing's for sure- they can't get much worse! Here are some shots of my cute #1 player! I love this action shot- this is him driving it in to score!
He got defensive player of the game- he is getting more aggressive!
He loves being #22, since that is Aunt Ivy's football number!
He is usually the one to take the ball down the court.

He is working on rebounding- he needs to get his hands up!

So, our Saturday mornings for the next 7 weeks will be here- and I don't mind. I love that he has fun and is learning so much about the sport. He tries so hard and is very committed to playing- I love that he likes playing it too- since it is a sport he will play for much of his life! Baseball is his true sport love, but in the winter, he loves this too. I will try to get better pics next time- but agree- he is the cutest player on the team, huh?!!

Happy New Year!!

It's 2009- unbelievable!! I am very excited for this year to begin- this is going to be a GREAT, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC year!! I don't know all the reasons why, but it is and I wish the same for all of you!
Happy New Year!!

Gifts Galore from Santa and More...

Well, another Christmas down! It was wonderful again this year! We are so fortunate to have part of our family near us- especially during the holidays. We missed Dana's parents so much this season- we haven't seen them since the Spring, and won't until April! Thankfully we got to talk to everyone on Christmas, including those who live far away. We got to see Aunt Liza and Aunt Ivy, and also Grandma and Grandpa Murray. Our day was full and complete- we did it all!

We have been getting together with my parents and my brother and family each year on Christmas Eve to open presents. It has really been nice, since we have to spread out the next day with so many others and the kids don't seem so overwhelmed this way. So, for them, Christmas just goes on and on! They love it, of course! So, on Christmas Eve day, we let the kids exchange gifts they got each other and we give them the boring gifts we got them- clothes and shoes, mostly. I don't really even bother with cute jammies anymore- they wear the same thing over and over- and Celeste only wants to wear Leah's jammies. Poor Alex has high water pajama pants, so Grandma got him new ones, but I was content to let him wear his old ones!! He grew in shoes from a 2 to a 3 1/2 just since school started and went from an 8 in jeans to a 10! He needed all new things already! He loves new shirts, so that was fun. I happened to score great deals in October for new things for Leah, so she got a Candie's dress, skirt and 2 shirts- a total of $148, but I only paid $11 and it shipped for free!! So love Kohl's! Anyway, I did get Celeste a new nightgown, a leopard one, that she loves because it looks like "baby jaguar", her favorite from Diego! The kids shopped for each other and they spent their own money on the perfect gifts- it was so nice! I just loved how much they loved each other for that moment! It doesn't last long, I have to remind myself of that time when they start arguing! The kids didn't shop for me (thanks, Dana!), so they each made me a card and put money in it! I scored! Leah gave me $3 and Alex said that he knew how much I loved to shop, so he gave me $1 too! I love them! Super sweet and perfect, (most of the time!)

So, we headed to my parents, for appetizers and presents- here is our annual picture, that I already put in my Hallmark ornament from my dad- one of my favorite gifts from him!

The girls are wearing matching dresses that Gee Gee sent! They loved them! I took nearly 200 pictures over the two days, so I had to condense them somehow- so I made a few collages- this way it won't take forever to see them! Here goes: I got a new watch from my parents that I love, and since Santa brought the Wii, Dana got me the Wii Fit- and I LOVE it!! Seriously, it is way better than I thought it would be!
Alex got lots of fun things- a new MP3 player, since he swam with his in the pool; a telescope from Grandma, new OSU gear from Ivy, new Mustangs from Sean and Steph, Bakugan game and many pieces from Grandma and Santa, and cool night vision goggles- he was so happy!
Leah is so easy and fun to shop for- she pretty much loves everything! So, she got a digital camera from Grandma, a MP3 player from Santa, that he hid in the tree, a new American Girl Doll, (the Target kind, they are $20 versus $100!!) She never stopped listening and singing to herself the entire day!
Celeste was so sick last Christmas, so it was so nice that she was well this year to enjoy it all! She got this big horse from Santa that she sat on nearly the entire morning! She got a Belle doll and laptop from Grandma, an Aurora dress up dress and a "baby jaguar" blanket! She was just so fun and so cute- just happy to be getting presents!
So there you have it, Christmas 2008 in a picture collage nutshell! I am so grateful for the simplicity in this year's celebrations. I love that my kids are getting older and are figuring out that Christmas is so much more than Santa and gifts- they begged to watch "Joy to the World" and "Lamb of God" this past week. They are learning to focus on the birth of the Savior and that brings me more joy than I can say. I am truly grateful for Him and His birth that we celebrate this season- I hope we never forget that THAT is what it is all about!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

I couldn't decide on just one card, so I did three somewhat different ones. Either way, the kids look adorable!! I could not get all three in a great picture together, so I opted to just use these ones I took in the fall. Much easier and simpler!

We send our love to you and wish you a very Merry Christmas! May the Spirit of Christ resonate in your hearts and homes as we celebrate his birth and life this Christmas season!

The weekend before Christmas and all through the house...

We are busier than a mouse!! Seriously, it shouldn't be this hard...there shouldn't be this much going on!! I don't like being this busy! I like being lazy better!!
It all started Tuesday with Leah's 1st grade play! She was a dog, named Alex who had 7 lines!! She did so great- and actually had to pinch hit for a classmate and deliver her lines too! You would've never known! She was fantastic! We are very proud of our Drama Girl!!

Then I had to make gifts for their teachers...so this is what I came up with for Alex's teacher who loves giraffes: It's just a white frame, from Ikea, that I Mod Podged on with metallic glitter. I glued two wooden giraffes from Jo Ann's together and then on the frame. She loved it.

Celeste was going to Dana's school for a concert, but before she left, I took these:

Then it was Holiday Party day at school, so of course I was helping with that- Leah's 1st grade class made gingerbread houses and Alex's class just played games- here they are:
As soon as I walked in the door from that, the phone rang and it was Ivy asking us if we wanted to go see the lights at the zoo because she had free passes! Okay, sure! So, an hour later, we were in the van, picking up Granny and heading to the zoo- it got much colder than I expected, but we had a blast! Thanks, Ivy!! We slept in today!! How nice is that?! But, I ran out and got a few last minute things, then got home to get ready for the Boothe's house- to make Gingerbread houses- but first, I made these:

Super cute and super easy! We took these with us, and this is the end result of our Gingerbread house: It was much better than last years' one- we are getting better!!Here is a preview of the other's houses. I will post more fun pics tomorrow...For now, it is nearly 11 and I am done!! This busyness is for the birds- yeah, the early ones, too!