Shopping With a Purpose

The Water 4 Christmas Etsy shop is now open for business! These items are all hand made. Items are selling quickly but more are being made too! What a great way to give gifts with meaning to friends and family! Hurry and take a look!

Baby Toys

While sorting, I came across a tub of Jack's baby toys that had been packed away. He has played and played with them the last few days. It has kept him very busy (which I love! ):)

A Few Pictures

I really need to make a point this week to take pictures of our house and post them. I just get busy and forget. Here are a few --- (they weren't taken intentionally to show you our house, so they really aren't very great pictures. I'll take some more soon :)


The fireplace in the family room.
The formal living room in the front of the house is my music room - it is still a work in progress.
The family room - where we seem to be spending most of our time.

Loungin'

I thought it was so cute when I saw Jack on the couch with his legs crossed while playing his games.

For Colorado Relatives

Here is Jack in his new Denver Broncos shirt. He got it for his birthday and loves it. He wants to wear it all the time:)

Catching Up Today

Today, I'm trying to catch up on some long overdue blog posts. I'm still working on unpacking, painting, and settling. I've decided that is probably going to be ongoing for about a year and I'm fine with that. We have unpacked everything we use and a lot we don't. I had resolved when we moved here to go through everything we own and get rid of what we don't need. We have gotten rid of A LOT and it feels great. We had a garage sale a couple weeks ago. I wanted to do it yet this fall and thought surely the one of the first weekends in October would still be nice enough weather for a garage sale. It was VERY cold and snowed! Today is beautiful. Oh well. We still sold a lot and made a little extra money to get some things we need for this house.

Are You Ready?

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack celebrated his 3rd birthday Sunday. We had fun. Jack requested a Curious George party. The last couple days he has been asking me, "Where's the Yellow Hat?" I tell him we ate it and just like in all other discussions he says, "Why?" (everything is "Why, Mama?") We had a lot of family here. I think several of us shared illnesses of some kind. Jack and I are finally feeling a little better today. Here's a couple pictures and I'll try to add more later.

Here is another great opportunity to give to clean water! I have a little time today to be on the computer and am trying to do a little catching up. Craig and I are so excited to be a part of something so great. For our friends and family that haven't heard us talk about water yet, here it is. Our good friend Jody, has a passion for water. She has helped to open our eyes to the need. You can see more statistics, information and ways to be involved here. We are getting ready for some exciting events in the next few months. I will share more opportunities for you to be involved as they come. Tom, spray painting in the video, is our neighbor. I'm off to email him that we want water on our driveway! Consider how you might provide water.

This Season

I know this is just a season, but I don't seem to be handling this season very well. Last night I had another meltdown, about all that needs to be done, and how I don't seem to get enough done. I'm trying to sort through almost everything we own and get rid of what we don't need. I'm planning a garage sale for one of the first weekends in October. When I look out in the garage, I want to slam the door shut. It seems like a huge, insurmountable task at the moment. That along with still putting some things away, painting, trying to find curtains, hanging things on the wall, organizing, the regular home maintenance (laundry, cleaning, meal planning, buying groceries, paying bills) potty training, giving piano lessons, getting up at 5:00 every morning to go to the Y, and getting ready for company and Jack's birthday, are wearing me out. I don't feel like I am balancing things very well. Craig told me to stick to one thing until it's done but when I look at my list, I don't think it will really work like that. A lot of my list is connected with another part of my list. I'll just keep trying to take it a day at a time, but if you know the secret to balance, could you please share it?

Just Going With The Flow

Craig and I have been talking about how humorous our moving goals were. My original goal was to have all the unpacking, painting, and decorating done by September 1st. Ha! I wanted it done before my schedule became crazy with music lessons. That didn't happen and it's OK. Piano/flute lessons are going really well. I'm slowly learning to just do what I can do each day and let it go. I'm finally realizing that it might be winter before I feel like we're really settled and in a routine. This weekend and coming week I am getting ready for a garage sale. As I have been unpacking, I have done some major purging and it feels GREAT!!! There is a huge pile in the garage for me to mark and organize this week. I'm hoping to make enough to get some bar stools I like at Target for our kitchen. I would also like to decorate Jack's "big boy room." We had waited until we moved to put him in a twin bed (it was just easier with everything else that was going on). He loves it. He told me yesterday he wants red and blue in his room. That should be easy enough.

The next week I will be trying to get ready for company and Jack's birthday. I know people know we moved recently, but I would like the downstairs to look put together and not like we just moved.

Tomorrow we'll try to find something fun to do for Craig's birthday. I love the weekend!

Still A Lot of Chaos!

I feel like we are still living in complete chaos. Most of the unpacking is done. I have most of the downstairs painted. I keep seeing places that need to be touched up after I put the paint away. I have a HUGE garage sale pile in the garage. I just feel like it will never be done. I am TIRED. I am trying this week, to get organized for piano lessons. I had several students take a break for the summer and they are all returning next week. I have so many great ideas that I wanted to implement this fall. I needed about a month to get ready and I have had a few hours this week. I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water...BUT we love our house. I daily thank God for this blessing and will just keep taking it a day at a time. I have something on the calendar almost every day in September. It will fly by and then it will be time to start thinking about the holidays. Oh my!!!

Tee Ball or Golf?

Maybe it's both!

Lost Cars

How else would you look under the stove for lost matchbox cars?

"I Work Hard, Momma!"

We hear this from Jack a lot. He is saying a lot of cute things right now. He loves to be in the garage with Craig working on "their projects." These pictures are at our old house. Jack was making a "kitty house." I think it is something he saw on Caillou.

Frustrated

I hope you're still with me out there. I'm having trouble with our computer. Last night I tried for over an hour to download pictures to post some to my blog. There will be some soon!

Maybe Tomorrow

I won't be getting to pictures tonight. I am tired and there is a huge pile of clothes on our bed that I have to go put away before I can sleep in the bed. I did accomplish a lot today. Maybe I will finally get to pictures tomorrow. My day seemed to fly by very qickly.

Trying

I've been trying to find some time to make it to the computer. Tonight, after Jack goes to bed, I have it on my schedule to catch up on paperwork and the computer. I will post pictures then. I have a few hours now without Jack, and need to finish unpacking today!!! That will be wonderful!

We Are Moved!

We are moved to our new house. We love it! We got a lot unpacked and some painting done last week, the first week in our house. We are still working on it. I will have to post some pictures soon, when I find the camera cable for the computer. There are several things I haven't located yet. Jack has adjusted extremely well and loves the house too. He doesn't ever want to leave to go anywhere. He says, "Stay at new house!" Craig and I are both extremely tired. I think that we've just both hit a wall and have been able to relax a little bit now that our other house is sold, and we have actually moved. I still feel a little stressed as I want the house unpacked and painting done before the beginning of September. I have several new piano students starting then, and my schedule will be full. Well, I better get back to unpacking while Jack is napping!

Almost There!

I have just two sections of my kitchen cupboards and the bathroom left to pack. The upstairs is completely empty and cleaned. Craig and some friends just left for the garage of our new house with the piano, hide-a-bed and wardrobe boxes. Our closing on our current house is at 10:30 on Friday and then the closing for the house we are buying is at 11:00. Then we get to move everything from the garage into the house! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a long week!