I'ts tough being a lady...

"Clothes make the man, naked people have little or no influence on society" Mark Twain

My sister was doing a report on Mark Twain and had to find some quotes.  I had forgotten how funny he was - somewhat bitter, yes - but funny. This is just one random one that made me smile, and it goes along with my pictures, at least they aren't naked!

From the looks of it Gabi isn't going to be a fan of long dresses. She does want to be like "big sister" in all areas, though, so she may just have to buck up and wear them.  I love it when they dance together.  And yes, these are pre demolition pictures. We haven't done anything else yet to the house. Well, almost nothing. I have been picking out wall colors and the black for my kitchen cupboards. Who knew there were so many colors of black? There were at least ten to choose from. I decided that caviar had a nice ring to it, so that is the sample I got. What do I think? Honestly, it looks like black to me. :-)  I did take most of the handles off my doors and am going to be putting all the "junk" away in my kitchen . I have a lot of junk I need to get rid of. 

I just got done reading The Shack. I don't know if all the theology is correct (it may be, I just haven't taken the time to analyze it) but I loved it. It made me cry several times as it laid out who God is. Papa God has such a nice ring to it, and even though my head knew that He doesn't want all the evil and sadness that happens in this world to go on, my heart has a hard time understanding why He allows it. This book lays it out so clearly and shows what a wonderful, loving Heavenly Father we have - not to mention that it is an entertaining story and very well written. I highly recommend it. 

The point of no return...

I was cleaning up after the guys and the song from Phantom of the Opera kept ringing in my ears. "You have reached the point of no return....." A little scary, a little crazy, but I am excited. I love already that I can stand in the kitchen and see Dustin in the living room. I also love that no longer will Karis be able to sneak something from the fridge when I am sitting in the living room. :-) Poor soul. 

The guys got both walls knocked out in about four hours. I was so proud of them. Now we just have to paint walls, paint cupboards, (I'm doing them black by the way. Sounds weird, but I got my inspiration from www.chattingatthesky.com. Check her out and you won't think I'm so crazy.) And put in the wood floors. I'm holding onto the fact that it will look great in the end. Right now with the nails sticking out of the ceiling, and having to turn off the light with a broom handle because the switch is eight feet in the air makes me feel like it will never be done. But I know it will. I'll keep you posted. 

We survived!

I don't know what it is about this year. Dustin was sick on Sunday and Gabi started throwing up around 12:30 pm and didn't stop until 3:30 am. I changed several times as I was literally soaked in vomit to my underwear. I know, too much info, but I wanted to share just a little bit of how hard that day was. I wasn't happy with God, at all. AFter all, He could have kept us healthy, right? My attitude wasn't helped at all by the fact that the night before I had been up all night because Karis had a sore throat and woke up with yet another ear ache. (She has only had two in her lifetime, but when they are a month apart it seems like a lot) Yes, my attitude stunk. About half way through Gabi's throwing up marathon the verse "Rejoice always.." came annoyingly through my mind. That got me to thinking that Paul wrote that while in prison, and prison back then wasn't anything like prison now. It was AWFUL! Ok, so I had no excuse. I was sitting in a cushy lazy-boy-chair (yes leather, I was thanking God we bought a leather couch, as this chair, too, got it's share of vomit.) rocking a precious baby girl who looked so confused and sad to be sick, cuddling me. Not exactly a Roman prison. And, when things got too rough, my amazing sister came and rescued me by putting karis to bed and cleaning my kitchen! No it wasn't an easy day, but God did get me through it, and hopefully I learned a little more patience and trust in Him. 

We are HEALTHY again! I'm hoping it lasts. Warm weather is coming, so we have to start staying better, right? I'd better check into building our immune systems up:-)  Love you all!

Mommy's little helpers

They both help me with unloading the dishwasher. Karis is really getting good with the silverware. Granted, sometimes they go in upside down, but for the most part they are in the correct place. Gabi hands me anything she can pull out. The only problem is that she doesn't know dirty from clean, and often I have a hard time loading them without her "help." Love it, though. 

No, I don't beat my child. That is an example of what happens when a three year old gets ahold of mommy's makeup and decides she is going to get ready for her Aunties birthday party. 

Gabi wanted to wear Mommies sweatshirt. She thought she was pretty hot stuff tripping around the living room. She love clothes, already. 

I put this last one in because, first, it shows you how Karis would leave the house if she was in charge of her wardrobe everyday, and second, it shows the state of our living room without our furniture. I have to say I really miss the couches. By the time the new one arrives in April (after our remodel) I will be so grateful I will probably want to sleep on it. Until then, the girls love the beanbag. Gabi loves to roll off of it and Karis thinks it is great fun to jump onto it from any point in the room. Something she wasn't allowed to do on the other couches. 

Update...

I have now been to Homemakers three times in the last two days. Just so you know, yes, I am the proud owner of a leather couch. My husband spoils me. :-) I made a compromise between clean modern lines and comfort. The arm rests do have a little bit of a pillow on them, but for the comfort level I got them anyway. It's a good thing I like it, cause the salesmen informed me that I will still have the couch around in twenty five years unless I choose to get rid of it. I guess that is quality for you. :-) Boogy noses, spaghetti sauce hands, and spills here we come, mommy no longer cringes to think of the stains she will be getting out!!!  

Husbands are wonderful!

I have so much to write, I don't know where to start. First, as you can see by my title, I think Dustin is wonderful. He confirms it in so many ways. A couple of days ago he was rushing out the door, off to study, or something. I handed him a couple of things and he was gone. This is a perfectly normal routine for us and after i closed the door I went about cleaning the kitchen while the girls kept playing. A couple of minutes later he walked back in the door - something else that happens fairly regularly because in the rush we forget something - and I asked him what he forgot.  His answer was to give me a huge hug and kiss. "Just this. I forgot to say goodbye to my girls." It was ones of those "awww..." moments. :-) He may be super busy this year, the he is always showing in a thousand little ways how much he loves us.  

I turned thirty one today. Teresa was gracious enough to watch my girls for a few hours while I went furniture shopping. Dustin laughs at me because in my haste to get ready for our remodel I sold our couches. Usually with age comes wisdom, but, sadly my eagerness got a little ahead of my sense. Yes, they are gone. I watched the last one leave on Saturday - not realizing how much we actually use our couches until they were gone. Now we have a large beanbag and our recliner. Praise the Lord for that! But, my husband doesn't much like sitting on a bean bag, imagine that:-) And of course the recliner is mine. I'm going to take him to see my finds today. Hopefully I'll be able to convince him that I need a very big, leather, birthday present:-) 

Well, a baby, who is currently crying at my feet like her world is ending needs my attention. More later!

What's really important

Still sucking that thumb. Maybe someday we'll break her of that. I'm thinking of getting some of that nasty tasting polish... it seems cruel, but... I don't know what else to do.  She is adorable, though. :-)

Aaron is a gift straight from heaven.  Dustin just doesn't have the time, nor the inclination, to fix the little things around the house. Aaron came over yesterday with his wife and son, and did a bunch of little "fix it" things. The first item on my list was a PLUG IN for my bathroom. Yes, we haven't had one all these years. Granted it is a small room, and I rarely have need to plug something in, but that will all change soon as my girls get older. I anticipate many hours of hair curling or straightening taking place:-) He also changed some light fixtures, put a deadbolt on our back door that has a way of blowing open if there is a stiff breeze. This had to be Dustin's favorite as there has been many a loosing battle fought in his attempt to close it and lock it. Last night it was very secure. :-) 

This was a McDonalds play date. These two are going to miss each other. 

Sisters and best friends. 

I was going to write more, but I have a crying baby, and after all, that is what is really important, so more of my ramblings later. :-)

To knock out or not to knock out

I am all set this saturday to have the walls torn out, the floors ripped up, and the process of remodel begun, but..... then you hear all about our lovely economy... Blast! I was trying to ignore that and go on blissfully as I had been.... my head somewhat in the sand. I'm still fighting that feeling. I'd so much rather spend our tax return on new cupboards and countertops along with a new floor. But... the practical side of me says it would be much better just to put that in savings.

:-) So, now the question remains, will the practical side win out or can I just bury my head in the sand again and get a new kitchen? :-) I mean, everyone could be wrong, right? Maybe the experts don't know what they are talking about and Oboma could, just this once ,be right. A little recession and then everything will turn around, not the next Great Depression.  Hummm..... I have to say I'm leaning towards believing the experts, but still.... according to Oboma I can have a new kitchen, so...  forget those experts, I'm thinking new kitchen, but ask me again tomorrow. :-)