Fun Times with Grandma and Grandpa

Again, long before a new house was in the picture, Grandma and Grandpa H. planned a special visit so that they could be here to care for Hannah and Peter during our anniversary trip. We had a wonderful visit with lots of fun pictures and memories! It flew by too fast though! :o)

We love you, Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks for all the special love and hugs and snuggles!

Our Own Little Princess

The weekend following our trip to The Wilds, we had the delightful opportunity to take our own little princess to see Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella! (Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa M.!)

A special time with our special pumpkin!

Our Pre-Anniversary Getaway

Long before we had any idea of buying a new home, we planned an anniversary getaway to The Wild's Couples Conference. The nice thing about deposits is that they're an excellent deterrent against changing your mind--even when life gets crazy! :o) So, regardless of the many things calling us at home, we left as originally planned, while Grandma and Grandpa H. enjoyed the kids for the weekend. :o)

The teaching was wonderful, and we had plenty of time to relax together as well. It's nice to be young enough to still enjoy the fun stuff like human swings and zip lines and river tubing! :o)

(Had we pictures of the river tubing, you would have seen us looking like drowned rats!) :o)

A wonderful weekend with the best company in the world! :o)

Birthday celebration!

We had fun celebrating Peter's birthday at our new house! :o)

It's hard to believe our little boy is already two!

He had fun opening presents . . .

But bopping the balloon with his new hammer was probably his favorite activity of the evening! :o)

The new tool set was definitely a hit! :o) (No pun intended!) Now he has his very own "big boy" tools to use when he's helping Daddy.

I feel a little better when I remember that it is still just two candles . . . he's not a baby anymore, but he still has lots of growing to do!

We were so glad to be able share Peter's birthday with our family who was here to help with the house--both Grandpas, Grandma H., and Uncle Bryan!

Many thanks to Grandma for taking all the pictures! This one is from later in the week because we managed not to get any pictures of her at the party!

We were also very glad to have the A'rs and Mr. Dan and Mrs. Debbie here!

The A'rs left for their new ministry in Colorado this Sunday, so we were very glad to be able to spend some time with them before they left! Hannah is already missing her friend Josiah!

Peter was probably more glad to play with Josiah's truck than Josiah, but that's okay, too! :o)

And as one of the last activities of the evening, Daddy, Uncle Bryan, and Mr. Dan hung a new rope swing! :o)

Dizzy Hannah!

Lots more fun times ahead! :o)

Birthday Cookie!

Thanks for your patience! It's been crazy busy around our house, but I did take pictures of Peter's birthday celebration, and I'm finally getting a chance to share them! :o)

We don't do "fancy" around here, but we had a great time making Peter's birthday cookie none the less! The process was definitely the best part! :o)

Fun and yummy! :o)

Progress!

The Lord has blessed us with an incredible family, and they came once again to join us in our remodeling efforts! (Bryan even brought his coworker, Greg, with him to lend assistance!) My pictures are significantly fewer in number this time as my normal schedule continued while the work progressed, but here's a sample of their efforts:

Hanging of the drywall:

Aren't those stilts handy??

Taping, mudding, sanding:

Texturing the ceiling:

Prepping for paint:

I managed not to get any pictures, but Bryan pulled out his spray gun and primed everything, including the trim, with oil-based Kilz! What a difference it makes to have everything clean! He also used his spray gun to put the final coat on the ceiling. So glad not to have to roll that!

And floors!!!!!!

Aren't they beautiful?!?!

While Bryan, Greg, and Dad M. were here, they got everything stained and the first coat of polyurethane done. Dad H. then spent the next week finishing them up with two more coats of poly and sanding inbetween.

We are so blessed! Thank you to everyone for your labors of love!

Now for painting and cabinets . . . target move in date is May 23! :o)