For these I am Thankful!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Jim and Cari's. They hosted a lovely dinner with great food including the Turkey and stuffing they made. We brought some sides along with my mom. I kept saying all day that I was most thankful that I did not have to host since I had to work in the evening. Thanks Jim, Cari and the boys for a great (though too short) time.

Family Pictures.

Can you tell I'm trying to get our Christmas cards ready??

I'm so proud this year that I have them ordered before Dec. 1st!!

I have been in such a crabby mood with all that is going on around our house, with work, and just the busyiness of life. It seems that every year Christmas gets started earlier and earlier and sometimes that just makes me mad. I have decided this year to try to embrace it (even though I still don't like it before thanksgiving). I have brought out my Christmas music, started decorating ( I only have one floor to do this year), and ordered my Christmas cards. Each year I pray that the commercialism of the season will not overwhelm what is the true meaning of the season. We do have so much to be Thankful for that I just want to dwell on that a bit longer.

Sorry I just had to sneak another basement remodel in

Standing in front of our fireplace.

Busy Day (week)

One of my favorite Amelia sayings is when we are running errands or doing things around the house and she'll exclaim ("It's a busy day") It's so cute everytime she says it, though I do wonder how she picked up on this concept of busy days at her age! :) These last weeks have been no exception so I'll try to give a quick recap.

Amelia has been wearing underwear during the day (including naps) and now at daycare for about 2 weeks!! We have had no accidents and while I still remind her frequently to go she often initiates too. We are so proud of her.

Amelia and Samuel got their very own visit to the ER this last Thursday night. We host a Q-group bible study at our house and let the kids play and be around. They were back in Samuel's room and had been quiet for awhile (always a sign of trouble). I found Amelia with a infant child proof bottle of Tylenol opened and emptied. She had used a child's chair to get it off the dresser. It was half full and she claims only she drank it but I brought them both in anyways. After 4 hours in the ER we were cleared to go home. We basically had to wait 4 hours from the time of the incident to draw their Tylenol blood levels and then if not toxic they could go. Samuel's was not measureable (he hadn't had any) and Amelia's registered at 46 (toxic is 150). Both David and I are kicking ourselves for this and are now learning again how vigilant you have to be at all times and at all places. Thanks to family and friends who were thinking of us through this time!!

Work on the basement progresses mostly on schedule and at a furious pace. I ended up being home the first day of demo with Samuel who had a small cold and was fussy. It's nice to see so much getting done and I know our contractor wants to get it done by Christmas. We still sometimes are in awe that we are doing this project. We had not planned on this for several years, and yet after thinking about it we are so glad we did... we spend a lot of time down there and to have it be more cozy and inviting will be great! For any of you that have done home improvement you know what a mess it can be, and for those of you that know me you know how I don't handle mess and being in control. I'm so grateful for our contractor Kent is so organized, plans well, keeps us informed, and is mindful of our goals, budget, and family. He is the same one that did our bathroom, and his work ethic, plans are the same if not better with this project. It has made both David and I feel as if we made the right decision.

Before Demo started... we pulled out the carpet to find tile. Notice the window, stair wall, etc.

Also pre-demo... a look at the fireplace, stairs, into the back room

After a week of work... new framing/insulation done, fireplace spot roughed in, window blocked off, other misc prepped for drywall.

Stairway changed to code, wall added to close off laundry room, and ceiling ready for recessed lighting.
I had thought I might not show you any pictures till after we were all done, but I thought I couldn't do that. I promise not to bore you with daily updates of the construction though.
This weeks plan include installing fireplace, putting in heat vents, lighting, electrical, and a pre-inspection. Drywall, bookcases, and stone work to come after Thanksgiving!

Going, Going, Gone.

The basement remodel continues to progress. Actually they haven't even started yet, but we are getting closer. Plans have been finalized, Contractors have been out, stuff is being moved, and soon demo will begin! This week's project included looking at stone for the fireplace surround. We have learned it is tougher to look at things with 2 kids in tow. Amelia and Samuel enjoy running around the stores. We like the bottom stone... Eucliptys (they always give things the weirdest names).

On another note.... David sold his TV!!! Just yesterday I had been thinking about what we would do if it didn't sell, how far should we lower the price, where would we store it forever if it didn't sell, etc, etc, etc ? David called and said an apartment complex was interested in using it for their rec room (actually great for that purpose). They are picking it up today!!
I got sad thinking of the TV being gone. David was so proud when he brought that TV in 2001. It was his first big purchase and the first TV of that kind/size among any of his friends/family. How times have changed (and prices too). It's crazy what he paid for that thing compared to how cheap they are now. When I met him I thought it was huge and ugly and did not fit into any decorating scheme. I quickly came to enjoy watching movies and TV on it though. It feels like the end of an era, but on to bigger (while maybe not bigger just flat panel) and better things.

Amelia Style

We joined the Ymca several weeks ago and one of the nice perks is Amelia can now take swimming lessons. When registering her they asked about her swimming ability/skills. She has never had a formal class but based on her comfort in the water the gal thought she could be in Pike 2..... I registered, but then started having doubts. Maybe she should progress up the fish scale like other kids, Eel, pike 1, etc. I was sure that the first week they would declare that she wasn't ready and move her back. I was already preparing myself. I prepped, we went on trial runs to the pool, I tried to quickly teach her things, and then the 1st day came (last tues) and she DID GREAT!!!!! I sat in awe with the other mothers. She was listening to the teacher, waiting her turn and doing everything the other kids were doing (the other little girl had just finished pike 1.) And the other little boy who according to his mom could "swim on his own." would not even get in the pool for awhile. Can you tell I'm a proud mom!!! This week was lesson 2 and the same thing happened. This week they even jumped off the diving blocks. My little girl is growing up.

Having fun with teacher Rachel

Waiting her turn.

Hokey Pokey

I read this great article in the paper this weekend that talked about Hokey Pokey moments you have as a parent. Those times when you just stop and realize "That's (this)what it's all about." I had never stopped to think of it in that sense, but have started to realize many of them lately. I love how our kids love to be with each other (most of the time). Love waking the other one up in the morning or after naps and generally just have a good time together. This week as they were reading books together in the chair I was reminded of this shot in Samuel's first weeks home.
This is what it's all about.

May you always be good friends.