autumn

Life has been good for us this autumn. Busy and full. We've met new friends, we're changing and venturing out to do things out of our comfort zone, which has been really rewarding. I have been feeling more creative lately, which is so refreshing to me. Steven is busy with his job and I am constantly impressed with his work ethic and integrity. And, he's entirely handsome, so I think I have it pretty good there:)
Evelyn has been a joy to be around. I look at her every day and think how amazing she is. She says the funniest things all the time and has a crazy vocabulary for a 4-year-old, if I may say so. Sometimes it really cracks us up. She has made lots of new friends recently and has been a super big sister. I feel a rekindling of our closeness lately, something that having a new baby takes a long time to restore and I am cherishing it.
Ivy is trying out more and more words, which is fun. She is SUCH a little mommy. She loves her 'beebee' dolls and is constantly picking them up and kissing them on the forehead. She's very sweet with them. She gives me a multitude of kisses and hugs and saying, "i yuuuvvv" as an i-love-you. She also mimics many things I do, both good and bad, which is really amusing. I often find her standing next to me with her arms crossed and forehead furrowed while I'm concentrating on something. It's very cute indeed. I am loving motherhood more than I ever have and consider that a tremendous gift. The gifts we have received in this life so far have already exceeded that of many lifetimes.

Kitchen Remodel

I thought it was time to finally show off our kitchen remodel pics. I was holding out for it to be completely "finished", but I'm not sure when that will really happen! There are still small details that need to be checked off the list - hanging wine racks, baseboard trim, a few more handles, etc., but I think you'll get the idea!

We started the remodel in July. I'd made my design plans off and on for a few years, though. My first plan included painting existing cabinets and buying laminate countertops in-stock from home depot. That plan evolved into tearing out the wall between the existing kitchen and our old office and to open it up to our 'great room'. We ended up with so much more open space and light. We did most of the work ourselves, along with the generosity of friends and family and some professionals. My uncle, John, was able to install cabinets and do a lot of trimming detail work, along with windows. Our friend Josh went pro bono for us and did all of our electrical work. We'll owe him forever on that! Steven's dad did the plumbing we needed done, which saved us a few thousand bucks. Other folks helped out with this and that, and Steven spent many late, late nights getting one thing after another done so I could check it off my list. I admit I was a slave-driver in this, but all the major details did get done at a really rapid pace and the end product was well worth all our painstaking efforts.

I should also say I am so thankful that our girls survived all the chaos of torn-out subfloors, live electric wires hanging about, crazy power tools and screws lying all around!! Now that the kitchen is done, I can't believe how much time we spend in there. It really is the heart of the home. It's also been a catalyst for more creativity on my part and for us to enjoy social times with friends and our family.