Something for fun...

Well, once again I know it's been almost over a year since I have really put any effort into posting. It's just not on the top of my to do list, or even my to do list anymore. But I did have something that I wanted to share.

I have a liking for "old things" as some would call them, also known as antiques to others. I came by it honestly and have my mother to blame. She has been a very crafty person all of my life that I can remember and always had something to work on. Well in searching for furniture to go in my house, I have I guess you could say copied a lot of my mom's style. I guess if you like something it shouldn't matter if someone else has done it too.

After moving to the South, I had great visions of going to old estate sales and finding great treasures of antiques. This really didn't happen, but one thing that I always kept my eye out for was an old cabinet called a Hoosier Cabinet. Many people as I have learned, do not have any idea what this is, and I'm sure that I only do because my crafty mom has one in her home. So I will explain. It is pretty much a cabinet that was used in the kitchen before kitchens became what we know them as now. It has flour and sometimes sugar bins/sifters built right in, it has a counter top/work space that pulls out, and what a main staple in many kitchens.

So as I said, I have been searching for one of these for quite sometime. Of course, I wanted it to be old and terrible looking so I could have the opportunity to restore it. Well the day came that I found the perfect one. It was on craigslist and was a price I was willing to pay for something that I knew I would have to put a lot of time and energy into. It was a week before my birthday, so my sweet husband offered to drive 3 hours away and pick it up for me.

Now remember, I had only seen pictures and I had tried to ask every possible question that I could think of to make sure I was getting a decent piece of furniture. So when Justis got there and saw it, he called me on the way back and told me that he hoped it didn't turn into saw dust on the ride home. That made me really nervous, and question what I had gotten myself into. So when I got home, I ran out to see what I had purchased, and it was a bit overwhelming. I have to be honest in saying that I was feeling like I might be a little bit in over my head, but at the same time, was excited for the challenge. That was until I realized that there was actual wood work that needed to be done on my cabinet. I had told myself that this project shouldn't be too hard. I knew how to work a sander and how to stain wood. It would be a piece of cake. Well surprise!!! The joke was on me.

So we brain stormed, and thought about how I was going to go about and finish this cabinet. Luckily for me, my in-laws flew in that next day to have a visit with us, and my father-in-law happens to know a bit about wood working. So I was able to show him and get his opinion and thoughts on what to do. I was feeling much better at this point, and even better after finding out that there was an Arts and Crafts center on post that I could take a wood working class at and hopefully fix the parts that needed to be fixed.

So I went to the class and spent an entire day there and with the help of my husband, watching the kids all day while I was gone, I was able to get all of the wood working done in one trip. It was so exciting. At that point I thought "yes, I'm home free. Just need to do a little sanding and then staining and this thing will be as good as new in no time."

Once again, not the case. It is July at this point and extremely hot here in Texas. Triple digit summer is what they called it. I learned that I was expecting and thus in my first trimester and as anyone who has been pregnant or had a wife that has been, knows that you just don't feel good for a few months. Not to mention, Justis was gone quite a bit for a week here and there for work stuff.

So I asked myself, "how bad do you want to finish this??" Well it was pretty bad because I set straight to work. I pretty much spent days out in the garages, and only came in to feed my kids and just quickly check up on them. I had a deadline. I had family coming to visit in August and I wanted this finished by then.

Well, to finish the story up quickly, I worked and worked and worked some more. My mom and sisters never even caught on that I was pregnant because this cabinet kept me so busy that I hardly had time to think about being pregnant and not feeling good. Finally it was the end of July and I had completed everything except the counter top. So we got the cabinet put together and in the house and I was elated. I had my "old thing" that my husband was impressed looked so new. Here are some pictures of my summer journey.

There were multiple screw that I had to dig out and fill the holes.

I had to learn how to remove old paint. Not too fun.

It's finally ready to stain.

I had to replace the whole bottom of this part of the cabinet.

This was the only hardware left that was usable still, but I had to clean it. My fingers were so sore afterwards.

Staining piece by piece.

It's almost finished. Just waiting for the counter top.

This is almost the final product. I still don't have the counter top on and I realized that even now that I do, I didn't take a picture of it so I will have to get one soon. But at least you can get the idea.

Just a little update...

So I have officially decided that I am the worst blogger in the world. I get on and check other peoples blogs for updates, and I see how long it's been since I've last posted, and I cringe at the thought of taking the time to upload pictures and make a new post. Ugh!!! It's terrible of me, but if there is anything to procrastinate, I guess this is a good one. It's not eternally damaging if I don't get it done.

So here is a little update. We spent Christmas in Utah and got to see my youngest brother Adam come home from his Mission in Madagascar. It was exciting to be apart of it all. Our flights went really well, and when I say that, I mean the kids did exceptionally well. It's not easy flying for 4+ hours with three kids under the age of 4. But like I said, they did great. We enjoyed our Christmas, visiting with friends and family and were happy to get back home. The only thing that seemed to go wrong was losing one of our carry-ons that Justis happened to set down in the SLC airport before we boarded the plane, and that we didn't realize was missing until 3 hours later when we landed in Dallas Texas. Gratefully it was only clothes and mostly his at that.

Since being home we have gotten back into our routine and tried to find motivation to do things-mostly me. It's march and I feel like I really haven't done all that much this year. Well, in the way of my normal crafts and projects/sewing, I haven't had much energy to do, but I did try something new in the month of February.

It was "Flat Belly February" for me. That's right I went on a diet. I was introduced to this by my mother in law and it was a good experience for me. I tried a lot of different new foods, learned a lot about calories and portion sizes, and over all enjoyed the whole thing. I also started exercising what I would consider religiously which means for me 6 days a week.

I never could have imagined trying something new like this. The experiences I've been blessed to have in the past couple of years have taught me to be flexible and more open minded. So I decided to try this crazy new thing and enjoyed the experience.

Anyway, now we are in a new month and looking forward to grandparents coming to visit, a birthday coming up and the warm weather festivities. Hello Spring!!!

We are still here!!!

So I know it's been a really long time since my last post and we've made a lot of changes since my last post, but I think for the sake of time and my sanity, I'm going to just start fresh with where we are now.

We are in TEXAS!!! We moved in July and have really enjoyed being here so far. We purchased our home online and never stepped foot into it until the day we pulled up after driving from Alabama for about 16 hours. It was a scary move to make, but we prayed a lot that things would work out the way they needed to and we have been very fortunate. We are relatively close to a good amount of members and the home has been wonderful and we really enjoy being home owners and all that goes with it. It was kind of fun the first time I was about to tell my kids to turn the TV down the neighbors were going to hear, then I remembered that we don't share walls with anyone anymore!!! It's wonderful.

Just a quick recap...we packed up in June and moved in July. We were here in our new home for about 2 weeks, got the house set up, then jumped in the car and drove to Lake Powell Utah to spend a few days there with Justis's family. Enjoyed the sun and water and being back in Utah. After that we traveled up North to Salt Lake and spent some time with my family, friends and more time with Justi's family. It was a lot of fun to see everyone we haven't see in a couple of years.

After coming back home we have settled right into life and have been in the fast lane ever since. I can hardly believe that it's Halloween already. Kaylee has been in preschool and loving it. Some friends and I decided that we wanted to do our own preschool so we got together, developed our curriculum, and take turns teaching every few weeks. It's worked out really well, and Kaylee has really enjoyed it.

Makenzie gets to go to preschool on the weeks that I teach of course, and the weeks that I stay and help at another mom's. She enjoys school as well. But it's fun for her and I to have some mommy and Makenzie time. She never really got that so it's been kind of new to her.

Baergen has gone from little baby to toddler so fast. He will be one in just over a week. He's been trying to figure out how to walk, and is getting really good at it. I'm certain that any day now he'll just take off. It will be fun to see him run around with his big sisters.

Well, that has been our lives the past few months. There are some great pictures down below. Just keep scrolling. :)

Here's what we call home now days...

So, I have thought about it and Justis and I are on our 5 th home in 6 years of marriage. That's crazy. But it's always fun to set up a new home and get it feeling like it's yours, and that has finally happened here in Texas. This is our home...WELCOME.

The front entry way.

The guest bedroom and yes I can see that the read wall does not match my decor. It will be getting painted soon.

The kids bathroom.

The girls bedroom. It was already painted purple when we moved in. That was awesome.

This is our "office" or was supposed to be, but has turned in to the reading/toy/sewing room. Hey it works.

The family room view from the front entry.

The family room view from the bedroom hallway.

The family room view from the kitchen.

The kitchen from the laundry room.

The kitchen from the master doorway.

The master bath. It's huge!!!

The master bedroom.

P.S. I just realized that I don't have a picture of Baergen's room. He was asleep when I took all of the pictures and he is asleep now, so you'll have to imagine a room with a crib and rocking chair. Hopefully I'll get a picture of it up soon.

Kaylee's first day of Preschool...

Kaylee was so excited to start school. Some of my friends and I decided to get together and teach preschool for our kids. There are 7 little friends and they have all had a great time learning and playing with each other. Makenzie enjoys it when we have school at our house because she gets to go to school then.

Baergen's Favorite place...

So now that Baergen has become really mobile he has decided to take it upon himself to go around the house and leave little messes. He will go up to the stove and pull down my hand towels just to leave them there on the floor and move on. I find canned goods on my pantry floor more often than not. The toilet paper rolls in this house have taken quite the beating and everyone knows that it's just not the same when you have to roll it up yourself. And finally the kitchen sink. He loves to play right here and it usually is when I'm doing dishes that he comes in and decides it's time to pull everything out and climb in. It gets old cleaning up his messes, but he's so worth it.