thoughts.

i have a ton of random thoughts in my head. so why not just randomly go off on them is what i figure. although knowing myself as well as i do, and that's pretty well...i may just get stuck on one. ((and yes i know, it's been FOREVER three hours five minutes and six seconds since i last posted...sorry!!))

and yet i don't know what to start with?! lol. we implemented rest time at our house. can i tell you all how much i LOVE it. it used to be when the kiddos quit naps...that quit naptime..obviously. and i was totally cool with that. til caitlyn quit napping. going from 2 kids all day to 3...was a bit insane. so i followed suit of a few close friends...and implemented rest time. ahhh. it's a break for me. for them. and we all win. most of the time i get caught up on my chores. today...blog. lol. it feels good to sit and do nothing for a bit. when generally i didn't do that until 830 at night when they went to bed. i think it'll be great because as they all grow older it is something that will continue to happen. so i will always have a short time each day of 'rest' for myself as well.

and especially on weeks shaun works crazy hours, it's detrimental to my sanity. starting today and probably lasting the next 2 weeks shaun will be working a ton of hours again. they're 'emptying the digester' at his work. so it's a long process and long hours. having the rest time gives me the re-coup time i need to be the mom i need to be for those long 'single' days. sometimes it does feel a bit like a 'single mom'. but yet again it doesn't, because at the end of the day, no matter how long it is, my husband comes home. i'm so thankful for the life God has blessed us with.

this weekend is my great grandma's 90th bday party. 90 years. amazing. i'm excited because we get to see family that we normally don't get to see. like seriously, once a year. so it's fun. and the kiddos always enjoy playing with other kids.

we have painted some walls in our living room. it's been so much fun. we live in the house that shaun grew up in. and really we haven't changed much of any thing in the house. we redid the playroom a few years ago. but that's been pretty much it. truthfully i haven't cared much. but in the past few months i've been getting the urge to make it ours. sure our stuff is all in the house. but part of me still feels like i live in my mother in law's house. and we want to feel like it's "our" house. so we're changing it up to make it feel like "our" house. a few months ago, well more like 5, we bought a new couch. it was loooong overdue. we also bought a new tv a few months back. so our living room was 'half new'. we decided to find paint colors for our living room. one of our walls were paneled. shaun didn't want to just paint over it, so he painstakingly plastered in all the cracks on the wall. ((have i mentioned how much i love my hard working hubby?!?!)) he did a fantastic job. and after we painted the wall you would never guess it was panelling. i LOVE it. plus it's fun to do the job together. and he is a much more paitent painter than i am. so it's nice having him do the 'tedious' painting while i cover the easy stuff. so far two walls are done. we have one more wall to go. this wall will be much more work. it's a 'fake stone' wall. shaun has wanted to tear it out since we got married. i've always said how i wanted to keep it. well shaun has worn me out...and we're going to tear it out. actually i've come to the point where i'm ready to be done with it.

so that's our next project. along with the wall we're also taking out a wooden/glass shelving unit. the glass is broke on almost each shelf. and i hate to dust. and dusting glass is a pain in the tookie. we've already talked with a carpenter about building a new all wooden shelf. i'm excited for it because he had a fantastic idea for a unit. i graduated with him so it's nice to be able to support someone who we know and is local. taking out the wall is going to be a major deal. well i think so anyways. a couple at church has offered to help us out. we're so blessed by that. we're thinking that the kiddos and i will go to their house for a day and then the hubby will come out and help my  hubby. it should only take a full day of 'demo' and putting up of new drywall...*should*. lol. our house is old, and usually things don't always go as easily as one would think. either way it will be fun. shaun and bill will get to hang out and fellowship and work hard all day. while the kiddos and i will enjoying the fellowship and 'quiet'ness of their house. and beth and i can hang out. so it's a win win for sure! now trying to find the time to coordinate our schedules is the next thing.

i'd love to have this done before planting season starts. but we'll see. it gives us about a month and a half to figure something out. after the new wall and shelving unit is in...the dining room will be next. all that needs is some new paint. the walls are white. and one has some ivy stencialing on it...that needs to be covered up. :) i'm not sure on colors in there yet. the living room has a light brown wall. and a 'burnt brick' color wall. the new wall will be the brown color. i'm not sure on the dining room. one of the
walls is used for school. so i'm thinking something neutral to go with all the posters/etc. on the wall. the other wall goes all the way to the upstairs. so i have to pick something good for that too. ((and of course means we'll be painting the upstairs landing too. :) lol.)) i like to have a 'fun' wall in each room. i believe the term is 'accent' wall...but i like fun better. so we'll see what tickles our fancy when the time comes.

it's been fun to pick stuff out with shaun. getting his ideas on it all has been one of my most favorite parts. our styles are a bit different when we've been looking at new lighting fixtures for the dining room and stairs. but we've found some that we both like. i get all excited picturing the finished product in my head, and it's a lot of fun. i'm also excited beacause by getting our  new shelving unit, i'll be able to get rid of the bookshelves i have. so it will free up some 'space' a bit in the dining room too. well i think the dining room is more the school room. we rarely eat in there. we usually just eat in the kitchen at the 'peninsula' (it's not an island because you can't walk all the way around it. lol.) and the kitchen will get an update eventually too. i'm debating painting the cupboards or refacing them. and for sure painting. stencialing was 'in' for sure. i'm thinking about using my cricut to cut out phrases or something in the kitchen where the current stencialing is. or who knows it may be painted and that's that. i have yet to hang up anything on our painted walls because i just love the way they look without anything on them for now.

i'm so proud of the girls and dustin. they've kept their rooms clean for an entire month. that's a huge accomplishment in my book. they pick up when they're done playing. so that means not only are their rooms clean. but so is their playroom. and my living room. ahhh. just keep your eyes off my dining room table. ;) that's where my laundry is. it needs to be folded. well half of it is. so that half needs to be put away. the other half folded. and then the two loads in the laundry room too. laundry is never done. oh well. today i'd rather blog then do laundry folding. (although it is next on my agenda)

it's so nice to have a 'house'. i know that will seem weird. but honestly i never felt like we had a house. i felt like we had rooms. but not a house. mainly because i would never let you upstairs before. the rooms were too messy. too unorganized. too whatever. but taking the time to clean them. organize them. has been so wonderful. so 'freeing'. that feels weird to say. but it's so true. basically i cared before. but not really. then God did some changing on my heart. and made me really truly care.

i may not have the best house on the block. i may not have the prettiest house on the block. or the cleanest. or the most updated. but it's ours. and i love being able to say that. and i guess moreover...it belongs to God. all of it. it's His house and we're living in it. raising the babies He  has entrusted to us. and really...it's all just 'stuff'. i can't take any of it with me. the only thing i can bring with me is my babies and husband i guess. so the most important thing i need to be doing is making sure my babies are walking with Christ. teaching them the importance of Him in our lives. that is my only job.

i can teach them how to read. teach them how to add or subtract. teach them how to clean. or cook. or whatever. but i ultimately need to be teaching them Christ. everything else they learn is just an added bonus.