Things we've done to our house:

-Added stainless steel appliances

We are working towards a certain look in here... we are planning new flooring in the near future. Tile or hardwood, we aren't sure. But I have to say, this is by far my most favorite kitchen. Surprisingly... it has a small pantry, but tons of counter and cabinet space!

-Upgraded the kitchen sink from white cast iron (see above) to an extra deep stainless steel with new faucet and garbage disposal

This is where being a plumber's daughter comes in mighty handy, folks! This was our Christmas present! If I didn't express it enough, Daddy, I am THRILLED!!!! And I love you.
-Added lighting over the kitchen cabinets

This was a complete Hankie project. I love the ambiance of it now!

-Added a drop down attic access

Just another reason I love to yard sale! I found a brand new drop-down attic access for $40 and Hank and his Dad installed it for us.
-Floored the attic

All God's children can sing the Hallelujah chorus for additional storage space!! With three growing kids, you know I'm using every bit of it.
-Put a medicine cabinet in the downstairs bathroom

The boys were in serious need of some storage options in their bathroom. So we changed out their mirror for a medicine cabinet. It keeps things a little neater and gives the boys

-Additional shelving in laundry room, pantry, and closets


-Painted the guest room, kitchen, and master bathroom

{Guest Room}

{Master Bathroom}

-Retiled the upstairs hall ball, replaced vanity, added wainscoating, and new shower head

{BEFORE}
See how sterile and almost hospital like the old tile was... boo! And the vanity was just your typical white standard, builder's grade cabinet.



{AFTER}
I love how warm and homey it is now! Love the Oops! paint color, and the white beadboard, and the vanity we got marked down from $169 all the way to $99!!

-Added a play place in the backyard

The BEST hand me down, EVER!!!! This used to live at my sister-in-law's house. The kids love, love, love this. The boys will take their books out there and read for school. Sophie will swing out there by herself for hours. And when kids come over, there is a place to banish them! *Smile!*
Currently we are working on hiding all the cords from mounting our television over the fireplace... and once that is done, I'll be painting the den.

Once this is finished, and the den is painted, I will take a new and improved picture for us all to enjoy!

Crafty?!?! Me?!?!?!

We have this old desk. It was passed to us from Hank's side of the family.

We were using it as a computer desk in Alabama, and had it in our guest room when we first moved here. But when we started doing our hallway bathroom make-over... which bled over to a guest room make-over, I started thinking about what I could do with this old desk.

It is weathered, to be kind. It has dents and scars, marker and pen marks, old sticker residue, and cup rings in the finish.

So I got to thinking... how could I re purpose this?? I liked the idea of keeping it in our family, but it was in need of a definite face lift.

So I started off by sanding it and priming it.

Then I treated it with Weathered Wood to get a crackled effect.

And while all that dried, Hank and I hit a few yard sales to 'dress' it!

Okay, I admit, I found more than I needed, and walked away from several sales with things not related to this project, but it was a fun time with just me and Hankie... I just love this man.

So here is the finished product. The top of it has been redecorated several hundred times now... I mean, this picture was taken yesterday, and already I have different items on it! One of them is a lamp I got at a yard sale. We put the desk in our super huge and open foyer. A friend of mine suggested we use it there, and I liked the idea of using an unusual piece of furniture there. She also suggested the basket under it. That will be used for shoes and umbrellas and such.



The candy dish is an antique, I think. I picked it up at a yard sale for $2 from a little old lady who told me that it belonged to her mother and she remembered it from her childhood. The books I picked up at several different yard sales for dollars each. They are all published anywhere from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The picture frame is actually a thick framed mirror from IKEA. I had 3 hanging in the kitchen that I had painted green and had cut a picture to fit it. I pulled one down, crackled finished it, and painted over it in off whtie. I really liked the finished product and decided to hang it over the desk.

We also lucked up on some quality fabrics at one of the yard sales... a tapestry type and a silk. We are gonna use one to make panels for the front door and maybe the other to make a runner for the desk to add some more color and who knows what else!

My Three

Since I've been a slacker I thought I would give you a guys a quick update on my sweet kids!

Let's start at the top, shall we? Henry John Boemer, III... always known as Tres. My joy. He is so smart and well behaved and kind. He befriends everyone. And his close friends are not always the most popular choice. I am proud of his sensitive and open heart. He is super smart... I mean, just ask him! If you need the answer to anything, my child thinks he knows it. Annoying at times, you ask? Why, No! {she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm}
He recently participated in the school wide spelling bee, being one of two from his class to participate. He placed 7 out of 20. He went out on the word 'civic.' He added a 'k' to the end. Now he wants to know how to spell any word that sounds funny to him or he doesn't 100% know!

He is also being tested for Program Challege at school. His teacher recommended this since he flies through his work, grasps the concepts quickly, and is on a SIXTH GRADE reading level! Go Tres-man!
A few other things about him... he is 4 1/2 feet tall and wears a men's size 7 1/2! He is growing so fast! I'm constantly having to update his closet lately!
He is not super athletic, although he has shown an interest in basketball and karate... and he is counting down the days till swimming time!

Bryant Steven... my brown-eyed charmer! Can I just pause a second. His birthday is in a couple of weeks and for some reason that jump from 6 to 7 is making me so sad.
This was on the hundredth day of school... he is the one of my children who likes to participate in school wide events like dressing up, wearing hats, etc. So we got him all older.
You can really tell he's a snaggle tooth little thing here! Love it! He looks so much like his Daddy to me. His dark complexion, dark eyes, and his love for all things active. This kid will play outside most days until the sun is set or later.

He is doing really, REALLY well in school! He always starts out slow and even distressed about school. But he moves at his own pace and now, nearing the end of March he has surpassed all expectations for second graders. He checks out second and third grade books at the library, and is super proud of that! His math skills impress me! He is a whiz with numbers, this one!
He is a fun kid. He likes to make up games and play them. He loves to play wii... he is just all around competitive. I recently got in trouble for missing the sign up cut off for soccer. Now he doesn't miss a chance to check in and make sure I haven't missed anything else... sigh.

And that brings up to our little leading lady... Ava Sophia. 3 going on 13. She is attitude plus. You know the expression sugar and spice? She personifies that!

There are times when she will come up smiling and want to tell you a secret. She'll push my hair back, cup her hand around my ear, and whisper, "I love you!" And then ten minutes later she is crossing her arms, shaking her head and saying, "I don't want to!" But as stubborn and strong willed as she is, she is obedient. And I am so thankful for that!


She is a ham who loves to play Barbies, babies, littlest pet shops, swing, dress up, sing, and dance. She is also all about doing ANYTHING her boys are doing. So, if they are playing DS, then she is too. And if they are watching Survivor, then she will too.
And while they don't always enjoy her constant attention, they mostly tolerate it (unless other big kids are around). There are plenty of, "She won't leave me alone..." and/or "That's not fair..." and/or "Boys don't play Barbies/babies/dress up..."


I feel so incredibly blessed by these three treasures. I have been really enjoying this season of their development. My favorite time of day is right when they get home from school... seeing Sophie greet them, then catching up on the day over snacks. I also love praying with them at night... I like that they thank God for "happy hour at sonic, playing with their Daddy, and chicken alfredo for dinner." They make me smile.

Speed Bump

I wrote a song not long ago. It's called "Heart's Cry." It's been a while and it felt good.

This song came out of a lot of different, tough circumstances in my life over the last several months. I debated whether or not to post about it, and once again came to the conclusion that this is my blog and intended to serve as a sort of chronicling of where my family and I are and where we are going. The bumps along the way are part of that story. So, CAUTION!! Speed bump ahead!

When I moved here, I developed several relationships pretty quickly. I felt so lucky, because in the two weeks before I made friends I felt so lonely and depressed. I am not the kind of person who likes to sit and wallow, so I kept my kids busy doing 'stuff' and I stayed busy unpacking and taking care of business. Once we made these friends, all that changed, we moved from the isolated state into the settling in state. I began exercising with some ladies, sharing some of my thoughts and hobbies with them. You know, the surface stuff you share before you really dive into a relationship. [Side note: It seems so much scarier as an adult to make friends somehow!] The summer wrapped up in a blur of birthday parties, swimming, and playtime with neighbors. I remember feeling so warm and content one afternoon by the pool, when one of my new friends said, "I feel so blessed to have you in my life. I've only known you for a short while, and you are one of my best friends!" I smiled a thousand watt smile that day.

Once school started, all those relationships had to take second place to the business of order, and structure, and school work. So I'm not really sure when it happened, but I began to notice a good bit of distance myself and that friend.

After trying to get the bottom of it several times, it finally came out that she was offended at how I had handled a situation involving one of her children. I'm not gonna go into any of that, but let me just say that I am learning some things the hard way. I don't want to live my life with a fortress of walls around me, but I'm learning that some barriers are good.

It had taken a lot of tears and prayers to see both sides of this circumstance. And I feel like, at 33, it is well past time to move past impulse reactions and hurtful words... and really dive into what got me into the situation and what I can learn from it to avoid anything like this in the future.

I wish I could say, 100%... "This was not my fault! I didn't do anything wrong!" But that is not, and probably will rarely ever be the case. I'm a human... I fail. I think, it's how I handle the failure that determines what kind of person I am. 2 Timothy 4:5 says, "But you, keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant."

Man, I'm finding it hard. Not to be God's servant... but to keep my eye on JUST what I AM doing. To quit looking at others' lives and passing judgement. To be a guardian of my own salvation.

In this time, my tried-and-true, love-me-no-matter-what friends have risen, once again to the occasion. And for that, I am so thankful. And friends I first thought to be surface or acquaintance friends, have been faithful and solid. And for that, I am also thankful.

Thankfully, I feel like my life is settling down after being jostled over this speed bump and that I might just have learned a life lesson about how to adjust for the next one.

I'm a Nerd

So I've been pretty consistent with my couponing since we moved here. So much so that we added some shelves in the laundry room (thank you Lord for the massive room!). We are looking for a small freezer right now. I am more than thankful for an overflowing freezer though!

I have to admit that 4 years ago, I was one of the people that said, "I just don't have time to coupon." Now, I can't believe I ever said that. I just assumed that you could save just as much by buying generic. Now I know better!

This is my toiletries stockpile... with a little dish detergent and paper towels thrown in for good measure.

I'm super proud of this... I have laundry detergent for at least a year, if I do one load a day. And the best part is... I got all of this for free and some of it for a profit.

I will readily admit I have an addiction...

However, this addiction feeds my family and supplies me with a hobby! *Smile* I like to see how much I can get for how little. It's my favorite game!

I keep money in our budget for other fun things this way! And if you want to know how you can, give me a call! I love to talk about it!

Again, I fully appreciate the fact that I am a coupon nerd.