Just a few more. . .

Every Christmas, we go to my Grandma and Grandpa's house.

This year my Grandma was in the hospital.  We made get well cards and Henry made her a book.

We took flowers and went to visit her.

 

We spent the rest of the day with my family at my sister's new house.

Even though the day turned out different than originally planned,

I was so thankful for the family the Lord has given me.

 Even these crazies!!!

My brother-in-law is in the ARMY and gave the kids a lesson in (air soft) gun safety

and target shooting. Fun!!

 

We all enjoyed cuddling this new sweet baby.

My parents and their grandchildren.



Love this face!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Christmas 2013

 

Our Christmas Season

 

Opening presents with my parents and sisters.

I think Henry liked his gift!!!

Lilly was so sweet opening gifts.  She would say, "How did you know what I wanted?"

And, "Thank you! I always wanted this!"  So sweet.

The boys Uncle got them Air Soft guns.  They were VERY excited!

When your husband is an artist, this is the card on the present. :) 

The kids spent their own money on gifts to each other. 

Ben and Peter with the present Henry got them.

He was so excited!  He kept saying, "You guys will LOVE this!" before the opened it! 

Ben all cozy in his Bengals blanket!

Lilly has been talking about saving her money for a new bike.

She was so surprised to get one for Christmas!!

 

We gave the kids less presents to open this year and spent the money on a family trip.

I printed out our destination and cut it into puzzle pieces for them to put together.

The was our first year to open presents by the fire.  We LOVED it!!! 

Rental House Before/After

We own a couple of rental homes.

When I get asked how I like being a landlord, my response is,

"When it's good, it's good. When it's bad, it's REALLY bad!"

 

A few years ago we had tenants move out of a rental.

They left A LOT of work for us!

This was one of those really bad times!

BEFORE:

After MUCH work (by my husband and my sister).

It looked like a new house!

AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

A lot of sanding, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, painting and. . .

AFTER

The downstairs bedroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

I don't have a full shot of the whole bathroom before. Just the floor. Just know the rest of it was as bad as this floor.  TONS of scrubbing with bleach!!! :(
My sister put in the new floor.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

Upstairs

This was probably the easiest fix.  Painting and about 10x back and forth with a carpet shampooer!

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Hallway

BEFORE

 

I don't have the exact same angle as above, but you get the idea as to how much

this hallway improved!

AFTER

 

The kitchen was by far the most trashed room in the house!!

Hallway from dining room to kitchen.

BEFORE

Again, I don't have the exact same angle.  This is from the other side, but the same hallway.

AFTER

Kitchen

BEFORE

 

My husband and father-in-law completely gutted the kitchen.

 New floor, cabinet, counter, sink, sanding and painting and great decorating by my sister.

AFTER 





 

I completely bleached the stove and refrigerator.  It took me days!!! NASTY!!!

We also switched the stove and refrigerator around and added a counter top and cabinet

 (we still need to add a piece of wood between the stove and cabinet).

My sister added the shelves.

AFTER

Doesn't all that make you want to be a landlord too!! :)

Lately. . .

We made a snack called sky.

It was sooooo good.  Can't go wrong with blue jello and cool whip!

 

 

Enjoying family game time by the cozy fire. 

Peter had a friend over after church.

They built a command post.  Always good to be ready. . . 

Lilly loves to sit and "read" to us.  She even does voices for the characters! Love it!

So fun to see all 4 kids playing together.

They still get the wooden train set out.

Only now, it is used for battle.

These two are great!  They love to dress up. 

Just today I told Henry that Lilly would be going on her date with Daddy this Saturday.

He said, "Oh good, I'll be able to tell her how pretty she is!"

So cute!

My friends and I had our annual Christmas dinner.

This marked year 13 of our tradition. 



We always end the evening opening gifts by the tree.

 

Love these dear friends.

 

 A friend at church and I put a Christmas party together for Peter and Ben's Sunday School class.

It has been so much fun to watch this group of kids grow up together.

 

We had a scavenger hunt in the dark with only flashlights to see the way.

It was boys against girls.  Who do you think won?

I'll give you a hint:  NOT these guys! 

At this point, the girls seem to be a bit more organized than the boys. :)