kitchen | sneak peak

i am not done painting the kitchen cabinets and don't know if i will finish this semester.

i thought i'd be able to do it all before school started but

my arms feel as though they could fall off.

i am tired of painting! 

somebody help!

maybe i can finish it on some weekends or christmas break.

i did get a good portion done and all i have left are the top cabinets.

there are a lot of cabinets in this kitchen,

 two rows of cabinets that go to the ceiling. it is crazy! 

it is like somebody went cabinet installation happy. 

so for now here is a little peak of some portions of the kitchen.

i got some really cool kitchen decor for my birthday!

ok, i'll get started on making those cookies from my new book!

     haha!

it's christmas eve

and i am now a fan of sushi! well, only of this particular kind made by the 

talented chefs at Fresh Market. i think eating sushi on Christmas eve is going to have to be a new tradition. 

 Our family tradition is buying a new ornament each year for the kids. Julian picked this beautiful one.

i am just about done getting the presents wrapped and under the tree. 

although David will have to finish up the rest now that i am feeling a bit under the weather.

and a fun ornament reflection for you!

 my kids are excited for christmas morning. they usually wake us up super early, before the sun even comes out. i think they wake up earlier every year.

we have been blessed tremendously by family and friends this year. we thank the Lord for you

and wish you a merry christmas!

o christmas tree

on the first day of christmas i had a christmas card party.

on the second day of christmas we attended "tis the season" a christmas show.

today, on the third day of christmas, we had pancakes for breakfast and decorated our tree!

it's green and gold as always! (Baylor colors)

weekend lens

This was a weekend of students moving in, outdoor dining, and lots of walks. We did get a bit of rain but not much to hurt our moods. This was my last weekend of summer break and it was good down to the last drop. So ready to start school and get working.

 I am happy to have the students back with their noise and commotion.  Since we live right next to the university we can hear a lot that goes on around here. It's been way too quiet around this place. I can hear a band play as I type this very post on my couch! 

A student and friend came and brought the kids some souvenir African necklaces. Great little treasures!

Thankful for such an nice weekend! What was yours like?

weed jousting

Hello my friends! I've gotta a lot of catching up to do.

Our kids are in school now and it's just me and my husband at home. We still have about two weeks before we start school. We are enjoying the time together!

We came home to lots and lots of weeds. They were climbing up our windows and choking up our nice plants. The grass was kept maintained which was surprising because it usually turns into a jungle after a few weeks. So it was the weeds taking over our home while we were out. I had never pulled so many weeds in my life! There was this one weed that was very annoying. It had thorns all over it (even on the leaves) so that if you barely touched it you would get poked quite harshly. Pesky little thing! Some weeds came up easily and others you had to pull with all your might. And som were taller than us! My kids had fun with the giant ones. They did a bit of jousting with them. Who knew that weeds could be such entertainment for teens.

    

around here

Reading
We are checking out lots of books! Summer reading is the best!
I have Goerge Elliot's The Mill On The Floss on my nightstand for night reading and A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier on my coffee table for day reading. ( just found out that George Elliot is a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans) I'll take recommendations!

Plants
Looks like maybe my herbs weren't completely ruined! I am hoping they pull through! (well. after that storm last night, which was the loudest I've heard, I bet it's destroyed. I was writing this post the day before) We get some intense storms here!

Places
Getting out is crucial in a small town. We grabbed our books and read over at the Cafe of Hope. Ordering cold frappes is crucial too!

Purging and organizing
I am going through all my, closets, cabinets and drawers. Anything that takes up space and hasn't been used in awhile is outta here! This may turn into a yard sale!

Summer work
I do not tolerate bored kids! If they are bored they get work! They've been mowing, washing dishes, doing math, getting assigned reading from mom and dad, and cleaning the webs all over the ceilings, (sucking them up with a vacuum!) Anyone want to hire a few teens?

Movies
RedBox Rentals-True Grit and I Am Number Four. We checked out The Hiding Place from the library. I am hoping to watch that soon. We all read the book.

Have a great weekend!

dinner guests

Indiana is getting hit with a lot of rain! We've got flash flood warnings and tornado sirens going off.

 We had at least one good day for dinner guests. It was a mexican feast on our deck! Someone picked some flowers for me! :) Hoping for more good days like it.

porch memories

A favorite moment from Friday.
We thought it would be nice to do a bit of our school work on the porch!
And yes, it was fabulous!

the weekend lens

I love Ali's idea of a weekend lens post she created on her blog. A space where she documents the weekend to remember the details of her life. I think I will adopt her wonderful idea to my blog. Every weekend is different and to start off I made a poster as an introduction for this first "weekend lens" post.

Remebering the contents on my coffee table.

Remebering memorizing scripture on Fridays.

Remebering the music.

Remebering the aftermath of Friday evening dinner with a group of students.

Remebering what Angel captured with my camera.

Remebering hanging out in my pj's for a day.

 Remembering the new addition to our family.

 Remebering getting a treat!

Remebering this beautiful wall.

Remebering our family walk around the neighborhood.

Remembering the weeds.

Remebering the stop we made to David's office. 

Remebering the colors of spring.

Remebering testing out the ipad.

Remebering this view.

Remebering the muddy ground caused by all the rain.

Remembering these ijunkies.