Messy Bowen

Bowen is known for being rather messy.  He can eat a granola bar and get messy.  Snapped these pics of him this week in his ultra messiness.

 In this one he was drinking an extra thick fruit smoothie and as he was trying to take a sip he got a whole face full.  Of course it got all over his shirt as well.  

 This is him after a short car ride in which his siblings were feeding him some candy.  He had a couple of pieces of chocolate and some chewy jolly ranchers.  Notice the candy stuck to his shirt and his shorts.  And you can't miss his chocolate smeared face.

He's one messy boy!

Working on the House - Some Befores and Afters

So you might have heard we haven't been able to move into our new house yet because of some work needing to be done first.  We had a "little" water leak so that is why there was drywall torn out.  We have used the opportunity to complete some of the work that we were wanting to do on the house anyway.

For example: a before shot of the master bedroom shows lovely tile and 2 columns that have no purpose that we can tell . . .

we got rid of those columns! (and the tile.)

 Here is a before of Alaina and Lila's room.  It just needed painting.

 Much brighter now!  Lila's favorite color is purple and Alaina's is aqua.

The living room before . . .

The main thing that changed in the living room is the wall between it and the kitchen was torn out.  Opens things up a lot!

Here is a before of the kitchen . . .

and an after the wall is gone. . .

 Don't worry, I will have more after pictures.  This isn't the completed project.  It looks a lot different now.  I need to go take pictures again.  I have been painting like crazy to cover up all the white.  Our flooring should start being installed soon too!   More pics to come.

It's Always a Party with Emily

 We celebrated Emily's birthday with friends.  We had pizza and games and of course cake and ice cream.

 There were games for all ages including: Busytown,

 Chutes and Ladders,

  and Battleship.

Good times with good friends!

Emily is 13!!!

So today we celebrated EMILY!  13 years of Emily.  She is definitely worth celebrating.  God blessed us with a wonderful firstborn who is smart, caring, helpful, and wise beyond her years.  We love her a lot.  Her sisters and brothers love her a lot too.

 Happy Birthday Emily Joy!

Happy Birthday Bowen!

 Here is Bowen trying to show how old he is.  Couldn't quite get his fingers into "three position."

He asked for a train cake this year.

 He was a real pro at blowing out the candles.  What a difference a year makes.

Happy 3rd Birthday Bowen.  We love you!!

Big Boy Beds

 The bunk bed is BAAACK baby!  It was a couple days before Christmas when we decided to take the plunge and give Bowen a "big boy bed."  Rylan loves the fact that he gets the top bunk.

I remember when we first got the bunk bed when Alaina was ready for a big GIRL bed.  It's an all BOY bed now - complete with their new digger sheet sets that they got for Christmas.  Sweet dreams boys!

Happy Birthday to Ryan!

See this guy?  He is such a good guy.  Today is his birthday.  We celebrated with steak and salad and cake and ice cream.  We celebrated him and his wonderful qualities as a father and husband.  I am so thankful for this guy.  For his love for his family and his desire to follow God and serve Him.  Happy Birthday Ryan!  We love you!!