Guest Room

Guest room is COMPLETE!!! Here are the pictures :) 

Before: There was a wallpaper border around the middle of the room, so Marcus had to remove it and then put oil based primer and joint compound over top. WHAT A PROCESS!!! Needless to say, we are very happy with the finished product :)

Paint color before we got the room organized and switched out the bedspread. 

Now we just need to get our decor on the walls and it's DONE and ready for company these next two weekends!

More House Updates

First off, I want to apologize for the long post and all of the pictures - I want to document all that we have done and what better way than pictures :) 

I showed you the transformation of E's room earlier, but here is the wall above his bed and we also switched out his light fixture/fan. As of now, we have ALL new light fixtures in the house - which changes the look of things COMPLETELY being all the previous ones were original to the house. 

 

We also put up a new ceiling fan in the guest room. We found that there was a wallpaper border on the middle of the wall (under the paint) in the guest room that Marcus is going to have to remove, so what we thought would be a simple process has now become another huge task. We are hoping to have the guest room painted by the time family comes to visit mid-April! Here is the new ceiling fan!

 

The next project we tackled was the living room/entry way - which we painted the same color brown. This was a big project because of the chair-rail and the wallpaper that was on the bottom half of the wall. It was the toughest wallpaper to remove and I have to say that Marcus did a nice job. Between him being gone A LOT, and the time-consuming process, it took longer than what I was expecting, but all in all it turned out great :) 

 

The first picture is before we even moved in, so you can see the chair-rail was up and the walls were a hideous color. The wall color is now a nice brown and we have a new ceiling fan, which is hard to see (sorry about that). 

 

Here is the chair-rail again, with the gross wallpaper. The 2nd picture is with the same brown paint we used in the living room. The wall with the front door will be freshened up with a similar ivory color eventually.

Before and afters are always nice to see :)

We are also changing out all of the light switches in the house, so we have new white ones in the rooms that are painted/done! What a difference that makes as well!

This is the entryway going into the living room.

Here's another view of the living room - I knew I wanted the canvas back up, but we need to find some other wall decor for this room. Eventually it will happen!

The last pictures are of new decor/wall art I got for our family room. This was difficult to do because of the cathedral ceilings that I wanted to fill up. I went to a few craft fairs and found items that I wanted and this is how it looks! I am going to either buy valances for all the windows, or going to have someone make some for me when I find the perfect fabric :)

Here is the view from the upstairs looking down. I love the old door, wreath, and the big window on the wall. I had that custom made to match our last name and when we were established :) (almost 4 years - WOW). We still need to get a sofa cover for that couch (hideous, but comfy). 

Wall art up close

Here is a bench I also bought at a craft fair, and then I got pillows to go with it. I want the valances to match that pillow because I realllly love it! (Please disregard the old ceiling fans)

The LAST photo is of a ruler I bought for the wall in-between two of the rooms. I am going to put E's measurements and any other babies we have on there. I also want to put pictures around it and maybe write the words "GROW" above the ruler at some point. 

Thanks for hangin' in there with me on this post! More updates to come :) 

"Gone, but Never Forgotten"

It's been 6 months since my Uncle Rick suddenly passed and 2 months since my Grandma Adrienne lost her battle to cancer. It's crazy to think about all of the different emotions people feel when they lose someone. I know everyone handles grief differently and my experience is no exception. 

I hear my grandma through the chords of a piano, I see her in the flight of a cardinal, and I feel her with me through the windy breeze on a sunny day. I can still hear her telling me, "Oh Dani, don't encourage him!" after telling Grandpa John that he is so comical. I can picture myself watching her put on her bright colored lipstick in the mirror on the farm. I can feel her hands on mine while teaching me how to play the piano. There are so many memories I have of her that I will cherish forever. I just never want to forget what her hugs felt like or what it sounded like when she laughed.

My uncle Rick was the biggest "kid" I know (although Marcus is a close second). He also looked at the positive side of things and I NEVER saw him with a negative attitude.  There was just something about the way he said, "Dani" that I will never forget. I will never forget the time some friends of mine and I went to Arizona to stay with Beth & Rick for Spring Break. We went into Phoenix and ate supper and rode on a horse-drawn buggy. A bird ended up pooping on me, and when Rick started laughing, everyone else followed. His laugh was contagious and I hope to never forget the way it sounded. Another memory is him picking Marcus and I up in front of our hotel in Vegas in his big white work truck. He took us to a great Mexican restaurant where we all laughed, cried because the salsa was so hot, and enjoyed Coronas & margaritas while eating way too much food. Rick was one of those uncles you always wanted to be around because of his carefree attitude who always wanted to have fun and every minute spent with him was far from dull. 

These two amazing individuals are "gone, but never forgotten" and it's posts like these where I feel I have to document my thoughts and memories, so I don't forget how truly amazing they really were. 

A beautiful angel is all that is here

Saying O'Lord please leave me here

Not ready to leave but has to go

Wants to go back but God says no

A husband and children

Grand, great grandchildren and friends

A meaningful life that suddenly ends

And angel is what she was meant to be

Now think of all that she can see

Watching over her family night and day

Saying I love you in her own special way

In the night we sleep and in the day we cry

While she watches us all from her star in the sky

E's "BIG BOY" room

It's become evident that Easton is no longer my little "baby". He is now a big boy - one who talks for himself, has a mind of his own, and is quickly learning skills of independence. It's mornings like this morning when Easton walked downstairs, found me in the living room, and greeted me with the sweetest, "Hi Mom!" He is all boy - and by that I mean, LOVES trucks, cars (anything with wheels), and has a love for books that myself as a teacher can not help but be proud of :) He may not be my baby anymore, but I cherish the moments where we cuddle on the couch and watch "Lion King" over and over because he insists on it. I absolutely adore his little man attitude and can only look forward to watching him grow into a sweet young man. Don't get me wrong... he has tantrums... awful tantrums... but I have realized that as difficult as they are to deal with, he is just trying to push me to see what he can get, and I need to stand my ground and set solid rules and morals for him... that is my job as a mother... (if only the screaming wasn't so loud ;)
The last time Marcus was home, he removed all the wallpaper, and I painted. His room quickly turned into a "big boy" room with the changing of his crib to a toddler bed - just one more step towards his independence.

Panoramic view before

Wallpaper off - before paint

Finished product:

I am going to put this above his bed with some other letters.

E loves his coloring/reading area :)

House Updates

In the two weeks that Marcus has been home, we have been busy doing updates to our home! I have taken pictures of each process and will just share those with you. There was lots of wallpaper in this house before we moved in and we are slowly chipping away!

Master bedroom before:

Wallpaper

Master bedroom in progress:

These are all panoramic views

Master bedroom after:

We decided to do gray walls with turquoise and coral accents. I am going to take better pictures of the master bedroom accents once they are all up!


Kitchen before:

We got a new fridge!

Kitchen in progress:

Turquoise paint around the cupboards

It's amazing what a new fridge and paint will do!

Marcus had to take down this wood panel and use joint compound afterwards

Kitchen after:

Wall is painted

We got a pantry! We will paint it white eventually :)

Love the sign!

Eventually, we are going to redo the kitchen floor and cabinets and open up the wall into the dining room, but until then, this is perfect!!

We also got a new garage door - we needed one!! It's amazing how a door completely changes the look of the house!

The front of the house when we bought it:

We immediately tore out all of the rose bushes and then we had the front sidewalk mudjacked. Marcus also tore out all of the weeds in the driveway and trimmed down the tree in front. We took out all of the rock around the front of the house and ordered a bunch of dirt to fill up the space.

Front of the house after bushes are taken out:

Front of the house with the new garage door:

LOVE IT!

I will try to keep updating as we go! So far, I think we've gotten quite a bit done! Marcus just left again today for a couple weeks in Chicago. While he's gone, I start school up again. If I'm not too busy and exhausted at the end of the day, I may decide to paint our guest room! Pictures to come when that is done :)