More Basement Projects

There is nothing like a deadline to make us get a project done. And when the deadline involves people we care about needing a place to sleep in our home, it's amazing how quickly and efficiently we can work.

A former student of mine, an absolutely wonderful young woman whom I adored as an 8th grader, is now married, expecting her first baby, and moving to Portland with her hubby and their good friend. These precious heads needed a place to land and we are so jazzed to provide it. The Lord has been so very generous to us. Our home is more than what we need or really use. It wasn't hard to say yes. The hard part came as we began to clean out their rooms!

Before pictures of both spaces...

So, clearly, this room needed some work. This is the room that has been functioning as our guest room. With one twin bed and one twin mattress/boxsprings on the floor, it was inadequate at best. Never mind the fact that often the children would play in here and completely trash the joint. And we've been using it for storage. But it was in better shape than the other space...

Uh...I can't believe I'm claiming this room publicly. We have called this room our seasonal storage room. There are shelves on the wall you can't see. In theory, we store our Christmas decorations there. In reality, this space became an absolute dumping ground. Not good. I was overjoyed to have a reason to gut this room. Yes, I could have done it without hosting three peeps in my home. But I know myself. I would not have. And God knows me even better. He knows I would not have.

So we worked. We pulled all the business out of seasonal storage, taking most of it to my mom's place in Canby. Long story short, her sewing room was in our basement and now it's not. It's a win-win! Almost all the other stuff in that room went to the Goodwill. I love it when the Lord brings me to a place of purging. We have so much and we do not need to keep that which we don't use. After emptying the room, we pulled the one twin bed around the corner, and started work on the other space.

This room also had much that ended up at the Goodwill. The extra mattress and boxsprings are going to a friend. All the extra bedding went away. All the crazy toys either went back to the playroom or into the trash can. It was so freeing to realize that I don't have to keep every cardboard sword and shield that they make. Woot!

With both rooms reasonably cleared, the next logical step was a trip to IKEA. :-)

We have always talked about getting a queen sized bed for our guest room. Sunday, we made it happen. The results are pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Here are the after pictures...

Here's the new guest room. We are so happy with the results and we pray that our guests will be, too.

And here's the former sewing/seasonal storage/every piece of junk I own room. Nice, huh? Actually unrecognizable would be a better adjective.

They are still basement rooms, but they are at least livable now.

Fourth Birthday Extravaganza

We celebrated Paul's fourth birthday today with a Thomas themed party that revolved mostly around a bubble machine and the best balloon twister on the planet, Andrew Alfeche. He absolutely rocks. I'll just stop gushing and get the pics posted. They pretty much tell the story.

I love summer birthdays. These were our only decorations. That is our new picnic table.

Paul holds up his first balloon animal, a bumblebee.

Our dudes check out Andrew's awesome poster which displays the variety of stuff he makes.

Paul excitedly explaining all the balloon options.

Paul watching while Andrew works on his second creation.


Paul's second choice. It's a dragon!

Andrew entertained the young guests for the better part of the first hour. Did I mention his rates are EXTREMELY reasonable? Drop me a line if you want his contact info for your next kid party!

Time for presents! Paul was hilariously methodical while opening his gifts. It took him forever to open this first present, a set of Lightning McQueen cars. Luke had already peeked and announced the contents to the crowd. Paul meanwhile, unfazed, continued to slowly rip small pieces of wrapping paper away from the box.

Time for cake!

Paul literally could not take his eyes off the cake. There was no getting him to look up at the camera. Simultaneously, the precious girl beside him posed perfectly (and differently) for all six shots that I took. Hilarious!

Sadly, I didn't get any shots of the bubble machine, but it was a HUGE success as well. Best $9 I've spent this year. I'll check with my mom and see if she got some.

We all had a blast and now we are looking forward to our week in Cannon Beach beginning next Saturday. :-)

Timbers Fun

Erik and I went on a DATE last night for my birthday. Dave and Lynne were awesomely awesome and bought us tickets to the Timbers game. We had been before, but not since they went MLS. Wow! It was so much fun.

I'll start at the very beginning of the evening. Our babysitter, the fabulous Karalie, arrived at 5:30 and we rapidly exited the premises. We headed toward Jake's Grill for appetizers, sparkling water and something rich for dessert. Have I mentioned the weather was stunning? It was. Perfectly perfect.

We dined on crab cake, purple artichoke accompanied by a truffle sauce, and kobe beef gyoza with plum sauce. Simply divine in all respects. We finished with the warm chocolate cake with molten center. Yum.

With the proper dessert indulgence complete, we decided to skip riding the MAX and walk the six blocks to the stadium instead. With a warm breeze blowing and the number of fans increasing by the block, I reveled in the entire experience of attending a professional sporting event.

I realized as we entered Jeld Wen Field that for me, attending any professional sporting event brings back incredibly fond memories from my childhood. My dad loved to take me to Mariners baseball games (in the 80's when they absolutely stunk and played in the Kingdome) and Seattle Supersonics games (may they rest in peace). These events were not about who won and who lost. They were not about having really good seats. We never did, although often my father's dubious morality would find us occupying seats closer to the action at halftime or the 7th inning stretch. Oh dear. Ethics aside, these times were about sharing a passion with my dad...sports. Neither one of us were particularly stellar athletes, but we really enjoyed watching. It was what we did together. It was fun.

My dad lives far away now and spends his time caring for my ailing step-mom. They can't travel and I don't see him. And don't get me wrong, there are good things about that which I won't elucidate here. (Remember the dubious morality issue? It extended beyond seats at athletic events) But each and every time I find myself in a professional sporting arena of some sort, I become light-hearted, almost giddy. I don't care who wins. I'm there for the show.

Okay. Enough waxing eloquent. Here are the pics and a video I made of Timber Joey cutting the log after the Timber's only goal.

No need for dubious morals! We were five rows from the pitch. Amazing seats.

The best part...we were just one section away from the Timber Army. We stood the entire game, cheered, chanted, and sang with the best of them.

Happy Girl! This was easily a half hour before kick off. The place was absolutely packed when the match started.

And now for the grand finale...a short video of Timber Joey doing his thing and the Timber Army doing theirs.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well folks, it's my birthday. About two weeks ago, I called my friend Holly and asked if I could come and spend this day with her and her family. She willingly (and graciously) agreed. It has been a beautiful and amazing day. We ate brunch outside in the sunshine. She painted my fingernails and my toenails while listening to the story of how Erik and I got together. We have had espresso shots with cream and hazelnut flavoring. We have had iced coffees. We have had pancakes with sour cream and and fresh picked strawberries. (Seriously, folks, try it.) What a delightful day!

I want to give glory to God for my beautiful friend, Holly and her gracious and loving family. Each has added to this special day in their own unique way. :-)

It's the Happy Birthday Pancake!

Hey, Hey! The Gang's All Here! I love these people and the photographer.

Adorable!

Sweet cuteness.

The Birthday Spa

The Birthday Pool that kept the kids happy during the Birthday Mani/Pedi.

Such a fun group of folks!

A Day Out With Thomas

Well folks, we took our boys to A Day Out With Thomas this past weekend, and I must say that it was MORE than worth the price of admission. It was simply magical to see them experience this character up close and personal. Paul was especially awed by the experience. Luke was very demonstrative in his response, very rare in this often stoic child. I won't wax eloquent. The pictures and video say it all.

The boys on the bus! We rode a school bus from the parking lot to the train yard. So exciting!

Paul on the train. He mostly cannot believe he is on a real train being pulled by Thomas.

This is so cool!

Our family with Thomas. It was NOT difficult to get everyone to smile.

And then Paul turned around and I got the money shot. This boy is looking straight at his hero. And I don't mind that it is a hulking piece of metal because Paul is so very happy. :-)

And now, prepare yourself for a VERY excited Luke. Part way through he sees me and asks about corn dogs. I had been on corn dog detail, but thought this video more important. You'll see why!

The End of an Era

For the last four years, Monday nights from September to May have been marked by Daddy's departure for BSF. I would like to say that I have treasured these evenings with just the boys and me. This would be a lie. I am a stay-at-home mom who home schools. After all day with my boys, I don't really enjoy evenings without my husband; however, I have been more than willing to release Erik to both attend and serve in BSF. The benefits FAR outweigh the cost, but that is another post. I digress.

Tonight is Share Night at Erik's BSF class. On the last evening of the year, they eat spaghetti and share how God has impacted their lives through the study that past year. It's pretty amazing. As I was pondering what to do for dinner tonight, I realized this will be the very last Monday night I spend with the boys while Erik is at BSF. Next year, Luke will attend with Erik, leaving just Paul and I at home each Monday. I decided we needed to celebrate with a special dinner the boys will never forget.

What would mark such an important occasion? Prime rib? Didn't have it and the boys wouldn't touch it. Waffles? Daddy makes those and we just had them for Mother's Day. Then an idea of epic proportions struck me. When dinner time came, I explained to the boys the uniqueness of our evening and told them my idea.

I opened the pantry and said, "Pick whatever you want and we will eat it."

They both looked at me like I couldn't possibly be their mother.

"Anything?" asked Luke.

"Yep. The fridge is also fair game. You pick it. I'll stick it." (Okay, I didn't say that, but you get the idea.)

Paul's eyes grew wide. Reaching for the appropriate box he squealed, "Chocolate pudding!"

"Absolutely," I said.

Luke, beginning to get the idea, "Animal crackers?"

"Sure!"

When all was said and done, the following items were on the counter ready for preparation:

Chocolate Pudding

Popcorn

Animal Crackers

String Cheese

Strawberries

Hot Chocolate

Cold Milk

Cereal

It was a feast to be remembered. It will go down in history as the night Mommy fed them chocolate pudding first. Mission accomplished.

I have no pictures of the above event. I was too busy filling bowls and making the next course. I do, however, have pictures from this past weekend, when the boys attended National Train Day with Grandma and Oma. Good times.

The boys and Oma ready to go!

Luke on board one of the special trains they bring in for the day. I can't remember the history behind this one, but it's super fancy and from the previous century.

Paul's concept of heaven. Luke is also pretty happy.

I'm told Paul ran right up to this Tiger and gave him a hug. Too cute!

They finished the morning by enjoying lunch at the mall. Paul ate his first corn dog. This was his spontaneous reaction to the first bite. He reminds me of an athlete who has just won the championship. YES!

Such a Big Deal in Our Little World

TA-DA!!!