Fall Fun and Brotherly Love

Charlie throwing leaves at Mommy

The boys having fun in the leaves

Mommy getting buried with leaves by Tommy

We have been playing in the leaves a lot lately...tis' the season!

Today while playing in the leaves, Daddy was dragging the leaves out to the front lawn on the tarp and Tommy thought it was pretty fun to stand on tarp so that Daddy could not move it. Jokingly I told Tommy that if he didn't get off the tarp that he would end up in the big pile of leaves out front and that the leaf vacuum truck would come and suck him up too. Tommy thought that was hilarious and laughed in his crazy little Tommy way! But sweet sensitive Charlie thought it was horrible and immediately had a very concerned look on his face and went and threw his arms around Tommy's neck telling us that he didn't want Tommy to get taken away by the leaf truck because "He is my brother and I love him!"

I just love those moments where the boys show their true love and adoration for each.

The Floors

These were our hardwood floors before

Notice that dark spot in front of the carpet? The black spot that would actually sweat when it was really humid out....yes, you read correctly, it would sweat.....gross!

We have lived with these floors in this condition for a long time. Waiting for the right moment, if there truly is such a thing, to undertake the project of refinishing them.
My Dad and Stepmom had the equipment needed to sand the floors as they just put flooring down in their new home, they offered it to us. We are blessed! We could not pass up the opportunity and so Trent jumped on it!

Trent sanding and then staining.
In a matter of hours we had a plan formulated. Refinishing floors is not an easy task, especially when you have a house full of small children!
We moved the furniture out to the back porch, to the kitchen, to the basement, literally to wherever it would fit! We had our exercise bike and tv in our kitchen. For those of you that have been to our home, you can only imagine how fun that was!!
In the end we ate out A LOT, we unexpectedly spent the night (from 4:30am to 1oam) in a hotel, a fun night at Nana's (thank you Nana!! You were MORE then gracious to host us!!), a week of complete upheaval, and A LOT of physical work and problem solving on my honey's part. And through the process...and boy was it a process I kept thinking to myself...I can deal with this upheaval and feeling of displacement as long as I am with my family. Because in all that we do, we do as a family! And after ALL that, this is what we were left with................

BEAUTIFUL hardwood floors
And a week of adventure together!

I love the color that we choose, I love how shiny they are, I love how clean and even they look, I love how they make our home look more finished, and most importantly I LOVE the man that painstakingly took these floors from drab to fabulous!!
And in the days since, he has worried and fretted over any glitches, any imperfections, any way that he could of made them better. But that is just his way.

I truly feel blessed to be married to a man that is so willing and eager to use his own hands and intellect to make our house more of a home for our family....not to mention save us a lot of money in the process!!

And I also feel blessed to have family that is also so willing to lend us a hand in whatever projects we undertake and in whatever life events come our way.

Thanks Honey for all your hard work!! You did an incredible job!!

Who you gonna call?.....Brandon!

When there is something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call???

Brandon spent the morning building a proton pack with Trent for Halloween. What is a proton pack you ask? You know, the packs that the guys from the movie Ghost Busters wore to suck up their slimy ghost friends.

Brandon wanted to be a Ghost Buster, so here is what they came up with.....

Uncle Trent and Brandon

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Heaven on Earth

If you asked Charlie what his FAVORITE thing in the world is, he would answer TRAINS, TRAINS and MORE TRAINS!!!

So when we were invited to visit Mr. Dave, one of Trent's co-workers, at his train display at his home, Charlie was MORE then thrilled.
Can you say candy land for a train lover!!

Charlie was BESIDE himself with glee! And Mr. Dave, such a
kind man, even let Charlie play with some of the trains!!

It could not get any better then this!!

OR COULD IT????!!!

It COULD if the kind man, Mr. Dave, GAVE you a brand new,
LIONEL Coast Guard train set, never opened,
never played with, with tracks and control
crane car, boat, caboose etc etc

And since every trains needs a train table......
Daddy and the boys had to make one.....
that afternoon!!!

oh the fun!

THANK YOU MR. DAVE!!
YOU MADE A DREAM COME TRUE!!

Great Grams' 95th Birthday

Grams' celebrated her 95th birthday
last month and we were there to celebrate with her!
Grandma Candace threw a great surprise party for Grams and surprised she was!! It was so nice to spend time with her in her home, the family home, where Trent has so many fond memories!

Grams is such a good sport! Charlie LOVES to crawl up on her lap.We love you Grams!!

While in NY at Grams' house Trent likes to take the kids and me down to the creek that he use to play at as a child. It is good old, clean fun :)

Drying off after our creek adventure

And Grandma Candace took us all to some friends house and they were SUCH good sports to let the kiddos crawl all over and "drive" their vintage Porsche!!

Charlie and Grandma Candace saying goodbye!

Stephanie Nielson and the pancake pan

Today was one of those days, you know, one of those monthly hormone driven days. Sorry friends and family that had to endure my wrath, amends were made in person! :)

Anywho....standing at the kitchen counter smattering butter onto wheat bread I was thinking of Stephanie Nielson. If you don't know Stephanie I highly recommend that you go and meet her...here. She is a delightful, God centered, doting wife and adoring mother, and a survivor of a horrific plane crash. Flip through her blog for a minute and you will see why this dear soul inspires me, everyday!

I think a lot about Stephanie but today, mid butter smear I was thinking about the fact that after the plane crash her family moved the 4 small Nielson children from their home in Arizona to Utah to be cared for by Stephanie's family while their parents fought the fight of their lives. And how months after the crash when Stephanie was well enough to finally leave the hospital and go "home" that she was unable to go "home" to the house that she and Christian her husband and made into a home with their children in Arizona. Stephanie's new "home" was now in Utah, a house so generously bought for the Nielsons by her sister and brother in law so that Stephanie's extended family could care for them and their children long term if needed....now that is a Christmas present! But "home" was the Arizona house, the house that family members lovingly packed up and moved the contents to Utah while Stephanie slept, the house where sticky fingers smeared the large glass sliding doors and where Christian had hand crafted a tree house for the kids. That was/is home.

Can you imagine leaving your home one day, say to run some errands or go on a weekend getaway with your husband.....never to return. To never be able to look out your kitchen window while washing dishes, never to run around your backyard pulling small children in plastic yellow jeep, never to lay in your bed looking at the stars talking to your husband while hearing the soft hum of your child's noise machine. Wow, that is pretty deep.

So I am thinking all of this, feeling "off", making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and reach down in the cabinet to pull out pans for the stove. I reach and and pull out his pan, his pancake pan, you know, my Mr. Lydic's pancake pan. The pan that he uses every Sunday morning to make us his lovely pancake creations. The pan that has been loved so often and so methodically that one can see the imprints of perfectly formed pancakes on it.....simply lovely.

And that is when it hit me, on this gloomy, rainy, off day. What is my problem? I have ALL that I want, I have ALL that I need. Stop complaining and start being grateful.....

So, Stephanie Nielson, and the pancake pan both inspired me today to remember my truth and live it, even on my "off" days.