THEN AND NOW

Troy and Jey have been gracious enough to head over to our house after a long day of work, here in Salem, and start the mudding and taping process. We are so grateful for all their hard work and being a part of the process of making our home look like a home again. Notice also the extremely bright light that was installed by my dad...there are two more to go, my mom will be in a perpetual state of happiness while she is cooking in her kitchen. :)

Father/Daughter work day...

...last minute decisions made, good-bye orange paneling. ;)

...finishing up the details before drywall and cabinets

Steven & Annie

Steven and Annie have dedicated many of their Saturday's to help with the remodel and in the process they have learned a lot about one another, a few of my favorite's are:

1. Annie loves power tools (notice her smile in the first picture.)

2. Steven communicates with gestures, pointing and grunting.

3. Annie does not respond to Steven when gestured, pointed or grunted at.

4. Amazingly, overall, they work well with each other.

A quick run down of our progress...

Power tools & Side kicks

Crazy Electrician

Beautiful smiles

Work actually being done

Computer Geeks and Sharp Tools

(okay, I can't just leave it at that, I don't have the heart for it...Steven has been a tremendous help with the remodel, especially with the insulation and drywall!!)

Boys being boys

Paul & Charlene's Wedding

Introducing:

Paul & Charlene Beil

Their first dance as a married couple Father/Daughter dance...Charlene had a song, previously recorded, that she composed and sang for her dad during their dance. There wasn't a dry eye to be seen.

Amariah (Rachel's daughter) dancing with the ring bearer

The very lovely and glowing bride

WONDERFUL SURPRISES

Yesterday morning, I woke to this lovely surprise

And today this is what it looks like...I enjoyed it while it lasted...so pretty.

I love how the Lord brings small pleasures and joys to us unexpectedly, it puts a big smile on my face and reminds me how loving and caring our Heavenly Father is.

The day before our snow day; Jenn, her mom and the kids all showed up for a visit on there way home from visiting Jenn's sister in Washington. It was so good to see them and visit for those few hours!

Jenn and her niece, Alice

Grandma and grand-daughter #2 (of 3)

Papa and his boys

Cousins

...and the classic Auntie pose

Marybeth with her cousins

First Stop - Travis Air Force Base

A family vacation re-wound:

My parents, Steven, Annie and I had been tentatively planning a trip to Arizona a few months after we got back from California. As the time drew nearer we started to get more serious about the trip, knowing it would be a lot of hours in the car and only a short amount of time to see family and attend my cousin's wedding. Our excitement grew when the day arrived for us to leave...because of Steven receiving unemployment we weren't able to leave until late in the afternoon on Wednesday (he wasn't allowed to be out of the state more than 3 full consecutive week days) giving us 2 1/2 days to drive to Scottsdale, AZ. While we were finishing up packing Cassie called my mom and me and wanted to get together for some coffee as a farewell (with the kids of course! :) ) As we sat and talked about the trip Cassie started thinking how great it would be if Brent could go along with us and meet some of the Hussey family (Daniel and our cousin Rachel were best buds growing up and now they both are married with two children...we thought it would be fun for Brent and Rachel's 5 year old daughter to meet) So one thing lead to another and all the sudden we were rushing out of Starbucks, my mom and I headed home to finish packing and Cassie off to pack Brent's stuff for us to take him. We were pretty excited however, the excitement had only just begun as we received a call from Cassie an 1/2 hour or so later saying that the entire Daniel Morris family had decided to make the trek with us. Whew! With 2 hours to go before our much needed departure we set out to get all the last minute things in place and done and cared for. The tension was growing to get out on time and though we hit some rough spots we made it 1/2 hour later than expected. Our plan was to drive all through the night. The kids did great (slept through a lot of it) and we finally arrived at Travis Air Force Base for a nights rest. Kevin was kind enough to get up out of his comfy bed around 2AM and meet us at the gate to let us in. After everyone, except Annie and I, settled into to the apartment that Kevin secured for us on base; Kevin, Annie and I headed back to his place and we all crashed!

"What you lookin at?"

Lincoln: come to greet us in the morning

Auntie and Maddie: bright and early

Aedan

Daddy and Daughter

Jenn with her 'mini me'

Madeleine takes after her mom in many ways, too cute.

Marybeth and Auntie

Miss Annie and Marybeth

What they do best

10 hours of driving the stang and a few restless hours of sleep = a very exhausted Steven.

Second Stop - Palm Springs

A few pictures of the Palm trees... I had to, we were in Palm Springs and they are just so cool!

Too cute for words

Family Photo at the wonderful Hotel we stayed at in Palm Springs

Thanks to Annie...aka: Miss Direct! :)

We love you Annie...and not just because you saved us many a times during our trip...you're awesome!

My wonderful sister-in-law, oh,

and me too!

So sweet

"Look into my eyes"

I love how sweet Brent and Ali are towards each other.

One of my favorite moments with them is when they get up from a nap or wake up in the morning...both of them immediately run towards each other with the biggest smile on their face yelling:

Alice: Goooood morning brudder (while embracing him mid sentence)

Brent: Hiiii Ali, good morning!

It kills me everytime!

Sunshine + adorable nieces = photo shoot