New Year . . . New Looks

The Master Bathroom

Before: the shrine to blue!

After



The In-Between:

We peeled the wallpaper (which I HATE doing) and painted. We changed out the sink top, but only painted the white cabinet and updated the hardware. We also updated the lights and the mirror.


To update the ceramic tile, we used a glaze that is designed to re-glaze tubs. We had to clean the tile real well and paint on the glaze. It made a huge difference and helped to cure the little blue tiles that just didn't fit into our decor at all.

The Utility Room

Before: Our dark paneled junk room!

After: A Laundry/Exercise/Craft/Godiva's Room!


The In-Between


When we remodeled the kitchen, we saved our old cabinets to hang in the utility room. We also switched the laundry area from the garage to this room. After two to three coats of primer and two coats of paint, we updated the panel and the color in the room. Instead of purchasing a counter top, we just used another scrap piece of wood from our kitchen remodel and painted it to save a few pennies. The next project may be the peel and stick tile flooring. But for now, it is a much more enjoyable room to work in and store things!

The Entertainment Center

Before:

After

We found a really great deal the day after Thanksgiving this year on a new TV. We got it home and realized (even after measuring multiple times) that it would not fit in our entertainment center; however, we didn't want to start the snowball of "needing" to buy this or that to accommodate our new splurge. So, we kept the receipt and decided to think and pray about a solution. After many days, we had pretty much resorted to taking the TV back and just being content with the working TV we had. Then, we got an idea: we could take the top off the center, take out the doors and storage surrounding the old TV, and re-attach the top to what was the middle of the entertainment center. It worked and we were truly thankful for this simple pleasure the Lord allowed us to get. And we really couldn't BELIEVE the difference . . . we could actually see the dirt and grass or turf as we watched football that weekend - so cool!

Claire's 1st Birthday Party

The Lady of the Day

The Theme: Claire's Winter ONE-derland!
The Decorations



The Guests: Her Nursery Pals & their Families
.... Daddy & Sister too ...
... and let's not forget Grandpa Hines who made a special trip from Michigan!

The Menu:
Eskimo Stew (White Chili)
Polar Bear Soup (Potato Soup)
Melted Snowflakes (Cheeseball - which was created by one of the Mom's)
Mini Snowman Delight (PB&J) & Snowmen Noses (Carrots)
Snowman Buttons (Peanut Butter Balls)

The Cake & Eating it too!

Snowgirl Cake

The Gifts

All of the gifts she received are not pictured. Along with the shoes and some board books, she also got a phone that talks and rings (which we have tried to convince Kate that it is not hers), and a bag of Mega Blocks.

Thank you to those of you who were able to celebrate her birthday with us, and also a big thank you to those of you who celebrated her birth from a far. We had a fun time playing a few games, eating, and watching the birthday girl devour her cake and stare at her presents.

We love our little Claire-bear and are thankful for her easy smile, her fun personality, and how we see God's grace in your development already. We look forward to the next few years ahead where we will really get to know you better. We pray that you would come to a knowledge of Christ very early in your life and put your trust in His goodness in EVERY circumstance that comes your way. Love, Your Mama & Dada!

Traditions

I never realized before marrying Don how many wonderful traditions would also come with the promise of "I Do". It has been so much fun to look forward to these special times and now as our family has grown we are adding new traditions and adjusting old traditions to accommodate our little ones. We have come to LOVE the day after Thanksgiving as a day to go and snag some great deals, check off our Christmas lists (usually all in one day), and then proceed home for a long winters nap, followed by decking the halls with our Christmas decorations (all except the tree). The tree has its own day during the first weekend in December. This day we make a homemade soup in the crockpot, run to the store and purchase some apple cider, break out the yeast and knead some homemade bread (or throw it in the bread maker!), and usually pick up a dozen donuts for dessert. However, this year, I found a recipe for homemade donuts and thought we would give it a try. They turned out FANTASTIC. This will definitely be added to our traditions portfolio for the years to come . . . and will be more enjoyable as the girls get older and can really get their hands dirty in the dough! Here are a few shots of our family fun night. What are your traditions and do you have any tips on making Christ the center of your holidays?

Thanksgiving Cards

I love fall! I love the beautiful colors that God uses to ignite the sky during this time of year. I love football and the ability to watch it throughout these few months. I love the comfy sweatshirts and jeans that get dusted off and snuggled into. I love the crisp air that feels like it is cleansing out your lungs from the heat and humidity of the summer. I love filling my home with the colors of the season and celebrating this great time of year. So, last week, I decided to sit down with the girls to spread some of this cheer and make our own Hines Hallmark creations to send to their loving grandparents for Thanksgiving. The following are a few snap shots of the fun we had getting messy!

I also included an interview with Katelyn to entertain those awaiting grandparents. I've seen this great idea included in several of my blogger friend's blogs. I thought it was such an original way to document the growth of the children, that I went ahead and developed a few questions just to see what Katelyn might say.

The Interview of Katelyn Jane Hines - Age 2 1/2 years old (November 19, 2010)
1. What is your favorite food? Peanut Butter & Jelly
2. What is your favorite color? Tree (Can you guess what the picture was right in front of her at the time of this interview?!?!)
3. What are you thankful for? The Suns, The balloon
4. What are you glad God gave you? What makes you happy? Me! And I make Mommy & Daddy happy too!
5. Who's your sister? Noelle (we've been working on middle names lately!) What do you love about her? Like to color with her, at church too.
6. What's your doggy's name? Godiva What do you like about her? Godiva's birthday's coming. (We've also been discussing the fact that Claire's birthday and Jesus's birthday is coming up . . . and that leads into a discussion of all of our birthdays!)
7. What would you like for Christmas? Snowflake, hat, shirt to go in the snow (a real Michigan girl!)
8. What are your favorite things to do? Play with birthday toys
9. What are your favorite places to go? Sunday School & Busch Gardens (whew - at least she's got her priorities right! Ha!)
10. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Blow bubbles
11. What is your favorite thing to play with in your room? My dishes

What we did this summer . . .

I know, I know - it's almost NOVEMBER and I'm now getting around to posting our adventures through the summer. But in my defense, it started getting into the 80's around here in May and we are experiencing another one of those days today. So, technically, it's still FEELS like summer to me. I'm striving hard to pull out those sweatshirts, jeans, and pumpkin spiced candles to make my brain tell me it's Fall (which I adore!).

Here's a quick look back at our summer:

Kate's Two!

Fun in the Outer Banks, NC with the Logsdons!

Went for a ride - in the AIR!

A Live Museum!

Kitchen Remodel - Complete!!


Cleveland Zoo with the Dea's!


Fun with Family!

Home Sweet Home!