Monday, December 31, 2007

"Quick.....hit Send.....Mommy's coming".

Apparently, the kids don't think I'm keeping up with the blog well enough. I was standing at the kitchen sink washing the trays from their high chairs this morning, and turned around to find this. Unattended chairs will be banned from our house from now on. You just can't believe how fast these kids can get into trouble. I can only imagine what I have to look forward to.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!


These photos were taken by Kampen Photography.

We've moved!!

After 4 years of renting, while trying to find a small farm, with a house that was big enough for all of us, but in our price range, we've finally found it. The house is a little smaller than we really wanted but it will do for now, and hopefully we can build an addition in the future, when we are bursting at the seams. We have been extremely busy, renovating and moving (who decided to pack up a house and 4 toddlers right before Christmas?) for the past month. It has been very stressful but worth it. We have enjoyed our "new" place very much, so far. The house was built in 1923 and a kitchen was added on in 1950. So it definitely isn't new, but has a lot of charm. I personally love old houses. Lance needed some convincing, but I think he feels the same as I do, now. It just feels good to say this is our house.

It comes with 11 acres that has a nice tree grove, and several outbuildings, including a barn. It's exactly what we've been looking for. Here are some photos. Some were taken from the real estate listing on the Internet. That's why there is green grass and trees. I took some pictures after we did our remodeling also.This is the view from the street, or the front of the house. There is a nice big porch that we plan to use for a playroom, once we get it emptied of all our stuff. Right now it has all our unpacked boxes that we haven't had time to put away. I hate to even look in there. For the time being, I'll pretend it doesn't exist.This is the back of the house. There is an entry into the kitchen and one going down to the unfinished basement. It has a nice big gravel yard to park all our vehicles, plus there is an unattached double garage.This is the barn. We plan to fence in the cattle yard again, and add a few animals. Just enough for the kids to play with.This is the before picture of the kitchen. I haven't included the after yet because it looked way too cluttered. I can't seem to keep up with the kids at the moment. As soon as I put something away, they take it right back out. Since I doubt it will ever get any easier, I may never get an after picture posted. Your welcome to stop by and see it for yourself. Just, please, pretend to not notice the clutter. We have a nice big kitchen, which is good because we couldn't fit our dining set in the dining room. So it became an extended living room.Here is the before picture of the living room. I painted the living and dining room a mossy green. It looks really nice with the woodwork.Here are 2 after pictures of the living room. I plan to paint the wall going up the stairs when I get a chance. We need to find a ladder to reach the top of the wall, near the ceiling, on the stairs. I have a roller extension but can't reach to finish it up.This is the before picture of our bedroom. It's pretty small but fits our bed and a dresser, so it will do for now. We plan to build a master suite on the main floor eventually.Here is the after. I still need to put up curtains. Ashlyn insisted on posing for all the pictures.Here is our tiny closet. My mom helped me put up the shelf and hanging rod.Here is the before picture of the bathroom. We took off the shower doors, put in a new toilet, linoleum, and a vanity. We also installed our washer and dryer in here, instead of putting it in the basement.Here is the after picture. Once again to avoid posting photos of all our unpacked, cluttered mess, I only showed a small portion of the bathroom.
Here is the before picture of the dining room.Here is the after. Notice Ashlyn in the chair. If you are wondering why there are no toys on the floor, it's because I kicked them into the living room just before I snapped the photo. The babies were taking a nap.Here is another view of the living room, going into the kitchen. Yes, we put our Christmas tree in the playpen.

Ok, babies are clinging to my legs and screaming so I better end this post here.