Kitchen Make-Over!

Were any of you left in suspense after this post? Well fret no more, the kitchen is complete and I have a whole series of photos to document the process...

This was our kitchen 'before'. Brown and boring (no offense to my Brown family roots). It was fine and functional, but just not "us".


Filling the no-longer-needed nob holes on the doors, sanding, and washing the cupboards...


The disaster zone...


Priming...


Painting in progress (2 coats total)...




The next part probably requires a little explanation. I wanted the cupboards to have a "worn-in" look. I read and read and read up on how to do this, and finally decided to go for the technique recommended as being the "best and easiest" on 2 different blogs. This technique called for painting stain on the paint, and then wiping it off. I did just that, and it looked great. The problem came 20 hours later when the stain still wasn't dry!! At this point I wrote the bloggers and asked if they had this issue, and they claim they didn't. Hmmmf. Off I went to Home Depot to see if they could help me, and I was greeted with, "You can't put stain on paint!, (duh!)"..."it will never dry". Me: "yes, I have found this to be true, thank you for rubbing it in my face." "What can I do?" They weren't a whole lot of help, so I called my sister and she pointed me in the direction of Valspar glaze which is sold at Lowe's. So off I went to Lowe's to get the glaze (and mineral spirits to remove the stain from the cupboards). Fortunately, the mineral spirits removed the stain without taking off the paint, so I didn't have to do another coat of paint. I applied the glaze in the same wipe-on-wipe-off manner as I did the stain, only this time it dried in a matter of a couple of hours, and I was quite pleased with the result.

Distressing take 1:




I think I was feeling a little too stressed to take photos of "distressing take 2", so instead I will now post the end results!

Let's once again glance at the 'before':


And 'after':
(with a flash)...I had hoped to do this during better daylight, but forgot...


And 'after' without a flash:


I love it...and it feels like our house is becoming more and more "us".

"New" Car!

We got a new car this week!!

I have owned three cars previous to this one.

In High School I had a 1989 red 2 door Ford Escort (here is a random google image to give you an idea):


For 1/2 of college I had a 1989 white Ford Taurus (it died my Sophomore year):


I went car-less for the rest of college and for my entire time out in Boston. When we moved to Tucson we bought Gray Beauty. A 1987 Nissan Sentra....


She died this summer, and since then we've been scrounging around borrowing cars and being ultra blessed by people just showing up and saying, "here you go, you can use our car until you get one...no hurry." It's been amazing really that we were able to go for 8 months without a car of our own!

But, now the day has come. Here is our 2002 Toyota Prius!


We have been averaging about 45 mpg, and couldn't be more excited to own a hybrid!

Oh, and her name you ask? G3 (Green-color, Green-last name, and Green-for the environment)...and one of Ryan's favorite concerts in high school was also called the G3 because it had 3 guitar shredders...or at least that is why I think it was called that. :)

blue-eyed boys...

The other day Josiah came over to play. He is as big (if not taller) than Ezra already!



It is so hard to remember, that just 7 months ago they were soo different in size:


Oh, and here is a photo of Josiah in the shirt I made him a while back...


It is wonderful having not only a great community for us, but also for our boy here!

Frugal Organizing...

I saved the netting that came around our Thanksgiving turkey. I'm not really sure why, but I had a feeling it would come in handy. And well, it did! Check out Ezra's new bath toy bag. Simple and practical.

Ping Pong

I sooo wish I had my camera with me tonight, but instead I'll have to paint the scene for you. We went over to Will's house for pizza and games. Ryan and I wanted to play ping pong, but of course also needed to watch Ezra, so we decided to attach Ezra's high chair to the ping pong table (and gave him his own paddle).

His reaction was delayed just so slightly that his head would look back and forth at who ever just hit the ball, but he never actually saw the ball. It was so adorable that I couldn't really stay too focused on the game, and got several reprimands about how the table is about 12" shorter than where I am hitting the ball to, the ball can only bounce once, etc. oops! :) Oh, I really really really wish I had had my camera.

Here is a photo of what his high chair (and chubby arms) look like, just to help give you an idea:

The Park

Lately I have been trying to take Ezra to the park quite regularly. He LOVES it! His favorite part is probably trying to eat the rocks, which I have to repeatedly re-direct him from doing. But, he is also a huge fan of going down the slide and swinging on the swings! Here are Ezra and Josiah swinging away...I just love how they are both smiling in this photo.

coming soon....

we have some "remodeling" soon to happen in our kitchen. some splashes of paint, and these beautiful gems...

stay tuned...

Extra extra...

Get your sammy bags...

click here

Thanks for the super flattering post Lindsey!

Gabe Zimmerman

I have been to a lot of funerals, probably because I come from a large extended family, a small town, and my line of work as a Child Life Specialist. Today was Gabe's memorial service. I have never been more inspired at a funeral as I was at Gabe's today. Person after person got up to speak about how genuine he was, how quick he was to stand up for others, how he literally died helping others (he was reaching out to help Gabby and Ron who had already been shot when he was killed), how everything he did he did with passion. It made me realize that it doesn't matter how long we live, it's the way we live that will leave an imprint. We have to choose the paths we want to take, not just happen upon them. It is my hope today that I will strive to do all that I do with passion. That I would live my life well. That I would put God, my family, friends, and strangers before housework, the internet, and other petty things that can consume too much time. In the words of Obama, "I want to live up to the expectations of the children in our country who see our world full of endless innocent possibilities". Feel free to remind me of this often.

Ezra Stats

Ezra went for his 9 month well-check on Monday. The boy is growing up sooo fast!
He weighs 19lbs. 11oz. which is in the 25th percentile. I know what you are thinking, "How can a guy with so many rolls only be in the 25th percentile?" I have no idea, but it's what the doctor said. I can't remember his height, but that was in the 50th percentile, and his big ol' noggin' was in the 75th percentile.

He loves to give high fives, and then bursts with laughter, because really it is a funny thing to do, isn't it?
He loves to play follow-the-leader while crawling with Ryan around the house.
He is still into organizing the dvd and game cabinets, as well as his drawer of clothes.
He loves going to the park and swinging in the baby swings and going down the slide.
Eating rocks and dirt are a favorite past time. As is throwing all real food from the table onto the ground, and then looking to see where it went.
The guitar is the one toy that has yet to get old.

One of the things that has Ryan and I laughing so hard these days, is the way that Ezra breathes in while laughing...it's hilarious.

We are falling more and more in love with him every day.

Helping dad...

We were generously gifted with a new dishwasher!!! I never knew how much I disliked hand washing dishes until I didn't have to do it anymore...and found how happy that made me. :)

Here is Ezra helping Ryan with the installation process. I forgot to take a "before" photo, so also make note of the old dishwasher...



Isn't it beautiful!!?!?!?


THANK YOU!!

Allergies revisited

For the past 8 months I have been dairy-free because Ezra's little body doesn't seem to be able to tolerate cow's milk. Once a month since he turned 6 months old I try to re-introduce dairy into my diet to see if he can handle, and each time he reminds me that he'd prefer to be vegan. So, dairy-free it is for who knows how much longer.

Ryan hasn't been eating eggs, soy, nuts, and a whole host of other foods since his allergy testing in August. Last Friday he went to see a new allergist who specializes in Eosinophilic Esophagitis. It felt soo nice for Ryan to actually have someone care for him who knows so much about his condition. The allergist reported that he doesn't need to have strict avoidance of the foods that he had a 3mm or less reaction to on his skin prick test, even though they are allergies. So that means he can have birthday cake with real eggs in it and a dash of soy on the side from time to time! He still needs to avoid all nuts and brewer's yeast though. His strongest allergic reaction was to grass, so the allergist is trying to have our insurance company approve more skin prick testing so that he can figure out which grasses specifically he is allergic to and begin doing shots to see if that helps.

Oh, and Ezra is fine to eat anything that Ryan is allergic to...so scrambled eggs we have been eating! Yay for getting protein in the diet!

And Ezra, after being sick with a horrible cold for the 7 weeks leading up to our Michigan trip was magically healed the day we arrived in Michigan, only to have it return the day we landed in Arizona. I'm suspecting that he is allergic to something in the air...hmmmf.

Ryan is allergic to grass and Ezra is allergic to the dessert...Antarctica here we come! :)

cats and dogs

It has become a running joke among Ryan and I that we never want a pet. It's not that we don't like pets. We do. It's just we like them best when they are at other people's houses.
So, as fate would have it...Ezra seems to ADORE pets. Small dogs and cats to be specific. My parents have a dog and two cats and every single time that one of them would come into his view he would start squealing with delight. This went on for all 10 days we were there. It made us both smile to see Ezra get soo excited! Sadly though, the dog and cats did not have mutual feelings towards Ezra. They would dodge him the second he came into their line of sight. In fact, the dog would somehow bury himself under pillows so that he could sleep without receiving any sneak attacks from Ezra.
I got to my camera a little late, but this was just after Ezra tried petting the cat through the glass for quite some time...a happy arrangement for the cat and Ezra.

And here is Ezra inching closer and closer to the dog and the dog inching further and further away...



Everyone keeps asking us if we are going to get Ezra a pet sometime soon. Thankfully we can use the excuse that we will be going back on the road and can't have one...phew! Goldfish will be in our future though. :)

Safe and sound...just sad.

Many of you who live out of state have emailed and called to make sure we are okay. I thought I'd send a blog update to say that yes, we are alive and well, but feeling sad. The shooting yesterday struck us both harder than we expected. And then even a bit harder last night when we learned that a high school classmate of Ryan's was one of the victims that died. We had hung out with Gabe Zimmerman and his fiance less than a year ago, so our memories of him are fresh. My heart totally aches for his fiance. I truly can't even imagine what she must be going through.
Today I learned that one of the elderly men injured was the husband of the doula who teaches our mom and baby group at the Birth Center. He had surgery and appears to be doing well.
The fact that Gabrielle is still alive continues to be a praise for us. Please join us in praying that she has a full recovery.

Snowy Day...

Tuesday was a snowy day here in West Michigan. There is nothing like the stillness and sound of silence that a snowy day brings. I just love it. My dad, Ezra, and I piled in the car and drove up to the cabin to feed the birds, squirrels, turkeys, deer, and anything else that wanders back to the cabin during these chilly months.

The driveway to the cabin is just a two-track path, so we parked at the top of the hill and walked/sledded back. When we took Ezra sledding last week, he showed no facial expression whatsoever as to if he liked or disliked it. Which was quite funny to us. This time however, he would start laughing whenever the snow would land on his face. It was precious. And, like a natural, he'd stick out his tongue to catch the snow! This boy knows his Michigan roots. :)

Our super-cozy-warm-can't-move-whatsoever-Ezra...




Our tracks down the driveway...


Have I mentioned how beautiful everything looks when dusted with snow?








Feeding our furry and feathered friends...




Feeling giddy and so thankful for the snow!


And what's a day in the snow without coming in for some hot tea afterwards?

Michigan Celebrations Continued...

New Year's Day we celebrated Christmas with my family.

Here is Ezra quite appropriately playing with the box his train came in, instead of his toys. :)


Emma and Nichole dressed in their holiday best :) ...


Surrounded with helpers...


This morning Ezra was mesmerized by watching the snow fall outside...

Michigan Celebrations!

On New Year's Eve my sister's family came over for a game night/ dance party. We started out the evening frosting cookies...



And then worked off the cookies we ate with some Just Dance 2.


Gaming started with an intense round of Cranium (Ryan, Alyssa, and my mom's team won).

Followed by kiddos playing "Give Me 5" and the adults playing "Bezzer Wizzer".


We all (with the exception of Ezra) made it to midnight, when we watched the ball drop on tv and toasted with sparkling juice!

Happy 2011 to you!

Uncommon Childhood

Most of you have probably heard me talk about our friends, The Millers. They are the ones who took their 4 (young) children biking around the world for a year. Yes, that's right around the world. They are dreamers and explorers, and they love to encourage others to be the same. They are currently living in Guatemala for the winter...and then come spring they will move back to New England and camp for the summer. Outside the box? Yes. Idyllic? Affirmative. Would I want to live that way? Absolutely.

Jenn Miller just launched a website called Uncommon Childhood (click the link, I know it's hard to see because of my new font, but it's there) to share a collection of encouraging stories of how you can also create an "uncommon childhood" (or adulthood for that matter) whether you live at home or on the road. I have read every article, and have found each one to be totally inspiring.

Perhaps you remember my proud earth day announcement a few years ago about being published? Well, here again (on similar subject matter) I was asked to write an article that was published on Uncommon Childhood. I plan to be a regular contributor, so if you have any topic ideas for me to write on, please share in the comments!

Let the sledding begin...

We still haven't received our fresh blanket of snow like I'm hoping for, but there was enough snow to at least take Ezra for his premier sledding experience. Megan, Donny, Ellen, Aubin, Tobias, Callum, and Simeon came over for a nice visit and sledding adventure on Wednesday...










Thanks for coming up Wallenfangs...it's always so nice to see you!

****This just in....we have just received 2" of fresh snow...yay!!!****