Sick, Sick, Sick!

Well, the bug that has been running around the house is still on the loose. Katie and I ended up in bed for a few days last week, Mike was also feeling crummy, and David spent Thanksgiving Day in the bed with a fever. Yuck!

Mike and I went to the Dr. on Saturday, and he said that we were all sharing the same virus. He said it sounded like a parainfluenza virus. Basically, a milder version of the flu. David's mom said they used to call it the three day flu, and that sounds just about right. Dr. Kinney told us we shouldn't go out of town for Thanksgiving because it wouldn't help us get well and we could spread it around to our families. He looked at me and said, "You are too sick to travel, and too sick to cook a big dinner." So we spend Thanksgiving day doing not much of anything. I ordered lunch from Cracker Barrel and it was great, except for the sweet potatoes. We sat around in our jammies and watched TV and napped. We missed our families a bunch, but it certainly was a restful day. We are doing a command performance today, although I think the kids are getting a bit restless.

The only up side was that we hadn't found a kennel for Kaylee yet, so we didn't have to figure out where she was going to spend the holiday. She really likes turkey and dressing. And green beans and mashed potatoes. She also spent the day with an orange sweet potato beard. She thought they were just fine and couldn't figure out why I didn't finish mine.

Meet Lars

We have a dry erase board on our refrigerator to help keep up with chores and schedules and such. It also gets used for creative expression quite a bit. My favorite example lately is been Lars. It all started when Mike drew a picture of Lars. The next time I walked by I added Mars. The next thing we knew, Lars was off on all sorts of illustrated adventures. Yes, we are a bit silly around here but we sure have fun!

(If you can't read the story, click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Well, mostly fine...

So last Thursday Nicholas was home sick with a fever and lots of congestion. The Dr. put him on a 6 day course of antibiotics and he seemed to be doing better. Then by Wednesday of this week both he and Mike were feeling pretty puny, so off to see Dr. Kinney again. He put both of them on antibiotics and said no school until Friday.

David was off Wednsday and Thursday until around lunchtime, so it worked out for the boys to stay with him during the morning and then they were on their own for a couple of hours until Katie got home. I was going to take the afternoon off to be with them but they decided they'd rather be on their own. I figured I was only five minutes away and some brotherly bonding would be good. Besides, as Mike pointed out they felt too bad to argue with one another. Of course, I didn't really think that plan through. When I was talking to my principal I said, "Well, they will just be sitting around playing game cube all afternoon so if I went home I'd just be sitting with them and reading a book or something." Then I stopped and said, "Wait a minute, I think they really need me!" But, it was too late. She was onto me.

Mike felt better and went back to school today (Friday) but Nicholas is still having a bit of trouble shaking it, so I'm home with him. I went in to do payroll this morning and made it back in time for David to leave for work by 9:30. Whew! Please keep little Nich in your prayers. He isn't lethargic by any means, just crummy. I think he finally got rid of the fever this morning, but he's very congested. If he's not better by Monday, it's another trip to the Dr to try and figure out how to kick this thing.

I don't suppose all the insulation dust helped much, but thankfully it was the cellulose type. I'm not sure we would have attempted to do the fiberglass stuff ourself. That would have been quite a mess.

Insulation

We finally go around to blowing insulation into the attic this week. When we moved in the inspector had it on the high priority list since the original insulation had greatly disintegrated. (David found a bag when he was up there that identified the original as Mule Hide - "No Kick in a Million feet." We still aren't sure what that means exactly.)

It was quite an ordeal when you factor in all the figuring, buying, loading, hauling, unloading, bringing in, loading in the blower, crawling around in the attic, moving the attic flooring, sweeping, dusting, and more. However, we got it done and our knees seem to be about back to normal. (Which is the best you can hope for once you get 40 year old knees.)

The kids were out of school for fall break, and I don't think this was quite what they had in mind, but they survived all the dust and work and chores just fine.

Japanese maple

Almost all the leaves are gone now, but they were so lovely. Now we get to walk on a red carpet when we come in the front door. Just like celebrities.

Autumn View

The view from where I'm sitting is so lovely I thought I'd share. Actually, it's even better now because Katie is out there raking up leaves to play in.

Full Week

So last week was a bit crazy around here. Mike was part of the county-wide Jr. High Honors Orchestra. They started rehearsals on Monday night and spent all Tuesday rehearsing together. They had a concert Tuesday evening and sounded super! Mike was third chair on the bass, even though they don't technically have chairs.

In the midst of this, Katie came home Monday and asked if we could do her hair because they just announced picture day was Tuesday. Now, in most households this would call for a haircut or maybe some highlights. In our house it means a trip to Sally's beauty supply for bleach and unnatural hair colors. We finished up around 1:30 in the morning, but her purple and pink hair looked awesome.

Wednesday night, Nicholas worked on his landform project. He made a peninsula out of salt dough and moss. Katie helped out, especially when it came time to play with the leftover dough. Nicholas got an A+, and very green hands from all the food coloring he used in the dough.

For some reason it seemed extra hectic at work, too. Especially with all the plumbers running around and working on our 50 year old pipes. Yuck!

I'm still peddling hard to try and keep things on even keel. Actually, Nicholas is home sick today and since it's nothing serious, I am REALLY enjoying the day off. He went to a party last weekend and got in a hay fight with a friend. He was getting wheezy and congested Sunday, then started to run a slight fever last night, so we went to visit Dr. Kinney today. Dr. Kinney told Nicholas that he must have Hay Fever and that some bug or another must have gotten in his lungs and thought it looked like a fun place to throw a party for his friends. He prescribed an antibiotic and some cough medicine, so all should be fine quickly. He's sitting on the couch watching Sponge Bob, and seems to be doing well.

That's the latest from here.

My Daddy

My dad went into the hospital last week and had two stents inserted. There were some blockages where he had a quadruple bypass about 15 years ago. He's had a few other stents put in over the years so we were familiar with the procedure. Everything went fine and he went home on Wednesday, which was his 79th birthday. The doctors said that his heart is very strong and there hasn't been any damage to it. He reports that he feels much better and can definitely tell a difference since the procedure. Hurray for dad!

New Van

Well, after about 9 years we've traded in the Grand Caravan. I thought we'd pop on down and buy another one just like it, but they had changed them so much in the last nine year that I didn't care for them as much anymore. We shopped around and ended up getting this 2004 Honda Oddessy. David was snapping the picture while I was flying out of the driveway on my way to work. It drives like a dream. It's amazing, if I punch the gas it goes!

Latest news

Things seem to be finding their rhythm a bit more around here, finally. Other than oftentimes being 2-5 minutes late for work, things are much smoother. And I only feel stupid a few times a week.



At work we just finished our SACS quality review process. SACS is an accrediting agency that reviews school and colleges and certifies them if they meet the qualifications. Since we are the best elementary school in Metro, and possibly the world, we passed with flying colors. The chair of the committee even told some other schools to come and look at our presentation materials to see how it's done.

We had our 50th anniversary party at the school a few weeks ago. Here's a picture of the cake I made for the event. There was a good turnout of former staff and a few students, as well. My Principal, Ms. Williams, put together a slide show and a nice program for everyone to enjoy. It was fun to hear the original principal talk about how things were when the school opened.





We've also added a new pet to the Buchanan Zoo. Meet Molly Cricket. A friend at work was looking for a home for a baby kitten. I told her I'd love to have another one, but there was no way David would go for it. To prove it, I called him with her standing there. Well, imagine my surprise when he said, "sure." I have decided that for cats and children, three is my limit!
She has ignored the litter box once or twice, and Kaylee is still occasionally piddling in the house, so we've been working hard to keep the house from smelling like we have a large dog, three cats, and two rats living with the five people. In other words, we're in denial.

Katie is driving

So, did I mention that Katie got her driver's permit Monday? We went out driving at a school parking lot this week and I only flinched once.

Things are going well at work. I am finally getting comfortable behind the desk. There is plenty to do and I'm never bored. I still have moments (or days) where I feel like the dumbest person in the world, but they are getting fewer.

Soccer has started and that's going to keep us tied up on Saturdays until November. But, I do manage to get in some stitching time while I'm at practice, so there is an up side. And, of course, the boys are having fun and we enjoy watching them. Michael's jeresy is white this season and he's already outgrown the shoes we bought him in the spring. Nicolas' jeresy is the color of an orange hightlighter. We can spot either team from the parking lot.

Some Random Photos

Mike in his hammock chair from Mexico.

A sunset view from the backyard.

Katie with Coconut.

Still here

We are still here, just treading water a bit. I've started working up at at the school and we are all still getting used to the new schedule. Actually, that makes it sound like we have one. It's more like everytime we get close to a routine, something changes. Now that school is back in session it seems to be falling into place better.

More updates soon!

More Butterflies!

Two more butterflies this morning. I only got to see one, the other must have been a late sleeper.

Katie took pictures before letting them go.

Our first butterfly

I woke up this morning and was very pleased to meet our first butterfly. I almost missed it in my rushing around, but it finally got my attention. (Sound familiar?) I took the butterfly box around to each room so I could wake up the children with a glimpse of God's handiwork. Pretty cool.

I got to thinking about how much my children are like the butterflies: They spend the early part of their life pooping a lot, eating a lot and needing to be sheltered and have their needs met. Then they spend some time apart from you and emerge better than you ever imagined they could be and nothing at all like you'd expect.

(Katie and I did note that most of them seemed to empty their digestive system in a big way shortly before making their cocoon. I figure that must be the deep, meaningful equivalent of adolesence.)

Back to Work

Well, after a 15 year sabbatical I am back in the work force. As Katie mentioned a few posts back, I am working as the interim secretary/bookkeeper at McGavock Elementary. Our regular secretary has taken an extended medial leave and may or may not be back in February.

It is quite a change for the family, but seems like a good fit for us. I am still learning about the accounting practices, BET, CTE, 2320 funds, audit practices, payroll systems and more acronym's like AIMS and EBT. I'm hoping I can fill the spot well and have fun in the process.

I still have quite a ways to go in my training, but school starts in three weeks, so I better be ready.

Progress on the painting

We've been finding many excuses to not work on painting the bathroom and dressing room, but David was better than I today and fixed the one bedroom wall that had some thin spots, and he got a second coat on the bathroom. It looks so much better now! I'm still going to do some decorative painting on it, but the second coat made it all nice and even.

We still have lots of drips to clean off, but there is definite progress.

Pictures soon, I hope.

Another Limb Bites the Dust

Well, seems like our two trees in the back aren't so fond of their branches. We had a 40-45 mph wind line blow through Friday and I ran outside to make sure the tomatoes were secure. (Priorities!) While I was tying up one of the bushes, I heard a loud crack and a limb in the big tree came down. I went back inside pretty fast and decided that the tomatoes looked just fine.

David got it cleared off before I had time to get pictures, but it looked pretty much like the other one so you can look at that picture again, if you'd like.
:o)

Fine and Dandy

All is well at the Buchanan household. Michael came back from the Mexico trip tired and full of things to tell. Kaylee is doing great and getting less shy every day. My mom stared a new job (as a secretary, I think?) at the Elementary school Michael, Nick, and I all went/are going to. She is having fun and starting to get more comfortable. I have been getting along fine, just trying to get everything ready for school (already!). Let's just hope things stay on a nice routine for now!

Latest Update From Mexico Mike

Here's the latest update from Mike's team:


Subject: Mexico update #10

Hello praying friends! Just got off the phone with Anthony (3:35pm, Nashville time, Sunday) who was overflowing with praise and thanksgiving for this team and the way God has met them on this trip. I will try to summarize all that he said but I am not sure I can do the tone of joy justice. They are on the road right now to Texarkana, making good time due to open highways and an early start (up at 5:30 and left at 6:00). He said they are pretty tired, all of them, but health and moods are good.

First, your prayers and faithfulness are so appreciated. The unity of this team has amazed the leaders and the Mission Discovery folks. Anthony said the leaders "knew their hearts are golden, but they had no experience", and as he had said in earlier posts, the kids were smaller physically than some past, and none had been on a trip before except the leaders. However, God makes up for any lack on our part! "They rose to every expectation, over and over. Their team spirit was incredible. They were so unselfish. Anytime there was downtime on one site, they'd go to the other house and ask what needed doing and do it.." The team was able to finish three houses, and even finished early, which is truly amazing since some teams with more experience have had to push hard to finish two. And we read yesterday of the eternal work the Lord
accomplished through the vbs...51 children!

Anthony said they really had a great sense of community even before they left Nashville, but that having all three work sites next to each other helped tremendously. He said the leaders were so aware of the fact that the kids had very little down time on this trip due to the fact that the work site was a two hour drive from the Mission Discovery camp. That cut into the kids' swim time and down time, but the students' attitude were really outstanding. The phrase 'servant heart' was used repeatedly! In fact he said he and Steve would have a hard time narrowing down the 'Aaron Pearson" (outstanding service and friendly reaching-out award) to one person because the whole team showed that precious spirit. Karen and Andrew (teen leaders) both made tremendous contributions to modeling and encouraging the younger ones in that, he said.

Last night after they left the big group time and split into individual church teams for small group time, the Mission Discovery leader Maury stuck his head in their room and said Belmont is always such a gift to the staff. The team invited him to come in and be prayed for before he left to travel to another camp across the country. The kids gathered around and sought the Lord and heard many things on Maury's behalf. He told Anthony " It was incredible to see these junior highers hearing God for me" and was so blessed by it all.

Some prayer points as we stand with this diligent team who is seeking to finish well:
* that the Lord would preserve what He has given this team. That they 'wouldn't forget' once they are home.
* that the team could hold on to the community they have and invite others who didn't make the trip in to that community.
* for good travel time and continued protection and for health. (Sam Barker's fever is gone by the way, and the kids showed wisdom about sunscreen and time in the sun at the beach yesterday.)
* for good rest for the leaders and drivers

Again, thank you all for the sweet privilege of praying alongside you. Thanks too for your patience as we ironed out the wrinkles in the email system and list. They are almost home!
Angela

Coconut Creme Oatmeal

I (Katie) went to Petco a few days ago to get another rat. I got the special treatment of a new rat in the 'Employees Only' section. I was helped in finding a rat by a very helpful young man who readily told my mom just how much he liked rats as well as I do. Then he helped me in identifying a female as I finished my rat adoption.

On the way home, I decided on the name Coconut Creme for my new baby rat. The name oatmeal was added on later because of the fact that I kept calling Coconut that on accident. Kaylee wanted to meet the new addition as soon as possible. I am sure by the look in her eyes that she only wanted to invite Coconut for a nice dinner...

Just Keep Painting

Well, we did finally settle on a color for our bedroom. Actually, two colors. The bedroom is a dusty blue and the bathroom and dressing rooms are a royal purple. We got the primer and first coat of paint done last weekend (Thanks Jeff!) and are trying to get time to finish up this weekend. The bedroom is looking great. There was one wall that had some blistering so we have been getting it sanded and it needs to be repainted.

The purple paint has been a bit of a problem. Even after two coats of tinted primer we are coming to see that it will take all the coats we can put on to get it covered. I think we will get it the best we can and then do some decorative accents to hide all the flaws.

I'll post some more pictures when we get further along.

First Chrysalis(es?)

I woke up this morning (afternoon-whatever) to Katie bounding into the bedroom with our caterpillar cage. Overnight some of our guests had decided it was time to take a long nap. We've got two so far who are wrapped in their cocoon, and at least two more that look quite ready. I've read that the process takes around 6 days and we will keep you posted.

Naked Trees, Crepe Myrtle and Tomatoes

Here are some updated pictures of the front yard. You can actually see the trunks on the holly bush and nandinas in the front of the house, and the flowers in the raised front bed are doing much better now that they can get some sunlight. The fir (on the right) looks great as a tree instead of a bush. It's nice to be able to walk around the yard without getting smacked by a low hanging limb.

The crepe myrtles are blooming, and David trimmed out most of their deadwood. They are so huge!

We are on High Alert with the tomatoes, as the first almost ripe one has been spotted. The plants have gotten so tall that we're going to have to find taller stakes for them. (They remind me of Poppie's wash tub tomatoes.) We have definitely enjoyed the fresh dill, rosemary and basil all season. Mike decided fresh basil is what made his lasagne extra good the last time he made it. There is still some dill, although we have fed most of it to our caterpillars. We haven't had any tomato worms, but if some show up we'll bring them in and raise them, too.

Mexico Mike Saturday Update

Mike's team is headed to South Padre Island today after finishing up with their construction and VBS work.

Here's the latest e-mail update sent from Mike's youth leader, Anthony:

Subject: update #8~awesome report from Anthony

It's Friday night and we are getting to bed after a long great day. We finished our houses and this email could be several pages just alone on that issue. We had so many of our work sites team members running in between the 3 sites to help each other. By 12:30pm, all the houses were done and dedications began. Each home was prayed over and our team got to express any words to the host families through a translator. The host families were crying, our kids were crying. It was a great experience. The site I was on had a older mother with grown kids living with her. The grown kids had small children and it was wonderful. During the dedication of our house, the older women communicated her gratitude and then began to cry. Suddenly she began to breath deeply and fainted. Her sons carried her inside while the pastor shared with us why she fainted. He told us of how this family moved from another state in mexico with nothing. They left family behind and put down roots with very little to their name. She was overwhhelmed with how the lord had restored all her wealth and blessed her with a house. She eventually came back outside and gave all of us hugs. We were overwhelmed with how this simple house became a great gift for someone else. Pretty special moment. All 3 dedications were like this one in their own way. All 3 homes were finished early but here us the best part: God used the VBS team with the other churches to lead a outstanding
VBS session today where 51 kids prayed to invite christ into their hearts. Our team led worship and portrayed a well-done skit on faith. Can't tell you how great a job Karen has done with this team and VBS. Godalso allowed us to join with 2 other churches to give the pastor $800 for an eye surgery and to make some more church pews that are well needed.They only have 2 in the church. Many more stories about the God sightings.

Pray for the following:
*safety at the beach tomorrow.
*team unity to continue
*health- sunburns to heal and continual health while travelling.
*strength for leaders. They are tired and so are I.
Blessings for now,
Ac
anthony r. chaboya
Mosaic Group

Kaylee, the self-walking dog

This afternoon Kaylee decided that she wanted to go on a walk, so she let herself out of the back gate and started off around the block. (I had not latched it all the way when I went to get the mail and I think she waited for a gust of wind to crack it enough to get her nose through to push it open.) She was taking our regular route and completely ignoring my calls, so I sent Katie and Nicholas to meet me on the other side of our block and I got in the van to follow Kaylee. I caught up with her around the first corner, but when I acted like I was going to get out she started trotting faster. Then I opened the van's sliding door and pulled up next to her again. This time she looked at me like I was crazy and trotted on around the next corner. We kept this up with me driving down the wrong side of our neighborhood roads with my van door open and my blinkers on. She would stop and I would stop next to her and call her. She would ignore me and trot on her merry way until she peed twice, pooped once and finally decided it really was a bit hot to be walking. She hopped in the van about the time the kids caught up with us.

I'm actually thinking that this would be a great new method for walking her in bad weather. I can just hang the leash out the window and roll along beside her in the van.

Our latest pets

A couple of days ago Katie called me outside to look at some caterpillars in our garden. We counted 15 green, black and yellow striped ones enjoying our dill. After some research we discovered they will become black swallowtail butterflies, so we adopted four of them and set them up in the house. After a trip to Petco today for supplies we have managed to put together a caterpillar rescue program and brought all the rest of them in, too. (The birds or something had been visiting the garden, as we were down to only 8 evacuees.)

They are eating and pooping machines, but we are keeping up with cleaning and feeding as best we can. (Did you know that caterpillar poop is called "frass?") I don't know why anyone needs electronic gadgets for amusement with all the funny animals God made!

Mexico Mike Update

Thank you to everyone who helped with finances and intercession for Mike's mission trip. Here are some pictures we took the morning they left. In the group shot he's in the middle of the back row, looking to the right and wearing a light colored shirt. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

He left Saturday at 6:20 and will be home Monday evening. We haven't heard from him since they arrived at the camp Monday morning, but we are confident he is having a remarkable trip. We'll update you if we hear anything.

Meanwhile, back at the house...

Since Kaylee Bark-Bark is afraid of sudden noises we thought it best to let her stay at home while we went to the fireworks display. We had not counted on our neighbors setting off lots of large fireworks in our absence. We also did not consider that they would set them off over our home and that they would be strong enough to knock a split branch out of our tree. Nor did we imagine they would continue to shoot them off toward our house after watching the limb fall to the ground. But, they did.

We came home to find a large limb on the ground in the backyard and no sign of Kaylee. I finally found her coming out of the bathroom where she had been hiding in the bathtub. Good thing we didn't take her with us. She might have been terrorized or something.

Fourth of July

What a show! Nashville has been ranked by some groups as having one of the best Fourth of July fireworks displays in the nation. We've watched them most years, from a variety of locations. This year was definitely the best seats. David loaded up the cooler full of snacks and we dragged our sunburned-from-a-day-at-the-wavepool bodies into the car to drive downtown to our favorite parking spot. However, it worked out so that we were stuck in traffic right in front Riverfront Park where the show was staged. All the cars just stopped and watched so we had a front row seat. It was amazing!

The show features several entertainers as well as the Nashville Symphony, and the fireworks "dance" to the songs. The local radio station broadcasts the music so we were able to sit in our air conditioned van with the windows rolled up and the air conditioner on all the while. Not too shabby!

Naked Trees

David was a hard working man this past weekend. He managed to get the front, back and way back yards mowed all in one day for the first time. He also got the weedeater running again and trimmed the whole yard (including the patio weeds which I got tired of pulling.) Then he pruned the trees and bushes in the front yard. It looks so nice! He really has a knack for making the whole yard open up and look very neat. The kids even took care of hauling all the brush away.

Lily Kate

Katie's purple hair makes her a perfect model for my orange lilies....

Mexico Mike's lemonade stand

Mike is working hard to raise money for the Mexico trip. He, along with Katie, Nicholas and a friend from next door set up a lemonade stand last week. Things were slow at first until I went outside to give them a marketing lesson. Once they figured out that sitting in the chair (even while wearing a purple sombrero) wasn't enough to get people to stop, things picked up. They stood and waved at every car and managed to have a brisk business. They raised $27.25. It's a start!

Summer Hair

Everyone is wearing their summer hair...


Nicholas has shaved his long locks.



Katie has gone purple.



Mike's is no longer down to his shoulders.

And you can tell by their happy faces how glad they are that summer is here.

Changes in the Air

Well, we've got a couple of things in the works that could make for an exciting rest of the year.

First up Mike has a last minute opportunity to go to Mexico with our church Jr. High Mission trip in July. He had been on the waiting list but we honestly kind of forgot about it, then we got a call last week that a spot had opened up. We are excited about the opportunity, but waiting expectantly to discover how the Lord is going to come up with the money. We have to come up with $900 by July 5th, plus pocket money for him while he is there. We are planning to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks and will be sending out support letters soon, as well. It's quite a crunch, but we really believe that he should go.

The second thing (which would help with the first) is that I may work at the elementary school for a few months. The secretary is taking medical leave and suggested me as her temporary replacement. I'm putting in an application and waiting to see how it all shakes out. I'm a bit alarmed at the idea of going back to work after 15 years, but it would be a great situation. If it works out I will start July 16th and work until sometime around February. It might be hard on the kids, but I think they would be able to handle it for such a short time.

So there you have it.

German Queen

David has made good use of the cordless trimmer he got for his birthday. He's gotten things shipshape (well, actually block-shaped) with the hedge along the driveway side of the house. The boys helped a lot by raking and picking up the trimmings.

The tomato bed is looking great! I've planted six different varieties just for fun: a Parks Whopper, a patio tomato whose tag I can't find, a Bonnie Original, a Red Beefsteak, a German Queen (I just couldn't resist the name!) and a Bradley. Well, actually 4 Bradleys. The first three were destroyed by dog, wind and a hot car respectively. Also in the bed is a basil plant, a rosemary plant, a pepper plant and some dill, all bordered by marigolds. Delightful!

The first of our many daylily plants have started to bloom. We have them scattered throughout the yard and most of them are loaded with blooms.

I've got the front planter filled with hot pink impatiens and some purple flower that I'd never heard of. Although they tolerate shade well, the ones directly behind the evergreen tree are looking pretty rough. David has plans to trim the tree up, so hopefully that will save them before we lose them altogether.

For my birthday my sweet family got me two rose bushes that I'm gong to plant by the back fence (if I don't kill them first.) Most of you know that as much as I love roses, I have had to learn to consider them an annual. David has suggest these will be monthlies if I don't get them in the ground soon!

Bedrooms Update

Mike is sharing his room with Einstein. He is still enjoying his birthday decorations that Katie and Mimi Mary put up on the ceiling. I'm not sure he will ever take them down!
Hoping to get his molding done in the next week or so.



Katie got a beautiful iron bed for her birthday. It was from Mom and Dad and the room fairy. It took the store a while to get it here and get it right, but it finally made it.
(Yes, that is her still in it...)



David and I have switched our ideas on room colors and are now looking at silvery-blues. Don't think we've found the right one yet, but we are getting closer. At least until we change our minds again.

We still have lots of boxes to unpack but might make some headway soon, I hope!

The Grumpy Tree

At first glance you would thing this is a regular tree, right?



Now, look a bit closer...