Bathroom new/old

This is our current bathroom. I love the color of it but will most likely keep our new bathroom a more neutral color. I remember when we moved into this house, thinking the bathroom was so small I was almost clasterphobic when taking a bath with the door closed. Now I am thinking taking a bath in our new bathroom will not be as cozy becuase the bathroom is so much bigger. I guess one gets use to what they have! I do love having such a small bathroom when it comes to cleaning! I tired to up load a picture of our new bathroom but it is not working, so just scroll down to when I posted about our new kitchen and bathroom. In the new bathroom we are taking off the wall paper and getting a new ceiling, so it will look different when we move in.This is suppose to be at the top of the post, but I can't seem to move it there.



So after taking a bath and thinking about what I wrote in the previous post, I realized that I probably wrote it because I have been rather 'emotional' the last few days. I can tell that I have more energy now that I am taking iron, but I have also noticed the 'emotional' side of me coming out. Bryan was sweet and watched Pride and Predjudice with me Sunday night. It was the short new one, as that is his favorite. Whenever I get tired and emotional Bryan will pop in either Emma or P&P, we both enjoy these moves and find them quite comical. Bryan understand girls so well, it really amazes me considering he grew up around mostly boys! He is such a great father for his daughters and a wonderful husband for me, but back to what I meant to write! I thoguht I would add a post that is a little lighter, since those reading my previous post probably had no idea what I was trying to say. I really do not claim to be a great writer, I know I am awful at keep my thoughts together, writing sentences, and paragraphs, and everything else. So please be patient with me and just enjoy the pictures!

Baby......and some thoughts....

I finally felt the baby move a few nights ago while lying in bed. Some woman seem to feel baby way before I do, though the books say it is impossible to feel it before 16 weeks. I have heard woman say they felt their baby move at 9 weeks! I have a book that goes week by week telling how the baby is growing and all the changes, I had read it the night I felt the baby move and was in awe of how big our baby is getting! I think it is finally sinking in that there really is a baby growing inside of me. I was struck for the 5Th time with the awesomeness (if that is a word) of how a baby grows and develops. How much they change in such a short time. Right now our baby is as big as my hand and it is fully developed on the outside, I know there are some organs and things that are still developing, but it looks like a baby complete with fingernails and toenails. I look at my other children and how much they have grown, especially Cassia, they learn so much in the first 2 years. Cassia has changed tremendously since I got pregnant and I am sure she will know even more by the time the baby comes. It is just amazing how God designed our children from nothing to what they are now and will become in the future. I am so excited to see how my girls grow and mature and to see their relationship with God do the same. I know it is our responsibility to help shape our children's character, but so often my own character is changed by them. Being married helped Bryan and I understand the relationship between Christ and the Church that is talked about in the Bible and having children helps us understand Christ as our Father and just what 'child like' faith is. I enjoy thinking back on what I was like 8 years ago and what I am now and to think of what I will be like in the future with God still working in me! Each pregnancy has been difficult in it's own way, but also each pregnancy has taught me so much. Moriah's pregnancy was the most life changing for me, it was during that time that I learned more about true Faith in God. Hence the reason Moriah's middle name is Faith. I feel like God has something more for me to learn this time around, I think He is still working on me, in what and for what I am not sure.
People seem to think that I come by mothering naturally that I am a patient, sweet mother, or maybe that it is just easy for me and that is why we have children close together and a bunch of them. This is so far from the truth, I am not patient or sweet, yes, I try to be. I do not come by it naturally, and I never dreamed of having children this close together. I am rather nervous about adding a 5Th child to my already busy and life. But my life is not about me, it is about glorifying God and enjoying Him Forever! Being a mother continues to teach me about living a selfless life, I am not selfless, but I am working on it. God keeps showing me areas that I need to work on. Do I think that I am better then those who have less children, NO! It is only by God's Grace that I do what I do and that our children Love Him.
The purpose of writing all this is not to benefit anyone reading this, it is to give me encouragement when I look back on it. This blog is like a journal for me to help me remember what I was thinking and how God is working in my life. Bryan and I were talking about people in our life, who's lives have not been filled with happiness, who have chosen a different path then us, it did not give us a sense of thinking how much better we are, but it really humbled us and made us see that it really has nothing to do with us but instead what God has done in our lives! So my reminder to myself is to Give God the Glory and again I see this and feel this when I think of the life inside me and the lives entrusted to me!

A Family Picture

Here is a mommy who is so happy to be 'alive' again and spending time with her girlies!!

We had a church picnic/bike ride back in September. I was so happy to be feeling well enough to go, though that Saturday ended up being a very cold one. We had a lot of fun and Victoria got to be in her first 3 legged race, egg toss, potato sack race, and potato on a spoon race. She had a lot of fun. The girls didn't make it for the entire bike ride, but they did their best. Anyhow, when we first got there my mom snapped some pictures of the girls and me and the whole family. We are trying to make up for the lack of pictures in August. To be exact we took NO pictures in August! I thought you might all enjoy seeing some family pictures!

Old Bedroom....New Bedroom

I have been going around cleaning up our city house and taking pictures so that we can remember our old house and all the memories we have had here. So I thought I would do a post that had our current rooms and then what our new rooms will be. So I am going to start with the girls room upstairs. A room that their daddy worked very hard on. There were no walls (as in no drywall, it was just studs), no insulation, and no plumbing, but Bryan turned it into a wonderful bedroom, bathroom, and walk in closet. We have truly loved this room and I am sure we will miss it. Here is the view coming from the stairs. I will confess that before I cleaned up this room you could hardly see the floor, it had really gotten out of hand. The girls enjoy getting blankets out of the cedar chest and making beds on the floor.

This is our 'Polly pocket' play area. I love it because it keeps all those little pieces together. They do fall down the stairs sometimes, mostly when Cassia gets into it. I will miss this special area and I think the girls will too!

Moriah's bed, last year we bought all the girls quilts. You can see they all have their baby quilts that I made on top of their big quilts. This is the same bed I slept on before marrying Bryan!

Victoria is on the top bunk and Alicia the bottom. We got these bunk beds with the mattresses for $50. They fit perfectly in their room since it slops. We bought another set of bunk beds, they are already at the new house, we paid $200 for them, but they are nicer and newer and have a drawer on the bottom. Alicia will probably sleep on the top of the new set once we move.

The girls own bathroom! We will be going down to one bathroom, but it will still be close to their bedroom.

The other side of their room. I love the color, it is so bright and cheery! I bought 5 different different yellows and mixed them together and this is what we got!

The walk in closet! Usually this room is a disaster and I must say I am really looking forward to NOT having this room any more. The girls can't seem to keep it clean, but we have cleaned and re organized so now that I am feeling better I hope to keep it up!

The other side of the closet.

A close up of the railing and this side of the room. Notice the Rubbermaid container sitting

by the stairs ready to go to the new house!!

Look what I found!! I cute little girl, but don't worry we are going to take her with us!

Now onto the girls new bedroom! Imagine all the things that you just saw in the above pictures and cram it all, plus another set of bunk beds into the following pictures!! :-)

This is the way the Mrs. Brooks had the room. In the corner in this picture, you can't see it, but there is a big crack down the wall. We think there might have been a door there leading to the bedroom next door.

The other side of the room!

So can you picture all the stuff in there!! :-) Well, I guess that not ALL that stuff is going in here, like the cedar chest, that big mirror, the rocking chair, and all their hanging clothes. But I think it will still be full! I have wonderful plans for this room and all the other rooms in our new house!

The girls would like to paint their new room pink, I am thinking of going with a very soft pink, but we will see! We have to wait a few weeks for the plaster repairs to get down and then I can get in there and clean, then paint! And we can't wait to move in!! :-)

Stay tuned for the rest of the house!!



Note: It is a little busier around here taking care of 2 properties. Bryan had to cut grass at our new house and it takes 3 hours there, compare that to the 15min. our current yard takes!! :-)

Some New House Pictures.........

This is our big barn! I love this barn, because it looks so country! My plan is to get a family picture in front of it before it falls down. If you look closely the right side is coming down. Mrs. Brooks (owner before us) told us that there was a tornado a few years back and it knocked the foundation out. So the right wall is sitting on a crooked foundation. We really don't expect this barn to fall down anytime soon and maybe in a few years will have it taken down, but in the mean time I will enjoy its beauty and we will store unimportant stuff in the left side. Behind the barn are some beautiful old trees and a hill going up to the barn that we hope to toboggan on this winter.
The yard in front of the barn is our side yard it is very flat and long and will be perfect for soccer, baseball, and any sport. Maybe one day I can finally have my dream of a back yard skating rink!! :-) I am very excited about all the hours our family will spend in this yard!

Here is our one and only bathroom that is on the second level. It is much bigger then our current bathroom. Notice the lack of shower! Bryan is enjoying his last few weeks of taking a shower! There are no cupboards in the bathroom but in front of the toilet Mrs. Brooks had a dresser as you can see and I have a big cupboard for there that will fit all our bathroom things. I think I am going to get a lot of exercise going upstairs a hundred times a day to use the bathroom and to wipe kids bums!!

We do plan on adding a bathroom on the main level, but that probably won't happen for atleast a year due to a needed new roof!

Now I will show you my lovely kitchen!! This is the pantry which is under the stairs going up. The kitchen is just off the back entry, so you have to go through it to get to the living room and dinning room. To the right of this picture is the door to the back entry. To the left of the door is the doorway to the living room.

This picture is taken from the doorway of the living room. So to the left of the stove is the door to the back entry. Mrs. Brooks has a table and chairs in there, but I will only have a table for working on as the counter space is very limited. We are also switching the stove and fridge around as our fridge does not fit where the current one is.

Here is the other side of the kitchen. This picture is taken from the doorway of the back entry. So to the left is the dinning room and the right is the living room and the pantry is just behind the door that you see here. That is all the counter space I have about 3 feet! There is no dishwasher, I will probably really miss that, but am also looking forward to some time spent with the girls doing dishes. The cupboards go all the way to the ceiling so there is more cupboard space then our current kitchen, but I will need a step stool to reach.

That ends the 2 most important rooms in the house, or at least the rooms that I will probably spend most of my time in! :-) I will try to post some more later of the living room, dinning room and bedrooms. There is a really cute closed in front porch and a play room on the back. There is a lot of storage room in the basement. There really are no closets anywhere except the baby room. We were going to take them out, but decided to leave them as the crib should fit. That way we don't have to buy wardrobes right away. I have this dream (actually I have been having a lot of them lately) of having all antique furniture for the bedrooms so I kind of want to keep my eye out for it. antiques are usually pretty expensive so it will probably take a long time.

I have been spending a few nights dreaming about decorating this house and where everything is going to go. I find it funny how when I think about living there the children are always happy and wanting to help we are such a cheerful family enjoying our country property. The kids are never hollering and running around like crazy kids, they never fight or argue! I never get annoyed and push them out the door but instead we all sit around doing things as a family! :-) A girl can dream right!! I am sure the reality will be different, we are all sinners right! But sinners saved by grace, and hopefully His grace will see me through those long winters living in a small house.