A Visit From the Voss Family!

Our wonderful friends the Voss Family are on their way to Indiana (Dad got a coaching job) and have spent the last week in Denver. We had the joy of having them over last Thursday.
The kids made fast friends and had a blast at the park.

Kaina and Emma were so cute to watch together. They are about a month apart in age and considering they are only 3 years old, they got along very well.


Sidewalk chalk- gotta love it!

They spent a few nights with the Wiley's in Parker and we came down Saturday to enjoy swimming and lunch with everyone.

This pic makes my heart so happy! So sweet I want to eat it!

Hope and Landan made friends quickly.
Thanks to Justus for all his help with Levi!

~Rose

Getting Wet With The Neighbors

Last Sunday the kids were invited over to a neighbors house for toddler pool and slip and slide fun. The kids didn't get the sliding on your tummy. They just would slowly run down and slip at the very end. So funny.

Levi was sleeping, so he missed out. We'll do it again before summer is out.

We sure have some cute neighbors!

~Rose

Thing One and Thing Two

We had a little photo shoot a few days ago.

These are two of the biggest goof-balls that ever lived!

Their new nick name- Thing One & Thing Two is from Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss (if you are new to our planet) and perfectly describes these two if left alone for too long. They are so cute to watch when they get into a goofy mood though!

~Rose

More Help and Oooohhhh, We're Getting Closer!

And here we have some more pics of the 4 week kitchen project.
The little man is such a big helper!

This is our little back room where we will put a washer and dryer. We are putting new drywall in and will install vinyl tiles on the floor. Micah was over for a day of much welcomed help. He eats drywall. We got an answer to prayer tonight. We sold our washer and dryer almost 4 weeks ago for $250. We need to buy a stackable and have been hunting Craig's List
for awhile now. I doubted we could find one for $250, but lo and behold, today Desi found a fantastic stackable, full size, energy efficient washer/dryer for $250! Thank You Lord! We pick them up Sunday afternoon...YIPPEEEEEEE!
I love Craig's List!

Putting the old door back on...

Amanda came to help me grout the back splash last Friday. I seriously don't know what I would have done without her! The grout went in easy...it was the sponging away that took FOREVER and our hands were all wrinkly. Turned out great though. You know, tiling is NOT HARD, it's just time consuming!

Took this pic today. I had to wash everything...cabinets and everything that went back in them. Remodeling is dirty work!

The new sink...yeah, I get to do dishes again!

Waiting to put the fridge back until we poly the floor.

Bruce Duell came over today while the kids and I were gone and painted our porch for us. We have no before pic, but we tore up this old outdoor carpet (that was always dirty) and the new paint job is so great...thanks so much Bruce! Looks kinda orange in the pic...but it matches the trim...not that you really care.

~Rose

Out With The Old and In With The New

This is our little back room that leads from the kitchen to the back yard. It has steps to the basement and a tiny bathroom (blue door). The carpet was old and gross and then the cat peed on it, so we ripped it up.

This is where the stackable washer/dryer will go. We had to cut giant shims to level out the floor and then plywood to cover it all.

The following 4 pics is what happens when you do a little too much home improvement in one day! You go kinda crazy! These pics were posted with permission :) There are more where these came from, but I'll spare you.

~Rose

Back Splash Time

This afternoon I started on the back splash. I had Levi on my back in the backpack for most of the install. I even cut tile with him on my back! He was a nice (but heavy) little tiling companion.

Notice our new outlet: I bought black and silver to match the kitchen decor. Our new sink is black and we are keeping the faucet (faucets are sooooooo expensive).

So after finishing the wall, we decided that we'd continue on the left side of the stove and follow the pattern of the whole 14 inches on the back wall and then just the 8 inches along the wall that faces the above right wall. Does that even make sense? Well, I'll take pics of course. I'll be finishing that tomorrow and then will grout the following day. These babies need a whole 24 hours to "cure" and once the grout is done, then we can seal it all in and get that sink back in! Yippeeeeeee!

Thanks For The Help!

Our friends Ryan & Courtney came over to help with our kitchen project last Thursday and Friday night. Courtney brought a tasty dinner and was a big help with our kiddos (who LOVE her!) Thanks Courtney!

Ryan & Desi finished getting the concrete board on the countertops Thursday.

Friday Josh came over and the men tackled our corners. Those 45 degree angles are a bit challenging but look so beautiful.

After the kids were in bed Friday night, Courtney and I got to work on the tiles. We did a dry run, cut the pieces we needed, slapped the morter down and laid the tile. It was fun!

We finished at about 1:30AM! Ryan and Courtney- thank you so much! What a blessing to have your help and get it done in one night. It's beautiful! We'll be grouting tomorrow and hopefully get to the back splash soon.

~Rose

And Now For My 400th Post

400 posts...wow! Am I addicted or is it wonderful free therapy?

I was reading the message board for Hope's home school curriculum (My Father's World) and came across a link to a photo gallery of 15 families from around the world and what they eat in a week including the cost in US dollars. Very interesting. The kids and I enjoyed seeing the different kitchens and were amazed at how much and little some families ate each week. Puts our rich lives into perspective! We have so much to be thankful for and that's an understatement!

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

~Rose

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Last Saturday I took Jan and our oldest three to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Boy was it hot! We had a great time though and I only wish we had more time to look at all the wonderful art. Thanks Grandma Jan for being a trooper and your help with the kids all week was INVALUABLE! Love you!
The next three pics are from the Australian Sway Pole dancers. This funky music played and they acted and danced to it on these tall bendable poles. It was mesmerizing to watch and made me want to try.

There was a large area for kids to do their own free art. We were there for close to an hour and the kids didn't want to leave. Next summer we'll stay longer.

~Rose

More Kitchen Pics

As promised, here are a few pics from our project!
Grandpa Des's little stress reliever!

Emma gets to help paint.

Levi finds a pencil and decides to draw on our newly painted walls! Good thing this part will be behind a cabinet!

After many layers of leveling concrete we are finally ready for the cork floor!

More painters!

Getting the new floors in...

~Rose