Our Christmas

Christmas break started on Wednesday...we were all ready for it!

Playing, baking, puzzle making.

On Friday, we celebrated our own family Christmas in the afternoon/evening. 

We complete our Star from Afar advent, and read the Christmas story prior to opening presents. 

 Ladies...he's all mine. He asked for work suspenders!! I have a hard time taking him serious with this look :)

As soon as we were finished opening presents, Noah couldn't WAIT to get to his room to build with his magnets. He LOVES these things...and he loves sea animals...double win!

Our Christmas supper: Hamloaf, cheesy potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls, jello salad.

What a good Christmas. We have so much to be thankful for...our boys (the one to be born too!), our home, our safety, and most important our Savior who came to this world as a baby to save us all!

Jonah decided he had so much excitement for the day, he didn't want to call it a night when his brothers did. He had gotten out of bed, running around like a crazy boy...blanket covering his head, playing with all the loudest fridge toys! So Daddy said he would take him outside on a walk, which he promptly replied with clapping/shouting "HOORAY!! Me go on a walk!!! Bye Mommy!!!"

December Days

A little what we've been up to these days...

Jonah is as ornery and sassy as ever!

Christian's comment after playing with Noah on the trampoline this day...

"You know, I just discovered that Noah ISN'T always pesty, he IS actually a lot of fun!! I think that was the most fun I've ever had in my life!!"

 He's a mess ALMOST most of the time...but luckily he is also cute!

My baking helpers...

Christian's Thanksgiving turkey he made at school.

Noah really can entertain himself for a LONG time with coloring.

The moments they get along like this are just the sweetest...

 Oh hello there "time out" chair, meet Mr. Sassypants...

 And we're all looking forward to the next little boy to arrive!!

Christmas Programs

We had several programs this Christmas....

Noah and Christian were in the church Christmas program.

Ahh...Noah, you are quite the little fella.

My three little handsome boys..oh I just love them.

Noah singing....

Away in a Manger, Happy Birthday to Jesus and Go Tell It On The Mountain

 Christian singing in the children's choir...they were all shepherds.

We also went to Maddox, Ava, and Kade's school Christmas program in Wichita. 

Grandpa & Grandma took us all out to Jimmy's Diner afterwards! Oh man, it had been at least 15 years since I had been there...and I'm pretty certain they still had the same menu. Cherry Phosphate WITH the zing....its quite the special drink.

 Last program...

Christian's school program. It is a large production, involving more than just elementary school kids...therefore really hard to get a picture of him amongst the crowd. So here is the proud first grader...at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a dessert following the program!

Master Bath Project

Our "master" bathroom started out as this...

a T-I-N-Y bathroom that was placed in between our bedroom and the kitchen.

From this view, you can't see the actual bathroom..

but it's relevant as it BECAME part of the current bathroom!

So the dark center of that mini inlet, is the opening to the bathroom from the kitchen/dining room. The back door is on the right, and directly across from that is a closet.

When we remodeled our kitchen, we closed that opening (our fridge is currently located right there) but we could still go outside by going through our bedroom/bathroom.

Our bathroom in the making...

The red part is a new shower area. This was where the back door/closet was. Ben added two glass windows which brings in so much light.

The new shower!

He also added an area for me! 

The entrance to the bathroom changed as well. The closet space in our bedroom wasn't able to be fully used, so he cut into that. The back "wall" was made out of the same wood the countertop as the main bathroom vanity. He bought a set of drawers, and found a quartz countertop piece off of Craigslist to finish the top. 

This area in the bathroom that made the closet change, also prompted other projects...a further closet update, painting our bedroom and getting carpet! This is the beginning of that..but shows the closet, and how the wall changed from this view.

The final look...

so glad to have this bathroom in functioning order. And VERY grateful for Ben's work, design and ability to make it come together.

Main Bathroom Project

This year, we had decided to complete the last of what we wanted to remodel in this house...which meant both bathrooms upstairs would be redone. 

This was the main bathroom when we bought the house...in 2010. The minor changes we did then were paint, change the light fixtures, and remove the cabinets behind the door (they had a serious scent...one I did not care for).

So, in July...Ben started to completely gut it.

He had great supervisors.

New tub, sheetrock for the walls and ceiling, a skylight tube (which REALLY lights up the room), cabinet (painted/distressed it), and flooring (a waterproof laminate wood type) and the bathroom was starting to look different.

The vanity is a dresser we bought off Craigslist for $75 I think. He removed the top (which later became the doors), and made a countertop from some wood planks, sanded/stained/and epoxied (the clear glue-like substance that makes it bathroom countertop friendly to wipe up or get wet) it several times. The vanity part was painted/distressed, he removed the drawers, and added doors using the top of the dresser. I am very pleased with the final look :)

New tub with tiling in process....

So this started in July (as well as the other bathroom...which will be another post)...and there was a good chunk of time that this bathroom was out of working order, no toilet/sink. And then there was a shorter period where we could use the toilet, but the vanity/sink wasn't yet installed. Bottom line is, Ben worked hard at this...that is not up for debate. BUT, we have three little boys...two of them sleep directly across the hall from this bathroom, making the working hours slightly limited. AND, home bathroom demo projects are not Ben's full time job. I more state all of this for my own sake then anyone else's....because I was extremely ready for this project to be complete! Extremely. I was given the final projected completion date of "the end of November"....and my goodness, December 1 was a fantastic day. Glorious really. (And I'm not counting the small final touches, and the built-in cabinet that will tuck in by the tub as completion) We can use the toilet, sink, AND SHOWER....and that is wonderful folks! AND, I'm happy to report, with the final touch of a new door, there is no longer anything in here that has a scent of the previous owner.

Here are the final pictures...