Our monkey turned 4!!!

Happy birthday to the most beautiful, smartest and most helpful girl in the world! Ava Raine Bevany turned 4 yesterday. She chose donuts for breakfast. Colton and I were both happy about that:) Then we got to watch Colton get his A-B honor roll award. At daycare, her Aunt Ashley brought treats for her class. Oh! She got two birthday princess buttons to wear all day, too! We ended the night with a nice, warm, slippery bubble bath. All in all, a good day.

Saturday, we're going to the Flutterby Festival in a nearby town. It's all about butterflies. They get to make crafts, read stories and learn about butterflies, which are migrating right now. We'll do cake and presents and have a little party at the park for her. 

Ava's getting big, too. I've realized over the past few days for some reason that she is getting a little too big to carry around all the time. Neither one of likes that idea! She likes to be a big girl until it's time to walk. Then she turns into a baby again. 

In other news, Colton is super smart, but we all knew that anyway, right? He made the A-B honor roll his first semester in 1st grade. His teacher even said he was very smart. He tested above the school average in almost every subject in the standardized testing. He's very creative, too. Almost every paper he brings home has doodles on it. His teacher said she thinks they're adorable, but of course some teachers wouldn't like that. 

Jesse and I finished the bookshelf I started while he was gone. It went so badly that I just gave up on it. Then, I dragged in out onto the porch to work on it, and the whole thing just felt flat onto the deck.But in my defense, Jesse said the drill I was using was absolute crap. It's no more than an electric screwdriver. He really saved the day! It was so much easier with him and we knocked it out of the park. Of course, he had ideas to improve on the next one (in the near future) and thought I was crazy for adding the "x"'s on the sides, but I had a vision and I wasn't  going to stop until it was complete. I just finished painting it, and really couldn't be happier. 

He is super happy, too, because he now has an outdoor knife throwing stand and an indoor one. His man cave is really taking shape. He added new lights and got it all extremely organized and now has his favorite hobby in there too. Colton loves to throw knives in there also.

I think that's about all the news I have for now. Have a good one!

Love, 

Sunshine

Happy, happy! Joy, joy!

Hello, Everyone!

Our Jesse finally came home! He's actually been home for a week now. I thought he might be home Thursday night at the earliest, but last Wednesday night, around 11:30, I  get a text from him saying there was a package at the front door. Of course I ran to the front door and there he was! We were both very happy to see each other. My dad nicknamed him Sasquatch and I would have to say Jesse reminded me of him at that point! After he brought all his gear in, the whole house smelled like a campfire.

He has lots of good stories to tell and made some good memories. It was everything he was hoping for. He's got lots of great pictures, too.

This was a typical night at camp.

He went with his 2 best friends and they spent 2-1/2 weeks camping and hiking the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee. They got to experience some great things, like this:

And this...

But then there were days like this one, where they had to hike 14 miles, uphill, in the rain.

But they eventually got to this...

I'm pretty sure it was worth all the trouble. 

While he was gone, we were busy doing this:

This is how we spent the first day of fall...

 Of course there were boo-boo's involved...

And this is what happens when Colton tries to style Ava's hair...

But we did spend some time being productive and made a new window treatment. Notice the beautiful model...

Mimi and Mr. David treated us to Gulf World where we got to pet the sting-rays and see all sorts of cool creatures...

They even let us take 2 of them home with us...

It's life back to normal now. We're all healed up from the boo-boo's and sniffles and ready for Halloween. 

Love,

Sunshine

Sick, sick, sick

Well, tis' the season for the sniffles! Colton was sick two weeks ago with major congestion. He missed half a week of school. Of course, I thought it was just a little cold so I didn't take him to the doctor until Thursday. Bad Momma! I felt terrible when the doctor told me he had bronchitis. So we all stayed home Friday and had a good day playing, laying around and watching t.v. 

Then, last week I start with a little congestion and a cough.No big deal. But it's all gone down hill from there! Ava's got it too now. Thankfully not as bad though. Medicine doesn't seem to help much. I resolved to go to the doctor if I'm not better by tomorrow. 

But then....

Colton woke me up at 4 o'clock in the morning Monday complaining that his ear was hurting. I gave him so Tylenol and sent him back to bed. Haven't heard another word about it. Until this morning when his teacher calls (she probably has me on speed dial by now) and says he's complaining about his ear. I learned my lesson from his previous illness. When he says he's sick, he his. So off to the doctor we all go. We're gonna get our money's worth today! A 3-for-1 special! 

I'm going to venture to say that when Jesse hears about all this, he'll have a list of things I should have been doing this whole time. Hind sight is 20/20. 

On a good note...
JESSE'S COMING HOME!!!! I'm super excited. He's been almost three weeks now. He should be back by Friday or Saturday. We haven't talked much because he doesn't get good signal up there in the Smokey Mountains, but this trip has been everything he wanted it to be. He and his two best friends are hiking and camping on the Appalachian trail in Tennessee. It was sort of a back to nature and know thyself trip. They all start out the day together and then go at their own pace and meet at a certain campsite that evening. Of course it's the perfect time of year to go, too. 

We've definitely missed him being gone. But the babies like riding in his truck! I asked them earlier this week if we should start driving the jeep again and the both shouted, "No!" But we'll have to give the truck up eventually. Easy enough trade for me:) 

When I tell people that I would be all alone for an entire week, they all say, "Oooh. Isn't that nice?" Not really. I love my family and miss them and don't like to stay in a big old house all alone. It's lonely. I would much rather have two fighting babies than to spend and entire week alone. It's so quiet. 

Oh, I had big plans, too, for all the things I was going to get done that one week I didn't have babies or Jesse. Ha! That was a joke. I think I got one thing checked off my list of 10 things. It's amazing how much time a person can actually waste doing absolutely nothing. But I wasn't doing nothing. I just wasn't doing what I had planned. Surprise! I have come to realize that I have a hard time staying home. Maybe because there wasn't a reason to stay home? 

Anyway, that's about all there is for now. You know all the latest and greatest. Hope everyone stays healthy this winter!

Love,

Sunshine
 

Let's play a game...

It's called "Catch Up." I"m sorry I haven't written in a while. Things have been hectic and then I haven't actually felt like writing. But here's the latest in our world:
1. Jesse's fixin to leave for the A.T. (Appalachian Trail)
2. Colton and Ava are big kids now.
3. Colton loves school
4. He was also very sick last week.

Tomorrow morning, Jesse and his friends are finally heading out on a 3-week camping expedition in the Smokey Mountains. They've been planning this trip for a long while and have all been working extra hard to get a project finished at work so they could actually leave. Jesse is ready for an adventure plus some self-exploration. Wouldn't it be wonderful to just take off and spend three weeks in nature? I'm jealous! But I"ll miss him like crazy. I plan on keeping busy at the house. There are lots of projects rolling around in my head- anyone who wants to help build some bookshelves or hang pictures, feel free to stop by!

A few weeks ago, I went to tuck Colton in bed and noticed his feet hanging over the edge of his little boat bed. I decided maybe it was time to get him a big boy bed. It took some time, but I found a set of used bunk beds that are just right. The kiddos are excited. Of course, they have bunk beds at their dads, so it wasn't too special. But that meant we had to buy new sheets and comforters. Ava picked out Hello Kitty while Colton picked out Angry Birds. The mattresses just got in last week so they're going to get to try out all their new stuff tonight! We're excited!

First grade is going great so far. Colton really likes his teacher, and she is good at communicating with me. She let me know that on Monday, he had to pull a card for sliding on his knees in the hallway. ( Each child has 5 different cards ranging from green to red, like levels of trouble). He told me Wednesday evening that he had to pull a card and I asked, "For sliding on your knees?" His little eyes got really big and he said, "Yeah! How did you know?" It was so funny! Momma's know everything. 

He also has some congestion last week and missed 2-1/2 days of school. I finally took him to the doctor on Friday and he had bronchitis. Of course I felt like a bad momma for that one.  I didn't think he was that sick. But we ended up having a good day. The three of us ran our errands, and then went home and hung out. 

Ava actually talked to stranger, too. That was surprising. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant, and I left the babies at the table while I got our drinks. As soon as Colton saw me, he tattled on her, "Ava talked to a stranger." Definitely didn't expect that one. Colton yes, Ava no. But some lady was just telling her how cute she was and asked her name. 

Well, I think that's about it. Not too much going on around here. Just going to work and school and home. Enjoying this nice cooler, dry weather! 

Love,

Sunshine

Lesson Learned

Colton: "Mommy, can I have a  new game for my iPod?"
Mommy: "I just bought you three new games."
Colton: "But I want another one."
Mommy: "When you learn to be happy with what you have, then you can have another one."

This was a lesson I had to teach my little boy this past weekend. No matter what I give him, he seems to always ask for more. He's extremely polite and sweet when he asks, too. It's hard to tell him no, but then again, it's annoying to constantly feel like the only time your children want to talk to you is to ask you for something. 

While cleaning the dining room table the other day after this little lesson, I had an epiphany. That was the lesson God had just taught me. 

Last year, I lost a wonderful job when my boss closed her business. I was very upset, but quickly found another job. At the time, it felt like a blessing, but it didn't take long for reality to set in. Within days, I knew this was not the place I wanted to be. I let everyone know that I was looking for another job. I downloaded every job search app I could find on my phone. Every day I would comb the wanted ads. For months, I was absolutely miserable. 

I came close, once. A part-time job as and interior designer came up with a local builder. The interview went well and it would pay well enough that I wouldn't have to work full-time. I was devastated when I didn't get it. That might well be the first job that I've interviewed for that I didn't get. 

My hope came with the thought that I knew this was only a temporary situation. Eventually though, I gave up my quest. It's exhausting to be so miserable. Things got better at work. So much better in fact that my boss made a comment one day that made me think. He said, "Now you're starting to think like me." That thought honestly scared me. There was nothing about this man that made me want to be like him. He isn't a bad person. Just now the kind of person I want to be like or work well with. But I had started to realize this job was a little more permanent than I thought and I had better just adjust my attitude. So much of this life is determined by attitude. I learned a long time ago that you either change your situation or change your attitude.

As things went on, I realized things weren't that bad. I didn't wake up dreading the day anymore. But I certainly didn't enjoy it either. Finances were not that good either. I started looking for a part-time job to help even things out. 

Then, it happened. Out of the blue. Not even looking for it. The job for which I had been waiting. The job that was everything I wanted. The hours were good, the pay was great, the people seemed nice and I would be a designer again working with antique furniture and fabrics all day. Pure heaven! 

I am proud to say that I have been the new interior designer at Specialists of the South for 3 weeks now. The people and atmosphere are wonderful to work in. Every day, I wake up glad to go to work at a job I love with a wonderful family to come home to.      

So back to Colton and the lesson he made me realize. In the middle of my every day life, I realized the lesson I was trying to teach Colton was the same lesson God had taught me. He has blessed us in so many ways this past year, that it is truly amazing. He gave us these emotions. He must understand what they feel like. We are his children and we are constantly asking for more and more. I thank God every for everything he has done for us and for keeping everyone safe. There is no harder prayer and praise that I give than the ones for keeping my family safe. But he must get tired of being asked for every little thing. We need to bask in the glory of all that he has given us and all that we have because of him so that we can be happy. Once we truly appreciate the things we have and things he has done, will we begin to understand his love. 

It can't be forced appreciation either. You know how children go off and pout a while when they don't get their way. Then they're back 10 minutes later asking for more again. It has to be a genuine appreciation and thanks. The kind that makes you forget you're lacking anything. 

Most of you who know me, know that I am reserved when it comes to my emotions. (Jesse thinks it's strange that my family and I don't say "I love you"!) While I am a little embarrassed to share such a personal story, I just feel like I need to share it. Plus, when I write, I don't have to face anyone, I can just write for myself- which is the easiest thing in the world for me. So I apologize now if I ever share too much information with y'all!

Well, it's past my bedtime and I think I've said about everything I wanted to say. I hope y'all enjoyed the Sunday school lesson. One of these times I'll have to tell ya about the lesson Ava taught me. It stills get me teary-eyed. Till then...

Love,

Sunshine

Takes a lickin', keeps on tickin.

Yes, we are still here and still alive. Barely! Sorry I haven't written lately, but things have been extremely hectic. 

Drum roll, please...

We are officially moved into our new house!

But things are far from settled. We weren't willing to sacrifice refrigerator space so Jesse cut out part of a wall to fit our new, big fridge into the space. This has led to the discovery that neither one of could make a living doing sheet rock work. Three coats of compound later, we give up. It'll have to do. Now I have to sand one more time, primer and paint. And when I sand, it get everywhere in the house. I mean everywhere- like inside the kitchen cabinets. The entire house needs cleaned again, from top to bottom. Ugh! But as soon as that's done, we can get the kitchen 100% done!

The babies' bathroom is pretty much done. All that's left is a new counter top and since our sink is rusted, we have to replace that. Our bathroom will have to wait for a while. No biggie. Just disappointed because I had our vanity and faucet and everything planned and picked out.

...drip...Now comes the super duper exciting part of organizing everything! ...drip...In case you didn't catch that, that last sentence is dripping with sarcasm. Although having an organized pantry and craft area will be a first in my life so that should feel good for a while. OOH! Jesse took the doors off one of the cabinets in the laudry closet and cut the bottom out. Then our friend painted the inside of the cabinet the same color as the wall. Jesse hung me a closet rod so that I can pull clothes right out of the dryer and put them on hangers. How cool is that? So cool that is makes me old! It's the little things in life. I bought the wood to make a shelf above the rod. It's gonna look good after it's all done. 

Colton and Ava are loving the new house and are adjusting well. We found out that Colton is actually too big for his toddler bed. His little feet hang over the edge. *Sigh* He's not a little baby anymore. So now I'm on the hunt for bunk beds. Of course I suggested to Jesse that we could just make some and he replied that his list was long enough already! Oh well. 

The day after we moved into the house, I started a new job. I love it! You're looking at the new designer for Specialists of the South. I get to pick out fabric for window treatments and upholstery and look at old furniture and antiques all day. It's a lot of fun and everyone I work with is super nice. Our family has been very blessed this year and I'm extremely grateful for all our blessings and the wonderful things happening in our lives. 

I'll try to update more often now that we're semi-settled. Maybe we'll get our computer out and actually use it this weekend. We'll see. :)

Love,

Sunshine

I've got pictures!!!!

SO, in all this mess, I have somehow misplaced my nifty Canon camera. I was actually going to go around and snap a few pictures of our progress on the house, but had to resort to my cell phone. So that's all ya get! 

I can happily say the 99.9% of the painting is DONE!!! I did have a slight mishap with a wet door frame and a mass of hair last night. (If anyone knows of a safe way to get paint out of hair, let me know!) 

We managed to get some curtains put up and they are beautiful. I went to put the second pair up and silly me bought one that was the wrong size. It was on clearance too, so no hope of finding a replacement. Guess I've got some fabric for new pillows and projects around the house! That set of curtains just happens to match the accent wall perfectly, too! While I am very frustrated with myself for making such a silly mistake, it will all turn out good.

I got so excited after I put the curtains up, that I grabbed some other accessories lying around and made a little vignette. This is going to be such a cozy place to sit and read by the fire...

 

Don't mind the mess...

Our beautiful painting looks absolutely perfect with it's new light. Kinds like it was meant to be;)

The details of lasts night conversation are a little fuzzy, but I think Jesse's level head prevailed and we decided to move in next weekend instead of this weekend. Phooey! But we don't have a refrigerator yet. It won't be delivered until sometime next week. No point in moving in if we don't have any food. One of us has to be the adult, and I vote Jesse! He does such  a good job. 

Our yard needs mowing and a lot of trimming. It's quite overgrown, but I did snap a few pictures of our beautiful flowers. I'm in love with the hydrangea! Ava has the perfect view of it from her bedroom. It starts out blue and then turns purplish and fades to a dusty rose. We're excited about our limes, too. Colton keeps picking them and informing us that he thinks they're ripe now.

Enjoy! 

Love,

Sunshine

Coming or going....

I'm not sure which I'm doing these days. Most mornings, I wake up not knowing what day it is. I have to look at my phone to tell me. We were insane to think we could do all this in 2 weeks! It's now going on it's 4th week. Jesse and I are both ready for this whole move to be over. It won't really be over then. We'll just get to take it slower.

Tonight is vacation night though!!! My wonderful step-mom is in town and we're all going to get together this evening and relax. Mimi and David are out of town so we have to go over and make sure they're pool doesn't get lonely;-) Jesse even gave in and is taking the night off! 

Funny story time...I was painting the accent wall (that Jesse insisted we have!), but the light switches didn't have a cover plate yet. They're hanging out of the wall by their wires. Well, I needed to paint around them, so I just moved one over and got a real surprise. Sparks went flying everywhere and then the living room and dining room went dark! Oops! Yeah, I fried a switch or two. Jesse just shook his head at me. I've been moving switches with now problems in the past, but Jesse's been smart enough to turn off the breakers for me! I am a walking catastrophe.

Other news...

The babies had an absolute blast on their vacation to Grandma and Grandpa Menefee's! Colton is officially a big boy now and has lost his first tooth! We were so surprised. It's his bottom front tooth and he looks so cute now! For months, he's been saying that he thinks this tooth or that tooth is loose. Some kids in his class last year were loosing teeth and that started the worrying. Poor boy takes after Momma on that aspect. He wanted to wash Bear last night and I had just started a load. So he through him in the washer and about had a hysterical fit. He was all worried that the agitator in the machine would cut Bear's head off. It took me over 20 minutes to calm him down enough to go to sleep. But all is well this morning. 

Well, that's all I have time for this morning. More exciting news to come in the next few weeks....!

Love,

Sunshine

Still going...

So...

This weekend was all about the house. We got a lot accomplished with the help of our friend, Daryl. When it comes to painting, he prefers to cut in, and is very talented at it. Which is perfect, but I was in such a hurry that I only wanted to roll. I am pleased to say that I absolutely love every color we chose! There was so much painting to do that I almost gave in and decided to not paint the living room/dining room/ hall/ library/kitchen. But I already bought all the paint, so I started in the living and dining rooms and was ecstatic as soon as the roller hit the wall. I also have to paint almost all the trim. It's a perfect white now, but I want a softer look. Plus the fireplace is already a cream color. It's just a little difference that makes a big impact. It's going to be a very calming space. 

Jesse was a little perplexed that I decided to paint everything one color. I have officially turned that boy! He talked me into painting one wall in the living an accent color. We'll have paint leftover from the kid's bath, so the accent wall will be a bright cyan color. 

We also got the new lock installed. It's awesome! It has an electronic keypad so we don't even have to have a key. You just punch in your code and open the door. You just push a button, and it locks. Jesse and I had a bet going. He didn't think changing the locks was important, but I was dead set on it. So I said that I would do it. He bet me it would take over 2 hours. I said, no way. I'll get it done in an hour. Guess who won? It was kinda a draw, but I'm saying I won. It took me an hour and half, but we got interrupted and I had to talk to the plumber, so I'm still saying I won! 

Jesse got lots of electrical work done, I think! Most of his work is stuff that doesn't have an immediate result. He was in the attic for a long time, and had to re-wire switches and replace boxes and what-not. We're adding a few fans so he has to replace and add some boxes to hold all the weight. The whole house wiring didn't make much sense to us, so he's basically rewiring the whole thing. Just moving switches so that they make more sense. 

All three of us worked really hard this weekend, and there's more to come. Thankfully, we can stay in our rental house until August, so that give us a lot more time. It would be impossible to move everything out and repaint the rental buy this weekend. I'm pretty sure we would both drop dead from exhaustion! 

I would post pictures, but I'm too busy to download them! Maybe I'll get some posted this week. All in all, we're both extremely happy and very tired. But, I am renewed this morning and am busy finding more things to buy! All these details! We're going to gut our bath and redo the entire thing, so tile is my next big to-do item. Oh yeah, we're getting new dual-flush toilets also. So I'm researching those along with refrigerators. 

We were going to wait the do anything to the kid's bath, but the half of their light fixture doesn't work, so if I'm replacing that, I might as well replace the rest of the fixtures. The last owners mounted the towel bars with only adhesive. STRONG adhesive. I had to knock them both off and of course, rip the sheetrock in the process. More putty and sanding. So repainting is also now necessary. But we decided to hold off on painting the kitchen cabinets until after we move in, so that will save us the time we didn't plan for in the bath.

Well, I've about talked your eyes off, so I'll let ya go. I just want to say that Jesse and I are both very thankful for all the blessings we have and the ability to do all this work. 

Love,

Sunshine

More shennanigans!

Last night we were at the new house working on things- actually working this time, not running around getting supplies. Ava "helped" me paint while Colton was entertained with coloring books and the t.v. we brought over. She was also the d.j. But she only plays one song: Mary Had a Little Lamb. All this while running around in nothing but her  underwear! 

The AC isn't working for some reason. We bought a new thermostat and Jesse spent most of the evening installing it. He's done a few of these before and we've talked with a few people who that the thermostat was the most likely problem. This one was a pain in the butt though. For some reason, it's only powered by batteries. This isn't normally the case. And when we turned it to cool, the heat came on. Or at least it felt like heat, but we were already sticky and hot, so who knows! 

On a good note, the "chair rail" came down quite easily. The previous owners put chair rail in the living and dining rooms. Only they used crown molding for some reason. So the top wasn't flat. It angled back down the wall. It looked funny. We were worried that they had glued it on, but thankfully they nailed it up. There were a few places that were glued and that the wall paint stuck to the molding and ripped the sheetrock, but nothing major. Plus, we'll be able to re-use the trim as actual crown molding in the bedroom. 

That about it for now. More later, I'm sure!

Love, 

Sunshine

We have a house!

It was official as of 4:30 yesterday afternoon! We are super excited and have already started moving boxes in. The next few weeks will be busy ones, for sure.

Jesse has made a list of all the electrical supplies we need and plans on starting on that this afternoon. He's replacing all the outlet and switches, plus adding several new switches and a few can lights. All the fans and light fixtures are getting changed out also. I'm in charge of painting- both houses! I have to paint the rental house back to white when we leave. There are only 2 rooms we're not painting in the new house. Oh! I'm also painting the kitchen cabinets. May even get new counter tops! It's going to be so cute when we're done. We had to order the paint and it should be here Friday...hint, hint. It's a brand called Yolo Colorhouse. It's Green Seal Certified, no VOC and just good paint. Plus it isn't as expensive as the other brands that are locally available and not as healthy. Air pollutants are the number one health concern in homes, and being environmentally friendly is extremely important to both Jesse and I.

Colton and Ava are excited. They've picked out their rooms Colton is getting yellow with blue and red stripes and Ava is going all purple, of course! They both have good sized rooms and big closets. Both rooms look out at the back yard and there's a Hydrangea bush next to Ava's window. We discovered we also have  lemon tree in the back yard! Super excited about that! There are probably over 200 fruits on there ripening right now. 

Guess I'd better tell you a little about the house, not just what we're going to do to it. It's a cute little ranch style, brick home just five roads down from where I grew up as a teenager. We loved that area when we lived there and are glad to be back. It's 1500 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The bedroom closets are all at least 6' long. There are lots of windows, too. The living room has a fireplace! In the kitchen, there's a flat-top cooktop, which we both love and a separate oven. Even it's a little smaller than an oven in a range, I like that the oven is at chest height. It'll make it easier to get things out and I won't have to worry about the babies so much running into the oven door when I have it open. 

Jesse has his own "man cave." The last owner's converted the garage to a bonus room and outside storage on the front. We can use his man cave for storage and he gets a room all to himself. I don't know exactly what his plans are for that room. That's one he can all to himself. I'm hoping to get one all to myself, too. We have a dining room off the kitchen and another one off the living room with french doors that open onto the deck. I'm *hoping* we'll have enough room for our dining room set to get in the room next to the living room so that I can have the room next to the kitchen. There's a closet in that room that I'm claiming as my craft center, regardless of what the room gets used as. But, plans are right now to let the bigger room be my "library." We'll have my bookcases and the computer desk in there. Plus, I'll have to get some new seating and maybe make a coffee table. I've already got it all picked out ;-)

Jesse was insistent that we get a new dishwasher. The one we have now is atrocious. The racks don't come all the way out, it's only 18" wide and you can never get it clean. We looked at the one in the new house last night and were both surprised at how new it is. So we decided we don't have to buy a new one. That's good news. I know it works too because someone's little hands couldn't keep from turning the dial last night!

I've probably worn your eyes out now, so I'll sign off. We're very thankful to everyone who has helped, listened and guided us through this process. The people we worked with at Trustmark and Carroll Realty, Melissa Ingle and Catrina Raevens, were wonderful and extremely understanding. I would recommend them in a heartbeat if anyone out there is looking for a home. 

We love you all!

Love,

Sunshine

It's summer!

Today is the first day of summer break for the babies. They are so excited. We have a busy summer planned, too.

Colton had a great first year at school. We got his report card yesterday and, once again, he made all S's! He's starting his scholastic career extremely well and we couldn't be more proud of him! His teacher gave everyone in the class awards and he received "Most Imagination." He also told me this morning that he was the smartest kid in the class! Confidence obviously isn't a problem for him. 

Our summer is going to be action packed. We close on the house hopefully next week. We have our rental house until July so every extra day we get in June will be a great help in getting our to do list done before we move in. The babies are super excited to move to a new house, even though they haven't seen the inside yet. Colton wants a yellow room and Ava wants purple, of course! Every room in the house is going to be painted except the bathrooms. The kitchen cabinets are in good shape, but they will also get a few coats of paint and new hardware. Jesse is adding can lights galore (thank you, Baby :-)) and replacing all the outlet and switches. Plus, changing out the heating element in the hot water heater, replacing the HVAC thermostat and all the hose bibbs. 

At the end of June, the babies are taking a vacation with their daddy to go see Grandma and Grandpa Menefee. They both love playing on the little farm my parents have. Every morning, they get to go on an egg hunt to find the fresh eggs the hens have laid. Plus, there's a pond in the front yard! It's full of catfish they try to catch. No trip to the farm would be complete without lots of rides on the neigh-neighs, either!

As soon as the get back from Grandpa's, we're loading up Mimi and Mr. David's car and all of us are setting out on a road trip to see Aunt Brenda up near Chicago. There will be lots of exciting things going on up there including a free zoo, an aquarium, the Taste of Chicago and Navy Pier. 

Then Grandma Menefee is coming down for a few weeks at the end of July. Colton also wants to go see his cousins, Hannah and Parker. This will be the summer of the family! 

I know I said it before, but I'm just so excited! I imagine there will also be lots of caffeine involved! My dreams are large, my stamina small. 

We hope everyone has a great summer and hope to see ya soon!

Love,

Sunshine

Mother's Day

Sorry this is so late. I just got caught up in life and then, retelling it last night, I was reminded that I needed to add this story to the blog. 

Colton's class had a Mother's Day tea the Thursday before Mother's Day. It was so cute! We had punch and cupcakes. Each child drew a picture of their mom and they were all hanging on the wall. Each mom had to guess which picture was her! Of course almost everyone guessed correctly because 6 year-olds can't keep secrets! They also made a little book for us. In it, they had filled out some details about their moms. This is what Colton's said:

My mom has "blue" eyes and "brown" hair.

She is "21" years old and weighs "200" pounds.

She is pretty when she "wears a skirt."

She does "sew" better than Daddy.

I like it when she " makes crabcakes."

She is afraid of "roaches."

I like her because "she is nice to me"

I like to talk to her about "getting me an Ipod Touch."

Oh the laughter that ensued! They also made a cookbook for each mom. Every child added a recipe. There was spaghetti and macaroni and lots of other dishes. Colton's recipe was for Salad and detailed how Mome (his spelling) opens the bag, rinses the lettuce, rips it up and then adds yellow peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese. His favorite dressing is Ranch. 

They also make painted little flower pots and had a packet of seeds to grow. It was a very sweet day and I'm so thankful for all the memories. I saved all the gifts  in his memory box, which is almost full- even though he's only 6! Guess I'll have to go through it or buy a storage shed to hold all the memories yet to come!

Love,

Sunshine

Mommy moment of the day...

Scene: In the car on the way to school. Players: Me, Ava and Colton

Ava: EW! Me no like this milk.

Mommy: Ava, there is nothing wrong with that milk. Let me have it. (Take bib gulp. Follow with spittering and sputtering) EW! Don't drink that milk! 

Colton: I already did.

Heaven help us all! That boy's taste buds must be off!

Mommy moment of the day...

Colton: Here, Mommy. I'm done.
Me: Colton Lee you are not done with your cereal. You only ate the marshmallows!

Mommy moment of the day...

Hop in the car this morning, pull out of the drive, get on the road. Ava: "Mommy, me not buckled." AHHHH! I was in such a hurry that I totally forgot to fasten her in her car seat! Shame on Mommy!

Our first camping trip!

We had a blast this weekend! We took the babies on their first real camping trip. And I do mean real! No electricity and no running water at a state park. It was only one night, but we're all still tired this morning.

Driving in, we saw a snake and a deer. Jesse went ahead of us Saturday afternoon and got the tent set up. There were six adults and four kids so there were plenty of helping hands. The kiddies spent the afternoon playing in the water by the creek. But the bank was pure clay that was super slippery. Needless to say, there were lots of laughs!

One guy brought a hammock that was suspended between two trees. I seriously don't know how we would have survived without that thing! The three younger kids all piled in that thing and would swing for probably an hour at a time. Everyone took turns pushing them! Ava and I actually took a little afternoon nap in Sunday since the tent was too hot. 

We had hamburgers on the grill and went through and entire package of marshmallows in one night! Colton loves to roast marshmallows. He kept sticking them in the fire and would go around and make someone eat them so he could get some more. It was so cute! 

I was the first in bed, go figure! The babies loved staying up and playing. But I knew they wouldn't sleep in late. Sooooo.... I was up again at 6:30 when their internal alarm clocks both went off. The three of us took our friend's dog and set out on a walk. It was a nice morning, still foggy with all the spiderwebs in the fields still. We got to see some cool bugs and get some firewood. By the time we got back to camp, the other kids were waking up and then of course it wasn't long until everyone was up! We had a yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon and then spent the day fishing, playing in the water and exploring the creek. 

Oh! we stopped at the dollar store and Ava got a new net so she could catch "fwudderfwies!" She is so cute! Her net actually caught Colton minnow and some crawdads. The bubbles we brought also entertained the children and adults for hours on end. 

We are so glad that everything we well and I'm sure we'll do it again. in the fall. I would love to hear any funny stories y'all have about camping!

Love,

Sunshine

My new project!

Super excited about my new project! 

Colton, Ava and I went by Salvation Army last week and found ourselves a new chair. Well, it's old, and it was ugly . But It has great bones! It was marked down to $5 from $10 and shoved way in the back. Furniture is 25% off on Wednesday's so we scored it for only $3.75! Can you believe it? What a deal! I explained that we were going to repaint it and put new fabric on it. Colton said we should paint it blue and I couldn't agree more.

When we showed Jesse our score, he said, "Oh! They paid YOU $3.75 to take it home." Not quite...

Sooo.....off to Jo Ann Fabrics. They had a great sale and I had a great coupon. Would have spent $130 for 3 yards, but got them all for $50! Here's the beautiful winner:

 

Basquiat Patina

Then a trip to Home Depot yielded this:  

 

Southern Breeze, Behr

Not quite blue, not quite green. But definitely beautiful! I love the name, too. I thought about going with something more neutral- like a creamy white. But my heart just couldn't do it! I've been dreaming about a blue chair for a while now, so I just dove right in. 

Tonight will be sanding it down and getting the grime off it. If I'm lucky, maybe even a coat or two of primer. Or maybe I'll actually do the laundry. Tough choice.  ;)

This is the inspiration for our new living room, whenever we get our new-to-us house:

Isn't it lovely? I'm going to go for a restful, monochromatic look with touches of blue, green, and coral everywhere. The upper right color is Stone .04 with the trim being a soft, creamy white called Air .02 The blue/green is Water .07 and the coral is Clay .07 

Well, that's the inspiration for now. It may change slightly when we actually  move in. I've already got lots of ideas for new projects!

Love,

Sunshine