It's been awhile but we are still moving forward...

I thought I would post some new pictures of the Kitchen and the dinning room/school room. Also the living room with all the painting we have gotten done. It has been quite the undertaking.

So let's start with the kitchen.
The first thing I did was take pictures of the bare WHITE walls. Yup, I have never lived in anything but white. Okay, wait! I did have a VERY bright yellow room growing up and man of my dreams and I, well we did paint our bedroom a year and a half ago. But I have never had any color on my living room, dinning room or kitchen walls. Choosing what these colors would be was not so easy. It was a long hard decision.
Our first picture is of the Kitchen with it's white walls and cupboard door fronts.
The counters were unorganized and messy.

It was hard to have much of a vision for this room as there was so much STUFF that didn't fit and we hardly ever saw the counter tops. Sad but true.

We tore all the laminate paper off of the cupboards and drawer fronts due to the stuff we had didn't have very good glue compound and the paper was already peeling off.

One very happy aloe vera plant that LOVES being root bound and not watered! Much anyways. This aloe will get thinned out so that we can actually open the window! I will end up giving away a couple of pots of aloe to others. LOVE having this plant in the house...just wish it would grow in a different window...sigh. It does love it here.
Oh, you will also notice the counters are visible in the last two pictures. My Emerald Eye helper assisted me in "editing" (as she puts it) the kitchen. We went through EVERYTHING in the cupboards and under the sink and drawers and everywhere in the kitchen and decided to only keep in the them what is used on a consistent basis. This items that I cannot get ride of as I use them, just not often enough, went to the garage. The rest of the kitchen items that just haven't been used in the last couple of years (or, realistically more like in the last 8 or 9 years) went bye-bye! With that we have more counter space and room and it is much easier to keep them clean and clear more often. Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments of not being able to see them due to busy schedule or craft projects....or painting projects, but they don't stay that way too long.

More will be posted on the Kitchen transformation in the next day or two as I have time....now that all the pictures are on my computer.

The God Who Can't NOT Give...

Romans 8:32 NLT
"Since God did not spare even His own son, but gave him up for us all, won't God who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"

God never hesitated to give us His son, Jesus. there were no second thoughts, no questions. This is the depth of His love for us. He never hesitated to send us the only one who could save us - His son. Because of this we can be assured He will never with hold anything we need to be able to live for Him, to walk in complete freedom. The original way He designed us to walk!

I no longer need to beg God for that which I need.
- He is my provider
- He is my peace
- He is my healer
- He is my the one who takes care of me
- He is my wise counselor

In Him I have all I need to live. I will no longer questions Him, as I know He would not with hold from me. His love for me is too deep and too wide to comprehend. When I ask He is moved by my asking.

So how about you? Do you see God as being moved by your asking? Do you see Him as holding out till you "get it straight?" Or do you see God as the Father who loves his children to ask of him and to give to them? You know like the daddy that is wrapped around his little girls finger? Do you see God as wrapped around your finger. This isn't the "I can manipulate God to give me anything" type of statement. This is the daddy who gives good things to his children who knows when it is a good thing and knows when to say no to protect the child. But when it is not of harm to the child this Daddy is the kind of daddy who just cannot say no and LOVES to bestow good gifts to his children.
So I ask you again, do you realize that you captivate your heavenly Father's heart? You didn't do anything to deserve it, never could have. You can't do anything to earn it, and you never can! He just loves you to pieces. I dare you to ask with the boldness of Esther. With the child like heart of a little child to it's daddy. Go ahead, ask.

I am sure you all are wondering....

Is it done yet? Does she ever finish anything????
Well, yes I do finish projects (sometimes much later than I meant to...hee hee) and no we are not done yet. The heat wave here prevented us from finishing the painting up stairs as the paint was drying on the roller between the pan and the wall! I was constantly picking latex off the walls, so I put a stop to it all until it cools down. The down side to this meant that we wouldn't start back up again until school started. As many of you know we homeschool our children so "school starting back up" doesn't mean freedom or more time for me....it means less. Thus my Emerald Eye lady and I will work together once a month after the 18th.
I am hoping to have time the weekend of the 11th - 13th to up load some pictures of where we were and where we are now so that you all can see just how things are progressing.
Until then you will just have to do with words...so sorry.
Sorry I haven't posted recently but between trying to work as many days as both Emerald Eye Elf and I had avaiable to work together and then starting school with the kids by the 17th of August (yes we always start this early to get extra time off during the holidays and to end before Memorial Day) I just didn't have the time to post before. I should be posting at least once a month now with updates.

Excuse Our Mess...We are Under Construction

It has been a few weeks since I last posted about all our home make over stuff. We had several days where we were waiting on things to arrive (the boys' beds) or people to be available that could assist us in installing some things. With that they have all been here and gone and I just haven't had time to get pictures and sit and write. Though it doesn't look like it in our house right now (the old school room has taken over the living room and down stairs area...lol) we have been working on getting the kitchen ready! However, I am running ahead and need to slow down now so that I may show you the nearly final pictures of the office and the boys' Room.

Let's start with Man of my Dreams' office. He has been ever so content working in his office, having everything he needs right at his finger tips!


His "Tech board" is finally no longer in threat of being knocked down or the sticky notes getting knocked off and then trying to remember what status that customer was at.


The balloon was a gift from the guys at the Tacoma Museum Of Glass hot shop. This is one of our clients and every so often they will give Man of my Dreams a little gift as a thanks for the support we provide. I love this balloon, and yes it really is just glass. It hangs from some fishing line so it looks as though it is just floating there. I am almost tempted to update this particular shot as it is even more polished looking with 3 computers up on the tech bench and the other printer in there as well as the latest file cabinet that we picked up at a GREAT deal on Craigslist.


Now off to the boys room. What I realized here was that I forgot to get a picture of the room from the bed...HA! Well, here is a shot of their new bed anyway. They LOVE it and so do I! Everyone has their own space and it is clearly marked. They will have magnetic boards (just awaiting install) next to each of their beds to hang what ever on (this is the cure to using push pins and staples...yeah!) They all have a hanging, three compartment, thing from IKEA for their current book, light wedge and MP3 players. The boys above will probably end up with some sort of shelf or something as well for their alarm clocks...yes they all have different times that I require them to get up in the morning.
Well, there you have it for now. My pot rack has arrived but we must wait until the weather is cool enough to put it up. I did get my pantry mostly organized...I forgot the before pictures of that but will have the after pics once the door organizer is up and in use. This Monday we begin on the kitchen! I got my paint last night for kitchen, dining and living rooms. I can hardly wait to begin!

Too Cold But Who Cares!

I have never understood how it is when we are children we will play in cold water and shiver and turn blue and still keep trying to play, just because the calendar says it is summer! My children now do this. Man of My Dreams came up the other day laughing and told me that they found a remedy to getting warmed back up when they decided that they were too cold! I could never explain it all in words and have it be so good. Instead I think pictures really do speak a thousand words that we could never express at times. Man of my Dreams was only able to get a shot of Nightingale, but he originally found Straight Arrow in here as well.
This is the big basin sink in our laundry/mud room. This is the room with the door to the back yard. She just looks so relaxed warming up in the hot water fill sink, doesn't she?

KIDS! They are so funny!

Phase Two of School room to boys' room

Well here we are with the next step in the process of the boys room. The school room has moved itself to a corner in the living room. Okay, so to tell the truth it is more than just a corner of the living room but that is besides the point.

Because this room was for the boys we decided that they should take a little owner ship in it by helping paint.




Nightingale wanted to help too so we let her join in the fun.
















And help she did. She thought this was just so great!






These two covered most of this wall by themselves.



Little Giant was not too thrilled at first when he learned he was going to be doing some of the work on his room. He really just wanted to go play in the pool or watch a movie. HA!









Little Gian re-loading his paint roller. He learned you don't need to dip the WHOLE brush into the paint.








Once I told Little Giant that the timer went off and he could be done now his response was..."But what if I don't want to be done?" He then finished the wall he is working on so that all that need to be done were the edges! Guess he decided it was kind of fun to participate in the painting of his new room.



Straight Arrow wanted to paint on the wall that would be using the color HE chose. Yes, we let the three boys pick the colors! They did very well!













Straight Arrow re-loading his roller....so precise!

"This is so fun!"



My elf's trim work is so perfect I don't even try to compete, I just let her do it.

The Muddy Seahawks or The Muddy Sounders Room
(It all depends on which boy you are asking)

The paint is completed at last and we even beat our time that we spent on the office (I am sure it is because of all the helping hands we got on this room)!

Phase 1 of School Room Transformation

So now for the pictures of the dirty, white walls and empty room.

Okay, so after painting Richard's new office last Friday, I set a goal of having the School room cleared out by Tuesday. This I did, but not alone! Special credit and thanks to Man of My Dreams for all his help and even his encouragement to keep me going while I really was not wanting to do anything more. Also a special thank you to my Bumble Bee Lady's man for helping get the BIG (and very heavy) white board off the wall. Don't know what Man of My Dreams and I would have done with out your help...Little Giant thanks you too as he would have had to try and use his muscles and short stature to help if we didn't have yours.

The AMAZING Emerald Eye Design Woman! She is soooooo AWESOME! Her grace and patience astound me continually!

Last picture of this room with white walls! It shall now begin its morphing into something you would actually want to go into! A sporty room for boys!

School Room to Boys' Room

This is the school room. Most of the year it was not so messy, however the last three months of school it started to become the "catch all" room in the house as we were busy with sports, school and the like. This picture is just behind the door of the room. The wall chart is hanging on the closet door.



This is the white board wall....and the little table where the kids would have a project. It looks like their project is to whittle down the pile of school stuff and put it all where it should go! Actually, much of it was stuff I was sorting through and preparing for selling or placing in the round file.

This was my desk on the right and the shelving system (you saw the other half in the picture directly above this one). The shelves will be going one floor above where they are in this picture to the dining room wall. I am very sure they will be MUCH neater there!


This is the before view looking into the school room. The photo copier on the right and the two computers for the kids directly in front. All of this must be removed and put....somewhere before we can begin transforming it into the boys' room.

Almost there...

Okay so I am almost done clearing out the school room. I just need to adjust some things in my living room so that I can get the rest of the stuff from the school room to fit up there until it is ready to be put on the shelves when they go up on the wall.
Also, RT (drum roll please....) fixed my computer! He realized that he had unplugged it a day earlier from when it "crashed." This got him to thinking that maybe it hadn't actually crashed but just didn't have any battery juice left! He was right! Not only did he figure out that problem but he also cleaned it up. I am sooooo excited. He did all the techie stuff he is so good at that I just don't get!
This means that I will be able to disconnect this computer and get EVERYTHING out of the school room by tomorrow night! With that I will be able to move the boys down and their dressers by Tues! YIPPEE! I will also be able to keep you all updated as I continue my "home Makeover" project.
TTFN
Patty

Phase 3...Check!

Paint is on the walls and all that is left to move out are the dressers. I have to finish clearing out the school room (that means that this computer will be moving out and I am not sure when I will be able to post again - my laptop died and unless Man of my Dreams puts access to the network on the mini laptop then I won't be able to post more pictures). Once the school room is totally cleared out then I will be able to put the boys mattresses in here AND their dressers...yeah we will be able to walk safely down the hall again!


This is from the point of view of the window! WOW! What a difference, eh?

This one is me standing in the closet.

From the door looking at the window. With no coverings on the window I could adjust the lighting to make the picture any brighter.


Looking into the closet.
Well there it is and I will get the other stuff in soon...hopefully.

Phase 2 done!

Now the room is nearly empty. Susan from Emerald Eye (this is her company name) has been such an amazing help, resource and "hand holder" through this process. It has been great to have her counsel and wisdom and prayers as we make this HUGE transition from house to home!
Getting the room ready to paint and make it into Man of my Dreams' office has been quite the adventure. It has taken me four weeks to get to this point.

We had to finish up school and testing so that I could have some free days to work. We started the planning four weeks ago just before going on vacation. Next week Man of my Dreams and I will go on vacation and hopefully he will be able to start on getting his office set up before that...highly unlikely but here's to dreaming. HA! With that I will continue to empty the school room and prepare it to be transformed into the boys new bedroom! They are getting excited, so am I. I am ready to be Sabrina from Bewitched and just twinkle my nose and have it all done! But just like when working on loosing weight, I didn't gain all the weight over night, I won't be loosing it over night. Now I am making my house go on a diet! and it is learning to let go so it can live!

Phase 1 Complete...

Phase one was to narrow down all the stuffed animals to just 5 per kid! This was done (more painfully for some than others). Pictures were taken with some favorites and everyone is doing fine now. Here you can now see the top of their beds. They also spent a day "cleaning" in their room.


You see more bed and below you can even see the floor! WOW there really is a floor in that room! HA!


This gives you an idea of the size of the room and what it should, or better yet shouldn't, hold.















This is the closet side of the room.



















This is from the point of view from the window. Window? Yes there is a window in this room! Can you believe that????

Before the start of the make over...

This is the room when the boys were in it. I had given up trying to get them to keep it clean. Our house became a MAJOR clutter due to just having too much stuff to fit in our space. This room had 3 boys in it. Two loft beds and one mattress you cannot see here under the shorter loft. The room will barely fit a twin bet in it! They make rooms so small these days. sigh.

This was the scary dresser! Only one kid! (the other dresser lives in the hall - but ONLY until they have their room down stairs ready for it) This is what happens when you ignore it and just "shut the door!"

Here is the bed of the messiest kid. The teenager! It is the mattress on the floor that you couldn't see earlier.

These pics are all before stage 1 of the make over.
This room will become Man of my Dreams' office.