Happy Mother's day to me!

 I LOVE being a mom.  I love love love my kids.  Sometimes... (usually a little bit every day) I wish I could lock myself away and have a half hour to myself. But this is motherhood.

I've been so inspired this year by this person.  She is such an incredible mother who has so much love and appreciation for this calling in her life.

 I am so grateful for my beautiful children.

 I am so grateful for my health.

 I am so grateful for the gift I have to be a stay at home mom!

 I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I am not alone in this and that I have Help when I don't know where to turn.

 I am just so grateful.

Now I am going to go lock myself in my bathroom and take a bath and read a book and get away from being a mom for a 1/2 hour.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Olivia turns 3

New banister

It's done.  Yay!  It took forever!  Trying to keep three little kids plus all of their friends to keep hands off a freshly painted banister was driving me insane!  Plus I have never used oil-based paint before and although I really like the end result, I'm not doing it again.  WHAT A PAIN!  But it turned out beautifully.

Hello gorgeous!

I stained the rail and newel posts along with the bottom ledge.  I wanted to still let some of the wood show through.

I painted each of the ballusters with the oil based paint so when those kiddos run along them with their light sabers and princess wands, it won't knick the surface and ruin my paint job.

Another look at the before....

Big difference!

Hello.  I'm still sanding.  But last week I made some changes in our bedroom.  I moved the furniture and I'm feeling like I am in a whole new room!  Love it!  Our Master is tiny tiny tiny.  I used to have the bed in front of the window and I thought it gave us a little extra room.  But... We sacrificed light.  Living in Utah with this mucky, dingy, gross air has made me crave lighter, brighter spaces.  

This is what our room looked like a few years back....

And Today...

Much better.  Burke and I even traded sides of the bed.  Yes people... I like to live dangerously!