Doug and Carrie's Wedding

On March 16th, my brother got himself a beautiful bride. :) The wedding was in their back yard and it was such a pretty day for an outdoor wedding. 

Carrie had the place decorated so nice. I loved the country theme she had going on. I am, I admit, a bit jealous of her decorating talent. :) 

Enjoy the pics! 

Congratulations, Doug and Carrie!

Mark 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Bathroom Makeover!

Our hall bathroom has been a source of frustration for me over the last year. It ALWAYS smelled! I would clean and spray freshener and still it would stink to high heavens. BLECK! 

Thanks to this years' tax return we were able to replace the floor and paint and OH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!

Here is the before. Wood laminate flooring, separating and bubbled in places.

 Under the wood was stained linoleum.

 The smell was horrific. I can not describe to you how bad it really smelled. I do not even want to think too hard about it. I mean really... it was disgusting.

 After both floors and baseboards were pulled up I bleached the floor and lower walls like a mad woman for several days.

Here are the after pictures. It smells... clean. YAY!!!!!

 For the walls we chose a decorative paint. I have always wanted to try one. I had to roll on a regular can of paint and let it dry overnight. Then I had to brush an iridescent pearl top coat in sections, allow 10-15 of dry time then I had to swirl the tacky paint using a trowel. It was a bit involved but I love it!

 My hubby painted the ceiling for me as well as giving our tacky gold light fixture a coat of spray paint that was leftover from another project. One day we will replace it... maybe next years' tax return. ;)

 The door and new baseboards got a coat of paint and are waiting on a second coat. I'll get to it next week, hopefully.

 Michael did a fabulous job tiling both bathrooms!  He is scared that I am going to have him tiling me a back splash in the kitchen now. Muahaha

There were some other odds and ends that we got done. A new toilet seat that actually matches the toilet was bought, a new rug and trash can as well. Michael used some WD-40 to remove some stuff that was drawn on the mirror from previous residents. And Goo Gone took some weird super glue-like substance off the counter top. There are some stains on the counter that unfortunately don't want to come off. Oh, well.

I have a pretty blue shower curtain but we are still trying to find the rod that we want at a decent price. And I think I talked the hubby into letting me buy a new toilet paper holder. ha! The ones that came with the house are these plastic dollar store quality ones. The least little bump in the wrong way and they fall down and you spend the next five minutes rolling the toilet paper back up. Besides... they are ugly too.

I would still like to get a smaller rug for in front of the sink and new soap dispenser and tooth brush holder. All that will come when there is extra money and I find what I want. :) I don't want to give Michael a heart attack. hehe!

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Sweet and Sour

Josiah has been wanting lemonade for the longest time. While at Aldi this week I couldn't pass up $.99 bags of lemons. I came home with two bags and we got to work.

 Jman was so excited that he got to help me.

 We had a nice discussion about cutting the lemons in half and what that meant. A little bit of schooling got thrown in with out even trying. :)

 We squeezed the lemons...

 added a whole bunch touch of sugar...

 stirred...

 added water...

 stirred...

 And the best part, we taste tested.

I asked Josiah if the lemonade was sour just to see what he would say and his response (after smacking his lips) was "It is sour... and its kinda sweet too." He downed three cups of it.

That my friends is how you make lemonade. Sweet and Sour!

Oh, don't worry, we didn't use both bags of lemons in that one pitcher. We froze juice in portions for later lemonade yumminess.

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Gratituesday: Hope in God

There has been several deaths lately. Some were passing acquaintances, and one was related to people I've known for years. The one that hit Michael and I the hardest was someone we have just come to know within the last two years.

She was a sweet lady named Sue. We came to know her because her computer broke and Michael fixed it for her. Then when I first began organizing food for different events at the church she was one of the first to volunteer. She was quiet and in 'the background' most of the time. We probably would have never came to know her unless her computer broke.

She died suddenly. I really do not even know all the details other than what was announced in church. It really took everyone by surprise. There was nothing to prepare her husband or family. There were no goodbyes.

I am so glad that there is HOPE. If life consisted of being born and just dying, it would be a sad world. Death would be harder to deal with and move forward from. 

I am thankful that through Christ there is eternal life waiting for those who put their trust in Him.

Proverbs 14:32b ...but the righteous hath hope in his death.

II Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Serenaded by a Four Year Old

This morning I was rudely awakened by an evil ukulele my handsome little guitar-playing guy.

Yesterday, we received a package from Grandma and Grandpa Case who live in Fiji. They sent Joanna a new dress made in Fiji and Josiah got this awesome little ukulele which he calls a guitar except he pronounces it 'tatar'. 

 

 He has been endlessly singing and strumming that little thing. Here he is laying in bed beside me waking me up with his "beautiful music".

 Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Welcome Home, Eli!

It has been an exciting week for us! My best friend, Sami, had her handsome little man! Eli was born yesterday in the wee hours of the morning. The Lord was so gracious in allowing Jared, Sami's hubby, to arrive just before she went into active labor.

Mommy and baby are doing great! Eli has the sweetest little dimple! It reminds me so much of my kids and their dimples. :) Last night he gave Sami a huge smile and flashed that dimple and I think I saw Sami melt into an ooey gooey puddle. ;)

He is also super cuddly. He just kinda burrows into you until he is comfy and then zonks out for a good nap. Ah, I just LOVE newborns! 

And now why you really visited my blog... pictures!!!

 Eli and his Daddy

 Getting a bath

 This is his "Brrr! That was cold!" face.

 Snoozing in Mommy's lap

 This is his "Auntie Joy, would you please let me sleep!" face.

 "Ahh, finally."

 Holding his mommy's hand

 "I am completely content. I love you, Mommy."

 Eli and Auntie Joy

Feel free to leave some love for the new addition to the Dropps Family by commenting. I'll make sure they get the messages... after all it would give me another excuse to invade and hold a sweet little one. :)

Genesis 33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
 

Just A Bit of Life

I haven't blogged in a couple weeks so I am going to play a little catch up with pictures to keep the Grandparents happy. :)

Joanna's latest "baby trick" - Fishy Face!

 Pretty Pink Cowgirl... She lives in Polk County after all.

 Sweet Dreams. That was last week, this week she is a slobbery teething mess.

Josiah's new thing is to pose for pictures. He is his father's child. :)

 One of his favorite phrases now is when he is eating something that he really likes he says, "My tummy is having a party!" This night we were eating Taco Soup and he kept saying it over and over.

 Jman is doing a great job at making his bed.

 He also cracks me up how he tucks his animals in.

Michael has been busy with work and home improvement projects. The hall bathroom is almost done!!! I am SOOO happy that the "smell" is GONE! Hallelujer! I will post pictures of before (gross) and after once it is all finished. 

Last night he took a break so he could watch the debut of the new Samsung phone. Here is a glimpse of how "Geeks" watch a new tech item being announced... at least my geek! On his computer he is watching the presentation, on his tablet and on Josiah's Fire he is reading the live blog feeds. 

He makes me jealous with his multitasking skills.

Over the weekend I got to spend some time with my best friend and her little girl. I enjoyed playing with Ailey so much! At one point she kissed my nose and I about melted into a puddle of mush.

In other news, my brother is getting married tomorrow! I am sure I'll have a few pics to share later on! :) Have a wonderful weekend with your families!

Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.