Paint

Remember when my mom came out, and we had a painting marathon? Well I am finally getting around to posting the results! When my mom was here we were on such a roll, we painted all day, every day, for a week! But upon departing with a few small things for me to finish (the master bathroom, front door, and second coat on the deck) all the momentum had vanished with my mom and it took me forever to get to it! But I finally did. We seriously had a blast painting together. Side by side with one of my favorite people on earth! And she taught me such a valuable skill. I went from never having painted a single thing, to completing my entire house, talk about diving in!

ENJOY

Welcome!

I had to paint this front door! It used to be a light peach and I thought it looked horrible! Just blended right into the house. Doors need to stand out in my opinion.

Master Bedroom: This picture doesn't really capture it, but I love looking from the sage green of the bedroom into the dark brown of the bathroom, looks really nice.

Master Bathroom:

When you have a house you realize the things you really like and then things you wish you had (more closets/storage space!) Well one thing I love is having separate sinks. (I was shocked when I realized that it is my sink that is the dirty one!) And love having a closed door for the toilet, and the shower, keeps the steam away from the mirror

Lincoln's room:
Reagan's room:
Playroom:

This is my favorite room in the whole house. The picture makes it looks dark, but it actually is such BRIGHT room. I love the yellow, so sunny and happy. I love playing in here with the kids, I love feeding Lincoln in that chair, reading books, twirling, running, and singing songs. There is a feeling of happiness that permeates this room. And I love this book shelf, it was mine growing up!

Guest bathroom:
The maple trees we planted in the back yard:I am so kicking myself that I didn't take pictures of them when they were full of green leaves, and even missed capturing their beautiful fall colors, next year...
This may have been the biggest feat of all, staining the deck:
Thank you mom for the hours and hours in the awkward and uncomfortable positions!
The downstairs foyer:
This is the entrance we use most, coming in from the garage. We just painted it the same shade of cream the upstairs is painted.

The office:
And just so you don't get a false sense of reality, all of these pictures were taken on different days. These rooms have never all been clean at the same time! Maybe someday... when the kids are grown. My favorite quote about this is from President Monson, "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly" found in of my favorite talks.

Besides the actual choosing and deciding on color, I absolutely loved painting. However, decorating is a little bit of a different story. I find decorating simultaneously fun and overwhelming (some people really have the gift for this) and although I really value and appreciate a well decorated home, I don't have that natural touch (or the money, yikes!). Consequently, my mind set for now is, "I never want to move again!!" It is so much work and too much of my time, energy, thought, and "wanting" has gone into trying to get it just the way I want it. (when in the end none of it really matters anyway!) Maybe I'll just hire a decorator next time! I can show her the kind of style I like and then she can do all the work, planning, and shopping.

But thankfully I'm to a point where I feel like most of the house is put together and I can continue to do a fun project here and there and add/change decor. But all the concentrated effort got to be a little much for me. I am glad it's done! I am finally feeling settled.

We did have had a few successes with decorating. Times wher you are like, "This fits absolutely PERFECT!" That is how I feel about our kitchen table. I really, really value having meals together, eating good food, and spending time together around the table. So finding a table where we could share some of this most precious time together was important to me. We also love have guest over and wanted to be able to accomadate them. But I also didn't want to spend a thousand dollars! Can I say major blessing when we found this AMAZING table on KSL for....can you believe it: $250!!!! In love! Six chairs and a leaf. I am so looking for to Thanksgiving! Another perfect fit is this clock. We actually already had it but now it found it's perfect place!I want to tell my mom thank you again. I would have never done any of this if it weren't for you. You really are the best mom in the whole world!!!!