Family Room {Last Wall}

 This is what remodeling with kids looks like.

Working while they play and working late into the evening.

But the last wall is finished and it's BEAUTIFUL!

Coralee's 3rd Birthday {A Visit to the Fire Station}

 I'm big on tradition, if you didn't already know this. At times, keeping up with all of the traditions can be challenging, but this time it SAVED me! New Year birthdays are the worst and I really struggle with making plans to celebrate Coralee's birthday, but this year, tradition saved the day. I knew exactly what we were doing and where we were doing it. Third birthdays are spent at the fire station. See: Marin's 3rd birthday and Adalyn's 3rd birthday.

As it was with the other girls, Cora loved her day at the station. In her birthday interview I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she held up four fingers.

Acts of Kindness {A New Christmas Tradition}

We are trying something new this Christmas season. A kindness project that I hope will develop into a meaningful tradition. Inspired by the book The Last Straw by Paula Palangi, I've challenged my little family to show secret acts of kindness to another family member each week leading up to Christmas.

Monday evening we drew names and for the coming week we'll each show acts of kindness. When we do, we get to place a piece of straw into baby Jesus' cradle. The goal is to create a soft bed for baby Jesus to sleep on Christmas eve.

The idea was met with enthusiasm and everyone has already shown loving acts of kindness. I'm excited to cultivate more love in our family with this simple tradition.

Family Room {Progress!}

Wall number two is up!

Below is a little glimpse into what all has to happen to the boards before they go up. 

 

Simple Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

This simple activity was a BIG hit at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party and best of all it was very simple to put together. All you need is 10 miniature pumpkins (5 white and 5 orange) and orange duck tape. This is sure to become a family tradition. 

Our First Sweet Potato Harvest

Remember the crazy sweet potato idea we had back in May? Well, that one sweet potato multiplied and this week (five months later) we harvested our first batch of sweet potatoes!

 We started by cutting the vines away from the top of the soil.

Once cut, everything rolled back like a big blanket.

 Next came the digging. We decided because the area was so small, we'd dig everything up by hand.

 Once the potatoes were out they were tossed on the ground around the garden.

Some of the tubers were long and snake like. This made the girls giggle.

We came away with a wagon load. I think Steven was expecting more potatoes. But 20+ good size potatoes from one isn't bad in my opinion. Now we wait six more weeks for the potatoes to cure and the put them to the REAL test, our taste.

Family Room {The Walls}

We finished the ceiling in the family room in January, but since then, life has taken over and we recently decided it was time to make the final push! So we've removed all of the old trim and painted the last coat of paint on the ceiling the week of October 5. We've decided to keep one wall the original wooden plank walls, so we covered that wall in plastic to keep from getting paint on it.

Once the ceiling was painted I cleaned the wall using hot water and vinegar. Six buckets of water and four kitchen sponges later, the wall is clean, and has a coat of clear satin urethane.

While brainstorming ideas for wall coverings for the other three walls, I came across this home featured in Southern Living. I immediately fell in love with the shiplap, pine-plank walls in the entryway of the home. I knew it was what we needed for the family room.

We chose to start with the french door wall. Here is the progress we've made! 

 Boards before they are hung.