sweet girl.

my beautiful girl

who loves to goof with her daddy.

the haircut.

just because i believe it needs to be documented- back in early March Campbell got himself a haircut that was quite overdue. i know it's more than a month old (only a month, wow, it feels like it was 6 months ago) but i thought you would enjoy!

smile, why?

how about a goofy face. looking back at these pictures, sam and i realize how crazy long this kids hair had gotten! yikes. he almost looks like a girl.

what's the big deal, its just a haircut.

ok, now i'll smile.

learning to stand

forgive me if i repost pictures here. there is a chance. it's been very long since i have posted that i cannot always keep track of what gets posted or not, but either way- i hope you enjoy!

catching up.

ok, i still don't have new pictures yet of the rest of the house- i but i will soon. i can't believe its been so long since i've posted any pictures, i really wanted to try and catch you up the kids and get some fresh pictures for your eyes.

old pictures :) from right after baby Westin's baby shower. the kids had quite the time playing with the balloons.

moved.

yup. we are moved. and like i said before, the mass majority of the move is done. what's left? oh, the un-fun aspects of sorting through what's been put in our garage to decide what we do and don't want. but that is out of sight (but not out of mind) and can be accomplished slowly but surely.

details on the house- we actually bought a duplex, with the plans of someday renting one side and then hopefully using it the whole thing as a rental when we move onto something different. there are a lot of "hopeful" plans for the future. but i really don't feel like expanding on them, simply because i am very happy with the way things have come together.

almost to pictures. last tuesday i was basically overwhelmed and having a huge meltdown. we had packed a few boxes, our old house was a disaster zone, i didn't have any help during the days- except for the kids who were a huge help un-packing boxes while i packed, and no idea how to set up our new house. we had only been it it a few times, and there were a lot of mental roadblocks i was coming across with how and where to put things.

so i decided i needed help- big help. my dad.

my dad has these crazy mad decorating skills, and he also works at subhuman speed. growing up, my house was always perfectly decorated both seasonally and non-seasonally. he loved finding things to add to our walls or decor. it really is amazing.

so i sent a desperate text for him to come (my dad basically works 7 days a week for about 12 hours a day, so it was very desperate) and lucky for me (thank you Lord!) his weekend work had fallen through. with a generous offer from some of his clients, he and my youngest brother Eric were given passes to fly for free, and Thursday night they had arrived from washington.

thank the Lord.

my dad woke with all of us early friday morning, threw his shoes on and just started loading furniture into our truck. my brother eric was a lifesaver, he stayed at the old house and watched after my 3 children- who were in extra crazy mode as henry was trying to wean himself, and campbell and mason who were literally running in circles wherever furniture was removed.

my dad worked solid for 3 days. on saturday we did have a handful of friends help with moving- but by then my dad had moved my living room, the kids rooms, and our bedrooms- when sam was home he was there to help move and put together all the beds- but sam had to work on friday, so it was basically me and my dad.

my dad took one empty duplex, and in 3 days had it completely decorated. see for yourself:

living room

front door

our reading nook in our living room

my house warming gift from my mom and dad- my awesome new couch, our great find at salvation army, and a wonderful gal (brenda hodges) covered my old pillows and made me 3 beautiful ones!

my little sewing machine finally displayed

looking into our kitchen

utilizing all the space in our small kitchen- my dad hung everything!

the most important thing- my coffee pot.

order.

peering into our pantry

our window in the kitchen- which isn't a window to the outside, rather a window to our pantry

shelves in our bathroom

bathroom

dining room, maybe my favorite room (well, until my sewing room is finished), the green curtain leads to a closet that has all of my homeschooling supplies and excess kitchen stuff

there are many more pictures to share- the kids room and playroom, but i just remembered that our power is getting shut off today for road work, and i am frantically trying to finish this post before i lose it all! so.... consider this part one!

and i can never thank my dad enough for coming down and saving the day. there would be boxes everywhere, bare walls, and an overwhelmed mary if he hadn't come down and worked so hard. a lot of people made our move a huge success: special thanks to matt, justin and baha, and dan who all lent their muscles, for aunt lisa who literally moved the rest of our stuff (you know, the stuff you don't know what to do with but it has to come with you), for paul (sam's dad) who built us a gate for our backyard, lent his van and flat bed for moving, and tinkered around with what needs to be tinkered with,, and donna (sam's mom) who (with my brother's help) watched our kids.

**i should also thank my mom- she doesn't get a lot of my dad's free time (they are both really busy) and she selflessly sent him out the door and to my aid- thank you mom!

and my dad, my dad made this into a home.

love ya dad.