weekly gratitude

• Thank you for little cousin Tommy's birthday! May Christ keep you safe, happy, healthy, and growing!

• Thank you LFP apartment for being dependable & cozy to live in the past 19 months (and to Jena & T$ for living there with me...at different times). So weird that I will never live there again!
• Thank you Mr. Clean Magic Eraser & whoever invented it. You have seriously revolutionized my cleaning game & will hopefully help us get our damage deposit back of the apartment.

• Thank you Jon-Jo and Emily for not outgrowing me quite yet. I will hula hoop, play jenga, soldiers, and sit by you at lunch as long as you'll have me. :)



cousins



note from Jon-Jo



me

made by daniel

"My face announces to the world that I come from a long line of very open-minded lovers." - Anne Curry

weekly gratitude

OK. So earlier this week (or last week) I stumbled across this lovely blog: Love, Life, Lace and found that she has and encourages others to start a weekly entry in regards to gratitude. I think it's fitting that my very first entry as a "participant" is on Good Friday.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Jerusalem, Israel

• Thank you to Christ for your sacrifice of yourself, and your sacrifice of your perfect & eternal relationship with God as you bore my burdens on the cross.
• Thank you to T$ for working so hard on our new home.
• Thank you sunshine for showing us your face this week.
  

  

  doug bookman

• Thank you Bookman for visiting us Seattle folks! I'm in eager anticipation to hear what you have to teach us tonight from God's Word.
• Thank you Mom & Dad for providing T$ and I with most (if not all) of our dinners as we transition into a new home.
• Thank you Ivan & Alyosha for doing what you were created to do. I literally can't stop smiling thinking about last night's show. Your guys' joy is so obvious!

• Thank you tulips for staying in bloom! Cannot wait to see you in the droves next week with the dearest of friends.
• Thank you Christ for the ability to heal & for staying by my side June 9, 2010.

OUR ISLAND (IN ITS CURRENT STATE)

backyard nostalgia

Call me strange but the #1 thing I will miss about our little apartment is our BACKYARD. Everyday there is something to behold of God's creation: hawks, bluejays, woodpeckers, Chole (my favorite kitten who once visited me daily), and really really fat squirrels. Some mornings the fog would be so thick that it almost ALMOST looked as though we lived in some Irish/Scottish countryside and our backyard was just the beginning of some huge grassy field. Beautiful & serene backyard, I will miss you!

early morning view

Our neighbor - Sailor

hawk

squirrel

V IS FOR VICTORY

Many years ago, 2003 to be exact - Mr. Daniel R. Strandy taught me how to paint. It was my first time painting and I was determined to have a bright blue & yellow room. Thanks to Dan & Linnea that dream came true. Fast forward to 2011 & I still rely on those very same techniques to paint our current abode: wipe off excess paint in pan, paint in V shapes on the wall & repeat.  With a lot of forearm strength, paint rollers, trips to Home Depot, T$'s private reserve of paint mixing skills, and help from family & friends we are finally done covering every wall in our home with a fresh coat of paint. One step closer to moving in! Although I'm quite certain that this sign was meant to rally the people to the Ally's cause of WWII, I hope Churchill doesn't mind my borrowing it.

Winston Churchill 

Kitchen - before

Kitchen - Before. T$ would like you to note his "cool shoes"

Kitchen - After

Kitchen - After

Guest room - before

Guest room -after

Guest Room - After with the beginnings of our library!

Master bedroom - Before

Master bedroom - After

learning to let go. for a little while.

We found out on Monday that if we move out of our current apartment by April 16th we can have our last 2 weeks of rent prorated (yes please) so we're making the push to get outta there! Fortunately & unfortunately we have more packing to do than I even want to think about! Part of this whole packing thing requires specific planinng of the very essentials (toothpaste, toothbrush, clean underwear) vs. the non-essentials (serving dishes, mason jars, candles, frames). Last night came time to pack away all of our baking goods: mixers, bowls, aprons, the Kitchen Aid mixer. I can hold off on the desire to bake for two weeks...

Except now, this morning, all I want to do is bake! Thanks to the Pioneer Woman all I want to do is go home and make these, and these, and THIS. Forget the packing - I want a cupcake!

Well, a girl can dream. Happy dreams of cream cheese frosting and sugar. And if anyone out there decides to bake any of these items and drop them off at our front door I would definitely NOT complain. Just saying.