Sadler insisted on washing HIS hands after I changed his diaper!

I love watching my boys sleep, especially Sadler, he looks so calm and peaceful compared to the time I normally see him when he’s awake!

oh grayden!

and while we’re on the topic of changing Bible stories, I found this to be quite funny,

a cheetah in the stable, who knew?!

This reminded me of another story I heard from one of his Sunday school teachers awhile back; while the teacher was the story of when Moses throws his staff down and it turns into a snake, Grayden piped in that he thought a lion would have been much cooler than a snake! I’m sure someday the staff-turned-snake will impress him more than it does now!

Robb and I at The Story Tour Thursday night.

In case you haven’t heard of The Story Tour it’s “a musical journey from Genesis to Revelation, featuring a full choir and orchestra with Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant, Matthew West, Nichole Nordeman, and Selah.”

I love music and hearing the Bible stories through song was a really cool experience, especially while I’m wrapping up my reading of the entire Bible this year.

Such a fun night, thanks Scott and Stacey (and 5/3rd bank) for the tickets!

routine lab work this morning

Hope you all had a great week, ours definitely had a Bible story theme too it. It’s made me think a lot about the Bible and what wonderful gift His Word is to us. Like I mentioned earlier, I started this year out with a goal to read the entire Bible by the end of 2012. I’ve gotten behind, then caught back up again time and time again, and I have to admit that at times it’s felt more like a chore than an honor to read the Word of God, but I have learned so much!

**I’d love it if you’d share your favorite Bible story and where its found, in the comments section! If you don’t know your favorite Bible story, or if you’re unfamiliar with the Bible maybe you’d enjoy reading through the comments and looking up the passages to read.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend, we definitely did!

Thanks for all the comment love on my past post! To answer some of your questions, NO I am not a clean freak! That questions made Robb and I laugh out loud! I love a clean house, but mine rarely is! When I do clean I’m a bit crazy about it though, if I’m going to go through the effort of doing something it has to be just so. My towels have to be folded a certain way, and the clothes all have a very specific place they go. When I clean the counter I have to polish them too, if I’m going to vacuum I have to mop too, and then I have to dust and wash windows, I can get kinda crazy! :) I guess that does make me an odd sort of a clean freak ;)

Where I shop: I love Target and Hobby Lobby for some home decor items, but to be honest I like the unique stores more. I like to get things for my home that not 14 of my friends also have. TJMaxx and Marshalls are faves. Antique stores and gift shops, craft shows, and etsy are great! If you’re local, Not So Shabby is my all time fave! I go there almost weekly!

Decorating is a work in progress, I never find everything I’m looking for all in one trip, you have to wait it out until you find just the right piece for that certain spot. For instance, that rustic star on the mantel, I got that before Robb and I were even married, the candle sticks are from the old house and the garland I just got last year.

Hope that helps! Happy decorating!

Now onto our weekend!

Friday, I became the proud owner of 2012 Honda Odyssey! I’m so excited, I’ve always wanted a van! Thanks so much for your input on last weeks post, most comments were about the Odyssey and the Sienna, which were the two we were debating between, so your input was much appreciated!

I loved my Vue, but as the boys are getting big and with Robb and I both being tall, we were pretty crammed in there when we would go out as a family! I had to have my seat positioned way up (in order for Grayden to have any leg room) I would practically eat the dash, I’m sure we looked a sight! I will not miss being kicked in the back of the seat! The van has SO much more room!

Grayden has been asking to go to chuck e cheeses for a long time now, we made him a promise that if he could stay dry during naps we would take him there, and while that hasn’t completely happened yet, he is trying so hard, so we caved and took the boys there Friday night!

It’s so much fun to see your kids having such a great time!

I went to Zumba Saturday morning. After lunch we went to see the new house that my parents bought.

After the tour my mom and I did some furniture shopping for their new home, somehow I managed to find a new sofa and chair for our lower level and my mom didn’t buy a thing (although we found a lot of great options!)

When the boys woke up from their naps the guys met up with us for dinner at Applebee's.

Sunday we went to church and Sunday school. In the afternoon we stopped by my parents house to show them the new van! I helped in the nursery during the evening service and we relaxed the rest of the night!

We had a super fun week!

Monday we went to play group,

In the afternoon, Grayden was busy decorating the fridge with stickers! He was so proud of his work, I decided they could stick (pun intended!) around for a bit!

One of these days I’ll learn not to trust the silence!

He also drew his first person, with no prompting from me!

He told me it was a picture of me and then proceeded to draw the rest of the family…he said “now i have to make daddy’s feet a little wider than mommy’s!” Too funny!

Then, just for funsies I decided to have him try and write his name

so proud of him and his love of learning!

I had a busy night of hair appointments at night…the life of a hairdresser! :)

Tuesday we headed to Deanna’s playhouse with my friend Jayme and he son, Andrew! The boys had a great time!

My mom brought over all my old prom dresses from her house so put on a little fashion show for my IG friends :)

this is my sophomore year dress, Robb took me as his date to his senior prom. I think it was cute 11 years ago, but can’t guarantee that! It weighs like 10 pounds and is completely beaded!

my junior year, I took robb as my date *he was a college freshman"*

and my senior year dress, robb came as a college sophomore for his 4th prom! he loved me so much, even back then ;)

so fun to have a little walk down memory lane.

Wednesday morning we had 10 of our little friends and their moms over for a painting party. (including my boys, we had 12 kids here ranging in age from 3.5 months to 4 years)

the set up

the painting fun

drying time

the finished product!

we had a blast! the boys’ art will be going up in the playroom, cant wait to get it up!

At night we had the first of our Thanksgiving festivities at church with the Lubbers side.

I didn’t take many pictures but this one pretty much sums up Sadler’s night!
 

Yesterday we went the the Thanksgiving day church service, afterwards we went to my Grandma’s house for lunch!

At night we went to the cottage and roasted hotdogs over the fire. It was nice and relaxing way to end the day!

There was no early morning shopping for me this morning, Robb had to work so me and the boys spent the day at home!

I started decking the halls for Christmas.

when Gray came up from playing in the basement he saw the stockings and said, “mom! what are those socks for??”  He asked if they were for candy and I said “yah sometimes people have candy in their stockings” and the next thing I know he gets one of Sadler’s bumble bee rain boots and fills it with candy! Love that boy!

I was kinda sad to see my ‘fall’ mantel go, I loved it!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving festivities over the next couple of days!
I pray we can all have MANY things to praise God for, tomorrow and always!

Psalm 145:7
”They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness”

Friday night we took the boys to Pizza Hut for dinner and just took a little ride around town.

Saturday was a fun day, Robb and I went on a morning date, he planned it all out and even gave me an invite!

We grabbed some bagels at Big Apple and then did a little new car shopping *still in the ‘research phase* =) {I'm hoping to join the mini van club, do you drive a mini van? what kind? do you love it?}

the boys had fun playing with grandpa and grandma

At night we went out with Scott and Stacey to San Chez, a Spanish tapas place, so yummy! Thanks Aunt Lisa for watching the boys!

Sunday we went to church and came home and took naps.

When the boys woke up we went to my mom and dad’s house to get some updated pictures of them with the 4 grandkids.

We went to Revolution service at night while the kids stayed and played by grandpa and grandma. After church we went back to their house for dinner.

Such a fun weekend, hope yours was great too!

our week in phone pics

Monday,

this little boy loves his prunes!

but he doesn’t love when I take them away {but very necessary, for the sake of his diapers!}

Grayden’s been picking up some of Sadler’s mischievous habits!

laundry day, I save the socks for last, I HATE matching socks

Tuesday I said goodbye to 6+ inches of my hair! I had been growing it for 3 years and it was time to go!

before

after

Wednesday I took Gray to have a flu shot, my mom stayed home with Sadler while he napped.

he was so brave, not one tear!

after leaving the pediatrician’s office we had to quick swing by and pick up his pizza orders for the preschool fundraiser, then we met Sadler and my mom for lunch.

Grayden wanted a turn by Grandma’s house so we swapped boys for the afternoon.

Me and Sadler spent some quality time together watching ‘go-go” {cat in the hat}

Thursday I had MOPS, we made the cutest necklaces.

Sweet Peyton, getting so big!

Have a great weekend, friends!

PS, i wanted to thank you for your sweet comments about our home, most of you know I’m hesitant to post pictures of it due to disrespectful comments, but that was not the case, thank you!

We moved into our dream home one year ago today! Boy, that went fast! The building process was a little hectic, but so much fun, I could do it all over again {if I didn’t love it here so much, and it didn’t require moving again!}

We had anxiously awaited this day last year for 6 long months!

In celebration of that exciting day, here’s a couple pictures of {one of my favorite rooms} in our home, the kitchen:

I always {thought} I wanted dark cabinets in the kitchen, but once I saw this glazed creamy-white cabinet at the design studio, I fell in love! We ended up doing the island the dark stain and most of the other cabinetry in the house is dark, (other than the boys’ bathrooms and the laundry room). The dark shows dust so fast so I’m so glad we went with the creamy-white in the kitchen! Our cabinets were custom made by the Amish, they do amazing work.

The coffered ceiling above the island adds a little character, our builder designed that for us.

Another thing I love about our kitchen is the hood, that took a lot of planning to get it just right, but I love how the two-tone ties the paint and stain colors together.

I also love our granite, thankfully, because we spent HOURS looking for just the right slabs.

We eat breakfast on the bar stools every morning, so I love the little TV about the pantry door to watch morning news cartoons.

I got this idea from pinterest and love it! Built in paper towel holder in the island:

Another favorite feature of our kitchen is the under cabinet outlet strips, I love that we didn’t have to break up the tile backsplash with outlets.

If you’re building or remodeling a kitchen, don’t forget the extra outlets! We have two on our island and four in our walk-in pantry too, so I store the toaster, coffee maker and microwave in there.

I had dreamed of a farmhouse sink for the kitchen, until I saw the price! Thankfully, the designer talked me into a granite sink and I love it just as much! I’m notorious for throwing dishes in the sink instead of putting them in the dishwasher right away, so the deep sink is perfect to hide them! I LOVE the instant hot water tap, too! And, this is the first time we’ve had a garbage disposal (that’s what the little button is for) and I wonder how we ever lived without it!

The magnetic message center nook we have in the space between the refrigerator and double wall ovens is not only totes adorbs, its super functional too!

And last, but certainly not least, I LOVE the vacuum toe kick we have in the island, perfect for quickly sweeping up crumbs!

But, what I love most about this house is the people I share it with!

We’re looking forward to {God willing} many more years together in this house.