Jog-a-thon

Warning: this is one of those "for the grandparents" blog. Probably certain to bore any reader that doesn't share our blood. 

  So Baker had his first big school event/fundraiser this weekend. It was so much fun! It's called jog-a-thon and basically the kids ask for pledges and then run for an hour. We spent a lot of time knocking on our neighbors doors. He had a little speech, "hi, my name is Baker. Will you help me raise money for my school?" It was so cute. He was very brave and we were really proud of him. Turns out our neighbors are incredibly generous. I was astonished. My brother and I were always selling something as kids and I could see that he would have fit right in with us. 

Leading up to jog-a-thon Saturday they had spirit week and I must share the pictures.

First was Duck Dynasty day. We love the Robertsons at our house. 

And yes, that is marker on his face. Parents of the year right here, lol

Tuesday was animal day.

Then 80's day. This was hard for a boy. We went for the Jake from "16 Candles" look. 

He was quite the hunk. Last was favorite movie character day. He has never seen "The Dark Knight" but he has seen Batman cartoons so we went with it.

Then Saturday arrived. We were all excited.  I love running events, always have. I think I probably enjoy them most from the sidelines. I was a bit emotional that day... Like overly proud of my kid.  I don't know, I'm pregnant. 

We have friends in OKC whose son can't run and they started a club called Miles for Maddox. When you run you wear the shirt and think/ pray for him. This probably added to my emotion bc Brian pulled put his shirt, as he always does for races and Baker ran to grab his too. I am married to an amazing man and he is a great role model.

Baker worked so hard running/walking for an hour. He ended up completing 16.25 laps which is 4 miles! That is amazing. It helped that Daddy was there to provide encouragement. He also raised $414.00. Woah, I was shocked!

We have so many traditions here in North Dakota and we will be excited if this is the beginning of a new one. 

What you've been waiting for!

  Well here is the nursery, as finished as it will be for now. I would like to add some detail to the bottom of the curtains and make a new bed skirt but other than that she is finished. 

This is the "other" view that I hadn't yet....revealed, lol. This dresser used to hold the basement flat screen Brian won at a golf tournament. The rocker was given to me my by our neighbors. I did my best to recover it. It's one of the many "don't look too close" projects. 

Before and after

You can also see the diaper bag that I spent more money than usual on. We will see if it was worth it. It was an eBay splurge but ITS PINK and I am excited to carry it. 

Here we have a lamp, which was also a Hobby Lobby splurge and the one piece of art we purchased from Whitefish, Montana. I tend to go a bit overboard with wreaths and she just had to have one. This will also be a changing table, but I keep forgetting to buy a changing pad. 

Then I made this bow hanger thing. I didn't have a place to store them all and although this probably isn't the best solution, it works and was very cheap. 

I also made a cork board for special notes... Not sure I am digging it but we will see. 

So there it is. I know you have been checking the blog constantly in anticipation of my mad design skills. To quote Brian, " I don't know what a girl's nursery is suppose to look like, but it looks good to me." I don't know either, but we are rolling with it. 

Never Stop Improving

  Have you seen the Lowe's commercials? "Never stop improving". They are pretty funny usually, but I find the slogan annoying.  This past month we have spent soooo much time improving and I am ready to be finished! We haven't worked on our house in at least a year and with an impending birth we had some changes to make. We also spruced up the outside a bit. So here are our changes. Its fun to look back and remember spaces so I wanted to take the time to document these days.

Outside we extended and stained the deck.  By we I mean Brian and Baker. He wants to be a construction man when he grows up.

For whatever reason we made our deck short of the fence years ago and it was time to fix it.

This is the largest carrot I've ever grown. I'm just throwing it in so you can see deck stained.

We also painted the outside  doors red. That was a much larger task than we planned on.

Inside we finally moved Benny upstairs. 

To a big boy bed!

We also finally purchased an armoir for the boys to share. It was made in 1969, which to me says it will last longer than most things made in 2006. I love consignment shopping!

I realize no one will be "pinning" these photos, lol, but it's fun to see. 

It took major organizing to fit the boys into one room and two closets with all their toys. Don't be fooled, this is not the before picture. It's the after. I am not a decorator or perfectionist so getting it done is usually good for me. 

Last but certainly not least, I finished one corner of the nursery. This has been so much fun! I had many items from when I "knew" Benny was a girl so it's been easy and super cheap. Anything we bought was on clearance and everything else was DIY.

I made the bed quilt and the one on the left hanging up. The other was made by my great great grandmother. I love it. The roses are from Brian to me on our 7th anniversary while I was prego with her. Then I have baby pics of Brian and I from Baker's baby shower, an empty frame, and a sonogram frame. 

I'm sure you can tell that I made the mobile. It's a work in progress as it won't hang straight right now. I also got the quilting hoops at our local thrift store for like $5 all together and just used scrap fabric from her blankets. I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out.

I am not interested in breaking the bank to decorate my home, especially seeing as its technically the bank's home anyway! I do however want it to be warm, inviting, comfortable, PEACEFUL, clean,  and reflect the beauty of The Lord. We love opening our home and I want it to be a safe place for our family and friends. Life takes maintanence and its not always fun, but it needs to be done. We have a couple of other projects to finish up and then I plan on taking a major break from improving!