christmas in july

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i know its kind of silly, but when i'm going through tough times, i always visualize myself at christmas.  for instance, when i was pregnant with my oldest (she was due in november) and i was in those last few months of my pregnancy feeling huge and a little nervous about child birth,  i visualized myself at christmas holding my newborn.  and when my sister was first diagnosed with cancer, i knew she would be about done with the chemo portion on her treatment around christmas.  i could go on and on.

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christmas is hands down my favorite holiday.  i love the excitement it brings my kids, the lights, and all the family gatherings.  this christmas i should will be in my new house, my sister will be home from md anderson, and i will be the mother of a 6 and 4 yr old (they both have birthdays coming up!).  

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maybe i'll start my christmas shopping ;)

stronger

i have an awesome family.  not sure if i've mentioned that before.  but i do.  they are amazing.

yesterday my cousins emailed out a link to a video they made for my sister.  as previously mentioned, my sister is currently at md anderson kicking cancer's booty.  you can read more about her here.

the video features my aunt, uncle and cousins.  i'm positive that the video is meant to be inspirational and to lift her spirits, but i needed a tissue to watch it.  they are just too sweet.  and pretty silly ;)

enjoy!

house renovation week 10

it is so hard to believe we are nearing the end of july...  where does the time go?  wasn't yesterday the 4th???

things have finally started to pick up at our house.  the framers have been hard at work the past three days so each evening jeff and i are eager to go by to see what has been completed.  i usually get a preview earlier in the day when our contractor calls me to come by and make a few minor decisions.  i love that he keeps me in the loop on everything, but i seriously had no idea there would be so many options on the littlest things.  and when i'm given an option, i have to contemplate over it a while - that's just how i'm wired.  at times i feel my brain is mush from all the decisions i need to make ;)

we now have stairs.  and an extra wall.  the wall is not suppose to be there so hopefully it will be coming down soon.

when i think they couldn't possibly take out any more - they do.  

this is the new addition in the back of the house.  it will add space to our kitchen and a mudroom.

our windows came in and are now installed.

and the hardi is being put on.  they are about 1/4 done.  and no, that is not the final color.  that is just the color it comes in.  (i'm sure most of you know that, but it never fails that i will get an email from someone asking me these things.)

this is the latest detail to make my brain mush.  what should i do with this area on the front gable?  it looks to have some kind of stucco/concrete texture stuff on it now, but what should i do?  repair it and keep it?  change it?

here are some ideas i've found so far...

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if you would like to read the story on my house click here.

house renovation week 8

yes, that's right...  week 8!  where does the time go???  i thought we were trucking along just fine until i counted the weeks and now know we are 8 weeks into this project.

the majority of the siding is off and the old green exterior is now visible.

they have also prepared the rear of the house for the addition...

... and a few walls have been framed.

the framing crew is working at the house again today so i can't wait to go by this evening to check out today's progress.  hopefully this rainy weather that we have been blessed with doesn't slow them down too much :)

7.4.12

straight from camp, my mom packed up the girls and met jeff, my dad and myself in round top for their annual fourth of july parade.  we got there early since all the streets on the parade route seem to fill up quickly.  it was hot.  REAL hot.  but thankfully the guys brought a canopy and an umbrella for extra shade.

kevyn and avery waiting for the parade to begin.  from the look on kevyn's face, i don't think she was thrilled to be sharing the screen ;)

how funny is this donkey?!?

natalie waiting for some candy to be tossed her way:

two exhausted little campers who opted to sit in the shade rather than catch more candy:

sweet cousin lyla:

the remainder of the day was spent relaxing at the house and then grilling burgers that evening.  our campers were pooped and did not put up much of a fight when we decided on an early bed time.

on a side note, framing has begun on our house and i hope to go by there soon to snap a few pictures to share with all of you!

lutherhill 2012

this past sunday, my mom (with the help of my aunt and uncle) bravely decided to take my girls along with my nieces to a nearby lutheran church camp.  i say "bravely" because they took four kids age five and under to a camp during a blazing hot texas summer for three nights.  i was completely shocked to hear there were no major meltdowns.  here are a few pictures that i swiped off my mother's camera.  don't ask me why some have a date stamp from 2007...

 
check out those sleeping arrangements! 

the girls had a wonderful time and spent most of yesterday telling me all about camp and singing new songs that they have learned.