Ahhhh, I love COLOR!

I love color, I love how it has the power to change my moods and to create atmosphere. I love that with a simple can of paint you can create something wonderful and fresh and new because you changed the color! I feel so blessed to live right down the street from Home Depot where in a matter of minutes they can change my living room dramatically from dark and classic...

To bright and happy and Cottage -e!

Did I mention that I love color?
I do.

The Secret Life of "B's"

Last Friday some good friends took me to Eggingtons for breakfast. Yes, I know, it was my birthday on the 10th not the 24th but please I'm celebrating my birth-MONTH and when you were born in February you get short-changed a little. I realize it's leap year but still, we can't seem to hit the 30th in this month. I digress...so we were at Eggingtons and we had all eaten and were chatting and I remembered something important that happened a week before. I had stopped in at M's house and she greeted me with a feathery something in her hand. (That girl is always cleaning and I was pretty sure I had stumbled upon one of her secrets.)

"What's that?" I asked.
"A Swiffer Duster."
"Does it work good?"
"It works really good"

Then she went on to tell me that she had gone through two of the Costco size boxes when she cleaned her house after having their roof redone and then the whole inside painted and fixed up. She said that the little swiffer feathery thing picks up the dust and doesn't just move it around.

Hmmm, I'm always looking for things that make cleaning easier. So I bought a box next time I went to Costco. They come with the little "wand" in them and I am here to tell you it really does work. I used it to clean the blinds and shutters in my house. It took half the time and did a much MUCH better job. This got me to thinking....what other secrets do my friends know that I don't? So back to the breakfast, I thought why don't I share the swiffer experience and see if they have any secrets they want to share.

Oh my, I was not disappointed, and I thought to myself, "instead of me just hoarding all of these great secrets why not share!"

So here they are in the order they were given to me:

1. Dead Sea Cuticle oil…put it on your cuticles’ and it makes them soft and pretty (like R’s)

2. Spray on hair shampoo buy it from Ulta OR at Wal-Mart by Tressamae or Suave (It seems like there might be a bid discrepancy between Ulta and Wal-Mart but all who were telling about this gave very convincing testimonials...I believe them.)

3. Sharpie Pens are the the Bomb (I have purchased five in the last week...they are GREAT! they write really smooth and you can get them in the usual colors. There are two different styles the click-ee pen or the pen with the cap)

4. Use Thermal spray, or Moroccan oil or coconut oil for your hair and it will help
straighten it and make it feel really soft and smooth…I found Thermal Spray and went to buy one of the oils and couldn't find them at Ulta. I have a feeling it is in certain products but I'm not sure which ones. Feel free to help out with this one.

5. Leave in Miracle for Hair. Got some (yup F dropped it by, such good friends) it really does work amazing. I used it today and tonight Dennis asked me if I had gotten my haircut today. Usually my hair only looks good when the girl who cuts it styles it. So it must look pretty dog-gone good.

6. Use Windex window cleaning pads for cleaning outside windows for touch-ups after
doing #7.

7. Use Jeff Millard to clean my windows. He is starting his own window cleaning business.

8. Buy Retin-A from an overseas pharmacy (I have no idea how to do that but it sounds
exciting and exotic and I’m going to try googling it, hope I don’t get arrested for illegal transport of a strange substance) this will help get rid of my deep wrinkles...maybe. It may take a needle and thread to do that!

9. Cetaphil clear cleanser works great to get make up off and it’s nice to your skin.

10. DON’T USE ANYTHING WITH PARRABIN IN IT. Can’t remember why but it’s bad.

11. Use an eyelash primer and maybe a fiber builder although the builder might make it
feel like you have sand in your eyes.

12. If you want to not wear sunscreen you can wear a shirt called Rash Guard, but when
you are old(er) you have to wear a swimsuit under it…

13. I didn't share this that morning but a friend shared with me that she rinses with Hydrogen
Peroxide to whiten her teeth. One mouthful for 10 minutes daily (while she showers) keeps her teeth that brilliant white. I’ve researched it a little and I think it’s safe, plus the bottle says for mouth rinsing.

So, I have spent the last few days collecting some of these interesting things! It has been really fun. I can hardly wait to go out with those women again and learn even more secrets. Next time I'm taking my Ipad so I can type a little faster.

A Week in the :Life

Some weeks are busy and then there was this one...I actually thought that compared to last week this one was going to be a little quieter...not really. Oh well, we love a good and busy week. It started out with Dennis and I out at Noah's taking down this beautiful backdrop and the chandeliers and the ceiling (ok, not the whole ceiling just the fabric.) Tuesday morning found us at the Chandler Y for "A Morning of Prayer". Dennis had been asked to speak there and it included food so off we went. Boy were we surprised, and most pleasantly, when we realized that our morning of prayer breakfast had for the keynote speaker...wait for it...scroll down...

Herb Sendek...Arizona States Head Basketball Coach. He is a great motivational speaker and it was fun to hear from him. Dennis told a story about a great football coach who predicted his team would go undefeated and that they wouldn't let allow a combined total of 50 points the entire season to be scored against them. He then turned to Coach Sendek and said, "Any predictions Coach?" He did have a prediction, "Undefeated and NO POINTS SCORED" We'll see!Then Thursday afternoon Bekah and Ruby dropped in right around 4ish and when Tyler out they were here he high tailed it for a quick visit before heading off to school. (Normally Tuesday and Thursday he goes straight to school cause home is a little too far out of the way.) That was fun...he is obviously in heaven. How about that bow! Love it!Friday we had a fun visit with Nathan while his mom and dad and two brothers went to a special play or something (OK I know I'm lame, I can't remember what they went to although i have asked them several times) the important thing is we got to have him hang out with us for a few hours. Dennis was holding him and he said, "he is such a gorgeous child!" he really is, those dimples are AMAZING! We had a great time with him playing with trains, and watering the garden and doing puzzles. He is a good little boy. Love YOU Nater's.

This last post is of some of the things I have done to my house lately...we got new furniture in our living room recently and I went on a quest to find a nice coffee table. When Laurie was visiting with me she joined the quest and we went far and wide and either I didn't really like the table OR it was to darn expensive. I finally found the one I wanted at DI...yup, i brought it home had it repainted and I LOVE IT. Since then I have had my painter "Galdino" (maybe that is how you spell it?) paint lots of stuff for me. The following is a montage of my newly painted old stuff!

Kitchen Table and Chairs...love it!

Dresser that I keep in my entry way...love it!

Sofa Table...and I painted my lamps and got new shades! Fun stuff.

Little garage sale find that I painted with my own can of spray paint! YUP, I did.

Here is the little DI table...found out that Nikki has one just like this which is probably why I knew I liked it when I saw it AND she told me it was a Pottery Barn Table. Sure enough when I went through their catalogue there it was...well a similar updated version. Mine is painted different however...I like mine better!

Yard sale coffee table...super cute! Like the other tables just painted and changed the hardware.

And here is my living room! I really love it and it seats a whole lot of people which is good since from time to time we have a whole lot of people here!

The End.

On to Next Week

We are SO blessed.

Oh the things I could write about the events of the last month.  That would be totally redundant, however, because Bekah has chronicled it beautifully on her blog.  See list to the right.  But I am going to write down a couple of my reflections about Ruby and Cassie and Tyler and Bekah and post a picture or two that haven't yet been posted.  (Nothing like the one week ones Mary Jordan took.)

The past month seems like something of a blur.  It started with such excitement and anticipation which led to the usual waiting and wondering when that baby would finally arrive. Now nearly three weeks later it seems like there was never life without Ruby and all the waiting, worrying, wondering, nervousness, excitement,waiting, worrying, elation, pain, waiting, sleeplessness, waiting, happiness, yes the entire mix of emotions we all went through are somehow kind of fading away and have been replaced by pure joy.  We are all new to adoption and it is going to take some adjustment and possibly some blundering to make sure we always express what we mean the correct way.  Are we sensitive about such things as people asking "How is her mother doing?" Yes we are because unless you are referring to Bekah I think you meant to say her "birth mother".  None of us had ever really considered what was proper adoption etiquette before but we sure are now.  We will learn.

I know this picture is terrible quality but it was the very first time I ever laid eyes on her I was so excited.  Debbie and I were waiting outside for Tyler and Bekah and Ruby to show up...it took a long time.  The anticipation was a killer but the end result was AWESOME.

 Cassie asked Bekah if she could buy Ruby something to wear home from the hospital.  Of course, she wore it home and quickly pooped all over it.  It cleaned up perfectly and Bekah is going to keep it to show Ruby what Cassie chose for her some day.  Cassie is such a sweet and thoughtful girl.

 So excited.  Tyler couldn't quit touching her and looking at her skinny little legs!

 Love those cheeks.

 Chase and Lauren were so excited that they were up in Utah when Ruby arrived!  They had gone for a friends wedding but Lauren said she was mostly there for Ruby.  They loved to hold her. (Look, my baby holding Tyler and Bekah's baby!)

We have felt the love and prayers of so many and have added our prayers for Cassie and Jeremy (b-dad).  The gift they gave is unbelievable and yet it was part of the plan and always meant to be.  Every time I see Ruby she has changed a little and looks more and more like her mom and dad.  Oh how grateful we are for the opportunity we have ahead of us to watch that little girl grow up.  We love her so much.  I asked Dennis how long it took for him to feel like she was totally ours.  Immediately.  Never any doubt.  She was always meant for our family.  I feel the same way.  We all love her right to pieces and will FOREVER be grateful to Cassie and Jeremy for their selflessness and for their love for little Ruby.  I know they could not have done it if they hadn't loved Ruby totally and purely.

What seems like the end of a chapter is actually just the beginning.  Now we get to begin watching her grow and develop into the beautiful little gem that we all know she will be.  We are so blessed.



Family Pictures

We recently got our Family Pictures taken by Stefanie Cross. She did an amazing job and put together this video of some of the fun times and great pictures she captured!

Tyler and Bekah's Adpotion Blog BUTTON

I am so not good at the blogging thing. It's a lot like a journal (which I am also a failure at) so I guess it's no shock I struggle. Today, however, I have a little time (cause I'm not watching the Superbowl or is it Super Bowl?) so I thought I would do some blogging. Bekah had mentioned that one of our sweet friends, Stefanie Cross, made a "button" for Tyler and Bekah's blog that links you into their adoption blog and if you are interested in putting one of these cute buttons on your blog and helping with the whole adoption process you can do so by going to Tyler and Bekahs adoption blog (just click on my snazzy new button) and then highlight and copy the url onto a new widget in your blog. Thanks to everyone for the support!

xoxoxox

June Elizabeth Danielson

Definitely some days in this life are sweeter than others. This past Sunday will go down as one of the sweeter days in my life. I can not even express how wonderful and sweet the feelings were when I think about what our little June-bug has been through and then see her so strong and healthy looking like a beautiful normal little girl. We are so very grateful and blessed to have these little ones in our family and have them be healthy. Can you even believe how funny some things are...well I don't exactly know what but apparently something is funny and Lyvi always covers her mouth when she laughs. It's so cute. She recently got some new pets, two little chicks which she named Eight and Blondie. Yup, Justin and Sarah have chickens. They are hoping that they will eat the bugs that live in their back yard! Lyvi just loves to hold them.
I have often wondered what it would be like to know someone who looked a lot like you. Well these two little girls sure do look a lot alike. I remember Lyvi with a very similar look at June's age. What cute, sweet and fun little girls they are.

Adorable little family. This is the fence on the side of their new house. Too bad I don't have a picture of their house for you. Well maybe next time.