house updates

While I'm on a roll with blog posts, I thought I'd do a little house update.

The biggest thing we have done is our backyard!  We got all of the trees removed, took out the flagstone patio and fireplace, built a retaining wall, bulldozed, and lay sod.  It's a complete transformation, and we are loving the space to play!

 Here are some before pictures:

And here it is after!  Can you believe it!?!  It was A LOT of work, and man, are we glad it's done!

As for the inside, the main things we've done are rearrange the living room and worked on Violet's room.

I don't love our cabinet.  I would liketo paint it another color.  Possibly white or gray?

New additions to gallery wall.

I would like to put a new piece of art above these chairs and relocate the ocean scene.

I bought gray curtains for these windows that will hopefully be hung this weekend.  I love having the couch centered under the window!

I made a tassel garland and some art for Violet's room.  We also hung the little shelf.

winter 2015

I kind of giggle writing a post about "winter" this year while I sit in my living room with the 75 degree sun warming my back.  We have had a very mild winter with lots of beach days and tons of time outside.  The girls and I have been having so much fun and life is getting a lot easier.  While I'm a little sad not to have a baby anymore, the girls have been playing so well together, and we have been having so much fun!

We went to Disneyland in December with some friends and had the time of our lives!  I literally cried at the parade.  It is all so magical!

Owen, Doug's brother, and Leana got married, and Kennedy was the flower girl!  I have some adorable professional shots of the whole gang, but I have to dig them up.  Doug's brothers, grandma, and other family were all in town for that, and it was so nice to see everyone.

We celebrated Christmas in LA with the Hulses.  Both of the girls loved opening presents and we had Leana's family over for Christmas brunch.

We also went up to Santa Cruz for a few days and had a great time playing with friends and family!

Both of the girls had doctors appointments this month, so I have to give an update on that:

Violet is tipping the scales at 23 lbs (80th %) and 31 inches (90th %).  She's a beast, and I get so tired carrying her around.  The plus side is that my arms are super toned right now ;)

Kennedy has finally packed on some pounds and is 32 lbs (75th %) and 39 inches (75th %).

We are enjoying lots of outside play in our backyard and have been playing LOTS of dress up lately.  We had a friend come over last week, and we counted 8 times that Kennedy changed her outfit in the two hours that they were over.  It's bonkers.

Violet is pretty good about independent play.  She loves pushing strollers around, the Little People Princess Castle, and I forgot to mention that Grandpa Carl and Grandma Chris got the girls a trampoline for Christmas that they both love!

Now that the girls are sleeping really well, I have been enjoying more nights out.  I went to a Women's Ministry event this month and had a couple of mom's nights out with friends which has been really fun.

Doug has some exciting things going on at work, so we are looking forward to seeing what the future brings there.

Other than that, life is good!  The Lord is faithful to his promises, and I love walking daily with him.  This last year has been a huge year of growth in my faith, and God continues to peel the layers back and refine me.