All Our Stuff is IN!

I promised pictures of the new place after we made it our own.  Here they are.  YEP, all that junk is ours and we are so glad to be done selling/buying houses for a while!  We LOVE it here!

EVERY DAY is a Swimming Day Now

So, anyone who has talked to my kids in the last 2 months knows one thing about our new house - that it has a swimming pool.  And the new just won't wear off of that big collection of water in the back yard.  These kids insist on swimming every day even when it's cold and WINDY!  Hopefully they come to their senses soon - but until then, I'll take pictures. 

Yeah - this guy takes after his dad or something - he certainly doesn't get this from me!  Kalister doesn't really swim much or even get wet most days.  He does, however wear his swimming gear for most activities, like playing on the swing set, eating snack or playing Legos - a guy can never be too safe you know!

Fun with Grandparents

Grandma & Grandpa M came to help with the painting and moving and to celebrate the boys' birthday.  So we decided to just celbrate Christmas while we were in celebration mode SO there were lots of gifts for the kids - that they totally loved.  Here's a few snapshots.

We're Moving! The New House - Before Pictures

So, we've got a new spot and we just love it! It's such a perfect place for our family. We've been working like crazy to put on a new coat of paint and update the flooring. Then the moving begins!

The previous owners have been such a blessing to us through this whole process.  They are amazing people have been showing us how to take care of everything and helping us get it ready.  Our kids and their grandkids have gotten to be friends through it all.  They have introduced our kids to all the neighbor kids.  Neighbors have been coming and welcoming us, it's been so fun!  God's been very good!  He knew what He was doing bringing us here - it's worth the wait we had to endure!

Mom & Dad M have also been a HUGE help.  Mom's been up all week to help and spent every night painting until all hours of the night.  We've also be grateful for all the friends who have stopped by and helped out when they could - we've felt very loved!  We've made great progress - finally the painting is done!  The kids have just been exhausted - they've been with us working at the new house and playing outside, swimming, exploring, catching frogs, finding baby mice and birds and even a baby skunk (at the neighbor's thank goodness).  They've finally learned to sleep in with all the late nights, fresh air and activity in the great outdoors.  The new place gets an exuberant two thumbs up from all the kids!

The moving begins tomorrow - Dad M gets into town tonight to help with the heavy lifting and lots of friends are coming to help too.  We are so grateful for all the help and support.  :)

Here's some pictures before we started making changes. I'll post some "after" pics soon.

The front of the house

The back of the house

Playset in the back.

The barn and the tractor.

The kitchen

The dining area

Main floor family room

 Master bedroom

The girls' room (not very girly . . yet)

The boys' room (WAY too girly!)

Upstairs bathroom

Downstairs bathroom

Spare bedroom (downstairs)

Utility room/Laundry in the basement

Healthy, Safe Sunscreen and Bug Spray

My good friend in CO just shared this website for great all-natural skincare products -> http://www.mexitan.com/ I'm getting our sunscreen and bug spray here this year. They have better prices than I've seen anywhere else. The ingredients are all safe and they sell in bulk - for families like us – the 4.6 oz. size the other products come will only take us to the lake once! :)

Just in case you're interested, most sunscreen and bug spray contain many toxins that are harmful. You and your kids absorb them through your skin and into your bloodstream. There’s a few out there that have safe ingredients but you certainly will pay for them and usually have to pick them up online or at a specialty store. Here’s an article that will give you the details - http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/ - you can also look up your sunscreen on this site and get the safety rating.