A trickster!

So yesterday I got home from work and Jeff got up to greet me. The conversation went as such:

Jeff: Hi! I finished painting the rest of the house!
Me: No you didn't! (with shock and doubt since the rest of the house included the entryway and stair ways that require a gigantic ladder and bravery and hope that my dear husband wouldn't careen to his death.)
Jeff: Yes I did!
Me: you did?
Jeff: no. Just kidding.
Me: oh man! Why did you do that?!
Jeff: haha, I tricked you!
Me: ugh. you are quite a tricker, mister.

Then, 15 minutes later I walk around the corner to discover HE DID finish it all! HE tricked me twice! He is so amazing. I really can't believe he finished it all. What a great, sweet, hardworking (and silly) guy!

Just a few things

Cade made a new friend! His name is Brandon and he's 12. He lives across the street and just came over a few days ago to see if Cade wanted to play. He seems very nice and Cade just can't stop talking about how nice he is and what a good friend he is. It's so cute! Too bad they didn't meet earlier since Cade only has a week left for the summer :( But it looks like he'll have someone to play with whenever he comes out here now. YAY!



The pond is basically finished! I am so proud of Cade and Jeff. It was a major project. It looks really cool and sounds nice, too. We're going to wait until next year to add all the plants we'd like since we're WAY over budget as it is. But in the meantime we picked up a bunch of day lilies, irises and raspberries from Patsy. Thanks!

Here it is midway through...


And here it is filled, waterfall and all!


Jeff also finished refinishing his table. It was too big for our dining room so he had to modify it by cutting it down :( At the same time he sanded the top and put a clear coat on instead of the darker coat it had before. It looks so good! I LOVE it!

That's all for now! Thanks for dropping by :)

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Montrose

Last weekend we went to Montrose to visit Jeff's parents. Cade was excited because it's a "rule" that he has to go every summer :) We made ice-cream, played, hiked and just hung out. It was a great trip!

But first, here is Cade. He's helping make supper. Isn't he great in front of the camera?


Cade and Grandpa making graham cracker ice-cream. The best homemade ice-cream I've ever had!

Jeff and Cade playing football. Cade loves getting tackled! Pretty soon he'll be able to take down is dad pretty fast.

Hiking in Telluride. Up to Bridal Veils Falls. Isn't that cool?!

Can you spot Cade? He's very brave and adventurous.

And now we interrupt your hike for a few pictures of our time at the rodeo. Let me be honest. I don't like the rodeo. At all. Poor animals.

Aunt Jenn and Hannah.


Jeff petting the cows.

And now back to your regularly scheduled hike...

Cade LOVED being able to touch the waterfall!

(anyone see where Cade gets his camera antics?) We stopped for a snack right above the house on top of the falls. It was actually pouring rain on us.)

It was a very cool hike and a very nice weekend. Thanks Patsy and Jim!

For the Clean Obsessed

I have come to appreciate two things GREATLY in this new house of ours. Let me share:


Pledge Fabric Sweeper
Um, hello, all that gray stuff inside of this is cat hair. That used to be on our pretty new brown comforter. But now it's not. Thanks to a few small sweeps back and forth. Do I hate cat hair on my bed? Yes. Do I have to put up with it? No. Thank you, Pledge. Get one. Now. They are amazing.



Eureka Superlite Vacuum
When I first met Jeff I came to know his tiny vacuum. I thought to myself, "this guy can't be serious with this tiny vacuum." But he was. I wasn't. So it stayed in the closet. Until now. It is PERFECT for vacuuming stairs. And corners. And much to my delight, quickly running over the wood floors to pick up cat hair. I mean, I still love my bissel. But this little Eureka is awesome.


And just for fun. Jeff changing the brakes. Yep. He is that good. He can paint, throw pottery, build tables, landscape yards, teach, speak Spanish, and so much more AND he can change brakes. This guy is amazing. I think I'll keep him. :)

Tell you about me? Who is "me"?

One of my dear friends recently posted a blog about a question she was asked: “tell me about you.” After she thought about it for a minute her response was “I'm not sure there's much of ME left.” Have you ever felt that way? Granted she has had A LOT of changes in the last three years. More than I could probably ever handle. I’m sure it’s easy for her to wonder where the “old her” has gone. But let me tell you, Sar, when I read your blogs, which I know are just a small glimpse into your life and thoughts, you are truly the same woman you’ve always been. You ARE passionate. Perhaps your passions have changed. At least for a while. Maybe God made our personal worlds only big enough for a certain amount of passions so that we don’t go crazy or overextend ourselves. So that we can focus on our current passions enough to really count. I’m sure you hear it a lot: “being a mom is the greatest job on earth, blah blah blah.” I don’t know what that means or if I agree with it. But if you ARE a mom, then being passionate about your kids, your hubby, your home, wanting to be a good mama, wanting to be a light and an example, wondering how to do it right and well, those desires and thoughts come from the same Sar that was in the book! Once you get those things all figured out (well somewhat figured out, since I don’t think they can really be ALL figured out) then I think your life will open up more for the old or even new things to be passionate about. Maybe you’ll be passionate about new things WITH your girls J Think of how fun that would be!

Anyway, the point of my blog is not just to respond to sweet Sarah. It’s to relate to her. It’s amazing to think about how quickly and drastically life can change. Sometimes it’s obvious that we change, too, and sometimes it’s not. But changing isn’t bad. I’m sure it can be sometimes, but I think changing circumstances help us change for the good. If it seems bad, or like we have lost ourselves, maybe that is just the moment we need to understand how and why things are different and just exactly what to do with that fact. Now that I’ve been married for a year it’s amazing to look back and see how much my life has changed as well as how much I have changed. Some things worry me include. I don’t do as much with girlfriends, I’m much more selfish to be a wife than I should be, I’m not patient as a step mom, I’m worried that I’m not doing a good job balancing living life and being in love, I think I might be a crabby step mom who worries too much about keeping the house clean, I wonder if moving to this new house will make us poor and think about money too often, I think I might not communicate as well as I used to or as well as I should, etc. etc.

So what is good about these things? I have a wonderful husband who likes to do things with me, and I want to learn to appreciate time with him and make even the everyday things special. Like having fun cleaning the dishes after supper rather than thinking of it as a chore. I can learn to balance time with friends and cherish the things in me that they bring out. I can learn how to serve, serve, serve and give better. I think it probably takes practice. If it’s so hard in marriage to be selfless, imagine how much easier it will be in all areas of life once you have practiced it in marriage! I can take the time to remember the early days with Jeff. Instead of wishing things were more like they used to be, wondering if he’s thinking this or why he’s not doing that, I can show him how much I love him STILL and always will no matter how things change or how much time has passed. I’ve already, this very week, decided to figure out how to uncraze myself when it comes to the clean house. For example, I made a chore schedule. I’m going to try not to clean unless it’s time to clean. If the place is a bit dirty or cluttered, I’m going to remind myself that it’s not important. What’s important is that Jeff and Cade have gotten things done during the day. They’ve done projects. They’ve played games. They’ve been creative. Those things and memories are much more important and lasting than the fact that I will have to take 30 minutes sometime to clean up a bit. Cade is only with us for the summer and I want to make him feel welcome and loved and I want him to have fun, not have memories of Terri just wanting him to clean up. Trust me, I’m not doing a very good job on that yet. Communicate! Just talk things out. Maybe it will be uncomfortable. Maybe it won’t make sense. Maybe it will be annoying, even. But at the end of the conversation, won’t it be nice to have been heard and to have heard? Won’t there be relief that there is more understanding and things aren’t just rolling around in your brain, illogically, irrationally, fearfully, ridiculously?

I’m glad that Sar was asked the question and I’m glad she wrote about it. I’m glad that I have friends who are willing to be transparent and honest. I’m glad I’m not the only one wondering about some of these things. Sure, we can change for the bad. We can become crabby, depressed, sad, emotional. These are things we can take steps to change again, though. Looking at the reasons is helpful. Figuring out what can be done is key. Continuing on in an unhealthy pattern is not good. There are lots of changes that are great. They might be temporary, they might be permanent. They aren’t core changes, though, they are just circumstantial. I believe passionate, joyful, God-fearing Sar of three years ago is the same girl today, just with different things to focus those qualities on. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of who we are, so we can then keep going forward as that person.

Radio 1

I have XM radio in the car. Can I just tell you that there is nothing better than listening the the British station on the way to work? They are hilarious, they play good tunes AND they have the best accents EVER. If I could, I would be British. I think I even had a dream about living in London last night. :) Just thought you should know. If you have XM, check out channel 29 in the mornings!

A little peak at the casa!

Well there is still lots to do, but I wanted to post a few pictures of the things we have completed. It feels so good to hang pictures! It's amazing how it changes a space. So here you go :)


Living Room


The fireplace still need to be tiled and the wall next to it needs to be replaced. It's a hole now where there used to be a shelf thing.

Different lighting.

Notice the lovely accessories watching TV? Couldn't be any better!

Master Bedroom

Guest Room (YAY! We have a guest room now!)

Desk Room

I've mentioned all that has to be done, but look at all that has been done! Unpacked. Bedrooms painted thanks to 9 helpers. Main floor painted. Some pictures hung. Some decorations put up. Some things you can't see: weeds pulled in back yard. Hole dug for pond. Popcorn ceiling scraped. Ceiling fan and chandelier hung on main floor. Rocks collected for pond. Refrigerator purchased. Master bathroom painted. Blinds hung. And probably so much more that I'm forgetting. Thanks to my awesome hubby and Cade who are such hard workers! Hopefully there will be more to come soon, but one day at a time my loves :)

Vacation III

Well, just a few words. At the end of our beach vacation we stayed with Cassie in DC and for two 1/2 days we did the tourist thing. Let me tell you, I love NYC and this city, it is creeping up into my heart. It was gorgeous! I loved all the monuments and gorgeous buildings, the od city charm, the big city energy, the diverse cultures all around. It was awesome. But boy were we sure tired. It was a good thing we only had a short amount of time because that's all we could handle!