Celebrating Tace's 2nd Birthday!

Happy second birthday Tace!!  I can't believe you are two years old!  There are times when it seems like just yesterday that I said my hellos and goodbyes to you, and at the same time, it seems like it was so long ago that I got to hold you in my arms.  Your dad and I sure miss you sweet boy!  We wish more than anything that you were here to celebrate with us!  However, we know that you are close to us and we know that you are busy doing our Heavenly Father's work on the other side of the veil.  And....I'm sure you are also busy today prepping your little brother to join our family tomorrow!  I can't believe that the two of you are exactly two years apart.  We are so excited to get to meet him tomorrow!  Here are a few things we did to celebrate you today:

We did a balloon release with messages of love from mom and dad coming heavenward!

Your Grandma Darcy, Grandpa Brent, and Halli also took balloons down to the cemetery for you since we couldn't come out this year.  And, your Grandma Terri put the flowers on your headstone.

We donated some blankets and remembrance boxes to the hospital so that other parents who have to go through losing a child like we did will have blankets and remembrance boxes available to them.

We made a cake and had cake and ice cream for your birthday!

We started our month of service starting today on your birthday and ending on Christmas Eve.  This is a great way for us to be able to involve you in our Christmas celebrations; and in my opinion, there is no better way to remember the true meaning of Christmas than by serving others as our Savior would.

And finally, we went to the temple.  We actually went to the temple a week ago just to be safe because we didn't know if your little brother would be making a surprise entrance earlier or if he would wait until the 25th when we will be induced.  I love going to the temple and feeling you close Tace!  I promise to always keep myself worthy to be inside the temple walls so that I can always be close to you and be worthy to be reunited with you when that day comes.  I love you more than you could ever know!  I hope you had a wonderful birthday sweet boy!

                                                        Sending all the love I have heavenward,
                                                                     Mommy


P.S.  This is a picture of your daddy with your cousin Britt, but this is how I imagine you right now.  I wish I could see you cuddled up in your daddy's arms like this.  One day we'll get that chance!  Until then know that we love you SOOOO much!

Our House!!--Before and After

So Brian and I bought our first house at the beginning of June.  We spent many long hours that first week re-carpeting, re-painting, and working on few other projects.  I have been wanting to post some "before and after" pictures and I am finally getting around to it.  But first, I want to express a huge thank you to all of those that helped us paint, lay carpet, move in, etc.  We are blessed to have amazing family and friends who were willing to help us.  I don't have pictures of everyone who helped out....but here are a few.  Thank you!

Look at all that painter's tape!  That is the tape from the whole house!

Now we will look at some before and after pictures! (The before pictures are the ones the sellers posted online so they are a bit blurry)

FRONT

Before: 

After: 

BACK

Before: 

After:   

We turned the sandbox into a patio and we love it!

LIVING ROOM

Before: 

After: 

KITCHEN

Before: 

After: 

FAMILY ROOM

Before: 

After: 

HALLWAY

After:

BATHROOM

Before:

After:

MASTER BEDROOM

Before:

After: 

NURSERY

Before:

After:

This is the one room we still need to finish decorating.

GUEST BEDROOM

Before: 

After:

Well, that concludes the "before and after" tour of our house!  (There is one more bathroom downstairs and a laundry room that aren't shown above.)  We have loved it so far!  There is definitely a lot of responsibility that comes with home ownership, but it is a lot of fun too.  It is fun to work on projects together to continue to improve our home. :)