A blissfully packed month...all in one post!

Our old house at ASU Polytechnic Campus

Our family room in the middle of packing

Packing is a nightmare, but look at that sweet dream in the middle of it all!

Isn't he just the sweetest thing? Yes, he is =)

BELOW- The Williams home. Our new residence until October 2010.

Yes, we actually moved about a month ago. The same day we moved, about 4 rooms in our old house flooded. We were sooooo grateful that the majority of our stuff had already been moved that morning. BLESSINGS! Then the next week was spent cleaning the old house. That was grueling. Then the next two weeks were spent unpacking and cleaning the new house. Thankfully it was already clean when we moved in. But moving and living out of boxes just requires another good cleaning, doesn't it? Then one of the rooms in the new house flooded. So then the next several days were spent dealing with that. In the midst of all of this, my sisters and I decided that for Mothers Day we were going to help fulfill one of our mother's dreams. That dream was to redecorate her family room in an old western/ranch style. More about that later. The point here is that my sister Debra and I spent a good week and a half working on that room. Long days and long nights were devoted to redoing it. We tried to get it done by Mothers Day, but we had bitten off more than we could chew. So our gift just kept giving into the next week. But the results are incredible! My sister Debra has an amazing talent for interior design. As you can see from the photos below. She could be paid for this talent. I need to get a talent like that. Sign me up! But seriously, I do need to magnify my own talents and develop others so I have something useful to give to the world. Back to the subject which was....oh yes moving and such. So, there is a family, the Williams, in my home ward. They left for a 6 month mission in April. We are housesitting for them in their absence. THANK YOU! This is also a HUGE blessing for us! Let me go back and fill you in. Days before I had Bryce we received a letter taped to our door saying that all of the residences in the south portion of West Desert Village, where we lived on the ASU East campus, had to move out by May 31, 2010. Apparently, ASU is turning the housing where we used to live into shared student housing. We were so sad about moving because we planned on staying there for at least another year. So, we got that letter and then the birth happened, then NICU, all the hospital stays and complications and home health and the holidays and my sisters baby was born and so on and so on. Luckily, my dad was listening to the spirit and found out that the Williams needed someone to housesit and told them that we would be interested. We moved in the end of April and it has just been a blast! Their house is beautiful and spacious and homey! Bryce and I go out on their little back porch swing and read scriptures in the morning and sing Hymns or Primary songs =) There is counter space in the kitchen! There is a garage for one of our cars! It's like we live in heaven. We just feel so very very very grateful. We are literally like 2 streets from my parents house too, which just makes it even more enjoyable.
BELOW-Bryce a couple of Sundays ago in the family room of the Williams home.

~THE REDO~

Yes the one I spoke of above of my parents family room for Mothers Day.
As I said before, my sisters and I decided that for Mothers Day we were going to help fulfill one of our mother's dreams. That dream was to redecorate her family room in an old western/ranch style.
My mom had several items from her childhood spent living on a farm and ranch. She had purchased decorations to fit the theme as well. She also had some items from my Grandparents and my Great Grandparents. There were so many neat meaningful things that were just sitting in the garage collecting dust. This project/gift was quite an undertaking, but well worth it. We helped give my mom something she has really wanted and could not accomplish on her own. We also were able to learn more about our family history. We now have items like my Great Grandma's pot, a quilt made by my Great Grandma Swapp of her children's trousers, my Grandpa's cowboy hat, my Grandpa Earl's saddle and other such things in the room that have stories behind them and belong to our ancestors. AND now the theme of the family room fits the name...FAMILY! We installed a large vinyl saying that says "Grandchildren complete the circle of life" above the fireplace. So we have the items and stories from our forefathers and it comes full circle with pictures of the grandchildren throughout the room! We neglected to take BEFORE pictures. Duh!!! So I did my best to find some pics taken before the room was redone.

BEFORE we even thought of redoing the room.

ABOVE- This pic is intended for you to see what the family room used to look like. So look beyond this cute little family into the room behind on the far left side(north wall) and far right side(south wall) it gives you a slight idea of how it was before. North wall, a tree, "family" sign, green star. South wall, the TV stand, plant, clock, pictures shelf w/ some deco and you can also see the back of the kitchen cabinets. On the cabinets hung a twig wreath and 4 plates which have the four season paintings from Currier & Ives. (It wasn't till I saw these plates and the name of the artist(s) that I finally understood that familiar christmas song. Hee Hee.)
BELOW- once again. Look behind the family playing cards to see the room. This is the east wall. There is a couch in front of the fireplace. See the deco on the mantel. The bottom of the previous curtains. Toys in the far right corner. Bookshelf in the far left corner.

BELOW-This shows a portion of the north wall of the room and the northeast corner. There is another couch on the north wall. Large painting with a gold frame. Gold sconces flanked both sides of the painting. Book shelf, plants/twigs and deco on top. Also a good full length picture of the previous curtains.

BEFORE

BELOW- North wall, then East wall, then south wall half 1 and half 2. Before any redecorating or painting. But after we took down all the deco and moved the furniture away from the walls.

AFTER

BELOW- North wall, then East wall, then northeast corner, Then South wall half 1 and half 2 and a close up on the book shelf and the decorations in the nitch(sp?). AFTER the redo of the family room, paint and all!!! Isn't it just marvelous! GREAT JOB DEB!!! 

Another event in this fun filled month, but this one was small and mundane....

ABOVE&BELOW- Bryce's first time sitting up in the shopping cart and his first time to Costco. This was also his first time wearing his "Hawaiian/Aloha" outfit we purchased at the Aloha Festival this year.

*Bryce's 1st ROAD TRIP*

BELOW- Our first road trip with Bryce. We went to Las Vegas, NV. That is where I was born and my family is from. Our cousin Suzie got married at the end of May. It was quite an adventure traveling with a little guy. We stopped twice to nurse so it took us about 7.5 hours instead of the usual 6. Bryce started getting really grumpy during the trip so I finger fed him some apricot from the tree at our new place. He loved it! It was good because it helped him relax. However, leaning over to the back seat twisted and all was painful! Isn't that just the life of a mother though? Always contorting into strange positions to help your children...especially in the car. Anyway, we had a fun time and it was great to see the family!! We also got to see my cousin Bryce Earl who was one of the "Bryces" that we named Bryce after. It was awesome!

BELOW- Bryce was not a fan of Mr. Indian. He was really concerned and that concern turned into...fear? Maybe it was sadness? Either way, Bryce was very upset and it happened in an instant! Needless to say, we didn't hang around inside long. We quickly scurried out the door to calm him down.

BELOW- Nothing calms a little boy down faster than putting him in the drivers seat. We helped him put his hands in the right spot at first.

BELOW- We then let him play around on his own. So tell me...how did he know about the parking break? He put his hand on it just perfectly all on his own. Apparently he is a natural born manuel driver. Not so sure I'll feel that way when he is approaching 16 though ;-)