Happy Opening Day!

Last and this weekend

Last weekend, since we were stuck inside because of the snow, Mike and I hung out at home. It was wonderful. I got eggs and an Easter egg dye kit for us to play with on Sunday. Mike thought I was insane for blowing out all dozen of the eggs (and after it was all said and done, I did, too) but we had fun dying them.





I also got an artichoke for us to eat with dinner - I grew up eating them and now Mike enjoys them, too.



This weekend, Mike's friend Kevin came to visit. We showed him around Wichita - WAHOO! :-) Unfortunately, I left my camera at home so we don't have pictures of the 3ish highlights (the first Pizza Hut, Kevin's first Sonic visit and the Keeper of the Plains) Oh well. Kevin, I hope Kansas didn't bore you too much!

Snow Day!

Yep, that's right. A week ago I was wearing shorts and today it looks like this outside...



I opened the back door to take pictures and there was a nice ice "frame" around most of the door.



We've been hanging out inside, staying warm and cleaning up around the house. It has been nice to have a good excuse to stay home and not do much since we took Lily to the vet Friday to get spayed. She was supposed to stay over night but she did so well and with the weather getting bad, the vet called and said we could get her last night. She's still out of it but is so cute curled up sleeping, even if it is on the clean laundry I'm trying to fold..



Thursday was my birthday, we stayed in and watched basketball - it was perfect. Mike got me a great little Vera Bradley wristlet wallet (he had a little help with that one from yours truly) and surprised me with a pot of tulips. He also got chocolate mousse mice from a place that was my FAVORITE as a little girl.

For Such a Time As This

When I talked to my Mom this morning on my way to work, I mentioned this precious baby. I don't know him, his mom, his dad or anyone in his family but stumbled across his mom's blog several months ago and am in awe of her faith, love, and patience (she has 4 children, 4ish-years old and younger. Her youngest child, she was told, was going to be born with major heart problems and probably wouldn't survive. He was born and only through the power of prayer and God's amazing hand, he was healthy.

Now, he's fighting for his life for the same heart issues he was supposed to be born with.

Again, I don't know this family but can't help but think that this blogging world is a wonderful gift from God (if used, carefully and appropriately, as with all things) that helps us connect to family, friends and more prayer warriors than we ever knew.

It seems I wasn't the only one with the same general idea today. I also stumbled on this blog a few weeks ago and am amazed at this girl's faith. Her blog today was so much what I was thinking.

So, pray for Stellan, and as his mom has said in her blog, let HIS will be done. For those of you reading this and who have a blog, like Caroline's blog said, maybe we were given this venue for times such as these.

BBQ sandwiches (and 100th post)

This is what we had for dinner tonight - crock pot BBQ sandwiches and they were great. I did, however, make them a tad too hot and I'm surprised Mike didn't have steam blowing out his ears. Next time I'll have to remember to not put a whole can of chipotle peppers in... :-)

Home Improvement Wish List

I have a great time working on our house. There are lots of little things to do on a daily basis but there are still a few fairly significant "projects" that Mike and I want to do. Since we're on a budget and have to stay in the budget - I'm making a sky-is-the-limit wish list on here to tide me over. :-)

1. Wood floors - I want to put them in the kitchen/dining/living area.



2. Once we get wood floors I want to get a rug for the living area and one for the under the dining table.

This is what I want for the dining room (it's from Ballard Designs):



This is my favorite for the living room so far - it's from Pottery Barn. I've been watching for the right rug at the right price for awhile:



3. Eventually, I'd also like to get some nice chairs for the living area. I kinda like these:



4. Tile in all three bathrooms - there's linoleum with a tile pattern on there now.

5. (this one is actually at the top of the list) Find something for over the couch - yep, still looking. My plan was to take some great pictures during our trip we were hoping to take to Europe this fall and have them blown up and hang those over the couch but since that trip isn't looking too good because of the economy, not knowing if our company will have furloughs, etc., I'm looking for a new option.




Other little things I want to do:
- find a little table to put in the upstairs guest room
- find a more wall decor for: over our bed, our bathroom, the upstairs guest room, and the downstairs bathroom

I'm sure there's more but what we have here is a ton of work and I'm very excited about it!

Spring Cleaning

After a great weekend with my brother in town, I spent most of the afternoon cleaning up and FINALLY touching up places on the ceiling that I bumped when we painted after we moved in (almost 1 year ago!) 

While I was inside, Mike was outside working in the yard. He spread fresh mulch in the flower beds (we still have more to go but I have to actually plant flowers before we finish), filling a few mini-ditches in our yard, spreading fresh seed and washing cars.

Since no post is any fun without pictures. Mike's parents sent me flowers for my birthday - it's not until Thursday but I'm so glad I got to enjoy them over the weekend before I go back to work and they look so pretty on our mantle!