A Few Projects

It has been a few months since I have posted anything on our blog, but this entry will explain and show why.
This is Neal Palmer and Steele. I love Neal, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He came over a few weeks after we moved in and helped us clear out an old tree in our backyard. Steele had a blast watching him and then getting out in the midst of the damage. These are two of my favorite pictures of Steele and Neal working on the tree. (It was a monster.)















These next pictures are of our biggest project- our kitchen. Other than a little electrical and plumbing help (and an occasional extra man to lift the sink and countertop) Wes and I did this all on our own. I would put the cabinets together (we had to start from scratch) and then Wes would hang them.
We also hung the door. The old opening had to be torn out and we put the new door and frame in a few days ago. It took a good hour and a half to do because neither one of us had ever done it, but after installing cabinets, lights, a toilet, wood flooring, baseboards, trim, etc. we realized we could at least learn how to hang a door.:)

This first picture is a before- we had old avacado green sink and appliances with cream cabinets and blue trim. Let's just say this kitchen hadn't seen a facelift since 1960.
I designed the kitchen with some input from others (it took me months) but after much planning we moved the fridge down the wall, added a pantry on the other side of the fridge (thank you Karen) and extended the countertop to have a bar. It was well worth the work and wait of not having a kitchen for a few months because I love it now. My favorite part of all, my country sink, it is HUGE!
This has been a tremendous blessing for us as well. We have truly seen the hand of our Father in Heaven as we have been blessed with things we wouldn't have been able to afford and also with good friends who were willing to help us out.

These last pictures are of our living room. I still have to get curtains and hang a few more things, but other than that we are done in there as well.
So here's the before...And the after....
There will be more to come. We have actually finished the boys room and the dining room, but I need to take pictures. We still have to re-tile our guest bathroom and put a new toilet in, but other than that it's almost done as well. So hopefully I will have some more projects to share soon.
Thanks to all who have helped and supported us as we have worked so hard to make our house a home. I can't wait to have everyone over for games and a BBQ! And a special thanks to my hubby who spent his entire summer working on the house...I love you!!!

A Long Awaited Day

So last night at the dinner table with Wes' family, his parents asked Dave and Becky if they would be going to the temple before they leave for med school on Wednesday. Then Wes' Dad said, "Maybe we can all go together and be sealed on Tuesday."
It was one of the sweetest moments I can recall, to look around and see Dave and Wes crying and then to see their Dad get up with tears in his eyes and pat Dave on the back. This is something Wes and I have prayed for every day since we have been married and I know Wes and Dave have been praying for this much longer than that.
But of course Satan has to have his hand in everything beautiful, because right after that wonderful announcement they told us the sealing would be around 7 that night. That's when I realized that I have a test in my Micro class. So after dinner I emailed my teacher to find out if I could take the test early. (For those of you who haven't heard my horror stories, my teacher is not very nice and does not believe in working with other people's schedules.) Wes and I prayed that my teacher's heart would be softened, but to no avail. She emailed me back saying that I can't take the test early or late and that my family should understand my commitment to school.
So here I am with a very hard decision. I can't imagine missing this blessed occasion where my husband will be sealed to his parents and brother, tying our little family with theirs for all eternity. Yet, on the other hand, if I don't take the test there is a good chance I won't pass. Wes says I can't miss the test and that I have put way too much time and effort into this class just to drop, but I know how important it is to him that we are all together as a family.
However, with all that said, I know that as I have faith something will work out. Heavenly Father has a plan and with the bitter comes the sweet and what a sweet occasion it is to be dressed in white with all of your family in the Lord's house.

Lilly

Wes and I found out on March 19th that we are going to be blessed with a baby girl! Wes was so excited when they said girl that he started hooting and hollering so loudly a nurse came in and asked if we were having a party. As for me, I was stunned! I really thought we were having another boy, in fact part of me is still skeptical, but I am SO happy for a girl. We plan on naming her Lilly Mae. Steele comes up to me everyday with a little pink outfit my mom bought us and says, "Mama is this Lilly's?" It makes me smile just thinking about it.
Speaking of Steele, he is such a good brother. Today, Gideon was crying and I was on the phone so I asked Steele to go talk to him. When I got off the phone I peeked into the bedroom and they were both sitting in Gideon's play-pen laughing.
I cannot express how much my kids mean to me. All the little things they do to make me smile far out weigh the things they do wrong. Wes always reminds me that the greatest treasure in life is family...well, I know that we are very rich, maybe not materially, but definitely eternally! Thank goodness for family!

New Home

So here it is, the new Filhart home. It is such a cute house and this picture does not really do it justice. Wes and I are so excited to get to work on it. We have plans to add wood flooring, paint inside and out, reface the kitchen cabinets and add new fixtures to name a few. The last few weeks have been somewhat of a headache, but now that the papers are signed we're getting really excited. It's so nice to know we have a place of our own that we can do whatever we want with it. We are especially looking forward to having everyone over for a backyard BBQ before it gets too hot.
Also, I plan on doing some before and after pictures as we fix the place up so watch for updates and hopefully I won't bore you all!

Pee

You know I have always hated the word pee. Well now it's not just a matter of hate, I detest it! It is such a gross word, but what could describe urine better, it's just GROSS!
So once again I am up in the middle of the night because I was cleaning up, what else, pee. If it's not Steele, it's Gideon. If it's not Gideon, it's Skillet (our chihuahua). If it's not cleaning it up, it's me running to the bathroom to pee thanks to this little person growing inside.
But seriously, I have a new appreciation for mothers this morning at 4:30am. I never realized just how gross motherhood could be. However, I suppose that is what makes it so wonderful. I believe the scripture reads, "for it must needs be, that there is an oppposition in all things," the scripture then goes on to say if not so, then we could not know good or bad.
So basically I have had some pretty gross experiences over the last few years and now that I have 2 children and a dog it seems that those experiences are more frequent. Yet, as bad as cleaning up pee can be, the joy I get from my family is ten times greater. I am so thankful Heavenly Father has a plan. A plan that included some gross experiences, because without it, how would I know that my life is really PERFECT!

Test-Run

So I had the opportunity today to experience what life might be like with 3 kids. EmmaLee came over for the day and boy was it interesting. I started out with little sleep due to neither Steele or Gideon sleepling last night. By the time EmmaLee got here at 6am I was dead tired. Then I had a doctors appointment to get ready for and trying to get myself and 3 kids ready and fed was challenging. We did it though and I was only 5 minutes late! (Now I can appreciate Sarah's predicament when it comes to being late.:)) The next challenge was trying to get 3 down for a nap. Steele and Gideon made it down, but EmmaLee didn't, maybe next time I'll accomplish all three. With all that said it was nice that EmmaLee and Steele were able to keep each other somewhat occupied while I took care of Gideon. Yet, all I could think was that in about 6 months this will be a daily task and I pray that I can get through it!

Update

So thanks to Tina I was finally able to make my blog worthy of being viewed. Now I can start adding to and becoming addicted like the rest of the world. Actually, I feel that this is a great way to journal and hopefully share what is going on in our lives. So here's the update for those of you who may not know...
1- We are having another baby in August.
2- We are in the process of buying an adorable little house in Mesa.
3- Wes is working on the reservation and loving the semester so far.
4- I'm on the waiting list for nursing school and will hopefully be in the program in January.
5- Wes and I are completely in love.
Any questions?

For those of you reminding me that I need to post some pictures, here's a start.



Gideon - My little cheese ball and probably the happiest baby I have ever known.

Steele- My sweet boy who makes me cry, laugh, and wonder why I am so blessed.



Wes- The #1 man in my life who makes everything in life worth it.
I'm truly a lucky woman!