Closet turned Masterpiece!

One of the remodeling projects we did at our house was turn a closet (which was once across from our laundry room) into a mud room! Let me tell you, this is one of the favorite spots in my house! It's a small walkway from my kitchen to my garage and the laundry room is on the left, but on the right is this...

It's got it all...

• A place for all the coats (I think I may have a fear of us all getting cold, because we each have about 14 coats!)
• A place for the sports stuff
• A place to post the family rules
• A place for the backpacks
• A place for the school work
• A place for reminder notes
• A PERFECT PLACE FOR US!
  
  

Sleeping Beauty Day

I had the day off today and Lily told me we were having Sleeping Beauty day. I wasn't sure what that meant.....but just so you know this is what it includes:

One gingerbread snowman cookie set. (Bakers reference: this thing is total crap!! Tastes terrible. I guess for $3.87 what did I expect??)

It does makes kids smile like this!

Addy squeezing icing everywhere....I'm not so bright! But again she was happy, and I guess that is all that matters.

Then we watched Sleeping Beauty, and ALL three of us beauty's.......

Went to sleep!!! I highly recommend Sleeping Beauty Day!

I know, I know...you wanted to see more pictures from Christmas....

Wonderful Day!

We had a wonderful Christmas, and got to spend time with our families. The girls got their presents from Santa, us, and the grandparents. They cleaned up! I liked these family pictures of us.

And now for what you've been waiting on......the most amazing playhouse on earth. (I named it that!) Santa left them a note and said he couldn't fit the playhouse on his sleigh, and our sweet Lily said "It's okay Santa, we still love you!" Then after we opened gifts we went outside to see if they could find reindeer tracks.

When we walked out on the back porch....they....walked right PAST THE PLAYHOUSE!!! They were too busy looking for the tracks. We were cracking up. Then Damon told them to look back towards the house and that is when they saw it! They LOVED IT!!!!

Daddy gave his sweet Lily a silver heart necklace. She loved it! She said "I will know you always love me when I wear it!" I don't think Christmas can get much better than that!

3:45 AM

I may have purchased the playhouse from hell. Well maybe that's a little strong, but it was made in Canada!

I told him a week ago, "you better look at those directions". His response was always the same, "I'll get it done". He started it last night and has to work on it after they are in bed, so from 9:30-1:45 AM he worked on it. Then tonight from 9:30 till 3:45 AM! There's still more to do! (Granted he has stupid cartoons on while he's doing it, that could be slowing him down!)

What scares me are the "non-crafty" fathers in the world who have to put this thing together! I mean, not to brag...okay...well yes to brag, DJ's good at stuff like this and it's taking this long. What do the dads do who can't do that stuff? I guess they hire guys like him to do it! Hmmmmm...."DJ's Custom Playhouses", I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.

He did say, "All I know is, this thing is from US! Santa's not getting the credit for all this work!!!" ; )

A little of this, and a little of that....

Lily had a gingerbread party at school on Friday. This is her gingerbread house. (You know in public school they can't have a Christmas party anymore, so it's a winter party...don't get me started on that!)

My favorite quote from Lily about the house was, "Mom, we can eat anything we want EXCEPT the graham crackers....they were hot glued together!" (Her teacher has done this long enough to know that when you give 22 kindergartner's a gingerbread house, it's easier if the thing is sturdy!) Nothing says yummy holiday treat like hot glue does!

What do you do when you have a house under construction at Christmas? You go to the Delta Cafe for lunch and act like their Christmas tree is yours! Nothing says white trash like taking your kids to a diner and having their picture taken by the tree in the lobby!

We had the "Utley" Christmas this weekend. My cousins both have 3 kids each, so when we are together there are 8 of them (six of them are girls!) We have done the math and in a few years we'll have two 16 year old girls, one 15 year old girl, two 14 years old girls and one 13 year old girl! Nothing says hormonal, emotional, miserable Christmas like that does!!!

Frosty

The Sisterhood of the Traveling...

POOP!!!!!!

Addy: "I need to poo-poo soooo bad"
Lily: "I'll help you Addy"
Addy: "Tae"
Me: "Lily, I can help her."
Lily: "No mom....I'll do it!"

[Five minutes later]

Lily: Whewwww
Me: Was everything okay?
Addy: I poo-poo so big
DJ: Was she having trouble?
Lily: No, the poop came out, it just wouldn't drop!
Me: [Eyes closed, hand over mouth, deep breath] "Did you help it drop?"
Lily: Yeah, I knocked it off with toilet paper!
Me: DID YOU WASH YOUR HANDS???

Santa Baby

Mickey Banister is one of the elders at our church, he graciously plays Santa at our Christmas party each year. Last year Lily saw him praying at communion and leaned over to me and said "that guy looks just like Santa!!" Ha ha

This year they both did great, and when he asked her what she wanted Lily said, " A playhouse!" Holy smokes....she said it! She verbalized that she wants a play house!! And that's good considering that is what she is getting!!!!!

He amazes me!

He can take THIS........

And turn it into this.......

Just had to share, I was really proud of this one! It's not mine of course, I still have 1980's 4 inch blue tile!! ha ha

Christmas at the Johnson's

Who remodels at the busiest time of the year? The Johnson's!!! (Remember we're the people who bought & sold a house and moved 1 day before going to the hospital to have Lily!! We're crazy!!!)



Do we have a Christmas tree? No!

But we do have 81 boxes of a former tree that's been turned into flooring....

Do we have tree trimmings? No! But we do have dust...everywhere!
Do we have lights? No! But we do have an unfinished ceiling with a light!!

Do we have hope? YES! (All kidding aside, I am trying to see the bigger picture and know that there are more important things than having a perfect house at the holidays! So, Merry freakin Christmas! I said I was TRYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Happy Anniversary

Things were busy this week and I failed to give a shout out to my Nana & Papa, Jack and Hazel Utley. On Monday, December 8th they celebrated 63 years of marriage!!

63 years! Three kids, 6 grand kids, and 11 great grand kids!

Happy for them.....but 63 years, really?!!?!?! Damon said "Oh geeze... put me out of my misery now!!!" How sweet dear! Wow...he should write for Hallmark!

Love you Nana & Papa and congratulations!

Perfect Tribute

My grandmother's funeral yesterday was a perfect tribute to her life, and the kind of woman she was. She was generous, faithful, understanding, loving, and wise. She led my granddad to Christ 6 weeks after they were married and thanks to her sharing the word with him, he has been an elder in 4 churches they have attended (they moved a lot due to his job).

My mom and aunt both read very sweet poems at her service. My aunts was titled "The Dash." The poem was about the dash between the dates of your birth and death. What happened during that dash? Were you who you needed to be? Were you the kind of person that others admired? Did you make the dash mean something?

My grandmother's funeral had to be one of the easiest funerals for the preacher to prepare. There was not a question of the kind of woman she was. What she stood for, or whom she served. She was a blessing to all of us. I want my dash to mean something too!

What will your dash mean?

Grandma

My mother called me about 45 minutes ago and told me my grandma, Anna Smith, had passed away. She said, "Well, she won the victory." She did win! She devoted her life to Christ and now she is in Heaven with Him.

When I hung up I was crying pretty hard and DJ wasn't here. We went through this with his grandmother about 5 months ago, so unfortunately this is all too familiar. Lily walked in and said, "Did Grandma Smith die?" I was still crying and said, "Yes Lily she did." She climbed in my lap and hugged me and said, "It's okay mom, don't cry we will see her again in Heaven. You have memories in your heart, that will always be with you!" How did my 5 year old get so smart? All I know is, she was right, and it's exactly what I needed to hear.

God is good all the time!

Genetic Sarcasm

Is sarcasm genetic?

In college I would get a bad grade on a test and my parents would lecture me on what I needed to be doing and how I wasn't going to finish college with grades like that, etc. I would say "Are grades really going to matter when I get to Heaven?" They really couldn't argue with me so they would just glare at me in disgust.

Tonight while picking up the house, I asked Lily to help straighten the living room. She turned and looked at me and said "Mom do you want me to clean, or go to Heaven? Which is more important?"

My mom always used to say "I hope you get one just like you!" I think I know what she meant now!!!!

Turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and......POWER TOOLS!

What do you do on Thanksgiving when you don't have to be anywhere until 3:00?

Well we......have an 80's style entry way and since we were in the process of redoing our floors, we decided while we were at it......

we would also......

remove.....


Our entry way!! Now it's nice and open! I love it!!! What a great Thanksgiving!

I am Thankful

I am thankful for a wonderful husband who loves me, who follows Christ, who provides for me, who loves my daughters more than anything, and who makes me laugh!


I am thankful for Lily & Addy who show me daily that life is meant to be fun and we need to take time to enjoy it.


I am thankful for my parents who have taught me to make Christ the center of my life. They have shown times can and will get rough but if you keep Him the focus you can get through it!


I am thankful for my in laws who raised my son to be who he is, and who love me like I'm their own.


I am thankful for Nana & Papa, Granddad &Grandma, and Grandpa & Grandma Johnson, who all dedicated themselves to one another and each have shared over 50 years of marriage. They are wonderful examples to so many on what "lasting love" means! (We are remembering and missing Grandma Johnson today.)

I am thankful for all our family, Adam & Amy, our aunts and uncles, cousins, everyone!


I am thankful for Katie, Lesley, Shelley, Michelle, Renee, Andrea, Mandy, Brooke, Sarah, Sarah, Teresa, Tonya, Chiara, Heather....ALL my friends who let me be me and love me no matter what!


I am thankful for Nicole, Lesley, and Heather who watch my kids for me and who love those two girls almost as much as I do! I couldn't do it without them.


I am thankful for a good job, and that we started a business almost a year ago and it is doing wonderful! We are so blessed.

I am thankful for a mortgage payment, without it we wouldn't have a roof over our heads.

I am thankful for Christ. That He created me, that He loves, and that He sent his son to die for me so I can have a hope of an eternity with Him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for my dad

My dad amazes me. I long to have his strength, faith, and insight! I loved his blog post for today, had to share it.

I'm thankful for you dad. That you're here, that you're getting better every day, and that you're a shining example to other as to what Christ has done, and is doing in your life.

God is good!

Family Pictures...

We went to McAlester this weekend to see both my mom and dads parents. These pictures are of my dads family, the Utley's. Growing up I was the only granddaughter. My Nana had 3 sons, 5 grandsons, and 2 great grandsons, and ME!!! I was the only girl. It was GREAT!!!! Now tables are turned. She has 2 great-grandsons and SEVEN great-granddaughters! My reign is over.

You're outta here....

You're outta here baby!!! That first tooth is gone!

I heard her brushing her teeth and she said, "Oh, oh, oh....Addy look at this, gotta get mom!!"

She was thrilled. The TFairy left her $2 (not sure what the going rate for teeth on the street is, but that is what she got, and she was thrilled.) And, we were thrilled when she asked if she could give one of her dollars to the church this morning!!! She's such a good girl!

Victory!!!

After 6 calls to Toys-R-US, sitting on hold for 19 minutes, getting disconnected, calling back angry, and one long trip to the south side Toys-R-Us, we GOT IT! We got the playhouse for the girls!!!! I am so excited. I think they both are going to love it! SHHHHHHH! Don't tell! Gotta wait until Christmas!

Add to your top 10...

One of the perks of my job is events planning! I love it, I would own an event planning company if I could. Last night I planned an event with our company and IBM. The highlight of the evening was when a party bus arrived to drive us from dinner down to the Thunder basketball game. It rocked!

If you have never been on a party bus, I am telling you now, you MUST add this to your "top 10 things to do just to say you did it list!" (Does everyone else have that list?? If not, you need one!) It was so fun! So add it to your list....and if you rent it, let me know and I'll be there!

Are you kidding??

My sweet 5 year old went to school this morning a normal, bright, funny little girl, full of life and energy. She came home the same way, only with a loose tooth. A loose tooth! Are you kidding me? I swear she just got those teeth! I remember watching them pop through! I remember rubbing numbing cream on her gums...teething tablets...Tylenol, that was YESTERDAY!!!

Now she is filled with even more joy and excitement. Seeing her eyes light up as she used her tongue to wiggle that little white tooth back and forth. She shrieked with excitement, "Mom I'm getting bigger!" She is getting bigger, taller, and smarter every day. She's growing up right before my eyes.....where's that pause button on life?

Fudge Pudge

The owner of our company, and his wife, make tins of fudge for the sales guys to take to customers during the holidays. He showed up with a batch this morning! It's November 17th, and we have fudge out already!!! Oh crap.....

Chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, walnuts, pecans, no nuts, white chocolate, in a tin, wrapped in foil, old or new, I love fudge, yes I do!!!!

My blessings....

Christmas Blahhhhhhh

I took the girls to Toys-R-Us today ALONE, I was supposed to have my mom with me but she somehow got out of that one! I know what I want to buy them as their main gift....a play house that they can actually play in. It costs $250 (which I think is pretty good) BUT it's sold out, and to order online costs $250 to SHIP!!!! NUTS! Damon says he can build one, which I KNOW he can, but when?? He is maxed out, and has no time!!

So we wandered around and and looked about 50,000 items. It stressed me out even more. Everything we saw I pictured it in one year missing pieces and broken sitting in the corner. I know it will all work out and we will find something they love, but for now I have the Christmas blues and just don't have a clue! Ba humbug!

Questions

#1
L: Dad why don't you have boobies?
D: Boys don't have them, just girls.
L: I will get them?
D: (gulp) Some day, you will

#2
L: Why are boys so hairy?
D: Not all boys are as hairy as me.
L: Ohhhhh

#3
L: Can teenagers have babies?
K: Uh, did you see that car drive by?
L: Mom...can teenagers have babies?
K: Women can, just women. (praying please do not ask how old you are when you become a woman)



Valium & Vodka please.....

My veteran, My Papa

My Papa, Leo "Jack" Utley served in WWII, his job was to drive ammunition trucks to soldiers fighting on the front lines. I can't imagine how scary some of those drives must have been. Papa will turn 92 years old on November 21st. I am amazed at all that he has witnessed in his lifetime. I figured out the other day he has seen 17 presidents in office, that just blows my mind.

He and my Nana, Hazel, weren't married during WWII. She was married to her first husband, Elmo Henderson, who was killed in the war. Nana has letters from Elmo that had the location where he was cut out, or blacked out where she couldn't see. She never knew for sure where he was stationed, or when he would be home, and didn't get phone calls or emails from him. It was such a different time. She knew he was fighting for our country, and she relied on other friends and family to survive.

We take for granted our freedoms, all of them! Not just freedom for our Country, but simple, everyday freedoms too. We are so blessed.

Thank you Papa! Thank you for serving our country and fighting for our freedom. Your dedication and service to God, your family, and your country are something to be proud of. You have built a legacy for our family and for that we are grateful! We love you!!