Denver, here I come!

I am going to Denver in two weeks with my Mom, Dad, and brother to see Benjamin off to Afghanistan. We are taking a quick trip so we can see him one last time before his tour with the National Guard. It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to him, but this is really what he want to do and I am so proud of him for going. I know it is going to be scary to think of him over there getting shot at, but I also know that my Heavenly Father loves him, and he loves us, his family. We have no control over Ben's future, but He does and He is going to do what is right for all of us. I am so thankful for my Faith, that allows me to see things though a different set of glasses, and know that we are in the life to learn and grow, and our Loving Heavenly Father will only give us what we can handle.

So when I go to see Ben, I plan on giving him a great big hug and telling him all the things a big sister should, but when we leave he will be in the hands of our Father, and I need to let my faith take over. We can be strong as a family and keep him in our prayers and hopefully in a year or so we can welcome him home back into the arms of our family.

I ROCK!!!

Today I ran 3 miles in 45 min. running the entire last mile. For the past 2 or so months I have been running on the treadmill, I went from one mile to two a month ago, and today I decided to take it up another notch. It feels good to be done, and I did a lot of stretching so hopefully I won't be to sore, but yeah for me, 3 miles!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was Johnathan and mine 9 year wedding anniversary. A good friend of mine took the kids last night so we could have a quiet dinner at home. We had steak and corn, Texas toast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sparkling apple cider. I decorated the house and put a sign on the door "Night of a thousand stars." It was such a nice evening and we talked about how we couldn't belive that it was 9 years already. I know that we don't have a lot, but we have eachother and that is really all that matters.

Today is our 10 year anniversary of the day we met. So I have known my husband longer than I have known any other person besides my family. It is great to know that we are still the best of friends and that it will be no suprise when we have made it another ten years and are going strong.

Our Headboard

We got this headboard about 7 years ago at a garage sale. It wasn't my favorite thing, but I really liked the shape of it. I thought maybe one day I would redo it to something I liked more, but never got around to it. Well the other day I decided "what the heck" so I pulled it out and sanded a bit here and there. I didn't really have a plan, but 4 hours later it was sanded down to the wood and I liked the color. Next, I wanted to replace the mesh with fabric so I got the wood finished like I wanted then went to work gluing on padding. The plan didn't work how I wanted it and after much debate I realized I need to pull the mesh off from the back. It was hard work but I finally got it off and removed from its stabilizing boards, not with out incident, but I have only made myself bleed three times.

When I realized I couldn't use the fabric the way I wanted to I needed a plan B. Andie suggested I paint part of it the color of the fabric I was using, so we loaded everyone up in the car and went to Walmart and Porters and that is where I found the lettering. Liking the brewing idea I got home, but Jenna to bed and went back to work. I was on day two of the project so I just let the big kids play outside while I sanded and started painting.

There was still no defiant plan but things were coming together. I though maybe some antique gold leaf would look nice, so I spend an hour putting it on, and three hours taking it back off when I didn't like it. At 1:00 a.m. I fell into bed. 7:00 a.m. back at it. I finished painting and the put the fabric over the removed mesh and stapled it back into place. After a few coats of sealer I had a final product. After all the work I can truly say I like it. Johnathan hasn't seen it because he has been with the scouts, but I don't plan on changing it, so he better like it. :) Over all, I am glad I did it, now I have a head board that I love, and...I will never have to do that again!

$1 Project

Yesterday I was catting around DI and found this transfer in the craft section.

"Hum, wonder what this is. Ah, a wall transfer! Well we rent so it won't really work on the wall, *thinking* but if I put it on a board then I can just hang it where I want to. And it is only $1.00, can't beat that!"

So I got it and brought it home. It was rather large so I went to look in the garage for some wood to put it on. In a deep dark corner under the stairs I found an old shelf with the brackets still on it. Digging deep into my Home Improvement Personality I got the drill and removed the brackets and took a good look. It was about 5 inches to long so I cut it down with the chop saw and laid it out on the table.Perfect! Now it was time to paint.

I wanted it to go in the bedroom so I mixed some paint I already had to make the color I wanted and went to town. When it dried I carefully sanded it then applied the lettering, and viola, the finished product! I am deciding if I want to hand paint the date we got married on it, or maybe some hearts, but I think for a buck it turned out alright!

Getting Big!

Jenna is getting big and she has become very mobile. Because she can go just about anywhere now and she is walking fairly well she has decided that she needs to work on a few more things, namely, climbing and getting into things. When I do the dishes she instantly climbs up onto the dishwasher door and that goes for both loading and unloading. We have taken to doing the dishes when she is a sleep because the moment she hears that door open she hurries to the kitchen and there is not time to get it done before she gets there. One problem is when she gets up on some things she cant get down so she just stands there and yells for help. Yesterday I even tried putting the step stool under the table so she would stop climbing on it, but instead she got up anyway and not only was stuck on the stool, but under the table as well!



Next she likes to climb into things, any things. Boxes, bowls, shoes, drawers and yes, even games. I found her stuck in this "Break the Ice" game the other day, when I finally got her out of it she climbed right back in. When I was working on our food storage yesterday she found and empty box that was far to little to hold her, but she managed to get in it. Because she likes to be wherever I am I have pulled her out from under the sink in the bathroom, and out of the draw under the stove. She has also figured out how to open the draws at the desk and she unloads all the envelopes and rolls of tape. Needless to say she have a bright one on our hands and I can only imagine the places she will go

Andies Special Day!

Andie was baptised this morning by her father and it was a beautiful experience. Both Johnathan and Andie did a wonderful job and it was so sweet to see them together in the font. He also confirmed her a member of the church and gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost, along with a beautiful blessing. It was need to have the boys watch her and she did a wonderful job even though she was worried about her ears. After that we came home and the family stayed for a yummy lunch and the we let the kids play for a while. Overall it was a nice day and we are so proud of Andie's decision to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Congratulations Andie!

The Duncan Family

This is her portrait. The Plaque says
"I will keep my Baptismal Covenants"
Andie V. Duncan
March 2009