Progress on finishing our basement

Shane helped my brother in law frame the basement in our home before we bought it from them

After my Dad taught Shane some things about electrical, he got right to work.  Above is Shane finishing up the electrical work in the hallway and bathroom.

Here is the biggest room in our basement (one side of it).  It is framed to be used either as a double bedroom or an entertainment room, and is wired to do such.  On the right side of this room from this view is a walk in closet and children's play area. This is the room before sheetrock. 

After sheetrock...walk in closet, and children's play area.

The other side of the big room...before sheetrock

After sheetrock.  The little area to the left will have a desk as a work/homework area, with a bi-fold closet to the right.

Looking down the hallway from the big room...after sheetrock

Directly to the right is our furnace room, to the left is small storage.  Further down on the right is the bathroom, and at the end is a small room with a bigger storage room attached.

Looking into the bathroom...before sheetrock

Looking straight into the bathroom...after sheetrock.  It's hard to get a good picture of the bathroom!

This is the other small room, looking down the hallway and into the big room.  The bathroom is through the doorway on the left.  Directly behind me is the bigger storage area, closed off with a door.

We have taken countless trips to The Home Depot for supplies!  Cute Dundee has been with us every step of the way :)

All of the work has been completed by Shane except for the sheetrock/mud/tape.  Framing (assisted brother in law), electrical, vent work, window sill, closet shelving, door casing, hanging doors, and baseboard have all been done.  What a guy.

Tomorrow Shane will be tiling the bathroom floor, and putty and caulking the entire basement to get ready for PAINT!

brakes, baby dresser, boating, & Brigham City Temple

Here are a few things that we have been up to in the past week...

Shane replaced the rotors on his car, and the brakes on both of our cars.  I am completely amazed that he was able to learn from my brother and teach himself within one day of how to do this!  It was a lot of work, but saved us a TON of money.  Go Shaney!

This cute dresser (pictured without the drawers or cupboard door) is going to go in the baby's room.  

We picked it up at a fundraising yard sale for $25, and it is so nice.  It is solid maple, very heavy and sturdy, the drawers pull so smoothly, and will be perfect for the baby. 

Shane and I have been working on refinishing it...we sanded it all down, and even had to sand all of the moldings by hand (I thought I was going to die from how hard it was!).

 Here is the dresser with one coat of prime.  It now has a second coat, and is ready for paint.

I have a whole new respect for people who love to refinish furniture...it isn't easy!

Shane and I also took some friends boating yesterday at Pineview.  Baby boy had a fantastic time!  

26.4 weeks

Mom, Brooke, and I (and baby boy) went to the Brigham City Temple open house today, and afterward had lunch at Maddox.  What a fun day out with the two women I look up to and love the most!  

my hillbilly man

We thought the day would never come when Shane would be the one in the oral surgeon's operation chair instead of me...but it happened, a little over a week ago!
When Shane was in high school, he knocked out one of his front teeth skiing.  When that happened, the dentist put some bleach in the now dead tooth, and shoved it back into his root with some cement.  Done.
Well, 10+ years later, the area around that tooth had become completely infected and the root had disintegrated quite a bit.  Our only option was for the surgeon to pull out the tooth, whatever root was left, clean out all of the infection, add in some bone graft, and put in a post for a tooth implant.
Luckily, Shane's surgeon had done 8 surgeries on me, and Shane works as a nurse in the room that he operates in at the hospital, so we have a great relationship with him.  He did an amazing job with the surgery, and now Shane is stuck with only one front tooth for the next few months until the implant can be completed!  (hence the nickname hillbilly...) What a good sport.

Here he is right before the operation.  I had to get one last picture of Shane with his REAL tooth!  His front right tooth is the one they had to pull out.

Dundee kept Shane great company the day he came home from surgery.  He is holding a piece of gauze in his mouth where the missing tooth is.

The day after surgery, still being accompanied by the animals.  (Can you tell they are only allowed on the sofa if there is a blanket there?  Good animals... :) )

Shane is feeling so much better and can hardly wait to get his tooth in for many reasons...

the first being so he can bite into a slice of pizza. ;)

Yesterday was a hard day.

For one reason or another, yesterday afternoon found me sitting in my home with hot tears streaming down my face.  I felt as though I couldn't stop my emotion as I pondered many events that have taken place over the past week...events almost completely out of my control.
Shane and I decided to get out of the house and go for a walk.  I wanted to wear cool, comfortable clothes...but of course, I didn't have any clothing in that category that fit my changing body, and I felt frustrated.  I ended up still wearing a comfortable outfit, it was just warmer than I would have chosen.  As we stepped outside, the sun and heat hit us like a ton of bricks.  I tried to keep a positive attitude as we began walking, but I increasingly became more frustrated and emotional.  I just wanted a nice, cool walk to simmer my boiling emotions and freshen my moist, hot face.  We ended up walking for about 10 minutes and came home.
As the day progressed, I couldn't seem to get myself out of that deep, dark hole that was holding me captive.  My eyes were puffy from the tears, and my throat was sore from trying to hold back more tears.  As I climbed into bed late last night, I quietly whispered to my Heavenly Father that all I needed was a little bit of rain...a little bit of rain to wipe away my sorrow and take with it the frustrations of the past week.
This morning it rained.
And it rained again,
and again.
Just enough to remind me that my Savior listens to my sorrow, and he understands my pain.  Just enough rain to remind me that I am okay, really.  Life brings with it sharp rocks sometimes, but as those rocks are tossed amidst the wind and running water, they become smooth and beautiful.
How grateful I have been for that small reminder, a reminder that has helped bring a little bit of the smile back to my face once again.

Mommy and Baby Boy

There are two lullaby songs that Shane and I had decided to sing to our baby before we were even pregnant.  I began to sing these songs to our baby the day I found out that I was expecting, but never once have I been able to get through the songs without becoming overwhelmed with emotion.  I have dreamt about these days for so long now...and now that they are here, I feel like I can't thank my Father in Heaven enough for them.  Every single day I am filled with gratitude that He has chosen and entrusted Shane and myself to become parents to one of His most precious children; to help him grow and learn in the gospel, to help him understand what it means to be genuine and kind, to help him have a desire to be good - even on the days when he might not want to be! 

Baby boy reminds me quite often these days that he is becoming more squished in my belly.  I am able to feel and see his movements so clearly now that he is bigger and stronger...it is an indescribable experience.  He is so active around 11 pm, and again around 2 or 3 am when I am woken up by his little jabs and tickles.  I lie awake at night during those times and feel his little spirit so close...like I am being wrapped up in his love.  I lie awake at night during those times and again am filled with so much gratitude that this tiny miracle is truly ours.

I feel so good.  There are days when I don't think I look so good, but that doesn't matter.  I rotate between the same couple outfits, eat just about the same few things, and still can hardly handle the smell of anything, but that doesn't matter either.  The metallic taste in my mouth and my ever growing itchy belly (that I try desperately not to scratch), are all beautiful reminders of the blessing this little baby boy is to our family...

I will keep singing to you baby boy...I will keep singing every single day, and will never grow tired of feeling those happy tears stream down my face as I think of you.  

You are our baby... our little miracle.