Weed Haven turned Paradise!

If you've talked to me recently, you've probably heard me talk about our backyard, aka the Weed Haven. The lady who used to live in our house was an amazing gardener... but the house sitting unattended for 11 months + our lack of desire to keep up an amazing garden (coupled with our lack of know-how and time) made for a HUGE mess. Year after year, it didn't seem to matter what we tried or what we did, it always turned into a war zone. I talked with Matt about it (and when I say talked, I mean I complained and bullied him into being okay with me calling companies to see how much it would cost for a backyard overhaul). Not my proudest moment as a wife, but I seriously couldn't look out the back windows without welling up with tears (please, can I blame this on pregnancy so I don't sound so pathetic?). Anyway, after realizing it was ridiculous to pay a company an obscene amount of money to do the work that I should have done last summer, I gave up the dream of having a decent backyard this summer. And really, I was okay with it. IN WALKS MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND. He calls me out of the blue last Thursday and says he's going to hire 2 of his past students to help him clear out the backyard. "How much can they get done in one day?" I think to myself. The answer is, almost all of it. Matt had a vision. They worked Friday, finishing the pulling and moving sprinklers. Not only did they pull weeds, they pulled old trees, bushes, weird trellis things that we don't know how to use, and pulled out 11 rotting railroad ties that were precariously buried as a border between our lawn and the weed haven. They tilled the dirt, raked the dirt, flattened the dirt. AND THEN on Saturday, we laid sod! My dad, Matt and 2 of his students worked tirelessly. I couldn't believe it!! I know my excitement is probably not contagious at this point, so maybe I will show you pictures so you can see what an amazing 3-day transformation looks like. Now, all I want to do is sit in the hammock in the shade and enjoy our backyard, dreaming of days soon to come where our little one can run in the grass and I don't have to worry about losing him in the 6-foot weed forest, worry about him impaling himself on something we didn't know was there, or worry about him getting bit by one of the 8 different types of spiders Matt saw while cleaning out the W.H. All this to say, I have the best husband and can't believe how awesome our yard is!! Thank you Mr. Wonderful!!

Before:

After:

Nesting 101

Here we are, 5 weeks until D-day! Not sure how I feel about this... excited for the outcome, just unsure about the whole process! :) We are going on our hospital tour next Wednesday, meeting with pediatricians next week, and trying to relax and stay cool! Matt is working on the backyard, which is making me one happy mama. Before and after pictures to come soon! :)

A few weeks ago I was feeling frantic that I wasn't going to get everything done that I wanted to before the baby got here, but alas, most of it is finished! Now I have a month to sit around and twiddle my thumbs. :) And I am perfectly okay with that.

The biggest thing that we needed to work on was the nursery. I knew that once Little Peanut gets here, we were not going to want to decorate a nursery. So, tada, it is finished!! (All except the window blinds which we are installing this weekend). We were on a definite budget and didn't want to spend an outlandish amount of money on anything, and with the incredible generosity of friends and family, we were able to do so! I think we've only spent about 200 dollars on everything from paint to bedding (thank you KSL.com!) to fabric, etc. YES!

Here are some pics:

First, the crib. We were originally given this crib to sell at my Haiti fund-raising garage sale last July. When it didn't sell (I couldn't believe it!), we hung onto it thinking maybe we or someone we knew could use it... in walks little peanut. It is beautiful and big and sturdy and we love it. (And yes, for all you panic-button pushers, it is a used crib but is in excellent condition, hasn't been recalled, doesn't smell, and meets all the new safety standards). :)

Next, the glider. Ah, the glider. This is a God story, seriously (Becca!). My mom wanted to buy a glider for the nursery as a gift from her and her mom, my Grandma Ross, who passed away. We started looking and I was seriously appalled at how much companies charge for a glider! It was ridiculous! I could have re-done our downstairs family room for the same price as one glider/ottoman. So, I started looking at the classifieds on KSL.com... a Utah must. We found a few that looked okay, but nothing great. So, I was on the phone with the same girl who gave us the crib and she was asking what else I needed. So, I said, "Well, we need a glider, but my mom is buying us one, so it's okay." Plus, I was sure they didn't have one. WRONG! She says, "Oh we have a glider, you can totally have it!". What!?!?! She goes to find the brand and it is a Dutailier, which is the nicest of the nice. It needed only a little handyman TLC from my dad, Wild Bill, and voila! It is perfect and beautiful as well. My mom and I ended up finding a website to order replacement cushions off of, so blue ones are on thew way! Yay!

Changing table. This is mine from when i was little! I used it until I was 10 (don't worry, not as a changing table, but as a bookshelf. I found these awesome baskets on clearance at Landofnod.com and then, my dear friend Heather from church taught me how to sew basket liners! So, they are all done and I think it looks pretty darn cute.

Handmade touches- basket liners, which would have been a miserable failure without the help of wonderful heather and a handmade mobile! Maybe someday i will feel like putting up directions, but it's pretty easy, DIY. I used scrapbook paper, thread, embroidery hoops, ribbon, buttons, and little mirrors to make it! It was pretty easy and I think it looks super cute. It moves with the air in the room and so far hasn't gotten tangled at all! We got the shelves on the wall from Target and put some fun stuff on them. Old books, my dad's old baby shoes, and a cute little cup one of my students gave me.

So there it is! Now only one thing is missing.. the baby! :)

Community

We have been blessed with such an amazing small group family. I just love having a group to get to share life with, no drama, no expectations. We study God's Word together, learn more about Jesus, support and encourage each other, and get to share in all of life's joys and woes together. I seriously love this group. We've said "see you soon" to dear friends and hello to new ones, and the family just keeps growing! Here are a few group shots of our awesome small group fam!

Happy 4th!

This is what a happy husband looks like, rocking out to Carrie Underwood! :) (Is it bad that he can hit some 

of the notes that I can't?) haha..

Hope you all have a wonderful July 4th weekend doing all the things to enjoy most!