Birthday Pics

Alathia's first birthday

Jeremiah's first birthday

Justus' first birthday

Space Savers and Room Organization

We have one kid's room in our home and it's pretty small. How do we maximize this space for our little ones?

We took the sliding doors off of the closet and put them in the storage shed since one was always falling off and the kids were always banging them around. This made the room feel more spacious and allowed us to fit more into the closet and access it easier.My in-laws brought out a bunk bed set in May that belonged to my husband so Ali moved into the top bunk and Jer eventually will sleep on the bottom and Justus will take his crib. Justus currently sleeps in our room in a Pack n' Play.This changing table has gotten more use as a clothing or blanket shelf than as an actual changing table since I change diapers on the living room floor. I have clean blankets on the top shelf, the kid's underwear tubs on the middle shelf, along with doll clothes, and To-Grow-Into bins for Alathia and Jeremiah on the bottom shelf. Underneath the shelf there is space to store extra packages of diapers.I love the hanging shoe caddy (a yard sale buy) and the basket bins (also a yard sale buy). They keep things easier to find than the plastic tub we were formerly using for Jer's clothing, and yet I don't have to open drawers to put laundry away.We used to have a small dresser here instead of this wire shelving unit. The small dresser held odds and ends, clothes-to-grow into, infant stuff, etc. My brother was giving this shelf unit away and I gladly snatched it up! This holds double what the dresser held, and is easily accessible.

Ali stores her non-hanging clothes here now and is responsible for putting the clean clothes away on the appropriate shelf. I store pull-ups, wipes, extra duckie blankies, and Justus' really warm clothing on this shelf as well.

MoneySavingMom, aka Crystal, once mentioned activity tubs on her blog that her mom had made for her. I copied this great idea and made some for my daughter, who doesn't take naps fall-spring. I also keep toy sets and activities up here out of the kids' reach. We often pull down an activity when they are getting cranky or bored and then when they are done with it, they can choose a different one and put the other one back. Keeping half of the toys out of the kids' reach makes them more exciting for them and helps keep clutter and toy mess down in the house. This freebie from my friend Shiloh is so handy for keeping all of the kids' socks/belts/tights, baby shoes etc. organized and accessible behind their bedroom door. I keep their devotional book and all of our Christmas cards in here (we pray for 2 families a night) so I can reach over and grab them from the rocking chair during bedtime family devotions. I have learned that if things are NOT accessible I will not use them so my goal in my homemaking and organizing is to have easy access to the things we use frequently!

I didn't take pics of the toy box or rocking glider which are in the bedroom but they somehow fit in there with all of the other stuff. Under the crib and under the bottom bunk there is a lot of space for storage. I have some extra toliet paper and a kid's tent stored under there but not much else since they like to hide under the beds for fun! But if we didn't have a storage shed out back this space would be utelized for outgrown and growing-into clothing.

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Justus' clothing is in a shallow plastic tub under our living room couch. I grab diapers and wipes (also under the couch) and change him there on the floor and have the clothes handy. If I need fancier clothes, I get them out of the closet in the kid's room.
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As always, keeping clutter to a minimum helps maximize a small space. When I did my "Pioneer Living" experiment I discovered that life was wonderful with only 5 toys and 5-10 outfits per kid. Since that experiment the toys and clothes seem to have multiplied once again (how do they do that?) but I continue to try to take loads to the shed, rotate the toys, and only hang on to the outfits that fit the kids well, are durable, and look nice, keeping the amount they own to a minimum.

Family Pictures

Our friend Jesse is a freelance photographer. He did family photos for us a week ago at the local museum (where there are lots of old buildings that make for neat backgrounds). I love them!

This is one I plan to frame for our living room.

Also plan to frame this one.

I also plan to frame this one!

Yay hurray!

Wow, all it takes is a little bit of mystery and the comments just come rollin' in!

The majority of you guessed correctly!!!! It's a portable/convertible Maytag dishwasher!!!

(Although I have to say, a surger, kitchen aid, grain mill, or Canon Rebel would have been good guesses too!)

I have to say an ENORMOUS thanks to Momma Bear who kind of got the ball rolling for us because after reading a post of mine here a couple of months ago where I was lamenting about dirty dishes and no dishwasher, she sent me a note saying she'd like to help in that area, even though this isn't a life or death need, but rather a wish. At first I thought she might have a dishwasher to sell at a decent price, but instead she declared she wanted to send us some money for the dishwasher. It was humbling to accept, knowing that her family is as big as ours and lives off of one income too (I'm pretty sure) but she insisted and it was such a generous blessing to us. My dad also decided to chip in a little as payment for all of the work I do to maintain his website for his business. We searched all over online, picked out the model we were going to buy, and had planned to buy it the end of this month so we wouldn't have to take any savings out to pay for it. But then my husband got sent on a work trip to the biggest town in Wyoming (population 50,000) and he found it at Home Depot for over $100 less than in our county. It included free shipping to anywhere in the state, so he went ahead and bought it a week earlier and it should arrive on our doorstep in a couple of weeks!

Thank you Momma Bear and Jason!!!!

I'm so excited I'm willing to give up whatever space necessary in our small kitchen to have this at my disposal! I've been waiting 21 years to have one! Ever since my Mom forced the "Dish Nights" upon us at age 6, I have disliked doing dishes. When I went to college, my folks finally bought a dishwasher so I never got a chance to use theirs. Even though we've moved like 4 or 5 times in our married life, we have never had a rental with a dishwasher. With each child that joins our family, I'm feeling more overwhelmed by the endless stream of sippy cups, bottles, silverware, little bowls, etc. that need to be washed. I don't mind large pots and pans and do them right away but always have a sink full of silverware/popsicle tops/sippy cups which I "put off." So, even if a dishwasher doesn't have room for everything, it will have room for the little stuff that I hate washing! And I will feel good knowing that everything is very sanitized. As it is, I take a LONG time to do dishes since things have to be super clean, and rinsed extra to get off any soap residue. Other people I have seen can do dishes at lightning speed, but not me! I want them to be company-ready and very, very clean! A dishwasher will help immensely with that!

I'm looking for suggestions on what kind of dishwasher soap you all use! Preferrably something that's non-toxic and better for the environment, but I'm open to hearing your opinions on anything. I know you can make your own, has anyone tried this with success?

Doing Mental Cartwheels!

Okay, I was wrong, the dream came true today

because my hubby found a major good deal when he was in the
"big city" of Casper on a work errand

....but it will take 2-3 weeks to arrive....

Can anyone guess what my husband bought for me?

NINE MORE DAYS.....

9

More

Days

Until

One

Of

My

Wildest

Dreams

Comes

True

Every Now and Then

Josiah, Michael, and Jesse with Ileia and Carrie

Youth group photo scavenger hunt (photo with folks in uniform)

At a Beach-Themed bachelorette party for a friend from church

Shiloh, Amy, and I were on the winning team for the wedding relay and received crowns as prizes.

Every now and then you find yourselves friends with folks who are really special. Friends who will do just about anything for you and who are like family. You may have many differences but share the most important things in common. Every now and then you find a family where the Dads are great pals, the Moms are great friends, and the kids are practically like siblings because they hang out so much. You can empathize with, encourage, and help one another when the tough times come.

But life is ever-changing, and every now and then people move.

It is with utmost sadness that we will say goodbye to our friends Jesse, Shiloh, Carsen, Kennedy, and Havily, who are moving back to their home state of Kansas in 6 weeks. Jesse got a job as a youth pastor at a church just an hour from where both of their families live, and God opened all of the doors for them to make this move after 7 years here. It is hard for us to be happy for them because the hole their absence will leave in our family is so large. But we know God is faithful and He's brought many new friends into our lives in the last year, perhaps in preparation for this. We hope to stay in touch with them in spite of the physical distance between us.

Just because I know it will give them a laugh, I want to dedicate the song "Friends are Friends Forever" to the Blasdel family! It may be an over-played and old song, but the message remains true.

Happy Birthday Justus!!!!

Justus came home from the hospital before he was even a full day old! He was such a healthy baby! 8#1 oz. and 20 inches long.


As a tiny baby, he had the pouty lip thing down pat!


A present from Grandpa and Grandma



It seemed as though he was unhappy to get the tiniest pumpkin when we went to the Pumpkin Patch

10 months old and enjoying his fourth piece of watermelon on July 3rd

Rushing headlong into the cold lake. He loves lakes and cold water but hates warm baths!

Playing with the hammer that was Daddy's when he was a baby

Justy was a great traveler on our long drive to MN!

Trying out his first cupcake ever at his early first birthday party with King Jo's folks in MN (a few weeks early!)

Justus is literally a very happy camper!!! There's nothing like playing in the dirt all day!

I can't wait to be big and drive one these like my brother!

Happy Birthday to the little man who lights up our world with endless smiles! Sometimes I call you "Jolly Justy" because you are so happy and easy-going! You are the sunshine of our family, and, I suspect, the Little-Clown-to-be of our family. I have a feeling you will also be the snowboarder/BMX biker/mountain climber who keeps Daddy on his toes! My favorite things are hearing you say "Mama" when you reach out to me, hearing you try to sing along with music, seeing your delight when I pull out your favorite story "It's Bathtime for Baby" (which doesn't make sense since you've always hated baths!), watching you bounce up and down and get hyper and excited when you want to be tickled, seeing you run a truck along the floor making vroom noises, listening to you giggle crazily as Ali chases you or Daddy tickles you, and snuggling with you when you are tired. We are so blessed to have you in our lives! You have been such an easy-to-please baby and you take life as it comes. Just the other day when we were camping and your backpack/chair turned over and caused you to face-plant into a plate of green beans on the rock in front of you, you hardly cried at all and just grinned at us with green bean juice all over your face. I love that you embrace life as though it were an adventure and love to explore and yet that you still take time to lean your head into mine and give your Mama "hugs" often. There is only One who is great enough to get the glory and thanks for your life, and that's God. I'm praising Him today for the treasure named Justus He gave us. We love you as much as big as the mountains and as deep as the sea Justy/Combustus/Babyham/Jaberham/Baby J/Booster/Justicus/Jumper!!!

Baby Stats:

Standing alone and cruising, but not quite walking!

Weight: 18.5#

Height: 28 and 3/4 inches

Teeth: Two bottom

Hair: Dark blonde

Eyes: Sometimes look green, sometimes blue, sometimes brown. Not totally sure yet what his eyecolor is!

First words: Dada (9 months), Mama (9 months), Ba-ba (bottle) and Bye-Bye (10-11 months), Hi Dai-Dai (Dai is Grammy's dog, 11 months), Baby, uh-oh (11 months), trying to learn stick and truck by saying "ck" (12 months), says sock "gock" (12 months)

Note: Lots of bumps and bruises, and even a bloody nose, recently as he cruises around and falls a lot!