New Office Is Complete!

In my "Catching Up" post I showed you a picture of our guestroom-to-office conversion.  Well, we have finished!  Here it is...



Erin did a new faux finish on the walls, and it is beautiful!  The green walls combined with the linen shades, plus the morning sun make this a very tranquil room.  We're so happy with how it turned out!  (thank goodness for wireless networking)




Skandia shelving lines the opposite wall.  This is a seperate deskspace for personal projects, Bible study, etc - away from the computers.




A few of my favorite things...  Erin designed the WWII arrangement.  I found the blueprint of an F4U Corsair in an old hobby shop years ago.




The chest of drawers will get a paint job soon.  A good whiteboard is a requisite for me.  But what's the small one for?  It can't be very useful so low to the ground, can it?






Sure it can!  Brooke loves to draw, too!

Project time!

Just wanted to let everyone know why we haven't posted in over a week: it's project time! Brad and I have worked diligently on his new office. We wrapped up all of the painting last weekend and he moved in this week. He's installing the new ceiling fan as I type. Everything looks great and we'll get some pictures up soon. We're very happy to say that the room no longer smells like cat pee! (You're all very nice and nobody ever complained, but I know it was a little funky and I apologize!)

I've also been working very hard for a fantastic client this week. This lady is such a sweet, wise Christian woman and I've really enjoyed being around her. I'm doing a gorgeous finish in her bathroom -- if I do say so myself -- and she loves it. I'm afraid to publish a picture because lots of people out there just might want me to do theirs, too! This is my third job for her and she has four more for me after I come back into town, but those will probably be the last faux jobs that I'll take this year. I have some sketches on order and then I'll try to slow things down a bit and just enjoy being with Brad and Brooke over the holidays. Hey, maybe I'll finally get around to redoing our kitchen table!

Brooke and I are especially looking forward to our week in KY! Brad and I will go to my 10 year high school reunion while we're there (now, doesn't that make some of you feel old???).

Who's the new kid???

We had a great time at the birthday celebration for Brad's granparents this past weekend. Here's a cute shot of the five great-grandchildren. The newest addition is Kensington, Ashley's baby (some of you may remember Ashley as the blonde bridesmaid in our wedding). As you can see, Brooke was far more interested in having a baby in her lap than in looking at the camera! As she was pointing, she said, "BayBEE, bayBEE!!"







You can see me at the side -- good thing, because I caught Kensie on her way down! Parker and Ella are in the picture, too. Brooke and Ella had the best time playing in the bathtub together -- fully clothed, with no water. They thought it was a riot.

Brenna, the oldest cousin in the back, spent the night at our house this past weekend. She's about to turn eleven and Brooke adores her. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of the good old days as a Chickasaw counselor. We went shopping, taught her about architecture (she wants to be an architect), did a craft, shrunk potato chip bags in the oven, taught her how to do pull-ups on Brad's bar (which she loved), and stayed up until midnight talking about God. She's a really great girl. We're planning to have her back again for more fun.

Catching Up...

I haven't posted in a while. Here's what we have been up to:

First, I went to Eugene, Oregon on business...

Here's where your Norton Anti-Virus annual fee goes!

I visited Florence, OR, home of the infamous Exploding Whale.

Then I went to Detroit. Didn't see anything worth taking pictures of.

Got home on Thurs and left on Friday for a getaway with Erin and Honey (the Miata) to NC. We stayed at the wonderful Balsam Mountain Inn.



While we were there we rode the Smoky Mountain Railroad around Lake Fontana and along the Nantahala River.


On the way home we detoured through Highlands, NC and hiked to Glen Falls. On your next car trip take a Miata and a GPS and you'll have a lot more fun!

We had a great time!

It's Fall and we have the home improvement bug again. So I am turning our guest room into my home office (it's a lot quieter and cooler in the afternoon). The ceiling has been smoothed and painted. Hopefully the walls will be painted this weekend.

Then we went to Mom and Dad's house where Dusty and his 2-year-old son Joshua joined us. Joshua and Brooke hit it off. It was game day, so Brooke cheered on the Jackets.




Lastly, here are finished pictures of the playset!


Whew! Now I'm all caught up. :)

Weekend at Grandmother's House

A few weeks ago Brooke spent the weekend at Grandmother and Granddaddy's house. Here are some of the highlights...

"Enough of the golf channel, Granddaddy!"

"Now that my sweeping is done, it's off to Hollywood!"

Just too cute!

Breakfast and Grooming Don't Mix...

So, what happens when you rub your head but have bananas and milk all over your hands?

Scroll down to see...

Weekend at Kentucky Lake

This weekend we vacationed at Kentucky Lake with Don, Pat, Susan, Amy, Neal, Jack, David, Katie, Jonathon, and Elizabeth. We had a great time boating, tubing and eating, eating, eating. Here are some pics! Even a little car trouble couldn't ruin the fun...








For more Brooke pics, check out the "Weekend at the Lake" entry at http://dicksfamily.blogspot.com/

Girly girl!

Brooke, while rough and tumble as any tomboy, definitely is very girl-y when it comes to fashion and baby dolls! The girl loves accessories!!! Hats, shoes, glasses, purses, and jewelry are lots of fun. This is the outfit she put together last weekend. Never mind that the shoes are three sizes too big, she just had to wear them! (She’s very particular about shoes.)



We’ve also had lots of fun with nail polish this week! (Never mind the kicking and screaming while I was clipping her toenails. She was the stillest I’ve ever seen her awake while I painted all of twenty of her nails!) She likes to show them off. Those nails are tiny! Good thing I've had a lot of practice with little paintbrushes....



And her baby doll is second only to her beloved “baba” (a.k.a. “blanket” to those who don’t speak Brookese). She has a ritual of draping the blanket over her rocking chair (every part must be covered, mind you), setting the baby in the chair, getting in it herself and rocking with the baby. That order, every time, at least twenty times a day. Oh, and poor Baby Zoe can’t wear clothes anymore. Apparently Brooke thinks she’s hot (or a nudist).



"Night night babies!"

Troy's Getting Married!

Or should I say "hitched" (since he's a Texan).


From Troy: "After waiting many years to find THE ONE, I've been blessed.
I got engaged to Jennifer Myers in Houston - yes, it finally happened. We are very excited and look forward to a great future together. Attached is a picture from the big proposal night."


Congratulations Troy!

Timberrrrr!

A couple of days ago the Bartlett Pear tree in our neighbor's yard split, dropping a giant limb into our yard. Fortunately it missed the playset and the house! Mr. Peters is taking care of the cleanup, which should be done by Wed. Unfortunately this was my favorite tree in the whole backyard (we got the shade). It will probably have to be cut down. I'm going to miss that tree!

Mr. Peters is taking care of the cleanup, which should be done by Wed. Unfortunately this was my favorite tree in the whole backyard (we got the shade). It will probably have to be cut down. I'm going to miss that tree!

The left-side broke off during a windstorm on Saturday (I think). My theory is that it then unbalanced the tree, and the stress caused the right branch to split off on Sunday when there was no wind at all!


Whew! That was close!

Satisfied Customers...

The chances of Erin finding her camera anytime soon are looking bleak, but we scrounged up these few...

Garrett and Brooke seem to approve of the new swingset!

Another Satisfied Customer!

De-mildewing the swingset. The neighbors were glad when the swingset project moved to the BACK yard!

I've Been Negligent...

I know, I know: What's up with the playset? Did you ever get the rollbar installed on the Miata? Do anything interesting for the 4th? I'm running behind on updates. I'll have some up today as soon as Erin can find the camera! Check back tonight.