Denver Rock 'n' Roll

Last weekend Gabe, his mom Connie and my stepmom Eileen all ran the Denver Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon! I'm so proud of all of them!

Gabe informed me that this race was the greatest physical challenge he has completed since college. That's 10 years! With that fact in mind, I am even more proud of him. Not long ago, it was quite the challenge for him to run 2 miles and now he has completed his first 1/2 marathon! Great job Gabe!!

Because of the weather, I decided it would be better to stay home with the girls. Up until the night before I had every intention of being at the end of the race. I was so excited to jump up and down in excitement at the finish line, but I knew in my heart the girls needed to stay home. It was just going to be too much to ask of them. It was a hard decision to make; the selfish part of me wanted to be there to cheer and experience the fun! All morning we waited and waited to hear from Gabe and when I finally received this photo from his Dad I was almost in tears. I couldn't believe how happy Gabe looked in this photo! It brought such JOY to my heart! Having done a marathon and two 1/2's, I knew what an accomplishment that was for him! I'm such a proud wife!!


Look at this joy on Gabe's face! I doubt everyone was that happy at the finishline!

Avery was so proud of our sign for Daddy!

I told Gabe to be ready for photos at 4:30am since I couldn't be at the finishline! He was a good sport!

Ideas?

So, we have lived in this rental home for about a year now and since we moved in, I have constantly rearranged this room. I can't seem to find the perfect look for it. During Christmas it's easy because the tree makes it look so nice, but the rest of the year...it's nearly impossible. So, I thought I would pick your brains because I know I have many friends with extremely lovely homes! Give me your thoughts.

It's all around difficult.

For one: it serves as our front living room and our playroom. It's the first room people see when they come in our house.

two: the design is hard because it has a fire place, large window and the staircase. So only one main wall.

three: we aren't at a place where we can purchase new furniture, so we are dealing with what we have.

four: I'm not a huge fan of the window treatments or color, but because we are renting, those stay.

My first question: I have contemplated painting the black book shelves white. What do you think? Keep them black or paint them white? If I paint the black shelves, should I also paint the accent table that is now brown.

Second question: Do you like that huge picture on the wall? That belongs to the owners of the house. We have tried taking it down, but feel it fills up that large wall nicely. Not sure though.

Third question: Should I buy more storage bins for the bookshelves? Should they all be the same color?

Fourth question: Obviously I have the brown/cream theme going, but how can I bring more of the colors out in that picture without cluttering the room?

As you can tell, I'm just unsure of what I should do.I need some help! I would love to hear your thoughts, but completely understand if you don't have time to comment. Please do though if you have any great ideas! I need help! :) I'm open to any ideas! Of course, besides buying a new set of furniture. I want to make what we have work.

Thanks for your input!!

Now, for some current photos...

View from the front entry

Staircase wall

And just for kicks, I had to include this cute photo. My mom just gave us an old cassette player with a ton of stories on tape. So here is Avery listening to a story. Although she looks super cute with those huge headphones, she prefers to listen without them.

Denver Zoo

We took the girls to the Denver Zoo last weekend with my Mom, Yaya! The last time Avery went to the zoo she was about 15 months, so it was fun to see her watch the animals this time. She loved watching the polar bear swim; she was jumping up and down with excitement! Sophie was dream baby, as usual! She is so chill and pleasant! Such a joy! Avery pushed through her fear of rides (remember the St. Francis Fair) and Yaya was able to convince her to ride the carousel, sitting in the big chair. She didn't want to ride an animal, but was happy to ride in the chair. Once it started and she realized she was safe with Mommy and Daddy, she enjoyed the ride. And of course...we all enjoyed a yummy ice cream cone! That was a must! Thanks Yaya for treating us to the Zoo, we had so much fun!

Time with Family

It's always wonderful seeing family! A couple of weeks ago, my sister who lives in Durango, was in Denver for the weekend with her son Coby. I took the girls up there to hang out for a day. We spent a lot of time outside and Avery helped Grandma and Auntie Ash make brownies. It was great to see everyone and I was happy my sister finally got to meet and love on Sophie!

Sweet cousins! I love hearing Avery say, "Where is Cousin Coby?"

Of course she loved making brownies! This girl has a sweet tooth like her Mommy!

Sophie meeting her Auntie J for the first time!

A new journey begins!

First of all, I must say, God is SO good! I'm excited (and a bit nervous) to announce that I am now a Thirty-One consultant! If you are unfamiliar with Thirty-One, check out our website here. I love God's timing with this and I have such an overwhelming peace that He is leading me! I'm going to stand on Proverbs 31, the verses this company was built on and simply believe!

You can also visit my personal website here. Please feel free to let me know if you see anything you like in our Fall Catalog!

I'm excited for this challenge!

Pure Joy

These three bring me so much pure joy!

I am beyond blessed!

I love how the girls are looking at eachother!

Balloon GLO

I love long weekends! It's so nice to spend time as a family! Every summer Gabe and I talk about checking out the Balloon Classic, but for some reason we never have. Finally lastnight we went to the Balloon Glo for the first time. We went out to Memorial Park early so we could walk around, hang out, and take it all in. Avery enjoyed watching the Helicopter take off and land and Sophie enjoyed sleeping in the stroller. We stayed just long enough to see 4 or 5 balloons inflate and glo. Avery loved the countdown everytime the ballons would GLO! It was a fun family outing and of course we picked up some ice cream cones on the way home! LOVE my family!