We Found the Temple

After the second time we did an airport drop out we finally found the temple.  We tried the first time, but the GPS wouldn't find it as Point of Interest--Place of Worship, so the second time, I planned ahead and looked up the address ahead of time. We were so very close the first time (the right town) but yet so far away.  Luckily we found it, but not before I realized it was dinner time, so we picked up some food.

 Hooray, the temple, J was so looking forward to the temple.

 The brides' bench.  Literally there was a sign pointing to the back of the temple, saying brides bench, I had never heard of such a thing before.

 Hooray, we love to see the temple.

My Baby

I told my two year old to never grow up.  My five year asked why?
I said because if she grows up who will be my baby?
My two year old  joyfully yelled very astutely, "My baby"
I asked your baby will be my baby?
Yes, my baby.
Ok, I guess my two year old is allowed to grow up and become an adult, because she promised me grandchildren.  (Overall, as a mid-20 year old I could careless about grandchildren, but I appreciate her willingness to sharing with me.)
My son suggested his sister be allowed to turn 8, and then we could have another baby, that stays two.
I like the way he thinks, an 8 year gap, I guess 6 year.

Move

Life for me is pretty up and down right now.  I could explain, but lets just say it is.
Sometimes I'm obsessed with my big fat garage.
And other times, I just want someone else to come in and be in charge.  Sometimes I'm sick of the one making all the decisions, doing all the meals, mediating the fights, etc
But the nice thing is, at least once a day, my children are the best of friends in the world.
Yes, they were best friends before we moved, but there is something about moving as a kid, that makes your sibling your greatest confidant, I guess its sharing the stress together.  Anyway, Brent and I agreed a few weeks ago, one of the best things about moving is your children becoming best friends again.
Although lets be honest, they are still siblings, and young ones at that, we have plenty of fights and tears.
But luckily we also have plenty of giggles.

Babies Leaving

This weeks episode of Modern Family made me cry, I hate to be reminded that my babies are going to grow up and leave me.  If I never had to take them to the store I would be happy if they never aged a day.  I can handle the rest, including diaper changes and picky eaters.
Bizarrely enough my husband agreed with me the other day that he would be happy if Nan never got any older than 2 and half.   She is so perfect right now, I just want her to stay my toddler forever.  She was such a challenging baby, we are loving two so much.  When she throws a fit around someone we don't know so well sometimes they mentions the terrible twos, I should probably smile and nod and hold my tongue but I can't.  I blurt out, are you kidding she is so pleasant now, we love two, Two is so perfect. She is so sweet, always giving hugs and kisses, and saying "Hi Mom" I love it.
Bizarrely enough I don't mind too much J getting bigger.  Its fun to hit new stages with him, and he was always such an independent baby, I enough seeing him continue in his independence, but I still ask him if he'll always stay my little boy, he tells me he can't.  Phew! Children, refusing to be helpful!  But seriously I want my daughter to stay two forever, she is so teeny and sweet.  Then when I think I know that can't happen, I think can't I get a toddler for my third child? I really don't want another infant, I'm not a baby type of girl, I think toddlers are hysterical and so sweet and determined to figure out what it means to be a person.  I love it.  I think I'll be ready for another infant once I no longer have a toddlers.  Toddlers are so fun, I hate to get sick and pregnant and miss it.  Once she's in preschool, then maybe I'll be ready.  But I don't want anything taking away from my pleasant toddler, after the infancy she had.

Honey Do

My husband finished all his chores in time. Including putting a big fancy ceiling fan in my room.

This wall is now white with Kilz, thank goodness, I hated that sponging, I don't even care if we never paint it now that its primed.

Mufasa and Simba's legs are now also gone. It might have not been so bad, if they actually given them faces.

 Now I just have to wait for my mom to come visit me, so we can paint the main floor and J's room.

Fortuitous Move

Although we have been talking about moving out here since my daughter was born, it was very weird when things actually started moving in that direction.  I wondered many times why we were choosing to move, and paying for it ourselves. I also wondered why we were buying a house, seven months ago, I reveled in not being a home owner. As probably everyone knows moves can be stressful, and moving in the middle of a school year only adds to it.  But yet I knew it was what was suppose to happen.  And every step of the way it was proven that this what what was right. Like when I told my dad at Christmas that we would never move out here, then two weeks later we were making plans. Like when I set our budget, I told my husband I didn't want to spend more than $x, he agreed, then the five days before we saw the realtor our friend told us if she could do it again, she would spend $200 more a month.  Really? Six days laterwe picked a house exact $200 a month over our budget, but then a week after moving property taxes were re-adjusted and the price dropped. Like when we met with our Realtor who we found through Brent's co-worker, and he mentioned all his kids went to school in Utah.  Really?  The only people who send ALL of their children to college in Utah are Mormon.  Yes, our Realtor was mormon, and the ward we moved in just happened to be where her son in law was the Elder's Quorum President.  Or when we needed boxes, and couldn't find any, so we were about to go buy a bunch, when our neighbor's father showed up with multiple palates of boxes. Or when Brent's friend was giving away couches right as we were moving.  Yes all of it seemed unreally fortuitous. At one point we didn't think we had enough money and would ask for a loan from a family member for a moving truck, then we ended up with twice that much left over after the moving truck, closing, etc in which to fix the bathroom. Or that every house in the neighborhood is listed at $40,000 more than we paid.  
So when the second week in the ward when they called me to be a CTR 7 Primary teacher, then switched sunbeams the following week, I wasn't surprised.  The primary president felt really bad asking me to change, and I said don't worry, I think I knew I was going to be the sunbeam teacher all along.  She said oh good, I was so stressed I was up all night. (One of the sunbeams is deaf and no one but his family signs in the ward, so it was stressful for her who had been the primary president less than a month to find someone. No I don't sign, other than more and all gone.)
So last night, when I was reading the Book of Mormon to my son, we read 1 Nephi 17, I knew I was reading it for me, and that I needed to tell J that the Lord did the same thing for us, as he did for Nephi's family, minus the not cooking our meat part. 

12For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not; 13And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. 14Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem. 15Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.

"ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led" I'm not sure if I was blessed so much because I am one with little faith and need to be blessed constantly so I wouldn't doubt or what.  But I this ward hasn't even known me for a month, and have helped us so much already.  The other day some of the Relief Society Presidency was over and said, we'll make sure to check up on you, but I'm sure you'll be fine because you are so independent.  I thought really? I'm independent, you how can you tell?  I've only seen you three times. But you faith in me, bouys me up, because I don't feel independent.

Being a mom part 2

What you like to know what inspired the last blog post on motherhood, other than the holiday? This has been consuming my thoughts and keeping me up at night, but I haven't wanted to offend anyone so I haven't blogged about, but I've decided to push my thoughts into the blogosphere in hopes of sleeping again.
For months  I've been thinking about a comment my friend made about wanting to have another child.  She of course is not the only friend I know who wants a baby but isn't having a baby for various reasons.  I think about how great these women are.  I know the gospel answer of why things don't happen the way we want or plan, but yet, that doesn't answer questions does it?  It just tells us to put our faith in God and know in the eternities everything will work out, and everything will work out for our benefit.  But its hard to trust that pain works out for our benefit isn't it? Of course thinking about this, puts me to shame, wondering why someone people want babies, while I am one who doesn't.  What is wrong with me, is the question that is shoved in my brain by someone is definitely not my Eternal Father.  Wondering why we are able to have kids, but yet don't have a ton, while others want a ton and don't get lots.  Should things be the other way around?
Sometimes just as puzzling as thinking about why good people have a hard time having children, is wondering why I've felt inspired that I do not need to have another child yet.  That I need to trust in timing and be patient.  Thank goodness, I know women how have also had this happen to them, or I might wonder even more what is wrong with me.
Now this might be confusing, I don't want a baby, but yet, sometimes it seems like everyone around me are having babies.  Shouldn't I be having a baby, wanting a baby, planning for a baby?  And when I get really anxious about my lack of interest in increasing my posterity, that is when the inspiration comes to stop stressing.  My husband is calm, he doesn't need inspiration telling him right now does not make sense.
I've thought of a lot of things, one of which is why, is so hard for some people to have babies, while someone like me its not, why am I not having one.  Which is where part of the other blog post came in, there is a lot that encompasses having a baby, and being a mother.  And that is when I realized what is easy for some might not be easy for others.  And in sometimes having babies is really not easy at all for me.  Even beyond emotionally, have you seen me, there is not much room for my babies to fit through.  I was not born with birthing hips. My brother told me one of his biology professors told his class, the phrase birthing hips is so ridiculous  you can't tell the size of someone's bones from the outside.  I said, Daniel, you can tell with my skin on, that I do not have birthing hips.  He said ok, yeah I guess your right.
I've also being thinking about a friend I once had, who was on dialysis her entire first pregnancy, and she firmly believed the only reason she wasn't during her second was because she was watching her sister's son every day while she was in nursing school, and who would have cared for the kids if she was as sick as she was the first time.  But said she knew she was done having her own babies, because it effected her health so badly, but one day she couldn't wait to adopt and knew she had children who would be one day waiting for her to be her mother.  I was impressed with her faith.  She was inspiration. As are every woman who tells me they are no good at getting children.  But I'm grateful for my move, for some reason its easier to have the faith and patience I require now that we are here.
As I re-read what I wrote, I thought that is one of the reasons I love the prophet's wife.  I know very little about her, I probably wouldn't even be able to pick out her picture if President Monson wasn't in it.  But she inspires me because she pretty much raised her children alone, and it wasn't because her husband was a deadbeat, it was the exact opposite.  Don't believe me, read the last two paragraphs of Elder Holland's talk.
So I'm sure I will never understand in this lifetime why some have big families and others have small, and why some get to chose and others have to learn to accept.  But luckily for everyone there are examples of great faithful families that are large and great faithful families that are small.
P.S.  Life is weird this has consumed my brain for months, since at least the beginning of the year, than we move into a ward with a TON of families that have adopted.  Just like its not uncommon to have 10 children born to parents in this ward, its not uncommon to hear someone talks about the miracle it was to adopt their children.

Pink Threw Up

I really hated this paint job, as you may recall.  But once we got furniture beyond the crib for my daughter, it just didn't make sense to paint her room, there is so much other to paint.  I hung pictures where there were big anchor holes in the wall, and it was ALMOST as good as new. Not to mention my daughter is so girly and dainty it just works, even if pink did throw up all over the room. 

I added the butterflies!  I didn't buy vinyl ones, I bought ones from the floral department in Michaels, I like the 3-D.  Both kids love the butterflies, as do I.  I just want to sit on the $1 rocker from the garage sale and stare at them.

The room is sort of perfect for Nan.

 I need to make a sign for over the door, to cover the holes.

 Close up on the butterflies.

Park

Last week we walked to the park by our house, there is actually at least two very very close. Probably at least 5 within a mile, but we haven't ventured a walk getting lost in all the developments. Not to mention its been cold. Yesterday we went to the park and stayed 5 minutes, because the 5 year declinded to use the restroom before we left the house, and quickly needed to return home. I was grateful, it was cold and windy.

My Main Floor

 Would you like to see the rest of my main floor?  You have no other options.  Here they are
This is obviously the living room, in a few months we are getting a different computer desk. The wall are also in desperate need of paint, since right now they look like swiss cheese.

This is obviously a film strip version of a panorama of my house. Front door.

Then it leads into the dinning room.

Which then leads to the kitchen.  Don't mind my daughter joyfully mopping the floor for 45 minutes.

In case you wanted to be able to see what the previous owners put in for tile. It is either love or hate.  People either say oh I love the slate colored tile.  Or when we say the previous owners put it in they say oh, well things can always been replace.  We like it as much as the next tile, so there it will stay. The flags on the window are temporary until I do something else, they are just napkins I had, I couldn't stand not having anything on the window.

And that wraps up my main floor, other than the bathroom/laundry room, there is nothing else, other than stairs leading to the basement or upstairs.

Prodigy

Like every other mother, I think my child must be a prodigy.  Can you guess who J created a few weeks ago?

While watching Wall-E with Uncle Darron a few weeks ago, J created these love birds.  We were all amazed at his artist abilities. That's one of the best parts of being a mom, constantly being in awe with your children's abilities, whether they are above average, average, or lower, its still amazing.  Just watching their changing progress now matter how they measure up to other children is amazing.  I rarely measure my kids against others, its too much work to worry about others, so I have no idea if this art work is prodigy material or not. But speaking of prodigy, when do you figure out what handed your child is?  J was firmly a righty by the time he was 2 and learning to write.  Nan on the other hand, holds a pen perfectly in each hand, and rotates what hand is drawing every few minutes.  Its really quite humorous. Is she ambidextrous?  Or just has not decided? She sucks her right thumb while J sucks his left.

My Daughter's New Best Friend

Aren't I so luckily that where I live is so picturesque? Everything looks fantastic. I mean it looks like we live at a farm. Nan in her denim dress with her 'striped wellies', and her new best friend are so darn cute!

Remember how I mentioned Nan wanted a dog. Well the best thing we could hope for happened. We moved next door to a mild tempered white lab. Molly and Nan are best friends. If Molly sees me she barks at me demanding that I allow Nan to come out. Nan is more than happy to oblige. They laugh at each other through the rabbit netting.  Molly wags her tail until it is about to pop off, and then they go for a walk along the fence.  I never have to walk the dog, clean up after it, take it to the vet, or worry about her jumping on Nan.  Its a match made in heaven.  Although I doubt even without the fence Molly would jump on Nan, if  I could be guaranteed that I could get a dog as nice as Molly I would consider it.  But Brent says puppies are what are fun, but I disagree, puppies are a lot of work and require potty training like Nan.

Their friendship is so amazing that it proves Brent wrong.  "You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' nose."  To the au contraire Nan can pick Molly's nose if you believe this picture.

Its love, can you see the happiness in Molly's eyes.  Molly does not like Brent at all, and will tolerate me as long as I don't talk to her, and provide Nan comes out.  She is puts up with J and even goes on walks with him sometimes, but loves Nan.

Unfortunately Molly has to share her house and yard with Coco, an annoying ugly brown spotted Chihuahua thing.  Luckily Coco knows she is annoying and she rarely bothers us.

Play Room

Remember our basement?  Here is the picture.  I'm so excited, I am going to copy Girl in Air Blog. I'm so excited to over the next 6 months or so collect enough letters to have the ABC over the toy room ceiling.

Expect our whole house painted before I do my ABCs.

The next month

As the next month of my life has the potential to be extremely stressful, I decided to plan out one of the most stressful parts of the day.
DINNER!
Yes this morning, I planned a month of dinners.
Breakfast is easy, we all love breakfast and there are plenty of choices.
But that leaves LUNCH!
Almost as stressful as dinner.  Maybe more.  My five year old has turn very picky.
So I need lunch ideas, please...
Here is the list of what he won't eat,
peanut butter
mac and cheese
grill cheese sandwiches
chicken nuggets
any form of potato
There might be more, this is all I can currently thing of.
So what do you feed your kids that don't include those items?

Being a mom

Last week my brain was consumed with thoughts of how annoyed I was at the first three mother's day talks in church.  I despise hearing teenagers say how perfect their moms are, to me it seems so contrived. Not to mention someone read that terrible quote from Joseph F Smith about his mom being an angel.  Which is true, she nearly perfect, her husband was killed and she crossed the plains by herself with her children. But seriously, why do we have to imply something about motherhood in general, based on a prophet's mother?  Do I get up in church and measure all the priesthood holders against the prophet?  No, so why do we do it with mothers? I also am not to pleased when General Authorities mention their mother's never yelled. I'm not convinced their memories of childhood a half a century earlier are really that clear. I'm under the assumption we need less stories of perfection and more reality in church. Which is why I was very pleased with the last two talks. The fourth teenager started off telling us she was planning to write her talk with no help. Until midnight hit and she awoke her mom. She said her mom was quite helpful even if she spent the whole time resting her eyes.  NOW that is a mother's day talk. Then she talked about the sacrifices women in her family made to join the church.  There was no false praise and I appreciated it.

I also liked the older man who talked last.  He mentioned a story that's take home message was about how now matter how good or bad our own mothers were we can come to terms with it through the atonement, repentance, and forgiveness. And I think we could take it one step farther and say we can come to terms with our own parenting. Then I decided it was probably the best I didn't leave sacrament early because he talked about how when he was station in Italy as a pilot during the first gulf war, his children never saw him, and his wife only saw him late at night.  And how for two years she did family home evening and everything else by herself, even if they were living in the same house.  Now that was a story I could relate to and appreciate.
As I've continued to reflect on motherhood over the last eight days, I went through all the stages of grief.  Including being a terrible mom for not even being able to take two children to the store without injuries. I'm that mom with the barefoot child.  (I'm sorry its gross, but there is nothing I can do to change it, she was born with agency and she is acutely aware of it.)  I spent time wondering why I struggle so much with only two?! Everyone, I mean everyone tells me oh you have no idea two is not hard at all. Really if I could actually response the next time someone tells me that. I might actually chastise someone for calling me pathetic to my face. Then I finally came to acceptance, and appreciation.
Appreciation for my two beautiful, intelligent, sweet children, even if they cry a lot.
Here is my acceptance.  Thank goodness, I live in modern life with modern medicine.  I appreciate the sacrifices of the pioneers but I'm so grateful I have the benefit of modern medicine.  I know pioneers didn't have the luxury of depression, life just had to get done and carry on.  But that doesn't mean people didn't still suffer.  If I was born into a lot of life of being barefoot and pregnant I would definitely be 'the crazy wife'. Thank goodness life has blessed me to be able to choose when my children are born so I can deem myself healthy. I'm so grateful to be a mother who gave birth around people with knowledge of infant resuscitation.  I like many women in modern society are grateful constantly for my miracle baby.  And flabbergasting that my baby isn't even that much of miracle in terms of medical intervention and many would be grateful if were only infant resuscitation. Thank goodness I wasn't a pioneer or from a third world nation. I'm so bad at pregnancy, birthing babies, and recovering.  The only thing I'm good at is losing my baby weight, and that isn't even a good thing, it causes more problems.
So yeah, I'm not an angel, I'm not perfect, I yell, I feed my children too many hot dogs, I'm not afraid of handme down carseats, my children eat candy, and always have food on their faces.  I just can't seem to remember to check before we leave for the store.  But I'm grateful for my two children, and grateful, the Lord cares more about the quality of my life than the quantity of my offspring. As I reflect on my gratitude I become more awe-inspired by women of many children.  It is not uncommon in my ward to have 10 or more children. How my mom and mother in law ever did 7 and 8, I'm sure I will never know. I'm grateful for my two children, but I'm also grateful there is only two of them. Sometimes I wonder why the Lord wanted me to become a mother at such a young age as 21, but I think its because he knew I needed big spaces to recover.  My five year old has always, ever since I saw him on the ultrasound six years ago the reason I get out of bed in the morning, and my two year old for multiple reason is my miracle baby. She is the miracle of Nan.  
P.S. My 5 year old decided to grow a few freckles.  Even though both his father and I have freckles I found it quite unexpected!

A very bloody shopping trip

After dropping Uncle Darron off at the airport I thought we would stop by Ikea, see if any of their cheap furniture was worth not having to shop around at garage sales.  But it turns out, its still under construction, I thought they would have had a sign saying coming soon, but apparently everyone else knew it wasn't open.

So since we were already off the highway we stopped in Ross to see if I could find any fantastic toy bins. The kids both wanted to sit in the cart.  Nan quickly got out but J stayed in.  When he touch the baby seat portion it hit him in the forehead, he started literally started screaming.  So I turned him around, so he would sitting against the baby seat, closed.  Well unfortunately a few minutes later he scooted forward in the cart, and I accidentally hit the baby seat open.  Which then smacked J in the back of the head.  After two blows to the head, his poor nose couldn't handle the dry climate and high altitude. It started to bleed, luckily I had baby wipes.  Then it really started to bleed, profusely, by the time we made it to the bathroom, we had a huge handful of wipes under his nose all soaked through with blood, and blood dripping down his clothes.  He was the sorriest looking kid you have ever seen in Ross.  And that is saying something, because its Ross. We stood in the bathroom for about 10 minutes with toilet paper, trying to get his gushing nose to stop. Literally gushing, we are use to bloody noses, but not normally gushing! Once we did get it to stop we quickly left, but not before he screamed every ten steps its bleeding again. Mind you he is clothes are still covered in blood. But by far the best time, was when he started screaming so I handed him a wipe, for him then proceed to spit up A LOT of bloody mucus. Once in the car I got him a box of kleenexs, but he wanted the baby wipes.  I don't know how long it slowly bled, but he held baby wipes up to his nose for half the 45 minute car ride home.
It was a great day.  I'm so excited school is out for the summer, so I always get to take two children to the store.  I love shopping with my five year. Oh wait I don't he is a terrible shopper.  He cries more than the two year old when we are in the store because I won't buy him toys.
And to think I was thinking about going to the fabric store tomorrow, to buy material to cover my three ugly living room couch cushions that don't fit under the slip covers.

Project #1- Retry

The TV Room
The Rec Room
The Game Room
The Play Room
The Basement, whatever its called here is what it looked like before.
We officially started painting this first, before the floor but the floor finished first.
Note the black marks on the wall, they were all over.

We decided to paint this room first so we could hang our TV on the wall. (So ghetto of I know.) But I had no idea what to paint it, my favorite wall color is gray but I didn't think that was good for the play room, or a cold basement so I let my five year old pick yellow. Its officially called Bavarian Cream.

The toy room portion. Don't mind the stack of diaper boxes in the corner, one day we'll put a bookcase there and unpack those boxes.

Tada, The TV portion of the game room. It needs one of those channel things to cover the cords. Ben where do you buy one?

Project #3

The main reason we shipped Brent's brother is our Master Bath needed some serious help.

1. There was a gigantic hole in the linoleum
2. It was ugly-- check out that forest green vanity.
3. We found out after we moved in the shower leaked multitudes of water into the floor, thus growing black mold, something that everyone has told us is nearly impossible to grow in this area.  Apparently everyone who said that hadn't been showering with a leaky shower for months, or years.

But over a series of events, we now have a beautiful bathroom, and the bathroom of Brent's dreams.
First on the agenda, new tile floor.
Second, new vanity, I think its beautiful.
After we found out the shower/tub combo was leaking, we decided to spurge and give Brent the bathroom of his dreams  A large shower and dual shower-heads.
The blue was also his choice for the bathroom.  Pretty much this is all Brent's design, and he pretty much picked everything, although we were both on agreement before anything was purchased.

My favorite part is the shower doors, they are STRIPED! I did actually pick those out, but Brent said he liked them.  I wish I had a new light fixture to show you, but alas we can't agree on light fixtures.

Project #1

The TV Room
The Rec Room
The Game Room
The Play Room

The Basement, whatever its called here is what it looked like before.

We officially started painting this first, before the floor but the floor finished first. 

Note the black marks on the wall, they were all over.

We decided to paint this room first so we could hang our TV on the wall. (So ghetto of I know.) But I had no idea what to paint it, my favorite wall color is gray but I didn't think that was good for the play room, or a cold basement so I let my five year old pick yellow. Its officially called Bavarian Cream.

The toy room portion. Don't mind the stack of diaper boxes in the corner, one day we'll put a bookcase there and unpack those boxes.

Tada, The TV portion of the game room. It needs one of those channel things to cover the cords. Ben where do you buy one?

Project #2

Here are traditional before and afters of our Dining room floor. 

Different angles and everything.  (I hate when magazines and professional blogs do different angles but here I am doing it.)

Brent didn't white carpet under where the kids would be eating all the meals. I don't know why not.

Here is my brother in law Darron, and Brent putting in the floor.  Darron, Brent's younger brother was awesome, it would have taken Brent and me at least a day if not longer to get that floor in.  They had it done in a few hours.

It is Asian Mahogany Pergo. We love the color and the wide planks.  Although, the table could be replaced.

Floors

I should tell you, my husband and I are in love with our dining room floor.  We both agree when we walk in the room, we love to see the floor.
One day I'll post picture, but the desktop is internet-less, and it seems to hard to post pictures without the desktop.
They finished painting the finished basement.  Its now officially the TV/playroom.
Our bathroom is coming along quite nicely and quickly. 
Now if my husband and I only shared the same opinion on bathroom light fixtures.

HERE!

We moved, and I wouldn't have survived without our family.  My mom spent two days packing my apartment, and Brent's family was a lifesaver.  Two of my sister in law's pretty much cleaned my whole apartment (other then the kitchen that I previously cleaned), and Brent's brothers have also been lifesavers.  One spent most of the day packing the truck with Brent, and another one, came out with us, and is remodeling our house three times as fast as we could. 
Our house looks way better with furniture in it.  Even if our furniture is used and old. 
I love our house, even if we are bleeding money to Lowe's and Home Depot.
Project #1 (still under progress) fix the Master Bath, the linoleum had a big hole and the vanity was hideous.  Tonight we decided to spurge and get Brent the bathroom of his dreams for a small 5'x7' space. We already had the tile and a new vanity, but tonight we bought a new shower and what he really wanted, two shower heads.
Project #2 (still under progress) Paint the basement, all the rooms need to be painted, but we wanted to paint the basement before we hung our flatscreen, so the room is about half painted. But the TV is up.
Project #3-- Completed-- rip the carpet out of the dining room, and put pergo down.  Brent didn't want to buy poor quality laminate flooring, so we spent more than some would.  But I love it, is beautiful. I wish we would have had an extra $1,000 to put it in the kitchen too, but not really, because I like the tile in our kitchen and as Brent's brother- Darren pointed out the laminate tile is better quality.  The previous owner spent $5 a sq ft on laminate tile.  Which seems a little weird to me. (Its not a formal dining room, its the eat all the meals room.)
After that, hopefully the fence gets finished, and other than that we just are going to paint the walls of the house. 
Oh and we got a new fridge, because we didn't have one, its fantastic.
I wish we had $2500 to get a new stove, and dishwasher and change the counters.  Tile counter-tops are huge here, everyone has them.  But Brent and I hate ours, and plan to replace with laminate counter tops, which lots of people look at me funny about, but I think they are way nicer than the tile we have, and a 5th of the price of granite.
Ever night when I pray, I am thankful for the new adventure of the house with my family.  And pray that my car doesn't break down.  Its having a lot issues, and I'm really hoping not to have a carpayment. 
Wow, I wrote a lot, I was just going to say, we are alive and well, and maybe I'll post a picture in a month.
Oh, and I'm about 60% done unpacking.  Maybe a little more.