Adventures in Home-Ownership

I consider myself a pretty together, resourceful person, but, in the nearly two years Jimmy and I have been homeowners, I've realized that I'm not nearly as skilled or smart in some of the practical areas of adulthood: namely, the area called "What to do when things break." Our dishwasher had been making a pretty bad grinding sound for a couple cycles, and all the manual said by way of troubleshooting was, "Something's probably stuck in the motor. If the motor doesn't grind it up after one cycle, it's time to call service and pay a lot of money" (paraphrase mine). Things didn't sound too promising. And while I'm not opposed to doing dishes, I really don't enjoy it.


Then, on a do-it-yourself whim, Jimmy decided to try and tackle the problem himself, saying, "I think I can take apart a motor." Again, not too promising, even though I love the guy! He came home from work one night this week, ate dinner, and set to work on the dishwasher. He found a great website that had step-by-step diagrams for each layer of our exact dishwasher, and within an hour had the problem solved and the culprit, a big chunk of plastic, snagged from the motor. I just had to brag on him! Here he is with his "I am man, I have tools, I will conquer" face - that's a keeper.

Anna's Room

Jimmy and I put the finishing touches on Anna's room earlier this week. We have been so blessed by family hand-me-downs, and I'm proud to say everything looks pretty darn good in the room together! Here are some pictures:


Layla has been fascinated with baby preparations. She followed us back and forth from room to room as we carried the pieces of the crib into the nursery for assembly. Then she sat and watched Jimmy assemble the whole thing from her perch captured in the picture above. It's been pretty cute!


This is the beautiful crib and bedding from Jimmy's cousins Darren and Cynamon. Thanks, Case and Lena for sharing your crib with baby Anna!

This rocker is from Patty ... she rocked Jimmy in it when he was a baby!

I couldn't get both the dresser/changing table and the adorable quilt, courtesy of Grandma Herdeman, in one picture. Thanks, Grandma Herdeman, for the beautiful quilt! Thanks, Michele, for the too-cute quilt hangers! Thanks, Grandma Roxane, for the expert painting help on the dresser!

The last three shots are of Anna's outrageously overstocked closet. One of my parenting goals is to raise a humble, gracious child, and I'm not sure how that's supposed to happen if she keeps on being spoiled like she has been ;-) All the diapers and clothes are such a blessing to us!