Entry before and after

Thanks to our door man (Jeff's Dad). He is also the cabinet maker and various other things. He has done so much for us on our house. Thanks Rich!

Kitchen before and after

Just wanted to give a little perspective on this one, too.

Our Bath Remodel

So, this wasn't a total remodel. New floor, tile back splash, pedestal sink, and paint. And we are still missing the mirror. I can't decide what I want.

And now for some perspective....(the before picture)

Family Creche

We went to the Eugene Creche Exhibit and they let us dress up take pictures!

The Girls at Bedtime

They all wanted matching pajamas! Aren't they cute?!

Halloween

Now you can really see Natalie's costume!

Halloween

Ashley is Belle (from Beauty and the Beast). Alona is Tinkerbell, and Natalie is a clown. Dylan (their cousin) is a skunk.

The Girls

Isn't Natalie a cutie!




Ashley just learned how to put her own pigtails in.

Natalie climbs in bed with the girls every night when we put them in bed. She wants to be a big girl, too!

Look at those blue eyes! I just got a new camera and was playing around with it.

FINALLY! Our Kitchen Remodel Update

So, I know it has been a LONG time since I updated my blog. Here is the kitchen. Still not done, but will it really ever be done? We still have one more drawer pull to put in right under the sink (we bought all they had in stock, but were short one, so now we wait). We also have to finish the crown above the cabinets and touch up some paint and paint the doors and the window sills need to be put in, and the backsplash needs to go up, and the fridge panels need to be made and installed (goodbye Miley Cyrus), and , and... All little things really. Maybe one day. I finally got it clean enough to take pictures (the kitchen that is, not the dining room). Once we started using it, thing just started piling up on the counters because cabinets weren't up, or they didn't have shelves or doors, etc. But we finally got all that done, and now its just little stuff, so I decided it was time to clean it and get on with life. So here it is ! By the way, I LOVE it!

More pictures

Morgan really enjoyed being Natalie's chauffeur.
Ashley's first ballet performance. It was 76 trombones from the Music Man!
Natalie
Ashley (she loves modeling for the camera)
Alona

Reunion pics

The Stoddard Family Reunion Picture
Charles and Rebecca swing dancing

on our way

Kitchen remodel update

The kitchen is coming along. You can see the beautiful tile job my dad did. I helped grout. I am no expert. Morgan helped cut tile. Thanks bro! It was nice to spend time with Dad, Morgan, and Anna while they were here. It was a short stay and Dad worked the whole time. Maybe next time we will be able to relax and spend time together. We did get to bond over grouting. :) The cabinets are all installed now. You can see we still have to paint the last upper cabinet. It was installed on Sunday. We have the beginnings of a counter. The edging should be in Tuesday or Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have the counter completely finished. Then doors and drawers for the cabinets. The sink is being plumbed as I type. Yay! Running water! No more washing dishes in the disgusting bathroom. We have all the trim and beadboard sitting in the dining room waiting to go up. Hopefully over the next week and 1/2 we will get that all done. Still have to finish mudding the walls and then paint. Things have been stacked in front of the walls, so I haven't been able to get to that. But now that the cabinets are not on the floor, I can move the moulding out of the way. I am so excited to get it all done. Hopefully the next pics will be of a completed kitchen.

Laura's progress (if you could call it that)

I have been walking 4.5 miles 5 to 6 days per week at a good pace. I went to the Naturopath on Monday. She suggested eating for my blood type. No tomatoes, avocado, chicken, wheat unless sprouted. There are more things as well, but I won't list them. I should eat lamb, rabbit, and venison as meats. Lots of fish too, but no shellfish. I can eat lots of low fat dairy, veggies and fruits. The grains aren't too bad, just no wheat. But I have discovered spelt. It is an ancient ancestor to wheat. It has a nutty flavor and isn't bad. I made pancakes with spelt flour this morning. We used pure maple syrup since that is okay. It wasn't bad. I think it will take a little time to get used to it, but it can be used in place of wheat flour in most recipes. Unfortunately, the waking just doesn't seem to be making me lose weight. Maybe the change in diet will.

Our Kitchen Remodel

This corner will have the sink. The upper cabinets will have 2 glass front doors to reflect the window. The dishwasher will have a panel across the top and down the side so there will be no gaps around it. We have 37 inch cabinets instead of the traditional 36 inches because we are tall and it hurts my back. It will be a huge improvement from the low 35 inches we had with the super thick backer board and tile on the floor when we moved in. (That was removed weeks ago. It was white with white grout. no one should have that unless they are immaculate and never go in the room.)
The face of this corner cabinet had to be reworked, but should be in tomorrow.


It is coming along. Jeff's Dad, Rich, will be putting the trim around the dishwasher and the cabinet front for the corner cabinet in on Monday night. Then we can paint. Yeah! Of course we will still have the upper cabinets above the sink and stove left to do, as well as the bar area. Our kitchen will pretty much be functional again if we get this section painted and put the counter and sink back in. That may not be until after the family reunion though. This will be the second week without a sink or dishwasher.

more pics of the girls

From the top: We have Alona all dressed up. This was when I was packing for Florida. I heard something hitting the floor repeatedly and came out to see Alona all dressed up, shoes and all. I told Jeff we just had to get a picture. Next is Natalie eating Alona's sucker. She was so happy to have it. Natalie sure loved her birthday cake. And we have the pictures to prove it. The last picture is a little older and is just too cute. I need to start taking more pictures of Ashley

our kitchen remodel

So here are some pics of our progress on the kitchen. We installed the refrigerator cabinet today. There will be a lower cabinet next to it as well. Jeff's dad is working on it now. Unfortunately we had to cut into one of the lower cabinets to get the fridge cabinet in place. Oh well, its coming out eventually anyway, right? It is so exciting to see the progress. Oh, and by the way, we are painting the cabinets white, so they won't look like this when they are done. (and the fridge will have panels to match the cabinet doors). Its so exciting!!!!!!

Home from Florida!

I made it back from Florida at 3 AM Friday. It was a long trip, but it was great! The five oldest girls (also the married girls) managed to get together there. It was the first time we have been able to get together without kids. Rebecca (the oldest of us) said she was expecting Dad to come in any minute and tell us to go to sleep-just like when we were kids and we would giggle and make noise at bedtime.
We actually walked on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, Erin said she didn't want to walk as she had not brought the proper footwear, and the borrowed shoes she wore the day before were not the right size. So, we skipped our walk that day. We did manage to get a little walk in on the boardwalk. We went to Downtown Disney and had ice cream at Ghiradelli. We went to eat at the Olive Garden, Black Angus, Cheesecake Factory, and Rainforest Cafe. We managed to lay out one day and get some sun. My shoulders are beginning to peel and I itch like crazy from the sunburn that is finally going away.
Erin brought our journals we had "written" in with the help of our parents when we were very young. It was great to reminisce about our childhood experiences. We talked about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful Father who overcame his own upbringing and raised us so well. It is quite amazing what he did and the example he set for us.
I hope that the next time we get together like that Aurelia and Emily can make it!

Its been awhile!

Okay, so I have been a little busy lately.
Last week was spring break, so I didn't get much exercise in. I am still losing weight (very slowly). We put in a new sliding glass door at our house and got the linen closet door put in as well. Jeff and his dad started on the upper cabinets for our kitchen. They have two walls worth of cabinets done. Only one left to go on the uppers. We even got the cabinet for the fridge. I can't wait! We even tore up a few of he tiles. It is slowly progressing!
I am so excited for my trip to Florida with my sisters next week! I think it will be quite fun, and maybe we can all dye each others hair to cover the gray while we are there. Look out Florida, here we come!

Torturous diets

I started the 7 Day Dancer's Diet that came with the YBB workout DVDs. It is very strict, but you only do it for 7 days to kick start your weight loss and get your metabolism going. I was fine until after dinner. We spent the morning getting ready for church, and the afternoon at church. It was easy not to think about eating then. But an hour after dinner, I was quite hungry. You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you haven't eaten a long time? I had that. It had only been and hour! I even ate more food than was allotted. How will I ever survive the next 6 days? But then again, it is only 6 days, and then I never have to do this again. I suppose I can do it. I will do it. I can do it! Check back next Sunday to see how it went.

When Natalie Was Born

This is a picture taken at the hospital when Natalie was born. It is the first time Ashley and Alona saw her. (April 6, 2006)

Our House

We bought our house at the end of August, and it needed work. Before we moved in, we replaced the flooring in the three bedrooms, living room, entry and hall. We also painted all of those rooms as well as the playroom. After moving in, we needed to paint the exterior before the rain started. We got it done! It isn't pretty, but we intend to reside in a year or two anyway, so we just need it to hold up for now. It has been quite a bit of work, and there is still more to go.
In January, we replaced the front door and added a door to the entry closet. What a difference that makes! Now no one can see the cluttered closet when the enter our home. Yeah!
I think we are getting the patio door in the next couple weeks. Jeff's dad called yesterday to see if we wanted a pair of doors that were ordered wrong. That means they will be much cheaper! We currently have a really bad metal framed sliding glass door, and the new door will be one stationary door and one swinging door. I can't wait. It will also be more energy efficient as it won't let in cold air.
We are also starting on our kitchen. Jeff's Dad is making our cabinets. We are doing a shaker style door for our cabinets and are painting them white. We will be adding a bar area to the kitchen for eating. I think it will make it a better gathering place when cooking and baking, since I seem to do so much of that sort of thing. I will post pictures of our progress as things come along.

Progress

Today was a beautiful day here in Oregon! The sun was shining and it was about sixty degrees. I went walking with Kristy L. We work out Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We walked for 50 minutes pushing the kids in strollers. It was a great day to be outside. Such a wonderful break from the rain we usually get.
Yesterday morning I did my workout with Kristy D. (I know, it gets confusing with all the different Kristys in my life). We did one of the YBB (Yoga Booty Ballet) DVDs. They usually run about 45 minutes and are pretty intense. We work out at 6:30 am. Crazy, I know, but we have to start our day sometime, so why not early.
So far this week I am making good progress in my working out. Hopefully it will show in my waist soon!

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2006

Starting Over

So I am trying to lose weight and get in shape. I bought some workout dvds and they are great. I have two different friends who work out with me a total of 5 times per week. It is great! I am really trying to get healthy. I actually really enjoy the workouts. It is called Yoga Booty Ballet. It sounds kind of funny, but it is awesome! So far I have only lost 3 pounds, but anything is better than nothing. I am not forbidding myself to eat anything, I just try to limit it when I do have something that is not so great and try to eat more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. This way, I don't go crazy after awhile and eat tons of junk.
I will be tacking my progress over time.

Blogging Begins

I was looking at Emily's blog and decided I should start my own. So, Welcome! I will add pictures of the kids and keep everyone up to date on the Hojnackes in Oregon.