Brown Belt

Harper tested for her Brown Belt on Saturday.  She was supposed to test back in December, but she had the flu on the day of the testing.  She was heartbroken that she wasn't able to test. So needless to say, she was ready and well prepared this time around.

It is so fun to watch her.  Sometimes it amazes me how far she has come since she was a white belt. She broke both of these boards on the first try.

There were 19 kids that tested and she was the only one to get an outstanding testing award. I might be a little biased, but she definitely earned it.

I am so proud of you Harper!!

Close Enough

We have slowly put the house back together again.  There are still pictures to be hung and a few random projects we want to do, but for the most part we are done remodeling for awhile.  The goal now is to save up as much money as we can so that we can finish off our garage into a bonus room for the kids.  

So the rooms don't look exactly like we want them to yet, but they are close enough to show you some pictures.

The first thing Mitch worked on over Christmas Break was a new media console.  He mounted the TV on the wall so he wanted something smaller and more modern for this space.  I love how it turned out.

So the next thing we did was painted the piece of furniture that was there and moved it to the playroom.  We had to remove the old entertainment center first, which was quite the chore.  Let's just say I am glad that is behind us.  The room feels so much more open now.

We moved the table to where the computer was and moved the computer into the left hand corner.  As you can tell the table is being primarily used for Lego construction right now.   I told you we still need to hang some pictures.

Here you can see the computer.  Mitch wants to build a desk, but for now this is working.

The bench that was in the laundry room got moved to the foyer.  We discovered that we did not really use all the bins when they were out in the laundry room.  I am hoping they get utilized more now.  I just cleaned up the bookshelf on the left.

Here's another look at the other side of the media console. We would like to get a big comfy chair to put in the corner. 

It feels so good to have our house back together again.  Hopefully I am done moving furniture around for a few weeks.  

Balance

Hey everyone!!!  I am still alive.  Although I have written about a dozen blog posts in my head, getting them actually posted has been really hard for me.  I think the biggest problem is my lack of photos.  I just have found that I am constantly forgetting my camera and so many things have been going undocumented.  We have been working like crazy on the house, so hopefully I can find time to pick up my camera and take some photos to show you guys.  

I have decided that instead of resolutions this year I would choose a word that symbolizes what I plan to accomplish this year.  I think balance sums it up.  I am really can to try to find balance in all areas of my life this year.