Saturday #3- Not Crazy...but...

I have been stuggling to think of something with this one. But while, in the process of catching up, I have tried to stay true to what was happening that day if I mentioned anything I find a need to break from this for a post. Finding joy in the journey is today's "theme". And I am definitely filled with a mixture of finding joy and needing to find joy. Since Neil was a little toddler I have felt that something wasn't quite right...nothing big, just little things. Mostly it has been the way he phases out and won't hear you call him or even talk to him. Or the way he focuses in so intensely on things that he tunes out everything else. Frequently I have tried to chalk these up to just quirky little things that make him who he is...but I haven't ever been able to shake the feeling that it was something more. We had him tested pre-school with the district to see if they could find anything. And while they seemed to see the focusing part of it...they chalked it up to quirks. We had his hearing tested and was told that he had perfect hearing...so, "Now you know he is choosing not to listen to you."

Well, again this school year it came up...not because he is suffering academically, he is actually excelling there. And it didn't come up due to him acting out, he is one of the mellowist children in the class. But mostly due to his teacher trying to catch his focused attention to where it needs to be, and in his withdrawing into himself and not seeming to connect with the other students much. So, without them asking me...I INSISTED back in the fall that the school run anything they could to find anything they might...or might not on it. I got some strange looks and felt like they were thinking I was a hyperattentive parent that needed to be pacified. I simply said...if this finds something then we FINALLY know, and if it doesn't and they turn out to be quirks then I will celebrate the fact he is fine and move on, but I NEED to know once and for all.

Yesterday afternoon we finally met so I could find out the results from their observations and "tests". The short version is...I was told I wasn't crazy or labeling my child falsely (making me a bad mom in my mind). I have been hoping to know for a VERY long time...so to finally know...I am finding great joy in this!! Or...at least I did...for a minute. Then I became a bit numb last night as it started to sink in. And now...well, now I am in a different phase.

After so many years of wanting to know if it was just in my head...I know wish even more than ever that it was!! I now can't bare to think that there is something wrong after all with my little "baby" boy! I am okay...really I am. I know this is a phase of the emotions that a parent goes through, and I will move on to the next phase soon enough, but it really stinks right now. I guess I better say more about what they said...

The just of it is, they see the same things I have seen and more. They see facial "ticks" when he gets excited, they see signs that he isn't processing directions unless they are visually shown, they see him obcessing with detail to the side of extreme, they see him struggling with the social skills to reach out and make friends, and there were other things too...my head is swimming a bit. So, they recommended that, since these seem to be big indicators of something medically off and they aren't doctors, I take their findings and my concerns to a doctor to find out what is going on and then we meet again to discuss what can be done. They said that it probably is something in the "ADD, ADHD, Autism, or Asberger's Syndrome family". They were quick to say that it is obviously not a severe case of whatever it turns out to be, but still very much there. (So, on this note, I am determined to find joy in discovering the known about whatever this is and how to help him discover ways to work with it.)

I guess you could say...sticking with my "theme" for the day...that I find joy in the journey by discovering the known, and that I am going to find joy in the journey by discovering the known. Does this make sense??

Friday #3- Christmas, Nice Photo

Yes, I must confess, I still haven't stored all of the Christmas things away yet. So this weeks "declutter" project is going to be getting all the Christmas decorations and things back in the bins and out to their place in the garage! I have to admit I am still working on last weeks project as this cold has delayed catching up on cleaning.


I LOVE creating/capturing photographs of nature! Something about taking a great photo of the beauty God has created just brings me a big thrill. What a loving Heavenly Father we have that he created such beauty for us to live in! Maybe that is what gives me such joy in photography...capturing the visual proof of His eternal and unconditional love!

Thursday #3- DSE Teacher Appreciation

Something I am really hoping to do...not just someday but...this year, is go to the very first ever Creating Keepsakes Digital Scrapbooking Experience in Provo in September! My love for digital scrapbooking just keeps growing, and I find so many different aspects of life where it comes in handy! Church lessons, FHE lessons, Joy school lessons, Thank you cards, Christmas cards (not this year) or newsletters, blogging, and...


...teacher appreciation gifts. Which is what I have been working on a bit today. Wasn't sure if I would be up for working on them, but I am feeling a bit better today, so they are nearly done. This month it is teacher 'n' staff survival kits. I will post a picture as soon as I can, but they were fun to put together! And I can see many more uses for this type of thing as well!

Wednesday #3- Misguided Suffering

Sometimes things my kids say really just CRACK-ME-UP!! Like when L.J. said that he couldn't wait to be married...we asked why that was...he told us, "Then my wife can do all the chores." I told him, "Do I do all of the chores?" His response was, "No you make us kids do ALL of them! But I am NOT going to make MY kids do CHORES!!" I laughed out loud and told him, "Do you really do ALL the work? Don't Dad and I do some of them too?" He said, "Maybe a few." ...we continued to clue him in to the fact that he was going to be doing chores too, but it didn't seem to sink in, so I simply laughed and said, "We will see how well that works for you, son." And this is just one example...but OH, what a good one!


I was watching the news the other day, and it seemed to be all a plane that went down in the Hudson River, and about the trouble in Gaza. And it made me cry thinking of all those people suffering, then about how their families are probably suffering too. I just really have a hard time seeing others suffer, especially if there isn't a whole lot I can do for them to ease their suffering. I am so glad that all of the passengers on the plane made it out okay, and fairly unharmed. There were so many families that were spared by the quick thinking there, and the many who were able to offer the helping hand I couldn't!

Tuesday #3- Balanced Band

I don't know about you...but I really think I am not alone in my "need to" this week! I REALLY need to balance my life! I know it is something we all struggle with, and I am no different. Finding that balance between being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend...and between family, church, "work", and time for myself...what an incredible thing that would be! So, I have made cute little routine books for my kids...in hopes that them having a regular routine in pictures (since all can't read yet) would help them keep the important everyday tasks in mind. I am hoping that this way I can spend less time reminding them what they should be doing...and more time playing with them! We shall see??!!


One of my accomplishments is my clarinet. I played in band all of Middle School and High School. But even greater than that accomplishment is the fact that I bought and paid for my clarinet myself. All of the money came from the savings I had from my newspaper route. I paid for all repairs, all reeds, and all books I needed. My parents were willing to pay for these things, but not able to at the time. So, if I wanted to have my clarinet and play in band I had to pay for it. And WOW...what a sense of pride in what I had done it gave me. It nearly broke my heart to sell that same clarinet to pay for bills after college, but I sold it to my aunt for my cousin to play...and knowing it was going to someone who would take care of it meant a LOT to me. But this wasn't the end...I got out of that financial rut, saved up my money again and bought myself a wood clarinet shortly after I met Jim, and before we were even dating. Again it felt so WONDERFUL to have saved up for something that I cared about so deeply, to have sacrificed and saved so that I could purchase it myself. This is a feeling I want to pass on to my children, this is a lesson I want them to learn while they are young...but that is an accomplishment hopefully in our future!!

Monday #3-Missing Titanic

I could write a really long post for these memories...but since most of you know about this already, and I have written about this in depth other places, I will be keeping it relatively short. The most challenging experience in my life to date...that also helped me grow...is when my oldest brother went missing. He was gone for 7 1/2 yrs. He has since been found...more on this part later. It was and is by far the hardest thing I ever had to face. He was my best friend, and biggest supporter. The thing that was hardest was the unknown. But in losing him...I was no longer able to depend so strongly on him. This forced me to learn to depend on myself more. Also, due to events surrounding his disappearance and following it, I followed a path that lead me to my current best friend and biggest supporter...Jim! I am not sure if our paths would have crossed if the chain of events that it triggered hadn't happened. I grew so very much in so many ways in those 7 1/2 years...the largest of which was spiritually. So, while it was horrible to go through...there is silver lining in those years that I wouldn't give up for anything now.


Now on this note comes not one but two cherished memories that I will FOREVER hold close to my heart...the last time I saw him before his disappearance, and the first time I saw him when we found him. I left home for a job about a month before he left, but before I left he took my out on the town. We went to see the Titanic, and out for ice cream afterward. While those were fun, the conversation we had that night was what kept me hanging on for those hard years. That and the last line in a letter he sent me..."You darn well better not forget that you have a big brother who loves you and always will."

It was these words I remembered when we saw each other again...first alone, and then to meet my "new" family. Courtney was a little babe...just a few months old. The joy, the happiness, and the gratitude in being able to see him again...priceless. Watching him turn into a very proud uncle in a matter of minutes...irreplaceablely priceless!! Definitely two of the best memories I hold, and so very cherished!!

Sunday #3- Shoulder the Quiet

A nasty head cold can really wipe you out. This is what has happened to me over the past few days. Jim took all 4 children to church by himself so I might be able to get some rest. It was amazing how quiet the house became. And it caused me to remember how when we first got married I would turn on the radio or leave the TV on, even if I wasn't watching or didn't really even like what was on, just so there would be some noise. Growing up in a family of nine kids, I simply wasn't used to the silence. But now...well...now is when I celebrate the quiet moments as they are so rare. In the quiet I can find peace of mind, the ability to truly focus on me, or what I am doing. And unlike most other times in my life...I am coming to like me and who I am, so being by myself and simply taking time for myself really is soothing.


On the other hand, one thing that has ALWAYS driven me crazy is to have someone look over my shoulder and watch me do something. Maybe this comes from that large family as well...not enough privacy...or maybe not. I really don't know...I only know that my loved ones have been fabulous in putting up with this quirk of mine. All I have to do is look Jim's way when he is doing it without realizing it, and he quickly finds something else to do. When we first got married I know this was a little frustrating for him...until he found that it had nothing to do with him, I feel that way with everyone. Do you have an unique annoyance like this, I would love to hear it? Or is it just me? Either way, it is part of who I am.

Saturday #2- Playing with Housework

I used to enjoy cleaning my home...I found it very theraputic. It didn't matter if I was doing the dishes, mopping the floor, or ironing the clothes...I enjoyed the act of doing it and getting it done. But since I had children, I find more and more of the joy in it fading. Maybe this is because they demolish my hard work right behind me, maybe because they fight so very hard not to help me with it, or maybe simply because I like the being done with it and I get interrupted so often that it generally doesn't get done as perfectly as I would like. The reason doesn't matter really, I simply bring it up to say...I am determined to find the joy in it again! Somehow, someway, I am going to find it!!


Now, some of you may have noticed the new addition to our blog. The family photos are there so you will know it is our blog! (A good friend pointed this out this week!) I am finding such joy in learning more about customizing our blog. Making something and making it true to who you are is so very rewarding. And for me each minor change I learn how to make brings me a bit of joy in my blogging! This time I got some of the know how from: Easy Custom Blogs and her first post on how to make tags in your header. Check them out if you are interested!

Friday #2- Something to Do Rearranged

I am happy to say that the piano is indeed decluttered! So are most of the tops of the other furniture in my living room! However, all but the piano clutter was moved to my bed for the birthday party and then to the floor of the craft room that night so we could go to sleep...so I am going to declutter that pile this week. Do you find yourself doing that when company comes too?


I have decided I just plain love creating something to do! And I think most of you would agree with me on that...in fact you are probably laughing at this realization thinking it is an understatement! Don't worry I am too! Someone asked me the other day if I was good at completing things I set out to do, and I said, "sometimes I am." Then came, "About what amount of the time on a scale of 1-10 would you say you complete things you start?" I said probably a 7 as along the way I realize that some of the things I set out to do are not important or are better done at a different season of my life. I was then asked...of the things I think are important and realistic what amount do I get done. I thought for about half a second and said all of them. I find goals are simply that...a goal, something you strive your best for and do your best to reach. This doesn't mean you reach every goal every time. You simply do your best!

Thursday #2- Back to School Blogging

Ever since Jim and I got married it has been understood that as soon as possible after having our children I would go back to school and get a degree. I still plan to do this for a few reasons: I want a back up in case something happens where I need to be the one responsible for the money coming in to support our family, I LOVE to learn and am interested in a LOT of things college could offer, and I want my daughters to have a great example of why they should bother to continue their education after high school. At this point I would probably go into...genealogical research, web design, family psychology, music, or accounting. Boy, I guess I still haven't narrowed it down much even after this long of thinking about it. But someday when the kids are all in school, I will start taking classes again and then someday even further down the road I will BE a college graduate!


What am I doing now? Well, besides the obvious of blogging this post...I blog in hopes to learn more about web design before I even get to school. I blog to record my family history one more place, I blog as therapy for when things are challenging, I blog to let my heart sing the joy that fills it, and I blog to account for or require myself to take account of my everyday doings. But mostly I blog because I have become HORRIBLE at emailing and letter writing the many friends we have made over the years and I want them to be able to keep in contact somehow and to know I really do care...just am amazingly busy! And I blog to keep site of who I am and what it is I am doing here anyway!

Wednesday #2- Pouty Gratitude

Lately one of my sisters has been having a LOT of struggles. Her wonderful husband has been doing his best to find work, but is hitting a brick wall it seems with the economy what it is. And she just had their little boy not all that long ago, so hasn't been able to try to find something herself. This past month was especially hard for them, and Jim and I have been trying to figure out how to help...if we CAN help. I hate to see her suffer this way after all she has already been through in this life, and I hate that I am not in a position where I can just hand to her what she needs. But I figure she has to face this for some reason. Well, I think I have heard a reason recently...and that is to bring her closer once again to our loving Savior! She is getting nearly all the help she needs, because once again He has come through for her in her life. So, I must say that I cry when I am filled with gratitude for the love I see either in my life or others come from our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. And for wonderful people who so willingly and without thought of praise or reward help those around them in need of something they can give!


Now on the interesting side of things that make me laugh...lately there are two boys in my life...and no not both of my sons...that have been making the CUTEST pouty face when they beg me for what they want! I mean seriously adorable! And I am not sure what cracks me up more...that they think that it will work, because it doesn't, or simply how cute it looks on the face of these boys that want to believe they are SO Grown Up! Instead of getting them what they wanted it simply makes me laugh...and gets them a "Thanks for making me laugh...that is SO adorable!" Which of course only frustrates them...making me laugh even harder inside!

Tuesday #2- Mission Princess nearly complete!

What I need to get done and what I have accomplished this week fall into the same category: A Pair of Princesses Party! The girls birthdays always sneak up on me after Christmas and this year is no different, except that Courtney is now old enough to have her first friend party and Analise is now old enough for her second. I am lucky that they are both girls and were able to decide on a theme easily this year...Princess Party. So, we will be inundated with girls and princess things this Saturday! But being the crafty person I am this has been fun and time consuming and relatively cheap! I bought some of the foam sheets and cut out tiaras and mini purses for them to decorate with glue and sequins. And some shiny pony beads for them to make necklaces out of. They are going to leave our house dressed like the little princesses they are!

So...I need to finish adding ribbon handles to the purses, and cleaning my house up for the party. And I have accomplished creating an amazingly fun party for all of the girls! Photos will be coming!

Monday #2- Cheerleading Grandma

Growing up there is only one thing I REALLY wanted when I got into High School...for as long as I can remember...to be a cheerleader! Looking back this was not the best goal I could have chosen...but it was what it was. I remember BEGGING my parents for dance lessons like other little girls I knew, but the money just wasn't there...so the answer was always no. Well, I didn't let that stop me, I played with it on my own, as soon as I was old enough (a Sophomore IN High School) I tried out for the team. Well at my High School they did have judges, but they were there for the dress rehearsal and did nothing except score you for your own record and give little tips on how to do better the the next day when you would try out in front of the WHOLE student body for THEM to vote who made it and who didn't. So truly...a popularity contest if you ever heard of one. And I was, shall we say, an awkward and shy girl...friendly, but shy and far from popular in a good way. So I didn't make the team that year. Well, in all honesty I probably wouldn't have made it if it hadn't been a popularity contest either...didn't have the know how then, just the desire.

That year I spent taking the dance classes provided at school, and hoping that I could make it next year. I had no idea that most girls after one "defeat" at our school...don't usually go back for another beating. I only knew that I dreamed of making it and I had to try out before I could make it. So, try outs came around again...same system as the year before. I actually felt I had done pretty good, and was so proud that my parents had made it this time. But I still didn't make the team...and I was DEVASTATED as this was the last year I would be allowed to try out!! I thought back then that there was NO way that I could face anyone ever again, and I wanted to curl up and DIE! You know...like the dramatic teenagers we all were once upon a time.

But of course, life moved on. And the next few weeks were filled with drama over a vote recount that turned out they had announced the team wrong...no I still didn't make it, and wouldn't have wanted to that way. But two of the team from the year before hadn't made it originally but did after a recount. So, the gossip and rumors went crazy saying that they had bribed the school to let them be on. And what were they going to do with the girls they had announce made it and then really hadn't...and who possibly hadn't made it really? I had quite a few people come up to me during this time and tell me that now they wished they had voted for me because I had done better than the "drama queens". My only thought was...well, now I know YOU didn't vote for me...THANKS! I know not the right attitude, but where I was at that moment.

Well, the principal held an assembly to announce that they were simply going to add the two "former" team members back onto the team rather than take anyone off. He went on to say that they really had made it and weren't "LOSERS" after recounting the vote. So we all should move on and quite with the gossip and rumors because we were classier students then that...la, la, la. I was STUNG...my PRINCIPAL had just called me a LOSER! So, what did I do, I wrote him a "note" saying that I thought it was very class-less of him to call those that hadn't made the team LOSERS as we had all worked hard and done our best. I told him that he had lost all respect in my eyes after making such a public statement that those that hadn't made the team were losers. Naturally, he called me into his office and apologized for his wording profusely, but that is where it stopped. I only share this last part of the story because it was at that moment I went from "poor little me, my life is OVER" to "I am NOT a loser, and I will be just fine without having made the team." A true change in perspective and some true growth.

I know like to think that I did make the cheerleading team...I am the best cheerleader my children and husband will ever need or want! And it is MUCH more rewarding than making the other team ever would have been.


Now for a cherished memory...lately I have been thinking a LOT about my 91 yr old Grandma. She has given me so many happy and cherished memories over the years, so let me try to pick just one or two for you. I guess really it is a lot of little and simple memories that add up for me. From the peanut (circus peanut) tosses, to the valentines, to the MANY family traditions that she lovingly created. But I think my most treasured memories of Grandma overall are all centered on one theme...family togetherness and love.

She even made working fun! I LOVED to wash dishes with Grandma after a family meal...but hated to do it at my house. And I LOVED to help her in her garden...even though doing the same with my dad was a "chore". I wonder why this is? In fact I think I have just settled on my most cherished memories of her...helping her in her garden. It always gave us time to talk about how life was going, we got to enjoy fabulous home-grown fruit and veggies while we did it, and I had such a sense of accomplishment when we were done. I even had planned to have my wedding reception there in her GORGEOUS yard before she asked how many would be coming and we thought of all those people traipsing through her yard. I decided that while she was willing to do this for me, I didn't want to ruin all her hard work and the beauty of her yard just for my one moment of happiness to be held there. In the end it wasn't important that it be held there, and it was still beautiful...but I didn't ruin her yard in having it and that meant a LOT to us both.

Sunday #2- Irreverent Ahhhh!

Okay...these next few are a little late too. This is quite the challenge to keep up with, but I really do want to do it. So, I am not sure if we will truly say daily postings yet, but maybe by February I will have it down. One reason I got behind this time is what I am going to use for the thing that drives me crazy...irreverent children...I know, I know who could possibly relate to this one. I spent all of sacrament meeting in the foyer with various children. ALL FOUR had trouble today!! So, I wasn't feeling very peaceful! Then what should they say, afterward when told them that they hadn't been reverent enough for me to bake something sweet, "I was reverent the WHOLE TIME in Primary, MOM!" My thought I kept to myself was, "AND you think that makes up for pinching your father, talking during prayers, calling your sister ugly, then saying when caught...well it is TRUE, and Dad having to at one point pull all 4 of you out?!!" (Of course, this was more than just one child doing all of these things, I am compiling all the thoughts into one.)

I must pause here and say that I am TRULY grateful that they SEEM to be reverent for the most part in Primary...or at least their teachers have never said otherwise. But really, with all we allow them to have to do during sacrament I would think they could handle themselves better than they did this week. I remember going to church with NOTHING to do at their ages! At least we give them a notebook to draw or write on, a church related book, and a flip book of photos of Jesus to look at during the sacrament to help them think of Him! Well, anyway...not our best week, they have indeed been MUCH better on the average, so again I am thankful for that!



Now on a happier note, one thing that brings me the greatest peace...after moments like the above...is remembering the opposite moments, you know the ones when your kids say the sweetest most adorable things that let you know that you must be teaching SOMETHING to them right! Well, this one highlights Courtney:

There is a kindergarten teacher at the school my children attend that has tried for a long time to have children, and due to a final effort with fertility on their part she is going to be blessed with children. Not one, but 3 in one pregnancy! Two boys and a little girl. Anyway, we just moved Courtney up to a twin size bed, so the two crib size mattresses we have are no longer needed at our home. So, knowing a good place for them we told Courtney right where they are going when she asked what was going to happen to her old bed. She looked content at our response that they were going to go to this teachers little babies. Well, with her "big girl" bed, she got a big girl pillow...she had been using an adorable flat stuffed elephant she got from Grandma. At first she put both on her bed together and tried to lay down...but just wasn't comfortable. Then as we watched her struggle, you could see the exact moment when this ADORABLE and SWEET thought popped into her little head. "Mom!" she said, "The babies need a pillow too! Yep, the babies can have my pillow, Mommy! They can share it!"

Isn't that the best?!!! I live for these moments from my children...and I am grateful that they ALL have them from time to time!

Saturday #1- Mommy Scraps

Hmmmm...this one has me thinking! Which really is a good thing.

I guess that the thing that is helping me find joy in the journey right now is making sure to scrap the moments as they come...the good, the bad, and the where did that come from?! It is such a great source of working out those emotions that come with all of life's adventures. And for the "bad" moments...it will also work great for "blackmail" or reminders when my kids are older! I also have been trying really hard to remember Pres. Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey". Sometimes I have to admit...there are moments that just the thought I will some day miss THIS moment, brings a smile to my face and laughter to my frustrated mind again. It really is hilarious that some things that truly drive us CRAZY now will be so VERY missed later!

One thing that I am going to find Joy in...even if it does me in...is those "Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY!" moments! Boy, can they drive me batty...especially if I said "What?" the first time and they are so busy screaming "Mommy" at me that they didn't even hear me reply? I mean really do I always seem to take so long, in their minds, that they don't even expect a response until they are yelling at me??!! Or should I take them all in to have their hearing checked, or simply the wax build up cleaned out of their ears? I have started saying their name back to them for each time they say mine...until they say "WHAT?" At least this way I know they are done yelling and ready to listen! I guess we will see if it keeps working...or even better if they start listening for a response after that very first, "Mommy?" request for attention.

Friday #1-Piano Smiles

Little late...still working into the routine, what can I say?! In fact I have been working on routine books for my kids, and was having too much fun playing to stop. I will have to show you those later! So, for yesterday's post...

I am going to start this years decluttering a little small, as I have a double birthday party to plan, and throw by next weekend. When we first got the piano in our home...the rule was, AND STILL IS...nothing but music goes on it. But it only took one day of allowing something else to be there temporarily, and now it is out of control. So, this next week that is what I will be decluttering here at my house! Do you have a spot that just seems to collect things like me? For your sake...I hope not!

As far as creating goes...I am think I have to say my top favorite thing to create is a SMILE! It hardly matters whose face it is...I love to see others smile, and if I did something to help that smile get there, well that just makes it all the better! But my very favorite smiles in the whole world would have to be those of my children and my husband! Whether it is a tickling session with the children after a really sad moment, or some punny joke that popped into my head...and out of my mouth, or simply a warm loving hug and an "I love you" that bring the smile to their faces...I LOVE having a place in creating them!

Thursday #1-Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Paint

The Holidays were just too tough to blog daily during...so, a week later I pick up where I left off! Thursday's are something I would LOVE to do someday...and things I am doing now. So here goes:



Probably the largest and top dream of mine at this point in time would be to someday sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This is a VERY challenging dream, so we will see where it goes someday. I know that there is no possible way that I can do this at this season in my life, but nothing (dream-wise) would bring me greater joy than to sing with this talented group. If you are one of my friends that know little if anything about them...check out www.mormontabernaclechoir.org. So, in the meantime I continue to sing with my ward/congregational choir, and do my best to improve in the hopes that when a season in life comes when I could do this I am as prepared as possible to audition and go through that rigorous process.

Now as for the things I am doing now...I am painting...or getting ready to. My kids are little artists, and despite knowing the walls are not for art work...unless it is on a paper on the wall...they can't seem to help themselves, or even seem to want to. But I have had enough, so along with having a cabinet to lock up the art supplies, I am priming and then will be painting over their "art work". But not to worry got pictures first! I gotta have those for blackmail later down the road! I also have plans for a place that will be okay for them to "color" on the walls...the new playroom. I will tell you/or take pictures when we are ready for that step...but hopefully it will be done in the next two weeks or so. But we will save that for another week! You might just say that I am after a truly fresh start for the New Year. What is one of your New Year resolutions? Well, Happy New Year!!