Marston's FIrst Birthday!

My dear sweet Marston turned 1 year old today. I can't believe a year ago I was in the hospital with my new little baby boy with curly red hair. It's been a great year, filled with exhaustion and pure joy. The purest joy life has to offer comes in being a parent. I am so grateful we were finally able to get pregnant and have this beautiful little boy.

I made the happy birthday banner and birthday hat. I started it about 2 weeks ago and this morning I only had the "H" done in happy. I sewed and hot glued all day to get the thing done. I think it turned out well.

Sorry the pictures are clearly out of order.

Camping in the middle of nowhere

We got to go "camping" last weekend with some friends. They have a huge motor home and some 4-wheelers so we drove up into the mountains some where and made camp. It was so nice. We had all we needed in the camper so we got to go to a place where there was no one-really- not 1 car drove past us the whole time we were there. The men went shooting and 4-wheelin' while we stayed in the comfort of the camper with the babies. It was a nice relaxing weekend and I'm sure the men loved it.

Marston dancing with daddy

When Daniel gets home from work, he and Marston love to have dance parties. Here is one from today.

Marston has been trying to walk on his knees and I'm glad I got a video of it.

Framing our home

They began on our home last Tuesday. Here's what they've done in one week. It looks so small, it's hard to believe that a whole house will fit on what looks like a closet space. They dug trenches for the plumbing and framing for the foundation.

Marston's First Haircut (at a salon)

Marston has always had a lot of hair and it was getting a little out of control. I took him to get a real hair cut. At first he was okay then he realized what was going on and he cried for about 10 seconds then he was over it and tolerated it. I had the lady trim mostly the sides and even out the top. I think it turned out great. He looks like such a cute little boy now, no longer a baby. After the haircut we went to visit Daniel at work. Marston loves the office and visiting his dad.

Home Design

Today they are going to start building our house in Lincoln. I am thrilled! There are a few things I want to do before we move in...

• Paint the oak cabinets in the kitchen white and add knobs
• Paint first floor
• Install fireplace mantle
• Install tile work around fireplace

With that said, I have a few decisions to make. I have been thinking a lot about the design and floor plan of the house. Some people ask what kind of style do I want to use throughout the house and my answer is always-"I don't know". I think I know now. I want my house to be contemporary/traditional. One might say "those are opposites" but I want to mesh the two. I want a cool, hip, clean look but I also want to be comfortable and have a soft "I live here" look. Since the first floor is so open I need each room to flow. Having similar looks but different feels so that you know you're in a different space. My mother in law has given me several decorating books in the past couple of weeks and I think I have found my inspiration room. I found it in a Better Homes and Garden book called "new decorating book". This book has wonderful ideas and beautiful rooms. I found one that I fell in love with. It is a picture of a living room with a fire place. It has a soft green color on the walls with white trimming. The fire place has different shades of green glass tiles surrounded by a beautiful white mantle and built in media cabinets on either side. It has wood floors and splashes of bright and soft greens throughout the room. I am going to try my best to re-create this room with a few changes to work with what I already have. I think I can carry the room color into the kitchen and dining room area and darken the shade of green for the den.

I have been on the look-out for the tile for the fire place for some time now. I want the tile I choose to determine the wall color so that the shades of green will play off each other. Here is a picture of a 12x12 glass tile sheet that might work. It has a few more shades of blue in it than I would like but I think it might be a good start. Let me know what you think and if you know of a good tile place.

I found this room on HGTV's website. It is a room similar to the inspiration room I found in the BH&G book. I like the wall color but the fire place doesn't have the tile that I think will make the room.

Granola For The Soul

My sister in law made this granola when we went to visit them in Michigan a few months ago. I absolutely love it! Thank you Telia! It holds together better than any other granola recipe I've tried and the flavor is terrific. It calls for walnuts, pecans and almonds but you can add any kind of nut you want. Store bought granola will never taste the same after you've tried this. This recipe calls for a lot of ingredients but after the initial shopping trip you should be set; it makes a ton. Enjoy!

Granola

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil and spray them with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix:

8 cups oats

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup coconut

Bring to a boil:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup honey

1 cup oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Pour over oat mixture and mix well. Bake for 20 minutes stirring half way. Let cool and stir in raisins or any kind of dried fruit.

Note: The first time I made this I pulled it out at 20 minutes and mixed it around. It seemed soft still so I put it back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Pulled it out again and it was over cooked. The granola will harden when it cools-do not over bake!