Another Home Improvement Project

I have to say that this project wouldn't have been possible without the help of Brannon's friend Cody Mortensen. Construction is his forte and he is a perfectionist and did a fantastic job. If anyone is looking for someone to do this kind of work, he is the one to call for sure. Thanks again Cody (and his wife Suzie for letting him spend about three days at our house working on this!)

After: New deck and newly painted railings. We were just going to replace the front of the deck, but upon removing the front part of the old deck, we discovered the entire deck was rotted, so we just decided to tear the whole thing off and start over.
We also added new black shutters to the windows to give it a little more curb appeal. See the bare bones flower bed? Well, that's next. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do right there as far as landscaping.



The new light, which I love! This one emits a warm, friendly glow that doesn't scare off people and animals like our last one did:)
Before: The rotted out redwood deck!
Before: I call this little beauty Sputnik because it was basically as big as a satellite and just as bright. It is a motion light and I never could decide whether to turn it on at night because A: If it was on, anyone who came near our house was basically blinded by this spotlight and B: I worried if I didn't turn it on, someone might trip and fall off our deck. Hmmm....blind our guests or let them fall off our deck??? Which does more damage? Obviously it had to go!
Before: rotted out stairs

Before deck and shutter replacement

During

It's A Girl!!!

So we are halfway there AND we are so excited to be welcoming a baby girl to our family. I thought for sure I would be one of those moms that was "blessed" with all boys since I was such a girly girl growing up, but obviously, someone else had other plans, thank goodness! I am about 21 weeks now and I know I look HUGE already! People are always surprised to hear that I'm not due until October. I'm afraid it is going to be like last time with people asking me if I'm having twins because I was so big. I'm trying to be super careful with my eating this time so I don't gain as much weight and hopefully I'll be able to lose the baby weight quicker this time! We are actually pretty set on a name right now...I know, miraculous, especially considering we didn't name Taj for about two weeks after he was born because we couldn't decide on a name. We are set on Haven (spelling still being debated) Mary (still not 100% on the middle name) Morse (sure on this one:)). I am getting so excited for her to be here and it seems like forever away!

Spring Time is Finally Here!

Spring time is finally here, which calls for a jig at our house!

Title: Mother

This Mother's Day I can't help but be eternally grateful for having the privilege of being called "mother." I never knew that being a mother would help me understand not only myself (and my many flaws), but to better understand the love that our Father in Heaven has for us. Having a child really is like watching your heart live and breath on the outside of you. It's almost painful because I worry about all the "what ifs" that could happen to my sweet boy and I realize there is only so much I can do and the rest is in the Lord's hands. It is for this reason that I will be forever ever indebted to Christ and the Lord for the wonderful gift of eternal life, eternal families. Raising Taj so far has definitely not been easy, but I am so thankful that he is living, breathing, experiencing life, bringing me joy, and teaching me many lessons along the way. Being a mother is turning out to be the best experience of my life and I find more enjoyment in it than I thought possible each and every day. Today I want to thank not only the mothers in my life, but all the mothers out there who love, listen, help, serve, comfort, uplift, laugh, and have been a light in someone's life out there. Our world is able to go around because of mothers. My heart also aches for all of those who have lost their mothers, for those who may not get the chance to be a mother in this life, and for those dear mothers who have lost a child. I think Mother's Day is not only a day for celebrating the mothers in our lives, but for honoring those lost or those who have lost. May you find peace on this day.