Bowlin Beige

So what does one do when one's husband is having knee surgery? One waits. One waits for a very long time in the waiting room. And what does one do in the waiting room for four hours? You're about to find out! 1. Take care of the most important piece of business: Post a status update on Facebook. All FB friends must be aware that I will be sitting in the waiting room for a very long time. 2. Catch up on the last two days of FB posts that I've missed. Re-watch the funny cat holiday videos. 3. Read the newspaper. Huh.... It's been a long time since I actually read the whole thing cover-to-cover... There's a lot going on! 4. Restroom break... cause I stopped at Sonic on the way here and got a 90 ounce Coke to keep myself awake. 5. Review the post-surgery instructions to make sure I haven't missed something important. 6. Start to panic that something will go wrong. What if he reacts badly to the anesthesia? What if he dies? How do I plan a fu...

What a show! The Lower School did a great job this year in their winter program. The theme was all about candles and light.  Here are some photos from the first performance (last night) and then a video from this morning's performance. You can tell she is tired by how many times she yawns during the song...   Kaelyn, Ainsley, and Nora Ainsley, Sarah Grace, and Alyssa Kazoos!!!   And here's the whole performance! Sorry for the jiggly filming - I was trying so hard not to laugh! 

This time of year means lots of kids singing! Last week was Parker's program at preschool.  We were lucky enough to get there early and get front row seats. When they walked in I mouthed 'I love you' to him. Unfortunately he doesn't know how to mouth words without saying them out loud. So he just kept [loudly] whispering 'I love you' back to me. His class sang two songs, and then all the kids in preschool sang two songs together. He was such a handsome little man. Enjoy!  So much fun watching this little guy sing with his class. 

After spending Thanksgiving in York, we headed north to start preparations for hunting camp. We spent some time at the lake first, and the kids enjoyed playing in the woods since it was a little warmer than normal.  Parker was excited for an ATV ride with Papa.  Later, he managed to get himself completely covered in mud while playing outside. He was a very happy boy! Ainsley got some quality snuggle time with Nana before we headed to hunting camp. Ainsley spent two days at camp with all the hunters. She loves spending time with Papa hiking in the woods, building fires and roasting marshmallows, and running around outside. She brought her pink butterfly binoculars and "spied" on all of us. On Tuesday Parker came out and spent the night at camp. He had never been before. Next year he'll be old enough to come, so we thought it would be good to have a little introduction this year. He was so...

So many things to be thankful for this year. As always, my kids give me constant reminders of what we have and how lucky we are. We have a home, food, clothes, good jobs, and a dog (Ainsley always brings this up) - things that most people around the world don't have. We are healthy and both of our kids are getting a great education. We are surrounded by friends and family. Too many things to name, but we are thankful for them all.  This week was also time for the various Thanksgiving programs at school. This year I made it to watch both kids' school programs (first Ainsley's program at Steward and then hopped in the car and drove to WUMP for Parker's). Enjoy this little bit of fun!  The kindergarten and first graders at Steward singing about Timothy Turkey.  Ainsley is on the top row to the left of the blond haired boy. Parker's class (Indians) joined with another class (Pilgrims) for a special feast. He didn't know we were coming, and here is his...

We've been a little quiet about our latest house project because we weren't sure of the timeline. But now that it's (mostly) finished, we are happy to show the before and after (and in progress) pictures! First I must give most of the credit to our amazingly talented friend (and interior designer) Amy Gallo. She did the design for the whole room, helped us with picking out the cabinets, appliances, counter, lights, floor, and even the little cabinet knobs. Of course it helps that she knows us well and understands our style (Bowlin Beige), but she was also the voice of reason that we needed anytime we were having a hard time making a decision. There were a LOT of showroom visits, text messages, frantic phone calls, random questions, and somehow she still wants to be with us at the end of it. Thanks Amos!  So if you've been to our house you know we have two large rooms in our basement. This picture is taken standing at the sliding glass door that leads to the screene...