trying this new blog thing…

 

so, thanks to my sister ashley, i am trying a new way of blogging! 

my happy camper…

all is well and i will update tomorrow with some new years info.  we are hosting my family and we are going to have some food, drinks, and play games.

amber

take it easy tuesday

today we have decided to not leave the house! we are all still in pj's and sitting on the couch. josie is a little under the weather {going on three days} and annabelle and gavin are still content with their new christmas treasures (guinea pig and lots of batman goodies). we are going to watch a movie today. yesterday we watched ramona & beezus and it was A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! so maybe today we will order a movie from pay-per-view.

i got all the ornaments off the tree yesterday and the decorations down [for the most part]. i sorted the kids and put them in their boxes. just need to put joe and my ornaments away a long with our two nativity sets, and christmas will be put away...with the exception of a few pine needles that got missed by the shop vac.

yesterday as i was taking the ornaments off the tree, gavin asked, "why are you taking down the christmas spirit?" he is so precious and speaks the truth! so we discussed that we can keep the spirit of christmas with us ALL year round.

so, what are you doing today? are you back at work? are you able to stay at home and enjoy more family time? what are some good family movies you would recommend? please leave a comment...i have no idea how many people even look at this blog:)

pictures included(in no particular order)...i have got to learn how to use this blog!:
*the empty corner where our tree stood
*the kiddos on christmas morning
*our new pet guinea pig, sam
*the ornaments still to be put away
*scrabble mix we will be eating during our movie:)


much love,
amber and fam

a hunting we will go...

for the perfect christmas tree, that is!

and we found it...sorry to everyone else that went to beck's tree farm...the farmer family got it:)

as was my tradition as a child...we go as a family, find the perfect tree, cut it down, ride the horse drawn "hayride", have some hot chocolate, and watch the tree get the needles shaken out and put through the net "thingy".

i love starting traditions with my family that my parents started when i was young. i hope my children will remember these times when they are grown and have kiddos of their own.

some highlights from our tree hunt 2010:

*annabelle got to sit in the front of the horse hayride
*all three of my kiddos are able to walk on their own (no strollers, etc...finally!)
*we picked a huge tree. we (or should i say I) did not realize how much room it would take up in our dining room.

enjoy some pictures from our tree hunting expedition . i will post house decorating and final tree decoration pictures once we are all set up!

love,
the farmer five (amber)

pancakes, pancakes

so, we went to the library on our first day off of turkey break. i got to do story-time with josie and gavin {for the first time...i admit...quite embarrassing}. my rule when going to the library is: we have to get more books than movies. so, annabelle is loving eric carle [don't we all] after her teacher did an author study on him at the beginning of the school year. she choose about 4 eric carle books (along with several others) and one of them was pancakes, pancakes! we attempted to make the pancakes, as the book instructed:
1 cup of flour
1 egg
mix the first two ingredients together, then add
1 cup of milk
stir until all the lumps are gone
then spoon a ladle full into a pan and place over a fire (or in our case...in a gas stove)

so we completed the steps as instructed, and we had to add some chocolate for sweetness. the pancakes turned out VERY flat, so we rolled them up tortilla style. i had help from all of my little munchkins. josie and gavin ate their "pancake" and annabelle was not a fan, but she tried it.

bottom line...it was a cheap, fun activity to try with the kiddos. if i could do it again, would i?
well, probably not on thanksgiving morning...when i am hosting.
also, not when a pack of pancake mix costs $0.50 at walmart.

but....i was able to make the book come to life for the kiddos! pancakes=success!

thanks for checking in,
the farmer five

our blog is ch-ch-ch-changing!

well...so much has happened since our last post MANY months ago...

the day before our final inspection, joe had some health issues. including a week long hospital stay, a surgical procedure on his brain, six weeks of iv antibiotics, and an upcoming heart surgery in just a couple of weeks...

the past six months have been quite a roller coaster to say the least!

so, along with FINALLY catching you up on some {after} pictures of the house, i thought i would keep it going [much more frequently] with family updates and pictures as well. i am still learning how to add more than 5 photos per blog entry. i also want to jazz up the background, etc.

please keep in touch with us and all our goings-on...

much love,
the farmer five

we are sanding floors! (again with the WE...i mean joe)

we are getting SO close! the upstairs floors are about all sanded! we still have to stain and polyurithane the floors. both bathrooms are now functional! we have a little (ok, more than a little) left to be done on the main level.

joe has been meeting the neighbors throughout the whole rennoivation process, but i have recently met a couple of our new neighbors....i am so excited! we will be within walking distance to church and the library. i plan on having a LOT of get togethers once we are in...i have missed hosting!

the photos i am adding are of the floor sanding process and one of the little bathroom (on the main level....not to be confused with MY bathroom upstairs...HA!

thanks for checking in,

amber (&joe)

little things are happening...

joe has been at the house a little more lately. he had a few weeks that were really busy at work, but now is back at it! some new additions are: light fixtures in the kitchen and dining room, trim around bead board in {my} bathroom AND tub and toilet hooked back up upstairs. this weekend joe primed and painted the front room (my favorite room in the WHOLE house) ceiling, and got the first coat on the walls. he also tore out the toilet and vanity in the downstairs bathroom....now that we have a functional upstairs bathroom....and is working on putting backer board down on the floor before tiling that floor. hope you enjoy the photos.

thanks for stopping by,

amber

kitchen appliances and more color...

the appliances are in and the floor in the kitchen and upstairs bathroom (both tile) are completed as of today. the bead board is up in the bathroom (upstairs). i am including pictures of the appliances, bathroom, and kids bedrooms. josie's is a mint green. gavin's room is gray (go bucks!). annabelle's room is a very pale purple. thanks for stopping by!

amber and joe

We have color...and a kitchen floor

update time! joe finished the kitchen floor today (18 X 18 tiles...BIG job). the upstairs bathroom tile floor is 3/4 complete. the appliances are being delivered tomorrow (as long as the weather permits). we still have all the hardwood floors to finish (i say "we" very loosely...HA). the upstairs bathroom is a bright periwinkle color(there will be bead board around the bottom half of the room). the dining room and entry way are a deep goldish-brown. the kitchen is "creamy dill". i only know how to include 5 photos at a time, so i will have a post with the kids bedrooms, our bedroom, and the utility room in the next few days. thanks for checking in on us.

amber

numbers...painting party edition

12...number of family and friends helping us paint!

4...pounds of hamburger for sloppy joe's to feed our family and friends

29...gallons of wall primer (so far)

3...gallons of paint for each of belle and josie's rooms

100...trips up and down the stairs moving trim (ok, it felt like 100...maybe not quite so many)

2...sisters, helping with our children so i (amber) could be at the house for a change

1...mom, who did ALL she could do even though she was VERY under the weather

11...different colors we will be having throughout our new/old home...at least!

4...trips to lowe's during this past weekend

50...miles traveled by lisa (dear friend) to help the farmer family get into their house...one way!

2...chairs, put out to block us from parking on the "PUBLIC" street...gotta love neighbors

1...pot of chili, made by my aunt judy, to help feed all our lovely helpers

1...beer, drank by aunt judy at the end of day one, bless her heart!

1..grateful wife for having such a devoted husband...working his tail off to get our family in our new/old house!

1...thankful family....this weekend showed us how lucky we are to have your love and support!

love,

amber, joe, annabelle, gavin, and josie farmer

*enjoy the pictures of the painting party...my aunt joyce seemed to pop up in all the pictures:) thank you aunt joyce...i wouldn't have these pictures if you wouldn't have had me follow you around:)

Painting Party!

It is that time...we are going to be asking for a favor! This weekend (1/9-1/10) we will be priming and painting the WHOLE interior of the house. If anyone enjoys painting and would like to help, please let us know...leave a comment. We will be there most of the weekend. So just stop by if you want:) We will feed you and take your picture for the blog...HA! We will have beverages, food/snacks, a warm home, and LOTS of fun!!!! Please let me know if you are interested. This is the only weekend Joe has both days off in January, so we decided to go for it. Many of you have mentioned wanting to help...and now you can. Thanks again for checking in on us. We can't wait to have you all over to our new house someday VERY soon.

amber & joe