Our Playroom

I fnally am starting to get some pictures put up of our house. :)

Nope, we're still not done. Just a bunch of little things to do, and a bunch of decorating to do. But that all takes time, and I better not wait til everything is perfect, or you'll never see pictures. :)

Here is our playroom. One of the cutest rooms in the house, in my opinion. :)

It used to be the "wine cellar", we're guessing, from the previous owners. The man had made some rough shelves, and there was good evidence of grape/juice spills to think that was what it was. (he made his own wine from the grape arbor in the back)

We were going to just leave this under the stairs area for a winter project...but we had some drywall and insulation that had to get out of the way, extra carpet and paint etc. - plus James was starting to work from home, which meant if the toys could be put somewhere else, and the children had a fun place to play, that would be helpful. :)

So, here you go. 

 

BEFORE: 

AFTER:

 

 The view from "the adult side" of life. :)

Isn't the paint colors fun! :)

The leftover green is from our guest room, and the blue paint was a mistint from Lowes. James did an amazing job of fixing the 2x4's, insulating, re-wiring, drywallimg, mudding and sanding...  and I got the fun part - painting. :)

Those blessed shelves were leftovers from the Windmill's old shelving system.

You know me - I. Love. Shelves.  

 A neat "God providing" story is about the chalkboard paint. :)

 Just one of those little things that God does, that you're thankful for... I had told our next door neighbor about wanting to do a chalkboard on the one side, and she had some extra paint for me to use -leftover from their home's previous owners. That worked out perfectly, and cut our very minimal cost down even more.

The bench had been in here when it was the wine cellar - we just fixed it up, sanded it down a bit, and painted it. Works perfect for the kid's toys. :)  

The celing works perfect for the kids for now - Katy will have a year or so before she hits the ceiling, but then she can duck. :) I enjoy being in there with them, so, if an almost 8.5 month expectant momma can fit in, so can they, when they're older.

The banner is made from scrapbook paper, yarn and cardstock I had - making it kinda cute. :)

And NO - the playroom doesn't look like this all the time.
It's a playroom. :)

But, it's easy to clean up, everything has a place, and now I can easily weed through extra toys and throw, throw, throw away when need be.

So there you go - the first "new house tour".

Can't wait to show you more, when I um.....clean up the floors upstairs...and do some decorating. :)

Lil' Sunshine

 

We were at a wedding last weekend, and one of the bridesmaids let Katelyn hold her bouquet - she was pretty happy. :)

Dad & Mom's Visit

Dad and Mom were here for a whole week!! What a pleasure that was!!

They were on a three week trip, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and spent some time at a music convention in Kentucky, stopped at the Creation Musuem, and other places - making their way up to Ontario for some time with us. That was very special.

 

We went to St. Jacobs the day after they came. It was raining a bit that day, but we managed to see the petting zoo quickly.

 

Stopped in at the Lego Store to let the kids play for a bit.

(okay, Grandpa did too - he babysat while mom and I walked around the small mall)

Daddy reading Katelyn Bible Stories almost every night. She loved it.

Dad and Mom spent so much time helping us fix things around the house, that just haven't got dealt with yet, like fixing/attaching the doorbell...

...knocking off a brick shelf that was positively annoying... :)

...putting blinds up..

...and Dad changed over all our cream switches/outlets to white ones - a special house-warming gift they said. :) That was a lot of work which we wouldn't have got to for a long time.

The little man after the evening church service.

Grandma coloring with Katelyn - just like she used to do with me.

Erik joining in the fun.

Mom made curtins for Katie's room, a pillow and a little cradle sheet/pillow set. It looks so lovely!

Mom brought a special bubble blower for the bathtub for Katelyn to try out.

The night before they left, they took us out to dinner - a special treat- a Chinese buffet. Such a treasure to enjoy being with your parents.

The happy couple. :)

All of us. Then they took us to Home Depot, where they got us a new light for our bathroom upstairs! (and dad even managed to install it before they left the next day, among other things he accomplished)

Erik and his favorite toy in the world.

More Bible Stories - Daddy is so good at telling stories. I loved it when he told us different stories growing up.

Yup, that's me right now.

34 weeks at that shot - and please realize that there is a shadow behind me... :)

Me and my big boy.

In the morning before they left, we went to the park for one last time of playing.

My children have such great grandparents.

Daddy and me...

Momma and me

A quick shot...

Sibling love - well, most of the time.

Then it was time to say goodbye.

It was sad.

Lots of tears.

 And they left.

It was a special time with them here...always have to treasure each moment from God.

Newest Nephew - Rebuen James!

Meet our newest nephew!

Reuben James Heikoop - born to Ben and Deanna on September 22nd.

We got to see him later on that afternoon - such a cute little man!

The happy threesome-that-just-became-a-foursome! (Big brother Hudson, wasn't there when we came)

Beautiful momma. Deanna did so well, and looked amazing!

Proud Uncle James with little Reuben James.

The brothers...

Katie checking out her newest cousin.

This makes 20 grandchildren for Mom and Dad Heikoop.  (with two more to come, Lord-willing)

Me and the little cutie.

Can't believe that in five more weeks, if the Lord allows, that I'll have my own precious bundle to kiss. :) For now, I get to love little Reuben.

Sweet Surprise

Katie got a special little treat a couple weeks ago - Rachel brought over a cake for her. Not for any specific reason - just an "I love you" kinda thing. :)

Yup, she's sweet.

Rachel has done a lot of cakes for others - she's really good at it! If you want to see more delectables, click HERE

Waiting to cut into it...

 

The surprise inside! It was 6 layers of different colored cake and icing to enjoy. :)

Thanks Rachel. :) We all enjoyed this yummy treat.

The First Day

September 4th marked a special day for our little family. :)

James started his new job at Whitebird in Hamilton.

The kiddo's took a break between eating their early break-fast to give a last minute hug to Daddy before going to work.

It is neat to see him learning a lot and loving his job. It is full of changes, as he learns new ways to think and communicate in the sales department.

Whitebird is a corrugate/office supply/sanitation company that James' father and uncle started over 30 years ago. James is working as a sales rep, so he'll be on the road. I get to help him at home, which is kinda neat; just helping him keep organized and help plan his days etc. It's exciting - and overwhelming at times.

It's a new day for us all. :)