Wednesday, February 15, 2012

prayers needed

I don't know if there are many of you who read this blog anymore (especially since my updates have been so few and far between), but for those of you who do, I'm asking for your prayers for a special family.  My cousin, Jon, and his wife, Tami, just found out Friday night that their 10-year-old son, TJ (the oldest of 4 boys), has an inoperable brain tumor.  I can't begin to imagine what they must be going through, but Tami has poured out her heart so beautifully into words on his CaringBridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tjgoemaat/journal.  I don't know TJ as well as I wish I did, but I do know that he is truly the sweetest, most polite and well-mannered boy I have ever met.  And he must carry that out into his every day life as well since the support for him and messages left in his "guestbook" are so numerous.  So I'm asking you to please take some time to click on the link above and read his story.  I know it will tug at your heart and I hope it will also bring you to your knees to pray for TJ and his family.  They really need those prayers right now.  Thank you.


Monday, February 13, 2012

a toe-tappin' post

Our little Millie Jean just finished her six-week tap dancing class tonight.


She learned lots of great toe and heel tappin' moves.

And had fun choosing different outfits to wear each time!  :)


Tonight was her recital, so she wanted to dress extra fancy.


They performed their "Cruella Deville" dance for us.


It was adorable!


She did a fantastic job!


This girl loves to spin!


 And a big thank you to her wonderful teacher!

Great job, Millie!  You are our tap  dancing star!  :)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

bonne saint valentin!

 Bienvenue à la soirée!




We hope you enjoy your time at our little "café."


(sign translates "Welcome to the Brooks' place")


Every proper French café needs a striped awning, yes?

And a chalkboard sign.  
The "Craigheads" are the other couple that helped us throw the party.

So, pull up a seat at "la table."

And choose from our three different soups and desserts.
 (I completely forgot to get pictures of the food.  Which is a bummer, because Dana made some totally beautiful and delicious desserts.... so you'll have to just see one of the description cards instead).  :(

Oh, and don't forget your "moustache." 
 We had a little contest to see who could keep their mustache the longest.  If you were caught saying "please" or "thank you" instead of "s'il vous plait" and "merci" then your mustache was taken away.



 Here I am with my very pregnant friend, Dana, (she looks amazing, doesn't she?!) who made a knockout Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cream Puffs and Puff Pillows.  They were all super delicous!  We also had Creamy Ham & Potato Soup, French Tomato Soup and a Village Inn French Silk Pie. "Miam miam" as the french would say.  :)

"A votre santé!"

Some of our friends found some interesting places to put their mustaches.  Jenn doesn't always look quite so angry. :)

After dinner, we visited "Le Louvre," where couples had to draw a picture of something to do with their relationship.  The trick was that they had to do it with their arms around each other, each using only one hand.  If this is confusing you, just hold on until you see the pictures below.  ;)

Addie and Millie thought it was cool that they even got to draw a few frames too!  :)

We made Abby use her left had since she's a professional artist.  Of course, she is also an amazing artist with her left hand!  So not fair.


Aw... isn't that precious?  :)


Andy made a really good crayon cup holder.

These two took away the prize with their masterpiece! (a $10 gift card to La Mie Bakery!)

Hey, it looks like she's doing all the work!  So typical... ;)



Et voilà!
C'est magnifique!

And we finished strong with some good laughs around the fire.


"Bonne Saint Valentin!"

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

the not-so-extreme home makeover: kitchen edition

We've lived in this house now for four years.

For FOUR YEARS I've lived with a fruity kitchen.
(No offense to you if you have a fruity kitchen... it's just not really my style...)

I kept thinking I could live with it just a little bit longer... just long enough to get a new backsplash installed.  But have I mentioned that we've also been working on finishing our basement for four years?  Yeah... Chad's been pretty much tied up with that in most of his "free time."  So I started to get the feeling that my kitchen tile wouldn't get touched until the basement was done.  Which may be awhile....

This past weekend, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands.  One of our friends has a kitchen similar to ours and her tile is painted.  So, I thought to myself, if her tile is painted, why can't I paint mine?  Anything's gotta be better than that fruit, right?  I guess I'll let you decide.

Here's the kitchen before:

And just incase you couldn't see the beautiful fruit well enough...
 Chad did help out and sand down the fruity tiles for me and he also wiped down the rest while I was out buying the paint.

And, several hours, 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of grey later...
Voilà!

My slightly more modernized kitchen!
I also painted the top of the kitchen a lighter green.

Yes, I do realize we still have a ways to go, what with the nasty peel 'n stick floor and the outdated countertops, cupboards and appliances... but hey, at least we're on our way!  :)

Stay tuned for my next "Not-So-Extreme" Home Makeover: Bedroom Edition!