a LOVEly day

Our Valentine's was simple this year, but it was special. 

We each planned a separate activity to celebrate the day. The evening was complete with a personalized version of this song, and a picnic at Canyonlands National Park. 

Sean had a few hours of sleep the night before, so he went to bed at 6:30 and I stayed up reading.

A nice day indeed.

January Farewells

Big changes for the Gowen family this year. We got to meet some family members for breakfast at Virg's to enjoy some more time together before saying farewell to the parents.

We wish we were around to help more with the move, but were grateful for the things we were able to do and help with.

And we look forward to seeing this family soon in Guatemala! See what Karen and Jessica have written about their adventures in their new home.

http://karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com/

http://adventuresinguat.blogspot.com/

Making January Productive

I was feeling a huge need to unclutter our home after Christmas. We talked about it, and it was decided we should rearrange our home!

Here are some before and afters. Mostly befores.

Second Bedroom - This was used as our guest bedroom. Through December, it became the whatever room. The door was closed most of the time. It wasn't a happy place.

First Bedroom - This was used as our bedroom. Slightly more spacious than the other room, and a lot more closet space.

Front Room - Yep. You guessed it. This is the first room you enter when you come over to our house. Please notice the pretty tree and collection of Christmas cards hanging out on the closet door.

Now today, we're only focusing on the First Bedroom. We had fun moving things around.

And it was time for the wall vinyl to come off. It just wasn't going to work between the two bookcases, and it would clash with the theme of the new room.

Now, here is the First Bedroom. It's not completely finished, but it is done enough to share.

 

The First Bedroom is now the t.v. room / library. I love having The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights framed! I also love having page 3 of the Constitution modge podged onto the frame and the picture of us in front of the White House! I never thought I'd love having a rifle displayed on a wall, but I do. (It's a Gowen family ancestor who used it to settle the frontier.) I love being able to display the crystal vase, my first purchase from my days at OC Tanner.

Sean is so patient with my zest for this country. It feels like an actual room now! Hooray!

That's all for now. The move helped January to feel productive.