Christmas Picture Drama

So, every year we try to take a family Christmas picture. This is just one of the examples of the fiasco complete with 2 kids crying, one child didn't want to wear what I had chosen...not even for 5 minutes and one wouldn't hold still and kept jumping around. It wasn't helpful that I was a super grinch about it.

I didn't even want to send out cards with our end results. We took a few days off.

Then I told the kids to put on something they liked and meet me by the tree. This time only taking 1 at a time, we had success....and even had fun!! I can't believe how much they have grown in a year! I was able to make an inexpensive collage with all our pics...and even got a discount. I love Walgreens!!

Noah 15

Jonah 13

Elijah 9

Benny 6

Hannah 11






Charlie 4

 

Don and Debi ageless
In case you were wondering, we used the pic of Gregory below...just because I love it so!



Merry Christmas!!

Hi!!!!! I'm so very sorry I've been gone so long!! I have missed you all immensely!!

 I promised myself I would return before the year ended. The last I left off I was pregnant with a scary diagnosis. We have all survived and doing better than expected. I am finishing up heart testing with my cardiologist and hopefully I will be able to discontinue meds in the next few months, as they make me very fatigued and faint. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS, I am convinced that you all saved my life!!!

I would like to introduce Gregory George:


Here is a recent pic of Gregory in his swing.



 Gregory George Rohr born October 10th 3:39AM weighing 7lbs 7oz and 20.5 inches long.

 Hannah was able to be with us as we welcomed her new little brother and she even helped the nurses check his vitals and give him his first bath!

Poor little Gregory's feet were pretty battered and bruised having both low blood sugar and high bilirubin. He recovered just fine from both.

On the day Gregory was born, my beloved Gramma was laid to rest. Only a week before her death, she was diagnosed with Myloma cancer. It was a very sad shock to the whole family because she was such an active person and the matriarch of our family, it's been hard on everyone through the holidays without her.

Gramma never got to hold Gregory(she's holding Benny in the above pic) but I had a dream that she held him. Ironically, when we picked out Gregory's name, we had no idea the significance that it would have.
You see, we called Gramma, GG..short for Great Gramma, on the day our family said goodbye to her, a new little gg came into the world. God's timing is crazy, wonderful, sad, and poetic all at the same time.


Wishing you all a very healthy happy holy Christmas!!!
I love you!!

Too Close to Home

Prayer Before Mass

Almighty God, as we approach your altar to participate in the divine sacrifice of your only-begotten Son, we wonder what we think we are doing here. We are jerks. We are incredible hypocrites. We spent the morning primping in front of the mirror, shrieking at the kids, and pouting at our husbands. We approach you with fear and trembling, and wonder if there's any possible way we could be reconciled to you in your goodness and your glory.


Then we behold the crucifix; and we say, "Oh."


I mean,

Amen.



Taken from National Catholic Register:Simcha Fisher

Frugal Forty

On tax day, I turned 40. It wasn't exactly the birthday I had planned out a year ago. My Mom and I planned a fun party where we would challenge family and friends to spend $1 creatively with a prize going to the most clever, followed by a fun exchange game. Unfortunately being nauseous and fatigued, pretty much ruled that plan out. However, it was a very nice birthday. Here are few highlights:

Jonah, Hannah and Eli had their piano recital.

Hannah requested one of her arrangements to be

Happy Birthday and then everyone sang Happy Birthday to me.

I was totally NOT expecting that!!

My sweet little brother

sent me flowers....aren't they gorgeous??

Don surprised me with a card full of the prayers he has been saying for the baby and I.

My Mom surprised us with dinner(Knolla's Pizza) and an ice cream cake...YUM!! Throughout the week little surprises and blessings came unexpectedly.

I DO feel 40...on some days much older.. but I am thankful for each day and for all the marvelous people God has placed in my life!!

Eli's 1st Communion



Eli's gift from us, a keepsake of his special day.



Fr. Jerome and Eli at St. Pat's

Eli's godparents, my cousin, Sarah and my Uncle Mike

Eli was so proud of his cake...from Sam's. He was especially excited that Sam's wrote our last name on the box.

Eli's first Holy Communion was a very special day, he has been preparing and anxiously awaiting the BIG day for what he considers a very long time. One of his favorite gifts, a rosary from his godfather, has been a comfort to him at night. For some reason, every night after almost everyone is asleep, he gets up with a tummy ache. So, he has been taking his rosary to bed with him, he goes to sleep very quickly afterward.

Kisses From Katie: Review

This true story is an amazing journey of self denial written by Katie Davis. Katie was a senior in highschool when she says Jesus called her to go to Uganda to work in a pre-school over her winter break. She fell in love with the people and felt a strong desire to return.


This came as shocking news to her parents who wished for Katie to attend college. Katie had been the class president, homecoming queen and she was "in love" with her boyfriend.
Even though it was extremely difficult, she did return to Uganda and became a foster parent for 14 girls. She also founded Amazima Ministries which provides food to hundreds everyday.
The organization also helps with school expenses, school supplies, family support, and provides jobs to single mothers.


Katie is living proof of what God can do if we are open to His call and will. The book is a synopsis of her day to day life of joys, tears, and triumphs. I'm not sure if I've ever cried so much!!


The book also challenges us to live out the gospel, not because it's a nice thing to do, but because it's a requirement of our salvation.


I did have a few "issues" with the book, though. As I am about to share these,  keep in mind that Katie is still very young, growing and "figuring it out". She is much more "together" than I was at her age!


First of all, Katie makes a reference to her "parent's church" to which she likes to attend occasionally and distribute communion. This is a Catholic church and she doesn't consider herself Catholic. Although the book never says she was raised Catholic, I'm assuming that because both her parents are and she is allowed to be a Eucharistic minister, she must have been brought up in the church. I understand she is probably finding herself and that is part of growing up, I just have a problem with someone participating in the distribution of the Eucharist who doesn't even consider themselves part of the church. I do realize that she is doing more for God than most Catholics would even consider, and that we all have many lessons to learn from her. I just felt as a Catholic myself, I wanted to share this observation.


Secondly, in the course of the book, she never mentions that the children she considers herself, "mommy" to, are foster children. I felt the way the book is written makes the reader assume she has adopted them. But by law, a person must be 25 years old before they are allowed to adopt in Uganda. I felt this is an important thing to just "leave out". Possibly it is because she is trying to protect her children?? In one chapter she tells of a  heart wrenching ordeal involving the birth mother of one of her "children" and how it was so hard to have to give her back. The truth is, Katie is the foster mother, not the adopted mother...yet, so it is the right of the mother to seek custody. I'm sure life at Katie's home is much more stable, but until she is the adopted mother, she should expect something like that may happen. I'm not saying it still wouldn't be devestating, but when I was reading the book, I felt angry at the birth mother...until I learned later that it was a foster situation.


Please understand, overall, I LOVED the book, I just like complete honesty when reading true stories.


I highly recommend Kisses From Katie and currently, Hannah is reading it as a part of school.
Have you read it?? What are your thoughts???

Bathroom Update

Hi! The bathroom project is dragging along very slowly....I just haven't had the umph to keep it going. But, I wanted to share with you our progress...hopefully it will help kick us into gear!



Before update



Originally, when we started planning, I fell in love with this beautiful bathroom. After installing the new counters, sink, tile, faucet and mirror frame, I tried out 4 different neutral paints...none of them looked right, everything just looked washed out and faded...too many neutrals! Then one of my favorite bloggers, Layla from The Lettered Cottage, posted this fabulous faux reno.  I fell in love with both the shower curtain and the paint color on the vanity...it totally changed my perspective.

I decided to bring that fabulous vanity color to the walls and find a similar shower curtain. I had a gift certificate from Kohl's left from Christmas, burning a hole in my purse, so I headed over and found this gorgeous treasure.

Then we headed over to Sutherland's to choose a paint color to match, we went with Seaside Accents.

We added a few

decorative accents, the

rug is from Kohl's and

painting is from Menard's.

After update

We've also been painting the storage cabinets and replacing the hardware.

Projects still in the works: replacing the door, replacing baseboards in sink area, painting the pocket doors, tearing out the rest of the tile in the second part of the bathroom, paint the second storage unit and trim.

Sorry it's taken so long to share our progress! What do you think???

Pregnancy and Stuff

I love checking Babycenter to watch the baby's growth and development. I find it interesting they use food to compare the size of the baby...why not sports equipment or flowers...just wondering?

When reading about this week, Babycenter says "the morning sickness should be waning"...this is NOT what's happening in my body.

I am not a cute pregnant person. I look like a Jabba the Hut impersonator most of the time. So, I won't be sharing any photos of my different rolls and gelatinous masses.....sorry;)

Benny and Charlie were sitting on each side of me on the sofa....Benny leaned in hugging my tummy and said, "Mommy, we are your two pregnant loves."

The other day, Benny asked me to set the timer for 10 minutes because he was "making" something. Apparently, he forgot about it, Don found an egg floating in the bathroom sink...Benny was "hot boiling" it.

Charlie can't say his F's very well so he calls his flip flops his drip drops.


Benny has been showering me with his kind of "love" lately. He told me while once again hugging my tummy that he used to be inside my tummy...Charlie indignantly responded..."NO Benny!!! That was ME!"

I hope you each have a very Blessed Easter!!

Oh Death, Where is Your Sting?

You have probably already heard that highschool student, Angela Zhang, has possibly discovered a cure for cancer. Read the article HERE.
What is interesting is that Angela's parents fled from China to escape a forced abortion when her mother was pregnant with her. Have you seen those pro-life bumper stickers that say, "Dear God, Where is our cure for cancer? God says, "I gave it to you, but you aborted it."
 What beautiful irony!!! Praise be to our most merciful God!!

Empathetic Charlie

At 3 1/2 years, Charlie is our oldest baby to date. He hasn't had to share his spotlight as the youngest...yet. For this reason, we are very close...so close in fact that Charlie believes he will experience everything I do.

About a month ago, I gave blood. Charlie sat right next to me in a chair and observed the whole scene with curious intensity. The next day he came up to me and pointed at his arm and said, "The blood is going to start coming out of me." I explained that wasn't going to happen, but for several days after that he told me the same thing over and over.

When Don and I made the baby announcement to the kids, I, with joyful tears shared the happy news.
The next day, Charlie sat rubbing his tummy and told me, "I have a baby in my tummy, but I'm not going to cry." It took a few weeks to convince Charlie that he wasn't pregnant.

7 Makes 9

After our youngest, Charlie, was born 3 1/2 years ago, both my cardiologist and my obgyn told us that to conceive again would bring significant risk to my life. So, we put our trust in God and consulted our wonderful NFP teacher and began using NFP to avoid pregnancy, yet of course being open to life and God's plan.

A few weeks ago, I was late with my cycle , feeling sick and not too surprised to see that little cross that means we will have a new little one. I cried as I thanked God for this gift and told Him I needed Him to hold my hand the entire time! I hadn't planned on telling anyone until we were  past the "danger zone" of miscarriage, but I have been so sick that I had to tell the kids what was going on. They were so excited and filled with joy. I don't think there is ever any comparison to the absolute elation the news of a new baby brings to a family.....not even DISNEY WORLD! And.... they couldn't keep the good news to themselves;)

A friend of mine responded when she heard the news, "Are you scared?" I told her I was, of course because I am human and weak. But I know that God is bigger than any fear or anxiety we have.
Don and I both have to trust that we are living in the center of God's will and that He makes all things new. It's not always easy to be open to life, but it is always right. To be completely honest, I don't have peace of mind or body and I often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, but I do have peace in my heart knowing that we are trying(albeit very flawed and sloppy) to live our faith and to always do His will. 

During the homily at Mass this morning, Father reminded us that the pain and suffering of this life is nothing compared to the glory of God....it was so comforting to hear those words.

Hannah is hoping the baby's a girl...again...we'll see!

Coconut Oil Cure

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

Watch this video about a doctor who gave her husband with Alzheimer's a daily dose of coconut oil. It's amazing, I'm going to share this with my Father-in-law, my Mother-in-law has Dementia. I have been using this off and on over the past year....it's easy to add to almost any cooked or baked food.

Respect for Rights of Conscience Act Killed

March 1, 2012

The US Senate voted 51-48 this morning to kill the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act,” also known as the “Blunt Amendment.” This critically important legislation would have protected religious individuals and institutions from the Obama Administration’s “contraceptive mandate.”

The President of the United States and a majority of US senators believe that Catholic institutions should be forced to purchase health plans for their employees that will provide them with free abortion inducing drugs, sterilizations, and contraceptives. Today’s vote should be a wake-up call, if one is needed at this late hour, to the assault on religious liberty that is well underway.

The Kansas Catholic Conference thanks Senator Pat Roberts and Senator Jerry Moran for voting to restore freedom of conscience, the birthright of all Americans.

Kind of Debt Free!

As of today, except for our mortgage, we are debt free!! The goal is to stay that way. At the end of the summer last year, the air conditioner went kaput...we are hoping it can be repaired without replacing it.  Also, we are anticipating having to replace one of our vehicles within the year. We have a few other shaky items...like the dryer and our 44 year old furnace.
So, at the moment we breathe a little easier.... knowing that it may change.... is ok. We are going to try VERY HARD not accrue any debt. We'll just have to see how that goes!!

A Few Random Pics

Although it seems like we were sick most of January and part of February, we did experience a few highlights;)

Charlie meets his new dog cousin, Brittany(Australian Shepherd) and introduces her to his favorite toy, Cherry.(same name as our dog who died last year)

Noah and Jonah celebrated their 15th and 13th birthdays with friends.

Charlie enjoying the mild winter weather at Oak Park in Riverside.

I remember going to Oak Park with my girl scout troop and talking about the magical forest which included the giant's bathtub.

ascending the heights

racing down the hills....ah to be young again!!! 

7 Lies about Homeschool

We found this to be pretty funny and mostly true;)

Gifted Hands

Do you want your children to be God loving, self motivated and successful? I can't guarantee that reading this book will accomplish that, but it will steer you in the right direction. 

Ben Carson's autobiography is a very honest account of his life. He grew up in the inner city making mostly F's in school and raised by a single mother who struggled with mental illness.

Even though his mother had only received a 3rd grade education, she was instrumental in turning around the lives of her 2 sons.

Ben Carson defeated the odds by eventually becoming one of the world's most successful and famous neurosurgeons. He tells the reader play by play about the small steps of forming and developing our brains and lives to be the best we are capable of  being as God has intended. His faith and trust in God is a beautiful witness to any Christian. He readily accepts and describes his gifts while giving the glory to God.

Don and I were so impressed that we have had all 3 of our older children read it...hopefully motivating them to be responsible and involved in their own formation spiritually and academically.

Btw...this is available on www.thriftbooks.com for $3.95 including shipping. Last I checked there were 15 copies available. I have a copy as well that I am happy to lend out, just let me know.

EWTN Sues Government

God be with you, EWTN!!!

EWTN Sues U.S. Government

To Stop Contraception Mandate

Network Asks Court to Stop Order to Pay for Immoral Services



Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network filed a lawsuit February 9 in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Alabama against the Department of Health & Human Services, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other government agencies seeking to stop the imposition of the contraception mandate as well as asking the court for a declaratory judgment that the mandate is unconstitutional. EWTN is the first Catholic organization to file suit since the final HHS rules were published by the Obama administration on January 20, 2012.

"We had no other option but to take this to the courts," says EWTN President and CEO Michael P. Warsaw. "Under the HHS mandate, EWTN is being forced by the government to make a choice: either we provide employees coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and violate our conscience or offer our employees and their families no health insurance coverage at all. Neither of those choices is acceptable."

The lawsuit was filed on EWTN's behalf by Mark Rienzi, Kyle Duncan, and Erik Kniffin from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

"We are taking this action to defend not only ourselves but also to protect other institutions – Catholic and non-Catholic, religious and secular – from having this mandate imposed upon them," Warsaw continued. "The government is forcing EWTN, first, to inform its employees about how to get contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs, a concept known as forced speech. To make the matter worse, the government then will force EWTN to use its donors' funds to pay for these same morally objectionable procedures or to pay for the huge fines it will levy against us if we fail to provide health care insurance. There is no question that this mandate violates our First Amendment rights. This is a moment when EWTN, as a Catholic organization, has to s! tep up and say that enough is enough. Our hope is that our lawsuit does just that."

The Becket Fund previously filed similar lawsuits on behalf of Belmont Abbey College, a small Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, N.C., and Colorado Christian University, an interdenominational Christian liberal arts university near Denver, which demonstrates that this is not just a Catholic issue. Both suits were filed prior to the HHS rules being finalized in January.
"When the government recently mandated that all private group health plans cover certain abortion drugs (namely, Plan B and ella), as well as related education and counseling, [our clients] knew that they could not obey both the government's mandate and their own religious convictions," said Rienzi, who focuses his practice at the Becket Fund on violations of the Fourteenth Amendment, free speech, and the free exercise of religion. "The mandate has been sharply criticized from across the political spectrum, and from religious leaders of a variety of faiths."

Duncan, a former Louisiana Solicitor General and General Counsel of the Becket Fund, said that without a change in the rules, EWTN could be forced to pay more than $600,000 for the "privilege" of not underwriting these services.

"This mandate is particularly hard on Catholics because Catholic organizations, such as hospitals, schools, social service agencies, media outlets and others, serve people regardless of their religious beliefs," Warsaw said. "We serve others not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic. "

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 30th year, is available in over 200 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com, electronic and print news services, and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.

The Beck! et Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. The Becket Fund has a 17-year history of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. Its attorneys are recognized as experts in the field of church-state law, and they recently won a 9-0 victory against the federal government at the U.S. Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has an online petition which asks the Administration to stop the contraception mandate. Please join with us in fighting for religious freedom. Click here to sign petition.

Persecution

I am sure you are all well aware of the persecution that has begun on the Catholic Church.
Please read the following about the crisis: After reading this, I implore you, Catholic or not to write to your congressmen and tell them how you feel. Glen Beck(not Catholic) has urged everyone listening to his conservative radio program to stand up for Catholics, because it will come to fall upon them as well. This is how the persecution of the Jews started. Many people of all faiths were persecuted and killed during the holocaust.
“Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.”
― Yehuda Bauer                Click here to email congress

6 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
From the USCCB website:
WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the following clarifications regarding the Health and Human Services regulations on mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

1.The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals. These institutions are vital to the mission of the Church, but HHS does not deem them "religious employers" worthy of conscience protection, because they do not "serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets."HHS denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their purpose is to serve the common good of society—a purpose that government should encourage, not punish.



2.The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral. Under the mandate, the government forces religious insurers to write policies that violate their beliefs;forces religious employers and schools to sponsor and subsidize coverage that violates their beliefs; and forces religious employees and students to purchase coverage that violates their beliefs.



3.The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception. Though commonly called the "contraceptive mandate," HHS's mandate also forces employers to sponsor and subsidize coverage of sterilization.And by including all drugs approved by the FDA for use as contraceptives, the HHS mandate includes drugs that can induce abortion, such as "Ella," a close cousin of the abortion pill RU-486.

4.Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate Catholics who have long supported this Administration and its healthcare policies have publicly criticized HHS's decision, including columnists E.J. Dionne. . . , Mark Shields. . . , and Michael Sean Winters. . . ; college presidents Father John Jenkins. . . and Arturo Chavez. . . ; and Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan. . . , president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.


5.Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate. Many recognize this as an assault on the broader principle of religious liberty, even if they disagree with the Church on the underlying moral question.For example, Protestant Christian. . . , Orthodox Christian. . . , and Orthodox Jewish. . . groups--none of which oppose contraception--have issued statements against the HHS's decision.The Washington Post. . . , USA Today. . . , N.Y. Daily News. . . , Detroit News. . . , and other secular outlets, columnists. . . , and bloggers. . . have editorialized against it.



6.The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates. HHS chose the narrowest state-level religious exemption as the model for its own.That exemption was drafted by the ACLU and exists in only 3 states (New York, California, Oregon).Even without a religious exemption, religious employers can already avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug coverage, dropping that coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law.The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief.



Additional information on the U.S. Catholic bishops’ stance on religious liberty, conscience protection and the HHS ruling regarding mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs is available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm.

Very Sad News

Komen has reversed their decision.

Associated Press


NEW YORK—The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity said it is reversing its decision to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.



"We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," a Komen statement said.



As reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from grants because it was under government investigation, notably a probe launched in Congress at the urging of anti-abortion groups.



Komen said Friday it would change the criteria so it wouldn't apply to such investigations.



"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants," the statement said.

House For Rant

Okay, so most of the time I try to stay on the up and up, but not today.
It's been one of those yucky days, we've been sick since Christmas(totally NOT kidding here)
and I haven't had a lick of sleep in what seems like weeks...well, you know a few hours here, 5 minutes there, you get the picture. I'm sick and GRUMPY today and I feel like pulling out the last couple of hairs left on my scalp.

This is what I see walking through the house today.

1.  In the kitchen, there's been a peanut butter massacre, it's smeared all over EVERYTHING, the counter, the walls, the cabinet doors and drawers, the sink, package of bread lying on the counter, the knife, the handle of the knife, the lid and all outside of the jar.
2. The living room, crushed and ground into the carpet as much as toddlery possible saltine cracker carcasses, little pieces of paper torn up just for sport, slimy wet kleenex arranged artistically on the computer desk, on the end tables, on the window seat, on the floor...etc. Books thrown randomly around with torn pages and an occasional chunk missing, shoes, sock/socks(they are never in pairs), pencils, papers from school, cups of water, a chunky puzzle without any of pieces within eye shot, a broken popsicle stick.
3. The dining room: pretty much just an extension of the living room area...just LOVE that open concept living! The exception is plates, cups, crumbs, napkins, and various school items like broken crayons, pencil shavings, lids to markers, pencil lead...

I'll spare you any more details, as I haven't been into the other parts of the house. I won't even get into the behavioral issues, but it hasn't been pretty.
I love my kids more than I love myself, but today, I can't bring myself into "feeling" it.

BUT, I have the best hubby in the world, because he told me he's taking the kids "out" for dinner, so I can have some peace and quiet. I'll probably even miss them......

Komen Halts Grants to Planned Parenthood

KOMEN CHARITY HALTS GRANTS TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The nation's leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates — creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.


Read the rest of the article here:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46209349/ns/health-womens_health/

Bathroom Progress

Progress in the bathroom is slow going. The walls have been a HUGE challenge needing many layers of drywall mud, sanding, painting and then when an imperfection is made visible through the paint, the process starts over again. However gruelling and time consuming it may be, it is the most affordable method and also the most desirable...in my opinion anyway;) So here is a shot of part of one wall that is nearly complete. We also framed the mirror using trim to add a little embellishment. The cost was $7.50 for the trim and Liquid Nails Mirror adhesive both purchased at Jabara's Damaged Freight..pics below.

 I really love our new soap dispenser...a Christmas gift... from Bath & Body Works.

   

 One issue we had after removing the old tile was that it left an enormous gap between the floor and wall. One visit to Jabara's fixed that with $3 trim with a wide base that easily slides into place.

 

Close up of the mirror trim, it still has the star shaped mirror clips, but they are not nearly as noticeable with the trim.

Good for hanging mirrors and it worked well to apply the trim frame.