Happy Father's Day to Our Fathers

Like a tiny seed

Firmly in the soil

Nurtured with a love i think

So rare

Given room to breathe

Given time to see

It's now so clear to me

You were there

And with each changing season

Though I grow a little stronger

Rising up to touch the open sky

And if I gave you a reason

Not to hold me any longer

You gave me a thousand reasons why

You are my steady oak

Standing tall and strong

Protecting me with everything you have

And I know deep inside

I would not have survived

Without you by my side

I love you Dad

Love Amy & Steve

Our House and Gardens

It's kind of fun buying a house in November. You end up with a surprise garden in the spring. We knew we had a magnolia tree, and we knew about the red maple, but pretty much everything else was a surprise.

We have a magnolia tree right outside the front door:

There are Hostas growing in about 5 different spots:

Chives are growing beside our chimney:

Yellow Lilies make our shed look pretty:

Lilacs were a fun surprise since they are one of my top 5 favourite flowers! I had to cut some and have them inside before they died so I could smell them all the time. We had them in 2 places;

the living room:

and the bedroom:

There is a large Weigela tree in our backyard and a tiny one in our front yard:

There is a big Red Maple tree in the front yard that is very colourful from about April until November. I think it's actually a Royal Red Maple:

We have what I think may be 2 Smoke Bushes in the front yard. If anyone knows for sure what kind of bush this is, I'd love to know: (*update: They're called Concord Japanese Burbury *)

I discovered just this morning that we have 2 large Peonies! One of my favourite flowers. One is in the back yard and one in the side yard:

The side of our house surrounded by big, awesome plants:

Close up of the side garden:

And this is our house at night:

I love our cute little house and yard :)

The Kitchen!!

We finally got most of the work done in the kitchen. The only thing left is to put handles on the doors and drawers. We even have the handles picked out, we just need to save some money in order to buy them. They're only a couple of dollars each, but when you have 20 doors and 10 drawers it adds up fast.

Here is a before, mid, and after shot of the doorway area leading into the hall:

Before we did anything to the kitchen

After we painted the trim around the door

After we painted the trim and removed wallpaper, painted it light grey, and removed wood from cupboards

Here is Mom doing all the hard work

Mom and Laura helped me scrape off the old wallpaper and paint.

Here are some pictures of the back door area:

This is after we painted the door trim, but before we

painted the trim around the oven, or did any wall painting.

This is after we painted all the trim and walls

It's a very subtle colour but it really makes the kitchen look brighter, bigger, cleaner, and more modern. I really love it and look forward to adding the door handles and some art :)