Raising Rough and Tumble, Lovable Boys

My husband got me a fabulous book for Christmas last year. I've just now gotten around to reading it and I must say, it's been very helpful.

Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson

As a new mom, I was hoping that this book would help shed some light on how I can raise my son to be a God-fearing, family man. It does just that and more. I hardly think anyone could accuse Dr. Dobson of being a feminist sympathizer or politically correct (which is perfectly fine with me).  He shares hard truths, statistics, and sound, Bible-based common sense. This book had me laughing and crying at different moments. Above all, it has once again renewed my fervor in praying for my son's future and my beloved country.

Anyway, it's definitely worth the read if you are a girly-girl turned mommy to a rough-and-tumble boy.

Kitchen Upgrades...Finished!

It all started when I mentioned a summer project: fixing some settling cracks and painting the kitchen. That conversation led to a decision to put in new counter tops...

Way back in April, my husband and I started shopping for granite.

The thing that made our decision difficult is that we already loved our kitchen. The cabinets are in great shape. The layout is great. The back-splash is beautiful. It's neutral, which means it will be easy to sell. While the appliances don't fit the latest stainless steel trend, they are practical for everyday life with a soon-to-be toddler. You know what I mean. Fingerprints galore. All of these things are working for us, but we just wanted it to feel a little more like a custom home.

Here's what we started with:

 And here it is today:

 While we were at it, we decided to extend this counter top to be a full breakfast bar length.

And here you see the finished product:
Eventually we'll invest in enough bar stools to go across the whole bar.

Before:

After:
New counters. Finished tile work. New sink/faucet/plumbing. Slightly darker paint color (still neutral, but it highlights the crown moulding better). And painted corbels & trim

.

I love this new sink! It's so much deeper than the old one... deep enough to fit an entire pizza pan!

I had a hard time choosing which beige would be best. We ended up going with the middle one. My husband is convinced they are all the same color. Ok, maybe they are.

After the granite was installed, we had to find tile to match what was already existing. Let me tell you, this is not an easy task. Of all the local tile shops where I live, there was only 1 that carried a natural stone tile to match. And it wasn't cheap. However, it was far cheaper than tearing out the old and replacing everything.

Corbels had to be added to support the weight of the granite. Lucky me got to paint it all (another way to save a lot of money).

At one point, my wall looked like this. Demolition is not exactly fun to look at. I had to keep in mind that it's not the finished product. Keep calm. Thankfully, we hired a professional to install the tile.

And a few hours later, this it what it looked like (sigh of relief). Much better. So glad we hired out this job.

So there you have it. Our first ever kitchen upgrade. Stay tuned for all the little things we learned along the way. :-) 

Inhuman Project

Perhaps you have heard of the Kermit Gosnell case, the Philadelphia abortion doctor who was convicted (thank God!) for murdering a newborn baby during a botched abortion. If not, please consider taking some time to read this post: A Discussion Worth Having.  If you are familiar with this case, perhaps you were as shocked as I was to hear of his barbaric abortion methods. I was shocked at the unbelievable cruelty and lack of compassion, so I started digging a little deeper.

The Inhuman Project is presented by LiveActionFilms. A pregnant woman was sent undercover into several abortion clinics across the country, asking lots of questions about the abortion she was supposedly there to have.

Please watch at least one of these:

Arizona

New York

Washington D.C.

You don't have to watch long to get an idea of the depraved attitudes that these abortionists have toward unborn human lives. I believe that there are more Kermit Gosnells out there who need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. LiveAction is doing great work to uncover the horrific reality of abortion in America. 

Please consider getting involved with LiveAction at www.liveaction.org