A Big Win Tonight

These pictures were taken from behind the nets.... really far away with our video camera.



On most Sundays, Brady has a tennis match from 6-7pm.  He is matched up with different players each week depending on who signs up.  Earlier this week I got a call from the coach wanting to know if Brady would be interested in playing at 5pm also.  There was an extra player who didn't have a partner and the courts were full at 6pm.  I went ahead and said yes (Brady was at school) and sure enough, when I asked him if he would want to play two matches this week...he didn't hesitate.  Just as I suspected...he felt like he hit the jackpot!

I'm not sure how old this boy is.  He looked about 8th or 9th grade.  Who knows.  He hit the ball hard.  Brady lost 11 games to 6.  Most of the games were really close...and if Brady had played his best, he would have won a few more games.  Brady was happy though after the match...he said he thinks the boy was in 10th grade.  I'm not so sure about that!

As I've said before, Brady loses most of his matches on Sunday nights.  And he is okay with that.  If he was upset or mad or frustrated about losing...we would need to rethink letting him play in these matches.  I think the youngest person he has played against was 3 years older than him.  Most 7 and 8 year olds  (in our area) cannot serve consistenly...therefore they cannot play in matches at this tennis club.  I think knowing these kids are older makes it a little easier to deal with losing. 

Brady's second match tonight was against Devon.  This was his 3rd time playing him.  He played him in the fall and lost 12 games to 6.  In early January he lost again 12-7.  Tonight Brady beat Devon 11-3.  We were so excited for him.  Even though Brady is very confident as far as tennis goes...I worry that this confidence can only last so long!  Afterwards, when Brady came off the court and through the doors, I went to give him a high five.  He whispered, "not until we get into the van, Mom."  I love that he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by celebrating his win.  I sure wish he had the same kind of maturity off the court  (meaning at home) as he does on!  (We'll continue to work on that!)

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I hope I don't sound too boastful when I talk about my son...I really don't want to come across that way.  I want Brady to someday read my blog and know that his attitude, his sportsmanship and the way he treats others, will always be more important to me than how many tennis matches he wins. 

Oh, and let me not forget this.....during Brady's 2nd match tonight, he looked up into the stands where we were sitting and blew me a kiss.  Man do I love that boy!

~Brady's Mom

2 pts.



Brady made a basket today in his game!  It was just short of a miracle!

I say this because he usually hides behind several players...in hopes that his teammates do not see him

and pass him the ball!  (At least that's what it appears he's doing).  But this morning,

just before the final buzzer went off...someone passed him the ball.  He actually caught it...and

took a shot...and it went in!  I think we were actually more

excited than he was!   It's been fun to watch Brady play a team sport...unlike tennis, where

you're out on the court all by yourself.   I love to see the boys cheering for one another

and high fiving!  So cute.

Anyone know how I can get a better picture inside the gym with my crappy camera?

When I put it on sports mode...all the pictures are blurry. 

Thanks!

Kitchen update:  I finished painting today.   Even though I don't love the color, it's  starting to grow on me a little bit.   We are going to live with it for the time being.   I will try and finish the valances tomorrow and post some pictures in the next couple of days.

A Simple Solution...If You're Neurotic Like Me

Box tabs or flaps or whatever you call them drive me crazy!

Especially when I walk into the pantry and see something

has been left open or the box just "popped" open.

It looks so messy.

After learning this simple solution 5 years ago from

a "get organized" speaker at church...I no longer

worry about those tabs!  As soon as I get home from the

grocery, I do this:

Pulling off the tabs definately helps to keep the pantry

looking more organized.  And, it's easier to see when

items are getting low and need to go on the grocery list.

Box flaps are annoying, right?

I hope I'm not the only crazy  person!

Have a FANTASTIC weekend!

~Kerri

We Have The Worst Track Record

I like this shade of green...I just can't seem to get it right.

source

I like this green too.

source

My husband and I absolutely STINK at choosing paint colors!

Why does it have to be so hard?

Two coats of paint on 1/2 the kitchen and the color is all wrong.

12 cans of paint samples and we still don't have a color.

So much time and money wasted.

I just want my kitchen back in order.

I guess it's back to the drawing board.

~Kerri



Sunroom Update



Tomorrow we are having our kitchen painted by a friend of ours.

Yesterday I bought material at Jo Ann Fabrics (50% off sale through today).

I've never been good at curtains...but I'm going to try and come up with something

as far as a valance goes.  Can't be too hard, right?!  We'll see!

~Kerri

Checking In With Some Favorite Finds



Thank goodness it's Friday!  What a week we've had here.  I was finally able to leave the house yesterday after being home for six days!  Thankfully, Brady and I are both back to our old selves again...and Eric has somehow managed to avoid the stomach bug.  We are in the 60's today.  I have all the windows open so the germs can be on their merry way.



Thanks for all your comments and emails regarding chosing a paint color.  My head was spinning from all your comments!  My poor husband had to listen to me go on and on after reading comments about painting our cabinets white.  I bet he was really happy that I posted that question!  Maybe someday we will be able to do that.  For now, it's not in the cards.   I was sick on Tuesday, so we had to postpone painting until this coming week.   I can't wait.  I'll wait to show you the color we chose!

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Here are some of my favorite things from this week:

Subway's Raspberry Cheesecake Cookie!

This cookie was worth every bite...or at least I thought so at the time! 

 Little chunks of vanilla cheesecake mixed with raspberries.  So good. 

 I came home and looked up the nutrional info on it. 

 210 calories and 9 grams of fat in one cookie.

Yikes!  It totally defeated the purpose of the veggie sub I started with.

Tervis Tumbler

My friend Toni suprised me with this for my birthday. 

She found it at Bed, Bath and Beyond.   She said she

saw Jen's post about them, and knew she wanted to get me one to help

encourage me to drink more water.  I absolutely LOVE it!  The water

really does stay cold longer and there isn't any sweating on the tumbler at all.

Most of all, I love the fun colors! 

Mint Basil Soy Candle

I found this mint basil candle at Target.  It truly smells like a spa in my house...or

what I imagine what a spa would smell like!  It's a very clean and fresh smell.  Love it.

I don't usually buy cookies but when I saw these at Walmart, I wanted

to try them.  If you like pina colada...you will love these.

They are little tiny powdery pina colada goodness.  It's a good

thing the box of cookies isn't very big...because I had a hard time putting

them down.

I'd love to hear about your favorite finds!

Have a great weekend!

~Kerri

No Valentine Party For Us



Brady's Valentine's Day party for his classroom was this morning.

I was in charge of planning it.





The kids made these heart bird feeders.

{source}

The kids wrote down what they love

about Mrs. Everly...and put the notes in

this box.  I found the fortunate teacher label here.

Brady was going to pass these treats out to his class.





I can't remember where I saw this shovel idea...but I know it wasn't on a blog.



Brady was really sick all night and has been sick all day.

He is such a trooper.  He never complains...he just wants me by his side.

He has told me about twenty times that I am the best mom a sick boy could ever have.

I wish there was something I could do to make him feel better.

We were really disappointed about having to miss his Valentine Party.

I was disappointed for him.  I always worry that the class parties will soon stop.

Eric took all the goodies into Brady's classroom this morning.

Two other room moms came through big time with cupcakes and the

things needed to make the bird feeders.

Brady hasn't left the couch all day...but he is starting

to get some of his color back...and just decided he

might like to watch a little t.v.  Yay!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of YOU!

Hope your is day filled with love...not just today, but everyday.

~Kerri

Decisions Decisions....

We're having our kitchen painted on Tuesday.  The only problem...we haven't quite made a decision on the color.  We're so indecisive.  We really would like to warm things up a bit with some color.  One time when our neighbor man stopped over, he said, " your house is so stark."   Nice.  Did he mean white and hospital like?  When I look at magazines with beautiful kitchens, I am always drawn to light and bright and white ones. Those kitchens looks so fresh and clean.  I love the pops of color against the white.  However,  our kitchen cupboards are that 90's grainish oaky color.  I would love new ones...but we just can't justify getting rid of them beacuse they are in really great shape.  Plus, we don't have the money to replace them.  We'd like to get new appliances, a new countertop and new floor.  So, the cupboards will have to stay the way they are for now. 

Here are the paint samples we have in the kitchen right now:





I can't believe how nervous and anxious I am about having the kitchen painted.

I mean, it's just paint.  But, will I have a hard time finding fabric for curtains?

What pictures will go with this green?  What color should the frames be?

I can't put my old rooster pictures back up on the wall...remember, I'm

trying to get away from that!  I just don't have a knack for decoarting...

I wish I did...but I don't.  If I could have someone come over

and tell me what to do...I would go with that.  Unfortuantely,

those people cost money too!

Any thoughts on my green?

Is it too dark?

Would another color go better with the cupboards?

What color is your kitchen? 

~Kerri

Barn Bed

When Brady was little, he loved tractors.

He loved cutting the grass on the "tractor" with Daddy.

We also lived in an old farmhouse that had a barn.

Eric and Brady loved doing projects out there.

When it came time for Brady to have a big boy bed, I thought a barn bed would be fun.

Eric designed the bed, and then he and Brady got to work on making it.

The roof has real rubber shingles.

The barn door opens.

. 

We had the crib mattress in the bed for a couple of days before we found a big mattress.

Brady loved his barn bed!

My husband always impresses me with his creations.

This is the same man that didn't even own a tool box when we got married!

I know it won't be long before Brady gets a new bed.  I mean, how old can he be and

still be sleeping in a barn bed?  He doens't seem to care...but I know it's only

 a matter of time before he wants a new bed or

a friend is over and says something about it....it's bound to happen!

I'm not sure what we'll do with this bed when Brady gets a new one.

I can't imagine getting rid of it.  Usually I'm not sentimental about these things...

but there are some things that are harder to let go of than others.  I'm sure I will

cry when we disassemble it.  It's just another sign to add to my growing list

that our little boy is getting older...whether we like it or not.

I Prefer Weekends





We didn't venture out much this weekend because of the weather.

Basketball and tennis were cancelled.

Sometimes it's nice to just be home without any plans.

I was able to do some extra cleaning and get caught up on laundry.

Eric and I watched Conviction Friday night. 

It's based on a true story.  Oh how I love a good prison movie!!





I made these Peanut Butter Blossom cookies...Valentine style!

You can find the recipe HERE.



Eric removed the carpet in our sunroom...our tile is being

 installed this morning...we are pretty excited!

It's a tiny room...but I think the tile will make a

 big difference and be easier to clean.



Eric and I made these for the super bowl.

My picture doesn't do them justice.  They were so good!

You can find the recipe HERE.

Next time I will add more hot sauce...we like it HOT!



A dry street means good conditions for tennis (according to Brady).

He only slipped and fell once due to all the salt on the street.

It's a good thing Eric will go out and play with him in the freezing cold...

because I won't!

Have a great week!

~Kerri

Our Diningroom Table

Several of you commented the other day about our diningroom table...so I thought I would tell you about it!



When my husband and I were first married, we really wanted a new (but old looking) diningroom table.  We looked all over the county and a couple others, looking for something we liked and could afford.  We were actually on our way home one evening from a furniture store when  we found a table at the side of the road for $40.00.  My husband thought it had potential...I on the otherhand didn't even want it going in the back of the car it was so dirty.  I wish I had a better picture...but I don't.  Here's what the table looked like when we first brought it home:



The bottom and sides were gray and rusty...and the top was rusty and dirty!

There's lots of markings on the top.  An Amish man had used it as a work table.

My husband had never refinished anything before, but for $40.00....he really wanted to try.

Here is our diningroom table today:

Eric cleaned it up, sanded it, added some trim and painted it.

We bought the chairs unfinished and painted them.

They were on sale for $32.00 each!

We have eaten many meals at this table....and it has served us well.

I wish I had a picture of the table right after Eric finished it.

Ten years later and it could definately use another touch up.

When Brady was about 4 yrs. old, he told us that we have the oldest

and ugliest table of anyone he knows!  I guess he doesn't see the charm like we do!



This was the first of many projects that my husband would tackle.

Most of our home is filled with things he has made.

Our area is filled with primitive and country decorating.  We see it everywhere.

After almost 15 years, we are ready for a change in style.

Too bad it cost money to make those changes!

I don't even know what our style would be and I'm not sure how to go about

getting it...but I do know it definately needs updating!

How do you go about finding your style?!