Everything Else

This is the fourth installment of a 4-part blog update. So be sure to scroll down and check out the previous three posts.

We've had several big projects going on the past month. My biggest project has been the removal of the hedge row in front of the house. I hated it. I kept running into it with my car. It was ugly. Weeds kept growing up underneath it and poking out the top. So I took a shovel to it when I stayed home with Leyla (she was sick) and removed half of it in one day. It was pretty hard work. And today I finally removed the last shrub. Hallelujah!

So here's the house before...And the night after the first installment of hedge removal...
And here is the house without hedges! Hopefully by this summer all the bulbs that I planted will have bloomed and I'll have beautiful tropical flowers where all the dirt is. Keep your fingers crossed...
And a few pics of how it's progressing. These pictures were taken today...And this cute little guy came out of hiding when I took out the shrubs. He's about the size of a penny. So adorable! I took him in to show the girls and then put him back out in the garden.

The other big thing that happened recently was my tax return. Which enabled me to buy my wedding dress and jewelry (see next post), put up a wall, and get some new bedroom furniture!
Here is our beautiful new bed. I love it! And we got the bench for the end of the bed as well as a new dresser. Our bedroom is functioning much better now that we have room for all of our clothes.

One of my favorite things is this family tree that I found at World Market. I filled it up with photos of our little family.And here's our other big project. A temporary wall to enclose the dining room, which will be used as Sissy's bedroom. Quite a project, but it's coming along very nicely...This weekend, I purchased a new bike! I'm so excited. I love it. This bike is the solution to three problems: My weight gain, my pasty skin, and high gas prices. This is my new transportation to and from work. I already put a basket on the front of it and everything. It's perfect.

And we'll end with a cute picture of Shanie and his biggest fan...