Some Cute Pics of Bella...

Shane and I decided to get each other a new camera this year for Christmas! Here are a few pics we captured with our new Canon Rebel Xti! Enjoy!

Bella playing with her ball...Shane took this beautiful pic, as well as the one below! I did the editing!

Shane got this funny pic of Bella running after her ball, notice her tongue is sticking out!

This is the look I get when I ask "does Bella wanna a treat?"

Bella and her mom!

We have so much to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend it with their loved ones! Shane and I hosted our very first Thanksgiving in our home! Shane's parents, Tom & Sharon, and his sister, Lindsey and brother, Tanner all made the trip out to spend the holiday with us. My turkey actually came out pretty good! It was an enjoyable weekend.

Shane and I are thankful for so many things! First and most important we are thankful for is our Savior and Lord! and next is all of you! We feel so blessed to have all of you in our lives! We have so many amazing family and friends!

A picture of the beautiful center-piece my Gramma Cena sent us the day before! It was a wonderful surprise and a beautiful focal point for the dinner table! Thanks Gramma!!!

Bella napping as we wait for our company to arrive!

(Tanner, Lindsey, Shane & Sharon)
The only picture I got of the family while they were here!

A goofy pic of Shane and I that we took recently of ourselves!

Making Strides...

We have been making long strides in our home-projects this past month. As you will see from the post below, I have my new furnace & c/a. The week after that was in, we had some cement work done that involved replacing a slab in the front of the house, and then pouring a slab in the back between our house and garage. We wanted a place to put the grill, and kinda clean that up back there.

Since the furnace was done, that meant we could finally finish our office. Which included: enclosing the soffit we added for the plumbing to the upstairs bathroom we put in, painting, hanging cabinets, and carpeting, as well as, adding more outlets and moving the cable. Below are pictures of the process.

Drywall is up, and has been sanded and mudded and ready to be painted.

Picture of the room after being primed.

The office finally painted. It was a lot bigger chore than I was expecting. It required 1 coat primer and 3 coats of paint (I was only expecting 2) Plus I had to repaint the ceiling b/c of some patchwork that needed done and I wasn't counting on that. This was the least fun room to paint and one of the most time consuming for such a small room, because of all the edging you have to do around the windows and door ways. I painted it the same color as the living/dining rooms.

Pictures of Shane haning the cabinets. We really needed storage for the office, and with the room being small, we decided the best solution was cabinets. It took a lot shimming b/c the walls are not straight! Shane did an awesome job at hanging the cabinets. I have full confidence that in our next house, he will be able to redo an entire kitchen for me!

Bella checking out the cabinets.

This picture is of the innovative way my husband came up with holding the cabinets up while screwing them in the wall (I am not the most helpful in the heavy lifting department!)

Me painting the cabinets (which also required primer and 3 coats color!). Bella found it necessary to sit on my lap while I tried to paint!

Pictures of cabinets after they have been painted. I chose to paint them the same color of the walls since the room is small, to help the room still feel open and bigger.

Picture of our new carpet! This has to be one of my favorite parts, it is so nice to have that dirty, wood floor covered!

Picture of Shane installing the base-cove moulding.

The finished product! I still need to get curtains for the windows! (I will post pics of those when I get them) All of our office stuff fits in the one desk and a few of the cabinets! Its great! I don't have anything else in the room, and plan to leave it that way for now, b/c someday it will have to also serve as my sewing room! We have more than enough storage! That is one thing that drew me to this house, the possibilities it had to enhance its storage!
It is such a great feeling to have the office done. That wraps up our major indoor projects! Other than shurewalling the basement! Outside, we still have one big project...siding the garage to match the house, and some landscaping! Which we hope to do next summer!

Long Time, No Post...

Well, it definitely has been a while since i have posted! Lots has been going on, and I just haven't had the time.
For starters...I have a new furnace and c/a!!! Courtesy of my awesome dad! He and my mom were here for 5 days at the end of October putting it in. I had a blast having them here, and Shane and I feel very blessed for my dad's hard work! I just love the soothing sound of the furnace coming on, and sitting in front of the vent! (before we didn't have a forced-air furnace).

Me and Dad the morning they headed back home. I am smiling b/c I have heat, dad is smiling b/c he is done putting in the heat for me! Now he doesn't have a reason to come out to Iowa...guess we will just have to think about giving him some grandkids, so he will have an excuse to come back!
***
Below are some pics of mom and grandma's visit out last weekend! They made a quick trip out here to celebrate Shane and I's baptism and induction into membership of our church. It was an awesome weekend. We serve an amazing God! I didn't get any pictures of the actually baptism, but basically, we write out our sins, pin them to a cross before we go up to be baptized. There is a huge horse tank with Pastor Dan in it. (yes, the water is warm) Shane and I went into the tank together. We are asked if we believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, and that the only way to Heaven is thru Him, we answer 'yes', and then we are dunked! It was a divine experience. Shane and I were both baptized as babies, but felt led by God to be baptized at this time in our life, to show others our faith and the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ.

Gramma Cena & Mom relaxing!

Gramma Cena, me & Mom - we really appreciated them coming all the way to celebrate something that meant so much to us!

Our Quick Weekend Trip Home!

Ok, sorry its been a while since I have posted! I just haven't found the time! So here is what we have been up to lately!
The weekend of Oct. 13-14, Shane and I headed home for the weekend. It was my nephew, Matthew's 2nd b-day that weekend, and my niece's Zoe 2nd b-day on the 4th, so we went home to see them. Most of Shane's family was in town as well for a party his uncle was having. Its nice when we can go home and see so much family! The first slide show is of Matthew's funny faces, he couldn't get enough of making faces, then having to see them in the camera!

Here is a slide show of some other pics from that weekend.

After we got home from Nebraska, it was only a few days until my mom and dad arrived to install my new furnace and c/a! we are so appreciative and thankful for all my dad's hard work! thanks dad...you are a huge blessing! they ended up staying for 5 nites! during all the work, we were able to squeeze a trip to the QC and went to a movie....dad was in luck that a western was playing, '3:10 to Yuma'! it was a really good movie! mom and i also got to shop for a day too! i was sad to see them go!
This next slide show is some pics from their visit. While they were here, I got 12 pumpkins to make seeds, so mom could take home with her for Britni & Brad.

I still need to take some pics of the new furnace and post them! Now Shane and I are starting the process of finishing the office, which I am very excited to do! Shane is working on electric, adding more outlets! Then we can drywall and paint, and hang cabinets, then get carpet! Needless to say, Shane is staying busy with home projects, as well as, been busy at work. I have several sewing projects that I need to get to, plus I am the mudder and sander and painter around here, so will been busy with that. And I also enrolled into an Intro to Photoshop CS2 class thru our local college, which has been really fun! There are about 4 other classes I want to take after this one! Bella is doing good, I think she misses my mom though, she gets double the loving then!!! Well, I think that updates us for now! We are just thankful each and everyday that God blesses us with!

Happy Birthday Matthew & Maya!

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew & Maya!

I am so glad I got to celebrate your birthday with you Matthew! Maya, we miss you so much and love you!

Weekly Update

It's another beautiful Sunday here in Iowa! I think it even reached 90 degrees. Our week was good and pretty much uneventful. Bella got a hair cut and can finally see again. I love having her shaggy cuz she is so darn cute, but it is a lot harder to take care of and I figured it was time when we were playing fetch and I threw the ball and she ran full speed into the wall b/c she couldn't see! Poor girl yelped real loud and came running to me, and I felt terrible I couldn't stop laughing!
Anyway, I posted some before and after pics. I don't have much else to take pics of, so Bella is what you get to look at!
Shane and I spent the weekend hanging out at home. Yesterday, I cleaned and worked in my sewing room, while Shane mowed the lawn and worked on cleaning out the garden some. We went to church today and went to a thing they were having to help people find a small group, so we signed up for one. Of course Shane watched football this weekend, and I don't think he was very happy...the Huskers and Chiefs both lost!

Shaggy Bella

Bella can see again!
I always tell my groomer, Kelly, that I feel like I leave with half a dog when I pick Bella up after a haircut!

I had Kelly leave Bella's tail furry, Bella really doesn't have a tail, just the illusion of one! I think it looks like a 3rd leg in this pic! ha!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Today my beautiful niece Zoe Anne O'keefe turned 2! Happy Birthday! I can't believe you are already 2! We love you, and wish we could be with you to celebrate!

Brief Update and Pics

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone's week is going well! Shane and I are doing good. He is staying busy with work and of course he is loving football season. I tried to get him to commit to taking me out on a date this weekend (I just want dinner and a movie), he first said "No", and then I reminded him that his Huskers and Chiefs would not be on TV this weekend. So then I got a maybe out of him. Of course he will still have to listen to the games. So I am gonna take that maybe as a yes, and plan on it anyway! Each year I am with Shane, he insists on watching more and more football, which I think he has always done, just not with me around. Apparently he is breaking me in to having to watch football all weekend long. I guess thats okay, since I broke him of the one rule he gave me when we got a dog: "the dog does not sleep in the bed", needless to say, Bella sleeps with us now! :) It was a rather long, gradual process to get it done though...it took a year! (please take note that i actually spelled 'took' correctly, as opposed to 'toke', it is my most commonly misspelled word, not b/c i didn't know how to spell it, but just a very bad habit. my mother finally called me on it, and i decided i would try to break the habit, so this is for you mom...took, took, took, took...).
anyway...last Thursday I had severe pain and swelling in my left cheek while I was eating lunch. After 2 trips to the doctor and a CT Scan, we discovered I had a stone in my parotid gland. (I figured that out on my own, thanks to google). Anyway, I was set up to see a specialist on Thursday to get it taken out, when by the grace of God and all of your prayers, I was able to push it out this morning! I looked up pics on the net to see where the duct traveled and began rubbing in that direction yesterday where I had a sharp pain. Last night I looked in my mouth and could see a white dot in there and tried pushing it out with no luck. But after a miserable nite of tossing and turning and not be able to sleep b/c of the pain, I woke up to that white dot closer to my duct opening, so I pushed for a while, and after some sharp pain, out popped a white, jagged rock! and a bunch of other crap (I will spare you the details)! Talk about relief! My doctor still wants me to see the specialist tomorrow just to make sure everything looks okay.

Below are some pics from Shane and I's Sunday walk at the bike path. God blessed us with a beautiful weekend, and I actually was able to get my husband away from football to go for a walk with Bella.Bella and me ( I am using Bella to hide my fat, swollen left cheek)

Bella watching the ducks, there were about 15. She got bored pretty fast with them.

I guess Shane and I were easily entertained! It was quite humorous watching the ducks dive for food. (so is this what my dad is referring to when he always tells me that my short hairstyles look like a 'duck's butt')

Congrats Britni & Brad!

I want to say congrats to Britni and Brad on expecting another baby! Britni is 8 weeks pregnant and is due May 3rd, 2008! With this baby, Shane and I will have 10 nieces and nephews! I asked Zoe last nite if she wanted a sister or brother, she said a sister, and when I asked what she would name it, she said Zoe! Silly girl!

Baby Blackman is a Boy!

I just wanted to post to let you all know that Jared and Missy are having another boy! They found out a few weeks ago! We are so excited for them to have another boy, since they have such darn cute boys! Now I can start on Missy's diaper bag, I can't wait!

Top: A picture of the Blackman Zoo!

Bottom: A picture of Matthew Jared Blackman, just to prove that they do have cutest darn boys! (i stole these pics from Missy's blog!)

Projects I've been working on...

Ahhh...the weekend was nice and relaxing! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Here are some pics of the projects I have been working on with my new sewing machine.
Missy - I wanted you to see what that blue-jacks fabric looks like as a diaper bag. For yours we can use brown as an accent color like i did on the one below, or we can do a blue, or white. And we can design the quilt however you want! and of course, we will use the baby's name on it! hopefully these pics give you idea on if you want a light, medium or dark wash jeans to make yours out of! This one was made out of a pair of medium wash Big Star jeans.

Front

Back

Side

Inside

Quilt

I still need to finish the quilt, and make a matching burp rag...and find it a home, as well as a home for the one below!

Front
This diaper bag i made out of some really cute pink & blue antique looking fabric i found and a pair of Gap jeans.

Back

Quilt

Burp Rag

Inside