Cucumber Salad Recipe

Since a few people asked (and Tricia told me to post this)...

1 cucumber (I like to slice it not-too-thin)
3 tbs mayo
2 tbs milk
1 tbs vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

The sugar and salt are optional.

I quadrupled the recipe for Thanksgiving, which fed 17 people with a little left over. Even though I found this on the internet with a quick google search, I'll take all the credit if you try it and like it.

I wonder if this is what it feels like to be The Pioneer Woman? ;)

Nate

Perspective (at 11 months)

Although Gwyneth is growing and developing well, she's still a former preemie, which means she's incredibly small (most people still think she's a new-born when meeting her). Gwyneth has several new friends that have come along in the past few weeks...below is a pic of Gwyneth (pale skin on the right, at just under 11 months old) and L-K (who was born a little over a week ago).

Nate

Our Thanksgiving

Lots of family...the Lawrensons, Kirchners and Sanchezes...I think 17 of us all together. Everyone was in charge of making a bringing at least one dish. Tricia's mashed potatoes were the best, and my cucumber salad was a hit. Here are a few pics of the day together.










Nate

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope yours was a great as ours!

Nate

Thankful

I started to write a list of all of the things I have to be thankful for, but I quickly realized how impossible that would be because we have so much to be thankful for.

We have learned this year to be thankful for every day that we are given to live this life together...a year ago, it was difficult to imagine that the three of us would be spending this Thanksgiving together with family.

We have also learned to be thankful for the "bad" things that come to us as well as the good things...God has used each moment of this past year to bring us to where we are.

So, we encourage you to take time today to not just be thankful, but to say "thank you" to those who have blessed your life. We pray that you have time today to enjoy family and friends, and that you'll experience God's love, grace and peace in your lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nate

Paint!

Here's a quick little update on the painting. The two bedrooms pictured below are just about done, except for the trim. The living room still needs a few more coats, especially the red.

Gwyneth's Room

Guest Bedroom

Living Room

Didn't even realize it until after that our paint matches our door
(not for long, as the door is getting a face-lift as well)

Nate

CF Ignorance

It continues to amaze me how so many people can be so ignorant about the most common, fatal, genetically inherited disease among children in North America...

Raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis might be the biggest reason I started and continue this blog...and, even though stories like the one above are sad, many people up north are being educated about the disease for the first time because of the national publicity this story is receiving. And, for that, I'm thankful.

Nate

More House Pics

Here are a few more pics of the renovations from last week...

The Living Room Ceiling

The Floors, Post-Popcorn

The Kitchen

The Master Closet

The Backyard

Nate

House Tour (Part 2)

This was filmed last night...hoping to start on the floors this week and have most of the painting done by next weekend!

Nate

House Update

The house is moving along faster than I expected, especially considering that I've been sick...we've had a ton of help from some pro friends and family (painters, drywallers, paper hangers, etc.). I am feeling better today (36 hours seems to be about how long it usually takes for a fever to break for me), and I was able to get in on the painting fun.

We've got most of the house primed now that all of the popcorn ceiling has been removed and replaced with knockdown. Tricia and I purchased most of our paint today, and the living room ceiling is done and the guest bedroom now has it's first coat.

Tomorrow, I'll post the next edition of the video house tour...you should see a remarkable difference.

Gwyneth is also doing better...a little bit of snot and a scratchy throat seem to be all that is remaining.

Thanks!

Nate