So tonight I had another epiphany. I'm sure you guys are getting tired of my boring insights that are related to toddlers. Yet, here I am, recording it anyway...
I got online and ordered the kids some ride on water toys--a turtle, a dolphin and an orca. I thought when I bought three--one for each of my kids big enough to swim and an extra for guests. I knew when they showed up each of my kids would claim one for their own...
They got here today and sure enough, Dora immediately claimed the dolphin and Eli the turtle. Then they began negotiating. Emerald, Eli said, could have the orca when she was older. We could save it for her until then.
That made me think--there is no way that by the time Emerald is two (two summers from now) and old enough to ride on the orca, that it won't be torn up and replaced. After all, these cost less than $20. I know they will never last. To the kids though, how such things will be divided up and who they will belong to seems of the utmost importance. They are very concerned about what will happen tomorrow and next week and next month and next year. They want me to make a ruling on that now. They want their future and that of their posterity secured.
In a world that changes as much and as quickly as this one, how lucky we are to have a Heavenly Father who can see the big picture. We are busy squabbling and stressing over things that DO NOT MATTER. I have been thinking a lot lately--nay, stressing a lot lately--over things that I am sure will NOT MATTER. In a year or two, or ten at the most, they will be rendered totally useless, and yet here I sit, fretting and stressing and generally pestering the crap out of my Heavenly Father with my little worries and complaints. I wish I had some perspective--His perspective. I suppose that's what reading our scriptures and listening to the Spirit are for...
I suppose for now I will have to settle for trusting in a Heavenly Father who DOES have an eternal perspective to forgive me for my very short-sighted view, just as I think fondly of my poor kids, worrying over something that will never even become an issue.
Dark paint, heinous wallpaper and acid wash cabinets... Ick. 
BUSY BUSY
Here it is now--new cabinets and hardware, tile backsplash and all new appliances. 
Man that's a lot of cabinets!!
Pretty cool acid wash cabinets, eh? 
What a sad looking sink!!
Here it is with new paint, lights, counters, and cabinets. I love the square sink. You can see our water softener control panel too. SUCH hard water before we got that...
Here's Whit's man cave. No pool table yet, but his loft is a "dark room" and he has a new sectional sofa for his huge TV that's on the wall. Haha. 
New! And we are getting a rug (eventually) and maybe new sofas. We may move these out to the entertaining room...
And we got rid of the big grainy TV-and need to build a new shelving unit in the built in for the kids' TV... but my mom's recovered one of the seat cushions. She's also done some pillows.. more to come. And curtains. I love my mom. 
I didn't do anything to the guest bedroom, but we got a new QUEEN bed! Oooh, Ahhh. 
Here's the guest bath now... Come visit and get your own bed and bathroom! 
I think I need to take a better photo!! 
I took this one to show we put up doors. This room is between the master and the office and it just had an open doorway! We put up these doors so we could have a master that wasn't open to the house!
We still need to redo the shower and tub...
This is where Emmy's room is (our second closet was ENORMOUS, and had a window so we made it her room.) Incidentally, we watched harry potter the other day with Eli. He saw Harry had a room that was a closet under the stairs and he said, "He lives in a closet... like Emmy." HA! 
Anyhow here it is now--new cabinets (sort of) and new paint. 
(Colin's head!) This one below is the sitting area off the master. 
Here's the master with our bed in it... 
And I made the sitting room my hobby area--I'm still getting stuff unpacked.
