So, That's Why They Call It "March Madness"

What a couple of games we missed by being good and going to Church. George Mason University came back and beat #1 seed UConn. Then, Florida beat #1 seed Villanova. All Brent could say was, "Man, and we had to be righteous and go to Church." That's my husband. It should be a good Final Four!

It's happened. We've been in our new ward two weeks and Brent's gotten a calling. He is now the Ward Clerk for the Southworth Ward. I think this is a perfect calling for him. It's a job that needs someone to count on, but it's also behind the scenes. All he said when I asked him about it though is, "I have to go to all the meetings." That is also my husband.

We bought a ladder yesterday. Doesn't that sound like a homeowner thing to do? I think so. It was exciting. Brent put up our new light fixture in our bedroom. It looks SOO much better. We are just not shiny brass people.

We ran a lot of errands yesterday. It was so nice to get things done! And it was a GORGEOUS day. Both Brent and I wore short sleeves. It felt so good to get some sun on our faces. That seems funny after spending so much time in Hawaii that we got tired of the sun. I really think that the only way you can survive living in Western Washington is to just ignore the really rainy and gloomy days and relish the sunny days!

Oh, another thing from church. I started a Family History class today. What I learned is that I've only just begun. That's cool though. I really got bit by the family history bug while we were in Hawaii. I'm looking forward to learning more about what to do.

Brent was downstairs while I was starting the computer up and all of a sudden he calls out, "Ash, I have the picture for the blog today!" So I go down there and he's unpacked his Mr. Potato Heads and set them up in the craft room. Here's the picture. He told me to make sure that everyone notices that the "Spud Tropper" is holding a potato masher instead of a gun. Again, that's my husband!


















Here are our before and after pictures of the day. As I said, the "red room" turned out a blue color instead of the greenish gray that we wanted, so we had to repaint it because I just didn't want two blue rooms. I like blue, but not that much. So we painted the room "Mountain Haze". The pictures don't show the color really well, but I would describe it as a light celery. We like it. It makes the craft room look very good!

Before: (I have to warn you, this color may be too much for some viewers!)
The white bits on the walls are from where the holes in the walls were. I don't know how you could possibly put that many holes in a wall, but the teenage boy who lived in this room found a way!














And now the After: Sooooo much better! Unfortunately, I think we're always going to call it the "red room"!















Hope everyone has a great week!

Where does the week go?

Hello all! I can't believe it is once again Thursday night and I'm just now writing anything. I just don't know where the time goes.

We have been working on the house as much as we can. We have the front room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom done except for the pictures on the walls. The other rooms are slowing coming together. We have to re-paint the "red" room downstairs. We were going to paint it a greeny-gray color, but it turned out blue...almost the same color as our bedroom. We're pretty sure that they mixed it wrong, but what could we do? So, we bought another gallon of paint - a different color this time - and are planning on painting tomorrow night.

Work is ok. The office manager told me that I could take two breaks a day, but both times I've taken breaks, the owner has asked me if I needed something to do. Whatever. I was mad earlier, but I guess you just get used to it, right? I can tell that I'm still learning there, but I'm getting better and feeling a little more confident. Moving is a complicated process! Especially when it involves the military.

Oh, I forgot that I haven't said that Brent got home ok on Sunday. (Jeez, the week has just flown by!!) His plane was suppose to land at 8:10a on Sunday. He reminded me on Saturday night to call and make sure that the flight was on time Sunday morning since the airport is an hour drive from our house. I, of course, forgot to call. So, when I get about 3/4 of the way there, it gets REALLY foggy and I think, "Crap, I forgot to call." So, I go to pick up my cell phone to call and then I remember that Brent has it. Great. It is really expensive to park at SeaTac, so I was just going to park in the cell phone waiting lot and go pick him up. I had to keep circling the airport since his flight ended up being 40 minutes late. But, we found each other and it was good.

Court called on Sunday afternoon. We had a good chat. It is so much fun to talk to her. I need to call more often, but she's doing a really good job of keeping in touch with me. Love ya Court! Oh, congrats on the digital camera! Welcome to the 2000's. :)

Tuesday night was my next to last Spanish class with Marcela. She has been teaching Spanish for her ward for the past 9 weeks. It's for her YW medallion. So, I've been going too. She and Ryan teach, which is really nice. Sometimes Ryan can explain things to us that Marcela doesn't know because she's always spoken Spanish. We learned to bare our testimonies in Spanish. It was cool. I think you have to concentrate so hard on what you're saying that it helps you realize that you really do believe it!

Tonight is March Madness and laundry. Fun for both of us.

Oh, happy birthday to Chloe last week. Sorry Chloe! She's 5 years old. Amazing!

Today is the first of the before's and after's.
This is our master bedroom. Don't you love the sponge paint?? It also had a really great wallpaper border around the top. We forgot the camera the night we took that off, so you just have to imagine. Isn't it a lovely 80's color? We think so!

This is my favorite part. This whole wall is a solid color. The only thing we can think of is that they got tired of doing the pretty sponge paint and just painted this last wall. It's an example of their workmanship throughout the house.

And now the afters!!!

The color is Sonata. We love it! It's so relaxing and so much better than the great sponge paint. They also had really dark closet doors on that we took off. We're going to put up curtains to hide the inside of the closets a la Trading Spaces. It should be cute! It looks so weird to me with nothing in it.

Hope everyone has a great day. We're excited because Duke just lost. The first #1 seed to go down. It's a great day!

Oh, and...you know that I love you Mom! Now everyone else does! :)

Count Your Blessings

I have been on a little bit of a pitty party lately. It has been so hard to go to work with my house in boxes. Then when I'm home, it's such a daunting task to try to unpack everything. Today I decided that I was tired of my attitude, so I'm going to change it by using that old hymn...."Count Your Blessings."

I am so thankful for all this stuff we have been blessed with. We have clothes that are nice and shoes that fit (I might have a couple too many shoes).

I am thankful for my job. I know that Heavenly Father led me to this job. I wasn't even applying for full time jobs. This one was advertised and it didn't say whether it was full time or part time, so I applied. I hadn't heard anything from ANYONE else and I get a call on Monday after Jared and Katie's wedding. They asked me if I would like to come in for an interview on Tuesday at 10:30. I walked back out to my car at 10:38 thinking I bombed that interview. Then on Thursday, Anita calls and offers me a job starting the next Monday. I feel blessed to be able to do some improvements on our new house. I'm also very blessed to be able to save money for the baby. I'm thankful to be able to SAVE money!

I am thankful for Brent and the wonderful relationship we have. I'm thankful for my independence mixed in with my dependence on him. I can handle being here by myself just fine, I just like it better when he's here.

I am thankful for this land we live in. I just finished a book called The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It is the story of her life. She lived in Holland during WWII when Germany took over. She ran an underground ring that hid Jews throughout the country. The Germans found out and she and her family were arrested. She, her sister and father were taken to a prison where her father died. Then she and her sister were taken to a concentration camp where her sister died. I love to read books about this time in the world. It makes me so thankful for my freedom and being blessed to live in this country.

I am so thankful for Ryan and Marcela and their willingness to open their home to us for 2-1/2 months. Their generosity is greatly appreciated by me and Brent.

I am thankful for my family (this includes the Browns). Each one of them bless me in so many ways. I love you all!

Most of all, I am thankful for the Gospel in my life. I know the Church is true. I know that Joseph Smith actually saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know he restored this Church in the last days. I know that President Gordon B Hinckley is a prophet of God. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. Sometimes we don't recognize the answers, but He always answers. I know that He knows us by name and wants us to be happy. I know that my life is better because of the gospel and my testimony.

Ok, now I feel so much better. It does really help to "Count Your Blessings".

I know this is a long posting, but I have some pictures of the house. Today I'll start with the outside. I know that you have seen a small picture of it, but these are much better! We love the color of the house, the red door, and the land that it's on. I'm just itching to get the garden going. I don't think that we'll get in summer crops, but we might be able to get some fall carrots and peas. Next year though, watch out!

Oh, by the way, Happy St Patrick's Day yesterday. It is quite the holiday around here. I don't remember it ever being that big of a deal in Utah. Both Brent and I found cute shirts at Old Navy. (Brent is now addicted to Old Navy too. We went a lot in Hawaii.) I didn't know about the red getting a kiss though. Next year, I'm wearing red. :)

Have a great day! We are lamenting the loss of the Aggies and the Solukies! Both my teams are out so early, who will I cheer for now?

Begun the March Madness has

Look, it's not even Sunday! I'm amazed that I actually am writing in the middle of the week. Well, there is a reason. I'm doing laundry over at Court and Brad's and there isn't anything else I can do right now.

We are now COMPLETELY moved into our new house. And, I found the silverware! YEAH! It is slow going since I have to work all day, but the boxes are getting emptied. I can't wait until everything is where it should be and I can start working on the outside.

I have to admit something. I have taken a lot of pictures of the house and stuff, but they are still on the camera, so you'll have to wait some more. Sorry.

Well, the Madness has started. The March Madness that is. Brent is in Utah right now watching a very exciting game - Gonzaga and Xavier. He and my dad are having a great time. There have been a couple of really close games. It's his favorite time of the year. Two years ago this week, he left me in an apartment full of boxes to go to Seattle to watch March Madness. We need to stop moving in March. Here's a picture they sent me from the fun!


How's work going, you're wondering? Today SUCKED! My boss asked me to do some accounting, which isn't my strong suit, but didn't explain it well enough, so I messed it up. She wasn't mad, but I was annoyed at myself, but mostly at her. If she would just explain what she wanted, I would be able to do it. It was frustrating. Plus I couldn't sleep last night, so I was already grumpy. It was a bad day. I'm hoping tomorrow is better. I'm definitely going to try to sleep better tonight.

Yesterday when I drove home, it was raining so hard I had to use the highest setting on the windshield wipers all the way home. It was fun - NOT! At least it's not snow.

Brent's Grandpa Behling is still in the hospital. He probably won't get out of the hospital for another week. Everyone says he's looking better, so that's good. It's a scary time though.







I've been listening to "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch over and over. It a fun song! I get stuck on things like that. If you haven't seen Lilo and Stitch, you really should. It's one of the best Disney flicks in recent years. (Of course the best will always be Robin Hood)

Here's the Hawaii picture of the day. This is on the Big Island. The plume of smoke is where the lava from Kilauea is going into the ocean. The closest you can get is 2-1/2 miles away, but it's still awesome! We went there at night so we could see the lava glow on the mountainside. It rained like CRAZY though, so we're glad we didn't bring the camera. Brent was right. :)Have a good night everyone! It's almost the weekend! GOOOOO AGGIES! (They're playing UW right now! Stress!)

Moving Is Such a Joy!!!

Where has the week gone? I can't remember what happened at all this week. It was such a blur. I would go to work, which I'm still learning at, and then I'd come home, we'd have a quick bite to eat and we'd come down to Port Orchard and paint, or do some other home improvement thing. It was crazy!

On Tuesday, Brent's Grandpa Behling had open heart surgery. He still acts like he is 50 years old, but with this we were reminded that he actually is 86. He is currently having a battle of the wills with the doctors and is still in the hospital. We hope that he will get to come home soon!

Yesterday was the BIG move. It didn't go as smoothly as we were hoping. It started out on a bad note, which really doesn't help anything. We rented the U-Haul from the store that is right near our storage unit. They said it would be ready a little before 9am, so we thought that would be perfect since everyone was meeting at 9am at the storage unit. So, we get to the U-Haul store at 8:50a and they say, "The truck isn't here, it's down at Bremerton...Sorry". Bremerton is a 20 minute drive south of where we were. So, right there we were 40 minutes behind schedule. Brent drops me off at the storage unit to meet the people as they come to help us and he and Ryan go to get the truck. Here's me, stuck with these guys who are giving up their Saturday morning to help us and I have to tell them to just sit around and wait. GREAT! It felt like forever. We did have some muffins though, so that kept them happy for a few minutes. Brent and Ryan FINALLY get there with the truck and I have to hop in the X-Terra and book it down to Port Orchard to meet the people who were delivering our new fridge. They were suppose to be there between 10:30 and 12:30, but I knew that if I was late that they would be there right at 10:30. So, in my hurrying, I sort of bumped into this pole at the storage unit and dented Brent's truck. Great! He was really good about it, but I feel SOOOOOO BAD!!!!

After all of that, I got to the house at 10:20 (whew!) and the fridge people were already there. Of course.

It was so cool to watch these two guys bring in this fridge. They suspended it between the two of them on a rope and brought it on in. They were so careful. It was cool! Thanks Best Buy!

Then to get back to the fun and excitement of moving. Brent had asked our new Elder's Quorum in Port Orchard to be there at 11:00. Which would have been perfect if things had gone well that morning, but as things were, we had to wait for 45 minutes. Here I am with these five guys that I don't know, saying sorry, again. They were all really good natured about it, but I felt so bad!!!

Brent and Ryan finally got here and they unloaded the truck without incident. But, then the fun began again. There were a couple of things, like the BBQ grill and planting table that wouldn't fit in the big truck. But, Brad and Court have a trailer that they said we could use, so Brent tells Ryan and I to go over to Court and Brad's and hook up the trailer to the X-Terra and meet him at the U-haul place. The kicker is, the hitch on the truck is too big for the one on the trailer. To make a long story a little shorter, we couldn't find what we needed at Court and Brad's so we couldn't get the trailer. Our biggest problem was that we HAD to be out of the storage unit by 5p or they would charge us for the rest of the month. And it was already 2:45p. We ended up taking Ryan home, buying a new ball thing for the hitch, running back down to Port Orchard to get the trailer, running back up to Silverdale to get the stuff out of the storage unit in time. We closed the door of the storage unit at 5p exactly! Yeah us!

Now, here we are in our new house with boxes EVERYWHERE!! And we can't even find out silverwear. I love moving!

Have a great week everyone! Brent is going to be in Utah for the Basketball Tournament for most of the week, so I'll probably be able to catch up a little more!

Sorry It's Been So Long

I know, I know...it's been awhile since I posted. Sorry. It's been pretty weird this week! We signed the papers and are officially home owners. Then we have been getting things ready to paint this weekend. And on top of all that, I have been working full time for the first time in about 3 years. To say the least, it has been hectic.

My job is going well. Kind of up and down. I think I have it figured out and then there is an "exception" and then an "exception to the exception". I will get it soon. My goal for this week is to not forget anything on one order. Hopefully I can do that!

We started fixing up our new house. The people REALLY thought sponge painting was cool. It's in a lot of the rooms. We wanted to paint our bedroom for sure before we moved in, but then we feel like we can do the rest later. Over the next year, we plan on having the whole house repainted. Inside, that is. The outside is really nice. We ended up priming our bedroom and the "red room" in the basement. The red just couldn't stay any longer. We took pictures. As soon as we finish, I'll post before's and after's and you'll see what we mean.

Ryan and Marcela came down yesterday. Ryan helped Brent out, since they are the "Hessian Painters", and Marcela and I talked. It was nice. Our bedroom is going to look SOOO good! Brent painted a little bit of the blue on the wall. It looks great! We're so excited!

There was also other exciting news this week! Marcela had her ultrasound and they said they think it's a girl. That will be six nieces for us! We love all our nieces so much! We're excited for this little one to join the family!

Last Sunday was the third anniversary of Brent's dad's death. It seems both so long ago and so recent. I know that Brent still misses him every day. I am so thankful for all the things that Dad taught Brent. Right now, I'm especially thankful for his painting ability that his dad taught him. I think Brent really likes using those skills he learned from his dad. It keeps him close.

Ok, here's the picture of the day from Hawaii. This is me and my dad on the Tantalus Loop drive. My dad is definitely one of my favorite people! He has a quirky sense of humor, but that's just my dad. Love ya, Dad!











I'll try to write more this week. It may be crazy though! We have a lot to get done before the "big move" next Saturday!