feel the pain

Yesterday, Cooper had a run-in with the stairs… and the stairs won. We were at Marmee and Papa’s house (Curtis’ parents) and Cooper was playing upstairs with his cousins. All of the sudden, this is what we hear downstairs:

thud. thud. thud-thud-thud. thud-thud.thud…

screaming.

I was halfway up the stairs (thank God for the mid-staircase landing!) by the end of the thuds. I thought for sure that I would find his little body broken. All of it. As I scooped up my crying baby and surveyed his body for blood and mangled limbs, I breathed a sigh of relief that he was- for all intents and purposes- okay. That’s when I saw a HUGE knot forming- already- on his sweet face. I’m talking 1/2” out from the side of his face within seconds.

It was awful.

He cried and cried, and all I could do was hold him close and tell how sorry I was that it hurt… so, so sorry. That was it. Curtis stood by our side for a few minutes, helplessly, until he finally asked to hold him. I understood: the only thing worse than holding your hurting little boy is not being able to hold your hurting little boy.

We didn’t attempt to photograph his bruised little face last night, but this is what we woke up to this morning:

The swelling had spread out and didn’t look quite so menacing. The bruising, however, had extended. He now had a bona fide black eye.

The thing is, this picture doesn’t do it justice. So, we kept trying. We were sure that one of these could capture the full extent of his little injury:

“Cooper, hold still for just a minute.”

“Cooper, where is your boo-boo?”

And what did he say? “Ball? Play? Ball?”

The kid is tough. Tougher than we are.

My heart aches every time I look at that black and blue face. I know it seems dramatic… all this over some bruises? Before Cooper, I never knew the agony of someone else’s pain. I remember crying with him when he got his first immunization shot, because it was the first time I heard him cry from pain.

It struck me tonight that this pales in comparison to what God feels for me in the midst of my pain. If I can cry over Cooper’s tears, how much more is He grieving over mine? If my heart aches at my baby’s hurt, how much more is He longing to take away mine?

So often I forget how deeply personal the Lord is, how He has woven Himself into my heart. Having a child has given me glimpses, but I know my understanding is still so limited. I was grateful that our sermon today reminded me of this:

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion… How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.” (Isaiah 30:18-19)

transformation in progress: bathroom (days 10ish & 11)

So much has happened! I’m sorry that I’ve been a slow and haphazard blogger. Let’s catch up:

Day 10(ish): cumulative weekday night work from last week

 
As of last Monday (a week and a half ago), we had a toilet! Evan had to do a crazy amount of sawing and sweating to get the wrought iron pipe underneath to be the correct height. Poor guy. It looked miserable.

 

 
And then there was Curtis’ part. Apparently, the toilet is placed on top of a wax ring and needs to rocked back and forth and “jimmied” to get a secure fit. Evan and I greatly enjoyed being spectators during this process.

 

 
On Tuesday, Curtis installed the doorframe and door for the linen closet.

 

On top of that, he then gave Cooper a bath and a gave the bathtub its first ever use! It was exciting for everyone.

 

Especially for Cooper. He’s missed the bathtub.

 

 
The vanity countertop was added last Thursday, a little forcefully, because it was a pretty tight fit. Evan even added the faucet late that night to make the bathroom fully functional for Kelly’s visit that weekend!

 

Day 11: Last Friday

This was a full day of bathroom work for Curtis and it certainly paid off. I don’t remember exactly what was done when (as we’ve done a few small things since then), but check out how far we have come:

Curtis did all of the crown molding- by himself- in just a few hours. Isn’t that impressive? It looks amazing. Later, we caulked and filled nail holes so it is ready to paint.

 

 
The door to the linen closet: installed, one coat of paint, and a door knob. Voila!

 

 
I even got a chance to fill it up and organize during a naptime this week. So fun!

 

 
We bought and put up the shower curtain and rod. Pretty! In case you were wondering (as Kelly honestly did), we are not leaving the window or the back of the bathroom door that dark wood color. We just haven’t gotten around to using the dreaded oil-based primer on it yet.

 

In my opinion, Homegoods has the best selection and lowest prices on stuff for your bathroom. That’s where we got the shower curtain, hooks, towel bars, toilet paper hanger, robe hook, etc. Not to mention that I could probably find something I wanted… no, needed… on every aisle of that store. :)

 

The vanity is also complete, except for my nagging question of whether to paint the vanity. What do you think? I was pondering a dark brown or maybe just a layer of darker stain…  but can’t decide if anything needs to be done at all!

 

 
Finally, the completed toilet: I can’t tell you how great it is to have a toilet downstairs again, and to have one that is so clean and new!

You are up to date! We are in NC this weekend, so we’ll not be progressing at all on this renovation. When we get back, though, we will get to work- painting trim, going through the “punch list”, and tying up loose ends. Oh, and decorating. If you’re good at that, please let me know. Not my gift!

transformations: upstairs bathroom

Since we are in the midst of bathroom renovations, I thought now might be a good time to show you the evolution of our upstairs bath (and work towards finishing our room-by-room look at the second floor). This one-post documentation will in no way do justice to the amount of work and time that went into this transformation. Just so you know. :)

This is where we began:

Linoleum floor, 1960’s fixtures, oh-so-lovely yellow floral border on hastily-painted white walls (were they going for better resale value??).

 

 
Tile that made you dizzy (and also started to decay, fall apart, and leak).

 

 
And a toilet that must have once been a uniform peach color but whose seat faded to into a weird, dirty, orangey tan.

It was a sight to see. And to use… for 3 1/2 years.

In February of this year, we finally got the courage and energy to plunge into redoing this space. Evan again offered his assistance (he’s a saint), so he, Curtis, and I went to work…

 
Unfortunately (fortunately?), we didn’t take many pictures of the bathroom in process, but this is a glimpse into the reality of renovation… mess, mess, mess. Note that they tore out the floor, all fixtures, the tile (back to the studs), and basically started over from scratch.

 

The most dramatic and time-consuming part: the shower. They did an AH-mazing job on it, including breaking apart and tearing out the solid cement (?) shower basin, the addition of an overhead light, and even tiling the ceiling!

 

 
For Curtis’ first tile job EVER, I think this is unbelievably impressive.

 

 
We had to patch some major holes in the wall (medicine cabinet, wall heater, etc). I did a lot of that and will be 100% fine if I never have to do it again.

 

 
It’s incredible what a coat of primer will do to make a room seem cleaner and more finished. And to highlight the interesting trim color choice.

Now, the pictures jump ahead to where we are today. Drum roll please…

 
Gorgeous, right?! I just love the new tile floor. I apologize for the crazy lighting in these pictures… I didn’t realize how luminescent the light fixture would be until I downloaded the pictures. Too late!

 

 
The vanity makes the not-large bathroom feel so much more spacious, with it’s shallow depth (is that an oxymoron?) yet plentiful sink area.

 

 
The shower in all its glory, complete with new shower doors.

 

… and new showerhead/handle. I love it! Sorry for the condition of the “clear glass”, by the way. They were still wet from the morning’s showers and are also in desperate need of a good scrubbing!

 

Mirror and vanity combo, top half: wood mirror, fun new faucet and light fixture.

 

 
Bottom half: cherry wood vanity topped with a glowing sink basin.

 

 
Finally, a new white toilet in it’s nook beside the shower. I know, I know… we are in desperate need of something to hang on that wall!

 

There you have it, folks! Our fabulously new and improved upstairs bath. Come over and take it for a test-drive anytime!

cooper is smart. or should I say “pepe”?

Our boy baby seems to get older and smarter by the day. It is blowing us away and humbling us as we realize how much he is able to learn…

… yet still not able (or willing) to say his actual name.

Disclaimer: Curtis had just gotten back from playing ultimate frisbee. He does not normally sport the cut-off sleeve look.

thank heaven…

Much to the chagrin of a few of my faithful readers, I have neglected to mention on the blog that we are expecting another baby! This child is an absolute blessing and we are so very thankful. My due date is mid-February, so our two babies will be about 26 months apart.

Last week we finally had the big 20-week ultrasound and the baby looks wonderful! The ultrasound tech said that all of the baby’s measurements are right on target and everything looks normal. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the Lord for what seems to be a healthy baby. Later, Curtis confessed that he wasn’t relieved because he hadn’t even known that we could find out something was wrong! Ha ha ha… it was probably better that way for both of us.

Isn’t that just the most precious profile that you’ve ever seen? It’s okay. You don’t have to say yes.

The other exciting news (the news that Curtis was awaiting)?

Aren’t you thankful that they spell it out for you? As if we can tell by looking at that picture! Apparently, there are three parallel lines in the baby’s “private area”. She was very cooperative in letting us get a good view, so we are fully sure… we have a daughter!

p.s. I am not just posting each ultrasound twice. These are each distinctly different snapshots… at least according to the ultrasound tech.

Are you wondering who she’s going to look like? So are we, of course! Just for you, I’m posting this picture of her face.

That clears everything up. Right?

Seriously, though, we feel so blessed and thankful for this baby girl. Cooper will be such a good brother (just give him a few months… or years) and I think I will feel even more comfortable raising a female, at least when it comes to dressing and wiping and stuff.  :)

The sweetest thought to me, though, is of Curtis as this little girl’s father. My eyes tear up just thinking of them together. A daddy has such power in the life and heart of his daughter, and I am so confident that Curtis will breathe truth, love, and security into this little one. And probably a lot of money.

transformation in progress: bathroom (days 8 & 9)

Saturday and Sunday were slightly shortened days, with a wedding, church, and a first birthday party. Regardless, there was progress made! Quick update:

Day 8 (Saturday)

 
The big score: we have trim! Curtis purchased, measured, cut, and attached nearly all of the trim- baseboards and window/door casings.

 

 
It made the room look SO much closer to being done. It still needs to be caulked and painted, but just the primed wood is enough to give you the feel of the finished bathroom.

 

 
There a few spots- like to the right of the window- that need extra attention. In fact, as is typical for our 70 year old house, there was a lot that needed extra attention. Retrofitting… it is tedious.

 

Day 9 (Sunday)

Sunday afternoon, there was an unsuccessful attempt to install the toilet (again, retrofitting… something about the cast iron drainpipe needing to be cut off lower to install the new toilet). Instead, Curtis did more measuring, cutting, and painting, but this time it was for the linen closet!

 
He has all of the wood supports and shelves ready to go into the closet. I cannot wait to organize all of that SPACE! I love to organize. I know, I’m weird. I once thought about starting a business where I would organize people’s kitchens for them. I just think it’s fun!

 

 
Also exciting: he even managed to find time to install a new light overhead.

 

 
Isn’t it lovely? Not really anything special, but a whole heck of a lot better than the gold dangly thing that was there before!!

Happy Monday!

transformation in progress: bathroom (days 6 & 7ish)

Day 6 (Last Saturday)

Curtis spent lots of time in the bathroom last weekend and I didn’t post about any of it! Good thing y’all know that he’s renovating that bathroom or that would sound really strange. Again, there was some drywall work. If there’s anything that Curtis might pay someone to do in the future, I’m pretty sure that drywall would be it.

Thankfully, there was also tiling to be done. Lovely, progress-obvious tile…

It is certainly time-consuming work.

 

  
Lots of measuring, cutting, and trying to lay tile down before the fast-drying adhesive hardens. (p.s. If you look closely, Corey and Jessica got a little free publicity in this shot!)

Curtis finished laying the tile in time to watch the UT football game, but came home and started grouting at 11pm!

 
Check out the result- it looks so good! Very professional and so finished.

 

I can’t lie though. I freaked out a little when I woke up Sunday morning because the grout was so dark. By the way, I picked the grout color... yikes! Apparently (thankfully) it lightens a lot as it dries. Phew.

Day 7ish (cumulative weekday work)

During the week, Curtis and I both spent several hours painting.

 
First, Curtis primed the walls. Even that made such a difference. Doesn’t it look so much cleaner?? The room started to feel like a room instead of a project!

 

Then, the paint. You see that beautiful blue? I picked the color and painted the first coat all by myself! It’s fun when I get do something productive too. :)

 

 
It was a little darker than I had pictured, but we think it’s going to look great.

 

I completely neglected to take a “before” picture of the ceiling, but I’m hoping that you can see it in this. It’s the top of the wall as it runs into the ceiling… and those brown dots are what the WHOLE ceiling looked like. I guess it was old mildew?? Disgusting.

 

And now, after Curtis’ priming and painting… crisp and clean. Ahhh, I can’t wait to enjoy this bathroom!