Let there be light!

Winter in Alaska is a drab, dreary time.  The sun did not rise today until after 9:00 am and will set around 6:00 pm, and it only gets worse as winter progresses.  Our current house, a rental, has only 11 windows, and teeny tiny light fixtures that just don't provide enough light even in the middle of the day... but our new house boasts 32 windows.  Yes, THIRTY TWO.  I counted.  Wow, we're going to need a lot of window treatments!  We also have recessed lighting in several of the rooms, which is going to be absolutely amazing.  I can't wait!

I envision these beautiful plantation shutters - and a fireplace like this in the main living room.  A girl can dream, right?

Source

Do you have enough windows?  Not enough?  What do you do to keep your house light and bright?

Exciting news for the Busy B family!

After 2 years - yes, two!!! - we have finally found a house that suits the needs of our large family!  After much back and forth, we have finally come to an agreement with the sellers of a 5 bedroom house on just over a 1/4 of an acre!  We just have to make it through the next month, and all the paperwork and appraisals and so on, and get through closing!  

I am looking forward to writing about the trials and tribulations of owning a house - and all the repairs, updates, and decorating that go with that - on this blog.  I have lots of projects planned!

Speaking of projects - our first major project, after the snow melts and the ground thaws, will be tearing out the roof and enclosure on the back deck so we can better enjoy the back yard and the creek that runs through it.  There is so much potential here!

I envision something like this for the summer.  Open, airy, a place that we can spend lots of time as a family together.  All we need is a some tools, maybe a sledge hammer, sheer window panels and a lot of paint!  Good thing we have lots of little helpers.  :)

(Picture found on pinterest with no source - if you know the source, please let me know!)

Honoring Dad

With Father's Day fast approaching, my children and I have been taking this opportunity to honor their Daddy, to show him we appreciate him and love him, by doing something special for him each day this week.

With five children, this means each child is getting a day to work with me on a special project for Dad, and then they each get the special privilege of delivering it to their Daddy at work (a coveted treat, as he has a stash of treats that he shares with visitors!)

Day one was our only daughters day. She delivered a painted tree to her daddy, made using her hand print and those of her four brothers. They got to play with messy green paint for this day, and it was both a treat for them and Daddy, who promptly hung his new wall art on the side of his filing cabinet.

On day two, our five year old son got to deliver his Father's Day presents.  He had TWO, and he was super excited to bring them to his Daddy's office.  One was a jar of pistachios with a printable tag (get it here!) that read "We're nuts about you, Daddy!" and the other was a rock that he had painted to say "Dad, you rock!"

I can't wait to see my husband's response to the rest of his treats.  What are you doing for Father's Day this year?