Happy Birthday Adam!

Adam, I can't believe you are already 9 years old. Time has gone by so fast! I still remember being in the hospital and smelling your head. It smelled like Jergens baby lotion- the one in the pink bottle- and I couldn't get enough of it.

Through the years you have taught me so much and I am so proud of your tenacity and your gentle spirit. Your smile and laugh can still light up a room and you can take any situation and make it a good one. You have such an imaginative mind that will take you far in life whether you choose to be an architect, an archaeologist, a lawyer, or a basketball star.

Thanks for being spiritual and staying close to the Lord. He will guide you in all that you do- just ask!

We love you Adam. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Andrea Marshall - ASP Stager

Oh my goodness! I had such a great time in Denver attending the Accredited Staging Professional Home Staging Conference - say that fast 3 times! I learned so much and am so excited to begin putting my skills to work.

Early Wednesday morning I left my entire family and headed to the airport scared to death. This was the first time I had ever been ANYWHERE by myself and I was so excited and scared at the same time. So, in my mind I took baby steps... just get to the airport on time... find a seat and a place for your bag on the plane... get off the plane and follow the throng of people to the underground train system in the Denver airport... Find Enterprise rent-a-car to get your rental car.... turn on GPS to direct you to the location of the conference. After making a few U-turns I made it to the conference!! I think that deserves a gold star! ***

Anyway, after three days of classroom instruction and an actual hands on staging project I was graduated and became an actual ASP stager. How fun is that? I am excited to put my training to good use- starting on my own home. (Aaron is nervous... he just left for Orlando so I have full range of the house for a few days. He's not sure what he will be coming home to.)

Here are some before and after pictures of the house we did. My group was in charge of making over the kitchen/dining area and family room. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish with the resources we had.

Family Room Before

Family Room After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

"Amer"

As we all know, Alex has been a very slow talker. Just in the last couple of months has he really started to say words and sentences. It's been funny and frustrating at times to hear what he says and several times I have had to say "show me" because I just couldn't understand. It took me a long time to figure out that "bum" meant bum and gum- depending on the circumstance.

So, last night at dinner, we were all sitting around the table asking Alex to say different words. He is really good at mommy, daddy, and Abbi but he calls Adam - Amer (A- mur). Adam was trying to get Alex to say his name right so he had Alex pronounce each sound of his name. Here is how that went:

Adam: "Alex say A"
Alex: "A"
Adam: "duh"
Alex: "duh"
Adam: "a"
Alex: "a"
Adam: "mmm"
Alex: "mmm"
Adam in a drawn out tone: "Adam"
Alex in a drawn out tone: "Amer"

We all started laughing so hard.