Welcome Piper!

Last Saturday, my niece gave birth to this beautiful baby girl. They named her Piper Lael (pronounced lay-ell). Isn't she just the most beautiful baby?!! I love all her hair and that pouty little mouth.



I've had a scratchy throat for the last week, so I don't dare go anywhere near her, but I can't wait until I get to hold this little cutie!

I've been incredibly busy and overwhelmed lately. In addition to my fun kidney stone experience, I've been painting for my brother's parents-in-laws. They've been in the process of remodeling their house for some time now. The previous painter really made a mess of things, so they asked me to come fix it. I had to seal everything he did with two coats of oil-based primer and start over with the base coat. Then I have been doing a three-layer faux treatment on top of that. I'm almost done now, and it will be nice to be able to focus on things around my house. This is an incredibly horrible picture, but it will give you some idea of what it looks like:



I've also been trying to keep up with canning. Last week, I picked two gallons of jalepeno peppers from my garden! I've given many away, but I'm still trying to use the rest up in salsa.

All three boys played soccer this fall and Bry's team went undefeated all the way through season play, as well as remaining undefeated through tournament to win the championship. They had a fabulous coach who taught them that hard work pays off, whether in soccer, or schoolwork, or any other aspect of their lives. He emphasized teamwork and I think their team played much better than any of the teams in Caiden's league (the older league).

Bry played extremely well this year. I had one of those surreal moments when I was watching him play and I realized that he has changed a lot over the last year, and I hadn't even noticed. He has become so athletic. He is amazing at anticipating where the ball is going to go and is lightning fast at getting there. He has some "sweet moves" as Alex puts it, and is good at turning the ball back down the field. He was a star on a team of stars. It was a blast watching him play!