While you were out room makeover!

About 6 weeks ago my cousin, David, contacted me about doing a master bedroom room makeover for he and Kristi while she was in the hospital giving birth to their third child.

 He said Kristi has been doing things little-by-little around their house updating and re-decorating but she really wanted to do their master bedroom. 

 She was 9 months pregnant and it was Christmas time and she just didnt have the time. He said he knew with the new baby coming that she would be spending a lot of time in their master bedroom and wanted her to just feel relaxed, peaceful and happy about the room. 

 How thoughtful and sweet is that!? 

So, I was in! 

 I have never done a surprise room makeover before so I was just so excited. David gave me a budget of $500 and told me to pick paint, bedding, curtains, room decor, etc. 

 We facetimed one afternoon and he showed me all their bedroom furniture and what was in their room and on each wall, etc. He gave me some dimensions and basically just told me to do something I would like. 

 I went on Kristi's Pinterest page and that pretty much served as my inspiration for her room. She had pinned lots of white with pops of coral and turquoise. I shopped around online and in discount stores and spent a couple weeks just gathering and putting it together in my head. 

 It was the most fun surprise ever. I got the call on a Thursday morning that Kristi was in labor and a few hours later that morning Byron Patrick Knowles was born. 

 He is just to die for and I could just eat him up! 

David was on it and that day contacted a painter who painted the room the color I had told him to buy. I had hounded David multiple times to get a family of 5 picture from the hospital and around 4 am on Friday I got this precious gem.  I am absolutely in love with Aubrey's face.  I can totally identify as a big sis of two brothers.  Precious.

 

 I sent it off to print and by 9:00, picture in hand, after dropping off Kinley for school, Mom, Ty and I were headed to Keller to work on the room. 

 Here are a few before pics from David and from the day we got there. 

 (I think the ones with laundry in the chair and an unmade bed are fantastic for before and after pics....I mean, this is real life) 

And here is the AFTER!

   

I just love how it turned out. 

 We didn't change too much but, a little went a long way. I got the bedding on Target.com, pillows from Kohl's, curtains from a local curtain store and rod from Home Depot. 

 

I bought $6 lamps from goodwill and spray painted them white and bought new shades from Garden Ridge. 

 

I took pics from Kristi's instagram account and put them in Goodwill frames that I also spray painted white. I also added the new family pic to a canvas with mod podge so she could have a pic of Byron in her room too when she got home. 

As soon as I was done with the room I wanted to text pics to David but was torn because I wanted him to be surprised with Kristi too. He had no idea what all I had picked out or decided to do either. He told me if I texted him an 'After' picture, he would video tape her reaction to the room.....DEAL! 

 It was priceless. I am so thrilled she liked her room!  The emotional high of a new baby and post pregnancy hormones probably helped with this reaction...but, I just loved it.

 Congrats David and Kristi on precious baby Byron. He is gorgeous and such a fun addition to our family already. I can't get enough of him :)

Half Marathon and American Girl

The weekends before Christmas were total whirlwinds! 

 I tried hard every day in December to slow down and be thankful and enjoy each moment of this Christmas season. We had tons and tons of activities planned and I have such a hard time saying no. But, I didn't want us to just run from one event to another with our heads spinning. 

 After the Dallas Marathon was cancelled I was super sad about it. It wasn't anything earth-shattering or anything but felt like such a loss to me after training for months. Leslie, Stacee and Donna have been training for a 1/2 also on a race day that I can't attend so they all felt so sad that I wouldn't get to run mine. They all texted immediately telling me to find a new race and that they wanted to pay my race fee. 

 Then Leslie texted me about this little race at Bachman Lake in Dallas the next weekend. It was a tiny little race that typically only takes about 50 people and no one had ever heard of it. 

 But, it is a Boston Marathon qualifying race...and there are bib numbers and medals and t-shirts...so, it had to be legit. 

 Now, this race is by no means anything close to a hyped up huge race environment like others I have been to or heard about...but, it was such an answered prayer for me. I had worked for a couple months to be able to run the Dallas 1/2 Marathon. Alison and I were going to run together and had done a couple long training runs but, she wasn't going to be able to run the next weekend with me. It is just so amazing how God unexpectedly provides. He had been preparing me for this without even my knowing it. Leslie and I have been running or working out together multiple times a week for months. 

 What are the chances that there is ANOTHER 1/2 marathon, the next week, in town, on a Saturday? 

 (let me tell you....extremely rare!) 

 It was just such a crazy thing that Leslie decided to run it with me! It just felt right after running all those miles together to do our first 1/2 marathon together....but, I really missed having Alison there with me too. I love our talks on long runs. The path was a little repetitive going around the lake multiple times...but, it was just so fun that I completely forgot about it. It ended up being the perfect race for Ben and the kids and my parents to come to. It was super small and easy to find and navigate and park. They drove around the path multiple times to cheer us on and they were basically the only people at the finish line. It was so much better than trying to find them amidst the 30,000 runners that would have been at the Dallas Marathon. 

 Overall, it was a memory I will never forget and a great first race to run. 

 Before the race...

   

We had such support from our sweet friends who dropped of goodies before and after the race and texted us the whole time while we were running. 

 It was so sweet! 

Great little cheerleaders! 

We both did great on our time and met our time goals and beat all our practice long runs.
After!
 

 Right after we finished the race, Kinley and I jumped in the car with my mom and a little dry shampoo, makeup and an outfit change later, we were at American Girl at the Galleria for Kinley's Christmas present from Honey. We had brunch at the Bistro with a borrowed doll that Kinley named "Sassy" because she thought she looked like Sawyer.

 It took all that was in me not to grab this outfit for her new doll on race day.
 Maybe next time :)
 
 And then she picked out her own doll that she named Lyla.
 
Then we walked around the Galleria a bit and looked watched the ice skaters and looked at the "biggest Christmas tree Ever!"

Kinley got some pajamas to match Lyla too and she is loving it.
It was a wonderful, exhausting day! Not sure when I will race again but, I definitely got the race bug!

Gymnastics Parent Observation Day

We got to sit in and observe Ty and Kinley in in their gymnastics class this week. 

 And it was a treat. 

 Let's just say it's good we are enrolled for spring classes too because there is plenty of skills left to conquer. 

 It's also a good thing for us moms to be inside the gym and be forced to watch every turn for our kiddos. Because otherwise we just sit behind the glass window and chat it up and stare at and hold precious babies like Camdyn baby Ryder...how cute is she??? 

 

 I love how the bigs and littles all warm up together and then split into their respective age groups. Kinley tries to keep Ty in line and direct him where to go. 

 I love this pic of him waving in the back behind Kinley working hard to warm up. 

 

Mr. Rod is so great with the littles. Ty is not the best at paying attention but he just stays on Ty and keeps him in line until Ty listens and obeys. 

 

At one point during a transition from the trampoline to the floor Ty veered off course a bit to the rope just to touch Kinley. 

 Sweet brother. 

 She politely directed him back to his spot. And look at Tatum climb that rope! Go girl.

   

Hud and Ty high-fiving and admiring each others shirts and Druz just looking back at momma.

Aslynn showed off her suberb hulahooping skills. 

 

 And then Kinley put on a show...around her ankles. 

 Look at that face. 

 God love her.

   

She sure can run...

   

Ty's turn with the hula hoop. 

Running around after that hula hoop...and check out Kinley on the rope now! 

 

Showing me his stamp at the end of class. So proud. 

 

Here is the best pic I got of both of them. I'll take it.