Be Our Guest!

Alec finished the guest house earlier this week! It looks beautiful, I cant help but wonder over there 10 times a day just to look. He painted the walls, ceilings and trim (I helped here and there). He also put the floors in, sanded, stained and poly'd them himself. He then replaced the counters and fridge (not sure why that was there in the first place) with a custom made bench, coat rack and shelf. I am totally in love with the space and all that he did. I am seriously so close to hiring him out! "Rent-a-Handy Man Husband" anyone?

Here are the before and afters...

You really don't know how bad something is until you go back and look. I am embarrassed by these! On the left is are the counters and he had taken out the fridge a few weeks prior. We think this part of the house was used as an in-law apartment.

Check out those shiny floors!

And that bench! I LOVE IT! It has storage underneath and Alec added bead boarding to the back. Why are the dogs always sneaking into my photos?
The color, Antique Jade, I love. Before it was so grayish looking. It really brightened things up! Thanks Katie Mogul!



And, I am glad we painted the beams the trim color, it really makes them stand out.




Painting the doors and all the trim added so much contrast, you can really notice the molding now.








Yikes, that a messy looking corner...


A nice new office space! (Now that Bam kicked us out)


We took down the bunk beds and made it a single, not many people wanted to sleep on the top bunk anyways...






So ugly!


So pretty!

So now we are just waiting for some guests to stay over! Anyone interested? Alec is already on to his next project, another recycling bin for the deck. The one we have had for a few years has rotted out. Then maybe a new back deck off the guest house? Or a shed? Who knows what I will come home to next!

Easter Blessings

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter!



Alec and I had a quiet, but delightful day. We went to church in the morning, which was a beautiful way to start the day, such a nice service. By the time we left the temperature had risen to 72 degrees! We went home and immediately took the dogs for a nice long walk on the beach.





The warmth and the sun felt so good, while it lasted...the sun did go away at about 1:00, but we enjoyed it. I think I even got a little (but much needed) color. We ended the day with another walk on the beach, up at Fortunes Rocks, just as the sun was setting. The sky was incredible, it was as pretty as I have ever seen, all different pinks and purples. I wished I had my camera with me, but some moments are meant to just remember and soak in. It was the perfect way to end an Easter celebration and the resurrection of our savior. God is good.

I love Easter because it is all about new beginnings and HOPE. There are flowers blooming, warmer, longer days, and every where you look there seems to be a miracle taking place. As I sat through Sunday's service and felt little Bam kick, I couldn't help but feel completely grateful for all the blessings and miracles that surround us, every moment is truly a gift.

I also love watching children on Easter, they look so cute in their little outfits and get so excited about what the big bunny brought them. One little boy from church had an Easter bat (yes, bat as in flying, black, gross bat). He thought it was the greatest thing and had to show the entire church his Easter bat, along with the picture he drew of it. So cute! We also received lots of pictures of family and friends children, some celebrating their first Easter...they could not be any more adorable!

Miss Julia and her floppy ears...

Baby Mary's first Easter..

Baby Sofia's first Easter..

And baby Georgia's first Easter...

And little Mia who is getting so big...

And lucky Josh who celebrated Easter morning in Florida...

And last but not least, Jill even sent me a photo of her little cherub on Easter morning. I am pretty sure she is begging Jill for a piece of her Easter basket...


It was an Easter to remember and we are so thankful for all that we are blessed with. We had an ultrasound today, Bam is "head down" and doing great. He/she was sucking on the umbilical cord (ewe!) and seemed to be staring right at us (weird!). The tech also pointed out that there was a full head of hair! Crazy! 3 weeks to go!

Thank you all for your love and support. We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend with God, family and friends!

Love,

Heather, Alec, Millie and Bam!

PS...here is a funny joke our Pastor told, I was laughing so hard...

A man was blissfully driving along the highway when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over the place. Chocolate, too. The driver, being a sensitive man - as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road and got out to see what had become of the bunny carrying the basket. Much to his dismay, the colorful bunny was dead. The driver felt guilty and began to cry. A woman driving down the same highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong. "I feel terrible," he explained. "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and killed him. There may not be an Easter because of me. What should I do?" The woman told the man not to worry. She knew exactly what to do. She went to her car booth and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead bunny and sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little furry animal. Miraculously the Easter Bunny came back to life, jumped up, picked up the spilled eggs and chocolate, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the road. Fifty yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved, and hopped on down the road another fifty yards, turned around, waved, hopped another fifty yards, turned around, and waved again!!! The man was astonished. He said to the woman, "What in heaven's name is in your spray can?" The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said, "Hair Spray: Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave."

Spring come back!

Where the heck did Spring go?

I am having a hard time believing its the end of April, this weather is killing me! Last year by this time all the flowers were out and I was working on my tan.

We have been busy, Alec finished the floors today, they look fabulous. What a difference it makes. The carpet never bothered me before, now I realize how ugly it really was! He did such a beautiful job, he really is a perfectionist. I cant wait to put it back together and show the pictures.

Last Sunday we celebrated Amy's 30th birthday at Kendalle and Steve's house with the whole gang. We had such a fun day. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. As we were sitting around telling funny stories, I realized how lucky we really are to have so many great friends. We met Cat and Jay's little baby Mary, who is absolutely precious! At 9 days old, she is still so teeny-tiny, I cant believe we will be taking one of those home with us in a few weeks! Such a miracle. I get lots of advice from the moms of the group, and I hope that will suffice since Alec and I skipped the Saturday birthing class because the weather was too nice. Between my girlfriends and watching 16 and pregnant, I think we will bo OK.

Baby Mary


All the girls, Mary is in the car seat and Amy is holding Georgia, Caitlin's little munchkin!


As for this pic...Steve, Kendalle's fiance is a state trooper, so naturally we had to play with the car and lights and hand cuffs.

We are SO EXCITED for Amy and Keith who got engaged in VEGAS this week! Woohoo! My next post may say they got hitched at a chapel in Vegas officiated by Elvis, but for now they are engaged. We are beyond happy for them, they are such a cute couple, and since Keith and Alec are best friends from college and Amy and I are besties from way back, we could not be more excited! Congrats you two!

We had a busy Tuesday, we left home at 6:00am and had a full day of MGH appointments, including, Dr. Allen, chemo, an OB appointment for me and genetic counseling with both of us. Alec is going to be tested for Lynch Syndrome which is found in 50% of young people who have a cancer diagnosis. It was very interesting information and although I never thought of myself as a science person, I am fascinated, but most important, what they are doing now could potentially save lives in the future. MGH is doing some incredible things, we are glad that we are in such good hands. If there are any new cancer meds, MGH is usually behind it, either developing it or trialing it. Makes us feel good and we will be the first to know when there is a cure.

As for my appointment, Bam may be breech, so I will have an ultrasound next week to see for sure. That little bugger better flip around! Besides that things look great, and I feel great. Other than Tuesday, which I took off, I am still working and feel like people are so much nicer to the big pregnant lady! Most of the time they just think I am a patient (since I am calling on OB/GYNs all day.) At least if something happens I will be in the right place :) Less than 4 weeks to go!!!

We have been babysitting my little furry brother Finn for the last week. I love having 2 dogs, I am working on Alec, he said maybe. Every morning I wake up to Finn on one side with one slipper, Millie on the other side with the other slipper, I feel like a queen. I wish I could train them how to bring me coffee too.

Meanwhile, my parents are in Florida, literally torturing me with how nice the weather is. I know they aren't doing it intentionally, (besides the video Beth sent of them swimming at 7:30 last night) but its getting really annoying, especially when its 40 degrees and drizzling every day. To get back at them, Alec and I decided to send them a threatening photo text, we are holding Finn hostage. We knew this would keep them quiet for a while. My Dad called right away and asked for him to be released...we will think about it.

So Finn tries to steal Millie's food, (we do feed him his own) but he wants Millie's. He sits next to her dish, pretending not to inch closer and closer, Alec said if he had thumbs he would twiddle them and whistle or say..."nothing to look at here, just sittin by the window".



That's about all for us, we have no Easter plans this weekend which is very weird, but I am totally OK with it. Just some church and looks like some rain, which may mean painting the bathroom.

Thank you all for the continued prayers and support. We are so blessed and we wish everyone a wonderful Easter weekend!

Love,

Heather, Alec, Bam, Millie and Finn

Ride Katie, Ride!

Hi Everybody!

Alec's nurse Katie is training for the Pan Mass Challenge, which is a 200 mile bike race across Massachusettes that raises millions of dollars for cancer research, trying to find a cure.

I talk about Katie all the time, she is more than just a nurse to us, she is an amazing friend. She goes above and beyond and has been there for us in our darkest hour, talking us through the unknown and never allowing us to give up hope. When either Alec or I are trying to be strong for one another, it is Katie who sees us cry when we are alone and scared. Katie is the first to celebrate any positive news, she gets so excited about good scans or baby updates. She makes us laugh all the way through treatment and treats Alec like family, I swear they were meant to be. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

The Pan Mass Challenge is such an incredible organization that raises money to save lives. Cancer research depends on charities like this one and riders like Katie who train for months, riding hundreds and hundreds of miles while trying to raise $4200 each, all going straight to fight cancer.

We would love it if you could donate to this wonderful charity, in the name of Alec, Katie or anyone in your life who has battled cancer.

Here is a video link about PMC, http://vimeo.com/13892738

And here is Katie's page, http://www.pmc.org/profile/kd0131

Please check them out and donate to find a CURE! It is organizations like PMC and riders like Katie who give cancer fighters HOPE!!! We are both so inspired by her and really would like to ride along next to her in the future!

Thank you all for your continued LOVE, SUPPORT and PRAYERS!

Alec and Katie last year in Kennebunkport.

God Bless!

Heather, Alec, Bam, Millie

Nesting

We had a busy, busy weekend, lots of family time, chores and of course we made time for a little sun. Jill came up Friday night and we had an awesome day Saturday, what beautiful weather, it is finally starting to feel like Spring! She was able to pick up the crib and I was so excited to finally get the nursery started. Alec's sisters and Mom were also here and helped us get ready for the warm weather, swapping out all the storm windows for screens and dozens of other little chores. Thank you to our sistahs and Caryn!

There are so many Birthdays in April, we celebrated Charlotte's whose was on Friday then Lizzy's 30th on Saturday night, although going to the bar 35 weeks pregnant feels really weird, we still had fun and were glad to get out to see some friends.

I think both Alec and I are in the "nesting" mode. Either that or we are just trying to get lots of stuff done before May 19th! While he was busy working on the floors in the guest house, I was putting together the crib (yikes, I know). He came up to "inspect" my job and he put a little pressure on the inside of the crib and the springs collapsed. Oops. Totally forgot to add a couple screws! Not to worry, we both triple checked after that and things look good.

The nursery is pretty much finished, and I love it, it just makes things feel so much more real! I still feel like we are having a boy, and you may notice that from the rather "blue" color scheme in the photos below...If we have a girl, I plan on adding lots of pink, but if a boy we are good to go! I know I have fish on the wall, and a deer head (YES a deer head!) But even if it is a girl, we all know with a father like Alec, she is going to be fishing and hunting before she can walk.

Speaking of baby girls, we are so excited for Catherine and Jay who welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world on April 8th, named Mary Catherine! So happy for them, we cant wait to meet her.

Until Bam is here, Alec is practicing being a Daddy. Check out the maternity gift Jill bought him...he wore it all weekend, this baby even helped him put in the wood floors! Before pictures...A year ago, I posted pictures of the new guest room and the floors Alec had put in. It was used as an office and also a guest room. Since waiting to find out the sex can be challenging when deciding a wall color, we wanted to keep in neutral, but add something fun, so I matched the color of the original wall and went a few tones lighter and added the horizontal stripes (Alec measured and taped, I painted). Jill had done that in her guest room and I loved it so copied it!

I only had to buy a few new items for the room, just the crib, a changing table and a couple decorations. The rug, some wall art and lamps have all been there. The changing table my Mom and I found at Bobs that rainy day a couple months ago. It was $100 in the "Pit" and was actually a TV stand. We added the baskets and starfish hardware. Not bad for a 100 bucks! This is the chair Jill made us! I LOVE it so much! And, its so comfortable. She sanded and stained the wood and made the cushions. It was my great aunts chair that was going to be thrown away but Jill salvaged it a couple years ago and thought she may be able to restore it at some point. We are sure glad she did! Jill also gave us this deer head for Christmas, Alec thought it was creepy, until he saw it on the wall in the nursery. I mean, come on, we live in Maine, Alec hunts all Fall, we have to have some type of animal hanging on our walls! I couldn't help but buy these 2 pictures, the one below reminded me of Alec and Millie at the beach and the top one is of two children playing in the waves, I swear it was a God Wink! And this one was just too cute to pass up...

So there it is! I do want to add a mobile over the crib, but I want it to be homemade and have a few ideas. Now we are just waiting for the baby! 5 weeks and counting!!!

Alec has been working so hard on the floors and they are almost finished. Its going to look so awesome over there! Alec by the end of the weekend...he worked too hard and carrying that baby around with him wasn't easy...and we think a side effect of chemo may be rapid hair growth....

Alec will probably finish the guest house this week and I cant wait, it really is going to look nice over there. He is already talking about building a shed next...the "to do" list is never ending!

We are still so grateful with our recent good news. I am thanking God every day and praying that things continue to go well. We are just enjoying the nicer weather and really appreciating each day. Thank you all for the continued support, love and prayers. We are feeling very blessed and lucky lately.

God Bless,

Heather, Alec, Bam and Millie