We've fallen in love all over again...

...with our home. There was a lot of talk about LOVE at our house over the holiday weekend

"I LOVE this carpet"

"I LOVE having a play room"

"I LOVE the space!"

"I LOVE that my husband can do ANYTHING!"

"I LOVE putting the computer downstairs"

"I LOVE getting rid of all this stuff"

and most commonly mentioned from both of us...

"I LOVE OUR STORAGE ROOM!"

Our storage room was the first big project after we bought our home. It instantly became my favorite room in the house. Since we moved back, our storage room has been less than pretty. Starting exactly one year ago on Valentine's Day, Jeff bought me the best gift ever and has spent the last year working on it.

We're THRILLED to say it's complete! We'll post more pictures as we get more settled. Unfortunately, during the process, my beloved storage room took a beating. Every loose thing not used daily was crammed into that poor room, and retrieving a can of soup or a box of granola bars became a dangerous endeavour.

This was shortly before this weekend...

It took all week to get things in order (working order, not finished order). Two days just on the storage room. But, here she is...

(same view)

and now that I can actually go INSIDE, here's from another angle. I'm a little excited, can you tell?

Aren't those empty shelves just begging for wheat, sugar, and flour? Oh, I can't WAIT to keep filling them up!

The other highlight of our weekend was spending Sunday with our sweet Alaguretnam family who recently arrived from Thailand. Through a number of miracles I have yet to fully comprehend, they were accepted by the USA (which is extremely rare) and arrived with tired eyes and endless smiles last month. I apologize to those of you who have been waiting to see pictures of their arrival!

We were treated to an amazing dinner of Thai and Sri Lankan food at their apartment with Matt and Jesse (both Elders who taught the family and we all fell in love with).

Oh, the food. We miss the food!

It was a happy evening to see them adjusting, learning about the culture, and just being a family. Until they left Thailand, the dad had been in the Immigration Detention Center for over 11 months, which meant he didn't get to see his family except for one visit to the hospital while preparing for their journey. This family deserves to be happy, and it was so wonderful to see them able to live a very normal life. The children are even preparing to start school this week and are SO excited about it.

Jack and Jane loved playing with Abby and Mithu, not to mention the rousing games of "Simon says" with the Elders.

We were completely taken back to our days in Thailand, except we now have Alice to add to the mix. It was nice to remember. Although Jeff and I talk about some aspect of our time there nearly everyday, we usually end our conversations wondering if it really happened. It just seems a little surreal. Spending time with our Thailand friends confirms that yes, it was real. And it was wonderful.

We miss you Thailand, and everyone that made our time there so unbelievable!

Here are a few more bonus pictures for all those of you who love the Alaguretnams like we do!

I loved this one from the day after their arrival at our home. Alice was perfectly happy and comfortable with everyone. Just like her sister!

Of course, they unnecessarily brought everyone gifts. Jane was in HEAVEN! Do they know little girls, or what? This dress matches one that Abby has, making it their second set of matching dresses.

Speaking of friends moving to Utah... who's next?


And in case you were wondering if Alice keeps getting cuter. Yes. Yes, she does. Here's proof:

I have a picture of me sitting on my mother's counter like this when I was a bit older than this. My mom called me her cookie jar.

Alice loves her bed. She often reaches for it and doesn't allow us to finish rocking her before bedtime.

I wanted to show off the cute vinyl art I bought from my cousin's etsy store. Ann is the kind of person that can pretty much do anything. If I didn't think she was so amazing, I'd probably be madly jealous of her. But, I'm really just proud to call her family. I've got a bunch more to put up, but this was my first round and I thought it turned out pretty cute.