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We have discussed and discussed these darn stairs for just about a year now. When we first moved in this house, the stairs were covered in stained, nasty, and worn out beige carpet. The first day in the house, John Chris and I pulled out all the carpet. 
The right side of the stairs where the wood ends was going to be white with a piece of white curved white trim on the left side against the wall. I pulled out a few of the wood spindles and painted the trim white. Hmmm. Not exactly what I had in mind.
So, the stairs just remained an unfinished project until John Chris came across a picture. I know this sounds cheesy, but he found a picture of the Kardashian Christmas card. The staircase they were standing on was what we had in mind. The basic difference was that the stair tread and riser came all the way out to the end of the step with the iron spindle anchored directly to the step. The risers were also painted white instead of being stained wood. We knew this would be a ton more work and more expense, but it would be worth it.
Since the boys were visiting their grandparents, we ripped out all the spindles and wood.
We sanded the handrail and newel posts and painted them white. We also added the curve white trim on the left wall. 
Before
After
We spent Good Friday working on the flower beds. It started out as just pulling some old ratty bushes out of the backyard, but it quickly grew to a complete overall in the front. Every bush in the backyard was removed except for one, and about 75% of the front yard was removed. All the old mulch and leaves were removed, and the plants were rearranged and grouped to our liking. We trimmed the old bushes that remained and fertilized everything. A truck load of fresh mulch polished off all our hard work. The only thing that is missing is the seasonal color. A little bit of yellow lantana, and we are done.
Reed was a great supervisor. We brought his swing out on the front porch, so he could be with the family. He hung out and took a nap. He loves being outdoors.
A dip in the chilly water was the perfect way to cool off after a hard day.
The tile project has reached the breakfast room and hallway. The transformation is amazing, and I can't wait to see the completed project. John Chris is working his fingers to the bones. It is extremely hard work that is very physically exhausting. Needless to say the pain pills are coming in handy for me and John Chris.
The kitchen appliances have been pulled, and the kitchen is the last area to be tiled. This room will finally come together with the granite and back splash that were all part of the tile selection. The kitchen will take some special cuts and the most time, but it will look awesome.
Ryland is being a helper again. He has the tile mortar file, and he is working hard. It is hilarious to watch him copy everything we do.
Reed is enjoying the project so far. He has been hanging out in his swing and relaxing.
Reed is such a laid back baby. He only gets a little fussy when it is time to eat. He is starting to look like Ryland when he was an infant. When I saw him sleeping in the swing, it took me back two years.
Ryland is enjoying some Cheetos and watching his favorite show, Dora the Explorer. He watches the complete episode and has started interacting with the programming.
It was that time of the year again. The Dallas bridal show kicks off my spring and summer wedding season, and I geared up for a busy time while carrying some extra baby weight. The show went very well, but it was difficult to stand for so long. I completely changed the set up for the show and introduced yellow as the accent color, and I had a great deal of positive feedback. 
The play set that Gran Pop bought Ryland for Christmas came in this week, and we were thrilled to see that the weather was going to be beautiful this weekend. John Chris and Uncle Brad took advantage of the 75 degree day and worked on the assembly. Lizzie came to town to help out, and Ryland had a blast visiting and helping.
Are we done yet? 
Taking a break to enjoy a yogurt snack.
Aunt Chanda was told to climb on up to check out the view from Ryland's penthouse. He is so excited, and I look forward to spring so we can really enjoy playing outside.
We spent the day caulking the nursery. The crown moulding, door casing, and baseboard is all complete and just needed some MAJOR caulking. Ryland had to get in on the fun, so John Chris gave him some caulk to help. Ryland had been watching intently and had a pretty good idea of what to do. The caulk got a little messy, but it was fun.
The master bedroom is finished. Hooray! We put the final touches on some little projects and wrapped up the first completely finished room in the house. We removed the carpet and pad, installed hardwood floors, painted, new baseboard, replaced electrical switches, new ceiling fan, white recessed light cans with new bulbs, cleaned and repainted all vents, and then added all our furniture. The after pictures are taken at night, but the room does have a warmer, cozier feel. The wall color looks fresh and clean during the day with the plantation shutters open. We are very pleased with the end result. On to the rest of the house....
AFTER
BEFORE 
We rented scaffolding to paint the family room and install the new ceiling fan. It is crazy how a little bit of paint can totally change the look of a room. The ceiling has several different vault lines, so it is a pain. This is the last area we have to paint in the main living area, and we will be ready to move into the formal areas.
Ryland helped with the fan assembly. More like the dis-assembly of the fan box, but whatever makes him happy and content is great. The new fan is a good bit bigger than the old one, and it was pretty difficult to get hung. It looks great now that it is hung. I love progress!
The project for today was our outside lighting. The previous owner had up lights installed, but they were not operational and several of the light brackets were broken and hidden in the bushes. We didn't expect much of it to be salvageable, but we were pleasantly surprised. All of the electrical wiring worked, so we just needed to replace all of the fixtures. We are so pleased to have another project done, and we love it.
We updated our kitchen light cans tonight, and it is one more project we can check off the list. The old can lights had a black insert around the light bulb, and we now have a white insert. Minor detail that really made a nice difference. It looks so clean and refreshed! The kitchen is now lighter and brighter. Thanks to Daddy and Ryland for doing such an amazing job installing them.
Another day and another trip to Lowes. I really think we will start getting mail there one day soon. Ryland even knows the aisles by heart at this point. He was getting a bit fussy in the shopping cart, so we let him down to walk with us. He did great until we stopped to find something. He then got a little silly, and he quickly discovered that Lowes is a pretty cool place to play hide and seek.
John Chris and I wanted to finish the paint in the study today since only the ceiling, above the bookshelves, and around the trim were left. I stepped out of the room just for a moment, and Ryland decided to take over the job. He climbed up the step ladder and was helping dad finish. He really wants to do whatever his dad is doing - only without pants.