Kendall's Birthday Interview '17'.

 Describe yourself.   

Strong, hard working, empathetic, kind. 

 

What are you thankful for?   
My family. My opportunities. Dutch. Dance. 
 
What makes you happy?   
Dance, work, being with friends and family. 
 
What makes you sad or angry?   
Disrespect towards people I love. 
 
What do you want to be when you grow up?   

I am not sure yet, but I do want to help others and make a difference in someone’s life. 
 
What’s important to you?   
Overall...kindness. 
 
What do you love most about yourself?   
My determination and ability to empathize. 
 
What do you love most about your mom?   
Her love of development and improvement in life. 
 
What do you love most about your sister?   
Her sense of humor and how passionate she is about horses. 
 
If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?   
New Zealand.  
 
Who do you admire? Why?   
My mom. She works so hard, is so committed to everything she does, and has the kindest soul.  
 
What do you want to learn more about?   
How each person functions differently, the psychology behind intentions.  
 
What’s something you’d like to do to help someone else?   
Bringing people flowers without any rhyme or reason. It truly is the little things :) 
 
What are you afraid of?  
Losing my family. 
 
If you could only keep one thing, what would you keep?  
My memory box. 
 
What’s your favorite memory?  
Going to San Diego with Dad and the family, and visiting Disney and Sea World 
 
What are you proud of yourself for?   
Balancing school, work, dance and finding a job and an art that I love so much. 
 
What are you looking forward to this year?     
Performing my solo, specifically in Seattle.  
 
What do you dream about?   
The unknown of the future. As scary as it is, it’s so beautiful. 
 
What else do you want to say? 
Slay the house down, boots, Houston I’m deceased. 

Dr. Beauchaine says...

Kendall turned 17 on January 3rd.  I cannot believe that.  She had her wellness check and promptly informed me that Dr. Beauchaine says she is now a 'young adult'.  EGADS.  How did this happen?  Of course, she wanted orange chicken and rice for her birthday dinner.

She also asked for cheesecake for dessert.  

We had a lot of fun celebrating her special day.  Not a birthday goes by that I do not recall the first time I laid eyes on this beautiful little girl.  I will never forget that night.  She has changed my life forever.  I am so thankful to be her momma.

Hannah joined us for the celebration.  Kendall had asked for Lego flowers for Christmas.  She and Hannah were both incredibly sad she did not get them.  So, never fear, Hannah came through for her birthday.

The two of them promptly went to work putting the flowers together.  

I managed to capture Sid and my Dad making goofy faces.  No surprise there!

Dani even joined in on the fun.

Funny story, Kendall worked on her birthday.  Sid and I pulled through mid morning and told all her co-workers it was her birthday.  It was game on after that.

A little throwback to when pulling through Dutch on your birthday garnered you a drink the size of your head.

Extreme Makeover, Heather Edition.

Wow, January is not even over yet, and it has been an incredible year so far.  Sidney and I spent New Year's Eve at the ranch, while Kendall had the closing shift at Dutch.  We decided to take our cold, grubby selves to Ling and Louie's for a yummy New Year's Eve dinner.

That afternoon, I had decided, very spontaneously, to give the dining room a makeover.  Thank goodness I had a stash of painting supplies and some Sherwin Williams paint leftover in my garage.  Here is the before picture of our dining room

I had decided that it was time to part with the hutch that my cousin Ron had made in high school shop, roughly 40 years ago.  Thankfully it will be staying in the family, as his son Jake will be the proud new owner.  I still have the glass doors wrapped nicely in my storage closet.

For the big reveal...here is my new dining room.  All these items were in my home, except the nice new buffet cabinet.  I also purchased some 2x material to make the shelves.  The barrel chairs were from the sunroom.  I did not end up loving them in there, and was planning to sell them.  However, they fit perfectly in this space.  When I am puzzling, the girls come and sit in them to chat.  It is a win-win, really.

I moved Kevin's shadowbox to my room.  It looks beautiful in there.

While I was at it, I was adventurous enough to re-paint the sunroom.  I really wanted to get rid of the plum color, but the girls were not keen on a neutral color, so we settled on this lovely shade.  Oh, and I splurged and got the chairs I really wanted!