New Bedroom

Mike has been busy making me new bedroom furniture, and then we also painted the room. It looks great. All that is missing is some crown molding around the top. I'll post pictures when it is all done, but for now here's a sneak peak.

Cookies and Rings

The other night I noticed that my ring was broken on the back where the two are soldered together. I took it to a local ring shop and asked to get it fixed. The guy tried to tell me I also needed to get it refurbished, but that was an additional $30 on top of the $20 I was already paying to get it fixed. He promised it would look like it did when Mike gave it to me, but I decided that I couldn't fork over $50 at once. I asked to only have it fixed, planning to get it refurbished some other time. Well, the goldsmith must have taken one look at my sad-looking ring and decided to refurbish it anyway, because when I picked it up the next day, this is what I got! It looks bran new! How wonderful, and I didn't even end up having to pay for it. What a wonderful surprise. So my advise for the day: get your ring refurbished. It's amazing how it sparkles when it's clean and dent-free. Thanks again, Mike, for the perfect ring! I love you!
Of course, my camera doesn't do it justice.
For Valentine's Day we skyped Grandma and Grandpa L and joined their cookie bake via the Internet. It was fun, though as Grandma says, not quite the same as being there. But our GF cookies turned out amazing! I modified our favorite sugar cookie recipe, and it worked! They were perhaps a tiny bit more crumbly than usual, but I think I'll add more zanthan gum next time to fix that. They tasted great! Soooooooooo yummy! And the kids had a great time doing them. As you can see, Natalie mostly ate the frosting!

Rosy Cheek Test

Pictures of the kids coloring. Both of them LOVE to color.

We are all starting to get a little cabin fever. I even opened our bedroom window for a few minutes to let in some fresh air, before I realized it was FREEZING and shut the window. We are still undecided about the whole gluten diet permanence in our home, but I can't help but think we'll do it for at least a few more months. Carson is eating 2 to 3 times as much food as he used to! And Natalie is eating better as well. Mike thinks that Carson is gaining a little weight, too. But to me the real test of this diet is in his cheeks. They are rosy! He's always been really pale looking, but in the last month, he has developed a case of rosy cheeks, and he just looks healthier. So for the time being, we'll be sticking to the diet to see what long term results we have for Carson, Mike, and Natalie, too.