i am thankful for...

...family willing to help us paint at the last minute:

• a mother-in-law who scrapes gank (yes, that's gank, not gunk) from what will soon be where i stack my plates & glasses
• a big sister who paints those de-ganked zones & who applies what seems like 25 coats of paint to the areas that used to be TURQUOISE!
• a niece who is content to sit in a closet with a paper cup full of paint and paint ugly shelves (she actually did a pretty good job covering up the colors on them), & who comes out of that closet with a white ponytail
• a mother who gloves up & gets the gross out of places that i can't stomach & who sticks her whole upper half in cabinets where no man has ever gone
• a father-in-law who scampers up and down the ladder to paint around the trim & woodwork of our nursery & who removes the dozen j-hooks in the bathroom
• a baby sister who pays attention to detail and makes things like railing & ugly cabinet fronts pretty, even after she's worked all day
• a husband who does all the things i ask and who paints all the high spots to the point where i know his arms are aching

for those who didn't know, mike & i got word that our house loan was approved. we're still knee deep in paperwork, but because he knows were going to buy it, the seller is letting us in to do some work before we move. today was paint day--a few areas left to touch tomorrow, but otherwise its done. no more turquoise, burgandy & navy blue kitchen, and no more horrendously blue nursery!!! thanks everyone who painted, for a hard day of work! we appreciate you!!