Tis the Season and Basement Update...

This is post is going to be a little random, but there are lots of things to update. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted- we've been a little busy around the Baker household. Our Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful. We got to spend a lot of time with family and it was great to see our out-of-town family that we don't get to see very often. We even got a chance to see our friends Josh, Julia and Ethan who were visiting from Ohio. It's always great to catch up with friends... Would you believe I didn't take one picture all weekend? I guess I was just too caught up in the festivities to get out my camera :( Our little man is officially walking and now into everything! Walking has definitely opened up a whole new world for him, and he's loving this newfound freedom... We also have our house all decorated for Christmas. This is the first year we've been able to hang our stockings by a fireplace... Drew and I are really enjoying the fire in the evenings after Evan is asleep.

Walking down the hallway....

Our new skinny Christmas tree... We had to get a new one this year because our old one was too wide to fit upstairs and too tall to fit in the basement....

And the stockings were hung...

The nativity... I know it's so easy to get caught up in all of the "trimmings" of Christmas, but I pray that we all remember the true meaning of Christmas this year....

I also realized that we haven't updated any basement pictures lately to show you our progress.. So here are a few for those of you who have been asking for pictures! It's definitely still a work in progress, but we're getting there slowly but surely. The main room is pretty much done except for new trim and doors, and window treatments. Then we still have to finish the other 3 rooms and bathroom down there... Here are some before and after pictures for those of you who have forgotten what it used to look like...
Before pictures with old bar....
Before pictures...

After- with ceiling, flooring, paint, furniture and pool table....

Furniture and toys- Drew has a big-screen tv on his wish list for the basement....

We still have a little bit of the old trim to put up around the doors, but eventually we plan to replace all of the trim and doors with new...
The pool table that Drew's mom won on "The Price Is Right" several years ago. Drew's aunt has had it at her house, but they let us have it for our basement since they rarely used it.... We've already had lots of fun playing...
The old bar with a new painted look. We'd eventually like to at least replace the countertop, but it works alright for now...
The spare bedroom before- paneling, yucky carpet, and no ceiling....

The spare bedroom after that we had drywalled. All ready for paint and carpet someday...