WHAT WERE YOU DOING...

I saw this on my cousins blog and thought it would be interesting, especially in light of the fact that I am not posting about the house as I have lost my camera----hmmmm can't imagine why!!!


TWENTY years ago (1990) I...
1. I was a Freshman (9th grade)
2. Went to Washington D.C. with my parents
3. Was obsessed with New Kids On the Block too.

TEN years ago (2000) I...
1. Had Justyn, my first child
2. Finished my first year of teaching school
3. Became the family bread winner so Allen could finish school

FIVE years ago I...
1. Began my Masters degree program
2. Moved into my inlaws house, to save money for college and a baby
3. Went to India and saw the Taj Mahal!

THREE years ago I...
1. Graduated with my Masters Degree and bought a new house
2. Starting working at the State Office of Education
3. Had Jayson, my second child

ONE year ago I...
1. Started looking to buy a foreclosed home
2. Continued the remodel on the current home
3. Bought a camp trailer

So far THIS YEAR I have...
1. Realized there is more to life than Assessment
2. Set some new goals, including taking a REAL vacation from work
3. Becoming very tired and overwhelmed remodeling the foreclosed home that we bought

YESTERDAY I...
1. Worked
2. Bought lighting and vent covers for the house
3. Took Justyn to baseball practice

TODAY I
1. Made it to work
2. Created calendars for scouts
3. Worked with Justyn on his homework

TOMORROW I will...
1. Hopefully make it to work
2. Work on more baseboards in the basement
3. Go to the Orthopedist

In the NEXT YEAR I hope to...
1. Finish this *#%* house
2. Do ALOT of camping
3. Really focus on my wellness

EVERYDAY I..
1. Try to set a good example for my children
2. Be grateful to others for their service and for my blessings
3. Breathe.

WHAT KIDS SAY....

No this is not an update about the house, sorry.... Things are moving, but very slowly and I have to get a new memory card for my camera- *sigh*. BUT as we have been sick at our house this last week, I have had time to listen a little closer to my children, especially since I have been laying on the couch begging for release. Jayson as started saying "sure" anytime you ask him a question that you are looking for a "yes" to. He has also started to follow Justyn around mercilessly, copying his every move and as any older brother does, has started showing some irritation at this. In fact, it asked Jayson why he wasn't born a girl because a girl wouldn't follow him and copy him. I reminded Justyn of the time when we asked him if he wanted a brother or sister and he emphatically stated a brother "because what would I do with a girl?" Jayson looked at me and crinkled his nose and said "I no girl mom, huh." Oh, how I love them!

KISS THE COOK

Ok, so I am slow, but I have a good excuse!! We have a kitchen, yes, you heard right! We need only to put up the crown molding on the cabinets and the handles and backsplash, but it is a functioning, working kitchen. Next, the living room!!

KNOCK ON WOOD

Okay, Okay so I missed posting the ceiling when it was put up and all nice and textured and sealed up so we could use our heater, but I will share our next step....KITCHEN CABINETS!!! We are finally getting them out of the living room and in the kitchen where they belong. Allen is doing such a great job and being SO meticulous. We have had a few hiccups and found out that some things were not done as ordered, but they are beautiful. Allen has always been a HUGE fan of oak, oak this and oak that, everything has had to be oak! When we walked into the showroom of the cabinet place, I was drawn to some cabinets that looked awesome, Allen looked and moved on, but I kept coming back and he would follow. He ACTUALLY said that he liked these cabinets. We asked our contractor about them and he said they were Hickory, well we fell in love with them. So we are now doing Hickory wood in the kitchen, we have ordered the Hickory hard wood flooring for the Living Room. Our fireplace mantle and the railing and posts on the steps will also be Hickory! I am SO glad that they aren't oak! We should have all of them put in this weekend and get the countertops ordered. We are debating between granite, or Corian which is a solid surface top. I am hopeful to have a kitchen by Christmas---KNOCK ON WOOD!

I added some more pictures since our first post that include the top cabinets! ALSO we are soooo lucky, they are going to put our countertops in on Thursday!! I will have a kitchen for Christmas!!!

THE SKY IS FALLING.....THE SKY IS FALLING....

Well we have finally come to one of the major parts of this renovation. Saturday, November 7th, We tore down the ceiling that goes from the entryway through the upstairs family room and kitchen, to the mudroom and garage door. We moved everything either in the living room (with our new cabinets that arrived a week early :)) or downstairs. We are again holed up in the basement with our fridge and microwave in the living room. We are choosing not to use the kitchen area for reasons I am sure you can guess. I am so grateful that the basement has a furnace because we cannot use the furnace upstairs as it would spread all those fiberglass particles even more through the house. We were hoping that the sheetrocker could come this week and do the sheetrock, but he will not be able to come until Monday, the 16th. So alas, we will live like this for another full week. I was telling Allen the other night, 6 months ago, it seems that my life spiraled out of control and so many things were spinning and I couldn't grab onto them. I think that Heavenly Father did this so that when we decided to take on this adventure, I would be numb. Attached are the pictures of the teardown with the insulation, the teardown after we had cleaned up the insulation, and living room. I am so grateful for our friends and family that showed up to help. We were worried as everyone who said they would come, one by one were backing out.