Sunday, September 28, 2008

A week in a busy life..

I do not think we have stopped packing and moving for over a week straight.
When I went with Jerry to drop up the last U-Haul load to the storage unit, I about passed out... looking at all of our things in boxes and random piles (OK, not so random-Jerry is an AWESOME packer, but MAN some of the stacks of boxes and bins are HIGH!!) and realizing that is most of our worldly possessions are in that one place.
I wish I could say there was less than there was. There is a LOT.
The crazy thing is that we got rid of SO much! Trailers full of garbage and Goodwill... it is insane! I tried to put my hands on EVERYTHING! And EVERYTHING we left on the curb for people to take, it ALL went! Toys, cribs, a dresser, an old couch, three chairs-no make that 4! Crazy! But I am glad that people were blessed by our free garage "sale"!

We should be DONE in acouple days here. I have my scrapbook stuff to sort through, and then we should REALLY be done! Stuff is at the in-laws already... the kids are excited... it's time.
I might not have internet tomorrow! Weird.

Someone asked me if I was sad. Nah. It somehow never felt like ours... Like a rental feels.
Maybe in part because I moved so much here without sorting it out.
Maybe because so much had to be changed to our taste when we moved in and so much still needed done...
...maybe I just knew things would change.
It was/is the people IN the house that matter.
But we did move here when Gabriel wasn't even 2... when Cora was home just 4 months... so much has happened.
But we are looking forward to the blessings of the new house. Scary. But exciting!

OK, so for some pictures!
Gavin FINALLY lost his snaggle tooth! :)
MAN did that thing hold on! And he got a new cast! Just two more weeks!!
And there was Grandparents Day at Heritage!
Grandpa Don, Grandma Dinah and Grandma Sue came!
I dragged Sue back out of the car for a picture, and then her picture was really blurry! Sorry Sue!
I MISS my Canon!! ANYWAY, I think the boys were SO proud to have their Grandparents there!


They took the forms off of the basement walls...And then graded around the house! It kinda looks normal now! Well, it's getting there. It is was weird before, the ground being so much higher than where the walk out door was!
Now we can just walk right in!
View from my from stoop (incomplete and all!)
View from my hopefully-someday-soon deck. :) OK, that will be awhile-but I scaled the wall to get the perspective anyway!I'll end with a couple layouts...
For Scrapaganza's blog challenge-I kept it simple. Challenged MYSELF to use dimensional stickers (these are Reminisce).
And for Pink Sketches. I did this one using the new Prima cardboard embellishments. Fun!
Better get to Scrapaganza quick for these! They are sold like a little mini-book kit with a sheet of die cuts and two huge flowers some pages and a 12x12 sheet of corrugated cardboard, oh and some great string and ribbon and lace too!
YUM!!
It is a picture of myself with my brother WAY back when. The title says it all-More Time. I wish I had more time... I lost him when I was 16... he was 8 years older. I miss having a brother.

That's it!

Come by The Story Matters and play too!!

I will be off-line for a couple day I think, so in the meantime:
Be Blessed!!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Walls...

We have walls... well, basement walls anyway!
It's progressing.
I have to let it go that the builder thought we would be framing this week. It will be mid-next week now. Sigh. Not my time. God's time. Patience. :)But it is fun to watch! (that big tall cement crane thingy is COOL!) And the empty house next door is not empty anymore! A family with 4 kids and one on the way were moving in today! And their oldest is 7! YAY! And the next 5! YAY! So far, this neighborhood seems to be a match! Neighbors always make me a bit nervous though. I haven't really had any for like 8 years. The ones we have, there is more space. You can't always pick your neighbors. I saw the new neighbors have a quad. Those scare me. It is for sale... thank Goodness. :) I am thinking more in along the lines of a golf cart for us! :)ANYWAY, it is funny... the neighbors, I think they all will be great! The next house down, I went to high school with her. The next neighbors, the wife is very "horsey"... cool! And they have kids the same age or close too... and then of course there are the Brady's... there down the road and around the curve, but I KNOW they will be over! Can't wait!! :)

OK, I hope you guys don't get too sick of house posts... It will be over... in aobut 3 months! Then there will be the decorating picutres! LOL! OK, I'll try to keep it to the scraproom (that's a lie.)

ALSO-I haven't posted about Gavin's broken arm. It is a sad thing for a mom. He is dealing SO well. He is such a gracious boy. I love him so. But it hurts when your baby is hurt!Cute little snaggle tooth kid! He lost one of his front teeth, and the other front tooth is hanging on for dear life! I bet it is out in the next two days... it has taken about 2 months since it was first crooked!!

And come on over to Pink Sketches! Great sketch! Great site!! FULL of inspiration!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Happy Birthday Kelly!!!!

My best friend is old(er than me)! :)

And I love her!

And I can't believe I have know her since I was 9-10 years old!!!!

And I wish her a WONDERFUL year of happiness and prosperity!!

We took her to The Spa At Five Star Salon (last Weds.-her sister and mom stole her today for a trip to Chicago for the weekend.)

WONDERFUL!!!!!Just a little bit of luxury 'til we can get to the tropics!!

Love ya girlie!!
In other news...
We are moving this weekend. Ugh. ALL day today!
We are tired.
The big stuff went today. The loose ends will be wrapped up this week.
In a week, I will be living in a basement... but I am loved, I am blessed, and I choose joy!! :)

They set the footings... hopefully the basement walls will go up Monday.
I will try to "fix" this picture later... but I just LOVE it! Blurry and all!!
I got the bill for getting my Canon fixed. Less than a year old, and it needs $230 worth of repair. Are you KIDDING me??? They keep this up and I am moving to Nixon!
So these pictures have been my 4mp Sony! Great little camera, but I miss my shutter speed!!

OK, we blog to remember.
I have to add these two.
I know some people are FREAKED out by snakes, but these are garters, for goodness sakes.
They are youngin's... and they are inseparable. They were in front of the house while we were moving... sticking their little heads out to watch... and coming out to see what was up. One moved, the other followed. I have seen mom(I think)... she is BIG for a garter. THey eat spiders... and other bugs... I like that. Anyway, they were funny! We ended the day with a huge TOAD on the front stoop.OK, well, my exhausted husband just fell asleep on the carpeted-no furniture floor. (Snoring to boot!) He worked REALLY hard today!Time to go set up the areo bed and get some shut-eye!

Be blessed!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

My music is back...

...cuz I missed it.

I know, I know... it is annoying to some.

But then sometimes, when I visit someone else s blog with music I like, I leave that window open.

I missed my music.

Yes, I like secular music too...
I "grew up" in the 80's!
I married a "hair band" bass player for goodness sakes!

But now I listen to 95% Christian music.

And that is OK. Contemporary Christian is much "cooler" now...
Well, at least I think so. :)

And nothing gets to me like my children singing these songs that I love.

Hey, Chris Sligh was on American Idol!! :)
(JUST ordered his CD thank you very much!!)

Be Blessed-and enjoy!!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

RAIN RAIN go AWAY....

...your keeping our footing from being put in for our HOUSE!! :)

Delays, delays... I really hope Ike goes east and we get a break from this rain.
Though it does sound nice right now out the window...

Here are a few more pictures. :)
REAL digging!Jerry surveying the progress!And a couple of layouts!
For Pink Sketches:
My layout: And The Story Matters-Current Events... how things of the world affect you...
I used the new KI sheers for these layouts!! I am going back ASAP before these babies sell out!!
SO fun to use!! LOVE them!!!!
Head to Scrapaganza for yours! :)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Catching up AGAIN!! {WARNING! VERY long post!}

I KNOW it is easier to do small posts every few days... but sometimes it is more like "oh, I'll do that tomorrow!" and then tomorrow comes and there is no time again.

It is a common story. Mine is not unique.

I hear that from non-bloggers all the time "I don't have time to blog."
But I look at it as an extension of my scrapbooking.
I blog... I can make my blogging into a book (blurb.com) and so I try to capture those moments I want to remember in picture and print...But I get behind. I am not the only one...

I always marvel at people that blog daily...
I am not that disciplined. Maybe after we move... then move again... then get settled.
Maybe then.

So here we go!!!

Back to School!Gavin entered 2nd grade. How did that happen? WHEN did he get so big??
(Here he is back with "the boys"! It use to be all boys and one girl... the ratio has since improved the last two years!) Gabriel is now in Kindergarten. My baby. In Kindergarten. NO WAY!!!Cora... she went into Kindergarten too... but since she is my middle child-well, Gabriel is just the baby... and the baby is the shocker when it comes to Kindergarten. I think I am just in denial about Cora! LOL! Cora is so stinkin' little (and cute!) that I forget that she is even OLD enough for kindergarten!

The boys are at Heritage Christian School. Cora is at Neil Armstrong still getting services.
Two years in Ukraine, and a cleft palate to boot have made for some challenges. But she is a good little girl and getting it worked out! I LOVE her teacher!!I LOVE Heritage. Yes... I am on the board. So I am a bit biased. But then, I am on the board because I love the school so much. Not only is it Christian, but the education they are getting is heads above the rest. It doesn't help seeing Cora's curriculum next to Gabriel's. I know if you have your child at public school in my area, you might be annoyed by this post. But I can tell you, the small classroom at Heritage, (there are 11 in Gabriel's class) and the way they teach... I can't help but worry about the advatage it gives them... but for now, Cora needs someone equipted to handle her challenges. So I can just pray.

OK, they start caring about the BRANDS they wear as soon as 2nd grade?? I was informed, when we went back to return mis-sized shoes that I bought for Gavin, that "everyone" had Sketchers Z-straps or Airators... huh? I confirmed with the mom (ahem-Amy Brady...) that I thought least likely to fall for this!! And she confirmed... she bought Sam Sketches. Well, Grant's mom endorsed their durability... and OK, so we had different (I am sure uncool) Sketchers last year, and they are indeed still intact for Gabriel to wear....So what would any respectable mother do in this situation? CAVE of course!! :)
Like Amy said. If all they ask for is shoes, hey, we're doing OK. (Pssst-mine asks for Nintendo games too! BUSTED!! :) )

Random...
Sometimes just seeing them together in some innocent moment, gets right to my heart. The Circus...

Yep. We skipped a year, but this year we were back at the circus!!

THANK YOU GRANDPA DON AND GRANDMA DINAH!!(and thank you to my wonderful husband who took pictures while I was still at work!!)

They went to see the animals and the pre-show down on the floor!
They were even included in the pre-show activities! Jerry included! :)
Gavin is always SO eager to volunteer! Whatever it is, he wants to do it! Brave boy! :)
OK, so Jerry was teasing this guy...So he put him to work! (Dad took this one!) Then they all got in on the act!! :)
We were then in the third row!!!
Look close... in that red and white car... it's CANDI andher family (and mom!) :)
(of course the BEST non-blurry picture is when they didn't see me yet! LOL!)

I just LOVE the elephants... It was GREAT!!
It was also Grandpa's first time at a circus! Huh??

It was spectacular as usual!
And the kids had a GREAT time!!

Layouts:
Probably should post some layouts, since I am a scrapbooker. :)
My camera is recharging... but in the meantime...
For Pink Sketches AND The Story Matters!

For The Paper Element and Pink Sketches (see a trend here? :) )
And my layout for the Scrapaganza Blog Challenge (an example).
It is inspired by the ad below... which is the challenge-ad inspiration. :)

It is a very simple layout profiling the new Glitz that we have at Scrapaganza!!
LOVE this "Elemets" line!!
More Randomness...
THIS is what happens when you leave the kids alone with the babysitter. :)
If I recall correctly, Gabriel did this to Cora!Well... Gabriel didn't want to be left out or anything!

So Cora started gymnastics.
I have a confession. I know there is a little olympian in there.
I mean come ON! She IS from Ukraine!
OK, all teasing aside... she is the living example of a God given gift. She taught herself to cartwheel, flips... she hangs with no fear from EVERYTHING-and can do the monkey bars since last year!! She is just amazing-my little monkey.I wanted to wait until I thought she would have a chance at paying attention.
So now she goes once a week to Gymnastics Spectrum.
I watch and listen, and try not to become one of THOSE moms!
But come ON! She's got what it TAKES! :)

I'll keep ya posted on all that! So far, so good! :)

The biggest blessing!!
We are building a house!!
God is good in ways that I can never predict.
It just kinda worked out!
The funny part is that we have to move out of our current home by the end of the month (that isn't the funny part)...
and in the mean time (since the house isn't build yet-see pictures below!) we are going to be living in my in-laws two bedroom one bath home for 3+ months. :)
OK, so they have "rooms" in the basement... some frame and dry walled rooms from Jerry's "studio recording" days...
They have been SO gracious to take us in!
They have been purging and cleaning and getting ready for us.
Adding a commode in the basement. :)
The kids will go in the second bedroom... us in the basement...
It will be an awesome opportunity to save money. Amen to that!

The kids in front of the empty lot!


The posts that mark the sections of the house... that is the front stoop, that square in front of me... The guys are standing on the deck. :) From the back edge of the back yard looking towards our cul-de-sac (below). It is a weird kinda pie shaped lot. Our house is basically the same as the one facing me behind the digger... without the upper porch on the back. And without the third garage... and without the double peak over the garage... and the front door is in a different spot-since we switched where the dining room with the foyer is and made it an office... and it will be a darker gray and white trim-not sure on the shutters-right now they are a charcoal black... and a RED door! I SO want a RED door!! How sharp is that?? If you would tell me I was going to have a gray house, I would have laughed... but the darker gray with white trim is a nice contrast... and I LOVE it with a red door!! :)
I initally wanted the color of the house you can see the side of there behind the guy standing there. But I didn't want the same as the house next door... even with light contrasting corners and trim, I think it would be to "matchy"... most of the houses in the neighborhood are either wheat or that color...
Surveying. The first dig... OK, so it is only for the sewer, since it was due to rain like 6 inches today... so the real digging starts on Monday. Setback #1. :)
This is what gets me the most excited (see below)... a place where my children can ride their bikes! Like I said, we are going to live on a cul-de-sac... and there are sidewalks! I never would have thought I would care or want these things. But for these kids...

I love our floor plan. Open family room is open to above (2 story). Jack and Jill bathroom for the kids with separate shower/"commode". An office (scrap-space) for Jerry and I to share. Walk out basement. It's perfect. And a builder that is doing the floor plan we want in OUR budget! Sure, we won't have a cool master sleeping porch like the house we originally saw had... or the screened room off the family room. And it will be 2 instead of a 3 car garage... that's OK... we didn't over spend for those things, and maybe we can add them someday. Right now, all that matters is the safety and low maintenance!! :)

They say to buy the cheapest house in the best neighborhood. I think we are accomplishing that! :)
Jerry is lovin' the process too. :) YAY!
We are lot #18... the sign fell over. Right there on the end of the court!
I will be blogging this house journey! What a blessing and a privileged to be a part of this process!

WHEW!!! That was LONG!!!
I'll try to keep up! I promise! :)

And I leave off with this...
Scripture.
I have to remember this.
I hope we can all keep this in mind (not just me. :) )
Ephesians 4:29-32
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I am aware of the fact that I am flawed.
I sin and I am not perfect.
I do know that I have been making a conscious effort to follow this scripture. God challenges me and tests my resolve regularly. But regardless, no matter how opinionated I am, I never really want to hurt anyone.
And I have to be aware that some people may not always be aware of their affect on me.
Or they are not aware of the importance of the meaning of the above scripture.
A wise friend of mine reminded me some time ago-you don't have to invite yourself to every fight. True.
And I have also learned the power of silence.
And the power of continuing to be the positive, joyful person I truly am. It is contagious. Just as contagious as that other nasty stuff...
I choose joy.

Be Blessed.