Windows, parties, and my cute kids!

Progress, progress, and more progress!
When does a house really look like a house? When it has windows? Walls? Siding?Well, to me, it looks more like home each day!
It is pretty much 99% enclosed!
The garage door needs to go in.
But the windows and doors are in!! AND the deck went on!(See if in front of the slider there? No rails yet. :) )
Here is Cora sitting on it. :)And Gabriel testing out the stairs.
Progress!
Here is Cousin Dave checking it out!
And there is Sue and Aunt Marty in the familygreat room. The fireplace has been framed in. :)
It will be fronted with stone. Gabriel doing an inspection. :) I am standing in the family room looking into the dining area and to the right of that is the kitchen. There is a wall between the kitchen and the family room, but the dining area is open to the family room. I still call it a "great" room, the family room. :)
They are working on electric/wiring and plumbing currently. Not as exciting to watch. It's not the door, but who is standing in it that is important. :)
It is not a mansion... well it is to me. :)
I LOVE this house!
It makes me think I am willing to "get it together" and keep it together to stay there for the long haul!
I can't wait to move in!
Jerry's family is excited about the prospect of getting in before Christmas so we can have the Christmas Eve party at OUR house!! It has been at our house the last two years. I would hate to break tradition!

Megan had a party to celebrate HER getting into THEIR house! And to celebrate her mother.
Please pray for her mother (Linda). She starts chemotherapy TODAY.
She would appreciate your prayers!!

It is a LONG slide show!! I wanted to give Megan a chance to see the pictures! Only two photos have been adjusted... the rest are the way I took them. I barely had time to get the slide done! Takes FOREVER to load a slide with so many BIG pictures (file size)!
Enjoy! I got a chance to use, for the first time, Alicia's new 50mm f1.4 lens. I hate her... OK, I love her AND her lens!!!! OH MY GOSH! My passion is low light-no flash!! This lens enables me to do just that!!! WOW! I loved my first try at it.

And a quickie layout I did last week... literally, 15 minutes, even with cutting out those flowers from patterned paper! LOL!! I am SO much more organized! I could find what I knew I had SO much quicker! YAY!
I have my stuff organized here... paper, rhinestone embellishments, stickers and epoxy stickers, brads and metals, transparencies and chipboard, and all my letters, and all my flowers, all my tools and masks... everything has a bin/place! A couple of shared bins-but it has REALLY helped me see what I have!!
Anyway, Pink Sketches keeps me on my toes, and has me thinkin'! :)
OK, a bit more of my cute kids! Gavin must not have sat still for me this week! :)
I flippin' love picnik!! :) Black and white, then added back the eye color, and used "boost" to make that color "pop".
Do I needed adjusted (chiro.) or WHAT?? :) Definitely tilting to the right! :)
OK, I DO need adjusted BUT...
Try it! Frame your subject corner to corner... I love the affect. :)
Try it and link me or email me! :)
Or try picnik and link or email me? I might just add it to my blog! :)

Enjoy this crisp fall weather! It's gonna ran! I am going to get out THIS weekend to get my fall pictures with my kids, darn it! Not breaking THAT tradition!

Be Blessed!

What a great week!!

I think I am STARTING to get back into a routine!

For those of you that have asked... here is my basement palace! :)
My scrap area... and chairs that make up the "living roon" area (I am SO stretching that description! :) Turn around and if you are sitting in that chair shown above, the TV and computer table. :)
Notice what is on TV. :) The room beyond is the "walk in closet"... :) We are living amungst our stuff and his parents storage. :)The "master bedroom"... that is actually a futon, the bed. I didn't have to sleep on a futon in college! :)
We'll call it "cozy". :) There are shelves not covered by a sheet to the left-and the TV (9") that was in my scrap space the last house, is there so I can hang out in bed and watch the tube. :)
Hey-I have a cheap roof over my head. Nuff said. :)

8/23 happy years!! Married 8, best friends for 23. :)

Jerry and I have a long history... I met him when I was 16. We dated about 5 years... we were best friends... he was in my first wedding (see, long story), and then I came back to him. Thick and thin.
I wasn't saved back then... the first marriage, etc. etc... I'm not proud, but it is part of my story.
And I made it out the other side with three great kids and a wonderfully supportive husband. I am not complaining. We are still best friends. I love him so!Happy Anniversary to us!!

Before I babble about the house again... a couple of layouts! I am getting my groove back, I think. :)

Alicia... what a great friend! I am truly blessed!
I have 4 "best" friends that are such a big part of my life! The kind of friends that will be there the long haul, I just know it.
I have known Kelly for 34 years maybe? Anne for 10, Megan for over 6, Alica just after that.
I am just the luckiest ever!
I have lots of other great friends, don't get me wrong... but these girls... they help me MOVE! They would be there for me if I was in the hospital, and I them. I would drop everything for any of them and run to their sides...
I have lots of true friends.
Praise God for my blessings!
(OK, I just noticed the cute little striped book plate feel off of from around "Alicia"! {sigh})
Journaling says "My friend in faith, we pray together, I value her strength."
I am guessing my saying I value her strength wouldn't be the first thing she would think I would journal about... but Alicia, your stronger than you think!!

And this one... I took pictures of these in the evening, on my scrap table, so they are not coming out the best...I did this for "The Story Matters" and for Scrapaganza's blog challenge "Using larger pictures". I use 5x7's all the time! I love to use larger pictures. I should have probably pushed myself to do a 8x10... and still plan to.
All the layouts for this challenge will be up on the Scrapaganza Blog soon, so go check them out!!
And there are still crop seats left for tonight ladies!

I might stop by after the Heritage Fundraiser! Dr. Jackson is talking about Evolution vs. Creation, and what is being taught at our schools. He has an INCREDIBLE science background, and they say no question is too hard for him!
If you are reading this on Friday Oct. 17th, come to Jumer's tonight for the dessert banquet and to hear Dr. Jackson speak!! Tickets available at the door! Look for me at the "Iowa Precision Forge" table! (Thanks Dad!!)

OK, about the house. :)
I am amazed each morning when I stop by how much they can get done in a few hours!
The walls on the second floor were going up at the beginning of the week...

It was exciting to have stairs up the the second floor!The kids rooms before there was a front wall!
Moving right along...
Yesterday I went there at 9am, and 1/2 of the trusses were up on the roof! AND the showers and bath surrounds where in (in the bathrooms anyway) too!!! We opted for a 5 ft. walk in shower in our bath, and the tub shower combo in the kids... this girl is not bathing comfortably in a 5ft. tub, so why have to step in each time I shower? We had a walk in shower in our last house. I liked it. More room...
ANYWAY...

(From the back)
It's really looking like a house now!So I came by after school, and there were some roof boards up too!
The builder says the siding going up next week! And the plumber and electrician will be in the house next week too... and I think the windows go up by Monday! WOW!

And to finish...

Happiness is...
Having brothers that are willing to do your nails!
Be Blessed!!

I have GOT to quite...

...skipping days... cuz then I have SO much to update!!

CORA TURNED 6!!!I do not understand HOW that is possible!!
I remember her turning 4, then BLINK, she's 6!! 4 meant that she was with us as long as she was in Ukraine... 6 means she has been her MUCH longer. :)

Cora is a blessing I could not imagine! She is the meaning of praise during trial. She challenges me, makes me think out of the box, and she redefines love for me. She makes everything more fun, and is compassionate to a fault. She gives hugs precisely when they are needed, and then a few when you think you don't. :) Our world would not be the same without Cora!!

Gavin was the "star" in the chapel "play" at school!! They did the "You are Special" by Max Lucado, and Gavin was Eli!! He was SO proud! He did great! No front teeth and all! They all did a great job!!

First, the pledges:
Then the play...Then, there was a visit by the fireman that day!!

AND of COURSE, a house update!!
This has been the most exciting week yet!!
On Monday, come to find out, they had poured the garage and basement floors on Saturday!
AND delivered wood for the framing...


So THAT was pretty exciting... but that certainly was not the end of the weeks excitement! :)
Oh NO!
They started FRAMING!!
WE INTERRUPT THIS EXCITING PROGRESS ON THE HOUSE FOR WEDNESDAYS BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES...

While all that was going on, we met Grandma Don and Grandma Dinah for a visit to Jungle Bungle for Cora's birthday... :) SUCH fun! :)


Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!! We all had a great time!!

OK, so back to the house. :)
We came by for a peek and saw this AWESOME crane movin' some wood around!
And look at THIS! They build the deck of the first floor!!
And the basement stairs!! (with those scary temporary stair rungs!)
Walk out basement...
I think their friends are as excited about our moving into the neighborhood as we are! :)
And then I blinked... and the first floor floor was framed!
King of his castle. :)
The view from our "will be" deck... until they build the houses behind/to the side us anyway. :)

Inspecting the scene...AND... my scrap space!

OK, so I have to share with my husband... but it will be a great office!!
It would have been a dining room, but we enclosed it and added french doors, and it's an office. The dining area by the great room and kitchen is the same size, and we didn't need a dedicated dining room down the hall anyway... we love the set up-no office in the basement, or as part of the family room. :)
The great room ceiling is vaulted to the second floor too. Love that!
They finished the deck of the second floor today, and will be adding the second floor stairs and that framework on Monday! YAY! It is moving right along! WOW!
We are VERY blessed!!!

And a couple of layouts... last week and this weeks Pink Sketches!
Go check it out! Sketches are SO great!!

This week, using The Paper Element papers, die cut and rub-ons.
And last week... a layout with my brother. More Time. Wish I had more time with him...
I used a lot my supplies from my Studio Calico kit... and the new corrugated cardboard die cuts from Prima...
Have a GREAT week!!!
And Be Blessed!!