Breathing a Sigh of Relief

 When my mom sold her house it happened so quickly that Craig and I didn't really have time to get the garage ready to store her things.  We knew we wouldn't be able to do the addition until fall, but we said we'd deal with it later since we were not motivated in the dead of winter to go through our things and make room for her things.  Not to mention we had to move some things from the inside of our home to make room for her, so of course we just threw them in the garage.

So here are a few before photos to show how crammed and stuffed our garage became.

 Last weekend we had it on our to do list of things we wanted to get done but, naturally it kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list and it didn't get done.  But yesterday, Nana and I decided enough was enough and it was time to take the plunge.  As overwhelming as it was to take all of her things out and a bunch of ours, as well, we hunkered down and got 'er done! And in record time, I might add.  Just 3 hours from start to finish.  We even made time to take the things we no longer needed to the rescue mission.  That added a couple extra hours, but it was great to feel a little bit lighter and breath a deep sigh of relief that this project is done!

 

 Even the kids joined in the fun and went through their stuff!

Finally there is enough room for Nana's things to be neatly stacked and for an extra bonus--a place park my car!  This is a big deal for me, because I hate, hate, hate to scrape my windows.  And while it is summer now and we are enjoying some great weather, I just know that the window scraper will have to come out again before Nana finally has a place to call her own!

 Isn't that a beautiful sight?!!

12 Summers

 I saw this on a blog I came across this week.  How many summers do you have left in your home? 

Well after a little calculating, I came up 5 for Ema and 7 for Caleb.  How crazy is that?   I am so glad that my job is flexible enough to have the ability to be home with them. We've had many great adventures over the years.   Travels to new places, visits with family, hanging out with friends, and just kicking back and relaxing.  That is definitely my favorite part of summer.  This summer, Craig is only able to take one week off instead of two.  But that's okay, since the majority of this summer will be caring for and training our new family members.  While we will be taking some day trips here and there, we will primarily be sticking pretty close to home this summer. We will definitely be working on projects around the home.  We still have a ton on the to do list!  In fact, it seems like the list just keeps getting longer and longer! First on the list--try to make room for one car in the garage.

The best thing is we are looking forward to all of the great things God has in store for us.

Treats

Today the kids and I headed to town to get a few treats!  I don't usually splurge on myself, but today I did just that.

 A new pair of black sandals.  My last pair were flip flops that had seen better days.

And I know what you're thinking.  Sharpies?  A splurge?  For me it is!  And I can hardly wait to start marking it up!

I Love Summer

It always takes a bit to get adjusted from working to being on summer vacation.  It never ceases to amaze me that while I only work part time, and my schedule changes every quarter, this change from working to not working takes me a while to get into the groove.  There's the let down of saying goodbye to another group of students.  There's the adjustment of having my own kids home all day.  And of course there is the time it takes to just get used to not having to be somewhere at a specific time. But I must admit that is the best part.  No commitments.  Just go with the flow!  Here's the low-down on our first week.

Monday we bought some puppies.

Tuesday we went to the library.

Wednesday we went to town to visit friends.

Thursday we went to a movie.

And today.  Today we had lunch with Craig and saw what we thought to be an extinct item--the pay phone.  Then we ventured to the park and had ice cream on the way home. The kids played with the wagon and their puppies.

No real plans.  Just figuring it out day by day!  My favorite kind of way to be!

A New Addition

This afternoon the kids and I headed into town to wash the car, get some gas, pick up a bag of cement and one last post to finish off the fence.
Oh, and we just happened to see these two for sale, so we brought them home, too!

Welcome home to Lilly and Quinn.  Sister and Brother German Short Haired Pointers. 

Born April 9, 2012.

And oh so cute!!

The Passing Of Time

The passing of time always seems to amaze me.  When I want it to go by quickly it seems like it drags. When I want to slow it down and enjoy the moment forever it seems like it's gone in an instant.  The only thing I can count on is that it is always passing...whether it be slow or fast!

Based on the last time I posted to this blog, one might think that my time had ended.  Funny thing is that my life was a little chaotic and sitting down to add a post was a little far from the mind.  Adjusting to the arrival of my mom, finding out I may or may not have a job next fall, and of course, working on the various projects around the property took precedent over updating my family and friends on what has been going on in our little neck of the woods!

So, let's get caught up!

My mom's arrival has been great.  Of course we are all anxious for the addition to get started, but it looks as if this project is going to have to be postponed until fall.  So we are making the best of the situation and surprisingly we have only had one altercation during the past two months. 

 This little guy completed the fifth grade and will be moving on the middle school next year.  Way to go bud!

Mind you, that means for the first time ever, I will be in the building without my personal children present.  Back in 1998, I opened the school while pregnant with this beauty!

 

Hard to believe she's 13 now.

As for my job, after spending five long years fighting to have some some security and a permanent contract as a half time employee, I found out I will be gainfully employed by my school district for yet another year!  And much to my surprise, the district finally agreed to allow my job partner and I to share our first grade classroom for as long we were willing to do so!  Yes, they finally said yes and we no longer have to reapply for our job year after year.

 
And even better, they gave us back our seniority that we gave up when we decided to stay home to raise our young children.  The best part of this is that I have been teaching for 13 years in this district, and up until two weeks ago a first year teacher had more seniority in their position than I did in mine.  I am so grateful the district finally agreed to value my experience and loyalty that I have given for over 13 years.  Yay for job security!!!

And I know you are all quite curious to see some of the updates that we have made to the property, but let me just say this.  It is a work in progress.  The list of things to do seems to get longer and longer, and we have yet to actually complete one of them.  This is so not like us.  We are completers.  But for some reason, since moving out here, we seem to be incomleters.  Actually, I believe that since acquiring so much space it takes 5 times as long to get things done.  And while the list seems to be ever-growing, we are extremely close to completing what I would say is the grandest of tasks--the fence--which I will post about next time!