Remodel Update

It's been forever since I've told you about our remodeling project going on here at the parsonage.


I tried to go back and find the last post on it, so I wouldn't repeat myself.  Turns out someone needs to label her posts better, sheeesh.  I couldn't find much.  Someone also needs to update their blog more often.  Annoying.


In September it looked like this from the outside:

The inside of the addition was just bare bones.


Our main builder/deacon works for a farmer, so the project sat on hold for a few months while they harvested.  Which was totally ok, it gave us all a break from construction for awhile.



But Marlin is back to work and it's so much fun to see progress!

This picture is at the top of the stairs (2nd floor) taken from the old part of the house.  We refer to it as the "old house" and "new part"...we'll likely still be saying that ten years down the road...because that's how we roll.  


Until recently, when it was all insulated, the guys have been crawling through that little attic door every time they went to work out there.  

And now it looks like this!  Straight in is the master bedroom, and to the left inside the new doorway will be Lucy's new room.

  

The hubby has been helping when he can too.  And Jake thinks it's great fun to sweep up the drywall dust.
This is inside the master bedroom.  The walk in closet door is on the right...

This is inside the closet.  EEEK!  I'm so excited about that closet.  I need to show  you what mine looks like right now...so you can be as excited as I am. ;)


Ok, now I'm taking you back downstairs...

This is looking into the new kitchen, from the old kitchen.  

Today they're putting up drywall on the ceiling.  They're standing in the dining room now. :)


And tomorrow, we go look at kitchen cabinets.  For real.  

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Christmas

Let's play catch-up, shall we?


I am not the best at living life purposefully.  I should be, since I've read enough books on it...but given my own nature, I tend to live fairly haphazardly.  It actually works pretty well for me, except when it doesn't.


In order to not miss out on anything in the month of December, I decided to be purposeful about our celebrating of Christmas (as purposeful as I get, anyways.)


I made lists.  Hundreds of them, mostly to-do, to-buy, to-bake etc.  But the most important one I made was a sort of bucket list of December.  Specific things to do by myself and as a family before the season was over.  The overall encompassing part for me, was to enjoy the moment of each thing.  Suck the marrow out of every single second, because there is one thing that 2011 taught me...a new moment is never guaranteed.  


The List (parts of it)


#1 - Go chop down a real tree.  

Their faces say it all.  After about 3.2 minutes the boys kept saying "Pick a tree already, they all look the same!"  I made them linger awhile, just for good measure.  After all, I'm the mom, it's my job to do my best at searing this experience into their memory.


#2 - Picture With Santa

We don't even do Santa, but they certainly need a picture with him. :)  Lucy is 19 months here.  She was totally willing to sit on him since he gave her a candy cane.  

#3 - Be Amazed

I miss so much sometimes, because I'm looking for the big things, and ignoring the amazing in the simple things.  Lucy was amazed.




#4 - Enjoy the Hodge-Podge Christmas Tree

Little Miss couldn't help but mess with the ornaments.  We reached an amicable agreement by just leaving the ornaments on the top half of the tree.  


#5 - Family Date Night/Driving Around to Look at Christmas Lights


We went to a favorite pizza joint.  The waitress spilled the entire, enormous glass of ice-water right on Ben's lap.  We laughed so hard.  She ended up giving us our appetizer for free.  The boys congratulated their Dad for "taking one for the team."  We'll likely remember that for years to come.  Afterwards we drove around eating home-made treats and admired peoples Christmas lights.  


#6 - Bake Stuff

Boy did I.  I got a new mixer for my birthday/Christmas.  It just makes baking so much more fun. I tried a bunch of stuff from Pinterest.  It was a Pinterest Christmas for sure.  One of the favorites was home-made cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.  New tradition.

#7 - Church

Our church family is just that...family.  We spent time on a Sunday evening after church, putting up the quirky decorations, eating brownies with peppermint frosting, drinking hot chocolate and laughing together until my sides hurt.  It was one of my favorite parts of this season.  





Also on my list this year was not planning the Christmas program.  A good friend volunteered and did an amazing job.  

#8 - Take Group Shots

I failed miserably at this last year.  In the moment, it's such a pain to make everyone gather around and do it, but it's so worth it later!

So, you get the idea of what some of the list was.  There were several things on the list that didn't get done,  but this year that was by choice...rather than forgetfulness.  It felt good.


I'm in the process of making one for the rest of winter, spring and summer too.  I don't want to forget these moments. 

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Just Thinking...

I'm sitting on the couch, watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.  I'm so cool that I don't have a clue as to who most of the performers are.

But I'll take this New Years Eve, because it's simple.  Easy.  Uneventful.  That's boring to some, but to me...it's joy.

Last year, I spent New Years Eve with four of my dear friends...at the hospice home.  Our friend's 9 year old son, Tate, had been transferred there late that afternoon.  We all knew he didn't have much time.  None of us knew what to do...how to offer support...so we just went there, and sat in the "family" room, while their family came in and out of his room.  We laughed and cried and tried to help support and distract them, for just a brief moment...all knowing there is nothing that can distract.  

What a year it has been.  

Today on my six mile run, I listened to this song.  Tate's mom shared it not long ago.  It was written by a young man with AT, which is the genetic disorder that Tate (and his sister Tessa) both have.  Brad Paisley put it to music, and all profits from the download of it go to AT research.  

It came on my ipod at about mile 5...I thought I might hyperventilate.  I keep it on my running list to remind me of the gift I've been given; the ability to run.  And to remind me that Tate, now in Heaven with his perfect body is running all over the place...like he never could here.

The message of the song...well, I think it's one of the best ways to start out the new year.  

Bring on 2012! :)

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I Need A...

I mentioned here, that I have been listening to the Wow Christmas 2011 lately.  I don't know what my deal is this year, but I'm just not in the mood for the regular Christmas songs sung in the regular way.

I sound like Scrooge.

Anyways, there's a ton of songs on that album and several I skip over.  I've been skipping the song I Need A Silent Night every time because it's by Amy Grant...and I'm just not in the mood for Amy Grant.  Yesterday though, in the van, I was distracted and didn't switch my ipod before the song started.  And WHO KNEW that  I would LOVE this song?!?

It's the words.  I relate to it.  All of it.  Christmas sometimes seems like more of a chore than a celebration.  It reminded me I need to take a time out and have a silent night in order to enjoy the season.

Sometimes Mamma needs a time out too.

And on a random note:  I never skip over Go Tell It On The Mountain by needtobreathe or Christmas This Year by Toby Mac. ;)  

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Candid Camera

A few weeks ago I purchased a new camera.  A Nikon L120.  I love it.  It's simple for me to use, which is perfect for my skill level.  But even though it's simple, I'm still learning.

On Sunday before church, Lucy was wearing the cutest little Gap coat that I had purchased at a garage sale this Summer.  I wanted to get her picture standing next to the Christmas tree.

Turns out, that I had hit the video button on the camera without realizing it.

There's nothing quite like a video that you didn't know you were taking to make you realize how totally annoying you are, know what I mean?

It cracks me up. Literally.  So I, of course, must share with you (sideways because I can't rotate it.)

You are welcome.

After I realized what I was doing, I switched to photo mode and continued to try to get a picture...in the process of running away from me Lucy ran into the chair, which then allowed me to get the cutest Daddy & Lucy moment EVAH.

I think her pouty cry is trying to tell him to stop the crazy lady with the camera.

Just a guess.

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Stuff

I really left you hanging on the mom jeans thing.  My bad.  The good news is, I've been wearing them for two weeks now and I LOVE them.  The denim was kinda itchy/scratchy at first, but after several visits with my washer and dryer (yes I dry my jeans, I don't know how you people can stand wearing air-dried jeans...so stiff) the denim is softening very nicely.  I need to hem them a little, but until then, I've just been cuffing them.
I took the picture below right after my last post, but then I decided the pic was not all that flattering, so I didn't post it.  But apparently today, my vanity is gone, so here you go:

What else...

Oh... my Christmas shopping would almost totally be done if I could afford all of the things in my Amazon shopping cart.  In reality, I've bought like two things.  The rest I just keep adding to the cart and then pray it's still available by the time I get around to placing the order.

On the other hand, I ordered my Christmas cards.  I know.  Snapfish is mailing them as we speak.  Who knows how long it will take me to actually address and mail them, but for now I have NOT procrastinated at least this one thing.  *pat on back*

Yesterday I bought the Wow 2011 Christmas album on itunes.  I justified it to the voice in my head of Dave Ramsey that I needed it because I have lots of sewing projects to get done before Christmas and I need something new to listen to.  The album is so good.  Tell Dave Ramsey you need it too.  My favorite is Deck the Halls by Tenth Ave North.  Not that it matters...but it is. ;)

That's probably enough random information for you to process.

Happy Last Day of November to You!

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My Mom Jeans

There's some things I don't want to forget...


Like the way...


I wore a new pair of jeans around the house tonight...with the tags still on.  The boys thought I was nuts.  But I needed to make sure I reeeeally liked them before I tore the tags off.  While I tucked the boys in bed(which is usually Daddy's job, except on his men's Bible Study night)during Jakob's turn to pray, he sweetly prayed for his teacher and her family (who tragically lost their 9 year old son in an accident in September,) he prayed that the lunch menu tomorrow at school would be good, and that his mom would take off the stickers from her pants.  Amen.


(I did, by the way, remove the stickers...I do like them.)


The jeans also have a story.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Ben and I had a few hours to ourselves Saturday night.  We headed to Starbucks and then the mall.  I've been in need of some jeans that fit...running + a vast reduction in sugary treats= smaller size.  FINALLY. 


Side note:  Before you get too excited about the smaller jeans, it's not a big weight loss.  And apparently not noticeable, because not one person has said anything, but it's enough for me to go from "hide my belly that's bulging over my jeans" to "comfy in the next size smaller."  Make sense?


Back to story. I'm not usually picky with jeans...which is likely why I have a closet full of ones that really don't fit right.  So this time I was being choosy.  We walked through the department store: Juniors on right and Women's on left.  In the middle is a denim display of Levis.  They look cute on the mannequin that has only legs so I decide to try them on.  The sales lady, from the women's side asks if I need a room.  She's like seventy years old.  On the way to the fitting room she says, "Have you tried "Not Your Daughter's Jeans before?"


Ummm...here's my thought process:


1 - She's kinda old, shouldn't she think I'm young still?!?  Like shouldn't she have sent me over to the junior section because she was certain I didn't belong in the old lady section?!? Givemeabreak.
2 - As she's leading us to the jeans, I turn around and mouth to Ben not your mothers jeans *eye roll*
3 - Turns out they were fine jeans, just not what I was looking for.


I tried on the Levis and liked them, although the waist IS higher than I'm used to, they were still good.  But, do to the fact I had to try them on in the Womens section, I'm still not sold.  I put them on hold.


20 minutes later, we're walking back through the store, and I head to the Womens register to make my purchase...she sees me coming.  And I turn around and head to the juniors in one last ditch effort to hold onto my youth.  Ben and I scan over the jeans. All the labels say "ultra low rise" which is code for "if you've had babies or are over age 17 your belly is gonna jingle right over it." They also had blingy-bling on the butt pockets, and I am not a blingy-bling on the butt pocket kinda gal.  I'm not against the fake plastic rhinestones...I just don't want them on my backside.  I'm Amish like that.


It's decided.  Back over to the Womens department.  I scan the aisle to the register...it's lined with elastic waist pants...which is apparently where I'm headed to next.  Sheesh.  


Which brings me back to tonight, and me wearing my jeans around the house with tags still on.  


Maybe tomorrow I'll post a picture of my skinny mid-rise women section jeans.  Oh the anticipation...

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