Call the Professionals!

 It was time to call in a pro to do some major electrical work! Grateful for a coworker who spent the day moving some major wiring for us.  And Meg got to watch and learn. :-)

These Days...

My posts here have been few and far between over the last year.  It's not that we haven't done lots of little things on the house (most of which don't deserve a post!), it's just that the progress has been painfully slow.

James' company is experiencing the effects of the downturn in our economy, so his overtime has disappeared. We have been blessed to have several other side-job opportunities, which have helped us build up some project savings, but that also means that James is never home to spend the money. :-)

I'm so grateful for James and the way he is constantly working to provide for us.  And while we have moments of discouragement when we look at how little we've gotten done, we can't complain about the life God has given us.

These are truly hard, but oh so happy days.

Sorry, birds. No nests in here!

We love birds and have a zillion that frequent our backyard, but with the porch ceiling open, they were getting a little too cozy. And we really needed to get it closed up before winter hit. So that meant getting the electrical done first.  Porch lights, a fan assembly, switches inside.

Then it was time for the ceiling, which required exact cutting of the holes for lights. James, of course, got them perfect.  We love having the fan out there, too!!

Another ceiling

 At this point, James is looking for any spare hours to do the next project.  Today, it was sheet rock on the playroom ceiling that he built a few months ago.

We're (I'M) still very grateful for the smart purchase of the sheet rock lift. Saves my back and James' patience.  :-)

Twelve Years

Our anniversary fell on a Saturday this year, luckily for our girls. :-)  They had been having secret "Brownie Meetings" all week, planning a surprise for us.  So when they came in to wake us up, we were led down the hall to a special anniversary breakfast. Peanut butter toast, oranges, and water, complete with place cards and gifts.  And a special viewing of The Incredibles, Daddy's favorite. 

 Charis had created this collage for us -- one square from each girl.  I cried quite a bit that morning.

While most days around here, even our anniversary, may be spent getting little jobs done on the house, doing laundry, cooking and cleaning, nothing incredibly exciting... 

I'm reminded of the blessings we have.  Our house may not be anywhere close to finished, but God is raising a precious family in it.  And life with my handsome James just keeps getting better.

Run Lucky for Kyle

Well, after a weekend of electrical work and sheet-rocking, we spent our Sunday afternoon running. We had the privilege of running a 5K to support our friends, who are fighting leukemia.  This was my first 5K in 4 years, and while I had gotten in some time on the treadmill, I did not feel fully prepared.

But this guy is my hero...

 We ran knowing that Mom and Dad had our sweet girls waiting at the finish!

Here we come! Finally!

We made it!  

 

LIGHTS!

We haven't had lights in the playroom since we tore out the dormer/skylight, oh, since August?? So now that the insulation and ceiling were done, it's time!

 And the girls couldn't be more excited!

Of course, the next day, we decided to change-up the configuration a little, but that's just how we roll around here...