God has been so good. Sometimes it's hard to wait for His timing, but He always knows what's best. We've been here almost a year and Mike's biggest priority was finding a job that would support us. The part time position was fine, but the hours have been steadily declining the last few weeks as business in the shop is slow, and it's really hard to budget when you don't know how much you're going to be making from week to week.
A friend at church gave us notice when the IT position became available in his school district, and Mike immediately applied. We were so excited to find out Wednesday that he got the job. It's not quite a full time position, but it's guaranteed 30 hours a week with dental and other benefits. They would also like to use him to substitute there which would be additional hours. We are all so excited. I think the kids and I have felt like this was home for a while, but for Mike, working only a couple days a week seemed more like he was still on vacation than anything.
In other news, Angel just returned today from a week at church camp. She was just beyond the age of being a camper, so she went as kitchen help along with another girl from the church. She said she had a wonderful time, and she got a LOT of pictures. I will try and get the memory card from her tomorrow and post some on our Picasa site. I saw some really funny ones of her with shaving cream in her hair!
Well, I hear movement above my head which tells me that the movie Mike and Michelle were watching must be over and it will soon be time to say prayers and get a little one into bed.
Till next week...
God's love and blessings.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
I've got pictures!
I tried to blog last night, but the pictures I took of the house didn't come out very well, so I had to wait until today when the sun was out to get some pictures. I took some after shots of the kitchen and living room. You can see them here. Here's a few shots of the shelves Mike designed and made for me.
He just cut one more for me to go over the doorway between the breakfast nook and living room. He did such a great job on these and all the other "honey-do" items I've had for him since we bought this place. I think we still have a dozen or so projects to work on as we can afford them, and that doesn't even count the projects for outside! Oh well, there's no hurry, we have the rest of our lives to work on them--or until the Lord returns, whichever comes first.
Well, I've got a shelf to go stain so I will close here. Y'all have a great week and I will chat again next week. Till then, God's love and blessings.
He just cut one more for me to go over the doorway between the breakfast nook and living room. He did such a great job on these and all the other "honey-do" items I've had for him since we bought this place. I think we still have a dozen or so projects to work on as we can afford them, and that doesn't even count the projects for outside! Oh well, there's no hurry, we have the rest of our lives to work on them--or until the Lord returns, whichever comes first.
Well, I've got a shelf to go stain so I will close here. Y'all have a great week and I will chat again next week. Till then, God's love and blessings.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
We are officially moved in!
Actually, we've been moved in for a few weeks, but this is the first chance I've had to sit down and do some updating.
We are having so much fun here in our new house. It seems like every time we go out in the "yard", we find new treasures. So far we've found, raspberries (LOTS of them!), rhubarb, grapes, strawberries, peonies, wild roses, and my favorite flower--daisies. :o) Poor Nick never gets to finish mowing the yard because I keep finding things I want to transplant to a better location. We have a family of chipmunks living in the yard along with some squirrels and a bazillion birds. We like listening to the wood peckers and the owls. We've seen a few deer wandering through the property and even a few snakes. We're probably going to get a visit from a bear sooner or later, especially once the raspberries start to ripen. We've already seen a few while out driving. Most of the house is surrounded by trees, but there's a large open field in the front, and the last few weeks we've enjoyed watching the fireflies all around it.
We are pretty much settled in. I still have about 2 dozen boxes to sort through, but the furniture is all in and it looks like home again. Mike just finished a few decorative shelves in the kitchen for me to display my teacup collection. I think one more over the doorway should do it--until I add to the collection that is. ;o) The ones he finished came out great. I will take some pictures as soon as the kitchen is all finished. The other rooms are all finished except the stairway. I want to hang Mike's plaques and momentos from the different bases we've been to, but I need a bigger ladder to reach. Someday I'd like to paint the two bathrooms, but I think those projects may wait a little while.
Mike is still working at the computer store, but, Lord willing, he'll have an interview this week or next for an IT position at the nearby school district. It would be REALLY nice to have a full time job--especially since we had to by a more reliable vehicle. I'm hoping to get my Stampin' Up! business going again soon. My office is almost all organized, but I think it's organized enough to work with. Nick is looking for a job right now, and the girls and I are finishing up their school work a little at a time.
I think that just about does it for us. Since this blog is for my friends and family, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment or email me. We don't have long distance on our phone yet, so we haven't done a lot of calling. We can use our cell phones, but they don't always have great reception.
Well, now that we're settled in, I'm trying to get back into a routine so I will be posting again this Thursday, and will make a great effort to update each Thursday. Till then--God's love & blessings to you.
We are having so much fun here in our new house. It seems like every time we go out in the "yard", we find new treasures. So far we've found, raspberries (LOTS of them!), rhubarb, grapes, strawberries, peonies, wild roses, and my favorite flower--daisies. :o) Poor Nick never gets to finish mowing the yard because I keep finding things I want to transplant to a better location. We have a family of chipmunks living in the yard along with some squirrels and a bazillion birds. We like listening to the wood peckers and the owls. We've seen a few deer wandering through the property and even a few snakes. We're probably going to get a visit from a bear sooner or later, especially once the raspberries start to ripen. We've already seen a few while out driving. Most of the house is surrounded by trees, but there's a large open field in the front, and the last few weeks we've enjoyed watching the fireflies all around it.
We are pretty much settled in. I still have about 2 dozen boxes to sort through, but the furniture is all in and it looks like home again. Mike just finished a few decorative shelves in the kitchen for me to display my teacup collection. I think one more over the doorway should do it--until I add to the collection that is. ;o) The ones he finished came out great. I will take some pictures as soon as the kitchen is all finished. The other rooms are all finished except the stairway. I want to hang Mike's plaques and momentos from the different bases we've been to, but I need a bigger ladder to reach. Someday I'd like to paint the two bathrooms, but I think those projects may wait a little while.
Mike is still working at the computer store, but, Lord willing, he'll have an interview this week or next for an IT position at the nearby school district. It would be REALLY nice to have a full time job--especially since we had to by a more reliable vehicle. I'm hoping to get my Stampin' Up! business going again soon. My office is almost all organized, but I think it's organized enough to work with. Nick is looking for a job right now, and the girls and I are finishing up their school work a little at a time.
I think that just about does it for us. Since this blog is for my friends and family, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment or email me. We don't have long distance on our phone yet, so we haven't done a lot of calling. We can use our cell phones, but they don't always have great reception.
Well, now that we're settled in, I'm trying to get back into a routine so I will be posting again this Thursday, and will make a great effort to update each Thursday. Till then--God's love & blessings to you.
Monday, May 4, 2009
So much to do and so little time!
I can't believe it's been over a month since I've updated this blog! We've been quite busy. We closed on the house and started working right away. Mondays and Wednesdays I was taking Nick to school so on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, we would pack our lunches and head over to the house. Mike has been getting more hours at work (Yay!) but when he does get some time off he comes out with us. So far we've ripped up all the carpet and padding, and done quite a bit of plumbing and patching work. The pipes weren't winterized properly, but thankfully, there was only one busted pipe, and it was easy to get to. Mike finished repairing the wall from that, got the downstairs bathroom up and running, and cut down 3 dead trees that were too close to the house. I just finished the last of the painting that needs to be done and all the appliances are now in--including the HUGE refrigerator that had to go upstairs! Now we're just waiting for the carpet to be laid upstairs.
Since the carpet has been laid downstairs, we've started moving some of the kid's things into their rooms. Angel's room is almost finished. She got a remnant piece of carpet, which was installed right away so we picked up her bedroom set. It's an antique that she bought off of Craigslist. She's just waiting for Mike and I to get a new mattress set as she is getting the ones we're using right now. Michelle's bed is in, but we still need to move in her dresser and the things that are here at Grandma's. She was so funny when we opened some of the boxes of toys that have been packed for 10 months now. It's like she's meeting old friends again. :o)
A few weekends ago I also had cakes to do for church. One was for our Ladies Salad Supper. I made 100 cupcakes with flowers on them and a small cake that had a watering can pouring water on the flowers. Our theme was from Proverbs 31 and referred to an excellent wife being more precious than rubies. One of the ladies from church designed these cute invitations where she put tiny rubies in the center of each of the flowers, so we kind of ran with that idea for the decorations. Each of my cupcake flowers had a red m&m in the center to represent the ruby. That one was a lot of fun to do, but not as much fun as the one I did the next weekend. I've been wanting to try my hand at making fondant flowers for a while, so I decided that May's birthday/anniversary cake for church would be a good time to play. It took a few days to make the flowers, but it was so much fun. The exciting part for me was the fact that the image in my head actually came out on the cake! That doesn't usually happen. :o) Here's pictures of both cakes. You can see close ups of the flowers on our picasa website
My children blessed me on Mother's day each with handmade cards and $33. I thought it was an odd amount until I remembered joking with Nick that I would love to have $100 to pick out some flowers and herbs. I haven't been able to garden in 6 years, and now that it is warming up, I am itching to be out digging in the dirt. Anyway, the kids cards were wonderfully sweet, and Mike's card had the extra $1 to make it an even $100. I told them this is one idea I would love to become a tradition. It was so much fun to go out shopping for herbs and pots and not feel guilty about it. I even had enough to buy a small burgundy cherry tree that reminded Angel of the cherry trees in Japan, and two rose bushes. I already planted the herbs and am hoping to get a small plot dug out tomorrow so I can get the tree and bushes in the ground.
Speaking of the ground and our property, as things are starting to green up here, and we've done a little exploring around the place, it seems like we've inherited several acres worth of raspberry canes. I am so excited because I LOVE raspberries! I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are, so it looks like I'm going to have to do some experimenting with raspberry recipes and learn to do some canning. I told Mike a few months back that I thought it would be neat if we could think of a name for our place and now I think we might have to call it Raspberry Acres, or something like that. :o)
I've saved the best news for last. On May 3rd, I got an early Mother's Day gift, and the best one ever. Michelle came to me and said she wanted to say that "special prayer". I got the awesome privilege of leading her to the Throne of Grace where she asked Christ to be her Lord and Savior. For me to know that all of my babies are now His children is the best gift of all!
On that note, I must go get ready for bed and another day of house prepping. Till next week (I hope), God's love and blessings.
Since the carpet has been laid downstairs, we've started moving some of the kid's things into their rooms. Angel's room is almost finished. She got a remnant piece of carpet, which was installed right away so we picked up her bedroom set. It's an antique that she bought off of Craigslist. She's just waiting for Mike and I to get a new mattress set as she is getting the ones we're using right now. Michelle's bed is in, but we still need to move in her dresser and the things that are here at Grandma's. She was so funny when we opened some of the boxes of toys that have been packed for 10 months now. It's like she's meeting old friends again. :o)
A few weekends ago I also had cakes to do for church. One was for our Ladies Salad Supper. I made 100 cupcakes with flowers on them and a small cake that had a watering can pouring water on the flowers. Our theme was from Proverbs 31 and referred to an excellent wife being more precious than rubies. One of the ladies from church designed these cute invitations where she put tiny rubies in the center of each of the flowers, so we kind of ran with that idea for the decorations. Each of my cupcake flowers had a red m&m in the center to represent the ruby. That one was a lot of fun to do, but not as much fun as the one I did the next weekend. I've been wanting to try my hand at making fondant flowers for a while, so I decided that May's birthday/anniversary cake for church would be a good time to play. It took a few days to make the flowers, but it was so much fun. The exciting part for me was the fact that the image in my head actually came out on the cake! That doesn't usually happen. :o) Here's pictures of both cakes. You can see close ups of the flowers on our picasa website
My children blessed me on Mother's day each with handmade cards and $33. I thought it was an odd amount until I remembered joking with Nick that I would love to have $100 to pick out some flowers and herbs. I haven't been able to garden in 6 years, and now that it is warming up, I am itching to be out digging in the dirt. Anyway, the kids cards were wonderfully sweet, and Mike's card had the extra $1 to make it an even $100. I told them this is one idea I would love to become a tradition. It was so much fun to go out shopping for herbs and pots and not feel guilty about it. I even had enough to buy a small burgundy cherry tree that reminded Angel of the cherry trees in Japan, and two rose bushes. I already planted the herbs and am hoping to get a small plot dug out tomorrow so I can get the tree and bushes in the ground.
Speaking of the ground and our property, as things are starting to green up here, and we've done a little exploring around the place, it seems like we've inherited several acres worth of raspberry canes. I am so excited because I LOVE raspberries! I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are, so it looks like I'm going to have to do some experimenting with raspberry recipes and learn to do some canning. I told Mike a few months back that I thought it would be neat if we could think of a name for our place and now I think we might have to call it Raspberry Acres, or something like that. :o)
I've saved the best news for last. On May 3rd, I got an early Mother's Day gift, and the best one ever. Michelle came to me and said she wanted to say that "special prayer". I got the awesome privilege of leading her to the Throne of Grace where she asked Christ to be her Lord and Savior. For me to know that all of my babies are now His children is the best gift of all!
On that note, I must go get ready for bed and another day of house prepping. Till next week (I hope), God's love and blessings.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Exciting happenings this week!
Well, this is the long awaited week. We close on the house on Thursday and will start the process of fixing the place up so we can move in. This seems to be the perfect time of year for it too, as it's just warming up enough that we'll be able to open the windows a bit while we're painting. We haven't done much of the prep work yet because most of it requires us to purchase things, and that will depend on how much we can get from the bank. We're still waiting for the appraisal on the land to find out how much that will be. Anyway, I'm sure Thursday will be a very busy day for us!
We have had some eventful days the last few weeks (sorry for not posting). April 1st we celebrated Angel's 15th Birthday. Unfortunately, most of us weren't home for the day, and we had church that evening, but we did take her out to dinner, and once we get settled in the new place, we'll have a sleepover with her girlfriends. April 6th was Grandma's Birthday, but again, we were all out and about so we didn't get to do much to celebrate. Darlene did make her a yummy dinner, and Mike surprised her and brought home a DQ shake for her.
Last Thursday we were invited to a friend's house to see what it's like to collect maple sap and how syrup is made. It was sooo much fun! The buckets didn't seem that heavy that day, but Nick, Angel and I were all feeling it in the shoulders the next day. :o) Mike got there a little late, but he did get to help out a bit. We had a yummy dinner and fellowshipped for a while. I've posted some pictures on our Picasa site so you can check them out, but here's a few I really liked.
Well, I don't guarantee I will post anything on Thursday this week, but I'll do my best. Till then,
God's love and blessings.
We have had some eventful days the last few weeks (sorry for not posting). April 1st we celebrated Angel's 15th Birthday. Unfortunately, most of us weren't home for the day, and we had church that evening, but we did take her out to dinner, and once we get settled in the new place, we'll have a sleepover with her girlfriends. April 6th was Grandma's Birthday, but again, we were all out and about so we didn't get to do much to celebrate. Darlene did make her a yummy dinner, and Mike surprised her and brought home a DQ shake for her.
Last Thursday we were invited to a friend's house to see what it's like to collect maple sap and how syrup is made. It was sooo much fun! The buckets didn't seem that heavy that day, but Nick, Angel and I were all feeling it in the shoulders the next day. :o) Mike got there a little late, but he did get to help out a bit. We had a yummy dinner and fellowshipped for a while. I've posted some pictures on our Picasa site so you can check them out, but here's a few I really liked.
Well, I don't guarantee I will post anything on Thursday this week, but I'll do my best. Till then,God's love and blessings.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ooops, missed a week!
Yep, I missed last week's post. I do have a good excuse though. I was busy packing for the Women's Retreat. What fun! Nine of us ladies from our church drove to the ends of the earth to meet with lots of other ladies to spend the weekend in fellowship, worship, and study. It wasn't really the end of the earth, but it sure seemed like it after 5 hours of driving through the woods. I can honestly tell you that I have no idea where we were, but we had a fun time getting there. :o) The retreat itself was great, but being a newbie at church, I think I mostly enjoyed getting to know the other ladies. All-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend.
We are still waiting to hear about the house. We went to the Realtor's last week to resign the papers that they sent back. Right now, we're just waiting for them to sign and set a closing date. I am trying sooooooo hard to be patient, but it can be difficult at times. I would appreciate any prayers lifted on my behalf.
We took Angel back to the doctors today to look at her knee once more. There's still fluid there, and the pain is still the same. Thankfully, it only hurts when she kneels down, and that's something she can easily avoid doing. She will start physical therapy, and the doc drew 4 vials of blood to run tests on. Angel seems more concerned about her cat, Princess than her knee. Princess's eyes were swollen shut for several days with some kind of cold. They seem to be better now. Once we get settled in our own place, and away from all of the cats here, we'll take her in for a complete check up. Thankfully, we had her vaccinated for everything before we left Japan.
Mike has been able to get some extra hours in at work. He had his first substitute job last week, and he's teaching twice this week. His boss at the computer store asked him to work full time hours next week as they have a big job to do for a company. He's also had an interview and a few replies to applications he's turned in. I know God has something in mind for him somewhere, we just don't know where yet. Again, prayers for patience, and just trusting in Him would be greatly appreciated. It's easy to say, but oh, so hard to do!
Well, I guess I should close here. I think I might go work on some pages for Michelle's scrapbook. Till next week...
God's love and blessings
We are still waiting to hear about the house. We went to the Realtor's last week to resign the papers that they sent back. Right now, we're just waiting for them to sign and set a closing date. I am trying sooooooo hard to be patient, but it can be difficult at times. I would appreciate any prayers lifted on my behalf.
We took Angel back to the doctors today to look at her knee once more. There's still fluid there, and the pain is still the same. Thankfully, it only hurts when she kneels down, and that's something she can easily avoid doing. She will start physical therapy, and the doc drew 4 vials of blood to run tests on. Angel seems more concerned about her cat, Princess than her knee. Princess's eyes were swollen shut for several days with some kind of cold. They seem to be better now. Once we get settled in our own place, and away from all of the cats here, we'll take her in for a complete check up. Thankfully, we had her vaccinated for everything before we left Japan.
Mike has been able to get some extra hours in at work. He had his first substitute job last week, and he's teaching twice this week. His boss at the computer store asked him to work full time hours next week as they have a big job to do for a company. He's also had an interview and a few replies to applications he's turned in. I know God has something in mind for him somewhere, we just don't know where yet. Again, prayers for patience, and just trusting in Him would be greatly appreciated. It's easy to say, but oh, so hard to do!
Well, I guess I should close here. I think I might go work on some pages for Michelle's scrapbook. Till next week...
God's love and blessings
Thursday, March 5, 2009
No New News Yet :o(
On the house anyways. We haven't heard back from the Realtor yet that the bank has signed the papers. We're waiting on that before we do any of the inspections. Maybe tomorrow....
In other news, Nick's permit showed up on Tuesday, and he drove us to school on Wednesday. He did pretty good considering he's never driven on the right side of the road. :o) For the most part, driving here is the same as Japan, except for the size of the roads (a one lane road here is a two way one there!) and there are a few laws that are different (i.e. right turn on red). We have to call and make an appointment for him to take the driving test some time next week or the week after to get his license.
We took Angel to the doctors today. She hurt her knee back in late October/early November. We saw the doctors about it in December because it was still bothering her. It was finally beginning to feel better when she fell at church last night. There seems to be a bit of fluid on it, and the doctor is a bit concerned about how long its taken to heal. They took x-rays in December that showed the bones were fine. For now, Angel has a knee brace, and when we go back in 2 weeks she'll decide whether or not to do an MRI and some lab work. The brace doesn't let her bend her knee, so she's feeling a bit like Frankenstein as she hobbles around the house. :o) Thankfully, she's not in any pain unless she kneels down on that knee, which, with the knee brace, I don't think she'll be doing.
Mike is still applying for jobs. He does have his first substitute teaching position on the 20th. He'll be teaching High School Science, so he would probably appreciate any prayers lifted up for him. :o)
As for me, I'm just schooling the girls. Michelle's work is pretty simple, so I'm really only teaching Angel, and we get done with our school days pretty early (when Angel gets up early, that is). I'm really looking forward to getting into a house of our own so I can start teaching craft classes again. Hmmm, maybe I'll start getting some projects planned now, so that once we're settled in I'll be ready to start. Let's see, should I do a card swap first, a scrapbook class, or maybe a stamp camp? (rubbing chin, thoughtfully)
Oh, sorry about that ramble there, I did mention before that I finished a gift for Michelle's friend and as soon as I get done here I'm going to upload the pictures of that and the ones I took of the house to our Picasa website. I apologize if you tried to use the link on the side and couldn't. I didn't realize the link was to my side (where I can edit things), and not the public side. Anyway, I changed the link, and I hope that it works. Please let me know whether it does or not.
Here's a sneak peak of the project. Actually, this is the one I made for Michelle. Helen's was purple, and obviously, said "Helen" on top. It's a set of drawers made to hold her hair bows and hairbands. The drawers are color coded to make it easier to find the accessory that best matches her outfit. It's made entirely of cardstock and chipboard (with some shrink plastic, brads, and of course, glitter for embellishments :o)
And, here's a view from the family room (school/craft room) of the house we're hoping to get. You can see the little bridge there that goes over the creek which, of course, is frozen solid right now. I'm so excited! Isn't that the most awesome view to look at everyday?
Well, I'm off to upload photos to Picasa. Till next week...
God's love and blessings!
In other news, Nick's permit showed up on Tuesday, and he drove us to school on Wednesday. He did pretty good considering he's never driven on the right side of the road. :o) For the most part, driving here is the same as Japan, except for the size of the roads (a one lane road here is a two way one there!) and there are a few laws that are different (i.e. right turn on red). We have to call and make an appointment for him to take the driving test some time next week or the week after to get his license.
We took Angel to the doctors today. She hurt her knee back in late October/early November. We saw the doctors about it in December because it was still bothering her. It was finally beginning to feel better when she fell at church last night. There seems to be a bit of fluid on it, and the doctor is a bit concerned about how long its taken to heal. They took x-rays in December that showed the bones were fine. For now, Angel has a knee brace, and when we go back in 2 weeks she'll decide whether or not to do an MRI and some lab work. The brace doesn't let her bend her knee, so she's feeling a bit like Frankenstein as she hobbles around the house. :o) Thankfully, she's not in any pain unless she kneels down on that knee, which, with the knee brace, I don't think she'll be doing.
Mike is still applying for jobs. He does have his first substitute teaching position on the 20th. He'll be teaching High School Science, so he would probably appreciate any prayers lifted up for him. :o)
As for me, I'm just schooling the girls. Michelle's work is pretty simple, so I'm really only teaching Angel, and we get done with our school days pretty early (when Angel gets up early, that is). I'm really looking forward to getting into a house of our own so I can start teaching craft classes again. Hmmm, maybe I'll start getting some projects planned now, so that once we're settled in I'll be ready to start. Let's see, should I do a card swap first, a scrapbook class, or maybe a stamp camp? (rubbing chin, thoughtfully)
Oh, sorry about that ramble there, I did mention before that I finished a gift for Michelle's friend and as soon as I get done here I'm going to upload the pictures of that and the ones I took of the house to our Picasa website. I apologize if you tried to use the link on the side and couldn't. I didn't realize the link was to my side (where I can edit things), and not the public side. Anyway, I changed the link, and I hope that it works. Please let me know whether it does or not.
Here's a sneak peak of the project. Actually, this is the one I made for Michelle. Helen's was purple, and obviously, said "Helen" on top. It's a set of drawers made to hold her hair bows and hairbands. The drawers are color coded to make it easier to find the accessory that best matches her outfit. It's made entirely of cardstock and chipboard (with some shrink plastic, brads, and of course, glitter for embellishments :o)
And, here's a view from the family room (school/craft room) of the house we're hoping to get. You can see the little bridge there that goes over the creek which, of course, is frozen solid right now. I'm so excited! Isn't that the most awesome view to look at everyday?
Well, I'm off to upload photos to Picasa. Till next week...
God's love and blessings!
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