No more walls!

It's taken longer than we had hope, but the walls are coming down in the upstairs and things are moving along.  And as soon as next week we will start putting back up the new walls.  There is still a lot that needs to get done before we are able to move in, or even paint the upstairs but it's coming along.  Here is our list of order to come.

1. finish taking down the old walls
2. Clean up
3. Move and put in new pluming
4. Put in new wire and outlets, lights

It does not look like a lot but most likely will be the next few weeks of work.  And it's gotten so nice here in Michigan that we have been able to clean up the yard and start thinking about what we want to do out there.  We also have gotten news that Matthew's parents are coming this summer for a few weeks so we have a count down going with the girls and making a list of things that we want to have them help with when they are here.  Lots of fun things like getting layers and layers of paint off the doors and trim.  :)  I hope we will be painting some by then.  Some craft things for the girls rooms.  But who knows by then the list could have change 100 times and have something different on it by then.

But here a few things that we have learn in the last few weeks about working on this house...

1. When taking down lath and plaster it's better to take it down one at a time.  And not all at once.  It makes clean up a lot easier than having to pick it apart.

2. To have a good vacuum is helpful when dealing with dust, plaster, and insulation

3. That you can reuse almost all the things coming out of the house for something else.

4. A flat pry-bar has worked best for taking the lath and plaster down.

That is all for now, I hope the next time we give an update that it will show new walls with wires and little blue boxes all over the place.

We have some news......

   We had started a new chapter in our life and some big for the whole family.  Something that we will love and make memory with and around for a long time coming........ We bought a HOUSE!!! We have found a home church here in town and now we will be around for awhile we hope.  Our life is still in God's hands and things could change.  But back to the house!!  We will have to move back in to town...and leave our land that we have now.  We have a yard that we will be able to to play in, but no chickens for us.  And we are okay with that for now.  The house is need of some work....well some maybe a little off.  But we knew that coming in and are happy to do the work as we go.  It's an older house and has great details in it, and we would love to bring them out and add a little of us with the old.

          ( the front of the house was covered with bushes and last week when it was nice we work on them.  Haft way done I remember to take the pictures.)
  When you walk in the house, it is out dated in all things.  Flooring, wall paper, lighting and more.  And there are some odd things that come with the house like having to walk through the bathroom to get from one side of the upstairs to the other.  We would like to see if we can work it out so that is not needed when we are done.  We would also love to get the paint off the wood, and in time remove the wall paper.

  We have our plan to start upstairs and work our way down.  I feel that we need to give the girls back their place and make this as easy as we can for them.  We have been working outside already, picking up sticks and taking out bushes that we did not want, and now we can see the house.  And it looks so much bigger.

 We were able to get some work done outside and still have a little more work to do in the front yard to open it up a little more.  And hope to get somethings planted this summer with a little color.  But loving how it looks from the street now!

Loving our lazy Saturdays

Today is Saturday!  Our Saturdays over the years have look different and changes when needed.  But what our Saturdays have become.... a day of laziness in the best of ways.  Not to say that we do not do anything.  But over the last few months we have not made big plans, no big time frame.  We may have a play date with some friends, or do some shopping if needed.  It's just the girls and I at the house on Saturday, Matthew is at work.  

   It's come my day to clean the house and do anything that did not get done over the week.  The girls and I do not set a time to get up on Saturdays but are still up early and will eat around 8:30.  We may or may not watch a show.  The girls may plan something to do.

  Here is what our Saturday may look like:

8:30 - up and eating and the TV is on

9:30 - Cleaning round 1 - girls room, bath room and start the wash

10:00 - Jessalla picks out 30 minute fun thing  ~ her pick TV show

10:30 - Cleaning round 2 - Living room and more washing

11:00 - Eammah's picks out 30 minute fun thing ~ her pick TV show

11:30 - Cleaning round 3 - Kitchen and more washing.

12:00 - Lunch and I put on a music.  May need to rethink cleaning the kitchen before lunch!  Why would I do that.  

1:00 - The girls have free time and I'm on cleaning round 4 - our bedroom and more washing if needed

1:30 - Cleaning round 5 - girls are back helping and we are cleaning the school room and we all put our cleaning cloths away. 

A little after 2 we are done with the cleaning and have the rest of the day to hang out do nails play games.  

Please note that this is our big cleaning day, but does not mean we do nothing all week.  We pick up all week as needed.  I sometimes forget about the washing because it's in the basement, out of sight out of mind...  :)  It's may not look like a lazy day, but it feels like one for me.  I do not have to run to town, I can get away with PB&J for lunch, and I can stay in my PJ's all day if I wish to.  

  I do this not because it's my job, or because I have taken Proverbs 31 to a point where people ask if it's gone to far and if I'm okay.  I do it for my family and for my girls.  We all do better when we can start the week off well.  I'm teaching the girls how to clean, and that it can be fun.  We have a great time talking and working together and it's goes by fast.  I help them with their things and ask them to help with the family areas of the house.  And most weeks they help me with our room.  

I would love to hear what your Saturdays look like, and what your cleaning list looks like.

Hope you all have a great weekend

It's my Christmas!

Working on this summer plan, and wish list....

       We will finish up this years "school" work. Not that we are ever done with "school" but hope to finish up our book work with in the next few months.  I have already started looking at our new things for next year.  It's like Christmas for me!!  :)  For the most part we are staying with everything that we been using.  As the girls get older we will need to change things up here and there.  I been looking in to different things to add and replace some of our older things.  Some of the things that we use, only go up so high.  And I do love what we are using, I still want to make sure they have a great understanding of it.  To give you an idea of what I'm talking about.  We use Hook on Phonics and it works so well for us.  The dvd, work book, little books to read and games on line!!  The down side to it is that it only goes up to 2nd grade.  We will be using it again this coming year for Eammah for 2nd grade.  We have not put anything in when Jessalla finish, but am looking at finding something that we can do to review once a week or so.  She dose great reading but just to keep up on it and whatnot.  Still not 100% what we will be using.  Or if I will find anything that I like enough to buy it.  We may just do a game on the internet.  We are dropping one of Jessalla's math books and adding on Teaching Textbooks for her.  We feel great about this choice and how it is working for us. We are finishing up all her books this year and next year will not order 180 Days of Math.  But Eammah will keep 180 Days of Math for 2nd Grade.  On top of our math books we play lots of games and will keep them and add a few I'm sure.  I'm just not sure where we will put them.  Like I said before we will keep most of what we have been using but there are a few things that I want to look in to and some little things to add in.

    With that said for the last two years we have not had a good Bible curriculum that we loved.  We have used the girls Awana.  And we love Awana and the girls have a great time studying their books.  But I just wanted more, so I have spent many hours over the last few months looking at different ones.  I think I found one that I want to try.  The one that I'm looking in to runs for 35 weeks, and has a colorful fill in book that goes with it.  I think it will work great for us, and I hope that they will enjoy it and gain lots from it.

We also started looking at summer studies also....What does summer looked like for us.  We will keep up with Bible I pull things off line and other books that we have.  We also keep up with reading daily, and reading out loud.  We love to pick books that have been made in to movies so we can watch them.  And end up writing something up, I find something that I think they will like. I find fun ways to keep them writing.  We have one workbook that we work on in the summer do a page a day and by the end of summer we are done with it and the girls like them.  There is also a book list in them, and a place to make goals.  Then our big thing for the summer is a theme.  One summer it was stars, this year is not nailed down as much has I would like but we are getting there.  We will read on it, do art if we can and lots and lots of hands on things.

  In the next few weeks I hope to have the summer out lined so I have my goals outlined.  I do not write down day to day things.  I will have goals for the summer and the months and may do the weeks.  Lots of fun!!  Then once that is done I will start on next years school year.  And I have the girls and what they will be using I have not found something that works for me.  So I hope that sometime with pinterest and I will.  I do not need anything big and fancy.  When I come up with what I hope will be the last one that I have to try I will post.  I will do the same with the summer theme and next year study.

 

church, voting and so much more!!

  Tonight we had our yearly business meeting at church.  What a night it was!  Let me take you back a few weeks almost a mother ago.  There was a meeting to nominate new people for the opens that we have for this upcoming year.  I prayed for those in the meeting before leaving the church that night after Awana and did not think much of it till my sweet friend called me and ask me if I would like to be a deaconess.  We talk and I ask what it would mean and what would be ask of me.  We had a great talk and she let me know that I had a few weeks to let her know.

   I got off the phone with her, and was able to think and pray about it.  Man ooo Man!!  What this has nothing to do with kids...and just in case you do not know I mainly deal with kids, it's just were I feel called.  What did they see in me that I was unable to see....  I spent many hours in prayer over it and ask others to prayer for wisdom for me.  And talk to a few that I knew would give me Biblical words of wisdom.  I came to a point that I knew what I was going to say.  I wanted to talk with one more person.  I had said that I would help them and wanted to make sure I know what they wanted from me and to make sure that they would not feel like I was unable to uphold what they were needed from me.  The time had come and I needed to give them my answer.

  My answer........ Yes!!!

  That brings us up to tonight, we needed to vote in 6 new deaconess there were 11 names.  I did not get voted in.

  I learn so much over this past month.  I was able to see how much I have grown, in the past I would have just said yes.  And not taking the time to pray about it, or even talk about it to others.  God also use this to show me that he can use me in other areas.  I could not have seen it!

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

                                                       Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse is one that I have always had a hard time with.  How can I trust with all my heart, and not myself.  But come on, sometimes I need to know now, right?  No, the best timing is his timing.  And trusting in him with everything and not your own understanding, because we can not see the big picture.  We see the here and now, but not life times.  

I can say that I will be praying for those who did get voted in, and will keep helping out where and when I can.  I'm so thankful that I was able to take Proverbs 3:5-6 and use it in my life.  And can see the different that it brings in my life.  I'm so over joyed, that people seen things in me that I did not see.  

A look back at 2015

We just finish with Christmas and we are getting ready to start the New Year, we are taking a few to look back and give you all a little update on how things are.

    2015 came and went so fast!  We moved at the end of 2014 in to town.  And started our life off of the military back around family.

January - We started the new year at home just us. And that first week meant we were back to school and it always a little hard going back after sometime off, but even harder when there is new toys to play with.  ;)  We finish up Christmas with Kennedy side of the family the first weekend.  And the rest of the month was nice and quit. The girls were happy to get back to Awana, a Sunday night group for our kids at Church.  Amber started helping out more and more with the youth group at the start of the year, and kept working with the Awana kids.  She has like finding her place in out new Church family.  Our Sweet Eammah had her 6th birthday at the end of the month!!  We are not sure how that happened!  And for the first time in her life she was able to have a sliding party with her friends.

February and March - Were both very quit months for us.  We did our fun little things for the holidays.  But other than that, it was life as normal.  The girls work hard with their school to get in some long weekends.  And we all did our best to stay warm in the cold winter.

April - Had Phil and Dixie for a week over Easter this year.  It was nice to have sometime with them.  We were able to meet up with some of Dixie's family in Lansing for a easier dinner.  What a great time we had.  We were able to do Birthdays why they were in Michigan.  Both Phil and Matthew have birthdays in April.  We were able to take Easter pictures outside and being back in Michigan it was nice.

May - The first weekend was a full weekend at Church with a big youth group dinner, and the end of Awana.  The end of Awana means the start of summer youth group.  Both girls work hard over the Awana year and get full rides to The Springs Camps.  May is also a big month for us.... it's the month that we became parents for the first time...hard to think that was nine, NINE!! Nine years ago!!  She is growing so fast!!  Part of her birthday gift from her Papa and Granny was a Tigers baseball game!!  She had a great time and can not wait to go again.  May also mark the start of camping season for our family.

June and July - SUMMER!!!  Which means we are done with the bulk of our school, we do some stuff over the summer.  We let them pick out a fun workbook and make up their only reading list. We spend time at the lake and hung out with friends and family.  Jessalla went to camp for a week, and over that week we took in some one and one time with Eammah.  And in that time took in a very long baseball game.  Took in some of the fun of living in a small town and the fun things that go on with it.  Phil and Dixie were able to make it back for a week over the summer.

August - VBS at the Church was for first full week and man oooo man what a great time!!  The kids all had a great time and many ask if they could come back the next week.  :)  Eammah and her friend went to camp just for the day.  And at the last minute had Jessalla go with them.  So that I could enjoy a day of shopping with a friend.  The fair was also in town for a week, and we took a good part of a few days and went up there.  At the end of the month we took a family mini vacation over night and went to a theme park for the day.  The schools around us started after we did but we went back mid of the month and at the same time moved from in town out of town to my Grandparents house.

September - We spent most of the month getting use to the house, getting back into school.  Awana started back up for the year.  And this year Amber is the cubbie's leader and loves working with the 3-5 year old.  They are a enjoy.  We also started a few new things for school this year and so far so good.  And things are moving right along with it.  1st and 4th grade this year!

October -  Fall, it's been a few years of not having a Michigan fall so we could it in.  We took some fall pictures and walks, and raking leave and lots of them!!  I once again waited the last minute to start and finish the girls things for Halloween.  But the girls went out looking great, even if we did not do much because it was raining and cold that night! Our girls took it upon themselves to love on our pastors each and every day this month!  And already have plans for next year.

November - For Michigan it was warm, and we were taking all we could get.  Still working in the yard.  I was able to have a quit 32 birthday with my family and have a nice dinner.  Thanksgiving was full of food and family, family and food!!  Three other friends and I were able to find a weekend to get away for the day and do some shopping, have a nice lunch out and regroup and be there for each other.

December - was even more full then other years.  The 5th started our Christmas/ Thanksgiving with the Wojciechowski side.  Both girls were in the Christmas play at Church and did a great job!!  All the kids did a great job!!  On the 19th Phil and Dixie came back for the 3rd time this year!!  And on the 20th Jessalla sung Away in the Manger Sunday morning at Church. headed out to dinner after Church to a place that is no longer there.  :)  It was nice to meet up with some of Dixie side again.  Christmas Eve Jessalla took part and did some of the reading for the night.  We were able to see Amber sisters and brothers.  As the month comes to an end we will have one more Christmas with her side in January.  We had a very full month with 6 Christmas, tons going on at Church and everyday life.

Personal Highlights

Eammah - is now 6!  Started 1st grade, went to camp, lost a tooth.  Has grow into a wonderful girl, she a lover and will come and hug you just because. taking dance

Jessalla - is now 9!!  Start 4th grade, did a full week at camp without a family member.  She started a youtube channel, taking dance

Amber - made her first quilt and then 3 more!  got some reading in, started working out again, and look forward to taking a class here in town on Monday nights.

Matthew - got a new job working at the post office,

No Problem......

We have a big family night coming up this weekend with our church and we are doing it at the park here in town.  It started off just to be the youth group at the church...and as thing do it's gotten big, and it's now a family night at the park.  And it's going to be great!!

This morning working with some of the others that are helping put it on...Paper good came up and what was still needed.  Unsure how to answer the sweet lady that was willing to help us.  I message someone that would know.  He answered back that he had pick up plates and we had napkins at the church.  I thank him for picking them up....and I get back No Problem....

I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was feeling like I was being a pest, but it just got to me in the wrong way and answer back in a somewhat smarty pants not so nice way.  And was a little upset....still sitting at the computer a few minutes later and Jessalla's Sunday School teacher message me asking when she was going to camp.  I gave her the days and she wrote back THANKS!! :)  And without thinking No Problem was coming out of my hands and was sent before I knew it...

I went back and said I was sorry for the way I had acted before.

I get why we say it...because for us it was not a big deal...But on the or hand for the person that was saying thank you it was a big deal...it's not something they do not have to do or ask someone else to do. Or info that they do not have to look for.  And for me it's so easy to think well to pick up the plates was not a big deal I do not have to thank him for that, this time....then it's something else, and so on and so on....And I become a very unthankful person and think well it's not a big deal so and so can do it.  And all the so and so may end up feeling used. I know I have felt that way, after doing things for others that were not a big deal.  But what a great reminder all from paper plates.

I think Thank you is something that is not said enough!  And is something that we work on hard in this house.  To tell and show people how thankful we are for them.  It's one lesson that we will keep working on even if I think the kids got it.  It's something that we can fall out of so easy, don't fall out of being Thankful and telling people thank you.

 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

2 Corinthians 9:12