and more pics from Wednesday

(kitchen ceiling fan still needs glass to cover light bulbs)

Front entry

Laundry room

pictures from the weekend

Kayleb (Tim's nephew) was here for the weekend ~ He helped to finish the soffit and fascia on Saturday.

Tim hired someone to haul sand from the back of our pasture where we have an old sandpit ~ then he pushed it around to fill in the driveway and up to the front door.

Life on a gravel road

Sunday night ~ 10:45pm.... Let there be light!  (and hot water!)

This is Plan B carpet in our room ~ the boys' room is similar but a darker (medium) brown

Saturday I dragged my weary girls to Lowe's (they'd just come home from Omaha) to buy closet stuff ~ and this is what Kayleb did with it on Monday!  =)  Another hanging shelf behind the door for my longer clothing.  And yeah, one of these days I'll move our closet over there and fill it up for real...

...like the boys did with their closet  ;-)  Tim had the challenge of this closet ~ mounting the tracks in the exterior wall is a bit different than 2x4 studs.

Happy boys ♥

(note the Python computer books under the bed!)

And girls!  ♥

(who are camping in the school room for now)

daybook 21? sort of

The Simple Woman's Daybook is usually posted every Tuesday ~ here.  For the summer, Peggy is posting a Linky just once a month... Just thought you ought to know.

And, note the number of my daybook.  At a quick glance at posts, I saw that I have TWO Daybook 16 posts and TWO Daybook 12 posts, and that was just looking at one page of the list.  Um, so maybe this is week 21 for me?  Maybe not.  Whatever.  I should probably follow Julie's lead and abandon the Daybook for the summer... but here I am... instead of packing our stuff into boxes...

And, just a disclaimer that I am not feeling like much of a Simple Woman these days ~ unless you use the definition from Proverbs?   :o

FOR TODAY

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Outside my window... it's hot and muggy.  The corn is loving it!  I am loving air conditioning.  And this week we should have it in the new house, too!


I am thinking... I should load the bike helmets into the van to deliver to Alicia tonight... along with the math book... and the paper flannel figures for Sarita... and the ISU tee for Ethan.  Um, yes, we went to Salvation Army today to 'donate' some usable items ~ and I discovered someone had brought a couple bags back into the house (!) and they weren't accepting books  :p  So glad I hadn't loaded all the hardcovers we put in the discard pile just yesterday.  (That was not very short and to the point, eh?  I'm thinking about S.T.U.F.F.)


I am thankful for... my husband ~ and his many abilities which include plumbing, electrical, landscaping, carpentry, automotive and mechanical repairs, ....


I am praying for... the A Family in China ~ so excited to see them here next summer on their first furlough, Lord willing!


From the learning rooms... Miss Music Box actually took along her literature book today on our errands/chiropractor trip.  Can't say if she read any of it.  Now she's trying to read every book in the discard pile before it leaves the house!  I had the Computer Geek read some books yesterday as part of my purge process ~ Quo Vadis?


From the kitchen...beef roast in the crock pot is ready to eat anytime; baked potatoes are still in the oven.  Tomorrow will be Santa Fe Chicken ~ Who can tell me where I found that recipe before I wrote it on the back of an envelope??  (chicken, salsa, black beans, corn... cream cheese... rice ~ sound yummy??)

I am creating... easy closet 'doors' with $3 sheets from Walmart  =)  woot, woot!

I am going... to church tonight to serve in the baby nursery.
...back to Lowe's again another day to rectify a pricing issue ~ hopefully before they update the sticker on the shelf  ;-)  (ran out of time today)

I am reading... finished the Psalms!  started Ecclesiastes.  Oh, and we finally got our new books for summer Sunday school ~ When Sinners Say "I Do"

I am hoping... God will continue to work things out with the house process in spite of all of the continued unwanted setbacks (this was my wish from May ~ I'm still hoping He works all things together for good!  And we will be thankful for it!)

I am hearing...  Miss Artist is playing the piano  (you'd think we were having a nice relaxing afternoon... since we're not frantically running around to DO Stuff)

Around the house...yeah, there are boxes and dust bunnies grizzlies everywhere

One of my favorite things...the word DONE

A few plans for the rest of the week:  moving my kitchen???  :-)

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Saturday night pizza

Thanks to Peggy for hosting the Simple Woman's Daybook ~ Find more daybooks here.

Author of Liberty

 

Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty, To Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

 

 

 

really fast update

And I mean a really fast update...

Wish I had time and photos to really show & tell, but I don't.   Soooo, yes, we are sleeping at the new house.  No, we do not have hot water or lights or air conditioning or ... or much beyond beds and cold running water (which includes toilets that flush!)  =)  The nights have been blissfully cool ~ and we have great ventilation with windows (something we haven't had).  It's supposed to heat up today with more humidity ~ ya know, summer-in-Iowa weather ~ with thunderstorms tomorrow for some 4th of July fun.  We'll have to do the sparklers tonight.  One of my kids suggested we make ice cream tomorrow ~ so we've cleaned up the i.c. maker and made the custard ~ nice surprise for Tim!

Waking up to see the sun rise every day and hearing the birds sing and the calves calling their mamas ~ ahhhh, yes.  That is why we are doing all this!

Tim & Kayleb are working on outside soffit again ~ hoping to finish this morning.  Sand and dirt have been/are being hauled in to fill our front yard and driveway ~ woot, woot ~ before the rain comes to settle it all in nicely.  (Kayleb is here for another long weekend to help ~ yay!)

Tim started installing vanities/sinks in the basement bath ~ looking good!  Kayleb is also working on closets, so we will shop for shelving today.  And he put up a couple of the shower curtain rods ~ so my Navy man took a c~o~l~d shower last night in his own new house  ;-)  He's planning on hooking up the water heater today ~ yay!  Oh, and he bought a stove hood... so that needs a major hole in the wall for the vent (remember our exterior walls are concrete)

I have cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets (except washing the inside of the island ~ my imported bucket of water got too cold and dirty) ~ so I could start filling them with stuff!  =)  My bigger girls will be so happy to help with that when they get home, right?  (I think so!)

Timer is beeping ~ I'm outta here!  

Have a great weekend, y'all!

daybook 18

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, 

and that seek him with the whole heart.

Psalm 119:2

Preface to my Daybook...

Monday:  Wishing I had time for blogging, here's what I did instead:  Woke up before my husband (!) but thought about getting up until his alarm went off  ;-)  We went to the house together to prepare for the carpet installation ~ I scrubbed and mopped the two bedroom floors and hallway.  It's amazing what a body can accomplish before 8am!  Mr. Friendly Carpet Installer arrived about 8, so we left him to his business and came home to have some more breakfast with the kids ~ and a shower for me.  After several phone calls and starting bread dough, I decided I should hurry back to the house at 11am to vacuum out kitchen cabinets before the countertop installers arrived after lunch... I met the carpet installer on his way to another job and arrived to see a big truck parked in the driveway "IOWA Countertops" ~ oops! ~ so much for my cleaning the cabinets.  But I decided to vac the new carpets instead.  So the poor installers had to listen to my awful powerhead on the vac, but I got it done and then relaxed on my floor with the most gorgeous view of blue sky and delightful cool breeze via my window.  Countertop guys finished and disappeared.  I had my camera along, but had dropped it on the floor here in the process of taking it off a shelf, soooo when I thought to spend my time snapping pictures, the camera didn't want to work.  I brought it home and charged the battery, hoping that might be the problem, but alas, today it does the same thing... When I turn it on, the lens comes out and goes back in, noisily and slowly as if it were in pain (I know about that sort of movement) until I shut it off again.  :-(  I'm not sure I have time for visiting the camera shop to ask if it's repairable  :-(  So sad!  I might have to commandeer the Cowgirl's camera for now.

Anyway ~ I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen mixing bread, cookies, and banana muffins ~ the girls helped bake the cookies and muffins.  The G Family came about 4 bringing two huge laundry baskets full of food!  Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, lettuce salad, cooked veggies, frozen fruit slush, banana bars, kolaches!, scalloped potatoes & ham, and pizza.  As a mom of six, Mrs. G. understands large quantities of food  ;-)  What a blessing!  "And what are you doing cooking?!" she wanted to know ~ I told her, It's a habit.  ;-)

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; 

for therein do I delight. 

Psalm 119:35

Outside my window... another gorgeous day!  The gerbera daisy opened up lots of blooms this week  :-)

I am thinking... I should really be instituting a computer fast

I am thankful for... God's goodness ~ and His ability to provide all I need every day.
...for the beautiful weather this week (we have no central air at the new house yet)

At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee 

because of thy righteous judgments. 

Psalm 119:62

From the learning rooms... Miss Artist and Miss MusicBox are in Omaha this week ~ they will teach a couple lessons as their youth group leads VBS  in TWO parks ~ morning and evening. 
We should be packing all of our books!

From the kitchen... Read the preface.  Do you think I should be cooking today?  I should bake my brother's batch of bread for July before we decide to pack the kitchen.  I should start packing the kitchen... and clean out the new cabinets...


I am creating... no witty thoughts to answer this one today  

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: 

I hope in thy word.

Psalm 119:114

I am going... to the grocery store for boxes for packing our s.t.u.f.f.  I still need to haul away the accumulating pile of stuff I don't want to keep.
...to sleep at our new house tomorrow night!


I am reading... the Psalms, Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson (I didn't read any from Carson last week ~ so much for the thought of finishing that before we move!)

I am hoping... the electrician can be done next week.

Order my steps in thy word: 

and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 

Psalm 119:133

I am hearing... the Cattleman is sorting through music tapes and CDs, the air conditioner is running

Around the house... one bedroom is now bedless so the girls have room to work at packing their stuff treasures...

One of my favorite things... hearing my kids sing or hum their favorite hymns and songs

... the following verse.  I memorized the first part of it about twenty years ago with a 2-3yo Sunday school class.  :-)   (I was one of the teachers, not a student ~ just in case you were wondering)

Thy word is true from the beginning: 

and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. 

Psalm 119:160

A few plans for the rest of the week: um, yeah.  A. few. plans.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Miss Artist raking the oats the other week.  It's already time for cutting the second crop of hay in the other field!

(no new pictures since I injured or killed my camera yesterday...)

Link up and read more daybooks at Peggy's blog.

daybook 17

FOR TODAY

Monday, June 21, 2010

I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: 

and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: 

and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. 

Psalm 108:3-4

Outside my window... it is mostly cloudy.  We must have had some rain again overnight.  My purple wildflower is still blooming.  The corn is growing taller, taller...

I am thinking... I should have taken time to read others' blogs later today 

I am thankful for... my good friend Jill who picked up my kids for VBS this morning, so I could stay home and do stuff!

From the learning rooms... Vacation Bible School this week.  Miss Artist is playing the piano the first three days. She and Miss MusicBox are helping with classes this week; next week they will teach a couple lessons as their youth group leads VBS for two church-plants in Omaha. {correction: TWO pastors have ONE church plant with VBS in TWO parks ~ morning and evening}

From the kitchen... I should be baking bread.  Haystack is on tonight's menu.  But there is also leftover grilled steak in the fridge... mmm-mmm!

I am creating... piles and piles of stuff to disown  =)

I am going... to order countertops for the kitchen and basement bath today!

I am reading... the Psalms, Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson, and NEWSflash! I read more than 20 pages of Carson last week with the kids ~ only 25 pages left to finish the chapter and book!  woot-woot!

I am hoping... God will be honored above all in the long process of completing and moving into our new home (completing actually comes after we move in).

Help me, O LORD my God: 

O save me according to thy mercy:

That they may know that this is thy hand; 

that thou, LORD, hast done it. 

Psalm 109:26-27

I am hearing... the fan.  Only.  Now and then a bird sings.  It's very strange to be home alone!

Around the house... It's Monday, so there is laundry, laundry, laundry!

One of my favorite things... good customer service  =)  We did enjoy the wait-staff at the Honey Creek Resort on Saturday at my niece's wedding.

I'll save the grumbling about state-owned resorts for another day... Should have taken a picture of the reserved parking for "HYBRID CARS ONLY" :p

A few plans for the rest of the week: Well, the idealist will have~ sorted the entire attic, hauled away all the garbage and treasures we don't need, caught up on computer accounting, put a week's worth of meals in the freezer, cleaned out the freezers, scrubbed the floors twice at the new house, sewed several things for my DDs before they travel on Saturday, and cleaned this house too ~all before Friday so I can use that day for errands in Ames.   
Bahahahahahahahahaha

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
The boys got the new mailbox ready in time for our mailman to start delivering last Thursday. 

Thursday was a banner day ~ we also got the first toilet hooked up ~ Happy Day!  =)

Link up and read more daybooks at Peggy's blog.