A Roof Over our Heads

Here are some pics of last week's progress. The framers should be done by tomorrow and I think the "roof" crew is coming tomorrow to start on the shingles.  I did a walk-thru today with the cabinet guy and the electrician....I am WORN OUT! So much to think about--then I worry about silly stuff like, "what if I need an outlet there? Is that enough light in that room? What if the cabinets are too low? Too high? Too little?" UGH!  Too much to process!
It wouldn't bother me if we weren't going to live there forever! But knowing--THIS IS IT--makes it completely different!
Then, I left the construction site and said, "Thank you Lord for letting me have the opportunity to even worry about where outlets go and lighting for the rooms".  I know this a huge blessing from Him to even build this house, so I am glad to "sweat the small stuff"!

Front view with rafters going up. Office to left, front door, dining room window, then garage.

Head on front view--office, front door, dining room, 2 car garage, boat garage from left to right

Back view of porch going in--yes it's quite tall!

SkyLift being put to good use.  Back patio/porch work being done.

Another front view of house

View from neighbor's house on our road.  Kind of neat to see a different angle.

Back view with porch complete..

Valentine's Day....I know I'm Late.

This week has been nothing but running behind for me! With trying to study for my certification exam, I have felt like I have had no spare time and a mushed brain.  But, I took my test today and made a 98 percent! Hallelujiah! :) One down, two more tests to go! UGH!
Back to Valentine's Day though....Each year Richie and I go to Mt. Magazine for dinner at the lodge (it's where he proposed), but this year with all of the snow on the ground, we were afraid to try it. Not to mention we only had a babysitter for Saturday night after 6:30 pm, so beggars can't be choosy! :) So, with the limited time we headed to town.  But anyone from around here knows that we have a limited amount of restaurants and tons of people out and about to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Our first stop, Longhorn, would've been a 2 hour wait! UM NO!  We scanned the Cheddar's parking lot....and didn't even bother to ask. So, we headed to Bravo's.  Richie had never eaten there and wanted to try it.  They told us it would be a 45 min wait, but we didn't wait longer than about 15 minutes.  The food and ambience was great! It was SO nice to have a night out with NO kids! I know some people feel like Valentine's Day is over-rated, but I have to admit that I like it.  I don't ever doubt my hubby loves me any other day, but I like the fact that the holiday encourages us to stop and spend some time together on our own.  I know we wouldn't have made it out for dinner last weekend without the excuse! We are trying to not waste money (thanks Dave Ramsey), so we stuck with our Valentine's Day budget for gifts.  Richie really wanted a meatloaf, so I made him one for Valentine's Day (he's easy to please).  And he had seen me tear up the house looking for chocolate for the last two weeks and so he bought me a TON of chocolate! YUM! I'm usually not a chocolate girl, but something is seriously wrong with me lately and I have been craving it.  So thanks Richie for the chocolate!
Kylie had a great Valentine's Day as well.  She bought her "boyfriend", Aaron, a teddy bear and balloon and we drove to his house the night before, left the goodies and knocked on the door.  Then we drove down the road and watched him find his surprise! It was so cute! Then, the next day he sent her a blanket, roses, a stuffed animal and a card to school! I wouldn't be as tolerant if I didn't know his Momma!
Great day! Love You Richie!

Snow Day #2...Big Kids Style!

So, after two days of being couped up in our little duplex trying to study and keep kiddos entertained and out of my hair, I decided that I would load them up and let them sled over at my grandparents house.  They had SO much fun!  I took a break and was able to grab a few pictures, however Landen went down the hill on a little sled as well and I was inside studying at the time, so I missed it! :(

The snow was so powdery that the kids had to "make" a slide down the hill!

It was a LITTLE difficult at first! Kylie had a hard time getting going!

Here we go!!

The next adventure was sledding by the 4-wheeler!

Weston's turn--he was a little timid at first, but he did enjoy it.  He had a wreck and I was so proud because he got up and got back on.  He told me later, "Mom, I just remembered the TobyMac song "Get Back Up" and I decided to do that!" CUTE!

Some cool kiddos!

Behind the 4-wheeler

Kylie did a face plant while behind the 4-wheeler.  Wish I had had the video camera handy!

My Papaw decided to try out the snow scooter.  This is him right before he crashed in the snow!

And not to be outdone by the kids, Papaw got on the little sleds as well.  But, he cracked it the first time down!

The kids had such a great time! I am very glad they had an opportunity to play in the snow--something to remember when they are sitting in class in June!

Snow Day Pics

As I mentioned in another post, I have had some changes at work and well, that basically means I get to study, study, study and then take a big 'ole test! So, snow days for me last week were nothing but stressful.  With kiddos and a tiny duplex, my study time seemed fruitless!  I felt like I was retaining nothing and it was so frustrating.  My poor kids were cooped up inside and told to not make a sound--so boring to them.  So, one evening when Richie brought Landen home, I let the kids bundle up and play in the snow.  I really, really wanted to get some pics of Landen and his first real time to experience the snow....and it was so cute! Because at the end of the day, I won't remember what product I was studying, but I will never forget the sweet smiles and laughter my kiddos had in the snow!

Excited to get outside finally!

Fun in the snow!

Except it's a little hard to walk when you aren't quite coordinated yet!

The birds caught his attention!

Back up and at it again--lift those feet little man!

My Landen! My Landen! :)

Poor baby! Face plant in the snow! :(

When it was time to go in, he was NOT happy.  He screamed and threw a little fit--guess he had fun out there! More snow pics to come of the big kids!

R & T Wrecker Service

With the bad weather comes wrecks and my brother and my cousin both experienced them during the last couple of snow storms....So, each time Richie and I loaded up to help out.  Both of them were shaken up, but otherwise OK. Thank goodness!  Here's to spring and dry, safe roads!

**Also, I posted several posts today--finally had a few free moments**

My brother's Mustang, minus part of the front! He also had a few dents on the passenger door.

This one is hard to see, but I wasn't about to get out of the truck.  It was on Hwy 71, and I was afraid someone else would run off the road and hit me! Anyway, they are pulling my cousin's car out of the median in this picture.

My Little Chef

I thought these pictures were so cute....The other day Kylie dressed up Landen in her apron and bonnet.  It was precious! 

Snowy House Progress!

So, here is the 2nd round of the 2nd floor progress, with some snow!  This is actually some of the first floor also--crazy to  see snow in our bedroom! :) Thank goodness for 70 degree weather today--here's to a week of progress this week hopefully!

House Progress--1st Half of Week

With this weather, I am just glad to say there was some "progress" on our house....it wasn't much though! But hopefully, with next week's temperatures, they will get back on schedule.  I just found out they are going to work tomorrow and Sunday--thank goodness! Before the bad weather this week, here is the work they were able to get done!

Media/Bonus Room Upstairs

Looking down into living room/kitchen

View from Landen/Weston's rooms of media room? Below to the right is the master bedroom

View of back of house

Side view of house

Working hard!

Another view of media/bonus room (can you tell which room they were able to work on that day??) LOL!

Stairs leading to the 2nd floor

View from living room of Kylie's room??

I'll post another round of pics later of the rest of the week's work! Slowly but surely, we should have a new house one day!!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So, tonight was my class that I teach.  We missed last Tuesday due to weather, so we are making up that time (a 4.5 hr class!!) by staying late each week for the next 3 weeks. UGH! Anyway, I have had some issues in class that I have tried to let slide, but they have bothered me a bit.  I have really tried to be accommodating without eroding the integrity of the class and master's program, but I have felt that a few students have been out of line a little bit.  So, I decided to talk with Director--I have hesitated, I didn't want her to think I couldn't handle the class, but I finally decided she needed to be aware of the situation in case it escalated.  She was SO understanding, very disappointed in some of the students and told me I had her full support with how I chose to handle the situation.  And the meeting with her  couldn't have come at a better time.  I left her office and went into class.  There's one man in particular that has been disrespectful.  Well, we hadn't been in class for 10 minutes when he decided to be a jerk about a particular assignment.  I had had enough.  Knowing my Director was aware and supporting me made all the difference in my confidence level--I decided to address the situation immediately in front of the whole class.  And I am SO glad I did....the entire dynamic of the classroom changed from that moment on.  The rest of the class was very supportive and offered such kind words and the man even changed his attitude as well!  It was something I probably should've done from the beginning, but being new to teaching a college course, I have tried to not get too upset over things.  I have learned my lesson--I need to speak up sooner! I had one woman after class tell me she was very impressed with the way I handled myself--she said she admired my ability to keep my composure while dealing with such a difficult situation! It made me feel SO good! I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching this semester except for the few instances of disrespect and I decided tonight that I wasn't going to let that ruin my experience!

Date Night and a Jeremy Camp Concert

Last night Richie and I had a date night and went to see Jeremy Camp.  It was an AWESOME concert! We had seats on the 2nd row right smack dab in the middle, but the 2 seats in front of us were removed for handicap access, so we were basically on the front row! There were 2 little girls and their Mom sitting next to us that were about Kylie's size and they were the nicest people.  So, when Jeremy Camp came on stage, I told them to come get in front of me in that space where the chairs were removed and they were SO excited and kept saying thank you! The people in front of them were very tall and they had a hard time seeing, so that made their night--it was sweet to see them get excited! It was funny because the lady next to me wasn't very happy with me...and you know what? I didn't care one bit! She could see right over the girls' heads and they were the most well-behaved little girls that I didn't care if it bothered her.  Hope someday she realizes life isn't all about her....
I loved hearing Jeremy's testimony about his 1st wife.  Last night was the 10 year anniversary of her death and he still got emotional talking about it.  I know it's hard, but it's such a testimony to hear about the hurt and pain and then see the life he has chosen to live that honors God. Such a huge message that we can overcome things with God on our side.

The concert was great, but I have to say that the ride home was amazing. Besides the hazelnut coffee we stopped to get (ha!), I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation between me and Richie.  Several times last night he referred to "the old me" when he would talk about how he would've reacted to a situation. But, he's different. And you could see it in the way he reacted to things and hearing him talk. My heart just melted all over again for him! :)

Changes...But the snow is still here!

How about the snow? I honestly thought it would just be a "light dusting" as they kept claiming, but this was a full blown stick-to-the-ground snow day! Guess it was a good thing the kids were already out of school, huh? And this snow just keeps DRAGGING OUT our house progress.  Hey, we just hope to be in by 2011 at this point!
So, we had a conference call for work yesterday.  Honestly thought it would be a routine, "here's your info" kind of call, but by the time I hung up, my "work world" was completely different.  I am a little bummed. My "babies" a.k.a. the drugs I have promoted from day 1 are no longer mine in about 6 weeks. :( It's like someone came and took my kids from me and gave them a new home! And, I am the only one in my area getting a new drug. Scary! I'm all by myself....so worried. What if I fail? Ugh. Such pressure and stress.  I just lay in bed this morning worrying and stressing, then praying. I want to have such a positive attitude about this change, but it's so hard!
I found a verse that I am going to really try and focus on and hope that I can keep the pessimism about of my head!
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.


So, here goes nothing!

Mer's Birthday Dinner!

Miss Mer turned 26 years old Sunday and we celebrated her birthday tonight with dinner at La Fiesta!  We had a great time catching up and we were so happy not to have to rush through our meals like we do at lunchtime! Happy Birthday, Mer!

Icy Snow Day!

I am actually glad we had a snow day today! It gave Weston another day to get better.  And he seems so much better!  Landen however started feeling bad last night.  He had a severe case of diarrhea and I just knew he was going to be the next flu victim.  But he never ran fever, never got a cough, and never acted like he felt the least bit sick.  He just had horrible diapers. So, the snow day helped buy me time off of work to keep him home to make sure he wasn't contagious before going  back over to the babysitter's house!
Weston told me something today that just broke my heart for him.  He said that someone asked him about his new house and he told them all about it and when he told him about his new room, they informed him that they had had a room like that and hated it! He wouldn't tell me who said it--just that it wasn't a kid, but it broke my heart for him.  He has been SO excited about his new house and new room and to think someone would be so mean as to say that about something he is excited about really hurts me for him.  People can be so rude though! I just told him that all that matters is what he thinks and that he shouldn't let people decide for him what he likes!