Bootiful Fowers

We are making good progress on the first stage (cheap stage) of the remodel. If you read the previous post, you know that soon every paintable wall will be "Honey Beige." We will then move through the house one room at a time and do a complete redo.

One thing that is strange about this house is a half wall that hangs above our kitchen breakfast bar. Randy started to take the entire thing down tonight, but.......apparently it is a major, load-bearing beam that runs the entire length of the house. The good news is that the part of the wall that really bugged us did come off. Isn't Randy the sweetest guy ever? He could be sitting on the couch right now watching the basketball tournament, but instead he is making his wife sooooo happy by hauling the weird wall out to the dumpster :)

I started putting a primer over the floral wallpaper in the entry hall so that I can paint over it. Madelyn stood in the hall tonight with a sad face and kept telling me that I was ruining her "bootiful fowers." Apparently this paint job isn't making everyone happy - lol!

Our Missy was home for a few days this week, and we loved spending precious time with her. What a sweet daughter and sister she is :)

$40 Intervention

I have written many posts about contentment (or the lack of) on this blog primarily because I struggle with it so often. Our "new" house will someday be the yellow cottage of my dreams, but work has progressed so slowly because of Randy's work schedule and our busy life full of parenting, homeschooling, church, life, etc.. I have remained fairly upbeat about the very colorful walls and much neglected kitchen and baths until last week :(

We have orange walls, blue walls, green walls, red walls, grey walls, floweredy wallpaper walls.....well, you get the not-so-pretty picture. As with most remodeling projects, painting is not the only issue. The walls need to be textured, new trim needs to be painted, cut and installed, doors and window trim need to be painted. I began to see myself living with orange sponge-painted walls for a loooong time. So....

I did a little research and found that I can buy 5 gallons of paint at Lowes for only $37.89! It is not the kind of paint I normally buy, but at that price I can paint over EVERYTHING and not feel guilty about texturing and painting over it again later. I started on the orange living room yesterday and already feel much better :) Goodbye orange, hello Honey Beige!

I don't know about you, but I think $40 is a small price to pay for a happy momma.

More Dallas Pictures

Before our son Michael moved to New York last month, we took a trip to Dallas to see both of our sweet guys. Because of the trauma of Michael's car wreck and broken nose, I never finished posting some of the pictures I took that weekend. Most of these pictures are from our trip to a fabulous science museum in Dallas. Michael finally had his nose repaired on Tuesday by a wonderful plastic surgeon in New York. He goes back in tomorrow to have the cast taken off and can now finally start his new job in the big city. Thank you again for all of your prayers for Michael :)

Puzzling Days

My favorite thrift shop often has great puzzles for a dollar - what a deal! We now have a pretty big collection, and occasionally have a puzzle marathon. It is a little hard to maneuver through the house on these days, but our floor is very colorful!

Homeschooling has taken a sweet, leisurely spring-time feel. We do a lot of math and reading, a little gardening, hunt for a few bugs, ride bikes and scooters, and just enjoy being together.

Michael finally found a doctor in New York City to fix his poor nose. He will have it repaired tomorrow afternoon, so please pray that all goes well and that he recovers quickly. I know he is ready to feel better, look better, and start his new job in New York.

Randy has another birthday tomorrow (51!), and so he will be a year older than me. I prefer being the "younger woman." :)

Have a wonderful week and hug everyone you love.

Sweet Friends

I am blessed with many sweet, sweet friends. They make my life more full, more fun, and much richer. Friends hold you up when things are poopy and they love you even when you are a mess. My friend Kris gave me a blog award that I want to pass on to some of my favorite bloggy friends :)

The details of blogs chosen for this award:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind
bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested
in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons
of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award
to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this
cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”!

Take a gander at these sweet blogs:

What Do I Know of Holy (my daughter's blog)

Canyon Wren Cottage (my sister's blog)

Farmhouse Blessings (this is an award-free blog, but one of my favorites!)

Little Cabin in the Woods

SchroFamBlog

There's More Than This (Dan's blog)

Thoughts From My Heart

Blessings Upon the Path of Life

Thanks again Kris!

It Finally Happened

You know those dreams where you are running away from something terrible, but your legs won't work? Or the nightmare of showing up somewhere and forgetting your clothes? Well, I have had a fear of something for a looooooong time, and yesterday it finally happened :(

After homeschooling yesterday morning, the little ones and I left our home to run a few errands. We had plans to meet Randy for lunch, and the day looked wonderful. We spent quite a while at a resale shop for children looking for spring clothes and then headed for Hobby Lobby. As I got out of the car I realized.........I STILL HAD MY HOUSE SHOES ON!!!!!! Yes, that has been my fear for quite some time. I usually check my feet before heading out the door, but one little slip-up has led to lots of laughter and a little embarrassment for me.

Maybe I should have titled this post "The Real Danger of Homeschooling Your Children - You Will Occasionally Look Like a Dork Because You Get a Little Too Comfortable in Your Robe and House Shoes."

Quick Update on Michael

Thank you, thank you sweet friends for praying for Michael after his accident. He finally made it to New York late Thursday afternoon and was exhausted. After the car wreck, no one felt very safe sleeping in the van, so Michael and his co-workers were awake for almost 48 hours.

The swelling in his face is almost gone, but the pain in his nose has worsened. He has two black eyes, and I am sure most people think he has been in a fight :) He is going to try to see a specialist tomorrow for pain medication and to schedule surgery on his broken nose. I am praying that this ordeal is over for Michael very soon.

Please continue to pray that the other driver's insurance will not be "stinky" about paying for the hospital stay last Wednesday and all of the other doctor bills that will be coming through in the next few weeks. I can't even imagine what the final amount will be.

Thank you for all of the phone calls, emails and comments you have left on this blog. We are blessed beyond measure with precious friends and family :)