A Little Randomness!

I guess it took me long enough to get back to posting. When I'm on my computer so much as school it's the last thing I want to do at home--even on break! Anyway...

I was blown away by the generosity of my students in their gift giving. I was blessed with very thoughtful things. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for going back to teaching when so much is going on with the house, let alone trying to raise 3 girls, and then of course there's #4 on the way. The official due date is July 3, 2009. I find this ironic since I'm teaching American History this year! :)

On to more randomness...
This first picture is of Naomi and Melanie. I heard them laughing and carrying on in the bathroom, and that's what I found when I walked in. Because we are living in just two bedrooms right now we have the cat's food and water in our bathroom, but the litter box is in the girls' bathroom. Thus the reason for all the Wal-Mart sacks. Naomi and Melanie had a blast playing in the tub with Wal-Mart sacks instead of water!!

The second picture is of the girls sitting on a trailer waiting for the Christmas parade in Siloam Springs to start. Upward Bound Gymnastics always has a couple of trailers for the younger gymnasts to sit on while the older ones tumble during the parade. This year I was a parent volunteer, but I got to sit on the trailer with the girls instead of walk with the tumblers.

The last picture is of another teacher who is 9 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy. One day we wore the exact same Old Navy maternity sweater and brown slacks. It was so corny we had to take a picture. Thankfully she teaches downstairs, and I teach upstairs. I'm not showing yet, but I didn't want to spend money on regular dress code approved apparel and then have to turn around when I do start showing and spend money on dress code approved maternity clothes--Ugh!! So I'm wearing maternity clothes already, but they are much more comfortable. :)

One Semester Down!

I know that I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving Break. Now it's almost Christmas!! I'm typing this entry while waiting for the Headmaster of our school to let the teacher's know that we can finally leave...We just go the okay to leave!!! I'll finish my thoughts later! We're blowing this popcicle stand!!!

Thanksgiving Break!

Happy Thanksgiving!! We definitely have so much to be thankful for!!

I wasn't sure how we were going to spend our first day of Thanksgiving break. We had our nephew, Jonathan, Tuesday night and Wednesday. I knew it wouldn't take long for us to get stir crazy at the house. So, we met Andy for lunch at La Hacienda in Siloam. Then since it was so nice outside I took them to a park. They really seemed to enjoy it until they found these seats that spun around. Naomi is sitting on one in the second picture. Unfortunately the sit and spin and Mexican food wasn't a good combination for Jonathan. I'm thankful no mess was made in our van. :)

We left the park and found a gas station with decent bathrooms. At that point Jonathan started feeling better so I bought them sodas before leaving. Next I took them out to the Pleasant Grove Wal-Mart. It's one of the nicest ones in our area. Plus, I took the scenic route to get there, and they ALL feel asleep in the van. :) Another thankful moment. :)


















All in all it was a good day. Next time we'll have to for-go the sit and spin so they can play longer. :)

Cue the Patriotic Theme Music!

I've not been entirely sure how to start this blog. So, I guess I'll just blurt it out! We are expecting #4 sometime around July 4!!!! We are excited!!! Anne wants it to be a girl and to name it Sarah. Naomi wants a brother, she doesn't care about the name. :) Melanie thankfully is oblivious. The girls have been so excited they were telling everyone they saw at school. It was too cute!

Of course, we would love for it to be a boy, but quadruply (sp?) blessed with girls would be fine, too. We'd have everything we need. :) The house will be done well before the baby arrives, and now we'll have plenty of room!!

Speaking of the house...the home security guys were here today to run wire. I'm deliberating over countertop colors--we're going with metal countertops. Andy is planning to start the electrical rough-in this weekend. Then all will have to be inspected before insulation is put it. Even though there's not a lot of visible change, quite a lot has been going on.

I guess that's it for now!

The House is Dried In!

Okay, here are recent pictures of the house. These were taken just a few minutes ago. It's cloudy and very cold here. Andy installed the french doors in the back of the house today. We have two skylights in the roof over the living area. The second picture is a view from the northeast corner of the house.

Sorry about the temporary electric pole and what's left of our gazebo obstructing the view a little. Andy added the dormers to the floor plans to give us more room in the loft and media room. It definitely did the trick. The plumbing rough-in is complete. Hopefully the HVAC guys will be finished this week. Then electrical rough-in will begin. Next is an inspection and then sheet rock! I'm not sure when siding will be put on, but we are going with James Hardy cement board siding. We would love to do brick, but it's too expensive. Anyway, we're ordering the siding in white since we haven't really been able to settle on a color other than white. :)

Beginning Framing!

More pictures that are long overdue. I have to add that our house is pretty far beyond this point. In these pictures you will only see up to the first floor framed. Now the house is completely dried in. The plumbers and HVAC have been doing their rough in and should be finished soon. Then I think the electrical rough in begins. I'll try to get pictures taken ASAP and post soon.

Yes, we are living in the portion of the house that is partly covered in black plastic. We've only been using the fifth wheel now for kitchen purposes.

The second picture is the new 2 car garage. I guess I should also add that we are proud owners of a Honda Odyssey now. That's the portion of the van you see in the second picture. I love it!!

In the last picture our master bedroom is on the left where the 2 window opening are. The dining area is where the french doors and larger window opening is.

They got the house framed in about 9 days. They started on a Thursday and finished the following Saturday, I think. I might be a little fuzzy on the time line since it's been a little while since they were here. Again, I'll try to get pictures taken tomorrow and post those ASAP! We don't have siding on, yet, but it looks quite different!

Terribly Overdue!!

I'm sorry these pictures are terribly long overdue! These are pictures of the girls on Halloween. We went trick-or-treating down main street here in town, and then to Mammy's (Andy's step-mom) house for a "vintage" Halloween celebration. The girls were excited because there was a good spread of food. We are not really into "celebrating" Halloween, but the girls had fun dressing up and seeing family.

My little ballerinas. Those are the tutus I made. The only thing I didn't like about them is that they bunched up in front when they walked. They didn't turn out too bad for my first attempt. The girls haven't played in them since, so I don't think that I have to worry about making them in other colors. :)

Cake Eater!

I couldn't resist posting pictures of Melanie with her cake. I ended up buying one at Wal-Mart since I'm currently without a kitchen. No offense, Wal-Mart, but my cakes are better. :) I plan to make it up to her next year.

Happy Birthday Melanie!!

It's almost hard to believe that one year ago today Melanie joined our family. I still remember anxiously awaiting for the phone call from the hospital to let us know they had a room. When we arrived at the hospital we prepared for induction. Who would have guessed that there was enough room in my belly for her to flip around during the epidural. She came into the world via c-section, much to mommy's chagrin. Even weighing in at 9lbs. 2 oz. she seemed so small, but boy could she wail!!! She has a voice that carries, and she's not afraid to use it. I have thoroughly enjoyed this first year of her life. So many things I forgot about since Anne and Naomi were that young. She loves to laugh. She will even laugh during TV shows when you hear the studio audience laughing. Too cute!! I can only imagine what this next year of her life will hold. God bless you Melanie! You certainly are a blessing to anyone who comes in contact with you!

These were taken the weekend she was born. She was a little jaundiced, but nothing a little sun time couldn't cure.












These two were taken yesterday, Oct. 26. She is wearing an adorable outfit my mom and dad gave her for her birthday! She's starting to figure out the whole smiling for the camera things. :)

A Wall Going Up!

Andy helped the framers stand up one of the outside walls, so I took advantage of the moment. :)

Framing has started!!!

Framing has finally begun. Our framer, Mike, came out and inspected the footing and pier work last Thursday. Thankfully it passed his inspection, and he sent his crew out to begin framing on Friday. They have been busy ever since. We aren't supposed to have any rain until early next week so they should be able to get all the framing done! :) The flooring is done, and today a couple of the outside walls were put together and stood up. It's awesome to be able to watch it take shape. We have been deconstructing for so long. It's great to see the construction!

New Driveway!

Our new driveway was poured today!!! The gray part is the new driveway still wet. The white part is the old driveway. This will lead into our two car garage when all is said and done. The first picture is taken from the road directly in front of the driveway. The next is an angle to see that our house is still incomplete. :) Lumber is being delivered soon, and framing should begin Monday. With every step of progress I get more and more excited!!!
















We got to put our names in the cement before it dried completely.

You Say It's Your Birthday!!!!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, TOO!!!!! I'm 34 years young today! It's almost hard to believe. Turning 30 didn't really bother me much, but I'm finding the closer I get to 40 the more apprehensive I am about it.

I had a pretty good day today. I had to be at school, but the students didn't. We had in-service, and the headmaster let us go home at lunch. I opted to stay for a few more hours to get 9 weeks tests graded! :) Andy took me out for dinner after the girls' gymnastics class. He had arranged for a sitter a few weeks ago. Any evening together without the girls is ALWAYS a treat!!

In Arkansas it is craft show week--which is huge in these parts! Mom and I are going in the morning. I made a request for stopping at Starbucks first. I absolutely LOVE their pumpkin spice lattes--venti of course! :) Tomorrow evening the rest of my immediate family will gather at mom and dads. We were going to have a cookout at our place but the house isn't much further along than the last pictures I posted. Framing should begin next week. Lumber is supposed to be delivered on Tuesday, but then it's supposed to rain on Wednesday. I keep telling myself that God's timing is perfect! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Costume Idea!!!

Anne and Naomi have been princesses for the last three years for Halloween. This year, I wanted them to be something different, but I wasn't sure what. I hadn't really discussed it with them, yet, because I was a little fearful of finding out what they wanted to be. I just can't stand the thought of spending a large sum of money (in my opinion) for something that they may only wear once!! Plus, I figure there will be enough Hannah Montana's, Miley Cyrus', and girls from the High School Musical cast running around that night! :)

Anyway, Anne was invited to a birthday party a couple of weeks ago. You can see from the picture it was a "ballerina" party. Anne is wearing the long pink tutu. Actually, the party was at a dance studio that the birthday girl attended on a regular basis. The instructor was there to teach the girls a dance to perform for the parents at the end of the party. It was very cute, and the girls had a blast wearing the tutus. I started to examine the tutus more closely while the birthday girl was opening gifts. They were made very simply!! In fact, there is basically no sewing involved with these tutus--my kind of costume!!! :) They were made with a circle of elastic. I can hand stitch two ends of elastic together!! Then strips of tulle were tied to the elastic. I can tie!! I asked the girls (Anne and Naomi) if they would like to be ballerinas for Halloween--SOLD!! This next week I plan to let them pick out their color(s) of tulle for their tutu. They already have leotards from gymnastics and house shoes that resemble ballerina slippers. I might even let them help me "tie" the tulle for their tutus! This was such an exciting discovery!!! It ranks right up there with the fleece blankets you can make by knotting the "fringe."

Then there's Melanie...I still have the pumpkin outfit from Old Navy that both Anne and Naomi wore. If it's too big for her, then I'll make a little tutu for her as well. She has plenty of long-sleeved onesies and tights to wear with it! :)

This Year at the Corn Maze!

This year we made a family event of the corn maze. I took the girls last year when I was about 8 1/2 months pregnant with Melanie. It was nice to have her in a stroller this year and not in my belly! :) Anyway, Andy went with us this year as did my mom, sister-in-law and her two children, sister and her son, and my niece, Aspen. We spent the entire afternoon there and had a great time!!! I think next year we're going to bring stuff to grill supper there and make a longer day of it.

Andy got in on the slide action with Naomi. The kids could go down these as often as they liked.

Aspen shooting the corn cannon. She is one of my niece's from Andy's side of the family. I was glad that she tagged along with us.

Here are the kiddos enjoying jumping on the hay bales. They are all pretty close in age. Melanie is in the stroller since she's not walking, yet, or able to climb on hay bales. From left to right: Garret, Courtne, Naomi, Jonathan, and Anne.

Going through the corn maze. I'm standing on a bridge in the middle of the maze for this picture.

We had such a good time. Everyone enjoyed the hayride as well. The weather was perfect--not too hot! We didn't get pumpkins this year because, well, we have no place to keep them! :)

Construction Phases!

These pictures might astound you. When I first saw the house with the demolition complete I cried. This process has been a little traumatic for me. But I know that when all is said and done it will be AWESOME! I can hardly wait!

Home sweet home--before destruction begins! Seems quiet and peaceful, but not for long!














The windows are gone, and demolition is going on inside the house. You can get an idea of the addition from the new footing that was done.














The roof is gone along with a couple more walls on the inside. We let the framing crew come and finish the demolition Andy had started.















This is what our house looks like right now! Just when I was about to shed tears Naomi announces, "Look, now we have a big stage!" That helped me quite a bit. Black plastic was put over the exposed portion of the roof because of the rain that we have had since then.

They are supposed to start framing very soon!!! I can't wait to post those pictures!! The slab for the garage has been poured already. The addition should start to take shape Thursday or Friday, hopefully.

New Footing and Blockwork

These are not the most recent pictures I have, but I wanted to try to give a little idea of the addition we are doing. The first picture is the front view of our home. The new garage footing is what is sticking out front. You should also be able to tell how much we are adding to the side of the house. I might not look like too much, but it will make a huge difference!

The second picture is taken from the front of the sun porch (where it used to be). You can see that the roof is gone as well as the walls that were separating the living room, kitchen.

The third picture is of the door that is leading to the rooms that we are currently living in. We use the 5th wheel for kitchen purposes and in few days shower/bath/hot water needs. It will be awesome to be able to spread back out from those rooms when the house is done! Feel free to email questions. I'm sure I'm leaving out many details.