my little helpers

My fingers are so sore from peeling wallpaper.
It's a good thing I had these two little helpers today.

They asked if they could work in their room while I worked in the bathroom.
I wish you could have heard them giggle and sing as they worked.
It was so sweet!

just dreaming

I think I need this.

plugging away

We had such a looooooooong, yet productive day yesterday! We have awesome friends and family who work hard and who work quickly! In a little over 24 hours, we had the carpet out of every room (including one bathroom) in this 2100 square foot house. They pulled up carpet, padding, tack boards and every single staple in the entire house, sanded, then swept all the dust, applied a coat of paint thinner and finished up with a coat of finish. We also peeled more wallpaper and sanded several kitchen cupboard doors.

We were able to drive down to a flooring store and to Lowe's and pick out the kitchen and bathroom flooring, the kitchen counter tops and sink, and we bought the paint for the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen walls and the kitchen cupboards. A friend of mine came with us--while her husband was pulling staples out of the floor--and she picked out the perfect red for the front door, the back door, and for the french door dividing the kitchen and the mudroom.

Here's the upstairs hallway looking into my room (left) and the girls' room (right). The upstairs bathroom is to the left of my room.

my bedroom

looking down the stairs from outside of my bedroom

The hardwood upstairs and in the downstairs bedroom are made from a different wood. The slats are a lot wider and the color is nice and rich.

where the oven used to be...

It's been fun discovering all sorts of things that have been covered up in this old house.

Here they covered up the large cold air return vent in the downstairs hallway.

This was the bathroom with carpet...not a good idea for little boys! When I removed some of the wallpaper, I found a hand-painted mural hidden beneath.

This is what we found when we pulled off a set of kitchen cabinet doors...old flour or potato bins that pull out with hinges on the bottom. There are two stacked on top of each other.

I love these floors!

The kids had so much fun playing on one of the carpet scraps we pulled outside onto the back patio.

I know this isn't a great picture. I wanted to take a picture of the house at night without the flash. This is what I saw as I drove up to the house last night and it took my breath away. It's like it's all lit up inside!

renovations underway

I've been bitten by the renovation bug! At first I thought we'd just make a few changes here and there, but today I said it. The tell-tale sign of someone who's gone off the deep end...

I actually uttered these words, "Yeah, I think we could knock out that wall."

What?!

So here's what we're up to in this new house of ours. The kitchen wallpaper is coming down. Have I mentioned that there's wallpaper in EVERY room of the house? Baby steps.

This is the wall that will come down. We're going to open the kitchen up to the dining room. We decided this after I removed the wallpaper. :)



The plan this week is to paint the cabinets white and the walls a soft, buttery yellow. As I was peeling the wallpaper, I noticed a huge change in the feeling of the room. It was so dark with the maroon wallpaper and dark cabinets.

My husband removed the carpet from the living room, dining room, downstairs hallway and the stairs. Here's a before shot:

This is what we found when we pulled back the carpet:

Lovely "during" shot:

After:

We had such a great day today. A couple of family members and a friend drove up from California and will stay the weekend to help us with lots of projects like pulling up all the staples from the floor, knocking out walls and painting.

And then we were abundantly blessed by new friends who brought over dinner and dined with us on the patio out back. As it got dark, all the kids took off running and they played in the field with flashlights. It was the perfect ending to such a sweet, sweet day.

I must mention one very traumatic event. I took my sister-in-law out to the shed that holds the water tank and I saw a dead rat. I almost threw up. Welcome to the country, Jenny. I'll never forget that image as long as I live. Why couldn't it have been a mouse? Yuck! I don't like mice, either, but if I had to chose one over the other, I would definitely choose mice. I can't even believe I just typed that. I wouldn't choose rodents for anything. I hate them.

So, the renovations are underway. They can be a bit stressful, no? I took the kids back to the hotel tonight while the others stayed to finish up a few things. I know they'll be longer than they said they would. I have a feeling this is what it's going to be like for awhile. I know, because I said we were only going to paint, and now I have them knocking out a wall. It's kinda fun, though, when you start to see progress. But not when you happen upon dead rats.

memo to self: laugh

At bedtime the other night, my boys asked me, "Mom, why don't you laugh anymore?"

Ouch!

I try so hard to keep it together on the outside, but when I'm home with the people I love most, my comfort zone, I let them see all the ugly stuff.

And the sad thing is, I don't even realize it. I guess I could blame the chaos of the move; but honestly, if it wasn't the move, I would probably find something else to blame. There's always something else, right?

I want my kids to remember me as a happy mom.

Time to go back and read this again.

i'm home

I could write 10 blog posts about today. Really, I could. But it was just too wonderful for words. Our realtor called this morning and said he was going pick up our keys later in the afternoon. I waited and waited and faithfully carried my phone with me--even into the bathroom. Just in case. He called while the kids were playing on the playground after school.

As we drove out to our new home along those beautiful, autumn-filled country roads, my heart was so full. There was beauty all around me. And then I looked into my rear view mirror...beauty, still. My kids' sweet, smiling faces looked back at me. "We're going home, Mommy!"

When I drove onto the property, I felt like I was trespassing. This was the first time I've been there without our realtor present. I wasn't sure what to do. Do we just go inside?

Let me just say that my kids played and played and played! Funny thing...they were so happy in this new house of ours with absolutely no toys. It sure makes a mommy happy...especially one that's been cooped up in a hotel for awhile. I loved walking around barefoot and feeling the grass between my toes. I loved hearing my girls say, "Let's play Little House on the Prairie," and then, "Let's play Anne of Green Gables." I would have joined them, but I wanted to explore, too. We explored inside, then outside and everywhere in between.

My favorite memory of the day though, is this. When my happy toes and I went back inside, the house was extremely quiet. The kids didn't answer when I called, so I headed upstairs. This is what I saw as I walked into one of the bedrooms...just a little bit of light shining from underneath the closet door. There they were, playing clubhouse!

We lingered for about 2 hours before heading back to the hotel. We'll stay there until this weekend when Phil will be off from work. But we'll head up there again tomorrow to do a little more dreaming and to put 4 little pumpkins on our new front porch.

stuff I need

One of our favorite books is Casey the Greedy Young Cowboy where little Casey makes this extremely long list entitled "Stuff I Need" and fills it with all sorts of crazy stuff. He learns his lesson in the end, of course, and realizes that family is more important than stuff.

Well, after living in a hotel for a month, I now have my own crazy little list. I realize these things aren't super important and if our storage unit burned down today and we lost everything, I'd be o.k. But here's my list anyway...

Stuff I Need:

my big, comfy couch
my books
my crockpot to make yummy fall soups and stews
my pillow
my aprons
my panini maker
my pillow
my Jane Austen movies
my green and white polkadot spoon for stirring my coffee
my pillow

Yes, in the end I'll learn my lesson and realize that people are more important than everything on this list. But for now, this is stuff I need.

he listens

Wow! Who knew that moving could be so crazy? I used to think that the last time we moved was a big deal--the time we moved with a 4 year old, a 3 year old and almost 2 year old twins. I think that was easier, because as long as their toys and beds came along with us and we found a great park and a library with lots of books we were all good.

Now we have 4 kids who are very aware of what we've left behind. They're very aware of the fact that all of their belongings have been in storage since July and they won't get to see these things until November. One of my girls asked, "Why couldn't we just bring one little piece of wood from my bed?" Ouch. If I knew back then that it would have made things a little easier for her, I would have. But I didn't know.

Trying to keep it all together and keep everyone happy has been difficult, to say the least. But I'm so thankful God cares when I'm overwhelmed or lonely. I'm in such good hands.

"I love the Lord...because He bends down to listen." --Psalm 116

This is such a beautiful picture to me--that God, the Maker of the entire universe, would bend down to listen to little 'ol me.

making a home

...my attempt to make our hotel room feel a little more like home during my favorite season.

kitchen dreaming

One more month until we get the keys to our new house! There are a few little {big} projects we'd like to do before moving in, so I've been dreaming away. I hate spending money, so we'll see how much of my dreaming becomes reality. The home was built in 1925. I can imagine the kitchen was as dreamy as anything, but it was "updated" to brown, orange, gold and maroon. I know, makes me cringe, too. So here are a few ideas that are spinning around in my head...

I can't decide if I want to remove the maroon wallpaper and paint the walls white or this soft, buttery yellow. What do you think?

My accent colors will be red and this tiffany blue/turquoise.
I'd like to change out or paint the dark brown cabinets to white in order to brighten up the room a bit. I also want to remove a couple of cabinet doors to expose my turquoise and red dishes.

The current countertops are a golden tile with thick grout. I would love to change it out with this milky white marble, but boy is it pricey!

The current flooring is a golden yellow ceramic tile with orange and brown flowers. I really like this tile, but I'm thinking it might be a little too busy for a kitchen. What do you think? It might look better in a bathroom--which leaves me searching for flooring ideas. Any thoughts?

I love this subway tile for the backsplash. Right now the countertop tile is extended up the wall for the backsplash.

And now for this little issue...

The house is brick, painted white on the outside. My husband said that when we remove the wallpaper, we could keep going and remove the plaster on the exterior wall and expose the brick on that one wall. I love this idea, but I'm wondering if it would go well with the bright yellow and white. I'd like to brighten up the kitchen and I'm wondering if the brick would be too dark. And would it look good with the white tile and white marble? Hmmm...

roots

Grandma, 90, with 13 or her 16 grandchildren and lots of great grandchildren

Both of my Grandmas' birthdays are 1 day apart. One turned 82 on Saturday and one turned 90 on Sunday. Because we live only 5 hours from our family instead of 17 when we lived in Spokane, we were able to join in the birthday celebrations this past weekend. It was such a special time. We haven't been together since Grandpa's funeral back in 2003. My oldest was only 8 months old.

I'm so glad that my kids will know their Great Grandmas. My husband is so good about having our kids connect with them. Because of him, they've seen both of their Great Grandmas 3 times in the last 9 months. He says it doesn't matter if we drive 10 hours and stay only 1 hour. It's worth it. I'm glad they'll know these women and their little houses. They'll have memories of playing in their backyards like I do.

No matter how busy we are, it's important for us to take time to connect with the past. As we drove home last night, I kept thinking about an article that I tore out of a magazine and stashed away in my address book years ago. It's called "Grandma's Hands," written by Kent Nerburn...

"Did you have a good time at Grandma's? Did you hold her hand? When Grandma was little, her grandma used to hold her hand just like that. And you know what? Her grandma's hand had once held the reins of a team of oxen that were pulling a covered wagon. When you were holding Grandma's hand, you were touching back all the way to the pioneers. She can help you touch faraway places."

Do my kids even know what a privilege it is to know these two beautiful women--to know and to connect with anyone who was born in 1921 and 1929? No, of course not. But it's my job--no, it's my privilege to teach them.

bff

Meet my friend Katie. We met back in 1987 when we were in Jr. High and quickly became best friends. I love that I just used the words best friends, Jr. High and the 80's all in one sentence. They go together, don't they? We had so much fun together. I remember stretching out our Walkman earphones so we could both have an earpiece to "sneak-listen" to Richard Marx. Sorry, Mom.

She's in Oregon this week so we've been able to catch up after all these years. I vacationed here with her family 21 years ago--we can hardly believe it's been that long. We decided to go to the mall today, because that's what old friends from Jr. High do.

When my girls and I drove out to pick her up this morning, they asked me all kinds of questions about Miss Katie. I told them that we used to save up our babysitting money so we could go to the mall to buy clothes, and that one year for my birthday she gave me Salon Selectives shampoo, conditioner, mousse and hairspray because I loved how it smelled like apples.

It's so fun to meet up with someone from your past--someone with whom you can just pick up where you left off, no matter how long it's been.

three letters

With the kids in school this year (we've homeschooled up until now), I've had lots of "think time" this week. The boys are in school all day and my girls are in half day Kindergarten, so I'm not quite sure what to do with my time while staying in a hotel in a new city.

Yesterday I drove up to my husband's work just to look at the directory in the lobby. He told me they had just placed his name on it and I wanted to take a peek. I know it sounds silly, but it took my breath away. Seeing those three little letters after his name...PA-C...made me so happy. Then I had this thought...no one who glances at that directory will ever know how those letters have impacted our little family. No one will know that those three letters after his name are a testament to what God has lovingly brought us through. I wish they could, though. It changed us, and I want everyone to know about it.

My husband used to be a firefighter. Five years ago, he was injured at work. One day, as he was driving an ambulance on a call, a truck crossed the double yellow lines on the highway and struck him head-on. The other driver was killed instantly; Phil survived, but sustained several injuries that would end his 18-year career as a firefighter. He had 3 surgeries that following year. Things at home were probably very hectic...I don't really remember much. I'm sure it was God's grace. Our girls were only 3 months old and our boys were 1 and 3. All four of them were in diapers. It's all a blur now. When I watch our home movies, I'm so glad to see that the kids were happy. They just toddled around, laughed and played with their toys. It was probably a good thing that they were all so young and didn't taste the bitter aftermath as we did. We prayed and prayed for healing from physical injuries, Post Traumatic Stress, and direction for what to do next. God directed Phil's heart to pursue a new career as a Physician Assistant, and he was accepted into the University of Washington's Physician Assistant program.

Four years ago, we moved from Northern California to Spokane, WA, so he could attend school. I remember wondering how I would survive without the help and support of all of our family and friends in California, but I quickly learned that when God leads, He also provides. Spokane will always hold a special place in my heart. So far, it's the best place I've ever lived. I think it's because it's the first time in my life where I had to depend completely on God and He proved Himself to be ever faithful. I watched my husband heal, my kids grow, and I watched my own heart grow as I learned to trust when I couldn't see. I loved our little 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house. I remember wondering how all 6 of us would manage in such a tight space, but we always had room enough--even for out-of-town guests and weekly preschool playdates that would number in the 20's! I learned that God makes much out of little.

Now we've moved to the state of Oregon. I'm anticipating that God will fill our lives as He did in Spokane. I'm really hoping that He will, because waves of sadness come over me when I think about our life up there. I miss people and places and my heart is breaking. So yesterday when I walked into the lobby at Phil's work and saw those three little letters...PA-C...after his name, my heart leaped. Those three letters mean God has carried us through darkness. He's been good to us--beauty from ashes, is all I can think of. Beauty from ashes. He's redeemed something that was so ugly at first glance. Five years ago, I remember thinking, "What are you going to do with all of this, God? It hurts so much." God never let go of me. I feel mended. These glimpses of why, these answers, are so sweet and so dear to me. This transition time for our family will unveil a few more answers, I'm sure. I don't want to miss any of them.

I need to write this, because it makes me sad to think that no one who walks into that lobby and sees his name on that directory will know this. But now you do.

back to school

Tonight is First-Day-of-School Eve here in our hotel room (more on that later). My kids are going into third grade, first grade and kindergarten. We've homeschooled since day one, but this year all 4 are going to school. We're all so excited; in fact, my husband starts his new job tomorrow, as well! People keep asking me if I'm excited to have time to myself. The answer is no. I'm really going to miss them. But I'm just as excited as they are because I'm excited for them. We've been bustling about doing our Back to School shopping (my first time ever) and it's been so much fun. When I'm through typing, I'm going to pack their little lunches--something I've always dreamed of! When I taught school, I would check out my students' lunches and say to myself, "When I'm a mom, I'm going to pack..."

Now, about the hotel...we don't get the keys to our new home until the middle of next month, but Phil needed to start his job and the kids needed to start school. So instead of renting a house for 1 1/2 months, we're staying in an extended-stay hotel. It was easier than unpacking our belongings and getting utilities and Internet hooked up--not to mention there's a pool, continental breakfast and housekeeping. :) We have a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom suite with a kitchenette.

We're just so, so excited about tomorrow!

home

"Home is where we tie one end of the thread of life."
Martin Buxbaum

After a month and a half of searching for another home, God very graciously provided this beautiful home for us. We're praying that its inspection goes well next week. If it does, we'll take possession mid-October, because the seller requested a 60 day escrow.

Here's a quick re-cap of our busy, busy month:

Many of our wonderful friends came over to help us pack up our home and load up the moving truck the day before our move

I turned 37

We had very dear friends make the trek with us--this was just so, so comforting

The men unloaded all of our belongings into a storage unit (because we still didn't have a house)

We camped for a few days on the California Coast

We celebrated our 12th anniversary

We drove down to visit and to stay with family in California

We flew down to Arizona for my niece's wedding

We drove back up to Oregon to house hunt, once again

We found this beautiful home, put in an offer and it was accepted the following day

We drove down to the Bay Area to visit with more family

We're all so excited to move into our new home. The kids are excited to see it, because they weren't with us when we walked through it. Seriously...October can't come soon enough!

this makes me sad...

Phil is taking down our playset this afternoon. It makes me so sad. The other night I sorted through a few drawers in the kitchen and noticed I had several sippy cups which we haven't used in over 2 years. I didn't even know they were in there. As I sorted through the drawer, I got all choked up. I'm not just leaving behind friends and a city that I love. It feels like I'm leaving behind something greater--part of my kids' childhood--and it hurts. They were all so small when we moved up here 4 years ago. We had diapers, bottles, sippy cups, high chairs, car seats and training wheels. None of these are coming with us next week.

finding a home

my kitchen table at the moment

We received word this week that the seller of the home we'd like to purchase does not want to fix the items we requested. Some of the things that need to be fixed or updated would require permits, and all of this would come out of our pockets at this point. We thought it best to walk away and look for another home to purchase. This should be interesting, considering the fact that we have to be out of our home in 2 weeks.

This morning as I thought about our current situation, I heard something very familiar running around inside my head. It sounded like something I've read in the book of Exodus, right after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea--after they sang their song of deliverance and then demanded, moaned and complained, uttering these words...

“What are we going to drink?”

“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

...and right after crossing the Red Sea, too! I remember reading this thinking, "Come on, you guys! God just parted a SEA for you!"

But oh, that temptation is so strong right now, even though our house sold without putting it on the market--without even having to show it--the equivalent of a Red Sea crossing in my book!

moving update

I didn't mean to leave everyone up in the air with my "now we wait" post. The truth is, we're still waiting! We did buy a house in Oregon. The sellers accepted our offer and we thought it was a done-deal. But then we got the home inspection back. It was 45 pages long! The original owner still lives there, so the home hasn't changed hands in over 55 years, which means the home has never been inspected. It's a good, solid house, but lots of things don't meet code. We're waiting to hear back from our realtor to see how much the seller is willing to fix. So in the meantime, we're looking online for rentals in the area. We have to be out of our house in 3 weeks and we don't have enough time to go back down again to house hunt. I don't know where I'll be unpacking my boxes in 3 weeks. It's kind of unsettling.

But on a brighter note, God worked a miracle on our behalf! Our home in Washington sold 2 days after we "bought" our new home. And the story is simply amazing!

Last month, our neighbor 2 doors down walked up the street and mentioned to my husband that he was thinking about buying our house, and to let him know when we were ready to sell. Phil walked over to his house a couple of weeks ago, talked for a few minutes and our house was sold! Just like that. No showings, no weeding out the flower beds or touching up the trim and baseboards--sold!

So I'm kind of excited to see what God has in store for our family in 3 weeks. He surely hasn't forgotten about us. :)

something to laugh about

In reference to this post on laughing...

I often call my boys "brothers" and my girls "sisters." Today in Costco, I called to my girls and said, "Come on, Sisters." And sure enough, as I turned around there were two nuns right behind me loading bags of chips into their cart.

What are the odds?

do you laugh?

"I am the happiest creature in the world...I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

--Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

I'm studying the book of Proverbs right now, and I can't help but notice how many references there are to laughter and cheerfulness. It's no coincidence, I know, because every time I start one of these Bible studies, something always hits home and relates to my present circumstance.

Right now, we're buying and selling a house and moving to a new state--all with 4 children. I'm learning that it's absolutely necessary for me to keep a sense of humor. Otherwise it's so easy to despair when things don't go my way.

My kids need me to be happy right now. And not just a superficial happy with a fake smile. I mean real joy. Joy that can be found only in Jesus. I'll be 37 this month and you know what? He hasn't failed me yet. I wish I would've known this 10 years ago, because I probably would not have worried so much about the things that always work themselves out.

Here are a few verses that keep me going these days...

"A glad heart makes a happy face." Proverbs 15:13


"For the happy heart, life is a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15


"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Proverbs 15:30


"When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain." Proverbs 16:15


"A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

Oh, and especially this one...

"She laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25

now we wait...

my girls outside of a dream home

Our house hunting trip has come and gone. Now we wait...

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but we put in an offer on a house yesterday (not the one in the picture above) and I've already decorated each of the rooms in my head. Oh, and did I mention that I've already been to Lowe's and have in my possession all the paint chips for each room? You know, just in case. My palette is ready to go.

Waiting is sometimes difficult for me because I like knowing. I like to be certain of things, like the way I feel about my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's the best ever and I'm certain of it. It makes me happy every time I bake them because they always turn out yummy. I can say this only because it's not really my recipe, but a friend's--otherwise I'd be bragging. :) But you know that feeling when you try a new recipe for the first time? You're a little excited, but a little nervous at the same time, because it might not turn out the way you expected? Maybe this isn't the best analogy, but that's what this whole putting in an offer thing feels like to me--exciting but scary.

farm chicks show 2011

I love that this amazing show has become
an annual tradition for me and my lovely friend, Andi.
Each year, we enjoy it more and more.
Maybe it's because we know what to expect by now--
as opposed to my first year when I nearly
hyperventilated upon entering the building.

But maybe not.
You think you're going to see the same stuff you saw last year,
and then you're blown away (again) by the creativity
of these amazing women all in one place to sell their wares.

I think my style changes every year, too.
In the past, the colors red and green made me drool.
This year, I was drawn to the blues and grays.
I loved the maps, globes and school supplies.

oh, but I still love green!

These were from my friend Becca's booth.

And here's my friend Courtney's booth.

Funny thing: when I picked Andi up in the morning,
we had on matching outfits.
Even our purses matched.
And as we left the show, both of us carried
large, school atlas maps over our shoulders. :)