House Update...

You may remember a post back in the spring where I wrote that we were putting our house up for sale and beginning the process of fixing up a rental house.  If you didn't read that, here is the link.  That seems like such a long time ago, but we have been slowly moving things and renovating as time permits.  Our house is under contract, and after it is appraised this week, things should begin moving very quickly.  We chose to sell without a broker, and are praying that things continue to go smoothly. 

We are working as hard as we can (after we leave our day jobs) to get the rental ready, and things are progressing steadily.  A couple of the big jobs that remain are hanging drywall in the dining room and the playroom, replacing one bathroom floor, refinishing the hardwood floor in the living room, and laying laminate in the kitchen/dining room.  Of course, there is still quite a bit of painting to be done, and we are stalling Lowe's on laying the carpet until I am done slinging paint.  If you would see me every night when I come home from there, you would understand how carpet just would not survive.  :-)  I was picking out my hymns for morning worship prelude this morning, and I heard the gentleman behind me say to his wife, "Does Stephanie have a white hair?"  I laughed to myself...if he only knew that it's actually Valspar one-coat coverage randomly splashed throughout my mop of glory...lol. 

The current goal is to have things wrapped up by the end of September so that we can have a relatively normal fall. 

And that's the update! 

Lil' Stinker...

Allison out of the clear blue: "Be rude to one another...hahahaha...it would be cool if the Bible said, 'Be rude to one another.'"

Mommy (a little caught off guard): "That wouldn't be very nice."

Allison with a smirk: "Yes it would 'cause then I could fight with my sister."

posted from Bloggeroid

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

Today, my niece Olivia turns 6!  We celebrated with an afternoon party on Sunday.

Such a beautiful little lady!

The windows played tricks on my camera.  :-(
 

Megan, Livvy, Eric

Ready to tear into that DELICIOUS cake that her mommy made!

Here Comes The Flower Girl!

Last Saturday Allison's dream came true. She was a flower girl. :-) It was a fairy tale for her, as she had watched her sister do the same thing and been a teensy bit jealous.

I didn't get too many pics, as I was the pianist, but here are a few.  The photographer is going to make better photos available to me later. 

So excited.

All smiles!

With Jennifer, the bride.

 

The Bible Bearer was Paul, who is Allison's classmate.

~Josh and Jennifer May~

Back To School 2012

Today was our first day of school! The kids were so excited, and...well, I guess I was too! We were up and ready way early, and before long we were with a bunch of other kids who were just as excited. Before leaving home, we took a few pics outside under the tree. It'll probably be the last time we get our "back to school" pics done in that particular spot, as it looks like our house will be sold very soon! Enjoy the photos...

L to R:  Evan (6th grade), Ryan (8th grade)
Allison (preschool), Kaitlynn (3rd grade)

Although the typical scenario is that all of our kids play together or the boys do their thing while the girls do theirs, we do see them each gravitate toward one sibling more than another.  This is usually how it shakes out:

And then with momma...

I have to admit...the ground where I stood was elevated.  Evan is taller than me.

Allison took this pic.  I was impressed!



 

And the first day was very good.  They love their classes, and are happy to be back to their friends!  And I'm a very thankful to have one more year of being in the classroom and in such close proximity to my kids.  Not every momma has that, and I may not always have it.  I don't take it for granted. 

 

Hope your school year is off to a great start, as well!