Shovelin' that Food

Grandpa really knows how to shovel it in!

(So thankful he was willing to think "outside the box" when his daughter-in-law managed to forget the utensils for his dinner!)

Just a Stylin'

So what do you think of my hairdo?

Thanks for the tips, Aunt Janie! :o)

For those who like to see a big mess . . .

Demolition began this morning . . . just see what three men and three sledge hammers can do!

This is my "living room" - would you care for some coffee?

And this is looking into what will be the kitchen. The chimney is going away--thus explaining the very large piles.

Sorry, this is rather dark, but there's over a foot of insulation and "stuff" on the floor of the "kitchen."

And this is the initial patching of the roof where the chimney used to go through.

And for those who are interested in such things, here's a layout of the house as it was yesterday.

Here's an initial layout of what we hope it will be when we're finished. :o)

As you think of it, please pray for safety, health, and clear weather.

Reinforcements Have Arrived!

It's AMAZING what you can get accomplished with extra hands! Praise the Lord for our family--the first wave arrived Saturday evening and the second wave arrived this evening. Work started in earnest this morning . . . here's a glimpse of what we've accomplished:

Aunt Janie, the kids, and I spent the better part of the day preparing food to feed 8-9 hungry people. As you can see the kids were having a blast with Aunt Janie making Oatmeal Scotchies . . .

And Peter was quite pleased with his tower of baking products as well.

Here's our lunch crew:

The chimney is no longer . . . (Janie and I decided we much preferred baking and raking over brick removal!)

Got some extra engineering input . . .

Grandpa did wonders with the bedrooms, bath, and a mop! It's amazing what a good lemon cleaner can do for a musty smell!

Then after dinner this evening, we girls worked on leaf removal . . .

We raked and carried around fifteen loads of leaves! Ufff. (But I must say, it's WONDERFUL to have help and fellowship!)

More to come . . .

Rainy Day Activities

So what does one do on the third day of drip, drip, drip . . . ?

1. Take a siesta under the umbrella (inside of course!) while Mommy folds laundry.

2. Diligently plan for one's upcoming birthday party. (The paper on the right is full of "notes" regarding that anticipated event!)

We're definitely thankful for the rain as things have been very dry around here, but we're also looking forward to return of the sunshine! :o) Until then, we'll strive to make sunshine inside!

Piles . . . and more piles . . .

Five hours of raking later . . .
We plumb wore ourselves out! Chris was tearing apart the downstairs bath last Saturday and chopping up some fallen trees while I raked . . . and raked and raked! No pictures of her, but the pile behind Peter's head is actually one completely pulled together by Hannah! Great work, Pumpkin! And Peter is very excited to now have his OWN rake. :o)

Chris also installed our new mailbox!

Extra obligations along with three solid days of rain have significantly slowed progress, but the first wave of reinforcements arrive tomorrow! Yeah!! :o)

A Garden Tour - updated!

As I shared earlier, we've been blessed with premade gardens which carried the puzzlement of identifying the lovely blooms. Thank you to all those who helped me name my flowers, specifically Grandma LeClair, Marsel, and Heather! You ladies are wonderful! Nearly everything has been identified!

However, if you recognize a flower still misnamed or left unnamed, will you please leave me a comment?

Enjoy the Garden Tour . . . maybe someday we will have little signs labeling everything! :o)

1. Creeping Phlox
2. Ivy

3. Monkey Grass

4. Lovely green leaves . . . TULIPS

5. Hyacinths bravely facing the piles of leaves

6. Babies' Breath? I've never seen it in the wild, but it looks a lot like the filler in florist bouquets.

7. NOT Goldenrod . . . in abundance, but FORSYTHIA!

8. A lovely red TULIP, and promise of more to come . . .

9. Bright red berries . . .

10. ??? One of the few that remains a mystery . . .

10. Yeah! I have a name! They are ALL OVER the place, but not one has a flower yet. It is not Tulip . . . my mysterious fans have been identified as IRIS and they are popping up everywhere! Can't wait till they bloom! :o)

11. Possibly Camellia . . .

12. Daffodils! :o)

"And why are you worried about clothing?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow;
they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that
not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,
will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?'
or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' . . .
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:28-33)

Tour of the Grounds

My munchkins are having the time of their lives traipsing all over the place! :o) Here's a couple pictures of them and the "grounds." :o)

Doesn't she look ready for mischief? Oh my!

A circular driveway loops behind the house giving us two ways to go up or down from the road, and in addition, a stretch of driveway in front of the house connects the two sides, giving us roughly a figure-eight or a circle cut in half. That middle part is lined by Goldenrod. :o)

All but two of the flower beds are absolutely buried in leaves! I'll be spending quite a bit of time out there! :o)

And this is our creek. :o) The gentleman who served as POA and handled the house sale was the Dominiques' grandson, and he spent a ton of time here as a child. He shared some fond memories of playing in the creek during the summer.

Things are definitely a bit on the wild side at the moment, but taming will come with time. :o)

Project Launch!

Well, most folks will probably think we're attacking things a bit backwards, but that's life. :o) We've started with the basement bath. We're going to have family here in a couple weeks to help with the major projects, but this was something smaller which seems to be doable in about a weekend, especially since the Lord has already provided the sink!

Here's the best before picture I could manage . . . my industrious hubby had already removed the mirror and lovely fake gold accessories. :o)

Peter is having a blast "helping" Daddy with his tools. :o)

And so, we have officially started. Stay tuned for more updates! :o)

(And yes, we will be replacing the floor!! YIKES!)

A Giveaway

Well, I've read lots of posts where people were blogging about giveaways, but none of them particularly interested me. However, the Carolina Dress giveaway at Spend Freely is definitely a different story! The dress is adorable! And, the website has lots of really cool information about saving money, too. So, thanks for bearing with a post about something other than our family activities. :o)

Officially Transplanted, P.S.

For those who may have wondered, the very red batter yielded very red cakes . . .

which were then covered by very white icing.

Beautiful and yummy!

(But I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon!)