Today I am...

Tackling this mess in our room finally. 

It is going to take a few quiet times to sort this stuff and put it where it goes. I've just gotten used to it. Today is the day to start chipping away at this stack of boxes and finding them a home!!! 

The wire baskets are from our old wardrobe. We've been pulling stuff out of them since we moved. I have got to find them a permanent home. 

Also, why is there a hole in our floor? My pants and socks get caught on the grate, when I walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

And isn't this corner awkward? The door you see leads to a closet. I need to paint it a fun color. The door to the bathroom (not shown) is to the left of the mirror and hamper. We are thinking of extending the wall from the bookshelves and making that area a little dressing room... Maybe. So far that is the best idea.  

Jared set up my desk a while ago, but it has just gathered clutter. Also, I haven't unpacked any of the boxes that were on the shelves above the desk. I guess I must not need all that stuff. 

It is a lot of putting stuff away and finding things homes. 

Five things.

1. I made fresh peach jam and peach Popsicles. The boys road their bikes around the neighborhood and ate Popsicles afterwards. 

(A family photo for the church directory? We are all so happy to have Jared back after he was traveling much of the last two weeks!)

2.  We have a pet toad. The boys named him Mr. Toad after The Wind in the Willows. I started reading it to them this week. I sold them on "there is a toad that drives a car". 

3. I am about 100 pages from finishing reading through the Bible in 6 months!! I think I am going to make it. 

3b. I have accomplish zero projects recently because I'm doing Bible reading in my spare time and reading to the boys. 

4.  My MIL gave me the best quilting book for my birthday. I can't wait to do some projects out of it. They are so neat.

5.  We transplanted our sunflower plants and they are actually still living!! The boys have had so much fun so far watchin them grow. We started them with seeds in a tray on the porch since the squirrels kept eating them. We will have to plant more things next year. It is a great science experiment! 

Cut that Counter off!

I've been wanting to do this since day one. I kept mentioning it to Jared or my Dad, but they are always busy with other projects. 

The boys were at the store with my parents to buy supplies for my sister's baby shower this weekend. I was all alone and cleaning the kitchen and I thought, "I should cut that off right now!"

"But you've never used the saw before. Danger danger!"

"I'm an engineer I can figure this out!"

"Danger danger. You'll probably cut off your arm."

"Oh no, that's true and I haven't showered yet today and I am in clothes for cleaning the house. What would they think of me in the emergency room?"

"What?!? That is the stupidest reason not to cut off the counter."

Don't you talk to yourself? 

It really opens up the space between the washer and dryer and counter. Now people will be able to pass by when someone else is unloading the dryer. It looks way more open in person. 

I had already forgotten how dark those closet doors made the kitchen and all those cabinets. 

Ps. These are taken on a rainy day. So the fireplace room looks super dark. On a sunny day that white paint has brightened up that room so much! 

And can we all agree that those cabinets are simply awful? I had already forgotten how dark they made everything. Even just primed white they are looking so much better! 

I painted the hardware black last week before or houseguest a came. I am loving the black and white contrast. I'm not normally a huge just black and white fan. I love color. But this is good. 

Every little bit makes it a more welcoming space to cook and eat in. :) I can't wait to add some more Windows, knock down some walls, and rearrange everything. But that is still a few years down the road. 

Do you use power tools? 

The best days

(The only picture I have from the last week - I took it during lunch break today to prove to Jared that we actually did go to the beach...which really doesn't prove we went to the beach - this could be any parking lot)

The best days rarely end up on film (or in pictures). Maybe that is why wedding photography is so sought after and expensive. The ordinary moments are when I remember to take pictures of my boys. The special moment evade capture.  They are almost to special to interrupt. 

For example:

• Last week my brother drove 16 hours to visit for 4 days. - I didn't get a picture with him any of the times he played with my boys or visited. Martin was just in awe of him and followed him around. 

• Last week I held my new niece for the second time and all six cousins were together for the first time. - I didn't get a picture. Really? 

• Last week my sister, who lives five hours away, was in town and visited several times with her son. - I didn't get a picture with her or of her or of her artwork on my sidewalk. We had the best visit as I worked in my kitchen and she chilled at my kitchen table. We used to have rooms right next door to each other and I miss moments like these. 

• This weekend our best friends from Mississippi drove all the way up to visit us. We miss our dear friends that we spent so much time with before they left. It was so good to be in close company again. - I did not take any pictures. 

• Today we went to the beach with sweet friends who introduced us to fishing and crabbing and wading in the bay, nature walks and bird watching, and sand sculptures on the beach.  - I didn't take a single picture!

It feels invasive almost to pull out my camera and take pictures in some of the best moments. Sometimes the best moments are those that you are entirely lost in the moment. Ones that are too precious and too wonderful to capture on camera. 

I am so grateful for all the moments this last week. It has been a special time. I have been loved and felt so loved. And all I can leave you with is a worn out baby picture. 

Also, a little public service announcement. Turn off your running water when you go outside to look at sunsets. 

As I was washing dishes, I noticed the clouds outside were a brilliant pink and rushed out to my front lawn to get a better look. I left the water running to fill up a pot because I didn't think I would be gone that long... When I returned inside the sink was one inch away from overflowing. It had filled the pot and the whole sink that the pot was in. *shakes head* Don't be like me. Be mesmerized by sunsets; don't flood your kitchen.  

ESL update

God is so much bigger than we can ever comprehend. He is doing big things in our ESL ministry. How do 27 people from 10 churches even want to attend training to help at an ESL program that isn't even held at their church?!?! I am so humbled by the love these other people have for reaching the nations with the gospel. 

It has been such a blessing to work with people across denominations to brainstorm ways to broaden and deepen our impact in the international community. 

Will you pray with us that God will open wide doors for the advancement of His gospel. Pray that schools will be receptive to passing out literature and that we will be able to meet with the right people. Pray for us as we organize our newly trained staff and merge them with older staff. Pray that we seek His glory above our own and that we will truly love the people He brings to us and seek to build relationships with them that lead to sharing the gospel. 

I can't wait to see what the fall (and beyond) holds. Praise Jesus for His amazing provision. He has led us all the way and continues to do so and it is a funny, crazy, sometimes scary ride! I am so thankful for His grace every day. 

Should be cleaning...

But my workspace was dark over the counter and I decided to fix it. 

This makes me so happy! 

Also, I painted the cabinet hardware black and put it back on while our company is here even thought we haven't put the finish coat of paint on them. Handles make them so much easier to open! 

Oh, and I'm working on decorations for my sister's baby shower because who wants to clean?!? They are hiding there in the fireplace room. 

Boys' Bathroom Sconces

A month or two ago I tried out Mason jars as sconces. 

Here is my latest prototype. I should be cleaning for company or painting something... But I made these instead. 

I guess I did paint something yesterday...

But nothing that needs to be accomplished. 

Today is the day I get serious with cleaning. :) 

5 Things

1. We have house guests staying with us this weekend and I've done a few things like paint the kitchen cupboard hardware and reinstall them and put all the light switch covers back on, but then I find myself making globe string lights and painting the lamppost outside. I think I'm trying to avoid cleaning the house. 

2. My sister AND my brother are visiting this week. That will also add to my lack of productivity. Jared is traveling two nights this week and ESL training is this weekend... It is going to be a long, quick week. 

3. I tried to take pictures of them all in the bathroom mirror. The middle child ran away, the baby stopped looking, and Martin made weird faces. Boys. 

4. We took the boys to the beach on Saturday because the next two weeks are going to be CRAZY and we wanted to have some intentional family time. We never go to the beach. Jared and I don't like the beach, but the boys do. So we went. It wasn't too bad. 

5. It is train week. :) 

Blueberries and Bugs (Luna Moth)

It's that time of year!! 

This is the second trip to pick blueberries already! It is shaping to be a much better blueberry than strawberry season. Hooray! 

Yesterday, we caught this guy crossing the road in front of our house. It was identified as a Luna Moth caterpillar, which eats 2-3 leaves a day.  I thought it would be so much fun more the boys to watch. I stuck him in a jar and told the boys how we would build a habitat for him the next day. 

However, the caterpillar had other plans. Around 8pm last night he started spinning his cacoon in his temporary jar home. I jumped up and ran over to my parents for a branch from the host tree (did you know each butterfly and moth has host trees? They will only lay eggs, egg, and build a cacoon on those trees.). 

I stayed up way too late watching the caterpillar pull leaves around himself. I finally went to bed at midnight. I missed the big show where he spins the actual cocoon. Oh well. 

Here is what I found 6 hours later. And in 21 days we should have our own Luna Moth. I'm thinking of mounting it in the schoolroom. I was going to let it go, but then I read that they only live for a week (they don't have a moth or digestive system - so crazy). I can't decide. 

Warren was very disappointed that the caterpillar was gone. It was the first thing he asked about when he woke up this morning. Here's to many more "pets". I'm thinking of calling this one Luni (loony). 

Art, Music, Nature, and Language study

We are prototyping some school things this summer. 

Bible

Our verse is up there on the wall. I'm kind of using fighter verses. 

Art study 

This is our art study. This week is sunflowers. I'm leaving a piece up for a week. As we look at each art piece we will talk about it and describe what we see and try to copy it with different type of mediums (I'm thinking of letting Martin try some acrylic paints this week and maybe a torn paper collage). 

Later this week we will be planting sunflower seeds and watching them grow. I have some books about how seeds germinate. We tried planting them in the yard earlier this spring and the squirrels are them. So, this time we will house them on the porch and transplant them. Should be fun. Martin is always begging to water plants. This will give him his own plants to care for. 

Martin flipped through the Van Gogh book and requested a boat picture next week. Any ideas for expanding that topic? 

Music study

This is the first stages of music study. A music teacher at church wrote down  some classical pieces that the boys might appreciate. We are going to start listening to music as we play sometimes. 

Nature study 

We started a notebook a few weeks ago and try to write down at least one thing we see outside each day. 

Language study 

I am thinking of starting A Spanish word each day with my kids... Any ideas for a curriculum that is young kid friendly? 

Bookshelves in schoolroom

After 

(I'm hoping to get below the chair rail painted blue soon - I've finished the chair rail and the top). 

I just finished sorting my schoolbooks (an we aren't even doing real school yet - where did all these come from?!?):

Math

Science (so many science books)

English 

Geography

Bible

History

Art (okay, I have one art book)

Before (cats, cats, etc.)

Cat carpet

Cat screen door between this room and kitchen

Cat scratched doorframe

The floors in this room were pretty rough. But Jared sanded them an extra pass and went super slow. He managed to get up almost all the cat stains. My dad replaced the baseboard moulding in this room (a favorite toilet of the cats) and the smell is completely gone. 

(Before and after of the floors) 

You can see the shelves pulled up in the schoolroom. We were trying to get all the cat urine from below the shelves too (another favorite toilet area). There was carpet under there which we tore up. That helped a lot. We also sealed under the shelves. 

My sister's father-in-law is a master carpenter. He was over at the house helping my dad with a few things and he offered to fix the shelves. We had hoped to make them look more like built-ins in the future. 

We are so grateful that he was willing to jump in and spend two days making them look better than we could have ever made them look. They are incredible and one of my favorites parts of the house. 

In-process

This is from the day that we moved in. 

Aren't they amazing?!? 

This is a mash-up of the shelves - before and after a few months ago. The walls weren't painted yet. Since then, the older fiction has been moved to the shelves in the fireplace room. These selves are now all children's books and school books. 

More pictures when I get the walls painted. :)