Day 335 - Ripping

Victoria - 1
Couch - 0

I went a little crazy today and ended up ripping almost all the fabric off of the couch!

This was the couch at about 10am this morning...

And then I got to work... and here it is a few hours later!

Only a few more hours of effort and I'll be ready to start putting the new fabric back on!

That is if I can find the staple gun...

I am thankful that the fabric is coming off so easily.

I am thankful that my new living room is large enough to accommodate this project!

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Day 334 - Home Sweet Home

It may be pouring outside... but this little house of mine, I'm gonna make it shine.

Two well loved pieces of furniture are getting a new look this week.

An old couch I got at a thrift shop for a cool hundred bucks, and an Ethan Allen wing back chair that my parents have had since their first year of marriage - 34 year ago!

I was given so many gift cards to fabric shops by my sweet class, that I was able to get all the fabric I needed for very little out of pocket!

I can't wait to share the before and afters with you... hopefully this week.

I am thankful that my class gave me such a perfect set of gifts!

I am thankful that I have a beautiful new home to work on.

I am thankful that summer break is here and I have some real time to work on my projects!

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Day 333 - Sleep

Who knew that two week of sleep deprivation would take it toll on a person!

Yep, moving and ending school all during the same week was rough.

But school is over now and I am well on my way to being rested again!

Though we are not completely done with moving (somehow!) we are getting closer. Everything that has made it to the house is unpacked and put away, but we do have all the books that are still at our apartment...

I promised The Mister that I wouldn't ask him to move those again, so we hired movers for that part! 3500 books is quite a lot to move... I think the money spent on movers is well worth the back pain saved!!

I am so thankful that God has opened up this new chapter in our lives.

I am thankful that everything is new and exciting right now.

I am thankful that His timing is perfect as always and that I have the whole summer to nest!

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Day 327 - Last Full Day

Today is the last full day of school.

Tomorrow is a half day of actual school, and then we will celebrate Kindergarten graduation in the evening.

I can't believe the school year is over!

And on the other hand... I feel like it's been years since I last saw August.

Either way, we are at the end.... And it is definitely bittersweet.

I went to get books for the kids yesterday as an end of year gift. Last year I had been able to get them all the same book, write a personalized message in the front, and I was done.

This year however, I left it to the last minute and couldn't find enough of the same book to just buy them all the same thing!

So there I was, standing in the children's section of Lifeway, reading over each book and trying to pick one for each child.

I decided I wanted to pick a book that would really mean something to the journey that each child was on or had taken this year...

What that also meant was that I had to really think about what they have gone through and how far they have come.

Which in turn meant that I spent about an hour reading books and crying like a baby...

Many heads glanced my way and I smiled and waved as I was thinking about these kids that I have poured my heart into all year long.

I am thankful that I have been blessed with a caring heart. 

I am thankful that I don't turn my emotions off when I leave school and forget about these little people when they are not in my sight.

I am thankful that I have been used by God to help each one of these children grow and learn this year.

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Day 326 - Paint

I am so ridiculously thankful for paint!!

The kitchen of our house was ORANGE when we moved in. Needless to say, it had to go.

Fortuntantly, one gallon of paint and 2 hours later, I have a beautiful milk chocolate brown kitchen! Though it definitely looks more gray in this picture!

I am thankful that we only needed one gallon of paint for the whole kitchen!

I am thankful that my father-in-law was able to paint above the cabinets (and the rest of the kitchen too...). The ceilings in the kitchen are 12 feet up! That's a big ol' wall!

I am thankful that the curtains that were in that horrible orange kitchen actually look stellar with the new paint color! No frantic sewing for me!!

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Day 325 - Bearing the Burdens

This weekend has been full of so many things.

Excitement...

Exhaustion...

Sore muscles from moving and painting...

Joy...

Thankfulness...

Overwhelming emotions...

And shock from actually getting a house! Finally!

Seriously. God has been so good to us.

And this weekend, our families were good to us too.

We had so much help from our parents, especially my in-laws, who definitely bore our burdens this weekend.

They were up shockingly early and to bed ridiculously late! They never stopped moving and doing... and as a result, we are almost completely moved AND unpacked!

I am so thankful to have so many people in our lives who love us and are willing to help us so often.

I am thankful that God gave us so much energy, and enabled us to get through so much in such a short period of time.

I am thankful that we are in the throes of the joy and exhaustion of being in our first house!!

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Day 324 - Super Short Sunday

I am thankful that I get to spend the day with my whole family!

I am thankful that we were able go to church and celebrate my youngest brother for "Senior Sunday". 

I am thankful that I got a second wind this afternoon and was able to work through without a nap! 

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Leading up to Day 323

I know many of you have wondered where I have been these past few days weeks...

I have gotten phone calls and emails, which have meant the world to me! Thank you for checking on me!

Unfortunately, until today, things have been one-hundred and fifty percent stagnant. Nothing changed, nothing happened... we just sat here waiting.

You know we have been trying to find a house. That has yielded a ton of drama, worry, and prayer.

But as of FIFTEEN minutes ago... I have the key to our new house IN MY HAND!!!!

Thank You God for Your provision, Your faithfulness, and Your care.

You have seen us through many moments of doubt and frustration regarding this whole house search. 

You have calmed our fears and mapped out every dollar we would need. 

You have allowed us to go through a grueling process to get to this place, and we know that it was all worth it.

I am sorry that I left the site unmanned for so many days... but, truth be told, my mind was seemingly incapable of working for that entire time.

All the documents that were still needed, the hoops that still needed to be jumped through, and the calls that needed to be made were all swirling around in there... and that didn't leave much room to get words down on the page!

Thank you for your prayers and support. 

Thank you for your willingness to listen to me vent my frustrations, my hopes, and my fears on this blog.

Thank you for really caring about our lives! I can never express how much it means to us!

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Day 312 - Countdown

The last few days of school are upon us. I repeat, the last few days of school are upon us!

Twelve last days, to be exact... and my class is counting every moment!

Each morning we cross another day off of our countdown board, and each morning there are hoots and hollers, tears and cheers.

Some are ecstatic to be moving up... others cry and wring their hands because they don't want to leave me.

I can totally understand the mix of emotions here. As much as I love them and have had many good days with them over the course of this year... I am so looking forward to summer!

I am thankful that I have had such a great class this year; that I have gotten to love them and pour my heart and God's love into them for nine months.

I am thankful that the lessons I have taught them will not be forgotten, but continued and reinforced with the other teachers at this school.

I am thankful that God has given me the love and wisdom to guide them. I pray that I have done my best in His sight.

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Day 307 - 311 - Mega Post

Hello all, glad to be back. Sorry for the extended absence, I had a few complications come between me and posting this week.

From my internet being down EVERYWHERE to a pinched nerve that caused my fingers to be so sensitive that I couldn't even type without stabbing pains shooting through my body, this week has not been very conducive to my continued blogging.

However, all seems to be fixed now and I am back with a mega post!

My class made it through their testing with flying colors! I am so proud of the way they performed... I don't think I could be any more proud if they were my actual children!

Our school celebrated Field Day (a mini Olympics style contest) on Friday, which was great fun. Last year I was so burdened with Candida that Field Day was no fun at all. But now that I am 60lbs lighter, it was a blast!

We were the "Rockstars" and had custom made t-shirts, blow up microphones, and a rockin' cheer! The kids loved every second!

Friday night The Husband and I got to attend a concert put on by the local college featuring opera and orchestra students. They performed numbers from many different pieces, varying from The Magic Flute and Die Fledermaus to South Pacific and My Fair Lady.

It was a great time and we got to see a good friend play in the orchestra!

Saturday brought moving plans, and refrigerator and paint chip selections. We are so close to moving I can hardly contain my excitement!

When I look back at everything that God has orchestrated over the last few years to bring us to this point, I really see how much He cares about our every moment. He's not just here for the big moments... He's here and working in every moment.

I am thankful that God truly cares about and works in our lives. 

I am thankful that He has brought us through times that could have destroyed our marriage and our happiness in life... and through those times, He has given us so much more than I ever thought to have. 

I am thankful that we are truly happy and content to simply seek out God's will in our lives... Every moment of every day.

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