our house’s journey :)

I thought I would go through a bunch of photos and see how far we have come on the house.  It helps me to be more appreciative of what all we have already gotten done.

We started 2 1/2 years ago.  (even before we moved in or bought the house).  Project # 1 was taking up the pink carpet and putting down hardwood floor.  # 2 was Tree frog’s room.  I wanted to make sure she had a clean safe place to sleep and play while all the construction was being done.  #3 was the kitchen, #4 was the hall bathroom…  And we have stopped there for now…  with other repairs being necessary…

  The house was built in 1980.  It was the home of my paternal grandparents.  My grandfather passed away last February, and we bought it in March.  He seemed happy that it would stay in the family.  We have dreams of having a few cows of our own, a wonderful and productive garden, flower gardens everywhere and an amazing back deck…  I am excited about the back deck, I love drinking coffee or hot tea in the cool mornings while watching the mist rising off the lake :)  This is my “heaven on earth”… I have always wanted to live here.  I would bring boyfriends from high school and college here while we were dating and if they said they would never want to live here, I knew we were not meant to be together.  Hubby and I share the same dreams.  I knew he was the one, shortly after we met.  I just love that man!!

view from the front pasture: 

Front yard: * New roof has been put on since this photo was taken…

Backyard:  *And French drains were put in all around the foundation… so no green grass in this yard right now :)

*Three loads of gravel needed for the French drains…

**  It was a COLD muddy mess putting in the drains in February!!

Kitchen:  *We still have to tile the backsplash and finish up a little crown moldings…

Breakfast nook: DONE  :)

Tree frog’s room: Done :)

      

Living room:  A good paint job is needed in here, but done otherwise…

   

We need to finish the flooring in the dining room, remodel our bathroom and closet, then finish the upstairs bathroom and the two bedrooms need a little cosmetic changes…

This is our happy little house…  Lots to do, lots of existing memories and so many more to make… 

God is good!!!

all the babies :)

Here are the photos of all the babies, I have promised for a while now!!  :)

Mitzy had her kittens last week.  3 little ones, not sure how many are boys or girls, but they sure are cute and cuddly and soft!

Shadow had her puppies July 6th.  She is our holiday dog.  She originally had 10 puppies, we are down to 8 now.  7 black puppies and 1 white, they are starting to walk and play and growl.  They also have white toes.  It is to cute to hear them growling…

So, needless to say- we are baby central over here.  For the animals, at least :)  Puppies will be re-homed in 4 weeks, the kittens in about 2 months.  Any takers???

~Kristina

A little more country that that

I heard this song on the radio the other day. I thought it was George Strait. I love George Strait. He is a great artist!! So anyway, I heard it, loved the song and decided to look it up this morning. It is by a young guy named Easton Corbin... If he keeps up this sound he will go far in country music...

*** You will need to turn off my playlist at the bottom of the page to hear this song ***

so tired

Jon has been working a second job lately. We knew when we moved down here what kind of income we would need, that if he was in the FD he would be working another job on his off days. The nice thing there was on his off days he would be home for supper and at least part of the weekend. Well, the full-time job he has now doesn't quite pay the bills so he is working to renovate an old house in town. A friend of a friend kind of thing... He works from 7:30 am until 6:00 pm Monday thru Saturday at the rental place then off to the house until close to Midnight every night. He will work later (or earlier into the am hours, depending on how you look at it) if he goes to a fire/medical call while at the house. So the past 3 weeks, while he is there working on the house, I am here working on our house. I know that he is tired. Being prior-service Marine he is use to the shorter hours, but I know that these 4-5 hour nights are starting to wear on him!!
I am once again a single-married mother. I am married, I have a husband, but he is rarely here, at least during the waking hours. He hasn't really had a day off in the past 3 weeks, trying to get the house ready before they move in. He is a tornado- leaving a mess (dirty laundry and dishes) in his path in this house. Leaving me here to do everything on my own. I am to raise our daughter on our own. I am to do home repairs on my own. I have to take care of the animals and yard and the cooking and the cleaning and everything- on my own.

I am thankful for the job, for the money. I know that it is manna from God, this job, but it still doesn't stop me from wishing for less. I wish for less stress and work for Jon. I wish for less mess for me to have to clean up. I wish for less frustrations and less things that need to be repaired.

I have a friend that is going through her first deployment. She said she needed to be around people who were going through the same thing she was. I agree, but HELLO- my situation isn't that far off from hers. Why can't we still be friends? Why can't we still talk about what is going on? Does my experience and situation not count or matter???

Anyway- so I have stayed up until midnight, waiting for my husband to come home, just so I can get a little "face time" with him. A little time to talk and say 'hey, how was your day?? What can I do for you to help you out??' The results- about 3 hours of sleep less than what I NEED to be a functioning happy mama. I am a tired and worn out woman, a wife that is ready to pack up and move into a smaller house with a smaller payment with less repairs needed, just to find a way to keep hubby home more.

I have so many photos on my camera, things I wanted to blog about and share. The puppies, the kittens, all the blueberries I had, the jam I now have. (40 quarts of berries in the freezer, plus 4 recipes of blueberry and strawberry jams...)

I have had just enough energy to get on and see what everyone else was doing, but not the energy to write. So here I am writing, at 10:15 pm. Lily is actually in bed, EARLY for once. (She has been going to bed around 10:00 pm, not sure why, she just won't go to sleep- this is a whole different blog, gonna need LOTS of advice on this one!!). But here I am, writing when I should be going to sleep. I just needed to get a little frustration off my chest.

Anyway- Sorry for the vent/blog tonight. So much on my mind lately, praying for God to heal, to inspire, to protect, to be our Hedge of Protection during these times. Good night!

prayer

Be careful what you pray for :) I prayed last night that God would give me the desire to get up and clean my house today, that he would give me energy to get things done!
I should have known better :) I woke up and cleaned my bedroom, folded laundry, sorted clothes for the consignment sale coming up, then went outside and cut the grass! YEP- I chose one of the hotest days to cut the grass. I didnt even notice the heat. All I saw was TALL grass, and my strong desire to get it cut.
Lily asked if she could play in the dirt... so tonights bathwater turned brown VERY quickly, it was drained after the initial rinsing, and refilled for the soapy scrubbing.

Yesterday I went on a scavenger hunt. I was taking a break, sat on the sofa and heard a little "MEOW"... and again, "MEOW"... we have a bird that sounds like a cat, but this actually sounded like a kitten... Mitzy has had her kittens. I went outside to look for them. One was in the grass at the front door, one was in the mud in the front yard. I took them inside with Mitzy, then ventured back outside to locate the rest. Two were in the garage, and one in the back yard. The kitten in the grass and the one in the back yard did not live, but the other three are sweet little things. They just curl up in my hand. So cute!! Still not sure how they got so scattered around the yard...

Earlier this week I tackled the mounds of blueberries. I googled the recipes (suggested by Amanda, thankyou!) and found a DELICIOUS recipe for blueberry relish. It is AMAZING!! Now I just have to figure out what to use it with! I also made a few batches of jam. My mom gave me some pectin stuff that you can make sugarfree jelly and jam with, or add however much sweetner you choose. I added honey. It is GREAT! Jon says we cannot give any away, he wants it all... lol- he is so funny!! I am trying to dehydrate a few, I dont think it was very sucessful. The rest of the blueberries went into the freezer for pancakes, muffins, scones and many other exciting new recipes I found online.
Ok- I need to get to bed. I have shopping with Sassy tomorrow! Super excited!!
Hope you all have a great weekend!

blueberries- what to do…

Last week, I went to my grandparents house twice and picked blueberries.  I am SPOILED now… I will never pick blueberries the same way again.  I wish I had gotten photos of how they looked, but I’m sure you can use your imagination.  Blueberries hanging by the bunches.  They looked like small blue grapes.  EVERYWHERE!!!  A gallon picked in less than 30 minutes!

    

I now have 5+ gallons of blueberries in my house.  2 gallons are already bagged and in the freezer, waiting to be used for pies, muffins, smoothies, and breakfast.  But what to do with the other 3+ gallons???  I am planning on making jam with some of them.  But is there anything else I can do??

Any suggestions???

inspired

Well- Thanks alot ladies :) Once again you have inspired me to "work"... lol, family joke is that I run to the bathroom every time I am needed to work. I am not that bad, but it seems lately that orginazing (which I usually love) has taken a back seat to anything else I can find to do...

After the past few weeks with the yard sale, my house looks like a tornado came through, and this time I can't blame it on Jon :) I am in serious need of getting things rearranged, situated, organized and put away. And after reading blogs from you all this past week, I am all fired up to get it done. I will post before and after photos later. I am looking for a book shelf type thing for all of Lilys HS books for this upcoming year, as well as art supplies, games, and her stationary basket. I will be checking out Craigslist regularly in hopes of finding a good deal...

So keep me in your thoughts this upcoming week, as I "purge" some more, throw away, give away, sort, organize and put everything in its new place. I am excited!!

Playing catch up :)

There are weeks that extra time is never ending, then there are weeks like the past two that I wish I could save up that extra time, use it like roll over minutes on a cell phone plan, and apply it to this week.  We had the yard sale last week.  (Didn’t go very well), but it was a week in non stop cleaning and purging and sorting and organizing.  Phone calls, random visits from strangers to sift through my belongings to see if anything measured up to their standards, or so it felt...  Mama kept Lily for a few days which helped oh so much, but even with out Lily here... what I would have given for a cup of sweet tea on a porch with a cool breeze.  We sold a good bit of smaller items, which helps clean out space, but I was really hoping for a few larger items to go...  Oh well, they will go onto the local bulletin board. :) 

Shadow had her puppies.  Shadow was a 4th of July puppy (6 years ago) and she had her first litter a few days before Christmas and this litter came just a few days after July 4th… I think she is a holiday dog :)  She came back to the house all thin and I knew she had the puppies during the night, but I didn’t know where, so Lily and I grabbed a clothes basket and started our trek up the dirt road with Shadow leading the way.  After a maze through the woods, across the creek (2 or 3 times), under trees, through brush and 4 foot tall grass we finally found the puppies.  They were under a few trees that had fallen over the years, also a place we passed in the beginning- go figure!!  10 puppies in all.  2 white and 8 black.  A few black puppies have white toes.  SUPER cute!!  I cant wait to post photos of them.  We lost one black puppy this morning, not sure the cause.  But the rest of the puppies and Shadow are all in the dog pen.

Bo and Sprinkles, the orange and calico kitten passed away last week, too.  Bo crawled up into Jon’s engine (a diesel) and we are not sure where Sprinkles went.  We are thinking a Chicken Hawk or an Owl got her.  So we are left with Shiny, the little white kitten.

Needless to say-  busy week, I feel like I am playing catch up, trying to get everything done that didn’t get the attention it needed last week…

This week, Monday was all day shopping ( LaGrange is the closest city with a decent shopping and it is 35 minutes away), so we hit up Wal-mart, Kroger and sometimes if attitudes are good Big Lots and our favorite- the DOLLAR STORE!!!  Today was spent... well, um... I’m not sure what I did today.  I vacuumed, I do remember that... oh well, at least my floors are clean :)  Tomorrow my focus (hopefully) will be the laundry, one of my favorites.  I just love the smell of my laundry hanging out.  It makes all my worries melt away.

How is your week going? 

 

cancel a blog??

Does anyone know how to cancel a blog?? I tried to start a blog for my business, but I want it to be seperate from this one. I dont know how to cancel it now... any ideas??

Thank you in advance for any help!!
Kristina

Prayer Calendar

A while ago I posted about prayer calendars.  (At least I think I did…)  So here is the link:

http://inspiredtoaction.com/?s=husbands

Near the top is  “Praying Daily For Your Children”  (I’m not sure if you can just click on the quote to bring it up or not).  It will take you to a printable calendar, with daily scripture for praying for your children.

Near the bottom is “ Just click here to download the “Praying Daily For Your Husband” calendar. “  (again, I’m not sure if this link will open it or not.)  This calendar has scriptures to help you pray for your husband.  It is a really neat website.  I enjoyed looking through it.  Just thought I would share… :)

Hope you all have a great week!

~Kristina

Homebody??

Someone called me a homebody a few months ago... Really made me upset. Im not sure why, but I guess in my mind (at that time) a homebody was someone that just stayed home and was perfectly content not going out, meeting up with friends, going on trips. It was someone that would much rather just be by themself and their family and no one else.

Well- today I was hanging out laundry. I have found the perfect combination of laundry detergent and fabric softener. I just LOVE the way it smells :) So anyway, I am hanging out the laundry. The kittens are around my feet playing. The dogs are wrestling beside the tree, there is a wonderfully cool breeze blowing. Jon is at home today working on his "honey-dew list" ;) and Lily is playing in her room. Yet, despite our current situation, I was insanely HAPPY. I just about screamed for absolute, pure JOY. I have been feeling no worries, no concerns. Nothing but calm, happiness. I am LOVING life, more than ever before.
So I got started thinking- if this is how a 'homebody' feels, then sign me up!! I would be perfectly happy feeling this kind of bliss for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong. I love meeting my friends for coffee, or getting the kids together for an afternoon at the park. I would love to take trips and explore new places. But on the other hand- there is so much to explore right here. I didn't know that there was a creek only 5 miles from our house. We have taken Lily and her cousins TWICE just this weekend, and I can assure you, we will be there at least once a week the rest of this summer. It is AWESOME!
So, all this to say- I guess I am a homebody. I am not sure what is means, but I am happy being at home. I am happy serving my famliy, taking care of them and our house. I am happy teaching my daughter, all while being at home. I love cooking, cleaning, planing, organizing, preparing, decorating, teaching, loving, nuturing at home.
** My random thoughts for today** :)

Dave Ramsey Yard Sale

Jon and I have decided to have a yard sale, Dave Ramsey style.  “Sell everything so the kids think they are next”!!  We put an add in the paper for an estate sale, and will have the “official” yard sale Thursday – Saturday of next week.  People have been coming by all day today to look at all the furniture we are trying to sell, but no buyers yet.  And I haven’t even priced anything. 

Despite putting in applications on both of our parts, there has been only one call for an interview.  It was determined that Jon was not exactly qualified for that particular position.  I have to admit I am surprised at myself.  I’m not freaking out! I preach financial security regularly to Jon.  It is something I have always felt I needed to feel safe.  I don’t need materialistic things, just enough money in savings to cover an emergency like car accident, medical emergencies or job emergencies.  I am glad we have been able to put into savings because we are in the later of the three.  It has been two months of him working part time at the rental store.  Our saving has been depleted and here I sit, cool as cucumber, not worried.  I have a peace that things will be ok.  A peace that I know ONLY comes from God placing his hand on my shoulder and saying “Chill Kristina, I’ve got it covered”. 

So, we are having a yard sale. I am excited!!  :)  I have been wanting to simplify our lives, get rid of clutter and junk, make room to move around the house, give me less things to dust around…  So this is what I am thinking-

Maybe God has us to this point to help us simplify our lives.  Maybe we have been focusing too much on what is in the house and not in our hearts.  Jon and I have really had to talk about what all items were most important to us, what we can and cant live without, etc.  With this ‘job situation’ he has been home most evenings and on Sundays.  We are finally getting to do a nightly bible study together,  I love this time together.  I honestly believe that out of this seemingly horrible situation (everyone always says “Oh I’m so sorry he lost his job! Well, I’m not!!)   :)  something wonderful is happening.  We are growing closer, we are learning more about each other, we are understanding each other more.  It is AWESOME!!

So bring on the yard sale week.  Come one, Come all!  Buy my stuff, help me pay bills and simplify my life.  I am excited, I cant wait.  I love what God is doing in my life right now!!  God is oh so good!!

What is God doing in your lives??  Id love to hear!  Have a Happy 4th of July!

~ Kristina

RAIN and more clouds :)

The rain has finally come!!! :)  We have actually had a few small, short showers lately, but I finally got around to getting photos of it. 

I also saw these clouds while coming back from a few Fire calls Jon responded to, it was just too pretty to not stop and get a photo.

And our bedtime moon!  I should have used the tripod, but if I had gotten it, I would have been outside for HOURS trying to capture the complete beauty of the moon, and that just isn’t happening with this lens  :)  I sure do like to try, though!! I have spent a few hours trying to get a photo of heat lightening!! That is a task, I’ll tell ya, but it didn’t stop me from trying!

Good night

~ Kristina