Renovation Update

Since I've been harassed on all sides from people (*cough, cough* my brother TORY *cough, cough*) who want to see pictures of how the addition is going, I figured it is about time that I get my butt outside and take those pictures!  So, without further adieu, here you go brother! :)

This is a view from the front (it's dark when our contractor leaves, so I couldn't get a picture without his truck in it!).  The stonework on the front is now complete, though I don't have pictures of it to show you (my hubby does on his cell phone, maybe I can convince him to email it to me!).

This is a close up of the stonework on the far side of the garage.  The top panel of this garage door is going to be replaced to match the windowed one on the other garage door.

This is the upstairs of our addition.  The far room is going to be a guest bedroom (or bedroom for our children should any more come along, God willing!).  The room in the foreground is our theater room.

Now, let's head back downstairs ...

This is our main floor guest bedroom.  We like it a lot!

This is our bathroom and laundry room.  This specific corner is where the washer and dryer is going to go.

Unfortunately, due to a problem in our plans that wasn't discovered until construction was well underway, we had to do some changing around, which means that we are no longer going to be able to have a murphy bed in our overly large laundry room.  Instead, things had to be changed and we now have an overly large bathroom/laundry room ... and no murphy bed.  :(  I was saddened to be losing guest space (because our families truly are large enough that we need three or four guest rooms!), but we decided that it was in our best interest to make these changes happen.

Overall, I really can't complain, though.  I'm thoroughly excited to have our addition complete which, at the current moment, feels like it couldn't come soon enough!

 

The Beauty of an RSVP

Can I be honest?  I used to never RSVP to anything.  If I got a wedding invite, I'd toss the RSVP aside and tack the invite up on my refrigerator (okay, well I wouldn't really tack it, but you get the picture).  If I received an invite to a birthday party, a family reunion or really any gathering of any kind, I threw the RSVP away and attended if I could and didn't attend if I was unable to.

In my mind, it was no big deal.  I wasn't hurting anybody by not responding, they'd be thrilled if I showed up (yep, I do have a pretty big ego!  I tease, I tease) and disappointed if I didn't, but they wouldn't stop living because of me being there or not.  I thought it didn't really matter whether or not I let them know I would be there.

Then I started planning our wedding, and RSVPs took on a whole new meaning to me.  We were elated when people would send back the RSVP (especially since we already put the postage on it - all they had to do was write on it and mail it!) and completely frustrated when we didn't hear back from some people.  Planning a gathering of that size and paying for each plate that was served caused us to want to have an extremely accurate number, as we had over 300 guests at our wedding.  Many people didn't RSVP, which we anticipated, so we ended up putting a large number of extra dinners on the final count just in case (which ended up to be a good thing!).

The more I plan events, the more I realize the importance of an RSVP.  Whether it be a big party or a simple play date, it is a very respectful thing to return an RSVP!  Even if you can't send something in the mail - send out an email or make a quick phone call, heck, even a text message would suit me just fine!  The more I look at the amount of planning that is put into different events, the more I realize how incredibly important it is to actually RSVP when I'm invited!

So, while I admit to having previously been an ignorer or the request for an RSVP, I now promise you that it is a rare occasion when I forget to respond to something.  I highly suggest making RSVPing a priority on your list, too!

Happy Birthday Sister!

There's this woman in my life who has greatly impacted me.  She has been there through the highs and lows, through the laughter and tears and, because of this, has become one of my best friends.  There is nobody in the world like her and nobody who can even come close to comparing.  She's sweet and loving, goofy and fun.  She's one of the people I hold at the highest esteem in my life.  She cherishes her relationship with God, she is a loving wife and mother and an amazing sister.

Today, there is nothing more I would rather write about than my phenomenal sister, Tanya, because today is the day we get to celebrate her!  Happy Birthday sweet sister - I love you more than words can express!!

Family

This was passed on to me from my mother-in-law.  I thought the message was quite phenomenal so I wanted to share it with you.  The author is unknown.


Family


I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.

He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you..'

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,

'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.

'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'

I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way..'

He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
 I love you anyway.'

I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.' 

On My Way to Greatness!

Have you seen this movie?

I recently viewed it at the recommendation of my blogging friend, Pennie.  There's not much I can say besides I LOVED IT.  So did Monte, in fact.  He loved it so much that he watched it twice.  Not necessarily by his choice, but more because I fell asleep the first time we tried to watch it (we started the movie at 10pm, I should've known I wouldn't last through it!).  He watched the movie through that night and then he watched it again with me the next night.  It is SO good.  So good, in fact, that I'm bringing it to my mom's house to watch with her soon.  It will be a blast!

However, this movie inspired me a little bit.  You see, I have wanted to learn to cook a lot better than what my current capabilities allow.  My family very likely gets extremely sick of the same ol' same ol' that we have week after week.  There is not much variety in our menu because there is not much variety in my cooking abilities!  In this movie, Julie is inspired by Julia Child and wants to cook her way through one of her cook books in a year.  Well, I went and ordered this same cookbook and have begun my new cooking trend a la Julia!  While I'm definitely not intending on cooking through the entire cookbook, I am finding new recipes to use with the basic staples we have in our home (beef, chicken, rice, etc).  It has been fabulous!  Thus far, I have made two recipes with much success!

The first recipe I made was filets (mignon) in a cream sauce.  I had one word upon my first bite of this: YUMMMMM!  My loving husband documented our first recipe in pictures.  This is some of the ingredients, my brand new cookbook, and my beloved 'Ove Gloves (the best hot mitt in the entire world!  Spent about $40 on the pair, but completely worth it!).

The steaks have been cooked and are on 'warm hold' in the microwave!

As the steaks are sitting, I am preparing the sauce and OH BOY did it smell amazing!

Working hard (I apologize for my appearance!  This was my "getting ready to the minimal amount" day!).

The final product:

I think the best part of it was that even my pickiest eaters were happy with this meal (though almost all of my kids did scrape the mushrooms off of the steak)!  It was fairly easy to prepare and absolutely delicious; I would make this recipe again in a heartbeat!

So, am I on my way to greatness?  I truly hope that my experience in cooking will lead me to better culinary skills and, hopefully, one day having the ability to expand my menu!

There Will Be No More

A decision has been made.  One that has an impact on me, directly.  One that I'm actually quite happy about.  You see, for awhile now I have been going through this process of fertility.  I've been visiting my OB quite regularly, having ultrasounds, taking random medications - all in the effort to conceive a baby.  The effects of all of this have been frustrating.  The medications make me emotional, one even made me angry at the world (no joke, I wanted nothing to do with anybody when I was on this ... which, once we figured out that it was the meds making me feel that way, I immediately discontinued taking them).  I hate having to follow a schedule of take this, go to the doctor three days later, then go back in a week later to see if maybe, just maybe I will get to have a baby (hehe, that rhymed!).

Well, after much discussion with my loving husband, we decided that this is going to be the last round.  Due to the fact that I already have Clomid in my refrigerator that is waiting to be taken, we decided we will try one more time.  We will go the medical route, go in for the ultrasound to see if I can even TAKE the Clomid, yadda yadda yadda ... to the end result of whatever happens.

Truth be told, I'm just frustrated with the process.  Yes, my heart definitely desires to have a baby - but at this point I'm done trying ... medically speaking, anyway.  I will go through my next couple of appointments and then I'm just done.

You see, something in me really feels like I've already been incredibly blessed with four children, so why not enjoy them to the fullest right now?  If and when God decides that Monte and I get to have another baby, that is the time that we'll get pregnant.  While my heart screams and wants so badly for that time to be now, I know that the situation is not in my hands.  It's in God's.  So, due to the extreme emotions I experience and due to the extreme expense of all of this (even with the great insurance coverage that we now have, it's crazy expensive!), after these upcoming appointments I will no longer be going through fertility treatments.

It will be me, Monte and God.  And only in God's timing will everything work.

And I think I'm okay with that.

A Letter to Brett

Dear Mr. Favre,

After last night's game, I really felt compelled to write you this letter.  You see, I have been a Vikings fan for as long as I can remember.  Never once have I been a bandwagon fan, but a true purple and gold lover during the good and the bad seasons.  However, this season was different from any other that I have experienced.  This season our team became an unstoppable force, lead by none other than you, our fearless and talented quarterback.  Our team was not one to be messed with.  By no means is our team filled with perfection, we had our share of fumbles and interceptions, of fouls and missed catches.  But man oh man was this year ever exciting!

This year was the season that my husband and I hardly missed a game.  It was the season where we cheered along and were excitedly anticipating each game that was played.  Then came the infamous playoff game that happened yesterday.  Mr. Favre, I feel it necessary to tell you just how amazingly well you and the rest of the team did yesterday.  You played a tough team and were neck and neck with them through most of the game. You made amazing drives, great receptions, and four touchdowns!  Above it all, though, the one thing I noticed is your spirit.  I was amazed to see how many times their team threw hits at you, one that left me breathless to just watch, and yet you came back to finish the game.  Very few people have the ability to play with the talent that you displayed in this game.

So, Mr. Favre, while the rest of Minnesota may be upset with the outcome of last night's game, I sit here quite impressed.  This year has been one of the most exciting and amazing years I have ever experienced with the Vikings.  This year is the only year that we couldn't get tickets to the games we wanted to attend because your team's popularity had skyrocketed!  This year is the year that the Vikings proved what they can do as a team - and I am ever so impressed with that!

Take time off and relax.  Enjoy your family, enjoy down time.  My hope is that we will see you again next season, but if that isn't in your plans, then I must say 'Thank You' ... for the best season I've cheered through!