Current frame of mind

Well I had a little incident in the dark the other night with Eli, we were just getting a little drink before bed and for some reason I couldn't get my cup to fill up properly.... that is when you should flip your mug over because it was upside down! Not only that but it took me 2 tries to figure it out. Eli and I laughed and laughed. Then we told the other kids and Zach nearly died of laughter. The next morning he left me this special picture on the fridge:

Thank heavens Zach helps me keep humor in my life! Don't know how I would survive anything without laughter. It is either laugh or cry; sometimes it is both... at the same time!

Joe is getting to try out his snow shoveling skills this weekend! He is really enjoying his new job and all the people whom he gets to associate with, so that is something to be grateful for today! And we are enjoying blue skies and sunshine which makes everything better!

It is about time

I wouldn't be lying if I said that the last year has been particularly stressful for us.  But even while deep in the stress, the Lord has ways of putting little miracles and tender mercies into our lives.

We have felt over the last couple of years that there needed to be a change in our lives- Joseph has been gone so much and our greatest desire is to be together as a family. Spencer was the first grand change that moved us in this forward thinking. He has wedged himself into Joseph's heart with a fervor unimagined, and Joseph is tired of being away all the time missing out on his family who are growing up before our eyes. Time is precious!

Joe got in contact with the President of Organ Supply Industries several months ago, just as we were fervently praying for a way to make this change. We went to Erie and interviewed for the job which seems like it will be a perfect fit. He will be dealing with sales and design and overseeing some of the production process. He will find out tomorrow exactly what he will be doing. He left this morning and still has a long drive ahead of him tonight!

We had a lot of trepidation going into this just sheerly from the fact of the stress that it would put on Quimby Pipe Organs to loose him and how challenging it would be to move our family across the states, even farther from home. However, things have worked out better than we could have ever imagined, and all parties are on good terms (it is a little tricky with such a small industry and everyone so inter-connected).
He gave his 2 weeks notice on our anniversary Dec. 16th and we were hoping that his 2 weeks vacation time would be able to be used to finish all the projects on the house, but alas "it was in his best interest" to finish Walnut Gardens in Independence- so 2 weeks of supposed vacation turned into 4 weeks of work to complete the organ, which he did mostly by himself. He would take one of the kids with him each day for company and to have some extra hands to fetch tools and the like. Anyway, it is done- our time at QPO has come to an end and a new life is emerging in Erie at OSI. We are thankful to a new boss who has been very understanding.

Joseph is going to be staying with a wonderful couple from church- they have been so gracious and kind already. We are looking forward to making new friends and having new experiences. Joseph is particularly excited that they have an organ and piano in their home- this housing situation is just one more of those tender mercies!

Not that the next several months is going to be easy, it is likely to be some of the most difficult times yet, but we are going forward in faith that this is the right move for our family at the right time and that all will work out for our good... eventually!

We have been overwhelmed to finish the ten thousand projects on the house that we have started over the last 3 years. It has been daunting to say the least and we are still not finished. Yes, I am feeling a little overwhelmed, and as much as Joe says I can totally do it all, I really wonder, not to mention that my skill level is significantly lower than his! Anyway, it will all work out and eventually we will be together as a family and he will have a job where he will be around all the time. Well, not all the time, but the travel will be fairly minimal and I can handle that!
The kids have been pouring over the magazines that we have of Erie and are so excited about our destination! I say bring on the snow and we will all snuggle by the fireside, together as a family!

Here is a taste of what we have been working on...

 In the beginning there was nastiness- you can kind of see that the floor joists were 24 on center, so we had to start by adding more support. Joe would not bring a baby grand piano into a house with so little support. And you can see the poles that were holding up the house! But hey, the house has been good and solid for nearly a century, we are just adding to the strength of the whole!

Joe got the staircase mostly done and the hallway sheet rocked.

This is the long addition room that was added to the house 20 or 30 years ago- picture was taken after we gutted it! Admittedly I am much better at demolition than construction!

This is the back half of that room that leads to the exterior.

All the junk removed from the basement!

I think Bella was questioning the wallpaper in this photo, taken shortly after we moved in.

This is when we were taping it off getting ready to lacquer the cabinets, somewhere around Thanksgiving.

Just finished the flooring yesterday.

Joe built the mantle to match all the trim throughout the house- glad to have that done finally!

So we have redone the support structure, all the electrical, all the plumbing and remodeled bathrooms, kitchen, stairs, bedrooms, added wood burning fireplace bla bla bla. We figured we would be in this house for a long time, and would have time to do all the things that we wanted. Note to self, things never happen as you plan!! What we really wish is that we could take our house and property and have it happily situated in Erie, too bad we can't snap our fingers and make that happen!

This one is out of order and not finished yet, but we got the shower tiled finally and got the sink and toilet installed in the basement bathroom. Joe built the sink, the mantle and several other things out of old organ parts- but as he likes to say "it is real Honduras mahogany"! And we can't let that go to waste- Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!! He is so clever with organ parts, in Lawrence he built a rather large and fantastic mantle out of wooden pipes and walk boards. We look forward in the future to having a cool kitchen table and benches out of more mahogany organ innards!  

We will have to add more pictures later, but at least you know that we haven't just been sitting around, unfortunately that is just what I want to do right now and for the next few days- I am tired and we are all sick this weekend. The stress has caught up with us, officially! And poor Joe has to drive in his current state- I fear he might be a zombie at work for this first week- we have worked him to the bone and he is exhausted! I am grateful to have such a wonderful husband, this should be a good time for him to get into the new job and environment and just have to deal with that for a little bit, it is probably best that he can have a little time to himself to reboot! We will come along just as soon as we get the house figured out and sold- hoping that it will be sooner than later!

Just have to put out a big thank you to all of our family and friends who have been helping us out lately- we couldn't do it without you!

Erie, here we come!

Dear Blogger followers,

I have accepted a position in Erie, PA. 

 

I will be working for Organ Supply Industries.  

The picture will link you to their website!

This is going to allow me to be with Linda and the kids more.  We will have lake effect snow.

We will be moving there as soon as the house is sold.  I report there in January 2012.

Joe

Halloween Happens

This is one holiday that we spend hours thinking about all year and yet it isn't something we actually really care about, with the exception of dressing up in costumes, well and I guess that we all really like getting candy. I decided that no matter how much the kids have talked about "what they were going to be this year" I was not going to put forth any great effort on creating costumes. That was a really good choice for me and it opened up an new avenue of creativity for the kids, and they created their costumes for the most part.

This was for the trunk-or-treat at the church where we had yummy soup and desserts and a costume parade before the actual trunk-or-treating part.

Bella even dressed up her grits for breakfast!

Zach came home from school with another impromptu costume idea 

and that all I needed to do was to apply a little make up, so I succumbed. 

We had a nice brief stop over at our downtown business trick-or-treating event, and I have to say they always have a good turnout- so much so that we only did one side of the street. 

Following that Zach and Kaija hooked up with their friends to go trick-or-treating, that will probably the last of that sort, but they had a great time and came home with their bags full- just what we needed!

Bella passed out candy with her good friend Abbey- (her mom Kathy painted their faces).

And that was enough fun for this year; I am certain that they have the cogs turning in their brains to get the plan fest on for next year! Oh well, I just can't complain when creativity abounds and everyone wants to play dress ups- who doesn't want to do that from time to time?

Zachary is Beyond 15

Happiness for some is 15! Joseph and I wish that we were more like Zach during our high school experience- he just embraces it and loves this time of his life and everyone who knows him at all, knows what a great sense of humor he has. We laugh together every day and I am so thankful for that!

He asked for some pretty random stuff for his birthday and that made shopping fun!

1 bag of caramels all to himself
A Very swirly straw- you know the loopy kind
A licensed blanket with sleeves- also known as a snuggie
A thermos
Some orange converse shoes
His very own pair of cargo pants
A pair of tall moccasins
One of those extended arm grabbing thingys
A large feather
Teeth Whiteners
A small ocarina (little flute type thing)
A kilt

 Finally, he has a "licensed blanket with sleeves" a.k.a. Snuggie- that is the look of joy, and I don't think a day has gone by where he hasn't used it!

He made good use of his angry bird items and mustachio!

He has a fetish with mullets and had to share that bit of goodness with his impressionable little brother!

We celebrated his birthday on many occasions since Joseph was traveling on his actual birthday. So I had some good mom/son time and got take out from our local Thai restaurant, which we ate at Cave Hollow Park. It was nice and quiet and we just took a little "hike", better known as a walk, up the trail to  the carved faces and the cave. Unfortunately the carvings have been damaged over the years and the ferny hair was receded already. But alas, Zach can make any moment funny- he has a spontaneous zeal which keeps us on our toes, or as the case may be, rolling on the floor clutching our sides and wiping tears from laughing so hard!

Here is a perfect example of a moment when breathing was difficult between hilarious fits of laughter! I hope that everyone has this book and tape at their local library it is entitled Learn Mountain Clogging and if you want a stomach workout read it with Zach!

Not only is he amusing, but he is practical- he asked for some very useful items, so along with the snuggie, he now has a thermos, which is his pride and joy. He polishes it and enjoys the fact that he can put ramen noodles in it in the morning with hot water and by lunch they are cooked and ready for his eating pleasures! 

I love out of the ordinary requests, it is always an outside of the box experience with him!

Here is one of his recent art projects for school- he didn't just want to do 2 eggs and a spoon, he used my curvy spoon and cracked one of the eggs to make it more interesting. The picture isn't an accurate depiction of the original but you get the idea.

We just adore Zach and all of his fun qualities, can't wait for the birthday list next year!

Someone wants to be like his dad!!

From time to time we will have random organ parts hanging out around our house, I do some wiring periodically and Joseph always has things that he is working on; but it is something that magnetically draws Spencer. He knows when there are projects around and he wants to participate.

He also likes to sleep with his dad, and be held by him whenever he is around. He also loves to sit share Joe's breakfast with him.

During all of our remodeling frenzy, (which is a never ending phase in our lives) he wants to be right in the middle of it, doing what we are doing and using the tools that we are using. He loves tools!!!

He tries to heft heavy objects like his daddy!

And he isn't against driving, standing, or climbing on any organ parts that he finds. We are just finding it a challenge keeping his fingers out of electrical outlets, and keeping plugs out of his mouth or nose, as was the case today, not to mention keeping him from plugging the cords into the electrical outlets. 

He is one handy little lad and he really loves his dad!!

The Journey Home (from Summer Vacation)

We had to shorten our trip so that we could go back home with Joseph; it worked out perfectly though, especially since Barb hooked us up with a night at the Worldmark at Estes Park, CO.  Which just happens to be only an hour away from Greeley.

The downtown area was a lot of fun, and the carmel apples were delicious!!

Hiking at Jenny Lake

A Family picture-hoping to motivate myself to get some real ones taken, it has shamefully been 5, nearly 6 years since we had one- it is about time!

Zach and Kaija on top of the world

The kids really loved being able to go hiking- we would love to be able to do more of that! 

This was the hike where Eli said that it was really fun but it was "retiring"! 

I think I could do some retiring there- it is so gorgeous!!

The kids couldn't pass up the opportunity!

So we were going to stay for a night at the home of the Adams family (who were the heaven sent friends that took Joe under their wing while he was in Greeley), it just so happens that our 2 day stay turned out to be closer to a week, and they wouldn't hear of us get a hotel. A family of 7 is quite a brood to take on, and we are so grateful for their kindness to our family!

I helped Joe some at the church mostly cleaning and tuning- well let me rephrase that, Joe tuned- I held keys! But during the moments that I wasn't at the church helping him the rest of us were playing... a lot!

We went bowling

And to the Cozy Cow Dairy to watch them milk cows, 

and to eat delicious ice cream, and drink yummy chocolate milk.

We went swimming at the pool (twice),

And swimming at the lake!

The organ did turn out beautifully and sounds amazing!

We had such a marvelous trip together, on the way home we stopped in Lawrence KS and watched the last Harry Potter movie- the timing didn't work out for any of the other locations along the way. 

It was really fun though to run into one of his old professors (Charles Hoag) and his family at the theater, Joe had recently been thinking about him and it was just wonderful for them to catch up briefly on all the happenings of life that had taken place during the last 10 years. 

As always, vacation was never long enough and we were certainly not ready for it to end!