Recent Happenings

A few weeks ago, we finally ordered new kitchen cabinets! It's hard to believe that it actually happened, but the smaller bank account is a reminder. After much planning, deliberation, and help from a kitchen designer, we made the decision. We went with a maple door, and we are mixing two different door styles. The stain is similar to the color of the trim throughout the house.

This is a link to the wall cabinet style (chestnut finish which you can scroll down and select):
www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=321X0&doorstyleid=54

This is a link to the base cabinet style (chestnut finish):
www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=321X0&doorstyleid=52

The counter top will be Silestone, a quartz material. Here is the link (color is Black Anubis):
http://www.silestoneusa.com/colors/colors.cfm?SS=0

The cabinets will be delivered on March 27. There is still a bit of work to do before they can be installed: plumbing, electrical, demolition, etc. Nothing big. (ha, ha) Mike is the plumber, electrician, and installer. It will eventually happen. We can't live with half of our living room filled up with cabinets (that's how much room they will take up) forever. I'm quite certain that we couldn't do that for very long before some of us went crazy. Violent crazy.

OK...on a more positive note, here is a link to a kitchen that inspired some of the design of ours:
http://community.webshots.com/album/344061590uIXndy

I really like the idea of slate on the end of the island, and we have planned to put slate in 2 by 2 squares in the same slate color as our entry. The cabinet wood species is different, but in a similar stain color to ours.

It's the end of the term for the boys, so report cards are coming home. They received excellent marks. They are doing very well. If I may brag a little...

Avritt took some standardized tests this year and received a score of "Exceeded Standards" in Mathematics, Reading, and then Total Language Arts. He received a score of "Met Standards" in Writing. He received top scores in virtually everything on the report card (still working on those multiplication facts) and here's the comment from his teacher:

"I love having Avritt in my classroom. He has a wonderful personality and sincerely loves working and being with his classmates. He has a great deal to add to class discussions and gets along very well with all of his classmates."

Isaac received the highest marks in all the catagories on his report card. Here is the comment from his teacher:

"Isaac is growing by leaps and bounds. He is a great friend to his peers and has a love for learning. He continues to be an enthusiastic member of the class and enjoys participating during whole group discussions. Isaac is making excellent progress in literacy, math, and his writing. Isaac loves reading, centers, and computer time. It has been a pleasure having Isaac in my classroom this year."

Emily is getting straight A's in everything except Band (B+ for lack of practicing) and Geometry (just went through a hard unit on proofs, also B+). We just went through the process of deciding her high school schedule. She is not continuing in band (she's glad for that) and will pick up Spanish and a computers course as electives. She's going to stay in Advanced Math and take Algebra 2 next year. She will be in Honors English, also. We're beginning to talk about vocation and what choices she should make for classes. We're only a little more than four years away from starting to plan a graduation party for her!

We are enjoying the cats and their antics. They fight like all brothers and sisters do. They climb on us when we're watching TV at night for some petting, they bat their toy mice under the bathroom door in the morning when we're getting ready, and overall are a pleasure to have around. They like to be near us and are always checking out what is going on. They have been raised as indoor cats and really seek out attention and always want petted. They love to chase a string around and bat at bubbles.

All in all, our life has settled in to a comfortable pace, at least for the moment.