Happenings

Avritt finished his swim season last weekend, but I was a bad parent and forgot the camera, so we don't have pictures. Avritt did well at the "A" Meet. He was part of a 100 yard Medley Relay (he swam the backstroke leg) that placed 4th out of 5 teams. He also swam in two individual events. He placed 13 out of 23 in the 50 yard freestyle, and 23rd out of 23 in the 50 yard backstroke (because he missed his flip turn).





Here's a picture of him and a friend at a swim meet back in January:





Other things that have happened lately:

• I finally got around to having Mike help me hang one thing on the wall - it is made from black metal (some of it is painted gold) and depicts some plants waving in the wind.


• Someone knocked our mailbox off the post last night. Can you get mail if there's no mailbox to put it in? I wonder what the postman did today...


• I've been making at least one meal a week in the crockpot and discovered an exceptionally tasty dish I did not expect to like involving kalamata olives and clementines and sugar.


• Emily made it through the first semester with all A's and A-'s.


• I joined the board of the local community swim team where the boys have been swimming. Wow...some women are hard to deal with. This board needs some serious organization and structure.

Isaac's Leg of the 100 Freestyle Relay

Isaac swam one leg of a 100m Freestyle Relay at his last swim meet this past Saturday. His team is in lane 5.

Isaac Finishes Up His Swim Season

Isaac participated in his last meet for the year last Saturday. He qualified to go to the "B" Meet this year, and swam in three events: 100m Freestyle Relay (the team placed 4th overall in the meet), 25m Backstroke (Isaac placed 4th overall) and 25m Freestyle (Isaac placed 7th overall). I think there were about 7 or 8 different schools in the area at the meet. Isaac is in lane six in the picture above, getting ready to start his 25m Backstroke race.

Isaac Skiing

Avritt Snowboarding

Skiing Trio

The boys did ski club through the school this year. Isaac skiis and Avritt snowboards. They have both taken a few lessons, and are really enjoying getting out on the slopes. It was so cold here for awhile that they couldn't get out, but recently we have had some warmer (20s and 30s) weather.

Merry Christmas!

The presents are finally under the tree.

Kitchen Complete

Link to Picture Album of the House

Pictures of the House

We've Moved Back In!

Last night we slept in our own house for the first time in 14 weeks. The ability to live in our neighbor's house (2 doors down) was a huge blessing, but we have been anxious to get back into our house, especially the last few weeks. Mike and I slept in our bed for the first time since we moved out, which is the thing we both appreciate the most about moving in. We had been sleeping on two twin-size air mattresses on the floor of the other house. The kids were thrilled to get into their new rooms and find long-forgotten toys. The cats explored the house for several hours before finding their old favorite places to sleep. The weather hasn't been cooperating for moving, however, as we had 3 feet of drifted snow outside our front door this morning. We need to get everything out of the other house, but moving in blizzard conditions wasn't going to happen today. Mike is out snowblowing the driveway right now, and we'll try to get some loads over tonight.

We are so thankful for the blessing of our essentially new house. It's a wonderful Christmas present! The reality is finally sinking in as we move things into their final place for hopefully the last time (for many years, at least). We have shuffled furniture, boxes, toys, and our very heavy TV too many times! Many thanks to all our family and friends who have supported us and helped us through the 5 year remodeling.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Table and Bench Complete

I went up to the house tonight after getting the boys to bed and discovered that Mike had already finished the outlets under the bench. I still can't believe that's our table!

Kitchen Table and Bench Installed!

The wires hanging out below will be outlets - they will be done by Thursday.

The craftsman who built this is a local artist who lives in his studio downtown - he's a Christian. He did a phenomenal job. It's absolutely stunning. We will be ordering three chairs at some point to go along the outside edge.

Santa Bandit

Kitchen Bench and Table Progress

Hilarious Elf Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Progress

Mike and I were up late last night cleaning up and we lit up the fireplace for the first time!

I uncovered the wood floor today.

View of island and venthood.

Corner of living room going out to deck.

Fireplace Doors and Grates

Wood Floor and Venthood

These pictures aren't very good, but they show the wood floor and the new venthood that Mike and I installed with the help of the two guys who were painting in the house at the time.

Updated To Do List

Here's the list from before with updates:
Make the final decision on paint colors - DONE
Pick up the carpet remnants for the boys' loft down by the airport - DONE
Pick out a ceiling fan for the away room - DONE
Fax the refinance application back to the credit union - DONE
Finish designing and purchasing the stuff for the kids' closets - Almost done
Design the metal grate that will go between the eating area and the living room - Not done
Order pins for all the adjustable shelves in the living room and Emily's windowseat - DONE
Dust, dust, and dust - Waiting until the activities that create dust are done
Get shelving for the laundry room -Transferred to Mike's list
Find a shelving unit or something to divide the boys' room into two sides - Waiting
Find extended strike plates for the exterior doors - Still can't find these
Find hooks for the lockers in the entryway - DONE

Status Report

As the recent pictures show, much progress has been made in the last couple of weeks. The slate upstairs has all been installed and is waiting for grout. The carpet is installed in the basement. The wood floor will start going in on Monday and hopefully be done by the end of the week. Then the carpet will go in upstairs. We are getting closer to being back in the house! All the details of the construction and the refinance are nearing resolution.

Here is the current list of things I need to do:
Make the final decision on paint colors
Pick up the carpet remnants for the boys' loft down by the airport
Pick out a ceiling fan for the away room
Fax the refinance application back to the credit union
Finish designing and purchasing the stuff for the kids' closets
Design the metal grate that will go between the eating area and the living room
Order pins for all the adjustable shelves in the living room and Emily's windowseat
Dust, dust, and dust
Get shelving for the laundry room
Find a shelving unit or something to divide the boys' room into two sides
Find extended strike plates for the exterior doors
Find hooks for the lockers in the entryway

Mike's List:
Electrical - finish wiring and putting up the fixtures
Hanging hardware - door levers and cabinet hardware
Installing closet interiors

Mike's list looks shorter, but there's a lot of work in those three things. He's been working every evening and all weekend for the last few weeks.

The things we miss the most about our house:
Ginger - the kitchen (particularly the cooktop and oven) and our bed (we are currently sleeping on 2 twin air matresses that are 4 inches off the floor)
Mike - kitchen, bed, and DISH network
Emily - having all of her stuff in her room (half of her things are packed up right now)
Avritt - DISH network
Isaac - nothing, he says

We would appreciate your prayers as our assessor comes back to make sure all of the work is done and to recertify the value he gave the house back in July. This is tricky because of the state of the economy and property values. We hope to be moving back into the house right about Thanksgiving time. We will have a lot to be thankful for this year, and we look forward to being in the house for Christmas (the kids are thrilled that we have a fireplace where we can hang their stockings)!