Around here...

Adding on to the house and renovating the kitchen has been an interesting experience.  I know I'll be so pleased when it's all done.  And in the meantime....

I will be thankful

~that we can be doing this project - it still seems too good to be true
~for safety for everyone involved
~for warm weather so we can be outside a lot
~a pool for when the weather is just a little too warm
~to have my washing machine hooked up - what would I do without it?
~for dry, sunshiny days so I have a way to dry the laundry
~to have my stove working - it's in the middle of the kitchen and the guys have graciously worked around it without complaint
~for a great builder and tradesmen who do such amazing work and put up with us living and helping at the job site
~for toads that come into the garage (aka kitchen) to control the flies :P (OK, I'm still working on thankfulness for that one...)

Last week the plumbing and electrical rough-ins got done.  It doesn't seem like exciting progress (sorry Dan), just a lot of sawing and mess-making, but these are things you only really appreciate once you have to go without them.  So, not exciting, but ever so necessary.  Then we insulated.  Also not exciting (just itchy) but we'll be glad of it when the weather turns cold. 
 
On Monday the first piece of drywall went up, and slowly but surely our rooms are taking shape.  Yay - soon we won't have to look at stud walls!  As happy as we were to see them when they went up, we are excited to see them covered.

As a bonus, the work I've been doing - or maybe it's the running up and down the basement stairs to do laundry - has caused me to lose weight without even trying.  I was feeling good about that until Thomas informed me that it looks like I have another baby growing in my tummy.  Sometimes the frankness of a 4-year-old is not appreciated. 

Cooking and eating in the garage is working out pretty well, other than the constant presence of flies and the occasional visit from a toad. I know we've had some drivers-by wondering why in the world that family with all those kids is eating in their garage. You can't see any of the addition from the road, so it's no wonder they wonder. It's probably not the only thing they are wondering about.

On Saturday Gerald and I went on a little anniversary date in our full-size van to buy ceramic tile.  How romantic is that?  Some of our interests have changed along with our vehicle size, but our commitment to each other is stronger than ever. :)  Anyway, our trip did take us through the wee little town near where I grew up and where we got married.  We stopped by the little church where we said our vows, the hall where we had our reception and the place where we had our pictures taken 18 years ago.  And we did find tile that we liked, and it was on sale for quite a bit less than we had counted on paying.  So it really was a pretty good date, by current standards. ;)

This summer we've been packing a lunch and staying at a park in town between church services, and it's a time I look forward to; a time for relaxing together and enjoying some family time, playing games, napping in the shade or just reading a book.  I know that we will forever have sweet memories of these picnics. 

 

Our anniversary was on Sunday, and Allison made us a cake to celebrate. Together the kids made a huge card in which they glued smaller cards or notes from each of them and bought some treats to share.

Eighteen years and countless blessings.

I'm not sure which was sweeter - the chocolate cake or Nadia.

Last night friends brought some kittens.  It was love at first cuddle....

These two have almost matching eyes...

Kittens were always a part of my childhood summers, and it's so much fun to watch their funny antics and to see my kids enjoying them as much as I did.