happily random

The House that Joel Built

My husband is a contractor. This summer one of his big projects is a house on Coeur d'Alene Lake. On the side of a cliff. Squished between two other houses. Yikes. The other day we went by for a visit and found him on top of the roof. On a 3 story house. On the side of a cliff. Daily prayers for his safety are a must for my sanity. This picture is the view from the front, the part of the house facing the lake.

I must mention here how proud I am of him. This house is an amazing undertaking. Of all the careers he's had since we married, from mechanic when we were newlyweds, to pilot for the majority of our marriage, this is the one that I really can get behind. Here he is, building someone's HOME. This is the place where the owners will spend their lives. Not to mention that this is a place that could be standing 100 years from now. Quite a legacy if you ask me.

His contracting skills are pretty handy here at home. We have 3 pretty big projects going on here at home: finishing my studio (including flooring, painting and adding a bathroom), a deck rebuild & painting the entire house. It seems like everything needs doing and needs doing now. We also need a new roof in the next couple years, an addition with a family room, garage and bedroom for the girls, a kitchen remodel, a master bath remodel, the kids' bathroom remodel and... I think that's it. For now. We're going to be working on this house pretty steadily for the next couple of years, at least. But we love where we live. We don't love our house, but with the changes we plan on making, we will. I think we're going to be buried here. ;) 

Walking With Dinosaurs

Knowing how much Lucas loves dinosaurs, when I hear that the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience was coming to Spokane, I bought tickets the first day they went on sale. I think that was back in April, but honestly it's been so long, I don't exactly remember how long it's been since I bought them. I'm just glad I didn't forget about the show the day of. I've done that with tickets to Phantom of the Opera, so my worries aren't completely unfounded.

Anyway, we went to the show yesterday, and I just have to say, WOW! It was like they were really there. Not only were they life-size, but they looked and moved like I would imagine dinosaurs would. And when that T-Rex roared it made me realize how glad I am that T-Rexes still don't roam the earth today. Yikes! They're enormous.

Despite having his own seat, Lucas sat in my lap to get a better view during the show and was just full of questions. My legs were numb by the end, but it was totally worth it just getting to see and hear his reaction. Priceless. He was my main reason for getting the tickets in the first place. Tyler sat in Dad's lap and did the same thing I'm told. Rebekah sat next to Dad and Samantha was wisely left at home with Grandma & Grandpa. I'm pretty sure she would have been terrified!

Lucas said his favorite part of the show was the T-Rex, which they of course saved for the end. Tyler agreed although he and Lucas both covered their ears when the T-Rex roared. It was so loud!! Rebekah liked the T-Rex too, but she liked the baby T-Rex the best. They had the baby following his mother, snapping at her tail. Very cute.

I took a few pictures, although they're not the best. No flash photography allowed (although annoyingly that didn't stop a lot of people), so they're taken without flash with my point-&-shoot digital. I wasn't sure if they would allow photography at all, so I didn't want to bring the SLR. Besides, I went to watch the show, not photograph it. Sometimes its just better to participate in a moment instead of photographing it, you know?

During the show there is a man on stage with the dinosaurs that narrates throughout, going from each period the dinosaurs lived. A wise move on their part because it really helped with the size perspective. It was easy to forget there were these huge creatures moving about right in front of you. Simply amazing. You can see him in a couple of the pictures, so it gives you an idea how big they are!

Thank you Lord!

God has given us a reprieve from the heat. Instead of being in the 90s and 100s, this morning it was 57 degrees when we awoke. A huge thunderstorm rolled in last night and cooled everything off. Ahhh.... heavenly. Why was I complaining about the blah weather back in June? What can I say, I'm hard to satisfy. All I know is that after sweating it out, I'm ready for the cooler weather we're having today.

Some exciting news: about 2 weeks ago I was offered a position as Council Coordinator for MOPS International. Basically it means I will be supporting and advising the MOPS groups in my area, which is the North Idaho Panhandle. I'm very excited to be taking on this new role with MOPS! Currently I'm trying to raise funds to attend the MOPS Convention in Orlando in September. I attended 2 years ago and it's an amazing time a encouragement, support and learning. Please be in prayer that I can come up with the money to go!

After 2 years, I stepped down from coordinating our morning MOPS group in May. Time for a fresh infusion of ideas... and I need a break. I did decide that I will be continuing to coordinate our evening MOPS group, which I'm really hoping and praying that we can build this year. I have a small team of 2 other ladies that feel like I do about the amazing potential of an evening MOPS group, especially with working moms. Prayers for that would be really appreciated as well. 

Just a shoe

I know it's just a shoe. But this shoe was one of Rebekah's first shoes & now one of Samantha's first shoes. One of them is missing. I didn't even know that it was missing until yesterday evening when I noticed one of them laying on the lawn. I rescued it, but the other shoe was nowhere in sight. One of our dogs is notorious for chewing shoes, toys, & whatever else she can get her mouth on, so I'm afraid she has this little lonely shoe somewhere. Honestly, I don't even remember the last time Samantha wore them since it's been so hot`& she's been barefooted or in her sandals, so I'm not sure how they got outside in the first place. Joel didn't quite understand why it made me so sad that I couldn't find this shoe. Why was I in tears over a shoe? If it had been any one of the girls other shoes, I would have been okay, but this is her first shoe. And Rebekah's first shoe. I am just a sentimental fool I guess. If you coudl humor a my sappy heart and whisper a prayer that I might find it, I would really appreciate it. *sigh*

I have been obviously missing from my blog as of late. I'm not sure where the summer has gone as it's half over and I'm not sure where it's gone.I had in my plans to potty train Tyler this summer, but at 3 1/2 he is still not interested at all. School starts in a month and a half. Looks like he might be staying home this year.

On a more positive note, I have spent the last week completely organizing my scrapbook studio. It has never been this organized... ever. Joel worked on drywalling and tiling the bathroom while I sorted and put things away. I will be painting the walls this week, so the soot-covered walls from our heater fired 2 1/2 years ago will finally be gone. As soon as the bathroom is finished, Joel is going to build a Murphy bed so the studio can double as a guest room. He even got the TV and the DirecTV hooked back up for me! :) A very productive weekend.

Oh, and see those cardboard boxes to the left of the front table? There are 6 of them. Anyone want some scrapbook supplies? Come and pick it up!

*updated to add* Shoe found!!! I'm delighted. Thank you, Lord, for listening to even the silliest prayers of your children. It was in my boys' room, inside their toy box. I'd still love to know why that one shoe was outside on the opposite side of the house from the main entrance to the house and the boys' room, but I'm really just happy that it's found. :) Can you imagine, that if God listens to even the most ridiculous requests of his people, how much more will He answer the ones that really mean something??