Whoops!

So, my every Sunday idea was a good one, my execution just stinks!! I will keep trying! I have enough to write today to make up for it. You better grab a cup of coffee or a bowl of ice cream.

We have been enjoying some incredible weather of late. It has been lovely to be outdoors so much and I appreciate that we have not had to turn on our heat yet. The leaves are at peak and trees are a fantastic sight. Greg is still having to mow the lawn and I think this is the latest ever for mowing in NY. Last year about this time there was a record snowstorm and parts of Buffalo were buried under 2 feet of snow. Believe me, I am giving thanks for our weather everyday!

The boys are doing well. I think we are finally in a grove with the school routine. Homework is still brutal but since there is little we can do about it I have little to say. Joshua stayed after school on Wednesday for a Read a Thon and when Greg went to pick him up one of the teachers greeted him and told him several times what a great job we were doing and what a wonderful boy and student Joshua is. He said Josh was helpful without being asked. As a parent, those are treasured words and we appreciate them very much. We love our boys and try hard to raise them in a Godly home, instilling values and building character. It is nice to hear we are on the right track. I do not want to diminish what the teacher said. I appreciate that he took the time to say those words. It does strike me as sad however that his words seemed to carry the idea that Josh is a rare case. There are so many students who come from homes that do not instill values or build character. I know this is not news but some days it is a reality that really bothers and saddens me. Honestly, it causes me concern. How can teach my boys how to have the courage to be a light in the darkness rather than be taken over by it?? I know not except to pray that God protects them.

Today was Greg's day off and we had an appointment with a man about a kitchen. Last week this man came out to the house and spoke to us about what we could do to make our space one that meets our needs. We needed to know if this was a project we could even afford to do. We are in discussion at church about starting small groups and opening our homes to people. I know there are people that will not come to church but would consider a meal in someones home. Greg and I really believe this is so much more than a desire to have a "nicer" kitchen, it is a desire to have a space that allows us to do more, share more with others. The "nicer" part is icing on the cake. Well, in talking to Tom, the man from Kitchen World, we found out he is a Christian. God is so good. We were able to explain what we wanted and that our desire was to have a space that would allow us to host people from church and the community. He gets it and he gets our financial situation. He gets that a $40K kitchen in a house in Ransomville isn't going to work. Today's meeting was to look at his design and talk details. He designed a great space. It involves taking down the wall between the kitchen and the 4th bedroom to create a large eat-in kitchen. He planned a large island that would seat people in addition to the dining table. As soon as I saw the island I could see the life that would happen around it!! The boys doing homework, me cooking, people standing around chatting. We also talked about cabinets and such that are reasonable in price. I love that he didn't try to sell us on fancy upgrades or details. It was a functional design with all the elements we asked for. I was nervous before the appointment but I walked out thinking it was a delightful time. Now we have a vision and the goal is to figure out how to make it a reality. We can keep costs down by doing most of the demolition and prep ourselves as well as installing the flooring after the kitchen goes in. We will keep our appliances so all we would need to purchase is a dishwasher and a microwave. As lovely as granite counter tops are we again talked practical and cost effective. They are doing amazing things with laminates these days. Are you wondering what he quoted us?? I was certainly waiting for the bomb to drop and have to say I was not as shocked as I thought I'd be. I think I have been watching way too much HGTV, LOL!! Should I tell you?? For the cabinets, counters, installation of the cabinets and counters, and hardware it came to just under 10K. What do you think?? Even though I don't know how yet, it seems do able, attainable, reasonable. Now we begin finding people who can help with various projects. We wasted no time in talking with Dad, we will definitely need his skills and expertise. We start selling off unneeded items on Ebay, we rent out our boys (kidding). We pare back on things as best we can. In part I am writing all of this down because it will become a great way to look back and see how God provided specifically and mightily. I'm just hoping it doesn't take as long as it took the Israelites to cross the desert!!

I will post again soon, I have other things to share. But this seems enough for now.
Thanks for stopping in!