Merry Christmas!!

A photo fresh from Christmas Eve service at church!

We wish you a blessed Christmas!

Brrr!!!

Here is a look at what is going on outside our back door this afternoon...

Crazy wind, snow and cold temps. I have a feeling this is going to be a looooong winter!

Here a couple of pictures from Friday. They cancelled school so the boys got an early start to their vacation.

It was all fun and games until Kaleb got snow down his neck and back. That's what you get for standing in the path of the snowblower!

Josh helped me out in the kitchen later that day. We made a batch of my favorite German cookies, almond crescents. Yummo!
Hope you are staying warm!!

A Happy Note, fa la la la la

Last night both boys had their holiday band concerts. Luckily they were at the same place and not at the same time! The fifth grade band started it off and did a great job. You can see Kaleb in the percussion section getting ready. We weren't allowed to use flash cameras so we only managed a couple of decent photos. Greg and I sat up in the balcony since that is about the only place you can get a good view of the back of the band. It is cool to see them perform because you finally have proof that they are making progress! Often times their practice at home doesn't seem to amount to much or sound like much. But at the concert it all comes together. They actually do know what they are doing...amazing!

We did get one shot of both boys before the concert. Look at those sharp white shirts and ties.

Thursday nights at our house is often the one night during the week that we are all home together. Tonight, though, Greg had a Boy Scout meeting to go to. Josh worked on more wood turning gifts so Kaleb and I hit the flour and sugar and made cookies. We did 3 different batches. Actually, he helped with the first one and then lost interest until it was time to come to sample the others. Typical! As soon as they cool, they are going in the freezer for Christmas. Otherwise I will be back doing it all again next week.

Hugs!

Warning! Heavy Load Up Ahead

At church, Pastor Bill is preaching a sermon series entitled "Humbug to Hallelujah". He is using the Dickens classic novel to weave in the Christmas message. He will often ask as he is preaching, "Can I tell you something?" (like we have a choice, lol!!), I too just have to say....I have been bitten by the humbug this year!! It is really rather ugly. I don't want to decorate, and haven't, I don't want to bake, and haven't (gasp!!), shop or anything else that I normally do this time of year. I want to get under the covers and come back out with the groundhog. That will be perfect timing 'cause then I can skip right over turning 41 too!

To add to the foulness of my attitude is the guilt I have about my foulness of attitude. How can a believer, let alone a pastor's wife, not be full of joy during the season of celebrating the birth of Christ??? It really is too much for one person to bear. Those of you that know me, know this is said in humor but also truth. It is a trial that is seeking to over take me.

Why?? I have been asking that question a lot lately. Partly it is the end of year garbage that I hate and wish didn't coincide with the time of Christmas. Like budget talks at church, dealing with health care insurance issues, finances, taxes around the corner. There's a theme building there, can you tell?? There is the raw truth that the easiest way to attack me and my sense of peace is to throw a bunch of money matters at me. Especially when I have gifts to buy. Last week I was making phone calls trying to take care of health insurance stuff and find a way to get orthodontic care for the boys. Someone suggested we look into the dental school at the University of Buffalo. Since they are a teaching facility you can get discounted services and I haven't heard anything bad things about the care. The nice lady at the other end of the phone informed me they just changed their policy and now only accept new patients in October and to call back in September for an appointment! Even then, they will only be accepted if their case is "unique" enough. That was it! I completely lost it! October??? Are you kidding me??? Don't you realize the dentist said we needed to get him started yesterday?? No, I didn't lose it on the nice lady. I just crumpled into a crying mess after I hung up the phone. The poor volunteer in the office that morning! It was the straw that broke the camels back last week. I am better this week so don't send an ambulance for me, lol!

I also am hit harder this year by my loss of friends. I have made some new ones but as the saying goes, "it takes a long time to grow an old friend." Moving is just a part of being in ministry. I have a bit of a "why bother?" attitude and so things are lonely despite a full calendar.

Then of all things.....last week when the family was all together for Thanksgiving, Thom suggests we have a Harp version of the Biggest Loser. Each month the family (couple) with the least percentage of weight loss has to pay $10.00 into the kitty. Next Thanksgiving, the family with the biggest percentage of weight lost wins the kitty. So of course being the person with the most weight to lose, I can't so no thanks to the challenge!! But now, before Christmas?? Before cookies and candy and ham?? Are you crazy?? No wonder I don't want to bake. Thom, I love ya but you are killin' me!! Of course the rest of them look fine so I think it is just a big hoax to get me on a diet. Blast those evil schemers, lol!!

Identifying the whys is good, then I can tackle them. But I am trying to move to the "what now" stage. What do I do to get beyond the humbug stage? I did try the fake it til you make it approach. Last week I put on my finest holiday clothing, socks and earrings in an attempt to at least look festive. Didn't fool anyone! So now I am trying to give it to God. No use trying to hide it, He knows it anyway. God can handle it. I am daily listing things I am grateful for and repeat them often. Today I wrote out our family Christmas letter. It was hanging over my head, adding to my grief, but just as always, it was good to write it. The letter forces me to think back over the whole year, think about the highs, lows, activities, accomplishments, etc. Time is an amazing thing for perspective. Reflecting makes you more aware of God's faithfulness through the journey. Yes, life can be hard and frustrating at times but not always. It is also filled with many joys and blessings. We are healthy, have a roof over our heads, a job, food to eat and each other. So many of those things are luxuries for many people.

Just yesterday the husband of one the ladies at church was in a head-on car accident. He has just started coming to our Saturday evening services. He is banged up but will be okay. The driver of the other car died. Just like that, one slippery road later, some family is without their loved one this Christmas. Lift them all up in prayer if you would.

Are ya still with me?? Bless your heart and bottom for sticking through my catharsis.
Keep an eye to your mailbox, a letter from us is on it's way.

Back From the Abyss

Don't ask me where time goes! The faster I go, the behinder I get definitely describes me these days.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week. We were at mom and dad's along with the rest of the family. Sadly, we hadn't seen them since last Christmas. The kids grew so much in that time. I only took a few photos and somehow missed all of the gals! We had a great time, we ate tons of food, played games, exchanged gifts, watched movies, played ball and more.
We tried to get all the cousins together for a photo but it never quite works out like you hope, lol! The sun was in their eyes and they had ants in their pants. This is the best I could get.

Josh is going to catch Uncle Jon in height real soon. J tried to agitate Jon all weekend, he hasn't learned that isn't a good idea. We tried to warn him but he was feeling feisty! Jon showed him who's boss. Give Josh a couple more years though and the story may be different. I took this photo right after Jon picked Josh up off the ground. It was all in fun as you can see my their smiles.

Greg scooped up the nieces and nephew for a quick shot. Everyone was smiles because we had just exchanged our gifts.

Josh made his own gifts to give family this year. He put his new lathe to work and spent hours turning wood and acrylic pens. His first two came out a bit shaky but after that he got the feel for it and did a great job. He gave the ladies the acrylic pens and the men got the wood ones.

He plans to make some for his school friends too. I hope the other winners of those lathes are getting as much use from theirs as Josh is!

We are entering uncharted territory these days with the boys. Both of them have now been approached by a GIRL!!! Oh the giggles and red cheeks as I squeeze the tales from them!! I try to keep it light but inside I am so not ready for all of this.

Tonight we are all going to Rochester. I have my annual ornament exchange party and the guys are taking in a movie.

{{{hugs}}} from all of us

White Stuff?!!

Yes, you heard it here, we have already had white stuff flying in the air!! Oh, this doesn't look good, signs of winter in mid October?? I wonder if any churches down south are looking to hire?? Pastor Bill would hurt me if he knew I said that, lol.


Well, now you have proof that we weren't abducted by aliens and didn't fall off the face of the planet. Life has been whizzing by at warp speed for a few weeks now.


Kaleb had a play-off game last night and unfortunately lost, so his season is officially over. The game was scoreless almost the entire time but in the end our team fumbled the ball and the other team scored with 51 seconds left on the clock.


Joshua has been busy with Boy Scouts (anyone want to order popcorn??), school, and most recently, hunting. Chris had him for a weekend and took him on a youth duck hunt. They also hunted for pheasant and he actually got a pin tail duck and a pheasant. He was quite excited. That meant we had to eat duck and pheasant. It was another food trying event and we unanimously agreed the duck was yuck!! The pheasant wasn't bad but for me the duck ruined my taste for the entire dinner.


I have had several stamping events each week the last month and that has made for some longs days and nights. I also signed up to substitute in the local schools. To date I have only had one assignment but my hope is to try to work once a week.


Our second service at church is moving along, slowly. Most people are still opting for Sunday morning and it feels strange to sit in such an empty sanctuary. You know it is bad when there aren't enough people around you to drown out your singing. I rely on that!!


Greg has been busy with the additional service, teens, trying to get more people on the worship team and playing guitar for the pre-school. I wish you could see the kids when he walks in the room. To say they LOVE it when he comes to sing is an understatement. It is like a mini rock concert some days. Many parents have commented how their children sing the songs at home. I told him he ought to have his own show.


Greg has also been busy helping out some people in the church with various projects. Cindy's husband took a week off work to put up an addition to their barn last week. Greg went over a couple of times to help him with the framing. This is the farm where the boys help out and they needed to make room for a couple more mini horses they will be caring for.

We finally got around to getting the boys to the dentist again. It is one of those things about moving that gets dropped. I have yet to find a new OB/GYN and with turning 40, I need to find one soon. Anyway, this new dentist was very nice and great with Kaleb who seemed especially nervous. One of the reasons we have held off is that we don't have dental insurance at this church. Those bills sting! Kaleb has to go back to have a filling done and the dentist recommended he see an ortho very soon. Things have changed since I had braces, they no longer wait until your baby teeth are all gone, they start addressing spacing issues as young as 6. Crazy I tell ya! Apparently that is what they now call phase 1 and phase 2 is the actual braces. Both boys are in need so I am not sure what will happen. We are looking into the University of Buffalo dental school as an option. That has pros and cons. They can save you as much of half the cost but you wait for hours and I don't even want to think about what happens if they assign you a poor student. I am sure you will hear more about that down the road.



Look what we had for dinner tonight...potato pancakes with applesauce, yummy!! I remember eating these many times growing up but had forgotten about them until my mom visited and made them for us. The boys really like them, all 3 of them!
That should get you up to speed on us. Hope you are well in your corner of the world!

Happy Saturday!

Hello everyone! The Harp household is going at warp speed and there is much to write about but I thought it was time for another kitchen update. At the moment not much is being done in there, well, that isn't true, I am cooking and canning up a storm. But work wise, things are on hiatus. As I went back through the pictures I have posted of this journey, I realized that the last one I showed you was pre-sink. We have gotten further along than that.
Here is a shot of the beautiful black sink Dad and Dick Pappa installed for us. I love this sink!! It is really deep with straight sides so it holds a good amount. So far the black hasn't been too bad to keep clean either.
Dad and Greg also finished installing the rest of the lighting. It is good to be able to see!! We have 2 pendants over the island and a matching light over the table. They also put in several more can lights in the key work areas. I still haven't mastered all the switches yet. Oh, and look, we have handles on all the drawers and doors. I didn't realize how much I missed handles until they were on. Way less finger prints now too, lol!
The kick plates and back panel to the island are now in as well. Greg tackled that a few weeks ago. There is also an end panel to the left of the fridge. The outlets on the island are so handy!! Greg often uses his laptop while he is eating his breakfast in the morning.
When my mother was here we found this old buffet at a yard sale. Our plan is to buy more cabinets to make a built in china hutch but the budget for now is spent. When we saw this we knew it would go nicely in the space and serve as our buffet in the mean time. We will stain a couple of shelves to install over the buffet for more display and storage space. The buffet has some repairs that need to be done on it but I really like the character it adds to the room. You can see it is holding some of my recent canning.
One of my favorite things in the kitchen is the garbage cabinet. A silly thing really, but in our old house we stored our recycling in the garage which was off the family room. Here, the garage is detached and we had no good place for the recycling. Who wants to run out in the dead of winter to put an empty milk jug in the bin?? The garbage is a pull out that houses 2 garbage cans, one for trash and one for recycling. Makes me happy!
The valance over the sink and the crown molding are still not up. The doors and windows need their casing put back on and the baseboards are still missing. And we haven't hung anything on the walls yet. Technically we still have the second coat of paint to put on. The first coat covered so well, it may never be done. Greg said my Christmas present will be a finished kitchen. But for now it works and that is a good thing.

Today at 5:07 we are adding a second worship service at church. The goal when we came was to add another service that would meet the needs of those unable to worship on Sundays as well as attract the traditionally unchurched folk. We could really use prayers! I am not even able to go tonight as Kaleb has a 5pm game.

We went to see the new movie "Fireproof" yesterday. It is by the same company that made "Facing the Giants". This one stars Kirk Cameron and is about a couple in a marriage crisis. It was really good and I encourage you to see it if you have the chance. These movies are put out by Christians and they have a definite Godly message. Powerful stuff. The budget for this film was $500,000. (Facing the Giants was a mere $100,00) The entire cast and crew were volunteers. This kind of movie making is so anti-Hollywood. I got a kick out of the credits when they showed screen after screen of thank you's for all the people and business's that donated towards this project. It is in limited release and will only get more air time if people go out to see it. I know people often complain about the lack of good movies, how the selections are so heavy into violence, sex or such. Here is a movie that IS good, IS uplifting, IS funny and without any profanity or sex or violence. Have I convinced you yet? Just go! Make a date this weekend, you will not be sorry. And if you haven't seen Facing the Giants yet, rent it, it's a good one. My boys watch it over and over and I can feel good about it.
Until next time...

R U Ready for Some Football??

It seems to me that "Harp" and "football" don't belong in the same sentence. Unless of course you are watching it on TV. I am all for rooting on the Bills and eating some snacks. But playing? On a team? For real, you might get hurt kinda playing?? My brother played one season and I don't think Greg, Jon or Thom ever played. I mean, it's rough and dirty. And probably dangerous. Of course that is all "mom" talk right?? Greg said I was being ridiculous and if our boys wanted to play then they should be encouraged to do so. Are you out of your mind?? Knowingly send my son into harms way?? You know where this is going right? I lost the battle, never even stood a chance really.
Do you recognize this kid?It is Kaleb, #56, playing on the New-Wil-Ran Predator squad. Oh what an eye opening experience this has all been. Welcome to the world of cups, girdles, pads, weigh-ins, tackles, dirt, grime..... These pictures were taken after their first game. It rained the entire day. We sat, wet and then frozen on the bleachers for 2 hours. My umbrella leaked. But it was a good game, our team won 33-6. The kids all got muddy, I think they liked it too. Weeks of practice finally paid off and for a bunch of 8-10 year olds they actually looked like they knew what they were doing. Kaleb weighs about 75 pounds and has quite a bit of speed but when the coach asked him if he wanted to carry the ball, he said no. He told me he didn't want a bunch of kids running after him with the sole purpose of tackling him to the ground. Smart kid! So instead when his team is on offense he plays on the line. Now he gets to tackle/be tackled on every play. That seemed like a better alternative? I don't get it?! He seems to manage okay. When his team is on defense he often plays safety. I had to ask what that was. The easiest way to explain it is that he is the last guy on defense and if the runner gets by him he likely will score. No pressure! He has let a couple slip away but he has also gotten some good tackles in, stopping the play. After the first game the coach presented him with this

Cool eh? Kaleb had a great tackle that took their ball carrier down before they could get a first down and got his team the ball back. It was a good confidence booster. The coach told the other kids that this is Kaleb's first year playing and that he would be looking for good tackles at the games. Their reward--a football.
The sidelines are a foreign country I think. I have never been around parents and adults who get so crazy. They tail gate at the practices. They hold "over 21" fundraisers where kids aren't welcome due to the serving of alcohol. They scream things like "hurt someone" to their kids. Do they realize what they are saying?? I can see "play tough" but I can not see telling my kid to seek to hurt someone. How does what they are encouraging translate off the field?? Things that make you go hmmmmmm. Needless to say, we are all getting quite the education this season.
Hope you are enjoying some cooler fall weather where you are.

First Day of School

The boys are back to school!! If I weren't so busy, I might have thrown a party!! We had a very good summer but things are usually pretty loosey goosey and a type A like myself can only take that for so long, lol! I think they were ready to go back too although they would never admit to it.
So I present, our seventh grader-Josh! Can you believe it?? Seventh grade?? Next thing you know he'll be driving. ACKKKKKKK!!!! When we bought sneakers this year we had to get a mens size 10. He is only a half size away from Greg now.
And then we have our fifth grader! His last year of elementary school. He is big man on campus this year with extra fun things that only the 5th graders can do. We will get to meet his new teacher next week. His big concern this year is whether or not they will get sufficient recess time. He asks a lot of questions this kid. He needs to know everything and many times he asks questions that we just can't answer. Will we get to go outside today? What will we do in music today? What kind of sneakers do you think the kids will be wearing? How much homework will we get each day? If we go out shopping he wants a detailed list of what stores we are going to and in what order. Heaven forbid we add one to the list along the way, throws him all off! We have made a joke of it really. I think he is making up for a mild case of the "why's" when he was 2.
Greg has been working on the kitchen. Yesterday he put some of the trim pieces on the cabinets. I have been busy putting it all to good use with lots more canning and baking. Tonight we had some folks from church over for dessert. It was a good test run of the space and all went well.
Our main home computer is going haywire so we are having it looked at this week. I hope it is fixable, I am lost without it. Sad really, but true. It is crazy how much information we store in a computer isn't it?? Favorite links, documents, pictures, banking and so much more. I feel so lost when it isn't working. So until it is fixed I can't post pictures to the blog. I have one post pre-loaded to share but after that I am at the mercy of Lee the computer guy.
{{{hugs}}}

Let the Games Begin!

Did you watch the Olympics? We watched a good portion of them and I thought they were incredible. What a human being is capable of boggles the mind!

Well, in honor of the Olympics, we embarked on some new sporting activities. These are no ordinary events and perhaps should not be tried at home. If you should not heed previous advice we accept absolutely no responsibility for possible injury, dismemberment, humiliation or death.

Game 1: The Human Hamster Wheel

Blow up giant water ball, crawl inside and proceed to spin around. If this becomes too mundane, try rolling it off the dock while inside. No persons were injured in the taking of this footage.

Game 2: Across Lake Swim

Eat a big breakfast and decide to swim across lake, a 1 1/4 mile distance. Decide swimming on calm lake is for wimps so add in rough waters and wind. Don't factor in swimming against current in original plans. Chris, Melissa and Greg set out for a "1 hour" swim. Two and a half hours later Greg and Melissa made it, Chris cramped up, Ethan peed over the side of the boat twice (once into the wind ;)), Kaleb whined (a lot), we all were parched and got sun burned. No persons were permanently injured in this event.

Game 3: Kayak Pulling Races

Assist swimmers in the above mentioned game by following alongside for safety. Fill fishing boat with "helpers". Reach other side of boat with 3 tired swimmers and one kayak rider. Realize you can't fit everyone in boat for return ride. Drag extras behind boat in kayak and try not to drown them.

Game 4: Corn Hole

Pitch bean bags into the hole in a board....for hours. Score 21 points first to win. Although no bodies were hurt in this event, there was plenty of aggravation, frustration and general upset by certain losing parties. Ahem, no names, please.

Game 5: ???

Spend 6 days relaxing by the lake. Get bored. Maybe experience heat/sun stroke. Take your nephew's bitty bike and ride it off the dock. Ensure your ultimate safety by wearing a life jacket! Hurry up and return bike to shore before nephew wakes from nap and freaks out!
I have hope that some of these events may some day make it to the Olympic line-up. What do you think?

Fishin'

One of the things that ALWAYS happens when we are at the lake is fishing. Chris is rather addicted I would say. He would probably call himself "avid" not addicted, lol. Josh has really gotten into fishing too but then again, Uncle Chris walks on water and they want to do what he does. They got up early on several mornings to fish. Oh the life!! Chris did catch a beautiful, 8 pound brown trout one morning. Guess what we had for dinner that night?? It was yummy.
Here is a picture of another one of their catches. Definitely click on this picture if you want to be grossed out! The bottom "thing" is a lamprey eel and it has a hideous mouth. It was attached to one of the fish they caught, a Cayuga Lake 2 for 1 special! In case you are wondering, no, we did not eat Ernie the Eel. Chris has since informed me that they are eaten in places and considered a delicacy. Who knew?

I am off to work!

Here I Am Again!

We just got back from the funeral and I thought I would post the first group of photos from vacation. Click on any of them and they should pop up in a larger version.
Here are the boys and I early in the week. There is something about 10 year old boys that makes them smile goofy in pictures!
Here is my mom. We did a lot of sitting and relaxing by the lake. And played a lot of corn hole. No, I didn't just use a bad word. Haven't heard of it before? Check this out, they have an American Association and everything. It is a super fun game. I am pretty sure my mom was watching me kick my brothers butt for a third time. Yes, I rock, lol.
Here is Josh returning from a tube ride. He definitely prefers tubing over water skiing but once we finally get him up on skis I think he will sing a different tune.
How many ways can you find to relax? You'd think Greg was researching the topic for a report! Maybe he was just trying to get away from all of us on shore or perhaps avoiding another beating at corn hole.
Kaleb got out on skis a couple of times this year. He was quite reluctant at first. I think a year of fear built up inside of him and he forgot how fun it is. After his first go he was smiling from ear to ear.

I am off to bed, it's been a long, long day.

Here I am

Technology is amazing! At this very moment I am in the van traveling east on the NY Thruway. Pastor Bill let us borrow his internet card and here I sit, typing on Greg’s laptop, wireless, traveling at 70 miles per hour. Crazy, I tell ya!
Sadly, we are traveling because of a funeral. Melissa’s (my brother’s wife) mom passed away unexpectedly this past week. Just three weeks ago we were all together enjoying vacation and today we will mourn together. Life is full, isn’t it?
So I notice my last post was July 25th. Miss me?? Where have we been you ask? My mother arrived from Germany on July 16th and I just returned her to the airport last week for her flight home. Our family, my brother’s family and my mom spent 2 weeks together on vacation. The first week we spent at the cottage on Cayuga Lake that we have rented the last 2 years. Then we spent another several days at a cottage on Lake Ontario thanks to friends at Pearce who let us use their place. No TV, no phone, just resting, eating, sleeping, resting, eating, swimming, resting….you get the idea. We took a load of pictures so I plan to post several times to share some of the highlights with you.
While we were away, Dad and Dick Pappa went to the house and installed our sink and faucet. They also got our electric to the island running. Though there are plenty of finishing details yet to be done, we are completely functional in our new kitchen. It is wonderful!! My mom and I put up corn in the freezer, made several batches of peach jam and hosted some people for dinner. It is doing exactly what we hoped it would!
Unfortunately I can't upload any pictures at the moment, I will get backto that tomorrow.
Hugs

Doin' the Happy Dance!!

Woohoo!!!!!!!!! The counter tops are in!! I am doing the happy dance around my new kitchen. On Wednesday the kitchen store called to set up the appointment for Monday. I gave a huge groan because we leave tomorrow for vacation. But, I told her I would make arrangements for someone to be here so they could do the job. There was no way I was going to wait until after our return, lol!! While I was on hold for something else, she spoke to the installer and he was willing to come today! Maybe it was the HUGE GROAN, lol, but since I didn't ask for that I felt especially blessed. When the two men were here we chatted and it turns out they are both Christians and we had a lovely conversation. God is so good isn't he? I love those little blessings he showers on us for no reason. Dad is hoping to come out while we are away and install our sink and faucet. It could be fully functional very soon!
As you can see, we still have a few doors off, Greg needs to put up the wood valance in between those cabinets so the doors are off for easier access. Now that the counters are in we can put on the back panel of the island as well.
Did you notice the floor? I just love it!! Greg and I were up until 1am Sunday finishing it up. (I don't do 1am very well anymore but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do) Again, the Lord just blessed us because our budget for flooring was not huge and everywhere we looked materials were easily twice our budget. We have a Big Bob's flooring outlet near us and they sell discontinued/overstock items. They had exactly what we wanted and it goes perfectly with all the other elements in the room! It is a tile looking laminate and was manageable for us to install ourselves. We installed something similar in our bathroom last fall and have really enjoyed it.
And how about those stools by the island? Have you ever just known what you wanted but couldn't find it, or at least not at the right price? I looked on-line for a place to purchase them and discovered they averaged $60-80 a stool. Not gonna happen. There must be another way! I spent a couple of hours on the internet looking for cheaper solutions and finally found one pair, new in the box, on Ebay. The seller stated they were from Ikea. Great! I will check out Ikea myself. Soooorry, discontinued. I am not easily detered so I emailed the seller with the hope he had a second pair of stools. He did!! Including the shipping, I got 4 brand new stools for $128.00!
If you need to know how to do a kitchen on a dime (well, not literally a dime ;)) ask me. I have tricks upon tricks. I even purchased 10% off coupons for Home Depot on Ebay. Did you know you could find a coupon for just about anything on Ebay?? It saved us hundreds of dollars. It almost hurts me to spend full price so I avoid it if at all possible. I have said it before but let me say it again, this kitchen would not be possible without searching out deals, using sales and coupons, Mom and Dad and the countless other people who helped us along the way. Oh the ministry that will take place in this space. I can't wait to write and tell you about it.
A silly little thing, but I cooked pasta for the first time in 9 weeks and boy was it good! Bill, the hubby of the lady I job share with, installed our gas line last Friday. He did an awesome job too! We were able to hook up our old stove that had been resting in the garage for the last year. Greg thought it would never see use again. I am grateful for microwaves but boy was it good to cook on a stove again.
We will leave in the morning for our vacation. This will be the third year in a row we have rented this cottage on Cayuga lake with Chris and his family. This year we have the added additions of my mother and little Logan so I pray for little to no rain. We would be stuffed like sardines if we all had to be inside at the same time. I am sure Greg will sleep in his usual spot, out on the dock. But the best part is...we get to relax and be together. It will be a good week.
I will be sure to tell you all about it when we return.
{{{Hugs}}}

Check it Out!

I don't have any new photos of the kitchen but we did finish putting down the floor and the appliances are in. I am hoping counter tops go in by weeks end. It looks great! Greg leaves tomorrow to direct a Teen Leadership Conference at Roberts Wesleyan College. Josh is at Boy Scout camp. Kaleb and I will be getting ready for our week at the cottage.

I thought I would share a bit church news. I think the last update I shared was our Celebration Sunday. Since then we have had a few baptisms. One of the ladies requested to be baptized at her family's cottage on Lake Ontario. A second woman asked to be baptized at the same time so we headed to the lake last night. Pastor Bill and Greg both had the honor of performing the baptisms. Most of the people in attendance are part of a small group that has just experienced amazing things. This is a group of people that has come together to support one another through many difficult trials and the changes that God is making in them are visible. Have you ever seen someone who has been restored and their physical appearance changes? Not just their countenance but their actual appearance? Skin that glows, eyes that aren't dark anymore. Cool, I tell ya! Anyway, they baptized the 2 ladies and Greg asked if anyone else wanted to be baptized and before the night was done we experienced 5!! It was an awesome night. I am hoping PB is able to get ahold of some of the photos and will post them on the church website.

George and Karen are the couple that host this small group. Karen is our ladies Sunday School teacher and George is one of the church's delegates. Two weeks ago he had a terrible fall off the deck of his pool. The x-rays showed he had broken his neck and some ribs. Greg and some people from church went to George's house and prayed over him and anointed him with oil. When he went to the spinal specialist last Wednesday the doctor said he could not see any evidence of his neck being broken. God is so good! The Lockport newspaper featured an article today on George and I thought you might want to read it, it is such an awesome testimony. Today a Buffalo news station is doing story on it as well and Greg and Pastor Bill are headed over to the house. http://www.lockportjournal.com/communities/local_story_204015806.html?keyword=topstory
Toodles...

They're In!!

Just a quick update with pictures to show you the cabinets are officially in. Obviously, not the counter top or the trim, but all in due time. My friend, Holly, and her husband came out today and Paul from church also came over for a bit. In six hours it was all done... amazing! It appears they shorted us on the materials for the crown trim so I will need to stop into the store on Monday to look into that. They will come on Tuesday night to measure for the counter tops and I am praying they can install them before we leave for vacation! In the mean time we have the floor to put down, lights to install, gas line to run, dishwasher to install, ect. Plenty to keep us busy ;). This is a good day!

Cabinets!

We have a good start to cabinets! After 2 nights of work, this is what we have. We knew this wall wasn't going to be easy. We were working around a chimney and the walls weren't straight but they have worked through all of that. If you look at the top of the cabinet you can see the chimney wall peeking out. Once the crown molding goes up you won't see any of that. From the front it is just one nice wall of cabinets. Once you open the doors you see that not all is the same, we have one 24" deep pantry with pull out shelves and one 12" deep pantry with fixed shelves. The refrigerator will slide back under the end cabinet and we have an end wall piece that will finish off that end. I have been given the green light to fill my cabinets so that is what is on my agenda this morning. Of course cereal had to be the first thing to go in, it is the most eaten food in our house!
On Saturday we have people coming back to help with the wall cabinets that will go over the sink area. The base cabinets and island cabinets shouldn't be so difficult so with any luck this process will be done at the end of the weekend. I have to say this installing process is much more involved than I ever thought! But as long as it will all be solid and straight they can take their time.
Greg and I are in search of flooring. There are so many decisions to make in this whole process, I am a little tired of all that stress, lol. Trying to find something we like in our budget is proving to be the difficult part. We went to Lumber Liquidators yesterday but I don't think they have what we are looking for. This afternoon we will try a couple of other places.
I am off to fill my cabinets! Have a great day.

Monday Update Time

Greetings from humid Upstate NY! I shouldn't really complain, we have had gorgeous weather, lots of sun and not-so-hot temps. Perfect for those of us without AC in the home or in the car. (insert muttering under breath) For the third time the AC in our van is broken and we can not justify repairing it yet again. Show me the genius who designed aluminum lines for cars that are on salted roadways! Each year a new section of the line pits out and each year it costs several hundreds to replace. It's a conspiracy I tell ya!
On to more pleasant topics...the kitchen. We painted the first coat of the final color, don't you love it? Warm, buttery yellow. Tonight at 6 we have some helpers coming to start getting the cabinets up. Yippee. One of my friends' husband does carpentry and knows how to install cabinets so he will be our guide for the process. We hope to get the wall and pantry cabinets up tonight. Greg and I may be able to handle the rest if we have to. It is nice to be in the reconstructing phase of the project.
We took the day off on Friday and spent much of it catching up with old friends. We went up to family camp to get the boys and wandered around chatting it up with people we knew. The boys had a great time, I think they enjoyed the opportunity to be with old and new friends at the same time. On our way back we stopped to pick some cherries. I don't think I have ever seen cherry trees dripping with so much fruit before. They were clustered like grapes. In no time, we picked 8 pounds of sweet cherries. Last week Kaleb and I went strawberry picking. I love that the boys are into U-pick, it makes for a fun family outing.
Joshua finally had a chance to set up the lathe he won at the woodturners convention. He proudly gave us a demonstration, covering all the safety rules, tools and techniques. He really knew his stuff, I was impressed.
The boys are off at Covenant Acres camp this week. We dropped them off yesterday. Each year they get more independant, you have to beg for a good-bye hug now. We made arrangements for them to go the same week as friends from Rochester, they were so excited to see them. The house seems especially quiet but it is okay with us. By Friday we will be ready for a reunion again.
I will be back soon with more pictures of the kitchen. Things are getting exciting now.

Happy July!

Wow, time flies sometimes. So the last time I posted Joshua was at the woodturners convention with mom and dad. The night before they returned home dad was admitted to a hospital in the area and liked it so well he stayed for more than a week! I am sure he wouldn't agree that he like it so well, lol. It was several days of up and down news but I am happy to report he is now home. Since I am sure he doesn't want me telling the world his troubles, you will have to call him to chat about it. Since they had Josh with them, Greg drove down to the DC area to pick him up. Since it was such a long drive, he spent the night with cousin Jennifer and family and had time to visit with dad at the hospital. Once he was reassured it was okay to return, he and Josh made the 8 hour drive home. It is never fun to be in a hospital, let alone when you are away from home. Being able to stay at Jennifers house was a huge help. (all of us up here are waving hi to Caitlyn and the gang)
We continue to make slow progress on the kitchen. I am trying hard not to set my expectations too high for a completion time. Every turn brings some new challenge. Greg and I added a textured finish to the ceiling partly in an effort to give uniformity to it. The kitchen had a flat painted surface but the bedroom we opened into did not. Add to that the very slight seam where the wall was and it seemed best to do a textured thing. Greg put on the goop and I used the texture brush and all was going along so nicely. You know there is a but here, don't you? But then large portions of it came down. UGH!!! It seems one of the layers on the bedroom ceiling at one time must have been wallpapered or painted with glossy paint so it wouldn't stick. It was so frustrating. What should have been an afternoon job turned into 4 days of patching and fixing. As I write this, it is all done except one corner that needs a final coat of paint. We painted the walls with one coat of tinted primer. The final color will be a darker, warmer yellow. We will probably cut in with the first coat of paint tonight after Greg is done with work.
Just for fun, I thought I would show you the sea of boxes in our garage. This folks, is the cabinet puzzle that we have to solve! We are hoping to start installing them this weekend but like I said, I have to be careful about setting plans. At this point it is unlikely we will finish in time for my mothers arrival on the 16th. Oh well!

The boys are off today to hang out with Pastor Bills family at LCC family camp. We will pick them up on Friday. They will most likely see old friends there and will have a fabulous time.
If you need Greg or I, you know where to find us ;).
Blessings to you and yours this week!

Happy Monday!

Well, it is time for another update.
The kitchen is moving along, slowly but surely. On Friday our friends, the Hopkins, came for the day. They are newly home from their year long mission trip to Romania and as of yet do not have jobs (pray for that!). They are still in that "helping others" mode so came out to lend us a hand around the house. Maurice helped Greg put down plywood on the floors and do some more spackling. Karen and I did some much needed work on the yard. We weeded and tried to reclaim some of the beds from years of neglect. It was nice to see them and get caught up a bit on the last year. When they left for Romania we were still living in our other house so both sides had lots to share! On Saturday, a man from church spent a couple of hours helping Greg sand the walls. This drywall business is the pits! No wonder everyone we talk to says they hire that part of the job out to the pro's. I think Greg is really close to being done though. Newsflash!!!! Our cabinets are being delivered tomorrow!! They will sit in the garage until we are ready for them. I am hoping that will happen by the weekend.
The Boys: Josh is done with school, he finished last Monday. We went for an awards ceremony and Josh got several nice certificates and medals. He received the Teachers Choice Award from his reading teacher, recognition for the 25 book club, and the President's gold award for high grades. I will try to get a picture of him with all of his stuff soon. When he came home on the last day I asked him how he was and he told me he was sad to see school end and that he was already missing his friends. I take that as a good sign for his first year in a new place! At the moment he is in Virginia with Mom and Dad. They went to Richmond for a wood turners convention, meeting up with Uncle Bob, Aunt Ellen, Chelsea, Uncle Jim and Aunt Betty. They had classes designed for kids and Josh loved it! He called home a couple of times and you could just hear the excitement in his voice. He said there were 60+ kids signed up. They had 25 lathe set-up's for the kids and they got to use them to make things. He wouldn't tell us what, I guess that is a surprise! At the end of the convention they raffled off all the lathes and guess what? Josh and Chelsea both won one!! Oh my, he is off the charts excited!! Greg will have to make room in his shop for the newest wood worker in the family!
Josh and Kaleb both played in a summer soccer league. The end of the season tournament was this past weekend and Kaleb's team went undefeated! I think Kalb scored at least one goal at each game. He and another boy dominated the field with their speed and ability. He has a definite talent for the game! Much to his dismay, he still has school until Wednesday. At least this week he only has half days. He and Greg have been practicing lacrosse lately. Kaleb saved up his money for a stick and is now obsessed with playing every chance he gets.
Yesterday was a great day at church, we had a celebration Sunday to celebrate all that God has been doing in our church the last six months. We call it the WOW report. I highly recommend it, it is good to reflect on God's goodness and give Him praise. We welcomed in new members, baptized 2 new believers, and shared communion. The best part of the service was the "parade of praise". We had been asking people to write down their before and now, a short testimony to God's work in their lives. We wrote them out on poster board, the before on one side, the now on the other. They didn't talk, just one by one went to the front and showed the congregation the before side of their sign, then their now. Things like
before: sick with leukemia, now: totally healed
before: robbing God, now: tithing fully
before: lost, now: found
before: crying all the time, now: able to smile
before: selfish, now: serving others
before: struggling with my faith, now: stronger in my faith
We had more than 30 people in the parade, it was amazing! I can not think of a better way to give testimony and honor to God for the work he is doing in us and around us. After the service we had a picnic outside, a great way to cap off the day!
That is just a peek into what is happening our way. We hope and pray you are all well and enjoying the summer sunshine!