There was once a time that my sister in law told me she checks my blog 10 times a day to see if anything new has been recorded.  I remembered that today and felt bad at the thought of her coming here for several years and seeing absolutely nothing.  So, just in case she checks...Good Morning Virginia!  I hope you have a wonderful day.  I love you. 

The Gospel According To Larry Richie

This past May--the month before he died--Mr. Richie was a student in a class that Dustin was teaching. The class was New Testament Survey, and the discussion one night centered around the fact that each of the four Biblical Gospels was written to a particular audience.  This is the reason the Gospel of John may recount stories that the Gospel of Luke seems to omit.  Each was written by a different author to a different crowd.  As an assignment following this discussion Dustin had each student write their own "Gospel" (Good News) with a specific target audience in mind.  For example, one student was to write the good news to recovering drug addicts or the good news to a group of refugees.  Mr. Richie's assignment was to write the "Gospel According to Larry Richie" to a group of college professors who were considered "skeptics".  He was to present the good news of Jesus Christ to them in a relevant way, as did the authors of the Biblical Gospels.  They had 30 minutes of in-class time to write their "Gospel", and then each student presented his assignment orally in class.  What Mr. Richie presented that night was a gospel written with thought and passion.  Dustin has claimed it to be one of the best theological writings he's seen in awhile, and the class agreed that it was profound (especially considering the 30 minute time limit for writing).  What inspires me the most, I think, about the whole thing is something Dustin commented on:  Mr. Richie came to class all year--sitting week after week--his body growing weaker as cancer invaded it.  Yes, the beauty of the Gospel--the Good News--was revealed in this man--that as his body grew weaker, his spirit grew stronger.  Death was traded for life as Mr. Richie sought to live for something greater than the life of the flesh, and through him was revealed the life that only comes through Christ.  Several of us talked about this assignment and its meaning on different occasions after Mr. Richie died in June.  Dustin did not require the students to turn  the papers in, and Isaiah and his family had never been able to find it...until recently.  We received a message from Isaiah saying the paper had been found!  I requested his permission to share it as the occasion called for, and this morning I woke up with it on my mind.  For your encouragement...the Gospel According to Larry Richie.  (keep in mind his assigned audience of college professors)...

The Gospel According to Larry

                  How are we to present a clear and complete picture of a topic of such depth and breadth that words alone cannot capture its essence, and even if they could, all the bookshelves in all the universities of the world could not hold them.  Shall we then consider it prudent, even rational to focus on what is the mainstay of the good news of God’s creation and what many believe to be the central moment of history – that being the Christ Event.

                  There is a popular notion in many circles that in order to embrace the construct of Biblical Christianity one must first have a frontal lobotomy.  It conveys the gospel of the Christ as a static, if emotionally charged, body of information based primarily on some primordial human drive for answers to the unknown and his quest for immortality. In short, Biblical Christianity is palatable only to the ignorant.  It is devoid of reason and does not stand up under serious rational examination.

                  But in response to that allegation let us forget such groups and focus instead on the recorded words and acts of Jesus Himself.  Jesus, though from humble peasant background, put a lot of stock in the power of reason and the importance of education.  His first recorded act is that of finding his way to the Temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old, where he sat discussing the scriptures with the learned men of the day.  Jesus was never one to avoid arguing an issue of faith from a reasonable vantage point.  “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God that which is God’s” is a lesson in common sense in political, economic, and social areas as well as in the spiritual realm.  Jesus was not one to stand on tradition or status quo.  By his powers of deduction and higher argumentation he challenged the most powerful men of his time. “Come, let us reason together” is a touch point of the Christian faith, though some have chosen to turn their back on it and present a white washed, septic, and self-serving version. I am certain my fellow seekers, that this would not be you. You are more likely then they to have an open mind and would applaud Jesus’s injunction “that ye should know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free!”

And, as a final thought, is not the highest form of man’s reason the awareness that, given the limitation of man’s mind, there must be that which transcends reason. I would strongly urge you to accept the Lord as both He who embraces reason and He who transcends reason.

Week 7

http://dustinpaulturner.blogspot.com/2012/02/misunderstandings.html

I couldn't have said it better myself.  I love reading what Dustin writes.  And I've been thinking on this.  The cost of seeking to understand and be understood is worth the investment.  People are people.  Misunderstandings arise.  But it is worth the time to talk and to seek to understand and to proceed forward with the best in mind.

13

I am not typically superstitious, but I would say the 13th had its way with us this weekend.  Two of the worst happenings I can not even mention in a public setting, but you can trust me when I say they took it out of me.  Third, we found out that its true...our computer is toast.  That means I lost about 10,000 pictures and all of mine and Dustin's school work.  Fourth, the furnace quit on the coldest day we had had this year.  Fifth, I wrecked the car--my first car accident ever.  I always thought it would be fun to race a car, but as I did a 180 in the highway at 45 mph, I decided that I prefer slow drives on a dirt road to anything fast and spinny.  Sixth, my childhood pet died.  Daisy was sixteen years old and my mom's faithful companion.  My mom has this way of making pets sort of people-like, so its fairly accurate to say that Daisy was a kind of "sister" to me.

We ended the weekend with a birthday celebration for my grandpa, which helped me put things into perspective.  Kids running like crazy, fits galore when candy was denied, playful shouts from the basement toy room,  and enough food to feed an army makes for a great gathering to honor Pa.  If "all's well that ends well" then all. is. well.  I have a  new computer, the house is warm again,  I was unharmed in what could have been a tragic car accident, and Daisy's life as a dog was long and meaningful.

Happy 83rd Birthday Pa!!  

God-willing

Have I mentioned before that I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up?  Maybe a better way to say that would be that I'm now grown up and trying to figure out HOW to do what I want to be!!  I am a college drop out.  I got married young.  I have been pregnant for most of the past thirteen years.  In the eyes and mind of many, I put the cart before the horse and now I'm paying the price.  I am reading a book that has an excellent excellent quote that I've been thinking about for several days, "It seems as many of us grow older, we come to find out which passions faded away because they were birthed out of our humanity, while what has remained may be a confirmation that it was birthed within our spirits". (from Writings From Outside the Camp by Fred London)  Its so true.  I can't imagine what I must have been thinking as an 18 year old graduating from high school.  Its no wonder I quit college!  If I wonder now about my life, my gifts, my callings at 34 years old, how much more clueless was I then?  Thankfully, as I have grown older I have discovered more about myself.  The problem now is how to make it happen while caring for a young family who need my devotion of time and attention.  I have recently enrolled in school to finish my basic degree that I started fifteen years ago, and God-willing I will finish this time in about a year.   Beyond that I want to study midwifery.  I dream of being stealthy and strong like the Hebrew midwives.  I imagine catching babies in mud huts in West Africa and on thatch floors in southeast Asia.  I follow a blog:  midwife4jesus.blogspot.com that I often have to stop reading for the weight of compassion and prayer I feel for this woman.  It makes me dizzy trying to figure out how this will happen.  Part of the problem is that I lack patience.   I am resolving (or at least attempting to resolve) to rest and to be all here-- where I am right now...to be a faithful and present mother to my children, and in time I believe these other dreams will work themselves out.  God-willing.

A Look Back at the Highlights

Five months later...I'm back!!  I tried to just let it go, but I can't seem to continue on into the new year until I've done a proper year end review of 2011.  I'll start by saying that my resolution for 2011 was that I would keep my room clean.  I really really really want a new bed and sheets.  And maybe a wall decoration of some sort.  BUT, i vowed to myself that I would NOT buy anything for my bedroom unless I could be a good steward of what I already have, hence my resolution.  I have to say, I would not give myself an A...maybe a low B, but not any higher.  However, I did do better than what I imagined I would.  My room is never really dirty...just messy.  I tend to six kids and all their stuff and clean the rest of the house, so I have always figured that if my room is at the bottom of the list that its ok.  I will continue on though with my resolution because I have liked sleeping in a neater space.  Also, it truly is the desire of my heart to care for what I have, so its good discipline.  And as for the bed and bedding...I'm currently taking donations.  Ha!

2011 Highlights...
--January snow days
--Reuben's 1st birthday
--Kids in sports--I love going to their games!! 
--Superb homeschool evaluations
--Planning trip to Peru for church kids (although it would be nice to actually GO on the trip with them!)
--Sibling Phish concert in Cincinatti
--DeLaney/Dobson visit (except for the poison ivy). 
--Taking my kids to Illinois for a week with cousins
--Spring and summer drives in the country
--Anniversary trip to Pittsburgh
--Kids enrolling and for the most part doing well in public school
--My garage sale--I love sitting in my garage chatting with people all day long
--Receiving word that Dustin's grievance was granted
--Birthday weekend celebration with friends in Oklahoma
--Planning and attending KayCee's wedding. (this is obviously the highlight of all highlights, but I am going in chronological order!!)
--Another year of no cavities for the Turner family
--Enrolling in college to (finally) finish school
--Mountaineer football games
--Holidays with my family and with Dustin's family

As far as 2012 goes, the only resolution that I can think of is that I will knit 100 dishrags.  That is not really anything spectacular, as I have done this before.  But, I've been out of the discipline of quieting myself to knit this year, so I will knit four rags a month and try to use up all my yarn.  I will not buy any more new yarn until I use what I have.  Oh...and you can almost guess what everyone will be getting for Christmas next year. 

Aged to Perfection

 Dustin has often commented that I have too many shoes and clothes, but really I don't.  Its just a collection of items that I have accumulated over the past decade +.  I seriously do wear things until they fall apart or get lost.  In an attempt to "prove"this to him, I took inventory of some of the items in my closet.  Some of the highlights...

My very favorite shoes...April 2001-November 2010:  Cause of death:  campfire

I don't have a picture of them new, but I bought them when I was pregnant with Judah, and I have worn them year-round in several countries and many states--over the river and through the woods.  Finally, this fall I was visiting a friend in Oklahoma, sitting around campfire, and smelled a really funny smell.  We thought someone was burning tires nearby.  Eventually when my feet started smoking, I realized that it was not tires, but rather my sandals that were melting.  I suppose I could have kept wearing them, but rather I used it as an excuse to let my mom buy me a shiny new pair for my birthday.   It was a good ten year run for the dear old Birkenstocks, and I expect these new ones to last even longer because I will remember not to put my feet too close to a fire. 

 

My very favorite tshirt...January 1996-current

This tshirt was given to me by my first youth pastor, and its what got me thinking about this blog this morning.  I still wear it all the time, and this morning I thought, "wow...this shirt is getting THIN!".  As the picture indicates, the shirt has faded considerably and its wearer grown larger over the past 15 years!

My favorite backpack...sometime 1994-current

I bought this backpack in 10th grade because I wanted a new backpack for our consolidation with Sistersville.  Like my shoes, its been around the world and carried everything from school supplies to poopy diapers. Sometimes I WISH it'd wear out so I could buy a new one, and at the same time I'm trying to convince Cana to buy one just like it so we won't have to buy her another backpack while she's under this roof!  Sadly, she doesn't like the thought of not getting to buy a new one for high school here in a few years.

 

So, yes...while my closet IS full, I am confident that neither do buy extra "stuff",  nor am I a hoarder.  I simply know what I like, what will last, and I keep things for a long, long time.    

Morning Fog

The windows in my house are fogged because of the heat and humidity outside compared to the cool inside temps.  That is a true sign of the times we are living in...late July in West Virginia!  Occasionally I like to pretend I am in a remote jungle somewhere.  I leave the windows open and fans off, lay in bed and sweat, and refuse to kill bugs.  I make rice for supper and wash my hair in the rain.  However, right now with THIS jungle weather, I am a wuss with the air conditioning on.

A couple months, a couple trips, and a couple (or rather, a few) birthdays have passed since my last blog about Eden's birthday!  Dustin traveled to Peru with the youth group from church, and while he was gone I entertained my "bff" for two weeks and then took the kids to visit with my brother and his family in Illinois.  Nadia celebrated her 3rd birthday in Illinois for the second year in a row.  We all (including Dustin) arrived back home on the 3rd of July, and Simone had her 5th birthday on the 7th.  Six days later we had a wonderful dinner of turkey vegetable soup in honor of the end of Dustin's 34th year.  A week later we took the kids for a short weekend vacation to Cincinnati to visit the Creation Museum and Cincinnati zoo.  And now we are back home (again) to relax for the next few weeks of summer before school begins.

My pastor has referred to a quote a couple times lately that says something to the effect of "true mental health is a commitment to reality..."  I've been thinking about the truth in that statement, and reality for me, among many things, is that I am blessed.

Eden's 8!

Eight years ago today, I came home from the hospital following Eden's birth. Which means that this past weekend we celebrated EIGHT years of Eden's life!  Blogging slacker that I am, I somehow manage to at least give the kids a blog on their birthdays!  The weekend began with a slumber party.  I can think of about a million things I'd rather do than host slumber parties, but its a small price to pay to see my kids have such fun.  Eden and her friends danced and danced, and when I thought I'd heard enough music and smelled enough perfume, we loaded up in the van and went to the park.  Everyone came home thoroughly dirty and exhausted. Showers, a movie, ice cream, and sleepbags on the floor rounded out the evening.

Saturday was Eden's day.  She took full advantage of it by starting most sentences with, "since today's my birthday can i..."?  After a much needed nap, we loaded up to take the party to Uncle Dougie's house.  Luke was in to help Doug work on the roof, so they watched the party from up there, but the rest of us had a glorious evening watching the kids play in Doug and Virginia's back yard.  I think I was more excited than she was for present opening because I was so excited to see her face when she opened her present.  With six kids, its impossible that any one kid gets an expensive electronic (or even non electronic) gadget. Plus, I'm just not into kids having their noses in a screen all day.   Cana bought her own IPOD touch.  They all share the Wii, and the time spent on both of those is pretty limited.  All Eden has wanted for birthdays and Christmas for the past two years is a Nintendo DS.   I have looked at them, and I knew there was no way I could ever spend that much on just one kid.  Again this year, it was her only request.  So, I began looking on ebay, and I finally found one that was reasonably priced and like new!  And it was PINK...Eden's favorite color!   It came in the mail a week before her birthday, and I was just giddy all week thinking of how excited she would be.  And excited she was...

And now to boast on Eden, my little Edie Beetle.   Eden is a spitfire of a girl who doesn't have much fear or inhibition at all.  Being the personality I am, I sometimes try to curb that temperment in her, but I also am beginning to see that she will get things, know people, and experience things in life that I probably never will because she's not afraid to ask questions.  She doesn't fear rejection or being told no.  She is bold and full of courage.  Eden is as compassionate as she is bold, and has a tender heart especially for animals and children (and men over 60, but thats another story).  She can spend hours creating games for her younger siblings, and is very creative.  What Eden lacks in size she makes up for in personality and love for people. I am thankful for her life and for God's gifts in her. 

Happy Birthday Eden!! 

Placenta Tree

The inspiration for my next tattoo has been the "placenta" tree that grows across the road from my house.  I have been fascinated with this tree for six years and have never seen another that so closely resembles the "tree of life" that is found on the inside of a placenta.  My original plan was to get the tattoo before I was pregnant with Nadia.  My sister in law drew some tattoo ideas for me, and I ended up pregnant sooner than I thought and had to postpone the tattoo.

Plan B was to make a print of my real placenta after Nadia was born and then get a tattoo of my placenta print.  I had photographed my friend Brandy's placenta when her son was born in 2006, so I knew what a perfect tree of life could be found on the inside.  I studied how to make the perfect print of my own placenta.

However, after Nadia was born, my placenta was less than ideal.  It was shredded and had to be fished out of me in pieces with extra large tweezer-looking things.  Thankfully it sustained Nadia's life, but there was no way it would make a good print for a tattoo!

My placenta after Reuben was a bit "old" to make a good print, and while I planned to keep it to plant it or dehydrate it, it somehow came up missing from my refrigerator.  (Could that be b/c I have a husband who LOVES to throw things away???)  So now I'm back to plan A of using the inspiration of my neighboring "placenta" tree and Rachel's creativity to come up with a tattoo design.  The tree of life on the inside of a placenta is one of the most marvelous mysteries of God.  I have tree of life shirts, earrings, pictures, necklaces, but I do believe it needs to be a permanent mark on my body.  To me it represents the miracle of birth and the truly miraculous design of God.  

 

Time

  

Time just doesn't stop.  How has it been two months since I "blogged"?  And how has it been one YEAR since little Reuben was born?  Wow.  And I FORGOT to blog on his birthday.  That mistake is almost unforgivable! 

Reuben is as pleasant as they come...content to follow his older two sisters around and grunt out the window at the dogs.   He crawls at lightening speed but hasn't fully committed to walking yet.  He says "nite nite", "mama", "dada", and his favorite word   of  ..."ugh".  I can't imagine life without my baby boy.

And now as time is flying by more quickly than my mind can comprehend, I find myself in the middle of a transition period.  I have been pregnant or with a baby for the past twelve years.  That season of my life is done, and I am looking forward to the next season with great anticipation.  I will miss being pregnant, but I have been blessed more than I could have ever imagined, and I intend to make the most of these "growing up" years, for they too will be gone before I know it.

Happy 1st Birthday Reuben Matthias!

Photo Update

i always hate to overload my facebook friends with a million pictures of my family, so here are a few "extras" for my "inner circle"! 



           little lamb happily walking up the aisle at church...

                the other little lamb remained in the hallway...

                judah disappeared shortly after opening this gift...

     beautiful cana...waiting patiently as the last in line to open a gift...

                                thrilled with her new school clothes...

                lily's christmas at uncle dustin and auntie jessie's

                                taking in all the action...

                                   nadia and marybell...

           picture time that begins at bedtime.  always an adventure...

                       christmas morning in her new pajama pants...

                                saying "thank you" for the new book...

                                 thanks but no thanks...

                                hugs and kisses all around...

                                 sitting with daddy like a big boy...

2010 Highlights

I did not properly say good-bye to 2010, so let me say HELLO 2011! 

2010 Highlights  (mostly in chronological order...not order of importance)
--LOST nights
--watching kids at dance and gymnastics
--fabulous homeschool evaluations and test results
--refinancing to 15 year loan and saving $48k in interest
--REUBEN'S BIRTH!!!!  one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
--the personality test craze
--laura's visit
--finishing the girls room in the basement
--KayCee's graduation
--trip to beach with Ma Barbie & Scot
--roadtrip with kids to see Uncle Luke & Auntie Rachel
--girls weekend in maryland
--mountaineer football games
--kids playing soccer
--week in the hills with family
--thanksgiving dinner
--saturday nights
--birthday weekend in oklahoma
--learning that i will have a new niece/nephew in august
--christmas with family
--doug and virginia moving home
--evenings home with dustin & the kids

it was a good year...

Yay! Its Christmas!

I have friends and acquaintances who in different ways say they hate Christmas!  I just can not fathom hating Christmas!!  They say its the consumerism, the greed, the lost meaning, the effect a broken family has on the day, the way its overdone and over-emphasized...all probably on a day that isn't even Jesus' birthday!  I hear and read all the arguments, but I can not be convinced that Christmas is horrible. Go ahead and hate the way its become a retail store's way of survival.  Hate the way we clamor like idiots to get the biggest and best present.  Hate divorce and what it does to a familiy.  But, for the love of pete, don't hate Christmas!!  As long as I can remember I've waited for the 24th and 25th of December in anticipation.  Its time we remember the birth of the Christ, whether he was born in December or August.  There is something just magical in thinking about that split second it takes a baby to cross from womb to open air and  how,  in that small fraction of timem, our Redeemer entered this world--fulfilling prophesies, changing lives, and setting into motion God's plan of freedom from Adam's curse.  Imagine how long some read the scriptures and the prophesies and waited...and died waiting.  Every generation had those seeking the Messiah, waiting for his birth, and for him to bring restoration.  And while I realize the comparison is lacking, I liken it to being a child and having to wait to unwrap gifts.  They are talked about, wrapped, and under the tree.  But the wait seems like an eternity.  Obviously, no Christmas gift on earth could compare to the gift God gave to mankind, but there's no harm in celebrating.  With most the birth of most babies comes a time of giving gifts, of celebrating, and of resting, and I believe we do all these things surrounding Christmas becuase of a birth so long ago. I am nearly convinced that anyone who says they hate Christmas just does not have the eyes to see what a wonderful time it is to rest and to celebrate.  I will continue on enjoying Christmas--the family gatherings, the gifts, the cards, the celebration--choosing to remember and rejoice! 

On a Cold Minnesota Night...

Yes...it seems that I now only blog on birthdays!  At least that guarantees six blogs a year, right? 

As the blog title suggests, something very important happened on a cold Minnesota night... nine years ago.  Judah Nathanael Turner was born into this world...a chunk of a boy!  Judah was a day shy of three weeks overdue, but because I had a wonderful midwife friend, I refused to be induced.  Perhaps my dates were wrong or maybe he was just really, really comfortable.  I always say he knew the frigid Minnesota temperatures that were awaiting him outside the womb and really just wanted to stay put where it was warm until springtime. 

At 43 weeks pregnant we still did not know if Judah was a boy or a girl.  We did have an ultrasound, but they did it too early to tell the gender.  I am not one for surprises, so while the wait was hard, but in retrospect I am so glad that we did not know.  I did, however, have a hunch that he was a boy and had only boy clothes in his closet. 

My labor began at around 9:00, although I was in denial.  I was visiting Laura when I felt like I had the flu, and she called Dustin to come and get me, telling him "TAKE HER TO THE HOSPITAL".  I had a huge fear of going too early in my labor and being sent home.  So, I went home, took a shower, called my mom, and around 10:30 said we could go just to see what they said.  Upon my arrival at the hospital, the nurses discovered I was dilated to 7 cm, and the baby was well on his (or her) way.  I had great hopes that Judah would share a December 1st birthday with his great-grandpa, "Poppop", but he was still so very patient, and was not born until 12:32 AM.  I will never forget the way Dustin said, "ITS A BOY!" and the nurses took bets on his weight.  It was a fun-filled, ever so joyous night!

For nine years Judah has brought such joy and peace to me.   Those exact words were prayed/prophesied over him at 8 days old when a guest minister at our church stopped over his carseat and prayed and spoke a word from God over him.  That word has come to pass almost exactly in Judah's life.  He is such a combo of Dustin and me, he brings peace into our lives, he is not a hard boy to raise, and he follows after God with all of his heart.  As was spoken over him, the wisdom that comes from him never ceases to amaze me.  He hears God and speaks truth.    Judah is a thinker like his dad and loves life like his mom--a great combination to be! 

Happy Birthday Judah!

Cana's Day

Two blog posts in a row about birthdays!!  Good thing I love birthdays (except for the birthday song!).  October 21st came and went without me actually sitting down to blog about one of my most favorite birthdays ever--the day that we celebrate the birth of Cana Elizabeth Turner!  ELEVEN years ago, at about 2 something in the afternoon, I gave birth to my first miracle...the miracle of Cana.  It was love at first sight, and I often tell people that the reason I decided to keep having more and more babies was because my experience with Cana's pregnancy and birth was so incredible!  Eleven years later, I would say the same about life with Cana...it is INCREDIBLE!  She is a wonderful daughter who has the purest heart I've ever seen.  She radiates with beauty from the inside out and is a great leader for her siblings. Its hard for me to believe that eleven years have passed.  While I remember her infancy and childhood years with fondness, I am so excited to see what the upcoming years will bring.  I love watching Cana become a young woman who loves friends and family, laughs easily, gets lost in books, runs to answer the phone, studies hair styles and wedding gowns, and nurtures her baby brother.  She brings such joy to me.  Happy Birthday Cana Beth! 

Luke4

My brother, Luke, turns 31 today.  Its hard to believe I am 30 (well, OVER 30), let alone that I have a brother is also now over 30!!  I am thankful that my brothers are also two of my best friends.  I barely remember even fighting with them as kids.  I thought it would be appropriate to share today some pictures of Luke "back in the day" and to also tell of some of my favorite memories of Luke as a little kid.

 --Luke and I would play "Chris & Angie".  He was so young at the time, I remember he had to reach through the slats in his crib to hold my hand.

--Luke could take apart and rebuild anything.  I remember various wood constructions,  radios in pieces and then reassembled, and huge buildings made from "construx".  Its no wonder he's a mechanic today.

--When Luke turned 4, he learned to write his name.  He must have also been very proud of being FOUR b/c his name was always written "Luke4" (hence the title of this blog). 

--He had an imaginary friend named Gurge who would come through the window at night and eat our leftover pizza.

--Luke's first song was "chickawakapookachickachickawakapookay", and I still sing it to this day...

And so to celebrate Luke's day...some memories AND some pictures...

I love you Luke!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Wish List 2010

A year ago I posted  House Wants/Needs List, and I thought it would be appropriate to update that list this morning.  We were so blessed this year to be able to cross several items off the list.


House Needs/Wants --August 23, 2009
1) roof--repaired but not replaced.  still desperately needed.  this is the first thing that will be taken care of with any extra money this year.

2) garage door--second to roof.   but considering most people in the world do not have a garage, who am i to complain about a beast of a door that is about to fall off the ceiling?  :)

3) Simone mattress & bed frame--frame received from Cassie 9/18/09 and mattress was purchased shortly after

4) girls' closet doors--closet doors on but still don't have handles, so they pretty much just stay open.  one thing at a time.

5) basement carpet and padding for toyroom/future girls' bedroom--march '10 basement bedroom for girls complete!

6) refrigerator--just purchased for HALF price!  it was an amazing deal.  and for those of you who were aware of my dilemma...i did go with offwhite and LOVE it.  i feel like a chef with such a huge refrigerator.  however the kids were sooooo excited to get ice and water from the door, and we discovered that we don't have a water line that runs to the frig.  bummer.  but, oh well.  we are blessed, nonetheless.

7) toilet seat--bought dec '09. yessssss...

8) kitchen stools--awesome deal on sturdy sturdy stools. purchased from scot's boss. jan '10

9) ceiling fan for bedroom--i can't even remember why this is on the list.  i guess b/c our current fan makes noise and dustin is constanting getting out of bed to mess with it.  the solution has been to just keep it off.

10) sliding glass door with screen for dining room--nope.  maybe sometime in the future.

11) screen for front window--no again.  windows haven't been open as much due to reuben's allergies. 

12) locks for all doors--dec '09 bought lock for one door

13) vacuum--mother took pity on us and let us have poppops old one.  as much as i use my vacuum i am sad to think that this one won't last long either.  i helped poppop pick it out.  so i'm trying to take really good care of it and have not been vacuuming as much. 

14) futon frame--still looking.  in the meantime, the kids just sit on the futon mattress while they watch movies in the basement
 
And for this year's list...
 
House Needs/Wants 2010
 
1.  New Roof
 
2.  Garage door repaired or replaced
 
3.  Other side of basement finished
 
4.  Upstairs painted
 
5.  Decks repaired and painted
 
6.  Cana's dresser repaired
 
7.  Futon frame
 
Sounds like a lot of repairs for this year!!  Neither of us are handy, so it'll be an act of God to get all these things accomplished!  I will post an update on our progress this time next year.

Six Months

Last week on the 10th, Reuben turned six months old!!  I didn't forget about it.  Its just that I had more than my allottment of blogs in that week, so I thought I'd save it for this week.  We did celebrate with many pictures, pizza at Ma Ruth and Pa's, and a Mountaineer win.   Its hard to believe six months of his life have past already.  It seems like it was just yesterday that I was waddling around waiting for his arrival.  Six months later Reuben is as pleasant as they come and as cute as can be.  He's a big boy...weighing in at 20 pounds and 27 inches long.  He has two teeth, some brown hair starting to grow, and a smile that starts with his eyes and spreads through his whole body.  He is one loved little boy!