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Monday, June 28, 2010
Caleb's going away party...better late than never!
These pictures are from March, but I thought I would go ahead and post them anyway. For some reason I can't seem to get caught up with my digital scrapbooking. You know its supposed to be easier right? :)
Friday, June 25, 2010
Lake Texoma
Here is a smilebox of our visit to the lake on Wednesday.
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Kool-Aid stand
So the kids have decided to remodel an old shed on the back of the property we live on. They want to make it a "restaurant". But in order to do this they need money. They decided to have a Kool-Aid stand to raise money. I decided to teach them a little about business. They had a little money to put in and we had a change jar they took some change out of. I took them to the store to buy their supplies...sugar and ice. We had lots of Kool-Aid so we donated that as well. They were so excited last night, and then this morning they got up and started making Kool-Aid and we set-up the stand.
Katie making the Kool-Aid.
Katie stirring first to get all the big pieces of sugar and the syrup bottle from breakfast was still out!
More Katie stirring with her trusty sidekick Emily.
Finally Emily gets to stir.
Then its Ben's turn.
Here they are trying to decide which kind to make for their second pitcher.
Filling the pitcher with water.
Making their signs.
Making more signs and the garage sale pile in the background!
Finally set-up for business.
Getting a little discouraged because I am their only customer so far.
The Superintendent walked over and bought a cup and gave them a dollar and told them to keep the change.
At the end of the day they made three dollars profit after paying back the start-up costs. But the most important lesson learned today was how to plan something and follow through with it even when it is hot and no one is stopping to visit your business. The bonus for me really was that everyone pretty much got along all day and they seem closer for the experience.
Katie making the Kool-Aid.
Katie stirring first to get all the big pieces of sugar and the syrup bottle from breakfast was still out!
More Katie stirring with her trusty sidekick Emily.
Finally Emily gets to stir.
Then its Ben's turn.
Here they are trying to decide which kind to make for their second pitcher.
Filling the pitcher with water.
Making their signs.
Making more signs and the garage sale pile in the background!
Finally set-up for business.
Getting a little discouraged because I am their only customer so far.
The Superintendent walked over and bought a cup and gave them a dollar and told them to keep the change.At the end of the day they made three dollars profit after paying back the start-up costs. But the most important lesson learned today was how to plan something and follow through with it even when it is hot and no one is stopping to visit your business. The bonus for me really was that everyone pretty much got along all day and they seem closer for the experience.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
New plans
Boy a lot can happen in two weeks. First of all let me say that this has really all happened in two weeks we have not been planning this for months...I promise.
Last Monday Jeannie and I decided to look at houses in Durant, Oklahoma. We took all four kids and looked at six houses in one afternoon. It was an adventure and we found a house that we were told was getting ready to go into foreclosure and it was perfect for our blended family. Each child had a room and their rooms were away from the rest of the house. There was a pool and a one car garage next to the pool that could be used for a game room for the kids.
The real estate agent gave us the run around about putting in a offer for two days. I talked to my long time friend Dawn and she looked up the property and it was not in foreclosure so the next day I called a different agent and ask her to put in an offer for us. She informed me that the house was under contract with a closing date of the following Monday. I was really upset because we REALLY wanted that house. We broke the first rule and fell in love with that house. It was SO hard to let it go. The new agent looked up about ten houses that we might be interested in and showed us four that day. The last house was the best and we realized why the other one was taken away from us.
The house is the kind that you pull into the driveway and IMMEDIATELY think, I can't afford this. But that was not the case with this one. The house sits on 2.2 acres and the house itself has 5848 sq. ft. The listed price was 194,995. That comes out to 33.34 a sq ft. So I know you are thinking what's wrong with the house? Well we haven't had an inspection yet but it doesn't seem like there is anything apparently wrong with the house.
We decided to put an offer on the house the following Monday. In the meantime life kind of fell apart. My van broke down, and needed a new engine. Thank goodness for the lifetime power train warranty. It was completely free. We decided to put the house in Garland on the market and called my friend to see what we needed to and started packing. Then we took Chris to look at the house and Jeannie found out her dad had a stroke. That night I also found out that we had a broken pipe leading into the house had broken and would have to be fixed. When we finally made it home on Tuesday night we found out that our house was re-infested with fleas and we couldn't stay there, so we went to a hotel. I called an exterminator the next day and they worked us in and got the fleas out of the house and the yard. Then we found out the plumbing was going to cost $3500.00. I am hitting my knees to pray for the whole thing. Are these obstacles there because we shouldn't move forward.
Early afternoon on Friday I heard from the agent. They had countered our offer and it was higher than we wanted to go. Not that it wasn't a great deal but we still only have so much money and resources. I hit my knees again. Prayed for a clear answer, unmistakable. What should we do Lord? I fell asleep. I mean dead asleep. I slept for four hours. I got up to go to Ada with Jeannie and the kids to get Chris something for Father's Day.
We were going to Burger King to get something to eat and Chris sends me a text to tell me his mom has decided that she might want to buy our house. I think to myself this is my sign. Just twenty-four hours before she was not interested in seeing the house at all and was upset we were moving. But now she was interested in buying our house to help us. So I ask Chris what he wants to counter with and he says 189,000. I call the agent and she is skeptical but I hold my ground and ask her to counter with 189,000.
This morning I was getting up to fix breakfast for the kids and it was about 9:00am when my phone rang. I saw it was the real estate agent and I didn't really want to answer. I was afraid of the answer. The first thing she said was I have some good news for you, girl! I was still holding my breath, but she continued and said they accepted our offer. I was SO excited. Now we are in the next phase. Chris is at dinner with his mom talking about the house in Garland, and we are scheduling the inspection on the new house.
It is scary, it is a risk, and we are taking a step in faith. There are lots of teaching jobs in Sherman, Tx and Durant, Ok which are very close to the town we found the house in, Colbert, Ok. I have more opportunities to find a job and I will need a job to be able to afford the house we are buying. There is enough room for all of us and when Chris is gone I won't have to be a single mom and Jeannie won't have to be a single mom. Our kids can grow up together and we can be sisters to each other.
Please pray for us. We are trusting in Him to shine His light on our way so that we know we are on the right track.
Last Monday Jeannie and I decided to look at houses in Durant, Oklahoma. We took all four kids and looked at six houses in one afternoon. It was an adventure and we found a house that we were told was getting ready to go into foreclosure and it was perfect for our blended family. Each child had a room and their rooms were away from the rest of the house. There was a pool and a one car garage next to the pool that could be used for a game room for the kids.
The real estate agent gave us the run around about putting in a offer for two days. I talked to my long time friend Dawn and she looked up the property and it was not in foreclosure so the next day I called a different agent and ask her to put in an offer for us. She informed me that the house was under contract with a closing date of the following Monday. I was really upset because we REALLY wanted that house. We broke the first rule and fell in love with that house. It was SO hard to let it go. The new agent looked up about ten houses that we might be interested in and showed us four that day. The last house was the best and we realized why the other one was taken away from us.
The house is the kind that you pull into the driveway and IMMEDIATELY think, I can't afford this. But that was not the case with this one. The house sits on 2.2 acres and the house itself has 5848 sq. ft. The listed price was 194,995. That comes out to 33.34 a sq ft. So I know you are thinking what's wrong with the house? Well we haven't had an inspection yet but it doesn't seem like there is anything apparently wrong with the house.
We decided to put an offer on the house the following Monday. In the meantime life kind of fell apart. My van broke down, and needed a new engine. Thank goodness for the lifetime power train warranty. It was completely free. We decided to put the house in Garland on the market and called my friend to see what we needed to and started packing. Then we took Chris to look at the house and Jeannie found out her dad had a stroke. That night I also found out that we had a broken pipe leading into the house had broken and would have to be fixed. When we finally made it home on Tuesday night we found out that our house was re-infested with fleas and we couldn't stay there, so we went to a hotel. I called an exterminator the next day and they worked us in and got the fleas out of the house and the yard. Then we found out the plumbing was going to cost $3500.00. I am hitting my knees to pray for the whole thing. Are these obstacles there because we shouldn't move forward.
Early afternoon on Friday I heard from the agent. They had countered our offer and it was higher than we wanted to go. Not that it wasn't a great deal but we still only have so much money and resources. I hit my knees again. Prayed for a clear answer, unmistakable. What should we do Lord? I fell asleep. I mean dead asleep. I slept for four hours. I got up to go to Ada with Jeannie and the kids to get Chris something for Father's Day.
We were going to Burger King to get something to eat and Chris sends me a text to tell me his mom has decided that she might want to buy our house. I think to myself this is my sign. Just twenty-four hours before she was not interested in seeing the house at all and was upset we were moving. But now she was interested in buying our house to help us. So I ask Chris what he wants to counter with and he says 189,000. I call the agent and she is skeptical but I hold my ground and ask her to counter with 189,000.
This morning I was getting up to fix breakfast for the kids and it was about 9:00am when my phone rang. I saw it was the real estate agent and I didn't really want to answer. I was afraid of the answer. The first thing she said was I have some good news for you, girl! I was still holding my breath, but she continued and said they accepted our offer. I was SO excited. Now we are in the next phase. Chris is at dinner with his mom talking about the house in Garland, and we are scheduling the inspection on the new house.
It is scary, it is a risk, and we are taking a step in faith. There are lots of teaching jobs in Sherman, Tx and Durant, Ok which are very close to the town we found the house in, Colbert, Ok. I have more opportunities to find a job and I will need a job to be able to afford the house we are buying. There is enough room for all of us and when Chris is gone I won't have to be a single mom and Jeannie won't have to be a single mom. Our kids can grow up together and we can be sisters to each other.
Please pray for us. We are trusting in Him to shine His light on our way so that we know we are on the right track.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Encouragement
Summer is in full swing around here. We have been enjoying our pool and playing outside ALOT. It is amazing to me that even when it is HOT the kids love it outside. We have found that our one real tree on our property provides us with wonderful shade and keeps us at lease 10 degrees or more cooler than anywhere else outside.
Along with summer we have heard "I'm bored" at least once a day. I am thankful that we have the pool for the go to activity. It is easy for me to throw them in there and just sit outside and read while they splash around. However, along with the pool I have started to hear lots of discouraging things from the kids. They all love each other, but they don't really encourage one another. But then again I listen to the words coming out of my mouth and realize, why should they? I realized this morning during my devotional time that I have not been very encouraging to those around me that I love either.
I took the time to read some scriptures about encouragement and forgiveness. I tried to encourage myself even though I think I have been seriously slacking lately. I also took the time to write down four encouraging statements for each child. It wasn't difficult at all. I am going to give each child the handwritten note and make a point to encourage each of them.
Think about any encouraging words you may have for those in your life you love. Try to be specific and let them know how you really feel about them. It is really priceless.
Along with summer we have heard "I'm bored" at least once a day. I am thankful that we have the pool for the go to activity. It is easy for me to throw them in there and just sit outside and read while they splash around. However, along with the pool I have started to hear lots of discouraging things from the kids. They all love each other, but they don't really encourage one another. But then again I listen to the words coming out of my mouth and realize, why should they? I realized this morning during my devotional time that I have not been very encouraging to those around me that I love either.
I took the time to read some scriptures about encouragement and forgiveness. I tried to encourage myself even though I think I have been seriously slacking lately. I also took the time to write down four encouraging statements for each child. It wasn't difficult at all. I am going to give each child the handwritten note and make a point to encourage each of them.
Think about any encouraging words you may have for those in your life you love. Try to be specific and let them know how you really feel about them. It is really priceless.
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