The Difference a Day Makes

Up to this point, the construction on our house has been a rather tedious process. There was lots of digging, lots of waiting for the concrete to be poured, waiting for the right rental tools. This week, however, has been a flurry of activity. After Dave dug the huge hole for the plumbing last week, we have spent most evenings filling the trenches back in over the plumbing and getting the area ready for the final concrete pour. Yesterday morning, our yard was dirt. When I returned home from school, it looked like this:

Yesterday evening, a whole load of wood arrived for our walls!

Please note: some assembly required!

Bright and (sort-of) early this morning, Dave started in making the walls of our new addition. It was incredibly exciting and amazing to watch. God has given him such a talent for building. It would have taken me a month and several hundred re-dos just to put up one wall. But, for my wonderful husband, this is the difference a day makes:

All of the exterior walls and most of the interior walls are framed and ready to be closed in! In one day! I think it's still sinking in a little. I've been excited about this remodel, but until yesterday, it didn't really seem real. We could have just been digging a hole in our backyard. But now, there's a real, actual house section being built right out my back window! Yea!

Garrett, of course, is beside himself with excitement and has declared himself "supervisor" :

Paige, on the other hand, is mostly just concerned with how comfortable all this will be:

I Just Couldn't Resist

You know the movie The Wizard of Oz? And the first part, where the Witch of the East (or wherever) gets crushed by Dorothy's flying house? Well, apparently there was a tornado at our house today...

Those are Garrett's feet sticking out from under our house! (Minus the lovely striped stockings, of course!) I don't think he's up for Wicked Witch status anytime soon, but he was sure excited about being able to crawl UNDER the house. Dave had to dig this trench so we could tie in the plumbing for the new addition. He took the day off and spent it digging, and digging, and digging... To put it in better perspective, here's the same picture without zooming in:

Maybe while we're at it, we better build a tornado cellar. Hmm...Only if Dave's doing the digging!

First Grade Already??

When did THIS happen?

Yes, that's my sweet little baby boy, all ready to go for first grade. Kindergarten was bad enough, but at least it still wasn't "real" school. Not anymore! He's a bonafide elementary school student now. Where did the time go?

--In related news, Paige turned 4 years old last week:

Between birthday parties, school shopping, classroom setting up, and meet-the-teacher days, I'm exhausted! Goodnight everyone!

Grins and Giggles

Taking pictures with the kids has always been an adventure. When Garrett was small, he did great, but then he went through a phase where he hated doing what the photographer asked. Then, he morphed into "cheesy smile" boy for a year or so. The last year or two, he will only smile for a picture with his mouth closed -he doesn't want anyone to see his teeth. Paige's problem has always been that she simply sits and stares at the camera, never smiling, blinking or moving. Somehow we have always managed to get a couple of good photos despite the obstacles.
Today I took the kids to Portrait Innovations to get some pictures of them. I was expecting to only get the $9.95 special for one pose. Imagine my surprise when we walked away with this:

Needless to say, I spent WAY more than the $10 I had intended, but it was completely worth it for the awesome pictures they took! Plus, I got the CD with all 97 pictures, so I can look at them anytime I want. Although, there are some that might best be forgotten...