Month 5

Stephen is coming along nicely with the fireplace. We still have some corbels and fluting left.

We have a light/fan in the master bedroom!

This is the carpet that I've picked out for the bedrooms and bonus room.

Elijah's room is looking great now with the window trim and baseboard installed.

We have interior doors installed including closet doors for the bedrooms. You will see that we aren't nearly finished with painting the trim.

This is what the doors look like.

This is the front wall going from the front door to the kitchen.

I forgot to rotate this picture but here is some of Brent's handiwork.

Close up look at the baseboard.

The white window trim really sets off the color in the kitchen and morning room well.

Brent and I had a little accident with a bucket of primer. Of course this will be covered with tile but I wanted to remember it!

Most of the tile backer board has been installed (mostly by Bill and Brent)

This is Nolan's room which I think is looking better and better. I love this blue that he and I picked out for his room - "blissful blue".

The white trim looks good in his room too.

Here you see the trim around the doors to the screened porch and the trim around this window. Baseboard still to come.

Flex trim has been put around this window. Anyone want to volunteer to come paint it?

Ceiling fan on the front porch. I had to beg forthis fan. I really wanted a fan to sit under while I sit on the front porch to read and relax. (I'll get to do this one day...really, I will.)

Dad came last night to start moving dirt for the front yard. We lost another tree in order to get the dirt moved properly.

Dad, Brent, and Bill taking in the front yard. We really couldn't have gotten all of this done in such a timely manner without a lot of people's help. Including Dad and Bill but not to exclude anyone else who has donated their time and skills - Kevin, Bill Crotts, Karen J, Mom, Michael, Karen A, Joel. (I hope I'm not leaving anyone out.)

Also, for those of you who are wondering, we do expect to get moved in before Thanksgiving which will coordinate almost exactly with my ticker at the top of this page! I wasn't such an unrealistic thinker after all. Brent has done an excellent job coordinating all of the work for the house to come together. We have more to do but things are beginning to wind down. The flooring should be started next week. The concrete for the back porch outside of the basement will be poured today. Brent and Kevin are working on the light fixtures today and through the weekend. The window and door trim will continue to be worked on as we really need to get it finished before the flooring is put down. The cabinets are being finished at this time and hopefully will be installed next week. We still need to get the columns for the front porch, door for our shower, the beam installed for the screened in porch, paint touch-ups. The countertops will be completed several weeks after the cabinets are installed. (They can't measure until the cabinets are in.) We still need to purchase toilets, mirrors, water heater, door knobs, door stops, sink faucets, utility sink. The appliances are here but will need to be installed. Things are coming along SO nicely. I'm SO excited!! I might not show my emotion too well because I am overwhelmed with work and taking care of the kids and getting the new house ready and getting the current house packed up and cleaned AND thinking about the NEW baby that will arrive in April, but I promise, I am excited...just tired, too!

I'm tired of painting. I don't want to do it anymore. Not to mention that I'm not very good at the details. Brent and I went on Thursday evening and purchased the majority of our light fixtures. It took about 2 hours to pick them all out. It was fun. I hope that everything is going to look okay when we get finished up. All of the window and door trim has been put up and all of the interior doors have been hung. Most of the baseboard is put in. Now we have to paint all these items. Did I mention how I feel about the painting? The mantle has been started. The cabinets were, at last check, being primed. Hopefully they will be installed the end of this week or beginning of next. Dad and Brent are going to start moving the dirt in the front yard to make it more level.

I love this time of year! I love the cool, crisp air. It makes me anticipate our fall trip to the beach even more. We are leaving on the 28th and returning Nov 1st. Brent and the boys and I are all very much looking forward to this trip. Brent and I are very excited because we are looking forward to a weekend of relaxation since we've been working every minute getting the house ready for the last few months. We love to go to Ocean Lakes for Halloween because we get to carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating at the campground. It is so much fun.

Next Monday I get to enjoy a benefit of being a federal employee - being off for Columbus Day. (Don't tell anyone but I'm secretly excited about getting to be home on a day that my kids still go to school.)

At the dinner table:
Me: Nolan, do you think the baby will be a boy or girl?
Nolan: I don't know. I will be happy if it's a boy or a girl.
Elijah: It's going to be a boy.
Me: We don't get to decide that honey. God does.
Elijah: Well, let's write God a letter and tell Him that we want a BOY!

On Tuesday evening Brent couldn't find Peter. We looked everywhere. He walked to the end of the driveway. We called for him. Brent looked in all the vehicles and the camper. He gave up and came inside. I didn't think I was going to be able to sleep if we didn't find him so while Brent was showering I thought and thought about where he might be. I suggested to Brent that I hadn't seen Peter since before Brent went down to feed and water the goats and cows. He put his clothes and shoes back on and went outside to check. Sure enough, Peter was locked inside the building. I guess he'd been there for 3-4 hours. Brent and I were so relieved. Our entire family LOVES that little dog and he is definitely part of the family with his own doggy door. He even sleeps under the covers with me!! That crazy Peter!!

I remembered...

I knew there were some other thing that Elijah said that I wanted to post -

Remember Elijah's "girlfriend" Caroline? Here's what her mom overheard him say to another friend one day last week – “Do you know what I dreamed about last night? I dreamed all about Caroline.”

A week ago Elijah woke up with an earache which resulted in a ruptured ear drum and a trip to the Emergency Room on Sunday morning. (we were headed to the Urgent Care place - but they don't open until 1pm on Sundays. Does anyone else think that is weird? Anyway, when we got to the Urgent Care place and Elijah realized they were closed, he began to cry. Yet another clue that he really wasn't feeling good.) I digress.... He was prescribed Augmentin which is a white liquid. He said that it tasted salty and called it "milk salt". This is what he called it everytime it was time to take it!

There's also something Nolan said that I wanted to post -

The other day I was sitting on the new house porch taking a short break and Nolan came up and sat down beside of me. He says "Mom, I've been alive for seven years. It's been seven good years." (well, good...I'm succeeding as a parent after all!)

Now, on to a newly learned lesson about communication -

Yesterday Elijah's daycare teacher asked to see the baby's picture (sonogram). I said to her, "It's terrible news. I lost them." I really thought she heard me. I signed Elijah in and went on to work. By the middle of the afternoon yesterday Brent got a call from his good friend who says "Is Kathy ok? Is the baby ok?" His step-daughter who works at the daycare had called to inquire about me losing the baby. The teacher thought I said that I lost the baby...she must have thought I was handling it pretty well since I said it so matter-of-factly. Anyhow Lyndsey corrected the mistake and hopefully everyone knows now that the baby is still fine.

(Losing the sonogram pictures was TERRIBLE though. I took it to work and was carrying it back across the medical center and evidently dropped them. I went back right away and retraced my steps with no luck. I'm still hoping that someone will find them and send them to me in interoffice mail. I think this is Jones' luck.)

Good deal!

About a month ago, when I was starting to already need some different pants to wear, I took a few minutes to browse on Craig's list just to see if I could find someone nearby that was wanting to rid themselves of their maternity clothing. I found a lady in Mooresville who had a nice collection of items and had included pictures of each one. I really didn't need the shorts that she had since I'm due in April so I asked if I could buy everything but the shorts. She was fine with this and I got a great deal!! She was even willing to meet me halfway between Salisbury and Mooresville - I just had to figure out how to get to "the gas station on the corner in China Grove". The clothing works out perfectly because her baby was born in May. I got the following items for $70 - 45 pieces in all! I LOVE A GOOD DEAL!! I haven't needed the tops yet but some of the pants sure have been worn already!

2 pair dress pants

1 fleece shirt (will be perfecting for camping and other outdoor fall events!)

3 pairs of pants that will be PERFECT for wearing on the weekends and around the house

9 long sleeve t-shirts

2 tank tops

3 sleeveless tops

2 sweaters

9 tops for work

1 short sleeve shirt

4 pair jeans

3 pair khaki pants

2 black skirts

3 pair of black pants

1 pair of corduroy pants

Below are a couple of pictures of all the items!!

Here are some little stories about Elijah from the past week -

On Tuesday night I let the boys sleep in the bed with me because Brent was at work. At about 3:30 in the morning, I had to get up to go to the bathroom. When I went back in the bedroom Elijah was sitting up and says, while rubbing his eyes, "I need to put on some of that stuff that daddy uses." "Uh, okay." I say thinking it is 3:30 am!! So, he gets up and puts on his deodorant (he has his own since he loves to put it on like daddy) and then he says "I need to brush my teeth." "Okay.........and then we have to go back to bed." After brushing his teeth he turned around and walked right back to bed. I was really afraid that he was going to up for the day but I guess he just needed to take care of some hygiene!!

Ok, so, right now it's early in the morning and I can't remember the other 2 stories that I wanted to relay. When I think of them, I'll come back and update this!!

Yes, I am pregnant. I am due around the beginning of April and I am about 13 weeks pregnant. Elijah is very excited...while Nolan doesn't really show much emotion regarding the situation. Yes, we do have a room in the house to use for the baby. So far I have not been sick to my stomach or nauseated. I have been tired all the time but that's to be expected, of course. Because of being so overwhelmed with the house, Brent and I really haven't had time to let the thought sink in and become excited. I am getting more excited as time goes by and I can't wait to get to have another sweet baby to add to the family. Of course, everyone wants to know if I want it to be a boy or girl. I would like to have a daughter, but if God blesses me with a 3rd son then I will know that is what is meant to be! We were able to see the baby during the ultrasound this past week and it was reassuring to see that the baby is doing perfectly fine and growing as expected. I've never had an early ultrasound so it was really awesome to see how many details you can see even when it is s very tiny!!

House Update in Pictures

Awning and ceiling on front porch

Working in the living room

Attempting to cover up the boys' painting in the closet

Baseboard in Elijah's room

Baseboard in master bedroom

Baseboard waiting to be installed

Garage Door installed

Doorway from garage into hallway

Nolan's room looking into his 1/2 bath

Nolan's room

View from dining room into living room

Kitchen

Breakfast Nook

Standing by front door

Baby Room - Yes, we have an extra room!

Elijah's room

Full bath

Master Bath

Master bedroom

Back Living Room Wall

Dining Room with Tray Ceiling

Brent painting the living room

This is when we first started and all the paint was in the living room

Elijah and Nolan are already enjoying the front porch. (elijah has on a wolverine costume)

Front hallway looking into the bedrooms

Kitchen before it was painted

Elijah's room

Granddad told Nolan and Elijah it would be fine if they painted in Elijah's closet. He'll be coming back any day to paint it white again!!

Elijah's room

Nana admiring her painting in the hallway and full bath.

What not to do when you have a broken foot!

Brent priming the master bedroom.

Papaw painting the ceiling in Elijah's room

Nolan working on Elijah's room