Saturday News

The shop and one of Jerry's best friends...the boom truck!

The shop is up! It looks great! Yeah, we will be adding doors...maybe a second level...our weight room...our 5th wheel...the Jeep....ETC!!

This is Cody and schoolmates before the Geo Bee. He didn't win, but I am very proud of him for making it to the top five in his class. Those questions are HARD!! I knew the answer to two out of twenty in this school competition! YIKES!!

Go Cody!!

Today, about 2:30ish, Cody competes in our school Geo-Bee. (National Geographic Bee). It is kind of like a spelling bee only they are asked geography kind of questions. He is the top representative from 8th grade having answered 6 out of 6 qualifying questions correctly. If he wins at the school level, he'll have the opportunity to move on to...?? state?? I think that is what is next.

So...think of him today and send him good thoughts and your support. This kind of stuff comes naturally to him, oddly enough, so I hope he does really well!

Hurdle # 293

The cranes aren't licensed to operate in our state. Grrrrrr......don't you think they would KNOW this??? So we are working through this hurdle as we insist they hurry up and find some cranes that CAN do the work!! All the while, we continue to watch the weather forecast since this is the time of year we get the most snow, usually. So far we have been very blessed with excellent weather.

That is today.....

House update

Our house is HERE!!! WOOO HOOO!!! It arrived yesterday, in two pieces. Don't worry..that was the plan!! We are waiting to hear when the cranes will be here to set the house and raise the roof. Funny, huh?? My kids raise the roof all the time and we're having to wait for two cranes to do it!

Anyway, we peeked in windows and it is exciting. My favorite part, through the windows, is our wood floors.

Jerry and crew are putting the metal on the skeleton today. I'll post pictures this weekend since I'm not home during daylight hours to take any!

I know some of you are anxious to know the developments so I'll try to keep you up to date every few days.

We are back in school today..doing our Christmas program this morning!! Yeah, we had a snow WEEK the week before Christmas break. Friday are our Christmas parties. I love this!! This is how it should be..Christmas everyday, all year!

The difference a day makes

A shop raisin'!

Getting the shop framed up took the whole crew!
How did they do this in the "olden days"?? Don't you love modern equipment?!

New Year's Day at our home

I thought I was done for the day, but here's a peek of today:

First of all, someone felt the need of spending some leisurely time in the hot tub today.....Maybe she partied too hard last night. This is Beverly. Dolores was waiting her turn. (Jeanette..they have a good life. Thanks for sharing them with us. I honestly love them.)

(This is the dog's heated/freeze proof?? water bucket)

The girls rested under the lilac bush after eating leftovers from a week of way, way to much food for the humans on the ranch.

While others worked. Can you tell who the foreman is??

Making use of the 60 degree "winter" weather. Cody, Jessie, Jerry, Bill and Ron are getting one step closer to putting up the shop.

Happy New Year!

I wasn't ready for 2008 to end! It flew by much to quickly! But, even though I protested, they didn't stop the clock for me so I was dragged into 2009 whether I wanted to or not! Well...the truth is, I didn't like the options involved of not coming into 2009! So, now we are here and let's make the most of it!!

The four of us stayed up (kinda) and brought in the New Year. We played "Apples to Apples", some video games, a little nap....and Jessie jostled us all at 5 til midnight to drink champagne. In the 9.5 years we have lived here, this was the first time we've been just family on New Year's Eve. With all the changes, this whole holiday season had its "firsts". Not bad firsts, just firsts.

Looking ahead to the new year....Cody is looking forward to a learner's permit later this year. Jessie is looking forward to decorating her new room, when it is built. Jerry is hoping to find some domestic goats to scare..a result of watching Mythbusters. And me..well, my first goal is getting into our new home. I also am going to work on getting "highly qualified" to teach mid school.

Looking back at 2008...Pat and Matthew moved to California and we surely miss them!! The ranch sale went through. Those are the big news flashes of the year! Lots of smaller blessings though...a principal who truly believes in Cody..a mentor, an encourager etc. Neighbors who are our chosen family and who love deeply. Jessie winning a park naming contest. Me having a job where I can drive my kids to school and have one hour a day just to talk with them as we drive. Jerry "retiring" and having more time to spend with us..camping, traveling, playing. My parents living close. Health, life, an assurance of God on a daily basis. Looking at my list, I realize all of those are pretty big!

Love, hugs and best wishes for a great new year! (I hope you'll leave me a comment or two this year as you read along! They mean alot to me.)