Over the past year, I have contemplated moving my blog. But the idea seemed more than overwhelming. I'm not very computer savvy. Xanga was simple and pretty straightforward. But I have been disappointed with a number of different issues. Then I read another blog here that said Xanga was likely going to shut down by the end of this month. That was a moment of panic. I've journaled here for 5 years. There is a lot of history for our family I've typed into this place. I knew I didn't want to lose all I had done, so I began the search for a new blog platform. And settled on WordPress. Then figured out how to move all that is here to over there. And now it's done. So, if you would like to continue to follow our family adventures, you can find us over here... under a new blog name...
We actually did this last November the week before Thanksgiving. What a day!!! Eric had put a cheap white counter top on as a temporary counter when the cabinets were installed. It did its purpose, but didn't hold up very well. I had stressed about this day for many many months. We had bought two slabs of granite, cut back to back from the same quarry, so their color matched perfectly. The slab for the island was huge! Weighing in around 1500 pounds! I had to find 10 men who could all show up at the same time to help carry it in on the day we were installing it. From the driveway, around the corner to the porch. Up the stairs, and into the house. Then lift it and place it on the cabinets. Granite actually has a lot of flex in it, so keeping it from snapping while lifting and carrying it was a HUGE deal! It took about 2 hours from start to finish. Just to move it a few hundred feet. AMAZING group of men who gave up their Friday morning just to come and help me move this slab. I felt so blessed! My next post will be of the granite on and looking beautiful!
Heres a few before with the white countertop.
My cabinet maker!
Deciding how to lift it onto the cabinets.
Jules slept through it all!
Bringing in the front door
Laura cleaning the windows.
Cutting out the sink hole and polishing it.
January 24, 2013
Made homemade chicken noodle soup in my cast iron Dutch oven. It's been raining hard all day. I'm desperately trying to finish all the painting and staining before I head to warmer, sunnier places. And stay on top of everyone's school, and housework and meals. Makes for a very tired woman. But....I'm daydreaming of warmth and sunshine and friends and beaches and shopping. Counting the days!!!
It's quite in my home. I can hear little Jules sucking her binky as she sleeps on my pillow. I held her, no really more like squeezed her little body as she fell asleep. My tears soaking her hair. I prayed and sang to her. Today, another phone call. One that grabbed my heart so hard I could hardly speak into the phone without sobbing. Another death. This time a child. A few weeks younger than Julia. They had played together. We know his family. We've watched him grow over these past two years.
What if today it had been Julia. Her time on earth here done.
Could I sing praises to the Lord of this universe?
Could I truly find strength in His never ending love?
Could I put one foot in front of the other as I gathered my other children into my arms and tried to explain to them about God's grace and His perfect plan?
For the past few months, there has been this song that we have loved to sing as a family. "10,000 Reasons, Bless the Lord Oh, My Soul" by Matt Redman. We have sang it over and over. Belted it out at the top of our lungs. Sang it in worship and for Grandmas church on Christmas. The piano keys ring out it's notes over and over. Everyone of us knows every word. Jules asks for it to be played every time we get in the car. "Momma, play "Bless the Lord!"
I sang it to her tonight as we lay on my pillow.
The first verse has these words:
The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning It's time to sing Your song again Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me Let me be singing when the evening comes
I've thought about these words every day. Last year was filled with so much heartache and grief for our family. Not because we have had loss or direct impact in our family in this home, but because of the people we love that are in our extended family that have. Because friends that we love have. And I wonder "Will I be singing at the end of this day, if today it is one of my children or my husband or me?" And then I keep singing, the chorus next,
Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before O my soul I'll worship Your holy name
I'm not sure why, but somehow this song speaks volumes to my heart. It sums up all that my heart tries to put into words, praising God. Imagining who He is and who He has made me to be. Ten thousand reasons...wow!
You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger Your name is great, and Your heart is kind For all Your goodness I will keep on singing Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
And then there is the last verse. It brings tears to my eyes just 'bout every time. The day I die. Is it today God? Tomorrow? Will I live 75 more years? And after ten thousand years, my soul will only have begun singing His praises! And I will sing His praise unending...for eternity!
And on that day when my strength is failing The end draws near and my time has come Still my soul will sing Your praise unending Ten thousand years and then forevermore
So once again, as my head and heart want to scream and cry out "Why?, Why God? It's not fair! Little Jonathan was so precious and so loved and so special! Why did you take him to be with you? Why not the bad guys? Why do we have to hurt and be so confused?" I hear the still small voice whispering, "Keep singing, For I am good, ten thousand reasons for your heart to find!".
~Cheryl
The Christmas decorations are all packed and put away. There is a coat of dust on everything again. We are back at this remodel. We have been patching walls, creating archways, installing new windows, tearing up old carpet and tiles. And today, as I sit here for a few moments and post this, I hear the scraping of the plaster tools, the drill mixing the powder into plaster, the slather of the plaster onto the walls. It's thrilling. Because after the plaster is on the walls, we are so close to finishing these 3 rooms. We spend weeks preparing and getting ready for today. And all the while it looks like a construction site. But after today, (about 50 man hours!) the rooms will have a "finished" look to them. I'll paint this week. Creating walls that look like they are in some castle or cathedral in Europe. Then we will lay the travertine. Put on the trim.
And them my favorite part! Hang pictures on the wall, shop on Craigslist (or Costco for the perfect furniture. Turn each room into what I see in my mind for that room to be. My favorite plaster guy is here today. He has painstakingly listened to my explaining and correcting and has created my walls into exactly what I want them to look like. He is fast, but careful. He has the artistic eye I need to turn these walls into works of art.
Here's some pictures from yesterday and then right now as they work! Grandpa Luke and Grandma Beth are here from NC and have been so helpful this last week! They currently have the older 6 children at the skate park with bikes and Laura's new skateboard from Christmas. So blessed to have them here!!
Doughnuts for breakfast that Eric brought home and surprised us with!
I am close to being finished with our bedroom. I just put up this wall sticker above our bed and it's lovely. Still working on the area that used to be the nursery. It's temporarily the office while we plaster and put flooring down there.
January 3, 2013
here's life around our home the past few months.
Our littlest who loves music the most. Shes always singing or playing an instrument. Real or pretend.
A week before Thanksgiving, we made a trip up to Seattle to see Eric's Dad. We had the most marvelous time spending the day with him. The weather was brisk, but sunny, unusal for that late into the winter up there. But I was so thankful. We bundled all up and left the walls of the hospital that he has lived in for so many months. We strolled down the sidewalks to the city park. And what a park it was! Playgrounds, walking trails, skateboarding park, zip lines. Papa delighted in watching the children race around. They would yell, "Hey, Papa!! Look at me!" or run up and grab a hug in-between swinging and sliding. I took hundreds of pictures. Been awhile since I had the free time to do nothing but chase my children with a camera! Thanks to the amazing technology of Siri, we were able to find a yummy little mexican restaraunt just 3 blocks down and called ahead for a table. After eating we went back to the park and played until the sunset. A precious day in the memory of us all.
The Seattle Skyline
Maryann pushing her Papa. (he didn't need the help, but was kind and humble enough to let them all push him all over)
Josh lives in these flip-flops. When we got in the car to drive to Seattle, I asked, "does everybody have shoes?" all replied with a "Yes". Upon getting out at the hospital, i saw Josh's feet. Not only was he in flipflops in near freezing weather, there were horrible big holes in the heels. He assured me he was fine. Not once did he complain of being cold.
Maryann, however, wore big warm boots and still froze to death. She's definitely my sunny California girl.
Laura loves her converse's.
And I love my boots!!
Love this precious picture. Heartbreaking and lovely all at the same time.
the hospital my father-in-law has spent most of this last year in.
for the perfect furniture. Turn each room into what I see in my mind for that room to be. My favorite plaster guy is here today. He has painstakingly listened to my explaining and correcting and has created my walls into exactly what I want them to look like. He is fast, but careful. He has the artistic eye I need to turn these walls into works of art. 
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