Exciting Happenings

   Exciting things are happening at the home construction site.  Thanks to WGO and his crew (Lucas and Tyler) we now have railings on the deck.  They worked hard all day Memorial Day to complete that project.  I was so excited that we went out Monday evening and enjoyed another beer on our deck.

Our lagoon has been dug.  You may not consider that "exciting", but it is something that had to be done.  And when I flush I want it to go away.  

Our trim carpenter has arrived on the scene.  So far he has hung the doors in the upstairs. Soon he will be working on trimming out the windows and doors, the railing for the stairs and the wood along the floor (for the life of me I can't think what that is called!)  Jerry is a one man show with a reputation of doing things right.  WGO has scheduled 6 weeks for this part of the process.  I am definitely excited to see what he accomplishes each day.

The cabinet maker has installed the kitchen cabinets and I think they look great.  I will definitely need a step stool.  Some of those cabinets are way beyond my reach.  The kitchen has so many drawers that I told AJ we might be able to have one drawer just for the hard to find ice cream scoop!  The day I move into that kitchen and prepare my first family meal will be a day for celebration.

As I write this blog I am anticipating another celebration.  The wedding of my Ty Guy to his high school sweetheart, Laura.  Talk of final tux fittings, picking up the dress, and what needs to happen for the bridal brunch is getting me pumped for a fun weekend with family and friends.  My next post will most likely contain pictures of their day and my thoughts on marriage.  Until then....

I am blessed.  God is good.

The trim waiting to be installed.

The kitchen cabinets.!

The door to the den.

The island.

What AJ is most excited about--the silverware drawer.

Memorial Weekend

I'm sure you all had a busy, busy three day weekend.  Well, I know I did.

It began on Thursday night when I "hosted" a dinner for my catechists and their spouses.  We held our annual appreciation dinner at The Inn at River Road.  I work with some pretty amazing, dedicated volunteers.  It was a fun evening and a great way to end a great year

Friday I spent with my mom and sister working at the quilt factory.  My crazy sister from Louisiana has been visiting for three weeks now.  She and mom have at least nine quilts in process.  Mom is determined to make a quilt for each of her grand kids and Nancy is determined to get all of them cut out before she leaves.  I did cut out in the afternoon to have a pedicure and hair color done!

After dinner, WGO and I christened our finished deck (sans the handrail).  It was a beautiful night  to enjoy a beer and dream of the day we would move into our new home.

We had only two social commitments on Saturday.  A baby shower for Megan B. and  baby Grady and a birthday party for Mr. Lackey.  The shower was hosted by the Cillessens.  There were a lot of fun gifts for baby G.  My mom was very interested in all the new fangeled baby items like a nursing cape and boppy pillow.  I am grateful for my friends and family that come down to help celebrate the upcoming birth of my grandbaby.

From there I went directly to Dan and Myle's for the birthday party.  Mr. Lackey's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came to celebrate two birthdays:   Kalem's 4th birthday and Lucas' 25th.  Despite my baking disaster earlier in the day the cookie bars were delish.  Unfortunately Nana and Lola ate the brownies for the ice cream cake.  But it was a good lesson in laughing at our mistakes and letting go of bad moods.  It was a relaxing evening out on the patio watching dogs chasing the chickens, watching the kids jumping on the trampoline and being grateful for family and friends.

Did I tell you it was also WGO and my anniversary?   We celebrated 33 years of our marriage that day.
I am blessed.  God is good.

Next blog will be on the house.  I promise.

Grady's quilt made by ME!

Megan and the hostess, Cassie R.

Three generations waiting on the fourth!

Uncle AJ playing with the kids.

The birthday boys.

The second attempt at making the cookie bar.  

Raph enjoying his cookie and ice cream.

Ending the evening with a fire in the pit.

Steady Progress

AJ is out of the house so I thought I should take the opportunity to use the computer and post another blog.  What has happened in my life since I last wrote?

My sister Nancy is visiting at my folks for the month  preceeding Tyler's wedding.  She and mom are sewing up a storm.  Nancy has about 10 projects going at once.  Besides the 4 quilts mom has started that need the "drops" sewn on them, the two quilts that Renee' (another sister) started when she was in town, pillows for her grandkids, a quilt for Grady, she is also slip covering the cushions for the chair in Grady's nursery.   If I had half her energy, half her talent, and half her drive  I would get a lot more done.  She is amazing.   On Saturday, we took a break from sewing to do a little shopping.  We helped Kayla find something to wear to the wedding!

We did have workman on our "job site"  The painters have finished the outside of the house.  The sheet rockers will finish up the first of the week.  And the deck is partially complete.  Progress is slow but steady.  Unfortunately, my "contractor" has informed me that the estimated move in date has been moved back to the end of July.  I was disappointed, but know WGO is doing his best  to keep the subs lined up and on schedule.  It is what it is.  It will get done when it gets done.

I sat in the house alone this morning for a few minutes trying to imagine our completed home. I tried to picture where furniture would be placed, where pictures would be hung.  I tried to picture our first family dinner, AJ's graduation party,  Christmas celebrations.  A house is not a just a structure.  It is a place where memories are made.

I am blessed.  God is good.

The paint color is "wheat penny". 

Even with the sheet rock the "hobby room"  looks huge.

Looking from entry to the kitchen.

Painters just about finished.

Stepping out on the deck!
We are thinking that by Friday we will be able to enjoy our first beer here.

A special feature:  an opening from the garage to the pantry.
It is just big enough to put my bags of grocery through.

Brick and Stone just waiting for a mason.

The Rental

A lot of people have asked me where we are living.  You will find the Oblingers on First Ave directly west of the football field lined up with the northern goal post.  The best way to find us is to locate the ancient travel trailer parked in the driveway just south of us.  I'm afraid if they ever move that antique  I will not be able to find where I live.

The words I use to describe the rental are cozy and efficient.  It has three bedrooms and one and half baths. Next to our galley kitchen is a pantry/laundry room.  The dining room is big enough for our table but we haven't tried to put in all the extensions.  You would think that with such a small house we would live in all of the space.  But we never go to the basement.  We hang out in the living room most of the time.  It is cozy.

The most unique feature of the bungalow is its one and half baths.  That in itself isn't that weird but in our rental the half bath is connected to the full bath.  (AJ gets a little frustrated if I leave one of my drawers open as then he cannot get the shower from the hall bath.)  One thing I really appreciate about the house is how little time it takes to clean.  For example you can plug the in the vacuum and vacuum the entire house!  No need for a night light in our bedroom.  The master bedroom is on the front of the house.  Consequently, the street light shines right into our bedroom--all night.  It is efficient.

Did I tell you that there is a train track in our back yard?  Trains speed by at least 10 times a day.  Sometimes they still startle me, but mostly I find the sound comforting.

 The three of us have settled in quite nicely in our little rental.   It has taught me to put things away, to live with less, and to appreciate what is important.  We are blessed.  God is good.

My family outside the Rental on Easter morning.
(Ok, so we just took the picture here.  We actually had our Easter  feast at Dan and Myle's)

Not a Routine Week

It has been a crazy week here.  WGO took the week off to work on the house.  I took most of the week off to watch the grandkids.

Monday WGO and I took a day to make some more decisions and to revisit some old ones.  It was time to choose light fixtures.  I really wasn't looking forward to this little outing because WGO is very discerning... opinionated ...picky about light fixtures. Let's just say he knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn't like.  If the truth be known, one of the main reasons we moved from 756 was that he hated the light fixtures in that house.

When we entered Accent Lighting,  we were both a bit overwhelmed.   It was wall to wall, ceiling to floor lights.  But once we (by we, I mean the sales clerk and WGO) figured out what size fixtures we needed for each space, we made the decisions relatively quickly.  And an hour and a half later we walked out feeling pretty good about ourselves.

Next we went to Star Lumber to review all the decisions we had made earlier and to begin the process of deciding on paint colors.  We made a few "change orders" including choosing a different flooring again.  Unfortunately we ran out of time as WGO was meeting with someone back at the house.

I picked up my three grandkids on Tuesday afternoon and headed to the Second Hand Ranch.  I decided it would be easier to watch them at their house.  For some unknown reason we didn't move any toys to the rental.  The only means of entertainment for children we have with us at the rental is cable tv.  A bonus for staying there was I got to see Kayla and Lucas' new home.  We walked over after dinner on Tuesday night.  As Raph and I headed over to their house two deer crossed our path.  Hofw coolis that!

On Wednesday morning we went to the zoo.  Okay, zoos are one of my favorite places.  And it was a beautiful day to go to the zoo.   The weather was perfect--not so hot that the animals are sluggish but not so cold that the humans are uncomfortable.   We saw the turkey vulture spread its wings and fly across his cage.  We fed the giraffes. We actually saw the red panda in the tree.  We watched the elephants with their trainers.  Stephanie really did not want to kneel.  We saw the cutest baby duck swim right across the hippotamus.  We saw baby meerkats and a gaggle of baby geese.  We watched the baby chimp for quite a while.  We ended our day at the zoo enjoying the antics of the baby orangutan.   The grandkids were great.  No one whined or bickered.

We swung by my folks on the way home.  We helped Grandpa and Aunt Nancy pull weeds from the flower beds.  For dinner we ordered pizza.  Gregg, AJ, Kayla, and Lucas joined us.

Botanica was our destination on Thursday morning.  We were joined by Gpa, G.G., Great Aunt Nancy and Aunt Kayla.   After touring most of the gardens we ended up at the Children's garden.  M, T, and R had a great time in each of the areas.  We ate our sack lunches by the big tree and then we played some more.   We got back to the ranch in the middle of the afternoon.  Everyone was hungry so we had an early dinner.  WGO came over and we visited with K and L while the kids played outside--it was a beautiful spring evening.  Dan and Myle arrived about 8:30.  After hearing about their trip--we slipped out.  A glass of wine awaited me!  I am truly blessed.  God is good.

 

Meanwhile, back at the house.  The final paint color was determined and sheet rock was hung.  I call that progress.

x

Andrew Jay

I didn't want the week to end without blogging a bit about our youngest, AJ.  Yesterday, we celebrated his 16th birthday.  Joining us at the Olive Garden to celebrate were Kayla and Lucas, Dan, Myle and the three grandkids, my mom and dad and Aunt Nancy (AJ's godmother).  Although no one was hungry for dessert (especially after the endless breadsticks and salad), we did embarrass AJ by singing happy birthday (off key).

I asked myself the age old question, "Where did the years go?"  And then I remembered. AJ spent the first 11 years of his life at one of his siblings school activities.  From the day his was born,  he was dragged to baseball games, softball games, track meets, basketball games, band and choir concerts.   I am sad to say those years are somewhat a blur.  And now we are going to his CC and track meets and occasionally I make it to a band concert.   Our little one, our baby, is growing up.  He is becoming such a handsome, confident  young man.  AJ is taking Psychology this semester and they are studying birth order.  He discovered that he is technically a last child, a first child and an only child.  I'm not sure how he is handling all those rolls--but he seems to be a relatively well adjusted teenager.

WGO often says we were on the "four plus one" plan.  I am very glad that God blessed us with one more child.  He is such a blessing in our lives.  God is good.

The "perfect family"
(I'm sure Meg and Ty were with us in spirit.)

The birthday boy or Justin Beiber?

April Ends

Another busy weekend has come and gone.  It began Friday night with a track meet in Wellington.  It was a nice evening, albeit a little windy, and I was had good friends to pass the time with.  It wasn't the most efficiently run track meet.  I think I could have run a mile in between each heat.

Our Keynote:  Richard Curran

Saturday morning AJ and I got up bright and early and headed to the Hilton DoubleTree for the Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference.  There were 7 teens and 3 brave chaperones from our parish.  The keynote speaker was a great story teller and had a great story to tell.  The teens had positive reports about the break out sessions, the food, and the dance.  The day ended at about 12:15 with lights out.  The celebration of the Mass on Sunday was inspiring.   We were surprised when Jake received the award for "Outstanding Youth" and Jordan the "Light of Christ" award.

AJ doing his part of the St. Michaels year in review poem.

The great teens we took to conference.

When we got home, very tired and very hungry, I fixed a quick meal for WGO and Kayla and Lucas.  (WGO and Lucas had been working on the house.)  Then Grumpa and I headed into Wichita  to see the grandgirls choir concert.  Raphie was excited to see his papa and barely even acknowledged my presence.    The girls were so cute standing on the stage.  And lets just say the singing was fun.  After refreshments, we headed home.

Monica

Trinity

Raphael singing along.

By home I mean the home under construction.  WGO wanted to finish doing some clean up on the site.  So I helped sweep the garages-.  I think we might just have the cleanest construction site e-v-e-r.  It was after 6 o'clock  by the time I got to my couch with popcorn and a beer.  I was more than ready to relax.

I am blessed.  God is good.