More pics from Claire's party

Updates...

There is a local consignment shop we love to visit. It's called Jeannie's, and you never know what you might find there; original oil paintings, one of a kind furnishings, antique toys and jewelry, I have even purchased a trailer ball and extention for my van at this place. Anyway, this past week my Grandmother found a dining room table, complete with eight chairs and a leaf, that she thought would be a perfect housewarming gift. I went with my Mother and Grandmother to look at it on Tuesday. It will be a wonderful new addition to our new dining room. (Thanks Grandma!) (My old dining room table will be in the laundry room for now, to use for sorting and folding. It is a beautiful old table with claw feet, two drop ends, a leaf and actual gears underneath. It used to belong to a church and was given to me by an old co-worker of my Mom's.) While we are still waiting for the septic to be installed, we do not have permission to move anything into the new house yet. So....we had to store the new table in my Mom's garage. (Thanks Mom!)
We picked up the table and chairs yesterday, playing tetris with the pieces to get them all into the back of my little truck (with the tool box and lumber racks on), and my Mom's car. Gavin was a help in climbing in and around the furniture to place the blankets between and pieces that may rub together during the transport. (Thanks Gavin!)

....................................................................

It has been a couple of months, but I just came across this photo and thought I would share it. We had a report of a fawn that had been abandoned in a yard in town. The caller advised the fawn had been in the same place since the afternoon before and was possibly injured. It must have been later in the day, or a holiday as we did not have Animal Control on duty and had to send and officer to check out the situation. Per the Department of Fish and Game, if the animal is able to get on its feet, we are to leave it alone. However if the animal is unable to get up and has obvious injuries, officers are to dispatch the animal. What the officer found, was a very dehydrated fawn in need of some help, but no obvious injuries. The fawn was brought back to the police department while we tried to find a rescue center to take it in. After just a few phone calls we were able to located a rescue volunteer right here in town!
....................................................................

Cam and me ....

House Update...

We are in escrow!
The roof inspection was completed last week. The house needs a new roof within the next 2-3 years. If we do it now, we can get the amazing deal of $5700 ($2300 less than I thought it would be)! The heating and air inspection was also last week. The air unit is industrial size and works wonderfully, although it does need a new thermostat. (It successfully froze Gavin during the night while he was watching the house for us.) The fire place needs a new block (?) but works, and the pellet stove is inoperable and to old to fix. I would have worried about how to heat the family room if my Mom's neighbor, Jerry, had not offered to give us his potbelly stove in exchange for boxes to pack his belongings for his move.
The septic inspection was also last week. The house needs a new septic. Am I ready to give up? NO! The seller has to fix the septic, so it will only mean we won't be able to move in as soon as we wanted.
The pest inspection was also supposed to be last week, but has not yet been completed.
The appraisal was yesterday morning. I am trying to be patient while waiting for the results. The appraisal is the only thing we have been waiting on to order the loan documents....

Work continues...

Yesterday we were able to start laying the top layer of subfloor in the dining room. Cam and Anthony measured, cut and placed half the flooring in the room, while Gavin scrubbed Briannes room and vacuumed the carpet. I started vacuuming the master bedroom carpet ...... until the power head on my rainbow died.

I was vacuuming away in the master bedroom, picking up the larger pieces by hand, when I noticed something small and gold by the wall. I really thought is was a small piece of gold foil, so I tried to vacuum it up. It would not come up, only moving closer and closer to the wall until I knew there was no way the vacuum was going to pick it up without me moving away from the wall. Then, the power head started to make an unusual sound. I turned off the vacuum to take it apart and clean out the power head. After vacuuming out the inside of the power head, I put it all back together and turned it back on ..... the light on top of the power head came on, but the motor was not turning the brush. Biscuits!! On my way to ask Cam to take a look at the vacuum for me, the gold object caught my eye again, so I picked it up. It was not foil after all. It was a small pin with a small cross and the words 'Let Go Let God'. I smiled to myself as I walked out to the dining room to tell Cam about the vacuum and show him my new treasure.


The pin is now attached to my purse....

Cleaning and destruction.....

We have signed the loan application and are waiting for signed paperwork from the selling bank. While we wait, we have been cleaning and .......... cutting holes in the floor.

For some reason known only to God and the previous residents, the top layer of sub floor was removed and vinyl squares were put down on the remaining 1/2" plywood. Well, if you have ever tried to walk on 1/2" plywood resting on joists, for any length of time, you know that eventually the plywood is going to wear down and break. SO, there were numerous holes all the way through the sub floor, meaning if you had a flashlight, you could look past the insulation under the house, and all the way to the dirt!



Cam and Gavin have been crawling around on the remaining plywood, cutting out the weak and broken areas, and have successfully replaced and braced all necessary areas. Next they will be putting down the 3/4" flooring to bring the house back up to code.

While they are crawling around in the kitchen, dining room and entry way, my Mom and I have been vacuuming and shampooing the carpets. So far the play room, family room, downstairs spare room and living room are done. (Actually the living room will need another going over as the water is still coming up looking like creamed coffee.) When the living room is done, we will move on to the other downstairs bedrooms, then the stairs and the upstairs rooms. Gavin has already scrubbed the hall bathroom downstairs, so we still have the other 2 bathrooms to clean also.

I will put up more pictures as soon as I can get to a computer where I can download them!

Getting ready to sell!

I have been so worried about jinxing our plans, that I have not wanted to tell to many people about them. I have decided if I want what is best for my family, I have to relinquish control to a higher power, and trust the Lord to provide the path. (I pray He helps me to keep my eyes open to see his path.) So here I am, telling all of you ... we are getting our house ready to sell. There, I said it.

Cam and I have found a house we REALLY like, with enough room for us now and in the future. (6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, two bonus rooms, some fruit trees already planted, and plenty of room for a vegetable garden!) We are working hard to make the dream of owning this house, into a reality. One of the MANY projects on the way to getting our current house ready to sell, is finishing the retaining wall I started across the front yard.


Gavin and Cam are working on the wall while Brianne and Claire supervise from the shade. (It may look like dirt in front of the wall, but it's actually the asphalt lined gutter, a perfect base for my wall.) I'll try to keep you posted on our progress!

She's growing up and I can't stop it....

After two hours of hair, makeup, toe nail polish, prepping and primping, Brianne and Gavin are on their way to dinner and Prom. After 7 months of dating, I finally agreed to let them go out on a date....Prom. I think I am still in shock. My baby, going to Prom.