Day 10

Thankful Challenge, Day 10: Today I am thankful for a healthy body; a full head of hair (unlike cancer patients, Lord be with them), eyes that see, a mouth that speaks, ears that hear (unless you ask my husband :), arms that hug, hands that hold, legs that run, and a body that supports. Last year on November 1st, I got the flu so bad that I couldn't drag myself out of bed for anything more than throwing up. Shawn stayed home from work for three days to take care of the kids and wait on me, hand and foot. I remember thinking of a speaker we had at my mom2mom group who is a cancer survivor and spoke about the constant vomiting, loss of hair, complete exhaustion all day every day for months on end. Even as I was feeling my worst, I thought of her, her story, and so many other survivors who have experienced the horror of cancer, just like she had. I thanked God...thanked God that my flu would pass in a short matter of time, and that the end was just around the corner (unlike that of a cancer patient who has no idea how long their pain and suffering will last, nor if they will even live to see it end). Thank God, again, for my healthy body.

Days 8/9

Day 8: Today, I am thankful for the gifts God has blessed me with; creativity, mechanical abilities, carpentry skills, vocal talents, story/poetry composition abilities, etc. They have helped build confidence and allowed me to run my own design business. For these, i am extremely grateful.

Day 9: Today I am grateful for the lifestyle I have been blessed with; a beautiful house, new vehicles, travel and the money to pay for all of them :]

Pictures (Just some recent takes)

 

 

 

 

Thankful: Days 1 through 7

As the holidays approach, many friends do the "Thankful Challenge" and I have decided to participate this year. Not to be a follower, but because in these hectic days, it is sometimes hard to recall what little things God does bring to our lives. We need to be thankful each and every day for what we have; what He has given us.

Day 1: I am thankful for the broken road that lead me straight to you...

Day 2: I am thankful for a strong, hardworking, tender hearted husband, and a solid, faith bound marriage.

Day 3: I am thankful for three healthy, intelligent, humorous children.

Day 4: I am thankful for supportive, fun, love filled friendships (and coffee to grow them over). :)

Day 5: I am thankful for my father, who supplies true, unconditional love and understanding. A man of incredible strength, wit and intelligence.

Day 6: I am thankful for the beauty that God surrounds me in...

Day 7: I am thankful for my freedom, and the men and women who fought/fight so hard to bless us with it.

Final Countdown...

The last month has been eventful! Brookie B celebrated her 3rd birthday! So hard to believe that she is 3 already. Time flies when you're having fun! Shawn rode the train home for her birthday. When he picked up up, she hugged him so tight and said, "Daddy, I miss you, I'm gonna cry." She made that grown man cry, himself. He loves that little girl more than any man has ever loved his daughter. The bond they share is sweet. We took her to the festivities at the orchard, bought our pumpkins and some yummy apple cider, cider donuts and pumpkin butter then had dinner at TGI-Fridays. We also went car shopping. As soon as our new home loan is completed we are trading the Suburban. I have a couple of other vehicles in mind, but a test drive will help in deciding. I'll focus more on a vehicle after some of this other stuff is done.

Man, I will certainly be glad when life can calm down a bit. We are showing our house at least once a week. That means spic and span is a daily must. I feel like a guest in my home. I can't even leave my socks next to my recliner! Well, really I could but refuse to. Anyone who knows me knows that my house is always tidy but I have developed a cleaning schedule to be sure everything is top notch, day in and day out. I plan to use this system in our new house as well. It has definitely made life easier, not to mention more enjoyable. I love coming home to a spotless house and love giving back to Shawn in that way, honoring him for his hard work for our family.

As far as buying, we did not purchase our so called "dream home" that we had originally chosen. We decided to buy closer to Shawn's work so he didn't have so far to drive. In the Tongie house he would drive 45 minutes one way. So, we chose to look closer to Topeka. After 6 weeks of hard at it house hunting, we finally found "the one!" Today, we are officially the owners of two mortgages!

The house is an hour from family and friends but we will make the drive together rather than apart. Plus, we will be on 3 acres so the kids will have room to roam (and lots of it). The backyard is a fenced in acre so I can kick them out the door with no worries; along with the dog. :)

WE FOUND OUR HOUSE!! (Pictures)

Yes, yes, finally! The house of our dreams has been put on the market for our purchasing pleasure.

Looks like ours will be under contract soon, so it has been a busy two weeks.

The kids and I went to Wisconsin this weekend. Was a short trip. We only stayed one night and came back late Saturday due to illness. All three of us. We spent the day with Larynn. Went to her soccer game, went shopping at Tanger Outlet Mall in Wisconsin Dells, had lunch at the Pizza Ranch (it was yucky) and went back to Tanger hoping to satisfy our shopping fix. That place is awesome. I could live there :) Don't think my hubby could afford that though. :D We spent over an hour in the Justice store. My daughter picks that place apart. By the time it was over, she had $300 spoken for in my wallet. That place is expensive! They do have cute stuff though. She is all about the fashion. I found a purse (I should say another purse) at the Coach Outlet. My friend Heather was with us and joked that I had enough Coach purses to start my own store. I just love them, I'm addicted and can't help it. She will be signing me up for an INTERVENTION in the near future ;) I doubt it would help.

Oh, by the way...only 3 months until Christmas!! *happy dance* The Christmas tree will look so devine in front of the lake front windows! I can't wait to get my hands on that house!!

Here's a little "photo funny" for the day...I went in to check on Brookie while she was on the potty...she turned me away because, "mommy, I busy..." Such a cute little "shit"!

Busy, busy, busy!

We survived the holiday weekend! Shawn was home on his way back through from Pennsylvania so we decided to have a cookout to spend time with friends before he took off again. It was nice to see everyone. Well, almost everyone. Hopefully next time Bridget will not crash into Mike's truck the morning of and they too will be able to join us. We enjoyed shish-kabobs on the grill, fabulous Italian salad, the kids ate a whole bag of cheese balls (glad I don't have to change those diapers anymore!) and we talked and laughed surrounded by fire and music. It was a great time. Looking forward to another one (complete with s'mores) next weekend!

So much has happened this week and I am glad it is coming to an end. Shawn fired our realtor and hired a new one so I had to meet with her yesterday. Hoping that she can get us some movement at least. Nothing has looked promising with selling in the past 5 weeks. I am trying to enjoy each day in this house that we have left, but I am anxious to live (and sleep) with my husband again! We resumed our house hunt yesterday after taking 5 weeks off and Shawn toured about 5 after work. One of which was my "dream home", however, it got crossed off the list due to lack of yard so that is understandable. He thinks he may have found a winner! My friends think I am CRAZY for trusting my husband to choose our next house without me, but I trust him 100%. That is why I married him! After all, he picked out our current home without me and I LOVE IT, so I am sure our next one will be just as great. Our current home has a great floor plan and a beautiful setting. It was a blank slate when I moved in...very bland and boring but with a little work, it has become our sanctuary. Like Shawn says, "It was just a house, but you made it a home, Kel". So, we plan to repeat the process since it worked so well the first time. He picks the bones, and I make it pretty...we make a great team. :]